The Demon and the Elf (Book 1)

Chapter Nine pt 1

Hello! For a better reading experience for you that also caters better to my schedule, I'm planning to take a time off between chapters, and won't start posting the new chapter until I'm done writing it in its entirety. This way, you will wait less between chapter parts, even though you may wait longer between chapters.

So, for example, you won't wait long between Chapter Eight pt 1 and Chapter Eight pt 2, but you will wait longer between the last pt of the Chapter Eight and first part of Chapter Nine.

Thank you!

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CHAPTER NINE

Drokn sat hunched over on a stool, staring at him palm. A few moments later, he looked across the room at Eial, who lay on a bamboo bed, eyebrows slightly furrowed and sparkles of sweat drizzled on his face.

A long sigh left the demon as he stared outside, where the sun had sought it's shelter and darkness dawned the horizon. A lantern lay atop the surface of a table, lighting brushing the room with a yellow glow.

A few hours earlier, Drokn had found the elf in the middle of a demon ambush. The elf wasn't too weak when he had left him, so seeing him overpowered and helpless was not the sight he was expecting. In a sudden, unfamiliar rush of impulse, he had glided down in speed without thought. The unexpected appearance of this demon halted attacks briefly before they had started to strike again.

But when the elf put his hand on his own... that's when he noticed it. The same feeling every time the elf touched him before, but to a larger scale. Having almost no magical energy left from his fight with the king, the stark difference he felt became apparent from the contact. The amount of power he was able to push forward to counter attack the crowd only confirmed his theory. Perhaps this elf...

Back at the hut, the elf shuffled briefly before settling back in. The cape hugging the demon flicked with each step as Drokn walked over and sat on the bed next to the elf. He stared down at the tired face that slightly moved with each breath.

The elf has been conscious and dreary the whole way on the long flight until no other demons had cared enough to follow. Not a word spoken, not a single eye contact. With whatever had taken over his instincts, Drokn had flown with the elf in his arms outside of the demon's territory and onto no-territory bound common land. But where was he to take shelter? Looking ahead at nothing but nature and no civilian life, Drokn was left feeling defeated. If the elf was conscious enough, he would have done his trick to make a hut for them. But Drokn?

Just as he was about to make the decision to settle in a tree until the elf regained his strength, he spotted a silhouette of a small cabin within the moonlit darkness. He drifted down and settled his wings, slowly and carefully examining the stillness of his surroundings. Managing to still hold Eial, he conjured up dark energy in one hand, preparing to attack.

As he crept closer and closer, he began to sense that there was no life. Once up next to the cabin, his patience was lost and he kicked the fragile door open without care. Fortunately for him, no attacks came his way.

The dark energy on his palm began to spark purple, lighting up his surroundings slightly until he managed to find a lantern that thankfully had enough oil to turn on. The cabin's setup was simple. An average sized bed to the right and a wooden desk to the left with stools and hooks and other things used by common folk. The place seemed to have been well used before, but with the dust collecting on the open surfaces, it was obvious that it hadn't been used too recently.

With a flick of his hand, Drokn used the force from his dark energy to dust off the bed before setting Eial down. And within the next second, the small elf had fallen asleep with a hand lightly curled up against his chest.

And now, after the half hour of rest, the elf looked the same. The doll-like figure lay still against the surface with sweat cooled off into a smooth sheen. Drokn shifted his body to an angle with one bent leg resting sideways on the bed and the other grounded to the side. Air came in deeply into his lungs and left with distress. What was he going to do now?

It caught up to him that he was indeed kicked out of his home without a second thought, and not only that, he was kicked out of his position. The position he'd been preparing for relentlessly since his childhood despite the frequent scoldings and reminders of the low magic power he was misfortunate to be born with.

But— with this new discovery he had made with the elf, a new pathway had opened for him. Honestly, with his cooled mind, he found it to be a much better pathway. If he defeated the king, he'd take the throne by default, and the king could no longer hold vicious words against him. He could even kick the king out if he pleased.

Perhaps meeting this elf was a draw of great luck. He could keep him hidden in the castle. No one would need to know of his existence and he could supply the demon with this mysterious circumstance he could only imagine came from a bond. And in return, the elf wouldn't have to be too far from his bond and hurt—

Eial's brows creased further and he let out a quick huff. Almost instinctively, Drokn reached over and gently caressed the space between his brows with his thumbs. Slowly, Eial's expression relaxed and a moment later, his eyes started to break open. With a speeded heart, Drokn jerked his hand away before Eial could notice.

Blinking a few times, Eial looked up and around his unfamiliar surroundings. The warmth of the place felt even more warm with the golden light. Finally, his eyes made its way over to Drokn who still sat on the bed.

"Thank you for saving me," Eial said, his voice calm and soft. With his hand clenching tighter at his chest, he breathed in and asked, "When do you plan to leave?"