Summary: Demons are real and one of them may have feelings. Gross.
Re. The Demon's Humanity
There was once a story, now lost or forgotten by those who had experienced it. A story of a demon who fell in love with a human, who in turn loved him with all her heart, and the tragedy that resulted because of their desires.
The story began in a land not too far from here but in a time long past. This was during a time when magic had not yet been revived. Therefore, demons from hell who rose to the surface could only survive within areas that contained their own source of magic.
Because in a story where the magic community coexisted with humans, of course demons would be real.
The demon had followed its smaller brethren to the human realm to keep an eye on the mischievous evil-doer. It was technically against their laws to mingle in on earth with humans even for a short time. But that rule was so loosely enforced that it was broken more often than it should. It happened rarely, but enough for humans to fear demonkind. Therefore, getting caught was not an option, not unless they wanted to be experimented upon and trapped forever.
They chose to hide in the trees surrounding a manor protected by a philosopher's stone adorned as the horn of a unicorn. They may had been a little far from the energy source, but it was a small discomfort they could ignore.
Especially if they planned to terrorize humans for their energy.
One of the demons leaned against one of the trees, its dark form flickering and blending in with the rest of the shadows. "How do you take pleasure in devouring humans? Why not simply devour one of the stones itself?"
Its brethren scoffed in its place perched on the branches. "That's because you don't know how to have fun, ◼◼◼◼◼. If you've truly devoured one of the humans before you would know." The smaller demon peers through the trees and licks its lips once it sees two women come into the vicinity. "Especially those they call witches. They're the best! Abundant with magical energy and appealing. What's not to like?"
"We feed to feed. There's no point in putting in this extra effort."
"That's what you say." Despite its shadowy form, the other demon could see its malicious grin clearly. "Why don't you give it a try? Maybe you'll learn to like it."
"Do what you will. I have no interest in your sport."
The small demon shrugged. "Suit yourself."
It jumped off the branch and towards the women, leaving the other demon leaning against the tree. Still, it could not help its curiosity at this game. What was it about humans that enticed their species so much? Why would they go through the dangers just to experience this one moment of thrill?
It didn't know. So the demon poked its head from behind the tree trunk to observe the other demon catch its prey.
A scream pierced through the enclosure of trees. They were far enough that the demon could not hear anything else. But it could clearly see its brethren stepping close to the terrified humans while making itself as large and menacing as possible.
There were two; a young girl and an older woman. Both had such similar physical features that they could had passed for twins if not for their clear age difference. The demon could not take its eyes off of the women's wavy, platinum blonde hair. No other human had it seen before had such an appearance.
It reminded the demon of the angels who tormented them and locked their species in the deepest depths of purgatory.
There was something about the older woman's stance that confused the demon. She held her wand in front of her with a guard obviously untrained and naive. But she stood in front of the younger girl regardless of her own fear.
The hopeless gesture made its brethren smirk. It only made the demon want to gag.
It was the other girl who drew his attention away. On the ground with tears budding in her eyes, she stared up at the older woman with her mouth open, saying something that the demon could not pick up even with its heightened sense of audition. She too was trembling, but it did not look like she had the strength to stand like the other woman.
The demon turned away and clutched the center of its core.
(Why… why is it so painful to watch this vulnerability? Why is my energy clenching when I see this distress? I thought demons were supposed to take pleasure in the suffering of humans, not-)
The demon's ears perked at the distinct sound of pierced flesh. When it looked back, it saw that the other demon had lunged forward and latched its fangs and claws into the older woman's body. With a firm grip on the head, it ripped off the woman's head and let the body drop onto the ground with a thump.
The young girl did not scream. No sound came out from a gaping mouth that clearly wanted to cry. All she did was stare at the decapitated body as red life stained the green grass red.
The offending demon threw the decapitated head to the side with a jerk of its head. Blood dripped down from its pearly white fangs, contrasting with the dark shadows of its form. It began to stalk forward to catch the other girl before she could regain her bearings and flee.
The demon by the tree froze.
This is the hunting pattern of demons.
This is how our brethren live.
This is how we eat.
This is how we pleasure.
This is-
(-not acceptable!)
The demon leapt from the trees in a blur and jumped onto the back of the smaller demon right as it towered over the girl. It pulled back and threw its brethren down with it to the ground.
"Run! Run and don't look back!" was what the demon wanted to say. However, all that came out was a series of indistinct gurgles that only served to terrify the girl.
But that seemed enough to activate her flight instincts. The girl jumped to her feet and raced out of the enclosure, presumably to safety. Once she was out of sight, the demon relaxed and allowed its brethren to free itself from its grasp.
"What are you doing?!" the smaller demon roared in its native tongue.
The demon pulled back speechless. "I…"
(What was I doing?)
"Have you lost your mind? That was my prey. We're supposed to eat humans, not save them!" The smaller demon stood and looked toward the direct the girl had ran off. "Just sit there and think about what you just did. I'm catching the rest of my dinner."
The demon startled. "No!" It leapt back up and held the other demon in place.
"Let- What the hell are you doing?!"
The demon didn't know. It didn't know how to answer that. It just knew that it had to prevent this monster from attacking another human. It didn't think it could stand watching another life bleed in its presence. Not like that, not ever again.
Not that girl.
The weight below the demon suddenly disappeared, causing it to fall forward and brace itself on the grass. It stared blankly at the empty space below its form.
The other demon was gone. It did not slowly disappear or lose its form. It had simply vanished into thin air, as if the demon had absorbed its brethren without its knowledge.
"What-?"
The demon's form began to shimmer and flicker with the wind.
By the time the young girl returned with help, all that was left was the remains of the older woman but no demon at all.
How did this story end? Just there? Or perhaps it was after the demon had been taken back to hell and punished for completely erasing the existence of one of its brethren to protect a human?
Banishment. Exile to the human world to mingle with prey that the demon had so much affection for. Learn what true happiness is.
And then watch as it cannot come to be.
Or perhaps the story ended at the older woman's funeral? The young girl had also attended, along with her younger sister, uncle, loyal servants, and others who wished to pay the deceased their respects. With barely controlled emotions, the girl watched as her mother's casket was lowered into the ground to join the rest of their family. It was only after everyone had left except for her sister did she release the tears she held in for the entire procession.
At that moment, a young girl had been forced to become a young woman and take the title her deceased mother left behind as the new head of the House of Cavendish. All through the ritual brought by the Venusian eclipse not a week later.
No, neither of those two marked the ending of this story.
For this was only the beginning.
Author's Notes:
Well **** me I'm starting another story. To be fair, this serves as the prologue for my Dianakko week entries, which will be a fully connected story using all seven prompts (and more!)
Which means some of the prompts might be… shoehorned in just to fit with the narrative. But there is Diakko! I wasn't going to initially but I guess this forces me to write one thing for Dianakko week instead of something separate.
Contrary to what this prologue may indicate, I will make Diakko the main characters/pairing. There of course will be a second pairing, but it'll coincide with our lovable idiots as they dance around their own budding feelings.
I can't add Bernadette as a character asldjslkfjfsdh. So that other OC you see listed is meant to be the other half of the other pairing.
Everything is going to be a mess I love it.
I might be beating the bush with all these stories focused on Diana's family. But since I don't see this kind of story in the LWA fandom as often, I told myself "why not?" XD So sorry guys; here's another version.
I feel like I'm betraying Arthur. Am I betraying him by creating a brand new idea? Oh well too bad.
Fun Fact:
This is planned to be a slowburn. For both pairings. Heh.