C'thelli's Demonic Orphanage

4

It had been a week since his first day began at C'thelli's orphanage, and each day had been the same. By first light he would arise and eat breakfast (which was never human sadly), and then join the devil in preparing sweaty balls belonging to a fleshy matter and throwing them into the oven to brown. Even worse, the white powder that she used to coat the table wasn't sniff-able and only caused him to sneeze and tear up. 

Afterwards, he was in charge of sweeping the floors and beating the rug until it was slim from dust. Although he would never tell C'thelli about the small gash he had caused when he got carried away on Tuesday. That was to be his little secret with Robin, the witch girl who had caught him standing dumbfounded with the broom handle leaving a threadbare trail from the edge to the centre.

Then it was the constant supervision under the devil's watchful eye as he cleaned out the stables and groomed the horse. He already surmised that she expected him to try and escape with it as she moved the children's archery practice to the front garden, so that if he ever braved the horse's freaky saddle, then a barrage of arrows would pluck him off of its back. 

Lunch was surprisingly delectable. It was a sandwich made up of butter, smoked ham, and a small portion of sliced tomatoes that he left on the side of his plate. Then it was time to become the children's practice dummy for sword training. Each time he would limp away, aching and sore. But he grew accustomed to the children and their ways, from Hanley's sporadic assaults, Algie's freakish affinity to jump out when he least suspected it, to Vivian flat out ignoring him in favour of her gem. 

With each new day he found that his body was growing stronger, rebelling against the exertion of the manual labour until he found himself restless long after the household slept. That was where he was now, tucked against the warm stone of the oven with a thin pillow and waiting for sleep to visit him. 

But that night it wouldn't.

Over the pattering rain the door banged with a thundering violence in melodies of three. Feimo propped himself up onto his elbow in growing wonder. After the third bout of knuckles on the door, he forced himself onto his feet and waded his way towards the living room. The help never rests apparently. Opening the door, he was about to step into the living room but C'thelli beat him to it. Clinging to her sword she answered the door with the blade behind her back.

"Father, what are you doing here so late? What am I saying - come out of the rain." She said in a tumble of words as she stepped out of the way for a tall man dressed in black to shuffle into the house. He was pale, extremely so, as if he himself were a resident of the underworld's sunless atmosphere.

Although his familiarity with the devil suggested otherwise. Wiping the flaccid black locks from his eyes, he thanked her for letting her in and whispered out "I assure you, young C'thelli, I wouldn't be here unless it wasn't important. There's a monster in the town and its running amuck!" The man's eyes bulged in a panic as she dropped her gaze to the ground and shifted her weight from foot to foot.

She was reluctant. The demon under her watch was still new and his plots were still unknown to her. She didn't want to leave him alone with the children. But what about this monster? She couldn't leave the town to suffer it's fury, she'd wind up evicted from her land in seconds. 

"Please, 'Thelli, I -" The man stopped himself. The red sheen from his eyes twinkled in the dark as they met his own, "You have a man, why'd you never tell me?" He said with some excitement.

"What?" C'thelli snapped her attention on to the demon who stood in the crack of the door. When he realised that they were staring at him he tip-toed into the room and waved with racking nerves. She groaned with annoyance, "Him? Ew, gross. Absolutely not! Feimo, get dressed we're leaving!" She ordered as she made her way towards the stairs to do the same.