The Demon’s Bride

Elise walked down the halls to the garden with a brush on her hand. As the weather had moved to the cold season, the trees in the garden have begun to shed quite a lot amount of leaves where one day wouldn't be enough to clean all the leaves the garden have accumulated. When Elise reached to the corner of the hall and was about to turn her steps to the right, she heard a sound of wings flapping. "Elly!" Aryl greeted and flew above her shoulder to pass and stopped in front of her face.

Aryl had taken a few day off away from her after saying that she needed to go back to the faeries land. "Did something happened in the faeries land?" Elise asked in concern seeing how Aryl traveling between the lands of humans and the lands of the faeries.

Aryl knew the girl was perceptive but she is a human. The human she had gotten attached dearly to and didn't want to tangle her with the world of the faeries where she had enough on her plate now.

"What can ever happen in the faeries land? Other than drinking all day they don't have anything to do it's always peaceful over there." Aryl smiled and flew across her face to sit on her shoulders. "Never mind that, did something happen after the day I left you?"

Elise felt a little conscious after her words, "What do you mean?"

Noticing the change and her look of surprise, Aryl lifted one of her brows, saying, "I mean if there is any danger that came and follow you." Being a sweet child, it would be easy for Elise to be followed by accidents and attacks from people who wanted to use her power.

Elise gave a small smile, "Actually something did happen," she trailed and told Aryl of what she had find in the forest of the village where all the villagers were kidnapped mysteriously.

Aryl kept on knitting her brows deeply, "So the ghost boy turned to a large spider after saying the word corruption?" She asked for her confirmation where she gave her a nod.

"Aryl, do you know what corruption means to a ghost?" Elise asked and saw Aryl who had taken to fly away from her shoulder shaking her head. "Not that I know of, I can't see ghost you see."

"Is that so," Elise whispered as she extended her hand to push the door knob and walked out to be greeted by the cold wind blowing on the garden. Unexpectedly being blown by cold wind, Elise covered her hands to her chest and clasped the two palms together. Blowing a breath from her lips she whispered, "It had gotten cold."

Aryl had her eyes falling on the mountain of leaves who had made a layer atop the grass path to knit her brows, "Are you going to clean the garden alone?" It was too many work for a single girl to do. "This is too much, just who assigned you to this kind of heavy work for a fragile girl?"

"Thank you for your worries Aryl but I'm not fragile." Elise corrected with a smile, she may look like one but in her town there were time when she accompanied her father to hunt in the forest and she could proudly say she stronger in hunting than most of the boys at her age. It was also the few reason why she didn't felt that much tired after running in the forest for almost an hour straight. "and it isn't that much of a work, all the maids took turn to sweep the garden every time."

"I'm not saying that you are weak Elise, I'm just upset that he brought you in only to work your life off." By he Aryl meant Ian. The sweet child should be treated like a lady to the faeries but Elise didn't think the same as them.

Elise knew Aryl was thinking well of her but she didn't want to come and stay at White Mansion only to idle around. She came as a maid to the mansion and she knew well the responsibility of her work. "It's not bad as it sounds and I'm happy with my work, Aryl." she said and Aryl could only shrug her shoulders.

Elise sweep the leaves away starting from the far corner of the garden when she slowly moved the leaves into a place.

"This is bull**! How can a dead creature do this to me? ** I shouldn't have come to this mansion **!" Elise heard a voice appearing out of no where and jumped in startled.

"What happen, Elise?" Aryl asked when she noticed Elise had darted her eyes left and right.

"You didn't hear that, Aryl? There was someone here who was yelling." and after her question, Aryl cupped ears trying to hear what voice but heard nothing other than the sound of wind hitting the crisp dried leaves to say, "I don't hear anything?"

Elise placed her broom bellow a tree and followed the continuous yelling in the garden. Although the person who was yelling sounded crude, he also sounded like he was trapped and she wasn't someone who could stay quite while other was in trouble.

"Help! Anyone! ** it! What is this rope made up of anyway?" The reaper shouted. He was the head of reaper, the eight one. As he was stronger than his peers a fight with an unknown creature shouldn't harm him at all and yet here he was tied into a tree unable to release himself. He tried to take out the scythe using his power as a grim reaper but was unable to do so for some reason and it only made him anxious.

With all his cards to escape was sealed, the reaper began to panic internally and shouted for help again. "Butler! Hey red haired butler come here! Let's have a talk!"

He struggled his hand out of the rope when he saw a maid with a sunset looking bright red hair walking to his tree. A human, the reaper gave a frown he wasn't in a mood to see a human who can't see him nor help him out of his troubles now.

He noticed how her blue eyes staring at the tree for a long moment and yelled, "Oh what in the hell's name are you looking at this tree for? Does it look handsome or something?! Stop staring and do your damned job!"

Elise held her eyes surprised by his sudden screaming at her and had their eyes fixed at each other. The reaper notice how the way she look at the tree was different before noticing that their eyes were locked at each other.