The Demon’s Bride

The delight in seeing something demonic was perhaps due to his nature. While humming to a melody In a pursed lips, Ian exited the auction building to see his lawful subordinate Maroon, Alex, and the little girl crowding outside the black carriage. His scarlet eyes laid first on Elise who looked down to hold back her frightened tears while clenching to the hem of her tattered dress in front of the carriage. Why does she look that frightened? Ian asked himself in bewilderment.

A few minutes in advance, Maroon who received the order from his master's crow pet came to ready the black carriage for his Lord to use in front of the slave auction. At the time when he finally arrived, Alex the golden-haired human came with a girl who had the hair akin to him but much more brighter as though it was burning. He swept his eyes across, having his expressionless face a little confused. "Who might this girl be, young master Alex?"

"It's a long story," Alex sighed, raising his hand to rub his temple. "This is the girl that Ian bought." His words were gentle to Elise's ears. Usually, people would call her slave but the young man didn't want to call her with such a term. Maroon had gotten used to Ian's quirk and had a rather straight face after receiving the news. But the rippling curiosity didn't falter from his eyes. Maroon chose to wait and looked aside from the entrance to see Ian exiting the auction hall with his scarlet gaze at them. When Maroon notice Ian's white gloves had been drenched in claret from the blood. He pulled out a new set of gloves and presented it toward Ian who came to a stop at the black carriage with a bow.

Maroon dare not asking his master "Who is this girl" and butt into his affair and decided to wait until the Lord would speak of that matter. Instead, he recalled the gate of the town would be close near midnight and inquired a different thing. "Where would we be going, my lord?" He paused an continued, "We should go to Warine, but the road would take us there after about three days and the town's gate would be close by now."

Ian glanced at the sky colored in inky and ordered. "Find the nearest inn for us to stay for the night."

"Right away." Maroon bowed to accept his order.

"Ian, just what did you do?" Alex questioned as his eyes spotted the spattered of blood across his shirt and mask. He could feel his head swollen from new problems and chaotic matters that he would have to clean after his mess up in the Church.

Ian tossed his stained gloves to Maroon and put on the fresh gloves. "Just cleaning the bright world from sinners who harmed my little puppy."

Alex parted his mouth but nothing could come out as judging by his word he had killed the slave merchants and instead shook his head. On one hand, he supports the idea of ending the life of that damned being but couldn't agree to his method of just killing people as he loved. Yet if Turisk is still alive who knows how many lives would be destroyed as a slave. He didn't find it appropriate for himself to scold Ian when deep in his heart he agreed to his choice and gave the matter a rest.

At that moment he suddenly recalled. The Church one had an old saying that every time Ian walked out of his house, at least a life would depart from the world. As he was the lord of Warine and the person with a strong background, not even the Church could dare to do anything that would annoy him. Alex didn't have any other thing to warn and accepted his fate of being locked in his office cleaning the after matters here and there. He spoke with a resigned voice, "Before you take in the girl, you should stop your bad habit."

"Bad habit? I don't see that I have any." Ian walked toward the carriage door innocently.

"You do. Your habit of ending the lives of people who irritate you. What's this time that irate you? The whip wound. Since before you came to rage at the wound made by whips. Making me wonder if that is your trauma or something?-" Alex felt exasperated after today's ordeal, now for sure whip or whip wounds are forbidden to ever enter Ian's sight. Or else who knows what he would do next time?!

"I don't. Also, I have another reason for doing this. Can't you see? he hurt my puppy." Ian protested as he lightly pointed the diagonal wound on Elise's petite back.

Alex shifted his eyes to Elise's slender back that Ian pointed and squinted his eyes in antipathy. He knew that Elise was whipped but didn't expect it to be a very large wound. Just by thinking a little girl had to suffer from such a beating made him winced. "How distasteful. Whipping a frail little girl with such a large wound."

"They whipped my belonging." Ian corrected and Elise heard him giving another question. "Puppy, does it hurt?" Ian's words were responded with a shook from Elise's head in haste. Arian warned her to be obedient and that was what she did.

Maroon had finished attending the master and stood next to the coachman to determine which inn they would stay tonight. Ian was about to enter the black carriage after asking whether the wound hurts in a step but saw his new pet didn't move a single step. He turned his face, questioning, "What are you doing, puppy?"

Hearing his question, Alex rolled his eyes in shock and almost faint from his insensitiveness. Seeing the girl's denying the pain in her back, he suspected her to fear Ian and chose not to say the truth. But he couldn't understand how Ian could accept her words easily even though the wound looked very painful. He sighed at Ian's understanding of human's pain toleration and became the one to explain. "There's no way such a wound wouldn't hurt! In any case, we should treat her wound first and bring a doctor to see her wound." Being the only human there, he was the only person who could come up with a humanely idea and worry.

Ian took his information and rejected, "There isn't a need for that."

Alex's strong brows twitched, his eyes accusing Ian of his lack of kindness as he raged. "What do you mean "there isn't a need to do that"? I don't expect you to know pain but wound that deep hurt a great deal, alright!"

Ian brushed off the little friend's shouting and turned his head. "Puppy, come here. " He ordered with a wave of a hand. Elise heard his airy deep voice which made her shoulder lifted up to protect her body but at the same time, it made her wound more visible to Ian's eyes, making him ticking his jaw in dislike. 

Elise was scared that Ian would scream or hit her if she didn't abide by his words. Hesitantly while still gripping on the hem of her dress she walked over to the place that Ian ordered.

Ian raised his left hand and placed it over her shoulder. Elise saw him raising his hand and thought that he would hit her for a mistake that she perhaps had done. Shutting to her eyes, the little girl braced herself from the incoming pain on her cheek.

However, unlike the pain she thought she would have to endure a bright light formed from bellow her feet, glossing all her pain with its rays. Shining the red color of her into an orange sunset, in a blink, the throbbing pain on her body lessened before eventually disappearing.

As the light faded the color on Elise's blue eyes glowed in wonder. Her wounds and bruises majestically healed in a few seconds, leaving no single scar on her delicate skin. She looked around, feeling her own skin to make sure her wounds disappearing wasn't only her hopeful wish and dream. Her wound had really disappeared because of healing magic. The magic that often used by a skilled sorcerer. She was happy but notice Ian's staring at her and felt fear diffusing again on her heart.

Alex who had seen Ian's healing magic still could never get tired from watching the process. Although healing magic could be used by even a newbie sorcerer, there was no one who could do it as fast and as better as Ian.

"You can come in now, puppy." Ian beckoned her softly to the carriage which the little girl responded by trotting to the carriage. Although the man was big and seemed frightening like a looming predator, he was kind enough to heal her wound which comforted her nervous little heart. She was always used to beatings that even if someone spares her hard bread she would never forget the gratitude for that person for life. Now to her eyes, Ian's kindness had soared high to heavens.

Her wound on her back was still fresh a few minutes after when she had just been bought by Ian. Descending down the stage to the backstage, she couldn't help but wonder around her mind nervously about the masked man who bought her. His build was larger than her uncle and the people she ever met, he was even stronger than the head chief of the village who worked as a miner. If the man used his arm to beat her, Elise feared that the injury wouldn't pass on with only a bruise.

The backstage which she walked was connected to a narrow hall filled with rooms on both sides where most of the patrons and guests to the suction building rest at. One would call it to rest, but most at the time, they were tasting the new slaves that they had just bought.

Whenever Elise's little feet stepped to the wooden floor a creaking sound would come out, but what made her surprised wasn't the sounds of her footsteps but rather the screams and moaning that came from the rooms beside her.

She didn't want to pay enough attention to her surroundings in fear walked while looking at her wounded feet. At the same time, a noble lady who was chattering on the room next to her left abruptly opened the door with a strong thrust. Her body was weak and couldn't shield herself from the force, throwing her small body to the person on her left.

For the past days, Elise hadn't eaten a bite of food and if she did, it could only be counted as crumbs. She had no power and her body had been hurting all over from the bruises she received. Her quick reflex was to reach onto anything that could spare her from pain on her back.

The nobles weren't exactly forgiving especially to peasants who they deemed as a lower being akin to livestock. That was exactly the case as the woman whose dress was ripped by Elise's grip. The texture of the dress was made up of a fleece thin cloth that was mostly used as a light veil. With a light tugging with extra pressure from the fall, the dress was immediately ripped in a horizontal line.

The woman shrieked in surprise from the tearing sound bellow her waist. Seeing one of her favorite dress being torn in front of everyone, she couldn't bear the embarrassment and rage. "Do you know what you just did, you damned slave?"

Elise wasn't able to apologize as the woman had kicked her aside on her stomach with a disgusted ew and shouted again toward the slave guardsman.

"How did you teach you, slaves? Look what she did to my expensive dress!" She pointed down. To the noble lady's eyes, Elise worth less than a grain of salt to her mansion. She felt goosebumps raising from the back of her neck after something dirty and disgusting had touched her. Her eyes were red, which was not a good sign for Elise to see.

"M- My apologies young lady." The slave guardsman snapped his face to Elise and pulled the whip beside his left waist and raised to lash the girl. Elise instantly cowered in fear and raised her arms to shield her head. Burning pain followed the harsh slap sound at her back.

Tears she had been holding back glittered down the rim of her blue eyes. She bit her lower lips until blood drizzled down to her chin to muffle her sobbings so that the man wouldn't whip her once again.

The woman crossed her hand and humped. "Apologies? Do you think with apologies my dress could be fixed?! Even if all of you sell your life, you wouldn't be able to fix my dress!"

The slave guardsman glared again at Elise before looking back at the noblewoman in an apologetic bow. "I will teach the slave properly, as an apology, you could take a slave without any payment."

"Forget it, why would I buy one after seeing such a thing?!"

Although her rage couldn't be stopped that easily, her anger was half satisfied after seeing Elise whipped by the man. She swept her hair from her shoulder to turn back to the long chalky corridor and looked at her servant before raging again. "What are you waiting for? Prepare the carriage!"

"R- R- Right away, young mistress Collin..." The young mistress saw the stupid maid stuttering and clicked her tongue thrice in annoyance as she left the auction building.

"Get up!" The guardsman ordered to which was responded swiftly by Elise staggering to stand up while covering her thumping heart.

Her body was in pain, but the pain from the whip felt unbearably painful for her. Her body was trembling and fever had shot up her temperature, but the girl who had been living in fear didn't notice it.

The shouting across the hall and moans made her legs wobbly as though it was stopping her to walk on. Elise's blue eyes looked down at her collar. She couldn't do anything now, although her little mind had formed ways to escape from the sorcerer who would use her as a sacrifice, with the collars attached on her, she would die before she could escape.

After the incident which brought her with a wounded back to Ian, she felt even frightened to enter the carriage and stood while clenching the hem of her ragged dress. Her mind could only thing that the beautiful carriage in front of her eyes would soon become her last ride in her short life. But when she knew how kind this person seemed, she let her guard down a little and obediently trotted to the carriage.