Would his sword be enough? Kuyabrion thought as he sniffed the air, trying to detect anything else that could give him the upper hand in a violent situation. If a human had managed to get themselves all the way to the demon realm, it would be hard to believe that they didn't have a few tricks up their sleeves.

But this is where it got strange, besides the distinct whiff of "human" he could catch none of the vestiges of that realm, no cotton or steel or livestock, not even the bleachey smell of white magic clung to the otherwise heavy scent of skin and fear. This human could in no way mask their scent, but had somehow gotten rid of every other trace of the unfamiliar world that they came from.

He cautiously began to walk toward the back courtyards, he knew that he should call back-up. There was nothing more foolhardy than approaching an unknown foe alone. But at this time of morning he wondered how helpful a mess of hungover thugs, to whom subtley was a challenge at the best of times, would really be. The scent had grown even stronger when the sound of birds reached his ears. Crows? That could be a solid explanation as to how this intruder got in, harnessing the power of the creatures was what had given their armies the strategic upper-hand for years! Though the same could not be said about their ration's culinary integrity. Sure eating the severed limbs of your foes was fine and good as long as you had garlic, but crow meat? No amount of spice could cover up the earwax-ey aftertaste.

He hid in the low, scrubby bushes creeping up on the cluster of glossy black birds, their voices covered up any useful sounds, though they meant he was well hidden too. He knew the miserable creature was close, but no form was immediately obvious. No glint of human armor, or anything else for that matter just a cluster of hungry birds snacking on some kind of carcass. As he squinted through the grayish leaves, he thought he might have hallucinated the scent altogether.

That was until he heard her voice.

"Oh it not such a big deal! I just want a few feathers! You wont even miss them!" The voice wasn't loud, more of a hushed whisper really. But it was clear and unmistakable. The tension drained from his muscles almost immediately, problem averted, or well it wasn't even a problem to begin with. A cambion's form seemed to come with many clear changes but voice was not one of them. His concern for security slowly melded into just plain curiosity. He had seen enough human in the course of his many tours of war. But only just long enough to rip them limb from limb lest they do the same to him. Mostly warriors, armored and dangerous. Maybe a few women and children, but only as corpses. He had let his eyes pass over them quickly. He didn't have much taste for hurting things that couldn't defend themselves, though he knew that people on both sides tended to make a sport of it.

He creeped forward spotting her small, pale form crouched on the edge of the group of crows, palm outstretched. it seemed like an overly tender gesture for a bunch of dumb animals. The human that he knew could only be Eriya was crawling on the ground on her hands and knees. She was smaller, less mature in this form. He had read somewhere that her kind could only age their human form if they lived in it, he guessed if she didn't do much in the form it made sense for it to be young. The palette of her hair and skin seemed somehow brighter yet more dilute in the harsh, drab landscape. The light giving her pale skin the look of marble. The shift she always wore has white for some reason. An odd touch considering it would have taken some kind of conscious act of magic to spell one's clothes to change from black to white based on form. But he had to admit that white suited this form better, though it did make her look sickeningly angelic.

"Pleease?" She reached her hand out to a complacent avian running her small hand over its back, it squawked and took flight a bit of loose plummage falling free. "Yes!" the small whisper of triumph reached his ears and he couldn't help but smile slightly. She was using her form to collect crow feathers? Little miss stuffy steward had a side enterprise? Cute. He wondered what exactly someone with a sweet gig like her's would need money for. Sure, stewards to the royal family were essentially kept beings, unable to stray too far from the side of their masters, branded with a mark of their station. But, lack of freedom aside, they had it pretty good, old man Gaga's lofty age was a testament. Despite the natural strength and general immortality of the creatures that called themselves demons, most didn't make it very far, devoured by something larger or slain in battle. Kuyabrion counted himself lucky to have lived to this point and he could thank nothing but his own wits, hard work and a face, that while ever-presently mocked by his opponents and cohorts, sure as hell got him everywhere brains and brawn couldn't.

As he watched the tiny young woman grasp at annoyed birds her demeanor was focused, but not aggressive as she sidled up to them being as delicate as possible before taking what she needed. In this manner she managed to collect feathers without driving them away. He watched the demeanor and was suddenly struck with how well she probably dealt with the Queen. A woman so overtaken with pride that even the most petty slights were capital crimes, yet so endlessly hungry for affection that the walls around her her heart could never actually let in.

He could almost see it in his head, the unobtrusive little stewardess, fetching her mistress lunch, arranging her clothes, drying her selfish, grotesque tears, holding her hand out with that tentative focus and inexplicable gentleness that even the most cold-hearted of creatures secretly longed for.

It couldn't have made him angrier.

That whore didn't deserve that kind of pure, genuine affection. Of course this was The Queen he was talking about, and of course she deserved the kind of respect that all rulers did. It was the way it worked. If the Queen told you to come, you came, and if she told you to do something, you had to do it, but most servants did not reserve love for their leaders,only pride in service and fear of punishment. But he remembered the look in her eyes as she talked about living in the castle, about "Her Majesty" the greatest person she knew. The idea that someone so base could have something, someone, so precious seemed like the most unfair joke he could have ever conceived.

A crash though the clearing brought his mind back to the present, some of the crows took flight, but most of them struggled close to the ground, ensnared by a net that seemed to materialize out of nowhere.

...

Dulled senses and frosty earth smothered her, her poor crows were in an uproar, screeching and clawing, their stray talons cutting in to her skin. She breathed heavily, trying to stand up, escape but tears sprung to her eyes as she realized she had been caught. Caught by what, she couldn't tell but in this state she was sure that it spelled doom.

"Hahaha! I told you that it would work!" a gruff voice echoed over the forest, "Told yah that my crow-finding spell was good!"

"Oh yeah, the net caught all of them too!" a lower, more slow witted voice exclaimed and Eriya's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach, "You mages sure are smart!

As footsteps approached she didn't know if she should try to wriggle away or simply lie still and wait for an opportunity to run, her sense of self-preservation went just a bit overboard as her mind flew in to a deeply useless tizzy. She ended up lying still hoping that the wieght would be lifted from her scrawny body just long enough to get away. She though of turning back to her human form, but the smell would still be all over her, and it wasn't like a cambion was looked at with much more respect.

She felt a yank on the net string tangling up in her legs and sticking to her arms. Augh, she realized much later than she would have otherwise that this net was charmed. She could break the charm, or maybe summon an item to get her out of this, but that all took use of her hands, which she didn't have. Facedown, she though she might go unnoticed for a few seconds-

"Hey look, there's something not crows in this trap!"

"Eh, what?"

"It's gold!" A rough hand grabbed her hair and she made a noise in spite of herself she tried to not cry out as she was pulled slightly upright, face to face with a wrinkly green creature, he was big, with long arms while she could see his mage compatriot a few feet behind, "Garzon it's a little human! You think it came over with the crows!?" Eriya flinched as she was shaken back and fourth, tears welling up in her eyes at the pain, though she dare not cry out. That would surely just egg them on.

"Maybe, augh don't shake it like that you're getting the smell everywhere!"

"You think we can eat it-?"

"Of course we can eat it!" She cringed, it was just common practice among lower classes to cook whatever they killed. She gulped knowing that she would have to talk her way out of this, but before she could even open her mouth there was a rustlign ans someone else entered the clearing.

"Excuse me gentlemen!" She gasped, what was it that she had done to the dictator of fate to deserve this. She could feel the blood vessels in her face dilate, unsure as to why she suddenly felt like becoming some plebeian's stew was preferable to that person seeing her in this state. "But are you aware that everything in that net that you have is exclusive property of the crown?"

...

Dull expressions met the entrance lines that Kuyabrion had taken a good thirty seconds to think up. He managed to catch up with the present right at the perfect moment. The ugly green one was holding human Eriya by the hair, a hungry grin on his toothy face maybe just about to do something unscrupulous. He turned slowly in response, recognition in his eyes. No one needed to say anything to declare who Kuyabrion was, the entire city had watch him cut down hundreds already. That spoke for itself. He reached down non-chalantly and ripped away the net, releasing a hundred black birds into the sky.

One icy look was all it took for Eriya to be released into his waiting arms. He waved the peasants away, their apologies falling on ambivalent ears. he could feel her trembling as he cradled her, but she didn't make a sound. Shock or fear, it was hard to tell, but it didn't matter either way, she was safe. And he could keep the smirk off his face. Something about helping her out of a tough situation made him feel more powerful, like he was taking a little part of what he felt like he was owed.

...

"How old are you!?"

"Old enough!" Eriya replied cheerfully.

"Are you married!?"

"Of course not!"

"What's your favorite color!?"

"I am fond of red and black!"

"Do you like cats!?"

"...Sometimes."

The barrage of well-meaning questions came like a not entirely terrible tidal wave. Ten-year-olds were so cute! Just intelligent enough to be good company, but still innocent like children ought to be. And by that she meant real ten-year-olds, not unfortunate frustrated cursed 18 year old children. Those were just sad to behold. Especially when they were your beloved princess, sitting in the back corner glaring at a wall and completely unaware of your presence. But of course, that was how it had to be, her capacity as a magic teacher was only useful so far as it cloaked her presence. Though she wished this human form could look a little older! Walking in, she could practically have been mistaken for one of the taller students. It was an uncomfortable feeling that she wanted to share with someone important, she wanted to walk across the room, grab her dear student/ monarch/ ward by the shoulders and tell her that she finally had caught a glimpse of the hell it was to be a grown woman in a child's body, it would do nothing but embarrass her, but Eriya knew that it would bring comfort if she could share that pain with another. But, Princess Glenda could not know she was here and as far a she was concerned, now that her schooling at home was over, Grandfather was the only one that had a place in her , Eriya was a bit happy to see her daily for this last bit of time.

"Teacher! What far away land do you hail from!?" The eager question from a dark-haired girl in the middle of the room caught her off guard.

"Well, um, that is a secret!" She smiled hoped that no one would pry any harder. Though something about the girl drew her attention, she was ordinary looking for the most part, with a big forehead, and a kind, energetic smile. But the Mage in her, could sense something useful there. Maybe under the tutelage of someone else she would grow powerful, she thought absently. Though it was unlikely that anyone in this realm would have the ability to nurture it.

"Aww well I bet that its very beautiful!" the girl replied with slight disappointment.

"-YOU CAN STOP SUCKING UP NOW YUCIE!"

"I'm not sucking up! It's called being friendly! WHY DON'T YOU TRY IT GLENDA!?"

The sudden interaction caught her off guard as well. Since when did lady Glenda speak so familiarly with anyone? Eriya had to smile a little bit. So travel was good for the princess after all.

((OMG SO I wrote a chapter! Um, wow, its been a while... I guess if you want me to write more let me know~ I will totally respond to that!))