♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱ •⋅ Calisto ⋅• ♱Asra’s words caught me by surprise. It was like a stab in my chest and a straight dart in my pride.It was my fault, I knew it. It was my fault that Asra had to go through everything, that she had to listen to things like that when in the end she was attending to one of my many whims.I still remembered when Asra asked me if that was really what I wanted. Asra was always much more than a simple concubine, she always would be.I sighed."Majesty?" one of the guards hurried to call me."Say it" I muttered with one hand on my face."Ahm..." he stopped "the commander said he had found clues to the crimes the duchess came to try to solve. He told me to... not give it to her, but..."I took a deep breath."Speak.""Prince Asmodeus said he would gouge out my eyes and force me to eat if I did not tell the lady about what I had found."I snitched.Who did he think he was to threaten my men? But... I really had the right to be angry? Asmodeus was doing more f
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱When I realized I was walking towards the lounge to have dinner with Calisto, even if that conversation had not been exactly what I wanted, it had still been good and there was no reason to lock myself in my room and eat alone.It would be childish and in a way, it would also be stupid."Are you sure about that?" I heard Asmodeus say as I passed in front of his room in the hallway leading me to dinner, so he smiles."Of what?" I couldn’t help but question and the demon raised one of his eyebrows as if trying to understand if I was dumb or naive."Are you sure you want to be around him? You can always find a good excuse and you know... stay away?"It was a valid option, I realized, but I didn’t really want that, so I just briefly denied it while turning my back on it."I want to be treated like an adult woman, Asmodeus," I said simply as I stared him over the shoulder "I won’t get that if I lock myself in my room because I don’t like what I’m told or what they think
♱ •⋅ 3690 I.C ⋅• ♱There was once an ancient king who fell in love with a being completely opposite to him and as the romance between them developed, a curious phoenix watched them."What a fool" she once said as she snuggled into her nest "isn’t it obvious they won’t be able to be together? Look at them... they’re too different, they’re natural enemies."The mermaid, who has always been by the side of the phoenix since the day she was born, smiled. A weak, friendly smile."If you think they’re so silly, why do you keep watching? Isn’t this the 16th time you’ve been here? Looking at them? What? Fell in love with her? Or maybe for him?" The mermaid provoked "no... did... fall in love with both?"The phoenix has snitched."What the hell are you talking about? I’m a phoenix! I don’t fall in love unless I want to! And everyone knows that love is something questionable and made only for mortals to think that there is something beyond the basic motif of reproduction"the proud phoenix grumbl
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱That night, a strange dream came to me and for the first time in my entire existence I felt free. I could feel the icy air between my feathers and the world seemed small, insignificant near the heavens, close to the feeling of flying.Even when my eyes opened, I could still feel that feeling, that freedom.'It seems... well...' I found myself thinking as I threw myself out of bed.Maybe it was Callisto’s words at the time or maybe it was Loren’s fault for asking me, but something seemed hurt inside me. It was only then that I realized - Asra was still there.He was still with me and his feelings were too obvious. Like a child’s."Is there anything you want to tell me?" I asked as I threw myself in front of the mirror, but all I got was a small flicker in the crimson glow of my eyes.Out of her eyes."Asra?" Asmodeus' voice made me turn quickly towards the door."Hi" I spoke with a huge smile."Are you ready?" he asked me extending one of his hands."I need to finis
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱A few hours were needed until finally Asmodeus had stopped his tantrum. He had really felt the idea of being let go, but what would everyone say if they knew that the much-feared prince of lust was just a whining baby who hates feeling left out or abandoned.It was comical.The more time I spent in the world of that novel, the more comical I felt each of the characters were.Of course, there were exceptions - like Azrael, who now looked at me with such hatred that I even wondered if Asra had not stabbed him or done something worse before I could reincarnate.Had she killed his mother? Had she caused his downfall? It still didn’t make sense. Azrael’s hatred seemed too much, it seemed destined for me. Not Asra, not the phoenix who lived "peacefully" as the king’s concubine, but me. The version of Asra who decided to live.Who decided to act differently."What are you thinking?" Asmodeus asked me bringing me back to reality."Humm..." I grumbled "I was trying to remem
♱ •⋅ 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 sins
♱ •⋅ 1750 B.C. ⋅• ♱"How can he?" I asked myself more than Asmodeus, but the demon still shrugged."Who knows? Maybe he didn’t like the way things work down here. In the end you have to remember... angels are still angels, even when they fall" he muttered and there was so much contempt in his voice that I wondered if Asmodeus had any past with angels. A past he couldn’t hide or forget."What do you mean?" I questioned even though I knew I shouldn’t, even when my words could bring bad memories to him, but the demon just denied it with his head."Nothing much, just that angels remain angels" he replied and even if his lips showed a half smile, he still could not hide his disgust "angels are treacherous, laden with jealousy, envy and a cruel and heartless loyalty. The truth..." he stopped and his eyes turned to the window of the chariot "the truth is that angels and demons have too different concepts of reality."I settled.When it came to this world, that was really true.It was almost
♱ •⋅ 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 from me,
♱ •⋅ 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