Chapter -1

There was once a sweet maiden who took to plucking wild flowers in the fields. She was at the age of marriage, and at the prime of her youth. Her skin was as fair as the lilies of the valley, her hair as yellow and fragrant as freesia. Most of all, her eyes are like ambrosia – both as green as the plant and as enchanting as the food of the gods.

On a particular summer, the sky was illuminated a light shade of yellow by the midday sun as the birds take flight toward the heavens. The young girl went out to pluck wild flowers as usual even though her mother had warned her earlier the morning not to leave the house, and she knew the reason why; the day was the climax of the First War between the Man and the Prince of Darkness. The war began about a decade ago, and Man was constantly losing until just recently, an unexpected ally turned up, and the tide of the battle had since been turned. This particular day is the last stand.

The young lady spotted some forget-me-nots, which are extremely rare in that region.

They say that these flowers represent true love (1); I wonder if I shall meet my true love today?

Suddenly, a loud blast was heard, and billows of smoke appeared not far from the lady's line of sight. She was stirred by the noise, but was not too surprised. When a man came running exhaustively towards her, however, she was in quite a fright; this man was a complete stranger to her, and his peculiar mode of dress distinguishes him from the lower to middle classes.

An aristocrat! What is he doing here? Oh, and he looks badly hurt too; what shall I do?

The little girl panicked. She had never encountered anybody other than lower class people, and this person who appeared before her has an impression of nobility about him, especially his frilled long coat, monocle and hair that is slicked back. In his possession are a strange-looking sword and two handguns, which were uncommon during the time. The most peculiar feature of this man is that his hair is silvery. When he reached a few feet from the lady, he collapsed, worn and weary. Upon closer inspection, in his right hand is clenched what seems like a black orb.

Oh, Lord! What should I do now? This man is really hurt, and I can't leave him here, but mother wouldn't be pleased with me bringing a stranger into the house, not at a time when father is out in battle! Ugh, he has blood on his clothes too! What do I do, what do I do, what do I do…

While she remains staring at the almost lifeless body of the man, he muttered a groan, "Hey, lady, a little help here?"

Without further thinking, she took his hands and started dragging him towards her house, which isn't far.

At least he's not too heavy.

When they reached the door of the house, the lady's mother rushed out and shouted at her. "Oh, thank heavens you are alright! Where have you… Ah! Who is this! Where did he come from?"

"No time to explain, ma, quickly help me get this man to the barn, and get a doctor!"

"Have you forgotten? The doctor is away helping the soldiers in the war; we shall have to treat this young man as best as we could."

And so the mother and daughter managed to drag the man to the shed, which was just behind their house. They laid him down on stacks of hay, and the mother immediately regarded the bloody stains on him.

"He must be one of the soldiers, although his clothing isn't quite appropriate for warfare, I must say. I'll go prepare some hot water to clean his wounds; you stay and watch over him."

The mother left the building, and now the young lady is all alone with the man. She really did not know what to do now, especially in the presence of a young man.

Oh, my; alone again with this stranger. He looks terrible; is he even alive?

She pressed her head close to his chest, hoping to hear a heartbeat.

Yes, he's alive, thank God. I don't want to be in the same room as a dead man. I think I'd better take his shirt off; they're not good for the wounds, or so I hear in similar cases.

The lady began to undress the young man, conspicuously leaving the bottom half alone.

The man awoke and got up.

"Careful! Your wounds aren't light, and you should stay down in case you get some infection or something!"

"I'm fine, thanks for your concern."

"You may look like you're fine, you may act like you're fine and you may think that you're fine, but you are not fine!"

The young man turned his gaze towards the young lady's countenance, which caused her to blush deeply.

"Listen; I need you to do me a favor: take this," the young man handed her the black orb, which was in his right hand all this while, "and throw it somewhere; anywhere, as long as no one is able to reach it. Don't tell anyone where you have disposed of this thing, not even me. Promise me, carry this out, and I will not harm you."

The young man's left hand was still holding onto the lady's wrist, and she immediately broke free from his clutches but still holding onto the black orb he just handed to her. She didn't know what to say, but only left the building and ran as far as her two legs could take her and threw the orb into a place where no one could ever reach, or so she believed no one could ever get to. When she returned to the barn, however, she found the man completely healed of all his injuries, albeit his clothes were still left on the ground. She was stunned and stood motionless over the sight of this strange scene: from one moment, this man was lying on the haystack full of bruises and bloody wounds; in the next moment, he is standing fine without a single scratch on his flawless skin.

How did he…get completely healed? I was quite sure that when I found him he was all bloody and he couldn't even move an inch, but now he's standing up looking so perfect, so divine, so…

"I don't blame you; it's not everyday you can see a guy like me half naked."

When he spoke, his words seem to allure her, but in a moment she snapped out of the trance and turned her gaze away, blushing hard.

"Listen, I've gotta go now; need to take care of some business."

The man proceeded to dress himself up, and prepared himself to step out of the building.

"Wait!"

The man stopped in his tracks.

"What is it now?"

"What is your name?"

"Why would you want to know?"

"Because…I want to see you again!"

That last sentence blurted out without much hesitation, and the girl closed her mouth with her hand almost instantly.

"Heh; I knew you couldn't resist. Before I tell you my name, promise me, don't tell anyone you saw me here, okay? It's for your own safety."

The girl merely nodded her head, not wanting to say something stupid for a second time.

"Sparda."

The man walked out as soon as he finished saying his name. The girl merely stood at the doorway, not knowing what else to do. After the man has gone out of sight, the girl's mother came into the building.

"Where is that man?"

"He…he left…on his own."

"What? How can he, with all those wounds? How could you have let him go like that? Oh, you have just wasted a good opportunity…"

"Mother!"

"But tell me, did he leave you a name?"

"He, err…no, ma. He didn't."

"Well that's too bad."

Later that evening, the girl's father returned from the war. Apparently, the war was a great triumph. The family decided to celebrate by having a nice family meal.

"So, my dear, tell us all about the war."

"Well there isn't really much to say anyway; most of the men were cowards when it came to serious business, and I would say that most of the war was won by one very distinguished individual, who single-handedly defeated literally millions of hordes and the Prince of Darkness himself! You should have seen how he blinded one of the opposing generals, Beowulf, into retreat! Funny thing is I hear from lots of people that this person isn't exactly human. Though it's hard to believe, they say he is a demon, which would explain his amazing skill and abilities."

"Did you get to meet him, dear? After all, our daughter is in dire need of someone to marry."

"Mother!"

"Oh, I didn't get to meet him. Right after the final stand against the Prince of Darkness, he mysteriously vanished. No one has seen him since."

"Daddy, what is his name?" asked the maiden.

This question surprised everyone, especially the young lady herself.

"Well, he did give his name as 'Sparda'."

(Notes)

(1) - Hanakotoba

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