Chapter 36: Demon

            "Shido I do not like that way Jareth was treating Nicolle. Does he always have to act that way around her?" Steph asked sitting on the bed of their chamber.

            "Well Steph I could not tell you. He is the King and he does what he wants, there is nothing that we can do."

            "So you are going to let him continue to harm her?!" Steph asked staring at Shido's blank expression. He did not reply. "I can't believe you Shido!" Steph cried, getting up from the bed and storming to the corner of the room where she leaned her back against the wall. Her face was turned from Shido be she wanted him to see how upset she was. But Shido could care less and pulled back the sheet, climbing into bed.

            "You are so mean sometimes yourself there Shido, you know that." Steph stated pushing off the wall and making her way to the bed. She climbed in and turned her body to face in the other direction from Shido, then felt his arm wrap around her waist. She smirked, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

            "Oh what a beautiful day it is today." Steph shouted with glee as she pulled the doors of the balcony open. "Ah!" she squinted, her eyes, as she felt a pain go through her whole body.

            "No!!" She heard Shido yell, as she was pushed to the floor. "What are you trying to do, kill yourself!"

            "I…I" Steph you can not be in direct sunlight anymore! Here let me have a look at you." He said lifting her arm and examining it. "You have escaped with minor burns but they will heal leaving no scars. You are lucky Steph." He sighed.

            "I, I guess so." She replied as Shido pulled her to her feet and hugged her tightly.

            "Come let's get you ready for breakfast." He walked with Steph into the wash chamber. And they got ready for breakfast. Leaving the room they made their way to the dinning hall.

            "What kept you?" The King asked Shido and Steph as they entered the room. Steph took a seat and allowed Shido to answer his question.

            "Well we were getting ready."

            "Did I not tell you that breakfast is served at 11:20, and you are to be in this room at 11:15?"

            "Yes that you did, but we awoke a bit late this morning."

            "Well I would advise you not to allow it to happen again, understand?"

            "Yes Your Highness." Shido frowned.

            "Um, Your Highness, may I ask you where Nicolle is?"

            "She is feeling under the weather and will not be joining us this morning." He said in a casual tone.

            "Will she be alright?"

            "Yes!" He shot back in reply. "You do not have to worry about her."

            "Okay"

            "Now eat this food before it gets any colder." He ordered. And Steph and Shido, picked up their forks and knives, digging them into the raw flesh.

            "So what was the deal with your attitude yesterday anyway?" Shido asked, chewing on the mass of food in his mouth. The King took the goblet from his mouth, and look directly at Shido.

            "Shido" Steph whispered.

            "What?" He whispered back looking at her. Then they both heard and felt the bang of Jareth's fist slamming down on the table. Quickly the both turned their attention back to his gaze.

            "You dare to ask such a question!" He yelled. "Who do you think you are, asking me that?"

Suddenly they were interrupted by a scream. Shooting up from the table, Shido and Steph ran to my room. Jareth just sat at the table and took another sip of his wine.

Shido and Steph barged into my room to see me clenching the sheet in my fists.

            "What is it?" Steph asked. Then she looked down to the floor to see a puddle of water on the floor. My face was white and my lips chapped.

            "Yes Nicolle what is it?" Shido also asked. I could barely speak, but managed to say,

            "It's coming out." But it was so low they could not understand what I was saying. Falling back on the bed, I screamed in pain, throwing my legs into the air.

            "Nicolle you're bleeding!" Shido declared. I started to cry.

            "Shido go and get the King." Steph ordered, while taking a seat on the bed holding my fist. Shido nodded his head and ran out of the room and down the hall.

            "Your Highness, we have reason to believe that Nicolle is giving birth." Shido spoke. But he received not reply from the King. "Your Highness did you hear me, you must hurry!" And Shido was about to leave the room.

            "Shido!" The King called out. Shido stopped and turned to face him again.

            "Yes Your Majesty."

            "Come here." The King ordered, and Shido gulped reminiscing about the past when Cain use to say that.

            "Yes."

            "Just between you and I; I am going to tell you what is going on, because I consider you my dearest friend."

            What is this bull shit? Shido thought to himself.

            "Nicolle is not going to have that child." The King whispered. Shido stepped back.

            "What!? Why?"

            "Because, she is not worthy of being my queen. And the child that she is carrying is a demon."

            "A demon?"

            "Yes…it is not mine."

            "But I thought that you said…"

            "I lied!"

            "But she never…"

            "That's what she told you. But I know that truth."

            "So if she did make love to Fallon (a.k.a Galahad), why did you still want to be with her?"

            "I thought that I loved her."

            "And you don't?

            "No I do."

            "Then what are you saying?"

            "She is not happy with me, and she never wanted to have this baby, so I am taking away everything."

            "Everything?"

            "Yes."

            "But you said the child is not yours, so why are to taking it away, if it does not belong to you?"

            "Like I said Shido…it is a demon. If I let her continue through the whole pregnancy the baby would kill her!"

            Gasp!!

Shido and The King both turn to see Steph standing in the doorway. Jareth's eyes widened. And Steph ran away back down the hall.

I was still crying when Steph reentered the room.

            "So did you figure out what is taking them so long?" I inquired in-between breaths.

            "No…they were just talking."

            "Talking?"

            "Yes."

            "So you know what about?"

            "No" Steph lied, as she came and hugged me tightly. She quickly let go when I screamed, yet again. Then Shido came running into the room. And when he did Steph was at the end of the bed, pushing my legs towards my chest. Suddenly a small but still dark creature was lying on the bed. With big red eyes and sharp teeth. When I saw it I pulled back as much as possible, even though I was weak and bleeding. We all thought it was dead, when it suddenly jolted, and moved its eyes to look at Steph.

The King ran in.

            "What the hell is this?!" I screamed, looking at him. He quickly conjured a sword and swung it at the, to meet the bed; slicing the creature in half. A pool of green slim poured out of the body of the creature, burning the sheets. The King picked me up off the bed and held me in his arms, looking at the hole that was burned in the sheets. And the creature was now a pile of ash. I was crying in hysterics. And Shido had a shocked look on his face. The King set me down and walked out of the room.

            "You will be leaving here by sun fall. I suggest you rest till then." He said.

            "Wait what?" I said looking to see him leaving. I tried to follow him but did not get every far. I looked to Steph and Shido. "Where am I going?" I inquired.

            "I don't know, I will go and ask him." Steph stated.

            "No." Shido replied, putting his arm out to stop Steph. "I will go."

            "Um, okay." Steph said.

            "You stay with Nicolle, perhaps take her to our chamber where she can lay down. And he left the room.

Shido chased after The King, going into the Throne room.

            "Your Highness, Nicolle would like to know why she has to leave and where she is going, as would the rest of us." Shido spilled out while The King took a seat in his throne. It took The King a long moment before he finally said something.

            "I want Miss Nicolle out of my sight, and she is to leave the castle today, before Sun fall. Where she goes I do not care, just as long as I never see her again." He bluntly stated.

            "You can not be serious!" Shido shouted. "After all of that, after all the chasing after her, saving her, and trying to convince her to love you. She even went along with giving birth to what she thought was your child!"

            "Silence! I am the King and what I say goes!" He shouted, slamming his fist on the arm or the chair.

            "Very well, you don't deserve her anyway." Shido said before leaving the room.