1. The Familiar
772 Words
Upon returning home that afternoon, Amelia sat in the kitchen, alone, thinking about her dull work as a nurse at the city’s hospital.
She sighed as she held the blue mug which contained her hot tea, her favorite beverage. Sure, she was an adult, but that didn’t necessarily make her a fan of coffee. Although she had to admit she liked its intoxicating smell, she didn’t appreciate its bitter taste.
Very peculiar, huh?
Her sole friend, Gretchen, often joked around and told her she wasn’t mature enough for the beverage. Amelia just couldn’t bring herself to care though.
After all, there is no accounting for taste.
Although she was only twenty three at the moment, Amelia felt that she was far from accomplished –when compared to other women her age at least.
Gretchen was not only a successful attorney but also a happy wife and mother. She wasn’t jealous of her friend, but she did wish she had the same luck.
Amelia, who was but a regular blonde, typically American, hadn’t managed to score enough in her senior year to achieve her dream –which had been, still was, and will always be, becoming a doctor. And despite having had her fair share of guys coming after her, not even one stayed longer than a few weeks, never mind long enough to propose.
She was labeled too dull by one, too weak by another… too shy, too clingy. Each and every one of her exes had found his excuse to part ways with her. Never had she been the one to put an end to the relationship.
She didn’t have a fighting bone in her body, Gretchen often reprimanded.
But then again, her parents had always been overly protective of her. They had even insisted that she went to the local college so she would stay at home. She didn’t have the independence other women her age had… and the worst of it all was that she didn’t mind.
People change, she told herself that night when she went to sleep, mind set up on finding out the truth about the creak of the fourth stair.
At two in the morning – yes, she had checked the time on her phone– she heard the oh-so-awaited sound, and all but jumped out of her bed, knowing that she had to do something about this intruder who seemed to enjoy scaring the hell out of her.
She took her umbrella with her as she carefully descended the stairs. Her heart beat loudly in her ears, rendering her almost deaf to anything by its rapid rhythm, and her chest heaved with ragged breaths. When she reached the fourth stair, she was clever enough to avoid it and went straight for the third. Then, the second; then, the first… and she finally landed gracefully on the first floor.
Fear gripped her with an iron hand, constricting her throat despite her desire to cry out once she saw that the light of the kitchen was on.
Ever so slowly, she inched forward, only stopping to catch her breath and try to calm her wildly beating heart for a split-second, wishing for the umpteenth time that she had remained in her bed, knowing that she had to do it otherwise she wouldn’t be able to face herself in the mirror again if she backed down now.
And so, with her umbrella angrily stabbing her raised hand, she prepared herself to attack her midnight intruder, wearing nothing but a black camisole and dark blue shorts.
She crossed over the threshold of the kitchen, already prepared to hit whoever it was on the head, her phone in her other hand, ready to call 911.
One could only imagine her surprise when she found herself face to face with a creature that didn’t even look human sniffing her food. The beast was big, black and furry, with pointy ears, and claws for hands.
It turned around in surprise as well, casting a shocked stare her way… while she felt all her strength and earlier bravery vanish at once, leaving her alone with the otherworldly beast that had its crimson eyes trained on her.
“Wha… what are you?” She rasped out, stuttering.
“I'm Arthur, the demon king’s familiar,” the creature responded simply after a moment of silence.
She startled back when it talked. And before she could help it, she fell to the ground, unconscious.
- Writer
