My Demon, My Love...: Changes of Heart

King Gedeon was alone in his chambers, he had been feeling fatigued and had returned to his room to rest. However, when he climbed into bed, he found that he was unable to relax his thoughts enough to find sleep. Being the king was proving to be a serious headache; he did not want to have to do all of this work. He was tired of the complaints of nobles and peasants, alike. It seemed that no one was ever happy; they always had a problem that required solving. He had imagined being king to be a lot more fun than it was proving to be.

A knock at the door interrupted Gedeon’s thoughts. The guard pushed the door open, slightly, and peeked his head inside.

“Your majesty…there is a visitor here that requests an audience.”

“Tell whoever it is to go away! I am resting!” Gedeon snapped.

“Yes, your highness, I have informed her of this. She insists that it is urgent.”

“She…huh?” Gedeon thought, immediately assuming that he would be able to have sex with whomever this being may be. Being king had to come with some perks, right? After all, who would not want to sleep with the king?

“Alright…if it is so important, then show her in.” Gedeon motioned lazily before sitting up in bed.

Gedeon watched as the door opened a bit wider and a small woman slid in, shutting the door, slowly, behind her. He recognized the woman well, she had made daily visits to his chamber since her arrival at the palace.

“Ah, Emilie, so good to see you again…I take it that you could not stand waiting for me any longer?” Gedeon smirked.

“As much as I enjoy our daily visits together, sire, I am afraid that I have a much more pressing matter to discuss with you.” Emilie informed him, as she crossed the room, approaching the bed.

“Uh huh…” Gedeon responded, half-heartedly, as he began to eye Emilie up and down. “That is why you have come to me, in my private quarters, in a sheer negligee?”

“Well, I had to make sure that I had your full attention.” Emilie responded, biting her bottom lip, playfully.

“You have my attention, certainly.” Gedeon replied, sliding over to the edge of the bed, and grabbing Emilie by her hips.

“I am here to talk to you about Prince Reve.”

“Aww, I don’t want to talk about my brother. He is such a bore.” Gedeon whined.

“But I have some information about him that you might find interesting.” Emilie cooed.

“Oh, yeah, and what is that exactly?”

“Well, I have been doing some digging around and found out that your brother’s wife was once his personal slave.”

“So? I was already aware of this issue. This is not new information.” Gedeon yawned.

“Were you aware that I saw him heading to the infirmary a few days ago with the royal physician, whilst carrying a woman in his arms? And, more interesting, still, he has not left the infirmary since.”

Gedeon released his hold on Emilie’s hips and looked up at her with a serious expression on his face.

“Did the slave have white hair?”

“Yes, she had long, white hair.” Emilie confirmed.

Gedeon balled both of his hands into fists before slamming them down, on either side of him, against the bed with such force that it caused Emilie to jump.

“I knew that he could not hold his resolve. I knew that he could not be trusted. I should have made him kill Azlyn as soon as she showed her pretty, little face here.” Gedeon snarled.

“So, it is true, Prince Reve’s wife has returned.”

“Yes.” Gedeon huffed.

“Why don’t you get rid of her?”

“It’s not that simple. Reve is very protective over her. He has killed for her before and he would gladly do it again.” Gedeon’s words slowly trailed off as his expression grew blank and he stared into space; reliving those terrifying moments when Reve’s wrath had come down upon himself and Hadeon for their attempts at Azlyn.

This revelation sent a chill down Emilie’s spine, her body shook, but her arousal grew. Knowing that Prince Reve would go to such lengths for the woman that he loved made her want him all the more. He was the perfect being and she savored the thought of him caring for her as deeply as he did for Azlyn.

“Well, maybe, I could find some way to help you. After all, you are my king and if something is bothersome to you, then it is my sworn duty to see it eliminated. Is it not?” Emilie offered, batting her eyelashes.

“What is in it for you?” Gedeon questioned, skeptically.

“Nothing much, really.” Emilie paused a moment before continuing. “All I ask is that you recommend me for the position of Prince Reve’s personal slave after Azlyn is gone.”

Gedeon considered this for a moment. He was uncertain of how Emilie would be able to achieve such a goal. But if she was, somehow, able to succeed. Then this would relieve Gedeon of a great stress. The position of Reve’s personal slave was nothing compared to what he would give to see Azlyn dead.

“Consider it done. You get rid of Azlyn and the position is yours.” Gedeon sneered, an evil grin spreading across his face.

A few hours later, Reve had returned to his bedroom, swiftly, to shower and change his clothes. He had not left Azlyn’s side since he had found her, bloody and delirious, in her cell. Now that she had regained consciousness, he was certain that she would appreciate his presence more if he smelled and looked a little fresher. He intended to be as fast as possible, he did not want Azlyn alone in the infirmary for too long. It was not safe for her to be unattended.

Reve swung open his chamber door where he found a most unpleasant surprise waiting for him. There on the edge of his bed, sat Gedeon, holding a photograph. This was not just any photograph; Reve immediately came to the horrific realization that Gedeon was clutching the picture of Azlyn and Hunter. In his haste to reach Azlyn, on the night she had injured herself, he had carelessly tossed the picture onto his bed without thinking. Now Gedeon had it and he stared down at it, menacingly.

“Reve…tell me that this is not your FILTHY half-breed?!” Gedeon demanded.

“Do not call her that.” Reve growled.

“Do not call her, what? Exactly what she is? A nasty mutt?!”

“I suggest that you hold your tongue, brother.”

“No! This time you hold your tongue, Reve! I am the king here and you will respect me as such!”

Reve was a bit surprised by Gedeon’s sudden show of force. As much as Gedeon talked a big game, he barely had the gall to back it up. However, this time, Reve sensed that something was different. Gedeon was furious for Reve’s betrayal. He had truly believed that Reve had switched sides and could be trusted, only to be proven that he was wrong by some idiot slave with a never-ending appetite for the carnal.

“This thing with Azlyn, it stops here. I will not have it under my roof! You will stop providing her with special treatment, especially, wasted medical care. She goes back to her cell, immediately. She is a prisoner and will be treated as such!”

“And if I do not agree?” Reve challenged.

“I will make sure that your daughter will never see the light of day again.” Gedeon threatened, rising from Reve’s bed.

Panic coursed through Reve’s body; he wanted to solve his problems right then and there by reaching out and snapping Gedeon’s neck. However, he knew that now was not the time and place for that. Gedeon was still the king and Hadeon would not make a better one.

Reve was just about to concede, when he was struck with a sudden thought. Gedeon made his threat with such certainty; he did not threaten to find Hunter, instead it sounded as though he was assuring that she would never be found. The notion was too horrible, even for the likes of Gedeon, still Reve could not help but wonder…

“Do you know where Hunter is?” Reve snarled.

“I-I…uh…n-no…of course not.” It took only moments for Gedeon to realize his error and he stumbled to recover from it. “I don’t know where she is exactly. I am just saying that I will…uh…find her and….um…she will…uh….s-suffer for it.” Gedeon’s threat coming out much less fearsome that he had intended it to. The last thing that he wanted was for Reve to discover that he held his daughter captive.

Reve studied Gedeon closely; he had interrogated many enemies in the past and found his brother’s argument to be failing. However, if Gedeon did know where Hunter was then Reve had to play his cards very carefully. He needed to get his hands on Hunter’s location before he could act; her safety was the most important thing. Though, this would not stop him from taking a moment to remind his brother who he was dealing with.

“Did you know about her before you saw that photo?” Reve demanded.

“What?! W-what are you t-talking about?! Of course, I didn’t.”

Reve stared at Gedeon for a moment.

“I do not believe you.”

“What?! Why?!”

“I can tell that you are lying. I think that you have known about Hunter’s existence for some time.”

“That is just ridiculous, Reve, and you know it! Contrary to what you may believe, the activities of your little whore slave are not my greatest concern.”

“Then why were you not bothered by the fact that she is a demoness?”

“What?!”

“How come you were not surprised by the fact that I have a DAUGHTER?” Reve charged.

“I am not sure that I understand your meaning.” Gedeon realized that he may have backed himself into a corner and he was not certain that there was a way out.

“Well…let me make it simple for you.” Reve paused, words dripping from his lips like venom as he spoke. “Given our family’s history, it took me some time before I was able to accept the fact that my child is a demoness. Yet, you seem to have embraced this without issue.”

“Oh…well…I just…uh…”

“As a matter of fact, I am surprised that you did not use this information as an argument to claim that Azlyn was not faithful to me. You typically take every opportunity to convince me of her supposed infidelity, yet with this obvious opportunity, you chose not to take it.”

“Well, of course, I...uh...t-thought about that, but…”

“But what? What possible explanation could you have? Was the picture really enough for you to know that she was mine? Or is there something more that you are not telling me?” Reve was growing surer by the moment that his brother may have somehow been involved in Hunter’s disappearance.

“Well…um…it was just…you see…I…”

“Enough!” Reve had begun to tire of this exchange. He was now more certain than ever that Gedeon had known about Hunter before ever seeing her photo on Reve’s bed. “I will not listen to your lies and excuses anymore!” Reve bellowed taking a step towards Gedeon.

“Reve, stand down, I am your king!” Gedeon made his best attempt to sound commanding, but Reve did not relent, instead he took another step in Gedeon’s direction.

“Answer me, this one final question, did you know that Hunter is missing? Were you aware that she has been kidnapped?” Reve hissed, his horns beginning to elongate at the thought of such betrayal.

Gedeon’s resolve began to waiver as he noticed the subtle changes in Reve, indicating that he was about to turn primal. Whilst Gedeon was an extremely powerful demon, in his own right; he knew better than anyone that his strength was no match for Reve’s.

“Are you serious? Do you hear yourself?” Gedeon made his final attempt to get out of this situation in one piece. “How would I have kidnapped your daughter?! More importantly, why would I have kidnapped your daughter?! I did not even know that Azlyn was alive, much less, where she was located in the human realm. Tell me, exactly, how I would have gotten my hands on your child?”

Reve considered this for a moment. Gedeon had given no prior indication that he was aware of Azlyn’s survival. Nor had he given Reve the impression that he knew of Hunter’s existence prior to this conversation. Reve contemplated his options; whether Gedeon was involved in Hunter’s kidnapping or not, Gedeon did have Azlyn imprisoned. Reve had to be careful how he addressed this issue. He could not risk Gedeon taking his vengeance out on anyone that he cared about. Though, Reve still intended to keep a close eye on his brother from now on.

“Just know this…” Reve started as he stepped dangerously close to Gedeon, their noses mere inches apart. “If I find out that you had anything to do with my daughter’s disappearance, I will not hesitate to make you suffer for it. You will regret every waking moment that you have spent alive in this realm. You will think that the time I caught you attempting to rape Azlyn was a walk in the park.”

Gedeon could see the fire burning in Reve’s eyes, unlike anything he had ever seen before. He swallowed, hard, in a fruitless attempt to quell his growing fears. He began to realize that he may have made a grave mistake.