The Demon’s Bride

When Elise entered the room, she first noted the very large bed that was set in the middle of the room. She took off her shoes and took light steps to the fluffy rug before falling to the fluffy bed. Her head was filled with the deal she had made with her grandfather. It had been said that one thing that a person should never done in their life was to sign a contract with the devil but Elise had done the exact taboo which everyone had warned her not to.

Now alone, she tried to veer her own attention from the loneliness she felt. Now that Ian wasn't with her, Elise noticed how she spend most of her time less alone and always staying beside Ian. Both of them love the company of one another and for them to be separated it was their very first time. But this time, it wasn't a simple separation. 

Ian has died...

Elise closed shut her eyes and as if it wasn't died, she placed her arm over her eyes. 

She tried not to think but by thinking so she could only feel her wound and the void inside her heart dig deeper. The loneliness she felt numbed her and she curled her body like a child in need of warmth.

It was still yesterday that Elise could smell his scent, the warm and loving scent. But now it was all gone. Only by closing her eyes can Elise see Ian and sometimes she scared herself by wondering what if soon her memories of him would fade.

She questioned herself if this was what Ian felt.

A silver drops lined her cheeks from underneath her arm, "I thought I have dried my tears," murmured Elise to herself.

Elise closed her eyes, falling to sleep as her body was more tired than her mind perceived. When she woke up, Elise tried to find what time it was but the sky of Hell remain black all the time. She can only use the help of the small clock on the top of the fireplace to note that she had been sleeping for four hours.

Strange... where was her father? He should have come or did she slept too well that she didn't notice him? But that's impossible considering how she was a light sleeper who would immediately work up at the sound of knocking doors...

Curious, Elise made her way toward the door and slipped her feet inside her boots before reaching out her hand, opening the door. She expected to see the corridor of the castle yet instead, she had only found an empty room after her own room.

Elise almost wondered if she was too deep into her sleep and if she was still inside her dreaming. Because she was certain that when she opened the door there should have been the hallway. Yet now, she can't see anything but another room where the place was darker than her room as the torches was left extinguished.

Slowly Elise stepped forward to the room only to hear the door behind her close involuntarily.

"Who is there?" Elise raised her voice which echoed as it hits the edges of the closed space room. "I won't show mercy if you keep on hiding."

Although it was a little, Elise could feel the presence of a person near her. Both her eyes narrowed when she sensed someone coming from her left side. There was no sound of footsteps but she could feel the person's presence.

Elise tried not to move, pretending to not sense the person until she felt them close enough to reach out her hand. She clawed to take the person's limb only for her to caught on nothing but air.

Confused, Elise tried to follow the person by opening the door of the room when she was back in her own room, standing in front of the door when a knock rang again on her door.

This had her frown and Elise pulled her hand to her head. Was she dreaming?

No, it was too surreal to be called as one. Elise didn't think she was dreaming or cursed by voodoo doll once again. The person who came for her was a mystery but she wondered if earlier wasn't a doing of another person but herself— her own power.

Elise knew her power was similar to an unexplored land. There were still lots of things she knew she could do but still wasn't knowledgeable enough to know how to utilizes them.

As she opened the door, she expected to see her father but instead it was Orias. Elise stared blankly at the servant with a short bow, the latter answered with a deeper bow. 

"Your Highness the King is awaiting for your arrival in the hall," Orias politely said with a smile to lighten the move that had worked badly.

"It had only been three hours," Elise reminded.

"Three hours?" Orias took out his watch where there was another seven small clock al riding his pocket watch. "I suppose it had actually been more then five hours. His majesty wish you to come to his throne room."

Elise wondered what her grandfather have to do by calling her. Stepping out of the room, Elise nodded at Orias. "What is grandfather doing?" She asked while walking down the corridors. 

Deep in her heart, she hoped that nothing happened to her father who was surveying the underground as he hadn't came back. When the she arrived to the throne room, while wondering what happened, Elise we met with the demons who was standing inside the room all in different creature shapes whose eyes were all in unison bright red.

When they saw Elise, she could feel how all their gazes size up her entire body, noting her limbs not in a way that was inappropriate. Instead, it was similar to how a hawk tries to analyze its prey.

In this case, Elise knew she was the prey but faced with the demons, she held her chin high because unlike others, she remember she is the Princess of Hell.