Jacob spent the next several days with his family who had given him up to Sigrdrífa. At least that’s how it seemed but he learned that things were not so simple. First of all one does not simply deny a Valkyrie and it was as Sigrdrífa told him, her words were a decree by the Goddess Erestia herself and one cannot deny a God without incurring consequences, that was as common sense. He was fortunate then that Sigrdrífa did not take offense to his actions which, in hindsight, was shortsighted and revealed his ignorance.

There was no excuse for it for he truly was being a fool just as Sigrdrífa had said. Another evidence to support this was the thought that his parents would simply ‘give him up’ without a fight in the first place. Sigrdrífa may have been a Valkyrie but she did not have an easy time trying to convince them to give her custody of their child. Jacob did not know of the specifics but from what he was told, promises and assurances were made by the Valkyrie to them.

After clearing up that misunderstanding the mood went from tense to dour as his parents came to term with the fact that it was unlikely they would see Jacob again for a long time. The thought weighed heavily on all of them, especially Jacob who found himself enjoying all the things that made him feel content with his life. In the coming years onward his life would be grand adventures, great battles and all the things his peers dreamt of experiencing.

There is a reason why Jacob never aspired to be anything more than a shopkeeper and it wasn’t necessarily due to a lack of ambition. While Jacob could come off as simple at first glance he was far from a fool and the reason for this came from his parents. His mother and father were both intelligent with the latter being a shrewd businessman and the former being a scholar.

Neither of them believed in intellectually coddling their child and so did not shy away from certain truths when teaching him about the wider world at large. The truth is that Jacob did in fact once aspire to be more than a mere shop hand. He too dreamt of leaving Everguard to walk his own path and so was very interested in his options outside the town. Being the intellectuals they were his parents obliged him with providing information on what to expect leaving Everguard to pursue lofty goals.

The picture they painted was not one of adventure, whimsy or any of that. Instead he was beholden to the truth of what is likely to happen if he attempted to try his luck outside Everguard. Needless to say they did not paint the same portrait as what the stories told. Whatever riches, glory and romance to be had outside Everguard was displaced by hardship, sacrifices and death.

Could it have been an exaggeration? Perhaps, however the evidence of his parents’ word was provided through the stories of actual brave, idealistic young men and women who left their homes to venture out into the world. Most of them don’t come back and the few who do…aren’t the same as when they left. As for those who don’t come back only a few are heard from again through letters, though depending on the situation a single letter may be the only thing their family would get.

The rest aren’t heard from again and it was due to this that Jacob was beholden to a great truth and a simple fact of life. The simple fact being that the world is a dangerous place and people die. It was something that his peers rarely think about and for a long time neither did he. This wasn’t something his parents specifically taught him but what he inferred from his own exploration of the knowledge provided.

When people, especially the young, think of heroes, knights and adventurers they only think of the power, wealth, glory and prestige to be gained but they never really think about the journey to get there. The things those people would have to do, endure and sacrifice on the way to attaining all they have. In the case of the heroes and knights it wasn’t lost on him how the measures of their legacies more often than not revolve around the stature of their death.

Did they die as a hero should, for the greater good, fighting off some great catastrophe or sacrificing themselves to save innocents?

Did they perish through underhanded tactics in battle, a lucky blow from their enemy, poison or old age?

Did they give in to temptation and succumb to corruption?

Jacob may not have thought himself a prodigy or have a particularly high talent in most things but he was at least aware that he could have pushed himself. His family had enough resources for him to at least attempt several different avenues towards a more lucrative and prestigious future but it was thoughts like this coupled with the evidence of his fellow townsmen that crushed any want for those kinds of ambitions. When all is said his safety was worth more than any chance at prestige or glory and so he deliberately chose to remain mediocre.

Some would call it a waste of talent, in fact they actually did, but to Jacob it was a simple act of self preservation.

‘A fat lot of good that did me’ he thought bitterly.

The irony of his situation was not lost on him being the only boy his age liking his mediocre life only to be granted the ‘honor’ of becoming a Hero. It made him bitter and compounding this bitterness was the reveal of the incident to the public. It caught him off guard when one day he and his parents were suddenly being hounded by the entire neighborhood asking questions about him, the Valkyrie and the ‘Demon.’ The silver lining to all this was that it was only the battle between Sigrdrífa and the Demon that were being told.

Thankfully there was no mention of him being taken by Sigrdrífa to become a Hero which was a relief as he could barely stand the attention he was currently getting from basically being an innocent bystander.

People were persistent with their pestering, offering condolences for his being deceived by ‘that demonic harlot,’ platitudes for being saved by a Valkyrie and asking so many questions. Most galling of all were the assumptions on how he felt or should feel about the situation. It really was a good thing they didn’t know about his impending recruitment into the ranks of the Holy Order for he really didn’t think he could stop himself from speaking his mind if he heard their opinions on that.

With the story out Sigrdrífa no longer kept herself hidden though she did keep her public appearances scarce for the most part. Every so often she would be seen in public walking amongst the populace who were in awe at the sight of her. Naturally the appearance of an actual Valkyrie became the talk of the town eclipsing Jacob’s popularity. It still wasn’t an ideal situation however Jacob made it work or at the very least tried to while forcefully squeezing as much out of the limited time as possible.

Jacob would like to think that he reconciled with his situation of having to leave all that he knew behind. It was a nice thought but he knew it wasn’t quite true. There was one thing he couldn’t get over and really it was the only thing because he was forbidden from confronting it in the first place.

Or rather he couldn’t confront her in the first place.

~O~

Evelyn, Eveleena, the Demon, whatever you want to call her. Jacob has mixed feelings on the subject of that woman. Despite her true nature being something of an undisputed fact at this point Jacob was still caught up in a suspension of disbelief. It is one thing to be told of the things that occurred but it is another to believe it and Jacob found himself doubtful of the claims levied against her regardless of her true nature. Claims of her being evil, manipulative and so on were the claims of the ignorant, of those who didn’t quite know who they were even talking about.

Jacob can say with a level of certainty that no one in Everguard knew that woman like he did. It was almost paradoxical how she had such a presence in town and yet was able to keep her life private. He could call magical shenanigans as an explanation, it was certainly the go to excuse for a lot of the anomalies surrounding her and while that may be the case for most, he was doubtful it was be all end all excuse.

For instance Sigrdrífa claimed to have purged him of her ‘influence’ and he was hard pressed to challenge her on that but the fact of the matter is that Jacob didn’t feel any different, mentally speaking. You’d think given that he was her main target (for some reason) and assuming his feelings towards her were as a result of demonic machinations then following the alleged purge of her influence his feelings should have changed but no they were more or less the same.

A lot of people including Sigrdrífa herself seemed to feel that way and it all goes back to assumptions. People have a lot of assumptions as to what his relationship with Evelyn was and in their defense they most likely thought of it as the relationship between some demonic creature masquerading as a woman and a young impressionable teenage boy. But contrary to their assumptions the nature of their relationship was actually a lot more mundane. Simply put they were friends, close friends yes but if there was a more intimate comparison then at best they were like siblings.

It was only in recent months that Jacob thought about pushing their relationship further. Even then he was content to play the long game and build a better impression with her as a reliable man instead of a little brother.

But what did he know of Demons and their magic? For all he knew his developing feelings towards her could indeed be a result of her manipulations. But if he believed that then he would be like literally every other man in Everguard, the ones who were called out for courting a beautiful woman who was revealed to be a Demon and claiming their infatuation to be a result of ‘foul demonic magic.’

It was about as flimsy and shallow of an excuse as it looked coming from their mouths but people believed it nonetheless. Never mind that the only human woman in Everguard to ever come close to matching her beauty was the priestess Isobel and the only one to exceed it was Sigrdrífa a literal heavenly maiden. Jacob supposed that those men had the benefit of being ignorant of the woman otherwise, of not spending enough time with her to know the personality behind that beauty.

It was certainly the thing that swayed his interest from mere attraction to affection. Contrary to popular belief Jacob was not immediately infatuated with Evelyn on their first meeting. He was 13 years old when he first met the woman and his attraction towards her went about as far as thinking she was pretty and blushing in her presence. He would like to think that if their relationship had remained at that he wouldn’t be any more attracted to her. Jacob was a realist after all and he did not want to be the type of man who would pine after a lost cause.

How fortunate for him then that they did form a friendship, that he got to know the woman and it was through those interactions and eventually developed feelings for her.

Was it a trap?

A trick?

Some unfathomable ploy to win his affections?

He can’t say for certain but it seemed unnecessary that a being who could give a Valkyrie so much trouble (a massive tower of light for all of Everguard to see) would stoop so low as to play the demure local beauty in a small town just to win his affection.

Was it because he was special?

The Goddess Erestia seemed to think so but that brought up a whole other host of questions. Jacob couldn’t even begin to fathom why she would do such a thing. Why go through all the trouble of doing a three year ruse when she clearly has the power to simply take him by force? The only thing his poor brain could think of was that she was being genuine in her overtures of friendship.

But just as he wouldn’t completely trust the assumptions of strangers or even the words of a Valkyrie Jacob couldn’t trust his own assumptions either.

Evelyn was the first woman he developed feelings for.

Evelyn was the woman he knew for three years.

Evelyn was like an older sister to him.

Evelyn was his friend.

Evelyn was…a liar.

‘Evelyn’ wasn’t even her real name and if he didn’t even know that much about her then who is to say that nothing else about their relationship was a lie?

All this pondering made Jacob’s head hurt, it was a lot to think about for someone who was used to the simple and mundane. It was confusing but more than that it was frustrating as these thoughts still plagued his mind and the worst part of it was that there wasn’t an outlet available for him to express his frustrations.

He had questions he wanted answered dammit!

~O~

Jacob hated the market. There were a number of reasons for this, it was a loud, crowded and confusing mess with a cacophony of sights, smells and sounds that would cause bafflement to anyone unfamiliar. He only ventured to the market when it was necessary and at the moment it wasn’t but with Sigrdrífa announcing their departure to be the very next day Jacob found himself just aimlessly wandering through familiar streets as if he wanted to take it all in one last time.

Even this unpleasant place held precious memories that he would miss.

Just then there was a light breeze and it carried something familiar with it. A scent that somehow manage to rise above the usual smells of the market and as he latched onto it familiar memories came to the fore. He only knew from one person for which to associate this scent with. Just as the thought came unobstructed he felt a sensation that caused him to turn in a specific direction and there she was.

“Evelyn?”

The word expelled from his lips seemingly of their own accord. Then as if to answer his call the woman gave him a sideways glance from across the crowded path and started walking away. Before Jacob knew it his feet were already on the move, following after her through the streets trying to avoid collision with people, objects and a few animals alike. His measured, inconspicuous steps eventually gave way to desperation and frenzy as time passed and he found himself no closer to catching up to her.

It was as if she was a mirage, always in sight but never within reach.

Jacob didn’t know how long his chase with the seeming apparition lasted but it ended outside of the marketplace, in a secluded alleyway on some random street he was not familiar with. He stood at the edge and right before him was the woman who had been plaguing his thoughts in one way or another for the better part of a week. A part of him realized the strangeness of this all, realized he was currently alone in some unknown place with a woman who is purported to be a monster.

Jacob swallowed, he knew it was foolish to continue but he could not turn away now, he needed to know. And so he walked into the metaphorical belly of the beast to confront the lone woman. There was so much he wanted to ask. All the things that have been plaguing his mind amongst the condemnation and accusations lay against her. He needed answers to all of them but as he went to open his mouth, he stalled.

A blink of shock, moving mouth without words to supply and narrowed eyes of confusion later and the first words out of his mouth were not the ones he envisioned starting off with.

“You’re not Evelyn.”

They were both caught off guard by this, she for obvious reasons but he because it only took a moment after the words were said to grasp their meaning and the reasoning behind it. The more he observed ‘Evelyn’ the more he could see what appeared to be distortions in her form. It was like the portraits in Brimsey’s manor, where the rendition was of high quality and detail however if compared to an actual person there was an obvious divide from reality.

It was the same here this woman looked as he remembered Evelyn but there was something uncanny about her, specifically the eyes. The way she looked at him, the expression on her face, it was pleasant to be sure but it did not inspire the feelings within that Jacob had come to expect.

Now he was positive of his observations “who are you?”

The unknown woman (for he was sure she was not Evelyn) chuckled “you saw through me.”

Jacob failed to suppress the shiver he felt at hearing her voice.

As she strode forward her form blurred and like wispy smoke ‘Evelyn’ was unmade to reveal a monster. An involuntary gasp left his lips and his face heated at the sight of her. She was a tall, buxom woman with pointed ears, long vibrant pink hair wearing a brown leather corset and matching bikini that barely left anything to the imagination. Despite this his eyes were more drawn to her two horns, bat-like wings and spaded tip tail.

This woman-shaped creature was unlike anything Jacob had ever seen before. The more he stared at her form the more he couldn’t take his eyes off of her. The way how her stocking clad legs moved with the exaggerated swaying of her hips and the subtle bounces of her bosom as she strutted, it was truly captivating. And her eyes, they were in the same vibrant shade of pink as her hair and…

*Blink*

Jacob reached up to rub his eyes.

When he opened them he found that the mysterious woman was standing before him. While not as tall as Sigrdrífa she was tall enough that she needed to bend her body forward to look him in the eye. It gave a perfect view of her cleavage which was literally almost in his face.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Jacob jumped and spun around before gazing down to find a small figure wearing a hooded cloak.

“Huh, that’s something.”

Jacob took two steps back and ended up bumping into something. Turning yet again he was immediately enveloped into the first woman’s bosom.

“I have him~”

“No kidding” was the dry reply.

Jacob could feel the heat in his face it sank into her soft chest, her scent was intoxicating. It was enough that he almost didn’t notice when the world around him shined a bright red. He tried to push away but her grip was solid and she only pulled him in tighter in response until the only thing his world for that moment was her cleavage and her intoxicating scent.

“What took you so long?” a voice spoke up from behind him.

“You try navigating a town incognito with a Valkyrie in it.”

“I mean, I’d probably have a better chance than the two of you all things considered.”

“Whatever.”

“So, this is the guy?”

“Yep!”

The woman finally pulled away from him and for a moment Jacob felt a pang at the loss of her warmth and softness, but only for a moment as he was turned around to face the owner of the new voice he heard. This woman had short platinum blonde (practically white) hair and wore a dark open coat over a black strip of cloth wrapped around her chest, fingerless gloves, brown short pants that reach her thighs just above the black stockings and wearing black heeled boots that reached up to her shin.

Her choice of clothing left a good deal of her upper body exposed and Jacob could not help but to note how fit the woman looked which made sense since he could also see she carried a sword on her back.

The woman cocked her head a bit as she scrutinized the boy with her dull red eyes almost causing Jacob to fidget under her intense gaze. Eventually she broke the brief silence with a single comment

“Huh, he’s not what I was expecting.”

Before Jacob could even make sense of those words his attention was taken by the familiar voice of the other shorter figure he met in that alley.

“You’re telling me.”

That figure now devoid of the cloak turned out to be…a little girl.

It took a moment for Jacob to realize that his eyes were not deceiving him and he was in fact a little girl. She stood a full head shorter than him looking at least two years younger with short charcoal black hair and lips(?). She wore a black coat with red interior over a strapless form fitting black dress with slits exposing her short legs and boots. She also wore an almost comically oversized witch hat, a medallion with an unknown symbol around her neck and carried a wooden staff that, much like her hat and robe, seemed oversized for her frame. The staff itself was almost styled like a shepherd’s crook however its appearance was twisting with wood and a red crystal entwined along its length.

The staff gave off an aura that sent a chill down Jacob’s spine the first time he looked at it but nothing put him off more than the eyes of the small girl as she gave him a once over. They were large on her face and the deepest shade of red he’s ever seen which was odd enough but combined with the expression on her face that was most definitely not one a little girl should have and Jacob was convinced that there was something wrong with this girl…even when not accounting for the company she keeps.

Then there was the way how she talked “so this kid is the one lady Eveleena chose huh?” she made an adorably puzzled face before adding “he’s not much to look at.”

“Right” his first critique added coming to stand beside the girl.

Before he knew it a pair of slender arms wrapped around him and two incredibly soft globes rested on his head.

“Be nice you two” the pink haired one chastised “who are we to judge who our mistress chooses, hmm? Besides I think he has potential.”

“How do you figure?” the swordswoman questioned.

“He saw through my illusion magic.”

“No way, you’re joking” the swordswoman turned to the little girl “is she joking?”

“It’s not untrue though in my opinion I think her illusion was just flimsy this time because she had to focus on stealth.”

“Lies” pink hair denounced “my illusions are always perfect no matter what.”

“Right, then what about the charm magic you’re always bragging about? You saying some teenage virgin managed to break out of it?”

Pink hair paused “w-well I wasn’t trying to charm him, not really, I only wanted to calm him down.”

This got a whistle from the swordswoman who seemed to be reevaluating him “I stand corrected then.”

“Yep” Jacob felt the monster woman lean into him further from behind “he’s going to become a fine man~”

Her hands started to roam his chest and that was about all he could take and in a surprising show of force Jacob broke out of the woman’s clutches and took several steps away making sure to keep all three of them in his line of sight.

“Jacob-”

“STAY BACK!” he warned pointing at pink hair before she could speak.

Jacob had enough, he was already confused and frustrated with the situation but their careless banter and tricks made the simmering pot that was his tolerance, boil over.

“Why is there shouting?”

For what was the umpteenth time Jacob turned around and was met with yet another woman. He shouldn’t be surprised at her appearance but he was for obvious reasons. First this woman was tall and she wore full body of plated armor looking like a proper knight. He knew she wasn’t human however, her pointed ears, ghostly pale skin and red eyes confirmed as much. For a long moment she looked at him with intense scrutiny. Jacob met her gaze as unflinchingly as he could though he suspected she knew it was a bluff.

Finally the woman’s gaze softens though her expression remained stoic and in one swift motion of grace belying her bulk the woman kneeled before him.

“My lord.”

Jacob could only stare at this…knight in complete bafflement and judging by the exclamations from the others he wasn’t the only one.

“Uh-oh.”

“Oh my.”

“Here we go.”

“Uh, wha-what did you just call me?”

“My lord.”

“Why?”

“You are Jacob of Everguard are you not?”

“Yeah…”

“Then it is only common courtesy that I refer to you by your title.”

“Ysmeina he’s not-umph!” the witch girl tried to explain only to be silenced by a hand.

“Shh, I wanna see where this goes” the swordswoman had a wide grin on her face.

Jacob ignored the byplay to focus on the knight kneeling before him which was so uncomfortable.

“I am not a lord.”

“I understand that you and lady Eveleena have not had a proper ceremony but she spoke very fondly of you.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

The woman had the gall to look at him as if he were daft “everything, you are her betrothed after all.”

“…”

Jacob stared at the woman for a long moment before looking to the other three hoping they would provide an explanation. He would be disappointed as what he got was the pink haired one covering her mouth in amusement, the swordswoman stifling giggles and the small one palming her face in exasperation. He spent another few moments looking between them, mouth moving but words refusing to form until finally he mustered the will and patience to articulate a single question.

“Who are you people?”

Before the knight could speak the pink haired woman gasped “oh, where are my manners. All this time we’ve been talking and none of us have introduced ourselves.”

The other two beside her shared looks before the taller of the two glanced away a bit “well this is embarrassing.”

“I’ll go first~” pink spoke before practically gliding into his front view “hello ‘Lord’ Jacob” she teased at his expense “I am Caitlin and I must say it is an absolute pleasure to meet you~”

The tone in which she said it and the look in her eye set off warning bells through Jacob’s head.

Next was the swordswoman “Roselyn, nice to meet’cha” she added casually with a grin.

The witch girl rolled her eyes at her companions’ antics but complied nonetheless “Riseth.”

Finally his gaze met the knight’s “I am Ysmeina Alissard” she lowered her head in submission “and it is an honor to meet you.”

Sufficiently creeped out by the display of devotion Jacob took a couple steps back so that all three were all in his line of sight. At this point he would have preferred if they were bloodthirsty creatures looking to brutally murder him rather than unnaturally attractive females who are being a bit too friendly.

“Okay” he hesitated wetting his suddenly dry lips “how do you uh know Evy-Eveleena?”

“We are her humble servants.”

“S-servants?”

“Yes” she paused “you don’t know?”

“Know what?”

“Of course he doesn’t know!” Riseth shouted “Eveleena was still in the middle of grooming him when that Valkyrie showed up.”

This got Jacob’s attention and before he knew he spoke up “what are you talking about? What about her that I don’t know?”

Aside from everything.

“Lady Eveleena is the second daughter of the noble Demon House of Astaroth.”

“…”

Jacob gave a deliberately slow blink, her words took time for his brain to digest but when it did…well there was only one way he could react to them.

“WHAT!?”

~To Be Continued~

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