Opalescent

Len's a cold, cynical demon, forced to remain caged in and be part of a humiliating circus act. Every day is a meaningless rush until the Ringmaster drags in a lovely human girl with opalescent eyes to be his playmate... As a sinful romance unfurls between human and demon, Len must find a way to protect this new, fragile thing in his life before she's torn away like everything else...


Chapter 1

The New Girl


From where he's sitting, Len can smell blood. It isn't much, but it's enough to give him slight chills. No doubt that will be his next meal. No matter how many times he's said so, the Ringmaster forces him to drink blood. He isn't a vampire; that adds insult to injury. What he really wants is actual human food. After being on Earth for so many years, he's developed a craving for pizza. His stomach turns at the thought of drinking even more of the disgusting crimson liquid.

As Len pushes his messy hair away from his forehead, he notices that his hair has grown quite long in the demeaning cage. Of course, they will never cut it. But the longer his hair grows, the closer he comes to being an actual demon again. He tugs the hair tie off his wrist and wraps it around the extra hair against his neck, letting it thump in a small ponytail against his skin. Now his curved horns are exposed, just as the Ringmaster likes it. He wants everyone to see the freak he is. A freak.

A noble, proud demon turned into a freak for a human's amusement. The thought enrages Len, but he's too bitter to care anymore. No company in the terrible cage has hardened his heart into practically ice at this point. It used to drive him mad; he had been a young demon, after all, only a hundred and thirty one years old.

"Hey, freak! You ready, yet?" Len's fists clench, and his claws dig into his impenetrable skin. The cuffs are special, having sapped his immense power. They hold all the power. If only he could break out of the wretched cuff, he would be so powerful that he could annihilate the whole circus. But with even one, he had the power of a normal, weak human. It took only two guards to overpower him, and after a while, Len just stopped running. It wasn't worth it.

"I asked you if you were ready, freak! I want an answer." Len growls loudly as the collar around his neck is yanked. His eyes flash red with bloodlust and his sharp canines are easily visible as he glares furiously down at the demeaning black-haired human.

The boy swallows; Len may not have his power, but he's terrifying. "Yeah, whatever. Growling like a right dog, are ya? You'll like today's acts. You get to do tricks for us. Like a dog." He chortles. Len growls even louder now, the tremors ripping through his chest as he's yanked out of his cage. Last time, he was forced to don glitter and let the audience play with his horns. They wrenched his mouth open and let the humans run their fingers over his teeth.

What goodies would they have in mind for him today, he wondered?

Who cares? Why doesn't he just kill himself in that stupid cage? Who would care? And that would leave the Ringmaster down his most popular act. Len is very good-looking too, so he's especially popular around the girls who want to play with his hair and mess with his horns. With his ruffled hair, thunderstorm and lightning blue eyes, and demonic charm, it is no question that Len has the audience in his favor.

"And we now present the dangerous demon lured very clearly from the depths of Hell themselves!" Len supposes it's a good thing they didn't shave his head to expose the horns, because then he would lose a lot of his popularity factors.

How he loathes the Ringmaster. There is no one Len would rather have dead. The audience is sick, the Ringmaster is a greedy, arrogant degenerate, and...

Who is she?

Len's eyes are drawn to the human girl seated beside the Ringmaster, her hands loosely bound in front of her and her head down as if she's scared to look up. But when she does look up, Len thinks that he finally has a little bit of salvation from the hellhole he's in.

The first word that comes to mind is opals; her eyes shimmer and ripple like they change color when she moves her head. They are like the very gemstone, iridescent.

Len's thrown forward onto his knees, and the spell is broken. He growls again, fangs poking past his lips and horns exposed in the tinny light. The boy from before comes out and decides today is a day to taunt Len. He smirks, lifting a pale of water and splashing it all over the demon. The humiliation of it all enrages Len to the point where a roar thunders from his chest and his eyes flash blood red in his fury. But there's little else he can do.

She's disgusted, and it makes him feel better. There's loathing in her eyes, and it's not directed towards him, but the Ringmaster. Len exhales as another bucket soaks him down to his spine. He grimaces but takes it, trying his hardest not to react to the water. The audience quickly grows bored, and the Ringmaster's smirk fades. He frowns, gesturing to call for the next act.

"Now, we will see this brute feed on animal meat." Len hates this routine with a passion. They give him a chunk of meat of sorts and expect him to tear into it brutally, making use of his weakening canines. It does help him put the fangs into use, but there's something he despises about being abused like this, and who wouldn't. The girl's opalescent eyes are glittering with something Len cannot place, something he hasn't seen for such a long time...

...Care?

Len rips into the meat, trying not to focus on the audience, but rather on his teeth. He gives them ample practice and gives the audience a show as he tears apart piece by piece, wishing it were the Ringmaster he was tearing into instead. He can hear them gasp, he can hear the murmurs. That word ... Freak ... is thrown around without abandon. Of course, before he's allowed to go back, he's forced to do menial, idiot tricks like he's a right animal. But eventually, it's over, and Len, clothes still singed from jumping through rings of fire, is allowed back into his pathetic cell.

But this time, he has a visitor.

"Len," the Ringmaster greets him amiably, but Len knows it's just an act. Because within a second, the Ringmaster slaps him across the face. If Len wasn't in such a pathetically weak human form, he would have lashed out, claws and all, and ripped into the Ringmaster's neck. But as it is, he stays silent, growling in such a quiet tone that the Ringmaster cannot hear him. "Len, when I tell you to react, I want you to react. Even if you are not irritated by the water, I still expect a reaction from you, do I make myself clear?" His tone is still as sweet as poisoned honey.

Len's fury radiates through his eyes, but the defeated demon he is, he nods. There is little else he can do.

The man is a monster. He has killed more people than Len's entire race has or ever will kill.

"Also, I brought you a playmate."

Len feels a flutter in his chest when he sees the girl with the beautiful eyes thrust into his cage along with him, a tangle of thin arms and legs. She looks petrified, but also at the same time, she looks relieved. Len stares coldly at the Ringmaster; what is he thinking? This girl is now a subject of his brutality as well? Len feels even more defeat than he had before. Even if he wanted to, there is no way that he can help this girl in his state.

"Take good care of her," the Ringmaster smiles cruelly. "She will be part of the act eventually, so try not to eat her, dog."

Len wants to kill her right then and there; death would be far better than being forced to take part in the cruelty of the circus. There is no doubt that whatever torture can take place, this girl will be forced to undertake it. She's a girl, too... He doesn't want her to be put through this. If only he could crush her neck, but he's not strong enough to do even that. Yet, there's a selfish part of him. There's a selfish part that is glad that she's going to go through this with him. There's a selfish part that had craved company, and now has received it.

He has never been so guilty to have a wish granted.

He wishes he had the choice to be killed by something.

But unfortunately, he never had that choice.


Rin cannot be more disgusted with the treatment of the person -demon?- that sits across from her. At the moment, he looks more like a curious child as he examines her with cold eyes. They are a dark blue-gray thunderstorm, with streaks of lightning. Is he really a demon? Out there, he certainly looked like one, with blood trailing from his mouth and eyes the same color.

After the Ringmaster left, there was an awkward silence, and there is still one. The two observe each other, neither quite giving much of a reaction. All Rin wants to do is bask in the relief of the Ringmaster leaving her; after she was kidnapped, this is the first time the wicked, ruthless creature has left her alone. The sickly feeling that hovers over Rin has not yet left her. She doesn't know if the demons thoughts are all impure as well, but somehow, she cannot imagine that they would be.

Somehow, she trusts this demon more than the Ringmaster.

Rin figures she should introduce herself. But as soon as she inches closer, he growls at her, sending her back to her corner. At this distance, she can see the horns curling from his head, pointing upwards towards the top of the cage. He's very handsome, all tousled golden hair and clear skin. There are rusty cuffs around his wrists that glow, Rin assumes, with his power. That must explain his weakness.

"What have they done to you," she finally murmurs, and he stares at her unfathomably for the longest time. The smirk that wrestles with his mouth is bitter and defeated, rancorous and even a little foreboding.

"The same thing they're going to do to you," he whispers, still smiling. He turns to fully look at her, then, gazing through his long bangs at her face. "What is your name."

Rin shifts, her knees rubbing against the stone. "Rin."

"Welcome to Hell, Rin." he says before turning over and ignoring her. She sees his stiff shoulders, hears his low growl as he stares outside of the cage at the stone outside. She cannot blame him; he's completely broken, it would seem.

Now the only question left for Rin to wonder is...

What are they going to do with her?


Um... Demon Len FTW?

I love him... Always wanted a story with Len as a demon... So... Here it is! :D

This might contain dark sexual themes, dark ... gory themes, and hints of torture. If I insult any of you, please tell me in a PM.

I mostly listened to creepy music box music while I did this, but it's not going to be too horror-y. Just creepy. Sad. Frightening. And wrought with romance, of course. Please review so I know if I should keep going! Thank you:)