Chapter One

*Krystal*

"It's time to awake, my lady," A familiar voice spoke from the other side of the room. The sound of curtains being opened barely registered in my mind until the morning sun illuminated the room. I groaned softly at the sudden rush of light and rolled over on the large bed, pulling the blankets over my head. Why did I have to get up so early? Well, maybe it wasn't exactly early but I just didn't like the sunlight. My eyes instinctively opened as the blankets were ripped off of me and I looked at the man standing over me. His raven hair matched his ghostly pale skin perfectly and hung slightly in his face, leaving an air of mystery about him. A soft chuckle passed his lips and he smiled, gazing at me with amusement in his crimson eyes. "You don't want to miss breakfast now, do you?" he questioned. I sighed and sat up.

"It would be nice to sleep in every so often, Damion," I said, standing up. He immediately began to make the bed and chuckled again, a sound that warmed my heart- though he didn't say anything. I watched him, a small smile coming to my lips. The demon stood up straight when he had finished making my bed. He towered over me, by nearly a foot.

"Alexander is waiting," he said with a bow before he turned on his heel and walked out, closing the door silently behind him. I shook my head slightly and glanced around the large room, quickly spotting the clothes that Damion had already laid out on the desk: A simple short black skirt with a plain black v-neck t-shirt. Swiftly changing out of my pajamas and into the clean clothes, I made my way to the bathroom where I went through my morning routine and soon exited.

The mansion was anything but silent. There was a loud crash that could be heard all across the building and the sounds of people shouting. As I neared the dining room, I could make out what was being said.

"Look what you did!" the familiar sound of Jacob's voice panicked.

"Do you think Damion's going to notice?" the timid, worried voice of a female replied.

"Of course he's going to notice! You broke an entire shelf of bloody plates!" Jacob answered. I raised an eyebrow curiously and rounded the corner, wanting to know what had happened. I sighed, seeing broken glass of fancy plates scattered across the floor. My eyes made their way up to see Jacob and Alice, two of the servants that worked for Alexander.

"How in the world did you manage this mess?" I asked, looking between them. Alice frowned and looked up at me.

"It was an accident, honest!" she said. Her expression was slightly panicked. Before I could even respond to her, I felt a familiar, dark presence. I turned my head slightly to look beside me and saw Damion, wearing an annoyed expression. The sight of the butler made Alice jump, "D-Damion!"

"Explain to me how this happened," he responded, gazing directly at her and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Um…W-Well, I was carrying the plates to the kitchen to prepare for our guests and I well...I sort of tripped," she babbled nervously, fidgeting with her fingers.

A long sigh passed his lips and he put a hand under his chin. "Must you make my job harder?" he questioned. "Can I trust you to clean up this mess?"

Alice nodded wildly, and then looked up at him. She smiled and nodded, "Yes, of course I can handle it."

He looked down at her for a moment, scrutinizing her, before nodding. "Good. I expect this mess will be cleaned up quickly without any other complications. When you're done, go sweep the main hall. That should be a task even you can handle." He turned to leave, but before he moved he smiled down at me.

"Hello, Lady Krystal," he greeted and then walked away to serve breakfast. I nodded in response and returned his smile.

"How are you not afraid of him?" Jacob asked me, crossing his arms.

I laughed, "He's not that scary," I said. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get breakfast." They both nodded and began sweeping the shards of glass into a dustpan while I made my way to the dining room.

"Breakfast this morning is traditional bangers and mash, consisting of sausages and mashed potatoes," Damion began as he set a plate down in front of Alexander. He made his way to set a plate down in front of me and then he stood by Alexander's side. "During the wartime rationing, the sausages were so filled with water that when they were fried they would often explode, which is how they earned the nickname bangers," he stated as we began to eat. The only reason that he had been serving as Alexander's employee as of late was because Alexander had something that Damion wanted; a sword, from what I'm told.

"Delicious, as always," I commented as I ate. The taste was extraordinary though it was no less than to be expected from him. I glanced around the room. Alexander, as usual, ate silently, looking down at the table uninterested. The lack of emotion from the boy was rather aggravating at times. It seemed that things had quieted down from when Alice broke the plates, which was good. I noticed my father missing, though I guess that wasn't too surprising considering he despised Damion.

"Good morning, love," the familiar, deep voice of Aeron Fate spoke. I instantly snapped out of my thoughts and looked up to see the demon king walk into the room. He sent a hateful glance to Damion before turning his gaze back to me. His auburn hair hung down messily as if he just woke up and his crimson eyes were bright, popping out with his tanned skin and white attire. I nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hello, father," I replied, looking down at my empty plate. Damion stepped forward and took the plate away, grabbing Alexander's as well before silently going into the kitchen to place them in the sink and begin the dishes. Aeron watched the butler leave and his lips twisted into a smirk.

"It's sad that such a boy of your stature had to hire such a filthy servant," he spoke to Alexander, referring to Damion. Alexander stood up, an emotionless expression on his face.

"Damion is a perfectly capable worker. He is much more qualified than those incompetent fools who dare call themselves servants," he stated, his voice somewhat cold. He sipped his tea before turning to leave. He stopped at the door, turning just enough so that his dark blue eye visible through his indigo hair. "Do not let your petty rivalry get in the way of my work."

"Of course not, Master Alexander," Aeron said, his tone mocking. Alexander huffed slightly and exited the room to go to his office and work. I sighed. He was still so young and he had so much responsibility, since his parents were killed during the war. I shook my head to rid me of the thoughts.

"Just because you are royalty does not mean that you should be so disrespectful, father," I stated. His crimson orbs turned to me, the smirk still glued to his lips.

"Just because you are royalty does not mean that you have to be so polite," he countered and I sighed, shaking my head.

"I've got things to do," I excused myself and walked out.