3

Adremalech sat by the window, replaying the events of a few hours ago in his head. That boy had perplexed him initially, unnerved him, even. But now? To turn down something as elusive as kingship, with such flimsy reasoning? It had become clear, to him at least, that he was nothing more than a naive child who had yet to taste suffering. Though he supposed he couldn't blame him. After all, he hadn't been much better. He wasn't alot younger than him when he had been taken from the world.

He wondered why he had been sent to hell for the longest time. Sure, he lied alot, market. But such minor offences could hardly get you a slap on the wrist, let alone eternal damnation. So why then? The answer, he believed occured to him somewhere in his third decade in hell: Suffering. He had never truly suffered in his short life as a human. So, in some sick twist in karma, it was decided that he would suffer for an eternity in the fires of hell.

It was precisely for this reason that humanity vexed him so. Why should those who haven't suffered reap the world's greatest treasures? It's greatest honours? WHY?!

He let out an irritated sigh.

Whatever. That would all change soon. He'll rule from the shadows for the time being, but soon he would take what he desired! What he deserved.

_______________________________________________

Step. Step. Step.

...

Another step.

Zac let out a sigh. They had been travelling for hours now, the lance being carried on his back, heading east, the direction he spotted the demon fleeing in when he found and rescued Alice's unconscious body. Of course, there was a chance that he had turned and took a different route. But there was one thing that convinced him to continue this way: the capital.

The capital city, Reis. It was directly east of where he and Alice lived. If he was heading anywhere in particular, that would be it. He'd say it was cleverly deduced, but really, it was all they had to go on right now.

He snuck a glance at Alice every now and then. He didn't like what he saw. That same underlying darkness from before was still present, albeit slightly diminished. Still, it was there, and he knew that it would resurface, and more explosively next time. It was just a matter of encountering a trigger. A trigger they would no doubt face during this quest of theirs...

Zac was worried.

If Alice continued as is, she would be sent spiralling down a dark path, as was so common when the right enciting incident arose. One he was all too familiar with.

He had been in the services of heaven for just over a decade when it happened to him. He was a guide. He waited for the approval of the higher ups who passed their judgement onto to the newly deceased, dictating who went up and who went down, before guiding said souls to their respective destinations. For years he had done it without question, but the longer he did, the more concerns he had for the whole process. There were many questionable decisions made regarding who went to heaven and who went to hell. Cases of unjust reward or unjust punishments... espescially the punishments. Eventually, he started voicing his concerns, but he was waved off. Every. Single. Time. His frustration and concern grew more and more, untill it snapped. He had discovered, to his horror, that even CHILDREN were being cast to the depths of hill. He lashed out at the higher ups-or tried to anyway-which led to his eventual banishment.

Alice was now headed down a similar path, and he knew all too well that it was a matter of 'when' and not 'if'. It was an ugly truth, but one he had come to terms with. It was just the way these things went. No escape, no turning back. She, too was now on this inescapable path. One darker than his.

They perked up when they spotted the outline of a city in the distance, about ten, maybe eleven kilometers away. But, it was getting dark now. Night would soon be upon them. With it, they needed a place to rest. Well, Alice needed a place to rest. Sleep was optional for Zac. Fortunately, he spotted a lone house nearby.

"Come on, let's see if we can rest up in there." He suggested, pointing to the house.

Alice looked at him, eyes wide. "What?! But we're so close!"

"Not that close." He admonished firmly. "You're still human, remember?"

"But-"

"I wasn't asking." He stated firmly, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Alice huffed. "Fine." She muttered petulantly. "But what if whoever lives in there is dangerous?"

"Then let me handle it." He answered confidently.

Alice hesitated, but nodded.

The two of them made their way towards the door. Zac took note of the various crops planted outside, as well as the sound of farm animals from around the corner. He knocked on the door, waiting for reply. He heard some shuffling about from within, trailing trailing up to the door.

"Who's there?" A gruff voice called from the other side.

Zac took a moment to think about his answer, before responding. "Excuse us sir, but we were on our way to Reis, and we hoping we could take shelter here for the night."

It was silent for a few seconds, before he heard a clicking and the door opened a few inches, a cautious eye peaking through. Once it landed on them, however, it immediately relaxed, before the door opened the rest of the way.

"Heaven's sake-"

Tall was the first word that came to mind. The man was easily over six feet tall. He was well built, to say the least, if his bulging sleeves were anything to go by. He sported a long, gruff beard, a thinning head of dark brown hair.

"what are two children doing all the way out here?" He asked with genuine concern.

"Well, as I said, we were travelling, and wodering if we could rest up here for the night."

"Of course!" He answered quickly, stepping aside to allow them entry, not even bothering to question the weapon strapped to his back.

They entered. The room was cozy. just the right size. There was an elk's head mounted on the wall to the left of them. A fire place blazing wildly at the center. Other than that, there was kitche, with everything you'd expect to see in a kitchen. To the right was a table, where a curious looking girl sat. She looked a little younger than Alice, with short brown, untidy hair, and brown eyes. The table itself was decorated with a small feast.

"Sorry if we're imposing." Zac apologised, idly noting how quiet Alice was. Though he was waved off.

"Think nothing of it. Matter of fact, you're just in time to join us in our celebration!" He declared, pumping a first into the air.

Zac and Alice cocked their eyebrows.

""Celebration?""

The man gave a firm nod, before pointing to the now smilling girl. "My little girl over here has been strugling with her health for the longest time." He stated, voice going somber for a moment before perking back up again. "But she's finally kicked it, and now she's as healthy as can be!"

The girl gave an eager nod to her father, before turning to them. "You'll be safe staying with us, my father used to be a palace guard you know?"

"Really now?" Zac questioned, more out of formality than anything else.

"Come on sweetie, you gonna tell everyone that comes by that?"

Zac went to take a seat, but stopped himself when a thought struck him.

'you gonna tell everyone that comes by that?'

She's been struggling with her health for a really long time, and judging by the timing of this celebration, she had only recently gotten better. And if her various ailments were that serious, surely she'd be in no mood to entertain guests. So this someone must have visited very recently. Around the same time that demon, presumably, made for the capital. It wasn't much to go on at all, so he made his next move.

"So, we're not the only strange guests you've had then?"

It was slight, but Zac noticed the way he had tensed at the question-and so did Alice if the way she narrowed her eyes at him were anything to go by-, furthering his suspicions.

"What say we dig in?" He quickly diverted, his once confident smile now appearing as anything but.

His desperate attempt at changing the subject all but confirming his suspicions. He went to follow up, but was beaten to the punch.

"He was here, wasn't he?" Alice suddenly questioned, seemingly comming to life at the new situation.

An audible gulp was heard from the man, while his daughter began to look nervous. "H-He? Who are y-"

"You know exactly who I mean!" She snapped, directing a dark, almost vicious glare towards the burly man, who had now gone from looking nervous, to downright terrified.

Zac was taken aback by this sudden change in attitude from Alice. Though, if he was being honest, it wasn't entirely unexpected.

"I-I-I, I don't know what you're talking about!" He stammered out, much to Alice's chagrin.

"That monster! That moster that killed my parwnts was here! and you're not telling!" Alice snarled causing the man to reel back in shock. "You know more! You where he's gone don't you?!"

Before he could answer, his daughter came rushing out in front of him, teary eyed. "Please don't make him say it!"

Zac's mind was working furiously to connect all the dots. What did he know about the situation? He knew that he used to be a guard at the castle. He knew that his daughter had been strugglingvwith her health for a long time, but suddenly got better recently. And he knew that the demon they were after had come to this place on the way to the capital. He mentally examined those details, looking at them from all angles.

Then, it clicked!

He walked over to Alice and grabbed her by the shoulder. "I've figured it out!"

"What?!" She questioned, the confusion on her face clear.

"I know what happened here, they don't need to tell us!" He walked over to the door, gesturing for her to follow.

With some hesitation, she complied, not so much as sparing a glance towards the cowering forms of their two hosts. They exited, then once they were a good distance away from the house, spoke.

"That demon was here. He must have made a deal with that man and promised to heal his daughter in exchange for something. I'm not entirely sure what it was, but my best guess is that he made him tell him how he could sneak into the castle undetected."

"But why wouldn't they tell us anything?" Alice questioned.

"He probably made the deal so that if he told anyone, the deal would be null and void." He supplied, semi-confidently.

Alice looked thoughtfully, before scowling, a venemous glare overtaking her face.

"That bastard." She hissed under her breath. "He'll pay for this! All of this!"

Zac took in her outburst, mulling over his thoughts for a few moments. She was getting worse. That darkness he saw before had only grown, as he expected. But it was happening faster than he thought, much faster. It was worrying, to say the least. It was precisely because of this worry that he asked this next question, no matter how obvious the answer might have been.

"Alice, are you okay?" He asked.

Alice regarded him for a moment, before turning, staring viciously at the outline of Reis in the diatance. "I will be."