6 A Puppet on Strings

A star burned in the inky abyss of the night, illuminating the world it shone above. It was alone, yet it would still burn on for as far as its mind could go forward. It didn't want anyone to join it, anyone to hold it once it got dark at night. There was only one thing it had ever wanted, to change the world.

Around it, the world lay in ruins.

He forced himself to stare at it, trying to hold back his tears. Faceless strangers stood around him, mouths moving soundlessly, in words that would never get across to him. Words that he'd never listen to, in this world of silence.

A muffed voice sounded across the abyss.

Rain fell like fists of water, hammering down on his feeble frame

"Come on, Lucine. Don't make me laugh."

His eyes flickered upwards, expecting to see his sweet sister there to help him out of the nightmare he was stuck in.

But she was a faceless monster.

He fell out of his chair, and the figures started closing in on him,in a robotic uniformity. Their gleaming crimson eyes swiveled to wherever he tried to run.

"What's wrong with you, Lucine Fastus."

They began chanting, a low, persistent hum that he couldn't shut out. He scrambled to his feet and tried to run, but the figures grabbed him and kept him restrained.

The muffled voice echoed through the land again, this time more urgent.

In a desperate effort, he let out a cry and slipped out of their holds. Wasting no time, he legged it, running as fast as his legs would take him. He wanted to get away, but he was surrounded by the faceless figures. He had never felt so alone.

He slipped and fell into the mud, with all of his fear and pain pouring down his face. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to stifle the sobs threatening to escape his mouth.

He opened his eyes, to find his reflection in the watery earth. It was a faceless monster.

"Who are you, Lucine Fastus."

He whipped his head upwards to see a figure floating in front of the star. Her empty,depthless eyes stared down at him as her string-like crimson hair dragged behind her.

"They're waiting for you, Lucifer."

The star burst open in a flash of light, filling his vision

"Lucine!"

He awoke with a jolt in a hospital bed, drenched in sweat. His arm was in a cast at his chest, and his wings were folded over his body, in the strange bat-like way that men went to sleep in this world. He was already beginning to forget the dream.

"Finally! It took you long enough to wake up."

"Really now, you love making me worry, don't you?"

He recognized the annoying squealing as Asrin's voice, but wasn't sure if he'd heard the second voice correctly. He sat up, ignoring the screams of protest from his aching body, and looked around the room

Asrin stood behind a woman, looking relieved. The woman sat at the side of his bed, her pitch black eyes gazing at him fondly. She tenderly brushed a strand of white hair away from her face as she leaned closer to him.

"The doctor gave us a report a while ago…you really have been busy, haven't you? One broken arm, fractured ribs, and bruises and marks in all sorts of places." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Your father was just like you, always getting into fights over the stupidest things."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…"

The demon form of his mother was a lot more affectionate and caring than the stern human mother he'd grown up with. It was a surprise for sure, but a welcome one.

"Really? You're fine?" She gave an icy laugh. "Well, young man, you won't be fine for long. Starting so many ridiculous fights simply because you had nothing better to do, tarnishing the reputation of the Servum and even dragging your sister into it. You'd better pray that the doctor makes you stay here for longer, Lucine Fastus, because when we get home, you will be getting much more than a broken arm, do you understand?" Two black orbs stared into his soul, daring him to defy her.

"Yes ma'am."

He sank into his bed. So much for an affectionate mother.

"Make sure you thank Lucina and Fugo properly as well. They dragged you all the way to the hospital… What's with that look? You don't remember?"

"Its not that I don't remember. It's just all really fuzzy." He winced as he tried to move his arm, imprisoned in the cast.

"I feel sorry for them," Asrin giggled, "I bet you're really heavy."

The doors smashed open, making everyone jump out of their skins, as Lucina strutted through.

"He sure was, and his wings kept on flapping around like some headless chicken" She said, acting like nothing had happened.

"Are you okay? Have you ever heard of, you know, walking through a door without giving everyone a heart attack?" Lucine's wings had unfolded in shock and knocked a nearby table over.

"Aww, did poor wittle Lucine get scared when his scary big sister opened a door?" Lucina said, smirking at him.

"That's not what you call opening a door!"

"Lucina." Their mother was quickly getting tired of their incessant bickering.

"He's being a crybaby for no reason! It's not my fault he can't take a small-"

She glared at her, silencing her immediately. Lucine smirked at her, to which Lucina replied with a middle finger.

"If you think I didn't see that, you've got another thing coming your way."

"Mum!"

Lucine wasn't trying very hard to keep his laughter contained.

"Well? What did the doctor say?"

"He's gonna have to stay here overnight." Lucina grumbled, glaring at Lucine. "Apparently, it wouldn't be smart to make him travel."

"We might as well leave then. Looks like Lucine's prayers worked." She shot Lucine a dirty look, sending shivers down his spine. "Asrin, dear, would you like me to drop you off at your home?" Brushing Lucina down, and running her hand through her hair to make sure there were no knots, Gratia Fastus got up, ready to leave.

"It's fine! I'll stay here and keep Lucine company for a bit." Asrin said, delicately stroking his hair. Storm clouds were brewing on his face.

Gratia sighed. "Lucine, you really are lucky to have such a caring girlfriend. Someone as disrespectful as you doesn't deserve her."

Asrin started beaming with delight, in contrast to Lucine, who had wrapped himself up in his wings and slumped back down onto the bed. His wings twitched as his face quickly turned mask-like, muttering under his breath. Lucina said a quick goodbye to Asrin, an exchange of hatred with Lucine, and a promise to rearrange his face with her fists, before following her mother out the door.

"So why exactly does she think we're in a relationship?" Lucine asked, snuggling into the bed.

"Because we are-" She started.

"No, we aren't." He cut across her. "There wasn't even any need for you to talk to her."

"I just thought it would be good for her to get to know her future daughter-in-law," She said smugly, running a hand through her hair. "I think she likes me!"

"Future daughter-in-law?"

She leant in close enough to his face that he could count the number of eyelashes on each eye. "Don't you agree?"

"H-have you ever heard of personal space?"

Her fingers curled around his blushing cheeks, her lips drawing closer to his own. "Darling, we don't need anything like that~"

He tore his face away, retreating into the protection of his blankets, tightly wrapping his wings around himself. She giggled, and kept on stroking his hair. Her touch sent shivers down his spine, and his body felt strangely sensitive.

His muffled voice came out of the blankets. "Fuck off before I put your head through the-"

But what exactly he was going to put her head through is a secret that no one will ever know, as she tore the blankets off, revealing a red-faced Lucine cocooned in his shaking wings.

"What are you-"

Her eyes gleamed as she leant over towards him. "You look really hot today… D'you need help cooling down?"

They stared at each other for a few seconds, a pair of wide yellow eyes gazing into a pair of glowing silver eyes

Lucine broke away, averting his gaze. "The visiting time's nearly over. Go home. "

Her brows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about? We have another hour left."

"I don't care. Leave."

She seemed hurt, and her voice had a slight edge to it. "Lucine-"

His eyes were fixed on the window. "I'm going to sleep"

Her eyes were fixed on him, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be just fine once you leave."

She slowly got up, her glowing eyes searching his face for any emotion at all. His face remained impassive, pointedly refusing to look at her. Without another word, she left.

Unable to go to sleep, Lucine lay awake, cursing his wretched luck. All he had wanted to do was to go back to that mirror so he could go back to the human world. And, somehow, he had ended up on a hospital bed in such a weak state.

So weak, he recalled, that Asrin was able to take advantage of him with ease. But it's not like he didn't enjoy it. Her soft touch, her silver eyes, her laugh… She was the only one who had stayed the same over both of the worlds. Everyone else felt more intense, harder to talk to. She was still the same cute idiot that she was in the human world. Her appearance was the only thing that had changed.

An uncomfortable knot grew in his stomach. If he had liked it so much, why had he thrown her out of the room? Remembering the hurt look on her face, he cringed and groaned at his own stupidity and shoved his head into the pillow.

The answer was simple. This wasn't his world. He wasn't going to settle down here or anything like that. It wasn't his place to mess around with her feelings. That was for the real demon Lucine Fastus.

But what if he couldn't find the mirror, and there's no way back to the human world?

He sighed. This was a dilemma that he did not need to deal with at 2am. He got up, unfolding his wings and massaging his aching muscles with his working arm.

But who really was he?

Just as the words came into his mind, his nightmare returned to his head in a painful clarity.

He gasped and folded his wings in.

The silence in the room was suffocating.

He didn't dare move.

His heart, a deafening beat in his ears.

The door creaked open.

His head whipped upwards.

Blank eyes stared through the crack of the door, staring him down. He stared back, paralyzed, sweat dripping down from his face.

The figure stepped through the door, her footsteps a gentle pit pat on the floor.

His glowing eyes widened in shock, his wings unfolding instinctively as he jumped to his feet.

Her empty, depthless eyes stared into his soul as her string-like crimson hair dragged behind her.

"The human…I've… come for the human."

avataravatar
Next chapter