Demon and the girl 2...


From the outside, it looked like a small animal was trying to head butt the door open without the benefit of thumbs- inaudibly and slowly. She half expected there to be a trap of some kind waiting for her on the other side- perhaps she would be incinerated to a crisp upon exiting the room. Or perhaps the minute she left was the minute he'd appear, claiming in a horridly triumphant voice that she'd shown her true colours- and he was now going to punish her for trying to escape. Even as these scenarios swirled round in her head, even as she heard a fake demon lord's wicked cackle in her imagination, with his exaggerated clawed hands raised and his body surrounded by fire, the girl's pelvis ached from her need to urinate.

"U-um, hello?" the girl called out to the air, thinking that perhaps the demon lord could hear everything, like an omnipotent power. But she received no response. "M-my Lord?" she called again, waiting a few moments before fretting. "I'm sorry-!" she whispered into the hallway, before stepping out into it, toe first. "Really sorry," she added again with a soft voice, treading deftly.

She stood in a long hallway with walls of grey bricks, dimly lit by flickering candles secured by old brass holders. The air was heavy and still, with no wind or breeze, and yet the only scent filling her nostrils was her own. It was all very foreign to her. Every 10 feet or so there was another door identical to the one she'd walked out of. After a few more paces, she almost forgot which room she'd come out of, since they were all indistinguishable. Knowing this, she seriously doubted there was a rest room affixed to any of these rooms. So she kept walking. But she seemed to be going nowhere. Even after minutes of walking, the hall was the same. She quickly opened the nearest door to her and saw that the room was in fact the same as hers.

Or was it hers? She suddenly had a chilling thought, swallowing and holding her tight chest.

Was this hallway one cruel loop, where she could walk for all eternity and never leave? It certainly seemed like something the demon lord could and would do, in order to keep her in her prison- comfortable but a prison none the less. But then again- she looked closely. Some details were different. For one, there was no sign of her tray of food that the giant but gentle bug-bear had brought her, and the covers were perfectly made. As she'd left the room, she had not made her bed, so this room couldn't be hers. Knowing this she nodded, satisfied by her logic.

As she walked on- the girl heard a small noise. At first it sounded like a tapping somewhere- or perhaps a clicking. As she quickened her pace- it turned into a ticking noise- the growing volume of which drew her to it. Focusing on that sound, the girl pushed onward- until she finally reached the end, conquering the never-ending corridor. At the end of the corridor, fitting as it was, stood a tall black archway.

She looked through it into a giant hall, crumbling and ancient like a ruin. Right in the middle was a huge contraption. Entering with trepidation, she noted the impossibly high ceiling- the hall must have been 100ft high and had a perimeter of 100 square feet. Grass grew through the floor and ceiling, adding to the prehistoric atmosphere. The contraption sharing this space with her filled over half the room. It looked like an enormous time keeping device. In the centre was a panel with different buttons and levers- and to the sides were two ticking brass instruments. These long ticking instruments were jagged like keys. They were almost as tall as the room, and higher than the girl's head above the ground. Scattered between and around this were little floating glass objects, like long snow globes, with more ticking hands inside them.

The air was misty and chilly, but it was like it was alive- this beautiful and grotesque room. What was most strange about the room were the ricocheting sounds. The longer she stayed in the room, the more the sound of the clocks echoed. And the more they echoed, the louder they seemed to be. Even when she tried to focus on other sounds, they were drowned out. All the ticks began to ring and then screech around her as if to say, 'you are not welcome here.'

"What is this noise... so loud?" the girl covered her ears from the noise and tried to back away- but her legs were motionless and frozen. Her head began to split painfully from the noise and her vision blurred.

"Aahh!" she cried out, sinking to her knees as the bone vibrating noise pushed through her body.

Then she collapsed onto the floor.

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The room of time was no place for mortals. He had no idea what she was doing there, or how she had gotten there. The room of time wasn't usually connected to servant's corridors- unless on this rare occasion it had decided to connect itself to the lesser rooms. But to what end? The girl had been in quite a state when he realised she was in danger. He had searched his realm mentally to find her location, and as quick as he could he had whisked her away- just managing to save her in time. If she had stayed there longer, deafness would have been the least of her worries.

Her eyes opened. She was being swallowed by fluffy linen and warm blankets. Her head sunk into a soft but firm feathery pillow. As her vision focused she saw two figures in front of her. One was the demon lord. At the sight of him the girl paled. She didn't know where she was, clearly not in the room she was in before. If it was possible, she was in an even bigger room now. But wherever she was, she expected she was in trouble. Whatever room she'd ventured into, she was sure she wasn't supposed to be in there.
As she began to wonder why the demon lord had rescued her, she was distracted.

The other figure was now wagging a finger at her. It pulled her eyes away from his. She looked down to see Gibbon. He looked quite funny- she could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.
The demon lord emitted a dark aura of warning to his subordinate. 

"Gibbon, you must understand. Mortals like her are creatures of habit. They just can't help themselves," his tone was sardonic now. "It's like their curiosity is more important to them than their lives..." he leaned in close to her and looked at her face, but she seemed sheepish and unable to join in their conversation

"Well! What do you have to say to the Master?!" Gibbon demanded, flapping his arms and leaning in from her other side.

The girl looked between them both stupidly and blinked at the demon lord. "PARDON?" she asked, rather loudly, making even the demon lord withdraw slightly.

"Wha! You weren't listening to us?! Master- the cheek of this human!"

"Silence Gibbon. Girl?" the demon lord turned her chin towards him.

"THE BATHROOM!" the girl yelled into his face suddenly, and the gibbon fell back and off the bed.

The demon lord's eyes began to search her face.

"How DARE you raise your voice to the Master...!" the gibbon strangled himself in fury- as he hopped to his feet- his head just visible over the edge of the bed.

"Gibbon!" the demon growled, looking back to the girl.

The girl rubbed her ears. "I'M SORRY I WENT INTO THAT ROOM!" the girl practically shouted into his face. "BUT I WAS LOOKING FOR THE BATHROOM!" she added. "I DIDN'T MEAN TO DISOBEY YOU- I JUST-! Oh..." she gasped in shock, as his cold hands held her over her ears.

She looked down at her lap shyly as his hands stroked over her ears. She dared not look up at him. Then she felt a tingling sensation, and when his hands were removed, she noticed that Gibbon was wheezing. Looking down, she noticed his airways had been cut off somehow- but why hadn't she heard him doing that before?

"Your hearing must have been impaired..." the familiar voice came from above her. "It is fixed now,"

"Th-thank you..." she smiled nervously, noticing his steely expression. "Oh right...!" she looked down and twiddled her thumbs. "Thank you my lord," she added.

"There's a restroom through there," the demon said as she reddened- and he pointed her to a little door in the corner. She noted that it was the only door in the room. She looked at him incredulously. "You will not leave your room again," he concluded, his hand motioning for her to follow him.

"I-is this my room?" the girl bleated after him, and he only voiced his agreement as a single sound. "Okay. Say... where was I just now?" she asked him, rubbing her light head.

"It's not for you to know," the demon lord frowned and turned away.

"Oh- I'm sorry!" the girl crawled forwards on the bed to try and follow him. "I didn't intend to end up there- it was just there!" she added.

When the demon lord turned back to face her, he seemed agitated. "The same way you never intended to enter my realm?" he asked.

"Oh... yes... the same way," the girl looked down at her knees reproachfully. "I'm sorry again. I must have a bad knack for getting myself into situations like this..." she told herself off.

Feeling a slight pressure on the bed, she looked up again to see that the demon lord was sat on its edge, next to her.

"The room of time is older than even I am," the demon lord told her, looking at the ceiling.

"Room of time? Oh, that's why there was so much ticking," she nodded in understanding.

"What?" he narrowed his eyes, looking to her now.

"Oh, do I have it wrong?" she let out a short and nervous laugh.

The demon lord sighed. "No. Not really, but..." he looked away briefly. Humans had a very limited grasp on things that they could only relate to and understand things in the simplest of ways. "Yes, the ticking," he relented, watching her grin with both pleasure and frustration. "Its purpose is to signify this immortal realm. It has been here before I took it from my predecessor- and it will likely be there long after I am gone. Which is a very long time. The room of time is indeed the most ancient thing in my realm. The only constant. Without it, I do not think I would even have a realm. The room usually stays in one place, in the most desolate and forgotten reaches of this dark space of mine, but occasionally it moves about,"

"The room moves?" the girl was shocked now, eager to hear more.  "How exactly does a room move all by itself?"

"How do you move by yourself?" the demon lord retorted.

"Well, I have legs- oh!" the girl rushed into her thoughts. "Don't tell me that the room of time has legs too?" she asked.

"No, it simply materialises and de-materialises at its own will, much like I do. I only meant that walking on two feet like a mortal is not the only way to get around, and not everyone and everything is limited that way,"

"Oh, I see..." the girl nodded sheepishly, feeling foolish for thinking a room could walk.

"As for your surroundings- the room of time has decided to settle around the servants' quarters, where you were before. This is not ideal, but you'll have to rest here. Gibbon feels it's far too grand a room for a mortal," the demon lord suddenly reached out to brush her hair aside with a possessive glow. "But the room of time will not shift from where it is (no matter how much I demand), so what should I do? If I left you in the servants' quarters where it nests, you are just likely to be drawn back to it. But I wonder, why it chose to move close to your location," the demon lord looked puzzled.

"Hm," the girl smiled, looking back up. "It's a mystery I guess," she shrugged, seeming shyer now.

"Or perhaps it is a very simple matter. It was as curious about the first mortal to enter his realm as I was," the demon lord looked her over again.

"You were curious... about me?" the girl pointed to herself.

Surprise crossed the demon lord's features. He hadn't meant to say that. Just as quickly as he could, he stood up from the bed and moved away, distancing himself from her.

"The rest room is through here," he said finally walking away to the room in question, leaving her baffled. Was it something she said? Whatever bothered him, their conversation was now over. And really, it hadn't been unpleasant at all. He was nothing at all like the demon lord from her dream. The more time she spent with him, the less daunting he seemed.

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It was a lovely bathroom, with shower, bath and sink. And perfectly clean- as if it was brand new. Fluffy towels, a dressing gown... she doubted these were things a demon lord would need. It was as if they had appeared out of thin air for her needs.

"Wow..." she edged inside cautiously.

"You will undress now," the demon lord told her.

"Huh?" she whipped round to him nervously; the mood around them had shifted drastically.

"Get undressed..." he raised his hand slightly and she opened her mouth to gasp, but no sound came out. He could do that with ease; steal the words from a mortal mouth.

"You did say you wanted to use the restroom, didn't you?" he asked, as a bubbling noise came from her left.

Her eyes widened as water filled the elegant bath- but not from the taps. It filled the white ceramic tub, as if seeping upwards from its solid base. Forgetting her master's demands, the girl almost ran to the bath, her bare feet touching the cold ceramic floor. She knelt down by its side in wonder, her hands clutching the edges, and watched the water rise. As it reached the top, she poked her fingers inside, just to make sure it was really there. The water level rose over her hand. She reacted by moving her hand up, as if she was trying to push it down, or pretend she was making it move.

He watched her fascination with confusion. To her everything he did seemed new and exciting- as if she were a child to everything. But in a way, he was like that too. Every emotion she emanated was a new experience for him. Demons were seldom surprised by anything, since they knew the secrets of all matter and magic. Most demons used mortals for their own pleasure, as pets or slaves, but he had always steered clear of them. Humans and their expressions and feelings were uncharted waters for him. She was a little ignorant and sometimes painfully simple- but she was also harmless and well intentioned. And attractive. He looked her over. As mortals went- from the very few mortals he had seen, she was very attractive. She was different in so many ways from demon women, who were empowering and dark. She was curious and seemingly carefree as of this moment.
He had to wonder, what she had left behind, that his realm and his presence would be calming to her.

This momentary distraction had made her deviate from his initial request. But she was soon reminded of it when the water stopped. She seemed disappointed at first, but then her eyes slid his way as he stood there expectantly.

"Um... my lord... do you really want to watch me get undressed?" she blushed.

"Let me be clear. You are my property," the demon lord was suddenly right in front of her- his magic transporting him from one location to another instantly making her gasp. He placed his fingers under her chin and held it up tortuously, even though he knew she was embarrassed. "If I wish it you will obey," he told her strongly. "Do you understand?" he asked her.

She nodded, very slowly reaching up and holding onto her sleeve to pull down her shirt.
He watched her face as she resigned herself to do as she was told. She did not look as frightened as he had thought- but her expression was even more displeasing than that. It was of disappointment- in him. He realised that she expected more from him. He was behaving like one of those demon lords who used mortals for their own sexual gratification. He had always despised that, since he believed demon lords were supposed to be superior beings, and he wished to behave like one. He had never done so before, so why now? And why this girl? She was attractive, that was why- but he didn't want her like this.

Before she could continue, he held her wrist. Startled, she went to pull away, until she realised his intentions were pure- for a demon.

"That is enough," he decided. "I only asked to test if you would obey me," he explained- noting immediately that she seemed pleased by this.

"Did you really? Oh, alright," she wore a smile. "Did I do okay?"

"You were acceptable. But from now on," he stepped closer, "You will not hesitate to obey me," he commanded, leaning over to whisper into her ear. "Or I may make you regret it, girl," he shrilled.

When he stood tall once more, she was nodding reverently. "I- I will try my lord!" she replied. "I promise," she added.

"Good, you'd best make the most of this," he gestured around. "Depending on what I decide later, this could be the last luxury you experience for the rest of your life," he frowned.

If she didn't know any better she would say it was a pout of kinds. And then he turned to the door and closed it- and vanished into thin air. She held her hands close to her chest and looked around. He had gone. She waved her arms in front of her to every corner of the room, but she did not bump in to any invisible demon lords. And so she accepted that she had been left her privacy. She expected he'd wanted to get his way and see her undress, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. He couldn't be that bad, if he was willing to spare her dignity. She took her clothes off gingerly, laying them neatly on the sideboard. Without testing the water, she climbed in and allowed herself to sink down to the bottom while holding her nose. The water was warm and soothing.

After a while of soaking, she noticed a little cupboard door to her side, embedded in the wall.

"I wonder what's inside," she told herself, peering inside. But it was empty. "Huh." She closed it again. If only she had some bubble bath. Absent minded, she opened the door again, to find a single bottle inside. 'BUBBLE BATH'. She beamed triumphantly and closed the cupboard. "That was strange, there was nothing in there a moment ago... what if it- no! No, that's not possible," she shook her head, swallowing hard.

She put the bottle on the side of the bath and looked back at the cupboard. She was getting it again, that feeling that she'd best leave the cupboard alone, but the overwhelming need to test it out overcame her.

"What about some... raspberry shampoo?" she said slowly, opening it again- and there it was.
For a moment she was wary to take it- almost afraid of the device- but this soon passed as she realised the potential of this little cupboard. A gleeful grin formed over her face as she took the pink coloured bottle- just as she'd imagined it from her mind.
She'd started making bubbles. Lots and lots of bubbles. It looked like she was a floating head above a white mass of clouds. With the occasional view of her arms. She kept opening and shutting the little door until the ledges around her were full of items she couldn't possibly use in one day.

"Look at her! She acts like she's to credit for your magnificence! She's using your magic cupboard most inappropriately!" the gibbon frowned at his master desperately, wishing him to show just a bit more irritation, but he seemed transfixed on her.

He knew the girl was the first mortal his master had ever been in close contact with- other than those he trounced and pillaged in his great name... but was there any need to be so naive about such a simple matter? She was a lesser being- but he was treating her like a guest! He was keeping her better than his minions and servants- who were all vastly more useful than she was.

"M-master?" gibbon coughed politely.

"By all means gibbon, leave if you will," the demon lord ignored him.

"Y-yes master," the gibbon sighed, deflated and rejected.

His eyes squinted at the bubble-like screen his master was looking into, and red flashed in his eyes.

The girl popped the bubble rising above her head. She was now clean, but she wanted to stay by the magical cupboard. "Ooh-! I know! Biscuits!" she decided, opening the cupboard door. And they were... not there.

"Oh... I guess it only does bathroom stuff. Hmm... ... bathroom stuffs? Well... things. Hm... more towels..." she decided.

She opened the cupboard and picked out a rather small looking towel. She sat up on her knees and held it out over her chest, her face falling. Her chest was about the only thing the dingy little towel could cover.

"Um... a bigger towel..." she asked- "Oh, uh- please!" she corrected, nodding to the cupboard politely. She opened the small cupboard, and as if in reply a great big fluffy towel sprang out at her and wrapped around her shoulders. She stood quickly, to avoid it getting wet. "Thank you!" she beamed, carefully stepping out of the tub, bracing her hand on the rim.

Meanwhile, the demon lord had sat down in front of a fire, the burning reflected in his eyes. He had almost caught a glimpse of her, before he regained his self control. Why was he acting like a common teenager? Why couldn't he watch her further?  But the demon lord would soon wish he'd kept an eye on her.

Perhaps he'd forgotten about the wardrobe in her bedroom.

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It was a tall dark wardrobe, with scrolling corners and polished heavy looking doors. Below was a shoe drawer. It was even taller than the demon lord. The girl gaped up at it in awe. As soon as she had seen it she beamed in excitement. Would it be like the cupboard in the bathroom? Could she ask for whatever clothes she wanted? Or would it be empty? She clamped her eyes shut and imagined something pretty. Something from her distant memory. And she opened her eyes as she opened the wardrobe door.

There it was, as new. A white dress hung from a hanger inside the antique looking piece of furniture, with white stockings and a matching little white sun hat. Blue ribbons were neatly wrapped once round the waist, arms and neck- tied in bows. And as one would expect from a magic cupboard, the dress was tailored just to her size. It was just as soft as she remembered, although she had not seen it since she was very small. It was such a perfect replica, she wondered if it really was the dress she'd thought of, snatched up from some place or time.

After dressing herself, she sat at the end of her bed to put those buckled shoes on. She kicked her legs as she looked about the room. Now what should she do? Well- she picked up the towel from the bed. First she should clear away everything she had used. Her eyes edged over to the wardrobe. Seconds later, she had opened the doors and placed the towel inside. She quickly shut the doors, and then waited a moment, breathing quickly. She was now like a little girl playing hide and seek, waiting to peer round the edge of the door to see if someone was waiting to jump out at her. In one quick motion, she threw the doors open and gasped.

The towel was gone. She ran to the bathroom. By then the water had disappeared from the tub and the bubbles magically cleaned away. She began quickly putting all the bottles into the cupboard one by one and opening the door again, each time delighted by the disappearing trick. Of course, she knew it was magic. She was in a demon lord's castle, so this sort of thing should be expected. Soon she ran out of things to put away. She wondered where it all went to. And then the girl had another thought- though by now I'm sure you're aware many of her thoughts lead to trouble.

This thought was no different. She had to wonder- where did all those things disappear to, when they had been placed back into the cupboard- and the wardrobe? Was it to nowhere- or was it possible for her to go there too? Was it possible for a human to go into the cupboard- and disappear to somewhere else? She stood in front of the wardrobe peering up at it. She was sure it wouldn't work on humans, but what if it did? She wondered where she would go. She grinned and opened the doors. It was certainly big enough. Impulsively, the girl climbed inside and reached out for the doors. She shut one and felt the air grow heavy.

At this point she could have turned back- felt the wrongness of what she was doing- but humans, though self aware are so often blinded by other concerns that they do the most wrong things. She shut the other door more slowly. She waited until it was a mere inch away from the clasp. She could still see part of her room from the crack. Her heart was beating so fast she couldn't hear her brain telling her not to do it. And then there was the demon lord to consider. He'd told her not to leave the room- if this worked and he found her she would be in serious trouble. She hummed. Technically she was not leaving the room. She was inside a wardrobe, which was inside the room. Whatever place the wardrobe took her to would still be inside the room then, surely?

'Click!'

The demon's eyes were thrown open. Something had changed in his realm. He soared to his feet and turned round sharply, narrowing his eyes in concentration. He was the overseer of his entire domain. If a leaf fell off a tree, he would know about it- but this was different. Someone had left his realm without his knowledge. And before he even asked himself who- he knew.

The girl. Through the wardrobe.

Description: A story about a little girl captured by an evil witch, who has an extraordinary Spell Book.







The Witches' Spell Book.

My name is Louhi. I live in a little village where no one ever goes, called Candlewick. I'm sure you can tell that by name alone we have a long history with witches and wizards. Not recently, mind you, but I'd been told in school that hardly a generation had gone by when a wizard or witch hadn't lived in Candlewick 300 years or so ago. But most people you asked around town would tell you they distrusted witches and wizards profusely.

As for me, I was still quite young, and I'd never met a wizard or witch, but my mother always told me that not all witches and wizards were evil. My mother was more objective than some of the townsfolk. She always warned me never to be nasty to witches. Not only because they could turn me into a frog, but because she said they were humans who could use magic and that didn't necessarily make them evil. It wasn't the magic that was evil after all; it was what the individuals did with the magic.

But a short while ago, really when my story begins- it was this past winter when everything was wet and dreary- we had a serious problem.

On the hill by the village there stood a cottage that looked like a castle. This multi storey stone building was a curious thing. Instead of being small and stocky like most cottages, it was tall and narrow. There were two little sticky up rooftops very close together, one a storey higher than the other, each wearing pointed red tiled 'hats'. That's what made the building look almost like a castle.

That's where I'd gone in the middle of the night. The adults said little children like me were being gobbled up by a horrible witch, the first our town had seen in over 300 years.
Not understanding what she meant, or realising the power of witches, I had decided to rescue any children left in her gangly abode.

But apparently, witches owned pets too. I met her three pets, giant crows that they were, on the blackened hill on the way to her house. They were towering and clawed and when they moved dead feathers fell from their bodies. Their red orb like eyes stared at me longingly. They were like black vultures.

"Where are the missing children from the village?" I asked shakily, pointing at them for emphasis.

"Scree-hee-hee! Ooh, a lovely little girl! I am so hungry!" the smallest crow poked his tongue out, making me step back with fright.

Instantly I was cut off by the largest crow, which landed with a thud behind me. Now I regretted my choice to come alone. I hadn't even told anyone where I was going.

"Now, now, let's be patient. Madam said we'd be having a feast tonight! Do you want to fill up on just one scrawny girl? No!" it snapped at the two smaller crows, which shrunk down in shame.

"Then, let's take her back- you never know! Might need some special ingredients!" the middle sized crow chattered happily.

"N-no!" I cried, as they surrounded me and pounced.

They snatched me up in an instant and I fell unconscious. When I woke up, I was crushed inside a cage placed on the floor under a cabinet. Stored like meat. I could just about grasp at the dirty bars in front of me. I was a small girl, which was just as well for the cage was only two and a half feet high, which gave me just about enough room to crouch uncomfortably.

I managed to pull myself forward and look up at the room above me. What I saw came as quite a shock. It was a circular room with a cauldron in the middle. No windows and two doors opposite one another. I could smell the boiling pot and see the broth brewing at its rim. What I saw next was terrifying. I followed a hunched over shadow with my eyes, saw two buckled boots and finally there stood the witch, with her deformed face and covered in black and purple robes, chanting over her cauldron. She took a pinch of powder from a bronze cup and threw it into the concoction, laughing as she did so.

It made a sharp "bang!" and simmered down into a green mist that slowly filled the room. I managed to look around me. There were no bones of little children in sight- was she really going to eat me? My question was answered immediately as screaming came from my left. I had to really bend my head, but I just about saw a boy outside of the cage. He was quite a big child- and he was being held by those dastardly crow-creatures!

"Let me go!" he tried to scream, as the witch dipped a little silver cup into the brew and held it up to his lips.

Frozen with horror, I watched the witch force the potion down the boy's throat. And then snapped my head back and watched the boy's slightly rounded shadow instead. No sound came from him now. Instead his shadow began to shrink faster than I could blink. Then I heard his clothes fall to the stone floor. My mouth hung open as the witch bent down to pick him up. But he wasn't a "he" any more. He was an "it".

"This will do nicely!" the witch grinned from ear to ear.

I watched as she placed the former boy onto a counter top. He was now a sweet little apple, deep green and juicy looking. But what horrified me was where the witch sat this little apple. On the counter top was a basket filled with fruits and vegetables. The realisation of what they were made my stomach sink. Those were all the other children from the village, just recently turned into produce.

"This is all I need for now," she decided, turning in my direction.

I shrank back into the cage, but not far enough.  A black boot kicked my cage and caught my mouth. I cried out in pain but was drowned out by her cackle.

"Think yourself lucky! You can live a little longer child," she huffed.

"Why did you turn those children into fruits and vegetables?!" I demanded, suddenly filled with rage.

"Why you ask? WHY?! Because they're easier to CHOP UP that way!" she was very amused now. "After a while they'll turn back, but by then they'll be in a million pieces!"

I heard her take something from the counter top above my cage and carry it over to the basket of her victims. And when I heard the first chop, I began to cry. The chopping never ended, her hand smashed down on the produce and cut it to ribbons. When she turned, she had the fruits and vegetables in a pile on a wooden board. Now they were in pieces they would never again be children.

She threw them all into the cauldron and began adding other ingredients from other pots in the room. The walls were full of shelves with jars, pots and boxes resting on them, and the witch could expertly reach them all by hopping or jumping to them. Soon the cauldron was ready and the witch began serving her meal to the crows. When she brought it out, there were no vegetables or fruits. The children had turned back. It was now a human child stew.

This is when I must have feinted from the smell and noises of the crows gobbling up their meal.

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Thankfully when I awoke, I was alone. The room was pitch-black. I ached all over from lying down on the floor for so long in such an awkward position. Only one thought crossed my mind now- ESCAPE.

Outside the weather played to my advantage. The rain was battering against the tall cottage- and every now and then the thunder clattered. I realised that if I turned myself round and kicked the cage door as the thunder clattered that I could avoid being heard. Positioning and moving in such a tight space proved more difficult than the force needed to bash open that old unstable door. After freeing myself, I put the door back in its place. The cage was so low that perhaps no one would notice I was gone until it was too late.

Then I stood in the witches' spell room. Or perhaps this was her kitchen. I couldn't tell. My mother's warnings about witches being both good and bad were no help to me now. As far as I was concerned, witches were the most evil things in the world.

I crept over to the door on the left and tried to open it, but it was locked. Deciding to take my chances, I tried the door on the right- and it was open. But the stairs behind it lead up- not down. As snapping noises came from behind me, I ran up them and closed the door behind me. I pressed my ear against the door and listened to them.

"Mm, that was lovely," one voice bragged.

"Indeed! Madam knows how to make a good child stew! What do you think we should eat now?" another asked greedily.

"Well, I suppose there's still the little girl!" another laughed.

My heart stopped in fear. Would they discover I was missing and come after me?

"No!" a loud voice boomed- the largest of the crows clearly showing his dominance again.

"You should wait for Madam to wake up! Otherwise she will be very cross!"
"Oh yes..." came the small voice.

As I listened to them leave I sighed in relief. I carried on up the stairs as the sound of arguing crows faded further and further downstairs.

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The stairs stopped on the top floor. I could see two doors and a large window behind the stairs that revealed the rim of the little red rooftop. I looked down at the drop beneath the window and gulped. I clearly couldn't jump to my safety. I would have to find some other means of escape.

I opened the right door very quietly and peered inside. My eyes fixed on er at once. Lying down, with only her black and white stripy socks showing from under her thick covers, was the sleeping witch. Her snores vibrated through the covers. I closed the door again quietly and opened the other door on the top floor. This led to a very curious room.

It was like an Aladdin's Cave, with magical looking objects and walls of books everywhere. In the middle of the room were a set of steps leading up to a pedestal, and on the pedestal was an ancient looking book. I approached gingerly. Nothing in this room looked like it was used for anything good. Not if it was owned by that horrible witch.

"Heeeelp meeee!" came a whisper from in front of me, sending me back quite a ways. My eyes darted about the room. Where had that sound come from? "Help!" it came again, and my pinpoint eyes moved down to stare at the book on the pedestal. It couldn't be. Could it? "HELP ME! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT! FOR GOODNESS SAKE, I'M A BOOK IN DISTRESS!" the book yelped.

I leapt over to it instinctively. "Shhh!" I whispered. "The witch is asleep! Don't wake her up!" I found myself talking to this book.

"Well, EXCUSE me!" the book huffed. "Perhaps if you'd been stuck here for God knows how many years, forced to help an evil witch, then YOU'D be a bit emotional too!"

"I'm sorry..." I gulped, noticing now that the book glowed with a purple colour. "But wait- aren't you that witches' spell book?" I asked.

"Indeed I am- but not by CHOICE!" the book replied. "She's the meanest, horriblest witch in the world!"

"There's no such thing as the word 'horriblest'. I tried to use it once when the teacher gave us more homework," I sighed.

"Well there's nothing wrong with making up your own words sometimes dear," the book comforted her. "How do you think spells are made?"

"Thank you... book..." I hesitated.

"Book? BOOK? That's not my name!" the book complained.

"Sorry again. What is your name then?" I asked.

"It's Sageworth Ruminous Technicallla Magic Book IV,"

"Sageworth.... something... something... oh, please could I just call you Sageworth?" I asked, adding quickly after. "That's the best name of them all,"

"Very well. What's your name?" He asked me, trying not to sound pleased by my compliment.

"I'm Louhi," I replied, smiling and wondering if the book could see me. But I didn't dare to ask.

"Good! Now we've gotten all that out of the way- I'd best ask you what you're doing here. Please say you're not working for that nasty witch?" Sageworth was optimistic.

"No- God no! She wants to feed me to her crows! She just fed all these other poor children to the crows. I couldn't save them..." my head sunk sadly.

"Oh no. Well dear, don't despair! It's not your fault! She's an insult to the grand title of witch!" he explained.

"But aren't all witches evil?" I asked.

"What? Oh no little lady! Witches started out being very respected by the people of this country. They were called witches because it meant wise and intelligent one. They gave advice to great leaders- Kings and Sultans! They used their knowledge of nature and accomplished astounding things! They healed people and helped grow crops. Then they got a bad name- all because of a witch of old who started using her magic for evil. Then people assumed all witches were like that. It's been a long time since then, and people are starting to trust good witches again, but unfortunately in that time many other witches have turned bad too. It all depends on who gets the powers, you see. That's where I come in!" Sageworth explained. "Want to know more?"

"I do... but I really should be getting out of here. The witch could wake up at any minute!" I was really quite frightened, even if the old book was very pleasant company.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that! She uses a special Lavender and Peppermint spell on page 257 to help her fall asleep. She's out like a light for hours and hours!" Sageworth explained.

"Alright..." I nodded.

"Good, now pay attention! Not just anyone can be a witch. First, you have to be female- or else you become a mage or wizard. Secondly, you have to have a spell book. That's me. The first witches were hugely talented, and wrote down all their secrets into books like me. Without books like me, it'd take you until you were old and grey to learn spells normally. I'm a fourth generation spell book out of the 30 generations there are, so I contain some pretty potent stuff!" Sageworth claimed proudly. "But some even rarer spell books are first generation. Those old fogeys have very powerful magic in them indeed. Of course, you can just add information and pages to me if you wish- I have an unlimited number of pages," Sageworth stopped suddenly, as if sensing my confusing.

"An unlimited number of pages?" I blinked. "What do you mean by that?"

"Why don't you open me up and have a look?" Sageworth sang temptingly.
I walked up to the pedestal and found it lowered to my height. This made it much easier to look at Sageworth for the first time. He was a brown leather bound book with golden corners. The purple energy that surrounded him died down whenever he was not speaking. I opened the book at a random place and my face fell. I opened another page a few dozen sheets along. Nothing.

"I don't understand... you're empty!" I gasped.

"Hehe, clever, huh? Now, think of a spell!" Sageworth insisted.

"But I don't know any spells..." I stammered nervously.

"Well, think of something you want!" Sageworth prompted.

"Well, what about a spell to vanquish the witch?" I asked.

"Ooh, powerful stuff needed. Hang on a second..." Sageworth paused, and then to my surprise his pages started moving all by themselves, as if he were looking through himself for the right spell. "Transformations... conjuring spells... herbal tea recipes... ah! Here it is!" he stopped short on one page.

I looked at the page in question curiously. "What is this?" I asked.

"This is the 3 fold spell," Sageworth explained. "The number 3 is very powerful to witches. The magic they used is designed for good! And thus the old ones decided that if it was ever used for evil, that magic would return to the witch in some negative way 3 fold! Unless the witch chooses something to sacrifice in order to get what she wants- and it has to be something very valuable to her," he added.

"So what do you think the evil witch chose?" I asked.

"Well I can tell you. She chose her grace, her wisdom and her beauty. Three very valuable things in return for being able to do some pretty evil things. If you ask me, it wasn't a good trade, but that's the point. It's supposed to stop evil people using the magic of witches evilly. It's a pretty good system. Wizards and mages have no such rules- they could do whatever evils they wanted and get away with it. But witches have to want evil so bad they'd make huge sacrifices for it. If they're willing to do that, nothing you or I could do would have stopped them," Sageworth was sad now.

"Are you okay, Sageworth?" I checked.

"Hm? Why yes Louhi, very much so! I shant dwell on how my warnings to that evil witch fell on death ears! I shall move on and adapt. With the 3 fold spell!" Sageworth refocused himself.

"Okay, so what does it do?" I asked.

"Well isn't it obvious? It looks into a witches' heart and find all the evil things she
has done. Then it returns it to her 3 fold. So if she'd kicked someone in the knee once, she would feel 3 kicks to the knee,"

"And the damage is real?" I asked.

"Very much so," Sageworth confirmed.

"So if she'd chopped living beings into little pieces, even if they were fruit at the time- she would be stabbed all those times too?" I asked.

"Indeed she would," Sageworth nodded.

"Will the spell still work from far away?" I asked.

"It should do, as long as there's the presence of the person you want to cast the spell on," Sageworth glowed very brightly now."Oh, I should be enough! That awful woman uses me every day. There should be more than enough of her aura around me to cast the spell. Isn't that handy?" he mused.

"It definitely is. Okay, then let's do that spell later," I decided. "We should get out of here first. You're sure it's alright for me to take you? It's not stealing?" I asked.

"My girl... if you took me with you, you'd be rescuing me and any of that witches' future victims!" Sageworth told me.

"Okay then. How do I get out of here?" I asked.

That's when I heard it, a clattering sound. I knew what it was instantly and my heart leapt into my mouth.

"SCREEE! SHE'S GONE! ESCAPE! ESCAPE! ESCAPE!" came a shouting from below me.

"Oh no!" I panicked. "They found out I was gone! What do I do?!" I cried.

"Don't worry! First, pick me up and head for the window outside! Quickly!" Sageworth exclaimed.

Obeying, I lifted the heavy tome from his resting place and carried him outside. I could hear the crows lumbering up the stairs. I was trapped.

"To the window!" Sageworth instructed, and I obeyed again.

"But they'll see me here!" I fretted.

"Shh! Just crouch down and keep quiet!" Sageworth ordered.

When I saw their heads rise from the stairway in front of me I froze. I was sure they'd turn round to that little gap between the window and the staircase. But they didn't. They ran straight from the staircase and burst into the witches room.

"Wake the Madam!" they cried  as the door swung shut behind them.

"Now!" Sageworth whispered to me. "Open me up!" and I did, as fast as I could.

I didn't have to do anything. The mighty- the brilliant Sageworth flipped open his pages and rested on something about transformation. He began to glow purple, bright purple.

"What? What is it?" the groggy witch moaned.

"Madam! The child is GONE!" the crow sounded very frightened.

"WHAT?! Did she get by you?" the witch demanded angrily.

"No Madam! No one passed us!" the next crow realised.

"You FOOLS! Then she must be- in my SPELL ROOM!" the witch thundered.

"Please Sageworth!" I begged, as the door swung open.

The witch looked at me with eyes filled with hatred. She pointed a bony finger at me and screeched in a horribly high voice, "GIVE ME BACK MY SPELL BOOK YOU ROTTEN LITTLE GIRL!"

"NOW Louhi!" Sageworth instructed. "Put me under your coat and jump out the window!"

"But-!" I cried, as the witch ran forwards screaming 'you treacherous book!'

"Trust me! Please, now!" Sageworth shouted.

I must have been out of my mind, but when faced with a red faced vengeful witch and an eight floor drop, I chose the drop. I leapt out of the window and felt something strange. I don't quite remember the experience now, but since then Sageworth has told me I transformed.

--------------------------------------------------

One minute I was screaming looking down at the fast approaching ground, and then I was fine, sitting on the ground against the front of the witches' cottage. Looking above me I saw no witch glaring out the window, I heard no crows. And as for my surroundings, for a moment I had to gather my bearings. There I was, after falling eight floors, with barely a scratch on me. It was no longer raining and outside it was bright as day.

I reached into my coat and pulled out Sageworth.

"Sageworth?" I whispered. "Sageworth? Are you okay? SAGEWORTH!" I called loudly.

There came a familiar faint glow. "Shh! Yes... I'm fine. Quick... hide... the boxes..."

Sageworth could barely speak. Looking behind me I saw that indeed there were a few boxes.
I did what I was told and hid behind them. After all, this book had just saved my life!
Seconds later a crow flew by mere inches from the ground. It was quite a feat to fly so close to the ground- I would have been impressed by it if it didn't repulse me. Those crows had eaten several innocent children!

"I know... you're upset... please calm down," Sageworth asked, and at the sound of his measly voice I did so.

Moments later we heard voices from by the front door.

"Madam will be most displeased with us. We couldn't find that girl or Madam's spell book!" the smallest crow's voice quivered.

"I- I'm going to blame the two of you!" the middle sized crow decided.

"Coward! You dare blame me and I'll kill you myself!" the largest crow squawked.

Following this stalemate they clambered back into the cottage. I could hear their heavy bodies and clawed feel scattering across the wooden floors. The door slammed shut behind them. I waited a few moments until their movements could not be heard; until I was satisfied they were far away enough not to hear me, before talking to the spell book Sageworth again.

"What happened?" I asked, still making sure to be quiet.

"Just... let me rest... a while," Sageworth asked. "Oh... so little energy..." he moped. "Need..."

"How do I get you energy?" I asked eagerly.

"I need... it from my... owner... but... the old witch wouldn't..." he panted.

"What about me?" I asked. "Can you take it from me?"

"If I take... from you... you become a witch..." Sageworth explained.

I thought about this. The only witch I'd ever known killed innocent children; tried to kill me- and had doubtless done other horrible things in her life. But now I held Sageworth in my hands, and remembered what he'd told me about witches, I remembered my mother's words too. It's not the magic that's evil, but the actions of the one who uses it. Who said I had to be an evil witch? I could be the greatest, kindest witch that ever lived! And I would help people, defeat evil witches and wizards and restore the good name of magic everywhere!

"Louhi?" Sageworth strained to say, his pages growing dark.

"Okay Sageworth! Do it!" I agreed.

Slowly and with quite some effort, Sageworth opened himself up, but only his cover. As he did so, words appeared on the front page that had not been there before. Skim reading it I knew I had to say the words. They seemed quite complicated to me, but as I spoke them and held onto the bind of Sageworth tight, their meaning became clear.

"I acknowledge and swear to uphold the laws of the Wiccan Rede:
Bide the Wiccan laws ye must, in perfect love and perfect trust.
Live and let live—fairly take and fairly give.
Cast the Circle thrice about to keep all evil spirits out.
To bind the spell every time, let the spell be spake in rhyme.
Soft of eye and light of touch—speak ye little, listen much.

Deosil go by the waxing Moon—sing and dance the Wiccan Rune.
Widdershins go when the Moon doth wane, and the werewolf howls by the dread wolfsbane.
When the Lady's Moon is new, kiss the hand to Her times two.
When the Moon rides ar Her peak, then your heart's desire seek.
Heed the North wind's might gale—lock the door and drop the sail.
When the wind comes from the South, love will kiss thee on the mouth.

When the wind blows from the East, expect the new and set the feast.
When the West wind blows o'er thee, departed spirits restless be.
Nine woods in the Cauldron go—burn them quick and burn them slow.

Elder be ye Lady's tree—burn it not or cursed ye'll be.
When the Wheel begins to turn, let the Beltane fires burn.

When the Wheel has turned to Yule, light the Log and let Pan rule.
Heed ye flower, bush and tree — by the Lady blessed be.
Where the rippling waters go, cast a stone and truth ye'll know.
When ye are in dire need, hearken not to others' greed.
With the fool no season spend, or be counted as his friend.
Merry meet and merry part — bright the cheeks and warm the heart.
Mind the Threefold Law ye should — three times bad and three times good.
When misfortune is enow, wear the blue star on thy brow.
True in love ever be, unless thy lover's false to thee.
Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill — an ye harm none, do what ye will,"

As soon as I finished the final verse, I felt a connection form between Sageworth and I form. I could feel my energy going to him, and yet I felt no worse than I had done. It was an amazing feeling, like making a thousand new friends all at once. I would later be told that the connections I felt were all those who had owned him before. And then I knew that I had nothing to fear, for they had all been wise and good, and abided by the correct laws. I did not feel the presence of the evil witch who had imprisoned me. Perhaps she could never have done such a thing as this, and by forcing Sageworth to do her bidding she had never really been connected to him.

Whatever the case, I was now a young witch. A good witch.

"Ahh! That's better!" Sageworth was now as peppy as ever. "Now what was it you asked me? Oh yes. Here's what happened. I transformed us into a drop of rainwater. As a liquid you could not be harmed- you fell safely and were hidden by the other thousands of raindrops falling around us. Thw dastardly witch never suspected I had cast such a spell. She might have thought I'm flown us away, or made us invisible. But NEVER this! The spell would only last a few hours, hence why it's early morning now. And no one suspected a thing! They must be looking for you EVERYWHERE!" he beamed proudly.

"That's brilliant Sageworth!" I praised him, highly astounded.

"Well, t'was nothing dear. Oh, alright, casting such a spell by myself was a risky move, and it's only ever used by spell books as a last resort because it drains out energy so, but I'm alright now. Well, now you're a witch, why don't we try a few spells out?" Sageworth grinned.

"Let's start with finishing off that wicked witch and her beastly crows!" I suggested.

"Alright, that should be easy enough. They've all gone back inside now. First, let's trap them inside," Sageworth flipped his pages and landed at a certain spell. "Read this!"
This would be my first every spell! I was very excited, but worried it would fail. Feeling a warm glow from the book, no doubt sent by Sageworth to encourage me, I felt heartened.

"Bind the doors about this place,
Let no key be the right shape,
Windows shut and tight they be,
Let no one enter or escape!"

As the last word left my mouth, something shot up from my heart thorough my body and out of my right hand, which had pointed to the building by itself. Instantly I heard many a slamming and locking. Would the occupants of the house have noticed? Before I could find out, Sageworth's pages flicked open again. It rested on a page that had no words, but a great fire leapt from it. I could feel myself controlling this fire, as I wanted to it rose and fell. And holding the book up I willed for it to leap up into the air and spin around the base building as fast as it could. The fire spread quickly as the flame I controlled danced upwards.

Now I knew those inside were wary. I heard them banging against the door to escape, but my magic had forced them shut. I heard them throwing things against the windows, but my magic saved them from shattering. Soon there was no noise. The flames burned brightly and I could hear the crows screaming in agony. I almost felt sorry for them, but I remembered the way they'd gobbled up those poor children, and I turned my heart away from them. Soon their cries died down and I knew they were dead. But what of the evil witch?
After a moment of silence, with nothing but the creaking of weakening wood, a piercing scream filled the air. I looked up to the top window. It was the witch. Briefly horrified by this sound, I lost concentration and all the windows shattered at once. Then, reflected in my eyes was a ball of fire hurtling right at me.

I started to run but it followed me- and then crashed to the ground just ahead of me. Blinking hard, I decided to approach it. The rain was dowsing the fire- and revealing something beneath it. As I got closer, I recognized the charcoaled form. It was the evil witch, burnt to a crisp.

"Get back!" Sageworth warned me- too late.

The seemingly defeated pile leapt up and grasped hold of my spell book, yanking it from my hands and holding it up into the air. "It is MINE!" she cackled. "And now you'll die!" she announced, pulling at Sageworth's back and front cover. But he did not open. "What?! How dare you defy me wretched book! Open up before I throw you into a bucket of water and watch you dissipate!" she commanded.

"No!" Sageworth refused. "I will do your bidding no longer! Louhi is my owner now!" he struggled tp keep himself shut. "Louhi! Remember the three fold law!" he called, as if that was supposed to mean something to me.

I watched helplessly as the evil witch and gallant book struggled against one another. What could I do? My mind raced, I thought about the Wiccan Rede on the first page, and then I had the shock of my life. The image of Sageworth in my mind began to change- I was flipping through his pages, somehow connected to him mentally. Finally, the page rested on '3 fold spell'. This was it- what I needed to defeat this evil hag once and for all. But wait-! In order for this spell to work, it appeared I would also have to be subject to its effects. I also needed to know her name.

I realised that if I called out to him, she would know of my plan and attack me instead! I knew I was a witch now, but I was still only a little girl! I then had another idea. If had such a strong connection with him that I could see what was inside him using my mind surely I could talk to him that way too? I decided to give it a try. I spoke in my mind, as simply as you do when you are talking to yourself, and I asked Sageworth what her name was. I kept an image of his open pages in my mind. Surely enough, letters appeared above the spell. Griselda.

"'Griselda, Griselda, Griselda!" I shouted, and she was so shocked she dropped Sageworth on the floor.

"Wait!" Sageworth began. "Before it was an option, now you've cast fire on her-!" he started to cry, but I already knew what would happen, and I knew what I had to do. I carried on with my spell.

"You hurt me, I hurt you
As you see, as I see
Be a thee,
three by three,
mote it be."

"N-NOOOO!" Griselda screamed, as Sageworth flung open, and a strong purple energy surrounded us both.

Even now I don't regret what I did. Even as the flames poured down on me and surrounded me- burning my skin, I don't regret it. Because I could hear Griselda dying, and I knew justice was being done. When I came to I was being doused with water- Sageworth was dousing me with water from page 125. I screamed in pain and went to clutch my right arm, but was stopped by pain shooting through it.

I knew then that I had suffered burns down the right hand side of my arm and the left hand side of my face. My legs and back were also burned, but for some reason I didn't feel like my life was in danger. Still, the pain was excruciating.

"It- it hurts..." I whimpered.

"It's alright Louhi, draw strength from me!" Sageworth asked. He had been using quite a bit of energy to float over to me by himself and use magic on his own again, but calling up the elements wasn't nearly as exhausting as changing them into something else, so he seemed to be managing. "You gave your energy to me; I have enough left for us to get back to the village!"

"What about Griselda?" I asked, as I felt energy fill my body.

I stood up and let Sageworth fall into my hands.

"See for yourself," he glowed knowingly.

Looking to where Griselda had stood I winced uneasily. Clearly I had returned all she had done to me to her threefold- she had squashed me into a two and a half foot space. Therefore, Griselda had been squashed into that space herself in seconds, giving her no time to move. She was crushed and killed instantly. Now she looked like a large lump of black coal stuck to the ground.

So there you have it. That's how I became a witch and met the witches' spell book Sageworth. I bet you're wondering now how the townsfolk reacted to me- and if I ever did become the world's greatest good witch. Perhaps next time I'll tell you that story. Until then remember: ye harm none, do what ye will!

The End.

I met a mighty cat in an alley way,
He was thin and wild and his fur did fray,
As he looked up, careless, I heard him say-
"There aren't many mice around here today!"

Amazed, my shaking head agreed,
But I couldn't believe what my eyes received-
The blackened cat, as dark as night,
Leapt onto the roof and out of sight!

I looked up as the cat called out,
"Here's a juicy bird- plump and stout!"
I heard him scuffle, hiss and shout,
Fur and feathers flew in this great bout.

Moments later the bird shot by,
Then he appeared with a mighty sigh,
"It's alright, the thing could fly,"
Then he leapt back down from 2 stories high!

He licked his paw and then he was stilled,
Staring at the mouse who was to be killed,
Then grinning at the mouse whose blood he'd spilled,
The cat purred loud as his stomach was filled.

I tried to speak but my words weren't there,
All I could do was stand and stare,
Awed by this cat with his sleek noir hair,
Without a worry, without a care,

Did this creature have a home?
Or did he simply love to roam?
I wondered, would he stay with me?
Or would he rather just be free?

"Deliciousssss," the cat licked his pinkish lips,
Finishing his meal as his tail made whips,
Then bumping into me with his swaggering hips,
He gave my hand one of his playful nips,

Sniffing me briefly soon he was bored,
So he nodded his head like some graceful lord,
I tried to call him back but I was ignored,
As he sauntered off of his own accord.

That's when I realised who I'd met,
This great cat was nobody's pet,
He was certainly no ordinary 'chat',
He was the mighty Wonder Cat!

Title: Albel's Present.
Series: Star Ocean 3 (TTEOT).
Pairing: Albel x Fayt.
Genre: Yaoi/ romance.
Rating: 15+


This fanfiction contains yaoi (a gay couple/ two men/ homosexuals). If you don't like this then don't read and/or comment. Thanks.




“Here, I spent ages picking this out for you - so you better like it,” the red eyed samurai grumbled.

“For me?” Fayt repeated, stunned.

“Well, you’re 20 now…and everyone thinks that should be some reason to buy you stuff… so just take it,”

He dropped the small, pink box with pretty ribbons into Fayt’s delighted cupped hands. This was bigger than Nel skipping work to come see him, bigger than his mother buying him games equipment instead of school books, bigger than Sophia’s birthday kiss!

Fayt was so full of fuzzy happiness that he completely forgot that Albel still stood there, getting more uncomfortable by the minute- until he could take no more of Fayt’s silent, still awe- or his beam of a smile.

“Well…” he began, his cheeks now also red- when he was interrupted.

“Thank you Albel!!” Fayt exclaimed, now holding he present close- but he didn’t even know what it was, Albel thought.

“Whatever,” Albel shrugged, turning around, “but it’s not just a pink box you know. There is something inside it,” he said sarcastically, striding away.

What could be inside?

Fayt had stared at the box for a while now, sat on his bed within the castle. It had been 2 hours since the warrior had stridden up to him with the little box, trying to hide it in his cupped arm so that no one saw him with it. Fayt had been minding his own business, sitting outside, looking at the snow, when he felt someone else approach.

Now he was dismayed of how he couldn’t open it despite a longing to know what was inside- what could the samurai possibly have spent thoughtful time picking out for him- or how he could open it - but then he would know what it was and the feeling of anticipation would subside.

He didn’t want to forget the delight of having a present from one who wasn’t prone to showing affection very often- if at all. He wanted to make it last as long as possible. He didn’t want to feel like Christmas had come and gone in a matter of seconds just because he’d opened all of his presents all at once, too early.  

He took in a breath, and once again took the ribbon of the package in his hand- for the 100th time, only this time he tugged at it a little and the ribbon fell open, wrapping itself over on the mattress. That just left the wrapped box- the carefully cut packaging- all the perfectly sealed corners and edges.

And then there came a knock from the door. Phew. He placed the small package and ribbon to the side.

“Yo, kid! Open up! It’s me!” a familiar voice chanted through his door.
“It’s open,” Fayt smiled, and Cliff burst through the door with a present of his own, excitedly dancing around as Fayt took it- eventually sitting down next to him.

A blue box- that was from Cliff and Mirage. “Open it! Open it!”

Fayt nodded, tearing open the paper and listening to the satisfactory ripping as it revealed a wooden box- and inside were…2 presents! Fayt smiled in glee. From Cliff, it was one of the new attachments to a communicator including loads of new games! And from Mirage was a book by his favourite author.

“Thank you!” Fayt grinned, not stopping himself from giving the bulky man a hug, and the blonde held back tight. “Is Mirage here?” he asked, and Cliff grinned- ever since he first laid eyes on the blonde woman, he had a crush on her.

“Oh, you bet,” he sniggered, and Fayt leaped from his bed, “lets go meet her and the others! I can’t wait for everyone to be together again!” he stated, taking Cliff’s arm and tugging him out into the corridor of Airyglyph castle, where he had spent the months since his fight with Luther- wherever he was now.

Fayt stopped dead- there he was, walking down the corridor- Albel Nox.

And when he noticed who Fayt was with stopping at the turn off to go to their left, to the training patch, he lingered briefly, staring at them intensely. Fayt swallowed weakly and drew in a breath as he sensed Albel’s eyes search him.

“Hey,” Fayt began to call, Cliff also by his side and staring at the samurai with little affection, looking away to avoid confrontation with someone Fayt seemed to like- it was his birthday, after all- “we’re going to meet up with the others, do you want to” -but Albel’s eyes narrowed at the young man before he walked round the corner quickly-“come with us…”he finished quietly.

Fayt looked down sadly.

“Hey, don’t let him upset you,” Cliff grinned, “lets go meet the others,” he suggested, “they can’t wait to see you!” he added- and after a while Fayt turned with shining eyes excitedly.

“I can’t wait to see them either!” he grinned.

They were all there- Adray; Maria; Roger; Nel; Peppita; Cliff; Mirage and Sophia, all of his friends except one.

All except Albel, and of course, there was no way in hell he would ever be with others or admit he had a friend- or that he would put himself in a situation where he was surrounded by those who disliked him or, even worse, those that liked him.  And why was that? Did Fayt make an effort to let Albel fit in? Why did he not?

He would- but what would the others say to this- those like Cliff and Nel? And there it was- it sounded so pathetic- he was afraid that if he showed that he liked Albel, he would lose the respect of his friends- but then how much of friends could they be?

Within a circle of friends, not everyone would like everyone else- maybe someone in that circle would only like one person- but that the person should like them back should not loose that person any respect or make them an outcast.

Fayt was that person- Albel felt he was the one who liked Fayt but that because of those who hated him he had to stay away.

Not only was this not true- Roger was sometimes put off by Fayt’s maturity- he never wanted to have any fun, Cliff thought Roger was a brat, Mirage found Cliff sometimes arrogant, Maria felt that Mirage was too excitable, Sophia thought Maria was insensitive, Nel felt that Sophia was too naïve and Peppita thought that Nel was too serious- and as for Fayt- well- he thought of Peppita as a little sister- he had to love her but she had many moments when he wanted to strangle her.

And where did Albel fit into this- just because he was a little unsociable- he thought people didn’t like him- but how could he think that when there was Fayt- and then no one else he let in?

That was it- despite the entire ruckus and partying, after a while, Fayt left the group- he felt a little sick from Cliff's beverages- it was turning dark outside by now and Fayt had yet to open his most treasured present.

But how could he open it without taking out the effort that had been made to wrap it so perfectly and carefully? Even if Albel hadn’t wrapped it- the thought of him doing it forced out a smile- yet the prospect of him making sure it was done just so seemed just as sweet.

A little steam from the kitchen took care of the sealant on the sweet little package- and he pulled the wrapping off very carefully, folded it and placed it to the side- unaware that now, all of the kitchen staff had left the kitchens that had closed and darkened around him- but Fayt was too engrossed in his gift to notice shadows, darkness or to be scared of them.
“Phew…okay…just the box left now…” he breathed.

Fayt took out a pen knife to only cut at the over flaps of the box- and inside was another box which he inspected very carefully- it was a dark red colour with a gold line around the edge about 2 inches by 4 inches wide- with a little golden latch on the centre side.

As he ran his fingertips over the box lid he felt a chill strike up the crevice of his back- was it always this cold in the kitchen? Was it the atmosphere- or perhaps the unmistakable colour of blood in the delicate box he held, that quickened his breathing and forced him to look away briefly before gaining the courage to flick the latch and slowly lift the lid up in trembling eagerness- peering with one eye into the gap that had formed and grew wider gradually.

Fayt swallowed- this was beautiful- an intricate silver chain with a gold ring holding a pendant of a silver sword with a gold helm pointed downwards over a cut red gem heart stone that shone almost as if it were bleeding. At the centre of the hilt of the sword was another red gem- a drop of blood from that very heart that illuminated the sword that had cut into it.

And the youth couldn’t help but his own heart stopping- the style of sword on this incredible gift was exactly like his- no- it was his- so…whose heart was that which had been sliced into so perfectly? The frozen moment in time would preserve and save that heart from its fate- when all the glowing, crimson blood would gush from it otherwise- whereas as it was- in that pictured pendant- no wound could be seen from behind the grand weapon.

Careful…he told himself…as he took up the chain first as if it were crepe paper- and the thought of letting the pendant hang so precariously horrified him- despite knowing that it was solid and strong- he was afraid that it was too delicate to hold- that he might break it. And then came another chill that swept over him again- overwhelming from his previous awe- he sensed someone’s presence well before he saw their shadow loom over him- and he gulped before turning- was it- why here- but he knew it was- Albel.

“Albel…” Fayt whispered- something was caught in the back of his throat as he stared up into the swirling red eyes. “Umm…this is…” he began, holding the pendant up carefully, when once again Albel frowned, stepping forwards threateningly, but the bluenette couldn’t move- what had he done now?

“I see,” he growled, his claw twitching. “You took your sweet time in opening that,” he stared hard and expectantly at the bluenette who had frozen in surprise- that was why- “well, it might not be any of that… ‘Gaming’ stuff you like…but…well…I don’t know…I thought it was fitting,” he claimed- like a murderer before the act- toying with his victim.

“I…” he stuttered.
“What- you don’t like it?” Albel demanded- daring him not to, his hand fixed on the helm of his katana.

Fayt shook his head furiously- why was he so tongue tied? Maybe it was because all this time he had thought that Albel would be bothered with something as pitiful as who did or didn’t like him so he could be with Fayt- when really; the only thing he had stalked off angrily at was how long it took Fayt to open his present- and that he was not wearing it. And Fayt grew apprehensive as Albel drew up- in fact- if Fayt didn’t put on the pendant soon he was sure the Airglyphian cooks and kitchen aids would find his remains scattered all over the place the next morning.

Albel’s eyes narrowed- and his claw slammed out, sweeping pass Fayt to dig into the wall- ahh! He jumped an inch. Why was he even still thinking about it?!

“No- I love it! It’s perfect!” Fayt gathered his composure- and Albel’s sceptical look withdrew as Fayt smiled widely- there it was again- just like when he had given Fayt the present in the first place.

Fayt let out a short laugh- since when did Albel Nox care about what a bunch of worms and maggots thought, anyway? He had been the one with that problem- but now- he didn’t care! If he wanted to be with Albel- who cared what Cliff or Nel thought or how worried Sophia was- they just had to trust their friend and his feelings. His feelings? What were his feelings exactly- and yet he answered that himself.

Fayt took the chain carefully and placed it around his neck- to which Albel let out a wicked grin that made Fayt go deep red. What? And then he made a silent gasp, as Albel reached out and took the pendant around his neck between his fingertips- his claw still trapping him in the corner with Fayt’s knees trembling.

“Did you notice the design? Every time I think of you or I'm with you- it feels like you’re doing something like this to my heart. I know as long as you’re here it won’t kill me- as long as you’re close I won’t die- but it’s a thrilling kind of mercy- a sympathy shown to a demon even though he kills and torments others.

Even though I may hurt you- you don’t mind that- you understand me. I’ve come to realise that you’re not just the usual worm or the despicable fool. And so I’ve come to allow you access to what’s inside me- but this is a kind of martyr- because I hate myself inside and out-and it’s a torture having you there to see what I hate. But you know…I don’t mind- I kind of like it, its fun. And now it’s definite.”

“Definite?” Fayt asked- almost afraid to know.

“You heard me. Now I’ve let you in there’s no getting out- if you did then I would die, no question- I would no longer have a heart because it only beats on for you. If you dared to leave, I would revert to the complete demon I was- I would kill without a thought and there would be no stopping me. And the definite article is my signature- that’s my gift, really, my possession of you.”

Fayt opened his mouth, but nothing came out, as Albel let the pendant slide between his fingers with a lustful smile, which was mere inches from Fayt’s heavy breathing.

“Fool, I let you into my heart because I decided you were worth the pain of feeling- because I knew I had to make you mine- that you would have to belong to me- and if you try to leave me, then I’ll just have to stop you,” and he then became so close that everywhere ached with the same yearning, and then Albel drew back with a smug smile-as if the whole thing had been a tease.

He turned slowly, tempting the boy even more- who now moved forwards to savour the moment and keep the samurai from leaving.

“Look on the back,” came a hushed whisper, as the crow like man stood waiting in the doorway, his back to the youth.
Fayt’s fingers trembled as he held the pendant and turned it around- and then everything tightened as his throat went dry.

'Property of Albel Nox', and there it was- definite. But the feeling of faint horror was overcome by another feeling as Albel turned around triumphantly- and Fayt knew that if he ever tried to remove this article, that would be his death- and he forced confidence despite a giddy sort of pleasure.

“What is this, a dog collar or something?” he asked, striding up and meeting Albel head on- but he had a disadvantage of height- still- Albel did not keep looking down- his head only rose to let out a malignant laugh.

“I wouldn’t call you a dog; let’s call it a fool collar- shall we?” Albel smiled- turning again and striding away.

Fayt felt an aura sweep over him- was it some kind of enchantment within the pendant or his own desires pushing him forward, dragging his feet along?

“Hey!” someone called, and both Fayt and his master turned round to see a slightly tipsy Cliff jig up to the side a few metres away from them both- perhaps because he did not trust the violent Albel Nox not to take advantage of him while he was drunk. “We’re all going to the dragon’s breath for some more beverages- ours ran out- wanna come? Without you we won’t have an excuse,”

Fayt laughed, he had gone over to the blonde “then I give you my full blessings to please celebrate my birthday without me- in fact- drink all the more for my absence!” Fayt told the delighted martial artist.

“Alright Fayt! Hey…” he added, a moment later, swaying at the swordsman and staring at his torso in interest “that’s a nice pendant you’ve got there- where’d you get it?” Cliff asked.

“Oh, this? It’s from,” and he looked back for a moment- Cliff’s eyes followed in confusion- but Fayt was checking to see whether or not Albel seemed miffed that Fayt would reveal he had done something nice- though there was something delightfully sinister about marking him as his property, “Albel,” he smiled broadly moments later.

“You’re kidding…” he looked aside to see Albel raise his head in dignity and superiority. “Wow…” was all he could muster to this breakthrough in the demon’s character. Apprehension- as he realised he was wasting good drinking time. “Well, happy birthday Fayt! I gotta go!” he stated, before dancing away whilst stringing together a kind of warped song.

Fayt sniggered as he watched the man go, when a cough came from behind him and he turned quickly on impulse. Albel rose a brow- a look- one given when the roses were trampled on or the next door neighbours’ cat was chased up a fence. But a forgiving sigh and a smile- conniving and devious, followed.

“Come Fayt,” he called down the hall- and Fayt went to retort to this when he found himself actually moving forward- really- he was never going to object.

He strode alongside the samurai faithfully.

“So…where are we going?” Fayt asked- bedroom, bedroom, bedroom-
“First, we’re going training,” Albel’s eyes were full of fire that seemed to catch Fayt alight too.

“Really?!”
“There’s nothing like training under a dark sky on a cool night,” Albel commented, opening the door to the patch outside the castle walls yet still within the grounds, and they went out together.

“You know…I’ve been thinking…about this whole…ownership thing…” Fayt began, and Albel turned with authority- but Fayt was not deterred from the subject. “It might not be a bad idea,” he smiled.

“You’re so cute,” Albel smiled icily, stepping close and grasping Fayt’s chin to hold him still whilst he took a kiss forcefully- and Fayt flailed in a hopeless delight.
“Wh”- Fayt began to gasp, as Albel withdrew, but he was stopped by a long fingertip that sealed his lips- which hung behind them obediently in silence.
“You actually think you have the choice, that’s why you’re so cute- rebellious. Today you went off with that oaf to see your friends, and while some of them I may be able to stand, others repel me like a dragon to dragons’ bane. The only reason you went there, was because I let you,” Albel told him with another smile.

“Oh.” Fayt tilted his head in a moment of confusion.
"Fool?" and he looked up at this luring call, “are we going to fight, or are you going to stand there looking irresistible? There’s plenty of time tonight for other adventures,” Albel claimed, whipping out his long sword eagerly.  
And Fayt was quick to reply to this demand from his 'master'.