Kill The King

I am a king; and a dangerous one at that. See, I am not exactly human, per se. While most of my features - such as my tan skin and wild, red hair - would make me look fairly average, the large horns, spiked tail, pointed ears, black scleras, and yellow eyes completely shatter that illusion. So let me start over; I am a demon king. The castle, I reside in, sits atop a large hill that looms over the town below. The king in said town is not exactly pleased with my presence; even less so with my minions, who terrorize the town. He has, on multiple occasions, attempted to send someone to kill me. However, I don't intend to go down without a fight. I outlived his father and I made a promise to outlive him and his little prized possession that is the princess, too.

My tale - as many do - starts on a stormy night. I was on my throne, wrapped in a warm blanket, and reading a book. As a demon, I am not used to the cold of rain and wind, therefore opting to stay inside whenever such weather presents itself. Some time at night, a small demon came to me, out of breath. I glanced at it, cocking a brow while I waited for the creature to speak up. "There is a human woman outside the door, sir," it managed to wheeze out.

I contemplated whether or not to grant the human shelter for a moment before sighing, exasperated. "Let her in, then," I said as I shut my book and rose to my feet. The cat-sized demon nodded and scurried off, most likely to find someone big enough for the job. As expected, a larger demon - about the size of a large dog - appeared in the throne room with a young woman beside it. She stared at it with a paranoid expression, all the while shivering like she had been out for hours. Truth be told, that was likely the case. Her clothes - which seemed to be a simple nightgown - were drenched, as was her raven hair. Her ocean blue eyes shifted to look at me and she almost instantly relaxed her previously tense shoulders. However, once she noticed my inhuman features, her expression turned into one of confusion. She took a small step back, whereas I took a much larger step forward. I repeated my action until we stood face to face. She stood still, only kept from running by the demon holding her. I waved said demon off and flashed a grin at the visibly frightened woman.

"Greetings," I exclaimed. She only stared at me. My smile faded and I cocked a brow, waiting for a response.

"Hello," she finally uttered out. Her eyes focused on my twitching ear, not a minute after. She had no idea why it was twitching, but of course, I did; my hearing reacted to her thumping heart. I could tell she was scared of me.

"You must be cold. Come with me." I turned on my heel and started walking. The human hesitantly followed me a short moment later. Though she could not see my face, a satisfied smirk crept upon it once I heard her footsteps. I made my way upstairs, headed for a room where she could rest, as well as get proper clothes. We stepped into her new bedroom and I immediately looked in the closet, looking to find something for her to warm up in. I rummaged through clothing for a few minutes before settling on a nightgown and sweater. This should warm her, I thought to myself as I turned around and presented my choice to the woman. She eyed the sweater in confusion, her eyes then glancing to me for confirmation. "Heat," I simply replied and tossed the outfit at her. I plopped onto what would be the human's new bed, staring at her while waiting for her to change. She only stared back at me. Once realizing I would not budge by her silent gaze, she lifted a finger and motioned for me to turn around. I cocked a brow at this.

"Turn around," she finally said.

"Why?"

She looked almost concerned at me and replied, "because I need to change." I told her to do so, though she seemed very dissatisfied. "Not while you look," she practically whispered.

"I'm afraid I do not see why that would be a problem," I remarked with visible boredom etched into my voice. My gaze fell upon a tiny demon, one which was making its way into the room through a previously unseen crack in the wall. It looked around for a moment before deciding its destination; towards the woman. I knew its exact intentions and I couldn't help but smirk in amusement.