The Scroll

The minister was looking like he had lost all his pompousness. He looked rather pale as he stood by the door sweating. He then tried to guess under his breath,

“Sir, there's been an attack. Follow me, sir.”

The minister looked charged as he spoke. He sprinted towards the exit of the huge hallway and outside the castle, Ethan ran behind him. The minister then quickly called for two horses. Ethan’s stallion was a shiny black beauty, his eyes were as if someone had painted black for glisten under the setting sun. He was king William's lucky stallion, Phoenix, who had fought in several battles, and they had emerged victorious every single time.

Ethan held Phoenix's harness tightly in his hands and squinted at the road feeling determined. Although Ethan had never ridden a horse before in his life, he was calm. As the two approached the scene, Ethan could hear people's screams and chaos everywhere.

Some houses were on fire and children were running around haphazardly, shouting and crying. The site other disturbing for him. The minister sat on his white mare and spoke firmly,

“Sir, the demons have stood again. This seems like a warning from the demon king. There's going to be a war soon.”

Just as the Minister had finished speaking, a little kid came running towards Ethan’s stallion. The little girl about five in age gigged at Ethan, who sat on his black Phoenix majestically. She then muttered under her breath and bowed to the king.

“Your Highness,” she said, handing Ethan a scroll.

The heavy metal bars holding the scroll we're in bright red and the scroll felt like it was made of heavy paper. Ethan held the scroll between his hands and slowly opened it and widened his eyes as he read what he saw.

On the top of the scroll was a symbol, a star enclosed inside a circle. The symbol had caught Ethan's attention, but what was under it in scribbles handwriting, was what had shocked Ethan. The scroll read,

To the king of Esther city,

I know about your fake trial and the witch. Ask the witch to surrender to our kind, or you will have to suffer the consequences.

Yours, Lord Mammon.

Ethan stared at the scroll, his hand shivering. His head was feeling heavy with thoughts, and he suddenly felt fatigued with fear and responsibility as king. How did the demons know about Mia and the fake trial, and why do they want her to surrender to them? Mia was in danger and it had just occurred to Ethan that that she was alone in his room and nobody knew about it. Ethan glanced around and saw the minister helping some people. He then shouted,

“Minister, please call for some guards and help these people put the fire out. We have an entire village to save, so hurry up.”

He then held Phoenix’s harness hard again and turned around.

“I will be heading back to the castle as I have some urgent work. Please make sure this catastrophe is looked into.”

Ethan rode Phoenix effortlessly though he’d been unlearned horse riding all his life as he cut through the wind down to the castle. He then got off the horse and ran towards his room. He swung the door open and started shouting,

“Mia, where are you?”

Mia was asleep on a couch in the corner. The tiny couch was enough for Mia's petite frame, and she had curled up like a kitten. Ethan sat by Mia and gently stroked her hair. She was beautiful yet fierce and completely innocent as a child. Ethan admired her.

“Mia,” Ethan whispered and she opened her eyes slowly, “We have to get you changed wake up.”

Ethan asked the guard to fetch him a hairdresser. A middle aged fair skinned woman arrived in Ethan's doorstep and cut Mia’s long brown hair. She even gave her a new dress to wear and Mia was starting to look completely different. Mia's short brown hair made her look smart and even more powerful. Her light blue dress complimented her blue eyes, and she looked like a princess. Ethan was startled as he heard another knock on his door. Before he opened the door, he looked at Mia and whispered firmly,

“Mia, I hope you’re ready.”

Ethan opened the door slightly to the minister. The minister looked a little better this time and he spoke confidently, “Sir, the fire has been put out. We managed to save the women and children but we lost a few men.”

The minister then looked down to the ground feeling dejected, “Sir, the demons are going to attack us soon. We must do something about this.”

Ethan looked at the minister seriously. The demons were rather powerful when compared to humans and the human army didn't stand a chance against their dark powers. Ethan then nodded and began to speak,

“Minister, we have to use our intelligence to fight the demons.”

Ethan then opened the door a little more and Mia stood there behind him. Ethan continued to speak.

“This is my dear friend, Mia. Since she is the guest of the castle, all of you will treat her with respect.”

Mia stood behind Ethan nervously. She didn't want to look suspicious. She then looked up at the minister emotionlessly and spoke in an assertive tone, “I am the princess of the Hollows, I'm sure the informed minister has heard about my place.”

She looked the minister straight into his eye. The minister nodded nervously and smiled crookedly then spoke in a submissive tone, “Your Highness, welcome to our castle.”

The minister said that hesitantly as the girl looked familiar to him, but he was unable to fully point out who she was. Feeling exhausted, the minister ignored his intuition and walked away. Ethan then closed the door and smiled.

“It worked. The minister couldn't recognize you.”

Mia nodded and smiled. She missed her brown hair but Ethan had saved her life. Ethan then continued speaking,

“ Mia, I wanted to talk to you about a scroll. I think the demon King himself, Mammon, wrote it.”

“Mammon,” Mia’s face turned white as she heard that name.

Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened. Mia looked frightened. She then gasped as she spoke,

“Mammon. He's been trying to find me for a year,” she then teared up as she spoke, “Mammon abducted my sister. He even abducted some of my witch friends.”

Mia was now crying. King Mammon, the demon king was known for his ferocity. He had ruled over the demon world for several years, but his greed had caused him desire to rule the world as well. He enjoyed torturing people and hearing screams, so he would attack the world occasionally, just to fulfill his dark desires. Mammon was reckless and undefeated. The demons had always worshipped him.

Ethan looked at Mia and felt slightly confused. He put his hand on Mia’s shoulder and consoled her.

“ I understand why the people of the city would want to kill you, but the demon king? Why does he want to find you?

Mia then looked at Ethan and gritted her teeth. She clenched her fist as she grunted under her breath,

“Demons are immortal. To kill a demon, only a witch can. The demon king is a coward.”