Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story except for my characters and the plot. These include Michael, Phantom, Cory Bain, Linda Thomsan, Mary, Jacob Mathews, Joe Steinbeck, Eliza Cotton, Jackson Cotton, Victoria Cotton, Mark Hutchinson, Johnson Tucker, and Robert.
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR ALL READERS: This takes place a month after "Merry Christmas, Vivi." This will contain spoilers for my other stories. Read at your own discretion.
Notice: The names Cory Bain, Jacob Mathews, Joe Steinbeck, Eliza Cotton, Jackson Cotton, Victoria Cotton, Mark Hutchinson, and Johnson Tucker are names I came up with. If anyone with these names exists it is purely coincidental.
Be My Valentine
I woke up in my room, and looked around. My room didn't have many personal belongings decorating it. I was never interested in decorating it that much anyway.
My room contained an armoire near the north wall, which I use to put my clothes and swords away. A queen sized bed sat near the west wall. The room also had three windows; one on the north wall, another on the west wall, and another on the south wall. Finally, it had two doors; one was installed in the east wall, this one lead out to the living room. The second door was installed on the south wall. It lead to my bathroom.
I stretched and yawned. After that I looked over at the north wall. Judging by how light it was outside, it was early morning. I looked away from the window and turned my attention to the clock on the wall. It was 5:37 A.M.
I got out of bed, and walked over to the bathroom. After washing up, I left the bathroom, and went towards the other door. Before I went through the door, I glanced at the wall, and looked at the calendar. My eyes widened, it was February 13th. Tomorrow was Valentine's Day.
'Dang, I can't believe I almost forgot. Well, I'll deal with tomorrow when it comes. Right now Vivi is expecting me up in his room for our daily meditation.' I thought.
I left my room and walked into the living room. From there, I walked over to the door that lead up to the windmill. Vivi's room was located at the top of the windmill. I opened the door and ascended the spiral staircase. Once I was at the top, I opened the door and walked into his room.
Vivi's room was much like mine. It wasn't really decorated, and it contained much of what I had in my room; an armoire, a bathroom, and a queen sized bed. The only major difference was that his windows were large and he had two of them; one facing the east, the other facing the west. He liked it that way because the light of both the rising and setting sun could enter his room. Vivi really liked sunrises and sunsets.
There were also two cushions that were placed in front of the window that faced the rising sun. These were our meditation cushions. One thing I noticed was that Vivi was already occupying one.
"You're a little late, Michael."
I smiled. "Sorry Vivi, I overslept a bit."
He turned his head towards me. "Don't worry about it; it happens. Come on, let's meditate together."
I nodded, and sat down on the cushion that was next to him. I looked out the window, and saw that the sun was close to rising over the rooftops. I closed my eyes and started to meditate.
I had been meditating for about ten minutes when thoughts of tomorrow entered my mind. Without knowing it I was becoming a bit eager. Vivi must have sensed my eagerness.
"Michael, you alright? You feel…odd."
I smiled and exited out of my meditative trance. I looked over at him, and saw that he was looking at me. "It's just that I found out that tomorrow is Valentine's Day. I almost forgot about it." Vivi gave me an odd look and I knew what he was about to ask. "I suppose another history lesson is required?" Vivi nodded. "Very well, I'll tell you what I know."
"Many years ago, the Romans practiced a pagan celebration in mid-February commemorating young men's rite of passage to the god Lupercus, Roman god of fertility. The celebration was a lottery in which young men would draw the name of a teenage girl from a box. The girl assigned to each young man in that manner would be his companion during the remaining year."
"So, that's what Valentine's Day is?" he asked.
I shook my head. "No, I'm not finished telling the history yet."
Vivi nodded. "Oh, okay…so what happened next?"
"Well, years later Pope Gelasius, in an effort to do away with the pagan festival, ordered a slight change in the lottery. Instead of the names of young women, the box would contain the names of saints. Both men and women were allowed to draw from the box, and the game was to emulate the ways of the saint they drew during the rest of the year. Needless to say, many of the young Roman men were not too pleased with the rule changes."
"Later, the church tried to find a suitable patron saint of love to replace Lupercus. They eventually decided to use St. Valentine who had been beheaded by the Roman Emperor Claudius II."
"In Valentine's time, Emperor Claudius was waging battles on neighboring countries. He needed more men and thought that the young men in the city would hasten to sign up. He was mistaken, Very few did sign up. He determined that the reason was that men who were married were too emotionally attached to their family. So, to stop this, he passed a law that banned marriage in his empire."
Vivi's eyes widened. "What?"
I nodded. "Yeah, that's how most people reacted, especially Valentine. He was a priest and refused to obey the emperor's new law. He decided to marry couples in secret. He was eventually found out, and was taken before the emperor. The emperor was impressed by Valentine and tried to convert him to paganism. Valentine refused and reversed the situation by trying to convert the emperor. He failed and was sentenced to death."
"During his jail time, Valentine befriended the jail keeper's blind daughter. The two of them would talk for hours. Eventually, Valentines love and faith healed the girl's sight and she could finally see. Before Valentine went to his death he wrote the girl a note. On it, it said 'From your Valentine.' The phrase has been used on Valentine's Day ever since."
"Although the lottery for women had been banned by the church, the mid-February holiday in commemoration of St. Valentine was still used by Roman men to seek the affection of women. It became a tradition for the men to give the ones they admired handwritten messages of affection, containing Valentine's name."
"The first Valentine card grew out of this practice. The first true Valentine card was sent in 1415 by Charles, duke of Orleans, to his wife. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London at the time."
I stopped and looked at him. "That's basically all I can remember."
"So, Valentine's Day is a day you spend with the person you love?"
I nodded. "Basically, yes."
"So, that means that I spend the day with you?"
I shook my head. "I'm going to be going back to Earth on that day, and I'm going alone."
This confused Vivi. "Why?"
"Because I want to spend the day with someone who was dear to me."
"So what am I going to do?"
I smiled "Why don't you spend the day with Eiko? I'm sure she'd love to."
Vivi thought about that for a second. "I suppose you're right, but what should I do?"
I stood up. "That, Vivi, is completely up to you." I turned and walked out of the room. I had a feeling that today was going to be a busy day.
It was another delightfully dreary day in Castle Phantom. I was currently sitting on my throne looking at the world of Gaia through a spell my master taught me. I had grown a bit tired of snooping on the Orunitier brothers. I was now looking for a new kind of target. I had commanded the spell to find me a person with a suitable compatibility.
That's when my spell showed me an image of Alexandria. It zoomed into the city, and started moving through the populace. Eventually it stopped on a certain woman. She was a young woman with long, black, curly hair and brown eyes. Her skin was fair and she was quite beautiful.
"Is she the one? Is there no one else?" I asked. The spell wouldn't move on to another person. Apparently, there was no one else. "Very well…who is she?" Text immediately appeared over her image. I began to read the text.
Eliza Cotton
Age: 23
Sex: Female
Height: 5' 7"
Weight: 172 lbs.
Eye color: Brown
Hair Color: Black
Eliza Cotton is the daughter of Jackson and Victoria Cotton. She is educated in the way of politics and is quite a formidable woman. She is currently engaged to a merchant in Alexandria named Mark Hutchinson. Their marriage is scheduled to happen three days from now.
That told me a little about her, but there was one important question I had to ask. "Is she a virgin and pure of heart?" One word showed up across her image, 'YES.' That was all the info I needed.
I stood up and looked at the guards. "Guards, summon Cory. I need to speak with him." The guards left to find Cory.
After a few minutes, Cory walked through the door. He walked over to me, and bowed to me. "You summoned me, Master?"
I nodded. "I did, I'm going to be leaving the castle for a while. You're in charge until I get back."
Cory's eyebrows rose. "Very well, Master, but where are you going?"
"That is none of your concern. If things go accordingly, I'll be back by tonight. Farewell." I used my teleportation spell and left Castle Phantom.
Once my Master was gone, I walked up to his throne and sat down in it. I smiled 'Man, I could get used to this feeling.' That's when I noticed that Phantom had not dispelled the image he was looking at. I looked at the image and saw that he was looking at a hot chick.
I whistled. "Man, look at that rack. Where does this woman live?" That's when the image zoomed out back to Alexandria. I was surprised by this. 'Does this thing respond to my orders?' I thought. I decided to test it out. "Where is Phantom?" The image zoomed back into Alexandria and stopped at a cloaked figure. The image tilted to look under the figures hood. That's when I saw the familiar red glow of my Masters eyes.
I smiled. 'So he went to Alexandria, but why?' I thought. That's when I remembered the image of that woman. I finally put two and two together. I smiled a knowing smile. 'So…my Master's decided to do a little…dirty work. Oh, I can't miss this.' I thought. I looked at the guards. "Guards, bring me one of our slaves. I need a snack for this."
Night had fallen, and I was in bed thinking about tomorrow. 'Alright, tomorrow I'll go back to Earth. I already have everything planned out. I can't wait.' I thought.
I was in my bed feeling anxious about tomorrow. 'Oh boy, Michael's going back to Earth, and I have to go see Eiko. I mean, I have no problem with that, it's just…what am I going to do? What am I supposed to do? Michael told me that I should figure it out but I don't know. Oh boy, tomorrow's not going to be good.' I thought.
I was getting ready for bed. 'Oh, I can't wait. Soon Mark and I will be married. I'm so excited. I just hope we'll be happy together for all eternity. We'll be so close that no force on Gaia can get between us.' I thought. I climbed into bed and soon fell asleep.
I was looking through the bedroom window of Eliza's house. I smiled. 'No force on Gaia can come between you two, huh. Hmhmhm, we'll see about that.' I thought.
I lifted my hand up into the air, and used a spell to open the window.
I slipped in through the window, and walked over to Eliza's sleeping body. I placed my hand on her forehead and started to mumble the words to a spell my master taught me.
It was a spell that no mortal can ever perform, because no mortal can speak the language that I was using. Only a demon, like myself, can speak such a language. Humans cannot pronounce or comprehend the words. Not even the Angels can speak it, for to utter it would be like speaking with a poisoned mouth.
After a few moments, I ended the spell. The woman slowly began to wake up. Her eyes were glazed over. She looked at me and smiled.
"Oh, my angel. It wasn't a dream."
I smiled. The spell had worked. She was under my control now. "Yes my dear, it was not a dream. I'm right here."
She rose up and hugged me. "Oh my Angel…take me away. Take me away from here."
I smiled and was about to respond when I heard a knock from the front door. I cursed; this wasn't part of the plan. "It'll have to wait, my dear. Do not despair, I shall return tomorrow night. Wait for me until then."
She looked disappointed, but nodded. "Very well, my Angel. I'll wait for you."
I smiled, and nodded. "Good, now I'm off." I cast my teleportation spell and teleported myself outside her house.
I looked over and saw who had interrupted us. It was a man. He was about 5' 8" and had red hair. I couldn't tell what color his eyes were, but I really didn't care. Because of him, I had to delay my plans. 'Next time, there will be no interruptions.' I thought. Of course, I knew what to do if there were any interruptions.
Eliza wasn't answering her door. I knocked again. "Eliza, honey…It's me, Mark. Are you alright?" That's when I heard the lock in the door click. The door opened and Eliza was there.
She didn't look so good. Her eyes were glazed over and she looked really tired. "Honey…are you alright?" She closed her eyes, took a deep breath. After a second she opened her eyes. Her eyes were back to their normal color.
"I'm fine Mark…it's just that you caught me at a bad time. I'm just really tired. Anyway, what are you doing here? It's not like you to come around and knock on my door during the middle of the night."
I nodded. "Yeah, I know, but I don't usually hear you say words like 'my Angel…take me away.'"
Her eyes widened. "I was having a dream, Mark."
I smiled. "Must have been some dream…are you nervous?"
She looked confused. "About what?"
"About our marriage. I mean this is going to be a big step for us. Are you nervous at all?"
She nodded. "Yes…yes I'm nervous, but I want to go through with it. I love you, Mark."
I smiled. "And I love you, too. Maybe I should come in and keep you company."
She laughed. "Hahahahaha. Mark, I'm saving it for the marriage."
I laughed, too. "Hehehe. I know, I didn't mean it like that. You know what I mean?"
She smiled. "Yes, I know what you mean. Don't worry; I'm a big girl now. I can take care of myself."
I nodded. "I don't doubt that. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Okay, bye dear."
I walked away from the house. I heard her close the door and I sighed. I hadn't told her that I heard another voice in there…a man's voice. I couldn't help but wonder if she was cheating on me. 'I guess I'll give it more thought tomorrow,' I thought.
Tomorrow came and Vivi was as anxious as ever. "Michael, you can't leave. I mean, what am I supposed to do with Eiko?"
I sighed. "Go see her, hang out with her, buy her stuff, just use your imagination."
"I don't have an imagination."
"You do too. You just have to use it. Now I need to get going. I'm sorry I can't help you much with this but you have to learn to do things on your own. I can't go making every decision for you."
"I know, but…fine, okay I'll see what I can do."
I smiled. "That's the spirit Vivi. Don't worry, you know Eiko. This shouldn't be too hard. Now, it's time for me to leave. Farewell, brother." I held up my ring, thought of my destination, and disappeared in a flash of light.
Michael was gone, and now I was alone. 'Okay, okay, what to do? Well, I suppose I could go see Eiko first. That sounds like a good idea.' I thought. I left 'The Mage,' boarded the air cab, and departed for Lindblum Castle.
I woke up, got ready for the day, and sat down to breakfast. Mark said he wouldn't be able to stop by today because of a problem at work. That was alright with me. I needed some time to think.
My Angel promised me that he'd come back for me tonight. He was the most handsome man I ever met. He was tall, dark, and mysterious. He had slightly long, white, straight hair, and dazzling blue eyes. He was dressed in white, and wore a silver cape. He was…amazing.
I suddenly shook that image out of my head. 'No, stop it you bad girl! You're engaged and you're going to be married! You can't think about another guy!' I thought.
Try as I might, I just couldn't get my Angel out of my head. Every time I tried to think about something else, he'd always slip back into my mind. It was like fighting a losing battle. Eventually, I just decided to go out and take a walk. Hopefully, it would calm my mind.
I arrived at Lindblum Castle. I made my way to the elevator and rode it to the upper level. The guards stopped me at the entrance to the throne room.
"What is your business, Master Vivi?" One of the guards asked.
"I'm here to see Eiko. Is she available?"
The guard thought for a moment. "One moment I will relay your request." The guard entered the throne room.
After a minute, he came out. "She says 'go down to the guest room. I'll meet you there.'"
I nodded. "Okay, thanks." I went back to the elevator, rode it down to the mid level, and walked over to the guest room.
I walked up the stairs and sat on one of the beds. 'Okay, so what am I going to do? I guess I'll decide when she gets here.' I thought.
After a few minutes, a cloaked figure walked into the room. I looked at the cloaked figure oddly. "Uh…hello."
The cloaked figure laughed. "Vivi, it's me, Eiko." She removed her hood, and showed me that it was her.
I was surprised. "What are you doing wearing that?"
"Well, I was thinking that we could go out on the town."
I was shocked. "But, you're a princess. You can't just walk out there. People know who you are."
She rolled her eyes. "I know, why do you think I brought the cloak? I'm going to be wearing this so that no one, aside from you, will know it's me, understand?"
I nodded. "Yeah, I understand. So, where do you want to go?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. Where do you want to go?"
I thought about this for a moment. Suddenly, an idea struck me. "Let's go to the Theater District. We could go see Blank and the others."
She smiled. "Sure, that sounds great. I haven't seen them in a while. Let's go." We left the guest room, and boarded the air cab to the Theater District.
I was working in my fabric store with my friend Johnson Tucker. He was 4' 11" and had blonde, unkempt hair, and dull blue eyes. I had told him about what happened last night when I went to Eliza's house. He was currently counseling me on what I heard.
"Look, Mark, she said it was a dream."
"Maybe, but what about that man that I heard in her house?"
Johnson thought about that for a moment. "Well, maybe you were hearing things."
I frowned. "I was not hearing things. I heard that guy say 'Yes my dear, it was not a dream. I'm right here.' How do you explain that?"
Johnson seemed to have a hard time coming up with an answer. "Well, did you recognize the voice?"
I shook my head. "No, I've never heard that person's voice before in my life."
Johnson sighed. "Look man, I find it hard to believe that Eliza would cheat on you. She loves you so much. You two are getting married in two days for crying out loud. In all honesty, I'm kind of jealous."
This caught my interest. "Jealous, why?"
He smiled. "Because you're getting married to a gorgeous girl. Whereas I myself have no one."
I laughed. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll find someone."
He sighed. "Maybe…anyway, I'm sure Eliza isn't cheating on you. Besides, I have a feeling that whatever trouble comes between you two you'll be able to sort it out."
I nodded. "I hope so, Johnson, I really hope so."
After a few minutes, the air cab arrived at the Theater District. We left the air cab station and went towards the Tantalus hideout. I knocked on the door.
"What's the password?"
I knew that voice; it was Cinna. "Cinna, open up. It's me."
I could hear Cinna trying to muffle his laughter. "W-who's me?"
I was a bit annoyed. "Uncle Cinna, open the door."
"Hey!" Cinna quickly opened the door and looked down at me. "I already told you, I'm not old enough to be your uncle!" He stopped for a moment and looked at the cloaked Eiko. "Who's this with you?"
"I'll tell you later. Can we come in?"
He nodded. "Yeah, you can come in."
I nodded, and walked inside. Eiko followed close behind me. After she got in, Cinna shut the door.
"Who was at the door, Cinna?" Said a voice that I immediately recognized as Marcus's.
"It's Vivi and some mystery person." Cinna said.
"Oh, really?" That's when Marcus jumped down from the second floor and landed in front of me.
He looked at me and smiled. "Hey, Vivi. I haven't seen you around in a while."
I nodded. "Yeah, it's been a while. Things have just been so busy at 'The Mage' lately."
He nodded. "I can imagine…where's Michael? I thought you two were inseparable, and who's this with you?"
I looked at Eiko. "Well, Michael had to go to Earth for a reason he really didn't elaborate on, and as for the girl-" Cinna cut me off before I could finish.
"Oh, so the mystery person's a girl. Ah, young love."
I immediately grew red in the face. Of course they couldn't see it. "It is not- I mean it's…it's- I mean-" Marcus cut me off.
"Vivi, it's alright. Cinna just said the wrong thing, right Cinna?" He asked, looking pointedly at Cinna.
"Right, uh sorry about embarrassing you in front of your girlfriend, Vivi."
"Girlfri-" Cinna cut me off.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Anyway, who is she?"
"Well, I was sort of hoping that everyone else would be here. Where are they?"
Marcus spoke. "Boss and Bro went off to pick up Ruby, they should be back soon."
That caught my interest. "Ruby's coming back to Lindblum, why?"
Cinna spoke. "Well, her mini-theater in Alexandria was a huge success. She's planning on opening a chain of mini-theaters. She's starting off here in Lindblum, then she's going to go to Burmecia and try it there, then Treno, and possibly the Black Mage Village. Eventually, she hopes to have a mini-theater in every town and village on Gaia."
"Wow, that's great. So when will they be back?"
Marcus spoke. "Well, I'd say right about-" he was cut off by the door opening.
We all turned around and saw a large man enter the room; it was Baku. After he got in, Blank and Ruby walked in after him. After they got in, Blank closed the door.
Baku spoke. "Well, looks like we have visitors. It's been a while Vivi, how've you been, and where's that brother of yours, and who's the cloaked guy?"
Cinna spoke "girl, actually."
Baku's eyes widened. "A girl, well Vivi, I never knew you had it in you. Gwahahahahahah!"
I got red in the face again. 'Why is everyone picking on me?' I thought.
Ruby spoke. "Oh, Baku stop. You're embarrassin' the poor boy." Ruby walked over to me. "How've you been Vivi hon'? I haven't seen you and you're brother for a long time. Where is Michael anyway?"
"He went back to Earth for a while."
Ruby looked disappointed. "Aw, that's too bad. I needed to talk to him about helping fund ma new mini-theater. Ah well, I suppose I can wait a bit longer. Anyway, who's this?" She motioned to Eiko.
"Well, since you're all here now I guess I ca-" Eiko cut me off.
"It's about time." She removed her hood. "I was getting tired of staying quiet."
Everyone was surprised to see who the mystery girl was. Marcus was the first to speak. "Eiko, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the castle?"
She shrugged. "I got bored. Vivi came over and I decided that we, well I, decided that I should sneak out of the castle with him."
Baku spoke. "You do realize that you're going to be in big trouble when you get home right?"
Eiko smiled. "Oh come on, I haven't seen you guys in two years. Besides, I'll get in trouble only if my parents find out about this, and I won't tell them if you won't."
Baku laughed. "Fine, fine, so how's castle life treating you?"
"Well, I think it's great, but it does get rather boring since there's not much to do. I just wanted to go out into the city WITH OUT an armed escort. I keep telling my parents that I can take care of myself, but that doesn't stop them from treating me like a child."
Cinna spoke. "Well, technically, you are a child." She gave him a hard glare, and he quickly shut up.
Ruby spoke. "Well, I think it's fine that you came here just to meet these good ol' boys. The regent hasn't by chance heard about my mini-theater in Alexandria has he?"
Eiko and Ruby started to get into a discussion about Ruby's mini-theater. Cinna and Marcus were also talking to Baku about something. While everyone was distracted, I walked over to Blank. "Uh, Blank, can I talk to you for a moment?"
He nodded. "Sure Vivi, what is it?"
I looked around. "Uh…" Blank must've got my meaning.
"Let's talk outside." I nodded and followed him outside.
Once we were outside, Blank turned to me. "Well, what do you want to talk about?"
"Well…Zidane said I should go to him if I had any trouble with girls, but he's all the way in Alexandria. I was kind of hoping you could help me."
Blank smiled. "This girl you're having trouble with wouldn't happen to be Eiko, would it?"
I nodded. "Yeah, you see, today's Valentine's Day a-" Blank cut me off.
"Vale-what Day?"
I smiled, though he couldn't see it. "It's an Earth holiday. Michael says that you basically spend the day with someone you care about. I wanted to spend it with him, but he said that he was going to go to Earth alone to be with someone else. He told me that I should spend the day with Eiko."
Blank nodded. "I see…so what's the trouble?"
"I don't know what to do with her. Michael seemed to think that I'd figure something out, but I don't know. I need help, Blank, what do I do?"
"Don't worry, Vivi. I may not be as well versed as Zidane is when it comes to women, but I do know a thing or two that can help you out."
My eyes widened. "Great, anything you know would be great right now."
"Okay, first you should probably get her a gift, usually flowers or candy. Don't buy jewelry unless it's a serious relationship. Also, maybe you should take her to dinner. Oh, wait, scratch that, you two would need adult supervision if you plan on going to a restaurant, but don't worry you could still probably take her someplace special."
I thought about that for a moment. "Someplace special…" Suddenly, it came to me. "Blank, keep Eiko here and tell her I'll come back and get her as soon as I can. Tell her I'm setting something up for her."
Blank was a bit surprised. "Okay, I'll tell her, but what are you going to do?"
I smiled. "Let's just say that you've given me a great idea." I quickly ran back to the air cab station, and rode the cab over to the Business District. 'This is going to be good.' I thought.
Vivi took of like his pants were on fire. I was a bit awe struck. 'Man, I didn't expect that my words would have that much of an impact.' I thought.
"So, we gotta keep Eiko here, huh?"
I turned my head, and saw Ruby standing near the door. I smiled. "How long have you been there?"
She smiled "Long enough, pardner." She walked over to me. "That was nice of ya to help Vivi out like that."
"Well, he needed help, and I always try to do what I can to help."
Ruby placed her arms around my neck, and gave me a light kiss. She pulled back and smiled. "I know Blank, and that's why I love ya." I smiled, and the two of us resumed kissing.
It was a slow day at 'The Mage.' I was sitting at the front desk tapping my pen against the wooden table. 'You know, things would be more interesting if most of the students weren't taking exams today.' I thought. Suddenly, the door opened.
I put my pen down and looked to see who was coming in. It was Vivi. He seemed a bit out of breath, and he was holding a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates. I was glad to see him. "Vivi, how are you? I haven't seen you at all today."
Vivi looked at me. "Oh, hey Linda…Business seems kind of slow today."
I nodded. "Tell me about…who are those gifts for?"
His eyes suddenly gained an anxious look. "Oh, Linda I need your help. You're a woman right?"
I gave him an odd look and smiled. "Last time I checked, yes."
Vivi nodded. "Good, I need your help upstairs in my room." He quickly ran off towards the stairs.
I laughed to myself. 'My gosh, he's certainly anxious about something. Well, I better help him out.' I thought. I got up, and followed Vivi up the stairs.
Evening had come and I had returned from my walk. I tried everything to get that man out of my head. I walked, I shopped, I talked, I did everything I could possibly do, but I couldn't get my sweet Angel out of my mind. I sighed, and walked into my bedroom.
I froze when I saw that there was something on my bed. It was a black box with a piece of paper attached to it. I walked over to the bed, and took the piece of paper off the box. The paper had a single word written on it; 'Come.'
I thought that it was as an odd message, but I paid it no mind. I looked at the box and wondered what was inside it. My curiosity eventually overpowered my caution. I opened the box, and some sort of dust blasted out at me.
I recoiled, and started coughing from the dust. That's when thoughts of my Angel flooded my mind. The feelings, the desires, the lust that I had been keeping at bay were now surging through my mind. I had to find my Angel. We had to become one. I couldn't wait any longer.
I looked into the box and noticed something in it. I grabbed the object and pulled it out. It was a white, see through dress. I smiled. 'Angel is going to love this.' I thought. I quickly took my old clothes off and put the new ones on. That's when I heard his voice.
"Come to me, Eliza. I'm waiting for you."
Suddenly, as if by magic, I knew where he was. I quickly left the house and walked on to my destination. 'My Angel, I shall be there soon,' I thought.
I was getting impatient. I had been at the Tantalus hideout for hours, and Vivi still wasn't back yet. 'Vivi, for your sake, you better have a good reason for keeping me waiting.' I thought. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.
Blank walked over to the door. "Who is it?"
"It's Vivi." Blank quickly opened the door and Vivi walked in. Vivi walked over to me. He was about to say something, but I spoke before he could.
"Where have you been? Do you know how long I've been waiting? I was willing to go with you outside of the castle, and you decided to dump me off here like a piece of junk, and go running off to who-knows-where for hours?" He seemed a bit shaken from my outburst, but he quickly regained himself.
"I-I'm sorry Eiko, it's just…well…I have something I want to show you."
I was a bit surprised. "Show me what?"
"Come with me Eiko. We have to get to the Education District."
My eyes widened. "Huh, why?"
Vivi seemed excited. "I can't tell you. You have to come and see. Come on." He quickly ran out of the hideout.
I was stunned. "Vivi, wait!" I quickly ran off after him.
Johnson and I were returning from the tavern. We had been discussing the wedding with a few more of my friends. After that we parted company. I was heading off to see Eliza, and Johnson decided to come along.
Johnson smiled. "Well, this day is almost done, and then you'll just be one day away from being a newlywed."
I laughed. "Yeah, I know…I wonder what Eliza's doing right now."
Johnson shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe she's day dreaming about the wedding."
"Maybe you're ri-" He cut me off.
"Mark, look." He pointed to the mouth of an alleyway. That's when I spotted what he had seen. It was a woman in a black dress. She was turning into the alley. That's when I recognized who it was; it was Eliza.
Johnson was surprised. "Where's she going?"
"She's defiantly not out for an evening stroll. Let's follow her." He nodded, and we quickly followed Eliza into the alleyway.
I was watching Eliza through my mind. She was getting closer. I smiled 'Good, she's almost here.' That's when I sensed two other presences following her. I quickly turned my minds eye towards them. That's when they cam into focus.
One of them was the man from last night. The other was one that I had not met. I smiled. 'So, we have two uninvited guests. Oh well, I had already anticipated this. Let's see how they handle this maze.' I thought. I began chanting in the foul language my master taught me. Even if those two did make it through the maze, they would be too late.
We followed Eliza down the alley. I was amazed because she was moving pretty fast. Where ever it was she was going, she wanted to get there in a hurry. That's when we saw that she was heading to an old house. Suddenly, a wall erupted from the ground.
Johnson and I stopped dead in our tracks. That's when more walls erupted from the ground. Eventually, we were surrounded by the walls save one area were no wall was present.
"What the hell is this?" I said.
Johnson spoke. "It looks like some kind of maze."
I turned to him. "Eliza must be trapped in the maze to. It looked like she was heading for that abandoned house. We've got to find her." Johnson nodded, and we both started running through the maze. 'Hang on Eliza, we're coming,' I thought.
Vivi lead me into 'The Mage.' He still seemed pretty excited about something. Eventually, we made it to the fourth floor. He led me over to the door that lead up to his room.
"Just what are you doing, Viv?" Vivi turned to me. He seemed to have a certain gleam in his eyes. Though, I wasn't sure what it was.
"It's a surprise. Come on, we have to go up stairs." He opened the door, and led me up the stairs.
Eventually, he stopped right at the door that went into his room. "Okay, Eiko, close your eyes."
"What?"
"I want you to be surprised."
I sighed. "Alright, fine." I closed my eyes.
I could hear him open the door to his room. He grabbed my hand, and slowly led me into the room. That's when he gently sat me down on what I thought was a chair. I could feel the warmth from some kind of light. I could also smell something right in front of me. It smelled like meat. Vivi left me for a second, and the next thing I knew, I could hear music. It had a kind of romantic feeling to it.
"Okay, open your eyes."
I opened my eyes, and was quite surprised at what I saw. I was sitting at a small wooden table. A lit candelabra was on the table, as well as two glasses filled with some kind of liquid as well as two plates; both filled with vegetables and some kind of meat which I assumed was beef. I saw that the music that was playing was coming from a small box. I think I once heard Michael call it a 'stereo.'
I looked up at Vivi, and I could see the happy twinkle in his eyes. "Well, what do you think?"
I almost couldn't speak. "Vivi…this is…this is…great! You did this for me?"
Vivi sat down in the other chair. "Well, I wanted to do something special for you. Blank sort of gave me the idea, and Linda helped me set this up." He turned his head, and looked out the window. "Do you like the view?"
I turned my head and looked out the window. I was amazed. The sun had set past the buildings illuminating them in a silhouette fashion. The sky proudly wore shades of yellow, orange, red, blue, and purple. A few clouds dotted the sky, enhancing the beauty.
"Vivi, it's so beautiful."
"What about your room?"
"Oh, it's nice, but it doesn't have a view like this. I'm kind of jealous that you get to have a view like this everyday."
"You're actually jealous of me?" he asked.
I turned to him. "Only a little."
Vivi chuckled. "I see. Oh these are for you as well." He reached under the table, and pulled out a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolates.
My eyes widened. "Wow, Vivi, I…why are you giving me all this?"
"No reason, I just want to make today special for you."
I took the box and flowers from him. "Vivi, thanks for the gifts."
"You're welcome…Well, I think we better eat our food before it gets cold."
I nodded. "Yeah, you're right." I picked up my fork and started to eat.
"Do you like it?" He asked.
I looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, it's great. You did a great job, Vivi."
I could tell by the look in Vivi's eyes that he was happy. "Thank you." He said.
Vivi started eating. That's when I continued with my own food. I still couldn't believe that he did all this for me.
I entered the abandoned house, and walked up the stairs. I immediately went towards the room that I knew my Angel was in. I opened the door and walked into the room.
Candles were lit all around the room, and I saw a large king sized bed in the center of the room. I could feel my Angel's presence.
"Angel, I'm here."
That's when I heard the door close. I turned around and saw my white-haired Angel. He turned to me, and smiled.
"Ah, my dear Eliza. I knew you would come. The time has come." I nodded. That's when he began to sing.
"Yoooooou Haaaaave coooooome heeeeeeear in pursuuuuit of your deeeeeepest uuuuuuuurge. In pursuuuuit of that wiiiiiiish which til' now has been siiiiiiiiilent, siiiiiiiiiiiiileeeeent. IIII haaaaaave broooooought yooooooou that our paaaassions may fuuuuuuse and meeeeeerge. In your miiiiiind you've already succuuumbed to meeeeee, dropped all defenseeees, completely succuuumbed to meeeee. Now you are hear with meee, no second thoughts. You've deciiiiiiiiiideeeeeeed, deciiiiiiiiiiiideeeeeeeeeed."
He moved away from the door, and started walking towards me. Once he was close enough, he started circling around me. He continued to sing.
"Paaaaaast the point of noooooo retuuuuuurn, no backward glanceeeees. Our gaaaaames of make belieeeeeeve are at an eeeeeeeeeeend. Paaaaaaaast all thought of "iiiif" or "wheeen." No use resistiiiiing. AAAAbaaandon thought and leeeeeet the dream desceeeeeeeend."
He got behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. He started moving his hands along my body, and I lost myself in his touch. Something about this felt so wrong, but it felt so good. He continued to sing.
"What raging fire shall flood the soul? What rich desire unlocks its door? What sweet seduction lies befooooooore uuuuuuuuus? Paaaaaaast the point of nooooooo retuuuuuuuuurn, the final threshoooooold. What waaaaarm unspooooken secreeeeets will we leaaaaaaaarn beyoooooond the point of noooooo reeeeeeeeetuuuuuuuuuurn?"
He let go of me and backed away. He looked at me, and I understood what he wanted. I started to sing.
"Yoooooooou haaaaaaave brooooooought meeeeeee to that moment when words run dryyyyyy. To that moment when speech disappears into siiiiiiiiilence, siiiiiiiiilence. IIIIIIII haaaaaave coooooome heeeeeear hardly knowing the reeeeeeeason whhhhhhy. In my miiiiind I've already imagined our bodies entwining, defenseless and silent. Now I am here with you, no second thoughts, I've deciiiiiiiiiiideeeeed, deciiiiiiiiideeeeeeeeeed."
I took the top of my see-through dress off, and threw it aside. He smiled at what he saw. I continued to sing.
"Paaaaast the point of nooooooo retuuuuuuurn, no going back now. Our passion-play has noooooow at last beeeeeguuuuuun. Paaaaaast all thought of riiiight or wroooong, one final queeeestiooooon; how looong should we to waaaait before we're oooooooooooone. When will the blood begiiiin to race? The sleeping bud burst into blooooom? When will the flames at last consuuuuuuuuume uuuuuuuuuuus?"
He took off his cape and threw it to the ground. He also removed his shirt and began unbuttoning his pants. We started to sing together.
"(Paaaaaaaast the point of nooooooo retuuuuuuuuurn, the final threeeeeshooooold. The briiiiidge is crossed so staaaaand, and waaaatch iiiit buuuuuuuuuuuuurn. We paaaast the point of noooooooooooo reeeeeeeeeeetuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurn.)"
He embraced me, and I embraced him as well. He leaned over and we both fell onto the bed. That's when he started to remove my skirt. Finally, I was going to become one with my Angel.
I was walking through the graveyard. I walked among the tombstones, until I stopped at a particular one. I knelt down and placed a lavender corsage and a red rose on the tomb.
I smiled. "Happy Valentine's Day, Mary."
I sat down on the grass, and looked at the tombstone. I started to talk about the events that had happened since the last time I was there. Once I finished, I sighed and traced the M in her name with my index finger. 'Mary…I really wish you were here with me again.' I thought.
I spent a few more minutes at Mary's grave before I moved on to another grave I wanted to see. This particular grave was a mausoleum that my father rested in. As soon as I saw the mausoleum, I stopped dead in my tracks.
Part of the roof was destroyed. The gate was torn off its hinges. Debris littered the ground, and part of the surrounding ground was scorched.
'What happened?' I wondered.
I quickly ran over to the mausoleum, and went inside. I stopped when I saw that there was a hole in the ground that I nearly fell into. I quickly regained my balance and looked around. The inside was scorched. It looked like the place had been in a fire.
That's when I looked at my father's stone casket. Thankfully, it was intact. I sighed in relief, but still wondered what happened. I decided to leave and look around at the perimeter. As soon as I stepped outside, I heard a voice.
"Hey! What are you doing here?"
I looked up and saw a man at the foot of the stairs that led up to the entrance to the mausoleum. Since it was rather late, I took a guess that this guy was the night watchman.
I spoke. "I was visiting a friend's grave when I saw the damage done to the mausoleum. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Ah, they say a lightning bolt struck the roof some time last summer. The strange thing though, is that there wasn't a cloud in the sky the night it happened, and a man was killed right outside the mausoleum."
I found this odd. "Who was he, and how did he die? Was it the lightning?"
He shook his head. "His name was Jacob Mathews, and it wasn't the lightning that killed him. When the police found him, his head was facing backwards."
I was surprised. "His head was turned a complete 180 degrees? Sounds like he was murdered."
He nodded. "Yeah, that's what the police said. Now, you better get going Mr…"
"Ornitier, Michael Ornitier."
He nodded. "Right and I am Joe Steinbeck. Now you better get going."
I nodded. "Alright, I'll go, and thanks for the info." He nodded, and I left.
While I was leaving, I couldn't help but think about the damage done to the mausoleum. It looked like too much damage for a simple lightning bolt, and it didn't explain all the fire damage or that huge hole in the mausoleum.
Then there's the fact of that man that died. Someone was there, and he probably knew the whole story behind what happened. I had a bad feeling about all of this.
My thoughts eventually turned to Vivi. 'I hope his date with Eiko is going alright.' I thought.
After dinner, I escorted Eiko back to the castle. She was holding onto her flowers and chocolates. Once we got off the air cab, I walked her to the entrance. Before I let her go, I turned to her.
"Well, here we are. Did you have a good time?"
She smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it was great seeing Tantalus again, and dinner was even better."
I smiled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wanted to make this day special for you."
"Well it was great Vivi. I'm not going to forget today anytime soon."
"Now, you're sure you're not going to get in trouble?"
"You let me worry about my parents."
I nodded. "Okay, well I guess I'll see you later." I turned to leave.
"Vivi, wait."
I turned around to look at Eiko. She walked up to me and smiled. "I think you deserve this." She said. That's when she kissed me. I was a bit shocked. I wasn't quite sure what to do. I mean, she's kissed me before, but that was a friendly kiss. This kiss was different…and I kind of like it. After getting over the initial shock, I started kissing back a little. After a few seconds, we parted.
Eiko backed away a bit and continued to smile. "I'll see you later Vivi."
I nodded, still a bit stunned at what happened. "Yeah, I'll see you later." She turned from me and walked back into the castle.
I turned around, and walked back to the air cab. Once I boarded the air cab, I took my right glove off and felt where Eiko kissed me. I sighed, and leaned back on the bench I was sitting on. 'This Valentine's Day turned out great. I can't wait to tell Michael when he gets back.' I thought.
Johnson and I finally made it out of that wretched maze. We quickly ran into the abandoned house. We began searching for Eliza.
That's when I heard a scream, no two screams, one male one female, coming from upstairs. I quickly ran up the stairs. I found a door that was locked. The door was pretty old, so I kicked it.
The door burst open, and the sight that greeted me was a shock. Some guy was on top of Eliza. That's when I noticed that both of them were naked. Fury flooded through me. This guy had sex with my fiancée and I wasn't going to let him get away with it.
"GET OFF MY FIANCÉE, YOU BASTARD!"
I looked over at the door, and saw that Mark was standing there looking at us. I saw the shocked expression on his face. I suddenly began to panic. That's when he pulled out his dagger. 'Oh, God, no Mark, don't!' I thought, shaking my head.
That's when I heard my Angel speak. "FIRAGA!" I saw a fireball fly towards him. The fireball hit Mark in the chest and sent him smashing against the hallway wall. His body slumped to the ground, and his dagger fell out of his hand. Mark was dead.
I was terrified. My fiancée was killed right before my eyes and by my Angel no less. "Angel, how…how could you do this?" That's when my Angel began to laugh.
I looked at him, and was shocked. He was different. My handsome, white haired, blue eyed angel was gone. In his place was a wretched, red eyed, black haired man. Realization hit me. He tricked me; this wicked creature had tricked me. All of what I thought he was was a lie.
"You…You MONSTER!" He stopped laughing, and turned to me. I was suddenly beginning to regret attracting his attention.
He smiled. "You've had a rough night, dear. Why don't you go to sleep?" He waved his hand in the air and chanted some kind of spell.
That's when I started to feel drowsy. I fought to stay awake but fatigue overcame me. I fell into a peaceful abyss.
I watched as the girl fell asleep. Satisfied that she wasn't going to wake up any time soon, I turned my attention to the corpse. Before I could get a closer look, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. I smiled. 'These fools are playing right into my hand.' I thought.
I heard the person speak. "Mark!" I heard him run over to the body. He began shaking his friends' corpse. I smiled, snuck up behind him, and hit him in the back of the neck. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
I smiled. 'This is going to be good.' I thought. I looked at the burnt corpse and cast a Cura spell on it. The burns inflicted by my spell instantly healed. I then took the corpse's clothes off. Once that was done, I grabbed the unconscious mans hand and used it to grab the corpses dagger. I then used the hand to plunge the dagger into the corpses' chest.
Once that was done, I placed my hand on the unconscious mans head, and began chanting a spell. "You killed your best friend because you loved the woman he was going to marry. You caught him sleeping with his fiancée and, in a jealous rage, you attacked and killed him. When I snap my fingers, you will run out of this house, and try to hide from the guards." I took my hand off of him, and stood up.
I walked over to Eliza, and placed my hand on her head. I chanted the same spell again. "You saw everything that happened. You saw your friend kill your lover in cold blood. Also, you will bear a child. You will name this child Wraith. When I snap my fingers, you will scream as loud as you can." I took my hand off her, retrieved my clothes, put them back on, walked out of the room, down the stairs, out of the house, dispelled the maze I had created, and hid myself in a dark alley were I could see things play out. After a few seconds, I snapped my fingers.
I heard Eliza scream from inside the house. A few seconds later, the unconscious guy ran out of the house. I smiled. 'Good, good, everything went so well.' I thought. I laughed, cast a teleportation spell, and teleported back to Castle Phantom.
I arrived at my Master's house. I opened the door, and started looking for him. "Master, where are you?"
A call came from the kitchen. "I'm in here." I walked into the kitchen.
My Master was sitting at a table, drinking some tea. I walked up to him and sat in the chair next to him. I looked at him. "Why didn't you tell me about the mausoleum?"
He gave me an odd look. "What?"
"My father's mausoleum. I went to the graveyard to spend some time at Mary's grave. After that, I decided to go see my father's grave. When I got there, the roof was destroyed; there were scorch marks around the perimeter, fire damage in the interior, and a huge hole in the ground. Why didn't you tell me?"
Realization crossed my Masters face. "Oh, now I remember. That happened about six or seven months ago. It must have slipped my mind."
"I heard from someone that a lightning bolt did the damage."
"And do you believe it?"
I shook my head. "No, well at least not completely. A lightning bolt could've destroyed the roof, but it would've had to have been very powerful. The fire damage that I saw though couldn't have been caused by the lightning. Also the interior walls of the tomb were burnt but not the outside walls, and from what I could see, it looked like a ring of fire surrounded the tomb at some point. The lightning bolt also couldn't have made that huge hole I saw in the mausoleum. Also, the guy that was killed there; he died from a broken neck. All of those don't add up to a lightning strike."
My Master nodded. "So what do you think happened?"
I shook my head. "I'm not sure."
"Well don't worry about it. How was your time at the graveyard?"
I smiled. "It wasn't bad. All in all, I'd say this was a pretty good Valentine's Day."
He nodded. "So are you going back tomorrow?"
I nodded, "Yep, speaking of which, I better get to bed. Goodnight, Master."
He nodded. "Goodnight."
I left the kitchen and went upstairs. After getting ready for bed I entered my bedroom. I got under the covers, and quickly fell asleep.
In an instant, I was back at my castle. I landed at the base of the stairs that ascended to my throne. I looked up at my throne and saw Cory sitting there.
He smiled. "Ah, Master, you're back."
I nodded. "Indeed." That's when I noticed that my 'all-seeing' spell was still active near my throne. "Did I forget to dispel that?" I said, pointing at the spell.
Cory looked at it, and started to get nervous. That's when I realized that he had seen something. "What did you see?" I said, as I ascended the stairs.
He tried to stop me from looking, but I was able to see what was shown in the image. It was me. My eyes narrowed, and I turned to Cory.
"You were spying on me." I could sense his unease. "I go through the trouble of breaking you out of prison, training you to become stronger, and teaching you how to control the animal within you; and you repay me by spying on ME!" Before he could say anything, I grabbed him by the throat, and threw him down the stairs. He landed on the ground face first.
I started to descend the stairs. "The dark forces in this world will rise eventually and the Orunitier brothers will be sent here to meet destruction at my hands. Pray that when this does happen-" I grabbed him by the throat, and lifted him up into the air "-that I'm in a better mood."
Cory spoke. "Ma-Master…I'm s-sorry. I-I didn't mean to s-spy. It's just…I-I didn't know how t-to dispel the i-image."
I frowned. "Use your head, Cory, or rather your fist; like so."
I let go of him, performed a back flip, Twisted around in the air so that I'd be facing the image, sliced my hand through the image; dispelling it, and landed next to my throne. I walked over to my throne, spun around, and sat down.
I looked down at Cory. "That is how you do it."
He nodded. "Yes, I'll remember that, but Master if I may ask…why did you choose that woman?"
"Tell me Cory, do you know how demons reproduce?" He shook his head. I continued. "A demon cannot have a child with another demon. The only way a demon can have a child is if they impregnate a human or a human impregnates a demon. Of course the person doesn't have to be human, but it's more preferable than any other species."
Cory spoke. "So you could've picked just any woman."
I shook my head. "No, you see the person must also meet certain conditions. The person must be a virgin, pure of heart, and they must have a certain unnoticeable abnormality in their blood which enables them to give birth to a demon. It's rare to find someone like that, but that woman fit each requirement."
Cory thought about this. "I see…but wouldn't that make the kid half demon?"
I frowned and nodded. "Yes, but that's why humans are the best candidates, because they are so easy to corrupt."
Cory nodded. "Alright, but why did you decide to do this?"
I smiled. "I call it a back up plan."
Cory was confused. "A back up plan?"
I nodded. "Yes, if you want to achieve victory, it helps to have a back up plan.
Cory nodded. "I see, but what was that language I heard you chanting. It sounded kind of creepy."
"It's a language my master taught me."
Cory's eyes widened. "Your master? Who's that?"
I frowned. "No one you need to know…Now leave me." Cory bowed, and quickly left the room.
Once he was gone, I re-conjured the spell. I looked at the image, and saw that the soldiers were apprehending the unconscious man. I laughed silently to myself. Things went far better than I had thought.
I was lying awake in my bed. I was staring at the ceiling, and thinking about the events that took place just a few hours ago. 'I really hope Eiko likes her gifts. I wonder if she found my note yet.' I thought. I turned over, and decided to get to sleep. After all, tomorrow is another day.
I was getting ready for bed. Unfortunately, my parents found out about my venture out of the castle. They chewed me out for leaving the castle without permission or an escort. Thankfully, the punishment wasn't too bad. Besides, it was worth it to spend the day with Vivi.
I got into bed, and looked at the roses he gave me. I smiled when I looked at them. That's when I noticed something sticking out in-between two flowers.
I pulled the object out, and saw that it was a piece of red paper cut into the shape of a heart. I looked at the other side of it, and saw a message written in Vivi's handwriting. 'From your Valentine.'
I was puzzled by what that meant, but I was touched none the less. 'Vivi, this was the best day of my life.' I thought. I put the note by the flowers, placed my head on the pillow, and quickly fell asleep.
Well that ends my Valentine's Day fic. Up next is the next installment in my story "The Apprentice." Also, how demons mate in this story is my own idea. If this idea exists somewhere else than I have no idea where. Also, curious about who Phantom's Master is? Well, that will be revealed later, but you can guess if you wish. Well, anyway Happy Valentine's Day everyone.