"Amidst the Fire"

It was already midnight. Ivory's siblings were asleep inside their room, while she couldn't, as she kept thinking about what happened the other day. Since her bed was the nearest to the window, she sat up and stared at the bright moon.

'How can I convince Sigmund to return?' she thought, feeling hopeless. 'Am I going to stay this weak in my whole life?'

Although her fever had gone down, she still felt a slight pain in her head and felt groggy. She turned her head to the right when she heard a sound. It was her sister Katie, who got up from her bed, which was positioned at the other side of the room.

"Where are you going?" Ivory asked.

"I'm… I'm going to pee," Katie replied nervously as she lit the candle. "Why are you awake though? Aren't you sick? You should be sleeping."

"Thank you, but I can't sleep…" Ivory smiled as she thought Katie became concerned about her. She then noticed that her sister hadn't moved an inch, "I thought you're going to pee?"

"Well... I was about to, but you surprised me. Go on, sleep," she took the candlestick holder with her and stepped out of the room.

Feeling thirsty, Ivory also got up from her bed. She lit her candle with a match and carried the candlestick holder. With careful steps, as she tried not to wake up her siblings, she walked towards the door and pushed it gently. She slowly dragged her feet to the kitchen and placed the candle near the barrel full of clean water found at the left side of the kitchen. She was filling the empty cup she had taken from the wooden counter when a sudden movement behind startled her.

"Katie??" she saw her younger sister in her outdoor clothes with her large duffle bag. "Where are you going at this hour?" she asked, surprised.

Katie raised her eyebrow, "It's none of your business," she answered rudely.

She thought they were doing okay awhile ago in their room, but what's with the sudden change of mood? "But it's midnight... And I'm concerned-"

"Stop acting as if you're concerned!" Katie glared at her, as if telling her to get lost, "I'm sick of you and everyone in this house! Because of your existence, I have always been unimportant. Even if I go, I'll never have their favor anyway! I wish you were never my sister!"

With hastened steps, Katie walked towards the main door and ran away.

"Katie!!! Come back!!!" she yelled, and the commotion woke up their parents.

Soon after, the wooden door behind Ivory opened, "Ivory! What happened?"

"Father, I'm sorry!!!" Ivory looked panicky at her parents. "Katie and I fought again and she ran away from home!!!"

"Calm down for now, Ivory," Anne, who was also shocked with what happened, embraced her daughter. "We'll look for her and talk to her."

"Mother… I'll go, too-" she was about to walk with them, but she staggered as she felt a little dizzy.

Her mother assisted her to the wooden chair, "Please stay here and look after your siblings. Your father and I will go after her."

Ivory's parents left the house to go after Katie, while Ivory, who was sitting and staring at the door, felt helpless once more. She loved her siblings very dearly, and her heart ached at the thought of Katie leaving because of her.

She wondered if her life was cursed, or she was just unfortunate that day. She struggled to get up as she felt sick again. She took the candlestick holder, planning to return to her room but all of a sudden, she felt lightheaded and her body felt numb. She crashed to the floor, and the lit candle rolled over to the sacks of acorn. She tried crawling across the floor, reaching for it, but because she had little strength to move her whole body, she couldn't.

Soon after, the fire from the candle spread to the sacks and eventually formed a big fire at the corner of the house. Ivory widened her eyes in shock as she saw the fire starting to grow in their small house. She then realized that her two younger siblings were still sleeping inside the bedroom!

"Flynn!! Gracie!!" she called over and over, but there was no response. She attempted to stand up but since the fire had spread, it had already weakened the ceiling. A loud crash was heard as a big, wooden beam dropped and blocked the way to their bedroom.

Ivory tumbled on the floor and with hopelessness consuming her, she cried in despair as she prayed for a miracle to Goddess Destinia and for her young siblings to be safe.

Suddenly, someone slammed the door with a bang, "Stupid woman!!" and a familiar voice was heard. She glanced to her right and saw a silhouette of a man running amidst the smoke.

She was surprised to see who it was.

It was Sigmund.

The Servant approached his Master quickly, "Let's get out of here-"

Attempting to lift her up, Ivory shoved his hands away. "No!! Gracie and Flynn are still in the bedroom!!"

"Do you want to be burned alive?! Come on-"

She yelled as her tears fell down, pointing at the wooden door, "Please save them!"

"I can't!! The door's been blocked by a large beam!!"

"Then use magic!!" she yelled, "Aren't you a Servant?!"

"I am, but I'm only a human with fangs at this moment!! We haven't done a Contract Ritual yet, so I can't grant your request!"

A Contract Ritual is different for each Servant, depending on its personality and identity. The source of a Master's mana is through the birthmark of Destinia. In an ideal situation, after the summoning, the Servant and the Master should perform the Contract Ritual immediately. The mana that was transferred onto the summoning circle to materialize the Servant would be returned to the Master and after that ritual, they would be sharing mana for as long as the Master lived.

"Then let's do it now!!" Ivory pleaded as she tugged his shirt. She coughed before speaking, "Please, Sigmund!! Please help me!! I don't want my siblings to die because of me!!"

Sigmund sighed. He couldn't believe he'd do the Contract Ritual under a burning house, but since it was an emergency situation, he had to act and think fast. He grabbed his Master's arm.

"You better listen to me, you dimwit," and looked straight into her watery eyes. "I will only do the Contract Ritual if you promise me three things."

"I promise!! I will do anything for the sake of my siblings!!"

"Good," the reflection of the blaze could be seen on his eyes "First, do not mingle and be close with other Servants. Second, don't allow anyone to serve you, except me. And third… Your body and blood will only be mine. No one else should be allowed to drink the blood flowing through your veins except for me."

Ivory listened intently despite the weird conditions, but the last part made her even more confused.

"What do you say, woman? Will you do the Contract Ritual with me or..."

The Vampire sounded so terrifying as he recited the promises. The Master was still confused, but seeing the worsening condition of the house on fire, she finally nodded.

"I agree with all your terms, so what do you want me to do now??"

A smile formed on his lips. Sigmund was very pleased that she agreed with his conditions, which were not agreed upon by his Master in the past. He pushed her body down on the floor and made sure that Ivory was lying on her back.

Ivory was startled when his Servant pushed her down the hot floor and when Sigmund tried to pull up her dress, she yelled at him, "What are you doing?!"

"The f*ck you think I'm doing? I'll be doing the Contract Ritual now!!"

"Are you a pervert?! Why are you pulling up my dress?!" she held his wrists to stop him from what he was doing.

"Why are so stupid?! Why will I take an interest in you in the middle of a fire? I need your Birthmark of Destinia to do the Contract Ritual, so don't move!! We don't have much time!!"

Ivory was puzzled, "But… how did you know that it's there-" She got cut off when he finally managed to pull up her skirt, exposing her legs and thigh.

"Shut the hell up and let me concentrate."

Sigmund spread her legs apart and as soon as he gazed at Ivory's birthmark, he could feel the power hidden within it. Without thinking much, his attraction to his Master's mana made him caress her inner thigh.