A/N: Thank you to everyone who has given this story a chance.


Chapter Two: From One to the Other

Gelda followed the demon down the wide path that led from the castle. She had to move quickly to keep up with him, and held the skirt of her dress tightly in her hands when the path became steep. She had no idea where they were going, no idea where he was taking her, and Gelda looked continually over her shoulder, half expecting her father and the Vampires to storm out of the castle behind them.

They were nearing the line of trees that started the forest beyond Edinburgh when Gelda drew up short. "Stop!" she called, hating that it came out as a strangled cry. She had never been this far out of the castle before, and the combination of watching her father be defeated in a fight and her uneasiness of the demon she was now bound to had set her nerves to the absolute edge.

"What?" he snarled back at her, turning on her suddenly, and Gelda felt herself shrink backwards a few steps.

Her chest heaved as she steadied her courage. "Where are you taking me?" she asked slowly.

Zeldris looked at her with such contempt she felt the urge to hide. "I'm a servant of the Demon King. Where do you think we are headed?" She bristled from his tone, but decided to ignore it for the time being. That is, until he turned away and said, "You really are stupid, princess." His eyes narrowed on her even as hers widened in shock.

The dread and anxiety inside of her had boiled over into a seething fury at his insult. Suddenly she didn't care how powerful this creature was, or the fact that he won her hand. She was now determined to make him understand his place. "How dare you," she said viciously. "You will not speak to me this way. I don't care what just happened, I'll be damned before I go with someone like you—"

"Do you think you have some sort of choice?" he interrupted. He took a step closer to her, his eyes locking with hers. Gelda felt once again caught by his gaze, unable to do anything but wait for his next word. Zeldris dragged his eyes down her form, from her wide eyes to her slender neck, over the dress that hugged her curves, to the ornate slippers on her feet. She felt her skin flushed under his attentions, wondering what he was thinking as he stared at her. Gelda pictured her father again, laying on the ground with the demon blade slicing his neck, and felt fear begin to creep back up her spine.

Then his eyes slid back up to her face, and Gelda felt at once embarrassed and exposed and insulted. He looked at her strangely for a moment before a sly smile crept across his face. "What's wrong, princess?" he mocked, stepping towards her slowly. "Are you scared?"

Unwilling to give anything away, Gelda forced herself to relax her shoulders and smooth a composed look on her face. "No," she said, keeping her voice even.

The smile remained frozen on his mouth, but the look in Zeldris' eyes went cold. With only a few strides he closed the gap between them, and he roughly reached out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her body against his viciously. His body was hard against her, both arms wrapping around her easily, and Gelda's breath caught in surprise. Her hands flew to his shoulders and she pushed, hard, but could not budge herself from his grip. "Let go of me!" she said sharply.

"I told you," he said with a bit of a snarl. One hand moved down her back to grip her just shy of where her hips flared, making her gasp at his aggressive touch. "I'm taking you to the demon realm."

There was a sudden rush of wind, and Gelda realized that he was using Teleportation magic. She couldn't help the shout of alarm as she felt her body tremble, and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, suddenly afraid of being dropped or left behind. A feeling of terrible cold washed over her, like a douse of ice water, and a black, swirling darkness enveloped them. Instinctively she pressed her face into his chest.

Then, it was suddenly gone. The air dropped, the light returned, and with a shuddering gasp, Gelda looked up… and was astonished to find they were still just outside of Edinburgh. "What… what was that?" she choked.

Zeldris' grip on her turned painful, and she yelped as she tried to push him away. He looked over her shoulder with a menacing stare that made her pause. "I should have killed that fool of a king," he growled, his voice even despite the violence behind his words.

Surprisingly, Gelda felt stung at his words. If he dared to speak this way about Izraf, how much contempt did he hold for her? "What does my father have to do with this?" she bit out sharply. She waited for an answer, but when he continued staring into the distance, she shot out, "Are we just going to stand here all day?"

Those eyes returned to her, and Gelda could not help the shiver that breezed down her spine. "No, princess," he said evenly. "We're walking."

"Walking?!" she cried as he gripped her by the arm and pulled her with him as he turned and strode through the trees. Without even a thought she fought against him, trying to wrench herself out of his grip. "Walking to what? Where?" They continued over several more yards before she finally managed to pull him back, forcing him to turn and look at her. "I'm not walking another step until you tell me what we are doing!"

"We're going to the demon realm," Zeldris ground out, giving her a bit of a shove. "The only way to get there is to use Teleportation. There are places in Britannia that serve as gateways. Only a demon's power can open the gate." He took in a long, deep breath before continuing, "That fight with your cursed vampire king has drained my magic to the point where I cannot open it. So, we need to go to the closest portal."

Gelda stepped backwards, shaking her head. "No, no, no. I'm not going all that way. If you can't—"

"You say that as if you have a choice, princess," the demon barked. "You belong to the Demon King now. I'm taking you to him."

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. Her father, the fight, leaving Edinburgh behind was all pushed to the side as terror seized her again. And this time, it filled her so completely that she felt lightheaded. "The Demon King?" she breathed, her hand flying to her chest. "You're taking me… to the Demon King?"

Zeldris snorted. "What did you think I was doing here?" He raised his brows slightly before continuing, "Did you think—did you think that I was the one who wanted you?"

But Gelda was no longer listening. "The Demon King," she whispered to herself. This was real, this was happening, and her heart seized. The stories about him were terrifying, how he could create demons with the snap of his hand, slaughter armies with his sword. He commanded the most fearsome race of beings in Britannia, and was the only person alive that her father feared. The hand on her chest clenched her dress tightly as she tried to keep herself from crying out.

He reached for her again, but Gelda jerked away from him. Suddenly she was struck with the realization that nothing was going to change for her, after all. She was leaving her position as the princess of the vampires behind, only to become the queen of the demons. She was going from one life of solitude and obedience to another. One master to another. One terror to the next. And Gelda decided, then and there, she would not be a slave any longer.

"I won't go with you!" she shrieked, and then she turned and ran crashing into the forest. She heard the demon shout at her to stop, but she went as fast as she could, calling on her vampire powers to aid her escape. Vampires were known for their speed and their stealth, and Gelda figured she would have no trouble evading the demon, particularly if his power had depleted to the point where he could not even use Teleportation on his own.

Her lungs screamed and her legs ached, but Gelda ran with all her strength, not caring or knowing what direction she headed, or where she was going. She yelped as her dress caught on a branch, but she quickly tugged it away and was moving again, gliding through the trees.

Suddenly there was a shadow covering her, and she stumbled. Startled, she glanced over her shoulder in time to see the demon's face looming over hers. Then she was crashing to the ground, her legs and arms pinned by a solid form that bent over her heaving and shaking body with an infuriating indifference. "Let go of me!" she shouted, pulling in vain against his tight grip on her wrists.

Gelda tried to kick at him, but he simply moved his knees to dig into her thighs, keeping her restrained. "You can't run from me, princess," he warned.

"I thought you said you didn't have any powers!" Gelda cried out.

Zeldris scowled back at her. "I said I was drained. And my magic has nothing to do with my strength." In order to prove his point, he squeezed her wrists, almost painfully, and Gelda yelped more in humiliation than in discomfort. "Now, try that again, and I'll break one of your legs. Then you can limp the rest of the way for all I care."

Gelda knew this was more than just a threat. She should be scared of him, and careful of her words. But having him on top of her like this, having caught her so damn easily, was absolutely infuriating. Never had she been so mortified, pressed into the ground like a common girl being used by some idiot. But really, was she any better? She was being passed from one king to another, her life to be spent as nothing more than a trophy for powerful men.

She was sure she looked a mess, her hair wild and her dress dirty and her cheeks flushed with exertion. He, however, looked absolutely calm, and that angered her even more. She was of royal blood, and she refused to allow someone else to make her decisions any longer. "Get. Off. Of me," she bit out.

His eyes narrowed a bit as his brow drew downwards, and mercifully he was climbing off of her a moment later. As soon as the weight had moved, Gelda scrambled up and tried to run again; but this time, she heard Zeldris say something behind her, and she barely made it a few feet before she felt herself yanked backwards. She whirled around to fight him off again, but to her shock he was still kneeling on the ground where she had left him.

Again Gelda tried to run, and again she was only able to go several steps. She spun back at the demon and yelled, "What have you done to me?"

"Just a little spell," he said, and to her absolute mortification, he laughed. "I would have done it sooner had I known it would prove so entertaining."

"Release it!" she spat at him. She edged backwards, but again, at a certain point she felt the inevitable tug as she was pulled back towards him.

Zeldris crossed his arms. "When you learn to behave, then perhaps I will." Her cheeks flared in anger at how he dared to chastise her, but before she could retort he went on, "You can't go more than five feet from me now. So no more trying to run off, understand?"

"You can't do this!" she shouted, but he was already turning away, ignoring her. He started walking again, and after he took several steps, Gelda felt the pulling once more. "Better keep up," he called back to her. "Five feet, remember."

.o0o.

They walked the rest of the night in silence. It had been nearly sundown when Zeldris had taken Gelda from the castle, so they used the long hours of the night to pick their way through the forest. Neither said a word, and Zeldris was glad for it.

Dealing with this princess was more trouble than handling Izraf. He had gone into the vampire kingdom with little doubt that he could best the king. He knew his power level was greater than Izraf's; even if it wasn't, defeat was not an option for Zeldris, particularly against an old vampire. Furthermore, the fool had only darkness to use as his power. The idea made Zeldris laugh to himself in derision. Darkness, against a demon prince. It was a joke.

He had had little worry he could defeat the king, and was glad to be finally on his way out of Edinburgh with the princess. She had actually surprised him. She was as beautiful and graceful as he had expected of the daughter of the king, but there was something else about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on when she had met his eyes in the great hall. If this had been another circumstance, then he would have certainly been tempted by her. It was a rare thing for a female to catch his eye; Zeldris was too focused on his position, on proving himself and advancing himself as a soldier. But this woman, with her soft features and sensuous curves, would have made it easy for him to forget all of that, at least for a while.

Her stunt of trying to run off had surprised him too. It was a stupid thing to do, but he had to admit he admired the fact that she tried something. If he had not been so aggravated by his inability to use Teleportation to get back to his own realm, then he would have even enjoyed the little chase.

Zeldris was lost in his thoughts, as he imagined pinning her to the ground underneath him again, when the princess finally broke the silence. "Demon," she said. "When are we stopping?"

He huffed and looked at her over his shoulder. "My name is Zeldris," he answered in annoyance.

"Fine, Zeldris, when are we stopping?" asked the vampire haughtily.

"Why would we stop?"

Gelda reached out and yanked on his elbow, and against his better judgement, he paused. "It's nearly morning. I need to find somewhere to rest."

Zeldris turned and gave her a scornful look. "You'll have plenty of time to rest when we are in the demon realm. No stopping."

"No!" she cried. His brows drew down as she continued, "I don't want to be out when the sun rises."

Folding his arms, he asked, "I never heard that vampires could not be out in the day."

"We can, but…" Gelda's voice trailed off as she looked around a bit nervously. "We get much weaker, and I won't be able to defend myself, if I need to."

"Huh," he laughed, his tone filled with derision. "That's quite interesting, princess. But you won't need to defend yourself against anything while I'm here. You're quite safe." Zeldris started to walk again, and snapped around, annoyed when he felt her grab his elbow. "Let go of me," he growled at her without turning around.

"You can't do this," she hissed viciously at him, her fingers clenching into his arm instead of letting go. Her touch seemed to sear into his skin, and he raised his eyes to meet her glare. "I am a royal vampire, and you—"

"I don't give a damn what you are," Zeldris answered. He yanked his elbow away from her and grabbed her by the arm. He gave her a shove, causing her to stumble a moment as he snapped, "Now walk."

Gelda did not try to speak to him again, walking in front of him this time, her arms crossed and her head raised high. He could tell that she was fuming, and even though his own irritation was still smoldering at this entire situation, he couldn't help but be amused by hers. Once in a while he would tell her to bear left, or turn north, and she would obey him. Yet something in the way she held her shoulders and the way she strode forward with confidence told him that this was not over.

An hour went by, then another, then another. The sun was peeking over the horizon, climbing steadily and warming them through the trees. Zeldris watched her move, keeping his senses heightened as he scanned for any dangers. The forest was surprisingly quiet, however, and as time went on he allowed his thoughts to return to the princess walking in front of him. He could not help the way his eyes dragged over her tresses, weaved into an intricate braid against the back of her head with several strands hanging from their tussle earlier; the pale skin of her gently sloping neck; her shoulders back and tight with the indignation he could still feel simmering from her; and then down, her shoulder blades making soft arches in her expensive dress, her tiny waist tightly cinched, the fabric clinging to the beautiful way her hips flared out a bit. Zeldris smiled a bit, deciding to allow himself this bit of pleasure as they walked.

He was beginning to wonder what she was wearing underneath when her voice snapped him out of his roaming imagination. "Do you really think," Gelda spat, "that my father will allow this ridiculousness to continue?" She flipped her hair behind her shoulder and turned her face smirked at him. "Even now, there is probably an army of vampires following us, ready to take me back from you."

"Is that what you want, princess?" he asked. His voice was sharp, annoyed with himself for allowing her body to distract him. "You want to return to your father?"

Gelda bristled at his dismissive tone. "No! I don't want to go back there."

Zeldris moved quickly until he was directly over her shoulder. "Then what do you want?"

Gelda paused front of him, causing him to nearly knock into her. She hesitated for a moment, her back barely an inch from his chest, gazing at her smooth skin and breathing her in. Aggravation flared inside him again, and he was about to give her a push when she turned and placed a hand on his arm. He glanced down in surprise at her hand while she said, with great earnest, "I want you to let me go. I will go somewhere far from here, and you can return to the demon realm, and neither of us will be found."

The demon looked at her for a long moment, his eyes tracing from her hair to her neck, searching her expression. It was completely closed off to him, so he said coldly, "I'm very sorry, princess. I have a duty to fulfill."

He pushed past her, continuing down their path, and Gelda gaped at him. Then a sudden fury seemed to swell inside her and she screamed, "You—you dare to speak to me about duty!" Zeldris halted with her words, but did not turn around. "What could you know about duty? A lowborn like you?" Gelda clenched her fists and stalked towards him. "A common soldier such as you could never understand what it truly means."

Zeldris whirled around, drawing up to her until they were face-to-face. "And you understand?" he scoffed. "A pampered, spoiled princess like you?"

Gelda's eyes went wide with shock. "You have no idea," she bit out, and Zeldris actually moved back a bit at her tone. "My entire life has been nothing but service to a king and father who could not spare me even a glance. All he wanted from me was my obedience." Zeldris' brows drew down, and she took a deep breath. "So until you know what that is like, do not dare to say the word 'duty' to me again."

They stared at one another for a long moment. Zeldris' jaw clenched and relaxed, his eyes focused on hers; and then he turned away. "Come on," he said coldly, and Gelda followed, once again returning to silence.