Deidre Dante Marie's Story

The sun was rising from the distance. Its golden lights brushed against every other beings, from the trees to the grass. It bathed everything in golden sun-lights like it was trying to warm everything. But its effort was futile. It was always cold here. Always. There wasn't a single thing that could be warmed like how the sun liked in this place. The sun could never truly reached the cores of the beings in here and even if the creatures in this place were warmed when the sun went up, the moment the sun was covered by the clouds, everything turned cold again. Even the humans. Their hearts were also frozen with the cold and the snow.

He stood there, watching the sun was, once again, trying to warm everything up. He watched it failed miserably as it couldn't even melt the tiny snowflake in his outstretch arm and Aisu resisted the urge to snort at its pathetic attempt. He really didn't understand why the sun shone in a place like this. The North. A cold, cold place where everything, half of the time, was covered in snow. His aqua blue eyes drifted toward the far distance and he allowed his emotionless face to relax even so slightly. Even if this was a place that wouldn't fit for people, it was still his home.

Home?...Do I still have a home anymore?

He asked himself and the answer quickly came into his mind. 'no...I don't have a home...not anymore...' He reached for his ice sword and touched it slightly, enjoying the coldness of the metal and the coldness of the ice melted into his hands. He sat down on the rooftop, crossed-leg and wearing nothing but his usual white t-shirt and blue jeans. He didn't feel the need of wearing a jacket. Such thing was useless. If he had to stay in this place, the least he could do was getting used to the cold. But Deidre didn't think so. She would somehow nag him until he had to go and retreat his jacket.

Thinking of Deidre brought a small smile to his hard face and his entire feature relaxed even further, making him younger than he really was. He had wanted to call her his Mistress but somehow, he didn't think she would appreciate it, especially when she saw him as a friend. But that didn't stop him from seeing her as something more than a friend. She was the first one and maybe the only one beside his contract to ever make him smile. There was something about her that made Aisu feel weird whenever he looked at her. Aisu wasn't like the other boys. He wasn't clueless. He knew he had a crush on her since the first day he met her but he never told her about it. He didn't want to because if she rejected him, that would mean the end of the little friendship he had with her.

"...Elric..." He called softly, unwilling to break the comfortable silence of the morning. "...yes, Master?..." Elric appeared next to him in a puff of smoke and he turned his head to look at his contract - the ice demon - Elric. He nodded his head and said quietly "...I remember that you said you loved the morning, correct?..." The demon didn't say anything and sat down next to him, watching the sunrise with him. Finally, it spoke "...why don't you tell her, Master?...I hate to see you hurting like this whenever you meet her because you want to keep her friendship but at the same time, want to confess about your love..." Aisu didn't reply for a long time, deep in thoughts. At last, the Ice king of the North opened his mouth, only to chuckle bitterly "...and risk destroying my friendship with her? No, thank you, Elric...besides, I'm not hurting that much..." The demon snarled angrily "...not hurting that much? don't lie to yourself and to me, Master...I can practically see you torn yourself apart with each passing second when you're near the Head Witch...if you want to tell her so much, tell her!..." But Aisu shook his head before adding, his tone was void of any emotions "...no, Elric...I do not want to discuss any further in this subject...I know what to do...you do not need to tell me..." He sighed and whispered, his voice was too quiet for any others to hear "...how can she love an emotionless person like me?..." Elric shook its head at its Master 's stubbornness and disappeared with another soft puff. Aisu could vaguely hear the demon's voice filled the air "...fine, Master...but if you continue to be like this...I won't care about your command anymore...and I'm going to tell the Head Witch about your emotions myself..."

Aisu offered no reply as he continued to stare at the sun. He whispered to no-one "...will you continue to be my Sun? Warm me but never truly here for me to grasp..." He said again, this time a deep, bottomless sadness entered his voice "...will you continue to be out of my reach forever, my Mistress? my Deidre?..." He heard the large gate opened and he looked down from the rooftop. Deidre was there, smiling like a goddess with her beauty and her warmth. Suddenly, Aisu could feel his whole body warm up like she was the source of warmth in his life. And Aisu concluded. No matter if she liked him or not, Aisu would continue to love her and protect her forever, even if she would never know about his love or how his heart was breaking apart right now with the knowledge that she was looking at him like a friend but not a lover.

He jumped down from the rooftop, his blue hair covered in snowflakes but he didn't bother making them go away. They would melt in time anyway. He offered a small smile - the largest one his emotionless face could really offer and he greeted her softly "...hello, Deidre...how are you this morning?"

well, as long as I'm near her...I'm home...

"It is quite lovely today…. Such a glorious morning yes?” Deidre answered him and Aisu nodded his head slightly, agreeing with her "...yes, Deidre...It is a fine morning..." He observed her again, silently took in all of her beautiful features, her white hair, her gray eyes, her white, smooth skin, her soft voice. She was so perfect...just like a goddess of his dream. When she placed a hand on his hair, knocking the snowflakes away, Aisu took a step forward, allowing her to continue doing her job.

“What troubles you, dear heart?Are you sick? I warned you about running around without a coat….you’ll catch your death if you keep it up” Deidre spoke, her soft hand ran through his hair and Aisu shook his head slightly, almost smiled but managed to control himself in time. He replied silently "...I am alright, Deidre..." He whispered again, this time he was talking to himself more than to her "...I'm always alright..." He looked up at her when he realized most of the snowflakes on his head had gone. He gently took her wrist and stopped her from continuing to fuss over his hair. The warmth radiated from her skin was so...different from the coldness on his hand and Aisu continued "...It is fine, Deidre...I am fine...I have gotten used to the coldness of this place a long time ago...It is...illogical to worry about me..." He stared at her and reluctantly let go of her wrist when he realized he was still holding her hand.

Using his index finger, Aisu touched Deidre's small nose and chuckled slightly "...you should worry about yourself more, you know..." He teased her a little bit, enjoying the simple fun he could have. He knew a war was going to start real soon and truth to be told, he didn't even know if he could survive this war. This was a war he never wished to happen. The last war had destroyed too many things and till this day and maybe even in the future, there would always be something left of the last war, reminding everyone about its gruesome end. Too many witches had died. He shuddered a little bit. Being a necromancer, Aisu always had the ability to listen to the deaths. He had heard their whispers about the last war, the details that would never come to anyone's ears except for necromancers like him. The dark secrets, the bloody actions, the deaths, the scarifies...Those people had brought the secrets with them to their deaths and only him and the other necromancers could know about it.

Aisu used to spend days and nights, trying to get the images of the last war out of his mind to no avail. It was simply there, nothing he did could change it, whether he liked it or not. But came to think about it, this war might be even more terrible than the last war. The technology had developed rapidly since the last war, more and more witches as well as witch hunters were joining this war and he knew sooner or later, it would be his turn to go to the war zone as well. And he was not looking to it. If he died, who would protect her? The one he loved. Who would take revenge for him? The one that had betrayed him?

Aisu was so deep in thought that for a moment, he had forgotten the beauty that was standing next to him until she spoke. "Aisu dear….would you guid me for a little while…I fear I have upset Samael." Aisu looked up and saw Deidre offered her hand. Smiling slightly, he gently took her hand in his, the warmth once again seeped through his skin and entered his cold heart, melting it without even trying to. He nodded his head and answered "...of course, Deidre...it is my pleasure...would you like to take a walk around the forest? It is very beautiful in the morning or so I have heard..."

He ordered Elric mentally '...Elric...please give me a jacket...I fear that the cold might not be good for Deidre...' The ice demon didn't reply but a moment later, he appeared, holding a white jacket in his hand. Taking the jacket, Aisu nodded his head in thanks and turned his head to look at the goddess of his heart again.

Smiling slightly, Aisu held out the jacket, offered it to her "...I may not need the jacket but I know you might need it...it is quite cold today after all..." Without waiting for her reply, he draped the jacket over her shoulder and spoke finally "...alright...we can go now..." Of course he knew she couldn't see when her contract wasn't with her but he loved spending time with her, describe the morning forest for her and just simply enjoying her company.

Aisu smiled gently and leaded her to the forest, carefully held her hand so she would not stumble or fall. He glared coldly at the villagers nearby, daring them to whisper about the Ice Queen of the North holding hands with the Ice King. But of course, even if they were weaklings, they had intelligence, too and so, they kept their mouths shut and continued to do their jobs. He looked at the forest and looked at Deidre again. He opened his mouth and began to describe the scene of the forest for her.

"The forest is truly very beautiful this morning. The sun is shining brightly. Its lights are dancing on the leaves and it is trying to melt the snow on the ground and on the trees. The sky is blue - slightly gray this morning...and there are some clouds on the sky. The clouds are covering the sun now so the sunlight is temporarily blocked. If you concentrate hard enough, you can hear the birds chipping in the distance. There are two of them flying near us now and they look like they're a couple. The animals have come out of their nests...maybe they are going to go hunting like Samael... "

He paused and looked at a snow-flower bush near them. Slowly and carefully, Aisu didn't let go of Deidre's hand but still crouched down and picked up a snow flower. He opened her palm and pushed the small flower into her opened hand.

"...here...touch it...it's a snow-flower...your favorite, right?..." He said with a small smile. He looked around again and continued to describe the scene for her.

"...The sun is free now...it isn't blocked by the clouds anymore...it is shining and it is making the snow-flowers in a nearby bush melt...yours is fine, though...the sun hasn't reached the flower in your hand yet...The mountains are white and there's frost today...the river has been turned into ice on the surface but deep down, it still hasn't been turned into ice yet so there are some fishes swimming underneath the surface...oh, there are some couples of ice butterflies flying past us..."

He tried to sound as cheerfully as he could, which in reality, not that cheerful after all. He gazed sadly at her, glad for once that she couldn't see the sadness in his eyes now. He whispered, more to himself this time "...I wish I could trade my eyes with yours...that way, you can see again..." He shook his head and turned away, listening to her talks and nodding his head even when she couldn't see it.

"Aisu….will you stay with me?"

A whisper pulled Aisu out of his thought and he stopped walking completely, staring at her with an unreadable look on his face.

"I mean….i’m sorry, that was an unfair question. I don’t want you to stay because you think I need you…I do need you….but I would never ask you to stay through a war that is bound to tear this land apart…."

Deidre hastily added as if she was afraid that she had offended him. Maybe it was because of his silence. But her question really did catch him off guard, though. He gave her a tight smile and said softly in her ears. His voice was once again, extremely gentle, the voice he only used when he's near Elric and Deidre.

"...as long as you still want me, Deidre...death won't be able to force me away from you..." He said finally, giving her hand a small squeeze. His sentence, ironically, had two meanings. The first and most obvious one was...this was his promise, he would stay with Deidre, by her side until his last breath and the second meaning, the one he didn't know if Deidre could be able to see through was...he was a necromancer, he had some control over Death to some certain extend and therefore, if he didn't wish to, Death wouldn't be able to pull him apart from his Mistress Deidre.

He added after a long pause "...I promise..." He looked at her thoughtfully and then asked the question he had always wanted to ask her but never really had the chance "...if you don't want to tear this land apart...why do you still go into war with the witch hunters?..."