Fantasy Speak of the Devil, and He Shall Appear.

[starshinesiren]

The night was starving.

The thick, London air smoked out the stars and suffocated the sweet, cool, wind of the countryside. There was a certain hunger, a desperation that lingered in the flickering streetlamps, in the yowl of street cats.

It manifested particularly in a ghostly, stick of a child. Trembling fingers clutched a dress of dark rags, shoes (though they hardly deserved their title with the amount of holes they bore) trudged along the cobblestone alleys.

Viola was exhausted. In her twelve years of life, she had starved before. She’d only recently become accustomed to it, but it was a familiar feeling. What was entirely unfamiliar was this sense of aimlessness. This ceaseless walking, the dragging of lead feet towards something you didn’t know. She’d lived her whole life with a plan, from what she’d be when she grew up to what she’d play at the piano that night for Father.

Like all children, she hadn’t accounted death into the equation.

She hadn’t known it before, but she did now. It had not knocked at the door. It had slipped underneath it, crept under Mother and Father’s bed and slowly drained the smile out of them every night as they slept. Now there was nothing left.

To her, death had another name.

Carlysle.

They had sucked the will out of her family. She would understand better when she was older, but one thing was for certain- her crippling loneliness, her lack of a home, her despair, it was their fault.

And she would do anything, anything, to make them pay for it.

Her legs, overburdened with exhaustion, buckled under her, throwing her tiny body to the filthy street. A sob escaped her lips as she moved herself to sit against the wall of the alley, tenderly rubbing her sore and now scratched knees.

A few months ago, she had been attending balls dressed in the finest gowns, picked out by her mother. Her father would dance with her on the floor, letting her stand on his shoes. Laughter and warmth filled their house, success had given them not a care in the world.

Now she had nothing.

 

[AiDEE-c0]

The enveloping blackness of the night swirled with columns of lung-teasing, lifeless grey. In the distance, a bell rang solemnly, announcing the late hours. The air of the alley carried with it a mixture of repulsive smells, apostles of London's many fabrics and factories from miles away. However, no physical awfulness could dare compete with the ever-looming feeling of abandonment and desolation creeping over the scene.

It is said, a helpless believer will rot together with their flock, for Heaven brings them happiness and joy. But a faithless soul sees only death. A despair so haunting, so chilling and unknowable, that they would do anything, hang onto the thinnest of strings, in order to escape it.

A spider knows when to cast its web. Waiting in the darkest corners of the house, they emerge only when their meal is powerless, assured. The presence of these spiders, then, is never clearer than right before they strike.

A new kind of odor started to leer above the buildings of that hapless street. One that was disorienting, breathing, yet breathless and unbreathable. The gas lamps were snuffed out by it, the cats fell to voicelessness. Now there reigned deathly silence, which lingered long and persisted without change. Like rain, black feathers descended from shapeless, inky clouds upon the cobbled road. Unmistakably, the air stank of brimstone.

Piercing the midnight void, a sultry, unnatural light cast itself over the orphan. In the illuminations it had brought, there lived a grotesque, slender figure, flat against the walls of the buildings. It yawned, stretched, took in the drab atmosphere and bowed. Slowly, its pair of misshapen, oversized hands reached out from the shadow, running a talon along the side of the child's face.

Claps of steel against the pavement signaled the full entry of this evil into the world. Lanky, high-heeled feet stepped out of the walls, followed by the rest of the body still obscured. No features that this creature possessed were defined, save for a sharp smile and two uncannily piercing, glowing eyes.

Its voice boomed out from behind its teeth, the mouth kept unmoving. "How lost you are, that you found yourself with me," it spoke. The demon's words came out honestly and warm, or so was the impression it desired to convey. Approaching closer and leaning down, it continued.
"But we cannot change that, not anymore. The path that you've lost cannot be regained, not without my help"

"The choice is up to you to deny it or accept it, my dear."

 

[starshinesiren]

Most children would be afraid of a dark, hellish creature appearing from the shadows. Those children, however, did not have absolutely nothing to lose.

A small twinge of fear briefly hovered over Viola's tiny heart, but it quickly disappeared. This thing, whatever it was- it was not more frightening than starvation. Than loss. Than loneliness. In fact, it understood; and that made it very close to being a friend.

It was the closest thing to a friend that Viola had ever seen.

She found an odd comfort in this jagged, dark, taloned thing. Its eyes pierced through her skin, through her bones, directly into her soul. But, perhaps, that was exactly what soothed her. The fact that she was seen, known, considered. That had not happened for what felt like eons. She was just another unfortunate soul on the street, starving, freezing. Just a hungry mouth that wanted to be fed. A greedy, bothersome creature. She had seen people look upon rats with more compassion than they had orphans.

She did not flinch away from the taloned hand, for she was too tired to do so. Viola only glanced up with deep, brown eyes, and studied the creature. This was not a benevolent creature. This was a thing of darkness.

But she did not trust the light anymore. It held false promises, and it was too fragile.

The darkness, however cruel, delivered results.

"I accept your help." The response came in a raspy, tired, withered voice that had once sounded full and beautiful. Now it was like a trampled flower. It was a simple response for such a grand and dubious proposal, but Viola had learned to value bluntness. A business transaction required only necessary answers.

She wanted her life back, and she was going to get it. If this was how that was to be done, then so be it.

 

[AiDEE-c0]

"Wonderful, little robin," the demon spun around on its heels, producing an elegant cane that it rest its chin upon. A sulphuric warmth began surging through the cold. It stung the skin, irritated tissue, but it kept the body warm, embraced it in its own way. From behind a black shroud, the Moon reared its gibbous form at last. It was giant, devouring, a sky-eclipsing disk of orange. In its unearthly radiance, the indecorous shapes of the devil made themselves as clear as their nature allowed.

Distinctly, a pair of battered, feathered wings grew from its malformed back, resembling strongly the feathers still littering the ground. Its skin transitioned, at around the hips, into long, thick tatters, dragged along the road. Its head remained concealed by shadow, whether intentional or not. It appeared to be covered in a lengthy, unkempt mane. Compared to the burning titan of a moon, its gaze, as it twisted its neck to face the orphan again, gave almost the impression of tiredness, deep and ancient. Its grin had grown considerably large.

"But in order to accept my service, you will need to do a little more." Now was the time to truly judge the character of its potential contractor, a clever little test devised by the hellspawn. While most demons simply took whatever soul they wanted, living in blind glutton and abandon, this one held itself in a much more regal manner. Even if it meant epochs of starvation, cultivating only the most premium of souls had its reward. As such, the boring ones were best discarded from the very beginning.

"Give me an order, a command..." It stipulated with that same, sweet intonation. "Anything. To seal our deal would be enough," it twirled its cane between its fingers with each word. Turning its body back around, the creature took a deep, royal kneel. Only now did it find itself down at her level, looking straight at her. It was then that it delivered its final promise, at the supposed sign of the equal.

"..and I will give you anything you desire."

 

[starshinesiren]

Though the warmth came with a sting, Viola's frail body shivered in delight at the warmth.

She watched with dark eyes as the creature's form began to grow more and more visible. It had a sort of deep, sour beauty; this wretched thing. In her past life, bathed and perfumed, dressed up in pretty little bows, she would have cowered away and taken pity on the thing. It was wretched, but it was powerful. She could feel it. It hadn't a care in the world, nor a single worry.

She could tell by the way it pranced and spoke. She would give anything to be that way again.

But Viola had been touched by despair now, by anger. She would never be the carefree child she was. It wasn't about being carefree anymore, that was impossible. Now it could only be about one thing.

Making everyone who caused this suffer an even deeper pain than she had.

She hadn't even considered her words before she spoke. She didn't need to. They came not from her mind, but from the absolute depths of her soul. Yes, this was what she wanted- this is what this dark beast would help her do.

"I want them to watch me run them into the ground." Viola spoke, more serious than she had ever been. It was more of a growl than a sentence. Her dark, exhausted eyes stared with such intensity that they rivaled even the glowing eyes of the creature's. She pulled her oversized shawl around herself even tighter, trembling with the force and anger behind her words.

"I want the Carlysles to see my success tower over them, bit by bit. I want them to dread it until it kills them. Help me make them suffer the way they made Mother and Father suffer." Her last words were not a declaration, but a command. Her face tilted downwards, the moonlight reflecting her sullen, sunken features in way that was less pathetic and more haunting.

There would be consequences from this. She knew the way of the world now. You did not get what you wanted without a price. Even at her young age, though, she knew one thing with more certainty than she'd ever known anything else. She would give anything at all, even her very soul without any hesitation, to make those monsters feel the way she'd felt in this moment.

 

[AiDEE-c0]

Without another word, the demon let its head hang as it bowed. The dozens of alabaster teeth, previously on constant display, hid themselves behind sly lips, giving way to a satisfied smirk. Nothing else needed to be said, pointless prodding had its time and place. The body of the orphan had already grown oh-so weak, needed all the strength it could retain for the pain to come. The creature knew she would make it, saw the dark resolve lingering all around her. A devil respects nothing, values little, but its hunger tells it everything, especially the smell of a maw just as open.

It stood, moved forward with elegant, balanced motions. Its demeanor had shifted, now very carefully picking up the child with its taloned hands. She was light, paper being lifted by a breeze. The Moon dimmed, saturnity reclaiming its reign over the alley. Like a dream, the pale, infernal illuminations fluttered out and died in an instant. The creature's claws draped against Viola's flesh once more, finding their path between the shoulder blades. With searing hellfire, they forged their unholy mark.

I.​

Foggy, autumn daybreak crept its paws through a set of paneled windows. A gentle and refreshing breath had entered a modest, recently refurbished room with the unfurling of silk curtains. As a white-glowed hand gently let the morning air inside, warm sunrays danced around it and the furniture. It was very soon that the cockerels would give in to their cries, bringing life to the whole countryside. To prepare a mansion for the day of a young lady, however, took waking much earlier than that.

Softly smiling, the shape of a black-clad figure pronounced itself as the light in the room arrived at balance. Tall and straight-backed, among the victorian furnishing walked a semi-graceful character. Donning a butler's uniform, a raven-haired woman opened up the last of the windows. She was clean, exquisitely tranquil, fitted with a coat, vest, trousers, a shirt and a tie. Her hair, while undeniably messy, was styled into a comfortable bun, framing one side of the face. Adding onto an already imposing height, high-heels carried her soles some ten centimeters above the ground.

"Good morning, my lady," she spoke in a low tone. Before anything else, she gave the time required for the nearby sleeping girl to wake up and adjust her senses. Taking a few more glances around the room to assure everything was in order, the woman began making her way towards the door leading out into the halls. "I've prepared the morning newspaper, as well as a presentable breakfast for when you are ready."

Keeping her movements round, hands running along the body, she stopped directly below the doorway without turning. "Would there be something more, my lady?"

 

[starshinesiren]

Sunlight peered in through delicate, sheer curtains and slipped onto pale, delicate features.

Dark mahogany eyes flickered open slowly in response to low words, ivory arms stretching up to warm themselves up for the day. A soft yawn drew itself from pink lips, and Viola, clad in a baby blue nightgown, pushed herself up to be seated. Her dainty fingers, which looked as though they hadn't done a day of work in their life, moved to run themselves through her dark, rich chestnut curls. Her hair had been tousled only slightly by the night, adding to her almost fairytale charm.

"Carmilla..." She mumbled groggily, a greeting to the other woman. "Thank you. Ah, there is something," She recalled, pushing her sheets off of her lithe form. She pressed her bare feet to the floor and stood, smoothing the linen of her nightgown. "I have a meeting at noon. Mr. Bingsley from the firm, he wants to discuss employee contracts for the year. Please be sure to direct him to the study when he arrives." Viola directed, turning to look at her maid.

Viola had become a very winsome woman indeed in the years that had passed, with sharp, porcelain features. Cheeks and lips were colored by the peachy rose of summer, and her body had shaped into slight curves that were evident even under her comfortable, willowy gown. She was a few feet shorter than the other woman, but stood so straight-backed that her presence was just as intimidating.

She turned and began to slip out the door, beckoning for Carmilla to follow as she made her way to the dining room. Of course, it was improper to wander the house in your nightclothes, and incredibly indecent, but the large house was vacant save for the two women. Despite her wealth, Viola had refused other help, and that had caused quite a stir and added to the town's gossip. She was a strange girl, they'd all said.

They didn't know the half of it.

"How did you sleep, then?" She asked, hardly looking at her as they walked. She wasn't one for small talk when it wasn't needed, but Carmilla was, perhaps, the only person )if you could call her that) that she actually enjoyed speaking to. Perhaps it was because she was the only one who knew her true nature. There was no pretending around her, no polite smiling or talk of the weather. It was incredibly refreshing.