Chapter 1
"I've spent too much time hearing excuses from your predecessors. The top priority is finding her. She is the one with the perfect power that will produce the perfect blood for my desired seal. How she keeps escaping is out of the question! Mere excuses have angered me too much! If you do not perform properly, you shall be destroyed and your miserable being will be no more! You bring her to me, and you bring her to me... NOW!" The demon bowed low to his master.
"Yes, my lord..." He slowly stood on his feet, regaining his tall, lean posture and turned on his heel towards the black hallway. His flowing black mane rippled behind him as he floated closer and closer towards the portal to the human world. He gave a sly grin.
"A human hunt for a girl with a delicious soul? My... I hope I will have fun this time..."
It was once again time for those in the village to meet with their matchmakers. The girls were hoping to find the man of their dreams and to obediantly follow their every command and make the most delicious food imaginable for them. When looking at this village, it was simply a normal place to live. Walls surrounded the edges, guards regularly patrolled the area, merchants bellowed the names of their products and attempted to sway passerby's to come and buy their products. Little children were fighting and playing and parents were doing their best to make end's meet. There was an orphanage in this village. In this orphanage lived many gifted children. The boys were considered to be mighty warriors or the incredibly intelligent. The girls were beautiful, versatile, and skilled in making clothing and such. It seemed to be more of an institution for gifted child rather than an orphanage. But taking a closer look inside, you saw adults teaching and cleaning these young boys and girls to become established adults. The girls who left the orphanage were known to marry young lords, famous heroes, or prominant young men. The boys would often become these men many girls sought after. However, hidden in the orphanage was an area for the 'troubled' children. The children who did not fit the description for being a perfect child or were unsightly. A few of these children were foreign, a few were deformed, a few were rebellious, and a few were simply untalented.
"Su-Ming! Straighten your back!" The stick cracked against the bare skin of the little boy. He whimpered and tried his best to stand as tall as possible, but his spine could not free itself from the unsightly knot in the middle of it's structure. The older woman pacing back and forth behind these children seemed to be unsightly herself. She was Mo-Weh. Mo was referred to as the Hag of punishment. She was often found in the 'troubled' area to beat the children. Hardly was she seen outside of this area.
"Where is Joseph? Joseph!" She screamed. A little blonde boy came running from a dark hallway. He was sweaty all over with sores on his feet. He stood in line with a heaving chest.
"Where were you, you pest?!" The little boy cowered as she can storming towards him.
"I s-sorry! M'am! M'am! I do run like you say! Like you say!" Mo smirked and lightly tapped his feet. He whimpered in pain; they were tender.
"I see, I see! Kakaka!" She cackled sadistically. Joseph tried stand in line with a still posture, but his feet simply hurt too much for him to keep still. Mo knew this would happen and couldn't resist a free beating for something so small.
"Stupid boy!" She raised her stick and swung it down fast. A girl stood in the way and spat at her face.
"Stupid Mo! Stupid Mooooo!" She yelled. Mo-Weh growled with anger at the taunting. The children sometimes made cow sounds to make fun of her. Her face turned brick red. She stuck the pointed end of the stick against the chest of the girl. She wasn't too young, in fact she was a teen; around the age of being able to marry. Her face was smudge with dirt, blood, and god knew what else. She wore an outfit that was frowned upon. She wore the man's pants with a woman's top.
"Anastasia, you are improper!" She hissed. Anastasia gave the woman a dark look and bared her teeth like an animal. Mo slapped her across the head with her stick.
"Do not give me such a look! As a young lady, you should be in your room combing that tangled mess of hair and cleaning your skin! You shouldn't be here, trying to help these unwanted spawns!" She screeched. Anastasia crossed her arms and held her chin high.
"These are my brothers and sisters. We are blood. I stand by my family over silly duties of being a lady." Her voice was firm and demanding. Mo hated that most about her, when she didn't want to do something, she knew how to convey it and knew what tone to use to win. She growled and grabbed her by the hair. Anastasia growled as she was dragged away. Mo dragged her all the way down the hallway to where to more loved girls lived. A few were in the hallway as well; as soon they saw Mo-Weh, they ran away with disgusted looks on their faces. Anastasia kept her scowl and glared at the back of Mo's head.
"Miss Mei! Mistress Mei!" Anastasia groaned quietly under her breath when Mo began calling that name. She hated Miss Mei. She was the head mistress of the orphanage and looked over the matching of all the girls. She was the 'beauty expert'. She had yet to have a husband that stayed alive longer than seven months into their marriage. Mo slid open a decorated door and bowed deeply to a woman who was in the middle of a posture lesson with a group of young girls.
"Miss Mei, I have brought Anastasia as you asked me to earlier." Miss Mei turned and eyed the two. A pouting frown was set on her face; it would've made most men around her age swoon with glee and cause others to forget their own names. Yet her eyes destroyed that image. They conveyed the image of hatred and pure evil. She was in a bad mood.
"Mo-Weh, what have I told you about interrupting my classes?" Mo-Weh bowed again.
"My apologies... I just thought you would want Anastasia as soon as possible, M'am." Anastasia's hair was released as Mo pushed her forward. She glared up at Miss Mei with the same eyes that looked upon her. Miss Mei circled around Anastasia slowly with her own stick in hand.
"Anastasia... I see you're back to wearing that disgusting outfit..."
"I don't see how it is disgusting compared to that robe you wear that can open with the slightest breeze," She said back. The girls in the class giggled for a brief moment before silencing themselves out of fear. Miss Mei gave a small smirk and lightly tapped the end of Anastasia's nose with her stick.
"How witty and unsightly. I suppose your manners haven't improved either since you've yet to bow to me," Mei murmured. Anastasia didn't answer her. Miss Mei waved Mo-Weh off and brought Anastasia under her arm.
"I want you to wait in the corner of this room until I have finished teaching these lovely girls. See how lovely they are? You should strive to be as lovely as all of them. It is still a wonder how girls younger than you can become such grown women in a short period of time." She sat Anastasia down on a little stool in the corner and went back to teaching her class.
The demon watched the soul carefully. He made sure to note her personality and behavior patterns. She was witty and against the grain. He smiled. He enjoyed watching souls that were deemed unusual by society. There were those that suffered under the persecution, there were others who made spectacles of themselves, and there were those who fought against society and attempted to make what they were the dominate way of living. The village she lived in was famous for producing wonderful young women and men. This was seen as boring to the demon. Perfection was something he saw as laughable. Why human's constantly sought this out was far from his mind. He noted where she was and what others were doing. She was a young lady, apparently, and was to be thrown away to some young man to be married and become a slave. The demon smirked again. Humans were quite oblivious. Gender didn't mean anything in the demon world, yet here, the mortals believed that males were superior in every way. He decided to think of a few ways in obtaining this girl without causing commotion or drawing attention to himself. The demon thought.
Miss Mei circled Anastasia slowly. It was now night time. She had been sitting on the stool for nearly five hours. Her knees were stiff and her back hurt. But Miss Mei didn't seem to care. She tapped Anastasia's back sharply to make her stand. She stood slowly and rubbed her knees. She winced in pain and glared at Miss Mei.
"Hmm... Skinny..." Miss Mei circled and circled her. Anastasia become irritated.
"Just cut to observing crap, Miss Mei. It's been hours since I've gone to the bathroom, so if you don't want me to ruin the floor I suggest you hurry up." Mei slapped her across the face. She stumbled and growled.
"Don't use that tone with me. I am your elder!"
"Yeah... elder..." Mei's face turned red with anger. She grabbed Anastasia's hair and held it up, forcing her to go on her toes and groan in pain.
"I will see you off to the worst geezer in this town, even if I have to cut off my arm."
"Well you know plenty of old geezer's. I'm sure you'll find the cream of the scum in no time at all." Mei spat on her and threw her to the floor. She disappeared behind a closet door and came out with a box. It was old and dusty.
"Listen, little twerp. I've had to put up with your nonsense for well over a decade now and I'm tired of it! In two weeks, the matchmaker ceremony will take place and you will be given to a man this time! If none take you, then we're throwing you out. Without a head!" She hissed. Anastasia kept her scowl and looked at the box she was holding.
"What's that?"
"This is the robe you will be wearing. I've had it for years, so what condition it's in, I don't know nor do I care." She opened to reveal a deep red dress with black patterns. The edges were a bit frayed, but for the first time, Anastasia actually liked a gown the institution gave her. Miss Mei threw it at her and crossed her arms.
"Now dress."
"What?"
"Dress. Now."
"I'm not stripping in front of you, old lady!" Miss Mei slapped her again.
"Dress now! Do it properly and this old lady won't have to touch you again!" Anastasia rubbed her cheek and looked at the gown. It was complex. She sorted each piece out. She took off her ratty old clothes and put on the white under gown. As she put it on, she suddenly forget how to properly tie the knots for the belts. Miss Mei sighed roughly and went behind her. She quickly looped the large silk belt and tightened it into a bulging knot. She went to the front and tied the smaller knot quickly.
"Remember it or else..." She smirked and shrugged.
"Then again, knowing the men who would ever want you, you won't even have to worry about dressing yourself... Ever. Hahaha!" She took out a large fan and tossed it to Anastasia.
"That is your accessory. I'm sure you won't want anyone to see your stupid face." Anastasia stuck her tongue out. Miss Mei put her hands on her hips. She frowned and shook her head.
"What?"
"God... any man wanting you... You are pathetic." She turned to leave.
"Hey! What am I supposed to do now?" Miss Mei looked at her and smirked.
"I'll make a deal with you... remember how to do your hair and dress like that for the matchmaker day, and you can do whatever you want until that day." Anastasia looked at her in disbelief.
"Seriously?"
"Oh yes, go ahead. It'll be interesting for me, anyways... Haha!" She left. Anastasia looked down at herself and sighed. She felt out of her comfort zone. She was used to rags or pants. Now she felt vulnerable. She went over to the open closet the gown came from. A mirror was in the back. She gazed at herself. She did find the gown interesting. She put her fingers in her hair. It was a mess.
"I guess... the rest of me should compliment this gown..." She muttered. She dug through the closet and found and old make up box and a comb. Anastasia looked at the box and groaned; she felt like a little girl playing with a new toy.
The demon decided to obtain some information on her before he decided how to take her soul. She was to be paired off with a male in two weeks; or to the demon: auctioned off. He had learned that she would go through a matchmaker. The matchmaker would decide who she would be with. He could tell that she disapproved of this completely. So far, he had two methods as of how to take her. He could either alter the matchmaker's decision on whom she was paired with, or he could assist in helping her escape from the prison. He needed a new appearance and an identity that he could work with.
"Hmm... shall I be a noble? Perhaps a regular worker? A farmer, perhaps?" He said these things to himself as watched the orphanage from afar. He wanted more information. He smirked.
"Since I am forced to live in this world, I might as well live on the top with power," He slyly murmured. He decided to start searching for a noble to impersonate. He leapt from his post and began lurking in the shadows of the town. A young woman passed by; he grabbed and kept his hand over her mouth. She struggled, as a human would, and tried screaming.
"Look at my eyes, woman," He murmured softly. His eyes lite up with a bright red. She suddenly was calm and her eyes were half closed. He removed his hand from her mouth and smiled.
"Now, little lady, tell me all you know of young nobles in this area." She opened her mouth to begin speaking.
"There are four lords who have sons. The Fa family, the Shao family, the Miu Family, and the Kou family. The Fa family has the eldest son out of the four lineages. His name is Ming Fa. He is an skilled warrior with the bow and with the sword. He has one younger brother. His brother is Shi-Fu. He is not yet of age; it is said that he is to become one of the emperor's council when he is older. The Shao family has one son. He is 17 this year. It is said that he is also a great warrior. He has planned many battles for the generals serving under our emperor. His name is Huang. The Miu family has three sons; each are within a year of each other. The eldest is 21 and engaged. His name is Duyi. Their middle son is Cheng. He is 20 and one with a keen eye who assists in running China's national marketplace system and is said to be next in line for Treasurer under the emperor. Their youngest is Li. It is said that he is adopted from a ruined marriage of a Chinese noble and an English princess. He has been seen practicing martial arts and is an artistic man; but he is quite unpopular for his tongue is sharp and his hate runs hot. He is 19. The Kou family has two sons. They are twins. Their names are Liu and Niu. They are both 18 this year." The demon stopped her. He seemed satisfied with hearing the information. He only needed to decide which to pick. Whomever he chose, he would send them away and begin the long process of taking his place. He smiled softly and looked into the woman's eyes once more.
"Do you know what these young men look like?" He lightly touched her forehead. Images rushed past his sight as the ones he sought came closer and closer. Two of the young nobles seemed to resemble the demon. Li of the Miu family and Huang. The demon sent the woman away with a crooked smile and gleaming eyes. He pondered each boy for a small amount of time.
"My... both are quite prepared for the future. But which is right for I? They are trained, of course they are... Oh... I suppose Huang would be difficult to replace. Generals know him, and if I am distracted for too long in trying to acquire the girl, I may forget to appease their human minds. I do not wish to work as much as I need to. Li seems to be a hated man... perhaps replacing him would be seen as a blessing for these humans. Personally... I would much rather go with Li... he is said to be artistic with a sharp tongue. Aha! I can create masterpieces and still insult these humans. I suppose that settles it then. Li of the Miu family!" He snapped his fingers and grinned.
"Now to perform this silly trick in less than an hour..." He set off to the Miu castle in search of Li.