The Demon’s Bride

With the help of shadows, Elise didn't lose William even when he got out of her sight for a few times. She was absorbed with following him that when she comes into it, the street had been empty and she was moving out of the market to a village. 

Elise looked around, wondering where is she and scolded herself for moving without thinking but she felt like she had to and if push come to shove, she had trust on her power and there was Ian to help her. She continue to follow the shadow's direction, climbing a rather steep hill and was greeted with spreader blanket of green on both sides of the road she took. There was only a single tree around the place with the rest being greeneries and the shadow stopped when they reached into a gate of a village.

Elise questioned where she was and looked at the top of the gate to see the name of the village, "Bernavilles village," she whispered to herself. The shadow then came to her, "Is he inside?"

"Milady... we lost him there..." answered the shadow with a slight fearful tone.

"Thank you," Elise told the shadow who was relieved that Elise wasn't angry as they failed to do her biddings and she entered the gate of the village, entering the place and her eyes turned left and right to see where she was. Her surrounding was colored in orange as the once blue sky had dipped slowly to the horizon. The village was serene but at the same time empty if Elise had to say it for herself regardless of the rich amount of houses that filled the village.

People barely pass and only a few did but they were people who were old in age. There was only one gate and no back gate she could see which mean William must still be around the place. Elise decide to scout the village when someone took her wrist. Startled, Elise turned her eyes to meet an older woman whose back was scrunched, "Miss, are you a guest here?" The woman asked, her voice trembling due to age.

Elise offered the older woman a smile, "Yes, I am searching for someone," and she took the opportunity to ask, "He is my little brother. Have you seen a young boy this tall with bright golden hair?" she asked while raising her hand to her waist.

The older woman creased her brows to pull her memories, answering after a while, "I am not sure if I have seen someone like that. If it is a younger boy then I should remember him well. How long had it been since he entered this village?"

"It must not been too long yet, around five minutes ago or less, I think," Elise informed the older woman with hope that faltered when the woman shook her head.

"I have been standing here for more than twenty minutes but I didn't see him, are you sure this is the village he went to?" Elise wanted to say yes but then the shadow lost him here and she knew it wasn't because her shadows were lacking in skill as they were powerful but rather whoever was posing as William noticed them and had successfully shaken their railing. She then heard the woman speak again, "You must be new in here, so I suggest you not to linger for too long in here, young missy."

Elise blinked in response. The older woman's words were hushed as if she feared someone would overhear their conversation and she found it strange, people doesn't usually speak about their own village like the older woman did by warning them and telling them not to stay for long, "Is there a reason why I shouldn't, ma'am?" Elise asked politely.

"It seems you don't know about this village. Once in the past half of this village as flattened down, twice actually. The first one happens so long ago that most people had forgotten it but the stories had been told from generations to the generation that I hardly can forget about it. It was about a Demon who came here."

"Demon?" Elise questioned in surprise, and she was responded by a slow nod by the elderly woman.

"The Demon was in rage. Apparently someone had killed a person of his family, causing half of the village to be destroyed to nothingness. It was perhaps around a thousand year ago? The story is so famous within this village that although that much years have passed since the incidents, we cannot forget it and kept telling the younger ones about it, I heard about it from my great grandmother as well," the elderly woman then looked around the village that had Elise to follow her gaze, "The Demon was then said to be restrained by some people and was brought away but it is a matter of a thousand year ago the people whom have seen it had died too; no one can say if the tale is true or if it was a fable. The second one maybe happened a century ago."

"Because of a Demon?" While humans, and mythical beings held most power, reason, and possibilities to attack the village, and so does the dark sorcerers, Elise couldn't shake the thought that a Demon came again to destroy the village as it had happened once before.

"No this time it was different, it was about a certain Lord who came and slaughtered the villagers here, the reason is unknown and little was known about it but apparently it was one of the Lord of the five lands. So many had died and lives were lost." Elise was surprised because the village was still in Warine's land which was under Ian's management for over nine hundred of years and knowing him, he wouldn't let such incident to take place. Which one of the five lord land had came to murder the villagers? For what reason?

"Not a great memory to be think of but since then people claimed that when they stepped to this village bad luck would latch upon them. I hope that you won't every experience any, missy. I would be saddened to see such a lovely girl like you get hurts," said the elderly woman with a gentle smile which Elise returned and the woman left not soon after, before leaving she then turned and added, "Although I didn't see a young boy, there was a few people coming to this village. If I am not mistaken they went to that house."

Elise snapped her eyes to the house that was pointed and she made sure to thank the elderly woman before making her way around the house. As the elderly woman told her about people, she doubted there was only a single person and came carefully around the house to see who they were. Making her way from the side of the house, Elise snuck out her head to see a black carriage that was small and driven by only one horse left there, only two people could come inside the carriage. 

She looked around, trying to find the people and possibly William around when all of a sudden a hand shifted weigh on her shoulders, starling her, "Sweetheart, mind telling me what you are doing here, alone? How sneaky."