PROLOGUE
~1000 years ago~
"You know we can't stay here forever," A young female voice sounded softly. She had golden yellow hair and bright red eyes that glimmered in the sunlight.
She wore a blue dress, and sat under a cherry blossom tree, side by side with a muscular man.
"I don't know, we can't keep running forever, we'll have to settle down soon, especially now that you're with child," he said with a bold voice, staring at the clouds through his emerald green eyes.
The young female gave out a sigh, "We've been to so many kingdoms and fought battles side by side to protect our love, but still we are seen as the enemies by all, I'm starting to feel-"
"Frustrated?" The male asked, cutting her mid-speech as he turned to her. "Are you starting to feel hopeless? This beast that resides within me has caused you so much grief and despair, I would understand completely if you… Wanted to leave-"
"No!" the girl exclaimed softly, cutting him off, "we've already been through a lot together, it would all be a waste if I left you now. I'll die by your side, Griffith…" She concluded.
He smiled, and placed his left arm around her shoulder, saying in a soft voice, "I love you, Emma…"
******
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Emma said, passing her left index finger over her newborn's cheek. "She looks just like you…" Griffith replied with a soft smile.
The room they were in was lit up by numerous candlelights, placed at different corners. It was a small wooden cottage surrounded by grass and trees.
Suddenly a scent spread through the surrounding air. "Do you smell that?" Griffith asked. "I'm not the one with the nose of a thousand blood-hounds. So, no," Emma replied, still staring at her baby.
"Oh no… Not again, not now…" Griffith thought to himself with the mixed emotion of anger and fear, written all over his face.
Emma noticed the look on his face, and asked, "What's wrong? You look like something bit you…"
"Emma, whatever you do, do not leave this room. Stay as quiet as possible, I'll be back shortly…." Griffith said, then kissed his wife on the cheek.
He picked up his sword and quickly rushed outside.
*****
Light from multiple torch flames and noise from an angry crowd could be heard and seen building up from afar. Griffith quickly rushed towards the incoming rioters, clenching tightly on the handle of his sword. "You won't hurt my family, not this time…" he said, angrily.
******
"These creatures have caused us harm beyond repair, so it is time we sent them back to where they belong. To hell!!" One of the rioters yelled, and the entire crowd chanted along, raising pitchforks and torches as they marched through the forest.
"We will take his head and parade it around the kingdom of Demoria, then present it before the king as a gift," another yelled with a devilish smile, and the crowd chanted again.
As they did, a swift whisk of wind blew by, and the entire crowd stopped. The man who had yelled last was the first.
His eyes opened wide, and blood splattered out his throat. His head fell to the ground with a subtle thud, and the entire row of people behind and before him gasped, completely horrified.
"What just happened?" A woman among the crowd yelled, and another whisk of cold wind blew by, this time, slicing the woman vertically in two halves.
As her blood spread on the ground, the crowd scattered in panic. "We're being attacked, the monster has found us before we could even make it to his hiding place…" Random voices yelled, crying out for help.
Although they had scattered, the bloodshed didn't end. More heads flew off bodies, and blood splattered on surrounding trees and grasses like rain.
Griffith walked out of the shadows with his sword, held tightly in his right hand. It had been covered completely by blood, and his face was stained with traces of blood.
"You will not harm my family, not anymore…" He said angrily, slowly walking towards a terrified woman who sat on the ground, crying endlessly and begging for her life.
Her tears meant nothing to Griffith. The pain and sorrow humans had caused him and his wife were more than enough to justify his actions. He already had more than enough reason to slaughter every last human in existence, but one more was going to be added tonight.
He raised his sword, with blood lust in his eyes, and swung it at the woman without hesitation.
"STOP!"
Emma's voice sounded behind him, and his sword stopped just above the woman's forehead.
"Are you out of your mind, the poor woman is begging you and you're acting like you've turned deaf…" She reprimanded angrily.
"Emma, these humans have done nothing but made our lives miserable, they are better off being slaughtered like livestock…" Griffith said, slowly turning to Emma as the lady on the ground got up and ran for her life.
"Look at them Griffith, they are defenseless and have no hope of ever defeating you in a battle. They only do what they do because they are afraid, they have families to protect." Emma said as she watched the woman run away.
"It's funny how you say they have families to protect. What about mine? If they can kill to protect theirs, why can't I kill to protect mine?" Griffith defended.
Emma smiled and replied with a soft voice as tears fell from her eyes, "Because you're different. You're not like them, that's why I love you so much. Please, stop thi-"
Her speech was cut short as a long metal bar pierced through her chest from her back.
"Emma…" Griffith said as his sword fell from his grip. "EMMA!!" He exclaimed, running towards her. The cloaked man who had stabbed her ran into the forest, completely disappearing into the darkness.
Emma fell into Griffith's arms as blood slowly seeped through the hole in her chest. The metal bar had burst through her heart, leaving her with zero chance of survival.
"Emma, Emma, please… Please, Don't die on me… I need you…" Griffith said as tears dripped from his eyes.
Emma raised her right palm, placed it on Griffith's cheek, and smiled. "I've– never seen you– cry before," she said, struggling to breathe.
Griffith held the palm on his cheek tightly as more tears fell from his eyes, "I'm sorry, This is all my fault…" he said between short sobs.
"No… You have done nothing to cause this. I understand your frustration and your want to take it out on them. But please, do not come down to their level. Even if it takes a thousand years, I'm certain they will learn…" Emma said, blood pouring down her lips.
Griffith hugged her tightly, crying nonstop. Emma let out one last breath, asking, "As I promised, I died by your side. Are you proud of me?"
She shut her eyes and stopped breathing.
Griffith slowly placed her body on the ground as a large gust of wind blew by.
"I promise you, they will pay… They will all pay…"
CHAPTER 1
~1000 years later~
"Dude, you've been working all day, don't you wanna go out and chill a little?" A guy who was wearing a blue suit, said, walking over to Daniel's desk.
Daniel had spent all night and all day working on a new clothing design in his office. He so much wanted it to be perfect for the board meeting that would be held in a few days.
"Leave my office, Bruce, I'm busy," Daniel said with a cold tone, staring at his computer's screen.
"Oh, common man… Let's go out, and have some fun. I'm sure your mind and your body will be a lot more refreshed, and you'll be able to finish this thing you're doing here." Bruce said, then asked curiously, "What are you doing anyway?"
Daniel let out a sigh, then turned to Bruce; he stared at him for a moment, then said, "Why not? What's the point in doing so much work if you can't flaunt it in someone else's face?"
He gently turned the computer through an angle to enable Bruce to see what was on the screen.
"Wow! This is really cool." Bruce complimented, clapping his hands. "A few months ago, a woman was exhumed by archaeologists. Somehow her dress was still intact, and they claimed it was over a thousand years old. Now what I intend to do, is take that dress's design, and mix it with a little modern stuff, ya know? Give it a little pizazz." Daniel explained.
"Look at you using words like 'pzazz'. You know, this is the first time I've ever seen you so chill." Bruce said with a surprised look.
"Well, Making this… Means more than what you can imagine to me." Daniel said with a smile.
"So, are you down for some clubbing tonight?" Bruce asked, rubbing his palms together, and smiling deviously. Daniel stared at him for a moment, then said, "Alright, I'll think about it, and give you an answer at the end of the day."
The name of this company was DCI. A clothing company that was one of the biggest in the city of Demoria. It was among four other companies run by big-time businessmen that had influence all over the country. These four companies had branches all over the world and only hired the best of the best when it came to clothing design.
******
"We will mold you and shape you into the best clothing designer you can be, sign up at DCI.co to get started." A female voice advertised from a small TV screen in a dark room.
Silent sobs and sniffing could be heard from under a blanket that sat on a bed in the dark room.
Emma's makeup ran down her face as she cried endlessly, staring at her phone screen from under the blanket.
~One day ago~
Emma stood in front of her house, wearing a beautiful red dress, and red hills. She had a smile on her face that could capture anyone's soul, and turn dark clouds into rainbows.
She was seemingly waiting for someone; she had a date with Jaden, and he was supposed to come pick her up a few hours ago, but was for some reason, delaying his arrival.
Emma waited and waited outside her house until the sun came down. It was finally night, and Jaden never showed up. Emma got up from where she crouched and turned to her door.
As she did, her phone made a pinging sound. She quickly took her phone out of her bag and saw a message from Jaden.
"I'm sorry Emma, this isn't working out, I think we should take a little break. Goodbye…"
The shock on Emma's face was indescribable. She fell on her knees as tears rolled down her cheeks; her heart was shattered as everything she lived for, fell to the ground like a mountain of cards.
"Emma…" A female voice called out as the door to Emma's room swung open. "Nicole?" Emma asked, wondering who it was because her vision was a little blurry. She had always needed medicated glasses ever since she was born.
"Yeah, it's me, honey. I left my house immediately you called." Nicole replied as Emma sat up on her bed.
Nicole sat beside Emma, and asked, "What's going on?" Emma let out a squeal, as more tears fell from her eyes, "He broke up with me," she said, placing her palms over her face.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry Emma" Nicole consoled, placing her right arm across Emma's shoulder. "I'm here for you if you need me." She concluded.
******
"So, what do you say man? Wanna go out? I know some of the best clubs in town." Bruce said. He had come back to Daniel's office after the day was done, and more than ever wanted to go partying with him.
Both Daniel and Bruce had been close and inseparable friends for a very long time. They met at a railway station a few years back, and later found out they worked at the same company, since then Bruce would never leave Daniels's side.
"Sure, Bruce! What club are we heading to first?" Daniel asked. Excited, Bruce replied, "The white wings club, they have both the best drinks and the babes there are a sight to behold…"
*****
"Why don't we go out?" Nicole suggested, Emma raised her head from Nicole's shoulder and asked, "Right now?"
Nicole nodded, replying, "Yeah, let's go get some drinks and have some fun! I'm sure it'll get your mind off Jaden."
Emma let out a sigh, and nodded slowly, replying, "Okay…"
"Awesome… Let's head out, I know a club that serves the best drinks. Maybe you'll even get to meet someone you'll like over there." Nicole said with a bright smile.
"I highly doubt I'll give love another chance after this," Emma said. Nicole giggled a little, then replied, "You heartbroken people always say that, but jump into another relationship the moment you see a green flag. Heartbreak is more than normal, the hurt will die out before you know it…"
Emma was surprised at how Nicole, someone who had never had a boyfriend before, spoke like she had a lot of experience with things like this. "How would you know?" Emma asked. Nicole kept quiet for a second, then let out a laugh, "Well, you know, romantic movies and stuff."
She was right, she did watch a lot of romantic movies. In fact, she had watched all of them. Some weekends, Nicole would sit in her room all day, binge-watching episodes of a Korean drama series, crying and screaming the names of the boys that were on the TV.
"So, what club are we heading to?" Emma asked with lowered brows. Nicole let out a large smile, exposing her sparkling white teeth, "The white wings club." she said.
"But isn't that club like… Super expensive?" Emma said, wiping her ruined makeup with a small white cloth. "Don't worry about it Emma, tonight I'm going to spoil you. So, go get ready!" Nicole replied, patting Emma gently on her back.
*******
A few hours later both Emma and Nicole arrived in a taxi at the white wings club. Emma wore a short red leather dress and red heels, and Nicole wore a single-sleeved crop top and jean trousers. It was a large building with different colored lights, hanging from different corners of its exterior. Many high-class people came here to party, drink and forget their sorrows if they had any.
"I think I wanna go back home," Emma said, feeling a little nervous as she stared at everyone who stood around the building through her glasses. Nicole immediately grabbed her hand and pulled her into the building even without her complete consent.
As they got in, Nicole let go of Emma, and joined the crowd as she said through really loud music, "Let's dance Emma…"
Emma watched Nicole skeptically as she shook her body and moved around without a care in the world. The loud music was starting to disturb her eardrums, and every beat made her chest feel uneasy.
She placed her left palm on her head and groaned as a headache built up. Her vision soon became blurry, and she began staggering.
"Emma, What's up?" Nicole asked as she reached for Emma to prevent her from falling. "I don't know, guess I'm not used to so much… Noise…" Emma replied, resting her palms on Nicole's shoulder.
"Then why did you agree to come?" Nicole asked. "I told you I wanted to go back home, but clearly you were too caught up in the moment to listen." Emma defended.
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Why don't you go have a seat at the bar? I'll be with you in a second." Nicole said, then continued, "You know I won't let this die here, right? I'm going to make fun of you forever."
Emma laughed a little, shook her head then walked toward the bar.
*******
"Bro, isn't this awesome, the wine here is so red and so winy?" Bruce said, lifting a glass of red wine. "It is sweet, a little too sweet. I thought rich people's drinks weren't supposed to taste good." Daniel replied, using his right index finger and thumb to shake the glass of wine he held in his hand.
"Look, look, look, someone's walking our way," Bruce said, tapping Daniel on the shoulder. "Leave me alone Bruce, I'm not interested in any of your… Babes" Daniel said, slowly turning his head towards the direction Bruce was facing.
Daniel's eyes opened wide as he saw the female that walked up and sat a small distance from them. Sweat rolled down the left side of his head as he said, "Emma?"