Part Two

Part Two

“Greet our guests, Aether.” King Yochre boomed, pushing his son forward with a sharp slap to his shoulder.

The prince stumbled forward, still not looking up from the ground, his long tail flicking behind him. What a magnificent tail it was. Long and thin, finishing in a wide, sharp point, like an arrowhead.

“He-“he stopped to clear his throat “Hello…guests.”

I laughed under my breath, biting my lip to stop from grinning. I wondered why he was so nervous. Embarrassed by his father, maybe?

I watched him intently. He had yet to look directly at us. I desperately wanted him to though; I wanted to see his eyes.

Prince Aether flicked his head majestically, a determined look on his face, throwing some hair out of his eyes, which then rested on us. Starting on the servants and bags, past Ueva and the sulking Alira, to finally reach me.

Like a lot of other demons, what should be white was actually black, inky and deep. His irises were a bright yellow, standing out of the black like a planet in the night sky.

The prince’s eyes found mine, and I bowed my head to show my respect, expecting for him to have turned away by the time I had looked up, but instead, I found him still looking directly at me.

My stomach dropped. The young demon’s tail flicked behind him, and he looked away quickly, as if embarrassed to be caught staring.

Like me. I looked to the ground, a blush tinting my cheeks.

The prince gladly retreated behind his father, who had begun talking quietly with Ueva and Skoth. I watched as demon servants came and greeted our own, with a certain degree of stiffness, before helping them carry away the bags and Alira’s chests.

My heart had begun to slow down now, my hands shaking less. What was this effect the prince had on me? Should I be feeling this? Was it wrong?

Was I…attracted to him?

The mere thought sent my heart into overdrive again. I breathed deeply. I was being so silly. Yes, he was very attractive, but I was probably just nervous about being around demons. The fact that I can’t stop looking at him doesn’t mean that I-He noticed me looking at him! My fingers leapt to my circlet, and my eyes flicked downwards again. I was smiling, and when I looked up at him…so was he.

“Ladies, I’ll show you to your quarters, if you’d come with me” a demon hissed behind me, with a scratchy voice.

Without looking at the prince again, Alira and I followed the stout demon, my smile widened to a grin.

“They’re far too…I sink too much!” Alira whined, telling me for the hundredth time about the terrible state of her bed. She’d thundered into my room moaning about the terrible state of her own, so I went with her to see how bad it really was. It turned out to be exactly the same as mine, if not better.

So, I tried out the bed, to compare it to my own. And it was just like mine: Heaven.

The demons must use feathers or such to stuff their bedding; because it was so much softer than the one I was used to back home. I sank down into the pillows, and let the feeling completely relax me. It felt like what lying on a cloud must do.

“How can you be so relaxed on it, Izrazana?” Alira snapped from the dresser.

“Easily…” I murmured, trying not to fall asleep on her bed.

Now I understand why my mother called the demons’ indulgent, with their rich furnishings and velvets and silks, marble decorations, and mirrors everywhere. They valued their beautiful possessions and believed in comfort.

And, Gods, how I loved it.

The sun was setting out of the high, arched window to the right, the sky turning a deep red. I smiled into Alira’s comforter. Even the sunset seemed brighter and more passionate here.

“Izrazana, go and get changed.”

“Hmm?” I muttered from under a silk sheet.

Alira pulled a face.

“We have to eat with them soon. And even though they won’t bother, I want us to look nice.” She stated, as if it was obvious.

I sat up reluctantly and smoothed my hair down. As I left her room I threw her a look. I think the travelling had made her irritable, so I could forgive her for now. Besides, I was so relaxed it was difficult to be bothered by her anyway.

My room was only down the hallway from Alira’s so I returned to my room within a moment, shutting the door gently behind me. I opened a chest, and pulled out my most beautiful dress, which I had saved for a special occasion. And this was a special occasion, even if the others didn’t think so.

I held the dress against me, looking in a mirror. It was of the purest white, silk, with a green band around the neckline and hips. So very simple, yet so very lovely. It fit tightly, clinging to what little curves I had, finishing just above my ankles, showing my matching silk shoes.

I wondered if the prince would think me beautiful in this dress. I bit my lip, allowing the butterflies to flutter within me, a sweet rush that I had never experienced so strongly before.

Dancing away from the mirror, I hummed to myself, my mother’s favourite song, and found myself wishing I had my harp. My fingers were itching to express myself, to create burning crescendos and tripping melodies.

I wandered into the adjoining washroom still singing to myself. There was a gentle trickle of water from an ornate fountain in the wall, falling into a large, low black bath. The bath was constantly full, the water always changing, running in and then straight out again, like a waterfall and river. There was a complex series of pipes running throughout the entire palace, some containing hot water, others cold. Private rooms had a constant supply of hot water, and a faucet for cold. There was a vast communal bath, rather like a hot spring, somewhere in the palace which was mainly used for relaxing and socialising, I was told.

On a shelf near the basin and faucet were lines and lines of lotions and potions for skin care, hair care and anything else you could possibly think of. I pulled a large glass off, and pulled the lid out. A waft of paradise left the glass, filling my nose with delicious aromas. I breathed out and closed my eyes.

Everything here fascinated me so much. It was just so different to back home. The demons were just so…indulgent. Fantastically indulgent. It made me feel a little selfish; enjoying all these things, but the feeling soon went away as I sprayed a perfume onto my hair and sighed with happiness at the intoxicating smell.

Demons were astounding potion makers, almost alchemists, their work legendary, and no race could stand up to the greatness of their work.

Looking out of the window, I noticed that the sun had almost set. I stared out of the window blankly, until an unusual grumbling noise scared me out of my thoughts. I realised it was my own stomach. I’d been so swept up in everything around me I hadn’t even noticed how hungry I was. Putting the glass that I still had in my hand back on the shelf, I went to put my dress on.

“You’re going to sit there, Zana.” Alira hissed in my ear.

“What?!” I squeaked back, “But that’s where you’re supposed to sit!”

“I know that, but I don’t want to sit there!”

Alira didn’t want to sit with a demon on either side of her. She wanted my place, next to Ueva. Of course, there were no set arrangements, but our General had told us where to sit. And of course, Alira wasn’t going to pay any attention to him.

“Alright fine.” I sighed.

Alira grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“Thank you, Izrazana!” she sang, pleased she got her own way…as always.

I watched her dance away. It’s not like I minded where I sat, but I really felt like I should say no to her once in a while.

A servant was stood by my seat, waiting to pull the chair out for me. I murmured a thank you as he stepped back again, ready to wait on me. We were sat on the head table, looking over the other guests, mainly from the four demon noble houses, with other lords and ladies mingling with them.

I played with the elaborately engraved silverware, wondering who I would end up sat next to. I was next but one to the King’s seat, so would most likely have either General Skoth or someone else higher up to my right, but to my left-

“Hey there!” Prince Aether grinned, his face incredibly close to mine.

A small fork flew from my hand as I jumped at his presence. His yellow eyes followed with interest as it arced through the air and landed a few feet away.

“Y-you scared me!” I squeaked, trying to still my heart. I could feel my face start to redden.

He smiled at me and laughed breathily, a sound that was music to my ears. I smiled back, noticing one of his pointed ears twitch. Another servant came forward to pull the prince’s chair out for him, but he was waved away.

“I’m quite capable of doing it myself, you fool.” He said with a smirk.

The servant bowed gently and stepped back, as Aether pushed his chair back and dropped down into it, sinking into the cushioned back and throwing his arms over the sides.

I watched him adjust so his wings weren’t awkwardly bent behind him, and his tail wasn’t uncomfortable. When he was satisfied, his arm shot up, his wrist bending over the back of the chair, beckoning to the servant behind him.

“Yes, my lord?”

“You know what I want.” Aether smiled guiltily.

“Right away, young prince.”

Aether knew I was watching him. He looked out of the corner of his eye, smirking at me. I raised an eyebrow at him. I wondered how he could be so different now, compared to when we arrived.

“I hate introductions. Especially when I’m forced into them as a princely duty.” He answered almost as if reading my mind.

A tall, elegant female demon with short hair and pink scales walked behind us, slapping Aether’s head on her way past. The prince yelped with surprise, and then turned to glare at the beautiful girl as she took the seat to my right.

“What was that for, Kethra?” Aether snapped, ruffling his hair.

“Well, little brother, I think you know full well what it was for.” She said blankly, smiling at someone across the room, and giving them a small wave.

The demon named Kethra turned to look at her brother. I sat back slowly so they could glare at each other more easily. Aether’s sister was very beautiful, with full scarlet lips, and burning ruby eyes.

“No, sister, pray tell.” Aether grinned, leaning across me. His face was unbearably close to mine again. I tried not to breath heavily on him.

Kethra adjusted her…well…I don’t know what it was, as it was just a dark green piece of material across her small breasts.

If it is possibly for someone who is already pink to blush, the princess was doing it. She turned her face away haughtily, and began to talk to her father who had taken his seat next to her.

“I hung her favourite underwear on our father’s throne,” Aether whispered in my ear, “when Lord Rubias came to visit.”

The feel of his breath on my neck made me shiver with pleasure. I felt a little light headed.

“Your drink, my lord.” The servant reached over Aether’s back and placed a large glass on the table. It was full to the brim of a clear, yet slightly red-tinted liquid.

“Ah, thanks!” he cried out, pulling away from me and taking up the glass.

My neck missed his warm breath, but at least my face could cool down. I watched as the prince drank down nearly half of the liquid in one go. He put the glass down gently, turning to look at me.

I must have looked puzzled, for he smiled at me.

“It’s sweet, wanna try?” he picked up the glass and offered it to me.

I hesitated, and the prince held it out again. My fingers wrapped around the smooth glass, my little finger brushing against his hand as I took, and nearly dropped the glass.

My hand burned from the contact, and Aether grinned at me, his canine teeth sharp like fangs. I brought the liquid to my lips and took a sip.

A sweet sensation burst in my mouth, sharp tastes teasing my tongue. I looked at the glass in awe. I’d never tasted something like that before in my life! Even the food here was different to home.

Seeing my face, Aether once again threw his arm up and waved his hand about until a servant got the message. Before I knew it, a smaller, more delicate glass full of the drink had appeared before me.

Aether took another swig from his glass, bringing his feet up onto his chair, so he was crouching on it. His tail hung off the edge of the seat, swishing gently. I saw him watch me out of the corner of my eye, as I looked down the table to my right, to see Alira talking painfully with the King. Ueva had made her swap seats with him, I noticed. I laughed to myself quietly.

“You’ve got a nice smile.” Aether said quietly as one took over his own face. ”And I like that dress. It’s…nice.”

Before he could see me blush, a servant appeared between us, and dropped large silver platters across the table before us.

“Eat to your heart’s content!” the King’s voice boomed from down the table.

There was applause around the room, and noises of approval and even astonishment as masses of food was brought to the tables. I looked to Alira, and saw her eyes widen with disgust at the amount of meat that was being presented before her. Elves did not consume much meat, and Alira especially wasn’t fond of it.

I looked at the plates before me and didn’t know where to start. There was so much of it! I dithered about, trying to decide what to try.

“That.” Aether pointed with a chicken leg, “You’ll like that.”

“Thank you, my lord.” I answered politely.

Aether nearly choked on his chicken. He coughed, before taking a draught of his special red drink.

“Call me Aether, please. Don’t bother with that honorific crap.” He laughed with tears in his eyes.

I shook my head, smiling, and reached for the glazed ham Aether had recommended. The prince was just so un-princely. He was so informal and…well…normal.

And I was feeling more and more attracted to him.

“Someone’s got their eye on you, blondie.” Kethra muttered in my ear with a smirk. I turned to her with wide eyes. My mouth gaped unattractively like a fish out of water. The princess chuckled before ripping a leg off a pheasant in front of her father.

I brushed off Kethra’s silly comment. Still, I was finding it hard to comprehend how friendly the demons were. After the stories I had heard I was expecting them to be as bitter as the elves. But they weren’t. From what I’d seen so far, they seemed to hold no grudge against my people at all.

“What’s your name anyway?” Aether kicked my chair gently.

“Izrazana Libertia, my-I mean-Aether.”

The demon raised his eyebrows and grinned.

“One of the four noble houses, huh?”

I nodded.

“You the heir?”

I nodded again.

“Nice to make your acquaintance, Lady Izrazana!” he grinned.

He was so easy to talk to, and so kind to me. He showed me which foods I should try, and which ones I should avoid. It was a little embarrassing that he seemed to know me so well already, but I loved the way we felt like friends so soon.

Was it wrong that he got more and more handsome as the night went on?

Aether was the second oldest of fourteen children, at seventeen years of age, one of only four boys. Kethra was the eldest. Their father Yochre, didn’t have a wife, but he had six ‘ladies’ as Aether put it, and used to have seven. The seventh was Aether’s mother, and Aether’s mother alone, who’d died giving birth.

“I’m so sorry.”

“I never even knew her, so it’s not like I can be that sad about it.” He answered with a shrug.

He got more animated as he spoke, waving his arms around, telling me about the various stunts he’d pulled involving his sisters, father, and the ‘ladies’, including adding a glue compound to Kethra’s hair products so her hair ‘stood up like a hedgehog in heat’ for at least a week (at the mention of this incident, Kethra’s head whipped around and glared at Aether, who merely stuck out his tongue in response). I laughed through my food, nearly choking myself in the process, at the prince’s stories. He seemed to enjoy entertaining me, so I laughed when cued, acted shocked when it called for it.

“What do you do for fun then?” he asked.

“Well…I play harp, if you think that’s fun.”

“Really?! Will you play for me?” Aether demanded excitedly.

“Um…yes, if you’d like that.” I stuttered back.

“I’d love to hear you play. I bet you’re really good. And your music’s pretty. Not like demon music, which is good, but it’s not exactly calm or anything. But I bet your music’s relaxing, right?”

I smiled and nodded at the prince.

The ‘ladies’ kept looking up at us from their table just below ours. They couldn’t sit at the head table, because it would be unfair that only one could sit next to King Yochre at a time, ‘or so pop says’ Aether drawled, throwing a chicken bone at his father’s head. The King looked over, with a scary face, pushed his chair back, and came over.

I was scared for Aether, for the King had a violent air that frightened me. His presence was truly intimidating; however Aether didn’t even bother to look at him. A large hand came down on the prince’s head, ruffling his hair with all its might. King Yochre chuckled as Aether messed about with his hair, moaning to himself.

“Ya big girl.” Yochre boomed, giving one more quick ruffle before returning to his chair.

The ‘ladies’ giggled to themselves, handing pieces of sweet loaf to their young children. They’d been watching Aether talk to me all night, commenting to each other and laughing uproariously every now and again. It made me embarrassed that they’d been observing us, but Aether would just wave at them now and again, grinning, so they meant no offence by the whispering.

Trays of sweets were laid before us, as other, empty plates were taken away. I took a sip of the red drink, savouring the sweetness.

“Your sweet tooth’s nearly as bad as mine, so you like chocolate, right, Izrazana?” Aether asked.

I loved the way he said my name. He made it sound so exotic.

“Chocolate?” I rolled the word around my mouth.

Aether’s mouth fell open.

“You don’t even know what it is?!” he cried out.

“I’m sorry, my lord!” I was so embarrassed; I didn’t even notice I hadn’t called him by his name.

“Aether!” he slapped the table.

“Aether!” I cried back, slapping the table.

We looked at each other for a second, our eyes locked, before dissolving into laughter. I wiped tears from the corners of my eyes. I’d never laughed so much in my life, even with the rest of the girls back home. I just got on so well with Aether, and in that moment when our eyes were locked, my heart seemed to skip a beat, my breath hitched. And if I’m not mistaken…he felt the same thing.

“Here, try it.” He offers me a small brown block.

I take it, and bit into it warily. The inside was softer than the shell, a mousse like substance with a taste like no other. It was so sweet and creamy, and it melted on my tongue in a beautiful river of flavour.

I realised I’d closed my eyes. I looked at Aether guiltily.

He laughed. From the large bowl in front of him, he hands me another one of the same type. I accept it eagerly.

“Those are my favourites too.” The prince smiles, “Too bad you’ll get fat if you eat too many.”

I drop the half-eaten chocolate like it burned my tongue, and look down at it as if it were ready to attack me.

“’Too many’ is a couple more than two, Izrazana.” Aether croaks, in between laughing at me.

I frown at him and eat the rest of the creamy delight, enjoying it to its fullest. I lick the melted remains from my finger, a habit that no elf child is ever allowed to get into. Licking your fingers is a disgusting and rude thing to do, but I would always do it when no-one was looking. I just love being able to drop my manners every now and again, and just break the strict politeness policy elves have.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Aether staring at me, or more specifically, my lips. We looked at each other, our eyes meeting. I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks. We both looked away quickly. Kethra raised an eyebrow at me and smirked.

Aether, his head in his hand, swept his other arm out across the table top, looking in the other direction, knocking several forks to the floor. I reached down automatically to pick them up, my head under the table cloth to reach one that had skidded away.

“Meet me tonight.” Came a whisper in my ear.

I froze, my hand wrapped around a fork.

“Midnight. Central Gardens.”

Lips brushed against my neck. I shivered.

We both emerged from under the table cloth, Aether smiling like nothing had happened, placing forks back on the table quite happily. My hand shook as I returned the silverware to its place.

I’m no expert, but I’m relatively sure you shouldn’t be able to feel your heart in your throat.