POV Amanada Brightcloud
Aron suddenly barged in, carrying an undefined body wrapped up in clothes. A coppery smell invaded Amanda’s nose. Blood! She mustered her son in more detail. He was hurt! Amanda immediately rose to her feet.
Aron laid the wrapped body onto the ground and turned towards her. Amanda had circumvented the table by that time.
“Wait! Don’t come closer! Hear me out first!”
Unsure of the reason, she complied. He urgently gazed into her eyes “Mum, I beg you. Please listen before you do anything! I and Sephiroth were hunting in the woods-”
So the body in the clothes was Sephiroth. why is he so desperate, is she hurt that badly?
“-and a Fenriswolf attacked us. Mum, I would have died, but Sephiroth protected me. She sacrificed her life!”
A Fenriswolf! Oh my god! In what sort of situation had they gotten themselves into?!
Amanda could feel that Sephiroth was still alive, albeit in terrible condition. Why did he try to defend his guard so much? They shouldn’t have survived a Fenriswolf. Why did Aron think she would do something to his guard? The only thing she wanted to give her was a medal for saving her son. Well, it didn’t matter. First, she would heal Sephiroth before finding out what exactly had happened.
She sat down next to the body and moved the clothes to the side. The next moment she came face to face with the still changed guard. Sephiroth gazed fearfully into her eyes.
“What the?!” Sephiroth was a demon! Amanda felt blazing hot fury flood her whole body. A demon had been around her kids for over a month?! Oh god! She could still remember how that insidious filth had convinced her to step back from Aron, letting her take care of him!
“You Piece of Shit! I am going to end you!”
Magic sprang to life. A sizzling orb of light rapidly built in her right hand.
“Wait mom! Or you will regret it!”
Distracted by Aron’s sudden shout, she moved her head.
He still stood at the same position, but a dagger pressed now against his own throat.
“Don’t hurt her, mum! Listen to me!”
“Aron, what are you doing?!”
“Mum, Sephiroth protected me from the beast! I would have died otherwise! She had sent me back here and wanted to sacrifice herself! She would have died had I not gone back!”
“Aron, demons lie! Thats all they do! Don’t believe her!”
“Mum, look at her wounds! She is dying as we speak! There is no deception involved! Heal her!”
“I will never heal a demon!”
“Mum, you have to decide. Heal her or I will cut my throat!”
Amanda felt like a sledgehammer had hit her head. She could see it in his eyes. Aron would follow through with it.
“What are you saying Aron, she is a demon! Let go of the dagger!”
“Yes mum, she is a demon. So what? She is my servant and friend who has protected me with her life. She knew she would die, yet she did it anyway. I will not stand by and do nothing while she is bleeding out! Don’t you have always taught me to stand up for my friends and protect them?! She gave her everything for me! How can you ask me to stand back and do nothing in return?!”
Amanda felt secretly proud of his resolve and principles. But this was not the time for that! She was a demon! One could not trust them! She would never heal her.
Aron realized that as well. “You leave me no way out, mum.” With that, he began to cut.
Amanda felt like the floor broke away below her. “Wait!”
He looked at her with iron resolve. “You know what I want, heal her!”
“Okay, okay, don’t cut further!” Amanda invoked her magic, pushing the light into the dying servant. She stabilized Sephiroth to give her some room to talk with Aron.
“Aron, she misled you. No demon is a good demon! You-”
“If you love me mum, heal her. I promise you now, if you don’t do it, I will never forgive you for-.”
He suddenly convulsed and vomited a sizable amount of blood on the floor.
Aron breathed raggedly and tried to catch himself. “Mum-” As if someone had cut his strings, his eyes suddenly turned and Aron fell to the ground. Amanda’s heart skipped a beat. She dashed to her unconscious son.
Not loosing any time, she checked him and was appalled at what she found. The skin was fine, but the rest of his body was a total mess. Muscles and ligaments torn, organs damaged. Amanda instantly called her magic. She would not allow her son to die! Luckily, this time his body reacted normally to the healing and regenerated. Ten minutes later Aron had made a full recovery. Yet he was still sleeping, his body exhausted from the applied magic.
Amanda stood up and walked towards Sephiroth.
“Is Aron alright?” The demon’s feeble voice carried over to her.
“Shut your mouth demon! You might have seduced my son, but I will not fall for your tricks.” She grabbed the demon by her throat and lifted her until they were on eye level. “I should end you now, but Aron would hate me forever. You are lucky he is so sure about your character.”
With a flip of her finger, Amanda forced the creature to sleep and let her fall to the ground. What should she do now? If anybody found out that there was a demon here and Amanda didn’t immediately kill her, this could end in a catastrophe. She wanted to believe that she would be able to sway Aron, but her instincts told her otherwise. He would not forgive her if she killed Sephiroth. So what options did she have?
Wait, there was one option! It was socially frowned upon, but an all-binding contract would do the trick. Contracted entities were not judged on their race, but on their master. The people would still condemn Aron for binding a demon, but it was not punishable. In addition, the rules on such contracts simply stated that one had to show the existence of the contract on the being, the details of the entity was not required to be known. Additionally, it also supported the concealment of their hidden race, making it harder for others to see it without one’s consent.
Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.
The contract had to be set up as quickly as possible. She would not allow the demon to stay near her family without being collared. Amanda would have liked to give her son some time to rest and recover, but Sephiroth needed to be bound. Nobody was allowed to find out about this dangerous secret.
It looked like she needed to show her son some of her hidden skills. Amanda had hoped to completely hide them from him. Her son should grow up without the knowledge of her dark past.
With a sweep of her hand the room cleaned itself, Aron and Sephiroth were pushed to the side and a complex formation carved itself into the ground, encompassing the whole chamber. Amanda double-checked it. Everything had to be perfect.
Time flew by as she worked, She would ensure her son’s safety. The contract had to be flawless.
Good, now she only needed to convince her son. This was the only way. Snipping with her fingers, the two unconscious people awakened. Aron didn’t move. He scanned his surroundings, first taking in everything. Only after he had comprehended the situation did he stand up. Amanda felt proud of him, he had grown much during the past weeks.
Having mustered the chamber a second time, he turned back to her. Still calm, he spoke. “This is a formation? What’s your plan?”
“You want to keep Sephiroth alive? In that case, there is only one way. An all-binding contract. Don’t argue with me on this. Either she allows herself to be bound or I will kill her now.”
Aron didn’t immediately answer, but considered the words first.
“Sephiroth, you have heard my mother. Will you agree to be bound to me? I know it is a very hard decision. You will lose all your freedom and be completely dependent on my every whim. Yet it is the only way. Will you accept?”
Having spoken, he turned his head back to Amanda, forestalling her question.
“And no Mother, I will only agree to this if she is bound to me.”
Amanda knew when to fight and when not. She nodded. This went already much better than she had hoped for. She turned to Sephiroth.
“Speak, demon. Will you agree? Or can I end your life?”
Sephiroth gazed deeply into Aron’s eyes. Not breaking eye-contact she spoke,
“I trust you Aron. I will let myself be bound and serve you faithfully.”
“Good, step into the formation. I have prepared the two scripts. You will each read one paragraph after each other. The script is in demonic. You won’t have any troubles with it, demon. But don’t try to manipulate it, I will easily catch you if you try. And believe me, I am hoping you will.”
With a menacing grin, Amanda summoned a sizzling orb of pure energy. The orb floated dangerously above her opened hand. She left it there for a second before closing her fingers, letting the spell dissipate into nothingness. Done with her threat, she gestured for them to step into the formation.
Amanda quickly checked the details one last time after they had reached their position.
“Good, you can start now.”
Aron prepared to read his script before he stopped again. With a sigh, he opened his chest-armor and held it toward Amanda.
“Mum can you put this to the side? It’s uncomfortable.”
Amanda nodded understandingly. The hard leather-armor would make this uncomfortable indeed. She took it from his hand and put it at the edge of the room. There it wouldn’t hinder the spell. Turning back, she quickly checked Sephiroth’s side another time, Amanda would never let that monster escape from her punishment!
Then it began. Aron started to speak and with it the formation sprang to life. All the words, lines and glyphs glowed in an otherworldly light, plunging the whole room into bright blue colors.
“I, Aron Brightcloud, future baron of the Barony of Brightcloud hereby declare that I will take you, Sephiroth, demon of the north as my bound servant. You will serve me with your best intention and with all your being, vowing to never betray me and always act on my orders and in my best interest. Will you agree?”
“Yes, I, Sephiroth Asmodäus-deradoria-y-Darakos agree and hereby declare that I will take you, Aron Brightcloud, future baron of the Barony of Brightcloud as my master. I will serve you with all my being and will always act on your orders and in your best interest. I vow to never betray you.”
“As your master, I accept your vow. We shall be master and servant for all eternity, forever bound until the cosmos breaks apart. So I ask you again, will you agree?”
“Yes, I, Sephiroth Asmodäus-deradoria-y-Darakos agree to be your servant for all eternity, forever bound until the cosmos breaks apart.”
“As your master, I accept your vow for the second time, binding us even stronger. Your whole being will be laid bare before me. I shall know what you think, feel what you feel and sense what you sense. Bound forever. So I ask you a third time, will you agree?”
“Yes, I, Sephiroth Asmodäus-deradoria-y-Darakos have heard your declaration for the third time and agree. We will be bound together so strongly that you will know what I think, feel what I feel and sense what I sense. I am completely open to you, bound the closest one can ever be. Forever.”
Amanda observed as they recited the vow. She might have been excessive with the choice of contract, but she wanted to make sure that the demon had no chance to slip out of it. Especially when she had heard her name! Her heart had stopped for a second there. She was a royal demon! What the heck?! Luckily, she was now as tightly bound as she could be. God, Amanda wouldn’t have wanted to know what would have become of Aron if she had not found out about Sephiroth being a demon.
A royal demon’s manipulation skills were on a totally different level. There was no man who could resist a royal demon’s manipulation for a prolonged amount of time. Luckily, she had seen to it that Sephiroth had been completely bound. She would have to follow every order. Aron was going to see all her thoughts and feelings. With that he would be prepared to deal with her.
Yes, Amanda had done the right thing. She felt great at having bested that evil demon’s schemes.
As the contract ended, the formation glowed stronger and stronger, blinding all the participants for a brief moment before going dark. A black tattoo grew on Aron’s and Sephiroth’s neck, visually declaring the success of the contract. The tattoo encompassed the demon’s entire neck. Its form resembled a collar, filled with runes and a demonic glyph showcasing Sephiroth’s eternal rank as a servant. Aron’s was different, his status as master proudly proclaimed for all to see. Yet, as for all-binding contracts customary, it encircled his entire neck as well.
Amanda observed the two. How would they act now?
No sign or word fell, but Sephiroth suddenly went down on her knees.
“Master, how shall this lowly servant serve you?”
Aron simply nodded. Amanda agreed, this was the right behavior of a servant.
“Take my armor and bring it back to my chambers. I will follow you shortly, I have to discuss something with my mother first.”
Sephiroth bowed her head in her kneeling position.
“Your wish is my command, master.”
She stood up, grabbed the armor and left with a controlled pace. Every step she took, her demonic futures vanished. when she had reached the door, the change was complete. Sephiroth, the human bodyguard had returned.
Amanda looked her son over. “How do you feel?”
“Tired…, you know, she was my friend. How would you feel to have your friend bound to your soul? It is literally inscribed into the very cosmos. There is no changing that fact. From now on, our relationship will completely change. I will miss the past.”
She nodded, sad for him. It really seemed to have hit him hard. But it had to be done. “I am sorry, Aron. But it was necessary.” She stepped closer for a hug. Embracing him in her arms. Had it been over two weeks already since she had done that? He froze at first, but let go and relaxed. They held each other, finding solace in the warmth.
“So tell me, what did you want to discuss?”
Aron stepped back from her. A thoughtful look on his face.
“Have you recognized Sephiroth’s name? Is she really from a royal bloodline?”
Amanda nodded, “yes she is. But have you seen her eyes and the color of her skin? If she had been pure, the eyes should have glowed. And her skin should have been a purer red, not this dark. So she should be only partially of royal blood. The none glowing eyes could also indicate a faulty transition of the bloodline. That would explain her injuries as well. Real royals are unbelievable strong. She would have annihilated a Tier 3 if she had access to her bloodline. But enough of that for now. She is better equipped to tell you all about her abilities. Go ask her, she will gladly tell you everything.”
Aron nodded. “Okay, I will do that. Mum, I am tired. I will go now. Have a good evening.”
He turned and trudged out of the room.
“Sleep well, my beloved son.” Amanda watched him until he had left her sight. He looked so down. As if he had made the biggest mistake of his life. Hopefully he would recover from it.