Aaaand, here is Chapter 2! Sorry for the wait after the cliffhanger.

"Will he ever wake up? He's not dead, is he? I thought we made sure his vitals were okay! Liz, if this guy really is him-"

"Shhh! He'll wake up when he's ready. Stop being so impatient, Gilbert."

"But he's human, Liz...this is gonna be so lame. Unless he's that one, he probably won't even see us!" Arthur heard a rustle and a grunt of pain in response.

Human...? Arthur opened his eyes instantly, feeling his forearm burn with pain. "W-What in the..."

"Oh, he's alive!" the male voice cried gleefully.

As his eyes took in the sudden light and explosion of color, Arthur looked towards the people who were talking, his eyes wide and alert. There was a young woman and a man, who were staring at him in surprise, the man with a wild smile on his face and the woman with a more knowing, kinder smile. Arthur's eyes widened as he saw them, and he tried to stifle a yelp of surprise.

The woman had slender horns,if Arthur had to choose a word to describe them, that were sharp and small, but so deeply embedded in her hair that Arthur could almost believe they were real. Her forest-green eyes were slightly feline, and seemed to have shades of orange and yellow, like fallen leaves. And the man, with silver hair and crimson, almost reptilian eyes, also had horns, though his were slightly longer and seemed to have grown in a spiral pattern.

"You can...see us?" the man began, blinking dumbly at Arthur.

"I-I...pardon me, but...who are you?" Arthur asked, astonished. What was going on? Was this another dream? Perhaps they were just dressing up, there was no way...yes, that was it. He was just delusional. He'd fallen, and...clearly these were some of the strange pagans Francis had always claimed were hiding in the woods.

"Uh...I'm Gilbert! Call me Gil if you want. And this is Liz, but she's a real devil, so watch out!" Gilbert winked, guffawing to himself. "Get it? DEVIL."

Arthur frowned, bewildered. His accent seemed normal, perfectly Alarian. He seemed like one of those annoying, arrogant teenagers who prowled the streets with their gangs late at night, hoping to scare money and food out of innocent civilians.

"Don't mind him," Liz said suddenly, kicking Gilbert out of his chair. He fell to the floor with a large, definitely painful thud. "How are you feeling? Are you...you're definitely human."

"Um...yes, I am." Arthur said slowly. They must have saved him when he had fallen. He knew he had to say something to them, regardless of how bizarre the situation was. But if he truly had fallen off the cliff, why was his arm the only part of his body that was injured? He knew most people would have died if they had fallen from that height into the forest below.

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but...how exactly did I end up here? I'm not wrong in assuming you saved me, yes?" he began carefully, looking at the two.

"Yes, we did," Liz said, a hint of a smile on her face. "And before you ask, we fixed you up just fine. You almost permanently injured your spine, but we can't have that, you know."

"...'fixed me up?' How...my back feels perfectly fine, it's just my arm..." Arthur looked at himself in amazement. No cuts, no bruises, no scratches...

Liz smiled at him sympathetically. "Mm-hmm, well, you know...if you do decide to escape, we can't have you in perfect condition, right? Something to hold you back."

"Excuse me?"

"This one's kinda thick, huh, but I guess he's the one," Gilbert yawned, standing up and slouching down in his chair again. He flipped open a magazine as if to signal that he was done with the conversation. "Whoa, this chick's really hot. Liz, you could learn from this."

Ignoring him, Liz pressed an ice pack gently to Arthur's arm. "It's a sprain. It'll be okay in a couple of weeks, so...don't worry too much, all right? You'll be fine."

"How did you...how did you manage to treat all of my injuries? And, if it isn't rude to ask...are you, perhaps, dressed up for something?" They seemed too real, and it unnerved Arthur.

Liz sighed. "No, honey...my full name is Elizaveta, firstly, and, to be blunt - we're demons."

Arthur blinked, not knowing what to say. He always had a secret belief in magic and the occult when he was a child, but never had he expected to actually be in the presence of demons at any point in his life. But this silly, foolish belief had been beaten out of him soon enough, such that he was rendered unable to accept the situation in front of him now. Surely these two, despite their...oddities, were playing a prank on him. Surely something Francis had a hand in.

"I know, we have horns - so fitting, right? But the horns are punishment. High class demons are completely normal. They look just like you - well, they look just like any normal human. And...yes, as I mentioned earlier...I'm afraid you're going to have to live here, because now that you saw us...well, hmm...we can't have our little hideout busted, right?" She smiled and then sighed, looking as if she wanted to say something else as she fidgeted. "Honestly, we don't want to have to do this, but we have to protect the house - and you - for him."

Arthur decided to play along with what she was saying, the only evidence being his possibly miraculous recovery. He knew that, either way, these people - or demons - were clearly not up to anything good, judging by her apparent need to keep their location a secret. And yet, though he couldn't understand, Arthur sensed a certain kindness, perhaps even gentleness in her words that he couldn't explain. "Sorry, but for...whom, may I ask?"

A knock echoed through the room. Elizaveta smiled, though whether it was forced or genuine, Arthur couldn't tell. "He's here. Perfect timing, I suppose."

"Jesus, Al, just open the fucking door, there's no lock." Arthur immediately stared at Gilbert, slightly appalled by his sudden language. Gilbert didn't seem to mind as he casually flipped to the next page of his magazine.

"As if, Liz stabbed me with a knife the other day for interrupting you two fu-" The man paused after he roughly forced the door open and walked through the short hallway to the living room, looking towards Arthur, his eyes narrowing immediately. "Who's this? Human?"

Elizaveta sighed, rubbing her hands together as she bit her lip. "Gil, stop reading that and get over here. Yeah, he...fell through our roof, actually - but don't worry about that, Gil fixed it - and...we didn't technically have a choice, but he's a sweetheart, so I'm sure we'll get along, yes?"

Gilbert snorted. "Al'll tear him up tonight for dinner, just wait."

Elizaveta's eyes flared red, her pupils dilating ever so slightly. "He's mine. Don't touch him." The air was heavy with tension as "Al" took slow steps towards Arthur.

'I am drawn to you like a magnet...

Even if we were apart, I'd find you again...'

Why was he hearing that song now, of all times?!

Arthur backed up as much as he could into the frame of the bed, his eyes never having left the man as soon as he walked into the room. His hair was jet black, hanging in light strands across his forehead with an unnatural cowlick the curled upwards. His eyes put Gilbert's crimson to shame, and glinted in a way that reminded Arthur of spilled blood. Similar to Elizaveta, his eyes seemed slightly feline, but more human than compared to the other two demons. His skin was paler than Arthur's, and even compared to Liz and Gil, he was deathly pale. He had two short, curled horns, sort of resembling a minotaur's, that were nestled in his hair and seemed unnaturally sharp.

"A-Anyway, this is Alfred..." Elizaveta explained, smiling tightly at Arthur. She was definitely tense. "Just don't go into his room at night, okay? You might get eaten."

Arthur's eyes widened. "E-Excuse me?"

"Especially someone as scrawny as you. You ever lift?" Gil asked, not wasting time as he pointed, quite proudly, to his bicep.

"I-I edit...I don't really..." Arthur was at a loss for what to do. He was still having a hard time accepting that these people weren't human, despite his childhood beliefs. It had been so long ago, that night when his mother had thrown out his books on myths and magic and had replaced them with books on math and science. But the more he looked at Alfred, the more he was beginning to understand he didn't have a choice - the man in front of him was definitely not human.

"Edit?" Alfred snorted, interrupting Arthur's thoughts. "Edit your eyebrows, first. The fuck is going on there?" Alfred's eyes locked with Arthur's as he felt a shiver of fear run down his spine, which was immediately followed by a whirl of anger at Alfred's rude attitude.

"Excuse me, but if we're talking about fixing things-" Arthur suddenly stopped as Alfred's gaze turned intense, and found himself surprised that just a simple look from the demon could render him speechless. Arthur was strong; he wasn't so weak that he would wilt like a flower under the demon's gaze. Alfred started walking towards Arthur, and Arthur gulped, feeling fear for the first time in a while. Real, raw fear.

"You think you can talk to me like that?" Alfred asked in a low voice as he approached him, his eyes narrowed with a predatory gaze, and walked closer and closer until Elizaveta blocked him, stretching her hands out.

"I said don't touch him."

Gil grinned, grabbing Elizaveta and forcing her out of his way. "Come on, Liz, it'll be fun! We can see what our little pet is made of."

"I know, but Al can't-"

"It'll be all right. Besides, he won't stand a chance if we don't test him now, right?"

Alfred made his way to the bed unhindered and roughly dragged Arthur by the collar into a standing position by the side of it.

"Al, I told you, he's only human-"

"And just why the fuck did you fall through our roof? Who do you think you are?" Alfred growled, his eyes lit with anger, and, if Arthur was correct...slight curiosity.

But Arthur couldn't move. Fear paralyzed him as he stared into Alfred's merciless, blood red eyes.

'Were you crying, too?'

Arthur knew he had to be strong. Nobody else was going to save him - as if he needed saving - and he'd been irritated for a while, what with these...demons treating him like some lower being, able to be toyed with. He was Arthur Kirkland, the Arthur Kirkland, and he was done with being lost, confused, and helpless.

"It's no trouble discerning what manner of creature you are," Arthur responded sarcastically, meeting Alfred's gaze the best he could without falling to pieces. He was strong, stronger than this crass demon, and he knew he couldn't - wouldn't - back down.

The grip on his collar tightened, but he didn't flinch as he supposed Alfred had expected him to do.

Arthur tilted his head slightly, mockingly, as he smiled at Alfred. "What is it, then? Out with it. Show me your worst. Maybe you'll provide me with something interesting after years of desk work."

Suddenly, unexpectedly, the tips of Alfred's mouth quirked upwards into a grin. "And I thought this was going to be boring." Alfred laughed. "You're cute."

"You're positively adorable."

"But I don't like that tone of yours, Mr..."

"Arthur Kirkland," he said quickly, trying to quell his erratic heartbeat. Surely Alfred couldn't tell he was shaking...could he?

Suddenly, Gilbert broke out into laughter, dissipating the tension of the moment. "All right, all right, time out. I like him. He's got spark, you know?" Elizaveta smiled, nodding in response, though her hands were clenched in tight fists.

"To be honest, I had hoped he'd be more than a sweet submissive angel," Elizaveta conceded, but shook her head. "But..." She mumbled something to herself, looking at the floor.

"But you know, Al's cool with you so I'm cool. Welcome to the family, Art." Gilbert grinned, his teeth uncannily sharp.

"Art? My name is Arthur," Arthur replied as Alfred released him.

"No one's got time for that full-name shit, Art." Gilbert sighed, going back to his magazine as if to signal, yet again, that he was done with the whole affair.

Arthur hesitantly glanced at Alfred, searching for signs of I'm-getting-you-back-later, but instead found Alfred studying him.

"W-What?" Arthur asked defensively, his glance turning into a glare.

Alfred grinned. "Are you scared?"

"And why must I be scared of you?" Arthur huffed, crossing his arms in an attempt to look annoyed. But he knew Alfred's words held truth in them - just the sight of his grin set Arthur on edge.

"Oh, but you are..." Alfred suddenly reached out, grabbing Arthur's neck. Liz shot up immediately, running over to them.

"Al, no!"

"I feel it, it's here..." Alfred took a breath, and let it out slowly. His grip was firm, but slightly gentle, though Arthur thought he was going to strangle him. "It's been a while since I've felt a heart beat...and this fast, you sure you don't want me to end this for you?"

Arthur felt himself flush slightly, and he put his hands on Alfred's, trying to take his hand off. He knew he was at a disadvantage, as one of his arms was sprained. "L-Let go, you bloody-"

"I don't think I want to. Why don't you test your strength, little lion? It's only one hand."

Arthur glared at him, struggling to remove it. Why was he so damn strong? Surely it was because he was a demon. Arthur knew he wasn't some rag doll that a normal person could bully.

After a full minute, which seemed like forever, Alfred leaned closer, and Arthur instinctively took a step back. Alfred's eyes lit up in delight. "Damn, you were doing so well..."

"'Well'? Are you making a fool out of me?" Arthur was glad he was still able to form a sentence with how much he was panicking. But his fear mixed with anger and irritation as he struggled to fight back against the high-and-mighty demon.

"No, no, you're not supposed to step back, that makes you seem weak. But that's not bad either..."

Finally, Elizaveta seemed to have had enough, and wrenched Alfred's arm off for Arthur. And as Arthur glared at Alfred, he knew one thing.

Tonight, he needed to escape.