Chapter 1
You know, life is a strange thing. At one moment you’re enjoying the peaceful warmth and laughter with your family and at the other peace has turned into chaos and warmth and laughter replaced with coldness and crying. That’s how my life turned out. How did it turn out this way? It just went so fast, one moment I was in the garden together with my sister and now? Now I was in the castle of the demon king.
It was five days ago when everything in my life changed. You see, I'm a witch. My mother and sister are as well and my father and brother are warlocks. Our coven is not that big. It mainly contains my family and maybe six others. There used to be more, but they either left to start their own or they ended up killed. Lately there were a lot of attacks on witch and warlock covens, which is why our coven also dwindled in numbers so much. We have been attacked before and five days ago it happened again.
My sister and I were in the garden. Talking, laughing, fighting, like sisters do. Then we heard someone yell in the distance. By now we knew what was happening, we were being attacked again. Mother called us inside in a panic.
“Elvira, Lucisius, Marcella get in now!”
We didn't hesitate for a moment and ran inside. Father was already grabbing everything he needed.
“Whatever you do, stay inside. Especially you Elvira. Stay inside and hide.” he told us. I wasn't happy about that at all.
“But I want to help dad. Please, I'm old enough now.” I tried to plead with him but he was having none of it. He simply told me no and went on his way with our mother.
I wanted to help so badly, but right now, I just had to wait. At least, that's what I thought. A smell came into our noses. The smell of something burning. It came from upstairs and we looked at each other. Our house was made out of wood, so if it was burning, it would become dangerous really fast. My sister volunteered to have a look upstairs. Without me or Lucisius, my brother, even getting a chance to object she stood up and went to have a look what was going on. It didn't take long before she came running down the stairs.
“Fire! There's fire! We need to get out!” She screamed at me and grabbed me by the shoulders to shake me out of my shock from what I just heard. When I snapped out of it I grabbed Lucisius and I ran outside With marcella. We looked back and the whole upstairs of our home was on fire. We only had a moment to process it before we had to continue running.
All around us members were fighting. Spells flew around us, the clashing or swords rang through our ears, just like the high pitch screams from horses obeying their masters. At some point I got distracted and Marcella pushed me away just in time before a torch hit me and it landed on the dry grass we were running on. The grass started to burn up and the flames began to grow bigger and separated us. Again with no choice left we had to flee separately from each other. I just prayed to the spirits to see my family again as I kept on running with my little brother in my arms. I looked around me for a save route, I wanted to use my magic, but I needed my hands for that, so I wasn't able to. Then in just a blink of an eye, I saw this silhouette of a human man with animal ears and an animal tail. For just a moment time seemed to stop. Just so I could take in his figure nothing more.
His figure distracted me until I felt a rush of pain coursing through my body. An arrow hit me in my leg. It got stuck, which was my only luck for today. It was so painful and running was near impossible. I managed to get us by an old tree, just outside of our little establishment. I put Lucisius on the ground and slowly sat myself down by the tree. I was tired and in pain. My brother was crying, but I just nearly heard him. I had to get this damn arrow out and quickly. I managed to use a spell to get it out of my leg and heal right after. Sadly, that's the only thing I managed until I lost my conscious.
I have no idea how long it took for me to wake up again. At some point I heard someone calling my name. The memories of what had happened before got right into my head and I shot awake yelling the names of my brother and sister.
“Lucisius! Marcella!”
“Easy, they are save.” I looked around and saw my family looking back at me. My father smiled and my mother pulled me right into a tight hug.
“Oh thank the spirits you're awake.” My mother said to me with tears in her eyes. Normally I hated these tight and worried hugs from my mom, but for this once, I couldn't be happier. My brother climbed on top of the bed and hugged me. He was never much of a talker, so his hug told me more than enough.
I didn't say anything yet and held my mother and brother.
“How long have I been sleeping?” I asked, scared of how much I missed. My dad looked at me.
“Two days.” He answered my question. I tried to sit up, but I got pushed back down.
“Rest for now, you're going to need it.” he said and I laid back down. I gazed at my sister who hasn't said a word to me yet. Her look was almost angry. It made me wonder what I missed that made her seem angry. Even more so, what did I need my rest for? I had so many questions. It didn't take long before I fell back at sleep though.
I slept until the next morning and slowly woke up. I was still tired and felt somewhat weak. I had to force myself to get up. The room I was in didn't seem familiar to me. I looked around the room and I noticed how empty it actually it was. It had a table, a chair, a closet and the bed I was sleeping in. How strange. The morning breeze brushed over my face and it gave me a shiver. The curtains were swaying, displacing the little bit of light that came into the room. Finally I managed to gain the will to move my body and sat up right. I pulled the blanket away from me, leaving the bed and stepping on the small part of my shadow on the wooden floor. My usual attire laid over the chair and I put it on. For a moment I remembered the moment my mother gave me these clothes, I loved them so much and I still do. It was a rather simple white shirt with a long, deep purple jacket, which had the symbols of our spirits on the trims, same with the pants, but my pants had an indigo color. Both of them complimented my hat and boots. Although, my hat was for the more going out occasions. When I was dressed I went downstairs, looking for the rest of my family. Upon going down the stairs, I heard talking. It was between my father and marcella. They were arguing about something. I hesitated when I walked if this was the right decision. As soon as I walked in the arguing stopped and I received a good morning from both.
“Good morning elvira. I hope you slept well?” My father started. My sister asked me the same when he was finished. Both acting as if nothing happened before.
“Good morning. Yes, I've slept well. Where are mom and Lucisius?” I asked. They weren't around, so it made me wonder.
“Mom and Lucisius are getting us breakfast.” Marcella said. It made sense, but I couldn't get the memory of them being in danger out of my head. The attack had a bigger impact on me than I thought. I gave a nod in understanding and tried to relax my body that everything was alright now.
“The Remus family was so nice to lend us their home for the time being. It will be busy for sure, but its better than nothing at all.” My father said. It explained why this house wasn't familiar to me and where we were now. I did feel as if there was something they didn't tell me though. I couldn't tell for the life of me what it was, but it was there. Hanging around and above.
“Did we....win?” I asked carefully. My father and marcella looked at each other.
“Not exactly. No one died, thank the spirits, but most of them are badly wounded. its hard to heal everyone when we don't have that many healers anymore.” My father explained to me. I was a healer. Still in training, but a healer. For the second time my help in spells got rejected. This time for not having enough experience. I was allowed to watch and help out with making the potions, to help my training, which was nice. So over the next days I was helping our healers out.
For a day everything went well. I did what I could to help out and when I went back to my family, we enjoyed our company. The next day however, I went downstairs, hearing my sister and father argue again. I heard marcella saying something about needing to tell me and that they cant hide it any longer. Now I really wanted to know what was going on and I went inside the room.
“Cant hide what from me?” I asked as I walked in. Both my sister and dad looked at me. My father gave a deep sigh and called my mother over to him. I stared at them waiting for my answer.
“Well, the demon king contacted us in the time that you were unconscious and talked with us.” My father started. “We really need new supplies and the demon king and queen want to form a trading route with us.” He continued.
“But what does that have to do with me?” I asked impatient to finally hear what they were aiming at.
“For the supplies and making the route he wants a certain payment.” My mother said, looking at my dad.
“So he wants a lot of gold? I don’t see how I need to be a part of that” I said confused. Marcella had this angry look on her again. I really didn’t understand what they were trying to say and I felt anxious because of what it could be.
“No, not gold. He wants you to marry his son.” My father said with a deep sigh. My eyes widened. I couldn’t even believe what I just heard. Me? Marrying the son from the demon king? As a payment none the less. Now I fully understood why my sister was so angry at my father.
“He wants me to what? There is no way that I will ever agree to that. How could you do this to me and even more so behind my back! Im not going to marry his stupid son and you cant force me!” I stormed outside and ran away. I found a spot behind some of the houses and stayed there for a bit. How could my parents agree to such am absurd request. Sure we need the supplies, but to sell me off in order to get them is too far. I had no intention of going at all. After a while my father found me and sat down with me.
“I don’t like it either. Both your mother and I don’t, but we have no choice. It’s the only way.” His eyes were looking away from me and his words were soft and straight to the core.
“Doesn’t change anything for me. I do not want to marry someone I don’t even know. Im not going over there, I wont marry him.” I looked away from my father, leaning my head against my knees that I had pulled up.
“You do not have a say in this matter. You will go there and you will marry him to make sure we can take care of our coven. I expect you home by dusk. That’s the time you have to think. Do not make me chase after you.” My father stood up and walked away from me. I rarely heard him talk like that, but it did mean business. It was at this point in my best interest to listen, no matter how much I hated the whole idea.
So unfortunately, the next day, I did find myself in a carriage on my way to the castle to meet this demon prince. I still felt very betrayed and didn’t say a word to either my parents or marcella. I only said goodbye to Lucisius. He was the only one that deserved it. The whole trip I looked outside, wondering what type of man I was going to meet. It didn’t really matter since I was going to end up marrying him anyway, but I hoped that he was at least a sweet guy that was good to talk to. My thoughts drifted off as the landscape past right before my eyes, getting further and further away from the home I knew. That was until we reached the city. We went through a big gate, it had so many layers of ridges, dark in color, sharp points and with the name Alorad across it. It was beautiful, I had to admit. It was nothing like anything I've seen before. The houses in the city were big, dark in color and in a way, build the same way the gate was made. Just smaller it seemed. The people were strange looking here. Nothing I expected actually. I expected giant monsters, with horns and wings and weird tails. They seemed like normal humans almost. Humans with strange colored eyes, tails and horns. Well, at least some aspects of what I expected were right.
My eyes wondered around the city we drove through and I noticed people looking at the carriage, whispering. It felt really uncomfortable, so I duck away in the carriage to not have to look at the other people looking at me. I didn’t even know why they did so. Every now and then I turned my head to see if we were there. It took so long and I began to feel my heart bouncing faster. My palms felt a bit sweaty as well. My nerves were getting to me for sure. The next time I had a look outside I saw the castle. It had so many towers, many pointed roofs and the whole building spiraled up. The archways were beautiful to see, it was a work of art. My eyes glanced over the giant building from top to bottom and at the bottom two people were standing in front of a stairs, going towards a big and heavy door. Their crowns betrayed their status, it were the king and queen for sure. I did not see the man I was supposed to meet though. My eyes frowned a bit at the idea that the man im supposed to marry, isn't even showing up on my arrival. I leaned back and gave a deep sigh. For now I had to keep my thoughts to myself and just be nice. When the carriage stopped I stepped out and looked at the two people standing there.
“Welcome to our kingdom.” The man spoke. His voice was so raspy and deep. That alone gave me a shiver over my spine. It made me swallow before I spoke.
“Hello your majesty. My name is…”
“Elvira, we know. Your father told us about you.”
I raised my eyebrows and didn’t respond for a moment. I was surprised that he knew, but also offended that he interrupted me.
“Yes, that’s right. I…”
“You are going to marry our son and you want to meet him correct?” the woman spoke this time. No doubt that she learned this bad habit from her husband. Didn’t they know that interrupting people is very rude? This didn’t give me much hope for their son. I nodded my head in agreement as my eyes studied their looks. Both were dressed in black, of course. He wore black pants a black sort of shirt it seemed, a black cape with big, pointed shoulder plates, black gloves, with multiple rings on them, black boots. Just so much black. His wife was pretty much the same. I did love her dress though. It was very elegant, form hugging and flowed really nice. I would actually wear it myself. They both had red eyes and of course the horns and tails I've seen already in the city. The only big difference in their looks, was their hair color. Hers was white and his was black.
“Oh Valentino! Your new bride is here!” the woman yelled out, which disturbed my thoughts. Valentino? That really didn’t sound like a demon like name and I had to hold in my chuckle when I heard it. I was curious if his looks would resemble his mother or father and I waited patiently. I wondered how he would ever be able to hear her from that far away, but I didn’t know enough about demons to tell how or why. After a while the big doors went open and there he was. I finally saw the man I was supposed to marry. He walked down the stairs and he clearly took after his mother. The same red eyes and white hair. His clothing resembled more his father. His cape was simply shorter, but that’s about it.
“Finally, I've been waiting for hours. Welcome to the palace. You must have had a long journey.” The young man walked towards me and his voice had the same raspy tone to it, just less menacing. It was actually in a way charming. He bowed a bit to give a kiss on my hand. I wanted to speak when the falling of cases made us all look at the carriage. The poor man tried to carry them all at once, but wasn’t able to hold them. He wanted to pick them up quickly, but I interrupted him in that.
“Oh no, its alright. Leave it to me.” I snapped my fingers and all the suitcases turned a lot smaller. Pocket small and I was able to out them simply in the pockets of my pants.
“Your hat miss.” the coachman said and handed me my hat.
“Oh yes, thank you” I took my hat from him and put it on my head. When I looked back at Valentino I saw his face becoming shocked and not so charming anymore as it was at first.
“You're a witch. Arent you?” His voice was sharp like a knife. His eyes pierced right through me. Filled with rage is what they were.
“Yes I am. My name is Elvira by the way.” I tried to shrug off his weird response, but it didn't work at all.
“I don’t care about your name. I despise witches. Take her away, I wont marry a lowlife witch. Understood?!” I was in total disbelieve of what I just heard. I wasn’t even sure if I was supposed to be happy or terribly offended. He stormed off, his mother following him, pleading him to come back and give me a chance.
The king and me were standing outside. I had no words, no movement. I was totally frozen, debating on what to feel or do now.
“He will change his mind. Don’t worry. Come inside, my servants will show you to your room.” the king broke my conflicting feelings for just a moment and I gave him a smile.
“Thank you” I said and I followed him inside. As he said, a servant showed me to my room and I went inside. It was so much bigger than my old room, it would make anyone feel like royalty. A big window looking over a part of the land, a big four-poster bed with a res blanket and pillows on it. Lined in gold threads, a big elegant closet for my clothes, a table with a chair, a carpet on the floor and a chandelier on the ceiling. It was beautiful.
“Dinner is at six o’clock. Be on time.” The servant warned me and closed the door. I wanted to tell her thank you, but she was gone already. I shrugged my shoulders and began to unpack. I used my magic to get everything to its place and to make it more comfy for myself. The last thing I did was putting my glass sphere on the table. I sat down on the table and rubbed my hands over it, concentrating to contact my family. I really wanted to let them know what happened. I smiled when I saw them again.
“Hello everyone.” I started. I still wasn’t happy, but I tried not to show that too much. They all greeted me at once, which made me laugh a bit.
“How was your trip? Nothing bad happened I hope? And how is it over there? Are you comfortable?” my mother asked me her always worried questions to start with.
“Nothing bad happened, it was alright and well, as comfortable as I can be I guess. The room is comfortable enough” I replied, trying to avoid the Valentino subject for now. Not that my sister would let that go for long.
“What do you mean with comfortable as you can be? How is the guy? Is he sweet and handsome?” there went my attempt to avoid the topic. Marcella just had a nose for it.
“He's, charming I suppose in looks I mean.” I hesitated in my words, but marcella kept pushing for more answers.
“Charming is good, but tell us, what happened? Come on sis, we want to know more. How is he?” I had no choice, I had to tell them now about my strange experience with that guy.
“Well, he started off nice enough. Until he realized that im a witch. The he made a total switch, saying he despises witches, didn’t even care for my name and that he didn’t want to marry me” I told the story very hasty, just to get it out and be done with it. They were all shocked, wondering what was going to happen now.
“Please do make sure it happens ok? We really need help here. Do whatever you must. Please? For us.” My dad pleaded with me and I gave a sigh.
“I will try my best ok? I'm sorry but I have to get ready for dinner. I will keep your guys posted.” They wished me luck after that and we said our goodbyes. I laid down on the bed. It was soft and nice, but just not the same as the type of bed I was used to. I just laid there, closing my eyes, trying to drown out everything around me. After a while there was a knock on the door, warning me it was almost dinner time. I stood up, and made my way to the door. This time a different servant was there to pick me up. He brought me to the dining room where the family was. Waiting for me to come as well. I sat down and looked at them. Especially at Valentino, who clearly wasn’t happy to see me. He didn’t say a word and just stared. While we were eating, the king spoke to me and valentino.
“Me and my wife are going away for three months tomorrow. To our summer palace to be exact.” He said it as if it was the most normal thing in the world. I really didn’t want to be alone with a man that hated me from the start already.
“You can't be serious. You're going to leave me alone with that, that thing over there?” Valentino was furious and was standing with his fists on the table.
“Excuse me, but I'm not a thing. I'm a witch and a proud one at that.” My lips were so much faster than my ability to hold myself back. His eyes gave me that fury look again.
“Silence! Im talking right now and don’t you dare open your mouth in my presence again. Thing.” I wanted to retaliate, but the king broke our dispute right away.
“Both of you, be silent! And sit down Valentino! I do not warn twice! Both of you will listen to me and will listen closely!” there was the deep menacing voice again. Somehow it did make me silent and made Valentino obey. He clearly did not want to oppose to his father.
“You two will get married soon. By that time you will have to live alone together as well. So it's for the best to already get used to that. We will be leaving tomorrow and come back after three months to make arrangements for the marriage.” His eyes were piercing right through us. Warning us to not speak up, go against what he says and just accept it.
Three months alone with a man that hates me. My eyes were searching where to look, my palms were sweaty and I felt my heart bouncing in my throat. Somehow I had a bad feeling about this. Which was confirmed even more when I saw Valentino's angry look, turn into a grin. He stared at mw with that same grin.
“Don’t worry father. I'll make her feel right at home over here.”
“Good, that’s my boy.” His father didn’t seem to notice the grin at all, or he didn’t care. It left me feeling uncomfortable and after dinner, I was very quick to leave the table. Now I wished I was able to see the future like my mother, but I can't. I wanted to get back to my room. I just wanted to sit in silence and think. After a little while I realized that I was lost in this palace. Every hall was the same and I didn’t recognize anything. Suddenly I got pulled back and pushed against the wall. It was Valentino. He pushed me against the wall and stared at me with fire in his blood red eyes.
