The Guardian's Flame

Fickle Fate

Your neck throbbed and breathing became a chore as you tried to push your mind back into consciousness.

Your eyelids felt heavy and you couldn't get much of the rest of your body to move. Urging your senses in to action, desperately you attempted to smell, feel, or hear something. Anything to give you a clue as to what was going on.

Your sense of touch rocketted your attention to your throat as sharp pain pulsed through your veins. If you were able you would have screamed. But the only sound you could muster was a small gasp coupled with a pained groan.

Your other senses yielded much less information as the most you could hear were garbled voices beyond your recognition, and the only scent you could smell was smoke.

With a lack of information and your will quickly fading you slipped back into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile.

Red Son had handed Y/n to William and made his point about getting her healed soon crystal clear. The Mech had set to work immediately and another mech, Carl, took Red Son's over coat likely to tailor and mend it.

Red Son himself had left briskly as his servants saw to their tasks. He had no business with such anyway. He would be no use to Y/n, and cared nothing for how long it would take his coat to be mended.

So, he snatched up the book and set to his mediation chamber. Only a short distance from the medical center it would allow him peace and quiet as well as speedy updates about Y/n's recovery.

Once he entered the mediation room he sat with his legs crossed on the floor and opened the book. His eyes skimmed the pages but none of the words made it to his recognition. Instead his mind wandered to Y/n.

Hadn't William made some progress yet? Red son chanced a glance at his watch. It had only been five minutes. Still, shouldn't they know the severity of the injury by now? Surely, that would not take more than five minutes to determine.

Red Son shook his head. He had to focus. The girl would be fine, or die. Either way it hardly mattered to him. He returned his mind to the book and read a few pages. The words stuck this time but there were no answers here about how to break the curse, only the story of how the goddess had fallen.

Love.

Red Son rolled his eyes. What a pathetic reason to lose power. Love couldn't have possibly been so important to her, or if it was, she was a fool.

"The goddess knew no joy as exquisite." The book read and Red Son rose a brow. No joy as exquisite? But she had existed from the beginning of time surely there was something-

"Reading love stories Red Son?" Lady Iron fan addressed reading over his shoulder. "How uncharacteristic."

Red Son jolted and sprang to his feet immediately hiding the book behind his back.

"M-mother! No-I- you're back. I commanded the Bull clones to aler- inform me when you arrived."

"Yes well, we returned early." Lady Iron fan mused boredly. "I ordered the bull clones to allow me to fetch you."

"E-early? Whatever would you need to return early for, mother?" Red son attempted to keep his rising panic from his voice despite the odd feeling churning in his gut.

Lady Iron fan studied him with an odd look. Something between suspicion and intrigue. Then her gaze fell to his arm that was half hidden behind his back.

"You should have told me you were beginning to take an interest in suitors, I could have arranged a few matches for you. You needn't act so brashly."

Red son stared at his mother dumbfoundedly.

"Huh-?"

Lady Iron fan smiled and offered him a newspaper.

"It's all over the news darling. You really shouldn't have made such a scandal of it. What will the other demon families think?" Despite the chiding nature of her words her tone was light and teasing.

Red Son's jaw fell as he read the headline.

"Red Son Kidnaps Young Girl."

His head felt as though it was spinning as his mother targeted him with an amused smirk.

"And here I thought you wouldn't follow so brazenly in your father's footsteps." She mused thoughtfully.

"Wha- no! Mother I- she- I didn't-" panic blended his words and his mind whirled to come up with an explanation. He could tell the truth, but Y/n's life would be forfeit, he could claim she was bait or an information hostage, but her family had no relevance in the demon world or anything to do with any of the Demon Bull family's enemies. His mother would see through that lie in an instant.

He could simply say the newspaper was mistaken. That they had misinterpreted facts. But that would lead to his mother asking about the real situation and that would be difficult to contrive a story for.

A deep humiliation sunk in his gut as he realized his only real option. But it was only until this horrific ordeal was over.

Red son sucked in a deep breath.

"It was more of an abusive situation, mother." He corrected unable to meet her eyes. "Kidnapping isn't quite the correct wo-" finally he forced his eyes upward and to meet his mother's.

Her smirk had turned into an evil grin.

"Awww my poor sweet boooy." She mocked in a baby voice tugging him over with her wind. "Since when did you become a hero?" She asked her tone still babying.

"Mother." Red son huffed pressing away her hands. "I have work to do, so I would appreciate-"

His words died in his throat as the Demon Bull king stepped past the threshold.

"I was not aware we had a guest." Bull king addressed Red son with a look that demanded answers and folded his arms.

Red son offered him a nervous smile all the while cursing the bull clones in the back of his mind. Could his humiliation be anymore complete?

"Ah well father you see-"

"My love, our son has found himself his first suitor." Lady Iron fan informed her husband stepping over to his side and taking his arm.

Demon Bull king raised his eyebrows at Red son questioningly for clarification.

Red son felt his cheeks heating from what he could only guess was frustration and humiliation as his hair sparked into flames.

His father's normally stern features shifted into an amused look.

"Very well then."

And just like that the pain ceased as his father excused himself and lady Iron fan as they retired to their room for the night.

The moment they were out of earshot, Red son opened his book hurriedly attempting to find a distraction from his deceased pride.

He could sort out that mess in the morning. Meanwhile, he needed a solution for his other problem now.

After a few obnoxious chapters about love and life on the mortal existence the book finally began to go into more depth about what exactly the goddess could do despite her dissention.

Red son's lips tugged downward at the corners as he came to realize the potency of this curse, and just how difficult it would be to break it.