Chapter 23:Tied In Faith Since Birth
When the night arrived, Elise felt uneasy to sleep that no matter how much Mila read her night tales, she couldn't close her eyes. When he closed her eyes, the image of bodies overlapped in her mind, making her hand tremble. Nearly finishing the last page to the book, Mila noticed the corner of Elise's lips sliding down and offered her something to relax her out.
"Do you want honeyed milk? It's good to have a warm one before you sleep." Elise shook her head in return, pulling her quilt to cover half of her lower face she heard Mil proposing another offer, " then, do you want to hear a lullaby?"
Elise became a little intrigued. She faces up to pull the quilt that brought her bandaged cheeks, making Mila look sadly on her wound. "What is Lullaby?"
"It is a song for children to hear so they could sleep, dear. This one is called The Silver Moon, do you want to hear it?"
"I do," Elise replied and felt Mila's hands caressing her head forward and backward. Between Mila's lips, a delicate voice filled the silent night.
The moon besides the clouds,
Oh, where are you hiding at?
Playing hide and seek with the clouds,
Lighting the green field in the night.
The flower glowing under the moon,
Purple in color, beautiful to see.
Faeries flying with their wings,
Jumping to a step and twirling to dance.
Mermaid singing to the Sea,
Covered the ocean with their voices.
Mother's voice was soft and pure,
Bringing land to see for the boy.
It's time to go back to your sleep and wish a good night to the moon.
By the end of Mila's lullaby, Elise had gone to her dreamland, having her game to play while flying to the moon with Mila's song. Mila stood beside, taking the candle and whispered, "Good night, Elise." She blew the candle and exited the room.
Ian came back to White's Mansion by midnight. His hair was disheveled by the harsh wind that blew over his hair. He swept his hair to the back and took off his coat to the servant beside him. The White's Mansion had a lingering scent of blood of the Black Annises and servant who lost their lives in the massacre. Stains on the floor and walls seemed to have been erased by the other maids, however, traces of blood couldn't disappear that easily.
"Milord." Austin bowed to greet him from the entrance.
"Where's the girl?" Ian walked forward to ascend the staircase languidly.
"In her room, Elise had finally slept. It seems she is very frightened of what she saw this afternoon."
Ian opened the door of Elise room and entered alone. In the middle of darkness, the pair of red eyes glowed in the darkness, stopping when he arrived at the bedside. Elise whimpered in her sleep. Ian placed his cold hands over her forehead and sunk into a thread of thoughts. Black Annises couldn't possibly breach through the magic shield that he planted on the Mansion.
Being the strongest sorcerer of the Empire, there was only one suspect who could be working with the Black Annises, the dark sorcerers. He tapped his hand and walked out of the room to have his raven flying over to his shoulder. He glanced over his shoulder away from the raven to the large moon. The night has begun and it was the time for the girl to leave, he thought silently.
Three days after the incident, the people from the Church came to knock on the White's Mansion. Maroon, who had been waiting for their arrival, ushered them to the Lord to the drawing room.
In the middle of the room, a painting of the Lord was placed. Written below, the year it was painted, the youngest Churchman, Oliver glanced at the picture in a little awestruck. Having not to see the Lord before, judging by the picture he must have been an important person with an overbearing pressure in his airs.
Maroon opened the door for the man in question to come inside the room. His red eyes stared at them, the first one to the person with a bald head that he knew better than anyone else, Kyle, And other two younglings churchmen that he never saw before.
"Good afternoon my lord. Our apologies for taking your precious time." Kyle spoke first standing up to greet Ian.
Ian raised his hand over them, "Oh, it's nothing to apologize for. Please have a seat, Kyle." he returned his smile and turned to the side to order Maroon to prepare tea for the churchmen.
He glanced at Kyle and to the other two men before sighing a laugh. "And what honor do I have to be having the accompany of the Churchmen here? Surely the Church wouldn't pay a visit to me for something like a greeting, right?" Kyle replied his sarcasm easily with a laugh.
Ian glanced over Oliver's cross tattoo on his neck and murmured loud enough for them to hear, "The hunters to kill mythical beings. Two to top." the red eyes turned back over Kyle, sending chill in a gentle smile. "I don't think two is enough for me though. You should have brought an army of them and sorcerers while you are at it to take me down. A million isn't enough so I will recommend you to have more than all the army you have in the empire." He spoke in bold conviction with a somewhat amusing tone as though he was thinking how amusing it is to have the whole empire fight with him.
Kyle knew that his words weren't only a burst of confidence but a warning to them. Still holding to his seat, he who has been assigned to Ian White since he was eighteen knew exactly how to amuse him. "This two is only my students, new men that are still taking lessons under me they didn't come here to constrict you."
"Is that so?" Ian crossed his legs, uninterested by Kyle's explanation. "Let's get back to the matter. What is it that you need with me?" he feigned his innocent in a good way that the greenhorn churchmen fooled by him.
"I will be brief, Lord Ian it is about the slave that you brought and the attack." Kyle started, reading in between Ian's poker face as he did so. "The human slave that you brought back to your mansion. Alex has relaid the information to the Church. However, for bringing a human at such a young age without her consent to the land of Mythical Beings. I presume you do know that it violated the Church's rule?"
Ian faintly chuckled and leaned his head to the side. "That child is my slave, and do I need any permission from anyone to take in my belongings?"
His words were right on the mark. Elise was a slave and normally a slave wouldn't have any humans right, but the reason why the Church insisted on this was that Elise is the Sweet Child. The little being that is loved by faeries. Her power hasn't manifested yet due to her young age, but when she had come to age, Elise could order the faeries all over the Empire to abide to her wish. Even if it meant for them to erase a Land from the map. Knowing that having The Sweet Child in the Demon's captive wouldn't do well on them. They feared that he would use the little girl to work on his bad deeds.
"Unfortunately, Lord Ian- that girl isn't a normal young girl. The Church can't have her outside their protection."
Ian raised his brows from Kyle's words. "You meant that I would harm her? She has been living very healthy here. So healthy that now she's able to speak again."
"May we see the girl, milord?" Kyle gave a question, but even if Ian disagree he would have stood firmly on his words. He still has one thing that could protect and bring the girl out of the mansion. Only one last trump card.
When the girl entered, Kyle had a different smile than how he used it when he talked to Ian. "Hello, dear." Elise timidly hid behind Ian's coach and greeted in a murmur. "Hello."
From the side, the hunter named Oliver had taken off the gloves from his hand and used his power to the girl. After a pause, he fixed the gloves back and confirmed. "She is The Sweet Child, Kyle."
Kyle looked to see whether there were any markings or slave tattoos on her body but from what he saw he couldn't find any. Good chance, Kyle had his whole rejoice written to his face when he saw there wasn't a visible slave tattoo that works to bound the slaves with their master. But he didn't want to be too confident and turned again to Oliver for him to check. "Did you find the slave pact?"
Oliver shook his head, swiftly brushing his eyes at Ian who still didn't have any changes from his expression and returned. "It hasn't been formed yet."
"If I may be rude, Lord Ian. The Sweet Child living with you wouldn't be good for her safety and growth." Kyle began his persuasion again. This time, he spoke more confidently when he saw there's a gap of chance.
Ian's crimson eyes layered a cold filter upon it, saying nothing as a reply. Taking advantage of the silence that Ian gave, Kyle continued with his rational report. "She is a human my lord. And a human should live with another human. From the information that we got, her parents have died and the one who sold her was her aunt."
Ian tapped his finger. "By this, what are you implying? You said that she should live with humans, but you said that her families didn't want her."
"Adoption, milord. We have two choices for the girl. First being adoption and the second to live in the Church and follow the path of a nun."
Ian leaned his head to the churchmen and turned to the girl. He spoke piercingly. "You do know that this wouldn't be favorable for the girl, don't you?"
Kyle agreed deep in his heart, but work is a work, he couldn't mix his private feeling in it. "Please let the girl choose." his eyes moved at Elise.
The Sweet Child is a title that would soon other mythical beings would do anything to covet her power privately. She had been harmed once and he couldn't promise that it would never happen twice. Giving a sigh, Ian made his choice. "For the adoption, I will be the once choosing her family."
"This choice should be made by the girl, Lord Ian." Kyle firmly repeated.
Ian grinned coldly. "I have said once I will be the one to do it. Don't make me repeat it."
Kyle glanced at his expression, trying to read his impregnable expression. Ian was already in a bad mood, having to deal with him in his bad mood would make Kyle to lose something such as his life. Reluctantly, he agreed.
"I understand." The churchmen stood from the seat, "We would be bringing the child with us now until you have chosen her foster house."
"Wait in the carriage." Ian ordered and saw the Churchmen leaving the drawing room in a swish.
When the door was locked firmly, Elise who could partly understand what Ian and the men were talking, knew that she would be thrown again from the house and hold back her tears prominently.
"Don't cry." Ian gave his comfort but hearing it only worsened Elise's sadness. "Did you forgot what I said? If you have something to be sad about, tell me all about it. I can't understand if you didn't say so."
Elise looked up, tears wet her eyes making the rim of her eyes bright red. "Are you going to abandon me?"
"I'm not. As the humans that came before said, living here wouldn't be good for you." Ian sighed at her tears that couldn't stop and glanced to the right where Aryl had been flying about since before. "You would be coming with her?"
Aryl didn't want to waste a breath to talk with the disgusting beings but she humped to reply. "Of course!"
"Even if she can't see you. Take good care of her." Ian for the first time made a request that shook Aryl in disbelief.
"Without you saying it, I will be doing that perfectly! Who do you think I am anyway?" She turned and flew across to Elise.
"You're no one." Ian returned to have the Sulix cussing at him.
Maroon knocked on the door, bringing two leathered trunks with him that was filled with Elise's dresses.
"You should be going now." Ian said as he took the girl's hand and placed the red bracelet that he took off before to seal her power.
Elise cried and hugged his shoulders as she sobbed. "Please don't leave me."
He never knew he was this helpless to the cryings that the little puppy gave. With a sigh, he patted her head. "I am not leaving you. If you still remember me, you can come back." Elise glanced up and saw him smirking. "That is out of your own violation and consent."
Cynthia and Austin stood across the door after receiving the words from Maroon that Elise would be leaving the house. "Bring her now, Cynthia. We shouldn't make those people outside to wait."
Cynthia looked at her heartless Lord and took Elise from him on her arm, comforting her not to cry before leaving the room. Ian leaned to his couch, closing his eyes he could see Elise on the entrance hugging Austin, Cynthia, Mila, and Maroon with tears before coming together with Kyle.
As he was watching the scene, the raven that had been watching them since before in the room flew to his side and spoke.
"What would you be doing now that the girl has been taken? She's the one who has been prophesied by the God to be your bride." The raven snapped his head to the side as he spoke in a human language.
Ian lazily opened his eyes at his raven who had been intercepted by someone irritating and frowned. "Would you mind, not communicating from my pet, Beelzebub?"
Beelzebub continued to speak by using the raven to scoff at his word and pulled his question back. "So?"
"I have not said that I will take her as my bride, didn't I? She's a child. Still a child." Ian pointed out his distaste. He wasn't someone who would take a child to his bed, just by imagining it made him want to throw up.
"But you haven't said that there is zero possibility that you would take her as your bride. And is that's why you sent her away? Even if you took a grandmother as your bride now she would be a little child to you." Beelzebub sneered, a sloping tone came at the end of his sentence.
"I didn't mean it that way, fool. I let her go now because our fate hadn't yet started to intertwined. Also I don't see that i have any feeling with the girl at all. She was just like a small animal, a puppy." Ian switched his legs position, leaning his chin on his left arm languidly and chuckled. "But well, I thought I had said earlier that she's a guest, didn't I?"
Beelzebub suddenly recalled something and called up. "Wait- Why didn't you place the slave pact to the little girl? Even though you know that could be the only thing that ties her down to you? I don't think you are foolish enough not to place the slave pact to the girl. Isn't this precisely because you know this-?"
He was startled by his own question and instantly exclaimed from epiphany. "You read the future?" Beelzebub was rather surprised by his own words.
"I can only see that she's leaving. The rest is blank. Also, slave pact isn't something desirable."
"Regardless of the pact, she's the one human who had been tied in fate with you since birth, you know. Even though now you see her nothing but a puppy what about the future? It would be certainly a very fun play to see you fall for a human girl like the prophecy."
"Oh, just shut up." Ian drew out his breath again to stand up and walked over to the raven. "Let's stop talking here. If you came back from deepest of hell later, I will consider us to talk again."
"Wa-!"
Before Beelzebub could continue, Ian snapped his fingers taking away the magic that Beelzebub used on the raven. He continued his step languidly, bringing it to the window to see the sky turning to the color of sunset that reminded him of Elise's hair.
He placed his hand on the window, with eyes deeply detest the sky and clicked his tongue. "God's prophecy. As always, you place me with your game of fate." He cursed between his breath, ending the night in which Elise had left the White's Mansion.