Future Mistress

In the dark

"And you thought you could easily defeat someone like me?" he said coldly with a trace of blood on his lips.

There was a sinister look on his face coupled with a toothy grin and showing a pair of white fangs on the sides. A demon never looked so handsome as he does. With his lean and tall physique, arms, and legs the same as humans, perfectly chiseled abs, and cold eyes, no one would even guess he's a demon.

"Hehe, I never thought that you would be overprotective of her," red eyes stared back at Lucien's.

The wind blew gently in that open field. There was a great stench of blood and black slime mixed in the snow. It was nauseating.

The two were flying in the air in an instant. Their swords clashed. The powerful force erupted in the air causing a huge blow in the open field. The snow flew everywhere creating a huge crater around the two figures. The half-blood demons fighting around them coughed out blood. Their powers were too much of a force to reckon with!

"You will never know that feeling," Lucien's red eyes glistened in the dark. It already took them hours fighting that the night already came.

"That is a weakness I will never want all my life!"

Women will always be a weakness for him. Caring for them deeply will only cause trouble in the future. He remembered his father falling prey to an ordinary human. And it was only the start of his suffering. If only his mother was not so stupid as to offer her own soul, he wouldn't have been brought up as a half-baked demon with a weak body.

"If you are thinking of using her boundless life force, you might as well forget it." Lucien snickered. It turns out this half-blood only wants to use the endless life force that Yllana possesses. He doesn't even know what caused her to have that power awakened inside of her.

"She will give me a longer life when I consume her bit by bit. She is the perfect candidate for the next empress."

Clang! Their swords clashed once again, and the crater went deeper! Wounds started to appear on both of their arms and the sleeves of their clothes started ripping from the surges of outflowing strands of power that are hitting them like razor blades.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Three men in silver masks and torn black clothes stood beside Lucien ready to take on the emperor. But their eyes were wary. They knew the extent of the power this man possessed. They might lose more than their lives. They might even lose their soul!

Darion looked at his own men. They were all down and in pieces. No one is even breathing anymore. With strands of life force flowing out of his hand, he pulled out a necklace from his chest. It cracked under his pressure and he called out, "Shadows of Darkness, give me strength."

Black smoke enveloped him and pushed away all the entities near him including Lucien. With a slash of his sword, Lucien's face was left a deep gash across his face. The three half-bloods beside Lucien pulled him to the side and watched the emperor disappear into the smoke.

~~~~~~~~~~

"They're gone." Kareem touched the dried blood on the snow. They were back in the open snowfields and found the place where Lucien might have fought with the half-blood demons. He surveyed the surroundings and found more traces of blood spatter around them. The putrid smell made him cover his nose.

"They have left for more than a week already. We have been inside the cave and the fog for more than a week. We should also go back on track now. We have what we came for," Midel declared.

"Only these half-bloods bodies were left here. So, I guess Lucien is fine," added Larika.

Yllana just smiled at their words. There was no sign of Lucien. Blue also assured her that he is ok, so there is no need to worry.

"We will be setting off to the Dragon's Eye cave," Midel looked at the two boys who helped them to the cave. "I guess this is where we have to part. Your Highness, I think it is better for you to go with them first. Since Yllana is also the emperor's target, setting you two apart will also make him divide his resources instead of a one-time attack. What do you think?"

Larika thought so too. Since she also has her bracelets and anklets, she has some sort of weapons to use now. But…

"I was never trained to fight. I-"

"It's ok for her to stay since I accepted her as my disciple, Midel. Kareem, do you mind delivering a message to my father?" Yllana asked.

"Not at all," said Kareem.

Yllana kept an eye on Midel. When the two boys set off, she faced them and then smiled. "We can train together on the road. You must teach me some spells from the book."

"Are you really that interested in learning spells?"

"I'm not. But it's also another way out to get rid of the curse that the demon king placed on me."

"You want to get rid of the curse?"

"More than anything."

Midel walked beside Larika and poked at her bracelets. Yllana and Larika looked at Midel when they heard the sound.

Larika glared at him. "Do you want to ask about the treasures?"

"You were staring at Fourteen when she was telling us about the nymphs."

"Because they might have something against the nymphs, and I felt afraid." She walked a few steps back.

"Or were you trying to hide something?" He moved closer.

"Look, my father bought me from my mother. I have nothing to do with them after that event. I was held against my will to wed that monster since my father turned his back on me too! I'm guessing that the nymphs who tried to trick those people in that cave were plotting with the South Kingdom to take over the floating isles. I am not one of them." She clenched one of her fists and emphasized each word from her last sentence as if disgusted by her own people.

"They are still your people," Yllana insisted.

"They were mine, but I… am not theirs." In time, you might understand. She did not voice out her last words fearing that it will come sooner than expected. "When I ran away from the palace, I know that the emperor already declared me as an enemy of the kingdom. Please don't make me go back just because the nymphs seem to have betrayed those people."

Yllana and Midel looked at each other.

~~~~~~~~~~

"That's weird. Someone dared to hurt the child emperor, and it has been twice in a row now. Could it be the same as last time?"

"Nobody knows. There are some knights from the palace who reported that some were sent to look for the empress but did not come back. Do you think the empress ran away with somebody else? Or was the empress kidnapped?"

"Ahh…I feel so sorry for our cute child emperor. His empress has gone missing and now he's badly hurt by someone else."

"Have you heard the news from the council? The gates of the South Kingdom have been opened for everybody. The new elders said that anyone who wants to be a resident is now welcome. And special favors will be given to those who register as knights or mages with great talent."

Different rumors spread across the South Kingdom while a man in a black cloak walked in the shadows and listened. There was a huge gash in his face that made him look even more dangerous as he already is. His eyes were wary of his surroundings, avoiding the imperial knights who were patrolling the streets. On the other shadows of the city streets, three more dark figures stealthily jump from one building to another.

"Master, the emperor is locked up in the palace. He already chose a woman for the next full moon." One of the shadows reported to him in the alley.

"What about your future mistress?" The three shadows were startled. Future mistress? Already?

"The mistress' trail ended in the fog below the Floating Isles of Desonia. We didn't find anything after that." Another half-blood answered.

"Keep an eye on the South Kingdom," he muttered. Cold. He was cold so was his tone. Just thinking of having lost track of her is making him uneasy. His eyes set on one of the windows in the tallest tower of the imperial palace. A red light flashed across his eyes before leaving the alley and disappearing in the shadows once again. When he turned to face his subordinates, he noticed that the leader was fidgeting. "What?"

"Master, the Dragon's Eye cave is the mistress' next destination. That thing is still there. Should we… get rid of it?"

"Do you want me to get rid of it myself?" He spat out the words as he marched away from the three dumbfounded trio.

"I told you that it wasn't necessary to ask. We could have just gotten rid of it without telling master. Now he's even angry at us." They feel a shadow looming over them. Was it wrong to tell their master that their future mistress will be going to a dangerous place? The trio swallowed hard. They felt that maybe it would be better to get close to their mistress in the future rather than trying to curry favor from the devil himself.

"What are you three still doing here?" He stood in front of them with his arms across his chest. He showed them one of his fangs and they disappeared in a puff of smoke in an instant.

Lucien shook his head before jumping into the shadows. "Wait for me…my Yllana."