Zetsumei

Chapter 78. Roses and Thorns

It's been two days since Sloth escaped from the castle with Zero and I've been confined in a room ever since they left. I heard from Pandemonium that the wedding will be tomorrow night when the the full moon is out. While I was lost in thought, the door to my room open and Ihran came in.

Ihran: My lady, my lord has ordered me to for you to meet the other wives.

Zelphine: Other? Wait so I'm not the only one?

Ihran: Quite so, I believe you're his 8th one.

Zelphine: 8th!! ( What the heck! Why does he need this many wives?!)

I follow Ihran towards a room that is located near the end of the hall. Once he opened the door, I was greeted by a silver hair girl with pale skin. She had red eyes and is wearing a red dress with a rose tuck in her hair.

Silver-hair rose girl: (smiling) Ah..you must be our new sister, it's a pleasure to meet you. I am Rosario, I'm Lord Pandemonium's third wife.

Rosario held out her hand and smiled sweetly. As she did, I saw two sharp canines in-between her lip. Well, she must be a vampire then. But at least she seems nice.

I grabbed her hand and shook it, but when I did, I felt something prick my palm. I quickly let go and saw blood forming on the surface of my hand. I looked at Rosario in shock. Rosario had held a thorn in between her fingers when she shook my hand. It must've pricked me.

Rosario: Heh! You honestly think I'd welcome you with open arms? Don't make me laugh! Why should I care about you, Pandemonium only needs me since I'm his favorite!

?? Lady: That's enough Rosario!

The lady by the window walked over. She had silver hair and two unique eye colors. One red and one pink. I assume she's also a vampire since she has sharp canines.

?? Lady: She'll be living with us today so I suggest you get along with her.

Rosario: It's not decided yet, we still don't know if she'll survive the ritual or not.

Zelphine: (Ritual?)

Carmilla: Sigh...I apologize for Rosario's manners. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Carmilla, Pandemonium's first wife and the main vampire queen. You can come to me if you need any help.

Zelphine: Um, alright. So about before, what do you mean by surviving the ritual?

Rosario: Huh?! You mean you don't know.

Zelphine: No..I don't.

Rosario:Tell me, do you know why Lord Pandemonium chose you as his wife? Well if you believe he loves you then you're wrong! It's all for the sake to find "the one" from the legend.

Zelphine: What legend?

Carmilla: The legend tells about a vampire king who married a mysterious princess then gain supreme power and immortality.

Zelphine: But how can you be certain of that. Is the king still alive today?

Carmilla: These facts are recorded in the pages of history. No one can say for certain if it truly exist or not.

Rosario: Yeah, and because of that silly legend, our king has been searching for "the one" for 100 years already. It is said that the mysterious princess has silver white hair and pale skin. Since you fit that criteria, I'm not surprise that you were chosen as the potential bride.

Zelphine: So does that mean all of his wives have white hair and skin?

Rosario: Yeah, but it's just the two of us now.

Zelphine: What do you mean?

Rosario: The other five wives are dead.

Zelphine:What happened to them?!

Carmilla: It is because of the blood ritual that is held at the wedding ceremony. Long ago, vampires have a tradition to uphold blood rituals for their weddings. It is suppose to be a sign of everlasting love however, not many of the brides survive this thus it became more of a sacrificial ritual. Because of the low survival rates, the tradition has been lost and vampires today form blood pacts.

Rosario: We barely survived our ritual. It's a good thing that I am a vampire or else I wouldn't be able to replenish my blood. The same goes for Carmilla too...fufu, but I can't say what'll happen to you.

Zelphine:....

Carmilla: Lilith, you've been hiding long enough. Come out and greet lady Zelphine.

Just then, from behind the curtains, a girl cover in bandages walked towards us. She had silver hair and blue eyes. Her left eye was bandages and she was holding a pink stuffed animal. Once she came closer, I realize that she sort of resemble Carmilla.

Zelphine: Silver hair...is she also one of the Pandemonium's wives? But I thought you said the others are dead.

Carmilla: They are. This is my little sister Lilith. She is to be Pandemonium's bride in the future.

Lilith: Sister...I won't marry him.

Carmilla: We have no choice, if the demon lord demands it, then we must obey. Cause it we don't, then-....no, let's leave that for another time. (Sigh) It's getting late, you should get some rest since tomorrow night is when the ceremony starts.

Carmilla then exits the room along with Rosario. Then there was silence in the room with me and Lilith. After awhile, Lilith spoke.

Lilith:...Big sister, are you really going to marry the demon lord.

Zelphine: Well..I don't have much of a choice. It was an exchange for saving Zero's life. I'm guessing you were also forced into this too.

Lilith: We couldn't refuse him since he was the demon lord and even if we did, he would've used force. My parents may have agreed to it but I won't. I've been trying to find a way to escape but I always get caught and when I do, I get punished.

Zelphine: Is that why you're all bandaged up?

Lilith: (nods) I wish someone would come save us just like 100 years ago.

Zelphine: What happened back then?

Lilith: I heard from my sister that 100 years ago. The former demon lord destroyed half of the night kingdom and the castle with it. In doing so, the people enslaved by the previous vampire king was able to escape.

Zelphine: (smiles) He must be a hero then. It's not exactly a good word to describe a demon lord but it suits him just fine...whoever he is.

Lilith: Yeah..who knows, maybe someone will come to save us at the end so until then, don't give up on hope big sister.

Lilith gave me a small smile before leaving the room.

Zelphine: Yeah...if only that were true. (Zero won't be able to save me, he might actually die this time if he faces Pandemonium. If that happens, everyone will be happy that Zephiel is gone, but not me...because part of him is still Zero. Grandpa also won't be able to save me either. He may have been the reaper king but in his current state, he is just a child. Hm..come to think of it, I still don't know the reason why he looks like a child anyway?)