“Dralarag is surrounded by sea from three sides, with about half of its coastline inaccessible due to mountainous or volcanic terrain. This has led to the relative isolationist lives of the Demonkin until the end of the Great War. Abundant in magical energy that shaped the life inside it, Dralarag is now known to be the third harshest environment in the World, after the Dread Archipelago and the continent of Drakkar.”
̶ Geography of the Mainland, Volume Eight, Royal Cartographer Jonas Maverick, 700 AS
----------------------------------------
We are in the Great Church of Light. I am standing with my family; dressed in a beautiful wedding dress, completely white in color.
I can hear the bells signaling the start of the ceremony, but something is not right. I am standing alone in the Altar, nobody by my side. That is not supposed to happen. I turn to look at my family, but they are exiting the Great Hall, leaving me alone to stand there. There is no one but me inside, only light reaching through the window. I look towards the great mosaic window of the Church. There are cracks around it, and it shatters, revealing the sky. I move towards the opening, looking down on the ground.
‘Good Night, Sophia.’
The voice is cold, eerie. I recognize it; it’s my father’s voice, when I was little and he tucked me into bed.
Something pushes me through the window, letting me fall.
-----------------
I jerk awake, finding myself on a bed, Sun’s rays piercing into the area.
I try to make out where I am, and I try to reach for the fragments of the dream that have slowly slipped away. I try to reach for the memories of last night. Didn’t I fall asleep on a smaller bed? I look around the room, a loud ringing in my ear slowly dying out.
I look around the room, trying to see where I am. The bed is large; the sheets blood red, a large assortment of pillows around me. The room is lit by the Sun’s light coming from the large window in the room; I can make out a small table with various cosmetics laid out in front of the small mirror; there is a ceiling high mirror on the other side of the room.
There is a small door on one side of the room, and a larger one opposite my bed.
I slowly shudder, the air around me strangely cold.
I try to call for someone.
“Melinda? Catalin?” The names of my maidens, always ready at my call.
Nobody answers.
I suddenly remember where I am. A castle, away from home. A red face with black eyes and horns, and a big smile suddenly pops into my head. Yes, I’m married, this is my new home, my new room.
My new room feels lonely.
I suddenly remember a name.
“Tiana?”
The female Demon opens the small door on the side of my room, dressed in plain black dress.
“Mistress.”
“Is this my room? I remember going to the… comfort room, and then I must’ve felt asleep.”
I push my brain to give me answers. A strong, calm voice echoes in my mind: ‘Good Night, Sophia.’
“Master has brought you to your room after you’ve fallen asleep.”
Yes, I remember now, the steps, the creaks, the warmth, a finger across my cheeks.
“What time is it now? Have I missed breakfast?”
“You can never miss breakfast when you are a Mistress of the house.” I can hear a small chuckle from her.
“Let’s make me presentable first.”
“As you wish.”
I sit before the table with the mirror, Tiana walking behind me with a brush in her hand.
--------------------
After more time than I dare admit, I am finally dressed and presentable, following Tiana through the corridors of the castle.
We reach the dining room, a table set for my breakfast.
I eat slowly in silence, Tiana and an armored guard staying nearby. The breakfast is amazing, the Widower fruit revitalizing me with energy, but I still feel off. My Imp somehow wanders into the dining room, now wearing some black cloths, planting himself by my legs. I give him some food as I eat my breakfast slowly, in silence.
“Where is my husband?”
“Master has gone out to the town, some important issues have emerged and he apologizes for leaving you alone, he has told us that he will be back as soon as the issues have cleared. He had left you a small note for when you wake up.” Tiana hands me a small piece of paper, black scribbles visible from afar.
My dear wife,
I am sorry for leaving you alone so soon and will be coming back shortly. I have arranged for Tiana to start teaching you our language in the library, she has learnt your language faster than I have and trust me, that tells a lot.
There are no expected visits today, so you don’t have to worry about anything.
Have a nice time, and see you soon, my wife.
Your husband, Cerolus.
Apparently he has already left, and I am alone in this huge castle, surrounded by servants. Well, I guess I can find something to fill my time. Learning the language will be extremely beneficial, especially after that blunder yesterday.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
“Very well, let’s go out to the garden for now, I need some fresh air.”
--------------------------
My day passes slowly, walking around the huge castle grounds, no business to take care of. I’ve spent some of my time in the Palace training, I wonder if I would be allowed to do so here. I’ll have to ask my husband when he comes back.
The Cerberus has apparently sensed me leaving the castle, immediately running towards me, his enthusiasm not diminished when his master is not home. I ask Tiana how my husband plays with the hound.
“Fluffy is trained to hunt and loves to play fetch.”
“Well, what does he fetch?”
“Master usually uses a bone from a Hellboar.”
So I’d have to throw a bone around? What happened to simple sticks?
Fluffy suddenly runs away, and comes back shortly carrying a large bone in his mouths.
Oh well, might as well get used to it now.
-----------------------
The dog is bloody tireless.
I’ve literally considered throwing the bone towards the Widower just to see what happens, but have decided against it.
Laying the bone away and stroking one side of the hound as it lays on the other, I consider what to do with the rest of the day.
I guess I’ve had enough fresh air, saliva being the unexpected bonus, for the day; might as well start learning about their culture as soon as possible.
After a brief changing of clothes, Tiana and I found ourselves in the library, a stack of books around me, while she runs around the room, grabbing some more.
“May I begin Mistress?”
“Yes.”
“As you wish. The basics of our language, or Dral as we call it, is simple…”
---------------------
After trying to understand anything in my lesson, only figuring out the basics of reading, which is extremely simple, I go to have dinner. Cerolus is apparently still out, so I’ll have to eat alone again.
I try to eat something new every meal, trying to broaden my knowledge. This time I try a gelatinous dessert. It’s extremely sweet, prompting me to drink some water, but the taste is marvelous, a sudden feeling of warmth spreading around my chest.
“What is this made from?”
“It’s mostly made out from Hellboar blood, with some additional ingredients to make in sweeter.”
Why do I feel warmth whenever I eat Hellboar? Does it have to do anything with the ‘mana channels’ Cerolus talked about at the wedding dinner? I’ll have to ask more later.
The evening is spent learning more about the language and enjoying the afternoon Sun in the balcony of the comfort room, Tiana mentioning that Cerolus has a musician employed at the castle. He plays on strange instrument, resembling a violin, just many times larger, having to stand on the ground to be played. The tune fits perfectly with the setting Sun, as the day comes to pass and night takes over, Azalea and Trebinor watching over us.
After the Sun sets and the tune ends, I go to the baths to finally clean myself properly after a few days.
The baths are on the lower floor of the castle, illuminated by crystals, with enough room to fit several people; warm water falling from above as the steam rises.
“How do you heat so much water up?”
“We have plenty of magical crystals to heat up and transport water, Master spares no expense on that matter.”
I step into the bath, warm water feeling wonderful as it flows around me, washing me away from everything that happened these past few days. I spend what seems a lifetime in the baths, the skin on my fingers wrinkling from the warm water.
After I exit the baths and dress in clean clothes, ready to go to sleep, I notice there are more guards around the castle than before.
“Has my husband come back?”
The Shadow Demon appears from nowhere in particular.
“Master has returned and has already retired to bed, hoping you will forgive him for not seeing you, he didn’t want to intrude on your bath.”
“Very well, I guess it is time for me to go to sleep as well, this was a surprisingly long day.”
I go to my room, lying in my bed, preparing myself to sleep.
So why can’t I fall asleep?
The room feels so cold, so unwelcoming, so distant. My day has been calm, nothing bad has happened, and yet, nothing good either.
A strong, calm voice echoes through my head.
I slowly rise out of my bed and leave my room, finding myself in the corridor outside. The guards nod and ask apparently ask something, I just nod slowly and watch at the large door on my right. A decision is slowly reached in my mind.
I push at the door meekly, the guards opening it as in response. I enter the room. A huge bed is in the middle, a window on either side of it spreading small amounts of light that comes from outside.
A big figure can be seen lying in the bed, wearing nothing but a pair of pants. His muscular body makes a large indent where he sleeps; his broad shoulders and defined chest seem so welcoming as he sleeps serenely. There is a small trickle of drool on the side of his agape mouth.
I slowly move towards the bed, trying to be as silent as possible.
I lie down, and he is half-awake, barely aware of what is going on.
“I felt a bit lonely.” I admit, and slowly move next to him on the bed, resting my head on one of his forearms.
He doesn’t answer, just puts his other hand around me and pulls me into a close hug, my head resting against his chest.
“Good night, Sophia.”
“Good night, Cerolus.”
The warmth of his body slowly lulls me, as I enter a sweet sleep.