"We're finally here," Lillian said.
Lillian overlooked the massive pit wall that spewed lava from every pore imaginable. The blistering heat was almost unbearable. It was like entering a furnace to be baked alive.
She glanced back at the large demon group of zombie women and children that she, Jala, and Lucius had been leading. The children seemed exhausted, but Lillian knew too well they had made it through half the battle of getting through the hot red sandy desert.
Jala approached from behind Lillian. "The children seem to be fine. And the food supplies will last for our trip though the wall. All that remains is to get through the tunnel to the king's territory."
"Right…" Lillian looked up and down at the wall that spanned for miles. "You're taking them through now, right?"
"Yes. I'll be instructing them one at a time. When you're ready, I'll be at the entrance."
Lillian nodded and left Jala to start working.
Jala turned to the group behind. "
With the orders given, Jala led the large group away.
Lillian stood and watched as all the children, and the robed zombies Lucius had made passed by her. It was still a strange sight, however, seeing the demon children cling to these long-dead women. It felt as if they were guided by some innate instinct, unknown to her.
Looking into the crowd, she saw a demon girl hiding just behind one of the undead women, clinging tightly to her.
Lillian smiled, reminiscing on an old forgotten childhood memory.
********
She stared at the puffed-cheek blonde girl who stood behind her father, grasping tightly like her life depended on it. Her green eyes glistened and quickly hid behind the legs of Lillian's father within the plastered white halls of their castle.
"Lillian, this girl here is Kalika." Her father said, as pulled Kalika from behind him. He brought her face to face with his brown-haired daughter, Lillian. Introducing the two girls. "Going forward, you'll be sisters."
Kalika hid behind her newly adopted father again, tucking her head away. To her surprise, however, tears welled up in Lillian's eyes. A second later dashed away.
"I don't want another sister, I want mother!"
Kalika peeked, curiosity piquing. "Moth…er…?"
Their father could only sigh at this sight. An elderly maid stepped up to the father's side. "Shall I show her to her room, Your Highness?"
"No. I'll do it." He picked up Kalika in his arms and continued down the hall opposite Lillian's room. Kalika's eyes watched as Lillian disappeared from sight. Not long after her eyes wandered around the hall, taking in the various fanciful decorations. The colors of red, blue, and yellow drew her attention. Seeing the color purple, however, really drew her curiosity.
"What's that?" She pointed.
"That? It's a tapestry, specially colored and designed with one of the rarest colors in all this kingdom."
"Rarest color?"
"Yes. It's tough to get a color like this. Do you like it?"
Kalika vigorously nodded her head. Her father couldn't help but laugh, seeing her enthusiasm. "If you're a good girl, maybe I'll treat you to a dress with that color." the father continued down the hall until they finally came to a large round chamber.
Kalika's eyes sparkled as the room was revealed to her. The chamber was painted white and decorated with pink and red designed tapestry that hung around her room. To their far left she saw a bed decorated to match, which was ten times her size. And In the center of the round room was a huge red carpet with an assortment of toys and dolls tailored for a girl her age.
Seeing her pure excitement, her father gently brought her down. She ran to the toy and dropped to her knees, grabbing the doll.
She looked at the doll and back at her new father, unsure.
He gave her a reassuring nod, letting her play in complete confidence without fear of scrutiny. He chuckled, watching start playing with these toys, But unknown to him, Lillian watched from a distance, tightly clutching the corner of the stone hall.
********
Days would pass, and from time to time Lillian spied on this new unknown girl, she spied on Kalika as she played with her toys. remaining as quiet as possible.
However this charade of hers didn't last as one day, Kalika suddenly glanced towards the door, catching Lillian in the act.
Despite Lillian's effort to hide it was too late; Kalika scurried away, behind her bed. Lillian noticed this. She pursed her lips unsure what to say as she peeked out more abrasively. After some time, Kalika also peeked from behind the bed with innocent and fearful eyes.
The eye of this girl felt like a shot. Lillian's heart wavered and backed away with clenched hands. "You….Y-you're not my sister!"
Without any explanation, Lillian ran away again, leaving Kalika even more shaken and confused. A passing maid saw this strange interaction and cocked her head, unsure what to make of what she witnessed.
********
"I hear that you've been spying on your new sister."
"S-she's not my sister!"
Lillian stood with her eyes drawn to the ground of her father's office. Her father, Julius exhaled as he saw that his daughter was sniffling, holding back her tears.
"Don't you care about mommy? I-if you brought her, then can't you bring back mommy?" Lillian continued to sniffle.
"I went over this many times with you, Lillian. Mommies are not coming back. She's with God Cassell, in the heavens now."
"But why can't mommy be here!? Why can't she stay?" Lillian clenched the hemp of her skirt, trying to hold back her own tears.
Her father approached and knelt to her level. He placed his gentle hand on her shoulder.
As Lillian glanced up, she saw a deep sadness in her father's eyes with a frown as crescent as the moons themselves.
"I wish I could bring her back. I truly do. Change is difficult. I know. But please, Lillian. Please understand. I'm doing this for your own sake." Her father calmed himself. "We're the only family we have left. The last thing I want is for you to be all alone."
He stood back up, taking Lillian by the hand. "Just like us, Kalika also needs someone to fill the hole in her heart. And aside from the two of us, she has no family or village to go back to."
Lillian looked on, in surprise.
"And you wouldn't want us to kick someone out without a family, would you?" Julius asked.
Lillian shook her head. "No."
"Then why don't we go and meet Kalika again and apologize. Maybe she can introduce you to the new friends she made."
Julius led her out from his office as Lillian reluctantly agreed to his terms.
"Remember…" Julius said. "Always treasure your family. You never know what you have until you've lost it…"
********
Returning to the present, Lillian chuckled lightly as she watched the demon girl continue along, now clinging to the zombie woman's hand. "Back then, everything was so simple… If only things stayed that way a little longer. So much has changed since then…"
"Distracting yourself with the past again?"
"Lucius?" Lillian glanced to her side, finding Lucius standing tall with his arms crossed. He watched as the lava spewed from the wall and into the river of lava like Lillian had been doing.
She smiled, amused by his stoic-like stance. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"
Lillian gazed back at the wall, too. Her mind fogged until a single thought sharpened it. "Hey, Lucius. What were your parents like?"
"My parents?" Lucius directed a curious glance. "Now what brought this to mind?"
"Can you just answer?"
Lucius chuckled. "Fine… My father wasn't a prudent king. Every other year, a new war would break out, only for him to snuff it out. He conquered and plundered for many years, and through his actions, I acquired some of the knowledge I possess today. As for my mother, I only know as much as my father decided to share. Which wasn't much."
"And this was all before the previous heroes of prophecy killed him?" Lillian asked.
"Yes. I was still a child of fifty-seven at the time. After he died, I fought with Rakon to decide who'd be king this broken kingdom… by old traditions he should be dead."
"But you spared him…"
Lucius took a moment for himself, inhaling some of the smoldering sand and ash, and nodded his head.. "Yes… I spared him to the frustration of many of the elders that managed the council… Since we're on the topic of parents, how about yours?"
"I don't know what to say… My father… He was a blind and insecure man. And my mother was… So kind to me… But from what my father said. She was a ruthless woman behind the scene, who did whatever it took to get what she wanted. But that side of her didn't come to light until some years later, when some of her co-conspirators were discovered. Not that it matters anymore."
Lucius noticed a hint of sadness in her voice.
"You're right. So, how about we focus on the present? The sooner we get everyone moved from this wasteland, the better. And the sooner you'll see Kalika."
Lillian perked up a smile. "Yeah…" she looked upon the group and saw that the very end consisted of Kajd and the other demon men from the dying town. Kajd exchanged a quick and sour glance at them and pressed on behind everyone.
Lucius ignored this exchange and focused back on Jala, who was now directing everyone into the small space in the wall and past the river of lava.
"Have you decided where to bring the kids?" Lillian asked.
"A village called Bremshaw. It should be suitable for these kids. It's north of Oars, and the only monsters that pose a threat are some meager slimes. And from what I heard, the other demons from the savage lands trade with them often. So it should make for a fine respite until we get something more suitable for them."
Lillian glanced back at Lucius, more concerned. "Are you sure that's a good idea? With news of our deaths, won't they start rebelling again?"
"Not with Zelak."
"Zelak? Who's that?"
"He was one of my previous generals from when I first invaded your lands. Thanks to him and his blood magic, I was able to find the opportune time to attack your capital. And I guess by extension, he helped give you a new lease on life."
Lillian forced a smile. "G-gee. Y-you'll have to introduce me at some point."
"When this is all over, Yeah. And maybe we could also bring along that sister of yours, too."
"No."
Lucius laughed at her firm response.
Annoyed, Lillian turned away and puffed her cheeks, unamused. "You and your bad ideas. The last thing I want is for her to hate me more. You know how she is. Besides, I don't want to waste this opportunity. With the last nine, ten years of her memories gone, I might have a chance to make it up to her…"
"What? Do you expect her to forgive you after all those years of treating her as your toy?"
"Of course not. And I'll never forgive Kalika for what she did that day either, when she betrayed me and deceived my father." Lillian paused and gazed into the river of molten lava. "There was a saying my mother once told me before she died… She said it was okay never to forgive, and not to blind myself with the past…"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lucius asked.
"I always assumed she wanted me to focus on the present. But how can I? One day you have a small happy family and the next, your…" A faint sadness flickered in Lillian's eyes.
Her gaze trailed off to the distance, seeing that almost all of the demons' children were in the tunnel. Her gaze fixed to Jala, who was conversing with Fren, the only demon woman left from the dying town. She held the hand of her undead sister tightly.
"I want to look beyond what Kalika did. And… I'd like her to do the same with me. And if she could do that… That'll be enough for me."
"That's an idealistic expectation. But you really care that deeply for her."
"How many times do I have to tell you, Lucius? She's the only family I have left in this world. It's a blessing that she could never die. And honestly, she is the only thing in this world that I hope doesn't change. I truly hate it when everything around me just changes. It truly do."
"I think you're being unrealistic Lillian, if you think your relationship with Kalika will be the same, you're kidding yourself."
"You don't think I know that!? I killed her and tortured her for years. I… I thought-"
"You were in some sort of dream? Yeah. You told me. And now you have a better control over your instinctual desires and what to feel."
"It still feels a little strange and surreal to me, it even feels blissful just seeing…" Lillian broke into a whisper. "As humans, these feelings would've disgusted me."
"Yeah… But you're demon now…perhaps with more time you'll become a little more attuned, just like me and brother." Lucius' gaze slowly drifted back to the Jala, who now waited for the two of them. "It looks like everyone's in. Let's regroup with them."
Before Lillian could speak, Lucius had already separated.
She sighed and followed behind him, as they were both led into the deep, narrow, dark tunnel.
********
In a large valley, stocked to the brim with weapons without masters, the dark, eerie wind sang its song like a lost siren in the sea. Campsites, long made, were deserted with beverages and food still warm and unfinished.
A scream echoed in the air as a demon soldier flailed around with a box in his hand, panic overwhelming him. He fled down the valley as much as possible as he continued to mutter the last of his captain's orders to himself.
"
A white finger suddenly impaled his skull.
"There you are…" the tall white figure said.
Slowly, the demon's entire body was absorbed into the white figure, leaving behind the box the soldier carried.
"Excellent. That's an additional three hundred twenty-seven years I have." The white being suddenly shifted his form to resemble that of the demon he had killed, retaining his cold, white complexion, but also incorporating the demon's horns. He played around with the color of his own skin briefly before turning into another demon and keeping his pure white skin.
"Now I have many more faces and bodies, too." Terrocht perked up a smile. "Very good."
He then turned his attention to the box he had picked up from the ground, opening it to unveil a horn with golden symbols of their creator inscribed on it.
"Ah! I finally found you… Enocht. God Cassell has requested your assistance."