43. Views

I followed him through the hallways, but every step made me feel more unsettled. It's getting much harder to breathe, but I stayed silent. I couldn't bother the man in front of me and risk getting myself hurt. The man spun on his toes, and his eyes narrowed at me. "You're very tense."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright, but you need to tell me why. I want to ensure your comfort; it is my number one priority."

He keeps saying that, but I'm still fearful that he's going to decide I'm useless and drop me. "I-uh..."

His arm curled behind my waist, but it wasn't helping in the slightest. In fact, having him so close was making me feel more trapped than ever. "Breathe."

I tried to follow the instructions, but he was still much too close. Everything's too close; is it just me, or are the walls are closing in? I could hear frantic speech in what I can now assume is the demonic language, and I was suddenly grabbed before the world span.

I found myself beneath the noon sun, and it felt much better. I don't recognize our surroundings, but it was probably remote so that we remained unnoticed. Being in the open air helped me to calm down, and the softness of the grass beneath my face made me mumble in delight. "Sir, you have to come to terms with the fact that being underground isn't good for him." I don't know why they were suddenly speaking English, but at least I could understand what they were saying finally.

"I don't know what else to do."

"The best course of action would be to let the boy go."

Oliver growled at the suggestion, and I could feel the tension between the two demons crackling in the air. "I finally find a good play toy and I'm supposed to let it go? Not a chance."

"Please forgive me for speaking out of line, your highness, but he is a living being. It is inhumane to treat him like a mindless play toy."

"I recommend you shut your mouth, Vivian. Devon, we must go back."

I reluctantly held onto his arm while he teleported us back below the earth. It was a bit easier knowing that fresh air was only a few seconds away, but I still don't like being stuck in the Earth's crust. We landed in a lavish looking room, and I was kind of shocked. I've never seen a bedroom this huge. "This is where you'll be spending your time with us. That door on the right connects to my bedroom, so if you ever need me, all you have to do is knock. Please get comfortable."

Oliver left the room, and I allowed my eyes to wander. There's a large empty space in the middle of the room for who knows what, but that's just the nature of having so much wall space. A desk was pushed against the right wall, and there was a cute little pencil cup on the surface. There's a door next to it that probably lead to either the bathroom or the closet, and another one next to it for the other amenity. An absolutely massive bed lay on the back wall, and I had to wonder how I was going to fill that much space. The left wall had bookshelves lined across it with the only exception being a hole with the doorway to Oliver's bedroom.

The gap in the middle of the room had a dark grey rug, and it made me realize that everything in here was either black or a very dark shade of a different color. It fit with the ascetic that Oliver himself emulates, so I wasn't too shocked. I walked over to the windows above the back of the bed, and I could see demons working around the courtyard. Little children chased each other around, and I began questioning why we're trying to kill all of these people. It's one thing if it's just warrior demons, but there are women and children here as well.

"What do you think?" I jumped at the sudden voice, and I tilted my head back at a young woman. She was dressed in a dress shirt with a pair of slacks, and she looked like she worked here.

"It's a very nice place."

"Thank you, you're too kind. We've been working constantly on it for 17 years, but it still isn't perfect."

"Why are you here?"

"Prince Oliver is a very kind man, but his father is a tyrant of the worst kind. It was a group decision to run away from our home, and we ended up here. A lot of others are still trapped in Hell, and Oliver wants to set them free. His mother is still up there, and as strong as he seems, he worries about her. It's in his nature to worry; he takes after his mother a lot."

"Why am I here?"

"You were originally taken because you were a threat to our kind. You and your friends are literally being trained to wipe us out, but we aren't the issue. Prince Oliver plans to take back Hell as soon as we're strong enough, but constantly being hunted isn't helping. Once we can take down his father, we will get out of your hair, but we have to get out home and families back."

"It's always funny how looking at things from a different perspective changes your whole world view. Two days ago I thought that every demon was evil, and it was my job to eliminate them from the earth. Now, I'm not sure. I don't think I'm supposed to be eradicating you all, but I should be helping you get your home back. Seeing that you have children down here... I can't justify destroying this even if you are evil and messing with my head. No matter what you're doing, they have a future, and I don't have the heart to destroy that."

"I can see why Prince Oliver took a liking to you. Your thought process is very intriguing."

"Wasn't just the thought process." We both jumped from Oliver's voice, and the woman next to me bowed. He crossed the middle of the room in about 10 steps, and he got really close to my right ear. "You have a really pretty face, too."

Said face flushed a bright red, and I hid it in my hands. "How long were you standing there?"

He tugged at my hands to pry them from my face, and I was the subject of his cooing about my obvious blush. "I came in about the time you were reciting your new views. I'm glad that you aren't hardwired to hate us anymore; it gives me a little bit of hope. Fighting both you and my father would have been difficult; we would have been wiped out."

The lonely prince had a small smile on his face, and I leaned my body against his. Suddenly his face got closer, and I jumped back. "I'm sorry, it's nothing against you, I just... I don't know who I want to give my first kiss to yet."

"You could have just told me. Don't worry, I'll respect your boundaries. It's your right to choose who you want a relationship with."

"Thanks for understanding."

"You're welcome, and now I'm bringing you to meet the locals. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

"Sounds fun, let's go!"