Flame Inside ✿ Damien and Matthew

Chapter 12

After the other boys left my room, Matthew and Emma laid beside each other on her bed as she thought about everything Damien had just shown her. Emma curled into Matthew's side, wrapping her arms around his waist and placing her head on his chest. He lifts a hand and begins stroking her hair, causing her to sigh quietly and close her eyes. "I'm really sorry." Matthew says, causing her to look up at him, "I'm really, really sorry..."

"Matthew, it's not your fault–"

"No. Please listen! I know that Diana and Malix have come after you because of us, so it's our fault that you are constantly in danger... If I hadn't convinced everyone to come to the human world, we would have never been attacked by Malix and hunted down and brought you danger and–"

Emma quickly reached up and put her finger on his lips, stopping him from going any further. She didn't want to hear it, "Matthew... it's okay. I wanted to help you out. Thalia and I offered to let you all stay. Nothing is your fault."

Emma gently moved her hand and cupped Matthew's cheek, staring at him with concern. She didn't want him to hold guilt in his mind about this whole ordeal. Diana was desperate and she'd hunt anyone for them. It wasn't his fault she was desperate enough to hunt them down.

However, she grew curious, "So, Matthew, you're a noble?"

Matthew looked at her and gave her a goofy smile, "I was once, but even if I had the title, I really didn't feel like a noble."
"How come?"

"Well, I was the fourth noble son of the Demon Lord. With Erik and Sam ahead of me, in case James couldn't fulfill his duties, there was no way I was getting the throne. So, I spent a majority of my time trying to make my mother happy. She was always unhappy."

"Unhappy? How come?"

"Well, my dad was kind of... well... he married four different women. Each of us came from a different mother and my mother was the last to be married to him and bear him a son. The thing with succubi, though, is that they get jealous very easily."

"So what happened?"

"The other wives got mad and scorned each other. It wasn't violent, but we never ate together for a reason. My mom, though, was too proud to be jealous. She was the last woman the Demon Lord married, so she felt important. She felt that, because he stopped marrying, she had the charm to stop his marrying spree." Matthew let out a small laugh, a hint of sadness lingering in the breath he let out, "But, then the Demon Lord took in another woman and she bore him a son outside of wedlock: Damien. The wives, including my mother, were furious. In response, The Demon Lord had a spell cast on them turning them into spiritual orbs."

"That's horrible!"

Matthew nodded, pressing his lips together in both agreement and sadness, "They could never have physical form and they lost all of their powers. They became slaves, trapped in the Demon Lord's castle. However, they were kept alive to make sure their sons grew up to be competent demons."

"I'm sorry..."

Matthew gently shrugged, letting a small nostalgic smile grace his lips, "She taught me how to be a demon, though. Not just a demon: a grown, adult demon. I read books, I learned strategy, everything James was doing under the Demon Lord's watch, I only trained with just my mother. She wanted me to surprise the Demon Lord one last time and, maybe, take the throne away from James..." Matthew then reached into his pocket and took out a small mirror, "Here, I'll show you." Matthew handed it to her and sent a wave of blue mist into it. It began to glow until it enveloped the room in a bright light.

When the light had subsided, Emma was back in the main hall of the demon castle. She looked around, feeling unable to move, but she could practically see everything as clear as before. However, her focus gathered on Matthew, sitting on the throne as if it was his and reading a book. For some reason, Matthew reminded her of James at the moment. He seemed engrossed in his reading, reading each word and absorbing each meaning. Him being on the throne surprisingly fit him. There was something about him.

Matthew lets out a small laugh before mumbling to himself, "This is an easy read..." A saddened cry, however, echoed through the hall, forcing Matthew to stop, close the book, and stand from the throne, "Mother?" Emma looked around, confused at the cry and where it was coming from. It seemed to just echo through the room without any source of direction.

Matthew sighed and placed the book on the armrest of the throne before he cupped his hands together, "Fly and comfort her, will you?" As Matthew opened up his hands, a small bird with blue and purple feathers perked up from the hiding place. Matthew smiled before releasing it into the air. Emma watched as it flew off and glided through an open archway. The sound of flapping wings faded into the air as it flew farther into the castle. "Come on..." Matthew muttered. She could tell that Matthew was holding his breath. He must have cared very deeply for his mother. It was incredibly sweet. At last, the sound of the crying stopped, making Matthew release a happy sigh, "There we go..."

Matthew cracked his knuckles in approval and reached for his book. However, before he could even graze the cover with his fingers, the sound of pattering entered the room. "You!" shouts the demon servant, "Fourth son! Away from the throne!"

"Alright! Alright!"

"Bahh! What am I going to do with you?! You're a child." Matthew growled and glared at the servant as the servant quickly brushed off the throne, like there was dust all over it, "The next time I see you on the throne, I will inform the Demon Lord. Understand?"

"Yes..."

The demon servant continued to brush over the throne before knocking the book from the arm rest. Matthew froze as the servant quickly padded over and picked it up, "What is this? A book? Why do you have it?"

"I was reading."

"You? Reading?" The demon servant laughs mockingly, "You don't need to read. You're never going to need knowledge for anything, fourth son." Matthew's eye twitched, making Emma grimace. This servant sure had a mouth. It was annoying at the very least. "I'll just take this book and bring it to the heir himself to read. He's reading faster than the library can provide."

"But that's–"

"Raestrao's next area of study."

The servant began to walk away, ignoring Matthew's glare of anger. The servant stopped, however, to look at Matthew to pound one more nail into the wound, "Let's face it, kid: you have the smallest horns, the smallest frame, and the least amount of power among the noble sons. You'll never be anything like them, so just stop trying. Use your incubus powers on others who have a child fetish or something." The demon looked Matthew up and down before rushing off where he came from.

As the servant disappeared, Matthew summoned a knife and chucked in the direction where the servant left. The knife embedded itself into the hard stone beside the door into the hall. Matthew groans in frustration, "...I hate that guy... Disgusting pig faun..." Matthew walked over and sat on the foot of the throne, clearly aggravated.

Eventually, Matthew stopped the magic, lowering the mirror and holding it in his hands before looking at her, "I had hoped to show you my mother, but I guess the mirror wanted to show you something else... Sorry..."

"That servant is terrible." Emma grumbled.

Matthew laughs at her statement, "Tell me about it! He's served the Demon Lord almost his whole life. Ugly pig faun." Matthew laughed, causing laughter to spill from Emma's mouth at the insult. It was good to see Matthew in good spirits despite what was shown and what was happening around them.

Matthew smiled at her before pocketing the mirror, "Whatever. Thankfully we got out of there, so I could be with my brothers like a normal family. No hierarchies, no politics, no pig fauns, nothing!" Emma smiled. It was good to see the positive side. However, his face slowly turned to a sad one before he looked away from her, "You've done a lot for me and my brothers... Sheltering us, letting us continue to live here... It may not seem like much, but for us, it's everything... But I don't want you to get hurt because of us... That's why I'm sorry..."

Emma gently pressed the palm of her hand to his cheek, forcing him to look at her. Emma looked into his eyes as she caressed his cheek. Matthew let out a small sigh before giving her a new smile. He hid his sadness well, but she could tell he was still upset about the whole ordeal. "Matthew," Emma states softly, "no more sad talk. I just want to be here with you and enjoy the moment."

"Okay."