The taking of the demon Noin
There was a story, if you were to meet the devil when the moons were dead, he will take away all your pain in exchange for your life.
That was why she was here.
Dorothy was by far the most beautiful girl in their town. She had golden hair and eyes blue as the summer skies. And yet her heart was broken. For the man she had intended to marry was dead.
She had lost him to death and now she was going to be its bride. If the devil was to eat her soul, it would no longer matter, for its mate was already in the land where the sun no longer rises. She would go to him, and kiss his face before she drowns in forgetfulness and all of her dies.
That was why she was here. She was waiting for the devil.
"Don't you know that the devil is out tonight?" a voice asked from behind her. She turned around to see a girl of around nineteen with hair, melting into the midnight and eyes deep pools of forever.
"Screw the devil, I am not afraid of him." she defied, why should she explain herself to some girl her age? Didn't she know she was her town's pride? Didn't she realize how beautiful she is? Didn't she see her pain?
"You should be." She smiled.
"If you are so afraid of him then go home and hide beneath your bed." She said turning away from her beautiful face and tall frame.
"I can't leave you here alone."
"Idiot, don't you know that the devil will eat your soul if he finds you?"
"Don't you know the devil will eat your soul if he finds you?" she asked sitting beside her.
"Idiot." She said turning from her.
"I do not have not much of a soul to devour. So I might as well give it to someone who will better benefit from it than I ever will." she said looking at her. She continued to ignore her.
"Tell me why one as beautiful as you wishes to become a feast for the eater of lives?" she asked.
"For those who have no reason to live, have no more use for souls." she answered absently.
"Such a tragedy for someone so young."
"Not so." She said looking at him. "That is why I am here. For the pain to melt away with the dawn."
"It seems that the devil had other matters to attend to for the sun is preparing to rise." Her companion said looking at the horizon. Dorothy turned to the slowly reddening sky and marveled at how fast the night had passed.
"Even the devil mocks my pain." She whispered.
"Perhaps when the moon dies again." The girl said getting up. But Dorothy just stared at the dawn breaking.
***
She walked towards the river, her eyes lost. She looked at her reflection on the glassy surface of the water, her fingers caressed the surface, wishing, pleading.
And she closed her eyes.
***
He had seen her fall and in his infinite stupidity, he dove in behind her. Ignoring the sting of the icy water upon his skin, ignoring the current pulling at his muscles, draining his life.
He saw her golden hair flittering amid the fishes. This was all he saw.
***
She opened her eyes, the sunlight blinding her. She looked at the panting boy above her, unsure of why he was there. She lifter her hand to shield her eyes from the burning sun.
He was saying something but she could not understand what he was saying. Her fingers found themselves upon his face, feeling his skin, touching his breathing. Her eyes strayed to his trembling lips, watching the drops of water travel across his cheeks.
"Why…did you…" she whispered stopping his voice. "…save me?" she asked her eyes brimming with salt water, her hand clutching his wet shirt.
"I…" he looked at her confused. "I could not let you die."
***
She sat at the table, facing the empty place she had set for him. Her husband would be home soon.
He had married her that day he fished her out of the water.
"Dorothy." He called and she came out to meet him. She leaned against the doorframe.
"I am sorry were you waiting long?" he asked. She shook her head and smiled. She ran to him and enfolded him in her arms. And she kissed him.
"Look what I have." He dangled a pearl in front of her eyes and she laughed. They stepped inside the house his arms protectively around her and she sighed.
It was late and she sat watching the fire in his arms, listening to him breathe. She drew her eyes from the fire and set her eyes upon his sleeping face. His silver hair and thin lips seemed familiar somehow. And as she ran her fingers through his hair her heart stopped.
She looked at his sleeping face, the face of a dead lover.
Dorothy had been in love with only one man. The boy she was bound to, they had grown up together. Marcus was a farmer and he was poor, but she loved him like no one could and she knew she would be his wife the moment he took her hand to help her climb the trees with him.
Marcus was only nineteen when he died, and so was she. He had left her arms late that evening with promises of a wedding and silver flowers in her hair. But he never came back.
She had died that day when she learned that his body was found in the forest, no explanations, no reasons. He was just gone.
When Noin had looked down on her with sunlight blurring her vision she felt something break inside of her. As if the fortress she had encased her heart in when Marcus died was finally breached. She thought that if she could not love Marcus anymore, than she would rather die. For a world without him was a world of eternal grief. And yet in her husband's arms she laughed.
And now, for the first time in the two years she had spent in his arms she saw that her husband had her lover's face, his voice, his laugh. And suddenly she was afraid.
She withdrew form his embrace waking him.
"Dorothy?" Noin asked sleepily.
"Who are you?" she asked standing up.
"What is this?" he asked sitting up.
"Who are you?" she asked her voice full of dread.
"I am your husband." He said waking himself.
"Then why do you wear his face?" she asked tears streaming down her face. Noin looked at his weeping wife, how could he answer her? How could she ever understand?
He reached out to her and she drew away. Noin stood up and looked at his wife's tear stained face, he opened his mouth to say something but it seemed he had nothing left to say. He pulled on his shirt, opened the door and he left.
***
There was a story and the moons were dead once more. And she stood there waiting.
"Don't deny me this!" she screamed to the deaf night.
"There is a story…" she turned around to see the girl that she had seen two years ago face her. Nothing had changed in her face.
"Why did you not take my life that night years ago?"
"I did not want to." The devil smiled.
"Take my life now. Please." She pleaded.
"Such a tragedy." It shook its head. It caressed the smaller girl's face and pulled her roughly against it as it prepared to take her lips.
"Why did you wear his face?" Dorothy asked her expression never changing.
"What?" it asked drawing away.
"It was you." she said monotonously.
"What?" it asked once more.
"I knew it was you." a silence fell between them. Then the demon laughed.
"How?"
"Your eyes, they never change. Everything about you changed but your eyes."
"I ate him." it smiled. "I ate him and I learned of you." it looked at Dorothy's disbelieving face.
"When I saw you waiting for me, unafraid, I knew it was you that that boy Marcus loved. And I saw the pain in your eyes." It said turning away from its wife.
"No one had waited for me, wanting me to take their souls. No one." It sighed. "I saw the beautiful woman whose kindness and laughter was one of a kind and whose tears were even more beautiful. And I felt ashamed."
"Ashamed?" she asked stepping closer.
"Understand that I have been feeding on souls longer than this world has existed. But I have never seen one like you. Never felt someone love another so much."
"Marcus?"
"So I took his face, I saved you that day in the river. And I made you my wife."
"Why?"
"I wanted to make you happy, because he never had the chance to." It said sadly. "But then something went wrong. I wanted to make you happy for myself no longer for him. And I wanted you to see me for myself. But you still saw his face and I could not tell you the truth, for it would break your heart."
"A demon with a heart?" she wanted to laugh.
"No, caring for only one soul does not gain you a heart." It smiled ruefully and turned around. "Ask another demon to take your soul child for I cannot. He loved you that is all you have to know and to my shame, I had destroyed what life you could have lived with him. And for that I am sorry."
"Wait." She called. The demon turned around and looked at her. "I did saw you. It was you that I wanted to see not him."
"What are you saying?" it said its beautiful feminine face contorted in confusion.
"Marcus is dead. There is nothing I can do about that now. But you made me happy, more than you can imagine." She smiled coming close to it. "And I came here to ask for my husband back for I will not let his son grow up without a father." She said drawing her cloak back to show her swollen belly.
Noin looked at her and smiled its peculiar smile. It drew its wife into its arms and devoured her lips. Feeling the child beneath her skin.