Chapter 3.
Yao rode Brownie to the gates of the prince's castle. "Daddy is in here aru? What would the prince want with Daddy that would startle you up so much?" she asked the horse. She hopped off the horse and opened the gates slowly. "Uhh, y-you just wait here Brownie aru! Yao will be back in a second!" She laughed awkwardly. Yao slowly walked up to the castle door and hugged her scarf tightly to her neck, "I-It's so cold," she commented.
Yao quietly knocked on the doors and tried to look in between them, "N-Nihao? Is anybody home?" she asked. The doors slowly swung open and she peeked inside. "Nihao?" She walked a little more inside when the door slammed shut behind her. She screamed and spun around.
A short boy stood in front of the doors, he had short, dirty-blonde hair and ocean blue eyes. "Sveiki," he greeted her. "What are you here for?" he asked the girl.
Yao shook in fear, "U-Uhh, I came for my dad, he was riding our horse into the woods and he…" she paused, "H-He never came back aru!" she exclaimed.
The boy tilted his head, "That idiotic git is your father?" he asked rudely.
Yao gasped. "I don't even know you! You can't talk to Daddy like that aru!" he yelled at him.
The boy walked past Yao and opened up a stone door in the middle of two candles, "Just come this way." He told her.
Yao shook but cautiously followed the strange boy. The stairs twisted downwards and the air became colder and colder the lower they got. As Yao was starting to think that the steps would go on forever, it opened up to a large dungeon. "Aiyah! Where's Daddy?" she asked the boy.
The boy flinched slightly at the Asian girl's fire. "U-Uhh, the last one on the left," he pointed down the rows and rows of cages.
Yao ran into the room and followed the boy's finger. "Daddy?" she called, "Where are you?" she ran to the end and saw her father curled up in the corner.
"N-no more… please….." he mumbled to himself. Yao stared in disbelief at the once strong man that was her father. "Daddy! It's me, Yao aru!" she explained. Arthur looked up from the corner at his beautiful daughter, "Yao! What are you doing here? You have to run!" he crawled to the bars and reached through them, "Yao, run as far and fast as you can! The people here are monsters!" he exclaimed. Yao tilted her head, "Wh-What do you mean?" she asked.
Arthur opened his mouth to explain but his eyes widened as he stared at something behind Yao's head. He screamed and crawled backwards, "P-Please don't hurt her!" he yelled. Yao stared at her father curiously and looked behind her. A tall man with silvery blonde hair and shining purple eyes glared down at her.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?" he demanded.
Yao shook and she turned fully around, she leaned against the cage bars and stared in fear at the demon before her. "I-I was just worried about my Daddy! The little boy led me here!" she tried to explain.
"Little boy?" he asked and scowled. "Raivis. You will regret the day you ever became like this." He growled at the two. "Girl, you better leave. You don't want to hang around here long, and I don't want to ruin your pretty face." He growled.
Yao's eyes widened more and she gasped, "I-I'm not leaving without my father aru!" her eyes hardened and she glared at Ivan. Ivan was slightly surprised at the Asian Girl's courage, or stupidity he guessed. "That's not possible girl." He told her.
Yao stood up bravely, "Then take me instead!" she yelled at him. "Let my Daddy go, and take me instead aru!" Ivan was taken aback by her sudden outburst; he considered the deal and smiled.
"Da!" he exclaimed. "Edward, Toris! Take the father back to the village, don't hesitate!" he ordered. Edward and Toris walked down the stairs and unlocked Arthur's cage. "Raivis!" he called. Raivis timidly peeked around the corner.
"Y-Yes sir?" he asked and walked forward. Ivan smirked and grabbed him by his hair and pulled him closer, "Take our guest to a special room," he gestured to the little girl, Yao. Raivis shook and smiled in fear, "O-Of course Master Ivan!" he ran over to Yao and grabbed her wrist, "This way please!"
Yao tried to pull back, "B-But can't I say goodbye to my dad?" she asked. "I haven't even said goodbye aru!" her eyes filled with tears. Edward and Toris carried a limp Englishman out the door and tied his wrists around the horse.
"Ride safe now sir." Toris smirked and smacked the horse away. It rode off towards the village.
Back in the castle, Raivis pulled Yao up the grand stairs, "Please stop struggling! It was your idea to see your dad, it was your idea to stay here, and it was your idea not to run! And now I'm the one that gets in trouble, do you know what Ivan does when he's mad?" he exclaimed to the girl. Yao sniffed and shook her head. "He hits things! And mostly that 'Thing' is me!" he yelled.
Yao frowned and more tears streamed from her eyes, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't want you to get in trouble aru, and I just wanted to see my Daddy…" she silently sobbed into her chest.
Raivis sighed and stopped in front of a wooden, oak door, "I didn't mean to make you cry," he looked softly at the sobbing girl. "Listen, Ivan doesn't spare lives easily, he obviously has some kind of thing for you so you might want to consider yourself lucky that he let your dad go." He explained.
Yao sniffed and nodded, she wiped her eyes and rubbed her neck, "Wait, where's my scarf?" she asked Raivis. Raivis tilted his head, "You had a scarf? Well I'll look for it but you better go in your room. I have to make dinner." He gestured to the door and led Yao inside. "Uhh, have a good night," he slammed the door and ran downstairs.
{* * *}
Ivan sighed and stared at the cage that Arthur was held in. "Why did I let him go?" he wondered out loud. "He knows we're demons, and where we live. Then why the hell did I let him go?" he turned and punched the wall. "Was it that girl? Was it because of her that I let him go?" he thought and looked down. "What's that?" he bent down and picked up the white piece of fabric. "A scarf?" he put it around his neck and inhaled deeply, "I think this is the girl's. Maybe I'll just keep it awhile….." he thought and walked up the stairs.