((Okay! uhhh I'm not happy with this chapter or this story at all but I posted it because this stuff was already written... I edited it alot and tried to make it passable but yeah.. have fun! XD;;))

A shiver ran down Eriya's spine as she looked out over the color soaked landscape. The lightest breeze was running its fingers through her hair as the huge white-gold sun hung in a saturated blue sky. She blinked a few times, seeing the human world in real life was quite different than secondhand accounts. She hoped that it wasn't this bright all the time.

At the very least, she'd judged the right coordinates to create a portal. The grassy knoll she stood on perfectly overlooked the huge white castle and the town that surrounded it. A forest spread out behind her back. She checked her timepiece, perfect, she had an hour and a half to become accustomed to her surroundings and report to Queen Erecell of the humans. That should be just enough time.

Eriya flopped onto the grass and closed her eyes, if she was to to teach magic in this realm she had to get a feel for its energy. The dark, powerful magic that had surrounded her her entire life seemed far and thin, mostly closed off by the barriers between worlds. Though is familiar pull was still there slowly leaking through as it always had, it was certainly enough to use. As if to directly oppose the richness of her home world, the sharp, floral scented feeling of white magic also permeated the air. Ah, so this must be what people meant when they called the human realm the battlefield. It was the only place where heaven and hell had equal sway. Eriya would have thought it interesting, if not for the trouble that nature had caused.

Eriya crossed her arms as if to pull herself together. She tired not to imagine what it would be like to meet your end in a place such as this. Blinded by the light, burned and maimed with holy magic, before finally, the last blow sweeping your very existence away so that there's nothing left of you but dust. The worst way to go, no honor, not even a final word.

Her hands shook, not with fear for her own life, but at the images that came to her unbidden. She would never know exactly how that person had died, but it must have hurt so badly. Her nails dug into the tops of her arms as she contemplated the form she would have to take, it was needed, but the idea of changing always felt so unsavory. It was giving in to her greatest weakness and brought her closer to death every time. But, it wasn't like death was so far off anyway. Eriya decided to change quick, like pulling a band-aid. She took one deep breath, and called to her other half.

In an instant the taste of the air changed from foreign to sweet and the warmth of the sun spilling over her back felt as welcome as the embrace of a long lost friend. Her senses had dulled, but it felt like there was so much more to the world. The soft hair that slipped over her now hornless forehead was the color of new straw. Eriya savored the feeling of the soft grass between her toes, this place was perfect. More than perfect, at least that what her body told her, it took every ounce of self control to focus back on the true purpose for which she had come. Still barefoot, she started on her way down to the castle.

...

"So, why are you so obsessed with Her Majesty anyway?" The immediate death stare let him know right away that he had broached the wrong subject right off the bat, something Kuyabrion was all too aware of.

He had come upon yesterday's messenger wandering through the food stalls, daintily eating her way through a juicy-looking piece of Helboar. She'd taken a taller, more mature form, but he still recognized her without trying. The girl radiated an energy that was entirely its own, purposefully understated and controlled, but innately warm and intriguing. Her eyes stayed solidly glued to the sky as she made her way through the crowds.

Her sharp words from yesterday had dug themselves into the back of his mind and he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. Last night, when he had received the call that he periodically did, he'd hoped to catch a glimpse of her at the castle. But, of course, the halls had been deserted on her majesty's orders. He knew it was best for his own hide that he wasn't seen, but he had still felt kind of thwarted.

There were many ways that he had tried to analyze it, maybe he wasn't used to women speaking their mind, maybe he had been in some state of pre-battle euphoria and thus the memory seemed more spectacular, or maybe he felt some need to prove himself because she had dissed him. Of course, all of his high-brow theories seemed uniformly ridiculous when one remembered that female demons were known for being the most outspoken creatures the universe over, that he was sick of arena-battles, and that he honestly didn't really care who was rooting for him or not. The only tangible answer, what he had ascertained to be the fact of the matter, he had to admit, was that she was cute. Very cute.

She looked from her food to his face and back, her blood red eyes were still as wide and beautiful as before. She softly bit down on her lower lip, averting her eyes before turning back with a sharp look.

"That isn't any of your business." she took another dainty bite, and looked pointedly snobbish. An expression that looked quite at home perched on her longer, slimmer form. Her shift was the same length as ever though, a nice touch, Kuyabrion thought.

"I wouldn't mind knowing, though." He stepped in front of her path, determined not to be ignored.

Walking high on the balls of her feet, the young woman puffed up and turned to take a dignified exit. Too bad, Kuyabrion thought, she had failed to notice the stack of crates looming just around foot level. As she began to topple forward, he considered watching her fall to the ground, but that wouldn't have been honorable at all…

He also wouldn't have gotten grab her around the waist. Her slim body was soft and warm as he pulled it just a bit closer than was totally necessary.

"Careful now." He said, leaning closely to her ear, breathing in her clean scent. He took a moment to savor the shiver of shock that ran up her spine. The moment wore on; her reaction suppressed to the level that only a royal steward could muster. Kuyabrion couldn't help but rise to the challenge, he lifted her and placed her on her feet. Her long hair had picked up a twig on her almost trip down, Kuyabrion gave his most gentlemanly smile and flicked it away, "You've got to watch where you're going." A wide eyed look was highlighted by a dark blush on her soft-looking cheeks. Her hands had gone slack and the meat she was holding fell to the dusty ground. Score one.

"M-My helboar..." She looked at the ruined treat like a fallen friend and Kuyabrion felt suddenly odd.

"It looks fine to me." He picked it up and grinned. Dirt wasn't inedible, and half of the roast was clean, save for a neat row of bite marks, he sunk his teeth into the rich flesh, enjoying the greasy taste.

He offered it back to her and her desolate expression intensified.

"That is disgusting." A bit of revulsion mixed into that defeat and Kuyabrion could have choked. Though her form was taller, with a few more curves, the look of disappointment carried that same sort of clear innocence that made him feel guilty and protective at the same time, but then she quirked an eyebrow and the edge of her mouth turned up in a bemused smirk.

"I've tasted worse," Kuyabrion returned her smirk, "You should see what they feed the army."

"I would rather not, thank you very much!" She laughed and it lit up her whole face, "But really," she came back around, a bit more like the girl that had first come to deliver that message, "You should throw that out. It's unseemly to eat stuff off the ground."

"It's a shame though, I was kind of hungry."

"Yeah... Me too."

...

Milk, eggs, butter, and a vegetable for tonight's side dish all sat neatly tucked into the wicker shopping basket. There wasn't a cloud in the sky as Cube made his way back home through the countryside. He was on foot, due to numerous incidents that had rendered his modes of transportation useless. Though, he didn't mind so much on day like this.

As he made his way down the dusty path, he pondered his choice of vegetable. Now that he thought about it, eggplant was a rather unusual vegetable. Maybe, he thought, it wasn't even a vegetable at all but some kind of fruit. It grew on a vine right? It had certainly been the freshest thing at the produce stand and he'd read somewhere that it was healthy for you. But, did it taste any good?

He gazed suspiciously at the purple, oblong, thing that might have been a fruit. Maybe he should have gone with the carrots instead... it was bad enough that Lady Yucie was forced to eat such ridiculously sized portions by her father... it would be even worse it it tasted weird wouldn't it?

Yes, that would be unacceptable, but, he'd spent money on it and he didn't have time to go back and get something new, deliver it back home and then meet Lady Yucie after classes. Weird or no, the eggplant would have to stay. Cube looked up just in time to register that he was not alone on the path, that in fact he was walking directly into a person at some speed.

His mind froze. What? Before the taller figure started to topple, he got a clear look at her face; pale skin, blonde curls, and deep blue eyes that stayed glued to the sky above her right until the moment of impact. It was, Cube noticed with a gulp, the first human face he'd ever looked at in detail. Eriya's human form.

His heart jumped to his throat, first the vestiges of happiness and then sheer panic. He couldn't let her see him, not like this, not ever again. Because, despite some less desirable aspects of his life, Cube quite liked being alive and Eri, despite her present human-ness, was an old school fire and brimstone demon. Not the kind to forgive easily or go back upon their statements of "If you have the audacity to appear in front of me ever again, I will literally rip you limb from scrawny limb." He still had the letter, in her handwriting, which stated exactly that.

Cube thanked his lucky stars that Eriya's personal attentiveness hadn't improved. Before those dreamy eyes met with what was tripping her, Cube had made a lightning fast getaway into the roadside only thing that gave him pause was the whump noise and the pained little squeak. He turned back in time to see her stand up and look around, a suddenly pained expression crossing her features, a look he could recal from so many occaisions. It was like she hadn't changed at all...

Cube broke his attention away and started to run, since she was in human form, she wouldn't be able to easily sense his presence. But he wasn't dumb enough to wait untill she could.

...

"So- You've always just lived in the castle?" Kuyabrion asked between bites. They had settled with their, new, non-dropped on the ground meal in one of the outermost royal gardens, away from the lively crowds of the festival, of which they were both quite tired.

"For the last few hundred years, since her majesty married the king." Eriya replied, she had decided to give up the fight for now. Obviously the charm was a strong one, but she could seek some kind of antidote for it later. Right now things were, well, rather nice. It was quiet, she had food, and, for once, someone who, at the very least, was good at pretending they cared what she had to say. "Grandfather offered me as her new steward, and she accepted me."

She kept the description short. Sir Kuyabrion didn't need to be inundated with her backlog of painful memories from before that moment. She was lucky to have lived passed birth, occupational hazard/waste product that she was.

When she though even about her own appearance she wanted to go hide under a rock. Her fragile skin and scrawny form had "human" written all over it. Even her face got that "soft fluffy look" that Her Majesty always talked about.

"I see..." Sir Kuyabrion was non-committal. He had already expressed his dislike for the Queen, but he was obviously trying to make amends.

"Well, I'm glad that she did." he finished, giving her another honey-rich smile. He was really laying it on thick she should have been suspicious, but...

"Me too," Eriya tried not to feel so happy, she turned that glow into a smirk, trying to seem more non-chalant, "So how did a chicken-legged, stubby-horned, useless, sorry excuse for an imp like you become the King's knight?" There was a long moment of silence as Eriya hoped she hadn't overstepped her bounds.

"You really are old man Gaga's granddaughter aren't you?" he said with a deflated, expression. A hand also went self coconsciously to his forehead, where two horns that were somewhat smaller than average grew, but the slight grin that followed it let Eriya know that he knew she was joking, or at the very least, repeating words that weren't her own.

"Well, yes but I could be very offended right now at that derogatory term. My grandfather is wise and distinguished. Not old." She couldn't help but laugh at this. No matter how you looked at it, 1000+ years was over the hill, she'd thought his denial was funny for years, the way he wouldn't tell people how old he was on birthdays, or claimed that manual labor was below him now that it put his back out every time. "Or so he likes to think." She followed up, laughing to herself.

Kuyabrion tenor laugh echoed over the deserted courtyard and she was struck by an odd idea. As she sat there perched on the garden wall, the rich taste of festival food in her mouth, she realized she had never shared her thoughts with anyone. Her irreverent observations about her grandfather's age were just the very surface of a deep well of impressions, inclinations, and comments that got shoved down on a daily basis. She quietly gazed across the short distance between the young knight and herself, not sure what to think.

She wanted to say something but couldn't imagine where to start, so she continued to watch him laugh. A stray lock of pale rose colored hair blew across one eye, obscuring her view. The next thing felt was Kuyabrion brushing it away, stealing just a few extra moments to let his fingers rest on her cheek. Eriya froze.

The light touch pressed a bit more, and her pulse quickened, Kuyabrion smiled as her cheeks started to get hot, "I just realized," he said softly, "I've never heard your name. What might it be?"

"Eriya." She replied in barely a whisper, unable to look away as she was pulled farther into the charm of those green eyes. It awakened something within her that had never had the chance to differentiate itself before. In one exhilarating moment she found herself leaning forward, her hands perching on clammy stone. He was so close, but this time she didn't try to fight anything. A hand cradled the side of her face, warm and rough with the calluses of a swordsman.

"What a pretty name, " the low growl of Kuyabrion's voice ran down her spine, "I'll call you Eri for short-" Eriya did not get her chance to answer as his lips made subtle contact with her own. It's was a simple kiss, barely a greeting to some, but the last of Eriya's resolve melted away. Charm or no charm, she embraced the feeling that had been there since the beginning.

"Okay-" her reply was a bit breathy as she let herself be pulled onto his lap. Everything held a dizzy clarity as she reached up to run a hand through his hair.

He smiled, a bit of darkness flashing over his features. It caught her off guard, his arms tangling tighter through her frame. It was closer than she'd ever been to anyone, too close, but she didn't want to let go. If anything, she just wanted a taste of those lips one more time…

Eriya found herself being hastily shoved away. The ground was cold and her knee was skinned on the way down. That perfect moment quickly disintegrated as Kuyabrion now stood there with a look of cold indifference, his eyes focused on something in the near distance.

"Why did you-?", Eriya's voice squeaked a bit, stung. She hastily blinked away the tears of surprise that had sprang to her eyes.

"-Now, you've been told a million times! His Majesty prefers all of the plants in his garden to have THORNS." A very familiar voice was echoing over the grounds. Eriya looked at Cube one more time. He was nervously gesturing for her to stand up.

"See! All over these walls, No thorns." Eriya stood up just in time to see the King's head steward round the corner and come into their line of sight, trailed by a very bored gardener gnome. "You must fix it immediately—", His stern look traveled directionless around the forgotten courtyard, coming to rest on a familiar figure he had not expected to see. "Eriya-chan? What are you—you—", his gazed switched focus to the figure perched on the wall behind her and Eriya watched an impression form all too quickly, "YOU!"

The girl's mind reeled as she was yanked away from where she stood; her heart plunged into her stomach. Not only at her grandfather's present rage, but at the realization that it might have been so much worse…

She could feel her cheeks really getting red now, total mortification paralyzing her. Thank goodness Grandfather was highly distracted.

"WHO EXACTLY DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!" Eriya couldn't see anything now that she was being protectively squeezed to death, "Accosting a Royal Steward!" Grandfather's voice sounded like the look on his face could curl paint, "How low will you sink next Kuyabrion?"

"I wasn't 'accosting' anyone." The knight's voice was belligerent and sarcastic. "Actually, it seems kind of like you're accosting me."

"Eriya-chan!" Grandfather had her by the shoulders, "What did this creature do to you!" His big, round eyes looked bigger and rounder than usual.

"Ah—" Eriya prided herself on being truthful, and things like this were not uncommon… Probably not even a big deal … But as she opened her mouth she just couldn't say it, not this way. "Nothing—He didn't do anything, Grandfather; I'm not sure why you're so distressed." She mustered a look of indifferent confusion and fixed a piece of stray hair that could have been put out of place by Gaga's bear hug.

"Well?" Kuyabrion raised an eyebrow at the still furious-looking steward and held his palms out innocently.

"…Stay away from my granddaughter." He said darkly, "Or Else."

"Jeez, don't have a coronary, old-timer." The lithe demon stood up and stretched lazily, the smirk on his face dripping with contempt. Eriya could hardly believe she was looking at the same person. She found herself wanting to shrink away, the very last thing that came out of his elegant mouth hit her hard in the gut. "I'm not really into her kind, if you know what I mean…"

As he sauntered away she felt nauseous, the sweet memories of the afternoon, a monument to her naiveté. She didn't complain when grandfather fussily rushed her back to the castle, insisting that she spend the rest of the day in bed.