A Demon's History: Lotus Thorns

Chapter Five: Minuet

Lleon's new status meant attending meetings in a place that was hidden from the public. An ancient building meant for people of royal and noble status. He didn't think anything of it until he was placed in the leading chair. He entered the old building that was carved intricately from pillar to pillar. The inside was one large room with a long table in the center of it. Nearest to the entrance is where Lleon would sit, then to his right were Red Wen's rulers, then the Sneachda Lupus Tìr rulers, the Angel realm ruler would sit at the other end of the table, then the Abyssian rulers, and finally the Tranquility Plain rulers. It was the empty seat across from where he sat that bothered him. He knew exactly who would be sitting there and was not looking forward to it.

As people began filling the seats, he studied each one of them. A few seats remained empty even after that. The empty seats are those of the Abyssian rulers and the Angel realm. He expected half as much. After all, she always flaked on the most important things in life. Just as he was thinking she wouldn't show, she did.

Great.

She looked different yet the same. She had long blonde hair that was partly styled to look like a bow with bangs that fell over her forehead, but that was just about what was different about her. Well, that and her obvious changes as a woman. An undeniable attraction developed within himself. Physical attraction. Lleon fiddled with the cigarette between his fingers, staring at her the entire time. He wondered who would give in first.

"Fumer, c'est mauvais." She spoke finally. Her French-dipped tongue gave him a sort of high of familiarity. She spoke in a way that you would assume she had authority over the rest, but her ashen blue eyes looked nervous. The look reminded him of a sheep amongst wolves.

"Je sais," Lleon responded.

They began to stare at each other in silence. The tension was thick enough to suffocate someone in it. His father pulled the cigarette from his lips and dropped it into a wine glass, not particularly feeling in the mood to deal with their anticipated childish bickering. Still, the two never broke their intensive stares.

The meeting continued this way. They did not exchange words again until midway through.

"You have your kingdom then?" She asked. "Where?"

"The east."

"Near the border?"

"Correct. Keep your enemies closer, as they say."

"You could not distinguish an enemy from a friend even if it hit you in the head!" She spat.

A shouting match ensued soon after this was said, startling everyone. Though many couldn't understand, they knew it was bad enough to make them take a recess. They eventually separated the two so that they could calm them down. Lleon was still riled up, however. He kicked over concrete pedestals and watched the busts that sat on top shatter. He didn't have any other outlet for his anger.

When he decided he caused enough damage-and when he was calmer-he went back inside and sat down. Anahera pulled her shawl tighter over herself. How curious. The meeting dragged along after their little display. That did not mean it was boring to him. Lleon enjoyed the way she shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. He sensed her insecurity, rather he saw it in her eyes. When she glanced up at him and quickly looked away because he stared back at her, he felt in control. Once the meeting was over, people dispersed to different places in the room to chat amongst themselves. Lleon, however, approached Anahera.

She was startled by his sudden appearance in front of her, slowly looking up at him. That was another change he failed to notice.

He was taller than her now.

Lleon backed her up into a corner and placed a hand on the wall behind her. She didn't show her nervousness outwardly, but Lleon knew her. He studied her, his hand slowly making its way over to the ribbon of her shawl. When she noticed, she brought her hands up to it. He smirked at that and leaned down to her ear.

He whispered, "How much do you charge?"

Anahera gasped and stared at him in shock, a flustered look appearing on her once stoic expression. However, when he thought he had won this game, she slapped him.

"Do not speak to me that way." She muttered angrily before ducking underneath his arm and walking away.

Lleon stared at the wall momentarily before putting his hand to his cheek. His tail slowly began thumping against the floor. Why? Why did it excite him to be treated in such a way? He let out a low snarl before walking out to his carriage. The ride home was quiet. It always was now that he lived alone in his castle. Upon going inside, he went straight to his bedroom and lay in bed. When he closed his eyes, all he saw was her. The natural pout of her lips, the thrilling coldness of her eyes, and the single tone of her voice. It made him violent just thinking about it. Just thinking of her made him angry. The worst part was that she didn't need to do anything because she haunted him whether she interacted with him or not.

The next day, Lleon decided to stay within the empty walls of his castle. He sat at the piano, though all he did was plunk down for mindless key pressing. Even on this day, he found himself thinking about his friend-turned-enemy. He still did not want to admit that she somehow got the better of him by putting him in his place. Perhaps he did enjoy it when the prey kicked at the mouth of the predator. It just made their little game more exciting.

He was deep in thought, the only thing that snapped him out of it was the crack of one of the piano's keys. He sighed in frustration before getting up and walking away from it. The piano was the one thing he wanted in his life of needless violence and hate. He then found himself humming a song. He did not remember the origin of this song, yet it was so familiar. So comforting. Suppose it was one his mother sang to him.

"Mon ange, just you wait until I bite down on you," Lleon said as he looked out the window facing towards the border. "I will not let go."

A few days later, it was the day in which young princes would attend a ball to find a bride, and the princesses would do the same. He originally did not want to attend, but his father would force him. Though he had his complaints, when he heard that Anahera would be there, he just had to go. So, he did. When he arrived, coupled partners were dancing, switching every so often in hopes of finding the perfect candidate. The sound of the orchestra accompanied them. He spotted Anahera sitting off to the side. He figured she most likely felt awkward since she was the only Angel there and either taller or as tall as the men there. He startled her as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto the dance floor. He did not loosen his grip even as she tried to pull away, so she stopped and entertained this little facade. He was the only one there who was taller than her after all.

"What is this?" Anahera interrogated as they danced. He squeezed her waist tightly, emitting a gasp from her.

"I have plans for you."

"Yes?"

"I cannot simply ignore you anymore," He said before twirling her. "After all, you insist on looking the way you do..."

"What are you implying?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

His gaze darkened as he dipped her, "I will kill you one day, Anahera." He whispered.

He swiftly brought her back up and let another man take her hand before leaving the floor. She looked visibly upset, disturbed even. They stared at each other even from across the room, a darkness surrounding both of them. It was not noticeable to many, but the ones who did notice stayed out of their way. This was the final game that he would play with her, and he was sure as hell going to win.