• When Lucas and Lorien finally parted after a long night, Lucas could hardly walk straight on his way home. His mind was somewhere else, a place where he didn’t want it to be at that moment.

    He wanted to think about Lorien but one thing wouldn’t leavce his mind alone.

    Why? Why now? It’s too soon, Lucas thought to himself worriedly. This can’t happen now. Wait, Dmitri, just wait.

    Lucas opened the door to his small and dainty house. It was a very narrow little house and could have been hundreds of years old for all he knew. Though, as old and battered as it might have been, it was still home to him.

    “Welcome home Lucas,” he said to himself as he climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

    He turned on the light in his room and looked around at the state of it, clean and tidy as he had left it.

    Before he went to lie on his bed, Lucas took a look at a photo hanging on his wall. There was a beautiful young lady with long hair holding a baby. Next to her was a man who was wearing a wide grin on his face and tickling a child that was about 3 or 4 years old. The family was standing under a large tree in a vast meadow and they were happy.

    Lucas sighed. “Well, we won. Bright Slendia is free. I just wish you were all here to see it,” he said talking to the people in the picture. Lucas lay on his bed and shut his eyes. He immediately regretted it.

    He started having flashbacks of that day he went to fight for the kingdom. Lucas tried to open his eyes but they were shut tight against his will. He couldn’t fight it, so he decided to outlast it.

    The sky was dark and his brother, Sham, had given him a cold look. Sham was always so kind hearted and warm that it scared Lucas to see him like that. Sham spoke to Lucas in a cold voice and shouted for the army to move forward. Without hesitation, the army moved and charged forward to kill their enemies. Lucas suddenly felt bitter and the only thing that was running through his mind was death. Not his, but his enemies’.

    It was then that Lucas felt an unbearable pain in his back and fell to the ground. The last thing he heard was Sham calling his name.

    The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a dark room, lying on a cold stone floor.

    “Well well, what in the world do we have here?” an icy voice said in the darkness. The room was suddenly brightened and Lucas was lying in a room made of stone. 3 flame torches that were placed on clasps on the walls were giving the only light. The voice belonged to a young man with blonde hair and red eyes. He smiled coldly.

    Lucas stood up. “Where am I?” he asked.

    The man chuckled. “I wouldn’t worry too much about that Lucas,” the man’s voice was so icy, it almost made Lucas shiver.

    “How did you know my name?” Lucas asked, glaring at the man.

    “You don’t have a lot of time here. I suggest you stop wasting time and start asking the right questions,” the man said circling around Lucas.

    Lucas thought for a moment, not breaking eye contact with the strange being.

    “Who or what are you and what do you want with me?” Lucas asked hoping it was a right question.

    “Very good Lucas,” the man clapped and laughed. “My name is Dmitri. Lovely to meet you. As for what I am, let’s just say I am someone who can give you whatever you want, but for a tiny price of course,” Dmitri looked at Lucas and his eyes glittered with promise.

    “What price?” Lucas asked.

    “Another good question. Well, that really all depends on what you want,” Dmitri stopped circling Lucas and stood in front of him.

    “And what if I don’t want anything?” Lucas kept his eyes on Dmitri, not wanting to break eye contact.

    “Well then, I send you to the pits of hell and there you will dwell forever for the rest of all eternity,” Dmitri said and started circling Lucas again.

    Lucas broke eye contact. “What are you?” Lucas asked strongly.

    Dmitri sighed and went to stand in front of Lucas again. He held up his left hand in a fist. “Let’s just say that I’m…” Dmitri opened his fist and a silver orb floated just above his palm. “…a demon.” Dmitri closed his hand into a fist again and the orb disappeared.

    Lucas was unphased by Dmitri magic trick. “Can you bring my parent’s back?” Lucas asked in a strong cold voice.

    “Ah, now Lucas, like everything else out there, I have limits. I can’t bring the dead back to life, but I can give you something else. I know there is something else that you would give anything to have. I know about you and Princess Lorien. I can give her to you. You can make her your wife. Your love could last forever and I can give you that,” Dmitri said with a cold smile.

    Lucas looked away from the demon. The only things he ever wanted were his family and Lorien, but what would be the price.

    “What’s the price?” Lucas asked, still looking away from Dmitri, but he looked at him as soon as the demon started laughing.

    “Now we’re getting somewhere. Alright, here’s the price,” Dmitri stroked his chin as he thought. When he looked back at Lucas, his eyes went cold. “Okay, here’s the deal Lucas, I only want your soul. That’s all I want, from you,” Dmitri was staring coldly.

    Lucas felt anger swelling in him. “What do you mean?” Lucas asked, trying to contain his anger.

    Dmitri sighed. “Let me finish,” Dmitri waited for Lucas to calm down before continuing. “The princess must also pay a price,” Dmitri held up his hand for he could see that Lucas was about to protest. “Let me finish,” Dmitri was losing his patience. “If she agrees for you to make her your wife, then she must give up her gift, the thing that gives her her immortality, but that is her choice to make, not yours,” Dmitri concluded and looked at Lucas.

    Lucas was staring at the ground, thinking. If he said no, then he would die and Sham would no longer have a family, but if he said yes, then Lorien loses her immortality. Which one was willing to lose what they needed the most?

    Lucas looked up to face Dmitri with cold eyes. “Consider the price payed,” Lucas said in a cold voice.

    Dmitri clapped his hands in delight and smiled. “You have one year to convince the princess. If you fail, then you both die,” those were Dmitri’s last words before Lucas blanked out again.

    The next moment that Lucas had seen light, he saw a battlefield, corpses everywhere on the ground, and one of them was Sham.

    With all the anger burning inside him, without thinking, Lucas grabbed his brother’s sword and pulled out his own from his belt and killed every enemy that got in his way. His brother was dead, but Bright Splendia was victorious.

    Lucas opened his eyes to see the morning sun shining through the window. He sat up on his bed and looked at the picture on the wall.

    “I paid my price, but was it the right price to pay? Help me Sham, dad, mum. Help me,” Lucas said with tears in his eyes. He wiped them away quickly and was about to fix his bed. He completely forgot the task at hand when he saw a pair of red eyes staring at him.