It seemed, however, that Mister Wink had learned his lesson from before and barely halfway down the tunnel he reached up and nabbed me from the ceiling by roughly grasping me around my midsection with his mechanical hand. It was a significantly painful affair, on my part.

"L-let…me…go!" I gasped, struggling to gain some room for my squashed lungs. Nuada had stopped a few feet ahead of his friend, and now watched with polite interest as I was slowly being suffocated.

"Why should I?" Wink rumbled his voice like thunder. "The Prince ordered you to leave, and you disobeyed. To disobey the word of royalty is to bring death upon oneself, little demon."

"I can't…b-breathe!" I was painfully aware of the fact that my thrashing was becoming weaker. Colored spots danced on the edges of the blackness closing in on my vision.

The troll ripped his gaze from me and asked the once-prince in a much gentler tone than the one he'd used to speak to me, "What shall I do with it, my friend?"

I twisted in Wink's grasp, my nails growing into claws that skittered with no effect across the metal surface of his giant hand, and looked down at the once-prince, true fear maybe flickering in my eyes.

"Let me see her," he said, and Wink obliged, lowering me from his eye-level to Nuada's. The once-prince looked me over as my eyelids fluttered. Finally he asked, "Why do you follow us?"

"Curious!" I gasped. "Just…curious…"

"And if I were to tell you where we are going, would you stop?"

I opened my mouth, but I couldn't answer. Wink seemed to be subtly trying to see how hard he'd have to squeeze to make me pop, and I was very close to doing just that—or at least it felt like it. On the verge of death, what little glamour I habitually cloaked myself in began to flicker and fade away. I would feel it sloughing off like a second layer of skin I'd been clothed in for too long. My claws became black and my skin became almost scarlet in color to match my hair. It was not a comfortable feeling.

"Release her, Wink! You're killing her."

Relief flooded into me in the form of oxygen and I fell immediately to my knees, gasping like a fish returned to water. "Thanks," I managed to choke out before the flat of Nuada's spearhead lifted my chin up so I was forced to look at him.

"We are going to the surface," he said, his golden eyes burning into mine, "to fetch the piece of the royal Crown of Bethmora my father long ago bestowed upon them—those humans above. They do not deserve it anymore—they never deserved it."

I heard all of this, and to be frank, I didn't really care. All I could think about was the deadly tip of the spear lovingly tickling my throat every time I swallowed.

Sensing my unease, perhaps, the once-prince shifted the spearhead so that it did not rest quite so close to the main passageway of my lifeblood; and cocking his head to one side he murmured, "So, demon—is your curiosity not satisfied? For that is what we mean to do."

"It will lead to war, the unveiling of our world," I breathed.

He scowled and shook his head, not angrily, but as if scornful of my naivety. "What of it?" He demanded. "Those beasts up there don't belong on this earth. They are killing it, and if the only way to save my people is to destroy the humans, then so be it."

He jerked the spear out from beneath my face, and I lowered my gaze thoughtfully. "It…makes sense," I said eventually, looking up to him again. "If the earth dies, we all die. But…if they die…the earth and all of the rest of us survive. It makes sense," I repeated sincerely.

It seemed this was not the reaction the once-prince had expected; he set down his heavy war crate and re-sheathed his weapon before crouching down in front of me. "Exactly," he said, actually smiling. "It's either them, or us, demon, and you have chosen the right side."

I frowned, slightly wounded that he would think I'd be on the side of anything so horrible as the humans. I voiced this to him, and he gave a low laugh somewhere in his throat. "My friend," he said suddenly, looking up at Wink, "what do you think of her now?"

Wink shook his head like a startled dog and grunted an answer, "The little demon speaks truthfully. She speaks for our cause. I…apologize…for threatening your life."

"No problem," I replied, followed by a bark of laughter that hurt like hell. "But…Prince Nuada…" I didn't know quite how to voice it without sounding like some sort of child pleading to go on a fun little outing, though that's exactly how I felt on the inside. I wanted to go with them, to help—but at the same time I didn't want any part in what they were about to do. That, I figured, was probably just the part of me that feared for my own hide.

Luckily, however, the once-prince caught on easily.

"You wish to come with us, still, demon?" He asked in a non-hostile tone, coming gracefully to his feet again.

"If it's not too much trouble…" I admitted. "Just tell me what to do, good prince. I'm a demon after all—it's in my nature to upset the balance of mortal lives."

That last part made his smile grow until it finally became something charming and amused again, and the once-prince extended a hand and once again helped me to my own feet. "Wink?" He inquired, locking gazes with his companion.

The cave troll merely dipped his head in assent before leading the way down the tunnel again. Nuada released me and took up his rattling war crate again, nodding his head in the direction of Wink's retreating back. "This way—and we must hurry."

"Yes Prince Nuada," I replied like a good little demon as I mimicked his swift gait into the darkness.

--

A/N

Man, I am just shelling these chapters OUT, aren't I? This's just a boredom project, more than anything else. Next up is the auction scene! Woo!

Oh, and I would just like to say, yes I did borrow that whole "if the earth dies, we all die, if they die, then the earth survives" thing from The Day the Earth Stood Still. I do not own anything from that movie. I don't even the DVD. So there.

Report Mary-Sue-ness and plot stuff or Nuada behavioral stuff!

I just love the little face-glomp creature, and then Nuada's like "Be quiet…" in that hilariously disdainful way. And then that guy in the crowd covers his dog's eyes! Ha!

I'm offa school today, nyea!

Review please? Please? Review!! ReViEw!