Daria Ann

From the exterior, the townhouse looked quite empty. Aretha actually knocked before going in, opening the door for him to wheel himself in before locking it behind him.

"Daria? Daria, we're here!"

"Who's…we?" A voice echoed back. The townhouse had two floors with exposed cascading stairs in two different directions heading up the same way. From the top of the stairs on the left, Caspian caught a glance of a figure, leaning against the railing.

"This is Caspian, my husband. Come see him."

"Your…husband? He couldn't possibly be! Have you lost your mind, Aretha?!"

"I haven't. I'm doing this for a reason, okay? Now come down here and don't be rude."

"Aretha! Do not ignore me!"

The voice that sounded so far away was now right beside his ears. All the hair on his body rose being so close with this…being. Even beside Aretha, he wasn't never scared. But now, he was terrified.

"He's a walking disaster!"

"Technically, he can't walk…"

"That doesn't make it better. I thought you said you didn't want to endanger the town. Barely a few minutes bringing him in, you got attacked! I can smell the blood drying on you!"

"It's not that serious…"

"Wait, what do you mean by a walking disaster?" Caspian finally voiced his concern. The being finally stopped moving around and stopped in front of him. The first thing he noticed was the startling resemblance to Taylor. Then there was her missing left arm and the scar on her left eye that had already turned milky white.

"She didn't tell you? Aretha!"

"He doesn't have to know."

"Know what? My lady, if there's something wrong with me, I think I need to know."

"Caspian, there is nothing wrong with you. Daria is just being overly cautious like she always is. You can ignore it. I will not abandon you for any reason."

"I...see. If that is the case, I will apologize for being rude. My name is Daria Ann Quire. I am the stand-in lord of the town and I'm sure you have been informed that you were going to be taking the position of the Lord here. I have a feeling you might not be able to come in regularly so in that time, I will take over affairs here."

"Do you...feel displeased that I will be taking over your position, Lady Daria?"

"Not really? I don't really mind it. I was never attached to the position and honestly, it's not a good fit for me. Since Aretha won't let me do what I want, I have no other choice but to do this."

"What is that?"

"She wants to hunt down the demon that did this to her. I will not let her throw her life away."

"And I'm the overly cautious one," Daria said, smirking. It made Caspian think. The lives of the people in this part of the kingdom were so deeply connected with the demons. It was very unlike the capital and the other parts that acted like the demons did not exist and were the problems of the north.

"I brought you something. I thought you'd probably want these since you've probably been starving."

Aretha brought out a bag from nowhere and waved it in front of Daria. Daria's expression changed but Caspian thought he imagined it. Daria took the bag and she was gone like the wind again. Aretha chuckled and pushed Caspian out by his wheel, opening the door and closing it the same way she did. As they walked further from the townhouse, Caspian felt like he was being closely watched.

"Are you really not going to say anything?"

"...I thought we would've moved past that. Does it really bother you that much?"

"I couldn't take my mind off it. What's wrong with me?"

"If there was truly something wrong with you, you could probably change it. That's why I said there's nothing wrong with you. It's more of something...you were born with, like the inability to use your legs."

"There's something like that?"

"Yes. You were born with...a lot of life energy. Someone like you is what is known as a demon's prime meal. The fact that you can't even run when attacked by one is just the cherry on top. So, you are a moving target, essentially."

"What? That is..."

"You lived in a place the demons could never reach so it has never been obvious. Living here is the worst decision you could possibly make. Sending assassins was a real waste of money and time."

"That..."

"Do not worry, Caspian. You are my husband, are you not? I will protect you just like I protect my family. I give you my word."

"If you're protecting me, who will protect you?"

The castle was a bustle when they returned. Conan was nowhere to be found when they arrived so they were greeted by Taylor. His calm smile always had a way of making Caspian feel awkward.

"Welcome my lady, my lord."

"What is going on, Taylor?"

"We are expecting a guest, my lord. Her highness, Princess Adrianna is coming to visit."

"The second princess?"

"And the first prince. I don't know why they think my home is some sort of gathering place but I won't let them intimidate you."

The rumors of Princess Adrianna weren't as unsavory as Aretha's but it was they were bad enough. She was said to be a strict princess whose favor was almost impossible to win. Even the third prince, her brother, found it hard to win it most times. She was very influential and had a reputation for being able to easily destroy anyone she wanted to. Unlike the first prince, Caspian had met her once.

"You must have a very pleasant relationship with the second princess for her to come all this way to visit you."

"She's obsessed with me, just like her brother," Aretha replied, snorting. She left the reins of his wheelchair to Taylor. "I'll see you soon, husband."

She kissed his forehead and walked away.