"Gray!" a lady with long, black hair called.
"Coming!" a seven year old kid with black colored hair replied. He put down the beetle in his hand and watched it scuttle away.
"Gray!" she called again, getting impatient with her son.
"Coming!" He replied again.
Two minutes later, he came running back into the one story building. The building was old and currently belonged to Gray's father Silver. Silver was a merchant, who sold metal works that he made to others. He was a nice, funny guy and Gray loved him with all his heart.
"Finally!" Mika exclaimed, dramatically, though a smile was evident on her face. Gray only grinned in return.
Mika held his hand and led him inside the house. The house was tiled with marbles and was white. In the living room, there was a glass chandelier hanging on the ceiling. The dining room - which is where Mika and Gray are headed to - had a wooden table with three wooden chairs. Mika had been unable to have any more children after the birth of Gray and they rarely had visitors. So they seldom needed more than three chairs.
"I made pasta today." Mika said, slowly. She could feel Gray's demeanor change. He hated pasta. Why? Mika didn't know. She loved pasta, Silver loved pasta - in fact, pasta was his life! - but Gray didn't like pasta. He hated pasta. Nonetheless, this didn't stop Mika from making pasta. After all, pasta was her life too!
"Pasta! Again?" Gray whined. "Didn't we have pasta last week?"
"Honestly," Mika sighed. "You are seven years old, Gray. You do not whine. Besides, we had pasta two weeks ago."
Gray groaned, but didn't argue. His mother was sweet and caring most of the time, but she's a real devil when she's angry.
Mike made Gray sit on his chair before fetching forks and plates. As she arranged them neatly on the table, there was a knock on the door.
Mika gave Gray a confused look and he returned it.
Silver wasn't supposed to be back until tomorrow.
There weren't any deliveries.
There shouldn't be any visitors.
So, who could be at the door?
Mika grabbed a knife from the kitchen slab and made her way to the door. Unknown to her, Gray was following close behind. She slowly opened the door...
...To meet Silver?
"Silver?" Mika gasped. "What are you doing here?"
"You don't want to see me?" Silver asked, with a teasing smile.
"You know that's not what I mean!" Mika replied before giving him a hug.
"Why the hell do you have a knife in your hand?" Silver asked, incredulous.
"It's called being safe about strangers." Mika replied.
Silver rolled his eyes. That's when he saw Gray, standing behind the wall, peeking at both of them.
"Gray! My boy!" Silver's voice booms throughout the house.
Mika moves to make way for Silver. Gray walks from the wall, and jumps into Silver's arms.
"Dad! You're back!" He exclaims.
"I am."
"I thought you wouldn't be back until tomorrow!"
"Yeah, I thought that too!" Mika interrupts.
"Well," Silver avoids Mika's eyes. "Business ended quickly."
Mika narrowed her eyes at Silver, but didn't say anything.
"Oh, okay!" Gray grinned. "Mom's forcing me to eat pasta!"
"Gray!" Mika warns.
"Mika, you know the boy doesn't like pasta, why force him to -" Silver starts but stops as he sees Mika's face.
Her eyes darkened and her aura changed. Her small horns were glowing dangerously.
"-But, Gray!" Silver changed the direction of the conversation. "You must eat the food cooked by your mother!"
"What?"
"Just eat it, son. Before your mother decides to kill me." Silver whispered to his son.
"Okay."
It was nighttime. Which meant the normally bright red sky of Hell, would darken to garnet red.
That's right, Gray and his parents lived in Hell.
Yes, Gray and his parents are demons.
Currently, Mika and Silver were strolling outside their house.
"So," Mika started, glancing at Silver.
He sighed.
"Are you going to explain?" Mika asked.
Silver hesitated for a minute or two before replying.
"I couldn't sell any of my products." He confesses.
"I figured."
"They were confiscated."
Mika's eyes widen.
"By..." Mika asks.
"By Tartaros."
Mika gasps. Tartaros were a group of demons who controlled demons. They were a selected number of them. Eight people. They coveted power and they believed that torturing people would give them that.
"Why?" Mika asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
"They say, they want to talk to me."
"When?"
"Tomorrow, at eleven 'o' clock."
"Are they coming to our house?"
"Yes." Silver replies.
"No. They can't. What about Gray?" Mika panics.
"I don't know. They said, they would come. And they will. If we don't do what they ask, they will not return my merchandise. That would mean we will all starve to death. And, Gray, well, we'll just leave him at someone else's."
"Whose?" Mika asks, her voice irritated. "We have no one. Not a single person from either side of the family."
You see, Mika and Silver are of high birth. The families of both Mika a Silver were constantly fighting. Fighting over the best merchandise, the best house, the best maids, the best butlers, the best cooks and so on. When Mika met Silver, it was love at first sight for both of them. But, alas, they did not realize that they are from their respective enemy households.
When they did realize, however, it was too late. They had both fallen in love too deep and Mika was pregnant. So they decided to tell their parents, who - to their horror - decided to split them up instead of marrying them. This resulted in both of them eloping, and their parents never contacted them ever again.
"I have friends though." Silver stated.
Mika hesitated for quite a bit. She never like Silver's friends because they were drunks and flirty - not with her, of course. She was worried that Gray would catch their habits.
But, there was no other choice. Tartaros, couldn't see him. If they did, they would want him. after all, he was special.
"Very well, then" Mika agreed.
But, little did they know, that Gray was listening to this conversation...