Together, Carmen and the warden walked through the cramped passageways of the dungeons; Carmen silently observing the hastily built architecture, and the warden swinging a large lamp in his right fist as if he didn't have a care in the world.

They had descended down multiple flights of stairs by now - all of them made of crumbling concrete - and had made it to the absolute lowest floor in all of the castle. There were cells for prisoners to be kept in on every side; some occupied, and some empty, and Carmen stopped to wonder how one, single warden was able to take care of all of them. The half of the cells that did have someone living in them all seemed to have freshly supplied stocks, meaning that their food and water dishes, though only befitting the appearance of a dog, were all full.

...Either the food tasted awful, or the warden was very dedicated to his job.

In any case, as they walked past, the prisoners continued to give her dirty looks, and mutter curses once they thought she was out of range. Obviously, since she could hear them, she wasn't, but Carmen wasn't about to reprimand them. She didn't want a group of men that were already criminals on her bad side, at least more than they already were.

They did seem to respect the warden, however, and many of them smiled, or cracked a joke as he passed them. Many of them even lowered their heads, as if they had their own system of monarchy down here in these darkened halls. The warden, apparently, was their King.

"So Princess," said man began. "What does bring you here? I know you mentioned that Demon Prisoner hullabaloo, but...why?" His hairy arms twitched as a sudden whoosh of cold air came upon them. Carmen took that as a sign that they were close.

"I just wanted to meet the source of all these rumors, I suppose," she answered truthfully, glancing at the cells that were becoming more and more empty as they made it closer to what she assumed would be the final turn.

His eyebrows scrunched up as if he were still confused, but a laugh nonetheless came out of his large, overbearing mouth. "Not my place to tell you what you can and can't do, now is it?" he said boisterously.

"No it is not."

"My apologies, Princess, I shouldn't have questioned you from the start. It was just this wild brain off its hinges again!" Once more, he laughed, but this time Carmen did not allow herself to cringe at the sound of it echoing back to her within the stone walls. They were making the last turn, and she instantly felt that she needed to concentrate on what lied ahead.

Surprisingly, soon enough the warden fell silent beside her as well, and they walked towards the only cell in the corridor in an eerily quiet shuffle.

Carmen's breath was caught in her throat as she stared at a single chamber, the only chamber, so deep in the underground tunnels that it was hard to breathe. It was guarded with a large iron door at the entrance, firmly bolted to the stone, and locked with thick chains. She briefly wondered why so much effort was put to keeping the prisoner inside, compared to the others, which had just been closed with metal bars, but just as quickly, she remember that this was the demon prisoner.

He had tried to escape multiple times now, hadn't he?

Wordlessly, the warden stepped forward and began unlocking lock after lock, and then inserted a long series of numbers into a keypad inside a little door that he had flipped open. She attempted to memorize the pattern of these numbers, but after a good ten of them in no particular order, she was forced to give up. She was intelligent enough, but her memory was nowhere close to photographic.

"Honestly, I don't think he's even worth your time, Princess," the warden stated casually, now beginning to force the heavy door outward with minimal effort, quickly after he had concluded the password. "He's not as exciting as all the villagers seem to think, so try not to be too disappointed…"

The door now open, the warden stepped back, gesturing again with his large arms for her to walk forward.

...It was now or never, Carmen thought, albeit a little nervously.

She stepped forward and into the cell cautiously; for some reason expecting the so called demon to leap from the shadows and strike her down where she stood. Surely it wouldn't be too hard a task for a murderer, even with the extensive defensive lessons she had been forced to take as a child.

...Carmen was also just as cautious as she took the second set of steps, but apparently, she did not expect anything to immediately reach her from the ground. Within nothing more than a few seconds inside, she found herself spiraling face-first towards the floor, after she had tripped over something that felt suspiciously like a body…

Without the warden there, surely, her face would have hit the coarse ground, and surely, she would be in a heck of a lot of pain at this very moment. But to her surprise, and not exactly what she would call delight, she soon realized that she was in the warden's large arms. Instantly upon noticing this, she straightened herself and sped away from him, muttering a feeble apology, and attempting to check if his smell was on her.

Her dress had been slightly soiled, which would not please her father, but at least she was unharmed. That would be a huge turnoff for anyone she tried to recruit for marriage, especially if it was on her face...

Carmen's thoughts were soon cut off as she heard a loud thumping sound, and she swiveled her head to the side as fast it would turn, only to hear the warden sneer, "How dare you get in the Princess's way!" as his thick leather boot made contact with the body's stomach.

She immediately gasped, though she soon wished she did not make any sound, for she almost missed the soft wince of the man on the floor, who she assumed was the demon prisoner.

He himself did not make any further noise as the warden proceeded to kick him again, and only the sickening sound of cracking ribs resounded through the damp cell. Though the warden made slow, undeniably blocky and easily avoidably movements, each hit connected, and Carmen soon found herself wondering why they gave a man that couldn't even fight back against a blundering fool so much attention. But it was then that she realized that the prisoner was bound by chains, and heavy ones at that.

These held him to the floor by each of his limbs, and though he was given a little slack, there was no way he would ever be able to defend himself in such a state.

A surge of pity quickly rushed through Carmen, and she commanded, "Stop!" as loudly as she could, for fear that the warden would not hear her over the sound of his own enjoyment.

The warden did hear her however, and paused, halfway into another kick, as he turned back to her; looking extremely confused.

"Princess…?"

Silently, Carmen fumed at him, and clenched her fists, trying to keep her temper from exploding. He shouldn't be able to take cheap shots like that, and even if the demon prisoner was guilty of murdering those people, the warden had no right to abuse another human being.

What if the demon had been doing a justice by killing those men? What if it had been in defense? What if...

Carmen trailed off as another sound graced her ears. This one was much softer than anything she had heard previously, and she soon found herself realizing that the warden could not hear it. He still stared at her, with that idiotically puzzled look on his face, probably wondering what he should do.

Sure, she was puzzled herself - about the noise, anyway - but she wasn't about to stand there with her mouth hanging open like a total moron.

"Why don't we...sit down," she offered as calmly as possible. "I have a few questions."

The warden nodded, again raising his arm to show her the way to a hard looking bed in the corner, as if she didn't know where it was. Carmen briefly entertained the thought that a bed was completely unnecessary if the prisoner was always chained to the floor, but she soon decided to overlook it, for it was possible that he wasn't always bound like this.

...At least she hoped he wasn't.

With a grimace, she sat on the dusty bed - if one could call what she found to be a board with a sheet on it, a bed - and looked down at the prisoner before her, from which she guessed the soft noise had come from. The warden followed her actions, but instead glanced at the wall, as if he found the situation to be awkward, for whatever reason.

Perhaps it was better that he didn't see her looking though, for soon after she sat down, the demon prisoner, as if sensing her stare, raised his head to look at her, even with the threat that the warden would kick him down again.

For a moment, Carmen didn't even allow herself to scowl at the thought of the warden's heartless actions, for as the demon looked up, he seemed to be searching for her eyes.

Instantly she noticed that his left eye was swollen shut, but she paid it no mind as she met the other, calmly and coolly, as if the two young strangers were simply passing by each other on the street.

And, for the life of her, Carmen couldn't tell why anyone would think his eyes were frightening.

This man's eyes, or even as she saw it, eye, was...

"No disrespect to you of course, but I can't even imagine why you decided to visit him." The warden cut into her thoughts.

Carmen bit down on her tongue, forcing the misgivings she longed to make known disappear.

She couldn't snap yet.

"I-"

"He's really just an idiot. I ask him questions, and he never answers. I mean, maybe he doesn't even speak our language…"

He trailed off with extra thoughts, nodding to himself. "I mean really, Princess, I don't think I've ever heard him speak. He's been here for two years, and has not said a word."

He shook his head with unnecessary vigor. "That would drive me crazy, not talking for so long! This voice needs exercise!" He laughed again; the booming sound echoing against the stone walls of the dungeon. Carmen, politely, joined him and chuckled; though hers was undeniably fake, as she was actually quite angry inside.

She quit after just a few moments.

"Warden, just who is this demon?" She asked, a pleasant tone laced within the gaps of her false smile. She still looked into said man's eye as she spoke, unbeknownst to the warden.

The demon prisoner was watching her every move.

"Oh, him?" He asked loudly, gesturing wildly with his thumb to the man she had inquired about.

...Obviously she was talking about him. No one else was there.

"Well, I think his name was Gaara of the Desert or something…" He said, a little bit quieter.

...Gaara...

"Pretty crazy dude if you ask me. The report said he was a murderer, I think? Somehow he pulled it off with a bunch of sand. I mean, that's gotta be an accomplishment in itself..."

Sand, eh? ...Interesting...

"Is that so?"

"Yeah!" he cheered. "There was a whole article about him! Five pages, too. You don't see that every day, now do ya?"

"No, you really don't," she answered rather happily, clasping her hands together.

He was just as entertaining as she had thought.

"Four guys dead in one night because of the man right in front of you, Princess. Isn't that scary?"

"Not real-"

"But don't worry! Wardy here'll protect you."

Carmen winced slightly, shuddering at the thought of this man ever trying to act suave and save her. He was too awkward to be a hero, and already too conceited to ever get any recognition.

Truly, it was a good thing that this man was a warden. If he ever tried to live openly in the kingdom, he'd be dead long before he could even open his mouth.

Though, it wasn't like that would be a bad thing…

The warden still spoke boisterously about the vast knowledge he supposedly had about the prisoner, but Carmen allowed herself a few moments to her thoughts; though she still glanced at Gaara out of the corner of her eye.

He wasn't as scary as all the villagers and servants had claimed. If anything, he had a little bit of a calming look about him, though that was undeniably topped by deep sadness. Briefly, she wondered just what it was that plagued him. Sure, prison was reason enough, but for some reason, Carmen felt like this might be...more.

After he had raised his head to look at her for the first time, he had not moved, and he still held her gaze, as if he was examining her just as much as she was, him. Perhaps he was memorizing her hair color, just as she had found that he had a head full of shaggy reddish-brown hair. Perhaps he was noting how neatly her black hair had been styled, and comparing it to his own head of hair, which stuck out in every direction, as if it had not been touched in years.

...Perhaps, he was examining her body; perhaps liking what he saw. Carmen was pretty - she knew she was, and would not deny the fact - but after a quick moment to think about it, she realized that something told her he was not very interested in the physical aspect of things. From his intense stare, she could only deduce that he wanted to know what she was thinking.

Carmen smiled, winking at him as she turned her attention back to the warden just in time to say politely, "Oh really?" before she launched into another question.

"Tell me, how old is this man then?"

The warden, just as expected, knew the answer to this, and replied immediately.

"He's 22, Princess," he told her with a surprisingly frightening smile. "Can't believe Sunagakure has put up with him for this long, though. Had it been up to me, I would have had his head years ago."

Carmen's own smile, though fake when directed toward the warden, immediately darkened at these words, and she soon found herself biting her tongue again in an attempt to stop herself from pulling out the knife she had concealed under her skirt, and slicing his throat.

How dare he think he could mess with this man's life.

"I don't think killing him would help him atone for his sins," Carmen said firmly. "And though it surprises me greatly, my father agrees with this opinion, so I would watch what you say, lest I report you to him myself."

The warden stiffened, nodded, and then muttered, "Meant no harm, Princess."

"Of course you didn't. Consider yourself forgiven."

The look on his face was pathetically grateful, and now instead of the need to kill him, Carmen had to try and stifle her scoff. He was a pathetic shell of a man that didn't even deserve her blade.

And no, he also didn't even deserve to be murdered by the demon prisoner either.

Carmen soon failed to keep herself from showing him some sign that she was not amused, and she clicked her tongue in such a way that could only demonstrate the annoyance of a spoiled princess. His face fell instantly, and quickly after, his head hung down in a state of shame, as if he knew what she was thinking.

She so wanted to curse this man for all he was worth, but as she saw this fallen state, she could only sigh, and feel pity for such a man. He was just pathetic.

If anything, he should be the prisoner; he should be the one locked up in a room full of sorrows.

It shouldn't be this so called demon prisoner, for something told her...something told Carmen that this demon was an innocent one.

Maybe not entirely blameless, and maybe his hands were not fully clean of their share of blood, but he was innocent of the crime he had committed, as far as she was concerned.

...There was just something about the way he looked at her...

Carmen found herself liking this man more every second, and she wondrously began to compare him to herself; to compare him to the aged wine that she had thought of before.

This man - Gaara - was ready to be free and out into the world, just as she was. He had even gotten four extra years, in her father's book.

Had the entire village not been so terrified of him, surely he would be wed to a beautiful woman by now, and surely as well, that woman would love him with all of her heart. His eyes just had a way of talking to you without saying a word, and Carmen knew that he would be quite a handsome fellow once he was cleaned up a bit, as well as the fact that-

….As well as the fact that…

...Marriageable age…

…

Wait.

Suddenly, hundreds of thoughts, hundreds of memories, popped into her mind all at once.

...Her father…

...Anyone…

...No restrictions in that area...

With a sudden realization, Carmen found the gears in her head to begin turning so fast that they may as well have been visible. She had a grand idea.

Gaara was a man. He was relatively close to her age. He was handsome enough to impress her father. She liked him.

He fit all of the qualifications.

...Gaara was perfect...

Carmen beamed at the warden, though mostly to herself, feeling a high like she had never felt before this day. This was what her dull, dull life needed. This was what she had been waiting for; this was the man she had been waiting for.

She needed this demon prisoner.

"Warden?" She spoke into the darkness with a grin, her previous plan crumbling to the floor.

"Call my father. This is the man I want to marry."