12

Devilkghth stood on top of his castle high above the village, he smiled at it, looking down at the people below him, he could almost hear their cries as they fought against the monsters that tried to break through the borders.

He watched the monsters with rapt attention, trying to find the one who dared try to cross his border, his eyes narrowing when he saw someone move out of the corner of his eye and into view. He turned his head to look at where they'd come from, but he couldn't see anything. The monster seemed to know what he was thinking and began to approach.

With a grin he drew his sword and prepared for battle, raising a fist. "Show yourself!" The creature paused, then turned its head upwards, before taking a step back. It moved closer, coming into clear sight, but still keeping just out of reach of Devilkghth's sword.

The man was wearing dark clothes and had hair like fire, red streaks in the strands making them appear as if he were covered in flames. His face looked young, his skin so pale he almost looked as if he wasn't really breathing, and he wore an expression of such pure terror Devilkghth almost felt sorry for this stranger. Almost, but not quite. This intruder must have been some sort of mage.

"Are you lost?"

The boy shook his head violently before dropping to his knees. "N–No sir! I don't want trouble! I only came here to talk to Lord Vakn, I won't tell anyone your name. Please just let me go!"

Devilkghth frowned slightly. "You are a noble, you should not be in this part of town, where the peasants live." He paused. "Do you wish to become my prisoner?"

The mage gulped. "Y-Yes please! Just take care of me until we get home!"

"Very well then…" Devilkghth said slowly, sheathing his blade. "I will accept you as my prisoner, but I am not going to allow my people to hurt you for a debt you owe us. If they attack you again, remember I am no friend of the peasants. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes sir! Thank you!" The boy leapt to his feet, turning around and bowing low. When he raised his face, his eyes were filled with tears and his teeth were bared in what looked to be a fierce smile. "Thank you! Thank you! I will never forget this kindness!"

Devilkghth chuckled. "Don't be silly boy. There is nothing noble about being able to do something for a simple favor that has already been repaid tenfold. Now, get out of here before someone notices you."

"Yes sir!" With another quick bow, the mage ran off.

Devilkghth watched after him until he disappeared from sight. Then, with a sigh, he went inside the castle, closing the large doors behind him.

"Father! Father look! A human has come to our castle to visit!" An old gnome ran up to his father, waving two small pieces of paper in front of the king's face.

King Gheldir glanced up briefly at the gnome. "That does not matter. Go fetch my daughter," he snapped.

The gnome scurried off.

Gheldir returned to his papers, reading the report that had arrived while his son was gone. At the bottom, a seal bearing a golden bird holding a jeweled crown lay under the words: From King Dantrakh the Mighty and Queen Merei, greetings.

'Hmm…' the king mused, rubbing his chin absentmindedly. He turned to his right, gazing across the room at a portrait of a young woman. He remembered seeing that painting many years ago when Dantrakh had first come to their court.

She was beautiful, her face framed by dark raven hair and her eyes were full of life and intelligence. She wore a white dress and had the faintest hint of a smile playing on her lips. Gheldir had loved that painting from the moment he laid eyes on it.

Suddenly, the king heard footsteps approaching. The door to his study opened, revealing a handsome elf with dark blue hair.

"Dantrakh? What brings you here? To the castle? Or did something happen outside?"

"Your majesty. Your concern for my safety shows how important I hold you to your heart. But I am afraid something far more sinister has come to visit us. Our scouts have found the remains of an army of monsters in the forest near our kingdom. They attacked a village and destroyed three merchant ships, leaving the rest to burn and sink without even bothering to help."

Gheldir's jaw clenched. "Monsters are rising once again! And yet, our people are too weak to stand up to them!"

"Indeed, I fear our people may fall soon enough. We need to unite."

King Gheldir sighed. "I suppose it's no different than any other war that the gods have waged on this land…"

"What?! No, your majesty, it's different. The gods are on our side. These monsters are evil, corrupting everything that walks the earth in their path. You have seen the destruction they cause on a daily basis. Without the power of the god's magic, there is no hope for us."

"We must find a way…" Gheldir murmured. "And the answer may lie in the hands of this child."

"My king?" Dantrakh tilted his head inquisitively. "Is this child related to you?"

"This child is the daughter of the god, Eruhk. She carries a rare bloodline that can be used for our advantage. And because of this, she has great powers and abilities that no ordinary mortal possesses."

Dantrakh gave a wry smirk. "I'm assuming that your wife knows this?"

"Of course!" King Gheldir replied indignantly. "It would be foolish to believe otherwise."

"Then why doesn't she use them for good? Why do these things seem to follow her everywhere she goes? Perhaps this 'child' is simply a means to an end. I have always believed that magic is meant to serve us, not harm."

"But we cannot afford to ignore them…and neither can we afford to risk losing this opportunity!"

***

After explaining the situation to his wife, Gheldir summoned a guard and sent him off to fetch the princess, instructing her to stay in bed for now. Then the king ordered a bath prepared and set to work.

When a servant brought her breakfast the next day, Mereenor took one look at the poor girl and asked, "Child, what happened to you last night?"

For a moment the girl stared blankly at her mother, before shaking her head. "Nothing, Mama! I…I fell asleep early and had bad dreams…that's all!"

Mereenor narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Child, you don't have to lie to me. Come here." When Mereenor held out a hand, the girl quickly crossed the room to her and sat down on the edge of the bed. "So what happened, dear?" Mereenor put her arm around her daughter.

"I don't want to make you worry. I'm okay! Really!"

"Please, I am your mother. Of course I am going to worry…" Mereenor pulled the girl close. "Look at me sweetheart…what happened?"

Tears gathered in the girls eyes before falling to the floor and dripping onto her lap. The older woman could see that something had obviously troubled her child, and she gently rubbed the girls back comfortingly. "Come on, honey…please talk to me…you're safe here...you're alright…"

Finally the girl whispered. "He said he wouldn't hurt me…but…he wanted to. I told him not to, but he didn't listen…"

"Who? Who did this to you?" The princess hugged the girl tightly to her chest. "Tell me who did this to you, and I will kill him!"

"Mommy..." Tears started rolling down her cheeks. "His name is Devilkght…He has horns like an ox and a black eye and he says I can't go anywhere alone…He's really mean to me momma…"

"Oh my dear…" Mereenor pressed a kiss on top of the girl's head. "Did he beat you badly? Does he know where we live? Tell me…"

"No…not really…" The girl shook her head. "I tried telling him that I knew where to buy food and that we needed money, but he got mad…"

Mereenor gasped. "You mean he threatened you?!"

"Not really…he just told me I wasn't allowed to leave his side anymore. But…if he did, I would still tell. So…I pretended to be scared and cried real loud so that he would let me go…"

Mereenor frowned slightly, stroking her daughter's blonde hair. "You've done very well, darling. It's alright, he won't dare touch you anymore."

The little princess nodded, but she still couldn't shake off her fear. Her father had left his throne and traveled halfway across the world to meet with the God's Messenger. And although she hadn't understood why until today, the idea of her father fighting those ugly, frightening creatures terrified her. They were supposed to help people! They were supposed to fight against evil and save innocent lives! Yet, despite her wishes, the only thing protecting her was the man that hated her.

***

Prince Dantrakul stared silently through the glass window of his private bedroom. His green skin glowed brightly, as usual, but today the light made his red scales appear almost blue and his long black tail flicked back and forth slowly.

He smiled. The demon prince felt his heart skip a beat and he looked away from the window. His gaze drifted to a small wooden box sitting atop his desk. Inside was a simple golden ring, and inside of the ring, two small gems. Each gem was about half the size of a pea and was embedded into an intricately carved piece of gold. The jewels were made from rubies, sapphires and diamonds. The colors had been chosen by their owner with care. The prince picked up the box and stared at the rings for a few moments before finally opening it and pulling out the ruby.

He placed the ruby in the center of the ring then placed the ring carefully back into its place on the jewelry case. The ruby had once belonged to the dragon's former lover, Lune, and had become his most prized possession since he had given it to him after Lune died in battle. The prince loved it so much he had gifted it to his best friend as a token of their everlasting love, but the dragon's death changed his relationship with the jewel, and now it seemed lost forever.

Dantrakul looked down at the emerald ring sitting between his fingers before picking it up and looking at the engravings. A single line was engraved on the surface of the ring, and it read:

To my favorite human being, the brightest star in the sky. My soul will shine brighter than any sun or moon. May your happiness never fade.

The prince sighed quietly. His heart ached every time he thought of the words on the ring. He loved and admired Lune more than anything in the whole world. He truly wished that Lune was still alive and they had a life together. But even if he were able to get home, Lune would be forced into hiding under someone else's rule and be forced to forget him. Even though he was sure that the God of Light himself had spoken the truth when He told the prince that he should return to his own realm, Dantrakul still refused to accept such a fate for the fallen hero. If he was indeed destined to die, then he would choose to face the god's judgment with honor rather than hiding away in some secret realm like a coward. After all, it was Lune who had fought for them both; if the gods had granted him his wish to be with Dantrakul again, then it was only fair that they allow his son to do the same. That is how the Prince of Darkness saw it.

There was another knock at the door. "Enter."

The door creaked open and Dantrakh's father walked into the room, followed by the queen and two other guards. "My son...you need to prepare yourself for the meeting. King Gheldir asks that you join him for lunch and will speak of the matter then."

Dantrakh blinked owlishly at the king. "Lunch? What meeting are you talking about, Father?"

King Gheldir stepped forward. "Do you remember a week ago, when we spoke of your future? Well…it seems that your time with the Goddess of Magic and your quest have opened your eyes to a different future. You have discovered a way that might free you from imprisonment. In fact, it is possible that it is the only way for you to survive this war."

"What does that mean?" Dantrakul questioned.

King Gheldir looked thoughtful. "Well, it appears the Gods have given you a chance to save us all…and it is also possible that this miracle came from the Goddess herself, who has appeared before the Queen of Heaven and gave her permission that I should allow you to enter the war."

Dantrakuls heart began beating furiously with excitement. "What do you mean, Father? Please tell me, I want to hear the truth!"

King Gheldir sighed deeply. "If we fail, then you must go alone and find the Princess of Magic and defeat the demon king. This task may cause great trouble…for you or for our kingdom. But we cannot afford to lose you…your presence may prevent more battles."

Dantrakul stood there with wide eyes. Was his mother serious? Could he actually do this? He had always heard tales about warriors who lived centuries, and fought dragons in battle, and even killed them with nothing but their bare hands…but they were all legends. No one in this family had ever fought a dragon before…at least no one alive, except for him and he had already failed…so how could he hope to win this battle?

But maybe things were finally changing. Maybe the goddess meant him no harm;