He lay in bed and tried not to move, as each movement set fire coursing through his veins and every bone felt close to breaking. The physical aspects of his body’s pain matched the mental ones, as his brain worked tirelessly to make some sense of his current predicament.
The Demon Queen was adamant about him being her king and wouldn’t let him leave. She was nice enough to give him the best room in the castle, besides her own - which he was sure was even more extravagant. Still, it didn’t excuse the fact that she was holding him captive and completely against his own will.
The most troubling thing was, was that there was nothing he could do about it, for now at least. This place being Hell was all he understood and really, who was he going to turn to? None of his family or friends was here; they probably hadn’t even noticed he was missing. They were all so busy with their own lives and lately they hadn’t had enough time for him.
He shook his head to get rid of the gloomy thoughts. His eyes slowly drifted shut as the exhaustion caught up with him, and he fell into a restless sleep.
A few hours later, he was woken up by the sound of the door creaking open. His eyes shifted over to the door and they widened when he studied the appearance of the Demon Queen. There was something different about her; her fierceness from earlier had softened, her forehead had smoothed out and her radiating beauty was more prominent as a smile graced her lips.
Honestly, she looked tired, and a little frustrated. Despite that, she didn’t seem to be in as bad a mood as she did when they first met.
In her hands was a basin, and it was filled to the brim with water. Draped over her arm were a towel and a small flannel. Her dress and cloak from earlier had changed to a simple but still refined dress, and her hair was in a bun.
He couldn’t help but stare at her as she walked in, and the fear he felt lessened by only a little. She still scared him, though, being a demon and all.
She waltzed over to his bed and set the basin down on the bedside table.
“Gosh, today was such a tiring day.” She sighed and wiped her forehead. “Those idiots can get nothing right.” Her eyes filled with pity as she looked on at his beaten and bruised appearance.
“I explicitly asked them to bring you here unharmed and now here you are looking like this.” She sighed again and wet the flannel in the basin and ringed it out, before gently dabbing his forehead with it. Her dainty hands worked smoothly as she wiped the sweat off his face, and he studied her as her eyelashes swept her cheeks and her lips pursed in concentration.
“Why are you doing this?” His hoarse voice shattered the silence and her hands stopped. “Aren’t you the queen of the demons?”
She put down the flannel and replaced it with the towel. Drying his face, she spoke softly, “these demons imagine me to be a fierce ruler. They want someone strong, harsh, and merciless. These traits didn’t come naturally to me; I had to gain knowledge about them from the previous ruler, my father. I studied under him for years and now those very traits are etched into my very being. What you saw out there was just another part of me.”
Orion listened and partly understood. The way, the Queen was now didn’t excuse the wrongs that she had committed, but she was intriguing and a minuscule part of him wanted to stick around this place known as Hell.
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