I was gently woken up by Marigold. This time, though, she spoke to me.
“Master Deimos sent me to wake you, there are twenty minutes until breakfast. He instructed that you wear something casual for your outing today. I will be waiting in the hallway when you’re done getting ready so I can show you to the dining room.”
I could feel her nerves standing on end, but before I could say anything she was out of the room. Deciding that it was best to not keep Deimos waiting, I quickly got out of bed and started to get ready. A quick shower, a hairdryer, and a cute skirt and blouse later I was ready to show my face. I pulled open the door and gave Marigold a big smile.
“I’m ready whenever you are,” I said.
She nodded and started walking down the hallway. I did my best to keep in step with her so we were walking side by side but it was a bit difficult. She was walking quickly almost like she was trying to avoid me.
“You’re Marigold, right?” I asked.
“Yes.” She replied quietly.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
She tensed up stopping for a moment, “I-um...thank you.”
I took that reaction as my cue to stop trying to get her to talk. She just wasn’t much of a social butterfly it seemed so there wasn’t any point in forcing it. I got to the dining room and Marigold walked away without another word. I walked through the doors where Deimos was patiently waiting for me to arrive.
He was on his feet in no time and leading me over to a chair he’d pulled out, “How’d you sleep?”
“Surprisingly well,” I said sitting down. “So, what’s the plan for the day?”
“After breakfast, I figured we could go explore the shopping district. This way you could get a glimpse at Xavaria and its people. But at noon we have an appointment for your blood test.” He answered.
“So soon? I thought I’d have to wait another few days.”
“When you’re a future King, you get some perks.” He smirked. Part of me felt like there was something more sinister hidden behind that, but I brushed it off. “In all seriousness, I assumed it would be best to get it done as soon as possible for all of our sakes.”
“You’ll hear no complaints from me.” I smiled.
A few minutes later, breakfast was served. Deimos had steak and eggs, which seemed fitting. I was served a parfait which was my favorite thing to eat any time of day.
“How did you know?” I asked looking down at the parfait.
“A magician never reveals his secrets.”
Playfully, I rolled my eyes, “You sent a fire message to Freyborne this morning, didn’t you?”
“Why would I do such a thing my rose?” He asked cutting his steak.
“I get it now. You’ve simply done a lot of research. Some might call you a stalker ya know.”
“Well, how’d you reach that conclusion?”
“My name means wild rose, so either you’re an expert at name meanings or you’ve been doing research.”
With a smile, he rose his hands in surrender, “I did a bit of digging yesterday after you were shown to your room. Can’t blame me for being curious about the secret Demon Princess of Freyborne.”
I swallowed a strawberry, “Did you find anything interesting?”
“Nothing that I couldn’t find out from you or your family. I’d be lying if I wasn’t disappointed that I didn’t find some deep dark secret.”
I laughed a little, “In my family, I am the deep dark secret.”
Deimos opened his mouth to respond but the dining room door squeaking open stopped him. There stood King Cainen already with a mug of coffee in his hand. The playful banter between Deimos and I stopped and instead we focused on eating. We both finished up our breakfast as quickly as we could and then headed outside where a carriage was waiting for us.
Our ride to the shopping district was filled with Deimos talking. He was trying to give me the lay of the land and some useful information, but I knew there was no way I would be able to remember all of it. My main issue was seeming to be the fact that everything around here looked the same. Slowly, Deimos started to trail off from his explanation and simply stared at me.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s a lot to take in, but I’m sure once you move here it won’t take you long to figure it out.” He said kindly.
I did my best to hide the bolt of shock that ran through my body. When I move here? When?! There was no way that he had already made a decision about this. We hadn’t spent any time together!
Fortunately, but also, unfortunately, I didn’t get much time to sink into my thoughts. The carriage had stopped and the driver tapped on the outside of the window signaling our arrival. Deimos slipped out of the carriage first but immediately turned around to help me out. I went to thank him but the words died in my throat when I saw all the demons freely walking around. Almost all had their demonic attributes on display.
Horns sat atop their heads. Some had spikes going down their spines. Some had goat legs instead of human legs. Some had scales and others had wings. Skin colors ranged from normal human colors to sickly greys, purples, and bright reds. Eyes came in every color dull and glowing and most had slits for pupils.
It was a lot to take in.
“Don’t stare too closely,” Deimos whispered in my ear. It sent shivers down my spine. “We don’t want anyone to become offended because someone who appears human is gawking at them.”
“I’ve seen demons before, but most opted to go with their human appearance,” I whispered back.
“You’ll get used to it in no time. You’re one of them after all.”
There it was again. ‘You’ll get used to it’. It sounded like he had indeed already made up his mind on me. I did my best to push away the feeling of dread and focus on getting some time to explore.
I linked my arm through his and let him start leading me down the sidewalk. He had a permanent smile on his face that was contagious.
“I have a feeling that you spent a lot of time around here,” I said.
“I used to. Then Father wanted me to start looking the part of King so the majority of my stuff is custom-tailored. It’s rare that I get to be casual like this.” He replied.
I hadn’t even noticed that he wasn’t dressed in a suit or something fancier. Simply a black t-shirt and dark wash jeans. It looked as if he’d gone from royal to citizen overnight.
As we walked we mainly window shopped, which was more than fine with me. It gave me a chance to see what the fashion and styles were like around here. If he truly had made up his mind and Xavaria was going to become my new home, I’d need to look like I belonged here.
“I have a question,” I stated.
“Ask away.” He said.
“Why didn’t you have a ball like every other Prince? It’s no secret how much all the Princesses adore you so you wouldn’t have had any problems getting them to talk.”
“I know how much all the Princesses adore me which is specifically why I opted out of a ball. It would’ve just been a night of drama and fighting as they all tried to get the most time with me to try to impress me. It didn’t seem worth the stress so instead, I chose to visit them in their domain instead. See how they act in their own environment.”
“Did it goes as you hoped it would?”
He stopped for a moment to think, “For the most part. There was still some squealing and overreacting which was less than desirable.”
The conversation stopped there and we went back to window shopping. I found myself falling in love with the dresses I was seeing. Darker color pallets, plunging necklines, high slits, flowing layers of sheer fabric. They were simple but elegant which happened to be my preferred way to dress.
“Seeing things you like?” Deimos asked.
“A lot of things,” I admitted.
“What’s the fashion scene like in Freyborne? Is it anything like what we have here?”
I shook my head, “Not at all. It’s a lot more modest, more neutral, and pastel colors. A little boring if you ask me.”
“I thought Princesses were supposed to enjoy those kinda things.” He said.
“We are, but I think it's obvious that I’m not your average Princess.”
“Must be the second born curse.” He teased.
I nudged him playfully, “I’m not cursed.”
The second-born curse. It was something parents hundreds of years ago created because it always seemed like those born second were less desirable because they weren’t number one. In actuality, it’s typically because they don’t get as much attention and resources as the firstborn does so they act out. I was never like that, but my parents were always involved with all of us so it wasn’t much of a concern.
“I dunno, you seem pretty cursed from where I’m standing.”
“You’re a Demon, everything around you seems cursed.”
He held a hand to his chest, “Ow.”
I shook my head as I laughed, soon he joined in and we were both belly laughing in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Cursed or not, you’ll have a closet full of these dresses if you want.”
“I’d like that.”
We walked on for a bit longer, but the saying ‘time flies when you’re having fun’ caught up with us. It was time to make our way back to the carriage so we could make our way to the hospital for my blood test. We started walking back to where we left the carriage, but we talked the whole way back.
“So will this blood test tell you anything else about me or is it just to see if I have Demon blood?” I asked.
“Just to see if you have Demon blood.” He answered. “There are assumptions that these tests will tell you what sort of Demon you are but they’re just rumors.”
“There are different types of Demons? I’ve never heard that before.”
“Not exactly. There are stories of some people being decedents of Lucifer’s daughters. These decedents are said to be more powerful in every way and because of that, they have something in their blood that’s different from everyone else. Unfortunately, they’re just stories passed down from the Elders.”
“Stories typically have some sort of truth to them.” I pointed out.
“I’m sure these had some truth to them thousands of years ago, but we have no proof of them being true now. We’ve all reproduced so much that any special strand of DNA just couldn’t possibly be there anymore.”
That made sense to me. What was once potentially a special, exciting thing was now lost to time. It did make me wonder what these decedents were like and how much more powerful they might have been.
“Are there any books about it in your library?” I asked when we reached the carriage.
“I didn’t peg you for the reading type.” He admitted.
“Well, this is a side of me that I know nothing about so I’d like to learn more about it.”
He smiled, “In that case, I can have some people pull some books for you when we get back to the palace.”
He helped me back into the carriage and we enjoyed the short ride to the hospital. The moment we stepped inside, we were taken to a room and were attended to. The ditch of my elbow was sanitized and a rubber band tied around my upper arm. I made the mistake of watching her pull the syringe out and staring a bit too closely at the needle.
I looked up at Deimos who was standing next to me and held my hand out to him. He glanced down at it looking unsure.
I wiggled my fingers at him, “Please. I’m not good with needles.”
That was enough for him to intertwine our fingers and give my hand a small, reassuring squeeze. I kept my eyes focused on him so I wouldn’t look at the needle. A quick pinch and squeezed hand later, it was over. The nurse drew the blood that was needed and I felt the needle slip out of my arm.
“All done.” She said putting a band-aid on my arm.
I reluctantly slid my hand out of Deimos’ and turned my attention to the woman.
“How long will it take to get the results?” I asked.
“Prince Deimos ordered that we put a rush on it so it should only be a few days. As soon as we have the results, you will be contacted.”
“Okay, thank you.”
She simply nodded and left the room with my blood in hand. I knew that was our cue to leave, but neither of us made any motion to do so.
“It’s going to come back showing that I’m a Demon,” I stated.
“I don’t doubt that. The question is, what will we do when it comes back showing you are?” He said.
“You seemed to have already made up your mind on this,” I said quietly.
“I enjoy being around you and spending time with you, I’d like to see where this goes and how it goes.” He said. “How are you feeling about all of this so far?”
“I’m enjoying spending time with you more than I thought I would and I’d also enjoy learning more about this world and this part of me.”
“So, you wouldn’t mind sticking around longer after this week?”
“I’m still on the fence about it, but I’m leaning towards being okay with it.”
That was enough to get him to take my hand in his again and lead me out of the hospital. I let myself fall into my thoughts as we walked.
Had I really just said that? Would I really be okay with staying here and being his Queen? Would I really want to embrace being a Demon? I wasn’t sure about any of this, but I was sure that I was beginning to like Deimos. I really did enjoy spending time with him and part of me, like him, wanted to see where this path would take us.
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