۞ 21 Years Ago ۞ Part I

Author's Obs~

This novel is in the 3rd person and the people's thoughts are always before or after they say something, and on the same paragraph.

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Geneva Marquise, Human World

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MARCHIONESS WINONA WAS NO SHORT OF A PITIFUL SOUL.

Born as Winona Yara Zachary, 5th daughter of King Lorenzo Madden Zachary, with his 3rd mistress, Concubine Yasmin Lee Smith, the youngest Princess from the Smith Kingdom at north of the Continent. Fifth on the throne line of succession, after her eldest brother Christopher, her oldest sister Celeste (children of the Queen), her 2nd sister Alyssa (daughter of the 1st mistress), and her 2nd brother Lucca (son of the 2nd mistress). Each of them being only one year apart from one another.

She was raised by her mother, since her father, as King, was always absent, and constantly mistreated by her three stepmothers who hated her because her mother was the woman whom her father was most fond of her. Her siblings never really gave a damn about her since she presented no threat to them.

Winona was an Air magic wielder in a family of Fire magic wielders. And just like all her siblings, she didn't take after her father physically which would have caused a ruckus if she did. After all, her father had a rare, orange-colored hair with big curls that made him an eye-candy for everyone who met him, with light blue eyes that neither of them inherited either. Both her and her siblings all took after their mothers.

Thus, Winona had long straight golden hair, with siren dark green eyes, pale skin, and freckles. To them, she was weird looking just as her mother, especially in a Kingdom where no one was blonde, a feature common on her mom's homeland. Her siblings were all dark haired, alternating from black to dark or light brown.

But despite being the target of her stepmothers' hatred, she always had everything. She was raised away on her mom's castle in the Royal palace, and only lived around her maids and the staff who cared about her. Winona was, nonetheless, a Princess and was respected as such.

She never knew hunger, cold, or a life without the warmth of at least one of her parents, since Concubine Yasmin was a kind and caring woman, who did her best to give her all to her only child. The only person she purely had in that foreign land, and who was hers.

Her oldest brother Christopher was set to become the next King of the Zachary Kingdom, whereas her 2nd brother Lucca received the title of Duke when he came of age. Princess Celeste was offered as a peace chip for another Kingdom with whom their father was thriving for an alliance and was sendoff there at 16 to marry the next in line and become Queen. Whereas Duke Colton Woodberry asked for Princess Alyssa's hand in marriage, and when she came of age, he made her his Duchess.

It was all sunshine, flowers, and rainbows, until she came of age and was sold-off to Marquis Garrett Geneva, an Earth magic wielder who also possessed super strength, when she was 16. A deal settled by the Queen and the two Concubines, after they pretended to be set on finding a good man for her, making her silly mother also fall for it.

At first, Garrett Geneva was the kindest and lovable gentleman, the type of noble man who made lots of Ladies seek for an opportunity to gain his heart and become his wife. He was the most eligible bachelor at the time of her debutant ball, and he manipulated her, taking advantage of her innocence, just to become linked with the Royal family. And for their first 4 years married, it was a dream.

He was the best husband in the world, and she fell helplessly in love with him every day. Until his mask fell and he showed his true colors.

The instant her mother died in a (not so) mysterious way, he changed drastically. With her mother dead, there wouldn't be anyone to constantly check on them, and make sure they were living well, and that he was threating her as she deserved. He knew her siblings and stepmothers didn't give a shit about her, and the little importance the King saw on her disappeared the second Princess Yasmin died.

From that day onwards, Winona's life became no short of a horrible nightmare. Prohibited from doing all the things she loved, such as going outdoors, spending time in the garden, visiting the villages in the Marquise, and staying up in the library for hours reading. He locked her in her wing of their castle and only allowed a handful of servants to take care of her, those of his upmost trust.

Marquis Garrett would then visit her every night with a belt, or a whip go let out all his frustrations on her perfect body. Beating her every single night until she was left bleeding, and nearly unconscious. When not with the belt or white, with his fists, using his super strength to harm her non-stop. Then, he would roughly abuse his wife sexually even though she cried for him to stop. And the more she cried, the more he kept hurting her.

With intense anger issues, lack of empathy for anyone other than himself, and a pleasure by inflicting pain on those who are vulnerable, he would proceed to torture his wife for two and a half years.

Sometimes he would let her free, and she would run as fast as she could, then he would proceed to hunt her down and beat her even more. He felt deep pleasure on torturing her. Not just because she used to love him, or because she was vulnerable in front of him, but because she was a Royal Princess who grew up with everything.

It was a power play.

A Marquis torturing a Royal Princess to his heart content, and his heart was never content.

During those two and a half years, Winona would pray for the tale of the Devil who kidnaps woman in need to be true. She didn't care if it would be dangerous, she believed that the devil from the tales wouldn't be worse than the devil she was married to. Thus, she prayed.

Every night, Winona prayed. She prayed when she was being beaten, when she was being abused, when she was having her bloody wounds taken care of, when she was alone in her bath, when she was looking at the window. The Marchioness prayed for that to end. Prayed to be saved.

She was tired. Tired of being alone and of going through all that shit. More than anything, she missed her mother, and she cursed herself for being stupid enough to fall for the devil that was now destroying her. And as night fell, even though fear of what was going to come consume her, she had hopes that the Devil of the legends would come for her.

And he did. It may have taken him two years and a half, but he came as he always did. He came to save her right when she most needed, when Garrett was in one more of his torture sections with the thick leather belt he loved so damn much.

He popped up in their room as a force to be reckoned with, engulfing everything in a thick layer of darkness, scaring the shit out of the Marquis who was pining his wife down on the messy mattress. "Take your hands off the Lady right on this instant, if you don't wish for losing them both, pink cockroach!" The voice was menacing, deep, ancient, and raspy.

Winona's eyes watered immediately when she saw the blood-red eyes glowing dangerously in the dark. Eyes that she recognized from the tales about the Devil she begged to save her. She couldn't see much with a swollen eye after getting punched by her husband, but she was sure he was tall, muscled build, with pale skin, and raven black hair. At least that's how he was described in all of the stories she heard.

"Devil!" Garrett screamed as he stared at the being standing right in front of them, terrified to his bones. "You're the Devil!"

A glimpse of white slightly sharp teeth glowed in the middle of the shadows, as the being grinned, "I do go by that, yes. You humans tend to call everything you don't know a devil, so, be free to call me that. It's not like I care," the red spheres meet Winona's eyes, and they were surprisingly gentle to her. "I came for you."

"She is my wife! Don't… don't you dare to take my possession away from me, you Devil. You've stolen many women from our lands, I ain't letting you steal her from me. Her Royal blood is mine to take, not yours!" Garrett yelled, not really understanding the position he was in.

And as the powerful being stepped closer to him, the Marquis shivered, "You are a coward just like the others. It's a pity to dirty my hands with your blood, but you crossed the line, human. I'll be taking you to an only-way trip to my mother!" His tone was stone cold, but Winona found it strangely warm. "But first, I'll be taking her to safety, far away from a monster such as yourself, human!"

Just as fast as he came, he went to Winona, and her mad husband was too stunned to speak, too scared to move. When the being passed in front of him, he knew. Right there, he knew that was the end for him and that he was going to die at his hands, and in all his 28 years, he had never been as scared as he was in that precise moment.

"Do you allow me to carry you in my arms, Winona Zachary?" He whispered gently and waited for her answer, giving her a second and the chance to choose for herself. Respecting her boundaries. And when she nodded softly, he carried her in his arms like a wounded baby.