Chapter Text
"Norman."
Emma heard the voice of a woman calling out but she didn't find the strength to show her face, now a mess as the tears ran down her red cheeks, as she sobbed into the neck of her barely breathing lover, feeling how his heartbeat quickly faded.
The sound of steps echoing in their way to the roof, when the voice called out for Norman once again, this time making Emma barely look up and seeing the purple-haired maiden getting close to them she acted by instinct and held Norman more tightly in her arms, trying to protect him from any possible dangers even if it was useless by now.
Mujika looked down at the kneeling Emma, who looked so broken as much as the hurt man on her arms and smiled sadly at the scene when the emerald eyes lifted up to look at her.
"It's a shame we have to meet under these circumstances, Emma..."
"Mujika?" Emma asked, reminding herself of the demon's name that Norman had referred, the maiden showing affirmance to the doubt with a nod of her head "You... You helped mama, didn't you? Please save Norman too!"
The demon looked at the half laying Norman, the white cloak now dirty with red on his left side. His skin was even paler than usual and his chest moved slowly up and down, trying to breathe despite the quick lack of blood circulating in his veins.
"He's still breathing so it's possible, with a miracle, it might be possible..."
"Then hurry!" The outburst was perhaps out of character but at that moment Emma couldn't keep her thoughts rational, never when the blood of her lover escaped between her hands.
Giving one brief look at the pleading woman, Mujika kneeled down next to them, grabbing the knife that rested next to the body of the one which blade caused all the damage and saw the confusion and shock in the emerald eyes when the demon placed the knife near her wrist, making a small cut and with her hand made Norman's mouth open to be possible to pour a little of the demon's blood inside.
The heir's throat gulped as he weakly took in the liquid, not even knowing what it was but it seemed to be working as his chest moved a little faster, seemingly returning to try to fight for his life.
Wrapping a cloth around her wrist, Mujika looked at Emma, who watched in amazement at Norman's reactions "Emma, I'm still not sure if this will be enough to heal him."
To prove her point, she showed the rose she carried on her waist, Emma recognizing it immediately by the unique shining petals, that were currently slowly changing to blue and while she didn't really know what the meaning of the color was, she could automatically assume that the petals should be kept as red, as Norman had once stated to her.
"Mujika, Norman said he made a deal with you... Do you think I can also make one?"
The demon looked seriously at the woman "And what kind of a deal would that be Emma?"
"I want to grant all the possibilities for Norman's survivals so I'll do anything."
The determination in the emerald eyes was so strong that Mujika couldn't bring herself to deny "Emma, I can try to help you but I never know what the price must be in the end, and someone's life always requires a big price, are you absolutely sure about this?"
She still tried to persuade the girl but it was to her surprise that came an immediate "I'm sure." from Emma, the confidence in her eyes never ceasing "Mujika, what do I need to do?"
Seeing how impossible it would be to make the woman change her mind, Mujika held the rose in her hand while with the other she reached out to Emma and placed the flower in the human's hand, the petals glowing the orange color.
Without any words shuttered, the demon also held the knife to Emma "You have to taint the blue petals with your blood Emma, you're giving your soul to Norman. This is a demon's mating ceremony, some don't even do it due to the deep bond it gives, you're giving your soul to someone, it's not something you can undo or repeat it. By giving yourself, you will also make a balance on you both life span, it's a process that makes mates never outmatching each other, when one of you dies, the other will die too. This being said, are you still willing to do it?"
Emma's eyes drifted from the demon to her lover, who seemed to be recovering some color to his expressions but still, with no hesitation, the woman slid the sharp object to rip a little of her skin, just enough for brief drops of blood to fall to the rose's petals, dying the blue with red until the strong color dominated the flower, some of the blood falling from the herb to Norman's wound, their blood mixing together.
The next hours were spent in silence, watching for Norman's reaction and it wasn't until the break of the dawn that Emma could see those Aquamarine eyes looking at her so tenderly, warm arms engulfing her in his embrace once more, for now finally being able to fulfill their promised.
-------------------------------------------------------
Almost half a year passed until everything was set for the wedding, providing more than time for Norman to be healed and the situation to get back to normal.
The orphanage children and caretaker had been happily hospitalized in Norman's mansion while all together, with the help of Mujika and her mate, raised Grace Field back to the glorious building that it was before the incident. And while it was a drastic change when they left and Emma and Norman stood once again by themselves in the house, the two were still happy to finally being able to settle in and enjoy the peace that anticipated the wedding.
It was in the middle of the summer when the ceremony was held in Minerva's long and vast fields, and it was to Mujika's surprise that she had been the one to officialize the tradition, out of Norman's request. The act itself had been short, not wanting to waste much time on it before the kids got tired and cranky and so, most of the day it had been a date to celebrate and have fun.
Leaving his newlywed wife to chat with Isabella and having the opportunity, the albino walked once again to the altar, where Mujika was still trying to read the human writing style from the book that Isabella had given her to perform the ceremony, the demon having only been able to read such thanks to a paper with a shorten translation that Norman had given to help her.
"Mujika, can you spare me a minute?" His strong tone broke her from her confusion and made her look up, giving him a motherly smile.
"Of course, what is it Norman?"
The man looked shyly at the grass underneath them, a little embarrassed of swallowing his pride "It was thanks to you that I could... That I have all of this. Please forgive me for my acts in the past."
Fortunately for him, Mujika wasn't a demon to hold grudges, to which her sympathetic smile never faded from her lips "Both humans and demons make mistakes. In the end, things were solved and you have your wish and us demons have the peace we desire."
"Yes, from now on the Minerva family will not only protect Grace Field but it will also make sure to help any demon that requires our help."
"This isn't a day to talk about business Norman. Your wife is waiting for you." Mujika scolded him gently, closing the book and letting it rest on the nearby table.
"Mujika... Thanks once again." He nodded, turning his back at her as he saw Emma walking towards them but before he could make his way towards his wife, the demon called out again.
"Also Norman. You and Emma might not be demons but you still both followed our union rituals, don't forget that your souls are both connected for eternity." As if answering to her words, the rose on his chest and Emma's necklace shone brightly as the bride walked towards Norman and Mujika, standing by Norman's side and pulling on his sleeve, calling him out to dance with her and sharing a bright smile to Mujika.
"Don't worry, we won't forget." The albino muttered, holding Emma in a side hug and lovingly kissing the top of her head.
Their dance scene wasn't as intimate as it had been during their first date, there was music, screams of joys and they weren't alone at all but there was still that passionate feeling whenever Emma was pulled into Norman's arm, her hair tangled in a half-up braid standing on top of the waves of her wild locks, the bright orange being buried under yellow daisies that matched the ones at the end of her ballgown dress, also danced with their movements.
The folders of their date dress had been reused, using them to break the white snow dress top into a lively orange while the skirt was pure white, leaving out the daisies at the end (and the brown boots underneath the ruffles of the dress).
Emma only used the veil and the collar he had given her back when she had left to return to Grace Field and never took it after receiving it as accessories, leaving the collar be the focus of her preference.
The aquamarine jewel shining so bright, even more when being near the orange rose on his chest, also breaking the full white outfit that Norman wore.
How ironic it was that the rose that had cursed him during all of this time was now his most precious object? The one that connected him with his soulmate.
Briefly looking past his wife as they danced, Norman couldn't help but smile even more when noticing the lively and cheerful family that had taken him in and treated him as one of their own, now that he was married to Emma it all seemed that Norman had finally found once again what he had lost a long time ago
How truly blessed did he felt.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
The Minerva heir was never one to ask for much so it always surprised Isabella when she received his letter to meet him by the gate like usually their agreements were made.
"How is the married life going on, Norman?" The older woman asked once meeting the tall figure, covered with his usual snow-white cloak but the hood wasn't hiding his head for that Isabella could see the gentle smile that refused to leave his face ever since the night that every problem was solved.
"Everything's fine, in fact, Emma and I have been talking about one thing and we finally came to a conclusion"
Isabella arched an eyebrow at the lack of information "And in what might I help with?"
Yet, to her confusion, his smile only seemed to grow bigger as he stated his request.
"You run an orphanage, you can easily know what I'm looking for."
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Phil, we'll miss you!" The children spoke, biding their goodbyes to their brother, who waved at them before the door closed, making a barrier between him and the rest as he walked alongside with Isabella.
"Aren't you excited to meet your new family?" Isabella asked, seeing how the boy seemed to be lost in thought.
His blue eyes lifted to meet the amethyst and smiled, he wanted that his last moments with the woman that loved him until there was a good memory.
Even if the thought of leaving the house was saddening.
"I am. I'm just gonna miss you all."
"Don't worry about that Phil, I'm sure you'll be able to visit us anytime you want."
Phil looked amazed at the words, hoping that when Isabella talked to his new parents they had reached to an agreement to allow him to come back to Grace Field and even with some luck go to see Emma from time to time.
They quickly reached the gates that separated Grace Field from the forest and Phil saw two figures standing there, waiting for him however he wasn't expecting to recognize them.
"Emma! Norman!" The young boy exclaimed, coming to run towards them, leaving his suitcase on the fall as he jumped into their embrace "Did you came to say goodbye?"
Emerald eyes met aquamarine as both young adults tried not to laugh, yet a smile rose on both of their faces.
"Not exactly Phil." Norman replied, his arm coming to be wrapped around Emma's waist as he pulled her close to him and feeling her hand being set on top of his one that rested on her hip.
"You're coming with us, little buddy." Emma excitedly announced, smiling even brightly than before.
"Heh...?" The blue eyes of the caramel skin colored boy could only reflect his confusion "You mean... You two are now my parents?"
"Legally, yeah." Emma shrugged as if it was a normal, banal thing.
Phil was excited, not only had he been adopted but he had been adopted by the person he never wanted to say goodbye yet, there was still one doubt in his mind about this matter "Emma, Norman... What should I call you now?"
On Emma's part, it wasn't all that hard to see her as a motherly figure as Phil always counted on her like one, sure it would be strange to call her "mom" but the definition would still remain the same.
However, Norman wasn't like Emma. He wasn't a stranger yet he wasn't also someone Phil would confuse as a brother. There was always a welcoming feeling and Phil always felt well being around both of them.
"You know Phil, we might have adopted you but in the end, we're still the Norman and Emma that you knew so far. You can treat us in any way that you feel comfortable."
A long silence overtook the moment yet Emma and Norman allowed it to linger as long as it was needed, letting Phil process all of what was happening. When suddenly the younger boy embraced his new parental figures once again, not taking too long for the hug to be returned "Thank you for adopting me."
A little far ahead, Isabella watched the scene with a soft smile, setting the fallen luggage safely set on one of the horses that had carried the young couple and with a last glance, bidding a silent goodbye and wishing the best of the future for the young family.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“Long time ago lived a royal family, just across the forest. That family was loved by every child as they guaranteed their safety from the monsters, giving special protection to the Grace field."
"Phil." A sweet voice called out before the owner opened the door of the room where Phil was, on his arms stood a little boy whose aquamarine eyes immediately perked up when their mother made herself be known, his chubby arm reaching out for her to pick him up "Are you telling that story to Lewis once again?"
Emma smiled at her two boys, picking up the smaller one that reached out to her and watching as he immediately cuddled up with her, his white curly hair being a soft brush against the skin of her neck and her hands comfortably played with the orange locks at the nape of his neck.
"Lewis loves this story."
The woman hummed, noticing how the baby in her arms let out a tired yawn "I believe you but it seems he loves his sleep more at this moment. Either way, while I'll go put Lewis in bed can you go call your dad to dinner? He's still locked in his office..."
"Sure thing."
Emma returned Phil's bright smile with one of her own, watching as the young boy walked past her and headed to the office, staying a little longer staring at the open door before walking to the crib of the room, her smile turning more gentle as she set the baby in his place, his tiny hand firmly grabbing hers until sleep overtook him.
One year had passed since they had adopted Phil but their family didn't take too long to grow bigger as Emma quickly realized she was expecting a baby.
When Lewis was born, the first thing she noticed was the little curl on his right side of the hair, reminding herself of Norman's demon's features. In fact, the new Minerva heir was the exact copy as his father, except the bright orange locks that adorned the nape of his neck and the two side bangs.
Emma always knew she wanted a family and even though Grace Field was a big family, she had her own small yet welcoming family of her own, together with Norman, and like all the ends of those fairytale stories she loved, she could finally admit she had gotten her happy ending.
And with her happy ending, Emma could be sure she wouldn't trade being the demon's bride for anything else.