Lovely (Ruby x Dyrroth)

five

Ruby was a fairly fast runner. Or so she thought.

She knew she was a fool to think she could outrun the Prince of the Abyss, but it was worth the try. Ruby dashed through the endless dark woods, not caring where her feet landed, only determined to get as far away from the evil prince as possible.

Dyrroth was unlike anyone Ruby had ever been chased by. He was right behind her in the blink of an eye. Helplessness washed over her. After all these years of fighting deadly opponents, she couldn't get herself out of a situation where her escape was more important than in any other?

It didn't matter whether she was physically capable of outrunning Dyrroth. She just had  to. If she didn't, who knew what would happen?

Ruby was getting desperate. She didn't have any idea where she was going - her movements were wild, and her reflexes were the only thing stopping her from tripping and falling any moment.

She could feel him gradually getting closer. Actually, scratch that. He was getting closer.

Ruby whipped her head around...

And felt a sharp-clawed hand close around her wrist in an iron grip from behind. Ruby panicked, but couldn't yank her hand away in time.

Her scythe was knocked out of her right hand by a single brutal blow from Dyrroth, and then the next thing she knew, the evil prince had forced her to turn around and pulled her against him with those tremendously strong arms of his.

Way too close for comfort.

Ruby instinctively inched away, cheeks reddening. Although she was nearly two heads shorter than him in height and could use that to avoid eye contact, Dyrroth used a razor-sharp nail to tilt her chin upwards, his eyes locking with hers. A sinister smile curved his lips.

'I told you, little Ruby. You'll never outrun me,' he said, his caressing tone grating on Ruby's nerves. She hated the way he kept saying her name.

'Let go of me,' she ordered, a sudden fire replacing the fear inside her. Her voice sounded a lot braver than she felt. When Dyrroth didn't obey her - though she hardly had any right to order him around anyway - Ruby twisted her face into a scowl. 'I said, let go of me, bastard.'

Dyrroth's sickening smile broadened, his terrifying magenta eyes gleaming in a predatory manner. As much as Ruby hated to admit it, those eyes scared the shit out of her. 'Why should I?' asked Dyrroth softly. 'You're as vulnerable as a little lamb. I like it.'

That mocking smile and caressing tone again. Ruby was getting furious. Who was he to speak to her that way?

Well, as a matter of fact, he was the Prince of the Abyss, but still.

'What do you want?' asked Ruby boldly. Perhaps she could get out of the awkward position they were in by distracting him with serious matters.

Dyrroth grinned maliciously in response. 'What I want,' he said slowly, 'is simple.'

Ruby stiffened with fear. There was something so malevolent about the way he'd spoken that told her unwanted things were about to happen.

'Hand your village over to the Abyss.'

Indignation momentarily clouded Ruby's fear. No way  was she going to do that. 'No,' she said simply.

Dyrroth let slip a chuckle. 'I haven't finished, little Ruby. Hand your village over to the Abyss, or...'

'No!'

'... I'll burn it all down.'

Ruby no longer cared about acting tough. She couldn't  let this happen to her family and friends. 'No,' she pleaded desperately. 'Please don't. You don't have to do this. They don't deserve it, they're good people, they...'

With a strength she'd never known she possessed, Ruby pushed away from the evil prince, finally wrenching her wrist out of his grip. Dyrroth faltered for half a second before stepping forward again. 'In truth, are they, though?' he said in a low voice. 'Deep down, you know it, you just don't want to face it. They took you for granted all this time, Ruby. Why do you think they let you and Roger guard the village all these years and never bothered to lend you a hand? Like... you were supposed to serve them?'

His words hit home. Ruby's heart nearly crumpled again - as if it hadn't done so enough when Alucard betrayed her.

She switched the topic again. 'I'm afraid I can't decide whether I want to hand over my village. I don't have the right.' She tried to sound nonchalant.  'I'm just an ordinary girl, unlike you...' she paused. She didn't want to address him as 'Prince'.

Dyrroth's brow furrowed. He seemed to hesitate before voicing his next words. For a moment, his expression softened, and Ruby's heart almost skipped a beat at how handsome he looked. 'Is that how you see yourself?' he said, not meeting her wary gaze. 'As nothing more than a girl?'

Ruby raised an eyebrow,tossing her blonde hair over her shoulder. 'How am I supposed to see myself then?' she muttered.

Dyrroth shot her a hard look. Ruby couldn't read what was in his sharp, mysterious eyes.

For a second the predatory magenta gleam of his eyes softened, as if he was deep in thought. The silence thickened between them, but Ruby found the stare he was fixing on her extremely discomforting. It was like... he was looking through her, not at her.

'Ruby,' he said, and she detected a wistfulness in his voice that left her slightly confused. 'I know this is meaningless coming from me, but... you are so much more than that.'

Ruby tensed. She didn't know whether it was right to feel appreciation for the Demon Prince, but a small, insignificant part of her did. She forced a scowl. 'What're you saying?' she scoffed.

She could act as if she didn't believe Dyrroth was being sincere, but her heart had ached for someone to say that to her for a long, long time.

'I've watched you for far longer than you realise,' said Dyrroth, his casual air finally breaking the tension. Ruby thanked him silently. Not that what he was saying was anywhere near normal, of course. 'I watched you venture out here and deliberately put yourself in danger for the sake of your village. I watched you as you fought the wolves, all the while ignoring your own exhaustion.' His gaze briefly flicked towards her shoulder, where the wound from yesterday lay concealed. 'And your injuries.'

Ruby instinctively reached a protective hand towards her shoulder. 'Funny that you find it so entertaining to watch me,' she remarked. 'A lot of people I know... find other girls more interesting.'

An unwanted image of Alucard flashed into her mind.

Dyrroth rolled his eyes. 'Huh, I guess you know a lot of idiots.'

That was when Ruby heard a shout from an unfamiliar voice, not far from where she and Dyrroth stood. 'Your Highness! Is that you?'

Ruby stiffened, unblinking, as Dyrroth's magenta eyes flicked towards the source of the shout and then back at her. His eyes narrowed. Hide, he mouthed urgently.

Ruby frowned, a bit puzzled. That was unheard of. Wasn't he going to kidnap her and take her to the Abyss? Or worse, kill her? Why was he protecting her?

When she didn't budge, Dyrroth cast her a deadly, piercing look. Stubbornly, Ruby retreated behind a particularly thick tree and hid. Of course, she could do better than that. But she wanted to see what kind of efforts Dyrroth would make to prevent her from being found.

Ruby strained her ears and heard the rustle of leaves. It probably meant someone was coming. She wondered who it was.

'Your Highness, there you are!' The speaker's voice was feminine and slightly familiar. 'I was wondering where you'd wandered off to.'

Ruby peeked around, just a little. And was chilled by the icy gaze Dyrroth was pinning on the unwelcome intruder.

'What're you doing here, Selena?'