Chapter Two
Arilyn and Jaya were back in the corridor but the elven princess noticed that it was now empty. “Where have all the…,” Arilyn hesitated. Should she say demons? She could not separate the word from its connotations in her mind. All her life she had only known demons as evil and savages. She had seen the devastations the demons brought on villages at home and stood by her sister, Queen of her people, to watch the funeral processions of those killed by them…an image of cold stone walls flashed in her mind and she felt her heart accelerated in fear.
Jaya looked down at the elven with a concern look. “Class is in session,” she said slowly. “Is that making you uncomfortable?”
Arilyn closed her eyes and shook her head. “No,” she said quickly as she pushed the image away from her mind. “What was it you said again? Class in sessions?”
“Yeah, it’s teaching time.”
“Teaching?” Arilyn was confused. She had assumed that this was the Overlord’s home not a school.
“Yes, is that strange to you that we like to learn?” asked Jaya with a slight annoyed tone.
“I didn’t think that your father, an Overlord, would live in a school. This is a school, right?”
“Yes and no,” answered Jaya. She motioned the elf to follow her down the corridor and she continued. “Pa wanted to keep an eye on me as I hone my craft so he made the school move into his palace.” They rounded a corner. “So it’s a school until I become a master mage.”
Arilyn raised an eyebrow. “I can see why he needed to keep an eye on you.”
Jaya blushed despite her complexion as they stopped in front of a white arched door. “Bwahaha, enough about me! Let’s get something for you to eat. I can hear your stomach growling,” she said quickly.
Growling? Arilyn looked down at her stomach and felt, as if for the first time, her stomach rumbling. She had been preoccupied with questions that she did not realize her own hunger.
Jaya parted the door. “Sit anywhere you like. I’ll go get food for you.”
The elven princess stood in wonder. Before her was a room that had marbled floors decked with crystal tables and matching chairs. She took a step in to realize the bathing light was from above, filtering through a huge glass-ceiling dome.
Jaya went into the room and traveled to the back to disappear behind another door. “I really mean it. Sit anywhere you like or do you prefer to stand and eat?”
Arilyn, still awed, picked a table that was position under the center of the glass dome. Lofty clouds passed over her and she smiled. So they have a sky here too. It had occurred to her how much she missed seeing the blue skies after traveling under the grey skies of the underworld for so long. She continued to admire the sky until Jaya appeared juggling a plate, towel and bowl.
“Sorry, this is all I could find that was left after breakfast,” said Jaya. She went over to the elf and placed the items on the table.
Arilyn found the smell from the plate intoxicating and her mouth automatically salivated even though she had no idea what it was in front of her. She stared at the plate of food and searched for utensils.
“Oh, I forgot drinks. I’ll go bring you some wine,” said Jaya who had misinterpreted Arilyn’s expression. She got up and went back into the backdoor. After a short moment, she returned with a cup and a shiny pitcher. “Is the food not good?” she asked as she poured the elf a cup of wine.
“It smells very delicious but I need utensils,” answered Arilyn.
“Utensils? Why need them when your hands are good enough?”
“Hands?”
“Oh,” Jaya thumped herself on the head with the base of her right palm, “you Landoanians eat another way. Here, let me show you. First you wash your hands in the bowl over there and dry them with the towel.” She pointed to the items. “Then you use your thumb, index and middle food to grab food and put it in your mouth like this,” she instructed and slowly pantomime the action.
The elven princess mused. Jaya looked ridiculous but she wasn’t going to tell that to the demon yet.
“What’s so funny? I know using hands is different but I think it’s the best utensil in the world because they’re with you all the time, er, unless you got your hands chopped off. Then you might end up using your feet instead, ”said Jaya and then she scratched her head. “Hmm, but if your feet gets cut off too then I guess using utensil would a good idea but then you can’t ‘cuz you got no hands! Or feet? I think I just confused myself…I can steal my Ma’s utensils if you want. She hasn’t quite gotten away from that.”
“It’s alright.” Arilyn proceeded to put her hand into the bowl and dry her hands with the towel. “I assume that your mother is elven, from my world…so that makes you half elven?”
Another image flashed in the elf’s mind, one of someone important to her she had left behind, turning to the side and exposing semi-angular ears. She pressed her right forefingers against her golden brow and shook the image away for it stirred something painful.
“Yes, I happened to be half elven but I am a demon. Demon. Hey, are you really fine? Do you hurt anywhere? Because you shouldn’t,” said Jaya and, with her forefinger, traced a symbol that glowed red momentarily before dissipating over Arilyn. “Just as I figured. You’re fine.”
“No, I’m not fine. Nothing is fine. It hurts! Oh goddess, it hurts!” A voice screamed inside of Arilyn’s head. Sounds, faces, and voices all burst in her mind. Traitor…betray…I betrayed her. It’s all my fault! Pain swept over her and, before she knew it, she was weeping uncontrollably.
“Crap, crap! I’m so sorry! Don’t cry,” panicked Jaya. “It was just a simple scanning spell! I promise I’ll ask before I do it again, if ever.” The demon had assumed it was her fault.
“Kuku, a pretty flower should never shed tears of sadness but only happiness. Did Jaya make you cry?” asked Harduke who stood at the entrance.
Jaya raised her hands. “I didn’t do anything! I just scanned her to see if she was alright and she started crying! I swear I’m innocent.” She did not want another punishment.
Harduke walked over to them and laid a hand on Arilyn’s shoulder gently. “It must have been painful your other life,” she said softly.
Arilyn slowly looked up and managed to take control of herself. She stared at the silver-haired demon as if she was asking for help but she could not remember what? What was she crying? All she could remember was hearing Jaya apologizing.
“Good?” smiled Harduke and took out a handkerchief and handed it to the elf.
Arilyn took it and wiped her eyes. “Yeah, I think I’m good,” she said.
“So I didn’t make you cry?” asked Jaya but Harduke eyed her. “Scratch what I said.”
“Miss Arilyn, I had prepared a room for you. Would you like to go there and rest? I don’t think you’re hungry right now,” said Harduke.
Arilyn nodded numbly, still trying to figure out what had pained her so much.
“Good, that’s settled. Jaya, take our guest to her room I’ve prepared. It is the one with the lily carved door not far from here. Afterward, the Lady wishes to have a word with you about your transgression,” said Harduke.
“Aww, c’mon! Ma, too? It’s already bad enough Pa made me a slave to the very being I resurrected! How embarrassing is that?” complained Jaya. “Everyone is going to make fun of me.”
“Young pup, every action has a consequence. The laws of life have been disrupted. You have little to worry than just a mere punishment from the Overlord. Now do as you’re told lest you wish to feel my wrath.” Harduke turned to elven princess and quickly pecked a kiss on Arilyn’s cheek.
“Hey!” shouted Jaya.
Arilyn could feel herself burning red. This one is bold and shameless! she thought.
“A gift from me. It is a spell to help you understand our language just in case you decide to wonder about,” grinned Harduke.
“You could’ve just kissed her hand!” blurted Jaya.
“Kiss on hand, kiss on cheek, same thing,” said Harduke nonchalantly. “Miss Arilyn, I’ll leave you to Jaya’s care.” she bowed and exited the room.
Jaya blew hot air out of her nostrils. “Perv.” She nudged her chin at Arilyn as she noticed the elf was looking at her. “What?”
“Are you two…lovers?” the elven princess asked and tried to sound causal.
Jaya almost gagged. “Lovers? No way! She helped raised me up when I was a pup.”
“Oh, sorry, I had assumed because you seem upset about,” Arilyn yawned and her eyes felt heavy.
“Your body needs rest.” Jaya stood up and helped Arilyn to her feet. “I’ll take you to your room.”
Arilyn nodded and let Jaya lead her out of the room. The corridor was once again empty but now as they passed by the doors, thanks to Harduke’s spell, she could understand the lecturing voices. It seemed they were preparing for an upcoming celebration and were preparing for it, which reminded her of home when the elves, humans and even the reclusive dwarves came together to celebrate the day of Isiana.
“I never would dream demons could be people,” she commented, still getting use to the idea of civilized demons.
“You thought we were savages that did evil things all the time,” smirked Jaya as they went into an open hallway decorated with green stones and deep purple tapestries. “Ma thought the same with Pa when she first came here as I heard from Harduke.”
The elven princess’ ears perked up with interest. “How did that come about? Your mother?” She was curious that anybody would cross, let alone be able to, over. The Chasm, the mark of evil on Landoa according to her Elders, was a forbidden and impassable place. “Considering the Chasm is where you people come out and kill us.” She cringed a little for she meant it to not sound harsh.
Jaya still kept her smirk, unperturbed by Arilyn’s comment, as they stopped in front of a door. “First thing first. We are not like those monsters, albeit we have the same bodies but we posses a heart and mind and, by Isiana’s tits, a soul too.”
“I didn’t mean to sound harsh but demons on Landoa kill people.”
“Monsters,” corrected Jaya. “Those are monsters. They kill us over here too, y’know, before Isiana erected her barrier.”
Arilyn became quiet. She was a bit embarrassed by her ignorance and decided not to ask more questions for now. She was terribly tired.
“Here’s your room.” Jaya opened the door.
The room was a big with silky brocade tapestries that hung at the crown moldings. At the center was a round bed with overhangs of see through organza. At the foot of the bed was a blue chest and between the bed and a window was a small stand with a round-lighted object on top.
Arilyn approached the bed and she could see white undergarments and a silky silver dress laid out for her next to some fluffy pillows.
“The bathing room is across from you just in cased you need to wash yourself. On the right of the bathing room is the privy room when you need to release yourself. Yell out my name if you need me,” said Jaya and gave a low bow. “I’ll see you later.” She left the room and closed the door.
Arilyn wandered about her room and touched the tapestries; they had a wonderful soft touch and she wondered what the demons used to make them for they were not silk as much as she observed.
By the goddess, I must stop thinking they’re terrible. Terrible….Arilyn shook her head again. She didn’t want to remember what the word terrible invoked.
To keep her mind from thinking, she went to the window and moved a curtain away. Outside was a marvelous garden with giant flowers, trees that had been snipped into shapes and vines that gnarled about. There was a water fountain made from marble that shimmered under the light sky.
Arilyn heaved deeply and took in the fresh air.
It’s good to be living. she thought as she averted her mind to more happier thoughts.
She turned around and took off the coat that Jaya gave her earlier. She folded it neatly and putted away in the chest. Then she took up the silver dress and undergarments and wore them. “Perfect. That Harduke has good eyes,” she commented. The dress and undergarments fitted her like a glove. She yawned again. “Hmm, that’s something I haven’t done for a long time.”
She plopped onto her bed and slept away.
%%%
She dreamt of a tall amour-clad woman with bright blue eyes that pierced the darkness around her. She knew who this woman was.
“Goddess Isiana,” whispered Arilyn.
The goddess did not respond but instead casted her eyes down in sadness.
“What’s wrong?” asked Arilyn alarmingly.
The goddess did not speak and shook her head. “All things shall now come to pass,” said the goddess in a silky voice. Then she silently turned around and faded into the black background.
From a distance Arilyn heard a celestial voice, one that did not belong to the goddess, and it spoke with nostalgic tones:
Under the unparalleled sky
Riding the waves of the Unknown
Climbing over white-capped Mountains
Passing by--high and wide--,
We walk side by side
Our hands touching
As we gaze both Sun and Moon.
“That is beautiful,” said Arilyn and she found herself captivated by the voice and swaying at each undulating vowels and consonants. It soothed her soul with a strange warmth. For all that has happened to her up until now, faded out for just that moment of peace.
She felt a small wind creeping over her face and light breaking into the darkness with fast clarity. Right before the brightness over took her entire vision, in the corner in of her eyes, she saw a woman with red eyes and silver hair looking out as if she was reminiscing some past….
Arilyn was so startled that she brought her right knee right into Jaya’s gut. Jaya flung off of her and came crashing onto the stone floor. She sat up quickly while Jaya cradled her stomach. “Jaya, what were you doing?” she demanded.
“Goddamn it, that was one hell of a kick,” said Jaya as she finally collected herself and sat on the floor cross legged. “Bah! Pa’s spell makes me writhe in pain if I’m more than a half a mile away. I couldn’t even go back to my room so I had to sleep in your room. Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up so I slept on the floorr12;“
“No, I meant what were you doing on top of me!” asked Arilyn angrily.
“Hey, I couldn’t sleep! Some blasted noise kept me up and I was looking for the source for hours until I realized it was from you!” Jaya’s voice was rising with matching anger. “So I was on top of you looking how the hell you can make a noise while you’re sleeping! Then you woke up and kicked me in the gut. Gah! You Landoanians are weird!”
“What noise?” quizzed Arilyn.
“This noise,” said Jaya and she sucked in air through her nose. “So horrible sounding. I thought my ears were going to burst!”
Arilyn let out a wild laugh. Jaya was not amused.
“That’s snoring,” said Arilyn while flickering a tear from her eyes.
“Snoring?” said Jaya and she made a silly face.
“Some people do it while they’re sleeping. It’s natural so I can’t help it. Don’t demons snore?” asked Arilyn.
“Of course not! We don’t make such ghastly sounds,” answered Jaya and she rubbed her ears.
Arilyn looked around and noticed that it was early morning. “Did I sleep the day way?”
Jaya nodded. “And the night away,” she added.
Suddenly, Arilyn’s stomach growled ferociously and Jaya’s ears perked up.
“Want breakfast?” asked Jaya. “You didn’t eat yesterday so you’re probably famish.”
“Yes, I would like to,” said Arilyn.
Jaya stood up and brushed herself off. “It’s a little early for the cooks to be out so we have to cook our own food.”
“Cook our own food?” asked Arilyn distastefully. As princess of her elven kingdom, such jobs were suited for others. Besides, she hated doing anything that resembled chores or anything that required much physical exertion for the matter.
“Yeah. Not really a big deal. I’m pretty good at it. Heck,” Jaya smiled and wiggled her furry ears, “I was voted best chef for two years in a row!”
Arilyn made a wicked smile and leaned back on her puffy pillows with hands behind her head as it occurred to that Jaya was her slave. “Well, now that you are my slave. You first have to address me as ‘Master Arilyn.’”
Jaya lips thinned. “Hell no.”
Arilyn lifted her left hand.
“Okay! Master Arilyn it is,” grumbled Jaya.
“Good, my slave. Now go cook me something delicious and bring it back here,” ordered Arilyn.
“I can’t. The kitchen is more than a half of mile away so you have to come with me,” said Jaya dryly.
“It’s that far away?” asked Arilyn as she recalled it didn’t really take that long to get from where they ate to where her room is.
“Of course! It’s across the courtyard. We were at the eating hall when we ate yesterday. The cooks make the food and deliver them to the back room of the eating hall at certain intervals,” explained Jaya. “Besides, if we go to the kitchen we’ll get to see Harduke mediating in the courtyard and I want to ask her something.”
Arilyn smiled. She wanted to meet the silver-haired demon again and was curious to know more about her.
“So, we go?” asked Jaya irritatingly.
“Carry me,” said Arilyn.
“What?” shouted Jaya. She was not use to be treated that way.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, slave,” said Arilyn.
Jaya growled and picked up Arilyn.
“Gentle,” commanded Arilyn.
Jaya glared and shifted Arilyn until her master was satisfied.
“Good?” grunted Jaya.
Arilyn smiled and nodded her head. “Onward, my slave!”
Jaya carried Arilyn out of the room.
A breeze blew the window curtains away. A creature with yellow eyes and scaled skin stood outside of the window. It looked at the door, its tongue flickered in out of its mouth before slipping away.