The Tale Of Two Kingdoms

Chapter 1 : The Meeting

The demon rushed through the town, the thunderous horseshoes behind him, the loud voice of the knight yelling, "There he is!" When he rushed down a dark alley with the vision of one eye, crimson red from the gash on his face, the rain beat down on him while facing the wall that blocked him in. A low-hanging gutter caught his eye as his heart raced with adrenaline as if he were a caged rodent looking for a way out. Springing to action, the demon faces the gutter pipe, taking a few steps back, running toward it, leaping up, grabbing the drain, feet planted on the side of the building, hearing the rusty drain groan under his weight before it broke. He jumped to the wall and grabbed the edge with the remaining strength in his body. He climbed the wall, falling on the other side, lying on the ground, gasping like a fish out of water. The restless demon shot up, hearing the knights of the other side yelling at each other. Rain still pouring down, he stood the best he could before wobbly walking into the woods he faced. After walking for what felt like hours, the forest opened up into a field with a tiny shed. The weak demon sighed before making his way to the shed, which was thankfully unlocked. The demon stumbled into the shed, collapsing onto the floor, passing out for the night.

"Hideyoshi, my lord!" A knight burst through the throne room doors. The elf king sat high on his throne, looking down on the knight. "What is the cause of this behavior?" He asked the knight who was now kneeling before his king. "The scout on the northern side of the border found a demon in hiding, my lord." The knight informs the king. "Bring it in for questioning, put it in a holding cell until I can question it." The king says as he waves the knight away, and the knight quickly exits from the room. The elf prince, Kiyoshi, who was eavesdropping on the whole encounter, made his way toward his father. "Um, father? What do you plan on doing with the demon after questioning it? " The young prince asks his father, awaiting his response. "Kill it." The king says, still reading the paper in his hand, causing Kiyoshi to look a little alarmed. "B-but won't that cause the war between elves and demons to worsen?!" Kiyoshi says, with quite an alarmed tone, "Well, being the next king of Hithlum, what would you do?" The elven king put the paper that he was holding down, looking at his son with a questionable gaze. Kiyoshi thought for a second before answering. "I would question it and go from there." The king smiled at his son, to which Kiyoshi returned. "Then you will be joining me when I go to question it," Hideyoshi says this before standing up and leaving Kiyoshi stunned.

The demon sat in the tiny shed eating the bread he stole from a stall in the town, the sunlight spilling in through the busted window, his smooth tail sweeping back and forth beside him as he rested his back against the rotted wood wall, his sharp eyes closed. Suddenly, his ears perked up, hearing a sound outside. Standing, he walked to the door of the shed cautiously before peaking out. He was grabbed and shoved to the ground, being pinned down. "Help me pin it." His attacker says before he feels more weight on him. A growl resonated from the angry thrashing demon, his tail whipping wildly before another attacker pinned it down. "Grab the chains!" an attacker yelled, and before he knew it, his arms, legs, and tail were chained. Almost all the weight was let off of him. That was when he got a good look at his attackers. "The Hithlum knights?" The demon got to mutter before a muzzle was tightened around his face. "Medic, get your ass over here with that drug." The head knight yelled toward a small guy with glasses who was fidgeting with a tiny syringe with white liquid in it. The medic walked toward the raging demon, making him thrash and growl more before the needle was plunged into the demon's forearm, causing the raging beast to hiss in pain as the white liquid was plunged into his veins, feeling his tense muscles loosen as his body weakened and his eyelids grow heavy before slumping over and passing out once again.

"Right this way, my lords." The Knights opened the door to the cellar for Kiyoshi and his father to enter, and they could hear loud growling and thrashing farther down the hall, where more guards were standing looking into a cell. "You leaf-licking freaks! Let me out! " Kiyoshi hears from inside the cell before laying eyes on what he could only call a beast. It had black pointed horns protruding from its head, a pitch-black tail to match, and messy red-ish brown hair covering most of its face from Kiyoshi's view. Its head snapped up to face Kiyoshi and his father. Even though Kiyoshi couldn't see the beast's eyes, he could tell that it was glaring at him. The beast pulled on the chains that were holding both wrists to the floor of the cell. It began to thrash again. More thunderous growls came from it. One of the knights says, "You demons act like wild animals." "And you elves act like stuck-up pricks." The demon growled back at him. Hideyoshi says, watching the beast calm slightly. "I am not here to discriminate against you because of your race. I'm here to find out who you are and why you were on Hithlum land." Hideyoshi nudges Kiyoshi, signaling for him to speak. "Oh! I'm Kiyoshi Erufu, the elven prince of Hithlum, and I would like to know your name. " Kiyoshi says, still watching the demon closely. The demon's gaze shifted to the young prince before answering. "Jigoku.....Jigoku Tsunagu, your majesty." Jigoku said in a very sarcastic tone, which caused the prince to have a newfound attitude. "And why did you trespass on Hithlum land, Jigoku Tsunagu?" In the same sarcastic tone, Kiyoshi asks, "Well, I thought this tree hugger land was better than Andawarud." Jigoku shot back at the prince, to which Kiyoshi smirked. "You think sitting in a cell is better than Andawarud?" He asks, causing Jigoku to look around his room, his tail swaying slowly behind him while he looks back at the prince. "A lot better." He says the smirk on Kiyoshi's face has been replaced with a cold glare. "I think we're done for today," Kiyoshi says before turning his back toward the cell and beginning to walk away. "Done for the day?! I say we kill this disrespectful prick right now and waste our breath on a demon more useful! " A knight yells while storming into Jigoku's cell, grabbing him by the shirt and holding him up. "And I say I'd be a way more useful knight than you, hothead," Jigoku says, with the same smirk on his face. "Put him down. " Kiyoshi gives the order, staring the knight down."Why should I this hell beast isn't telling shit he's as useful as those damn hell hound!" The knight yells in a fit of rage. A low growl came from Jigoku as he visibly began to shake. "You dare question the prin-" Hideyoshi was cut off mid-sentence by Jigoku. "I challenge you to a duel for your place as a knight," Jigoku demands as he stares daggers at the knight. "Hahaha, you are in no place to do that." The knight laughs in the angry demon's face. "He can if he were a knight in Andawarud," Kiyoshi informs the knight, causing the knight to go pale and drop Jigoku. "Are you going to back down from a duel?" Kiyoshi asked the knight, to which the knight quickly responded. "Of course not, I could beat this hell rat anytime." The knight says this with a little too much pride in his tone. "That is if he was a knight for Andawarud, so Jigoku were you?" Kiyoshi asked the still enraged demon. "Obviously how the fuck else would I know the knight rules?" Jigoku shot back at Kiyoshi, "Then it's settled you and Jigoku will have a duel. Get him everything he needs for this duel." Kiyoshi says as he walks away, leaving the knights and Jigoku to prepare.