Chapter 23

The glimpse of sunlight peaked into the cave and I knew it was time. I helped Donovan sleep throughout the night while I stayed awake. He hadn't eaten in a while. I needed to get him something soon. When I began to move to stand up he let out some exhausted whines. I reached over and took one of the last few clean rags from the basket and dropped it in the basin of water. I let it soak up for a moment and I wrapped it around my finger and placed it in his mouth. Hopefully, that would help settle him for a while.

I placed the satchel of items Ghirahim had brought inside the basket to help cut down on things to carry. I looped my arm through the basket and turned to the bodies of my parents on the ground. I snapped my fingers and they both began to levitate. I bound them to me with a heeling spell so they wouldn't drift away.

The sun was rising with the temperature and I needed to get to the entrance of the city. I began to walk in the sand along the large mountain to the entrance we had approached three days ago. My clothes were still on my body and since my true form was larger than my human form, they felt tight and stretched. It was the least of my worries at the moment. I just focused on shielding Donovan from the incoming light and marching through the loose ground.

I made it to where Ghirahim stopped us before and reached out my arm. Instead of being zapped like before, the rocks began to maneuver until they were chiseled into the shape of an elegant gate. It opened inward to reveal a long tunnel with a paved path. I began to walk and every so often I would look back to see if the bodies were still following me, which they were.

After I marched halfway through the tunnel, the gate closed behind us. I saw the morning sunlight gleam on the other side of the tunnel. I inhaled deeply. I looked at Donovan who was slurping the last bit of moisture from the rag off my fingers. I needed to get him somewhere safe. That was my only motivation right now.

I confidently yet cautiously approached the other end of the tunnel. People were waiting there. There was a figure in the center of a mass of people dressed in elegant papal gowns. Those standing directly next to him wore some more humble styles of his outfit. The man in the center was of copper-red metallic skin and the others had silver or bronze. There was a large diversity in skin tones and hair colors, and just like me, none of them had diamonds present on their chests as my father had.

I could see that they were prepared to have given a great, fabricated welcome. They were all gathered in a large room with many stained glass windows and decorated it finely with flowers and ribbons. As I drew closer, and the bodies came into the light and their faces dropped in shock. Some guards pushed their way forward and took a defensive positioning towards me with their spears. I paid them no attention.

"I'm sorry, madam, may you introduce yourself?" The center figure inquired.

"My name is Akomin. I am the daughter of the Demon Lord and his lady." I said firmly and pridefully. I never thought of our titles and how important they sounded in such a formal setting. They never seemed to be much more than a faux epithet.

"You're his daughter?" He reiterated with some surprise. I nodded.

"And this is his son." I gestured to the now sleeping baby in my arms.

"My name is Darmon Agorith. I am the elected prime minister of the city. You are currently in the threshold that we have created to prevent outsiders from entering without jurisdiction. The city lies beyond the doors behind us. I am currently surrounded by the entire parliament council who your father allowed to gather in his authority while he was away doing our King's mission." He seemed to not want to overwhelm me. He gave off a very genuine and calm persona, however, it seemed as though he had a lot of hidden emotions with how he spoke. He seemed welcoming as of right not, but he also didn't seem too comforted by the corpses behind me.

"Yes, I understand. I've heard about the city." I nodded for him to continue.

"Well, madam, we made arrangements for your father who gave very vague information on his circumstances other than that there was a threat after him and that his maiden was in critical condition." I could already feel as though he was trying to sweeten some bitter news for me. "You see, he did not mention some important details which are unfortunately inexcusable for the safety of the city and the traditions we uphold."

"Please tell me." I politely and sternly instructed.

"Well, first off, he didn't mention two of the members of your party. Which I assume would have been you and his son. He also didn't mention that his maiden was the human child he had brought over many times before and we instructed him to abandon and he assured us he had."

"Yes, I can attest to some of that. There were initially three of us and then her critical condition was being extremely pregnant and going into labor. And thus we had a fourth member of our party." I explained. I knew they were going to continue to try and be delicate with me. Something wasn't sitting well with them, and it wasn't the fact that their boss was dead and floating before them.

"Which is understandable, but the boy is human. And I can only assume that is his mother." He glanced at Catto's body. I nodded in agreement. "We have very particular traditions and expectations to uphold with limit the entry of humans into our sanctuary."

"Trust me, one is dead and the other is two days old, I am sure they won't disturb any ancient rules your society has formed." I was sour with my words but I tried to present a kind appearance.

"We made exceptions for the maiden in the past because of our Lord's insistence of using her towards his final mission and he stressed her importance. We were still worried and advised him to form another plan and after several years he informed us he had left her in the sky. Now, just because she has had an illegitimate child and convinced him that it was our Lord's, it gives them no exceptions to our customs." I wanted to rip their smug faces off as the group nodded in agreement with him. But instead, I smiled and laughed a little.

"No-no, I can assure you that the baby is not illegitimate and is both of theirs." I clarified.

"I am sorry madam, but humans and demons are not able to procreate and that child is in fact human." He disagreed. "I am sure if you were to bring your own mother into this to attest-"

"Well, I can tell you that these two were in fact married. And that they did in fact create this baby. And to add on to that, that human is my mother. I am an akomus." I explained further. A few whispers broke out amount them. Argorith raised his hand to hush them.

" I would like to hear what you have to say. Please, explain your situation in full." He now seemed extremely interested.

"My mother and father never separated as he told you they did. I assume he only said that to you so you would quit pestering him, and I assume that is why he decided to stop coming back here to do his job also. My mother came from another world and the two of them fell in love and out of the protection of her, my father bound their souls together. However, the price he paid for that was a deal with Gerudin. Afterward, my mother gave birth to me, however when my father could not pay the price which he had bargained she became fixated on destroying us. She followed us for years until yesterday. Where she finally caught up to us and took the lives of both my-our-" I realized they weren't just my parents anymore and I looked down at sleeping Donovan. "-our parents."

"You are an akomus?" He asked again and I nodded. "And Gerudin is she-"

"I killed her," I answered before he could finish. He nodded again.

"You may have already guessed, but because you are the firstborn demon in your father's family, his authority has been passed to you. However, the customs of our city-"

"I want a funeral for them. I want the grandest most respectful and extravagant ceremony to be held for both of them." He was right, I had already guessed this would happen. But even with my orders he stood strong in my way and continued to bare bad news.

"We have customs within our city, my Lady." He immediately used my new title which caught me off guard. "A relationship between demon and human, regardless of which world they come from, is a sacrilegious act that we do not condemn. We can not celebrate their funeral within the inner city." He explained. I wanted to use my new authority to tell him to do anyway. My face was scrunching up with frustration at how degrading and negative he was towards me. He truly refused to want anything to work out the way I wanted it to. "We can have it be in the outskirts of the city, it can be as extravagant as you want. However, it won't be mandated for citizens to come to pay respects, it will be completely voluntary." He described. He was trying to compromise. I realized I didn't want to show up and dictate their entire way of life. I just wanted to figure things out and understand what to do next.

"That will work fine." I agreed. I'm sure that they will get at least a few hundred people wanting to pay some respects to their dedicated ruler. It would just be outside the city. Away from the chaos, just as they always wanted to live.

"Now, about the boy-" Argorith began.

"I need some milk or liquid food for him. He will be staying by my side at all times." I instructed.

"As you wish..." he grumbled slightly to himself. "Anything else?" I shook my head. "Then welcome, Demon Lady Akomin." He bowed slowly and the rest of the many council members followed suit. They parted through the middle and created a path to the great doors behind them. Guards walked in unison and pulled the door open. The sun had risen much more now and it lit up the view before me. The building I was in sat on the edge of a large bowl. The city sat at the bottom and tucked between the two huge mountains from before. It was more than anything Skyloft could have accomplished and it was thriving with life. Specks of people walking through the narrow streets that webbed far and wide. Houses, cathedrals, buildings, and bazaars flooded the land below me. In the center of it all was a building that stood higher than all the rest. It stood high and large, it was castle-like and extravagant.

"Lady Akomin, if you would, the guards would like to escort you towards the City Center." Argorith offered. I nodded, "You may want to consider leaving their bodies with us until the burial." He suggested. As much as I didn't want to leave my parents alone, I knew to process though a city with dead bodies was not going to be an appropriate look. I disenchanted the heeling spell and let their bodies be handled by some more guards.

I turned and followed the two armed escorts I had in front of me and followed them down the steep steps that led to the city. It was captivating. I looked back and see how far we had gotten from the entrance gate and I noticed that the entire council was processing behind me. I felt like I was the leader of a parade I didn't want to be. The feeling amplified as soon as we reached the bottom and the dense streets filled with busy demons had to split to make room for our route. Many people stood and stared with confusion. Whispers were hissed among the masses and they stared at me. I felt as if I was back in Skyloft. I was trying to remain calm but the familiar stares felt like hot metal rods searing into me. I knew I couldn't let my stress overtake me, I was carrying the most precious cargo in the world. I could not risk hurting him. I refused to touch him less than twenty-four hours ago for this very reason, but now I could only trust myself to keep him safe, and that made me more uncertain.

A booming voice bellowed from the sky. I was startled and immediately stopped walking in response, "Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to introduce our newest ruler, the daughter of our Lord Ghirahim himself, Demon Lady Akomin." I didn't like this. Donovan began to cry again from my stressed reaction. The escorts turned to me and ushered me to continue walking. There were too many personalities rushing through my head. This is something Ghirahim would have loved. This is something Catto would have hated. This is something Link would have refused. I wasn't a hero to them, I wasn't even real royalty to them, I was nothing to them. So, I was shocked when stares and whispers turned to applause and excitement. All because of me? I took some deep breaths and decided to keep my head down. I couldn't let the stress make me lash out. I could not hurt Donovan.

I felt like thousands of people wanted to know who I was suddenly. It felt fake, but it was slightly flattering. With each step, I tried to focus on the paved cobblestone bricks I passed over. Anything to keep my mind on the shouts and begs for my attention. I was so indifferent at this moment, unsure of how I even wanted to respond, the uncertainty scared me. My mind was pulling in three directions. When more announcements were made and people began to try and approach me for handshakes, kisses, questions, and more, I began to shut down more. I didn't know how far the walk was to this City Center place, I could see it towering over us and the rest of the city, but this journey felt much longer than any other.

A large square filled with people, an artistic fountain, and many architectural wonders guided the way to the large extraordinary building that peered over the city. A large gate blocked by many demon guards stood tall. Many people were trying to push their way through to get to me, the guards ushered them away and kept me and Donovan safe. Donovan was waking up again and getting fussy now that we were close to the end of the parade. The guards worked together to open the large gates and led me inside with the council. A large grand hall greeted us inside with a long rug running up some stairs. As soon as the gates were shut I turned around. Donovan was getting more and more upset. He had gone too long without any food or water in this heat. He would be sick if he wasn't already.

"He needs something now," I demanded from Argorith. He nodded and turned to a skinny female staff member and whisper to her. She nodded and then ran off. Argorith approached us and beaconed me to follow him through the hall. Some elegant spiral stairs winded their way up and out of the area. I carefully held the railing and made sure not to trip. At the top, some halls and corridors branched in many directions. He led me to the end of a corridor and another, less fancy flight of stairs took us higher. This time, they went up many floors. My legs were getting tired and I couldn't help but feel as though he remained in control of me even though there was a significant difference in authority ranking.

"Where are we going?" I panted after we passed another floor. He did not answer. "Listen, he needs food, we can go here later, first I need to take care of him." Still no answer. We went up several more flights until we made it to the top of what I assumed to be the tower of the City Center. It had a much shorter hallway and he pulled out a large key to unlock the door.

"This will be your quarters." He revealed while he pushed the door open. Inside was an elegantly furnished room that had large windows and a balcony that looked over the city. The decorating reminded me of Ghirahim and Catto's old bedroom at our house in Faron. "Do you mind if we provide some fine clothing for you to present yourself in?" Argorith asked.

"Yes, I mind." I snapped. "I can do whatever you want soon, but right now I need food for my brother." He looked towards his right and ushered me to a section of the room. The skinny female demon from before was preparing a tray with a milk-like substance in a baby bottle. She also had a cup of iced water prepared as well.

"She will collect your measurements and be your personal server while you reside here." He elucidated. I turned to her as she was walking up and rudely snatched the bottle from her tray. She was startled but I didn't care. I tried putting it into Donovan's mouth. He didn't take it at first but he slowly realized he was too hungry to decline. I took a sigh of relief and looked around the room.

"I will leave you be, we will create the arrangements for the funeral shortly. Please relax in the City Center until we fetch you." He instructed and began to turn and walk away.

"Thank you," I called after him. He gave a small nodded and closed the door behind him while walking out.

There was a large bed that looked as if it hadn't been slept in for years, but it was still taken care of regularly. I sat on the foot and realized what three nights in the desert can do to a person.

"Lady-" the servant began to speak. I looked up and noticed she was still frozen in the spot I snatched the bottle from and was holding my water steady.

"I'm sorry!" I yelped and stood up to grab the drink. She set down the tray on a small bar counter. I drank with one hand and balanced the bottle against chest so I and Donovan could both get refreshed. Once I finished my drink I turned to her. "What is your name?"

"Saharin," She answered quietly. "My lady-"

"You can call me Akomin." I told her. She seemed intimidated by me, it made me feel bad.

"My lady, I can not. You are our lady now and you must be referred to by your title." She corrected.

"But I'm not a lady, I'm a teenager. I turn eighteen in two months, I'm not supposed to be a ruler or a leader of any sort."

"Your father was nineteen when he was left by the King. He claimed he was not ready either but he shaped up to be the most respectful ruler." She calmed down a bit. "The first thing he did was build the City Center. He wanted the demons to have a common location to look to for help. He got the few dozen of us that there were at the time after the war and built it brick by brick with them."

"Yeah, but I am not my father." I corrected him. "He was created to be a leader, I was not."

"We are not our parents in the slightest." She agreed as she began to clean up some things around the room. "But everything about us is based on who our parents were." I didn't understand her message, I felt it was too complex for me to comprehend at this moment.

"You are not our Lord. You are your own person." She began to simplify it. "But you would not have been your own person without our Lord or your mother." I had three parents. Three that played big parts of my life. I am none of them, yet I am who I am because of all of them.

"I've constantly been told who I was based on who my parents were. It has been hard to fight for who I really am." I looked down at the ground disappointedly. Donovan was close to finishing his bottle and when he was done I lied him gently in the center of the large bed to relax. Saharin walked up to me and ushered me to stand up straight. She lifted my arms out to form a 'T'. She began to measure me with some tape and write down the measurements. I was still in my clothes that Catto gave me from before. The seams we're stretched tight and could honestly break at any minute. When she was done she began to walk towards the door.

"Your clothes will be up soon. If you need anything you may ring the bell outside your door. I will come back to assist you." She illustrated. When she finished she closed the door behind her. I walked towards the balcony and looked down at the city below me. It stretched further than I could see. The mountains we were nestled between provided a great deal of shade from the bright desert sun. The heat was still intense, just not overwhelming. I looked down at the ground, it felt so far away, much further than I thought we had climbed up. Floods of people were facing the City Center and looked to be waiting for something, which I hope was not me. I began to get nervous from the masses of people below me. So I moved back inside and sat next to Donovan on the bed.

"I'm not ready for this." I groaned and rubbed my face. I couldn't be a leader or a ruler. I wasn't meant to be here. All I wanted was a safe place for me and Donovan for the time being. I began to look through the satchel I brought with me from the cave.

I was interested in what Ghirahim deemed worthy as his most prized possessions. There were the journals that he and Catto kept over the years. There was a lot of random stuff like spell ingredients or little Knick-knacks. There was nothing really of interest besides Catto's goal of blood. I don't even know if I'll need it for a while because I'm surrounded by demons, there's no need for a human form, I'm sure they wouldn't respect me if I preferred that form anyway.

A knock interrupted my rummaging and I sat up to see who was walking through the door. It was Saharin and she was holding a large red gown in one arm and second outfit that was covered in the other.

"You only need to try on the red dress for now." She explained and handed it to me. I slipped off my clothes for the first time in days and put on the red gown. It was elegant and made me look royal. It was a satin red dress that had a high halter and long cape that left a long train on the floor. This was the first time I had clothes that not only were this nice, but they fit me and complimented my physical appearance. I looked in one of the large mirrors on the far side of the suite, I looked so much like Ghirahim in this form. I felt slightly uncomfortable by the fact that I looked so much like someone dead. I dropped my eyes and looked away.

"When will the funeral be ready?" I asked her, I was putting a lot of pressure on her to know a lot more answers than I think she was paid to know. She smiled at me with sympathy and she looked familiar. She had a very similar smile to Mable. I hadn't seen that smile in a while.

"I am sure it will be soon. They have the entirety of the City Center staff working to prepare the event." She assured. I nodded in understanding. She helped adjust my gown and make sure it was beautiful and presentable. She patted my back and I looked over to her. I was still tall for a demon, or maybe she was short for one. Regardless, I looked down at her and had a moment of remembering Mable patting my back and comforting me during my hard times. All I wanted to do was hug this servant girl in front of me. She was so pretty and had the most beautiful smile. Smiles are taken for granted. It is the part we miss most about a person once they are gone. Ever smile is more valuable than the last, making it so much more important to smile every second of any happiness. I spent too many years of my life keeping myself from smiles, that's why Link began to feel connected with me, maybe that's why Ghirahim didn't see me as his daughter sooner, maybe that's why I had the irony of seeing the person who loved me most have a smile plastered on her face in death.

Knock Knock

The two of us turned to the door. It was Argorith and he walked slowly into the room.

"Most of the funeral celebration has been prepared, all you must do is change and be present for the announcement to the citizens." He instructed. "There will be an escort to the outskirts of the city, those who wish to attend will follow the escort behind you. Please be down shortly."

I dropped my head and looked towards the elegant black dress. Donovan was still sleeping soundly in the middle of the bed, I felt bad for having to wake him. Saharin took her hand off my back and turned towards the door to leave with Argorith. The two of them left and the door closed behind them.

I put on the black dress. My whole body was already a dark color, so having black on top made my whole persona seem dark and gloomy, which wasn't far from how I felt. It was a fitted dress but it was not as exaggerated as the red dress. It didn't have many decals or extreme features, it was plain and had a deep 'V' cut to the collar. The sleeves were long and drooped down with the rest of the dress, it had a short slip that seemed more for practicality than for appearance.

I picked up Donovan who squirmed a bit but then quickly became comfortable in my arms and settled down. I quietly and gently walked down the many flights of stairs back towards the main hall that I entered through. There was a large group of people that waited for me. A few gave some odd stares and Argorith seemed calm.

"My Lady, we have some shoes for you as well as your headdress." He waved to some more servants. I almost didn't realize I was still in my bare feet, it wasn't something I paid attention to in this form. Even still, I slipped on some short black heals and a large male servant placed a black floral crown onto my head. I looked towards Argorith and he nodded. The main entrance doors opened and I walked forward with Donovan in my arms and stood next to Argorith. Masses of people stood eager for works to be spoken. He cleared his throat.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," His voice boomed over the city from above, I was not prepared for that and jumped to myself and then began to listen to him speak to the people. "As many of you are aware, we have our new Lady rightfully taking her place as our ruler. Unfortunately, many of you may know that this is only possible because of the death of her father, our Late Lord Ghirahim. His death was recent, so she would like to welcome each of you to grieve and celebrate the life that he led. However, please be aware that our late Lord did take up a lover over the last several decades and decided to dedicate his life to her. That lover was indeed a human woman." He paused for what seemed dramatic affect. A larger murmur rolled over the streets of the city as hundreds began to whisper among themselves. "Yes, you did indeed hear me correct. She was human, though she was not the same as those who slaughtered and banished us, she still prevented him from achieving his duties and forced him to move away from the city permanently to escape the prosecution she deserved." I could tell he was changing the story, it made me upset but I knew I didn't have much I could say, he would just continue to place a bias on any story I told. "Because of this woman, our Lord has perished and because our Lord partook in the taboo relationship with her, we can not allow him to be placed in the mausoleum with the rest of our great leaders and icons. It also should be know, that in attending this celebration, you will also be attending a joint funeral for the human woman who perished with him. If this is a situation you are comfortable with, we urge you to join and pay your respects, if not, this is a voluntary attendance, it is not mandatory." The murmurs continued. Argorith looked towards me, I know a lot of demons have extreme views on humans, I wasn't looking to change that, but I still had some things I wanted to say after his speech.

"Hello, fellow demons" I greeted, my voice was amplified with whatever spell Argorith used before. I was a little surprised at the volume and hearing my voice echo back at me. "I know that this may seem like a no-brainer. The humans have hurt you, and they hurt me as well, but that doesn't change the integrity and honor someone has been able to bring throughout their life. Lord Ghirahim, my dad, he was a fantastic person. He built you this city, he upheld the pressures of thousands to fulfill the work of Demise. He was truly someone worth honoring. His wife, Catto, my mother, she was the love of his life. He never had intentions of doing as much for her as he did, but he became an even better man in his relationship with her. Love has no respect for boundaries, and who someone loves doesn't cancel out all the respectable things they have done. So please, come with me and let us show him the work he did for this nation is not all gone to waste, let us walk together to the outskirts of the city and give him what he deserves." I felt good about what I said and a few nods were visible within the crowds.

Argorith gestured for me to follow two large guards who opened a path through the masses. It was a slow and steady pace that felt completely worth it. I held onto Donovan and kept my head high. I could only hope that people were flooding and following behind me. The idea that these people could be looking to me a leader now, as a spokeswoman or a lord, it made my stomach churn. I refused to turn around and look into the faces of people I could possibly let down. So I followed blindly behind the guards. The city thinned and some grassy plains were visible in the distance. While sand was still everywhere, dead grass and some greenery poked through and brightened the barren yellow region.

It was a good distance from the city. And one grassy hill stood alone with a single young tree. It provided some shade and a priest-like man was standing with some other guards at the top. Floating over two larger holes were two open caskets side by side. The guards halted and dismissed themselves. They turned to join the rest of the people behind me and I held Donovan tighter as he squirmed slightly from the hot sun again the priest demon looked to me and spoke.

"I don't have a ceremonial script for an occasion such as this. We do not perform ceremonies for human and demon lovers. I can only give a blessing to our Lord and hope that shall be enough." He seemed a bit saddened by the excuse he gave and I nodded in understanding. I couldn't blame the demons for having the feelings towards humans that they do. I could not change the way they have lived for hundreds of years. So, I thanked him and he placed a hand on one casket and mumbled some words. He too walked past me and joined the group behind me. I turned to ask him a question but when I did, I noticed I was alone.

No one followed me as I had hoped. No one had decided it was worth it to pay their respects. It was just me and my parents floating above their graves.

"I suppose this is the time I'm supposed to say something nice about how great the two do you were." I looked back at the caskets and took a deep breath. "But I don't think I got to know either of you well enough in the past ten months to give you the justice you should get."

A part of me, wanted Ghirahim to sit up and agree with me in a condescending tone, or Catto to reassure me that it didn't matter because we were together and that was that. It was a very empty feeling, wanting something more than anything and yet watching seconds tick by without it happening.

"Somehow I'm supposed to do this on my own and I wasn't meant for a life like this. I was raised for a simple like. I had a simple life with a single dad in Skyloft and I had a simple life with the two of you in Faron. I know I always tried to convince myself I wanted more but it always got me in trouble, I was honestly happy where I was." Donovan squirmed around a bit but remained asleep. I stared at him and his tiny face. His face was so small but it had such a big meaning to it. "And a part of me says that maybe I was destined for something greater than a simple life, but it's not fair that all of my parents lead huge lives yet never showed me how to handle one myself."

I felt crazy but I felt like I needed this. I needed to vent and express the pain and confusion I was in. Yet, so many words that I wanted t say were evading me. I had a few tears escape and I quickly took some deep breaths and wiped them away.

I used some magic and lowered the caskets into the ground slowly while closing the covers. I tried not to look but I regretfully caught a glimpse of Catto's smiling face one last time. A small dagger pierced my heart and I choked on a few sobbing heaves. I walked to the large pile of dirt and kicked a few clumps into the graves. As painfully alone I knew I was, this high of trying to figure out what I was going to do now kept giving me a focus outside of the moment.

"I'm sorry for the turnout." Argorith's voice cooed behind me. I didn't turn to him, I let him slowly approach and stand next to me. "I am also sorry for the hardships you've had to go through to get here. You seemed to have had a fairly extraordinary life, it is a shame you lost so much." He sounded genuine, but I felt as though he wasn't. "Our lord was a respectable ruler. He cared a lot for his people. It was a shame that the girl had to come and ruin it."

"I'd watch what you say," I warned him.

"I'm speaking the truth. He was very powerful. The autopsy said that the force that killed him was something he could have stopped earlier within his life." He defended. I turned to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" I asked. He shook his head.

"The demon King did not create and raise him to be dependent on anyone except himself. He killed his parents before they had a chance to be a part of his life and raised him to be a man of honor. However, it was clear that shortly after meeting the human that his heart was softened by her, I would not doubt that he would have done anything for her whether it was the first week of their relationship or second decade. He humbled his power by getting attached to her, not only that, but I am certain he made sacrifices for her on multiple occasions." I was astonished by the words he was saying. The idea that Ghirahim was capable of so much more than I originally thought makes me rethink just how powerful I was as his daughter.

"So the caster of the spell-" I began.

"With what he was originally capable of, he could have reversed it instantly and counterattacked, leaving the caster dead where they stood." He answered. He knew my questions, he seemed like he was trying to make me feel lose respect for Catto and their relationship. However, his explanations made me think hard to myself and try to process what I was hearing.

"I would prefer to be alone now," I instructed. He nodded and turned around to begin to walk away.

"Then I would make sure you let her know that as well." He muttered as he vanished and teleported away. I turned around, Saharan was climbing up the steep hill by herself. She hiked up her uniform so she would not trip or get it dirty.

"You don't have to be here for me, I understand if you do not want to support the life that these two represented," I assured. She shook her head.

"I had to finish my duties at the City Center before I was permitted to leave. I was scared I would miss the whole ceremony if I did not hurry. It was quite the run over here." She panted as she approached me. She smiled wide and looked towards the two large holes dug in the ground. Even now, she seemed calm and structured, just as she was back at the City Center. She had a rose-gold skin that glistened in the night and harshly contrasted with my dark obsidian appearance. I was jealous of her, I didn't know the diversity of skin types was such a thing of beauty among the demon folk.

"Why didn't you just teleport?" I asked concerned with how out-of-breath she was. She happily shrugged and sighed.

"I am not able to anymore. I am a restored delinquent." She clarified but I was still not understanding what she meant. She laughed a bit to herself. "When I was young, some decades ago, I decided I wanted to escape the city and see what was beyond. I wanted more than anything to meet some of the people the Goddess created. I wanted to be one of them and be apart of her blessing. I didn't feel it was fair that I was stuck here for crimes I didn't commit. So I attempted to climb the eastern border mountain. I was caught almost instantly. I was assured that it was nothing but dangers and humans outside when they could tell I still wanted to leave they offered me lifetime parole and stripped magic away from me and my bloodline. So I have been serving the City Center ever since. There are a few dozen other who were like me, but compared to the rest of the city we are a minority."

"So you just gave up?" I asked.

"I cannot leave without any magic and I would not survive long out there anyway. I still would love to go, however, it is a dream I understand I can never achieve. Our late Lord was always an inspiration to me. He came and went as he pleased and one day he stayed away for a better life outside of here, I do not blame him. He tasted freedom and never wanted to come back to a prison such as this."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I agreed. I looked towards Ghirhaim's casket. "I think it's good the two of them are out here away from the craziness of the city. I think this is something they would have wanted." I held my hand out and filled the holes with the rest of the dirt using some magic. There was no headstone but the tree provided a good bit of shade and hung over the graves. I used some magic and carved some words into the tree. I took a deep breath and began to turn and walk back towards the City Center with Saharin, holding her hand and feeling her comfort. Before we got too far I decided to make one last glance towards the tree.

Here lies the Demon Lord Ghirahim and his loving wife, Catherine Martin. Forever bound by a string of fate.

This chapter was super long, I am so sorry. I hope you enjoyed it. Please Continue to Review, Fav, and Follow to help support me and my writing passion. I am so incredibly tired I was falling asleep while proofreading this so please forgive me if this chapter was a mess.
-Iris

THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS
nipa
Guest (you know who you are)