It's a story as old as time itself: Rome and Julia, Tony and Maria, Rhaegar and Lyanna. Two loving beings, forced through hostile families to fight for their love. A love so great that they would give up all their standings, belongings, and even families to stay together. Unfortunately, it's never enough. The only way to stay together is in the afterlife.
This tragedy belongs to the parents of Max. His father, Ragnar, is one of the seven guardians of the Holy Church Kingdom. His mother, Deyna, is the only princess of the strongest demon tribe: Shaythan. You already know how things will end because all tragedies follow this similar pattern. As if there is a joke hidden in between the lines and an almighty comedian repeats that joke until the audience gets it. A bad joke if you ask me, but maybe I just don't get it yet.
Anyway. This is not our story, and it is not in my interest to tell you all the details. Soon, their story is going to end anyway. But the end of their story will be the starting mark for ours.
______________________
After centuries of war, the Holy Church Kingdom offered the highest raked demon tribe a truce. The demon princess and one of the twelve heirs of the kingdom should get married as a pact. For a year, the princess was sent into the kingdom, to spend time with her future husband. Her husband, the twelfth heir, is so irrelevant that I won't even mention his name. I'll just call him bastard, for he truly is one. He's the youngest of the twelve and was only chosen because the whole marriage was fake.
The Holy Church Kingdom is planning to massacre the princess, alongside her tribe, on the day of her wedding. There were only a few people informed about this plot: the king, his twelve heirs, and the seven guardians (the most powerful force of the kingdom).
Understandable why the youngest heir wasn't interested in spending time with his almost dead fiance. Instead, he ordered one of the seven guardians, Ragnar, to look after her most of the time. I'll skip the flowers, rainbow, and other sweet parts, and get straight to the point. Ragnar and Deyna fell in love with each other. It's was not unfounded love or just lust. It's the kind of love people search for their whole lives, with the slim chance of finding it. It's a kind of love that can not be described, only felt—a bond, stronger and tighter than the force of two atoms. And, eventually, even stronger than Ragnars belief in god.
The kingdom was big in numbers and force. Ragnar knew it the best, for he was part of this power. This made him drown in despair until he gave up on finding a way to stay together with Deyna. He planned to fight and die alongside her on the day of her wedding. He stayed quiet to save Deyna from the despair he felt himself—Quiet until the third month of Deynas visit.
She was pregnant. Ragnar could live with it to spend his afterlife in eternity with Deyna. Even if their afterlife was spent in hell, he was still fine with it. But his unborn one? Ragnar and Deyna have already lived for many years, but his unborn didn't have the chance to see life. With the child in his mind, the power inside him grew. And with that power, also his boldness and confidence to face the whole Holy Church Kingdom.
Astonished, Deyna couldn't believe her ears when Ragnar suggested running away together. He loved her, he loved the child, and this was the perfect situation for him. They could run away, and the reason would be their baby and love for each other instead of the massacre of her whole nation. If he'd told her the truth...
Don't think ill of Ragnar, for you were never in his shoes. He loved her. He loved her so much that the slightest possibility of losing Deyna forced him to do things nobody would be proud of; even if it meant sacrificing whole nations.
They decided to escape in one week's time. Waiting any longer would be too risky, as her belly was growing day by day. And with a missing princess, the tribe would be on alert, making a massacre even harder.
What happened to the tribe, the church, and the planned massacre? That doesn't matter right now. The only thing that matters is that the escape of Deyna and Ragnar failed on all possible dimensions. The demon tribe started a war with the Holy Church Kingdom, blaming them for the disappearance of their princess, while Ragnar and Deyna were caught after the sixth month of their escape.
______________________
Ragnar and Deyna rode like demons, with little sleep, food, and rest. Were both in their normal conditions, this escape would've been a save shot. But with a pregnant Deyna and a Max who decided to come into life at the worst possible moment, things got complicated. Three of the seven guardians caught up and stopped them in their track.
Their dialogue was as cliche, as a dialogue between old friends can be:
"Ragnar, why?! How could you deceive the one and only father in heaven?"
"He got corrupted by the evil genitals of that devil! It was the right choice to end that bloodline for good. The right choice, but implemented poorly."
"Silence, both! We've got a mission. Focus on it. His why does not matter. There were no, there are no, and there will never be any means, which justify the betrayal of our holy father. Kill them both, but don't harm her belly. I want to tear that thing out alive. We will have enough fun for the next 12 years with that demon bastard. That's how Ragnar will repent for his sins, even in his afterlife. "