8 SEVEN

ALANNA

No one seems to be bothered about the fact that Zeron has just stormed out of the throne room. Obviously, to them it is normal. If I was having second thoughts about my marriage with Zeron, my mind has been fully made up at the moment and I'm not going to give up on him. He must be suffering and hurting so badly. How does he even cope with all the internal struggle? "Go to him" the queen mother says from beside me and I flinch because I'd not noticed when she'd moved to my side. Her cold gaze meets mine and it is almost as if she expects me to be terrified enough to refuse. So I bow slightly before her and make my way towards the direction my husband had taken. Just as I make it past the first hallway, I notice the dark blood stains on the floor. When I look up, I realize that it forms a trail that leads towards Zeron's chamber. A gasp leaves my lips and I instantly hike up my dress and begin to hurry towards his chamber as much as my wedding dress can allow. The closer I get to my destination, the bigger the blood stains. My heart starts to thud madly in my chest at the thought of him hurting himself. I finally halt in front of the half closed double doors of Zeron's chamber. Then, I take a deep breath and raise my fist to knock on the door. After knocking for the third time I still don't get a response, so I decide to go in anyway. The room is really dark; that's the first thing I notice. But there's a strangeness to this darkness. It feels like it has a life of its own and as it wraps itself around me, fear slowly creeps into my heart. I clench my fist, trying to steady my erratic breathing but it turns out that I'm doing a terrible job at it. "Z-Zeron?" I whisper and the room becomes even colder. "Are you okay?" I ask but his response comes in form of a painful sounding series of coughs. "Where are you?" I ask as I struggle to follow the sounds of his coughs to get to him. "What are you doing here?" He suddenly growls and I stiffen, my blood running cold. "I-I needed to know if you're okay" I say when I notice the dark figure in the corner of the room, rising to his feet. "I can smell your fear" he growls. He sounds so angry and menacing, it's taking most of my will power to not hightail it out of his room.

"I'm sorry. It's just- I have never been fond of the dark even while I was a kid" I say, keeping my gaze on the dark figure that is most likely my husband. He moves to sit on the bed with his hand clutching his chest. "You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?" He asks, suddenly sounding like he is few minutes away from keeling over. "No, I'm not. Will you please take the shadows away? I want to see you" I say but he doesn't respond. A heavy tension rises between us for a moment. But then, he surprises me by removing the darkness from the room. I gasp when lights instantly flood the whole place. Zeron is now sitting on the floor at the extreme end of the bed and he seems to be trembling. I quietly step closer to him. Only now do I realize that he's shivering a lot more than I thought. His eyes are closed and his knees are drawn to his chest, his breathing coming out in short, strained pants. He's no longer wearing his cape and his crown. Several buttons of his black shirt are undone and his feet are bare. His palm is covered with blood, probably from coughing so hard and his muscles are tense from the pain. I quickly grab a blanket and hurry to his side. I kneel in front of him and wrap the blanket around him, making sure that it's warming him up. My fingers accidentally graze his cold cheek and I nearly flinch because of how much he's freezing. "You should go" he whispers and I sigh. "Why do you want to get rid of me so quickly? I'm your wife now, remember?" I say and he turns away from me, the blanket still wrapped around his body. "I only married you because my mother asked me to" he says and I lower my gaze, trying not to feel hurt about what he's just said. "That doesn't matter. I'm married to you, not her" I say and rise to my feet to grab a damp clothe. When I return to his side, I stare at his bloodied palm for a moment, hoping that he wouldn't lash out at me for touching his hand. His eyes suddenly pop open and I'm startled by the blazing crimson of his eyes. He stares at me for a moment, his emotions shuttered. I gently take his hand and begin to wipe off the blood from it. His skin is so pale.

"Why are you not afraid?" He asks and I look up to meet his crimson gaze. "To be honest, I really don't know" I say and he looks away. "Save yourself the misery, Alanna. Stay away from me. I am a monster and monsters don't love people. They ruin them. They rip them apart and laugh at the pain of their victims. You seem like an innocent soul, Alanna and as much as I enjoy destroying people, I don't want to destroy your innocent soul. I can't give you whatever it is that you want, human. I am dangerous" he says and I blink, realizing what has been happening all along. Apparently, Zeron had been struggling to shut out this part of him all along. I know I should be petrified and all but the reverse is the case. I can't help but admire his gorgeous features. Yeah, I know I'm being stupid but I can't help it. He suddenly grabs my throat, his facial expression hardening. I let out a strangled gasp as he tightens his grip on my neck.

"You see, monsters are not beautiful. They make you see what they want you to see" he drawls and without hesitance, he throws me across the room. I bite my lip hard enough to make it bleed as pain invades my skull. I scramble to my feet, tasting blood in my mouth. "Stop pushing me away!" I cry and he narrows his eyes, jaw clenched. Shadows cleave to his figure, dancing around him darkly. Without saying a word, he storms out of his room and I crumble to the ground. Tears fill my eyes, my heart feeling like it's going to break apart. I'm officially married to a demon. This is harder than I thought. I rise to my feet and hurry to my room to have some privacy. Slowly, I lock the door and lower myself to the ground, wincing when I touch the bruise forming around my neck. He'd nearly killed me. He's really a monster. But still, I don't blame him. He just couldn't control himself. "You look so miserable" I look up to see the red head in my bedroom again. "I don't want to go anywhere with you. So, leave me alone" I say and he smirks. "I don't really care about your opinion" With that, he grabs my arm and drags me into some kind of portal. Before I can escape, the room vanishes and I sink into oblivion.

...

ZERON

"You didn't hurt her, did you?" Mum asks as I storm towards the garden, taking my shadows with me. "Last time I checked, you don't give a damn about the human. Why would you start now?" I respond without turning to look at her. "Zeron, I don't like her either but she's your only hope" mum comments and I clench my fist as I quicken my pace. "You're wrong. I lost hope several decades ago" I spit and push the door open. The guards immediately bow to me but I ignore them and make my way to the garden, the flowers already withering and turning black as a result of my shadow magic. "Zeron!" I freeze when Azalea calls out to me. "What do you want?" I demand. "Why on earth did you hurt your own wife few minutes after your wedding?!" She hisses and I turn to look at her. "Do you think I care? It was just a small scratch. You know I'm capable of doing much worse" I respond and she clenches her jaw. "I can't believe you're saying this. You of all people should know how important Alanna is to you" she says and I roll my eyes. "I am a demon, Azalea. It is what I have become. The Zeron you knew is dead" I snap and tears fill her eyes.

"You keep saying that, but I know that the real you is still somewhere within you. I know you've endured so much pain. I understand, I really do. But if you decide to give up completely, then you're a coward. Alanna deserves better but she chose to get married to you. She chose to bond with you because she wanted to help you. She wanted to help a demon! Stop treating her like a bloody animal! Treat her like your treasure because that is what she is supposed to be"

I turn away from her, knowing that of a truth, Alanna is really one of a kind. She's a brave soul but I just can't help it. I am a monster. I don't love anything or anyone. I'm not one for affectionate stuff and whatnot. I can't love her if I don't even love myself. I can't care for her if I don't care about anything. I can't treat her right if all I find pleasure in is watching others suffer. My heart has gone cold. It has been that way for centuries and I doubt that Alanna is capable of bringing warmth to my heart. Suddenly, my ears begin to ring and the ground vibrates only for a few seconds. Azalea gasps, her eyes wide. "Did you hear that?" She asks and I narrow my eyes.

Magic.

Someone had used magic different from ours inside the palace. This means that whosoever it is, he/she is not an ice witch. The thought that my enemies has finally caught up with me crosses my mind. They must know about Alanna and must have come to take her. Without wasting any second, I trace the signature of the magic user and appear right in the middle of Alanna's chamber. The room looks quite normal but I can tell that something had happened in it. On the table, there's a folded piece of paper. I quickly pick it up and unfold it.

I'm sorry, I can't do this. All this is a mistake and I can't live with a demon, especially one as heartless and destructive as you are. My friend, Lochan, came to save me. Don't look for me because you won't find me.

Goodbye.

Lochan, that bastard! How did I not see this coming? I was already starting to believe that Alanna was different but I was wrong. She deceived me! With a cry of anguish, I fall to my knees, my shadows beginning to cloud the room. Those scum took her away from me! They will pay for this!