A/N: I was bored. No, seriously, I was bored.
Cabba had just finished collecting the harvest for his grandparents when he heard a faint crying coming from the woods. Curious, he wandered toward the source of the noise, shocked to discover a small girl curled up against a tree bawling her eyes out.
He squatted down to her level. She stopped crying long enough to gaze back at him. She looked about his age, maybe a bit older. At the very most, she was seven years old.
"Oi," she growled, hiding her face again. "Leave me alone, farmer kid."
He ignored her demand. "What's wrong?"
"I said leave me alone!" Something in her snapped and Cabba felt himself tumbling backward.
He sat up and rubbed the back of his head, twigs sticking out of his hair. "H-how...?"
The girl sniffled. "Shut up."
Slowly, Cabba made his way back to her just as she began to cry once more. This time, she didn't knock him away with whatever power she possessed or snap at him. Her body shuddered as she let loose a powerful sob. Awkwardly, Cabba rubbed comforting circles on her back.
"Why are you still here?"
"Because you're sad. And my mommy used to say not to leave people alone when they're sad. Because even though they say they want to be alone, they really don't."
She rubbed her eyes. "Why aren't you scared of me?"
Now Cabba was confused. "Why would I be?"
"Because I'm a demon, duh!"
For the first time, Cabba noticed the horns on either side of her head, curving delicately upward. "So?"
The girl's jaw nearly dropped. "What do you mean so? I'm dangerous! I'm the princess of all demons! You should fear me, human!"
"But I'm not scared."
"I know... which is why you're weird."
"Hey! That's mean!"
The girl stuck out her tongue at him. "I'm the embodiment of evil! I'm supposed to be mean!"
"No one's born evil," said Cabba. "That's silly."
She wrinkled her nose at him. "You really are weird... what's your name, farmer boy?"
"I'm Cabba. What's yours?"
The little demon girl puffed out her chest. "I'm Caulifla, the princess of all demons! Bow before me!"
To her dismay, Cabba did no such thing.
"You really have no idea how to treat royalty, do you?"
"Umm..."
"Save it." A thoughtful expression crossed her features as she stood up, a grin on her face. Her eyes, previously red from crying, had now faded to a pink. "Bet you can't catch me!"
"You're on!"
Laughter filled the lonely woods.
Two twelve year olds sat in the field, the latter showing off her super duper supernatural powers to the other.
"Don't lower your hands so close to the ground!" Cabba cried out in exasperation. "What if you burn the grass?"
Caulifla huffed, making the fire disappear from her palms. "I won't! I have something called self control, you know. You're no fun, farmer boy."
"I just want you to be careful," Cabba reasoned.
Both of them had changed significantly since the day that they had met, especially Caulifla. Her horns had gotten longer and curvier and she now towered over Cabba, who, despite growing, had not grown as much as his friend.
Caulifla reignited her hands. "Fine! Watch this, then!" With a great flourish, she began to juggle the balls of fire in her hands, increasing the number of fireballs occasionally.
"Wow," Cabba marvelled. "Okay, that's pretty cool."
"Isn't it?!" She tossed all of the fire into the air and directed them into her open mouth single file. She burped, smoke coming out of her maw. "Ta-da!"
"Cool! I wish I could eat fire... then I could keep warm during winter."
"And that's why humans will always be inferior to demons," Caulifla gloated, smirking. "Bet you wish that you could do half the things I can!"
Cabba scowled. "Hey, humans aren't that bad either. We can do a lot of cool stuff too."
"Oh yeah? Like what? What kind of talent do you have that I don't?"
Cabba tapped his chin contemplatively. "Hmm... well, my grandpa is teaching me how to duel."
"Duel? Like, as in swordplay and stuff?"
"Yeah, like that. He says I'm real good at it."
"Oh... I guess I can't do that... but that's only because I've never bothered to learn!" she shouted defensively. "Once I finish learning how to use a sword, I'm gonna challenge you!"
"Haha! Good luck with that!" Cabba grinned. "I'm going to become an Elite and serve under the King of Sadala."
"Elite? Why would want to be an elite?"
"So I can fight and defend innocents."
Caulifla raised an eyebrow. "Right..."
"What are you going to be?"
"I'm the heir to my father's throne, so ruler of the demon kingdom then."
"Sweet! That sounds so cool."
Caulifla smirked. "I know! I'm gonna be the best ruler ever."
Cabba had no doubt that she would be.
Eighteen. He was eighteen now. Old enough to enlist for the King's army. Cabba smiled as he practised his duelling against an invisible opponent with the sword his grandfather had crafted for him.
He was extremely proud of it - proud of the eagle-shaped pommel, proud of the bronze hilt and proud of the sleek, sharp blade that looked like it could cut through just about anything.
Tomorrow, he would begin his journey to Sadala's capital to join the Elites. His heart pounded just at the thought of exacting justice to cruel and wicked criminals.
"Yo."
Cabba turned to face Caulifla, who was levitating an inch or two above he ground. "Hey! What are you doing here? I thought you said your father increased his ruler training."
"He did, but I snuck out." That familiar smirk crept across her face. "Not even the Demon King himself can keep me locked up."
"Looks like it." He wiped the sweat he had accumulated under the afternoon sun off with the back of his hand. "Wanna help me practise?"
"Sure."
With a poof of shadow, Caulifla summoned a blade into her hands, getting into the stance that her various tutors had taught her.
Cabba struck first, slashing his blade with great skill, though one could easily see that he was restraining himself.
Caulifla parried the blow with expertise. She too had put herself under restraints. There was no need to go all out in a friendly spar.
When they finally stopped, the sun had already set and the stars had come out. The pair, now exhausted, lay on the grass beside each other, staring up at the night sky. Their swords lay forgotten nearby.
"I'm going to join the army," Cabba declared after many moments of silence. "I'm leaving tomorrow."
Caulifla didn't look at him when she spoke. "Ah... that's your dream. Right. Honestly, I was hoping you'd forgotten about it."
"Of course not. I've wanted to join the army since forever."
"Why?"
"To help others."
His answer visibly frustrated her to no ends. "But why! Why would you want to help others? Why are you so goddamn kind? The world is full of scum. Altruism will get you nowhere."
"Wrong. You're right about there being scum... but if I don't step up, who will?"
"I don't know. Other people, I guess."
"And what if they all have the same mindset as you?"
"Then the world is screwed."
"Which is why I want to prevent that from ever happening."
Caulifla sat up, frowning. "The world isn't worth saving. You can't fix what's broken beyond repair."
"I can try."
"Then you'll just be wasting your time."
"It's not a waste if I can make some sort of difference in the world."
"Farmer boooy!" Caulifla groaned. "Do you have an answer for everything?"
Cabba smiled. "Regarding this, yeah. Remember I've always wanted this my whole life."
The guy wasn't kidding. Caulifla could see that much. "Okay, I get it... how long are you going to be gone?"
"I don't know," Cabba admitted. "Months. Years, maybe."
"Tsk, of course..." Caulifla sighed through her nose. "I'm gonna miss you, farmer boy."
"I'll miss you too. I'll come back and visit though. I promise."
"You'd better," Caulifla warned. "Or I'm kicking your ass to the demon kingdom and back."
Again, Cabba had no doubt that she would. So instead if arguing, he tucked into her side. She seemed to be taken a little off guard at first but relaxed, curling around his broad frame.
Above, the stars shone brightly, winking down upon them.
After four years of intensive training as a soldier of the King, Cabba had graduated as a trainee. Today, he would venture home for the first time since he had entered the capital. He could just imagine it now... the fresh country air, the scent of the pies that his grandma baked...
He was finishing up his packing when a fellow soldier burst into his quarters. "Cabba! The Commandant is ordering a mission and we need you on the team."
"What?! Now?!"
"Yeah, now! We just got a distress signal from the countryside." His gaze darkened. "Some filthy demons are up to no good. They're burning all the fields!"
Cabba swore and followed the soldier out to where the Commandant had gathered the soldiers required for the mission.
They were quickly debriefed and sent on horseback to where the chaos was happening. By foot, the journey would take at least a day. But these horses were bred for running. They would reach the destination in little more than an hour.
Cabba shuddered as he remembered what the Commandant had said. Demons were burning fields in Doriah. Doriah, his hometown. Where he had grown up with his grandparents. Were they safe? He needed to know. And what about Caulifla? Was she involved in this?
"Hey, you okay?" his fellow soldier asked him.
"Fine," Cabba answered curtly. "We better hurry."
They all nodded grimly and rode on.
When they arrived, it was total carnage. There was no field left untouched by the raging fires ignited by hellspawn. Hectares of crops were destroyed. And though that disgusted Cabba to no end, having been a farmer for most of his life, it was what they came across next that ripped his heart to shreds and made his stomach lurch.
"Fucking hell," someone swore to the side.
While the fire raged, wooden poles had been set up everywhere. The decapitated heads of innocent villagers were staked upon the sharp, top ends of the poles.
Someone else vomited at the sight of the gore.
"Those demons will pay!" another soldier spat hatefully. "Come on, men, let's ride!"
The thunder of hooves sounded as they charged off into the chaos, swinging their swords at unsuspecting demons.
But Cabba did not concern himself with these lowlifes. From what Caulifla had told him, there were three levels of hellspawn. This disgusting act seemed like the work of simple level one demons.
Cabba's current concern was slaying the leader of this small demon armarda. Kill the leader the grunts will have no one to flock to. His fellow soldiers were more than capable of taking care of themselves. Cabba had a level two or three demon to slaughter. To make it pay for all the innocents they had harmed and killed.
There. A tall, looming shadow towering over two smaller shadows behind a smokescreen. Coughin, Cabba burst through the screen of smog to protect the humans being harmed by the head honcho of Doriah's attackers.
Cabba drew his sword just in time, his blade meeting another. If he hadn't arrived in time, there surely would have been more innocent blood spilled.
"Farmer boy?"
Cabba didn't even realize he had his eyes shut until the voice forced him to open them. "Caulifla?" He shook his head. "What are you doing?!"
"Having the time of my life!" Caulifla crowed, standing up even taller, her black cloak flapping in the wind. "This is my initiation raid! Once I complete this mission, I'll be the ruler of the demon kingdom!" At Cabba's horrified expression her gaze flattened. "I know this looks bad, but - "
"You're hurting so many people! You've killed them! You were about to kill more!"
"I have to, farmer boy. It's my job."
"Your job?! You're willing to kill people just for a fucking job?!"
"I don't have choice!" she screamed, her power flaring. She seemed to grow even taller than her full height. "You think I don't have any qualms doing this?! It's the reason my father sent me on this raid in the first place! To get over useless sentiments for you pathetic humans!"
"You don't have to be like them!" he roared back vehemently. "You're different! You've always been different! You're not supposed to be like this, Caulifla! Where the hell has my best friend gone?!"
"I'm right here, Cabba. I'm still me." She turned away. "But I've grown up now. I have big shoes to fill."
Fury boiled in Cabba's bones. She wasn't even treating this seriously! But his anger dissipated when he remembered something. "Where are my grandparents?"
"Huh?" A shadow flickered in her eyes. "Why do you want to know?"
"Why wouldn't I want to know!" Cabba tightened his grip on his sword, the very same one his grandfather had made for him.
"Because... I don't think you'll like the answer."
"Stop fucking around and just tell me - "
"They're dead. I killed them."
Cabba nearly stumbled. "Wh-what?"
"I'm sorry." The remorse in her voice was genuine but Cabba couldn't care less. "Nothing could have saved them from me. Part of the raid is to kill indiscriminately."
"WHY?! HOW COULD YOU?!"
"Because I'm evil!" Caulifla stepped forward, flames encircling her in an impressive display of power. "I have been evil the day we met! I have always been evil! You're blind if you haven't seen that!"
"Shut up. Shut the fuck up. I'm going to kill you. I'm going to kill you for killing them! For slaughtering hundreds of people!"
Caulifla stared at him, her gaze unreadable. Then she formed another sword in her hand. "A duel, then. A fight to the death. I always did say I would challenge you. I'm stronger than you, Cabba. You're not going to win."
"I don't need to win. I only need to kill you. You murdered my grandparents!"
"And many more."
Two blades clashed, sparks flying as metal met metal.
The fires had long been extinguished.
The soldiers of the King had managed to fight off the last of the demons and evacuated the remaining survivors. They had lost many today to vicious hellspawn. But they did not look back. Only forward.
Far, far away, in the middle of a grassless grey field, human and demon lay in the ash, their breathing raspy and shallow. One was clearly worse off than the other, though it was obvious that both were on the brink of death.
It was a matter of who would die first.
It started to rain and one pair of eyes closed. The water became tinted as aqua mixed with blood.
"Pathetic," Caulifla gargled, her throat full of blood and mucus. "Why don't you hold on a little longer, farmer boy? Weren't you going to kill me?" She tried to move but she was paralyzed from the neck down. She huffed in morbid amusement. "But I killed you first... Does that mean I win?"
Her only answer was the crackle of thunder as the squall worsened.
"... Idiot, farmer boy. We're both idiots. I guess that's what made us stick together. What made us best friends. It's funny you know, h-how we end up killing each other." She paused to hack and cough. "I guess that some friendships just aren't meant to last. You hurt me more than any blade ever would."
Her hair, now damp from the pouring rain, fell around her face. A pathetic imitation of a halo.
She was no angel.
"H-hey, farmer boy? Let's meet again... in another universe... w-where we don't have to..."
Caulifla's eyes closed.
"... kill each other."
A/N: It was literally 3AM when I wrote most of this so forgive me for any errors :P
Normal people: Who writes fics at 3AM?
Me: *gets out of bed* Oh boy, 3AM!
Also, there was no Kale. I was gonna put her in as Cabba's fiancée but I scrapped the idea in the end.