Chapter 4

That place was much different from how she expected it to be. She visited the kitchens, the armory and the tailoring - she didn't expected a place like that to be in that castle, even though there was only one tailor, who was the one who made the dress she was wearing - . No room was lit very well. Lots of grim statues adorned the black castle, which was estremely large. There were many windows, and by looking out she noticed the fortress she was in was the heart of a small city, enclosed by great defensive walls.

She met several demons during her walk, and none of them was as human-shaped as the one following her, who was probably a general, judgind by how everyone behaved in front of him. Still, those demons were way less aggressive than she expected. She could have mistook them for humans, if only they didn't look like... well, like what they actually were. Talking with them was almost comfortable. Almost. Still, there was one thing which confused her. Every single demon, without exception, called her mistress. She was in what looked like a dinner room when someone called her by her name, from behind. It was Elsword.

"You can go" he said to Eve's bodyguard, who bowed to both of them and left the room "Do you like the castle?"

"It's quite gloomy"

"I thought you would like this kind of architecture"

"... it's not unpleasant"

She began to walk, and the knight followed her. They went down at least half a dozen flights of stairs before one of them spoke again.

"Why do the demons here address me as mistress?"

"Because you'll become it soon"

"What do you..."

Then she heard screams coming out of a huge door, closed by three padlocks.

"... what's behind that door?"

"The torture chambers"

"So you also have something like that"

"Sometimes I use one of them to let my stress out. But I don't think I'll go there very often from now on"

"Why?"

He approached her and brought her face close to his.

"Because after our marriage I'll spend that time with you. In our bedroom"

A mighty slap sent Elsword flying. He landed three or four meters away. Eve was blushing.

"This brings back memories. And hurts as well" he said while getting up "This is the second time you slap me"

"Say something like that again, and I'll slap you until all your teeths are gone"

He laughed. Then a trickle of blood came out of his mouth. He placed an hand where Eve'e spear pierced him two days before. He was bleeding, and he almost lost his balance. Eve ran to his side and helped him to stand.

"I thought that wound was closed"

"Truth be told, I wanted to amaze you, that's why I closed it immediatly, but I can't heal that fast. Not from an injury like this. It should take half a week to close. Well, I've been really busy lately and I still haven't got a chance to rest, so it will probably take twice the time"

"... so you're not immortal"

"That would make life boring, wouldn't it?"

"... maybe you're right"

He turned his face to her. They were really close.

"But you know, thank to this wound I could see you worry about me"

"... shut up"

Aisha had fallen asleep while reading. A small orb of light floating above her illuminated the place. On the table she was sitting at were piled two dozens of books, in addition to those resting on the ground. She was inside a great library, in her tower. It was night.

Rena walked in, silent as only an elf can be, and put a blanket on the sleeping sorceress, before taking a look at the books. Most of them were about El shards, while some dealed with purification. There was even a book about demons. She went to her room and stared at the stars, pondering what Aisha told her about hers and Raven's meeting with Elsword, occurred the day before.

The sun was already high in the sky when Aisha woke up.

... so I fell asleep...

She was sleepy enough not to notice the blanket, which fell on the floor when she stood up. She left the library and went to the kitchen, where both her apprentice and Rena were eating. It was probably lunch.

"Ah, teacher. Good afternoon"

Afternoon. Which meant it really was lunch.

"Ah, good afternoon, Sennar. Why didn't you wake me up?"

"We were about to do it" answered Rena.

Sennar was a boy in his twenties, with long, brown hair tied back in a ponytail and blue eyes, wearing a white and blue robe and carrying a long, ebony-made staff on his back. He was an orphan who went to Aisha and asked her to teach him magic when he was only twelve years old. She would have probably turned him down in he had no talents at all. Eleven years passed since he started studying under her guide, and he would have probably left the tower soon to become independent both as a person and as a magician.

They had lunch together, then Rena and Sennar went to the city to do some shopping. Aisha was walking back to the library when she perceived someone approaching the tower. There was a barrier around the building which advised her of people's movement within a certain radius from her home. It was a relatively low-ranked magic, mainly because it took long time to be prepared, but once finished it could last for some weeks. If casted by an ordinary magician. She, however, was powerful enough to make it last for several months. Still, she renewed it two times a year.

The one approaching was Chung. She went down to greet him.

"It's unusual to see you around here at this time of the year"

"I have a favor to ask you, Aisha"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I want to go where Elsword brought Eve, and you're the only one I know who can help me to get there. I'm going to bring her back"

Elsword was sitting on his throne, which was great, black and dragon-shaped. Next to his was another throne, empty, very similar to the first one but white. In front of Elsword were four human-shaped demons, each one sitting on a different-colored, dragon-shaped throne, each one the projection of someone far away. Two of them were women.

"So you're going to get married" one of the two man said.

"Yeah. I would like to invite you all, but you probably don't have enough time to come all the way here for a wedding"

"Obviously" he responded

"Don't forget to keep your job done" spoke the other man.

"Don't worry"

"There's no way I won't worry about you. You're strong, I recognize it, but you joined us only three years ago. You still lack experience"

"That's true" said one of the two women "but you can't deny he did great this far"

"You know" the last one spoke "the last time an human joined us was more than five thousands of years ago, way before we got to sit where we are now. Onestly, I find your presence here quite entertaining"

"... is that a compliment?"

"It was just a statement"

Then they starded to talk about how things were going in the areas under their responsibility. After two whole hours, the five of them decided to end their meeting. They dismissed each other, and the four of them disappeared. Elsword stood up and walked toward Eve, who had been watching the whole time.

"Who were them?"

"Workmates"

"And what kind of work do you do in this place?"

"I'll tell you when you'll stop trying to leave this place."

"I can't continue my researches here"

"Give me four more days, and that won't be true anymore"

"What do you mean?"

At that moment an horned demon, the one who escorted Eve inside the castle, entered the room.

"Excuse me, my lord..."

"What's wrong, Seliet?"

"You're going to be late if you don't depart now"

"Oh, right. The other meeting. Prepare an incubus"

"As you wish" he answered leaving the room.

"You seem really busy"

"I am"

He walked past her.

"Oh, I almost forgot"

Eve turned to him but, before she could say a single word, Elsword kissed her. It lasted only for a moment. She tried to slap him, but this time he grasped her hand with his before she could hit him.

"I don't get hit twice in the same way that easily"

Then he walked away, this time without turning back.

Author's notes

Fourth out. I had more trouble writing this (I mean, with the grammar), so I'm worried there might be more errors than there were in the previous chapters, even though I checked the text twice.

If things go on as I planned (which never happens), the next chapter will be a bit more lively.