‡ Promise 29: Story Of Rose ‡

-As told by Lily-

e was horrified and confused, when I told Keith the truth about how I feel. I'm normally forward, when I'm face to face with a person I have feelings for, and since Keith's a pretty forward guy, I didn't think my honesty would do him any harm. And maybe it hasn't, but I'm pretty sure a creature like him doesn't become frighten very often. And just like his polite self, Keith calmly and gently let me down, making sure I understood that "us" wasn't a possible option.
During the dinner party, I was sure that Keith was there just to mess with my head. That he was getting some kind of thrill from making my life uncomfortable. And I resented him for playing this demon game. But I had a false understanding that this was normal of demons, that this cruel game may not seem so bad to someone like him, a person who can murder without any conscience or care. And as I cried inside, thinking that befriending a demon was a bad mistake and that Keith would always be a cold hearted bastard, I overhear my parents chatting in their bedroom.
I then realized that Keith cares for me more than I thought. I know it couldn't have been easy for him to sit through that horrible dinner and to be around the humans he's always tried to avoid. If he wasn't doing it for the sake of making me miserable, he was doing it for the sake of making things better for me, by putting my parents mind at ease. And at that point, as I sat in my bed that night, I felt my heart melt a little for him. But I had to be sure, I had to ask him if he truly knew of my parents suspicions and was that night an effort to hang onto our friendship.
And now, even though I know my feelings will never be returned by him, I still find myself wondering. At first, I wanted to know the story of Rose, out of curiosity. But now, I want to know the story, to find some kind of reason why he doesn't want to open his heart to me. I know, it seems like I'm a sick little puppy now. And I hate this. But, I can't seem to help it. I've always had a crush on Keith, since reading his first two books, years ago. Today, it's something more, now that I've gotten to know the man, beyond the titles and the demon. I've decided to do something I may regret, this weekend.
"Hmm." frowns Faldan, as I stand before him in the woods, "We could get in trouble, if my cousin finds out." "I know," I said, nervously tapping one foot, "But, I want to know about Rose." "And you should." nods Faldan, in deep thought. Both Keith and Dore are in their dark kingdom tonight and I am happy that Faldan is the only one guarding the gate. But now I was asking him to leave his post and fly me to a shady bar somewhere, just to hear the story of Rose, which could get us both into serious trouble.
"You know," grins Faldan, folding his arms, "You're kind of obsessed with Keith, aren't you?" "Yes." I said in a small voice, trying not to blush. "Just as well," he sighs, "Keith's kind of obsessed with you, though he'd never admit it. Seems like a perfect match, but Keith's too polite and righteous to entertain anything." "So," I said, wanting to get back to my request, "Is that a yes or no?" "I'm suppose to be guarding." frowns Faldan, then glances towards the gate, "But I'm not that damn responsible. Let's get a drink!"
He wraps his huge wings around me, surrounding me a dark hug. "Wait," I gasp, placing my hands on his chest to push away, "What are you-" He drops his wings and we're standing in an alley, far away from home. "What's the fuss?" Faldan frowns, stepping back from me, "Did you change your mind?" "No." I said, a little confused, "I thought we were flying to the bar." "We did." he says and then grins, "Did you think I was going sprout a cape and fly you over the buildings of Metropolis?" "No." I scoff, but I really did think it would be that way.
"We demons don't travel with passengers, in that way." Faldan explains, "Unless we hate them and want to drop them to their deaths. The safest way is always this way." He draws his wings in with a grunt, flesh pulling over them. "We're going in among humans," he shrugs, to my confused looks, "I can't go in with wings. Granted, many humans will not believe they are real. But fake wings, on a pretty guy like me, will draw more men then women over. And I prefer the opposite." "Whatever." I frown, anxious to hear the story and nervous about this bar.
As I thought, the place was shady, perched on the edge of town for a reason. Faldan and I step over a drunken guy, passed out on the sidewalk, to get inside the place. Once inside, we're surrounded by smoke and loud music, and the smoke wasn't all from cigarettes. Rough faces blinked at us and quickly lost interest, when they realized we weren't police. The place was dark and grimy, my boots sticking slightly to the floor as I walked. Faldan didn't seem to care, as he sat us down at a stained table in the back. "I'll get the drinks." he wink, leaving me behind, as a drunken man stumbles to the bathroom door just a few feet away.
"This is a bad idea." I chant, covering my eyes and hoping this place would disappear, "This is a bad idea." "Okay, here you go." grins Faldan, placing a beer in front of me and carrying a shot glass and whiskey for himself. "I don't want to drink." I frown, pushing the beer further across the table. "Have a little fun." he shrugs, pouring himself and shot, "It's not Spitfire. Oh, yeah. And sorry about that night. I forgot that my brew is too much for humans. But I won't forget it, anytime soon." He absentmindedly touches the faint dark circle around his eye.
"Keith did that?" I ask, surprised. "Let's not talk about me." he says and swallows the shot, "Let's talk about Rose." "Yeah," I said, snapping out of my concern from Faldan, "Why does Keith blame himself for her death?" "Because," he says, lazily draping his arm around me, "It is his fault." "What?" I frown, doubtful. "It was a bad choice," nods Faldan, "But it's still his fault. You already know of demon-hunters and other demons who are after the blood of Rolmir. Well, this is a story that goes back to the dawn of time. But, I won't bore you with whole history of that.
"Let's skip a little further. A week before Keith met Rose, a demon-hunter attacks him, a young boy who was hardly your age. They both fought and of course Keith wins." "He kills the boy." I frown, my anger rising a little. "No," waves Faldan, to my surprised, "Keith lets the boy go. Though the demon-hunter is critically injured, but survives in a hospital, living to to tell the tale. And that's just what he did. The boy told every demon-hunter he could find, about the demon who injured him and got away. So, Keith became the 'White Whale' of the hunters."
Faldan continues with the story. Rose and Keith were living in a huge manor, for three months, until one night a mob of hunters storm the grounds. They try to convince Rose to run from the manor, to "rescue" her, at first. But when she refuses and try to explain that Keith is like family to her, a good man, they accuse the girl of being possessed. The demon-hunters now plan to burn down the manor with Keith and Rose inside. But Keith won't allow it, stepping outside to kill every last person who threatens the life of Rose.
"There were too many," explains Faldan, suddenly somber, "To fight strictly in his human-form. In order to wipe them all out, he had to change fully, into his true demon form. And that's what he did, killing every man and woman there, in the matter of seconds. But Rose... she had never seen his true form before. As he marched back towards her, covered in human blood, Rose was terrified. Something snapped inside her and she locked herself in a room. No one could reach her, no one could convince her to come out, not even Fray. We were all evil, devils, to her now."
Faldan falls into a silent sadness, staring into is drink. "What happened?" I ask, not wanting to push him, but needing to know. "She went mad." he shrugs, his eyes sad, "And Keith had to put her away, into a local asylum. And there she died. She had stopped eating and starved herself. They don't care, in places like those, and they just let Rose waste away." I shudder, feeling a lot of sorrow for Keith, and trying not to cry. "He had lost his little sister," frowns Faldan, "All because he had shown mercy for a demon-hunter. And after he buried Rose, he found that demon-hunter and sliced him into pieces."
Faldan takes another shot and I stare into the table. "That's why..." I said, weakly, "That's why he didn't let Julia go." "Yes," nods Faldan, "Since Rose, he's never had mercy on another hunter. And he never will." "But," I said, looking Faldan straight in the eyes, "It isn't Keith's fault that Rose died. He didn't know that the demon-hunter was going to tell the others. And that a crowd would show. And that-" "It's no use." sighs Faldan, looking a little concerned, "That's a human's understanding. And it has no place in a world of demons. Every move we make is to survive and any mercy given is a weakness. Keith knows this. And his moment of weakness cost him a life that he cared very much for."
"But..." I huffed, frustrated by this animal logic, "I don't think he's at fault." "Well," grins Faldan, squeezing my shoulder, "Only Rose herself could lift Keith's guilt. But her soul is pure, so it went to that other place. You're a lot like her, you know. But a little different. You also have some darkness in you. So, when you die, your soul could wind up either way." "No," I scoff, moving his arm from around me, "I could never kill anyone. I'm not like Fray."
"Huh?" he asks, confused at first, but then catches on, "Oh, Fray's story is different! She had to kill, to turn her pure soul dark. She was born with a pure soul, just like Rose. Some are born with pure and some are born with dark. But sometimes, there are some that born with half of each, like you. So, killing others will be redundant, unless you want a full dark soul, then that's none of my business." "Hey," I frown, "I didn't say I was going to kill anyone!" "I wouldn't have any judgments if you did." shrugs Faldan. "But I'm not!" I growl. "Fine," he sighs, "Do what you want. Kill who you want. Whatever." "I'm not going to kill." I plead, "Do you understand? Not going to!" "Not even a little bit?" he asks, doubtful.
Before I could argue, a dark voice booms, "Faldan!" He jumps up, spilling his drink across the table, and grabs my arm, hard. "Ow!" I yell, trying to pull away, "What's your problem?" "Gotta go!" he said, pulling me from the table and rushing us out into the street. "What's going on?" I frown, being dragged my arm, "Is it Keith?" "Worse!" gasps Faldan, pulling me into an alley. He wraps his wings around me and a second later we're back in front of the gate. A confused Dore and a angry Keith is staring at us.
"Crap." mutters Faldan, "There's no time for this. He's coming." "Who's coming?" I ask, but there's a huge snap and a tall platinum hair guy walks from the shadows. "Eep!" shrieks Faldan, disappearing and leaving me in front of this strange guy. "Where's Faldan?" his deep voice rumbles, his attention on Keith. "He was just here." says Keith, annoyed, "But as always, he's a coward and ran away like a little girl." "He owes me." says the guy, his voice turning dangerous, "And it's starting to piss me off." "Well, Darvin," shrugs Keith, "You and I have much in common, because Faldan always pisses me off. If you find him, just beat the crap out of him, that always makes me feel better."
"I'm tired of that too." sighs Darvin, "I want payment now! And I'm going to get it. I'll take the girl, for a start." Before I could react, both Dore and Keith moved in front of me, like a shield. "No, you won't." said Keith, his voice now dangerous, "Whatever Faldan owes you, you'll get from him. Torture him, kill him, it doesn't matter to me. But the girl isn't his, she's mine. You touch what is mine and you'll quickly find out my full strength. Do you understand?" I blush slightly at Keith's words, as Dore growl in agreement with his Master.
Darvin looks as if he wants to challenge Keith's threat, but responds with, "I understand." The demon steps back and disappears from sight. "Dammit!" growls Keith, turning towards Dore, "Faldan is a pain in my ass!" "Yes," nods Dore, "Maybe you should keep him prisoner in the Dark Seal." "I've thought about that." sighs Keith, "But Faldan is very good at undoing enchantment locks. He'd escape before dawn." "I would suggest death," shrugs Dore, "But for some reason, you never want that suggestion." "He's family." frowns Keith, folding his arms, "His mother would have a fit, if I killed her only son."
Both stopped chatting and noticed me with annoyance. "I'm sorry." I said quickly, looking towards my boots. "Why did you ignore my warning." frowns Keith, trying to stay calm, "Didn't I tell you to stay away from Faldan?" "I know," I nod, "But he-" "You shouldn't fall for his charms." huffs Dore, "That demon will say or do anything, to make trouble." "You could have been seriously hurt tonight." says Keith, half concerned and half angry, "We can't bail you out, if you choose to be around Faldan. Next time, you're on your own." "I understand." I said, sadly.
"Go home." Keith says firmly, pointing in the direction of my backyard. "I'm sorry." I said again, but Keith isn't interested. I walk back home, hoping he wouldn't stay angry with me for long.