by Con Template
“In the story, after Snow White ran through the woods to escape her stepmother’s murderous wrath, she stumbled upon a cottage tucked in the middle of nowhere. When I was researching, I saw this cottage and I nearly went into cardiac arrest because it reminded me of the one from Snow White. If anything, it’s actually more beautiful.” Soft laughter poured from me. “I couldn’t resist coming here for your birthday.”
“Why was Snow White your favorite fairytale?”
“It was the first fairytale I watched,” I shared after a thoughtful pause, “and it was the first fairytale that I was able to relate my life to.” I smiled sadly at his quizzical gaze before adding, “The reason why I turn to those fairytales is because I truly believed that I have been cursed.”
I could see that he was still confused with my answer.
The Demon could pretend to be human all he wanted, but he did not possess the necessary human emotions to understand my pain—or my desperation.
“In the movie,” I went on faintly, “when Snow White ate the poisonous apple, she became cursed by the witch. She fell into a deep sleep and nothing could awaken her. Everyone around her had given up hope that she’d wake up again. In her time of despair, her Prince arrived. He came along on his white horse and when he saw that she had been cursed, he hurried to her side. As a heartbroken gesture, he leaned down and kissed her. After he did this, something miraculous happened: she woke up. She had been freed from her curse. She was freed because of her true love’s kiss—because of his love for her.”
I grinned softly when I saw that Eclipse was beginning to understand what I was saying.
Spurred on by his understanding, I continued. “I figured that if and when I find my true love, he will be the one to save me from this sadism and this curse that has swept over my life. He will save me with his kiss and most importantly, with his love. In a world filled with people who will judge me, he won’t give up on me and will love me unreservedly.” I laughed warily, my eyes flickering back to Eclipse’s. “That’s why I’ve been having trouble with the exes, because none of them have been able to ‘save’ me.”
I tried to smile past the tears that were threatening to blur my vision.
“I’m still cursed. I’m still asleep from an evil entity’s spell and I’m still waiting to be awoken. I’m still waiting to be made human again—to be saved by my true love.” I uneasily shook my head, stunned that I was confiding this much to him. “There you have it. There’s really no earthshattering reason why I’m a virgin and why I haven’t had my first kiss. I’m just another simple human girl with unrealistic, fairytale expectations.” I studied him awkwardly, suddenly feeling like I shouldn’t have told him so much. “You think this is all dumb, don’t you?”
Thoughtfulness encased his understanding face. “I’m on a quest to bring war upon Heaven and Hell,” he provided warmly. “I’m not in a position to judge someone for having unrealistic expectations.” When I forced a smile, despite how uncomfortable I was from opening up, he quietly asked, “Is that why you’re so adamant about keeping your soul? Because getting your entire soul back will mean that you’re saved?”
I nodded proudly.
“There’s finally a loophole in my quest now. I don’t have to wait for anyone to save me anymore. I will be able to save myself.” My eyes fixed onto his. “I know you still don’t understand why I’d want to stay human when I have so many things coming after me, but you have to understand that I’ve grown up my entire life hating the person that I am. And now, I finally see hope. It’s not just about being human; it’s about being able to really live my life.”
I let out a hopeful breath.
“I would die happy knowing that I’d finally be graced with something every other human has: a soul. My fairytale dreams would finally come true and I’d finally be saved from my curse. Even if I die right after I get my soul, I’d feel lucky because I’d finally get my happily ever after.”
He nodded quietly, even though I knew that he didn’t fully comprehend the emotions rushing through me. If anything, I could tell he wasn’t pleased that there was such an elaborate reason behind my stubbornness to keep my soul. It only made his quest to attain my soul more difficult.
A realization occurred to him after he took a second to evaluate me. His expression lit up with excitement.
“I’m a Prince,” he announced, as if I didn’t know.
“Of Hell,” I amended when I saw where he was headed.
“I will be the one to give you your soul back,” he went on, his eyes illuming mischievously.
“So you can take it from me later on,” I corrected with restrained amusement.
“With all that said,” he continued, purposely ignoring my comments, “in your fairytale rule book, it means that I get your first kiss because I’m going to save you from your curse.”
“You’re twisting my dreams to your advantage,” I accused lightly.
“I’m molding them to cooperate with reality,” he countered with just as much amusement. “In the end, I will be the one to give you back your soul, so in retrospect, it is only right that I get your first kiss.”
“No way, Demon,” I rejected, breaking eye contact. “I’m not breaking my rule for you.”
He chuckled before bringing my face to meet him again. He was quiet for a short time, merely staring at me. Then, he broke the silence and asked something that felt out of place.
“Would you miss me if I returned to my Kingdom and never came back? If I somehow figure out a loophole to the deal I made?”
I found myself blinking a mile a minute, perplexed by this random question. I mused over it for several heartbeats before I said, “I suppose.”
Eclipse nodded, gently stroking my cheek.
“What?” I asked, eyeing him curiously when all he did was stare at me with continued adoration.
He simply smiled. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m glad that you’re cursed.” When I gave him a hard look, he hastened to add, “If you weren’t, then it must mean that you’ve finally found your Prince Charming—it must mean that I can no longer keep you to myself.”
I remained quiet because I didn’t know how to respond.
He smirked at my silence, his eyes continuing to search my face.
“Whoever your future true love is,” he said slowly, almost regretfully, “he’s going to be one lucky bastard.”
“Why?”
“Because he got the girl the Demon of Lust is pining after.”
I drew in a deep, careful breath.
Even though I instructed it not to, my heart galloped at his simple yet impactful words. An unfamiliar bout of emotions washed over me, rendering me completely speechless. How could a woman respond to something like that, especially when the words affected me more than I would like them to?
Following that statement, acting as though his own words meant nothing more to him, Eclipse favored me with another heart-stopping smile before he closed his eyes.
He was done with human talk for the night.
“Good night, Snow White,” he murmured before he began to drift into an ocean of dreams.
Gradually, as the stream continued to flow beside us, Eclipse fell asleep. While lying there and listening to his heartbeat, the heavy veil of slumber began to weigh over my eyes as well. As I found myself drifting, his words washed over me. I had become so used to him that I kind of figured that just like OinkOink, I’d get to keep him for as long as I wanted.
“Would you miss me if I returned to my Kingdom and never came back?”
I mulled over his question with more thought. As I felt his heart beat in his chest, I came to the startling conclusion that I would—I would miss him if he left me.
Life would certainly be a bore if Eclipse left me here all alone.
I shook my head at myself, not liking the strange attachment I was forming for him. It made me feel too vulnerable. The last thing I should be attached to was a Demon. Convinced that I was running
on an exhausted mind, I forced myself to embrace the thoughtlessness of sleep.
I would miss him, but just like anything else in my life, I would get over it.
I was fine before he came into my life, and I would be fine if and when he left it.
“The bible forgot about us.”
25: Lucifer’s Rose
I had a dream that I was kissing Eclipse.
It was probably because I talked about Snow White before I went to sleep. All that invaded my mind was the kiss from my dream world. It wasn’t from a Prince, it wasn’t from my future husband, and it wasn’t even from my true love. It was from Eclipse—my sin, my temptation, and my anti-hero.
His silky soft lips were caressing mine and my insides were going haywire. I couldn’t get enough. I couldn’t believe it. He was kissing me and there were no repercussions. My nose wasn’t bleeding in the slightest. There was no pain and no danger. It was so perfect . . . so magnificent . . . so . . . slobbery?
Eclipse? I thought, whimpering as his handsome face started to fade from my vision.
Suddenly the kiss wasn’t perfect anymore, and how could this be? Consciousness made its way back to me in small degrees. Frazzled, I opened my eyes, half expecting to see Eclipse’s gorgeous face. Instead I was faced with . . . OinkOink?
Standing on my boobs, with the sun lurking vibrantly behind him, OinkOink was panting and barking in delight, kissing my lips and licking my chin.
“OinkOink! What are you doing?!” I shrieked, getting up when I realized that he was the “hot Demon” I was kissing in my dreams. He gleefully jumped off my chest and scuttled off. “Oh gosh, I can’t believe it was you all along!”
From the corner of my eye, I saw that OinkOink had happily bounced back to Eclipse. The Demon was sitting on the edge of the rock we were sharing. He wore the biggest grin on his face when OinkOink came near him.
“OinkOink,” he teased, picking OinkOink up with playfulness. The puppy wiggled in excitement as he struggled to shower Eclipse with the same affection he had gifted me. “OinkOink, you lucky little bastard,” he murmured, holding OinkOink up with both hands. “You got to kiss Teacup’s lips before I did.” He laughed, his eyes traveling from my blushing face back to OinkOink. “How was she, champ? Was she a good kisser?”
“Arf! Arf!” OinkOink barked, as if in approval.
“Did you make OinkOink kiss me?” I asked, wiping my lips with the sleeves of my bathrobe.
“Well, I was tempted to kiss you,” he admitted lazily, now holding OinkOink to his chest, “but then I grabbed OinkOink and had him do it for me instead.” His smoky eyes appraised me carefully. “Who were you dreaming of, Teacup?”
My eyes rounded on him quizzically. The engine of my mind was still in the process of revving to life. “Huh?”
“You said to OinkOink, ‘It was you all along.’” A shrewd brow crept up in curiosity. “Who were you supposed to be kissing?”
“My future husband,” I lied immediately, embarrassed that I had been dreaming about him.
Eclipse cocked his head in open suspicion. A sheen of doubt cloaked his brown eyes. I thought he was going to call me out, but fortunately, he simply let it go.
He got up from the rocks, his face momentarily grimacing in pain.
“You ready to head back?” he grunted, tiredly stretching his back.
I bounced my head, getting up and unexpectedly yelping to the skies. It dawned on me as to why he was in pain.
“Ow! Ow!”
My entire body was aching after sleeping on the rocks the entire night. I could barely move my muscles without jets of pain coursing through my joints.
“Let me get ready first,” I breathed out, stuffing my bathrobe into my backpack before setting out to hike through the forest with Eclipse.
We walked ever so slowly this time because of how sore our bodies were.
“How was your sleep?” Eclipse enquired as OinkOink leapt ahead of us to explore the wilderness.
“Okay,” I said evasively, omitting that I had dreamt about him. I regarded him awkwardly, subtly shifting the topic away from anything pertaining to my dreams. I didn’t want to accidentally admit anything mortifying. “How was yours?”
“Awful,” he confessed bluntly. “I kept waking up.” A groan passed through his lips as he stretched out his arms. “You humans have an awful life. Simple physical exertion has never mattered to me, but now it is my only ailment. How do you live with such limitations?”
“We try not to push ourselves past our capacity if we can help it,” I uttered, miserably stretching my neck to relieve the aches in my body. Bitterly, I admitted, “I’m really sore . . .”
His playful eyes narrowed on me. “It was your idea to put us through this hell. Why didn’t we just drive up here, Teacup?”
My features tightened. Even though he was vocalizing his contempt under joking pretenses, I was highly aware that it was his true opinion. This irked me.
“In my research, the people who booked this trip said that the experience could only be fully appreciated if we did everything that was offered on these mountains. I thought the hiking would be fun. I mean, didn’t you find it peaceful? Didn’t you at least find the view to be amazing?”
“To be honest I saw nothing. I was just tempted to jump off the cliff to end my misery.”
I glowered at his comment. Enraged, I enacted my immature revenge by announcing something that I should’ve kept as a surprise. “Well, you better rest up, birthday boy, because we’re not even close to being done.”
He snapped his head in my direction, his teasing personality disappearing at the idea of having to hike up any more mountains. “Are you serious?”
My head bobbed up and down. “Yeah. This is only the midway point.” I pointed at the distance where we could see the apex of another mountain. “Tomorrow, when we’re both well-rested and when I’m done with my homework, we’re going to climb up that mountain. Once we reach the summit, you’ll be able to say that I gave you the most amazing birthday weekend you’ve ever had.”
He snorted resentfully before continuing ahead of me. “You’re lucky you have me in the palm of your hand.”
By now, the cottage had appeared in view. We had, at long last, made it back.
“What do you mean?” I asked, bouncing after him.
Dark laughter flowed from him. “If not, I would’ve tied you to that tree for speaking such blasphemous things. You humans are crazy. I’m nearly dying here and you want me to suffer some more?” He scoffed, breaking into a sprint. “Unbelievable. You can go hiking yourself, Teacup. I’m done.”
“But I did all of this for your birthday!” I cried, picking up the pace and chasing after him. “You can’t make me hike alone. That’s just cruel.”
“Shouldn’t I get to make the executive decisions on whether or not I want to participate?” he asked instead.
I faked a pout. “Why are you being mean to me?”
“Oh, Jesus,” he muttered under his breath once we reached the cottage’s front door.
Misery shaped his face at the sight of my despondency. It was blatantly obvious that one of Eclipse’s greatest weaknesses was seeing me upset.
“I’m resting first,” he stated instead, bulldozing into the cottage. “Then we’ll see.”
Satisfied that my guilt-tripping worked, I concealed a triumphant giggle and followed him into the cottage. Once we entered, it didn’t take us long to run to our respective rooms. Eclipse and I split up in the hallway, plopped onto our beds, and slept there for God knows how long. I was positive we both went into the exhausted human version of “hibernation mode” because the next thing I knew, I had woken up from being buried in a midst of flowery-embroidered pillows.
Fighting between the realms of dreams and reality, I peered out the window and registered that nighttime had fallen. The light on the mini-bridge was lit, the decorative lights surrounding the awning of the cottage glowed, and the world just illumed to life. I thought the
cottage looked gorgeous under the sun’s kiss, but it looked even more magical under the moonlight.
Wondering where Eclipse was, I groggily poked my head into the hall and walked out to find him playing with OinkOink in his room. Eclipse, who was wearing a gray pinstriped dress shirt and black slacks, was teaching the little pup new tricks. The fireplace was crackling behind them, the candles were lit, and the smell of fresh peppermint flowed across the room.
“Sit,” Eclipse commanded, and OinkOink did just that. “Bang.” OinkOink pretended to lie on the ground like he had been shot. “Roll over.” OinkOink rolled over like he was a little piggy. “Paw.” OinkOink got up, lifted one front leg, and paw-fived Eclipse. “Now make noises like a pig.” OinkOink whimpered and the closest sound it resembled was a dying pig.
A warm smile slid across my lips. It was the most endearing sight to see Eclipse do something so . . . human. Not wanting to disturb them—and excited to continue making this weekend special for my semi-friend’s birthday—I tiptoed away from his room and went into my bedroom to change before resuming with the night.
In the reviews of the cottage, people said that they enjoyed picking flowers and fresh produce from the garden. Since I wanted to prepare a really special dinner for Eclipse, I figured I’d go pick fresh flowers for the centerpiece of the dinner table. Eager to get started, I grabbed a basket, a pair of garden scissors, and went outside.
The garden outside the cottage was exquisite. It was filled with scores upon scores of brightly colored roses. There was even a greenhouse in the back. Considering it was fall, I was amazed that there was so much life out here. I went to the greenhouse to pick out some fresh vegetables before returning outside to take my time with the flowers.
“Is the birthday planner out here to devise more ways to make my birthday more miserable?” asked Eclipse’s humorous voice from behind me.
Heat crept up my cheeks when I turned and saw him. His striking face glowed underneath the moon as he approached me. In this setting, he truly looked like he belonged in a fantasy world.