Lyan
As soon as Ruan teleported us out of the castle and I saw what was going on right in front of me I turned red and ran as fast as I could. I already had someone I loved and I didn't want to betray them that way. How could've Ruan just brought me there without even asking me?
I just wanted to disappear, and I did. One second I was running away from Ruan, who was chasing me like a man possessed for whatever reason, and the next I was in the middle of the Oasis we had gone to that morning.
As soon as I felt a gentle breeze caress my face I calmed down and sat on the sand, looking at the water reflecting the moon. What had happened a few minutes ago seemed like a bad dream.
There were no sounds to be heard and no one was on top of me. It was so peaceful that I almost forgot what a good chance it was to run away.
I had no idea how I'd ended up there, but I was going to enjoy the chance. I got up as fast as I could and choosing the direction opposite of the castle, which I still could see protruding from the middle of a dune, I began running in the opposite direction, giving it my all.
I hadn't even managed to run very far when a loud rumble made the whole desert tremble and the sand beneath my feet shifted, making me fall to the ground just as another dune of sand moved and fell all over me.
I called for my shadows just in time and they surrounded me, creating a small pocket of air where I could breathe.
" What the fuck?" I asked in between my teeth as I saw how the sand piled up higher and higher in real time.
The sand, as if mocking me, just trembled even more and shifted, reducing my small spot even more.
When the trembling finally stopped I ordered my shadows to pull all the sand away, which took them a while, and then scaped through a hole they had made.
Once outside I could see smoke coming from the highest spire in the castle, no doubt that had been the source of the trembling just now. I looked at the beautiful, black spire in the middle of the red desert sand and turned around.
" Not today"
I ignored everything going on behind me and ran again, trying to get as far away as possible from the demon world.
I had no idea where the breach was, but I was sure that I was bound to find it sooner or later, not that I trusted my luck, but it was the only thing I could do right now.
Just as I made it past another dune a patch of green appeared right in front of my eyes. I knew it. There had to be other things besides desert, and if I remember correctly the demon side of the breach was said to be near a forest or expansion of green.
I grinned like a maniac as I saw the green getting bigger and bigger as I ran towards it. I was finally going back home! I would miss Ashmoder, but I really missed my guys and I had a mission still going on back home. I had to find a way to take the gem out of the wall and find out who had betrayed me. I had so many things to do! I couldn't just stay idle.
Just when I was about to step foot into the green forest a big band grabbed me by the collar and gently lifted me up, turning me around to face him.
" Where do you think you're going?" Ashmoder was right in front of me with a face that said he was willing to commit a murder.
Ruan was behind him rubbing his ribs as he avoided all eye contact with me, too busy either glaring daggers or oggling my dad to notice that I was watching him.
" A stroll?" I lied. I had to say something. I couldn't just admit that I was going to try and scape...again, or at least not without trying to say an stupid excuse first.
Ashmoder sighed but let me go as he rubbed his temples and suddenly we appeared in the middle of my room.
" Next time call for me" He said in a voice so sweet and calm that it made me feel guilty instantly.
" And you" He turned to look at Ruan with a clear promise of murder in his eyes " You're coming with me" He said just as he grabbed his horns for the second time in a few hours and dragged him away.
I would have to try that. It seemed demons became willing to listen if you pulled on their horns. I yawned and eyed the bed. That experiment would have to wait, and the bed too.
My whole body was covered in sand, even all the spots that sand shouldn't be in, and I wanted it all out.
I took off my nightgown and stepped foot into the bathtub, which filled immediately with water at a perfectly warm temperature.
I moaned a little when my whole body was fully submerged and I stayed there, perfectly satisfied with life.
The warm water calmed my nerves and made all the sand disappear. I started to feel more and more tired as the warm water unraveled my strained muscles, making me want to nod off.
"Just for a few seconds" I told myself as I closed my eyes slightly.
Ruan
The moment I saw Ashmoder appear behind me with his teeth clenched so hard that I could see cracks between them I knew I was utterly and completely fucked.
I lowered my head as soon as I saw him and prayed that the princess was okay, because if she wasn't I was dead meat. Who was I kidding? Even if she was perfectly fine I was very likely still dead meat.
The first thing Ashmoder did when seeing me was hit me in the ribs so hard that I heard some of them crack. All I could see where stars as I stood still, not letting him know that he had hurt me, not that I was badly hurt or even hated it. After that first hit he seemed to calm down and backed away.
" Where's Irash?" Ashmoder's voice sent shivers down my spine and I flinched, waiting for a second hit that never came. Instead Ashmoder stood perfectly still mere inches away from me, looking at me as if I was already a condemned man. I wanted his attention, but not this way.
" I don't know, she ran away" I admited, fear running all over my system.
I watched as his eyes darkened in real time and he gathered all his power in his hands. Then he threw it to the sky, where it created a smoke that started moving over the city and beyond, searching for the princess.
I knew that keeping my mouth shut was my best option right now, specially since he was looking like he was ready to gut someone, but I couldn't contain my mouth as I spoke.
" Do you hate me now?" I wanted my voice to come out nonchalant, but instead what came out was kind of a weak shrieking sound.
Ashmoder just looked at me with disdain before he turned around, completely ignoring my question.
I felt smaller that I ever had. If Ashmoder, the only person that had ever taken care of me, the person that had taken me out of the fighting ring, the person that had freed me when I was just a lowly slave, didn't want me then who did.
I held back my tears and looked around like a person having nothing going on, just bored. God's, I wished that was true.
Grabbing me by the horns, Ashmoder loved to do that as punishment, not realizing it did the opposite to me, he teleported is both to the frontier between the desert and the Anusha forest. The closest forest to the breach.
What was the princess doing here? I tilted my head when she came into view, running with all her strength towards the forest, not realizing we were here. Ashmoder let go of my horns, walking to where the princess was.
As soon as he had her we all went back to the castle, where Ashmoder grabbed me by my horns again, I really didn't care about it, I quite liked it if I was been honest, and dragged me to the dungeon, where he put a collar on me and manacles on my feet and hands, making me unable to use magic.
" Do you want me to be your dog? You could've just asked, you know" I said in my most jovial tone.
Ashmoder just looked at me with hatred and pulled on my collar, choking me. He wasn't in the mood for jokes, understood.
I gasped as I tried to get air to reach my lungs, but to no avail. I watched as Ashmoder's eyes glimmered with satisfaction as he chocked me. He was pissed.
My whole body warmed up seen his reaction and I shifted my body weight to hide my boner from him. I seriously had to fix my habit of liking it when people mistreated me.
" Now be a good dog and stay put for a few days" Ashmoder's voice was laced with lust.
He could deny it as much as he wanted, but I could see that he also like mistreating me, the only problem was getting him to admit it, and asking him out, but I was way too much of a coward for that, so I just nodded, looking at him as he finally let go of the collar and I could breathe again.
As Ashmoder disappeared I laid my head back against the wall and groaned. Great, now I was all alone and bothered, with no way to solve my problem. I looked down at my pants and sworn.
Els
I was finally going to get some sleep!
I smiled when Ashmoder finally, finally took his documents and entered his study. Not wanting to give him a chance to think about it twice I ran to my room, where I laid on my bed as fast as I could, not even bothering to take off my shoes and clothes, and drifted off to sleep.
I hadn't even been sleeping for very long when someone came knocking on my door.
Whoever they were they were dead!
I took off the covers with a huff and walked all the distance to the wall in a second, then I parted the wall and glared daggers at the petite maid that had dared to wake me up.
" What!?" I barked.
" The....the King is gone. They've told me to call for you" The little maid stammered.
The King was gone? Again? I was going to murder him.
I groaned as I went back to the study and found it almost exactly as how I had left it, with no work done at all.
When Ashmoder came back I was going to rip him a new one. I took a pen and took a seat at the table as I began forging the king's signature, getting stuff approved as I growled and insulted all of Ashmoder's ancestors.
I hated him. I had lost all my sleep because of him, or to be more exact because of that little punny girl that he called his daughter. She had stolen my sleep and free time. I hated her, and one of these days I was going to make sure she knew.