The Demon’s Bride

The road had turned dark with the snow falling and winter leaving no sign of the past season that had come across the land, the darkness falls quicker to color the sky. Vella sat at the end of the open carriage. She looked on the road, staring at it as they entered the forest.

"Young lady," a voice came from behind which had Vella to turn her head, "Do you mind if I ask you to close the curtain, it is a little cold."

Vella put on a smile, she then closed the curtain and took off the scarf that she wore, "Please have this." In return, the woman thanked her. She looked at the scarf which was now at the elderly woman's hand. The scarf was bright in red color, reminding her of Elise's hair and her friend, Carmen's eyes.

So much has been going on and Vella felt shame in herself for not being able to save either of her friends. Worse, she had killed Carmen with her own two hands. The winter is cold, thought Vella. Earlier this week, she had just thought it would be less cold but instead, it was worse than last season's.

By the time she had to change the carriage, Vella walked down from the carriage. She wore her scarf again, bringing her trunk out from the carriage when the elderly woman thanked her again. Walking away from the side of the road, Vella continued to wait until she decides to walk toward the nearest village and rest at the inn.

She walked near the forest, her shoes padding to the uneven road, when she heard from behind a sound of rustle. Vella quickly snapped her head behind her a frown settled between her brows. 

There was no one, was it an animal? Vella suddenly felt that something was out of place. When she turned her head the second time she saw a man smiling back at her and from behind something hard hit her head, making her feel dizzy and unable to react as she fell to the ground.

It was six minutes after did Vella woke up, she felt her back hurt and her ankle pulled. Two voices spoke, "Bothersome, this is getting us more of work."

"Who could we blame? I thought she was the vampire, tsk," replied another. Vella who immediately woke up tried to turn her hair to snake to bite the two men when she realized her hair had been cut short. Her hands had been ground and so was her wrists. Sensing that she moved, the man who had dragged her turned to smile wide, "She woke up. Look at her, shocked and frightened."

"Let's finish this fast, I don't have any time to spend here," said the other and the man pulled her legs even faster. Vella felt her back wounded from the rough treatment.

She struggled to release the fabric that was tied to gag her mouth, "W-who are you?!"

"That's my question for you, I thought you were the vampire, but you weren't. How could you have this?" asked the other man pulling a small parchment of paper that held a black coal drawing of a magic circle. It was the same paper that the Lord had torn from the wardrobe! But why was it there inside her bag? Vella then remembered that Carmen had borrowed her trunk before, was this where Carmen had hidden the parchments?

"I don't know! It was my friend who had that," one who died now, added Vella. She felt her body shivering from the cold and fear. The two men didn't show his face as they both covered their face with the hood they wore, except for that, Vella could see when the light from the moon pass, one of the men had bright red eyes.

"Your friend?" The man who pulled her leg, "Where is she now?"

"S-she died," Vella hoped that they would release her, but she knows from the gaze that was covered by the shadow of the two men, that they were not going to let her alive.

Then the two men discussed with each other, one proposing a suggestion while the others frowned as if trying to weigh the crouch, "Which mean she came from the castle too."

"We can't do that," whispered the other whose eyes were redder than her red scarf and the shadow of his hood wasn't enough to cover his gaze. "What if the Demon in that Castle know we were the one who had done this?"

"What's the harm? By now if the vampire maid had died. Sooner or later the Demon had sniffed it out. It doesn't need to be us to kill him anyway," the other man spoke and Vella couldn't understand where the conversation was going. But she knew her position turned dangerous as the other man stared at her as if choosing what to do.

"You're right," agreed the other man, "Is there a village near here? We kill her in a fashion that would make those villagers in panic."

At this Vella felt her heart sank to her stomach. The man reached out his hand to her when he suddenly screams, the snake Vella had with her took a deep bite on the man's neck, and taking the chance, Vella pushed herself to run from the spot.

She didn't look back, continuing to run without knowing where she was going. It was when she saw the road between the trees that Vella felt her smile raising which fell when her path was blocked by the other man who wasn't attacked by her snake.

"You're a quick runner," the man remarked.

"Not as fast as you," saying this, Vella saw something from the head of the man grew, pushing the hood from his head to fall from the place. She watched the two horns growing from the head, sharp and tall. Vella's eyes struck with a baffled stun.

"W-what are you?" gasped Vella. She had never seen a being with horns as black as the man now.

"Don't you know yet after seeing my horns? I'm an angel," whispered the man, his grin wide to show his teeth that were sharp like nails. The next second, the man behind Vella struck her head again this time hitting her multiple time even as her body had sprawled on the ground, the man continued to hit her head.

"Bring her to the village," order the man with the horns to the other. Doing as told, the other man pulled Vella's legs, bringing her away to the deeper part of the forest.

When morning arrives in one village, one man walked out of his house with a yawn. His wife came after looking sad. "Oh, please we have solved the problem regarding the lamb we sold! This is for the greater good," said the husband to the wife who was displeased that the husband had sold the lamb she had grew when it wasn't time to be sold yet.

"We could have gotten a gold for that lamb! But you were too hasty," the wife pressed her forehead.

"I wasn't hasty, we need the money, dear!" responded the husband.

"Money isn't what we need, I told you I have ways for that. Just not that lamb! I know you were fooled by him," scoffed the wife and she saw her husband sighed as he found nothing to reply., "Forget it I will grow another lamb and waste my seven years as I do to this marriage!" The woman ended the banter in anger, leaving the house to the backyard of her house when her eyes widened when she caught sight of the gory scene in her backyard. A piercing scream left her lung, "Ahhhh!"

The woman had screamed enough for the entire village to be woken by her voice. surprised, the husband ran toward his wife only to witness the body of a woman with short black hair tied in one tree which was placed in the middle of their backyard. The woman's hand was tied to the branches while her stomach had been pierced with wood pieces stake to her body, creating holes where blood and other organs fall to the ground. The blood was still fresh as if the act had been done an hour ago.

"My God!" The man screamed, letting the rest of the village to be notified of the dead guest to their small inn.

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