There was no warning – one moment she was leaning against her bed, reading, and the next she was on her feet, staring at the portal that was widening in the center of her room. The edges were a pale golden color, like the dawn, gradually darkening into a copper near the center of the rim that formed the outside. The inside, however, was just a misty window into the dim place that she was going.

Out of the portal stepped two people - a man and a woman, both dressed in black-and-gray uniforms. A low bow was awarded to her, from each of them. They both kept their gazes on the floor, never daring to look her in the eye. The woman spoke up, "Lady Raven, my name is Elimona, and this is Adrian," she gestured to the man who bowed, once again, in her direction, "We are the servants who have been assigned to you. We are honored to be able to serve you, and respectfully ask that you come with us."

Raven raised an eyebrow at the two of them and crossed her arms, "Am I supposed to bring anything with me?"

"If you would like, we could come back and collect anything that you would like to have with you in the demon world. However, His Highness requested that you arrive as quickly as possible," Elimona stated.

Raven sighed, "All right, then. Let's get this over with." Uncrossing her arms, she led them into the dark place, proudly walking into the portal without hesitation. Immediately, she could feel herself reacting to the miasma. The poison easily entered her body, filling her with a primal urge that she struggled to fight. She shouldn't have relaxed when her father released his hold on her emotions – she was now too sloppy to contain her demonic urges. Behind her, her attendants took notice of her gritted teeth and asked if she would like to sit down, the appropriate amount of concern leaking into their questions.

"I apologize for not preparing an amulet or something of the sort. It slipped my mind that the miasma might make it difficult to control yourself. It was inconsiderate of me," murmured Adrian to her, taking her hand and guiding her down the hall as if they were folk-dancing. Surprised at the intimate gesture, Raven just stared at him, allowing herself to be half-carried to her room. Elimona walked in front of them; a purposeful stride that had Raven wondering how high her servants really were on the social ladder.

"This will be your dressing room," said Elimona, opening the doors and taking Raven from Adrian, continuing to guide her in until she found a chair. At his place in the threshold, Adrian gave a small bow in her direction and closed the double doors. Footsteps told Raven that he had walked away.

"Forgive me, my lady, if it seems that I am taking advantage of your weakened state," Without warning, Elimona removed her cloak and, wasting no time, stripped her down to nothing. Then, she ushered Raven through a low doorway. The room was darker and hotter than the other one, lit by white taper candles in twisted, black holders. Steam made it difficult to see, but Raven could still make out a pale, undressed form across the room that led her to believe there was a mirror there. Between her and the mirror, there was a pool of heated water which her maid told her to enter, pointing out the stairs that led into it.

She eased herself into it slowly, trying desperately not to trip whilst covering herself as best she could, then swam over to a seat that was built into the side. She had approximately one second to relax before Elimona poured a basin of cool water over her head and began working scented oils into her scalp. Closing her eyes to keep out the soap, Raven wondered about this treatment. Was it because of her upcoming marriage, or was it standard?

"I must apologize if this seems too rough. In the future, you will have plenty more time to enjoy a bath. It is only this time around that I will be waiting on you – to prepare you for an audience with His Majesty, you understand." Elimona muttered hastily, continuing her frantic washing of Raven's hair.

Raven didn't answer, now contemplating the high-class everything that seemed to surround her. She'd known there were underlings and living places, but this seemed too…flashy. Were all the palaces like this? Perhaps she hadn't visited this realm often enough – she knew so little about it. She'd known her father was a lord, but she hadn't known he was wealthy - not that wealth mattered. …What about the enemy kingdom? What were their living conditions like?

This was too unexpected. The monks on Azarath had taught her control, yes, but nothing about her father as he was known…down here. And why hadn't they? What was the big secret – she wouldn't have joined her father for a fancy bathroom, and the monks knew that. What else were they keeping secret from her?

[-M-]

She was dressed swiftly, her hair speed-dried with a snap of her apparently magically-gifted maid's fingers and quickly put up into a twist. A loose, black gown was slipped over her head and cinched in at her waist with a thick sash to give some semblance of a womanly figure. Then she was pulled out of the room and again led to her father by Adrian and Elimona. The halls were suspiciously empty, which relieved Raven, as she'd been expecting lots of stares from other demons, but also piqued her curiosity: where were all the people she was supposed to be rousing into battle?

No-one spoke until finally they arrived at a door that looked similar to the one that led to her dressing room. Adrian bowed and gestured for her to enter, "His Majesty requests that you join him in his lounge."

Raven raised an eyebrow and opened the door.

…

…

A/N: Since this story seems to still be gathering readers, I'm going to continue with it even though I deleted 'Her Dragon'. Hopefully, this'll go better than that one did.

Please review.