Disclaimer: This is like the twelfth time, I ain't saying it!
Here it is, another chapter! I apologise for the amount of time it took me to update, but school work came first... then exams... luckily enough, I had ten days between my last exam, and the day lessons began again, so I got a lot of work done... and then... I broke my jaw... so have been spending quite a bit of time in hospital feeling sorry for myself...
The group slowly walked into the City of Angels, preparing for the worst. Armed Guards were everywhere, the search for the escaped demon had clearly not been called off.
"I see my popularity has not changed since I left." Vincent observed with a hint of sarcasm.
"Halt!" A guard shouted, seeing the arrivals. "The stake awaits for the Demon. He may have escaped last time, but he shall not escape again!"
Aeris stepped forward.
"Wait!" she said. "He helped to save the world from Meteor... he worked alongside us... battled alongside us..." she smiled. "He was prepared to die to save us!"
"One deed of bravery does not clear a creature from a life time of evil." The guard said with a sneer.
"Clearly it seems enough to condemn me though." Vincent observed, again with a hint of dry sarcastic humour in his voice.
Cid and Barret both laughed.
"To these geezers, anything is enough to condemn a person who appears to be a demon." Cid said.
"Appears?" the guard asked. "He is a demon."
"A Dragon Demon!" Aeris said hotly. "Demons do not have wings, Demons cannot summon the legendary dragons, Demons cannot use magic to a large extent! Vincent is not a demon!"
"Princess Aeris, you are an Angel, you should hate him for what he did!"
"Hate him? He did nothing! Dragon demons did nothing! They wanted to be our allies, not enemies; they wanted to work along side us, not against us!" Aeris answered. "He would have given his life to say mine!"
"Princess Aeris, it is eat or be eaten when it comes to demons... of any sort... kill or be killed!"
"What about, Live and let live?" Vincent asked quietly. "I have not done anything to you."
"Live and let live?" The guard asked, with a sneer. "Allow a demon to live? Allow the demon to go free?"
"If you execute him, you will have to kill me first!" Aeris suddenly said, walking over to stand beside Vincent. "My place is by his side!"
"Princess Aeris, what is the meaning of this?" the Guard asked.
"Take me to see my father! I shall explain before him!"
"Your Highness, your daughter has returned... and we have recaptured the demon!"
"Bring the demon before my throne." King Richard Gast answered.
Four guards walked into the room, with the demon in between them. The king's daughter Aeris was walking along side the demon.
"Aeris, step away from the filthy creature!" Richard said, horrified that his daughter dared to stand that close to him.
"He is not a filthy creature!" Aeris said hotly. "He is a Dragon Demon, he fought along side me and the others in the battle for the planet... and... and... and I love him!"
"And I had a shower this morning," Vincent replied.
The King gasped, falling back into his throne.
"Manipulation spell!" The King shouted.
Vincent rolled his eyes.
"If I could manipulate people, you won't not be accusing me of that." He said. "And you're guards would be doing a performance of Swan Lake."
"You cannot be a Dragon Demon... they are all dead..." the King said. "They died... fifteen years ago at the hands of Demons."
"I am a Dragon Demon, and I will prove it if you so wish." Vincent replied. "Though I fail to see why summoning Leviathan was not enough." He closed his eyes, and transformed into Levia, his black hair and wings turning green and his red eyes turning icy blue.
The King gasped again, unable to believe what he had seen.
"How?" he asked. "Dragon Demons no longer exist..."
Vincent looked at himself.
"I failed to notice that." He said, with a smile.
"How in the name of Shiva did you escape from Xuisla?"
"Through an underground network of tunnels and then I flew half way across the Sleeping Depths, transformed into Dante and swam the rest of the way." Vincent answered. He reverted back to his normal form.
The King regarded the dragon demon, before nodding.
"I will have a conference with the Lords, Knights and Barons of this land, before I make a decision as of what to do with you. Until then, you will be held in the upper dungeons." He left the room.
"That went better than expected." Vincent commented to Aeris.
She looked at him, a hint of amusement and disgust on her face.
"Only you could find, being arrested, having been classified not a demon better then expected."
"The Upper dungeons have to be cleaner, warmer, drier... and almost more... pleasant smelling then the lower..." Vincent commented, shaking his head. "Plus... those held in upper dungeons have done crimes that will not result in death or a life time in prison. It's not all that bad."
Aeris laughed again.
"I wish I had your optimism," she said, giving the wiry man a hug. "But I swear, only you could be arrested and be cheerful about it."
"Lords, Barons, Knights, Avalanche." The king began. "You have gathered here to discuss the fate of the Dragon Demon, Vincent Valentine, who is in love with my daughter, Princess Aeris."
"Does your daughter return the feelings?" A Knight asked.
"She does." The King replied shaking his head. "They both care for each other."
"Then allow them to be together." Queen Inflana said, "If they both love each other, and Vincent is not a demon, then there is no problem." She smiled. "I have met Vincent, he showed me no reason to fear him. He is kind, good natured... he is not evil."
"Yet... demonic blood does flow through his veins." A Baron said. "And if they do marry, then... some day... he will be King of the City of Angels! We cannot allow that!"
The King nodded.
"I will not pass my throne onto a non Angel." Richard said.
"But Dragon Demons are descendents of Angels." Inflana said argued. "Many centuries back, we were one and the same."
"Then they defected from us, becoming half demons, we cannot allow them back into our city!"
"Then I will abdicate!" Aeris said. "Allow your greatest knight to take the throne! I do not care if I have to live as an outcast! If Vincent has managed it for his entire life, I can to! Love is stronger than anything else!"
"Where will you go?" The King asked.
"Everywhere! Gaia, the uncharted lands, the great Ice fields! Everywhere, anywhere! I would follow Vincent to the end of the earth!" Aeris said. "We will go everywhere, see everything!"
"I give you my blessing." Queen Inflana said. "Guards, release Vincent from the cells."
"Well I be damned!" Cid said. "That was pretty painless."
Vincent nodded.
"I expected at least four nights in the cells at least."
Aeris hugged him.
"Well... my mother is very laid back and understanding."
"Wow..." Vincent said, "If your mother accepts demon like creatures when she is sober, I am pretty unconcerned about having her as a mother in law."
Jenza1202 has updated again! I know I said this would be the last chapter, but I thought I'd do a special one for the wedding... and this is the fun part! All of you who review giving details of:
Your name:
What you are wearing:
Who your date is:
What gift you're bringing:
You get to come too! So please read and review if you want to come!