His sleeping beauty

Orochi had woke up again further into the night when the house had gone to sleep. It was silent and he could hear only the bugs and trees swaying in the breeze.

The moon was shining into the room making it visible to see in the room. He glanced over to see Ren sleeping away beautifully beside him.

Her hair was sprawled out around her head like her head was the sun and the hair was the rays as two curls were laying against her cheek. It was almost like a hidden crown or a halo.

Her thick eyelashes feathered her cheeks and her natural pink, cupid bow lips were slightly open as she breathed in as sleep consumed her mind.

Her right hand was slightly closed and the other was laying on the bed; to him, she looked like one of the most beautiful human girls he had ever seen. Her skin glowed in the soft light, making Ren even more breathtaking.

Orochi's mind clouded with unhelpful thoughts but he tore himself away from them looking at the ceiling above them.

Ren was merely a human but yet her beauty was unhuman to him. Her eyes were a dark purple but in the light, they became the most unnatural and unreal amethyst gems he had ever seen.

No demon he has ever seen had those types of eyes, not even the most beautiful of the realm. They reminded him of the purple orchids in the garden he had. Secretly, he admired how amazing those eyes were.

"Orochi..." His heart stopped and glanced over to Ren. Her eyes were still closed and sleeping sound fully. His eyebrows creased in confusion over her mumbling his name in her sleep. Is she having a bad dream at this time of night?

Orochi shook his head waving it off and began to wander off into his thoughts again. His cramped mind was clouded with the events that happen in the last few days since they had dealt with Beliath.

During the fight with Beliath, Ren had lost control of her powers and when she swung her sword; it let out a blue flash and cut Beliath across the chest.

Beliath even tried to block it and she wasn't fast enough to. Let alone it even hurt a demon of that amount of power be hurt.

During those three days, Ren's body was fighting within itself. There were moments where she was burning so hot it could have killed her. She was constantly drenched with sweat from her random occurring fevers.

In between the fevers, she would become as pale as a sheet of paper, so pale Orochi had thought all the body had disappeared from her body to some unknown place. His stress had been at an all-time high.

Every day he had searched for things that would help her fevers but no amount of medicine would help her. On top of that, since the estate had burned to ash and blackened wood; he had to figure out how all of his business would survive.

Ren was at the top of his priorities, keeping her safe as she recovered was all he could think about. He pushed himself to the limits use his powers to keep their house safe from prying eyes. No place was safe from Beliath if she was angry.

Her eyes could be anywhere or in any place.

Tomoko cared for her the last few days as he made sure their identities were kept secret. He checked the mountains every day for unusual activity and kept in contact with a few of the people in the land.

Beliath had disappeared since that day and has kept quiet ever since. But that didn't mean she wasn't doing things in the meantime.

Beliath had killed all of Ren's family leaving the girl who slept peacefully beside him alone. His eyes once more traveled back to Ren, whose eyebrows were furrowed and had a scared look on her face.

Low mumbles began to come out of her mouth and her hands began to tighten into fists. "No... No... Please, no...."

Her chest began to rise faster then it did before, her eyebrows twitched as mumbled more in her sleep. "Let them be... Please...NO!"

Her eyes burst open and stared at him in horror. Ren layed there in fright in front of Orochi, vulnerability emitted from her eyes making him worry for her. "Orochi..." Ren whispered as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Ren, what's wrong?" He asked her as he propped his hand up against his hand.

She looked down at the bed as a tear fell slowly down her cheek, "I had a nightmare about Beliath and killing my parents. I was there when she did it and I couldn't help it." Her eyes squeezed shut and more tears streamed down her cheeks.

Orochi felt a pain at his chest, "Come here." He held his arm above her, signaling to come close to him. In the dim light, Orochi could see her face blush crimson of the embarrassment of how straight forward he was but she ignored it. She sniffed and scooted to him, pressing her forehead against him wide chest as his arm pulled her close.

"I'm sorry for waking you." He could feel her tears still dripping down as her body trembling like a small bird in his arms.

"There is no need to be sorry, Ren. You have faced an unbearable trauma that no one in the world could compare at this moment. Cry as much as you need to let the pain go." He smiled softly and brushed her hair out of her face, she nodded and slightly let her pain out.

Orochi mumbled words to comfort and soother her worries in his deep voice, "Shh... It's okay... You're safe... Let it go..." until she fell asleep quietly against him. He tucked her head under his chin and held her in the cage of his arms, protecting her from harm.

"Orochi?" Ren whispered faintly against his chest.

"Yes?"

"Thank you...For caring about a human-like me and being so kind to me even though I have been inconsiderate of my surroundings." His lips turned into a smirk.

"Your welcome. I don't mind it now and then." He combed her hair softly until he felt her body give away to unconsciousness again. He wondered how such a girl could hold so much pain inside and have it locked away like an ocean, waiting for it to spill out at any moment.

Her frame was so delicate that he wondered how in the world she took such a beating against those hounds. His mind was ablaze with the curiosity of it but he had to push those questions back because it was all a distant and harmful memory.

Ren was shattered from the inside out from losing her family and the last thing she needed was a reminder of what happened to them. Her dreams are probably going to haunt her until she is healed in her heart. Orochi knew that was the only way to heal her was with time. But did they have time?

Orochi felt as if Beliath was off in the distant horizon watching them in wickedness but it was only a thought. Beliath, the woman he had known for such a long time as the evil queen had shown herself. The fire which had burned his estate to grown was burned into his mind. His anger boiled deep within him for what she did.

So much was lost just because of that woman's stupidity.

Orochi layed his head down and admired Ren's sleeping face again. Even after crying, he thought she was still beautiful. He raised his hand and gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes as she slept. His fingers lingered as he caressed her hair between his fingers like fine silk. It was something out sorts of how he was starting to see her, never had he once had a second thought about a human.

It was shocking and terrifying. Humans were looked over in the Demon realm because of how weak and delicate they were. One simple touch could hurt them if they weren't careful.

Ren was amazing in her way, he thought. Such a frail and innocent girl with such mysterious powers that she doesn't even know how to handle. Yet, with her beauty, any male would see her as amazing.

Every time he saw her, it was like he found a new reason to enjoy her. Even when she was stubborn and made him angry, he couldn't help but be fascinated with how she unsettled him. How could a woman of her likeliness be such a force in the demon world to him?

As the moon rose into the sky, the night passed and both of them fell asleep in each others' embrace. Both of them knew that these times would be harsh especially for Ren, she had nothing to go to besides them.

Nothing could stop what was going to happen and all they could do was prepare for the future.