Author note: Its a demon diary fic and its not..yaoi. Its hetero. It even has its own OC you have to deal with. I moved it from my crowded account in ffnet to a new account...refurbished and worked out some stuff for your reading amusement :o) So please review. Thats all I ask :)
Part 1: FateImmortality is a lonely road.
Raenef thought it might be boredom and depression stirring within him. He never thought of such trivial matters when his tutor, the raven-haired Eclipse, is around. Not even during the time when Erutis and Chris are still living with them. The two have went on to their own seperate roads after his amnesia recovery, fulfilling their own goals and ambitions. His place and destiny is here within these castle walls...and to rule as a true demon lord.
"Are you going to stay with me as long as it takes? Will you stay with me forever?"
Eclipse is true to his word, his loyalty to him have been tested several times and their bond have indeed became stronger. A bond between the servant and his lord, A tutor to his student, and as a friend
Yes, a friend...a friend, and also his devoted liege. But that somewhat, is not enough.....He shrugged and shook frantically his small blonde head, Raenef stood up from his cushion-ladened couch that he swore is drowning him already. With Eclipse away for weeks time to attend some important matters, he spend much of his time thinking and pondering on himself and his future. He knew what great responsibility it comes from being demon royalty, he just didnt expect it to be so----lonely. Eclipse will be with him as long as he lives and he trusted his word, but he knew something else is missing. Its like, if he is under the wing of the servant demon, things will go way unnatural. After all, he used to be, and lived among average mortals---he suffered a great deal of hardship to survive. That life he grew so accustomed to, is something he is starting to miss. Something inside him is begging to free itself, to escape the confinement of the lonely and cold walls of Castle Raenef.
Raenef have gotten himself into trouble several ocassions for doing things without even thinking, and the blonde paused for awhile to consider his option. He can easily go outside the castle! He is not even afraid of the Crusaders anymore, but what if Eclipse comes back anytime soon? The raven-haired demon will be furious.
He stared back at his room. The couches are wide and big, with enough pillows to drown him and make him look like a midget. His bed is indeed very spacious, that at least 10 people could fit in it. Everything is very pompous and full of grandieur. An ample button on his own wardrobe could make a simple working man retire and provide sustenance for generations to come. He have it all---it was pretty exciting at first, but slowly, its starting to be boring. The blonde sighed, he is a prisoner of his own domain. He have to do something to distract himself from deep thoughts.
"Heading to the library might be a good thing," he smiled brightly and phased to the long corridors. Maybe he can find some ancient text, and some new spells that he could practice. Eclipse will be happy if he learned something while he is away. Chanting a short incantation, Raenef teleported in front of a big door and slowly pushed it open. There it was, tall shelves so high that he couldnt see where it stops, all filled with voluminous books.
Too many shelves, too many books. Raenef is starting to feel dizzy staring at the seemingly endless rows and rows of shelves. He slowly walked to each shelf, squinting his eyes to make out the dusty labeled categories hanging by the shelve's end, hoping he could find something good. Potions, Incantations, Verses...Fairy tales...Symbols,
Fairy Tales?!He phased back. Thinking he might be seeing things. He stared at that dusty old shelf, grabbed the nearest book ladder so he could see it more closely. Rubbing his fingers acrossed the dangling wooden sign, he made out the inscription. It is indeed 'Fairy Tales'.
Fairy Tales, heh, who could have thought there is such section in a library for demon lords?
Suddenly, a child-like curiousity overwhelms him making him brim and glow with excitement. He never heard tales as a child, since he was, after all an orphan. He heard that it is a concotion of wonderful stories that are told by the parents, lulling children to peaceful slumber and tales of 'happily ever after's. He wondered, maybe he could ask Eclipse to tell him one before bed time.
"You know you are too old for fairy tales!", a big booming voice slashed suddenly into the boy's reverie. To where it came from, Raenef dont know. It shocked him so, that he stumbled backwards, and he was starting to fall. By quick instinct, he grabbed the shelve's edge for support. But the wide spanning column just made it worse and it starts to plunge towards him. Everything seems to appears in slow motion from that point on, as Raenef gaped and watch piles and piles of books slowly raining on him like hail and the big shelf, slowly eclipsing the light and swallowing him up---and will hit him hard anytime now---
Then came suddenly a flash of long black hair.
Eclipse!
And in a split second, he was enevloped by the familiar protective warmth and was spirited away before the shelves start crashing in like dominoes.
----"I-It was just an accident, Eclipse! I swear!" he stammered, watching his mentor having a multitude of twitches on his dark head.
"Of course, Master." He replied casually as possible, slowly losing control of his voice. "When Lord Krayon set fire in the Village and murdered the Rojaret Family, that was an accident..." he continued dryly, and shouted, "....BUT you are a disaster! You could have been hurt!! What are you thinking? Have you forgotten our lecture regarding levitation?!"
Usually, Raenef will be covering his ears and be whimpering, while Eclipse spew angry sermons. But the boy's rebuttal surprised the noble demon himself. "Well, then stop being mean!" the boy snapped, "You could have at least help me rather than say I'm too old to read tales!!"
Silence.
"I could never say something like that, Master Raenef." Eclipse shook his head. "Lecturing you is one thing, but insulting your capabilities is another." He paused, "You said you want to read tales?"
Now, Raenef is confused. Ignoring Eclipse's question he asked, "You are not the one that yelled to me awhile ago?"
Eclipse shook his head. "I'm on my way back when I sensed that you're in great danger. If I haven't arrived in time, you might have been crushed underneath those shelves."
"You didn't see anyone...sense anyone coming in the library, didnt you?"
"No. I'm sorry." the dark haired demon replied curtly, it baffles him to know someone could enter the castle without him sensing it. Whoever---or whatever it is, nearly got his Master. Action must be taken.
Raenef could see the worried look in his mentor's eyes. "Uhh, nevermind. Eclipse. I'm sorry that I screamed at you like that. I think--I think I need a rest, I'll retire to my room early."
"I think that will be the best for now."
"Yeah." Who could have thought going in the library could impose such danger?
"Master Raenef," Eclipse spoke, stopping the young demon lord on his tracks. "Are you deciding to keep that for awhile?"
Raenef followed Eclipse gaze, and noticed there is a thick book tucked in his arm. He didnt realized he was holding one. He must have grabbed one before Eclipse came in to the rescue. Scratching his head, he illicted a small laugh. "Yeah, I guess so. I'm going to read myself some stories tonight!"
Eclipse stared at the book, its big and thick---and very old. The brown leather bindings supports the fragile thin yellow pages. In front are letters engraved in gold, making the words: "Best Tales Never Told." It's title is written in a Faerie language. He wondered if his young master could even comprehend the vocabulary.
He will do just fine, for now. The important thing is Raenef is trying to do things to improve himself--- and that he is safe behind castle walls. Whatever the strange phenomenon that happened about some mysterious voice---he will have to research that later.
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----Immortality is a lonely road.
"You know what, it doesn't matter. They're all alike. None of them value human lives." Alexi snapped, shaking her head and setting free a cascade of chestnut brown hair from a tight bun "After all," she added in mocking tone, "we are only 'mere mortals'"
"But don't you think they're just....lonely?"
"Basically Anna, if I'm lonely, I don't bring an insane demon horde to plunder a city just to make me happy. It just aint right darlin' " Her thick weird slang proves she came from the advanced industrious city in the North. Northern people are liberal talkers. Anna sighed. She watched Alexi remove her sword from a bloodied demon corpse and put it back to the hilt. The young lady, is after all, an active leader of her own local demon patrol group and a staunch believer of the God Rased. She would want nothing but to rid the 'impurities', and it is most likely for her not to think twice slashing a demon to death.
"Damn it Anna, are you a slayer or what? I thought you're the 'lady child chosen by the Gods?"
She doesnt look much of a slayer, Alexis with her more prominent build, looks more of the child of prophecy. Anna, is after all, plain. She have deep raven colored hair, tied into a pony tail behind her back. As dark her hair was, her skin is almost as pale as snow. She dressed in simple long robes, with almost all inch of her frame covered. In just a glance, one could easily mistake her as a fragile lady. But she isn't --- she is 'Lady child chosen by the Gods.' Anna Nina. How she hates to be reminded of that. Her name, burdens her with a difficult responsibility. And a difficult gift.
"Please, I don't want to be called by that name." she replied curtly, "Can't I just be simply Anna to you?"
Alexis lift her eyes to meet her serious gaze, "Yeah, yeah---whatever. Being a demon slayer is a tough responsibility. But you can't avoid destiny, girl. You are born to do it. You are blessed by the Gods."
"I thought the young one that is designated to be the High Cleric of the Temple of Rased is blessed by the Gods."
"Naw, he is a goofball. The boy got talent I tell ya. But he isn't it taking it that seriously."
"That's because he does not see things...."
Alexi remembered that this tacit mysterious slayer has a rare gift of seventh sense. As far as everyone knows, there is sixth sense---whereas a person see things and events. The seventh sense goes further, putting the individual in a vivid environment of real life clarity of things to come or have been. "I saw it in his eyes, before you kill him----he has a family, he lives in a village with his own kind...just like normal people" Images surged that seemed hallucinations flowed into Anna, she starts to sob "Alot of soldiers came---they were led by Clerics, oh god, they don't even spare the children. He came home, from a long trip just to see his family already g---"
The taller brown-haired woman was too surprised to say anything, when she did, she gave Anna a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "It's a cruel world out there, slayer. To survive, there are two things: its either you kill or be killed. Which one are you?"
Anna clutched the weapons she still hid beneath her garments. "I don't know---I just wish someone will just put an end to this." She looked at the midnight sky, darkened by smoke and reddish fading flames. "I could not carry that burden alone."
---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ----Raenef yawned and stare at the beautiful midnight sky out his window. Its so serene---with the exception of an ocassional crusader flapping by now and then. Eclipse heightened the security of the palace by placing more of those creatures. There is also a weird zapping sound if any of the crusaders try to go any further than within the perimeter of 800 ft. Oh great, he also placed a force field. He can't go outside the Castle at this rate.
Oh, I almost forgot about the book! He suddenly remembered, perking his small blonde head. It could get his mind away from things. Enthusiastically, he sat on his bed, grabbed the book and rubbed the dust from its covers.
"Darn, its written in Faerie language" he sighed, trying to make the words. It said something about..Tales..Best..Never..Told. Is it a forbidden book? He wondered. He opened the book only to find the pages are blank. He turned each page furiously, and to his disappointment, he sees nothing.
"There is nothing here!" he exclaimed, pounding his hands to the pages. "This just so...weird. I could just ask Eclipse tommorrow to take it back." His mind drifted once again as he looks outside the window. He wished he could just spend a day outside the walls---and some strange yearning tells him, to seek something else.
It is there, a strange thing occured. Suddenly all the candles in the room starts to glow more vibrant than ever, standing still even with the sudden strong gush of the wind entering the room. Then when he gazed back at the book, the once empty pages are starting to inscribe words on its own. Raenef tumbled back, could this be the book's magic?
He flipped curiously, the pages magically constructing itself with its contents. The young demon lord stared in awe, it's after all a Faerie book, and this might be their enchanting magic. Tales slowly start to weave in each section, with words and colorful lifelike illustrations. Raenef turned few of the pages to come across on an enchanting image of a mermaid, and he swore he could even hear some sounds emnating from it---it was, it seems, to be singing. Beside that page, he could see the words scribbled swiftly, its title 'Little Mermaid'.
More wonderful images and words starts to fill the book, asides from mermaids, there are elves, dwarfs, faeries, young princes and so much more. But the blonde demon lord decided to read the one he came across first.
"A Book that opens what the heart desires?" Eclipse looked up from the ledger. With the aid of handful of local servant demons, Eclipse tried to fix the mess that Lord Raenef caused by placing every book on its proper order. A very, very long and tedious task. Shelves and shelves of voluminous books amassed for several ages, all taken down into a rubble in just five minutes because of a demon lord's clumsy mishap.
"Yes sir, that's what the only thing missing here in the Fairy Tale section" the servant demon replied, pointing at the current shelf being erected. "I'm curious myself, We didn't recall having a section for silly Lore...unless.."
Eclipse realized something and quickly placed down his ledger, "Faerie magic is not some silly lore. You know that. So about this book, any idea what it does?"
Well--all we know is, its something not to be trifled with. Once you opened it and expose your deep thoughts, it will enchant the reader and no one who have ever read it came back to their senses---and they to, eventually disappear without a trace." the servant demon looked up, "I might say its dangerous to an untrained user who does not know its contents."
"Yes, obviously! It's a magical book--- not some silly storybook for mortals to read at bed time!" Eclipse snapped at that underling. "What does this book looks like?"
"Its bound with thick brown leather, with gold engravings of it's title, written in Elven language, sir."
---- END of Part ONE ---- PS. I know, the ending is weird. But at least you dear readers know where we are getting at. Please dont hesitate to make a review - !