Chapter 4. Willow

[Human Realm]

The portal opened at a dark alley, and King Henry, Queen Lucia, Lillian, and Kate stepped out of it. It was dark, but the moon shone brightly.

Lucia balanced Willow in her arms. They left the dark alley and came out on an empty road.

"Where are we? Where is everyone?" King Henry demanded when they saw no one.

"We are in the Human Realm, and like in our world, when it’s night time, they go to sleep, I guess," Lucia said, and just then a horse carriage with litters and sedan chairs passed by them. "Let’s follow that man," she said, pointing at the coachman.

They followed the horse carriage until it stopped in front of an elegant house without a gate.

They also stopped near the carriage.

A man in his middle 60s came down from the carriage and noticed them.

"Who are these vagabonds?" he asked his coachman.

"I don’t know, sir," the coachman replied and turned his gaze on them. "Do you understand English?"

"Wow, they speak our language," Kate whispered.

"Please, I and my family are looking for a place to stay and lay our heads, please do not turn down my plea," Lucia answered him.

"Sir, she said-"

"I heard her clearly, I am not deaf, Paul," the old man said. "Do you know where you are, Mrs?" he asked Lucia.

"No, sir, we have no idea," Lucia answered. "Where is this place?"

"You’re in Spain, Mrs," the old man answered. "Come with me, I live alone in this big house. Oh, by the way, I am Samson," he added.

"And I am Lucia, kind sir, and this is my husband, Henry. And these are my children – Kate, Lillian, and my youngest child, Willow," Lucia told Samson.

Once they were in, the man told them the sections of the house they were allowed in and where they shouldn’t trespass.

"You’re too kind, sir," Lucia said after he had shown them their rooms. The girls would share a room, Willow would take one, and she and her husband would share a room.

"The only thing I need from you all is for my house to be clean and neat."

***

Two days later Willow woke up and started acting strange. He kept to himself and barely talked. He only talked to his mother or sisters once in a while. As the days rolled by, his attitude towards his father changed, and he became more hostile and colder.

One month later, he killed Samson out of anger when the old man warned him and slapped him for breaking a glass window. Paul wanted to intervene, but Willow killed him too.

"What have you done, Willow?" Lucia asked once she saw what he did.

"He provoked me," Willow answered without remorse.

***

"We have to find her immediately; Willow is getting out of hand," Lucia told her husband two days later after they had buried Samson and Paul. It was late at night, and Willow had gone out and wasn’t back yet.

"How are we going to find her? You heard when Oracle said that only Willow could find her."

"But we have to help him before bloodlust wins over him."

"We only have to hope he meets the girl," Henry said with hope.

Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, and months turned to years, and still, they couldn’t find the special lady for Willow.

***

[200 years later]

Lucia noticed they weren’t ageing like the humans, and she knew soon they would start suspecting them. They left Spain for another country with the help of Willow, and that was how they lived their life changing countries until 750 years later they settled in England.

"We only have 50 years to complete the 1000 years given to us by Oracle," Lucia said worriedly. "We haven’t found her yet." They were living comfortably by the riches of Willow.

"I still believe in the gods, Lucia; Willow will find her," Henry said with confidence.

"Willow has become worse. If we see the special lady before the years run out, can she be able to change his cold heart? Willow has changed into something else."

Willow became cold-hearted and joined the mafia world, first as an errand boy who later became a boss himself. He normally wore a face mask to conceal his real identity whenever all mafia bosses had private meetings. Soon, he became the most dreaded, powerful, and fearful mafia boss and was nicknamed Lucifer since he was very good with all kinds of weapons. He became super rich and opened many companies to his name and gave most of his companies to his parents and sisters. At day, he was the handsome rich cold businessman; at night, he was Lucifer who killed for killing’s sake. Blood was his strength, and he found solace in it.