The unknown past.

He glanced at Erebus who occasionally groaned with pain. Luciana took on the job to change the wet cloth that was place on his forehead to lower his temperature.

"I'm here to tell who my master is. It's a bit dull for you but I'd appreciate if you heard me out."

Luciana quietly nodded her head in a light bob.

"Master, he has had an extremely rough life my lady. He is shunned by almost everyone. His work is never recognized let alone admired. He is called a beggar and a beast with bad blood picked up from slums. Compared to him you're a royal who was raised with protection and luxury. I understand that you despise him...but please we see hope in you to change his life. Please don't keep pushing him away from you."

Luciana clenched her hands into a fist. She had enough of his whims.

-"Who are you to judge me by my life. They do not know how I was brought up. Protection? Luxury? I was nearly isolated from the world in my childhood years. Lost my mother. I was born different and shunned behind my back like some outcast. I had to put endless efforts to prove myself as the crowned princess of the empire.And due to my father's selfishness,I was forced to become a sacrificial bride. What does he know about me? What do they know about me?"

"Are you telling me that he did it because he had no choice?" She finally cut him off ignoring him.

Her eyes felt like they were burning. She was a weak young girl who easily cried when hurt. Even now she would cry from time to time. But it was the fact she accepted about herself. But she wasn't going to let him wrong her over something that wasn't entirely her fault.

"It's true that I was forced into this marriage. He abducted me,threatened me, isolated me, mentally exhausted me. He took me to his bed to satiate his desires of which I knew nothing about. And as a result impregnated me knowing that it was only a marriage in contract. But all I ever did was endure it patiently. What for? I ask you. Sir, you are well aware what I was promised and why I am here today. I am well aware of my duties as a wife. But that doesn't make it all the reason to make me a target of hate when I was never directed properly about the place I am forced to live in."

He could see clear resentment in her eyes. Her anger was rightfully justified. They did not welcome her as their lady in the first place. She was isolated in the name of protection when he was well aware that they were taking advantage of her innocence.

"How do you think my country will react once my Lord father finds out what happened to me? The emperor your country is so wary of. If he learns that a seed inside of me is a nameless demon's child what do you think he'd do to this place?"

"Is this a threat?"

"It is. Or do you plan on killing me alongwith your master's child?"

He pursed his lips and did not answer.

"I apologize my lady."he bowed his head.

"Save it. I do not need it. Instead tell me about my husband."

"Master had a sibling. An older twin brother." He began.

-"Is he talking about the boy in the wooden painting?" She remembered the small oval shaped pendant made of wood on which two boys were painted.

"He and his brother were war orphans just like me and my sisters. It was the war that started four decades ago. Our parents were killed at war but master was already an orphan. We were saved by them. My master was an enthusiastic and a lively kid during his childhood unlike his brother. He took us out of the dumpster that was once a small village in remote area near the borders adjoining the outskirts of the Capital. One day an old man walked by and saw the five of us snuggled together to keep the cold away in a rag. My older sister was eleven, and I was nine the same age as them. Mina was three years old at that time. We were always picked at or stoned until one of us bled. I didn't know why we were shunned. We only wanted to survive,live a life like any normal person. We spent days starving without food. Asmodeus and Erebus occasionally went to get food for us since Mina was too young to be left alone with Lilith. That old man took pity on us when he saw Mina cry as she bled. Her wound was lacerating. It was then when we were finally adopted. It was not like we suddenly got better environment. He was too old to make a living. So he promised to make our lives better if we agreed to work for him. He was a fussy old man. But he never raised his hands on us or stoned us. We didn't eat two meals most of the days but he never let us go starved. He was an artist and a craftsman. He had been a hunter in his days of youth or so he claimed to be. He taught Mina and Lilith on how to sew, make food and treat wounds in exchange for doing housework and keeping his little hut shack managed. The rest of us were taught how to hunt, find herbs, painting and making ornaments. Master had keen senses and was a fast learner unlike the rest of us. He started to hone his skills at whatever he managed to learn from the old man. His goal was to became the greatest craftsman in Wahrheit. Asmodeus and I were good hunters. But I was terrible at other skills so I would make out my time in helping my sisters. A few years passed and we had improved our lifestyle. Sister Lilith started to grow herbs and we sold them. She became a renowned seamstress in our area. That was the first time we managed to have new clothes. She started to sew clothes from leftover fabrics she received from the clients. As for Master and his brother, they used to take up all sorts of work like selling firewood and hunting down fiends. Master began crafting ornaments from old metal he used to scrape from various places. Two years passed by and we grew much more stable and decided to leave the dumpster with our old guardian. He had become too weak to walk. We settled in the nearby village where life was much easier. We built a small cottage by the stream with a small smithy where Master, Asmodeus and I crafted ornaments,sharpened and repaired metals. Due to insufficient funds he rarely made paintings and sold them to merchants with greater cost. Asmodeus was a bit different than the rest of us who had similar traits. One day while we were out on hunt our house was attacked by unknown demons. When we saw them drag out my sisters and old man we rushed to their rescue. We were terribly defeated. When they saw Asmodeus they knelt Infront of him and asked him to leave with them telling him that he was chosen by the great Demon Lord. We were unable to stop him from leaving. Master who was heavily wounded could barely reach out to him. He was unable to stop him from leaving. Asmodeus ignored our plea and left with them without taking another glance at us. It was as if he meant to leave with them since they met. That was the first time I saw master cry. He never shed tears Infront of us even when he was bruised and wounded. He cried until he fell unconscious. He was fifteen at that time. He stopped eating, spent more time outside mostly in search of his dear brother and always returned without any success. Lilith and Mina were always worried about him. They tried to cheer him up by telling him that one day we all would be together once again. It was nothing but a mere wishful thinking. The old man was bedridden and was breathing his last moments. Master left us on the day our guardian died. We pleaded him to stay and not leave us alone. But he only told us that he was going to explore the world. Years passed by with no news of him. I was twenty three at that time in my demon years. I decided to expand my trade in the Capital. It was one day when I was in a fight with some rogues when he suddenly appeared Infront of me and helped me get rid of them. I knew him right away but the way he saw me was like I was a complete stranger to him. I tried my best to pursue him to come back with me. But it was to no avail. He left after only telling me that he was working as a an imperial guard. I could only reassure him that he still had a family waiting for him back in Rustic Vale. He listened quietly and then left without another word.

I returned to the village successfully achieving my goal in the Capital. After two years he suddenly returned to us. It was evening I still remember how he looked at us. Lilith and Mina were overjoyed by his return and we had dinner. I was cautious around him knowing that he was no longer the same person we once knew. What lead him to become like that I did not understand at that moment.

He only told us that he was now granted with a title of Margrave and became a noble with some territory far in west if Wahrheit. My sisters and I decided to leave with him to the new home called Stygian. But this place was far from what we expected it to be. We didn't complain. We found out new people who were acquainted with master were also brought to this place. Many were outacasts or abandoned. Some were former soldiers and mercenaries. They were the people who readily accepted him and followed his leadership. But making matters worse our master did not know how to rule a territory. He had forgotten about everything except that he painted. He had started to design stained glass windows and sold it to nobles. Our time in this isolated place was once again another start up challenge. Eventually we managed to teach a few people in the territory about the skills. He shifted his focus more on training soldiers for the imperial army. He refused to meet up the nobles at social events. He only socialized when I urged him to. In the meantime I began to learn the reasons behind his odd behavior. That was when I learnt the sickness of his soul. The vortex inside of him had stopped. He had become a being without proper emotions. Sometimes he'd forget who was Infront of him. He would seldom threaten his own men. They only took it as his command. He stopped valuing life unlike in the past. But sometimes I could see him struggling with himself. As if he was struggling to remember who he was and tried to recall the memories from the past. We had almost lost hope to find him a cure to his illness. He had lived in void to this day. The day he was carrying you into the fortress was the first time in a decade that I saw him freely express himself. The way he willingly took up the task to find a cure for you was when I confirmed that you had some influence over him.

This is why the servants began to witness a change in his behavior. They have become expectant of you to cure his illness since we know that Amanécerians hold the power to cure any illness. And I for one other than my master know who you truly are my lady." He finally stopped letting the moment last for several heartbeats. The room went silent. Neither of them spoke. Nemesis had gone to sleep closely cuddling with Erebus. The wood in hearth cracked as fire slowly at its corners.

He stood up and bowed lower than he usually did.

"Please my lady. I beg of you. Please save our master. He may not realize it but everyone in this fortress, no in this domain cherishes him. He may not be as rich as other nobles. Nor do we have the same facilities as the other domains. But he doesn't ignore our pleas. He did not isolate us completely to let us die. So please!... Please stay with him. It is a selfish request that I ask from your ladyship. I will do anything for you in exchange."

Luciana could not say anything except for listening to his difficult request.