Adrian woke up around noon. A very familiar ceiling greeted him when he opened his eyes. He was lying on the bed in his room.

  "Was everything a dream?" he wondered. However, the pain and bruise on his wrist caused by the handcuffs stung him back to reality.

  Adrian then followed his daily morning routine out of habit. He walked from his room to the bathroom and saw his own reflection in the mirror. There, he saw a dirty black haired boy with fair skin and disgruntled Amber eyes. After cleaning up, he changed into a short sleeved brown t-shirt and long black jeans and moved to the dining room.

  His father, Bob, and his sister, Winnie, were eating lunch. Bob and Winnie looked exactly like Adrian, but were slightly tanned. "Good morning," the two of them said to Adrian as if this was a typical day, their tones a bit too cheerful for what happened yesterday; but perhaps being alive, when they were supposed to have died a painful death by now, merited the joy in their tone.

  "Good morning," Adrian, on the other hand, was distressed on the fact that they betrayed the Goddess. He replied halfheartedly, while avoiding eye contact with his father and stealing a look at Winnie. As her older brother, Adrian could tell Winnie was in a clingy mood as she was sitting right next to her father on Adrian's chair. "Can't help it, after what happened yesterday," Adrian thought as he sat down in Winnie's seat. Adrian's heart ached at the sight of Bob's bandaged hands, but he quickly dismissed the thought and acted like nothing happened.

  His mother, Tiffany, was washing dishes. Unlike her husband and children, she had long blonde hair, Emerald eyes and fair skin. "Adrian, your sandwich is on the table." Tiffany said with her usual tone as if it was just another day.

  Adrian started eating in silence. He pondered over yesterday's events and tried to make sense of the situation. He had been helping his father in the farm while attending elementary school; and he had experiences in selling crops and dealing with adults. A part of Adrian knew for certain that if his father hadn't forcefully brought him home, he would most likely have died a painful death burning at the stake.

  "But! there was still a chance that it was only a test; and even if I were to die, I would have gone to Heaven!" No matter what the reason was, he still felt angry to his dad for forcefully dragging him out of prison without reasoning with him.

  "What if it was really a test given by the Goddess? Did we fail?" Adrian repeatedly questioned himself, guilty about being alive.

  He was confused, but there was one thing he was certain of: he did not want to live with a demon, as anyone who did not believe in the Goddess Liliana was a demon.

  "It was dad who forced me out of the prison. I am not sinned." Adrian said to himself to ease his conscience as he took a bite into the sandwich.

  "It's good!" The crunch of the toasted bread pushed the turmoil of yesterday's events to the back of his mind. The perfectly browned white bread was generously buttered across its entirety, which pleased Adrian. He always hated it when part of the bread was not buttered. Between the two slices of bread, the savory middle were made of two pieces of luncheon meat, a slice of cheese and a scrambled egg. Tiffany had also sprinkled salted egg yolk powder into it. This sandwich was Adrian's favorite food.

  Tiffany and Bob exchanged a look of relief as they watched Adrian eat. They were glad Adrian was enjoying his food despite what happened.

  As Adrian finished up the sandwich, Tiffany spoke with a Mom's commanding voice, "Finish the vegetables too." Adrian did not like veggies in his sandwich, so Tiffany always served them separately.

  It seemed as if everything had returned to normal. However, that feeling was fleeting.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  "It's me, N."

  It was the demon's voice, sounding like an educated young gentleman.

  "Who knows how many deceptions and treachery had been committed with that gentle voice?" Adrian thought with disdain.

  Bob stood up. Winnie tried to follow her father, but Bob gently said, "Wait here Winnie, stay with your brother." Winnie's lips puckered in a pout as she sat back down.

  Bob opened the door and walked outside to talk to N. The demon was hooded and masked, but Adrian noticed his Emerald colored eyes and black hair. He could also see some horses and wagons outside his home. Adrian's family lived in a farmhouse. It was right before the harvest season and Adrian could also see the Pumpkins and Apples outside.

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  Bob soon came back to his wife and said, "Tiffany, these wagons will take the three of you to your new home. I am going to start loading the wagons now."

  With the door opened when he came back, the family could see three one-horse wagons that were about fifteen feet long. Animals could use Mana so they were very strong and fast.

  "Three of us? What about you? You said you'd come with us, right?" said Tiffany.

  "I will, but after we arrive, I will need to go away for work. But, I would still come home at least once a month." Bob said while taking a peek at Adrian and Winnie.

  "I don't want you to go." Winnie started tearing up as she walked towards her father and hugged him. Bob and Tiffany let their children play near them whenever they were working in the farm. Other than going to school, Adrian and Winnie had never left their parents. The thought of being separated from her dad for an entire month was unbearable for Winnie.

  "I am sorry, but I have to go away for work. I will buy you some souvenirs when I get back, okay?"

  "Pinky promise?"

  "Promised." Bob said as he made a pinky promise with Winnie, but Adrian could tell that Winnie was not contented.

  Even though Winnie was sad, part of Adrian actually felt relieved. Living with a demon was extremely dangerous. Nowadays, witch hunts were always going on and you never knew when you'd get caught. As a matter of fact, his family was just arrested yesterday.

  After quickly finishing the detestable vegetables with minimal chewing, Adrian went back to his room and started packing. In the case of big harvests, crops and produces were usually sold at a market one day away from the farm. It usually took several days to sell everything. Therefore, Adrian had plenty of experiences packing up for a journey. As he packed, he found some wooden toys that his father had made for him. Adrian felt a pang in his chest as he considered leaving the toys behind. He ignored the toys and packed his clothes and other essentials. After a while, he quickly stuffed the toys into his luggage and hid them beneath his clothes, as if turning a blind eye.

  After packing up everything, Adrian took his luggage to one of the wagons. Since Tiffany and Winnie were still packing, he started helping N and Bob loading the frozen food.

  As they were loading the wagons, Adrian got curious. "Hey, demon, why are we at home? Wouldn't the Holy Knights come looking for us once they realize we're missing? What did you do?"

  "I gave the Holy Knights some false information about the demon cult and they headed east. I am pretty sure they will kill someone innocent again. Additionally, I brought some corpses from a nearby village to be used in the execution, instead of you four. They were, regrettably, attacked by bandits a few days ago." N pointed at Adrian as he spoke. "So, everyone thought you were dead. Of course, I paid the guards a hefty sum, to make sure no one would suspect anything." The demon said as he gestured a money sign with his right hand. A hint of wryness crept into N's voice as he added, "I do hope you appreciate the effort that went into finding those corpses and moving them to the execution site."

  "The guards are followers of the Goddess; they would never stoop to accept bribes!" Adrian rose his voice in indignation.

  "Where do you think I got the keys from? And how do you think I managed to visit you in your prison cell in the first place?" N smiled and asked Adrian back.

  "Didn't you kill everyone standing in your way?" Adrian replied firmly with contempt.

  "Wow, that's insane, so violent. What do you think I am? A demon?"

  "Yes, you are."

  "Oh, I am." N acted like he was surprised.

  "Stop messing around! I am being serious here!" Adrian got angry as he put down a bag of frozen food inside a wagon. "Everyone knows that demons lie, kill, steal, and commit all sorts of crimes."

  "Haha, I know. About the bribes." N suddenly stopped smiling and spoke seriously, "you will learn how the world works as you grow up Adrian. Everyone has a price."

  Adrian looked at his dad, who looked back at him and nodded.

  Adrian thought, "These two are demons, so they can be bought. No matter how much someone pays me, I will never betray the Goddess."

  "You also mentioned that the Holy Knights will kill someone innocent because of your fake tips. Don't forget that their blood is on your hands." Adrian said with contempt.

  "They are going to kill someone regardless of my tips. It is their job and they have a quota to fill." N said, looking at Adrian as if trying to impart some wisdom. Calmly and attempting not to provoke Adrian, N continued, "I know it is sad and it doesn't make sense. As I said, you will learn how the world works. There are only so many people I can save. You should consider yourself very lucky."

  "So, you're saying that the knights are randomly killing people everywhere, and the demons are trying to save them? You're making me laugh." Adrian answered sarcastically.

  N's gaze lingered on Adrian for a moment before he turned away and lifted another bag of frozen food.

  After a while, Adrian said, grudgingly acknowledging N's efforts "Well, but I must admit, you did put in a lot of work last night." N nodded as Adrian was speaking. "What about the place we're heading to? Where is it?"

  "You are moving into the capital. We will be heading north. You will begin your new life there." N answered.

  Adrian said no more and continued to load the wagons. The promise of a new life sounded exciting to Adrian, but at the same time he felt sad leaving behind the house he grew up in.

  In the afternoon, N and Bob left for some "business to take care of." Adrian continued to pack up and load the wagons with his mother and sister. Bob and N came back for dinner. After dinner, they all bathed and went to bed. Even though it was their last night in this house, their exhaustion drew the family into a deep slumber.