She Belongs To The Devil

Dragomir and Theodore were walking in front of everyone. As all the others behind were busy talking among themselves, Dragomir took this opportunity to ask something that was bothering him recently.

"Theodore," Dragomir softened his voice even further, almost into a whisper, and asked, "have you met your father recently? Has he told you anything about the exact day he will be sending the grim reaper? He said he would be sending someone for my soul within a month, didn\'t he?"

Theodore was walking with his arms behind his back. And when he heard the King\'s question, his grip on his wrist tightened.

Dragomir took a deep breath in and looked up at the moon. "And I always go to bed thinking that it could be my last night and wake up the next day thinking it could be my last day."

Dragomir pressed his lips into a thin line and turned to Theodore to flash a sad smile when he realized his mistake. He had forgotten for a moment that this subject was far too sensitive for Theodore than to anyone else.

Theodore instantly looked away and kept his eyes on the path. And he replied in an undertone, "I met him on the wedding day but he didn\'t mention anything regarding the exact day."

Theodore suddenly felt Dragomir\'s arm around his neck and was slightly startled.

Dragomir was a few inches shorter than Theodore and thus, he made Theodore slouch a little. He then said to Theodore in his fatherly voice, "Theo, you know this is not your fault, right?"

"Oh, but it is!" Theodore countered in a bit louder tone.

Dragomir playfully tugged Theodore\'s long hair and chuckled when he heard Theodore squeal. And then he asked in a serious tone, "Would you have rather let my daughter die?"

Theodore felt a prick in his heart and he shook his head, "No."

"So, you have your answer. You did what you needed to do." Dragomir patted Theodore\'s shoulder and pleaded to him, "Now don\'t sulk around for another century. Get over it already."

Theodore\'s brows creased for a second. He guessed why Dragomir wanted to know the exact day.

And then he firmly promised his father-in-law, "I will let you know when your time is about to come to an end. At least fifteen minutes early so that you can say your final goodbyes to your children." This was the only thing that Theodore could think of that he could do for Dragomir.

"Is that possible?" Dragomir gave a hopeful look to Theodore.

Theodore nodded his head and assured Dragomir, "Yes. I have a way."

Dragomir finally smiled and sighed in relief.

---

Everyone sat for dinner together with a variety of dishes spread on the table.

The Generals were especially happy that they were sharing the meal with their King and their future Queen. They would only get to sit at the same table with them on very few special occasions. And getting invited to dinner when there was no such special occasion meant a huge deal to them.

And instead of indulging the Generals in the work-related talks, King Dragomir was having small talks with them – asking them about their family, their personal taste in food, and things like that.

He was doing it for Adeline so that she could connect to the backbones of their Kingdom on a personal level.

While Dragomir and Adeline were busy with the Generals, Edwin called for Theodore\'s attention and spoke in a low voice, "Theodore, I wanted to ask you something."

"Yeah, sure," Theodore gave a nod and put a piece of boiled carrot in his mouth.

Nigel was sitting in between Edwin and Theodore. And he backed off his head when Edwin brought his face dangerously close to him in an attempt to whisper to Theodore.

Edwin then asked Theodore, "Is there anything that can work against you? Defeat you?"

"Why?" Theodore took another bite of the carrot and asked sarcastically, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"

Edwin gave a \'do I look like a madman to you\' look to Theodore and said in a serious voice, "It\'s a serious matter, Theodore. I didn\'t want to ask this to you in the meeting earlier because I didn\'t want everyone to get scared if there really is something that can even defeat you."

Theodore was already opening his mouth to answer but Nigel was ticked off by Edwin\'s question. He couldn\'t help but get suspicious of that capricious half-brother\'s intention.

And he angrily asked Edwin, "Why do you need that information anyway? Why does Theodore need to reveal his weakness to you, that is if there are any to begin with?"

Edwin gave a gentle smile to his brother. He could understand why Nigel would be angry at him. So he clarified, "I tried to instill fear in that Vampire King\'s heart by saying that he would never be able to win against Theodore. However, he didn\'t show a hint of fear."

A cloud of worry hovered in Edwin\'s eyes when he further revealed, "Rather, he was saying that he has a secret weapon against Theodore. So, I am just trying to know if that vampire was just bluffing or if he really has something."

Nigel looked satisfied by Edwin\'s answer and Theodore answered Edwin, "There are three things that can defeat me. One is obviously God and a few celestial beings, the other is Hellfire, and finally, any weapons that were forged in Hellfire can do considerable damage to me."

Nigel narrowed his eyes and mumbled, "That Vampire King is no God, I don\'t think he can conjure up Hellfire, and as for the weapons…" he gave a questioning glance to Theodore.

Theodore simply smiled and cleared their doubts, "Only a handful of ancient demons own weapons forged in Hellfire. And those demons aren\'t that easy to summon to Earth. Even if they are summoned, they won\'t attack their Prince just because some pathetic vampire asked them to."

Theodore gave a smile and confidently said, "So, unless he can travel to Hell, defeat those demons, and take that weapon for himself, I doubt that he will come into possession of such weapons."

Both Nigel and Edwin sighed in relief. They already knew that Theodore wasn\'t allowed to attack that Vampire King if he had something up his sleeve that he could do to potentially harm Theodore. Theodore would just have to abandon the battlefield which meant that the others would have to face the wrath.

So, knowing that there wasn\'t much that Vampire King could do came as a great relief to the brothers.

And Edwin whispered, "So, he was just bluffing to me then."

---

King Reginald was impatiently pacing back and forth in Gina\'s house. He was waiting for some magic to happen but all that he could see was dark clouds hovering in the room and nothing more.

Gina, the witch, was sitting in front of a magic circle and was chanting some ancient spells. She was convulsing very badly as though she was going through a great shock after getting hit by the thunder. She looked like she would die any moment now but still, she kept on chanting her spells.

However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn\'t evoke the being from Hell that the King had asked for.

She abruptly opened her eyes and collapsed on the floor. She was already covered in sweat. Her ears were bleeding from the cursing and shouting of her ancestors.

Reginald was furious at another failed attempt. He disregarded Gina\'s condition and screamed at her, "If you are unable to perform such a simple task then what\'s the point of you being alive?"

"I\'m trying my best, Your Majesty," Gina whimpered while the warm tears rolled down her temple. And she screamed in her mind, "And it isn\'t an easy task to suddenly channel dark energy!"

Reginald angrily walked over that magic circle and strangled that already struggling witch, "Try harder! If you aren\'t successful by tonight then I will pull out your heart and eat it."