the girl is kidnapped and locked in a castle

Demon castles, like territories and impeccable tax records, were traditions that refused to die for them. 'A demon with short hair and no castle might as well remove their horns.' Reem had read those exact words somewhere... a long time ago. But she remembered them, so they must've been true. Perhaps she'd ask the demon lord about it one once he let her down.

The castle of this demon lord, in particular, lay on top of the town's tallest hill, surrounded by woods that glowed white at night, above grass as black as the sky. It wasn't just those woods; most of the flora in the area seemed to be this way.

Aside from lying on top of a hill, though, it looked... shoddy? Not that Reem was one to talk considering where she lived, but still. Not only was it pretty small for a castle, but some of the stone had also begun to chip, and the gate had a giant block of cardboard instead of a door. There was nothing on the courtyard but black grass and a single tree with actual leaves, a swing, and some unidentified fruit.

All of this, Reem focused on so that she'd forget she'd been abducted by a creature that ate her kind. It worked for a bit. But then they reached their destination.

The demon lord, who had been jumping so high he might as well have flown, landed rather unceremoniously before the main entrance to the right wing of his castle, which was to say that he slipped. Reem rolled off his shoulder, yelping, but the grass was way fluffier than it looked, so it helped cushion the fall.

He sat up.

If nothing else, the demon lord greeting the floor with his face helped Reem gather the courage to... well, see his face. It was too bad that the first thing she noticed was how his right sclera matched the color of the grass below, with tiny, vein-like structures spreading down to his cheek. The next thing she noticed was that he glanced at her. So then she turned away quickly. "No, go on," he said. "I'm used to it."

"I don't, um, I don't know what you're talking about."

The demon lord stood up. "Right." Against her best interest, Reem glanced at him from the corners of her eyes anyway. The other eye was normal. As in... not... inky. Moon-white horns rose like branches above his head, his skin so pale it almost matched them. With his hair being so blond and his cape being so dark, his eyes were the like a cottage in the middle of a snowstorm. Demons had pretty funky eye colors. Purple. Lavender? "Come in. The hunter will approach soon."

But he had kidnapped her and squeezed her cheeks against her consent, so reem refused to call him good-looking. "Your nose is bleeding," she said. "From the fall."

"Yes. Disregard."

"I have tissues in my pocket."

After he helped her up, Reem handed tissues to the demon lord, which he used with one hand while ripping the door off the tower of the west wing with the other. "Fuck," he said. Reem said nothing this time. She just let him be. He walked in, to a castle that looked considerably less pathetic on the inside, and which had more books than bricks. "Sit wherever you want. I will be most grateful if you feign distress once he walks in."

"He? The guns—hunter?"

"Correct."

Reem pushed a stack of papers off a couch, then sat. There were less blood stains than she would've imagined. In fact, the only source came from the demon lord himself. She also found no traces of innards. "Whoa," was all she could say.

With his voice muffled by the tissue, the demon said, "This might take a while."

"That's. That's fine. So, um. So the thing is. I'm being held hostage, right?"

"That is a matter of perspective."

"Yeah, but like, I won't die, right?"

"Not by my hand."

"And your mouth?"

The demon's glacial, unchanging gaze fixed on her. He shook his head, slowly.

Reem pretended like that wasn't condescending. "That's good. So you're luring the gunslinger into a trap? The hunter, I mean. Is he a demon hunter or a bounty hunter? Does the thing on your eye hurt?"

The demon turned his back on her. Fortunately, this meant Reem could stare at his long, lush hair with unveiled jealously. Hers was dark blue, cropped to hang a little below her chin, shorter at the back, limp and thin. "Both, I presume," replied the demon. "It's less a trap and more a cordial invitation. Also, no, it does not. No one had ever really asked that before. What a stupid question."

"Speaking of stupid questions, is it true that all demons have long hair and a castle? I'm not trying to be racist. Just curious."

Again, he snorted, but he cleared his throat to cover this for some reason. "Not all," he replied, "but I would imagine that most of them try. What a talkative hostage you are."

"I get told that a lot."

"Pardon me?"

"Joke. I was joking. Never mind. Can you please sign a paper saying I was kidnapped so I can go back to work without getting admonished?"

He glanced at her from above his shoulder—with his good eye. "Is that also a joke?"

"No..."

There was a pause. Then again, her boss had probably witnessed the kidnapping anyway. "Fine," he said.

"Thank you."

"You smell of fear."

Apparently, his rude comment yesterday had been a statement and not a figure of speech. How did fear smell? But yes, she was afraid. How could she not be? There was fight, there was flight, there was freezing, and there was fawning. "How long until the demon bounty hunter gunslinger arrives?"

"He's still far. Why do you speak to me if you're afraid? You're not even asking to get eaten anymore."

"I never asked to... I mean... 'why wouldn't I?'"

The demon regarded her for a moment.

"Why do you want to participate in a bounty where you are the target?" Reem asked.

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Ugh."

"How about you? Will you join the hunt?"

"....nah. What would I do? Clean harder?"

"Didn't you learn magic in school?" He asked. "I saw you summon a will-o-wisp."

"Sure, but anyone can do that. Anyone. Do you really think I'd be able to do anything against someone who... oh, yeah, what was it you did earlier? Did you freeze time? Can you blow up galaxies with a thought?"

"Your questions are growing more unhinged."

"Not as unhinged as you suggesting I join a party to hunt you," Reem said. "For a week's worth of pay, might I add. So did you freeze time?"

"No? No. Just." The demon picked a book from a shelf nearby. Several others toppled down. He pretended not to notice. He handed it to Reem. She'd yet to learn the demon alphabet out of laziness, but if he gave this to her, it meant the language was the same as the one they spoke in.

Reem paged through it a bit. Diagrams and numbers were the same no matter the language or alphabet. "Ahh... time-space magic. Oh, my. So you localized the... uh... thingy... I forgot."

"Yes."

At least he knew what she was talking about. Time-space magic was everyone's worst subject. "You're a very nice kidnapper, Mr. Demon."

"Sionn is fine."

"Oh." She'd meant to say 'Reem is fine'. Stupid. "I'm Reem? Nice to meet you?"

"Joke?"

"...yeah." No. How long had it been since she'd last conversed with anyone? This was depressing. Of all people... "You're pretty talkative yourself. I dunno. Were you trying to kill the gunslinger earlier?"

"No."

"I'm just asking."

"Reasonable question, for once—but no." When she said nothing to that, he added, "I merely tested his strength. And he tested, mine, no doubt. You are his excuse to try to kill me."

"Do you actually expect him to show up?"

"To refuse my invitation would be most indecorous."

Since Reem was a dumbass, it took her a moment to get it: the 'invitation' had been her abduction. While the inter-species treaty banned pointless kills, rescuing a damsel from an evil demon lord was considered anything but. Sionn might as well have told the gunslinger: 'come and slay me... if you can'.

"I am bait," she said, "on both ends."

"Th—"

"It is not a matter of perspective."

She managed, at last, to hold his cold gaze for longer a second. He sounded like he looked. That was a compliment or insult depending on her mood. Sionn asked, "Would you like some tea?"

Reem squinted. "...sorry?"

"You seem troubled. Follow me."

She did. To scream or run would've led to the same result as passively accepting her doom. Also, she liked tea.

"There is too much tea to drink alone," Sionn admitted, unprompted. "That is not a figure of speech."

Talking to Sionn was beginning to feel like eating assorted cookies while blindfolded. She almost told him this. For someone who looked and sounded so... distant... he sure liked to talk. He had also been fidgeting the entire time they'd conversed. There was also him stamping the ground with his face earlier. Him tearing the door off its hinges by accident. How he slammed his horns against the doorframe to the next room, grimaced, then, as if remembering Reem existed, was quick to straighten up and tell her to hurry. 

To call it jarring was an understatement.