Muma: The Unredeemed: Demon's Demon

Chapter 1:  demon’s demon.

The village was more excited than usual this eve, and it was not just due to the fact that one of the monsters that had been plaguing them lately was vanquished.  Just outside  the small house, was an elegant carriage that was a misfit in the rustic village.  The emblem on it anyone in the area would recognize as that of Marquis von Freedic,  the ruling nobility in that region.  Thus all the neighbors gathered around to get a glimpse of him.

When the door opened of the house, a tall figure in a winter cloak came out. 
“Thank you very much for your information.”  Said the man.  His face was shaded by the hat he wore, but many imagined it was a very handsome face.  They were right to imagine this.

After muttering some instructions to the driver,  the man entered the carriage.  Inside was a woman waiting.  Although she seemed to be only sixteen or so years old,  she wore the elegant apparel that a girl only dreams of, her golden locks of  perfectly curled  hair framing the equally lovely face.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting.”  The young man said to her.  “The poor girl can’t remember exactly where it happened.  She had gone out to gather some firewood when the monster attacked her.  He had chained her up first before he--”
“Is she alright?”  The young voice asked with concern. 
“Yes dear,”  He smiled gently.  “thanks to him.” 
“Him?”  she cocked her head.
“Yes. The man we’re going to find now. The one who will save you.”  he gently pressed his hand over hers.

*******

The palace of the Von Freedric’s rested on the edge of the mountain, built to be a fortress in the ancient days of war.  Now the iron gates were overgrown with roses,  and the wall surrounding it was falling to its undefeated foe: the elements.

The carriage rolled in past the gates and turned sharply, coming to an abrupt stop at the entranceway in the courtyard.  The sun was just setting, giving the light grey stones a golden color.

As the carriage opened and the dainty figures of the Marquis and his lady exited,  the half dog and half wolf breeds in the yard began to snarl and bark.  It wasn’t at the Marquis that they addressed themselves.  It was to the stranger that fell from the sky. Perhaps also to the ominous crow that was crying out somewhere in the trees.

Milord and his lady stood on the steps before the doorway.  The young woman who resembled a doll in her frilly gown and curly locks,  looked a little frightened as she stared at the appearing figure in black.  When the Marquis gently pressed his hand on her shoulder she looked up at him.
“It’s alright. He won’t harm you.”  The Marquis whispered to her before addressing the stranger.  “Thank you for accepting my offer!”  He said in a somewhat loud voice, since the newcomer was a bit of a distance from him and was turned away.

The figure quickly looked back at him.  Although the Marquis maintained a calm composure, his grip tightened slightly when he saw the phantasmagorical  face of the young man. His hair blacker than any starless night; his eyes like lifeless stones of an unnamable color,  and his skin pale enough to be mistaken for dead.  While the detailed features were foreign to the young Marquis,  the eerie aura of this young man was not.
“If you would care to come in?”  The Marquis offered, trying to calm himself, if anything for his lady’s sake.

As the doors opened,  the couple entered into the mirror like great hall, where the patterns on the tiled floors could play tricks with ones eyes.  At the doorway, on either side, were massive crosses of iron,  decorated with some kind of flowers.  The Marquis looked back, and saw the visitor stop at the entrance.  He glanced to either side a moment.

“Oh! We’ll remove those--”  as the Marquis spoke his young guest walked in effortlessly.

The servants, and the Marquis, all stared in some sort of amazement a moment.  His mouth was open like he wanted to speak, but no sounds came out.  Finally that young stranger looked up at him. 

“Those are useless barriers unless you have faith.”  The dark figure spoke for the first time. His voice was nothing short of a chill in the midst of a fire.

“Um...” The Marquis was at a loss for a moment. “Our house has been part of the Church for centuries.”  He finally replied, trying to boast.
“You are of little faith.”  The figure responded with a cold but not a cruel voice.
The Marquis was beginning to feel he had let a monster into his home when the lady put her hand gently on his arm. 
“Raphael...”  She whispered.
“Yes.”  He took a breath.  “I’m hiring you to protect my fiancee, not judge our faith.”  He glanced at the young lady.  “Serena,  this is the man who saved the girl in the forest.  He will be staying here to protect you from that monster who has threatened you.”
She glanced at this supposed savior.  “Is he safe?”  she whispered to her lover.
“Yes. He is the only one who can protect you.”  He replied. Somehow, it didn’t quite sound comforting.

Suddenly the stranger turned away from the scene and made his way back to the door.

“Wait! Where are you going?”  The Maquis called out.
The figure stopped and looked back.  “It’s nightfall.  I’ll keep watch outside.”
“Uh... don’t you want to be shown to your rooms?”
The figure continued walking.  “I don’t sleep.”

The door shut behind him with nothing but a gasp.  Most men would struggle to open the massive door and close it on their own, let alone without making a sound.  But this was no man.

* * *

The moon hung high in the blanket of sky.  The bare trees wavered in the quiet breeze that was bringing winter.  A shadow stood over the garden on the sill, looking out over the seemingly serene world.

A growling brought his eyes around to the beast on fours.  Its brothers and sisters barred their fangs at him. Their muscular bodies and shinny coats showed they were not of the wild.  Even still, their fierceness didn’t make the young man flinch for an instant.  He stared them in a totally unchallenging way.
A dead silence swept over the pack, as they lowered their tails between their legs and quickly backed away.

In the direction they ran, a figure came out.  It came towards the shadow guardian with the swiftness of a warrior.  A flash of white light suddenly wiped across his face,  he barely dodged it for its suddenly appearance.
“Demon!”  A woman’s voice said harshly.
Realizing his opponent was a servant in the house,  he backed away, rather than taking out his weapon against her. 
She thrust her spear at him again,  this time he did not move, but merely caught the end of it with one bare hand. 

“My fight isn’t with you.”  he said in a low tone. 
The face of the woman was overshadowed, but she was obviously not afraid nor surprised.  But she remained silent.
“If you work here,  your master hired me to protect this place.”
“I don’t care! Siding with one monster to defeat another isn’t the answer!”  she cried out.
His eyes narrowed, and suddenly he yanked up the staff until it came out of her hands, and thrust it to the side.  In the process, she fell backwards to the ground.  Breathless she jumped back up.  She looked ready to pounce at him again,  when a voice stopped her.
“Ileana!”  It was the Marquis who came out.  “Stop it. He is our guest.”  He walked out to them.

“Marquis... How can you allow a monster like this here?”  She flashed.
“Please. Trust me, he’s not what he seems.  This man saved a village girl in the forest from a monster.  He is here to protect Serena.”
At the sound of the name the female warrior became silent.
“For her sake, as well as mine,  don’t cause hostility.”  He continued with a soft smile.

“I won’t befriend this fiend.”  She uttered as she turned away.  “Tell him to keep away from my dogs.”
“Ileana,”  this time it was the voice of the stranger. 
She turned half way,  and reached up.  Her hand caught hold of the spear as it flew through the air. 
“I’d like you to show me this area.”  He continued.  Somehow it would strike anyone as unusual for this man to ask for a favor.

As she glanced at the Marquis he gently nodded.  With a look of detest,  she continued walking away.  “This way.”

Without further words,  the stranger in black followed her into the half lit night.

The barn like area that was a little distance from the main mansion,  was where they kept the wolves, horses, and any other creatures.  It was large, with several floors.  But much older looking than the rest of the castle.

As they walked up to it the wolves cowered back again.  The woman turned to the stranger.
“I haven’t seen them this quiet in a long time.”  She said in a quiet voice. 
“Animals have instincts that tell them when to fight and when not to. Humans often choose to ignore those instincts.”  He responded in a quiet voice of his own.

She looked back at him with a glare.  “This is where the animals are kept.  What else do you want to see?”  She asked with as little courtesy as possible.
“May I go inside?”
For a moment she looked confused, then suspicious.  But she opened the gate.  “Enter at your own risk.”
He glanced at her as he entered.    He looked around, as all the animals shrunk back as far as they could from him.    “This is older than the main house.”  he remarked, looking at the walls, the old stove that was still smoking, and the remanence of the past that were left in the shadows.
“It was the original house, before the rest was built.  Back when the Von Freedic family were nothing but common people.”  She replied  with ease.
“There’s an upper floor?”
“Yes. That’s where I live.”  she conceded with some resentment.
“So they make you live with the animals?”  He had not a hint of ill will in his soft tone.
“I’m a wolf tamer.  I was raised with pups. They trust you and you trust them.”  She folded her arms across her chest.

In the light of the room it was easy to see her face now.  She was very young, but had the look of a hardened warrior.  Her long dark blond hair covered half her face.  The other half was more fierce looking than beautiful.  Her body was not dainty, but muscular under her trousers and tunic.

“What do you know about Serena?”  He asked suddenly. 
“She’s going to marry the Marquis.”  She replied coldly.
“When the Marquis mentioned her name you had a curious response.”
She looked away deliberately.  “What business is it of yours?”
If she had been looking at him she might have seen a faint smile cross his lips.  “None.”

Suddenly she flung around at him.  “She was nothing more than a servant here a year ago, just like me!”  She exclaimed surprisingly.  “When the Marquis saw her....”  her voice trailed off.
“I see.”  He closed his eyes a moment.  “I assume you’ve known the Marquis all your life?”
“Of course! My family have been serving his for generations... Though we used to work together as equals.”
Suddenly she realized she had let her guard down,  and was face to face with her enemy as he stared her in the eyes.  Her body was frozen a moment.  He was too close for her to make any move without him preventing it.  A sharp wind blew off both of them from opposite directions, as if it were a clash of hot and cold air.

“It’s you...”  He whispered in a strange voice, before he fell to one knee.  “You’ve been... protecting this house....”  He said a little out of breath.
She jumped back from him, and he suddenly rose up with full strength. 

“You humans are such strange creatures.  Why do you protect the one person who stands in the way of you and the man you want to be with?”  He wondered.
Her eyes open wide, then her brows lower.  “A monster like you would never understand.” 

“You’re right...” He said in a gasping whisper as he walked past her.  Before her eyes could even register his movement he was out and gone.

“A monster.... can never understand....” 


* * * *


As the dawn seeped in through the windows,  the house that had been awake all night finally rested.  The young Marquis was sitting in front of the library fireplace, as it withered down to ashes.  It was obvious he had been awake all night, musing on things of this world or perhaps of things that are not of it.

“Excuse me, my lord,”  A voice said in almost a whisper.
He didn’t stir at the sound of it, but replied softly.  “You don’t have to call me that now, Ileana.”

The wolf tamer was at the door way. Although her rather rough looking clothes hardly fit the house, she seemed more at home than anyone here. 
“That-- that thing you brought back--”  she began.
“I told you. He’s here to protect Serena.”  He looked down at his book that had been turned to the same page for hours.
“How can you trust him, Raphael?”  She crept in closer. 
“Why? Has he done anything?”  His soft olive green eyes looked up at her. 
She made no reply, but looked away.
“It’s not that I don’t trust you, Ileana. But you can only stand so much.  This enemy is more powerful than any.  We must use whatever means necessary to defeat him.” 
“He’s one of them!”  She cut in.  Her tone more pained than anything.  “Do you expect me to just sit by and watch?”
Looking at her with a sad expression, the young man rose up and gently put a hand over her shoulder.  “We’ve been friends all our lives, haven’t we?”
“Yes.”  She replied with a sulky mumble.
“Then for my sake, please....  I am willing to pay any price to protect Serena.”
She looked up at him in disbelief.  “Then you’re even more of a fool than my father was.”  She brushed his hand off and turned away.
“Our father...”  He added. 
She didn’t hesitate a moment, but vanished out of the world where she was meant to be, but never could be.


Lurking within the shadows, a crow called out to the dawn.  Perched above in the bare tree branches,  was the shadow figure.  His black hair half covered his face,  while the silken black wings spread out shielded the rest of him from the sun light.  He watched... and waited...
His uncolored eyes peered down locked on the figure that came out of the castle.  Something like sobbing could be heard by his ultra-sensitive ears. 
“Your time is coming....”    His voice was lost in the wind, and carried away to some far away world that no one could ever imagine would exist.

Chapter 1 End