The delight in seeing something demonic was perhaps due to his nature. While humming to a melody In a pursed lips, Zaniel exited the auction building to see his lawful subordinate Nicholas, Alex, and the young girl crowding outside the black carriage. His scarlet eyes laid first on Kimberly who looked down to hold back her frightened tears while clenching to the hem of her tattered dress in front of the carriage. Why does she look that frightened? Zaniel asked himself in bewilderment.
A few minutes in advance, Nicholas who received the order from his master's crow pet came to ready the black carriage for his Lord to use in front of the slave auction. At the time when he finally arrived, Alex the golden-haired human came with a girl who had the hair akin to him but much more brighter as though it was burning. He swept his eyes across, having his expressionless face a little confused. "Who might this girl be, young master Alex?"
"It's a long story," Alex sighed, raising his hand to rub his temple. "This is the girl that zaniel bought." His words were gentle to Kimberly's ears. Usually, people would call her slave but the young man didn't want to call her with such a term. Nicholas had gotten used to Zaniel's quirk and had a rather straight face after receiving the news. But the rippling curiosity didn't falter from his eyes. Nicholas choose to wait and looked aside from the entrance to see Zaniel exiting the auction hall with his scarlet gaze at them. When Nicholas notice Zaniel's white gloves had been drenched in claret from the blood. He pulled out a new set of gloves and presented it toward Zaniel who came to a stop at the black carriage with a bow.
Nicholas dare not asking his master "Who is this girl" and butt into his affair and decided to wait until the Lord would speak of that matter. Instead, he recalled the gate of the town would be close near midnight and inquired a different thing. "Where would we be going, my lord?" He paused an continued, "We should go to Wales, but the road would take us there after about three days and the town's gate would be close by now."
Zaniel glanced at the sky colored in inky and ordered. "Find the nearest inn for us to stay for the night."
"Right away." Nicholas bowed to accept his order.
"Zaniel, just what did you do?" Alex questioned as his eyes spotted the spattered of blood across his shirt and mask. He could feel his head swollen from new problems and chaotic matters that he would have to clean after his mess up in the Church.
Zaniel tossed his stained gloves to Nicholas and put on the fresh gloves. "Just cleaning the bright world from sinners who harmed my little puppy."
Alex parted his mouth but nothing could come out as judging by his word he had killed the slave merchants and instead shook his head. On one hand, he supports the idea of ending the life of that damned being but couldn't agree to his method of just killing people as he loved. Yet if Turisk is still alive who knows how many lives would be destroyed as a slave. He didn't find it appropriate for himself to scold Ian when deep in his heart he agreed to his choice and gave the matter a rest.
At that moment he suddenly recalled. The Church one had an old saying that every time Zaniel walked out of his house, at least a life would depart from the world. As he was the lord of Wales and the person with a strong background, not even the Church could dare to do anything that would annoy him. Alex didn't have any other thing to warn and accepted his fate of being locked in his office cleaning the after matters here and there. He spoke with a resigned voice, "Before you take in the girl, you should stop your bad habit."
"Bad habit? I don't see that I have any." Zaniel walked toward the carriage door innocently.
"You do. Your habit of ending the lives of people who irritate you. What's this time that irate you? The whip wound-" Alex felt exasperated after today's ordeal, now for sure whip or whip wounds are forbidden to ever enter Zaniel's sight. Or else who knows what he would do next time?!
"I don't. Also, I have another reason for doing this. Can't you see? he hurt my puppy." Zaniel protested as he lightly pointed the diagonal wound on Kimberly's petite back.
Alex shifted his eyes to Kimberly's slender back that Zaniel sprinted and squinted his eyes in antipathy. He knew that Kimberly was whipped but didn't expect it to be a very large wound. Just by thinking a girl had to suffer from such a beating made him winced. "How distasteful. Whipping a frail girl with such a large wound."
"They whipped my belonging." Zaniel corrected and Kimberly heard him giving another question. "Puppy, does it hurt?" Zaniel's words were responded with a shook from Kimberly's head in haste. Gwen warned her to be obedient and that was what she did.
Nicholas had finished attending the master and stood next to the coachman to determine which inn they would stay tonight. Zaniel was about to enter the black carriage after asking whether the wound hurts in a step but saw his new pet didn't move a single step. He turned his face, questioning, "What are you doing, puppy?"
Hearing his question, Alex rolled his eyes in shock and almost faint from his insensitiveness. Seeing the girl's denying the pain in her back, he suspected her to fear Zaniel and chose not to say the truth. But he couldn't understand how Zaniel could accept her words easily even though the wound looked very painful. He sighed at Zaniel's understanding of human's pain toleration and became the one to explain. "There's no way such a wound wouldn't hurt! In any case, we should treat her wound first and bring a doctor to see her wound." Being the only human there, he was the only person who could come up with a humanely idea and worry.
Zaniel heard his information and rejected, "There isn't a need for that."
Alex's strong brows twitched, his eyes accusing Ian of his lack of kindness as he raged. "What do you mean "there isn't a need to do that"? I don't expect you to know pain but wound that deep hurt a great deal, alright!"
Zaniel bruced off the little friend's shouting and turned his head. "Puppy, come here. " He ordered with a wave of a hand. Kimberly heard his airy deep voice which made her shoulder lifted up to protect her body but at the same time, it made her wound more visible to Zaniel's eyes, making him ticking his jaw in dislike.
Kimberly was scared that Zaniel would scream or hit her if she didn't abide by his words. Hesitantly while still gripping on the hem of her dress she walked over to the place that Zaniel ordered.
Zaniel lifted his left hand and placed it over her shoulder. Kimberly saw him raising his hand and thought that he would hit her for a mistake that she perhaps had done. Shutting to her eyes, the girl braced herself from the incoming pain on her cheek.
However, unlike the pain she thought she would have to endure a bright light formed from bellow her feet, glossing all her pain with its rays. Shining the red color of her into an orange sunset, in a blink, the throbbing pain on her body lessened before eventually disappearing.
As the light faded the color on Kimberlye's blue eyes glowed in wonder. Her wounds and bruises majestically healed in a few seconds, leaving no single scar on her delicate skin. She looked around, feeling her own skin to make sure her wounds disappearing wasn't only her hopeful wish and dream. Her wound had really disappeared because of healing magic. The magic that often used by a skilled sorcerer. She was happy but notice Zaniel's staring at her and felt fear diffusing again on her heart.
Alex who had seen Zaniel's healing magic still could never get tired from watching the process. Although healing magic could be used by even a newbie sorcerer, there was no one who could do it as fast and as better as Ian.
"You can come in now, puppy." Zaniel beckoned her softly to the carriage which the l girl responded by trotting to the carriage. Although the man was big and seemed frightening like a looming predator, he was kind enough to heal her wound which comforted her nervous heart. She was always used to beatings that even if someone spares her hard bread she would never forget the gratitude for that person for life. Now to her eyes, Zaniel's kindness had soared high to heavens.
Her wound on her back was still fresh a few minutes after when she had just been bought by Zaniel. Descending down the stage to the backstage, she couldn't help but wonder around her mind nervously about the man who bought her. His build was larger than her uncle and the people she ever met, he was even stronger than the head chief of the village who worked as a miner. If the man used his arm to beat her, Kimberly feared that the injury wouldn't pass on with only a bruise.
She felt even frightened to enter the carriage and stood while clenching the hem of her ragged dress. Her mind could only thing that the beautiful carriage in front of her eyes would soon become her last ride in her short life. But when she knew how kind this person seemed, she let her guard down a little and obediently trotted to the carriage.
〰️〰️〰️〰️〰️
He told her to enter the carriage but now that she looked at the height of the carriage and the ground was high. Her body was small and it was hard for her to ascend the high carriage without any stool. She reached out her hand to see whether she could climb the carriage but then saw how luxurious the interior of the carriage and looked down at her dirty dress. If she come up like this, wouldn't she dirty the red carpet of the carriage? Zaniel who noticed it was quick to take her to his arm and carried her into the carriage. Her hands didn't know where to put on as she noticed how expensive-looking the fabric to his clothing look and in the end stayed back on the hem of her dress. Placing the girl carefully next to him like a fragile glass, Zaniel took a seat beside her.
The carriage immediately took off after Zaniel and Kimberly entered to the inn. Meanwhile, Alex was inspecting the girl with his eyes which made her even more nervous and small. Like a cowering little mouse, her behavior had a waft of adorableness yet frail. It was as if raising an octave of his voice now would make her faint from fear.
She looked like an adult but she was small, innocent, and didn't seem to have any wings on her back, horns, sharp tampered ears, or any strangeness that could pique the interest of Zaniel who was well known for his peculiar taste in picking up his subordinates and aides. If Zaniel didn't plan to make the girl work under him, then why would he buy her? It doesn't seem that he bought in a whim and coincidently chose to buy her. Even though Zaniel was a blood-loving person, he wasn't someone who would use the girl for anything disgusting.
It made him wonder why he would bid four thousand gold coins on the girl, which in the end was cut into a thousand and two lives had been lost after wounding the unknown girl. She didn't seem any special other than the fact her hair was burning red like fire and her eyes were clear azure blue like the surface of the sea.
Noticing his stares only making the girl pressured, Alex smiled gently to ease her and shifted his eyes to Zaniel to whisper. "So? Would mind telling me what's going on, my lord?" His legs subconsciously tapped the floor in a tapping rhythm.
"Telling you about what?" Zaniel saw Kimberly gluing her eyes sneakily on the street that was still merry in the night. Orange-colored lanterns coloring the streets to light the dark street and people exchanging flower crowns on their heads with delightful face.
"The girl." Alex pointed by lifting his chin so the girl wouldn't notice. "You are not the type of person who would take in a poor girl only because she was sold, would you?"
"Why do you have to know anyway?" Zaniel replied to him with eyes still staying on the girl who was fascinated by whatever she saw on the night street.
"The church would sooner or later pressure me to have an answer for this if you could consult with me now, I could help you out." Alex's persuasion was good enough after years and years of hard work in talking to the unreachable man.
His eyes trailed away to the little girl beside him to ask. "Who made that bracelet, puppy?"
Kimberly heard him talking and looked over her back to only look down again on the small palms on her laps. Questions filled her head when she heard Zaniel asking the maker of her bracelet. Did he found out her ability to see things that couldn't be seen by naked eyes?
Or was he only giving a question?
"The sister in the church gave me." Kimberly heard the man hummed in response. "The church again. With a power to make such a strong amulet, that woman must be the white witches." he commented sourly, blatantly showing his dislike.
"What are you talking about?" Alex couldn't understand their line of conversation and chided.
"This girl seems to be holding a power different from normal humans." Zaniel leaned crossed one leg on top of each other to explain Alex.
"What do you mean?" To his complex words, Alex crossed his arms.
"She could see ghosts, faeries, and the things that humans can't see. The ones being called "guardian angel" by the mystical being, or even the church might called her angel.. This bracelet which she used is controlling down her power at the moment and shielded her from the other beings." Zaniel nudged his head toward the girl and kindly asked. "Am I right, puppy?"
Alex saw the girl nodding in response with a little hesitation on her face.
Kimberly couldn't understand how Zaniel found out about her eyes' power but couldn't ask as it wasn't her position to do so. Understanding it obediently, the girl could only detach herself back to the night street before gazing the night sky which only has a few handfuls of stars.
"Then... you took her in because of that reason?" Alex further inquired.
"No." Zaniel quickly replied and glanced over the beautiful red hair that the girl had and thought of how silky her hair look before leaning his back fully on the cushioned seat. "There's another reason for me to take her in. A decisive one. But it would be best for you not to concern yourself of this matter. I have told you what you need to know. For what kind of report you would relay to the church, I will be leaving it to your liking."
'A reason the Church must not know about'
"Hah." Alex sighed. He had known Zaniel since he was still a baby. At that time, he didn't notice it until he turned ten when he finally realized Ian's face had never gotten older in a bit. After another few years, he learned that Zaniel wasn't a normal person, not that he was a normal sorcerer, but a being that could never die or get old. A being that no one had never encounter before.
Out of curiosity, he asked his parents of Zaniel's real identity, but they didn't reply to him and forcefully steered their conversation away from it. The church was the same, they never say what being Zaniel was and only labeled him as an undying notorious being.
He also guessed that Zaniel was over eight hundred years old. Perhaps even a thousand at most because the Wales Land had always been governed by him alone for many generations. In the painting hall which was usually used to hang the portrait of the previous lords of the land all had the same face with only different clothing. It was evident that Zaniel had always looked the same without a single change to his face.
Alex removed his glance from Kimberly and pitied her for having to deal with Zaniel's mood swings. The girl was young, he couldn't see and doubt that Zaniel would have any evil intention to the girl after seeing how angry he was to the people who whipped and made her cry. But what the man in front of him is intended to do is something that he has to keep an eye on in the near future.
Zaniel looked over the moon but moved away after he heard Alex knocking the roof of the carriage. The coachman picked up the thudding sound on the roof and pulled the reign of the horse to halt its legs from advancing a single step.
"I still have things to do near here. I will be parting ways with you here now. " he said which returned with a nod by Zaniel to see him exiting the carriage.
Being left with only both of them together in a narrowed space, Kimberly looked across the seat which was empty and kept on thinking whether she should scatter away to the empty seat or continue to silently sit next to him.
"Can you take the bracelet off?" Propping his chin on the armrest beside him he glanced down at the red bracelet.
Kimberly nodded silently without an answer. Zaniel had noticed the girl being overly scared of him even though he had done and would never do any harm to her. Curiously he asked. "Are you scared of me?"
His self-conscious words brought giddiness to Kimberly . She didn't know what to say. Should she confessed to him, yes she was afraid that he would use her as a sacrifice?
Or should she lie? But surely lying wouldn't do anything good. But saying the truth which wasn't pleasing to his ears could also angered him which she didn't want to happen.