The Demon’s Bride

The woman gulped. She rejoiced when she saw it was a child that had found her, believing that like the children in humans' world, it would be easy to trick him and escape. But the children of Hell was much different from the ones she knew. 

Beelzebub was definitely young in her eyes but he was sly, much crueler, and also hold a twisted morale which humans couldn't comprehend due to their humanely beliefs.

"But it won't be fair if only I who receive the answer to my questions. I can offer you a help, miss," he offered. 

The woman was wary with what offer Beelzebub prepared in his mind but regardless, she nodded her head. 

"If you manage to amuse me for this one week, I promise to show you the way out of this house without telling anyone," Beelzebub could see the woman's eyes instantly brightened. "But remember I only want to know things that are interesting in the human world. Imagine you have a hundred score, and the more you give me things that bore me, I will slowly decrease your score."

"When it hits zero," whispered the woman as she shuddered. 

"I will have no more use of you," Beelzebub replied honestly. "You seem to be bleeding. Better patch it up as I can't talk with beings that have no more soul."

The next morning, the lady of the house came back to the mansion after an evening party. Slowly taking off her scarf and placing it aside, she looked toward the housekeeper servant who had a protruding horn from his forehead.

"Where's my naughty son? Is he doing another mischievous act of his?" The lady questioned to find her son, Beelzebub.

The servant looked troubled, "The young master had been in his room since the morning."

"He had been in his room?" His mother asked with a look of disbelief. "Are you sure about that? That child will either be on the roof of this house or under the water well."

"Yes, your lady ship. The young master had been in his room after breakfast and had never came out since," the servant replied, looking as confused as the lady of the house.

From the corner of the house to the small animals that lives between the cracks of the walls, everyone knew the endless mischief that Beelzebub always done but that one day particularly, he had been doing nothing but stay in his house which should be impossible.

"I will go and check him," the lady quickly spoke, worried that something might have happened to her son as this had never occurred before, not even once in a blue moon. 

As she rushed up to his room, the lady opened the door without a knock. Her red eyes then falling to Beelzebub who was reading a book while his body hung upside down on the curtain hanger which he had modified to be a place for him to rest himself in a bat-like position.

Beelzebub's eyes widened and at once he closed his book to look at his mother. "Mother?"

The lady looked at the book he read. It wasn't unusual for Beelzebub to read book as the boy was a one curious being who would want to know about everything and anything around him. However, he would usually sacrifice his sleep to do so while spending all the hours in the morning and afternoon to his strange and questionable antics.

"I heard you have been in your room the entire day?" The lady questioned, moving to sit on her son's bed.

Beelzebub smirked, "I don't usually run around either, mother."

"Maybe but you will also spend your time doing questionable actions which you claim to be experiments," his mother's eyes sharply looked at him and Beelzebub would be honest to say how his mother's eyes made him nervous as it feel as though she could see through him.

"I feel that I should stop doing that," Beelzebub lied and his mother seemed to caught up on it and he added, "For now. I am quite bored of teasing the servants and there's nothing that I can experiment inside the house."

"Hm," his mother sang, "Now I understand you are not doing anything at this moment but there is indeed something you are hiding underneath your sleeve, don't you? Is this your way of requesting to leave the house?"

"I can't?" Beelzebub questioned with one eyebrow raised. His golden hair hanging down looked like spikes as he continue to stay on his upside down position. 

"There had been problem in the abyss and as you know the greater the problem in the abyss it would echo to Hell. In either a good way or a bad way," his mother explained.

Beelzebub jumped down and walked to sit next to his mother. "A problem in the abyss? What kind? Father's work also circles around the abyss is this the reason why he had been absent from home?"

"Yes. There was a soul who left abyss and stole something they shouldn't have. The death angels are furious and their anger is affecting the location of abyss in which your father is overseeing," his mother explained. 

Beelzebub frowned, "What kind of item did that soul stole? Are they a demon?"

"They weren't a demon and what they stole was, the key to the afterlife book. The afterlife book is the book which hold the name of souls which would be reincarnated to the mortal world again as a reward for their previous life's action or pity from the misfortunes they have to suffer in their previous life."

"That doesn't make sense," Beelzebub interrupted. "Why do the death angels and the abyss would be in a chaos? It's only a key but the book which is important should still be within them."

His mother shook her head, her blonde hair glowing, "Without the key, we wouldn't be able to open the book. It is similar to having a house but no key."

"And they do not have anyone to forge another key?" 

"As the key was given by God it would be impossible. It appears that soul is also a human but was able to take life of a death angels and other demons who were guarding the border of abyss. They are extremely dangerous; therefore, your father would like it if you stay at home."

Beelzebub frowned and flop down to the bed, "That's not fun! I have been staying at home for three months. I cannot handle staying here again. I might have to plan for a new idea to stay in this home."

"But you have been avoiding to be bad," his mother pointed out. 

"That has changed. Father haven't lifted up my punishment to visit the garden every time and I don't have enough place to be free. Therefore, I have to plan for something that could keep me far from boredom."

"The garden?" His mother recalled the time when Beelzebub had caused the mischief from one that was only silly and naughty to the ones that could have done damage to a person's life. Slowly, the pace of his mischievousness raise the older he became.

Recalling how his last action caused the servants to be hanging on thread of almost falling into a living lava river, the woman gave up. "I will persuade your father to lift his punishment."

"You would?!" Beelzebub's eyes brightened widely. 

"But remember to not cause any troubles for this whole month. Only this whole month, do you understand? Remember that if your father hear of your excellent behavior, I am certain he would give you a better reward."

"I will!" Beelzebub jumped down from his bed. "So I can leave to the garden now?"

"Be careful when handling Fiona, even though she is our pet if she is angered, you know she wouldn't let it away by a simple bite," his mother warned but Beelzebub had ran away from the room, making his way quickly to the door.

"I will!" 

When Beelzebub had left, his mother walked and stopped when she saw the housekeeper. "It seemed his interest is now revolving in the garden. I am not certain if he would be creating another mischief, keep an eye whenever he left the garden and try to find out his reason to be intrigued by the garden."

"Madame, I heard that children would slowly became mature and it is extremely faster to the children of Hell. Perhaps he has slowly understand how to fill his curiosity without hurting or bothering anyone near him."

"I hope that is the case," the lady then made her way to the window, sighing, "The weather is still terrible. Send me a letter to my husband now."

Beelzebub, on the other hand, dashed toward the garden. When he saw the greenhouse, his smile widened. Opening the door, he could sense the human woman flinch in fear. 

Her clothes now that he looked at it was stained by blood and it seemed that since his absent she had been tending her wound across her stomach and leg. With her leg wounded, she wasn't able to run when he chased her the other day but even without her legs being wounded, she would still be slow, thought Beelzebub to himself.

"Do you have plenty of rest?" Beelzebub questioned.. "I don't want you to die unplanned."