Sapphire

Chapter 12

The dream was strange. The ocean around him was dark and crashing around him, the sky reflecting the tempest, lighting all around him. Each flash sending sparks raining down his naked skin, burning the tender flesh. For some strange reason, the physical pain eluded him, but the something else had taken place. Dark designs swirled over his skin, stretching over his chest and dipping down his leg.

"It looks handsome on you," a voice said through the sudden darkness that appeared.

"Who are you?" Dimitri questioned, when he saw the glowing blue eyes in the darkness. The orbs glittered with amusement, almost laughing at Dimitri's question.

"The question is," a deep voice said, a single pale arm extending out from the darkness, the soft palm resting on his cheek, "Who are you?" Dimitri parted his lips to speak but was quickly interrupted by the hidden man, "Forget it. You're past no longer matters, it's by mere fortune that I have come across someone like you. Most of my brethren have taken hosts and I had yet to find one that could physically hold my form, but it seems the fates have led me to you, a human with no memory."

Dimitri could feel his confusion surface, "What are you?"

A soft chuckle echoed through his mind, bouncing from one edge of his mind to the other, "I am someone who is going to make you very powerful."

"At what cost?" Dimitri questioned, unable to fully understand as to why a creature hidden in the darkness of his own mind would want to make him strong.

"At the cost of you never having your memory returned," the voice said, the darkness fading away and revealing a rather slender male,almost feminine with his long black hair pulled away from his face into a high ponytail. Tattoos were in full display, swirling over the faint trace of muscles and blending in with the scaly tail that curled beneath his human like torso. He was a handsome creature, with the brightest blue eyes that glittered with intelligence, and it frightened Dimitri.The thought of never regaining his memories of his past,memories that defined who he was.

"If I were to say no?" Dimitri spoke, becoming rather uneasy with the offer.

"Then the man you love will die," the creature said plainly, nearly making Dimitri throw his fists at the creature but he reigned in his temper, afraid to make matters worse.

"How so?" the young man said, his blue eyes narrowed.

The creature sighed softly, threading his fingers through his dark hair, "There is darkness in this world that calls for the interference of gods, and at this moment, darkness turns to those who rule the kingdoms, searching for their own host. At this very moment danger lurks after the soul of your beloved, waiting to use the small babe that has formed within his womb, a host of some kind for one of the seven demons of darkness." The merman paused, his mouth set in a grim line, "An innocent child, a child that is apart of him as it is a part of you."

Dimitri could feel his heart stop, "What? I don't understand, Zeref said the child was only his, triggered by the first sexual encounter."

The creature snorted, "Do you think a mermaid would be able to put her seed in a man's body?"

"Bychit," Dimitri cursed, ignoring the strange word that slipped through his lips, "How could I be so stupid!" He glanced at the creature, "How am I to save him? Humans cannot breathe underwater."

The creature smirked, a single fang poking from beneath his upper lip, "You see that's where I come in. Should our souls blend as one, you will gain the abilities I have at the cost of your memories."

Dimitri took in a deep breath, the steady beating of his heart vibrating beneath his chest, urging him to save the man he had begun to love. A man that filled the empty feeling in his chest, a man he wanted to get to know more.

"Deal," he whispered. The creature shifted, his face near Dimitri's, close enough for him to see the indentations in the creature's scales and a particular scar that ran down his cheek.

"Then say my name," the creature whispered once their eyes meet. Dimitri could feel the word slip through his mind in that instant, the palm of his hands resting on the creatures cheeks.

"Seraph."

**********

Zeref could feel the tears leave the corner of his eyes as he watched his servants scrub away the tattoos from his skin, taking away his markings of High Prince. He felt naked, his identity stripped from him. Emotions bubbled inside his chest, sadness, despair. All of them carefully hidden beneath the mask he always wore.

Yet, only a few truly knew how he felt.

"Don't look so sad Zeref," his "mother" Seraphina stated with a sickly sweet tone, "It's for the good of the kingdom."

For the good of the kingdom, Zeref though, hands of his servants clasping a royal necklace on his neck. A series of delicate silver chains that spread over his back and chest, small sapphire stones resting on his shoulders and just between his pecs. A thin crown was set upon his dark brow, a tear drop stone resting between his eyes, a metaphorical burden he had to carry. Emotions shouldn't matter to those of his kind. Sacrifices had to be made and in his case, it happened to be the blue eyed human that had captured his heart.

A soft knock against the door resonated across the room, causing Zeref to freeze.

"Come in," Queen Seraphina murmured while a servant applied dark blue paint over her lips. A small servant entered, his face half hidden beneath his black bangs, "The bride is ready and the council has appeared to commence the ceremony."

Numbness spread through Zeref's chest, his eyes glancing at the mirror one last time, Hues of black and blue and been painted over his eyes, blending into the paleness of his cheeks. However at the corner he swore he saw Dimitri's blue eyes flash at him, the smile he remembered gracing his pretty feature.

Emptiness is safe, Zeref thought, eternally purging the face of Dimitri from his mind, After this I have nothing left but the child I am to carry. 

A/N: Sorry for the incredibly late post, their were some personal situations that needed some handling so hopefully they're completely solved. :) Thank you all.