Ancient Rules (Part 1).

Marcus sat on the floor, drew a small box towards himself and pulled cotton and alcohol out of it. He wet a small cotton ball and put it on the girl's leg.

"Ouch, it hurts!" Amelia screamed and pulled her leg, but the man gripped her ankle tightly, continuing to work on the wound.

"It serves you well, now be patient. Say thank you to the wolves for not getting caught," Marcus was focused on a cut from the glass, blotting the edges of the wound and erasing dried blood, "What have you been doing for eight years to not understand such obvious things? In some matters you act like an adult, in others, you are the same little child. I will have to reprimand Polina for your poor upbringing."

"Do not drag Polina in here! She has nothing to do with it! I myself... ah, it hurts!"

Marcus leaned over and blew on the wound, stroked the skin around, "Is that better? I tried to heal the cut with my energy, but your body does not respond to this. Don't worry, it will be okey till the wedding day," the man with a sly grin looked at the girl, and again returned to what he was doing.

"Wh-what?"

"It's just an expression like that. Never mind."

Amelia watched as he took a clean piece of cotton wool, dipped it in alcohol and began to process small cuts on the other leg. The room was quiet, somewhere on the wall a second hand of the clock was clicking, the sounds of rustling forest branches were heard from the window sometimes. The smell of medical alcohol mixed with the smell of whiskey and cigarettes, which came in a light trail from the man.

How much did he smoke and how much did he drink while she was unconscious? Judging by the number of cigarette butts on the floor and an empty bottle - not a few.

"Not cold?"

"No, I'm fine," the girl's voice was still a little hoarse, and the autumn coolness in the room caused slight goosebumps. But it's better than closing the window and plunging into the silence of the room, where his breath could be heard.

The girl focused on the monotonous rhythm of the wall clock so that her fantasies would not reach the man, ready to flare up at any second.

"Give me your hands," Marcus held out his hand in anticipation, Amelia's fingers gripped the hem of her skirt as if holding on to a lifebuoy in a raging sea. She was sure that her nails even turned white with tension, but this was not visible in the twilight.

The girl let go of the fabric, on which the wrinkled lines remained, and hesitantly held out her hand in response.

"Sorry for what had happened. I try to restrain my emotions, but sometimes it doesn't work out," Marcus said quietly, his voice was calm and even. "Everything you did was very dangerous, Amelia."

"I will not make excuses for running away and doing what I did, it was my decision. True or not, time will tell, but sorry for that conversation."

"What conversation?" Marcus rubbed one girl's palm and picked up the second one.

"At the cemetery."

He finally looked up and looked at Amelia. Moonlight was playing through the man's hair, but a shadow covered his face, and the girl could not understand what emotions were on it.

"I regret that I blamed you then for the death of my family. I regretted these words every day, from the very first moment I said them. After mom and dad, you were the closest person to me, I had no right to say that."

"Everything is all right."

"Marcus, I'm serious! Knowing what you have to deal with every day, I now feel completely worthless!"

"Shhh, calm down, my girl. Don't worry, everything is fine. You're starting to pity me again, don't do that," the man raised his hand and stroked Amelia's cheek, "First, I'm grown up enough not to be offended by the little girl who lost her parents. Secondly, there was truth in your words. I am doomed to the fact that people who I treasure perish next to me, and I knew about it. It was naive of me to hope for something else. If Lucia saw what I did to you, she would beat me," he breathed.

"Me, rather than you. Among the two of us, you were her favorite," the girl laughed softly and closed her eyes, allowing the man to treat the light scratches on her face.

They didn't hurt much, but Marcus still blew at them, as if she were a small child. He was so close that if she leaned forward an inch more, his lips would touch her skin. When was the last time they talked like this? Amelia had already forgotten what she felt in those moments of their incomprehensible closeness in childhood. Now she fully realized how much she missed this man in her life.

"You are an amazing man, Marcus. You were able to maintain your identity, although you shouldn't have, according to the curse."

"What do you mean? Do you mean that I am kind of defective?" the man said with a grin, but Amelia felt his tension through their spiritual connection.

"The ceremony was carried out with an error. The fact that the three of you have survived is already a miracle. Everything had to be different. The item that served as the activator was a copy of the original. If they had used the original, your identity would have been completely erased."

"How did you know that? Can you see the past?" Marcus first heard about these details.

Amelia nodded her head, her powers were not unlimited, but enough to see a lot. "According to the ancient knowledge that our family holds, the world obeys certain rules. There are guardians who keep an eye on the course of events but do not have the right to influence it. They can do this only once - when a maiden from the prophecy appears, capable of awakening a destroyer, a cleaner. Her innocent heart will point to him, but if she does not, then the power of the monster will remain asleep until the next incarnation."

Marcus frowned, adding puzzles to the big picture,

"Polina?"

"Yes. If my grandfather hadn't taken her to your house, then nothing would have happened. She would have lived under the protection of my grandmother until a certain age and then would have lived quietly further, like an ordinary person. This is the only time the Teser family could intervene, but Mark Teser chose a different path."

Amelia lowered her head and began to paddle with her hands folded on her lap, "So you were right when you blamed my family. It all started with my grandfather. If not for him, then-"

Marcus covered the girl's hands with his palms, "Mark Teser is not the only one involved in this, my father was also far from the image of a holy man, so the responsibility for this lies with both of our families. But don't you dare to take the blame for their actions, you got me?" he waited for Amelia to nod, and squeezed her fingers in his hands, warming them,

"Tell me everything you know. Your rash act did not give me the opportunity to get the necessary information from your pretty head, and I do not want to use force on you. I have done a lot of bad things in my life, Amelia, but I do not want to behave with you, as my father behaved with us. I will do everything to protect you. Do you believe me?"

"I think such questions no longer make sense, Mr. Taubert," the girl said embarrassedly, and Marcus felt the heat pouring in his chest. Her emotions and feelings were so gentle and pleasant that the man wanted to close his eyes and just enjoy the sensations.

Damn, if earlier he could still let her go, now he began to doubt that he had enough strength for this. Marcus sat on the floor and watched the moonlight caress the girl's face, while the man's face was hidden by a shadow. His darkness was drawn to her light in a desire to mingle with it.

He turned slightly, the moon drove the darkness from his face, and Amelia saw that the man's eyes had become deep blue. Always neatly styled hair now looked completely disheveled and fell with naughty locks on his forehead. Marcus folded his hands on the bed next to the girl's knees and answered with a soft smile, "Then I'm all ears, Miss Teser."