A/N: Here's chapter 3. You know the drill and enjoy! X3
Princess Taokaka: The younger daughter of her deceased parents and little sister of Torakaka, She's a little immature, naive, forgetful, and has boundless energy that would put the fastest runner to shame.
Taokaka was known for her beauty and her heavenly voice, and she loved to frolic along the fields of the Kaka grasslands. Her dancing and singing, but most of all, her impressive fighting skills, would bring delight to anyone who was lucky enough to witness her. Her skills were rivaled only by the warmth of her heart and smile.
Taokaka was taught by Torakaka's best friend and ally Litchi and sometimes Torakaka herself to have the manners, respect, calmness, strength, and leadership of a princess. Both of them are often successful but when she get's back home she starts getting back to her "normal" habits of eating, playing, sleeping, and forgetting what she was doing.
Torakaka was a loving sister and fiercely protective of her only sister and last family member. Taokaka was kept under the constant watch of Torakaka or her teacher Litchi, and the warriors of their clan, as Taokaka grew her beauty grew as well so that whenever she pulls down her hood around men they follow her like flies to a lamp. So Torakaka decided to isolate her from the world until she is fully matured to look after herself, and, as a result, doesn't allow any men to court her.. But as has happened in time immemorial, those treasures that are most jealously guarded are often the ones that are coveted most, and all too often, stolen.
The Demon Lord held many treasures in his region, and one of them was a telescope, a gift from the Machina region, a device that could show him anything he wanted to see in the world. He could even see what was happening on the other side of the world, if he so desired. He often glanced through this telescope to see what was happening in the other regions.
It so happened that one day, he wanted to see what was happening in the lands of the Kakas, and he pointed his telescope in that direction. The Kaka people were so different from his own, and they sometimes made him curious.
As his gaze fell on a solitary princess, dancing along the grasses without her hood on revealing her devastating beautiful features, her golden hair tied in braids following behind her with a smile that always stops his heart for a minute with the suns rays shrouding her adding more to the picture of innocent beauty, with her flowing mixture of a Kaka jacket and a dress gliding along with her as the winds brushes it, he was entranced. The Demon Lord knew who she was – sister of the war hero Torakaka, and he desired her. She was lovely and graceful, with vibrate, clear, innocent red eyes that shone like the reflection of the sunlight on a ruby.
Torakaka was a jealous and overprotective sister, as other people knew. She had successfully blocked all potential suitors from courting Taokaka, but the Demon Lord was far from a mere enamored young man.
So while he watched princess Taokaka he learns all of her habits and comes up with a plan...a plan involving her alone, far away from the boundaries of her home, and most of all a basket of Taokaka's favorite food above others, steamed meat buns.
Saya watched her brother gazing at Taokaka, Saya was happy that her older brother finally found a woman to love but at the same time was worried because obsessions like these never ended well.
His region turned out many treasures, for fire and heat in the volcanoes had a way of bringing beauty out from even the most mundane things. One such treasure was the rainbow gems, only to be found in his region. These jewels had rainbows in them and when held under the sun or moonlight, would sparkle with such colors. And so the Demon Lord picked out the purest gem and combines it to a necklace of pure gold. Once the necklace was complete he went out to get a normal picnic basket and fills it to the brim with freshly cooked meat buns that will make any mouth water while also putting the necklace below the food.
He went to a area close to where she was frolicking and close to the borders of the Demotic region and plants the basket of food below the shade of a tree then hides in the shadows waiting until the princess can come close to the well placed trap, Taokaka was frolicking on the fields until she caught a sweet smell of fresh food in the air making her instantly hungry and investigates the area until she comes too far from where she was suppose to stay and began to wander near a tree she didn't notice before, with the basket of steamed meat buns catching her eye. This would prove to be the undoing of the young Kaka princess...
Over ten years had passed since the Demon Lord first laid his eyes upon the princess of the Kaka region. He had seen her quite a few more times at the Gatherings, and he was a privately happy witness to her blossoming womanhood. Though the words they exchanged were few and far between, Ragna always remembered each encounter with a clarity that no one else would ever be aware of. Time was of little import to the leaders of the regions, but to him it seemed like an eternity between each time he saw her.
Of course, he was not the only one to notice the lovely woman Taokaka was becoming, including her own sister and teacher. Torakaka was protective of her only sister to a fault, and any time a potential suitor came close enough, the Kaka warrior drove them away.
The only men and women allowed close enough to Taokaka were the Warriors of her own clan and her teacher Litchi who Taokaka gives the nickname "boobie lady" which often confused and embarrassed the older medic. The sole exception to this rule were the Kaka kittens, who had become the princess's closest friends and confidants since their first meeting. Torakaka permitted this friendship because the Kaka kittens were nice and always made Taokaka happy. The friends had grown up together and the Kaka kittens would often visit her, and the five of them would frolic along the fields of grass, with the Demon Lord watching.
He had no idea why the young princess should fascinate him so. Her personality was the opposite of his, and she was completely oblivious of his desire for her, heck she was oblivious of everything in the world except for food, napping, frolicking, Torakaka, and Litchi teaching her how to fight and how to act and behave like a princess which Taokaka always hardly paid attention to. He had seen other beautiful women of various regions, frolicking about, and none of them captured his interest. Taokaka was different, and he yearned for her.
The Demotic region was known for it's treasures. Only the ones who could bend Fire to their will could create such wondrous items, such as the metal fortresses, marvelously-crafted weapons or armor, or jewelry where precious metals and gems were woven together in such a way that nobody else could emulate such craftsmanship.
One of the Demon Lord's most prized possessions was a telescope, a peace gift offering from the Machina region. With this telescope, he could see any star in the heavens, or even view what was happening on the other side of the world.
The Demon Lord was an honorable and powerful demon – but he was lonely. He had tried to find a mate with his own kind, to no avail, and each attempt had left him unsatisfied and bitter. His region was almost as isolated as he was, and he frequently used his telescope to see what was going on in the other nations. One day, he aimed it at the Kaka region, and who did he see but the woman of his dreams, frolicking happily across the grasslands on her lonesome.
It certainly wasn't the first time he had observed her without her hood hiding her face through his looking-glass, but at this moment, the sunlight and fields of endless grass surrounded her to create an alluring picture of the object of his desire. The Princess had grown into such a lovely woman, and the stirring that he had always felt around her intensified to a fever pitch.
He watched in awe as she leaped gracefully from a few trees then lands softly back on the ground, little droplets of sweat hanging onto her perfectly tan skin and long golden hair that are twisted into braids. But it was the eyes, the brilliantly radiant ruby eyes of the young princess, that drew the Demon Lord in like a moth to the flame, sealing his fate – and hers.
Even though she was not a demoness, he found her irresistible. He longed to gaze into her eyes, and take her into his arms. He was lonely, and he needed a suitable companion. He was sure she was the one for him. So, laying out a clever trap, he took an especially brilliant rainbow-jewel from his coffers, a well crafted golden necklace chain while combining the gem to it, bought a picnic basket full of steamed meat buns, puts the necklace in the bottom of the food, and flew to a tree close to where Taokaka was frolicking and close to his borders, Ragna placed the basket while making sure to move the wind towards Taokaka's direction then hid in the shadows. He knew that this would grab her attention, and he laid in wait.
Taokaka liked to frolic, and would frequently sneak away from the harem of warriors and her Kaka kitten friends that her sister assigned to her company. She was a fiercely independent creature, and she liked to soar across the winds, whether it was day or night, and enjoy the privileges she had as a princess, and as the sister of Torakaka herself. She preferred to play alone, for she found her friends often tiresome to play with. The female warriors liked to gossip and the Kaka kittens play games which she would always like to play with them for a while, and she wasn't always in the mood for that.
She caught a sweet smelling scent in the wind making her lick her lips with her stomach growling she followed the scent not noticing or caring that she was getting too far from her home and if she lose focus on the smell she would have seen how lost she is. She followed the path of the scent until she spotted a tree with a open picnic basket full of her favorite food above others- steamed meat buns. With the speed of a hundred horses while chanting "Food!" until she's in front of the basket with drool coming out of her hungry mouth then digs into the food while Ragna was watching with amusement and chuckled quietly to himself.
The jewel necklace caught her eye as she finished the last meat bun, the sunlight catching in the imperfections within its surface that would reflect iridescent hues. She had never seen anything like it before, and she reached for the stone. She did not realize it, but she had wandered close to the borders of the Demotic region. She was not afraid, for she had frequently danced and played close to the Kaka region. She sometimes liked to play near the borders of her region, so when she saw a tree in the distance close to the Demotic region while also at the same time in the Kaka region, she thought nothing of it.
Her paw gently stroked the multi-colored jewel when she pulled it out from the basket. It was a truly beautiful item, the beams from the sun reflecting onto the stone to display fiery reds, brilliant purples, enchanting gold, rich green and soothing blue. It was attached to a fine chain of pure gold. The chain looked delicate, but when she tugged it experimentally, it proved to be a lot stronger than it looked. Taokaka was surprised that someone would abandon such a beautiful item. If she were to own such an gem, she would never part with it.
Taokaka raised herself to stand and turning to see if someone were around, perhaps a young woman seeking her lover's gift or a child losing a cherished toy, Taokaka noted that the surroundings were quiet and lonely. Only the soft whistles of the wind and the sounds of birds high above were heard. Again feeling the polished smoothness of the rainbow jewel, Taokaka looked at the item, turning it so that the sunlight caught the colors in the stone. With a graceful motion, she pulled her hood down revealing her beautiful face and placed the jewel around her neck.
It would be the envy of the female Kaka clan members – not that she wished to arouse such feelings, but she felt glad that such an item of rare beauty was hers. She wondered where it had come from, but since there was no one, she would not question her luck. Plus the general policy was finder's keepers. She had found a few other abandoned treasures and she was not the only one to make such discoveries, but she had never seen anything as beautiful as this. The stone nestled comfortably just below her collarbone, its pale surface contrasting with her richly tan skin.
"That looks good on you…" an almost unfamiliar voice whispered from behind the Kaka princess. She gasped softly and spun around, seeing a great expanse of red wings and eyes that shone as fiercely as the sun. This could be no one else but the Demon Lord Ragna– for no one else could be so stately and ferocious-looking, especially with those wings.
The red and green mismatched eyes of the Demon Lord fixed upon the beauty that was before him. He could see her smooth tan-colored skin, appearing as soft as a feather and rich as silk. For so long he had admired her from afar, and now that she was so near...
He relished in this nearness. He reached out to touch her arm.
Taokaka could not help but be intimidated, for he radiated power and fierceness. Shyly, she jumped backwards before he could touch her. She had seen the young Demon Lord at the Gatherings and would never forget her first encounter with him. He had been no less intimidating back then.
"What... what brings you here, into the domain of the Kaka clans meow?" she asked hesitantly, the thought having just occurred to her that the jewel might in fact belong to him. If it did, she would return it, since Litchi taught her that it was the proper thing to do.
"I came here…for you, Taokaka." he answered, meeting her surprised ruby eyes with his fiery red and green ones. This filled her with a strange sense of foreboding, and she jumped a short distance away. Her face was beautiful, the sunlight making it translucent.
"That jewel is a special one among my people. It is very rare and prized in this world." he explained, moving closer to respond to Taokaka's backstep. While she wasn't a particularly shy female, the overwhelming aura of the Demon Lord made her feel like a seal facing a great shark. "A man gives a jewel to the female that… he wishes to get closer to. And you are more than worthy of the rarest jewel of all."
Her paw slid up to the jewel, her concealed fingers brushing against the stone. She was not flattered, but not because she thought he was ugly or repugnant, even though he had a few scars on his body. She was simply too surprised and intimidated to feel anything else, and this was a rather impromptu proposal – if that was what it could be called.
"Why are you doing this, nya?"
"Because I desire you." Ragna answered as if that justified the situation.
Taokaka was so shaken by the seriousness of his gaze that she did the first thing that came to mind – she fled. All thoughts of returning the jewel to its owner were shoved out of her mind by this instinctive reaction. She did not look over her shoulder to see if he was following, or how closely he was tailing her.
Moving with all the speed she possessed, she tore through the air, hoping to elude the grip of the Demon Lord. Her sense of foreboding only increased as she pushed her legs harder, feeling the breeze and spray of the air on her face and skin. Yet, she sensed that his presence was drawing closer, and she spun around to unleash a large claw swipe at his face.
Her claw surged towards him, but he quickly blocked it his right arm forcing her back a few distances. His eyes glinted with an intensity that rivaled the sun that hung above their heads. She cried out and retreated further, sending kicks and several more claw swipes at her pursuer while keeping her distance from him, and he successfully blocked them all with ease that spoke of experience and confidence. She knew that he was a powerful demon, and she was still young, not yet having realized the full potential of her own abilities. Seeing how easily he handled her attacks, she thought about retreating back to her home, but she ran off so far she doesn't know where her home is at until she caught site of her kingdom. But before the princess could use all her energy to sprint to the kingdom gates, he moved like lightning and grabbed her wrist while disabling a mechanism in the glove for the claw to pop out that one of his generals taught him to do when faced with a Kaka warrior.
His grip was gentle, but when she tried to break free, she could not even budge his hand. His hold was steel-solid, and he stared down at her calmly as she cried out and hissed a little in alarm.
"You... you can't do this! You have no right to! My sister will be angry with this! Let me go meow!"
"I can do this…" Ragna countered evenly, "And regarding the right... when you put that jewel on, you became mine."
"I thought it was a lost treasure meow! I am not yours!" she cried out, giving the Demon Lord a well placed punch on the head with her free arm but he barely budged then begins to punch as hard as she can to his chest.
The Demon Lord found himself impressed at the spirit of this young princess. Many women in this situation would have meekly accepted their fate since a mighty demon or angel had decided it, or broken down crying and pleading. Yet this child of the Kaka clan was displaying a fire that was downright alluring. He knew that if he waited for millenniums, he'd never find another female like Taokaka. Grabbing her other wrist to stop the pounding to his chest because he thought for a frail looking Kaka princess she can actually hit pretty damn hard, he looked down at her.
She continued kicking him and squirming out of his hold furiously, calling out for help as she twisted around in his grip, being almost impossible to hold onto. No mere human, or even most demons and angels for that matter, would be able to hold her. However, this Demon Lord was holding her by her wrist in a relaxed grip, his smirk full of confidence in his own strength. The Demon Lord was not like most demons. Keeping that grip on her, his large red wings had them both move higher, away from the Kaka region's surface, the slow thrumming of the crimson appendages blending with Taokaka's screams for help.
"Stop this! This is wrong! You can't kidnap me meow!" she cried out, still thrashing against him as she tried to claw at his hands and arms to loosen his grip. "I didn't know it was yours! You should be ashamed of yourself nya!" she replied furiously, and he simply smirked down at her.
"And yet, I am not."
She continued struggling as he flew back to his region, which was not far as she had found the basket of meat buns near his borders. The princess's thrashing increased as she saw that they were approaching a cluster of volcanoes and the air shrouded in near complete darkness, with an impressive-looking structure atop the highest peak.
Not only could the demons create impressive toys or weapons out of metal, they could make structures out of it. The Demon Lord's Palace was a unique one, built into the rock itself. It was a curious yet masterful combination of organic and inorganic material, with the rock providing a solid foundation to the imposing metal structure. The rooftops of the Palace gleamed in the sun, for they were made out of ruby and gold tile.
A large set of double doors stood before them, wrought out of dark mahogany reinforced with bolts of steel and the emblem of the Demotic region wrought in gold. She continued struggling against him, trying to break free of his grip as the large doors opened before them. The doors slammed shut behind them, plunging them in darkness for a moment before a row of lamps flared to life, illuminating the Demon Lord's path.
She saw suits of armor standing at attention, the helmets with steel horns affixed with masks that resembled skulls. A pair of them had closed the doors, and Taokaka called out to them, hoping for help. But once their task was complete, they merely stood like statues, just like the other armored guards she saw. When one was within reach, she kicked out, and was shocked to hear a hollow sound come from it. Not one single utterance, much less a grunt of pain or a sound of outrage, emanated from beyond the mask. The armor merely righted itself, standing at attention again as if nothing happened, to her mystified horror. What manner of servant was this?
The walls seemed to close in on her as the Demon Lord made his way down the hall with a struggling Kaka princess in tow. She continued demanding to be let go, and he seemed to not notice her as they went deeper into the palace. She took no notice of the splendid paintings or hangings on the walls, or the rich ornaments and statues that were placed here and there. There seemed to not be a living being here, and no one came to her cries for help.
The metal walls turned to rock shortly after that, they came to a glowing wall. It took her a moment to realize that it was a portal – a red, ruby like portal that feels like heat coming from molten lava. What the...
She could feel the heat radiating from the portal, and tried to pull back.
"No! You can't take me through there meow!" she screamed, genuine terror replacing the angry and indignant tone in her voice.
The Demon Lord let go of her wrists, only to wrap her in a hug-like gesture. Out of his mouth came two gentle words, "Trust me."
"Never!" she shot out, still wiggling against him.
"If you don't hold still, you won't enjoy this." he warned as they advanced towards the portal.
"You can't do this to me!" she said, for the first time breaking out in tears, as she kicked against him. She had felt fear but once before in her whole life, and it was not a feeling she ever wanted to have again. She hated this unwelcome fright that gripped her.
Apparently ignoring her cries as they came within a foot of the portal – but her tears did hurt him, though he would not show it – the Demon Lord answered in a surprisingly soft voice, "I won't let anything happen to you."
She let out a soft whimper, her cheeks wet with tears even as she wiggled against him. The heat from the portal was almost oppressive, and she was almost sure she would burn or boil away.
Descending into the red-hot magma like portal, the Demon Lord gripped the Kaka princess close to him, shielding her body with his large wings as he made his way through the portal. While he knew that anyone who descended into the inner sanctum of the Palace unless invited would not be harmed, the feel of her lovely form against his form was too good to ignore, so he welcomed this excuse to 'protect' her.
Taokaka let out a low moan as she wiggled weakly against his form, on the verge of simply passing out cold from both a full belly and her overuse of her energy. Right before he went into the portal, she had squeezed her ruby eyes shut.
Opening her eyes slightly, the Kaka princess found herself holding onto the Demon Lord as he swam through the lava like portal, much like she would explore the grasslands of the Kaka region. The bright reds and yellows of the boiling hot magma that made the portal were both brilliant and horrifying imitations of the fields of grass she loved so deeply. The thought of her being in a sea of lava, an element that would and should burn her on contact, with the only protection being the demon who was her captor, was almost overwhelming for the young Kaka female.
"Please... take me back. I don't like it here...meow..." she said hoarsely, looking around at the churning liquid like flame colors around them. She could feel the heat, though she supposed because of his protection, it was not burning her, and she wondered just what their destination was. The War had been over for nearly two decades, but was she to become a new casualty of the Demotic region's rapaciousness?
"As long as you're with me, the lava from the portal won't harm you." Again, his voice was soothing and comforting, more so than either of them thought possible. Even if she hated him for tricking her like that, she was grateful he was around to protect her from this hot sea of lava that is a portal. She would be surprised later when she reflected on this feeling of gratitude.
Finally, they broke through the portal, coming to an impressive underground cavern with crystals on the walls, and there were more of the steel horned, skull-faced servants she had seen in the Palace hall. The guards seemed more like shadows or ghosts. Was that why there was a hollow sound when she kicked one? What sort of force animated these servants?
Taokaka didn't like it down here, there was no sun or moonlight and she looked up at where they had come through, feeling despair at the fact that she wouldn't get back through alone and there was no chance he would take her back through.
She sunk to her knees, as if she might faint after the Demon Lord released his hold on her. Her entire life had been taken away from her in a few moments. To think that she had began the day as a free and happy princess, enjoying the beauty of the Kaka grasslands and the surf underneath the endless blue skies high above them. And now, she was a prisoner in a volcano somewhere in the Demotic region, the unwilling captive of the Demon Lord.
"I want to go home." she stated as she looked around the cavern, before feeling his hands gently descend onto her shoulders as he leaned down behind her. Her legs quivered in agitation, and she fought to not cry again.
The next four words the Demon Lord spoke sent an icy chill – a shocking contrast to the heat she had gone through only moments earlier – as he lowered his head to whisper into her cat-like ear.
"Taokaka...you are home."
A/N: Annnnnnddddd done. hope you all like it and share ideas with me. ^_^
