Demon Empress

Chapter 2 - Chance Meeting

Iara paced the lively streets of the Fifth Ring markets. Here, stalls and huts built of sturdy, wooden frames and good linens housed the little shops of artisans, weavers, potters, middle-class merchants and the like. They lined the uneven roads, and glass-blowers and blacksmiths lay in the shade to rest.

The weather in the Fifth Ring today was good — Iara felt that her mood was very much like it. The demon children ran and played on the streets, and shopkeepers brought their stools closer to each other to chat or argue. The modest yet vibrant day-to-day life put a spring in Iara’s step whenever she visited the markets.

The stone and dirt under her cloth shoes were warm and firm, and clerks selling little magic trinkets called out to her. Brushing past them, she ducked into a narrow alleyway, and squeezed herself through an ajar sliding door, into a small, run-down shop. An aged demon sat on a stool inside behind the counter, and shelves of drawers lined the wall behind him.

Iara greeted him cheerfully. “Good afternoon, Master Y’Ru. Have my things been finished?”

Y’Ru peered at her with narrowed eyes, before pulling back and nodding. “It’s you again, girl?” Though he said this, there was no hostility in his voice. Turning in his seat with a harrumph, he opened the drawer behind his left shoulder and withdrew a finely crafted dagger. “It’s plain demon steel, like you always want it to be.” The demon snuck a look at her as he handed it over. “Not many customers come here for a powerless dagger so regularly. I do wonder what you imbue all those plain daggers with.”

Iara winked. “Oh, nothing special. I’m just playing some tricks with them. It’s good exercise for my powers too, to finish crafting them myself. But you make the best daggers, both imbued and plain, Master Y’Ru. Don’t take offence that I don’t ask for magical daggers.”

Y’Ru grumbled, waving her excuses away. “Off with you, girl!”

Iara grinned. “See you in another two weeks.”

With this greeting, she skipped out of the shop, tucking the new dagger carefully into an empty sheath on her belt.

“Now,” she mused to herself as she exited back out onto the main street, “For food…” She strolled slowly, eyeing up the signs, before pausing outside a double-storey restaurant decorated with red wood and colourful flags. It was bustling inside, and she could see servers flurrying about hurriedly with bowls and plates cradled carefully in their arms.

She arched her brows curiously. “I don’t remember seeing this here before.”

With a shrug, she climbed the stairs and entered, looking around for a server who could help her. Thankfully, the relatively large establishment had a front counter and a clerk. The clerk smiled at her, clearly slightly troubled from the busy business. “A table for one, Madam?”

Iara smiled back. “I can wait if you’re full.”

The clerk smiled apologetically. “It’s not that, Madam. We only opened last week, so we didn’t expect for business to blow up. We are full for the next sixteen hours!”

Iara’s eyes widened in surprise. “That busy? Congratulations!”

The clerk nodded, thanking her, but his eyes darted left and right, checking on the busily moving servers in the hall. In a flustered voice, he asked, “Would Madam be alright with sharing a table?”

Iara didn’t hesitate. The shop was so full; was it possible for the food to be bad? She didn’t mind sharing tables. “Let’s do that then.”

Clearly relieved, the clerk caught a charging server and got him to guide her to a four-seater table. There was already a man seated at the table; dark curls framed his handsome face, and dark, green eyes glittered like emeralds. He grinned cheekily at her, then raised his brows at the server. “Aren’t I lucky today? I decided to go out of my comfort zone and share a table with strangers, and you hand me such a beauty. This is too much pressure.”

Iara took no offence, smiling back at him. “You’re quite pretty, yourself.”

She took her seat, and the server very quickly left, off in a hurry to finish another urgent task.

She flipped through the menu rather carelessly, barely looking at it. With all of her earlier excitement for food earlier, she leaned across over the table to peer at the beautiful demon. “I’ve seen a lot of attractive demons in my lifetime, but you…” Thinking about the men back at the place she called home, she smiled again in a resigned manner. “You are another.”

The demon slowly scrutinised her where she sat, interest colouring his green irises. “I could say the same. I have seen many of the harems of powerful demons, but you are something else.”

Her interest perked as well. This man was good-looking, but modestly dressed, with hair disheveled by the wind and sand against his skin. Where would a demon of the Fifth Ring have gotten a chance to see a powerful demon’s women?

But before she could continue, a rude and impatient voice rose from the front of the hall. “Just count us as two people! This mutt doesn’t need a seat or food. He will just stand. How can you not even have a table for two?”

The clerk didn’t get angry. Instead, his voice was polite and submissive when he spoke: “Many apologies to my lady. If we had known Lady Rona would visit our humble shop, we would have set aside a table for you. Because we weren’t told in advance, we…”

The angry voice shrilly cut in. “Should I wait in line like your peasant customers? Have a table finish and leave!”