"I know . . . I know this is too much for her, but . . . the one who's 
been hurt the most is . . . him. He's been like that since I first came 
to know him. Always trying to be nice to others. It's not like they 
don't know. They do, but they just don't like him; they don't want to be 
near him.
"He doesn't hate her . . . and he doesn't really mean it when he says 
she's useless. She knows it, but it's just too much for her. He's just 
like that.
"There's a reason why he stays away from others, a very good reason. 
It's because of what he's been through, all those years. He's been hated 
by humans before, but he's tried. Tried to believe in them. 
"My father's . . . helped him before. And we felt good about it. He 
himself worked the most, worked to get the happiness he wanted . . . 
"But . . . but . . . then the demons came."
 
"Bring them . . . the woman called Pandora . . . and her son . . . the 
heir to the Darkness. Yes, the Queen of our Lord Castora . . . Queen 
Pandora . . . and his son, Prince Hamiel. This is the decree of Lord 
Death!"
 
"And so they were brought forward. Mother Pandora had always told me and 
Hamiel how we should trust others. That day, I found out what happened 
to people who no longer trusted. The townsfolk no longer trusted. They 
were blinded by their fear of the demons, no longer trusting, no longer 
believing . . . They didn't know it, but they had become demons 
themselves. Who else would  be willing to sacrifice a woman and her 
innocent child? Yes, it would be a small price to pay for the survival 
of an entire town, but . . . Why would they be willing to pay the price 
at all? It's unthinkable. 
"I still remember the day. They tied Pandora and Hamiel to a horse a 
dragged them along the cobblestones . . ."
 
"Give these two to the demons, and they'll leave us alone!"
"Our town will be saved!"
"Faster!"
"The witch and her son! They deserve to die!"
"Banish these monsters from our town! They will only bring more 
trouble!"
"The only reason demons would have any interest in a little town like 
this is because of you two!"
"I know from the start they would be no good."
"Demons!"
"Witch!"
"You monsters!"
And so came handreds of other voices, crying out their blind insults. 
Hamiel heard them all, lying there, fallen. The townspeople beat the two 
until they could no longer feel the pain.
And then Hamiel spoke.
"Haven't you people said enough!? We . . . we just want to live 
peacefully! Live our lives like everyone else! This is all we ask. We . 
. . haven't done anything to you . . . but Mommy . . . Mommy keeps 
getting hurt by you . . . Why don't you people just all get killed by 
the demons!"
*Slap!*
It was Pandora, her face stern. And she hugged him . . . and forced out 
a smile to comfort him. 
"Don't say that Hamiel. You know what I always tell you."
"Mommy," he said, closde to tears.
She trembled as she stood up on her wounded legs. 
"It's true," she said to the town. "I am the wife of Castora; the Queen 
of Darkness. And I shall protect this town, the town that has taken care 
of me for so long . . . Unlock these manacles. I shall go to the demons 
myself."
Hamiel could only stand there, staring at his mother, watching as, step 
by step, the only person who had ever been kind to him was leaving. And 
he was helpless to stop her.
"Do you people actually believe that you can actually trust demons? You 
believe that if you turn us in, they'll leave the town alone?
"I'll stall for time. All of you escape. Go as far from this town as you 
can. Don't ever return.
"Be good, Hamiel, be strong, even if I'm not with you. And remember . . 
. no matter what happens . . . believe. Never forget yourself . . . 
never forget who you are . . . and never forget that you have a heart. 
Goodbye, Hamiel." 
And she left. Hamiel, at first shocked, began screaming for her, begging 
her not to leave. 
 
"That day, one woman went against the demon horde, armed with only a 
cello. If she had not been stopped by the townspeople, she might have 
won. When the demons left with her frozen body, Hamiel just knelt there, 
a film over his eyes. And within a few short hours, the town was dead. 
"Hamiel awoke with blood-covered hands. Then he cried himself to sleep. 
In the morning, he picked up his mother's cello and left the place he 
had long called home.
"That is the reason he is the way he is. He doesn't want otherrs to hurt 
. . ."


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