HIGH SCHOOL DIARIES (A Tale Of Love And Deception)

Beneath the turbulent waves of the Blackthorne Sea in Valemont City, where the sunlight barely penetrated and only darkness reigned, existed a kingdom as ancient as the oceans themselves. Here lived creatures of immense power and beauty—the water demons, born of the sea's wrath and its serene depths. Among them was Eryx, their prince, whose ethereal beauty and commanding presence made him a legend among his kind.

Eryx was unlike the others. While most water demons relished their immortality, power, and dominion over the seas, Eryx longed for something more. Centuries of solitude had dulled the allure of his undersea kingdom, its endless expanse of dark, glimmering waters no longer enough to sate his restless heart. He often ventured to the surface, drawn by the fleeting, chaotic lives of mortals. It was there that he first saw Genevieve—a mortal woman, graceful and elegant, her beauty matched only by the nobility in her eyes.

Genevieve was the only daughter of Master Alistair Duvalle, an aristocrat in Silver Hill whose family had been pillars of wealth and status for generations. The Duvalle estate stood proud against the horizon, nestled within lush, green landscapes that stretched as far as the eye could see. Genevieve, however, was not like the others in her lineage. While the Duvalle family was known for their fine taste and impeccable reputation, Genevieve had grown up with an insatiable curiosity for the world beyond the estate walls. Unlike her father, who reveled in high society and political intrigue, Genevieve yearned for something deeper, something real. She often wandered the gardens, lost in thought, contemplating the life her family had laid out for her—a life bound by tradition, duty, and wealth.

On the surface, her life seemed perfect, but in her heart, Genevieve felt a void.

One evening, while she walked along the cliffs that overlooked the crashing waves of the Blackthorne Sea, she saw him. Eryx.

His form was a vision—his skin shimmering like polished silver, his hair flowing like liquid midnight. He appeared as though he had risen from the sea itself, a creature born of moonlight and water, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly gleam.

Genevieve's breath caught in her throat. "Who... who are you?" she whispered, almost afraid to speak the words, as if uttering them might shatter the moment.

Eryx's lips curled into a smile, one that could melt even the coldest of hearts. "I am someone who's been searching for you," he replied, his voice soft, almost melodic. "Someone who has waited for centuries to meet a soul like yours."

Her heart skipped a beat as she gazed into his eyes, those fathomless depths that seemed to hold secrets of the world. "But I'm just a mortal," Genevieve said, shaking her head in confusion. "What could a creature like you want with someone like me?"

Eryx stepped closer, his presence overwhelming yet strangely comforting. "You are no mere mortal, Genevieve. You have something... rare, something that even the oceans cannot offer." He paused, watching her closely. "I have spent lifetimes in the depths, and yet I am drawn to you. Your heart beats like no other, and your soul shines like a beacon in the night."

Genevieve felt the warmth of his words seep into her bones, an emotion she had never experienced before—desire. For the first time in her life, she felt truly seen, understood. "I... I don't know what to say, you make me speechless."

"You need not say anything," Eryx replied, gently lifting her hand and pressing it to his chest. "You feel it too. The pull between us."

Genevieve's pulse quickened, and she found herself nodding, though her mind struggled to process it. How could this be real?

As days turned to weeks, Genevieve's life became a whirlwind of secret meetings with Eryx. He had promised her a life beyond the confines of her aristocratic upbringing, a life filled with love, adventures, romance and dangers . It was intoxicating. In Eryx, Genevieve found everything she had longed for—a man who was both a mystery and a revelation, someone who saw beyond her family's wealth and status.

But as the seasons changed, Eryx's presence began to take its toll. Genevieve's family, particularly her father, Lord Alistair Duvalle, grew suspicious of her erratic behavior and unexplained absences. Genevieve, caught between the world she had always known and the world Eryx promised, struggled to keep her secret.

One evening, as she returned from the cliffs, Lord Alistair confronted her. "Genevieve, you've been disappearing for days at a time. What is going on?" His voice was stern, his eyes piercing as they met hers.

Genevieve lowered her gaze, reluctant to reveal the truth. "Father, it's... nothing. Just a friend."

"A friend?" Lord Alistair's eyebrows furrowed in disbelief. "Genevieve, we do not associate with 'friends' from the outside world. You have a responsibility to this family, to our legacy."

Genevieve's heart sank. She had always known this day would come—the moment when her two worlds would collide. But she hadn't expected it to feel like this. "Father, I... I am not like you," she confessed, her voice trembling. "I don't care for your wealth or titles. I care for something... someone else."

Lord Alistair's face hardened, his tone ice-cold. "You will not disgrace this family. You will marry the man I've chosen for you—Victor Moreau, a man of equal wealth and status. That is your duty."

Genevieve stepped back, her mind racing. "I cannot marry him. Not when my heart belongs to someone else."

Her father's expression twisted with fury. "Enough, Genevieve! You will do as I say." He turned away sharply, his voice echoing in the halls. "If you choose this path, you will no longer be welcome here."

Genevieve's heart broke as she realized the weight of the decision she had to make. Eryx, with his enchanting promises of freedom, had led her down a path that now seemed impossible to walk.

In the days that followed, Eryx's true nature began to reveal itself. His charm was not enough to hide the decay creeping into his being. His skin, once radiant, began to pale, his powers slowly weakening. As the ocean waves began to recede, so did his magic, and he could no longer call upon the elements the way he once could.

One evening, as Genevieve met him at their secret spot by the cliffs, she noticed the change. "Eryx... what is happening to you?"

He looked at her, his once-glowing eyes now dull. "My power is waning, Genevieve. It is the price I paid for loving you. The moment I left my world behind, I began to lose everything."

"But why?" Genevieve asked, her voice breaking. "Why did you choose me, someone so... ordinary?"

Eryx reached out, cupping her face in his hands. "Because, Genevieve, you are everything I never knew I needed. I came to the mortal world to escape the cold, lifeless depths, and you gave me warmth. But I never expected to fall so deeply... to fall for you."

And in that moment, Genevieve understood. She had been drawn to him, too—not just because of his beauty or mystery, but because he had given her something her life had always lacked: the chance to live fully, freely, outside the constraints of her noble upbringing.

But it came at a cost. The more time Eryx spent in the mortal realm, the more his powers dwindled. One fateful day, his strength faded completely, and he became mortal—a man bound to the earth as Genevieve was, with no magic to protect him.

Desperation filled his eyes as he looked at her one last time. "I would give anything to stay with you, Genevieve. But I can no longer be the man you once knew. I am no more than a mortal now."

Tears filled Genevieve's eyes as she grasped his hand. "Then I will love you as a mortal. It does not matter what you are—only who you are to me."

Yet, their love was doomed from the start. Genevieve's family, unwilling to accept her choice, forced her into an arranged marriage with Victor Moreau, and Eryx, now a mere shadow of his former self, was banished from her life.

Genevieve's life moved on, bound by duty and pressure from her families.

The wedding of Genevieve Duvalle and Victor Moreau was an affair of unimaginable elegance. The grand estate was filled with guests, the hall decorated with golden chandeliers and delicate rose petals, but the atmosphere was tainted by the silent tension that hung in the air. Genevieve, radiant in her white lace gown, stood at the altar with a forced smile. The love she once had for Eryx, her water demon, was now a distant memory, buried deep within her heart, overshadowed by duty and familial expectations.

As the vows were exchanged, Genevieve's mind wandered back to the days when she had been truly happy, when the world seemed full of possibilities with Eryx by her side. But those days were gone. Eryx's fading presence haunted her, his beauty and power slipping away as he slowly disintegrated into the mortal realm.

Eryx had never belonged there. His once-radiant form had grown pale, his once-glowing skin now dull and lifeless. The day of their wedding was the day Genevieve knew he would no longer be the man he had once been. It was the day he fully transformed from a powerful water demon to a worthless mortal, a man bound to the same fate as all others.

In the days leading up to the wedding, Genevieve visited him one last time, in the crumbling remnants of the cliffs where they first met. The sea, once a home to Eryx, seemed to mourn with him, its waves crashing violently against the rocks.

Genevieve found him standing at the edge of the sea, his back to her, gazing out into the distance. She approached him cautiously, the weight of her decision pressing heavily on her chest.

"You don't have to do this," she whispered, her voice faltering. "You don't have to let go."

Eryx turned to face her, his eyes no longer glowing but dull, like the fading embers of a once-bright fire. "I can't stay, Genevieve," he said softly, his voice a ghost of what it once was. "My time here is done. I can feel myself... slipping away."

Tears welled in her eyes, but she held them back. "I love you," she said, as though those words could change their reality. "I've always loved you."

"I know," Eryx replied, his lips curving into a bittersweet smile. "And I will always love you, even as I fade into nothingness."

Genevieve stepped closer, her hands trembling. "But we had so much time... so much left to share."

Eryx's eyes softened with affection. "Not in this life. But perhaps in another, Genevieve. Perhaps in another life, you'll remember me. And you'll know that I chose you."

With those final words, Eryx disappeared into the mist, his form dissolving like water slipping through her fingers.

Genevieve stood there for a long time, her heart breaking into a thousand pieces. She turned and walked away, back to the life that awaited her—back to the man who would be her husband, the man who had no knowledge of the secret she carried within her.

Victor, for all his wealth and status, never noticed the change in her. He never asked why her eyes seemed distant, why her smile didn't reach her eyes. He was too enamored with the life she could offer him, the political power her family's name could bring. They married, but Genevieve was a shadow of the woman she once was, a woman whose heart had already been given to another.

Months later, Genevieve gave birth to a daughter—a beautiful child, with delicate features, brown hair, and the unmistakable grace that came from her mother's bloodline. But there was something about the child that Genevieve could never quite shake. The girl's eyes, so full of curiosity and wonder, held a certain depth. Genevieve saw traces of the ocean in them, a reflection of the love she had once shared with Eryx, but she said nothing.

Catherine, as she was named, grew into a child of her mother's design—well-mannered, polite, with a sharp mind and a quiet beauty. But despite her mother's attempts to shelter her from the truth, there was always something missing in Catherine's demeanor. Genevieve noticed it in the silence that often enveloped her daughter, the stoic expression that settled over her face when something troubled her. It was as though Catherine carried an ancient weight, a burden too heavy for one so young.

One evening, after her daughter had gone to bed, Genevieve stood alone in her study, staring at the family portrait on the wall. Her gaze shifted to the photograph of Eryx, the man she had loved and lost. He was no longer a demon, but the memory of him lingered in her soul.

Her mind wandered to the day of her wedding. The day when she had sacrificed everything—her heart, her future, her love—for the sake of her family and their expectations. Catherine was a constant reminder of that sacrifice.

Genevieve sighed, her fingers brushing the edges of the portrait, and whispered, "I did this for you, Eryx. For our love. I kept her safe... I kept your secret safe."

But in truth, the secret was not safe. Catherine, as she grew older, would begin to sense the echoes of her father's legacy within her. The longing in her heart that would always feel incomplete, the strange affinity for water that she could never quite explain, the quiet pull toward the ocean that would tug at her soul in the dead of night.

Yet, Catherine never spoke of it. She never knew that the eyes she saw in her reflection—those grey eyes that seemed to hold the depths of a storm—were not her father's, but her true father's. And the purple tint to her hair, though faint, was a trait passed down from a lineage that had never truly belonged to Victor Moreau.

The truth, the legacy of her birth, would be buried deep within Genevieve's heart, a secret she would carry with her to the grave. She would never reveal it to Catherine, for the world was not ready for such truths. And Catherine, who never questioned her origins, would go on believing in the version of herself that her mother had crafted for her—a version that protected her from the dangerous waters of the past.

As Genevieve lay in her bed, her hand resting on her stomach, she thought of Eryx, and for a brief moment, she imagined what could have been. But as sleep took over, she let go of the memories, allowing them to fade away with the dawn.

For Catherine, life would go on. And she would never know the silent nature of her father's love, hidden beneath the surface of her very own existence.

REVELATION (PRESENT)

The moon hung low over the horizon, casting it's warm, beautiful, silver glow on the room. In the dim light, Catherine stood, her hands trembling, as Hadrain moved with quiet grace to the center of the chamber. The silence was thick, oppressive, yet tinged with anticipation. Lamia watched from the corner, his expression unreadable, his dark eyes tracing the path of his husband's every movement.

Catherine had come to them, desperate for the truth about her parents. She had sensed it for so long—something buried beneath the surface, a lingering shadow that tainted every smile her mother gave, every word her father spoke. She wanted to know, wanted the truth to be laid bare before her. And Hadrain, with his deep knowledge of the mystical and the hidden forces of the world, had promised to help her find it.

With a solemn nod, Hadrain extended his hand. His fingers moved in intricate patterns through the air, drawing invisible sigils that shimmered in the dimness. A soft hum of power rippled around them, like a distant wind across a vast ocean.

From the depths of his magic, a mirror appeared.

It was unlike any mirror Catherine had ever seen—its frame a delicate weave of silver, intricately adorned with symbols of both ancient and lost languages. Its surface was smooth as glass but shimmered with an otherworldly light, as if it held memories not of the mortal realm but of something far older.

"Look into it, Catherine," Hadrain said quietly, his voice carrying a weight of unspoken grief. "The truth will reveal itself."

Catherine stepped forward, her heart racing. She gazed into the mirror's surface, her reflection staring back at her—but not the reflection she expected. The image shifted, rippling like water disturbed by a gentle breeze, and Catherine gasped as scenes unfolded before her eyes.

She saw her mother, Genevieve, in a grand hall, her beauty undeniable, her eyes full of warmth and hope. But then, the scene blurred, and there, standing next to her, was a man unlike any mortal. Eryx, her father—the demon of the seas, his skin shimmering like the surface of the water, his hair cascading like dark waves. He was more beautiful than any man Catherine had ever seen, yet there was something about him that was not human, something otherworldly that vibrated through the air. But Catherine saw it clearly—his wealth, his entire persona, was nothing but a carefully woven mask. The image of his true self, the demon beneath the human guise, flickered and then faded, like a wisp of smoke slipping through her fingers.

Tears welled up in Catherine's eyes. The truth was unbearable. She had been lied to—her very existence had been crafted from deception. Her mother had fallen in love with a demon, and that demon had been her father. But something more shocking unraveled before her eyes—her powers, the ones she had no idea she ever has, had been sealed away, spellbound forever. Her connection to that ancient bloodline, to the essence of her father's demon nature, was bound, locked deep inside her. It was all a lie.

Her knees buckled beneath her. She couldn't breathe. A demon's blood ran through her veins, and the realization struck her like a sharp blade. The weight of it, the force of it, threatened to crush her.

A voice, soft but firm, pulled her from her spiraling thoughts. "Catherine," Hadrain whispered, his hands resting gently on her shoulders, steadying her. "Look at me, my love. You are not alone."

Catherine turned to him, her eyes wide with terror, tears cascading down her cheeks. "I—I'm a demon, Hadrain. How could I be?" Her voice quivered, raw with shock and pain. "All my life, I've been... I've been so blind."

Hadrain's gaze softened with an emotion Catherine couldn't place—sorrow, understanding, and something deeper, something more personal. He stepped forward, gently cupping her face in his hands. "I know what it's like, Catherine. To feel the weight of your blood, to carry the legacy of a power you don't understand. But you are not defined by it." His voice was a tender whisper, as if he were speaking to the very core of her soul.

He kissed her then, a slow, soothing kiss that bridged the gap between the pain of the past and the hope of what could be. It was a kiss that promised understanding, that promised love beyond the truth they both had to face. When he pulled back, his eyes lingered on hers, full of quiet determination.

"We are here, Catherine. Our children won't stray from the path—not under our watch." His words were both a promise and a shield, his voice unwavering, even though Catherine could hear the subtle undercurrent of fear in them.

Behind them, Lamia watched in silence, his gaze distant. The prophecy that had haunted him for years played like a drumbeat in his mind, its weight heavy and pressing. He knew that the world was shifting, and his fears—the ones he had hoped were only nightmares—were coming true. The war they had run from, the chaos that had been avoided, was beginning to resurface. It would find them, track them down, and it would not let them go.

Lamia's heart was heavy with foreboding. He had seen the signs, felt the winds of change stirring. The truth about Catherine's bloodline would not be enough to shield her from the consequences of it. And one of their children—one of them—had inherited the very essence that would bring the world to its knees.

"If they are not trained," Lamia murmured, his voice low and solemn, "our children will bring about the disaster we've all feared. They'll destroy everything." His words cut through the room like a cold wind.

Hadrain, sensing the shift in the atmosphere, turned his gaze toward Lamia. "We will train them. We will not let them fall into the darkness," he said, his voice firm, though the shadow of doubt lingered at the edges.

Catherine, still trembling from the revelations, found herself drawn to Lamia's side. She reached out to him, her hands shaking. "But what if we can't stop it?" she whispered, her voice breaking.

Hadrain pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around both her and Lamia, pulling them together. "It's okay, my loves," he said softly. "We are in this together. We'll face whatever comes, together."

Lamia's chest tightened as he held them both, his mind racing with the possibilities. The world was on the brink, and he could feel it in his bones. The child within Catherine, the child who carried the bloodline of a demon, would be the catalyst. The prophecy would come to pass, and if they didn't act swiftly, everything they loved would be lost.

A cold shiver ran down Lamia's spine, his heart heavy with the knowledge that they were not running from the war—they were running from the inevitable and it was coming for them all.