"It's ready!" The demon presented Claris with her meal. She sat outdoors on a low chair by the campfire to judge the demon's cooking. Dinner was fish from the lake cooked with assorted herbs and seasonings, accompanied by rice. Claris' stomach growled as the smell reached her nose.

"It smells nice at the very least."

The demon beamed. "I made the best of what I could, but it would be even better if I had access to more ingredients. Please go ahead and try."

Claris poked at the fish and cut out a piece. She scooped it into her spoon with some rice and sauce, and raised it to her mouth.

"Mhm!" Claris squealed. The fish blended in well with the slightly sweet sauce and various seasonings, and the flavor was balanced out by the soft rice. She immediately wolfed down more of her meal. "It's good! Way better than what I could do."

"There's more if you would like seconds."

"Thanks." Claris sighed with happiness and sat back into her chair. "You pass. What's your name?"

The demon girl pinched the sides of her dress and curtsied. "Princess Stellaria vi Severias of the Demon Lord Severias' domain, at your service. You may call me Stella."

"Yeah, no way," Claris snorted.

"Eh?"

"Why would a demon princess be tied up out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"I really am a princess!" Stella threw her arms out.

Claris half dropped her eyelids. "If I told you I was a queen, would you believe me?"

"You're the queen of my heart, master." Stella held her hands to her chest and smiled.

Claris blushed and turned away. She tried to hide her embarrassment with her hand, but she doubt it worked. "I'm no queen of anything. And don't call me master, my name is Claris."

Stella bowed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Lady Claris."

"Don't give me any of that rich people formal speech either, it's suffocating. And sit down and eat." Claris pointed at the chair next to her and waited for Stella to sit with her own plate. "How did you end up here anyways?"

"I was being given away to marry another demon lord," said Stella as she ate. "That demon lord is a man, so I was like, hell no, and ran away while they were escorting me to that lord's domain. They chased me around, one thing lead to another, and well, here I am."

Claris chewed on her food as she thought. "Sounds like a political marriage. And there's more than one demon lord?"

"Demon society is split up into different territories much like you humans. It's not like we're all one country," said Stella.

"Huh. Whenever I hear talk about demons, they say it like all demons are united under one demon lord, and they all want to eradicate humans off the continent, and stuff like that."

Stella shook her head. "We don't all have the same goal. And while some demons despise humans, there are others that don't care."

"I guess it's not quite the same here. The Church of Holy Light has a lot of influence and they constantly preach that demons are god's enemy, and that it is divine duty to kill every last one of them."

"And you don't believe that?"

"I don't give a shit about gods and churches and that crap." Claris spat on the ground. "All they do is squabble for power, tangle with the politicians, and manipulate everyone into ridiculous things." She herself had been on the receiving end of the church's malice, so she had a lot of experience with how zealous people can become with their hatred.

"I'm glad that we can be friends like this." Stella smiled warmly.

"I-it's not like we're friends or anything yet." Claris blushed and turned away, earning herself a giggle from Stella.

"That corner of the house seems rough." Stella pointed at Claris' - or rather, their - cabin.

"Yeah, it's hard to maintain things by myself."

"Allow me." Stella held out her hands. Glowing magic circles spread out from her palm, and the earth rose up to form a solid wall against the wood. Holes were instantly blocked and the cabin became more stable.

Claris whistled. "Wow, that's useful."

"Thank you." Stella beamed. "I can make more rooms or entire houses if you want. My powers can also tend the land and make crops grow better and faster."

"Oooh, that's nice. Take care of that tomorrow. You can also build a room or house for yourself while I go to town to sell-" Claris cut herself off. She almost mentioned the demon horns. "Stella, don't you resent me for killing your countrymen?"

"Hmm?" Stella's voice was muffled by a mouthful of food. She struggled to chew it all and made a show of swallowing it. "To the contrary. I'm thankful that you helped rescue me from being forced back into that wedding."

"Oh." Claris leaned forward and stared into the fire.

She had to return to the city again. That was nothing but trouble, and she wish she could've avoided it. She'll have to steel herself up mentally tonight.