Demon King: Awakening

Chapter 17

She gasped for air as she woke up. Her eyes ached as the light came streaming in through the window. Glancing around the room, feeling foggy as she tried to remember where she was. Her dream had felt so real. She momentarily thought that she was still on the wall of the castle until she recognized the walls around her. She was indeed back in the castle, in her hospital room. She pulled her thoughts together, trying to figure out how long she had been sleeping. She continued to glance around the room, her eyes finally settling on Nurse Chaiun sitting on a chair near her bed. She was doing something, but she couldn't make out what it was. Her eyes still ached.

“How long have I been sleeping?” She asked, trying to clear her mind.

“Almost a full day. How are you feeling?” She inquired, standing up to look down at her. Her voice may have sounded concerned, but her eyes held no trace of concern. She checked Areana's temperature and vitals. “How's the pain?”

She thought for a moment, “Much better, thank you.”

Her mind drifted back to her dream, fear of the impending war weighed more heavily on her mind, “How far has the human army advanced?”

Nurse Chaiun looked nervously at Areana, thinking she may be a spy and trying to figure out when her people were going to come and then attack from the inside. She feared what could possibly happen if she was right about Areana and so she ignored her question altogether.

Areana waited for a few moments, hoping Nurse Chaiun would answer. However, when she remained silent, Areana spoke again, “Please you have to tell me! So many are going to die!” She pleaded with her.

“You are worried about the humans. They are the only ones that will perish in this battle.” Nurse Chaiun responded matter-of-factly, “They are the ones who wish for war, not us. Although it has been so long since we have fought anyone. Not since, oh, what was his name?” she tapped her chin thoughtfully, “Ah, yes, Albitran. He had been your so-called hero. He forced the true demons back to the mountain of Cadorac and then built high walls. As though the walls would keep them in. But then he did something strange. He gathered all the priests and they prayed around its walls. The walls glowed a bright white light. It was like a domed barrier was created. We haven't seen those demons in some years. As for us, he forced us here, but for some reason, we are allowed to leave our walled area. Peculiar, isn’t it? Well, enough of that.” she chuckled, seeming to brush the idea aside.

She smiled slyly, “however, with the coming war, I suddenly have the desire to pass beyond the castle walls and taste human blood,” Nurse Chaiun watched, gauging Areana's expression.

“You can't want to fight, or at least not to have a war.” Areana looked at her as though she were crazy. “You can't be speaking the truth.”

“It's not only me, but all those who live in and around these castle walls want to fight. Humans have been a pain for centuries. They deserve to die.” She laughed, excitedly.

“What have humans done to you?” Areana questioned, unsure of what humans had really done to demons that was so bad to warrant a war and possible annihilation.

“You humans prance around like you are God's chosen people and you can do no wrong, but you never worry when you do, all you have to do is pray a little prayer and all is forgiven. Then you go about doing your sins again. You are evil people that mask themselves as angels on earth. While us demons know what we are, we don't hide our true nature.” She sighed, seeming exasperated from the whole conversation.

Areana thought for a moment, trying to comprehend Nurse Chaiun's point of view, “I understand. I questioned it, too. I questioned why, if people have been declared God's people, why they appear to be walking around like demons in disguise. I have met people who should be demons and some demons who should be people. I don't understand it either. How could a God that loves us not show our true colors the way they were shown in the beginning, with those who were evil turned into demons and those who were not, remained human.” She took a deep breath while waiting for Nurse Chaiun to respond.

Nurse Chaiun looked over at her, rolling her eyes, “We've talked about this. Humans who have turned evil must cross the line in order to change into what they truly are. Those who still walk as humans haven't crossed the line. Those who are demons and should be humans have chosen not to cross back over the line. Simple as though.” She sighed, appearing bored and frustrated from the conversation.

“But what about the demons who do cross the line, the ones who should be human? What about them?” She inquired.

“You mean the king. Yes, he comes and goes as he pleases. He can cross the line without changing back.” Nurse Chaiun responded nonchalantly, as though it were obvious.

“He is a good king, kind, caring, and strong.” Areana said, pausing to catch her breath, “Since he has human compassion, then shouldn't he change back to a human when he crosses the line?”

Nurse Chaiun shook her head, looking at her like she was a fool, “No, they only change if they want to go back to God. But since most of us left him because he showed that his love was never really real, we don't tend to go back to him.”

“So, you can only change back if you want to, but if you are a human that has turned evil you don't have a choice once you cross the line?” Areana asked, trying to comprehend how the line worked.

“Yes, my goodness, what do they even teach you?” She sighed, rolling her eyes, “I'm going to get the doctor to let him know you're awake and very responsive. He will come and check on you. If you have healed, I am hoping that the king will send you out.” She smiled gleefully as she left the room.

Areana watched as she exited the room. She wanted to ask more. She wanted to understand more about how this part of the world worked. She wanted to understand God, but the more she was told, the more confused she was. Nurse Chaiun was clearly done with the conversation and so Areana tried to wait patiently for the doctor to come.

“Not all demons are like her,” muttered Battaleon from where he stood next to the door.

Areana looked over at him, “What do you mean?”

“Some of us are here for other reasons,” he responded shortly.

“What other reasons could there be? I thought it was only when you turned from God,” she inquired.

“You're not wrong,” he mumbled, “but some of us have other reasons keeping us on this side of the world, away from our humanity,” he answered.

“Do you have a different reason?” Areana inquired, hoping she wasn't overstepping.

Battaleon, shifted uncomfortably for a few moments before responding, “I lost my wife,” his voice shook slightly as he spoke, but he quickly recovered.

“You came here because you lost her?” Areana felt her heart breaking for Battaleon.

He nodded, “How long have you been here?” Areana asked, pondering if maybe he was still mourning the loss of his wife.

He swallowed hard, “it's been nearly ten years. She was very sick. She wasn't never strong, but we were happy. I worked hard to keep her comfortable and safe. She was healthy as long as she wasn't straining herself. But I was selfish,” he nearly choked out the last words.

“How?” Areana pushed. He clearly needed to talk to someone.

Drawing in a few deep breaths, Battaleon opened his mouth to speak again, “We wanted kids. I knew it may be too much for her, but I didn't stop her. She got pregnant. We were so happy. But it was short-lived because, then within months, she had passed. The stress of carrying a child too great for her precious body,” his voice shook slightly, and a single tear escaped, running down his cheek.

Areana wanted to reach out to him, but she was restricted to the stupid bed, “I'm so sorry,” Areana whispered, unsure of what more to say.

“So, I came here. No one cares about my story. No one knows of my past. I can forget.” His voice suddenly hardened and he straightened himself.

Areana went to say more when the door swung open and Doctor Rataloan strode in. “How are you feeling today? I hear you are quite talkative,” Doctor Rataloan questioned as he came over, checking her wound as he lifted up the sheet that covered it.

“I'm feeling much better. There isn't as much pain,” she said, forcing herself to smile.

He nodded and then went over to the side of her bed. He looked over her chart and rechecked her vitals. Then he rechecked her sutures to make sure that she didn't have an infection. Luckily, there was no puss coming from it. He put a little pressure on it and then released it. She felt the needles of the push, but the pain was bearable. “Your wound is looking good. You should be able to move around freely soon. This healing is remarkable, for a human. This kind of wound should have healed in a few weeks, minimal, not in days.” He mumbled more to himself than to her. This caused her to wonder how she had healed so quickly, but she had a feeling she had some divine help with the process.

Author's Note:

Thank you for your patience in waiting for an update. This week has been pretty crazy for me. I hope you enjoy the triple update today as my apology for being late and thanks for waiting patiently!

As always, you can follow me on Face Book by searching for my name Aly Kim. I'm the girl with brown hair and blue eyes, with a winter background ^^ Also, my books are the cover photo for the page, so, there's that haha.