I was running as fast as my little legs could take me. I was going to beat Cerberus to the middle of the garden maze. I turned the corner of tall hedge bushes, slipping and tripping over my feet. I put my arms about to catch myself, I felt a snap and a sharp pain in my left arm. I rolled over, crying hysterically.

Cerberus found me, lying next to my leg looking up to me. I sniffled and cried trying to hold it in. "Derkila!" I screamed out. Cerberus pawed at my leg. "Somya!" No one was answering me. "Can you find them?"

"Violetta, what in the netherworld happened?" The color of his words exploded from his mouth, Red, yellow, orange and blue.

I looked up to him. "Deri." I sniffled. "My arm."

He scooped me up, grabbing Cerberus by the scruff. "Useless familiar, you had one task. Protect, and you failed."

"My fault… Please." I winced.

He teleported inside the castle, setting me in my bed. "Get Somya." A burst of red. He dropped the familiar and Cerberus ran off.

"I… I am sorry." I held my disfigured arm; the redness and bruises forming.

"Shh, it will be fine. He rubbed the top of my head, and then kissed it." Green, yellow and blue.

Somya came in being chased by Cerberus. "I am here, stop biting at my ankles." I smiled a little. Somya moved my arm around.

"It hurts."

"Is there nothing you can give her?" Deri's words came out red.

"She cannot take anything I have. There is a flower in the garden around her gazebo, The purple one. Brew the petals into a tea." Deri left. Somya created a green healing circle over the bone. It mended.

"I wish you were not so resistant to magic, I say this in my own frustration. You deserve so much better. I can only do this small bit; I do not want to override your body with magic." Derkila came back and handed me a light purple tea.

I drank the whole cup. "That tastes good."

"I am glad." Somya wrapped my arm up, leaving it bent at the elbow. He put something over it and the outside hardened like a shell over my whole arm. "Call me if anything changes. The bone is set, she just needs time to heal. She will be in pain, but the flower will numb most of it and make her sleepy."

"Thank you." Somya bowed to him and left the room.

"I wish I could run or fly like you."

His eyes watered. "Then ask me, I have no problem with taking you anywhere you wish."

I felt the tea numbing my whole body. "Can I ask that you hold me until I fall asleep?"

He lay facing me, with one arm wrapped around me; I closed my eyes. "Of course, I shall do you one better on your request with a story. Once upon a time, A powerful demon killed his familiar for failing to do his job."

"Deri, that's not… Nice. If you do that… I will be most sad."

"Once upon a time, Deri gave his familiar away when it's purpose was no longer there."

"Then he… became… Vi."

I woke up, grabbing my throbbing arm. That was too real. Why did I feel all of that, why do I still feel it? She could see how I saw or was that my power leaking through. Derkila was angry, but it was never at her. I want to say she was older in that last one. I wrote down the memory and saved it away.

My arm looked fine; the forearm still throbbed like it had in my dream. I had to many questions and not enough answers. If seeing things of them triggered memories, then Yodh might be next. Their fur coat was oddly the same. Black with Dark grey tiger strips that were almost unnoticeable.

A female servant came in, her eyes widened as they landed on me. "You are up, did you not sleep well."

"I slept fine. What is Narnia doing?"

"He is working, he said he will not be able to join you for breakfast as he has a mountain of paperwork to get done." She opened the wardrobe. "Are these yours?" Partially true, Narnia gave me a few of them.

"Yes, will he be in his office?" She nodded. "Then that is where I am going."

"He said he did not want to be disturbed." She pulled out a red dress, calming green lines around her.

I pouted my lip. "My Narnia will never deny me to see him. He can give me at least five minutes of time."

She looked back and forth. "Do it out of my eyesight, please." Her words swirled yellow.

I snapped my fingers changing my dress, and then did my hair half up to bring it out of my face. Since I had been everywhere in his home, I could go in and out without using the door.

I teleported to his office; He was indeed swimming in paperwork. Three stacks and then many floating documents displayed in the space in front of him. How did he do anything if he was stuck at a desk? There was no way he could live a double life if he worked like this. He picked up a paper, his eyes landed on me.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"Not long, I just got here."

"Is there something you are unhappy with."

"Why do I have to be unhappy to come see you? I was curious as to if you were avoiding me or not."

He sighed. "Not on purpose, I need to get this done while I am on vacation. This way I am caught up for the next year."

I nonchalantly strolled up to his desk, hands behind my back. "That makes more since. So, what is it, if I may ask."

"Finances." I rolled my hand. "I have property to manage, salary to negotiate, and my income to manage. All while I balance the books. I am not trying to be rude, but I need this time to get it done. Please do as you wish but leave me alone."

I stood behind him, leaning my arms on the back of the chair, and he flipped a page over and grabbed another. "I can help, I used to run a whole business."

"No, it's privet affairs and you and not a part of this house."

"Oh, then I guess I'll keep bothering you." I poked his bun, and he tilted his head back.

One mugging eye staring into my soul. "I will inform Sullivan to bring you home."

"And he would not do that. If he did, I would come right back. Buzz, Buzz." I smirked.

"Then I suppose I'll have to tie you up and toss you out."

I raised my eyebrows. "Are you threating me with a good time, ropes or fussy cuffs?"

He turned back to his paperwork. "Viola, I need you to go. Go have breakfast, take a walk, do what you would do if you were home."

"I usually pick someone and pester them the whole day."

He looked at the smallest stack, then opened it. "Fine, but not for me, for Fenrir. Take this stack, if it proves to hard, put it back here and leave."

Prove too hard, it cannot be that hard. He was only managing property and money in and out. I did this in my sleep during my payroll time. I took the stack to the couch summoning a pen and turning the coffee table to a desk. He made a substantial amount of money coming in and out.

One property, and a few servants on the pay roll. I sorted it into a timeline of transactions. There was bills that had been stamped as paid, they just needed to be put on record. I assume for tax purposes, or basic record keeping.

I filled out the half-written card one paper at a time, leaving off from the bottom. The hardest part was the math, why did he assume I would feel this too hard. This was one tenth of a day's work for me. I flew through the papers, then I started drawing pie charts and bar graphs.

What was he doing to still have to work through that much? I drew him as he sat, his posture and face remains still in time only his hands and a tilt of the eyes showed he was alive. His bun peeked just over his head, hair flowing down his back.

Sharp, focused eyes, symmetrical and masculine jawline. His black long sleeve button up shirt bared not a single wrinkle. A black vest with vibrant purple embroidery of leaves and vines. The backing of the middle of the desk came up enough to see he had crossed his legs.

My stomach growled, it was lunch, and I had skipped breakfast. I took the documents and placed them on his desk. He did not bother to look up as he scratched in more numbers.

"I'm going to get some lunch, should I have someone bring you something?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm finished."

"I will look over it in a moment."

"Everything is in order by dates and times in the folder."

"Yes, yes." He waved me away.

I teleported out to the dining room, changing my dress to a simpler style. Then walked through the doubles doors that led to the kitchen. The three people stopped dead, and looked up to see who came in.

"May I have some lunch, or am I too late?"

A man approached me. "Yes, of course. What would you like?"

"Something simple and quick, like a sandwich. Um, and whatever Narnia eats for lunch, send that to him. I do not know if he stops for lunch or not."

"Yes, of course. We can do that."

I sat at the island counter in the middle of the kitchen and summoned colored pencils and paper. Somya seemed like a nice demon, when did everything change? His soft gaze was warming, but in the painting, he looked solemn, his gaze a warning.

Long purple locks replaced his short and white hair. The flares in his hair that resembled horns had replaced short black nubs. When he took up a pact with Cerberus, it changed him physically. Cerberus looked like a puppy; he had no collars either. Could Yodh be a descendant?

"My lady, Lunch." I continued to draw, eating with my other hand.

I could summon him and ask, but he did not wish to tell me who his previous owner was. Cerberus was Derkila's familiar, and the source of the Naberius clan's bloodline. Yodh could have been a brother to Cerberus. Maybe he was her familiar next, and since I have the same name, he did not want to look foolish or confuse me.

She had Mana problems; summoning could hurt her. Besides, they did not find him in Somya's journals. A light bulb clicked. Certain things trigger memories, what if I read his journals and something pops up?

I finished eating, thanked the staff and left for the library. I remember seeing that red horned demon in here a few times, but that did not mean the journals would be located here. I searched through the rows by genre, then by date.

The years grew younger the deeper I ventured. Year five-hundred, year four hundred and it stopped. I walked down the aisle, but the youngest year was in the two hundreds. While I walked around taking books, I had never come through this section. Would not be on the second floor, which was all the new edition stuff.

If I had old books that I wanted to keep safe, where would I put them? Narnia's office came to mind, but that seemed to obvious. I ran my finger along the shelf, ten paces, shelf break. I looked around, such uniform shelves. One, two, three, four, Shelf break. I was in the deepest part of this library, not a heartbeat around.

I had found the oddity within the uniformity. I knocked on the back of the shelf, it was hollowed on the other side. Something opens this, I moved every book on the shelf. Looked behind the books, but there was nothing. Doing these things is supposed to be a cool adventure, this is frustrating.

A thick book did not move, I smiled. Please be it. I felt around all the edges, to a small nail size latch. The binding opened, a hallow book with a single button on the inside. I grinned ear to ear as I pushed it. Light clicks from the other side, gears rolling, and the shelf pushed back and to the side.

Castle secrets here I come. When I stepped through the door automatically closed behind me. Torches lit the spiral stairway and illuminated a lever on the other side to exit. I snuck down the steps, keeping quite in case red horns might be about. I was not his favorite person, do read previous day events.

No moisture in the air, but it was not unbreathable. No cobwebs or dust, meaning it was cleaned regularly or visited often. What felt like a million steps later, I reached the bottom. A room no bigger than my bedroom upstairs had shelves along the wall, with no other furnishings. Maybe a few hundred books, but most of the shelves were empty.

Nothing was labeled, I would have to look through them all to find what I was looking for if it was even here. Some were old novels, others history before the new world. A family tree book, I cracked it open. Everyone before Somya was removed, he was the only one in here, did he not claim them?

I found the journals; most were of his travels and healing of other demonic children. He had healed hundreds and helped others with his eras of modern medicine. The last one was the one mentioned by red horns, but I found reading them enlightening.

Somya was such a kind soul, my face grinning as viewed the drawings of many kids. They all had good outcomes, able to grow up and live a full life. He never had a case he could not solve with practical medicine and his healing abilities.

I reached the last book, cracking it open and sitting on the floor. It started off with his invitation to Derkila's castle. The waiting list was long, but this child was sicker than most he had encountered, and he bumped her to the top of the list.

When he met her, he described her as shy, and dependent on her older brother. Her bones were not growing properly, and her heart was enlarged. Difficulty eating foods and keeping them down. A mana intolerance and bed ridden. She looked like the living dead.

He spent two years by her side, his longest case, writing every day or minimum once a week. Slowly his feelings bleed through the pages. He made her smile, and it lit his heart. The broken arm and the picture he would keep forever. Then it stopped.

The last entry was on the last page of his journal and was written at two different times.

"It is with a heavy heart I declare my days as a healer over. Derkila's sister had a heart spasm that left her bed ridden. A few days later her heart stopped. She was doing well, she was gaining weight, bone density. She was moving more than ever, and I expected her to make a recovery and live into adulthood.

I tried to fix all the problems, but I should have gone to the root. Humans and there illnesses brought a plague to this world. Derkila entered Babyls school. I stayed behind and managed his estate. Cerberus walked the halls; I think he hoped she would peek from a door, and they could go play outside. I see him visit her shine and lay at the coffin's edge. It is a sad time.

The pin ink changed.

Derkila has become the Demon king, He has plans for a brighter future. He requested help in his cause. Giving me ideas as to how I could help. I sought out Cerberus and I made a pact with him. It changed me inside, and out.

She told me it was not my fault, but part of me felt it so. She told me to keep spreading the good I did, and to never give up. I failed her as I gave up my practice, I now seek for a better future. As my last passage, I leave this decree for our family, and will pass down how we should be to my kin.

I Skipped over the last statement. It was a rehash of the bit I read yesterday. Derkila must be his master, and he is waiting for him to come home. Someone offered me a wet rag and I took it. Wiping the black tears away.

I blinked, looking up, red horns stood looking down at me. "You can see me."

"Hard to miss when you have red horns." He was wearing the same outfit as yesterday.

He leaned back on air. "Did you find what you were looking for, Lady Violetta."

"I was not searching for much, but the good stuff is always hidden. What is your name and how did you know I was down here?" The better question was how he moved without me hearing him. His heartbeat was nonexistent, feet like air. This man was not even breathing.

"My name is Khotan, you left the book backing open."

"Wasn't hard to find, curiosity gets the best of me, and I explored. Are you going to tell Narnia?"

He shrugged. "Gentlemen do not spill secrets."

"Do you have some ability that make you not make a sound?"

He chuckled. "I am making sound as I talk to you."

"You have no heartbeat."

He chuckled again. "For someone so smart I am surprised you have not figured it out. How do I appear to you?"

I stood up, and he leaned up. "A regular demon, legs, arms, and the same clothes as yesterday."

"I am a soul trapped in this castle, a ghost if you will. You see more of me than Narnia does. I'm an apparition that can speak to him. Those around me tend to walk through me."

"May I? If I'm honest, I do not believe you." I held my hand up.

He opened his arms in a shrug. "Be my guest."

He was so confident, but he looked nothing like a ghost should. I reached a handout, hand coming in contact with a solid form. I knew it, he was pulling my leg. No heartbeat under his chest, no sound of ruffled clothes when he moved. His eyes widened, hand curling over mine.

"What are you?"

I pulled my hand back. "Wish I knew, I have been asking myself that a lot lately. If you come up with some answers, let me know."

"Narnia said your heart almost stopped, is that true?"

"I was told it stopped. I was unconscious at the time." I told him the story.

"You saw the other side? It's a garden of flowers?" I nodded. "Wish I could go; I was cursed to live in the castle a generation ago. I spent years living here, but after some time, I took my own life, but alas."

"That is sad, why would they do such a thing?"

He smiled softly. "I was in love with my master's son. He was one year older than me, but we hung out together. Had our share of fun, especially when he visited on school breaks. He disappeared without a word once Kalego took over. He never came back. That was my last straw, hoping I might see him in the afterlife."

I hugged him. "I don't know if I can, but if I can send you to the afterlife, I will."

"You are very kind, maybe our world is not doomed."

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

He unwrapped my arms, holding my hands. "Nothing. Do go back upstairs where others can see you. The housekeepers have been looking for you for some time. This will be our little secret."

I checked my watch; I had lost time being down here. In the time it took for me to look down and up he was gone. I placed the book back on the shelf, and while not successful, I did learn something. I teleported back to my room plopping on the bed.

I wondered if I might be able to step foot on the castle's grounds. Narnia referred to me possibly passing it on the way here. It could be nearby. Leave it to Derkila and Somya to live close to each other. Correspondence would be short, as they made their plans.

With Eight days until the ball, I was growing more anxious in getting Eli back to me. I could not risk going there before or even after. If I did not make it out of there, he would lose me all over again. I wonder if he missed me as much as I had missed him.