Princess Sarah of Brrisa, Daughter of King Ricard, smiled happily at the little blonde boy running around with a shaggy, white-and-gray haired dog. She herself was sitting underneath a large, shady tree beside a creek, enjoying the soft, overgrown grass and the sweet smell on the air.

"Careful, Toby, don't go too deep in the woods!" she called out, glancing up from her book. The young Prince Tobias made a face.

"Aw, Sarah, I was just wanted to chase a squirrel with Merlin." He whined. Sarah shook her head.

"No, Toby, you know what your mother will do if she finds out I let you go into the woods. Besides, if you did chase that poor animal, my sympathies would be entirely with the squirrel." She shaded her eyes from the light as she glanced up at the sun to see it's placement in the sky. Sighing, she shut her book. "We have to be going back anyway, Toby. Irena will have my head if I make you late for your lessons."

The six year old studied the seventeen year old. "You could stay here if you wanted. The guards will escort me back; there's no reason why you can't stay outside."

Sarah looked around, contemplating how nice a day it was and the chances of incurring her stepmother's, Queen Irena, wrath for letting Toby out of her sight. But the guards would escort him to the castle, and they could protect him far better than she ever could, and it was such a nice day…

"Alright," she said, standing, "But I'm taking you to the horses." And the guards, although they most likely heard everything and are probably on their way here with the horses. Sarah loved her younger brother, but being as he was going to be next king of Brrisa, he was constantly followed by an entourage of armed guards installed by his mother and Ricard. Despite her apparent perfection, she wasn't the king her father wanted, had felt that the kingdom needed, and so had continuously tried to conceive another child—a son—with his first wife, Sarah's mother, until she had died one night birthing another stillborn out of the many that she had birthed before her death. A few years later, after careful consideration, Lady Irena had been Ricard's selection for a new wife. And then some time later, Sarah stood over her baby brother, in awe of what she thought was perfection. His blonde curls, his large blue eyes, his sweet little features…they were everything she thought a little brother, a prince, a king, should be.

But the guards that hovered whenever she was around him, doing nothing but their sworn duty, completely managed to get on her nerves somehow. She would have loved to have spent time with Toby without having at least five other people be around, would have loved to have been trusted with his life as she was with her own; she hadn't had personal guards since Toby's birth.

Toby smiled and accepted the hand she extended towards him, clasping it in his smaller, slightly pudgy one.

"Mama says you're to have visitors soon," the boy said, not realizing just how badly his sister was dreading the coming, would-be suitors their father had scrounged up for her. She shut her eyes briefly.

"Yes, they should be here within the next few weeks." she said, giving her brother a small smile.

"Mama said she hopes you won't be stubborn anymore and will marry one of them already." the child said, not entirely understanding the insult in his words. "She hopes you pick Prince Rutherford."

Sarah frowned slightly at the name; Rutherford of Loomia? She'd met him before at a ball; he'd been an utter bore.

"Irena would," Sarah half muttered, thinking of the fact that Loomia already possessed several alliances with a few of the Demon kingdoms; Brrisa possessed none, and was suffering because of it.

"Will you pick him?" Toby asked curiously.

"No." Sarah responded; she didn't need to think on it. Rutherford was boring and much too concerned with propriety to actually care about it; she'd heard rumors of his silver tongue, and how he particularly aimed it at at ladies of court. "I won't."

"Good; I don't want you to get married." the prince said, grinning. "Then you'd have you to leave, and I want you to stay."

"And who am I to deny the prince?" Sarah laughed, smiling as a group of guards leading two horses (well, one was more a small pony, really) met them.

"The young prince must return to the castle." Sarah said, giving Uris, Toby's head guard, her brother's hand.

"Aye, princess." he said with a nod, not bothering to mention that he'd heard and was coming to collect him. "Shall you be coming with us?"

"No, I'll stay out longer." she could tell he didn't like the idea. "My bow and quiver are on my horse, and I have my dagger. I'll be fine." she said firmly.

"Very well," was the guard's reluctant reply as he handed her the reins to her mare. He turned back to her brother, and lifted him onto his pony. She watched as the guards made a formation around the boy, with Uris leading the horse by his reins, and set off for the castle. Her eyes followed their retreating forms for a moment before walking back to the tree she'd been under, only this time with Petal (her mare) in tow.

Tying the reins to a low tree branch, she sat back down, preparing to start reading again, but she found herself instead simply enjoying the quiet of solitude; no princes to entertain, no parents to appease, no societal expectations...she could just relax, be Sarah. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back, breathing deeply.

What harm would having a little nap do...?

… … ...

Sarah was having a lovely dream; she was wrapped in a cool, silky shroud on a hot, dry day. But the shroud was tangled around her, almost as if someone had rolled it up and placed it on her like a robe or something. When it began to wrap tighter and tighter, Sarah tried to loosen it, make it become comfortable once again.

It was the loud hissing sound coupled with the sudden feeling of being strangled that woke her.

Her eyes popped open, looking down, and she tried to gasp when she saw a huge, black-green snake wound around and over her body, its face nosing against hers, its forked tongue flicking out to taste her skin. She would have screamed as loudly and shrilly as she possibly could have, but the fact that the snake was choking her prevented that.

She tried to gasp for breath, wondering how in the seven hells a snake could ever be that big, but when its face passed over her own, coiling higher up her head, did she see the strange glow and intelligence in its eyes that let her know that this wasn't an ordinary snake.

It was that of the demon variety.

Which meant that it knew what it was doing, on some strange level.

Trying not to panic, Sarah tried to reach for her dagger, but the snake had almost all of its body wrapped around her torso, and her arms were pinned to her sides.

She opened her mouth, fighting to breathe, and closed her eyes as the snake began to squeeze harder.

Oh gods what am I going to do what am I going to do what am I going to do? No one to hear me if I managed a scream, no guards watching me.

No one to save me.

She wriggled, trying to loosen the demon snake's grip on her, but it hissed loudly and crushed her in his coils, causing her to make the loudest of yelps that she could manage. Hot tears coursed down her face as the pressure on her throat became unbearable, and her chest ached for air. Black spots began to eat at her vision, but the need to breathe didn't lessen.

No, I can't faint, I can't. If I faint I'll die...

Suddenly the snake and all of its crushing weight was wrenched off of her, and she greedily sucked air down her throat, wincing and painfully coughing as it irritated the aching muscle. She wound up sprawled on the grass under the tree, clutching at her bruised neck as whoever had saved her tried to kill the snake.

Good luck with that, she thought a little grimly, Demons are hard to kill, especially by a mort–Did he just kill the snake?

Surprised by the angry hissing that had been coming from the snake suddenly cutting off, Sarah, still clutching her throat and still struggling to get her breath back, looked up from under her curtain of dark hair, and met her savior, who had crouched over her after apparently killing the demon.

Masses of stick-straight, wild blonde hair that was styled oh so strangely fell around a thin angular face, short pieces of hair that stuck out on the top falling down to his eyes, slightly obscuring them.

"So, you're not dead then, I take it?" her savior asked wryly with a sharp smile, but he watched her as if she were something wild and foreign, as if at any moment she might start screaming bloody murder.

"I—" she wheezed, "I'm alright."

"Perhaps not quite the right word for your current condition, but you are indeed alive." he said, watching as she tried to sit up. He flinched (flinched?) when she moved, but otherwise stayed beside her. Rubbing at her burning throat, she smiled softly at the man. Strange looking though he was, he had just saved her life and dispatched a demon with a speed she had never seen even the most seasoned warriors use. She balanced herself on one hand, still partly hunched over.

"Thank you," she said, wincing as even those quiet words rubbed like steel wool on her throat. Her voice was rough and hoarse, but he seemed to understand her fairly well. "I'm incredibly grateful—" but when she looked at him squarely, and got a good look at his face, she froze, her tongue still poised to say her next words.

A demon.

Not just any demon, no no, a demon who looked very human at first glance, but once you kept looking, you saw the sharp teeth, the ever-so-slightly pointed tips of his ears underneath all the hair, and that odd glow that emanated from all demons' eyes.

A fae demon, the fastest, most cunning demons of them all, had just saved Sarah's life, and was staring at her in a way that was both resigned and amused.

"Yes?" he prodded, staring at her. "You're incredibly grateful for what? That?" he waved a hand toward the bloody, torn carcass of the snake demon that Sarah immediately averted her eyes from, for fear of the turn it gave her stomach. "Think nothing of it, my lady. I only did it because I can't stand demon beasts. They're so...stupid. But oddly enjoyable to kill." he added, almost an afterthought. He raised an eyebrow at her, as she still gaped in frozen horror. Well, horror was a strong word, but Sarah was a Brrisian, and almost all Brrisians were slightly wary of demons. They plagued the entire kingdom, after all, simply because no alliance had been struck between Brrisa and any kingdom in the demon territory, and as the years had passed, Brrisian mortals had grown frightened of the strange creatures, the chances of a treaty becoming fainter and fainter with every stolen babe and changeling left, with every demolished harvest, and with every spell cast on some poor mortal. Sarah had seen astoundingly beautiful ladies at one ball, and then appear at another a month or two later, only now sporting some grotesque deformity for supposed insult done to some demon. Lady Aria, of Wesfell, had had an enchanting face. While she still possessed it, it now had two large but oddly...dainty horns the color of moonbeams jutting out from her forehead, curving upwards and back. Some of the women who had been trying to comfort the girl had mentioned the fact that the silver-white color went perfectly with her pale complexion, soft blue eyes, and flaxen curls, but everyone who had heard the statements knew that being color-coordinated was a very small comfort to the lady.

Needless to say, Sarah hadn't seen Lady Aria at many balls since the incident.

"Well? Aren't you going to scream, cry for someone to save you from the nasty demon?" he taunted, "Or haven't you enough breath yet?"

Sarah snapped her mouth shut, clacking her teeth together. What did she have to fear from him? He had just saved her, and goodness knows he had no obligation to, and he hadn't tried to harm her...

"Do I need to?" she whispered roughly, staring at him as steadily as she could. He smirked, brow still raised.

"If you're asking if I'll hurt you, then no, I won't." he shrugged. "I get no pleasure from torturing defenseless young things such as yourself. Besides, I would have no desire to deal with the consequences of harming a lady of this country; you are all so bloody quick to kill demons."

Sarah stared. "I...what makes you think I am a lady?"

He gestured with a gloved hand to her gown; a deep, deep emerald that while completely bereft of all and any embellishments, was clearly made from a very fine and expensive fabric, and was perfectly tailored to her form, something that no homespun, aging dress of a common farmer or even wealthy merchant's daughter would own. Besides that, her skin was soft and blemish free, her hair smelled of sweet perfume and was as silky as could be, and she spoke in refined, polished tones.

The epitome of a lady.

His facial expression was calling her an idiot, and she became defensive.

"I could only be a rich merchant's daughter, or the companion to a lady." she said, voice still hoarse and everything between her jaw and her hips ached fiercely. Truthfully, she was surprised nothing was broken, with the amount of pressure that demon had been exerting on her. He laughed.

"No you couldn't; you would have simply been flattered to be mistaken for one of your betters and allowed me to address you as such. Instead, you deny what you are and try to pass yourself off as something you are not for fear of what treatment your title would earn you." he studied her curiously. "Clean fingernails, babe-smooth skin, jewelry..." his eyes fell on her ring and pendant critically. A thin band of silver filigree with a large amethyst, and a fat, gleaming pearl dangling from a gold chain. "Those baubles would have put any merchant back, and being as they would be some of the few pieces of jewelry you owned, you would hardly consider them lounging-by-the-river attire." he shrugged. "Therefore; lady. A very well-connected lady, at that, for you to live near the Brrisa castle. Or do you live in it?" she didn't speak; indecision stilled her tongue. He laughed in his throat.

"Cat got your tongue?"

"No," she said, finally, setting her expression. "And yes, I am a lady." she looked into his eyes; was one pupil larger than the other? "And despite what you say, I am grateful to you, no matter what your reasons were for coming to my aide." She tried to clear her throat, and winced at the spike of pain the action elicited. He watched her, curious.

"You know, as a demon, I could actually heal that for you."

Sarah blinked at him, wondering if he was offering his assistance, or just casually stating that if the whim struck him he could actually heal her injuries.

"I did not know that, thank you for informing me." she finally decided to answer with, resuming her gentle ministrations of trying to assuage the bruising skin by rubbing it. If he offered her his help so be it, but she would not ask for it. He had done far more than his share by saving her life and slaying that demon, and she wouldn't ask anymore of him. Besides, she disliked being indebted to someone, and add in her ingrained dislike of demons...

The demon sent her an annoyed look. "Don't bother with your pretty manners, girl. Do you want me to heal your injuries or not?" he raised both eyebrows in question at her. "Or would you fancy telling your parents of a demon attack?"

She paled; if she had to explain her injuries, which of course she would in order to receive treatment for them, then she would have to explain how she managed to survive a demon snake attack, and then she would have to conjure a savior to receive thanks for saving the princess's life.

And a demon would not be treated kindly as her champion; more likely he would be interrogated about his presence in Brrisa in the first place and probably arrested and tried for attempted assassination or something like that. Was that anyway to treat someone who had saved her life?

She certainly hadn't been raised to think so.

"I wouldn't deny your help if you offered it, but I ask that you not feel obligated to help the "defenseless young thing" you incidentally saved in your endeavor to slay the beast." she said, her tone somewhat dry and mocking despite her scratchy voice. For all her "pretty manners", Sarah could be known to have a witty and occasionally sharp tongue. Being as that was an unfit quality for a princess to possess, she rarely exercised it or risked a tongue lashing from her stepmother, a woman who while as sweet as could be in front of society, could be very harsh indeed when the curtains closed. She sent him a small, mirthless smirk to let him know that she was employing some sarcasm, and he returned it.

"Well, how could I not offer it after your moving display of imploring and beseeching? Appealed to my inner humanity and better nature, you did." he drawled sarcastically, but moved closer to her, hands reaching for her neck. Her eyes widened the closer he got, but she didn't move away or make a noise of protest. His eyes raked over her, likely looking for areas he would need to heal, and he stilled and his peculiar eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I wouldn't object if you minded your pretty manners enough so as to not reach for that dagger on your hip while I do this; it would only be polite."

Sarah just barely refrained from snorting. "Why ever would I stab you? Demon or not, intentions be damned, you saved my life and are now healing my wounds; those are favors I would hardly repay with a knife to the gut." she said derisively, making him grudgingly chuckle.

"And what would you consider decent compensation, my lady? A lovely little curtsy, a chaste buss on my cheek, some handkerchief or shiny bauble?" his voice slid into lower octaves and his eyes teased as his palms touched the base of her neck, making Sarah blush and want to shove him away. "Or would you offer me something a little more...enticing? From the sound of that tongue of yours, you certainly have some spirit in you."

Sarah glared fiercely, but despite herself a faint heat spread across her face. "Did you not say so yourself that you don't enjoy tormenting the defenseless?"

"And am I tormenting you?"

"Hardly," she growled contrarily at his patronizing tone, or tried to, at any rate. Growling hurt worse than clearing her throat; she coughed and prepared to clutch at her aching neck, but suddenly a warmth began spreading through her skin, penetrating deep into her throat muscles and windpipe, flaring briefly as an itchy, tingly pain, but then fading in degrees until there was no sensation at all other than that of his hands on her.

She hesitantly took a deep breath, flexing her arms and torso, and smiled in relief when there was no pain. If the rumors of demon magic were true, than Sarah would return home in the condition she had arrived at the river in; completely unscathed. Her smile was polite but grateful when she looked back at the demon as he removed his hands from her.

"Once again, I thank you." she nodded to him, her voice completely normal, and frowned as a thought suddenly came to her. "You yourself were not hurt, were you?"

He made a rude noise in the face of her genuine concern. "That demon-beast attacked you for a reason; you looked weak. Had you been awake when he'd approached, you yourself might have even been able to scare him off." he jerked his chin to the dagger attached to her belt. "A few good sticks with that and he'd have been slithering away from you as fast as he could. So, being a heavily seasoned demon warrior, I should hope I could manage to kill the thing without sustaining an injury."

Sarah frowned at his rude tone, sitting up with her legs folded under her. "I was merely asking a question. I simply wanted to know if you'd been hurt, considering it would have been my bloody fault."

He raised an eyebrow. "The only thing that is your fault is being stupid enough to be near a known demon-inhabited area with your defenses down and no bloody guards. Honestly. If your family could afford that gown and those jewels, surely hiring a personal guard wouldn't be such a burden."

She opened her mouth to deliver a sharp, devastating retort, only to realize that she didn't have one and was forced to gently close her mouth. Instead of responding she glanced at the sky, wondering the hour, and just barely bit back a curse when she saw that the sun was getting dangerously low in the sky; give it a bit more time, and it would be setting soon. Seeming to notice her questioning of the time, the demon smiled sharply at her.

"Mayhap in the future you will pay closer attention to your surroundings, my lady." he said, and with a wink, seemingly disappeared. Sarah jumped, startled, and twisted around, looking for him and his wild hair. When she didn't spot him, she relaxed and glanced at Petal, who'd done nothing but stand there while her mistress had been attacked by a demon snake and had conversed with her demon savior.

"Pet, it is a wonder we don't sell your worthless hide." Sarah sighed in reprimand at the horse as she untied the reins and elegantly hitched herself onto the pretty light gray mare. "Honestly; not even a whinny of distress when you see me being strangled, or a nervous twitch when you see me conversing with an unknown person? A demon? Humph. Some friend you are." she muttered, then gently started Petal into a slow, easy walk. "Come along Petal; I promised Toby I'd read him a story tonight."

… … ...

The demon, who hadn't actually disappeared but had instead leaped into the branches of the tree the girl had been under, watched as she spoke to her horse and listened to her when they went out of sight.

Odd; he'd expected her to race home, either quaking with suppressed fear or brimming with excitement over her little misadventure and being saved by a demon, dying on the inside to tell someone of the afternoon's events, but instead she merely chided her horse and toddled off home, talking about reading someone a bedtime story.

How odd humans could be, and this black haired, green-eyed woman—no, she wasn't quite a woman yet, not completely—was the oddest yet.

Maybe he might just see what made her so odd?