She slowly walked down the hall, lighting the lamps as she went. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a braided bun, for slaves were not aloud to wear their hair loose. Her equally dark brown eyes searched the hall for something interesting, finding nothing but the stone of the castle. Her dress was a little too large for her, an off white color. Slaves did not deserve dyed clothes after all. The clothes were rather thin, and hardly kept out the cold of the night. Not that it mattered, she thought as she reached for another lamp. She was more then used to the discomforts of life.

She was called Da Qiao, for she had no name. Her father had been a worker in the castle, but had died. A horse had kicked him in the head one day. She had been taken from her mother to replace him, and became a slave. She had been stripped of her name at that point, and had been young enough then to not remember what it had been. Her mother then died in child birth with her sister, who was taken as well into the slavery for the castle. She had no name either, but was called Xiao Qiao as she was the younger one. Da had been the one to raise her, with the help of some of the other slaves.

At first having no name saddened her, and often made her feel inferior to others. The slaves that had names. Slaves that were bought, or traded. They had names. Da, coming in as compensation, did not have that right. But, she had easily accepted it after one incident with a troublesome slave. He had listened on one of the magic lessons for the, at the time, youngest prince. He had tried to use it on Da. But having no name, it had no effect. Names were the basis for magic. If the caster had the chosen ones name, then all havoc could be wrought. Da didn't try to delve too deep into the system. Magic was far too confusing when not properly taught. But she was grateful after that. Xiao as well, decided it wasn't such a curse anymore.

Most still looked down on them for being nameless. Scorn, however, was nothing new. They were slaves. Slaves attracted that sort of attention on a regular basis. Da learned to quietly take their opinions, and then let it drift away on the breeze. But, being aloof to their taunts had its downfalls. This was why she was lighting the lamps in the damp lower levels of the castle. The princess had been none too pleased that Da did not break out in rage or tears at her taunts.

Holding the torch close to herself, selfishly hording the warmth it provided, she searched ahead of herself for the next lamp. There were supposed to be 315 lamps for her to lamp. That, though, wasn't supposed to be her punishment. A beast was supposed to be locked away on this level, which explained some of the dust on the floor. The monster was said to have been terrible centuries before. He had killed the people, feasting on their flesh. He even out fought all the soldiers sent to destroy him. The story went though that the princess at the time, schooled in magic, had been able to guess his Ancient Name, and then was able to seal him away. Bigger, more dangerous spells, took more special names. Or so Da was told by another slave that listened in to the magic lessons. Da was never assigned to those rooms during lessons.

The monster was then locked away down in the lower regions. The royal family was supposed to be able to call on it, but had never done so. Da herself didn't really believe it. Stories were over exaggerated, in her opinion. Maybe there was a monster centuries ago, some demon. Possibly, it was locked away down in some room. But the tale was too fairy tale like to her. She knew the fairy tales, often watching over the little children.

She came upon four lamps, and lit them with some difficulty. She had to jump to reach the two on top. The light allowed more vision, she saw the door. One had to show up for the rumor to be true. The demon had to be locked away. And locks usually required doors. Curious now, since the door was made of lovely stone. It was engraved with tigers and cranes. The lake the tigers slept near was vast, filling most of the background, mountains rising with the cranes. Some trees bent over the scenery, creating a sort of arch or frame for the picture.

"Who would go through such trouble and care for a demons door?" she mumbled, lighting running her fingers over the engravings. Of course, nobody answered. Biting her bottom lip, and glancing down the hall, she blew out the torch she held and laid it under one of the lamps. She would relight it after peeking inside. She was only a young girl, barely reaching sixteen. She was still expected to be curious. She was not supposed to abide by her curiosity anymore, but that was a technicality.

Pulling a pin out of her hair, ignoring the girl that bounced against her cheek, she found the lock and started picking at it. Surely the door wasn't the only thing keeping the demon locked away, so it would be alright to open it. Besides, it had to be fed and what not to keep it alive this long. So the door could be opened. Ignoring the fact she really knew nothing about the magic she was relying on to save herself, Da smiled with satisfaction when the lock clicked. She was, however, surprised that the lock was so easy to pick.

Pushing the curl behind her ear, she pushed the door open. It was eerily silent as it opened. Which was a good thing, Da thought with a frown. Peeking around the massive door. The room was very well lit, again surprising Da. Pillows of the warmer colors littered the floor. Lamps hung from each wall. In the middle of the room was an incense burner, currently burning the smell of cinnamon and mahogany. An archway led farther inward. The angle was bad, but Da could make out the sound of water, and could see stone steps from beyond the archway. She didn't, however, see any sort of demon prowling around.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, and refusing to back down, she stepped into the domain. What demon would get these kinds of luxuries, she thought trying to ease her nerves. Surely this was just one get away room for one of the royal family members, and they spread word of the rumor to keep people like Da out. Nodding her head, she gently stepped around the pillows. It was surprisingly warm in the room, almost uncomfortable. Licking her dry lips, she made it to the arch without stepping on anything.

Leaning on the stone, she leaned to look around the stone. What she saw shocked her. When she had imagined the demon, she had expect some hairy mess of a being, with razor sharp claws, teeth like a dragon, breath like poison, drool like acid, and eyes like coals. She had imagined long limps, and a wolfish face that snapped and barked. She had anticipated something hideous and terrifying. What she did see, while still terrifying, was not what she expected.

He was very human like in shape. He had a chiseled body, arms thick with muscle. His skin was tanned, and glistened from the water he lay in. His hair was a simple brown, darker then her sisters but lighter then her own. It fell around his face, touching his shoulders slightly. He had a strong jaw, a goatee growing. He was staring at the wall across from him, she viewing his side, and his eyes looked like a bright brown. Almost glowing. Which was one of the reasons she knew he was a demon.

Another was the fact that the steam swirled around him, like he was some magical entity that the steam desired. Steam didn't swirl normal people. Nor should the pond be steaming. There was no way to heat the water without magic. So, if nothing else, he was a powerful magician of some sort. Controlling elements was difficult for their names were not their essence as a whole. She doubted he was a magician though, because of the giant yawn he gave. His mouth was filled with the fangs of her imagination. Changing he shapes of bone was more dangerous then controlling elements. Any who had done so in the past had died in the process. Even just teeth. The last thing that gave him away, if those weren't enough for her, was the sense of power and danger that radiated off of him. He was a predator.

He yawned in the pool, scratching his cheek for a moment. How often had he stared at the opposite wall? Really, it wasn't fascinating the first time. Frowning at it, he dropped his hand into the hot water. One of the perks to being Demon of the Smokeless Flame, as the humans loved to call him. His body temperature was always warm, but with some concentration, he could have himself a warm bath as well. That and he rarely suffered from any sort of temperature outside. It was a good perk, living in the dank lower regions of the castle

With a bored groan, everything always being the same anymore, he stood and stretched. Really, the only entertainment he got was exercising, and that was just because he could let him mind go blank as he did so. He stopped for a moment, as the steam disappeared as he let his body temperature drop to its normal degrees. A new smell filled his chamber. So used to the damn cinnamon and wood, the smell of flowers and sunshine had his mind reeling. How long had it been since he had something new?

Eyes snapping open, he turned. She stood in his archway, brown eyes wide. Like a deer. Her mouth, lips dry and cracked, were slightly open. Her skin pale, if not slightly dirty, matched her rags of clothes. Her hair was messily put up, and he couldn't stop the smile on his face. Her face flushing, eyes shooting downward and then back up to his face, she screamed and turned. Still smiling, he hopped out of the pond. She tripped over all the stupid pillows, arms flailing wildly. She knocked over the incense burner. But it didn't slow her.

It would do him no good to try and stop her. She was too close to the damn door. The charms on it prevented him from going near it. But, as he picked up the still scalding hot burner and righted it, he still grinned. She was marked; the red welt on her hand was all he needed. He was of the Smokeless Flame. Attracting her again would be of no great difficulty. And it was just what he needed, he though as he straightened and stared at the door. A little entertainment would keep him sane. Now, all he needed to do was find his clothes, contact some friends from the outside, and get her back for a visit.

Okay. I really like this one. I really really do. But I don't have time for it. Not at all. I've got to work on Wyrms, and the modern one (which honestly is getting nowhere fast). Between that and school (which is again butting its ugly head in my personal time) not to mention writers block, I don't have time for this one. Like, not at all. So, you guess, I'm willing to let people adopt it. As many as they want to. Take it where you will (because everybody will go down different routes). I'd actually feel complimented if you guys wanted to take it somewhere. If nobody does, it'll stay on my archive till dooms day probably. I'm more then willing to help people with it, PM for anything. I'm cool being helpful. Anyway, if you want to take it somewhere, just let me know you are and I'd like to read it please. Thank You.

Yes, its a DaxCe fic (at the moment I have Ce as the demon, but since he isn't named you don't have to go that route, FYI)