♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱Flowers. There were flowers everywhere, yellow flowers that looked too fresh and then - my eyes opened."Asmodeus?" I called, but since the afternoon of three days ago, the prince had simply disappeared after telling me he had personal things to deal with.Was he back? Well... it was common for him to come back in the middle of the night, but when I looked around my room - there was nothing."Asmodeus?" I called again "it’s no fun playing at this hour" I muttered "I’m sleepy."No answer, not even a breath and then I realized - there was really something, but not in my room but in front of my door.I took a deep breath.I didn’t want to get up, my bed was warm and my body was finally relaxed after so many with a bad night’s rest."If it’s you Asmodeus, I swear I’ll cut you to pieces" I murmured more to myself than to him and to my surprise, it was Elaine.The messy hair, the wrinkled and messy clothes. She was wearing only a white sweater that went below the knee -
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱"Daddy! Daddy! Do you think Asra will like these flowers?" Loren asked me for the thousandth time and all I could do was smile as he leaned on my shoulder and let the doctor put that gigantic needle in his little arm.It should hurt.It must have hurt a lot and in those moments I would give everything to be me in your place, but like all other things present in my life - I could not change it just by wanting."Yes, I think she will," I said while holding his pale little hand. He had three flowers there, a wild lily, a dandelion and a camellia.Smile.If he knew what those flowers meant, maybe he wouldn’t have picked them so perfectly."Should I get others? I think she’d like that little pink flower..." he said as his fingers moved almost nervously."Loren, she’s gonna love the ones you already picked, don’t you trust Daddy?"He stared at me, his eyes fixed on mine."But... Dad said he wasn’t very good at picking gifts..." he said so sincerely that I
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱"Calisto is coming back" I said as I put Zaniel’s letter on the breakfast table and even without looking at Elaine, I could feel her surprise."Ah..." she released "is... is it good?"I put my face in one hand.Was she really asking me that?"Depends on the point of view" I mocked "at him? I don’t think so, he spent so much time in Lucifer’s territory that the paperwork piled up" I said and even though he was mocking, it was the truth."Hummm..." she just mumbled as she threw the poor piece of orange that was left on her plate from side to side.What was with her? A few weeks ago she was asking about Callisto... so why did she look disappointed?"Madam" one of the maids called me and when I looked at her, there was someone right behind "Duke Balthazar came to see her."Baltazar.Asra received the title of duchess for valid reasons if you took into account everything you did during the war, but it was Balthazar who had to deal with 99% of the bureaucracy.Only after
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱"What did you say?""A ball."I blinked and Azrael snorted sitting on the leather sofa in the corner."A dance? But what the fuck..." grumbled the fallen "I was not enough all this work, right?"I faced Azrael, but I couldn’t say he was wrong.The balls were exhausting."Whose damn idea was this gerico?" the fallen asked and Zaniel held his laughter "Baltazar is settling Asra’s affairs again?""Actually..." Zaniel stared at me "Balthazar became duke after indications from the duchess and soon after... she assumed all her duties."Smile.I expected this to happen and although I didn’t expect it to be so soon - it was good to know that Asra was finally taking the reins in relation to her work, but... what did it have to do with the prom?As if reading my mind, Azrael grumbled."And what the fuck does that have to do with prom?""Well..." Zaniel smiled "it was the duchess who decided she would throw a ball. A ball at the beginning of winter to receive
♱ • 1750 B.C. • ♱When the cafe closed, Elaine’s eyes were fixed on me."So... will we have a dance?" she asked me bluntly, but it was obvious that her question was another.'So... do I have to go?'Smile."Yes" I said simply "we will have a ball and as much as everyone is informed as a ball by the return of the king, you will be our main star."She froze.His face became pale."Oh, I just...""I don’t want to" I could read in your mind, in your eyes.That was definitely a very different reaction to what she had had in the book.Elaine from the book became cheerful and alive when she learned about the dance that different from now - it was celebrated in the summer. It was a beautiful ball with cheerful decorations and lively music, it was a ball full of life, a ball that matched the graceful air and the vivacity of the saint.A dance made for her.Elaine had been so happy with that dance that she smiled even when Azrael made her train again and again so that she knew all the dance s
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Asmodeus ⋅• ♱Three steps, two and one.My fingers snapped and the guard fell asleep.Callisto should not yet know that I was there - if he knew, he would never leave Lucifer’s private library unprotected like that."You’re a terrible person," my private demon kept saying, "Are you really gonna break into a near-dead library?"Smile.Almost dead? Lucifer was fine, would be fine. She had the heart of a phoenix after all. It wasn’t like something silly was going to kill her, it definitely wasn’t going to happen."I am" I stated as I passed over the body "I am a heartless, heartless monster."The mockery in my voice was too obvious."You’re hopeless," he complained, but I didn’t care at all.If that little being meant to offend me, he’d have to try a lot harder."Găsește pentru mine ceea ce vreau cu adevărat" the enchantment came out of my lips and the whole room looked like a grey sea in my eyes, but there, amidst all that monotony - he was. A book shining in gold
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Loren ⋅• ♱Daffodils uncle had said and when I looked in the book with beautiful illustrations that dad had given me, I found a great picture of how the flower looked.A flower with six petals, in its center, was like a cup full of dots.It was beautiful, very beautiful, but the book said they were yellow and white."Hummm..." sighed "I’m sure I’ve seen this flower before..." I muttered and my "nanny" waiting in the corner smiled."What is it, young master?""I... I don’t remember where the daffodils were" I muttered "and also... had yellow daffodils? I don’t really remember them... but I saw them, I swear I saw them!""Yellow?" Abbadon, the lady of the demons smiled "who knows, young master? Want to take another walk in the garden to collect flowers? Maybe we’ll find your daffodils."I blinked.Dad had said that I should not go out, he said that while we were at Aunt Lucifer’s house I should behave and Riel said that Dad would cry if I went to see the flowers a
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Elaine ⋅• ♱Asra had said she would teach me to dance, but a part of me didn’t believe it. Still, there she was.The hair stuck in a ponytail, light clothes and heel boots.That made her tall, two inches taller and it was enough that I had to look up to face her."Are you ready?" she asked staring at me and I nodded affirmatively as I approached.I remembered how Azrael had taught me (after all I relived those classes again and again, so many times that I knew how to complete them, even if I had my eyes closed).First it would be posture, then we would see my movements and then..."Elaine?" she stared at me with one hand outstretched.I blinked totally surprised."I-I-I...""We’re going to dance" she said smiling and when my fingers touched her, Asra pulled me close and the music started.Ah! It wasn’t the same song.It wasn’t the same.This time we danced all over the place, she spun me again and again, smiling as she watched me dance, as she watched me hum and
♱ •⋅ 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