There could be no denying that she was my child, not with those red eyes. It began to worry me how easily recognizable she was. There were many people who wanted to hurt me, and most of them wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her first.

Alys told me that she lived with Mercedes in Brooken, a small town to the far west, not even marked on the map. To get to Helcaste, where they currently were, on foot, it must have taken the better part of a month. She couldn’t have traveled all the way alone.

“Isn’t there someone else with you?” I asked.

Alys shook her head as she bounced along, her perpetual smile still plastered on her pale face.

“Isaac was with me for awhile, but he left when we got to the big city.”

The big city? She must mean the Capital.

“Isaac? Is he a friend of your mothers?”

“Her brother.” Alys corrected.

I didn’t know Mercedes had a brother.

The more questions I asked the girl about Mercedes, the more I realized that I didn’t actually know that much about her. We had spent years together, and I had never once asked her about herself.

That would change.

When I saw her again, I would make this alright.

I had already decided to stay around and help raise Alys.

First, I just had to get rid of Mercedes’ sickness, whatever that was.

“You said your mother was sick… Do you know what she has?”

“Hm…” Alys tapped a finger against her chin, and hummed as she thought. “I think she said it was ‘Leedle’.”

Leedle? That wasn’t any kind of disease I had ever heard of.

I would have to be sure to ask around whenever we took the chance to rest somewhere public, as rare an occasion as that might be.

We came to a bridge, and Alys gave an eager hop onto the stone railing, careful to balance herself as she walked along it.

“Please be careful.”

She smirked over her shoulder at me as I nervously followed behind her, arms out ready to catch her if she fell.

It was our third day together, and we were only at the river that marked the halfway point between Helcaste and the Capital of the Sovereign Nations. In three more days, we would make it to the big city, where we would hire some transportation to the west, along the main road. We had to, or we would never get back to Mercedes in time.

By my estimation, so long as things ran smoothly, we could take a carriage from the Capital to Lush, which would take about a week’s time. Brooken couldn’t be more than a day or two away from there.

It was the safest, and quickest, plan.

“Papa, did you love Mama?”

What? What kind of question is that for a child to ask?

How was I supposed to answer?

“It’s… complicated.” I answered.

“Mama loves you. She talks about you all the time.”

“I know she does.”

“But you don’t love her back?”

“Like I said, it’s complicated. I thought she had died a long time ago.” I said.

Alys was quiet for awhile, and we reached the end of the bridge in silence. We took up on a dirt path, and moved aside to let a wagon pass. I made sure to look down, and pulled Alys’ hood over her head.

I wasn’t too worried about a passerby noticing us here on the road, but the chances of someone recognizing us, however small, were a constant threat. Better to be safe, than sorry.

“Did you love her before you thought she died?” She asked.

“Why does it matter?” I spat. I was quickly growing annoyed by this question.

Though, it only bothered me because I didn’t have an answer. Mercedes and I….

“We had an unusual relationship, Alys, but I cared about your mother very much.”

Alys nodded, but she had obviously been shut down by my earlier response.

“I never got the chance to tell her that, though.” I said with a sigh.

Alys perked up, and wove her hand in mine. She looked up at me with a new smile.

“You can tell her when we get there!” She said.

She filled me with warmth. It was a strange sensation, holding my daughter’s hand, seeing her smile. These were things I had never once considered would be in my life, and they were things I decided right then and there that I never wanted to lose.

“That’s right.” I tried to return her smile as best I could. “I’ll tell her when we get there.”

I looked back over my shoulder at the bridge we crossed, and an uneasy feeling washed over me.

I could see a young woman with raven hair standing on the railing, looking down into the river below. I thought about saying something, calling out to her, but I held my tongue.

She looked over at me, smiled weakly with tears in her eyes, and fell forward.

Guilt and shame swallowed me as I waited to hear a splash that never came.

“What is it, Papa?” Alys asked, trying to look over her shoulder.

“I was just remembering the last time I saw your mother.”

We reached the city by evening a couple days later.

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She became too tired to walk, constantly complaining about an ache in her feet, so I carried her on my back. She was incredibly light, even for her size. I wasn’t particularly muscular, yet I could easily carry her in one hand. Had children always seemed so… fragile?

She was still asleep by the time we made it to the east gate, and I thought she might be excited to see it again, so I shook her until she grumbled.

“Are we there, Papa?” She asked, sleepily wiping her eyes and stretching out to accompany a wide yawn.

“We made it to the big city.” I said. “We need to be sure to keep our hoods up here, okay?”

“Yes, Papa. Isaac used to say the same thing.”

He was smart enough to tell her that much, but he left her alone here? That much just didn’t make sense. He was obviously aware that there was danger here for a person with the misfortune to share the signature trademark of my eyes. So, why did he abandon her?

No, I had no right to judge him. He had been with her before I even knew she existed. He had been around when I wasn’t.

I wondered if Alys hated me for not being around when she was growing up. She accepted me so quickly, so easily, but how? In reality, she had just met me.

“Papa, Papa!” She cried out, swinging back and forth on my back, trying to climb onto my shoulders. She was pointing at something. “Papa, look! Look!”

They were headed this way.

Damn!

These were the last people I wanted to see. I had hoped we could avoid them, but I suppose that was foolish to think possible here in the Capital of the Sovereign Nations.

Knights, clad in bright, polished steel, with swords strapped around their waists.

I thought about dodging into an alley, but they could already see us, it would only draw their attention right to us. No, the best thing would be to act casually, and hope none of them recognized us. I moved off the road to let them pass, but kept walking.

“Hello, heroes!” Alys shouted. “Hello! Hello!” She was waving her hands wildly.

No wonder Isaac abandoned her here, I thought.

I immediately regretted thinking that.

“Alys!” I hissed. “Stop it!”

The knight in the front, a tall man wearing no armor, but instead a tight-fitted jacket, smiled warmly, waving back. He looked right at us. I made the mistake of meeting his eyes.

The officer, as evident by his uniform, did not change his expression. He continued to smile warmly, and even gave a short nod towards me.

He met my eyes, yet acted like a man with red eyes was nothing out of the ordinary. How could that be? He had to have heard of me, at least.

The officer turned away, pushing on down the road with a confident stride.

I held tight onto Alys’ ankles and jogged away. I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I didn’t want to let this opportunity go to waste.

“Did you know the handsome man, Papa?” Alys asked.

“No.” I said shortly. I was still occasionally looking back, making sure we weren’t being followed. If I didn’t look suspicious before, I certainly do now.

“He looked like he knew you, though.” She said.

“I know.”

“Why is that?”

“I don’t know.”

Alys pouted, but I was too preoccupied to care. Why had we come through the Capital? It was too dangerous, and I knew it. So, why?

Transportation. We needed to find some transportation and leave as soon as possible. As long as we made it out without stirring anything up, everything would be fine.

“I’m hungry, Papa.”

“How hungry?”

“Really, really hungry. Can we get something to eat?”

“Can it wait until we leave?”

I could hear her stomach growl at the suggestion.

“Alright.” I said. “We’ll get something to eat.”

Okay, so we would grab a quick bite to eat, then leave. It wouldn’t be very longer, and I was sure we could avoid being seen long enough to find some easy food, something we could pick up and take with us.

“I want steak.” She said.

“I can’t afford that!”

This girl was going to be the death of me.

“We need to get something you can eat on the road. We can’t stop.” I told her.

“Like what?” She asked, more interested than she should have been.

“Like… bread?” I answered,

“Yuck.” She turned her nose up.

“What about some fruit? I’m sure there’s a stand on the way to the stable…”

“Apples?”

“You want an apple?”

She nodded vigorously.

“Alright, keep an eye out. Let me know if you see one.”

“Yes, Papa.”

We ended up looking for food too long, and by the time we reached the stables, the sun had already set, and there were no carriages going out. We had to spend the night in the big city.

In the end, I decided to go with an inn in the slums, away from the eyes of the knights. The only thing we had to worry about was thieves, but I figured we didn’t have much on us worth stealing, anyways.

I was still kicking myself for being dumb enough to head right into the center of a country that wanted me dead. If it was just me, it wouldn’t be a problem. But, it wasn’t just me.

Not anymore.

I had tucked Alys into the bed not too long ago, and she was already fast asleep, the blanket rising and falling with her slow breathing.

She looked so peaceful, like there wasn’t anything in this world that could bother her.

I knew better than that, though. I knew exactly how cruel this world could be. If you let your guard down for a second, there were people who wouldn’t hesitate to take advantage of you.

It reminded me something she had asked me while we ate.

Are you a bad guy? She asked. There wasn’t any fear or judgement in her voice when she asked. If I had simply answered in the affirmative, I’m sure she would have just nodded, as if admitting to be a ‘bad guy’ was a completely reasonable option.

I could never tell her such a thing, but I couldn’t lie to her either.

So, I told her what I truly believed.

There are no villains in this world, I said. People are all capable of the cruelest deeds, and the greatest of intentions. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and they all run into conflict as some point with someone.

It sounded more like an excuse now, as the words lingered in my mind, but it was still how I saw the world. It had to be, after the things I had done.

I didn’t want to see myself as an evil man.

“Papa?” She asked, leaning up. “You’re awake?”

“I am. Go back to sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep anymore. I have bad dreams.”

“Want to talk about them?”

She hesitated, but eventually she shook her head.

I smiled. “You know, I used to have bad dreams, too.”

“How did you get rid of them?” She asked.

“Before I fall asleep, I think about what’s important to me, and I imagine having that important thing. Then, I dream about it.”

“What’s the important thing to you?” She asked.

“Well, my friends have always been important to me.”

Alys sat thinking for awhile.

“I don’t have any friends, but I would be happy if you and Mama could both be my parents together. That’s important to me.”

“You still want me to be a father to you, even though I wasn’t around when you were growing up?” I asked nervously.

She nodded without hesitation. “Of course I want you to be my Papa! Mama always said we couldn’t tell you because you had a really important job to do, and that she would find you when the time was right. It isn’t your fault that you didn’t know about me.”

She said exactly what I wanted to hear with a grin on her adorable face.

How did I help make something so pure?

She became suddenly concerned, asking “Are you okay, Papa? What’s wrong?”

I hadn’t realized I had been crying until I felt the water slip down my cheek.

“I’m just very happy, Alys. I’ve never… I didn’t think I would… Have a family. I never thought I deserved to have one.”

She climbed out of the bed, dropping to the floor with a thud, and ran over to the chair I was sitting in. She hopped on my lap and wrapped her little arms around my neck.

“It’s okay, Papa. Don’t cry.”

“I’m not crying.”

“Okay, Papa.”

I picked her up and tucked her back into the bed.

“Thank you. Now, get some sleep. We need to get up early in the morning.”

“Yes, Papa.” She replied.

I couldn’t sleep that night. Guilt was twisting my stomach in knots. I had a terrible feeling that something good was happening to me.

To me, of all people.

The Red Devil.