I keep my back pressed against the door as I clutch my aching chest. Frozen on the spot, all I can do is watch the horrid scene unfold in front of my eyes.

Anxiety swept over me as I feared and instantly loathed the woman. I could tell just by looking at her long, cascading, blonde hair that it was silky to the touch. That body of her's didn't seem to have a single imperfection and I myself began to feel attracted to her beauty. However, as magnificent as her features were, the second I stared into her gray, diamond-shaped eyes, I thought of how much they reminded me of a spider's web, used to easily catch and imprison it's prey.

"Oh Evan is this a nephew of yours?"

I felt my body flinch at the woman's words. She turned her gaze at me and I instinctively glared in return. The woman didn't seem offended or easily dazed by my reaction, she simply chuckled and smiled sweetly at me. I leaned against the wall and crossed my arms as I watched Evan raise an eyebrow and turn around. The world seemed to move in slow-motion as I plotted schemes to get back at Evan.

"Black Rose?" My anger seemed to fade away as I heard those sweet, gentle words from Evan's lips. However, the woman reacted differently and shoved Evan off her as she stepped closer towards me. "This child is Black Rose? This mere human girl is your lover?" The woman studied my body and caressed my skin with her soft fingers. She cupped my cheeks and raised my head as she peered her eyes to search for any flaws. I sighed and grabbed her arms to pull them away from my body.

"The one and only, although I'm not entirely human." Evan gazed at me when I spoke and proudly walked toward me to slide his arm around my slim waist. "That's right, she's half-demon." My eyes shoot open and I gawk at Evan as he continues to smile nonchalantly. The woman, who has stayed quite, covers her mouth and begins to muffle giggles until she burst out laughing.

"A half-demon?! Hahaha..you chose a weak, little girl tainted with human blood, over me?! Hahaha!" I bite my lower lip and clenched my hands into fists as I tried to refrain myself from hitting the woman. Evan chuckled and pulled me closer towards him. "She is far from weak." As the woman heard Evan's response, she slowly lost the urge to continue laughing and then returned her gaze to me.

I, of course, stared back and faced her with boredom plastered on my face. "Tell me, how did you take Evan away from me?" My eyes widened and the corners of my lips moved to form a mischievous smile. I pointed at my eyes and made them glow purple. I moved my hand under Evan's chin and caressed his neck where I planted the rose tattoo. It glowed in response to my eyes and it was obvious to the woman it was a sign of connection.

"I don't know, but as you can see his feelings won't waver anytime soon. He did allow me to plant this rose on his neck, so it only shows how much loyalty he has for me." I grin diabolically and let the woman take a peek at my dark, twisted eyes. Her's might resemble a spider's web, but mine resemble the ones of a illusionistic, predatory snake. The woman sneered at my words and cupped my cheek with one of her dainty hands.

"I don't care who or what you are, I'm not even interested in why Evan loves you, I simply care for one thing now", the woman pauses and leans in closer to my face to whisper into my ear. "Your death." I muffled a laugh and winked at the woman tauntingly. "You're not the first and I doubt you'll be the last." With that, the woman growls in response and marches out of the room and slams the door behind her.

I then turn my head to the side and watch Evan sigh. "I apologize if you've gotten the wrong idea, Black Rose." As I hear Evan's words, I lower my head and wonder what to do with all the emotions springing inside my head. I calm my nerves and give Evan my sangfroid expression. "I don't care." Evan stares at me in shock and I turn around to leave.

"Black Rose!"

I ignore Evan's cries as I quicken my pace. Pure anger swells over me and I glare at Evan every time he grabs my wrist and I forcefully swing it back. "Please love, if you could just give me a few minutes to explain—", I burst into flames and clutch Evan's collar as I shove him closer to me.

"Explain later when I'm not in the mood to rip your head off..!"

With that, I shove him away and race outside the entrance. As my legs carry me away from the mansion, I feel burning droplets of water stream down my face. I could feel a huge lump in my throat and I began to hiccup as I shielded my face with my arm. I held back cries of despair as I transformed into a harpy.

Wings teared at my skin and ripped through as they expanded into full length. I ignored the pain as for the one in my heart was much deeper. "That idiot..!" I maneuvered myself through the demonic forest and quickly took out a stone from my pocket.

I blinked several times to clear my vision, but as much as I did the tears only flowed stronger. I moaned in pain as I just screamed at whatever was in front of me, not caring to see the stone in my palm anymore. I chanted the spell and it shined a blinding ray of light.

I close my eyes shut and I brace for impact as the stone teleports me back to my castle. I flew through a tunnel of darkness and saw a light at the end growing brighter and brighter as I got closer. My body was then lunged through the light and I found myself falling in midair. I expanded my arms and gently balanced myself as I landed on the ground.

I had no energy to stand and I allowed my shaking knees to fall to the ground spontaneously. I'm no longer crying and I feel as if my eyes are bloodshot. I lower my head and gaze at the grass beneath me as I wonder how I should be reacting to this. I'm at a complete loss since I've never experienced love before and I have no clue wether I should continue to cry or sizzle in anger.

I sigh as I begin to feel empty and hallow inside.

I slowly rise off the ground and walk to the entrance of my castle. I see the guards standing outside and I wave a hand in the air to make them fall asleep. They instantly fall to the ground as I leisurely past by them. I open the doors and find servants busily running around doing their jobs. I take no interest in them as I slowly walk up the giant staircase that leads to the hallway I'm looking for.

I keep my head down as I think deeply about the woman from before.

She was so beautiful.

"Young Mistress?! Is it really you?!" My eyes widen at the familiarity of the voice booming through the halls. I raise my head and to my shock I see Jean running anxiously towards me. I look away and frown as I hurry to turn around and leave, but my wardrobe designer is too quick for me as he wraps his arms around me and hauls me into the air.

"Yes! It is you! Ah, and as beautiful as ever I see!" I flinch at those words and feel my eyes begin to burn again. Then Jean is quickly off me and I look at the reason why. I see Jinx holding the back of Jean's collar and I assume he was the one who roughly grabbed Jean off me. "Moron! Elizabeth must be exhausted from handling the Vampire King's issue! She doesn't need you bothering her like that!"

Jean's eyes widen and he glares at Jinx before attempting to punch him. Jinx, of course, swiftly dodges his attack and swats him over his head. "Are you kidding me? Have you learned nothing!" Jinx mocks the designer with a taunting face and easily dodges another attack form Jean.

"Gah! You're such a pain! The Young Mistress must have been eager to see us after such a long time apart! She must've been practically dying for me to hug her! Unlike you, you harsh, emotionless freak!" Jean remarks aggressively as he sends another kick at Jinx's way. Jinx muffles a few fits of laughter as he nonchalantly blocks Jean's attacks with his arms.

I stand there speechless as I watch the two of them go at it again. My eyes widen and I gawk at the pair as they try to throw plates at each other.

I clutch my stomach and bend over as I begin to tremble.

"Y..Young Mistress..?" I hear Jean's voice tower over me and I can sense Jinx stepping up beside me. "Look at what you did! You made her feel sick, you idiot!" Jean growls from above and I can sense him readying another punch. I, not able to hold it in any longer, burst out laughing.

I tighten my grip on my stomach as I begin to feel pain from my fits of laughter. This time, tears of joy slip from my eyes and I topple over from amusement. "It seems you two have done a remarkable job of putting our Young Mistress into such high spirits. Congratulations." I suddenly clutch the table beside me as I wildly try to hold back my laughter.

Jean and Jinx stand aside from me as they chuckle nervously at Elliot's words. My vampire butler walks towards me and he gently carries me bridal-style.

"Muahaha..ha..ahaha!! Where did the plates even come from..?!?! Ahahaha!!" I swing my legs back and forth as I try to suppress my laughter. Elliot chuckles as he watches me struggle to muffle my enjoyment. My eyes are watery and tears have been streaming down my face for a while now.

I faintly smile to myself as I notice my sudden change of mood.

I slowly begin to stop laughing and I found myself panting as I tried to catch my breath. "Young Mistress, how did it go? I heard from Siva that you were able to kill off all the demons." I raise my head and stare up at Elliot. Then I notice Jinx and Jean happily walk beside Elliot to look at me excitedly.

I muffle one last giggle and fake a cough to control myself. "Ah yes, that was a trifling predicament actually. Do you guys remember the trials I have to face for each of the district leaders?", the trio nod their heads and I continue.

"Well the entire time I thought the King was in danger, it turned out it was only a trial in disguise." I finish explaining and the three of them grin as if knowing I passed the trial without fail.

"Young Mistress, your bath is ready."

My eyes widen and I turn my head around in a haste to find the familiar voice. My smile widens when I see it's Siva holding a tray of cheesecake and standing next to a cart of tea. "You weren't lying!" Elliot gently helps me get back on my feet as I anxiously rush up to Siva. However, my butler displays a look of sadness.

"Ah yes, but you cannot have dessert while you bathe. And if you were to wait after your bath, the tea would have already gone cold...hmmm..what to do..." My smile fades and I gawk at Siva with reluctance to give up my dessert. Then I feel Jinx and Jean slyly step up from behind me. They grin mischievously and place their thumbs on their chins.

"Well, well it seems we really do have a problem here. What do you suggest we do, my dear Jean?" I look over to my right and see Jean forcing back a smile. "I haven't the slightest idea, dearest Jinx. Maybe we should ask advice from our wise Elliot. Well Elliot..?" I then turn my head around and see my vampire butler smiling kindly at me.

"Hm..? What if the Young Mistress were to bathe first and enjoy a nice soak, while we have her apprentice keep the tea warm. How about Alexander?"

I raise an eyebrow and notice Elliot jester behind Siva as he mentions my apprentice. I turn around and my eyes pop out of their sockets.

A large, opal-colored dragon lays comfortably behind my smiling butler, Siva. I gawk at the dragon that was not there a while ago.

"I thought you only wanted to turn into animals from earth! This is beyond what you requested, Alexander!" I happily run up to the dragon and I gently pet it before I step back to give Alexander room to transform. He turns back into his short, thirteen-year-old form and I lovingly pat his head as he grins proudly.

"He was dying to show off his new abilities to you, Young Mistress." Siva says as he stares down at Alexander with soft eyes.

"Ah yes, he was practicing for hours yesterday, he wouldn't give up until he transformed into something that could protect you." Jean adds and walks up to Alexander to lightly punch his shoulder.

"It was certainly entertaining to watch him change back from that adorable puppy form as well." Jinx and Elliot say at the same time as they share a fit of laughter. I roll my eyes and give Alexander a warm hug. "You did well, I wouldn't expect anything less from my apprentice. Now, go keep my tea warm while I take a bath!" I say proudly as Alexander happily stands next to the cart of tea. He lets his hand cross over his heart as he stares at me with faithful eyes.

"Will do!"

I shake my head lightly and ready to walk inside of the bathroom, but before I can, a choir of voices stop me.

"Enjoy your bath, Young Mistress!"

Everyone stands in front of me with their hands over their chest as they dismiss themselves. My smile widens as I nod my head and I sadly close the door. I lay my back against the hard wood and let out a joyful sigh. I silently thank every one of my servants as I slowly make my way to the bathtub.

I undress myself and slip into the bubbly, warm water and I immediately feel myself drown in the soothing sensation. I let my body lay down comfortably on the bottom as I enjoy the huge bathtub that could fit a dozen people. I stretch out my legs and arms as I felt my hair sway under the bubbles and steaming water filling the tub.

I could feel all the stress and pain slowly leave my body as if they were nothing more than meaningless thoughts and cares. My muscles began to relax and I can sense the tension in them aimlessly slip away. I gently closed my eyes and began to feel myself doze off as I enjoyed being basked in the silence of the room.

"Ah...this feels nice.." I begin to swim around in the tub as the water gently swung in response. I let my legs hang off the edge of the tub as I tried to rub them with a loofah and soap. My smooth skin seemed glossy under the water and sunlight beaming through the windows.

"My, you seem to grow more beautiful everyday, my darling Black Rose."

My eyes pop open and I thrash inside the water at the shock of Evan's voice. I hurriedly cover my chest with my arms and keep my back facing him. "What the hell are you doing here?!" I shout as I feel my cheeks burning. I can hear Evan chuckle as he slowly steps beside me. He reached his hand out and gently grabbed a lock of my long, raven hair.

"I came to apologize for what happened earlier."

I gawked at Evan as I felt my eyebrow twitch from my anger. "And you can't do that without having to look at me when I'm naked..?!" I clutch my breasts even tighter as I feel Evan's gaze linger on my body. "Black Rose, you told me to come when you were in a better mood, so I did." I pinch my nose and groan as I suffer from Evan's mind games.

I slowly sink deeper into the water as I try to usher the bubbles to cover my skin. "Alright, then out with it already!" Evan sighs and kneels down on his knee as he begins to let his hand play around with the water.

"The woman you saw me with was Victoria Stephan, she is the daughter of my business partner. Her father had high hopes for us to rule our company together, seeing as how we'd make a powerful duo, so he decided to arrange a marriage between us—",

I slowly try to swim closer to the edge of the tub, also the farthest spot from Evan, as he continues his explanation. However, Evan notices this and a smirk forms on his face as he walks closer toward me, causing my ears to turn bright red. "I agreed to the marriage before I had fallen in love with you. Thus meaning I'm focusing on exterminating the proposal. That is why Victoria was with me, she had plans to change my mind."

Evan pins his eyes on my legs and slowly reaches into the water to grasp my ankle. I struggle to take it back, but my attempts fail when he pops my leg out of the water. He lets his fingers caress my leg as they gently try to reach my thigh.

I flinch as I feel his touch linger on my skin and then I notice my blush intensify. I wince from embarrassment as I try to stay shielded under the water. "S..So that's it..! S..She tr..tried to seduce you and you...le..let her..!" I try speaking through quivering lips but as I feel a breeze slip inside from the window, I begin to tremble from the coldness.

Evan frowns and waves a finger in the air. The window slams shut and I no longer feel the breeze. "Black Rose, our argument led to a fight. It was either die or pin her down under me as a last resort." Evan stares at me seriously and I frown at him in suspicion. I back away from him again as I try to let the bubbles cover my womanhood. "Just get out, I can't think when you're seeing me like this."

Evan blinks and chuckles as he stands up. He takes a few steps towards me and stands behind me. I shudder when I feel his arms wrap around me. "There, now I can't see you." I feel a drop of sweat drip from my forehead and anxiety swells over. Evan has his arms under mine as I try to cover my chest. His sleeves have been rolled up and water sways on his skin seductively.

"I don't understand why you can't just leave me alone..!", I shout angrily at Evan and feel him rest his head on my wet shoulder. Then my eyes begin to burn and tears slowly drip onto my cheeks. "How vulgar, having to show you my tears and shining a light on my feelings..! Laughable isn't?"

With that I let tears stream down my face and I tremble in Evan's arms. Then, my eyes widen when I feel his tongue on my cheek, slowly tasting and wiping the tears off my face. "I've never cried in front of a man before, not even in front of Siva. Well played, demon." Evan bites down on my ear as he lets his arm slip deeper in the water to let his hand caress my abdomen. I let out a pleasurable moan as he blows into my ear.

Evan chuckles and lets his hot tongue rub against my back. "I only ask of you three things, Evan." I speak with authoritative anger and feel Evan's tongue slip onto my collarbone as he aggressively tries to taste my warm skin.

"Obey me unconditionally, never betray me or leave my side, and don't ever lie to me."

Evan slowly raises his head and takes his arms off me. He then grabs my chin and turns my head around so I may face him. His eyes are glowing a bright red and his slit pupils are pulsing as he gazes at me. His tongue slowly licks his bottom lip. The rose tattoo on his neck glows a dark purple and I gawk at his appearance.

"Yes, Black Rose. If that is how I'll imprison you in my arms, then so be it."

I smile devilishly and watch Evan grab my palm to plant a kiss on it. "Young Mistress, forgive my intrusion, but I—", I turn around in a haste and I stare wide-eyed at the man entering the bathroom.

Siva stares at Evan in bewilderment and I can hear Evan snicker from behind me. "YOU?!" Siva shouts harshly and dashes for the demon lord. Evan, however, throws himself into the air and flips over Siva's body, easily dodging his attack.

Siva growls and rips his gloves off. His nails lengthen and sharpen at the ends as he readies them to lash at Evan. Siva's ears and tail come into view as he fires a blue-colored fire at Evan. Then I hear more voices approach the room and I watch as more of my servants come rushing into the room.

"It's that blasted demon!"

Jinx is the first one to step in, followed by Elliot and Jean. They all rush to Siva's side as they ready themselves to attack Evan as well. I, mortified at the scene, shrink back into the water as I growl angrily. I watch the battle between them and I notice Evan seems to be enjoying himself as he casually dodges kicks and punches.

"Ahaha...all of you never fail to entertain me." Evan remarks as he sends a blast of red energy toward Jinx and Elliot. He then later kicks Jean and sends him flying into the air and crashing into a wall. Siva, in his wild fox form, scowls and sends burst of blue fire at Evan. The two of them later fight hand-in-hand as they try to beat each other.

I grumble curses under my breath as I feel flames flicker on my body and cause the water to sizzle. "So nobody's going to leave the room and take the fight else where so I can get out of the tub without having all of you see me naked?" All my servants ignore my sarcastic retort as they pin their attention to attacking Evan. The demon lord chuckles and happily takes them all on with a prideful smirk.

I shake my head and sigh as I look down into the water. I raise an eyebrow as I notice frost slowly forming on the tub. My eyes wonder to the floor and I notice icicles beginning to form around me as if they were protecting me. I frown and slowly try to get out of the tub, but an icicle shoots out of no where and barely misses me by an inch.

I scowl as I realize the ice doesn't belong to me and I could be in danger. I swallow my pride and try to jump out of the tub, but my eyes widen when I realize my feet have been frozen inside the water. The frost is slowly creeping towards me as it tries to freeze my body inside the water. I gasp and wave my free hand in the air as I begin to panic.

"SIVA!!!"

The child inside of me calls out for the adult that has remained by my side for years now. I helplessly yell inside the tub as I watch Siva's eyes burst open. He ignores Evan and races toward me with undeniable worry plastered to his face.

I stretch out my hand and Siva tries to grab it, but an icicle rips at his skin. He growls and, in spite of his pain, tries to reach out for me again, but something odd happens.

A certain three-diamond pendent floats in the air in front of Siva and radiates a blinding light.

I yell in pain a I feel myself drown in darkness as the ice freezes over me.