Here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Comment if you do, even if you don't- tell me why just be nice about it.


Shara's confidence grew with every murder she committed and got away with. She developed a love for watching her pet devour the stupid guards. Of course her little trick was getting old, but she believed that it was the only way to successfully get the guards in the cage. She didn't notice that everyone began to keep a keen eye on the guards that were posted by the demon's cage.

Everyone was becoming slightly suspicious of all of the accidental deaths, after all not everyone could believe that every single one of the guards had sought to kill the beast. Shara was ignorant to these eyes watching the population of the palace and in her ignorance she got sloppy. Sometimes she would venture too close to the cage and would get blood on her gown, if someone noticed she would have to come up with a quick and convincing excuse or she knew she would be caught. In general, she was getting sloppy and this would end up harming her more than she could imagine. As the tension rose and everyone seemed to be ready to blame just about anyone, she would be stupid enough to venture far too close to the bars of the cell. This would cause blood to streak her from face to foot and there was no one to explain that in a feasible way. She started to panic and tried to spell the blood away but in her current state that would be impossible.

She felt her knees tremble and start to give way. The sound of footsteps coming down the hall hit her ears and she knew she was in a heap of trouble if she didn't get the hell out of here. A terrified look was starting to plaster itself on her face, and then her face instinctively turned into one of horror. She knew that her end was near when the footsteps stopped and a pair of boots stood in front of her.

A body slowly started to appear as the person slowly crouched down. A pair of strong hands came to her shoulders and she couldn't help but shrink away. She felt tears starting to run down her cheeks to play up
her shock.

"Shara," a low, calm voice spoke out." Come on; let's get you away from here. We'll talk about this later."

The solid but caring hands helped her up firmly and somehow she found herself trekking back to her room. She felt the pressure of the hands always on her shoulders and the soft constant sound of breathing behind her. The breath hit her neck hot, and moist. She never realized how cold she was until that breath hit her.

Once in her rooms, she was directed to a chair. She sat in it just like she assumed she was supposed to do. She felt a blanket being carefully wrapped around her and she started to shiver. She slowly let her body curl up into a ball and started to feel like a small child ready to be scolded.

"Shara, I'll leave you alone for a while. Would that be ok with you? You can always for me if you need me," the voice came again.

She found herself nodding and the person left. She was left to relax by herself in front of a big fire. She just sat there and shivered, trying to regain some self control, after all she hadn't really been affected by the killing, right?

It must have been hours before anyone disturbed her, and even then it was just a maid bringing her some food. Once alone she attempted to eat some of the soup and bread but found that she couldn't. That was weird, this had never happened to her before. No, she had never lost her appetite after seeing death before. Maybe she was finally really losing it, not just the giggling sort of mad, but the out of body sort of mad. This couldn't be a good thing.

She couldn't help but shrink back into her chair and hope that someone would come and talk to her before she truly withdrew from her body. She felt her mind slowly receding into her head and it scared her. She didn't know if she would be able to get out of her mind if she completely disappeared into it. That's what scared her most of all.

She heard a chuckle above her and she looked round her in hurry. Nothing was there. Again the chuckling began, but this time she didn't bother looking. Obviously her mind was mocking her now. When the chuckling stopped and she felt the weight of someone's presence in the room, she jumped a little bit.

"He-e-ello?" she asked in a shaky voice that hardy sounded like her own.

"Hello love," a chilly voice replied. "So good to see you again, though I would have liked it to be under different circumstances. Remember girl, everything has a price. What is worth more, a prince or a guard?"

She looked up with an inquisitive look on her face but only to find that no one was in her room but herself. She looked around herself just to be certain but there was no one else there. She only saw the face of her husband as he walked into the room with a slightly angry look on his face. And then she understood what her master had done. She would have to thank him the next time she saw him.