My Demon, My Love...: Changes of Heart

Azlyn crept up towards the palace; she noted the increased amount of security. She darted into the tree-line, narrowly avoiding a contingent of guards patrolling the grounds. It dawned on her that she had not completely thought this through. Word spreads fast around the castle, if she were to be seen by someone who recognized her then she would never make it to Reve unscathed. Surely there were still those who wanted her head for all the uproar that she had caused.

Azlyn thought, carefully, about her choices, before she decided on the best course of action. She weaved in and out of the trees, making her way, slowly, towards the stables. She prayed that Blaz was still there and that he would be alone; she knew that she could count on him to help her. They may have had their differences on occasion, but she was certain that he would never betray her.

Upon reaching the barn, Azlyn peeked her head inside the stables and scanned the area, before entering; ensuring that it was empty.

“Blaz…” Azlyn whispered. “Blaz…are you there?”

Blaz, suddenly, poked his head out from inside one of the stalls. He saw the white-haired, young woman standing in the middle of the stables, but he could hardly comprehend what he was seeing. He, quickly, rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

“Azlyn…is that…you?” Blaz could barely form the words.

Without giving her a chance to respond, Blaz rushed forward and gave Azlyn a tight hug, lifting her up as he did so.

“I cannot believe that you are here! I never thought that I would see you again!” Blaz exclaimed.

“I honestly never expected to be here again.” She admitted.

Blaz set Azlyn down and released her from the hug. He took a few steps back from her; a serious look spreading across his face.

“What are you doing here, Azlyn? I thought that you were dead! It is not safe here.” He chastised her, his elation at seeing her again being overwhelmed by his fear for her safety.

“I came back for Reve. I needed to see that he is alright, and, more importantly, I need his help in a very serious matter.” Azlyn hesitated, unsure of how much to say.

She did not want Blaz to be any further implicated in the situation and thought it may be best to protect him from the truth of Hunter. If Hunter was in danger, the less people who knew about her, the better, at least for the moment. She wanted to talk to Reve before she involved anyone else.

“Azlyn…” Blaz responded, shaking his head. “Prince Reve…he has changed…after he lost you…let’s just say, he has not been the same demon since.”

“I know.” Azlyn sighed. “Lady…I mean, uh, Princess Umay has already informed me to the situation.”

“I don’t really know, if you fully realize what has happened here.” Blaz pressed. “Prince Reve has threatened me every time that he’s seen me, even when I have done nothing wrong. He destroys the furniture in his room, at least, once a month. He trains with his soldiers every day, forcing them to fight him to prove themselves. Zareb was in the hospital for two weeks after fighting the Prince. On top of all of that, about a week or so ago, he drug a female slave through the palace, naked.”

“Why…umm…why was she naked?” Azlyn asked, almost choking on the words.

She was not certain that she really wanted the answer.

“I don’t know, to be honest. All I know is Prince Reve was furious with her. After he finished dragging her through the castle, for all to see, I heard that he threatened to break her neck.”

“This doesn’t sound like MY Reve.” Azlyn shook her head, she could hardly believe Blaz’s words.

Reve was not a cruel demon, he was one of the few good ones. He shined bright in a weary and dreadful world.

“He is not...YOUR…Reve anymore. Things have taken a turn for the worse here. You’re best off leaving and never looking back.” Blaz cautioned. “King Gedeon is twice as brutal as his father was. Queen Adaliah, well, let’s just say, that she knows a level of malice that Queen Mara could learn from.”

Azlyn took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before addressing Blaz’s concerns. She had thought all of this through. She needed to save Hunter and for that she needed Reve. She was certain that she could get through to him, no matter how he had changed.

“Look, I know that things look dreary now, but I have to see Reve. He has believed me to be dead all this time, things will change when he realizes that I survived. Not to mention, I have something of the utmost importance to discuss with him. You just would not understand.”

“Then help me to understand. What is worth all of this? What is worth putting your life at risk?”

“I love him, Blaz!” Azlyn cried, louder than she had intended to. “I love him. I cannot continue on, knowing that he is in so much pain. I need him! Something terrible has happened and he is the only one who can make it right! Can’t you understand? I NEED HIM!”

“Love is not worth dying for, Azlyn!” Blaz scolded, still not understanding the seriousness of the situation.

These words hit Azlyn like a ton of bricks. If love was not worth dying for, then what was? She knew that Blaz would never see it her way. He had never been in love and did not know how it could alter your entire world. There was no way that she could explain it to him, that would make him see it from her point of view. However, she did have another card that she could pull. The real reason why she had returned to the Demon Realm; the only thing in her life that was more important than Reve.

“He is a father, Blaz.” Azlyn whispered.

“What?!” Blaz responded in shock, not certain that he had heard Azlyn correctly.

“He is a father. Our daughter is almost two years old and he does not even know that she exists.”

Azlyn reached into her small bag and pulled out the few pictures of Hunter that she carried with her. She showed them to Blaz, who eyed them with great intensity.

“This is Prince Reve’s child?” Blaz clarified.

“Of course!” Azlyn insisted.

“Do not mistake my meaning…” Blaz apologized. “I do not mean to sound like I am questioning you. I am merely surprised that is all. Uh…where is the child now?”

“That is the worst part of all of this.” Azlyn paused, preparing herself to speak. “The reason that I could not stay in the Human Realm. Hunter has been kidnapped! She is somewhere in THIS realm with some filthy demons and who knows what they are doing to her! I have to find Reve because he has to find her! I need to know that she is safe, and he is the only one who can fix this. I tried my best to protect her and I failed; now I need Reve to clean up my mess. I cannot keep doing this without him! I need us to be the family that we were always meant to be.”

Blaz was shocked by what he was hearing, and he paused for a moment, attempting to take it all in. His eyes clouded over as he stared off into space, focusing in on something that no one but himself could see as memories of his own childhood began to flash before him. After several moments, the only thing that he could manage to say was…

“This is no place for a child, especially, not one that would be so reviled.”

Blaz looked at the pictures of the happy baby for a few more moments. He returned the pictures back to Azlyn; ran his hands through his hair and turned before kicking over a bucket. He faced Azlyn again and sighed, heavily.

“Alright. I’ll help you.”

“What?!”

“I’ll help you.” Blaz repeated, before continuing. “I just want you to know, Azlyn, that this is extremely dangerous for the both of us. There is no way to get you into the castle without being spotted. So, we will be forced to bring the Prince to you. I’ll probably have to tell him some kind of lie to get him out here.”

“So, what do you suggest that we do?”

Blaz grew quiet for a few moments as he considered their options; tapping his finger, thoughtfully, against his chin as he did so.

“You’ll need to hide out here in the stables for the time being. Make certain that you stay out of sight. I will fetch the Prince and tell him that I must speak to him about an issue regarding his horse. He is likely to come, as his horse remains one of the few things that he still cares for. I will bring him to you. From there it is up to you.”

“I really appreciate this, Blaz. I do not know how I will ever thank you enough for this.”

“You thank me by surviving. Get your little girl and get out of this realm, if you can.” Blaz assured Azlyn. “Just make it out alive, no matter what it takes.”

Blaz paused, his face having grown very serious as he looked into Azlyn’s eyes.

“You do not have to worry about that. I will definitely make it out of this. I have a little demoness to survive for. I have to find her and ensure that nothing like this ever happens to her again.” Azlyn promised.

“Alright.” Blaz took in a deep breath. “I am going to find Prince Reve, this may take a while. If you hear anyone coming, hide in one of the stalls.”

“Okay.” Azlyn nodded her understanding.

With that, Blaz took off towards the palace. Azlyn , the anticipation eating away at her. She could hardly stand the anticipation of seeing Reve again. She knew that he had been going through some dark times, but that did not matter. Now that they were going to be together again, everything would be better. They would face their problems head on, hand in hand. As long as they had each other, everything would be alright.

Azlyn waited, patiently, for what seemed like an eternity. She paced back and forth between the stalls; she took turns petting each one of the horses. She even picked up a brush, at one point, and began tending to the beautiful creatures.

Finally, Azlyn could hear what sounded like voices approaching the stables. She listened, carefully, to determine if it was Blaz having returned with Reve. However, she quickly realized that there was the wrong number of voices and that she did not recognize any of them as friendly. She panicked, momentarily, before diving into the closest stall.

“Slave! Slave!” A male called out as the group entered the stables. “Guards, find the stable slave! We need him to ready our horses, immediately!”

Azlyn shrunk down into the corner, attempting to make herself appear as small as possible. She hoped if she hunkered down and did not move, then the guards might mistake her for a pile of cloth, forgotten, on the floor.

Azlyn could hear, large, heavy footsteps clomping up and down the stable. The guards, growing frustrated in their search, started swinging the stall doors open. The horses becoming agitated by this sudden and unwanted intrusion.

“Where is that damn slave?!” A male demanded.

“We don’t see him here, your highness.”

“You must look harder then! Why would a slave, assigned to the stables, ever not be in the stables?! He sleeps here, for darkness sake!”

“Yes, your majesty, of course.”

Without warning, the stall of Azlyn’s stable swung open, violently. She tried not to give away her position, but she could not help her flinch as the door slammed against the side of the stall and the horse was startled. She jumped just enough to give herself away.

“And…just what do we have here?” The guard snarled as he reached down for Azlyn, pulling her, roughly, from her hiding spot.

“Sire, I think you will be surprised to see what we have found here!” The guard called out, his hold on Azlyn tightening.

“No, please!” Azlyn begged.

The guard paid no heed to Azlyn’s pleas. He pulled her from the stall and out into the stables; tossing her at the feet of the demon who commanded him. Azlyn sputtered as she spit the hay from her mouth after her face made contact with the floor. She glanced over at the two impeccably shined pairs of boots standing before her. She followed the boots up to a pair of expensive riding pants, which met a matching riding jackets. Finally, her eyes fell to the faces; none other than Gedeon and Hadeon. They smirked down at her, their eyes burning with fury. They remembered what Reve did to them because of her and they had not forgiven her for the offense.

“Azlyn…” Gedeon hissed.

“My, it has been quite a while since my eyes fell upon you.” Hadeon smirked.

“Just about two years, if I remember, correctly. How exactly did you get here? You are supposed to be dead.” Gedeon charged, his eyes narrowing, already knowing the answer to his own query.

Azlyn refused to answer Gedeon’s questions. She just dropped her eyes to floor and stared, silently, at the ground. Nothing that she said would be of any help to her now. The King of the Demon Realm had her and, not only did he have a prior vendetta against her, but almost everyone that cared about her, already, believed her to be dead. He could do whatever he wanted with her and very few would be the wiser. She would disappear and be forgotten until her name was only a distant memory.

“I demand that you answer me! How did you survive the portal?!” Gedeon demanded, he did not want Azlyn to know that they were involved in Hunter’s kidnapping.

The last thing he needed were rumors to spread that he had his brother’s child locked away in a tower. He needed to feign ignorance about Azlyn’s survival in order to pretend that he was not aware of the child’s existence. He did not want Reve’s uncontrollable wrath to come down on his head.

Azlyn still said nothing. She was certainly not going to implicate Hunter in this. If Gedeon did not know about Hunter, then that was definitely for the best. If Azlyn had to die, she would do so, but Hunter would remain a secret from these most vicious and vile of demons. Hunter may not be safe now, but Azlyn knew that Blaz would tell Reve that Azlyn was here and about Hunter’s disappearance. Azlyn was certain that once Reve knew that his child was in danger that he would stop at nothing to find her. Azlyn could be comfortable with her own death because of her trust in Reve to do the right thing.

“Well…you may not want to talk, but we can make you…” Gedeon growled, lowering his face towards Azlyn. “You may have found a way to survive the portal, but I promise that you will not survive me.”

Gedeon stepped forward and swung back his leg, kicking Azlyn hard in her side. She was forced over from the impact, causing her face to meet the stable floor, once again.

“I wonder how Reve would feel to hear that his wife has been here, all this time, and shacking up with the stable boy, no less.” Hadeon accused. “If he did not think you were a whore before, he is certain to now.”

“We will just have to inform him of our findings then. Either, he has known that she was here and was attempting to protect her or he does not know of the treachery and will be furious. If he did not know, then we will let him choose how she dies. If he did know, then we may have to remind our little brother who is in charge now.” Gedeon smirked.

“I cannot wait to watch you suffer. It is so arousing to destroy lovely things. There is a sad beauty in it, don’t you think?” Hadeon mocked, kneeling down next to Azlyn.

Hadeon leaned over Azlyn, his breathing growing heavy. He had never been good at denying himself pleasure. He brought his face down, next to hers, and inhaled deeply, breathing in her scent. His eyes fluttered as he smelled the intoxicating aroma. He opened his mouth and stuck out his long tongue, allowing it to glide, gently, against Azlyn’s cheek.

Azlyn could feel the vomit rising in her stomach, threatening to spew forth as she winced from his touch. His tongue felt like sandpaper against her skin and his breath smelt of rotten garbage. It took everything she had inside of her to keep it together. The last thing in the realm that she wanted was for this repulsive creature to get his filthy claws on her.

“What is going on in here?!” A familiar and, instantly, soothing voice bellowed from the other side of the stables.

Hadeon stood up and moved aside, revealing the identity of the demon whom had just entered. Azlyn looked up at Reve, feeling suddenly hopeful. She smiled at him, unsure of how else to react; their reunion had not gone, exactly, as planned. Still, seeing his face for the first time after so long, she felt like she could finally breathe again.

Reve stared down at Azlyn in disbelief. He rubbed his eyes a few times, hoping that he would open them again and she would not be there. Why had she come back? Why had she put herself in danger like this? They had worked so hard to get her away from here. Why would she throw it all away?

“Azlyn?” Reve finally spoke after several minutes of awkward silence.

Gedeon took the look of astonishment on Reve’s face as confirmation that he was not aware of Azlyn’s survival, nor her presence within the stables. This made Gedeon sigh with relief at the certainty that he could, indeed, trust his younger brother.

“Look who came to join us little brother. Your wife, back from the dead.” Gedeon announced. “Looks like while you were turning away perfectly good sex slaves. She was hiding out with her secret love, the stable slave.”

“Stable…slave…” Reve stammered, continuing to stare down at Azlyn, obviously in shock.

“What would you like to do with her, brother?” Hadeon inquired, lust dripping from his words.

“What?!” Reve answered, forced back to reality, whether he was ready for it or not.

“She is your wife. You are the one that she has wronged the most in this situation. Forcing you to believe that she is dead, while she had relations with another.”

Blaz was feeling very uncomfortable with this conversation and began backing away from Reve. He was still not sure of Reve’s mental stability and did not trust that he would not lash out at him. Especially given these sudden accusations.

“I swear, your majesty, there has been nothing untoward between your wife and I.” Blaz assured Reve, desperately.

Reve was uncertain how to handle this situation; on one hand, he did not believe, even for a moment, that Azlyn was sleeping with Blaz. On the other hand, he could not show weakness in front of his brothers. He had built a reputation as ruthless over the last couple of years and had gained his brothers’ trust. He did not know how they would react if he made any attempts to save Azlyn; they could just have her killed, immediately, right in front of him as punishment. Reve decided to snap out of it, he needed to remain resolute in his convictions; that was the best way to ensure that things went in his favor.

This was to be a delicate dance.

“I want to think on the punishment that is most fitting for her flagrant disrespect.” Reve asserted. “For the time, let us throw her in the dungeons. She will have plenty of time to think on her crimes while she rots down there.”

Azlyn could hardly believe what she was hearing. Was Reve really sending her to prison? Only to plan on condemning her further at some later date? How could he do this to her? She knew he had changed, but was he really going to stand-by and let her come to harm? Especially, over an accusation, that he should know to be false. Anyone that Azlyn had been with, since they met, was not consensual and Reve knew that all too well.

“Reve! Please! Don’t do this! I am here for you! I need you!” Azlyn pled. “Blaz had no knowledge of my whereabouts until just a few hours ago.” She added, protecting Blaz from the accusations.

Hadeon, quickly, extended one of his claws and placed the sharp, pointed end against Azlyn’s cheek. He pushed down, piercing her flesh; then slowly drug his nail along her cheek, forming a deep gash. Azlyn cried out from the pain, as blood began to drip down her face. Hadeon removed the claw from her flesh and licked her blood from it, reveling in the taste.

“That is PRINCE Reve to you SLAVE!!!!” Hadeon screamed, spittle flying into Azlyn’s fresh wound.

Reve did not say anything to Hadeon about the treatment of his wife. He did not move or make a motion of disproval. He stared on at the scene, a blank expression on his face. He was deeply conflicted at the moment and could not decide on the best course of action. He needed time to think, time to sort his emotions. He had spent the last two years cultivating this new persona, but as he looked at Azlyn, the old Reve was fighting to come to the surface. Causing a war within himself, one that he was not sure of which side he truly wanted to win.

“This slave has tasted too much freedom for far too long. She has forgotten her manners. We will have to make sure that she relearns them in captivity.” Gedeon observed.

Reve could not take the internal struggle any longer. Part of him wanted to run to Azlyn and hold her like he never had before; refusing to ever let her go again. That same part of him wanted to rip Hadeon’s throat out for touching her and causing her pain. Nonetheless, there was still a larger part of him that wanted to storm away from here, leaving Azlyn to the mercy of his brothers and never looking back. She had clearly lain with another demon and produced a child; he could not forget this fact. He allowed the debate to play out in his mind for several minutes before coming to a half-hearted decision.

“Guards, take the prisoner to the dungeon.” Reve instructed, a devilish grin growing across his face. “Blaz, come with me, I will see to your punishment, personally.”

One of the guards came over and hoisted Azlyn up off of the floor; forcing her to stand upright in front of him.

“Prince Reve, I beg you! Blaz has done nothing to deserve punishment! Anything he did, he only did as favor to me. Any punishment that you wish to inflict upon him, I argue, should be meant for me. I take it all upon myself, please, do not harm him!” Azlyn begged for mercy hoping to see a glimmer of the Reve she had known; she did not want to see Blaz harmed for her mistakes.

Azlyn had trusted Reve and she had clearly been wrong to do so. He really had become the ruthless demon that everyone claimed him to be. Reve’s black eyes met Azlyn’s blue ones; where Azlyn had once seen warmth and kindness, she now only saw coldness and emptiness.

“Request denied.” Reve snarled.

Reve grabbed the back of Blaz’s shirt and began leading him out of the stable, roughly.

“I am sorry, Blaz! I did not mean for you to get caught up in this! I am so sorry!” Azlyn cried, as she struggled against the guard holding her.

Reve suddenly stopped in his tracks, turning back to look at Azlyn. Looking right into her face as he said his next words…

“Gedeon…if you would not mind…have Emilie sent to my quarters.”

“Not a problem, brother.” Gedeon replied with a smile.

With that, Reve left, dragging Blaz with him. Leaving Azlyn completely stunned and broken-hearted.