The Demons Hidden Kingdom

First Outing

Eli POV

I walk through the Gardens and stare up at the night sky, a blanket of stars surrounded the Kingdom. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, taking in everything around me. My mind was focused else where when I first left the castle, but I could now spend a moment to remember everything and what it all feels like. The nights icy air touching my skin, the sounds of the forest that sing when the wind travels through the trees and the feeling of my own Aura that fills the entire realm.

Looking forward I continue to walk out of the Castle Grounds and head for the God’s Circle. I follow the pathways through the village close the Castle and come to a small wooded area. Three Stone statues of Winged Beings rest in the centre, side by side their arms interlock and their faces hidden. I stay towards The Three and give them a look of hate. Keeping my gaze I drop to my knees and ask them...

“Did you send him here? Why another Demon? Will others come? What does it mean and what should I do now?”.

I stay there for a minute trying to make a connection... But get no answer, I never do... I know they can here me speak. The God’s always listen. I came here hoping for a bit of guidance but they give me nothing. I’m not surprised though, they do enjoy playing their games with us. I didn’t like them very much, but they created me and sent me to this world. They sent Kinru here too, a few Humans questioned their existence all together, as they didn’t seem to like making their presence known here.

I give up on my task, talking to faceless statues was obviously not going to change anything. I stand up and give an unexpected smile to the Gods Circle.

“Well.. Thanks for nothing guys, I’ll come back and fill you in another time” I say and gesture goodbye to them bowing my head.

Hmm?.. I suddenly feel Kinru’s Aura move, my scattered Aura that fills the Kingdom keeps an eye on everything. I can sense possible threats and danger, and can find anyone instantly inside the walls.

It’s only been a few hours, is he fully recovered already?

I begin to feel him getting close and decide to go meet with him. Feeling his Aura come to a stop, I knew he could sense me close by too. I turn a corner and see him there facing away from me. No shirt? The air can be cold during the night, we don’t feel it like the Humans but we like to keep warm. His body, perfectly toned, his skin only slightly pale unlike my own. I unintentionally stare and feel almost flustered by the sight, but I couldn’t help it. Its like something inside me is trying to tell me something, but it’s not clear. I dint know how to act on the things I was feeling, I’m not even a shy person and never was before.. I should just be myself and not worry about what happens, I’m just grateful someone is here now.

Looking at him I could tell he seemed a little confused about where I was, the Aura surrounding the Kingdom masks my own a little. I walk up behind him and go to place my hand on his shoulder.

“Hi Kinru” I say and before I even lay my hand he turns grabbing my wrist with a tight grip. His eyes glare with anger right into mine. I look slightly startled but I’m not fazed, I did kind of creep up on him.

“Eli?!” he exclaimed, his eyes suddenly fill with regret and remorse. He loosens his grip but doesn’t let go. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to grab you like! Please..”

“It’s ok!” I interrupted. “I shouldn’t have stuck up behind you like that.. It was a little funny though” I laugh a little trying to break the tension.

“I wasn’t frightened if that’s what you think!” he said defensively, but also returning a smile.

“Did you rest enough?” I ask him.

“Yes, I’m a lot better now thank you” he replies and before I had chance to speak he asked.

“Are you ok My Queen?” his voice turned softer and while he still had hold of my wrist he took a step closer to me.

He called me Queen again and I gave him a look of guilt. His face also looking concerned.

“I’m not a Queen Kinru, you can just call me Eli” I say

“But the Kingdom needs a Ruler” a serious tone appears in his voice. “You made this Kingdom and you protect it, sounds like something Kings and Queens do to me”

“But I just wanted people to feel safe here, I’m not a good leader” I respond pulling my wrist away from his grip.

He gives me another serious look for a seconds but again his smile returned.

“You’ll learn! And don’t worry I’ll be here to help you with anything you need” he says with sincerity.

I accept his reasoning behind it all, but being a Queen just doesn’t feel right to me. I’ve always followed orders, from King’s mainly. They Queens usually just sit there and look pretty in their fine tailored dresses and their hair styled by the most experienced maidens. I look back at Kinru and sense his emotion..

“Please Kinru, just Eli for now?” I ask. Looking at him his eyes had suddenly lit up.

“For now?” he says with excitement.

I nod my head reluctantly.

“That’s good enough for me then!” he says with acceptance, now leaving the subject alone.

I feel a little better now we had spoken on matter and it was done with for now. I look at him up and down, his eyes had caught mine. I tilt my head and raise an eyebrow at him asking.

“Are you not cold?”

“I seem to be enjoying the cold a lot lately” he responds staring back at me.

I dint really understand what he meant, maybe some Demons do like the cold after all. I just giggle at his answer and he suddenly places his hand on my head, and moves his face close to mine.

“So, are you going to show me around?” He says to me.

Our faces were nearly touching, and a warm sensation from my Demon Blood started to pulse through my veins. My eyes were locked on his and his on mine. It’s that same feeling as before, I could feel it becoming more intense the longer I stood there. My body was frozen still, but the heat was becoming unbearable!

Does he feel it too?

He just remained there patiently, waiting for me to answer. I needed to snap out of it and quickly! A playful smile and a frown appeared on my face, his expression now confused. I then raise my hand and now grab his wrist, lifting his hand from my head. He pulls away slightly too and I instantly feel relief.

“Shall we go then?” I say and while still holding his wrist I take off running down the pathway, dragging him with me.

His feet stumble slightly following behind me, but he soon regained his footing. I lead him past the Gods Circle and follow the road down. We run together through the streets of the nearby village, allowing Kinru to take in the sights. We come to a stop by a large water fountain, two mermaids sat gracefully in the middle, water fell from their hands and the sound of it hitting the pool below echoed in the air.

“The East Village, a small town with many shops and crafting buildings, the Theatre District isn’t far away either and there’s a housing area close by. There are 4 villages in the Kingdom, North, East, South and West. Each village had everything it would need to run..” I pause for a second and look around the empty streets.

“But there’s nobody to run them” Kinru says, finishing what I wanted to tell him. “These villages are great, its pretty to look at, flowers blooming around every corner and there’s plenty of facilities around. People would love to live in a place like this.”

“Is the Capital not beautiful? People used to travel for miles to visit the home of the King’s Palace” I ask him.

“Many people still visit the Capital, but mainly for work purposes. The streets are run down, occupied by the poor and homeless, begging for food and money” his eyes gaze off and his expression becomes blank. “A lot of people get sick from living in poor conditions and can’t afford to see a doctor or a medical priest”.

“Is there famine in the City? Can the King not request help?” I say with concern in my voice.

“The King is an i***t, he took the Throne after his father’s death and is too immature to run a Kingdom. He doesn’t care for the people, only himself” he says with disappointment.

I look down and feel sorrow for the people suffering there, times have definitely changed. The Crown would give food from their stores to help feed the poor and the streets would be kept clean so illness was less likely.

Kinru bumps my shoulder with his arm, pulling me away from my thoughts.

“You’ll be a good Queen. I just know it” he says softly.

I appreciated his words, it gave me hope that if people did come, they might actually want it to be their home.

“Hopefully, you coming here is a sign that change is about to happen” I say, staring up towards the stars.

Kinru looks over and smiles, placing his hand on my shoulder he looks over towards the roof tops, then back again at me. His smile turn to a mischievous grin and he says;

“Round two?”.