Charlotte sat up for some time on her bed. Deep breaths hurt her lungs, so she took more shallow breaths that made her look like she was panting.

After she felt a bit more acquainted to her condition and the room she was in, she got down from the bed.

The stone floor was cold and hard, the rough uneven surface of the stone tiles poked her bare feet, and she walked to the table, grabbing her slingbag and emptying its content on the table. Her eyes focused on four things only: Her red clown nose, a bag of honey roasted peanuts, her clown-for-hire business cards with her photo in full clown get-up, and her wallet in which she found her university ID card, the one that showed her as a Ph.D student. She lowered herself on the only chair there, and began to look at those precious things for her at the moment.

She did not want to forget: She had been a grad student at the university, she had earned her Ph.D, she worked a lot with young children, and she was a clown-for-hire for kids birthday party. The honey roasted peanuts was Dad's favourite, and hers. The red clown nose was Mom's present for her, she had carried it everywhere in her slingbag as a way to remember Mom.

I do not want to be a demon, demon like Nerra. No! I had a decent life. I do not want to be a sacrifice to the demon.

She kept shaking her head as if that could help in turning her fate around.

A couple knocks at the door startled her.

She rushed to put her stuff back into the slingbag, froze for a few seconds, and,"Come in."

The heavy oak door opened, and Arran stepped into the room, followed by a middle-aged woman who brought a tray of bread and some drink in a wood cup.

Charlotte's breath stopped in her throat when she saw Arran. The towering guard of the castle stood, and Charlotte could have sworn that he was sheepish.

His gaze darted from her to the floor and lingered there.

The middle-aged woman set the tray with food in front of Charlotte, and Charlotte mustered a thank you before the woman left the room without any word.

Just Arran and her in the room now, and the room seemed to have contracted, cutting the distance between her and him.

Charlotte realized one thing and she rushed to cross her arms in front of her chest: Her sleep gown's fabric was so thin and almost see-through and she just felt naked now in front of Arran. Her legs trembled and she struggled to stand without looking like she was going to fall on her face.

Arran knew what she was trying to do and he kept his gaze slightly aside as he spoke,"Lady Charlotte, our leader Sylve said that you ... you were looking for me."

"Yes ... yes," Charlotte nodded, uncertain what she should say next. She went quiet. "Lady Charlotte?" after a quiet moment that went a bit too long, Arran spoke again.

Charlotte nodded, lifted up her chin to give her a bit more strength. "Arran, I-I just want to say ... thank you." Her arms still crossed in front of her chest, and her knees grew more and more like jelly.

Arran was surprised by what she had just uttered, he lifted his gaze from the floor to Charlotte in a slow, unsure movement like he was trying to decide if it was alright to stare back at her.

His blue eyes managed to shatter Charlotte's composure.

The blue eyes were like an ocean in which Charlotte was thrown into, and she let herself drown in deep, gentle, and warm water that caressed her body in tender massage. All words had escaped her mind, though it was Arran's black facial tattoo that made her shudder. That tattoo seemed menacing, at least for her.

"Thank you? What for?" Arran tilted his head, took a step closer, and that sent Charlotte into a sort of panic for reason she did not understand why—panic that was shown in her eyes.

"I am sorry if I scare you. I will-will keep my distance," Arran stepped back again.

Charlotte shook her head. "No, no. You don't scare me. I want to say thank you for holding me when I fell. It-it helped."

"I have failed to save you from the immora. Please do not thank me for anything, Lady Charlotte."

"Please. Just-just Charlotte."

"Charlotte." Arran spoke her name with that deep calming voice of his and Charlotte must admit to herself that she liked it.

"You don't fail anything, Arran. You made me feel stronger when you held me." Charlotte sighed, and decided to ask Arran,"Tell me, Arran, what and where is this place?"

Arran did not answer right away, he walked to the window and staring outside, to the spring blue sky.

Charlotte found strength to walk to him, and stood one armlength next to him by the window. She looked outside, and saw a back garden full with plants that were blooming, green, fresh, and beautiful. As her eyes moved and paid attention to more things, she figured out that she was in one room of a stone castle. One thing that seemed a tad bit out of place was the scarlet iron fence that encircled the whole garden. She realized it had the same color as the scarlet bracelet on Arran's wrist. But she decided not to think much of it.

After letting her visual sense got accustomed to the view outside, she nodded."It's beautiful." She sighed,"So I am in a castle now, and the castle has a big back garden with lots of plants—"

"A castle, yes. But not like other castles you may have seen before in your life."

Charlotte watched Arran's face in full focus now, and Arran turned to look at her too. When her eyes caught Arran's, she felt it again—a glimmer of hope, of someone who she could trust to be with her in this horror journey. She took a deep breath. Her arms tightened in front of her chest, still crossing them to make her feel a bit more "clothed."

"Tell me, Arran. Tell me all. I want to know. I must know. Please tell me all."

Arran stared to a point far in the horizon outside, and he began to tell her in slow and steady voice like he had chosen every word meticulously to protect her heart—he told her about Rogh, immora, Sylve, Nerra, the Order of the Guardians of the Abyss, and the invisible castle and the fact that the people who lived in the castle had all drunk the immortality potion to continue guarding the abyss. They could only be killed if Rogh and his dark energy became strong enough to fight them. Thus they were in constant guarding mode just in case Rogh got strong enough to come up here and battle them again.

When Arran finished telling the story, Charlotte had already started struggling to breathe, to understand, though her brain failed to piece things together in logical manner. It could not be. How could it be? It was so strange yet so real. She could not explain anything, and that scared her so much.

"It's-it's crazy. I saw a dagger melt into me, I am turning into a demon within 30 days, and I live now in an invisible castle, on top of a chasm that led to an abyss where R-Rogh, the demon king lived. How—?" Her body shook hard, her head was heavy and breathing hurt her lungs. Her legs gave up and her body began to slump. Arran turned and grabbed her shoulder to keep her standing.

"Charlotte, you have to be strong. You have to."

"How? I am turning into a demon and I am so cold. Immora is working to turn me evil, isn't it?"

"Listen, Charlotte, please listen to me. Sylve is a powerful sorceress. She was the one who beat Rogh and sent him back to the abyss long ago. She is preparing a potion for you now to help get immora out of your body. It will work. You have to trust her."

Charlotte's eyes caught the silver necklace hanging on Arran's neck. Majestic yet simple necklace, and she loved looking at it.

"Charlotte?" Arran gently shook her shoulder.

Charlotte tried to focus on Arran and to stand up, and she did stand. Arran let go of her shoulders, and she stared at him through her tears-stained eyes, her arms did not cross in front of her chest anymore, she used them to hold on to the window's sill. Arran stood close to her she could see his chest heaved up and down as he breathed.

"And you, Arran. You have not told much about yourself. You are also an immortal, I presume. But who are you? I have the feeling you are not just the castle's guard," she half-whispered as she fought the urge to caress his face.

Arran froze before stepping back from her, Charlotte realized at that moment that Arran did not wish to tell her more about himself. She found it rather disconcerting and strange, but she did not have the heart, nor the energy, to push it further.

That was the end of Arran's visit to her. He politely excused himself, and left.

Charlotte staggered back to bed, ignoring the food and drink on the table, and collapsed on the bed.

<<<>>>

Arran rushed back to the only place he felt like he was home. His gardener's cottage. He had a room in the castle, but unless it was in the dead of winter, he usually slept in the cottage. He had a simple bed next to the window overlooking his plants, a simple kitchen and a table and two chairs. His swords, bows and arrows lined the wall on one side, his gardening tools on another side. There was a flute too, it was on the bed. Arran could play the flute well, he would play it in the morning when he woke up. But these days it had been difficult for him to play his music. The roar of Rogh from underground got louder as the demon became stronger. He could hear the roar in his mind as if the demon was just next to him, and he could not play his flute anymore.

He needed to go back to the cottage just to take a breath, to calm himself down.

He had duties, but he could not even breathe properly now.

Charlotte, he whispered her name many times.

She was sweet, and it pained him so much to see how scared and cold and heartbroken she was.

He wanted to hold her tight, to tell her all would be alright, she would be able to go home to her loved ones again. But he could not, because he did not know if that would be possible.

He knew Rogh and the deadly immora. He knew it all too well the power of darkness that ruined lives.

What about if Sylve's potion fail to help Charlotte?

Arran grabbed the end of the table, bowed his body slightly and shut his eyes tight as worry and sadness ravaged him.

I do not even dare to tell you who I am. Truly, who I am. I am sorry, Charlotte. I know I have run away just now from answering that simple question of yours. I do not know how to explain to you without making you hate me, fear me. I do not know how.

He opened his eyes and watched his silver necklace dangled from his neck and whispered in his mind: I'd do anything to help you go home to the ones you love, Charlotte. Anything at all.

His right hand held his sun pendant, pressed it against his thumb, and something came into his mind. He nodded. Anything at all, Charlotte. I'd do it. For you.

Arran breathed faster when he realized being so close to Charlotte had awakened him in a way he never knew he could. The softness of her skin, the silhouette of her body beyond the gown, he tried to look away because he knew she was not comfortable with him there in the room with her wearing such a thin gown.

He staggered to his bed, and let his body fall on it. His arms extended and his eyes closed, he struggled to breathe properly, but he failed. It was as if Charlotte was there, laying next to him, her fragrance lingered in his nose, his fingers remembered the warmth of her skin, and how he loved the way she looked at him, the way her voice sounded like.

His mind went wilder, and his hands grabbed the sheet of the bed as his mind took him deeper to his own world where Charlotte was with him, here, together, entangled in warm breaths and bare skin and sensuous bliss.

He shook his head, his arousal at just the thought of Charlotte shamed him. He knew he had to stop, so he quickly stood up again, rubbing his hands on his face, feeling out of breath and surprised at then intensity of the pleasurable sensations.

As his breath slowed down, his mind went somber from the reality that Charlotte had to face now.

His arrow missed the shot on immora, and that ended up causing hurt to Charlotte—he should not have missed that shot, he could shoot a deadly snake hidden among the trees in the dark night, right in between its eyes. To shoot down the immora was supposed to be easy for him. But his worry of Charlotte, his emotions got the better of him.

Charlotte let him experience, for the first time ever, what fear was, what worry was. The fear and worry that took away his steady nerves and hands and arms—those needed for a precise arrow shot.

She was beautiful and beyond his reach because she was worlds away from his own world.

And that was why he knew, he had to stay away from Charlotte. He did not wish his darkness to taint her light. He was, and always would be, the untouchable—a taboo that should not even exist to begin with.

Arran groaned. He wanted Charlotte. He wanted her so badly. He cursed himself and his life, and for a fleeting moment, the soft glimmer of his silver necklace and its pendant dimmed along with rage that turned his eyes darker.