Demon King: Awakening

Chapter 18

Areana peered up at the doctor, deciding if she should divulge what she had seen in her dream and who she had met there. She made a possibly rash decision and told him, “God visited me in a dream. He may have sped up the process.” she smiled to herself at the idea. Quickly, the doctor took a step away from her, “What's wrong?” Her brow furrowed in concern.

“Well...” He stuttered. “Well... it would not be good to come into contact with someone who has had contact with God. I am a demon after all, and we do not fare well in his presence.” He explained, choking up. She could see his skin color lightening as though he were going to be sick. He took a few more steps back.

“But I am not him.” She tried to reason, watching him carefully.

“You have apparently been touched by him,” he spoke, glancing nervously over at the nurse.

“You just touched me and seem fine.” She quickly responded, trying to reason with him, but he appeared far too frightened to think logically at the moment.

“You're right...” His voice trailed off as beads of sweat started rolling down his forehead.

She pushed herself up to a sitting position, and took a deep steadying breath, before speaking, “You're going to be fine. If something bad was going to happen it would have already happened.” She tried to reassure him.

“Yes, yes, you're right.” He breathed as he began to settle down.

She watched as he took another deep breath. He calmed, “I will be informing the king that you have awoken.” He said as he squired off to the door, “Your health has improved greatly, he will also be informed of that. Please wait a few moments.”

She nodded and he practically escaped the room, the nurse quickly racing after him. She was left alone, except for Battaleon who had come to relieve Leonard of his post. He had been standing watch over her for days. She pushed herself out of bed and found that her movements were a lot less restricted from when she last stood and looked out the window. Slowly, she made her way over to the window, unsure what she was looking for, but also afraid to peer out of it. She didn't want to see the bloodshed she had seen last time. It wasn't the king. It wasn't who he was. She knew he was kind, that he was good at heart.

There came a sudden knock at the door. “Come in.” She called, watching as Battaleon opened the door for Kobel. She stood up to greet him as he entered.

As his gaze came over to her, she saw something flutter in his gaze, but it quickly disappeared. “I see you are doing well. You are already moving around on your own.” He smiled as he sat on the chair next to her bed. “Please take a seat.” He motioned toward the other chair.

She nodded and walked over toward him. With every step, her heart began to beat harder. Sliding into the chair in front of him, their knees nearly brushed. “I had a dream.” She cut to the chase. “How close is the human army to making contact?” She blurted out, hoping that he would answer her question and not try to avoid it as Nurse Chaiun had.

He looked at her shocked, once more. He was unsure of how to answer. “Very direct, I see.” He settled his expression, smiling with a light chuckle. “The human army is a few days out from getting here. We believe that they are going to take time to set up camp before they make their attack. We are looking at about a week maximum before the war begins.” He explained clearly to her.

“Kobel, you can't let this war happen?” She pleaded, reaching out her hand to grasp his. He didn't move away but rather wrapped his fingers around hers.

He sighed, “It isn't my choice.”

“But it is your choice not to fight them.” She leaned toward him from the chair. He pulled his chair a little closer to her, making sure she didn't bend too much causing her stitches to tear.

He peered into her eyes, pausing for a moment before speaking, “I have unfortunately done all that I can without bringing the war to them. I have tried to stop it.” He sighed.

“If this war is not stopped, many are going to die. I don't mean just humans, but demons, too.” She tried to convince him, she wanted him to understand the dangers. “God came to me in a dream. He has warned us against having this war. Lives will be lost. It will be chaos. It was chaos in my dream.” She took hold of his other hand trying to express how dangerous it was and will be. “Please listen, please understand.” She looked at him with pleading eyes, but he pulled his hands away and sat up straight in his chair.

He folded his hands and cleared his throat before speaking, “I understand what you are saying, but it is the human army that is advancing on us, not the other way around.” He sighed. She felt cold, looking down at her hands, wishing his hands were back in her own. “You would need to speak with the humans, not us. We didn't start this, they did.” He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

“I can't speak with them. The prince has already poisoned the king's mind. If I were to dare to meet with the king, undoubtedly the prince would hear of it.” She vented as she slipped out of the chair, standing in front of him. Although she was standing, she wasn't much taller than him. They were almost seeing eye to eye at this point.

“Can you not try?” Kobel finally spoke, meeting her gaze.

“Since they are already on the move, how can I meet with the king of Zendora? Isn't it too late?” She worried out loud. “God told me to stop this war, but how, he didn't exactly give me a plan. All he said was that I could.” She sighed, “I'm not sure how to do it.” She felt angry about the lack of instructions from God.

He sat in silence for a few moments, thinking over different ideas that began to swirl in his mind, “What if I can get you close to the king?” He questioned with a clever smile on his lips.

“How?” She inquired, intrigued by whatever idea he had.

“Well, I do have demons who can fly.” He said, as though it were an obvious fact.

“But how could any demon get close enough and not be attacked?” She ferried her brows, genuinely concerned.

“This is true.” He thought a moment, “I could send you a less direct route. Having the demon fly low enough and drop you in the forest near the army. Then they will be unseen.” He smiled, thrilled by the brilliant idea he had.

“Even if we could get that close, I'm supposed to be dead. I'm sure the prince has already spread it as a rumor throughout the kingdom. Not only that, but I'm a woman...” she muttered the last part, unhappy with how things were for women.

“A quite beautiful one at that,” Kobel remarked quickly without thinking his words through. She watched as his gaze awkwardly shifted to the floor for a moment.

Areana paused for a moment, caught off guard by his words, “That may be so,” she blushed slightly at his words, “However, they will not believe me, not when I will be contradicting the prince.” The words tumbled from her lips, filled with worry.

Kobel pursed his lips in thought. A few long moments passed before he spoke, “You believe in God?” She nodded. “What you believe must be true, otherwise you would have transformed into a demon as soon as you crossed into my territory. Therefore, if you believe so much in God then he will give weight to your words. He will step in and change the king's mind.”

She sat, stunned, for a few moments as she thought about his words. It seemed impossible. She took in a deep breath, and gathered her thoughts, “Can you not stop your army first?” She wished he could stop all this. That she could help to halt the war from this end, never moving from this place. Never moving from him.

“No, I don't want this war either, but I cannot put my kingdom at risk. I have to keep my defences.” He spoke kindly, trying to get her to understand.

“Please.” She began to plead, but he cut her off.

“No, we've talked about this. At the very least, I can get you close to your king. They are approaching the Black Forest. The one that separates our kingdoms. A demon will fly you close and set you down among the trees.” He offered; a look of defeat laced his expression. He wanted to do everything for her, but this. No, this was impossible.

“I see. If that is all you can do. Then I will take it.” she smiled, weakly at him.

This time it was Kobel's turn to lean forward and grasp her hands, "If the war cannot be stopped, then many will die, but it will not be because I want it to be that way nor that you have not tried.” He spoke firmly, trying to get his point across. “I hope you can stop it.”

She was perplexed by his desire to stop this war, “But why? If I don't stop it, your kingdom will only grow. Those who have turned from God will turn into demons after crossing the line.”

“I do not have the land to accommodate all the new incoming demons.” His explanation felt empty.

“I don't understand. Shouldn't you want to become more powerful? You are a demon, after all. Why are you so different from the image you are portrayed as?” She inquired.

He appeared offended momentarily, before composing himself. “I am a demon; however, I am not a demon from the kingdom of Cadorac. I am not the devil. I understand the confusion and misunderstandings.” He smiled sadly. She reached out to take his hand, to comfort him, but he quickly pulled out of reach of her. Hurt flashed over her expression for a moment before she covered it up with a stoic expression.

She sighed inwardly, trying to refocus on the current problem. She needed to figure out what to say to the king. Words that would make him believe her over his own flesh and blood. She sighed, trying to understand why she needed to stop the war and why God wasn't. She pondered over it all, deep in thought, forgetting for a moment that Kobel sat in front of her.

Concern creased Kobel's brow, “Is everything alright? Are you in pain?” He asked, grasping her hands slightly tighter, showing his worry for her.

Startling her from her jumbled thoughts and questions, she quickly refocused on him. She took in his wolf-like appearance, ears, long white hair, claws, and tail that brushed the ground below his chair. “He wants faith...” She mumbled.

“What?” He looked at her confused.

She cleared her throat before speaking, “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you. It wasn't right of me to do. I know you better than that. You are kind, strong, caring, and one of the best kings I have ever met.” She smiled at him, studying his features, fearing that she will have to leave him all too soon.

“How many kings have you actually met?” He looked over at her, seeming to feel better and ready to make jabs at her.

She laughed lightly, “You are the second that I've met. But I'll have you know I have met many kingly people.” She smirked at him, giving a slight laugh.

“Oh, really? What is a kingly person like?” He chuckled at her response.

She paused, thinking for a moment, “A kingly person is someone who has honor, is caring, takes care of others above themselves, and... umm is a good leader.” She said matter-of-factly.

“I see, then I must be a king of kings here.” He spoke, leaning back, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“Sure, let's go with that.” She laughed lightly, smiling at him. She enjoyed seeing this relaxed side of him. He appeared at peace in this moment, no one was barging in with bad news and the war felt like it was miles away instead of nearing the castle walls.

“I need to have faith. It's not that you can't step in, it's that you won't. If you did, then you would take away some of our free will. I understand now.” She thought to God with a smile as she looked over at the calm Kobel sitting before her now.

“What are you thinking about?” Kobel asked, leaning forward, showing genuine interest.

She thought for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to share her thoughts about God with him. She took in a deep breath and made up her mind to tell him her thoughts, hoping he wouldn't be offended. “I've been wondering why God doesn't just show himself to us. Why doesn't he stop the war himself instead of having me try and figure out a way to do so? If he were to interfere, would it take away some of our free will? And what about sin? How can murder be the same as lying?” She slowly spoke, fearing what he would say back to her over a topic that was clearly one not discussed in the demon kingdom.

Kobel smiled warmly and then shocked her with his response, “No one is perfect. He has said that he cannot be around sin. Therefore, sin no matter how big or small we deem it to be, will keep him from earth. If he did, what would happen to his beloved children?”

“How do you... How come... What?” She asked, startled by his response.

He chuckled at her confusion, but his smile soon turned serious as he took a deep breath, clearly about to talk about something painful. “My father once lived in Zendora. He grew up like you. However, the God he learned about was not of love. He was a punisher and he ignored prayers. So, he decided to ignore him, too. As he did, he became powerful and could protect anyone he wished to. Since then, his faith died.” He paused, letting her think about his words before he continued, “Has he always answered you? Have you met him? How do you know he is real? Where is your proof?” he pushed.

She thought for a moment, but she couldn't think of much. “I don't have a lot of proof. I've only met him recently in a dream. He's never answered my prayers the way I had wanted him to. But I know he is here. Before coming here, my faith was there, but now it has depth.” She sat pondering her own words, realizing she had her own revelation about her faith. She was a Christian. She wasn't growing, she hadn't grown in a long time.

“Was it because you saw him that your faith has grown?” He asked, wondering why God hadn't taken the time to meet his father as he had done for her.

“No, I think it was when you saved me, then when I didn't turn into a demon after crossing the border.” She smiled as she thought about things. “Thank you.” She said with a larger, brighter smile.

“Why?” he questioned, tilting his head slightly. Appearing all the more handsome.

“You saved me and in doing so, you reminded me to have faith. I know it wasn't your intention.” she smiled sweetly at him.

“Not what I meant to do indeed.” He chuckled.

She smiled wider. “But God used you to get to me, to remind me that he loves me. That's what he does, he uses those around us to bring people to him, to help them.” He looked at her quizzically. “I'm ready, I will leave today.” She changed the subject, “I want to get to the human army undetected as you said you could help me with. I want to be able to get to the king as soon as possible.” She smiled confidently.