The Demon’s Bride

Little Elise saw her mother's hands trembled and she wasn't sure if it was because of Mr Barner's words or whether it was the man's grip on her arm which was tight and painful. Being the smallest girl and clueless at that time, Elise didn't know what she should do. Should she keep her promise like a good girl not to disturb her mother's conversation or should she comes in between them?

'You don't know anything,' said her mother with her teeth gritted. It was evident that her mother was in fear but her voice was no less stronger than Mr Barner. 

'What do you think I don't know? I have been living right beside your house. I have seen enough of what I needed to see. Including the night your husband left the house. I didn't remember seeing his entire face at that time but I did see his black cloak and the way he walked seemed to be happy he finally had left you and the growing child in you.'

'And I would like to call that as stalking! What you know is from outside— from the window of my house; and a family can never be judge by an outsider. Only people who are inside and a member of the family knows what happen. I do not need anyone to come into the business of my family,' said her mother, being strict and strong. Even though little Elise was in fear as the shoutings were heating, she felt somewhere consoled as her mother didn't lose to the fear Mr Barner tried to instilled by being the larger man. 'Including my neighbor," added her mother.

Mr Barner wasn't happy with her mother's disobedience, 'Am I truly only a neighbor? Haven't I helped you enough by bringing you works?'

'Is that your reason to think you can control me?' Elise's mother shook her head in disappointment, 'I have thought you to be a different person but I see how I expected something greatly wrong from a person like you.'

'And what is a person like me exactly?' taunt Mr Barner, his shadow felt as of it was alive to Elise's eyes as it multiplied on the walk behind him. 

A small faint chuckle escape from her mother's mouth, 'A lowlife.'

Within seconds, Mr Barner caught her mother's lower face by his hand, his eyes blazing but a smile was also on his face. His appearance wasn't exactly an ugly man but rather a fresh man on his late twenty, but his kind smile he showed to Elise had morphed to something entirely different. Although not a part of his featured had changed, Elise could almost see a single horn appearing from the man's forehead, his brown eyes had glistened in golden.

'I have always been very fond of the kind and obedient smile you showed, but this is not bad on its own. You don't know what your husband is, Adele. You might think you know but let me expose it to you that he is not the man he shows you to be,' and Mr Barner laughed when he looked at Adelaide's face as if he had seen the surprised expression which he wanted to see. 'He is-'

'A Demon,' interrupted Adelaide while looking at Mr Barner. The tides were turn almost in an instance as now Elsie saw it was Mr Barner's face that shook with shock as if he had been knocked sideways by what her mother had said. The hostility suddenly come over Adelaide as she narrowed her bright blue eyes to Mr Barner. She swatted the man's hands that were still on her face, due to the surprise and confounded with puzzles, the man's grip on her face turn lax, making it easy for her to slap his hand aside, 'You are not a human if you could tell what my husband is. What are you?'

'No. What are you,' Mr Barner returned her question. 'I thought you were a human who had fallen and been deceived by a Demon but you knows he is one and you accept him.'

'I told you there are only up to few things outsider could understand from peeking through their neighbor's house. If you know my husband is a Demon that means you are a part of a Demon or maybe something entirely different,' and whispering this, Adelaide knew the danger that was on her at this moment as she had found out Mr Barner's true identity.

She safely took a step back but Mr Barner was quick to take a hold of her neck, catching a hold. Adelaide struggled to get away from the hold but the man was too strong. Mustering her energy, she kicked the man upon his stomach before trying to rush outside. But suddenly Adelaide fell face-first with Barner dragging her feet across the floor. She tried to struggle again all for nothing as Barner held both her legs and hands. Once he had cornered her on the floor, Barner raised his hand to put a good lesson to Adelaide when Elise ran and appeared in front of her mother.

'STOP!' She yelled, and within second, the man did stop his hand that had come to contact with her palm and Elise watched the man's finger turn to dust. A piercing scream followed after Mr Barner's mouth and fortunately for him he had pulled his hand away from Elise. 

The man grunt in pain, his eyes were wide with burning ire he directed to Adelaide who had also touched his forearm to protect Elise from the slap and he thought it was her who had turn his fingers to combust to small dust-like particles. 'ADELAIDE! HOW DARE YOU WENCH!'

But Adelaide was too surprised to move, when little Elise met eyes with her mother whose face was still filled with black blank, she could hear her mother gasp and her whimper came stifle as she begged, 'No!'

Suddenly Elise was pulled back to the present. Her memory felt long but neither her nor Barner was affected by the time difference. "I remember you," Elise said to Barner, and she watched on the hand that had just grew, there was a permanent scar which she caused when she was young, causing Barner to lose his three fingers from his thumb. 

"Finally? That's great, we could catch up to few things that have passed," snickered the man who was in joy to hear he would soon soak his hand with blood again.

"I don't think there are anything to be discussed with you," Elise raised her hand before her face, anger came over to fill her blue eyes as she had recalled what happened.

"Oh, how sad, we used to be close remember? Your mother was also close with me," the man humored himself.

"I don't remember that ever happen. My mother dislike you," Elise responded, she was sure as she had just seen the memories again in her mind. 

"Your memories must have failed you then, your mother liked me," Barner claimed and it had Elise to understand that the man was under an illumination he put to himself. He was under his own delusion that her mother had liked him.

"I didn't remembered it wrongly did you forgot?" Elise questioned and she pulled her smile to taunt the man. "She called you the lowlife."

Her repeated words she borrowed from her mother cause Barner's expression to shift into the same expression that she remembered to happen years ago. His brows were furrowed in a boiling anger, "You are truly like your mother, the same stupid wench!"

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