The queen's voice was soft--muted--as she pored her misfortune
into the ears of the thirteenth fairy. She pleaded with him to forgive
her her crimes, to leave the unborn one alone. He gave her a
disdainful sneer as his dark power washed over her. "You'll name the
girl Miyu, " his demonic eyes alit in cold joy.
"Leave my baby!" the poor mother cried. "Take me instead!"
"I won't, " the thirteenth fairy smiled cruelly.
---
The king never learned of this transaction, nor would he have
cared, really. The dark magic of the fairies had already woven itself
into a binding cord around his heart. In this state of denied evil, he
would have willingly sacrificed his unborn child if only the thirteenth
fairy would continue to bestow upon him his forbidden time.
To their minions, the king and queen were god-like. They had
survived hundreds of years, living through wars and plagues, looking
scarcely a day over thirty-five. Rumours of the king's mysterious wife
being an enchantress flickered throughout the kingdom, and sordid
stories of her black magic had hummed in the air of more than a single
pub more than once. She had appeared out of nowhere, capturing his
attentions and binding him within her arms. He would not die until she
had, and it was becoming obvious that she would not.
The peasants were more than reluctant for the queen to give
birth to the child, then. The thought of another witch being born,
this time into the royal family, appalled the citizens. Still, the
king was much loved and the child was half his, so the citizens agreed
to accept her.
On the day that the child was born, the queen began to cry.
She cried for herself; she cried for her husband; she cried for young
Miyu; she cried in blood. The villagers were horrified by the tales of
their queen draining the blood out of many a castle guard, only to cry
their blood away, grieving some unknown tragedy.
She cried every day until the end of Miyu's first week, when a
spectacular ball was planned in hopes of ending her grief. The king
had been particular in everything involved in the party, making sure
that it was perfect. The kingdom's finest golden dishes were lain out,
along with fine wines and heady foods. The queen was adamant that the
thirteenth fairy was not to be invited.
The ball was pleasant. Princes and princesses from neighboring
kingdoms were brought in, in hopes of finding a friend for Miyu, and
the adults enjoyed themselves immensely. After a while, though, it
became time for the visitors to leave. One by one, they filed by the
young princess, each wishing a miraculous gift to the child.
Just as the last one stood to lean over the babe, a horrific
silence drew over the feast. The thirteenth fairy stood, smirking, in
the archway. His eyes narrowed coldly as he stalked into the room, to
the silent, pensive baby. He covered her beautiful hazel eyes with
one hand and gazed pointedly at the queen. "I wish her a task so
insurmountable that none before her could accomplish it. I wish her
the feat to banish away the demon-gods of this world, and I take from
her the right of death until she has completed it. She will live, be
it happilly or not, until this task is finally accomplished. She will
have enemies which can kill her, but will remain upon the earth a
spirit until the quest is finished, " he finished. He spun on his
heel, and with a final deep, throaty laugh, disappeared into thin air.
"No!" the queen wailed, her scream echoing over the castle
grounds.
"Your majesties, " an old fortune teller creaked, "I cannot
take away this plight, but I can assure you that the child will be
safe, though not happy. She has a long life ahead of her, but it will
not begin until her prince has come. He will awaken her with a kiss, "
she cackled, a sinister feeling dripping from the words like blood.
"Oh, my baby..." the queen collapsed in grief at the hag's
words.
---
The years slowly ticked by and Miyu grew into an inquisitive
child. Her soft, golden brown hair darkened into a color near black,
and her wide hazel eyes lightened into a golden sheen. She was often
seen "haunting" the north tower, where she said that a ghost lived.
Soon it was time for her fourteenth birthday. The castle was
alive with activity, servants bringing out the finest of linens and
dishes and other wares to accomodate the visitors from other kingdoms
that would be coming. As usual, there were to be no children, but Miyu
was used to it. She had grown up solitary, roaming the castle's dank
halls and corridors alone as a child. She knew that other children
existed in other places, but she had yet to see one.
Everyone was so busy that they failed to notice her slipping
off to the north tower, to visit her ghost. He was tall, and
breathtakingly handsome, with paler skin than that of the people she
was used to seeing and blue hair so pale it seemed white. His strange,
burgundy eyes always seemed to burn into hers as they talked, and his
hands were thin, bony, white things that looked as though he had clawed
himself with his long, red nails. She confided her secrets in him, and
he was her only friend.
"Oh, Ghost!" she cried, her still childish voice ringing over
the stones as she approached. She smiled as he stepped out from behind
a door, eyes narrowed in a playful manner. "Mother and Father are
having a party for me. Would you like to attend?" she asked, reaching
up for him to envelop her in his embrace, shrouded by the black silk
garments he wore that draped over his frame, making it unable for her
to tell except for feel how thin he was.
"I would love to, Miyu, " he replied, a smile hovering over
his lips. "I won't miss it."
"Ghost?" she asked tentatively, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Will you...will you be my prince?" she smiled up at him innocently.
"Why would you want me as your prince?" he asked her, his
face twisted in amusement.
"You feel safe to me, " she responded, curling in on his
larger form, nuzzling into his neck. He pressed his face into her
exposed throat, humming slightly. "What? What are you doing?" she
asked, trying to turn her head to look at him.
He pushed her head back down to his shoulder, holding her
there. "I'm not safe. I'm not safe for you at all, " he murmured
into her ear before licking her neck.
"Ghost?!" she frantically tried to pull away, but he refused
her. She felt his teeth delicately scratch her neck, followed by his
long, red nails. Finally, in desperation, she sank her teeth into his
throat, which had been so tantalizingly close. A rush of salty blood
poured from him as he gave a strangled gasp and she drew away,
horrified.
As she sat back, watching him bleed, she licked her lips
slowly, tasting the coppery substance on her tongue. Her golden eyes
raked over him more ravenously than any meal she had ever eaten in the
banquet hall and she lunged, diving upon him and lapping kittenishly at
the dark liquid staining his skin, his clothes, and the stones beneath
him. She felt the steady pulse begin to falter and realized what she
was doing.
"Ghost!" she screamed, her voice cracking at the sight of him
lying in his own blood, or what little she hadn't drank. The young
princess stopped, looking at her own wrist, which pulsed with blood.
She brought her arm to her face and ripped at the tender flesh with her
teeth, sending droplets of precious red warmth flying around the room.
She lay her wrist across his mouth and felt him begin to slowly lap at
it. His motions became stronger until he was firmly sucking on the
tiny wrist in his grasp and Miyu's head began to swim. She pried her
arm from him and put it to her own lips, soothing the sting of its
wound.
"Miyu, " he voiced softly, pulling her closer to him as she
fainted.
---
The princess had been missing for more than a few hours when a
harried guard headed to the north tower. Miyu had repeatedly told her
parents that the tower was haunted, and the guard was a superstitious
person, reluctant to finally meet a real ghost.
He stepped into the tower, wary of the cold stone walls
surrounding him. A soft, wet sound was heard, and he paused,
shuddering with fear. He stepped further into the room and another was
heard. Finally, he looked down to the stones beneath him, which were
covered in blood.
The guard ran, shrieking, to the king and queen and told them
of what he had found. An order of the kingdom's most powerful knights
was collected to venture into the tower. However, just as they began
to leave, the court drew silent. Ghost stood, tall, silent, and
ominous in the door, his black cloak draped around him as usual but
dripping blood on the floor. The queen took one look at him and
screamed.
Ghost made a sweeping motion, drawing the cloak's sleeve from
his shoulder and revealing the sleeping Miyu. "Who are you?!" the
king demanded.
"My name is not pronounceable in your language. In some
languages I am Larvae, but the princess calls me Ghost, " he replied.
"Why do you have my daughter?!"
"I came to conquer and vanquish her, only to be conquered
first. She has bound me to her with her blood, and I cannot leave her
side, " the figure answered. "Though she is as much mine as I am
hers."
Suddenly, dark laughter filled the room, waking the sleeping
princess. The thirteenth fairy appeared in all his malevolent glory,
eyes shining with evil intent. "You *Majesty*, " he bowed low to
Ghost, who clutched the princess to himself protectively. "What an
honor to have the prince of the undead here for such unworthy eyes as
mine to gaze upon him."
"Undead? Prince?" the queen's terrified gaze swept over the
pale young man.
Ghost pursed his lips slightly, squeezing Miyu's shoulder
tightly. He swung her behind him in a brisk move, whipping his arm
around in front of his face and displaying his deadly claws. "You
won't cause her harm, " he snarled at the older man.
"No, " the fairy laughed. "No, I think not. You have done it
for me. You have fulfilled the prophesy of that old hag so many years
ago."
"No!"
"Prophesy?" the queen and Ghost cried at the same time.
"The child was awakened by your kiss, was she not? And it was
the blood of your veins and hers that the incompetent guards trampled
in the north tower, was it not? You came to kill her--murder her--and
woke her instead, " the fairy sneered.
"She has awakened?" the queen's voice was soft. "I had
hoped...I was going to suffocate her in her sleep tonight, after the
party. I...couldn't bear the thought of her awakening...but I am too
late..."
"Murder?!" the king bellowed, turning on the queen.
"You cease to amuse me, toy, " the fairy stated simply, and
the king fell just short of his wife. The queen shrieked abruptly,
then was solidly encased in crystal.
"Mother! Father!" Miyu screamed, and Ghost wrapped his arms
around her protectively. She moved in his grip to face his chest and
began to sob.
"Little princess, " the fairy cooed. "I can give you your
family back. They are but sleeping."
"You...you can?" Miyu asked between sniffles.
"Of course. I can do anything I want to, " the fairy's smile
broadened.
"How do I...what do I have to..." Miyu's thin shoulders quaked
in silent sobs.
"You are to hunt down the stray god-demons of the world and
return them to me. Once you are through, your family will awaken
again, alive and whole and happy. They will not remember the ages that
pass, and you will return to the way things are now, " the fairy lied.
"Really?" she asked softly, glancing at her parents' still
forms. "I'll do it." Miyu turned her golden eyes on the thirteenth
fairy, pinning him in her gaze.
"Good, " he replied, waving his hand dismissively. Bit by
bit, the castle began to be overrun by vines. Everywhere, people were
frozen in giant blocks of crystal. In seconds, the entire castle
seemed abandoned. As he stood back, the fairy smiled maliciously.
Shadows appeared on the walls, moving in steadily. Still smiling, the
thirteenth fairy disappeared.
As he left, one of the shadows swooped in, a bird-like creature
with long talons. It dove at the frightened girl, scratching long
welts in her pale arms as she tried to protect herself. Ghost snarled,
pulling her to him, and extended his own claws, neatly slashing the
bird-thing. It retreated, mewling in pain, and he scrawled a symbol on
the wall of the castle in its blood. The creature howled again and
stood still, as though bound by invisible strings. Ghost murmured a
few more words in an ancient tongue and it alit like a bonfire, its
agonizing screeches and the crackle of its skin as it burned so strong
an image that the child had to turn away.
"Ghost!" Miyu sobbed as the final embers of the unfortunate
creature died. He clutched her close.
"Miyu, " his voice was sad. "You have a long, painful life
ahead of you."
---
Years, decades, centuries, millenia passed before the child
could finish her quest. Through this time she lived on the blood of
mortals, her stoic companion always by her side. She had long since
realized that the fairy was a liar; when her father's body had
decomposed, filling the air with the stench of decay, she learned the
horrible truth. She was bound into a curse by a monster, one of the
god-demons himself.
Every day she pressed her ear to her mother's crystal
sarcophagus, listening to the soft, dull throbbing. It sounded like a
pocketwatch wrapped in cotton, with the layers getting thicker as the
years went on until one day, as close as her ear would be to the cold
stone, she could hear nothing.
Still, she had her quest, and she diligently worked at it.
Ghost helped her obediently, and she finally finished it.
On the day that she finished it, the thirteenth fairy appeared,
a cold smile on his face. "I am done, Fairy!" Miyu challenged him,
her eyes sharp with rage. "Give me my family!"
"You are not done, " the fairy denied. "You have left one
god-demon: your Ghost."
"Ghost?!" Miyu turned to her companion, eyes wide. The other
closed his eyes slowly, nodding. He brushed his fingertips along her
cheek, gathering the tears there.
"You must, " he told her softly.
"I won't!" she replied, but he grabbed her firmly.
"You will."
Taking a deep breath, Miyu stepped back, murmuring the words
that he had taught her until he began to burn. She quickly gathered
his spirit into an orb and handed it to the fairy, whose hatred shone
in his eyes. He gripped her shoulder painfully and covered her eyes
with a hand, talking. "I give to her the pain of regret, the anger in
being so easily fooled, the wish for death...and the power of having
it, " his eyes narrowed in humor and he removed his hand, laughing at
the dawning look of horror and realization on the girl's face.
Miyu touched her lips gingerly, feeling the blood of ages flow
over them. Her ears rang with the terrified screams of those she had
fed from, and flames licked at her skin, the pain of every god-demon
she had sealed and given to the fairy. With a cry, she fell onto the
stone floor of the castle, which had long since decayed and fallen to
pieces. She looked up at the fairy, her eyes pleading for mercy, but
met his cold gaze. In his hand, he offered her a dagger, and she took
it, unsheathing the metal and dropping its casing on the ground.
With a defiant glare at the fairy, she drove it into the ground
between the stones, feeling its blade break between them. "I'll never
be your slave again, " she spat at him, eyes filled with rage. The
fairy's clothes began to smoulder, and he frantically tried to pat the
flames away. "I won't kill myself. It's what you want me to do. I've
done that too long, " Miyu's child-like voice held a bitter, aged tone
to it. She laughed as the fairy looked at her in dawning fear before
bursting into flames.
Miyu drew the fairy, the true final god-demon, into an orb and
smashed it.
into the ears of the thirteenth fairy. She pleaded with him to forgive
her her crimes, to leave the unborn one alone. He gave her a
disdainful sneer as his dark power washed over her. "You'll name the
girl Miyu, " his demonic eyes alit in cold joy.
"Leave my baby!" the poor mother cried. "Take me instead!"
"I won't, " the thirteenth fairy smiled cruelly.
---
The king never learned of this transaction, nor would he have
cared, really. The dark magic of the fairies had already woven itself
into a binding cord around his heart. In this state of denied evil, he
would have willingly sacrificed his unborn child if only the thirteenth
fairy would continue to bestow upon him his forbidden time.
To their minions, the king and queen were god-like. They had
survived hundreds of years, living through wars and plagues, looking
scarcely a day over thirty-five. Rumours of the king's mysterious wife
being an enchantress flickered throughout the kingdom, and sordid
stories of her black magic had hummed in the air of more than a single
pub more than once. She had appeared out of nowhere, capturing his
attentions and binding him within her arms. He would not die until she
had, and it was becoming obvious that she would not.
The peasants were more than reluctant for the queen to give
birth to the child, then. The thought of another witch being born,
this time into the royal family, appalled the citizens. Still, the
king was much loved and the child was half his, so the citizens agreed
to accept her.
On the day that the child was born, the queen began to cry.
She cried for herself; she cried for her husband; she cried for young
Miyu; she cried in blood. The villagers were horrified by the tales of
their queen draining the blood out of many a castle guard, only to cry
their blood away, grieving some unknown tragedy.
She cried every day until the end of Miyu's first week, when a
spectacular ball was planned in hopes of ending her grief. The king
had been particular in everything involved in the party, making sure
that it was perfect. The kingdom's finest golden dishes were lain out,
along with fine wines and heady foods. The queen was adamant that the
thirteenth fairy was not to be invited.
The ball was pleasant. Princes and princesses from neighboring
kingdoms were brought in, in hopes of finding a friend for Miyu, and
the adults enjoyed themselves immensely. After a while, though, it
became time for the visitors to leave. One by one, they filed by the
young princess, each wishing a miraculous gift to the child.
Just as the last one stood to lean over the babe, a horrific
silence drew over the feast. The thirteenth fairy stood, smirking, in
the archway. His eyes narrowed coldly as he stalked into the room, to
the silent, pensive baby. He covered her beautiful hazel eyes with
one hand and gazed pointedly at the queen. "I wish her a task so
insurmountable that none before her could accomplish it. I wish her
the feat to banish away the demon-gods of this world, and I take from
her the right of death until she has completed it. She will live, be
it happilly or not, until this task is finally accomplished. She will
have enemies which can kill her, but will remain upon the earth a
spirit until the quest is finished, " he finished. He spun on his
heel, and with a final deep, throaty laugh, disappeared into thin air.
"No!" the queen wailed, her scream echoing over the castle
grounds.
"Your majesties, " an old fortune teller creaked, "I cannot
take away this plight, but I can assure you that the child will be
safe, though not happy. She has a long life ahead of her, but it will
not begin until her prince has come. He will awaken her with a kiss, "
she cackled, a sinister feeling dripping from the words like blood.
"Oh, my baby..." the queen collapsed in grief at the hag's
words.
---
The years slowly ticked by and Miyu grew into an inquisitive
child. Her soft, golden brown hair darkened into a color near black,
and her wide hazel eyes lightened into a golden sheen. She was often
seen "haunting" the north tower, where she said that a ghost lived.
Soon it was time for her fourteenth birthday. The castle was
alive with activity, servants bringing out the finest of linens and
dishes and other wares to accomodate the visitors from other kingdoms
that would be coming. As usual, there were to be no children, but Miyu
was used to it. She had grown up solitary, roaming the castle's dank
halls and corridors alone as a child. She knew that other children
existed in other places, but she had yet to see one.
Everyone was so busy that they failed to notice her slipping
off to the north tower, to visit her ghost. He was tall, and
breathtakingly handsome, with paler skin than that of the people she
was used to seeing and blue hair so pale it seemed white. His strange,
burgundy eyes always seemed to burn into hers as they talked, and his
hands were thin, bony, white things that looked as though he had clawed
himself with his long, red nails. She confided her secrets in him, and
he was her only friend.
"Oh, Ghost!" she cried, her still childish voice ringing over
the stones as she approached. She smiled as he stepped out from behind
a door, eyes narrowed in a playful manner. "Mother and Father are
having a party for me. Would you like to attend?" she asked, reaching
up for him to envelop her in his embrace, shrouded by the black silk
garments he wore that draped over his frame, making it unable for her
to tell except for feel how thin he was.
"I would love to, Miyu, " he replied, a smile hovering over
his lips. "I won't miss it."
"Ghost?" she asked tentatively, her eyes narrowing slightly.
"Will you...will you be my prince?" she smiled up at him innocently.
"Why would you want me as your prince?" he asked her, his
face twisted in amusement.
"You feel safe to me, " she responded, curling in on his
larger form, nuzzling into his neck. He pressed his face into her
exposed throat, humming slightly. "What? What are you doing?" she
asked, trying to turn her head to look at him.
He pushed her head back down to his shoulder, holding her
there. "I'm not safe. I'm not safe for you at all, " he murmured
into her ear before licking her neck.
"Ghost?!" she frantically tried to pull away, but he refused
her. She felt his teeth delicately scratch her neck, followed by his
long, red nails. Finally, in desperation, she sank her teeth into his
throat, which had been so tantalizingly close. A rush of salty blood
poured from him as he gave a strangled gasp and she drew away,
horrified.
As she sat back, watching him bleed, she licked her lips
slowly, tasting the coppery substance on her tongue. Her golden eyes
raked over him more ravenously than any meal she had ever eaten in the
banquet hall and she lunged, diving upon him and lapping kittenishly at
the dark liquid staining his skin, his clothes, and the stones beneath
him. She felt the steady pulse begin to falter and realized what she
was doing.
"Ghost!" she screamed, her voice cracking at the sight of him
lying in his own blood, or what little she hadn't drank. The young
princess stopped, looking at her own wrist, which pulsed with blood.
She brought her arm to her face and ripped at the tender flesh with her
teeth, sending droplets of precious red warmth flying around the room.
She lay her wrist across his mouth and felt him begin to slowly lap at
it. His motions became stronger until he was firmly sucking on the
tiny wrist in his grasp and Miyu's head began to swim. She pried her
arm from him and put it to her own lips, soothing the sting of its
wound.
"Miyu, " he voiced softly, pulling her closer to him as she
fainted.
---
The princess had been missing for more than a few hours when a
harried guard headed to the north tower. Miyu had repeatedly told her
parents that the tower was haunted, and the guard was a superstitious
person, reluctant to finally meet a real ghost.
He stepped into the tower, wary of the cold stone walls
surrounding him. A soft, wet sound was heard, and he paused,
shuddering with fear. He stepped further into the room and another was
heard. Finally, he looked down to the stones beneath him, which were
covered in blood.
The guard ran, shrieking, to the king and queen and told them
of what he had found. An order of the kingdom's most powerful knights
was collected to venture into the tower. However, just as they began
to leave, the court drew silent. Ghost stood, tall, silent, and
ominous in the door, his black cloak draped around him as usual but
dripping blood on the floor. The queen took one look at him and
screamed.
Ghost made a sweeping motion, drawing the cloak's sleeve from
his shoulder and revealing the sleeping Miyu. "Who are you?!" the
king demanded.
"My name is not pronounceable in your language. In some
languages I am Larvae, but the princess calls me Ghost, " he replied.
"Why do you have my daughter?!"
"I came to conquer and vanquish her, only to be conquered
first. She has bound me to her with her blood, and I cannot leave her
side, " the figure answered. "Though she is as much mine as I am
hers."
Suddenly, dark laughter filled the room, waking the sleeping
princess. The thirteenth fairy appeared in all his malevolent glory,
eyes shining with evil intent. "You *Majesty*, " he bowed low to
Ghost, who clutched the princess to himself protectively. "What an
honor to have the prince of the undead here for such unworthy eyes as
mine to gaze upon him."
"Undead? Prince?" the queen's terrified gaze swept over the
pale young man.
Ghost pursed his lips slightly, squeezing Miyu's shoulder
tightly. He swung her behind him in a brisk move, whipping his arm
around in front of his face and displaying his deadly claws. "You
won't cause her harm, " he snarled at the older man.
"No, " the fairy laughed. "No, I think not. You have done it
for me. You have fulfilled the prophesy of that old hag so many years
ago."
"No!"
"Prophesy?" the queen and Ghost cried at the same time.
"The child was awakened by your kiss, was she not? And it was
the blood of your veins and hers that the incompetent guards trampled
in the north tower, was it not? You came to kill her--murder her--and
woke her instead, " the fairy sneered.
"She has awakened?" the queen's voice was soft. "I had
hoped...I was going to suffocate her in her sleep tonight, after the
party. I...couldn't bear the thought of her awakening...but I am too
late..."
"Murder?!" the king bellowed, turning on the queen.
"You cease to amuse me, toy, " the fairy stated simply, and
the king fell just short of his wife. The queen shrieked abruptly,
then was solidly encased in crystal.
"Mother! Father!" Miyu screamed, and Ghost wrapped his arms
around her protectively. She moved in his grip to face his chest and
began to sob.
"Little princess, " the fairy cooed. "I can give you your
family back. They are but sleeping."
"You...you can?" Miyu asked between sniffles.
"Of course. I can do anything I want to, " the fairy's smile
broadened.
"How do I...what do I have to..." Miyu's thin shoulders quaked
in silent sobs.
"You are to hunt down the stray god-demons of the world and
return them to me. Once you are through, your family will awaken
again, alive and whole and happy. They will not remember the ages that
pass, and you will return to the way things are now, " the fairy lied.
"Really?" she asked softly, glancing at her parents' still
forms. "I'll do it." Miyu turned her golden eyes on the thirteenth
fairy, pinning him in her gaze.
"Good, " he replied, waving his hand dismissively. Bit by
bit, the castle began to be overrun by vines. Everywhere, people were
frozen in giant blocks of crystal. In seconds, the entire castle
seemed abandoned. As he stood back, the fairy smiled maliciously.
Shadows appeared on the walls, moving in steadily. Still smiling, the
thirteenth fairy disappeared.
As he left, one of the shadows swooped in, a bird-like creature
with long talons. It dove at the frightened girl, scratching long
welts in her pale arms as she tried to protect herself. Ghost snarled,
pulling her to him, and extended his own claws, neatly slashing the
bird-thing. It retreated, mewling in pain, and he scrawled a symbol on
the wall of the castle in its blood. The creature howled again and
stood still, as though bound by invisible strings. Ghost murmured a
few more words in an ancient tongue and it alit like a bonfire, its
agonizing screeches and the crackle of its skin as it burned so strong
an image that the child had to turn away.
"Ghost!" Miyu sobbed as the final embers of the unfortunate
creature died. He clutched her close.
"Miyu, " his voice was sad. "You have a long, painful life
ahead of you."
---
Years, decades, centuries, millenia passed before the child
could finish her quest. Through this time she lived on the blood of
mortals, her stoic companion always by her side. She had long since
realized that the fairy was a liar; when her father's body had
decomposed, filling the air with the stench of decay, she learned the
horrible truth. She was bound into a curse by a monster, one of the
god-demons himself.
Every day she pressed her ear to her mother's crystal
sarcophagus, listening to the soft, dull throbbing. It sounded like a
pocketwatch wrapped in cotton, with the layers getting thicker as the
years went on until one day, as close as her ear would be to the cold
stone, she could hear nothing.
Still, she had her quest, and she diligently worked at it.
Ghost helped her obediently, and she finally finished it.
On the day that she finished it, the thirteenth fairy appeared,
a cold smile on his face. "I am done, Fairy!" Miyu challenged him,
her eyes sharp with rage. "Give me my family!"
"You are not done, " the fairy denied. "You have left one
god-demon: your Ghost."
"Ghost?!" Miyu turned to her companion, eyes wide. The other
closed his eyes slowly, nodding. He brushed his fingertips along her
cheek, gathering the tears there.
"You must, " he told her softly.
"I won't!" she replied, but he grabbed her firmly.
"You will."
Taking a deep breath, Miyu stepped back, murmuring the words
that he had taught her until he began to burn. She quickly gathered
his spirit into an orb and handed it to the fairy, whose hatred shone
in his eyes. He gripped her shoulder painfully and covered her eyes
with a hand, talking. "I give to her the pain of regret, the anger in
being so easily fooled, the wish for death...and the power of having
it, " his eyes narrowed in humor and he removed his hand, laughing at
the dawning look of horror and realization on the girl's face.
Miyu touched her lips gingerly, feeling the blood of ages flow
over them. Her ears rang with the terrified screams of those she had
fed from, and flames licked at her skin, the pain of every god-demon
she had sealed and given to the fairy. With a cry, she fell onto the
stone floor of the castle, which had long since decayed and fallen to
pieces. She looked up at the fairy, her eyes pleading for mercy, but
met his cold gaze. In his hand, he offered her a dagger, and she took
it, unsheathing the metal and dropping its casing on the ground.
With a defiant glare at the fairy, she drove it into the ground
between the stones, feeling its blade break between them. "I'll never
be your slave again, " she spat at him, eyes filled with rage. The
fairy's clothes began to smoulder, and he frantically tried to pat the
flames away. "I won't kill myself. It's what you want me to do. I've
done that too long, " Miyu's child-like voice held a bitter, aged tone
to it. She laughed as the fairy looked at her in dawning fear before
bursting into flames.
Miyu drew the fairy, the true final god-demon, into an orb and
smashed it.