♱ • 1750 B.C • ♱ Unfortunately things seemed to make more and more sense, as if one little piece could finally fit the other and all I had left was a damn puzzle practically complete. In the end I had not left so much time to think, after all if Azrael really was a traitor, he would act again. If he were really serving his God - he would try to bring Elaine to the third territory. A part of me refused to believe it, to believe that Azrael had not only deceived Callisto and Elaine - but also me and all the readers who considered him someone incredible. But in the end it wasn’t a reality? Fictional characters tend to be exactly what we want as we read and throw our expectations at them. Maybe... the fact that I liked Azrael so much blinded me initially to the truth that was so clear in front of my eyes. In the end, Azrael had no reason to hate Asra and yet he hated her even within the novel, even before the concubine began stalking Elaine. Even before Asra committed her greatest si
♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱ It took a few hours to convince Asmodeus, but when I gave up talking to him and worried about doing what I had to do, he soon approached and stood more in the corner, watching. It was like a little child watching an adult work. A child of thousands of years and superhuman powers. I sighed and gently crouched in front of a child. She had her face completely dirty and so many bruises by her little body that I wondered if they were caused by mistreatment or simply by trying to stay alive. The child looked at me and it was obvious to me the doubt in his face. It was like a frightened kitten who was not sure whether or not he could accept the food. "It’s OK" I said "we were..." I stopped. I was going to say that I was sent by the king, but for those people, who were attacked in the name of Callisto, it would be like raising a red flag when saying his name, so I lied. "See that young man" I said extending his hand towards Asmodeus who was standing about 2 meters fro
♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱ "So?" I smiled and the little girl who was now clinging to a piece of bread looked suspicious at me and then to Asmodeus who did not even try to appear friendly. "Humm..." the girl bit the bread like a hungry animal "I..." She swallowed it hard. "I was too skinny..." she muttered as if feeling guilty "I..." "Say, dear..." I said trying to encourage. "I..." Asmodeus sighed. "Speak at once, child," he said squatting in front of her "what was it about you being thin?" I felt like hitting him for treating a little girl like that, but at that moment - I just couldn’t. The girl bit her mouth off by cutting her own lip. "They said I was too skinny and that... it didn’t serve as tribute" she muttered "so... they took my sister." My chest is heavy. "Your... your sister?" She nodded and Asmodeus snitched. "They weren’t wrong, you really are very thin." "I... know" she muttered as if feeling even more guilty after hearing from Asmodeus that those who took her sis
♱ • 1750 B.C • ♱ "I knew" he said as I entered my room and felt my body tremble. What exactly had he known? Asmodeus had told Callisto about Azrael? No, it could not be that, after all if this was the case he would not have entered so quietly in my room. He wouldn’t just be sitting there. "Do you think they’ll catch the culprits?" he asked and breathed relieved, he was talking about the village. I settled. "Yes, but... first we have to clear your image" I said stretching "they soiled your name as they tried to soil Lucifer’s honor." Calisto just shook his head. "I heard from Azrael." Sure, I thought. When I blew his plans, he had to tell me. What would he do if Callisto only found out for me? Or worse, what would he do if I found out everything and told Callisto? He needed an excuse, he needed a way to hide and at the same time look useful. Azrael was really someone smart. "So?" I asked as I loosened my hair, "What did you think? I was thinking about visiting the place aga
♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱ At some point I just fell asleep and when I woke up hours later, he was not in my room and much less next to me. There was no sign of Callisto’s existence. I got up, did not have much to do in my bed and honestly was not so tired after sleeping for so many hours. So I arranged my hair in braids and wore the lightest dress in Asra’s wardrobe. A dark green, pulled to the emerald. It was as if I had come out of a fairy tale, had such delicate embroidery that seemed almost surreal. I didn’t know where Callisto was, but I knew that now that it was night, Loren would probably be in the library, so I headed there. But to my complete surprise, there was the sound of low laughter coming from the office. "No! Dad! You promised!" Someone said between laughs and when I realized, was leaning the door practically entering the place. "Asra!" The voice of Loren and Callisto mingled as they called me in unison, made me smile and then I simply pushed the doors into place "did y
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Asmodeus ⋅• ♱"How long will you continue in this theater?" the voice questioned and all I could do was sigh.I hated trying harder and hated it even more when they tried to push me."This is none of your business" I replied by supporting my ankle at the knee and swinging my foot like a careless child "I have time, time is something I never lack, have you forgotten?"I heard him mumble."By the holy elders! What’s so fun about it? Am? You already know how it ends" the voice insisted and her insistence was beginning to irritate me "this is already what? The 8th time?"I settled."To be exact? Yes, the 8th time Callisto is killed at the hands of the one he loves," I mocked."So why don’t you help him?" he asked angrily and it made me laugh.It was obvious that my actions made him more and more possessed and that was why I had so much fun."You can only be trying to piss me off" the voice murmured as if it was trying to talk seriously to a child, but well, this wasn
♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱"Thank you" I heard Callisto say leaning the door when Loren was asleep in his bed, the pink quartz eyes stared at me as if trying to understand at what point I had begun to change.Would he be very surprised if he found out that Asra had not changed? If I found out the whole truth, starting with all that being a novel in my world?"No need to thank me" I spoke with one hand on his shoulder "even if he has to suffer so much, Loren is a lovely child and anyone who can be near him is a very lucky being."Callisto nodded, but his lips arched briefly."But... I thought I hated children" he provoked me and closed my eyes tightly.Asra really hated children and specifically the son of Callisto who "took" all the emperor’s free time, but as far as I remembered, Asra also hated the poor, the weak and those who were not born with talents. She could be many things, but someone kind and gifted with great empathy was not one of them, so I forced a smile."I don’t think I hate the
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱"What’s up?" The crimson eyes asked me as he lay in my bed "have you thought what we’ll do?"I raised one of my eyebrows."Shall we go?"Asmodeus shot me with his eyes."Yes, we will or are you trying to shut me out just when it’s about to get fun? I refuse! You even used my name on that... Thing to help people" he said and the disdain in his voice was too obvious. Too sharp.It was good that we were dealing with treason, because if that were a problem to solve the unpopularity of Asmodeus - we would be completely fucked. And certainly not in the good way."So?" He raised one of his eyebrows, hoping I would answer him - because he wanted an answer and one that would please him.I sighed.I was scared to death of Asmodeus a few days ago, but now? I couldn’t see that demon as anything but a little child who desperately needed attention.The only problem was that I didn’t have time to play house with Asmodeus and give him the attention he wanted. Not while I wasn’t su
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Azrael ⋅• ♱I watched her without realizing it, watched until the sun was setting and the barrier surrounding Samael’s plan was thinner, until the rune fragment she sent me was strong enough to enter."Don’t be an idiot," I remembered as my wings throbbed, "there’s no room for kindness, not after all you’ve done, don’t be such a hypocrite".I swallowed hard and a smile easily appeared on my lips when I crossed. It was like a fog touching my skin, a comfortable cold, a feeling I had missed even without realizing it.What the hell was I thinking? What was going on with me?I closed my eyes tightly, but my wings just beat, just took me there, to that breathless breath and that smile that could be felt in her voice when she called me."Azrael!" His arms wrapped around my neck and... had they always been so warm?"I thought you couldn’t come..." whispered her face down to my neck, I could feel her lips arched into a smile "okay? Did you get hurt getting past the barri
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Azrael ⋅• ♱The child began to be able to move gradually, in a way that was still a little time consuming and different from his usual, from the child who ran around and insisted so much to have his little body in that garden.His speech had returned too, his voice was less guttural, more understandable and a smile that was not painful could be seen, one that was not put on that face just because of the melancholy of Callisto."Look! You can move your arms better now" the quartz eyes were flickering as you said that as something equivalent to Loren’s first steps, as if that was some kind of novelty that should be celebrated with various gifts and a party "how is your breathing? Something still burns?" tried to caress that small face as if it was something that would break by any slip on his part.Loren was now like a valuable piece of porcelain, one that could not risk being damaged after being restored."I’m fine, Dad..." the child’s voice was still low when to
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱"I like stars," he said while playing with a pearl between my fingers "I like how they look, how they’re bright and beautiful. I like purple, I like how the sun in this world is red, even though here where Samael lives he looks different."Keir smiled, his hands still playing by my hair."What else?" asked me with her face resting on my thighs."I like salty foods, slightly spicy, bittersweet and especially the dessert that the boss of the mansion always makes." The one that looks like jelly with syrup."Pudding? ' She asked me smiling from the corner and I nodded."That’s right, pudding.""Um, um, uh...""I also like pretty dresses, braided hair, flat shoes, delicate swords..." I continued to list "I like hardcover books and slow songs.""And old scrolls? You live surrounded by them" Keir joked, his lips arched in a mischievous smile that made my heart beat."Silly" I hit with my fingertips on his nose."I know, I know" gave up "continue... what els
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Quinn ⋅• ♱His arms wrapped around my body and then everything seemed to be fine.I no longer felt the blood, nor the weight of the souls that I plucked, that I hurt."Everything will be fine" he repeated as a melodic song and if it was Calisto who told me those things... I naturally believed."How can you not like it here?" I asked as I stared at that landscape, the sky, the grass that resembled a red foliage. The stars that always shone in the sky almost always cloudy.Calisto snorted."I don’t know..." he said sincerely "maybe... I just can’t see the beauty of hell when I didn’t have you by my side."A twinge struck my chest, a twinge of happiness and hope."Fool" I mocked wrapping my arms around his neck.I loved that being.He loved his color-changing eyes, loved his foolish way of thinking that the world was more beautiful outside of hell. He loved the way the rebellious waves of black hair he had struggled to unravel around his delicate face.I loved the
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱I could not sleep.My eyes weighed and weighed, but I could not sleep - because there, in my arms -, there was a fragile being who did not seem able to open his eyes again.Whenever everything was cloudy and sleep pulled me down, I saw myself awakening in fright and looking at him.Checking.Checking to see if he was still alive, if he was still breathing.It was every day, every second - more complicated to watch, to watch."You should rest," Azrael told me one night, his eyes sharply in pain as he stared at the child, my child."How?" I heard myself ask, Loren’s sleeping face was so pale I had to put my fingers close to her nostrils to make sure he was still alive."Samael is good" he said hoping to console me, but it didn’t work.How would it work?"Then why haven’t we heard from you?" I practically growled, my hands closed in fists, tears burning in my eyes "I sent letters and more letters... I... I did everything I could... I DEMANDED answers a
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Asmodeus ⋅• ♱"Asmodeus is a great...""This time it’s going to work," I said ignoring the voice of that damn demon in my earring as I focused on that crystal, that crystal I was able to form from Quinn’s blood."You’ve been repeating this since...""Shut up" growled tearing the earring from my ear and throwing it at the wall.I wasn’t in the mood to be careful about whether or not I could hurt him or even break his prison.I was just tired.I wanted to see her."It needs to work" I muttered as I imbued more and more magic in that little crystal "work, work..." I kept repeating, as if somehow that was a stupid mantra - strong enough to make everything work; but nothing could be easy when it was for me, right?Nothing worked as it should.I bit my mouth hard, the fangs thrust into my lip until a sliver of blood came down my chin.I couldn’t see her, I couldn’t be with her or protect her. I couldn’t go to her even though time was passing and yet, the least I was a
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Loren ⋅• ♱My eyes weighed, my belly looked strange and at times it was like floating in my own body.I could feel my father’s affection as he tried to talk and distract me, but now even opening his mouth was a complicated task."It’s going to be okay" he repeated and at that point I already knew he was saying it more to himself than to me."I know" I wanted to answer while smiling, but my mouth did not move, in fact, opening my eyes was already a gigantic effort, so I was content to grunt and hold her hand.It wasn’t a squeeze, I couldn’t even call it anything but touch. A soft, almost nonexistent touch that my father should be questioning if it was real.He was sad, wasn’t he? Abbadon should also be, but after I started sleeping more than 17 hours a day, she was no longer there, just Dad.A version of Dad who stared at me with a red face from crying."Do you want to hear a story?" He asked me with a broken voice and I forced myself to smile, forced my face to
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Samael ⋅• ♱I blinked."What was it?" she asked me as she sat in the armchair and the red-eyed duchess stared at me with an raised eyebrow."I did not expect... the two" I spoke sincerely, after all the agreement I had made with Elaine was already a clear way to make the duchess calmer with all that; even so, the sharp gaze of Asra shot me as if my mere mention of her being there was an offense. Maybe it was the result of years on the battlefield, but I knew when I wasn’t able to win a war, so I sighed winning "but since you’re here..." I muttered indicating with one hand to the armchairs - sit down."Where will you start?" Asra questioned, the red hair falling with perfectly braided waves on her back, the sharp eyes staring at me and looking for any sign of flickering in my attitudes or decisions."I’ve been thinking about tears..." I said remembering Quinn, the way he had acted.Since that day, the bastard did not even give me a mere sign of life and Callisto’
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱Samael did as he said he would, but from the day we arrived at the camellia mansion - a name given by Keir, since the garden was full of camellias -, I did not even see the slightest sign of the priest’s existence, but now, when morning came by the door of our house.The huge smile on his face made me question my own sanity as he said - what was sweet? If you keep looking at me like that, I’m gonna think you don’t like my presence.I opened my mouth to confirm that assumption, but I chose not to."Just... I thought it was too early for you to be here," I lied and apparently that wasn’t one of my best lies, as he just smiled as he drank his tea."Early? We have a lot to study, especially if we want the child to experience one of my theses before dying."I swallowed it hard."Is he... very ill?"Samael laughed quietly."Does it really matter to you?"'No' I realized as I pressed the skirt of my dress between my fingers.My concern for Loren... was mini