MARRIAGE CONTRACT WITH THE MONSTER

CHAPTER FOUR : THE TEST OF FIRE

The morning was heavy with fog.

The fog hid the city in gray and silence. The city was completely covered in this stuff and it was very quiet. The city was hidden from view. You could not hear any sounds. The gray fog just made everything feel calm and still like the city was sleeping. The fog was around the city.

Elara walked down the hall of the mansion. The floor made a creaking sound with every step she took. She started counting the steps, in her head, one, two, three, four, five just to make sure no one was paying attention to her. Elara was being careful because she did not want anyone to hear her walking down the hall of the mansion.

She came to a stop, in front of the door.

The door was really tall. It was made of wood. The door was locked.

Dante was suddenly standing behind her. He did not make a sound when he got there.

The man told him that he was late. His voice was really cold and sharp.

Elara said "I am not late" fast. Her hands were shaking over the place. She was trying hard not to let anyone see that the Music Festival was making her so nervous Elara was getting anxious about the Music Festival.

He looked at her in a way that made her feel like he was trying to figure out how brave she was. "You really think that courage is what matters today?"

"Yes, " she said. "I have to get ready for this."

"Good, " he said. Then he took a step back. Today is not about being brave. It is about what's real. It is about knowing who the people are that can hurt the person and who the people are that can help the person.

Elara's stomach was doing flips. She really did not like that feeling at all. The thought of it was making Elara feel uncomfortable. Elara just did not like it when her stomach twisted like that.

The door opened slowly. A man stepped out of the door. This man was really tall. He had a muscular body. His black hair was slicked back. The man had eyes that looked like ice. The eyes of the man were very cold.

" Morning, " Marco said. Marco had a smooth voice. "I am Marco, " Marco said. "Today I will be testing you, " Marco said.

Elara swallowed. She said "You are testing me?"

"Yes, " Marco said. He gave a smile. It was not a smile. It was not a mean smile either. It was a calm smile.. It was scary. "Dante wants to know if you can make it here, " Marco said. "He wants to see if you are good enough to live in his house.. If this place is too much for you, it will break you." Marco talked about Dante and his house. "Dante is watching to see if you belong with him."

Elara felt her chest get really tight. She said "How?"

Marcos' smile did not change. He said "We are going to play a game". This game is really simple. You have to do what Marco says. You have to follow Marcos' instructions. If you do what Marco says, that is good. If you do not do what Marco says, that is not good. Marco said "You do not fail".. Marco also said "Or you fail".

Elara's heart was beating fast. She said "Fail?"

"Yes, " Marco said. "Then you will see why Dante married you. It will be clear why he made that choice. Maybe you will even think that Dante should not have married you, that it was a mistake for him to do that. The reason will be obvious when you know the story about Dante and his marriage to you."

Dante stepped forward. He said "Do not hurt her". His eyes looked calm.. You could tell there was something cold underneath them. He said "She is mine for now". Dante made it clear that the woman belonged to him. At least, for the time being the woman was Dantes.

Marco bowed slightly. He said, "Understood." Then Marco turned to Elara. Marco asked Elara "Are you ready?"

Elara nodded, even though she was not really paying attention to what was being said.

Marco said that everything is good. Now it is time for the test of trust. He gave her a key. This key will open a door that's somewhere in this house. There is something behind the door that's very bad for you. You will not be able to see this thing. You will not be able to run from it. You have to face this thing that's behind the door. Marco said that you must face it.

Elara's hands were shaking really badly as she took the key from the person who was giving it to her. She looked at the key. Then she looked up at the person and she said "What is, behind the door that this key unlocks?"

Marco said to me "You will see. Now I want you to step inside. When you do, do not look back at anything. The Social Worker also told me that I should not hesitate so I am telling you the thing do not hesitate, just step inside and see what the Social Worker was talking about I mean, what I am talking about the thing that Marco is talking about which is that you will see something when you step inside."

Elara walked to the door. Every single step she took made her heart beat fast. It felt like the floor was actually shaking under Elara's feet. Elara looked over at Dante. Dante's face did not show any emotion at all.

He told me that I should not fail. He said this in a soft voice.

Elara whispered that she would not do it.

She turned the key slowly. Then the lock. That was it. The door opened. I mean it was dark there. The air was cold too. There was silence.

Marcos' voice came from behind her. He said "Go "

The woman walked into the room. She stepped inside.

The room was empty, at first.. Then the door closed behind the woman with a really loud noise. The woman jumped.

A voice came from the dark. It was low and slow. It sounded really angry. The voice, from the dark, was very scary.

“Who is there?”

Elara froze. She said "I am here". Her voice was really quiet. It sounded very small and tiny.

The voice told me to step.

She did. Her legs felt really heavy. It was hard to take every step; it was like a fight. She had to push herself to move her legs. Every step was a fight for her.

The voice told me that I am brave.. It also said that being brave is not enough. The voice said that bravery is not everything I need.

Elara said that she has to survive. She does not want to die. Elara wants to keep living so she has to survive.

"Good, " the voice said. You are going to need a lot more than being able to survive. The voice meant that you will need to use your mind. You will need to be very courageous. You will need to make a choice.

Elara's hands were shaking badly. She had no idea what she was supposed to do. Elara just felt so scared and unsure about what was happening to Elara.

Something moved out of the darkness. It was a woman. She was really tall and wearing a coat. Her eyes were very dark. The woman had a face. The woman in the coat looked serious.

She looked at me. Said "Are you Elara?"

Elara said yes. Then she asked who the person was. She wanted to know who the person talking to her actually was.

The woman said "I am Isabella". She told me that she tests every person who comes to this place. Today that person is you. You are going to have to answer some questions. The questions will help Isabella figure out how smart you are. She also wants to see how strong you are.. What your heart is like. Isabella wants to know all about you.

"Do you have any questions?" Elara asked. "What is it that you want to know about?"

Isabella said "About life". She was talking about survival. She was talking about monsters too. Isabella smiled faintly. Isabella also said ". About Dante Russo".

Elara's stomach did a flip. She said "Dante?"

"Yes, " Isabella said. "You should not trust this man completely. This man is a person. This man can be really cruel.. This man has his own rules that he follows.. This man is always watching for people who understand what these rules are.

Elara said that she will try.

Isabella nodded. "That is a question to think about. So if someone I love like my family or my friends is in a lot of trouble. I am the only one who can help them but I know I will die if I try to save them. What should I do? Do I try to save the people I love even if it means I will not be alive anymore or do I stay safe and hope someone else can help them?"

Elara swallowed. Her hands were shaking badly. She started thinking about her family. She thought about Dante. What he meant to her. She thought about her life and what was happening to her to Elara.

She said this after a while. I try to save them. I really do. Even if it is going to cost me something.. Before I do anything I think about it first. I made a plan. I do not rush into things with the people I try to save. I try to save them because that is what I want to do.

Isabella said that was interesting. You do not get scared easily which is good.. Being brave is not enough if you do not have the skills to back it up. Isabella told her to remember that being brave and having skills are both important especially when it comes to courage and skill. Courage is what keeps you going. Skill is what helps you get things done and Isabella wanted her to remember that courage, without skill is useless.

Elara nodded. Her heart was beating fast. Elara could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

"Next question, " Isabella said. If a monster asks you to trust it do you really trust the monster?

Elara looked at the shadows. She thought about Dante and the house and the key. The key was really important to Elara. She wanted to know what the key unlocked. Elara thought about Dante. How he was connected to the house and the key.

She said I will watch first. I will listen to what you have to say. Then I will test it out. I do not give my trust easily to Music or to people I have to watch Music. I have to listen to music. I will test Music.

Isabella said "You are doing a job you are learning". But monsters are sneaky; they want you to trust them quickly. Isabella told her to be careful with monsters because monsters are clever. Isabella said "monsters want you to trust them soon so be careful, with the monsters".

Then she stepped closer. She said "This is the test for today. You will have to face the truth. You will have to face your fear. You will have to face yourself. Are you ready to do that?"

Elara swallowed. "I really have no choice at all, " Elara said.

Isabella said that was good. She then told the person to step.

The lights went out at that moment. It was really dark all of a sudden. The lights just stopped working.

Elara's heart jumped really high. The darkness was around her it was like it swallowed her whole. The cold air touched her skin. It felt really bad. She could still hear Dante's voice in her mind; it was like he was there with her. He was saying "do not fail" over and over again the words of Dante's voice were stuck in her head. Dante's voice was really clear.

Something was moving in the darkness. A person was coming towards her. She could hear the sound of someone breathing. The breaths were slow and heavy. They were really close to her. The breathing was slow. The breathing was heavy. The breathing was close to her.

"Who are you?" Elara whispered.

The figure just stopped moving. There was silence.

The lights came on.

Elara saw him. He was not Dante. He was not Marco. He was someone entirely. Elara did not know this man. This man had muscles and tattoos all over his body. His eyes looked really dangerous. Elara saw the muscles and the tattoos. She saw the danger in his eyes. The man was a stranger to Elara.

The man told me that I am brave. He said that most people run away when the lights go out. But I stayed there and I did not move. The man said this to me because I stayed when the lights went out.

Elara said that she has to survive. She really needs to make it through this. Elara knows that she has to keep going and survive.

Yes he said. Today you learned something. Being brave is not everything. Being smart is not everything either. Fear is something that helps you.. Monsters can learn to respect the monsters.. The monsters can destroy you.

Elara's hands shook badly. She looked around her. Elara wanted to cry a lot. Elara felt like she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs.

Isabella stepped forward. "Come back " she said to them. "Dante is waiting for you.. You have to remember what you learned from this experience. You should trust your mind. You should also trust your courage because it will help you.. Always remember that fear is a very powerful weapon that can be used against you. Dante is waiting so you need to be careful and trust your mind and your courage.

Elara nodded. She walked behind Isabella to the hall. Elara's legs felt really heavy. Elara's heart was beating fast.

Dante stood at the end of the hall. He did not smile. The thing about Dante was that his eyes were really sharp. I mean Dantes eyes were watching everything. Dantes eyes were judging everyone. It was like Dante's eyes were waiting for something to happen.

The man told me that I made it through. He said it in a quiet voice.

"Yes, " Elara said. Elara's voice was trembling.

Dante said "Good". Tomorrow you will meet someone.. Then you will meet another person after that. The house is really full of things to learn. You will figure it out.. The house of lessons will be too much for you and you will fail at learning what the house is trying to teach you. The house is full of lessons. You need to pay attention to what the house is teaching you.

Elara swallowed. She knew that the thing she was thinking about was really true. Elara felt it in her heart that it was true.

The mansion was alive. Full of secrets. Full of danger. Full of monsters.

And she was just beginning.