Daisy's breath hitched before taking a shaky breath in. The painting was of a boy. His eyes piercing red as if staring into her soul. His hair were shiny and slightly long. His face was that of a Greek god. So gorgeous that she couldn't take her eyes off the painting. He was beautiful and somehow sad and angry when Daisy stared into his eyes. They scared her but there were alluring and she wanted to sink in them.
She jolted and shivered as she felt cold wind near her ear. Her heart seemed to race immediately when she felt the painting's eyes glow. Finally, getting herself together, she moved away from there. As soon as she turned around to look for her brother, she heard the look and found her brother smirking from out the window as his friends laughed.
Her heart clenched while her eyes welled up with furious tears as she watched them leave. She should've known it. Her brother would never be this nice to her. She wiped those hot streams flowing down her face angrily for not trusting her gut feeling. Why did she even think her brother and her could bond tonight?
Daisy released a shaky breath and sank down on the tall, thick stairs that led to the first floor. As she stood up again, she felt a cold, clammy sensation on the top of her head and shoulder, like someone had touched her with dead-cold hands. Shivering, she turned to look behind her, but there was nothing there. Sniffling, she turned her torch towards the painting, studying it intently as if searching for answers.
As she touched the painting, Daisy felt a sudden rush of comfort shoot through her body, and she longed to fall asleep right then and there. But she shook herself out of her reverie and turned around, only to gasp in shock and tumble down the stairs with a loud thud. Her torch clattered to the floor beside her, flickering wildly as she scrambled to her feet.
Before her stood a god-like man, the same boy from the painting, with his exact same face and age. He was gorgeous, with a black cape tied around his neck and clothes that seemed to belong to another era, perhaps the eighteenth century. Daisy's heart raced as she took in his imposing figure, and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear.
"Wh-who are you?" she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Who are you?" the boy spoke, his deep voice echoing through the room.
"I'm- I'm Daisy. Wait!" Suddenly, Daisy's mind raced with the thought that this could all just be a prank. Maybe this was one of her brother's friends. The painting, the boy, everything could just be part of a plan to scare her. Fueled by anger and frustration, she strode over to the boy and pushed him, making his eyes widen in surprise.
"What are you doing, gir-"
"Shut up. This is all just a prank, right? You're part of a plan too. Tell Damien to open up the door! Enough with the scare tactics!" Daisy shouted at him.
The dark-haired boy furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and took a step closer to her until her back was pressed against the wall. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, his irritation growing.
Daisy stared into his piercing crimson eyes, admiring how beautiful they were. But she couldn't let herself be distracted by his looks.
"What?" she managed to mumble out. "You're a part of the prank, right?"
"What prank?" he gritted his teeth, growing more annoyed by the second as he closed the distance between them, making Daisy's heart race and her cheeks flush.
"Can I just go home, please?" Daisy pleaded, her eyes filling with tears which she blinked away quickly.
"No, you cannot," the boy smirked. "Now that you've come here."
She trembled as his gaze bore into her, inching closer and closer to her lips until she was frozen in fear. She desperately wanted to push him away, but her body refused to respond. With her eyes tightly shut, she waited for the inevitable. But then, to her immense relief, he suddenly backed away. She let out a shaky breath, grateful to have escaped unharmed. And then, he spoke. "If you help me break my curse," he said, his voice hesitant, "I promise I will not harm you." But as quickly as his words of assurance had come, they were replaced by a chilling threat. "If, on the other hand, you refuse to help me," he said, venom lacing his words, "I will take your body in every possible way and destroy your family until they lay dying at your feet."
She had no choice but to help him, no matter how dangerous the task may be. For the sake of her family's safety and hers, she would have to unravel the curse's secrets and find a way to break it, before it was too late.
As she nodded her agreement, her heart raced with fear and uncertainty. She didn't know where to begin, but she couldn't refuse his request. She had to help him, no matter what.
But as soon as she spoke, he snapped at her, his anger boiling over. She shrank back against the wall, feeling like a mouse cornered by a cat. She had never seen such fury in anyone's eyes before, and it made her stomach churn with unease.
Trying to calm him down, she spoke again, her voice barely above a whisper. "I understand," she said, "But I need more information to help you. Please tell me your name and anything else you can about the curse."
The black-haired boy hesitated once more, as if unsure whether he could trust her. But then, he relented, his voice low and strained. "My name is," he began, before suddenly cutting himself off. "No, we can't stay here," he said, his eyes darting around the room. "We need to go somewhere else, somewhere safe."
"Same." She mumbled. "But my idiot brother locked me here as a prank. That's why I thought you are a part of the prank too. But you are not." She looked at him.
He turned around, going towards the door, saying, "Okay. I can unlock it. It's not a big deal. I just need you to touch the door-" She cut his words off because something just seemed off. "Your clothes are from centuries back and you talk...differently. Who? What are you?"
Her eyes widened in disbelief as he revealed his true identity.
With a sly, dangerous, smile on his face, "I am Rain Asmodeus Silva. The devil, itself."