The Mark of a Soulmate

A Demon's Embrace

     Asuriel's breathe was heavy as the heat from the liquid fire suffocated her lungs, not to mention the fact that she was currently at the mercy of the very demon Impa had told her to avoid. Thankfully, his forceful embrace around her had relented from its python-like strength, although it indicated a sudden change in his mood, the betterment of which was a sign of trouble.

     Asuriel looked down again at Link as he refilled his bomb bag while the Pyroclastic Fiend rampaged near the top of the incline, yet was throne back by an explosion and sent rolling to the bottom once more. Now that he had a strategy, the hero stood a good chance of avoiding being burnt to a satisfying crisp. The girl was pulled from those thoughts by the sensation of breathe tickling against her neck. She dared not turn her head to look at the demon who was now observing her with great amusement as she squirmed in discomfort. Words could not describe how strange Asuriel felt, anxious about her predicament yet content with her circumstance.

     How? It was unexplainable. No choice of vocabulary could express the stark contradiction of her emotions while portraying the harmony between them. How asinine.

     The demon hummed against her ear, noticing her movements and grinning in satisfaction. It would be all too easy the distract that annoying, green clad brat. With a sudden movement, Ghirahim turned his head and licked Asuriel's cheek. As he predicted, she cried out in surprise and turned her face away from him, allowing him perfect access to her neck. Smirking, he licked her again, this time from her jawline to the hollow of her neck, incurring a loud reaction from Asuriel. She shouted at him to stop as she attempted to writhe out of his grip, yet the arms around her remained as unmovable as mountains.

     Meanwhile, Link, who had just charged the Pyroclastic Fiend, heard the girl's sounds of distress and looked up in horror to see the demon antagonizing his friend. He could not tear his eyes away as he felt anger building in himself. Yet, it was not only fueled by outrage, something else contributed. Could it be... jealousy? With Link distracted, it wasn't long before he was hit by a ball of fire that was launched from the maw of the monster.

     Asuriel gasped as the boy was knocked backwards and burned by the fire. Link grunted as he got to his feet.

"Link!"

"I'm alright, Asuriel."

"Be careful."

     Ghirahim frowned. "You are being a bit rude, Asuriel. I'm right here, yet you choose to speak to someone on the other side of the room. I admit, it's not helping my mood." He sighed dramatically and rested his head atop Asuriel's, tucking her head under his chin.

"Hey!" Link shouted from below them."Let go of her!"

"Oh be quiet, Skychild, I'm trying to pout."

     Even with the long distance, Asuriel and Link looked at each other, as if silently asking what to do about the demon.

"Link, stay where I can see you." 

     Asuriel, with a little effort, freed one of her hands and stretched it out towards the hero. If she focused a lot, she may be able to heal enough of Link's burns for him to fight normally. She felt Ghirahim move one of his arms from its position around her but didn't think much of it. Link was beginning to heal, the burn of his arm beneath his scorched tunic turned to a sensitive, light pink instead of the nasty burn it had been before. 

     All in a moment, Asuriel heard a snap of fingers before her arm exploded in pain, knocking her  back into the demon. She cried out and examined her arm before understanding what happened. She hadn't made a mistake in her spell, Ghirahim had interfered, using a technique that would prevent someone who had less ability, like herself, from using power at the expense of a shock of pain. She could feel him move his head and felt his breath against her face.

"You know, the reason I brought you up here was so you couldn't help Skychild. I though you might want to watch," Ghirahim removed his arms from Asuriel and took her hurting arm in his hands, delicately inspecting it, "but maybe that's not such a good idea"

     Asuriel's world turned to a blur as she was spun around and pinned against Ghirahim's chest. She attempted to push against his chest to distance herself from him, but she was not strong enough. When she tried turning her head to watch Link, a gloved hand caught her chin and turned her face back towards her captor. She averted her eyes from his gaze, but her curiosity won over and she made eye contact with him.

     Ghirahim could easily tell that she was fragile, both emotionally and physically. She was still very much a child, most likely sheltered from hurtful things, making her extremely sensitive. When he had spotted her with that boy in the woods, he was surprised. No other had come down with Skychild, which meant that she was from the surface. After witnessing some of her power, he determined that she must have been trained by that meddlesome old woman and her twig companion in the temple. They had failed to hide her for long, which he could begrudgingly attribute to Skychild. Without his help, Ghirahim would be ignorant of Asuriel's existence. Now, as he watched her, he felt a strange and unexplainable pull towards her, one that he would undoubtedly investigate. 

     His gaze flickered between her eyes, carefully examining both colors. It was a strange detail, but he was never one to complain about asymmetry. Her shape of her arms was delicate and graceful, she had surely been crafted with the utmost precision by the goddess. Asuriel's hair was long and silky smooth. The demon lord ran his fingers through her brunette locks and watched as the light reflected off of them. 

     Meanwhile, the girl was looking down again. Ghirahim rested one of his hands on her head and pulled it toward him so that her face was burried in his neck. Her long eyelashes tickled his skin as she looked around for a way out. Her next action surprised him. He froze as he felt the tiniest of licks against his neck. Asuriel used that time he was surprised to break away from him and back towards the wall, looking for a way down.

     The demon's look of surprise morphed into a smirk as he noticed that her face was redder than a rupee. That girl was positively adorable! Ghirahim stepped forward and as she stumbled over a protruding piece of the dragon's head and fell down. Scooting backwards, Asuriel quickly found herself against a wall. With the demon drawing closer and closer to her, she did the only thing she could think of. In an instant, a magical barrier stood between the two, keeping the demon lord from reaching the girl. He frowned and decided it wasn't worth the energy to destroy the shield. He knew she was curious. If he just walked away, she would come within his reach again.

     When Asuriel saw that Ghirahim had walked back to the edge of the dragon head to watch Link, she let down her guard. It puzzled her that he would leave that quickly. Maybe something had just happened to Link or maybe be had lost interest in antagonizing her. As much as she denied it, she kind of missed his touch. The feeling of his strong arms around her made her feel secure, without it, she felt an emptiness that she hadn't before. 

     Cautiously, she took a step forward, then another and another. The demon, without turning his head, could sense her drawing closer, as he predicted. Asuriel's mind desperately tried to find reason. What was she thinking, getting near this character? He was her enemy, an assailant of Her Graceland an agent of Demise. She stopped in her tracks a few feet away and turned around. She was promptly stopped by the demon and pulled against him again. This time, he was met with less resistance as he brought her over to the edge. Below them, the Pyroclastic Fiend was on its last thread. With one last hit, it was sent reeling down the hill where it decompressed and exploded. 

     Ghirahim growled in frustration before releasing Asuriel and pressing a kiss to the back of her hand. In a single snap of his fingers, Asuriel was standing next to Link and Ghirahim had vanished from sight.

"Asuriel, are you alright? Did he hurt you?!"

"No Link, I'm fine, but what about you?"

"Not bad."

"Let me take a look at those burns."

     The girl inspected Link's injuries before using her spells to heal him. Her arm still ached a little from earlier, but it was nothing significant.

"Thank you, Asuriel. Now, let's go see Zelda."

     The two proceeded through the golden door to the Spring of Power in hopes of finding Hylia there.