The Bliss of the Dark
Chapter 2
"Have you located Alza, Jack?" They asked, and Jack looked towards some mountains,
"I believe so, but we're not sure. Of course, we'll find out." Jack replied calmly, "Alright, just bring her back safely." He hung up the phone and joined his brothers, "You ready Jack?" Derek asked, tying back his sandy blonde hair, and Jack nodded, "Then let's go already." Jack caught up with them and they left.
~O~O~O~
Alza looked out the window, sighing. "Something the matter, my dear?" She looked up, the Demon setting its hands on the balcony, leaning over her, the tip of his hair brushing against her shoulder, making her shiver. He sat down, his wings wrapping around him as he looked over her to watch the sun rise, "What do you see? I see only the sun rising."
"I see the sun rising and…all of the beautiful colors that the world is made up of." She responded, and he arched his long neck to look at her, and she was smiling gently. "It's so pretty." He was pleasant. "I wish I could go and get some more clothes."
"The clothes I give to you do not make you happy?" He asked and she looked up,
"I love the clothes you bring me, I do! It's just that- they took me in- so I wanted to thank them." He chuckled at her answer,
"Such a kind heart you have. They sent you to the slaughter, treated you like dirt, and cursed you under their breath, yet you still wish to be kind?" He said, and leaned down, brushing all of her hair over her shoulder, "Today, I will take you back to your village, but the only people you may touch are the people who have raised you." He told her, and she looked at him,
"Then I would have to hug everyone."
"Wise answer, but it was not a question, it was a statement. We will go for your clothes and then we will leave." She looked wounded, but nodded and looked down. He wrapped a hand around her, pulling her back and she whimpered helplessly as the Demon shrunk down and kissed her on the cheek. "When you change, we will leave." This form's voice was a low grumble but, she hated to admit it, but it held a sexy tone. She left to go put something on and he awaited her return. Too quiet…she was too quiet. Hopefully, this act will help him greatly and he smirked to himself as she came back, "Ready?" She nodded and he wrapped her up in his cloak and there was a whirlwind before he was in the air, flying towards the village.
~O~O~O~
The Demon landed on the edge of the town and changed to his some-what humanoid form, and his cape wrapped around him tightly, and he placed a shawl around her shoulders- but she stepped forward as he went to set it down, and he looked at her with a questioning look, as she blushed, "It's still…so beautiful… in the fall." She murmured, and he went over to her and wrapped the shawl around her as she shivered and averted her gaze, "T-Thank you."
"I admire how you still use manners, even when afraid." He said and she looked ashamed, "I hope that someday you will not be afraid to be around me. Where are your parents, child?" She froze, looking forward and he looked forward two. A woman in a country dress with an apron had paused, hanging laundry on a clothes line, her dark hair in a messy bun. A man in a blue shirt and brown pants with matching suspenders had stopped chopping wood, his axe resting on the tree stump that he had just chopped two pieces of wood over.
"A…Alza?" the Woman murmured, slowly pulling her hands away from the laundry, and turning to them. "I-Is that you?" Alza smiled gently, and the Woman smiled happily, turning to the man, "Gregory! Gregory, its Alza! She's back!" The Man lifted the axe and its blade dug its teeth into the wood stump, as he wipe his hands on his pants and walked over to the woman, wiping the sweat from the morning work, on his arm sleeve.
"Minnie, don't be silly, you're seeing things-" He started to say and saw her too, blinking in surprise. "My God- Well I'll be damned, I see her too." The Demon was silent, and Alza went over to them, and they tenderly hugged her, crying out apologies when they realized she wasn't an illusion. The Demon gently reminded her that they had come only for clothes. Alza frowned and the Demon stood his ground, watching as her parents led her away. She reached back as the Demon contemplated on burning the village, but she grabbed some of his cloak and pulled him with her and he followed. The Demon stayed quiet and silent, letting her do as she pleased, and when it came to around eleven o'clock, he stood up,
"We should return now. I like being home before midnight." He said and she looked sad, but collected some things, kissed her parents, and they were off. The Demon wasted no time and they arrived at the balcony to his bedroom at 11:59. He shut the window doors and locked them, along with all the windows and doors. She grew afraid as he closed the curtains as well, and yawned loudly. He changed clothes and snuggled up in the pillows. She requested a change of clothes and lay down not to far from him. Usually he'd pull her over and forcibly snuggle with her.
Tonight, he did nothing of the sort. His back was to her, and he was already wrapped up in a blanket. Alza was happy but… "D- Husband…?" He looked at her over his shoulder. "I'm cold…" He turned to her, smiling gently and wrapped her in the blanket, closing his eyes, "Are you- mad at me?"
"Of course not, wife, I just wonder how you can stand seeing people who threw you away. I'd just set them on fire." He told her bluntly, untied and in his humanoid form, he turned to lay on his back, looking at her, and touching her cheek, making her wince slightly, "You're so beautiful…I always wonder why they gave you to me." She blushed and covered her face with some of the blanket, he scooted closer and laid his head on her chest, making sure his horns stayed out of the way. He listened to her heart beat in her chest- the 'lub-dub' of its valves opening and closing as they sent blood to the rest of her body and gave oxygen to the blood coming back to the heart. "Hm…" He closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep. She eventually stopped shivering long enough to fall asleep as well.
~O~O~O~
"She was in the Village!" Jack demanded, his brothers looking over at him, "When! Where?" Derek was calm and composed as always, and Lionel was flirting with some barmaids, always having been trigger-happy and a ladies man. Jack nodded and hung up the phone. "What happened?" Lionel asked, and Jack sighed,
"The Demon took Alza to the Village yesterday and they left sometime after the sun went down. Sounds like Alza got some fresh clothes from them and the Demon got pissed." Jack told him, and they nodded,
"The Demon killed her family?" Derek asked and Jack shook his head, "Interesting that he didn't." Derek commented, standing up and finishing his drink, loading his crossbow and looking at Jack over his shoulder, "Shall we go?" Lionel got to his feet and wished the ladies a good day, pulling on a pair of gloves, smirking, "I'm ready." Lionel announced, and Jack groaned, slinging a huge cross he carried, over his shoulder and onto his back, walking forward, "Alright, let's get this over with." Jack added, and the three of them exited the tavern.
~O~O~O~
She stood there, at the entrance to the spring-like bathtub, in the Demon's castle. He smiled at her warmly, "Good morning, darling. Care for a early soak?" He offered friendly, and she shivered, stepping back, wanting to run so badly, but she was dirty and needed to bathe. The Demon flinched, and slowly moved as far away from her as he could, then offered once more, "Would you like to share the bath with me?" She looked at him shyly, then the water. Demon, bath, demon, bath, demon, bath, demon, BATH. She put a foot in the water, before slipping in, and hid in a corner, before taking her towel off and folding it neatly, placing it on the bath's edge. "I know it may be rather… awkward, but may I wash your back?" She looked at him unsurely, and he kept the distance in place, waiting patiently. She looked away and down, grabbing some soap and began to wash herself, "Is that a 'no', my dear?"
"P…please wash my back after I've washed the rest of my body…" She said and he nodded, as she continued to wash herself. The Demon washed as well and did not request the same service from her, using his tail to do so, and then washed his tail and his horns. He slowly went over to her and came up behind her, making her shiver, and he slowly began to scrub her back. She stayed still as he did so, and he put some shampoo in her hair and washed her hair, massaging her scalp, and she stopped shivering, tilting her head back slightly, towards the Demon, surprising even him. He scooped up some water in his hands and let it fall over her head, splashing and her hair went straight, washing the shampoo out, and she conditioned it herself, sinking below the surface of the water and surfaced after a minute or two. The Demon kept his distance, respecting the fact that she disliked him to the utmost degree. "Um…" He looked at her, and she glanced at him, "I-Is it possible- for me to get some type of underwear? Now that I think about it, I don't have any…" The Demon blinked.
Could it be! She was relying on him to get her under garments? HAZA! "I'm sure I can find something suitable for you, my dear. I'll use your old ones so I know what to get." He responded, and got out of the bath, wrapping a towel around his waist and vanished out the door, and she hugged herself. What was she supposed to do until he got back?
~O~O~O~
The Demon shrieked in agony and turned to dust and Jake set his cross down on the ground with a loud thud, "Hah, hah," Lionel panted, "H-How much further?"
"Well, I say a couple more stories of these beasties." Derek said emotionlessly, dropping his cigarette, and crushing it under his heel, "Remember- hold back a little so we have strength for the Big Guy." The others nodded, and they ran up the spiral staircase, Jack grunting, and slammed the cross in front of him, making the demons hesitate, as his brothers attacked.
"These guys are shrimp!"
"They may be, Lionel, but they're just strong enough to slow us down." Derek commented, and tripped one. And it fell before Derek stepped on its head, applied pressure, and its skull burst under his foot. "Let's try and get rid of them quickly."
~O~O~O~
The Demon looked towards the door, stopping, "H…Husband?" He softened, and continued to do Alza's hair, having coaxed her into it, after going and getting her underwear.
"What is it, my darling?" He asked, finishing her hair and adding the last touch to her hair by adding a clip, and withdrawing, leaning down, "I'm done now- do you like it?" she nodded, and he put a necklace on her neck, "You look like a princess, my dear." She blushed, and stood up, wearing an evening dress, and opened the doors out of the room, and exited, the Demon at her heels as she found a huge, spiral staircase with a railing. She looked over the railing and blinked.
"Who's that?" She asked and the Demon looked over the railing at someone running up the stairs, and his demons crippling to the ground and blood spewed. The Demon grabbed her and pulled her back into the room, shutting the doors hastily, "Husband?"
"That's a Head-Hunter, my darling." He said, changing into his real form, grabbing her hand and the doors burst open as they were on the balcony, and a gun was pointed to the Demon, and he covered Alza turning her away from the Head-Hunter. "Ace…"
"Hey. Looks like you stole another girl, eh?" They said, wearing a cowboy hat of worn leather and a large sheath to a sword.
"She was given to me by a Village. I'm taking her as my bride."
"Right, right, now prepare to die, Beelzebub." The man said and the Demon threw her out the window as he was shot, jumping out and catching Alza before flying off. "Shit…Outta range." The Head-hunter muttered, putting down his gun and taking his cigarette out f his mouth, exhaling smoke, "CAN'T RUN FOREVER, BEEZLEBUB! GOTTA SETTLE DOWN SOME TIME TO MAKE KIDS!" Alza clung to the Demon and he shot up into the clouds, vanishing from sight, as the Jack and his brothers entered the room, panting.
"Where is she!" Jack thundered, and the hunter turned around, slinging the gun over his shoulder.
"Not here- isn't that obvious?" he said, "I'm Ace- a head-hunter for Demons."
~O~ Some where deep within the snowy mountains ~O~
He landed on the edge of the mouth of a cave, high above the ground, setting her down. Alza touched down on the ground gently, and shivered violently, "I-Its cold…" He wrapped her in a thick blanket as a response to this. The blanket seemed to be made of some kind of animal fur. A smaller demon appeared, down the inclined that led deeper into the mountain.
"Welcome home, Master." It greeted, and he ignored the words, leading Alza past the demon,
"Start a fire immediately- I want the cold to stay outside, not hassle my bride." The Demon ordered and the others bowed and go to making a fire, as he led Alza down a forked path that went 6 ways, and too the center-right route to a pair of large red doors.
"So- your name is Beelzebub? Like- the fallen angel?" She asked and he glanced back at her, before pushing open the doors with a grunt,
"I suppose, if you care to look at it like that." He answered, and she looked at him, entering the Egyptian-styled room with a tub in the middle, in the ground.
"Is that why your wings are all battered and your skin is black?" She asked curiously, and he gestured to the bath tub,
"Bath first, please." She nodded and shivered when she took off her clothes and got in the tub, a purple oil jug next to it the tub. The same purple jug in all the other places he had taken her to- it was bubble bath. She grabbed it and poured some in the hot water, shivering in pleasure from the warm water. "My wings are battle-worn, and I don't like my black skin but being cast out of Heaven, I was placed with many…alterations…to my original form." He answered, taking off his own and opening a large oak wardrobe to the right wall of the room, the back wall holding a large bed, the left holding rows upon rows- maybe even hundreds- of candles. Similar to those that you would find in a holy church to send a wish to a loved one.
"What type of place is this?" Alza asked and he slipped into a strange, foreign robe, untying his braid and letting his long black hair fall over his back.
"This is…my 1st home. No Head Hunter has ever gotten in here. You'll be safe, my dear." He told her, and she looked over at him, as he turned and left through front doors they had entered in. "I will find you some clothes. Until I do, please, help yourself to my closet." She stared at him as he left and she frowned, looking down, as the doors shut. She lathered her skin with the body wash looking away as she did so. She wasn't going to be leaving soon…but it wasn't all bad. Even though he was, technically, a Demon and evil, he was nice to her. Alza wondered about Jack, as Beelzebub returned, setting her new clothes on the bed. "Do you…ever wish to leave?" He asked her and she blinked.
"…I don't know. You treat me so kindly…" He walked over, and she splashed some water on her exposed skin, before she covered her chest up with her arms, as he put his hands on the sides of her arms, breathing seductively in her ear,
"Will you leave me, Alza?" He asked and she shivered violently, despite the warm water. "Will you share this barren land with me?" She blushed heavily.
"I-I don't know…" She gasped, as he blew on her neck, making her shudder. His teeth turned into sharp daggers, and his eyes turned dark blue
"You belong to me, Alza. I won't let anyone else have you."