Himari and her role in the new world

Himari’s eyes fluttered open. She found herself staring up at an opulent ceiling with a floating chandelier. She looked again, and yes the chandelier was definitely floating. Everything from earlier came rushing back. She sat up too quickly and the room started spinning. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and the most beautiful voice she’d ever heard. The words finally registered. The beautiful voice was saying “Careful there my iskitini tvshka.” Once the room had quit spinning she looked up and found the most beautiful and arresting golden brown eyes that reminded her of honey. A glass with a clear liquid was pushed into her hands and that same beautiful voice commanded her to drink. She stared at the clear liquid unsure if it was safe to drink. She heard a soft laugh that seemed rusty from being unused. Oddly enough, the voice had warmth spreading through her chest and had amusement bubbling up inside her. When his laughter stopped she felt a wave of disappointment. She wanted to hear that laugh again. She frowned. Why would I want to hear a stranger laugh? Why am I so affected by his laugh? I must have gotten hit on the head by rocks harder than I thought. Himari thought. “Drink my iskitini tvshka. It is only water and no poison.” The beautiful voice said. Her head jerked up and she said “Can you read my thoughts?” Again that beautiful laugh rumbled from his chest causing goose bumps to break out on her skin. The laugh had lost its rustiness and sounded even more melodious. He said teasingly “The only thoughts of yours I can read are the ones written all over your face.” Again, she got the feeling that he hadn’t teased anyone in a while. She felt more warmth spreading through her chest. She looked up to see a crooked grin on his face that had her face turning a scarlet red. Then she felt a wave of shock. The person before her had horns on his head the same color of blue as the night sky with what looked like diamonds embedded all over the horns. The jewels, or whatever, they were caught and reflected the light and looked like twinkling stars to Himari. His hair was long and beautiful and reminded Himari of the moon. His hair even seemed to emit its own glow, like the moon. His wings were the same color as his horns down to the diamond looking jewels. Himari didn’t know what she wanted to touch more his horns or his wings. She forced her gaze away from his horns and wings to his clothes. He wore a white button up and plain britches. Her eyes roamed to his biceps and arms that didn’t look like they were strong enough to hold her, but they had. She still remembered the feel of them wrapped around her before she’d fainted. She then looked back up into the smiling face. Yes, it was who she thought it was. She wasn’t mistaken. The Demon Lord was smiling down at her. The beautiful laugh and smile belonged to the Demon Lord. She felt a wave of panic. Was he going to torture her? Kill her? Torture and kill her? He whispered “Calm down my iskitini tvshka. I will not harm you. Please drink some water and calm down.” Maybe it was his calming voice, or that he’d said pleased when she felt he didn’t use that word often. How do I know that? She thought. He interrupted her thoughts by saying “I regret to inform you, that your friends left you behind. They didn’t even try to use their magic to save you. They only thought of themselves and fled. They do not deserve your friendship. His anger washed over her in waves. She was touched by his anger, even if it was misplaced. “What friends? Oh, you mean the heroes party. I am not friends with them.” He started pacing agitatedly “You risked your life for complete strangers and they couldn’t even bother to use a little magic to save you. Are they not the protectors of mankind? Yet they left you to die with their tails between their legs like a bunch of cowards. How utterly despicable. They do not deserve the title of heroes.” He turned to face her full of remorse and bowed deeply and said “I am so sorry my iskitini tvshka. I did not mean to throw you over the cliff, only the branch you swung. You were so very brave and I am truly sorry I put your life at risk.” She felt his remorse and sincerity to her very core. Wait, come to think of it, she’d felt his every emotion since she had awaken. She rubbed her chest where she felt the connection to him at. Could he make her feel his emotions? Was that part of his power? She took a big gulp of water trying to calm herself. She looked up and caught his gaze. He also was rubbing his chest in the same spot she’d been rubbing hers. Her eyes widened. Did that mean he could feel her emotions? He whispered almost inaudibly but she still heard what he said “You feel it too?” She acted like she didn’t know what he was talking about and croaked out “Feel what?” he said in awe “I feel your emotions and you can feel mine.” She nodded her agreement even though he’d said it as a statement and not a question. Her head snapped up and she said “Wait. You aren’t making me feel your emotions? This isn’t one of you powers?” he shook his head no and said “I cannot make others feel my emotions. This is new for me. Have you ever had this type of connection with anyone else?” She could feel the truth in his words and anxiety at her response. She wanted to soothe him. She said “I can say with all honesty this is a first for me too. Why do you think we feel each other’s emotions and how I know things about you?” She felt his surprise, anxiety and inner turmoil. He seemed to worry about her response. He changed the subject and said “We will table this discussion for a later date; I should get you home my iskitini tvshka. All you have to do is tell me where you live and I can teleport us there. I have traveled the entire continent and all 15 islands so I can get us to almost anywhere. There are very few places I have not visited at least once. So where do you live my iskitini tvshka?” Himari said “What does iskitini tv… that word your saying mean?” the Demon Lord was rubbing his chest and said “My iskitini tvshka means my little warrior in my language.” He smiled at her gently and said “Your parents must be so proud to have such a strong daughter. I bet they are worried about you too. I should get you home.” He stopped speaking a moment and stared at her worriedly “Why are you sad? What did I say my iskitini tvshka that has you upset?” Himari swallowed around the tightness in her throat and said “Can you get me home to my world? I am not from Nacion Federal de Unidad. She spun on his heals rubbing his chest agitatedly and said as if speaking to himself “She really believes she isn’t from here. Maybe a rock hit her in the head a little too hard.” he turned and faced her latching onto part of what she said “You have to be from here. You know the name of our world. You probably hit your head and are a little confused. I’ll call a healer.” She said stopping him from leaving “I know I am not from here. I know the name of this world and other things like the heroes names ad your name from a book in my world. I was reading it when I got transported here. I know you’re a demon lord and have your own country and that you want to rule the entire Nacion Federal Unidad or NFU for short. I know you’ve been terrorizing the other counties on your quest for world domination.” She could feel his hurt washing over her in waves before she’d even finished speaking and regretted her words instantly. She felt the desire to take them back, but before she could speak he said in a voice full of hurt and anger “Is that how you see me, as a monster who will do anything and everything for power? I thought when I felt this connection to you that you weren’t like everyone else.” He gestured out the window and continued “They see our horns and think we must be evil incarnate and not a people just like them with needs and feelings. How wrong I was to get my hopes up that a human would see me and not see a vile creature.” With that he stormed out the door leaving her feeling horrible. She flopped back on the bed with her own emotions warring inside of her. The book made him and his people out to be monsters. People who had come onto the others lands and stealing animals and food. She sat up, with that thought. That’s right in the book they hadn’t killed anyone, just stole animals, crops, and food. Did that mean that the demon race needed food? Didn’t demons drink blood? She tried to remember a single instance of the book mentioning what the demon kind ate and couldn’t think of a single instance. Come to think of it when his people were raiding villages they never harmed anyone and the Demon Lord was never with them. The Demon Lord had been kind to her too. He’d saved her from falling. He’d apologized for knocking her off the cliff. He had even brought her home and stayed with her until she had woken up; he had even offered to take her home. None of this was adding up to him being a monster. She prided herself on not judging others based on what others say but on the person’s actions and their own words, yet here she was judging the Demon Lord on words in a book. She groaned inwardly. She had more questions than answers and she owed the Demon Lord an apology. She decided she was going to find the Demon Lord and ask for his side of the story and to apologize, with that she made her way out the door into the corridor. She could feel their connection guiding her they were tethered together with a rope. She noticed on her search for him that the house was clean and beautifully maintained but nothing was new, which made her wonder if the demon country was in need of money. She found him on a balcony outside facing the town with his back to her. She came up beside him before bowing deeply. She pushed all her emotions out through their connection so he’d know how truly sorry she was. She said “I am deeply sorry. I shouldn’t have said those things about you, when I don’t know you well enough to judge you. Please forgive me. I shouldn’t have let what I read in a book cloud my judgement of you and your people.” He rubbed his chest and said “I knew the moment you regretted your words. I owe you an apology too.” He bowed to her and continued “I am sorry. I let my hurt and anger over your words cloud my mind even when I knew you regretted them. I never should have raised my voice at you and I shouldn’t have stormed off. I will do better in the future.” She almost stumbled back as the waves of remorse hit her. He looked up and gave her a crooked smile and said “Yeah, this connection is going to take some getting used to.” He sent her a humorous smile before saying “Before you ask all those questions, let me formally introduce myself.” Me made a show of bowing and said “I am Demon Lord Duncan Rex at your service, my lady. Please call me Duncan.” He gently rose her hand to his lips and placed a gently kiss on the back of her hand. She felt the tingle of where his lips touched even after he had dropped her hand. She was sure her cheeks were pink. She attempted a bow herself and said “I am Himari Davidson.” She straightened and said “Okay, now can I ask my questions?” Duncan chuckled and said “You went straight to it. I feel like you have a million questions. Maybe I should tell you what is going on and see if that answers some of your questions.” Himari nodded her head in agreement and stood looking out at the horizon waiting for him to begin. Duncan said “This all started whith our crops. They were thriving and growing when the torrential rains started. Each village and town that we have crop fields in got hit by heavy rain for ten days and nights. It washed away all the crops and destroyed parts of the villages and towns. We had to do search and rescues because of the rain and mud slides it caused. We’ve had troops and volunteers trying to rebuild the damages. To top it off one of our main food source and a good way to gather the money we need is being targeted. Bandits or someone else is sneaking onto our lands and killing the bisonalce and only taking the antlers and skins.” She remembered the bisonalce being mentioned in the book she had read. The bisonalce was like a buffalo and moose combined and bigger than an elephant. They had antlers like a moose. The book said the antlers created great tools and weapons. It also said the skin was light warm and waterproof. They were sought after to make clothes for places that experienced cold periods. He paused running a hand through his hair before continuing. “Just a small antler could fetch us enough gold to fix the damage in one of the smaller villages. I know my people aren’t responsible for the killing of bisonalce because my people believe in using every part of the animal. That is how we show appreciation for the sacrifice of the animal. I haven’t had time to look into who is responsible though because we are stretched too thin.” He paused and took a deep breath “And I have been trying to gather funds. We made an agreement to sell our Mithril to Vitriolio but when I arrived with the Mithril to cinch the deal the Duke I met with ended up changing the amount he was willing to pay.” He sighed again, running a hand through his hair again before continuing. “I couldn’t accept the deal because it wouldn’t even cover the cost of the workers, so I couldn’t possible accept such a measly amount. It is worth at least fifteen times what I was offered.” He paused a few moments as if gathering his thoughts “I have tried to come up with a way to secure the funds, so my people will quit stealing food from other countries, but each attempt fails. You were witness to my last attempt. I was trying to talk to the heroes and see if they could help me. They had no interest in hearing what I had to say and after watching them flee after you and them thought you rescued them I do not want their help.” She felt his sadness and regret through their connection and felt the urge to reach out and comfort him. She placed her hand comfortingly on his arm. He smiled at her wanly and said “Enough of this talk lets go in and have dinner. You can tell me all about yourself.” They walked into the dining room and he pulled out a seat for her before sitting himself. The table was already set with delicious smelling food. While they dined on a modest but delicious meal she told him about her world and her parents. She could feel his interest and empathy about her parents through the connection. She also asked more about this world and his people. He answered her every question openly and honestly. It was decided since he didn’t know how to get her home that she would stay with him. After dinner he walked her to the room she’d first woke up in and told her clothes and other necessities had been placed in the room and adjoining bathroom. He wished her a goodnight and placed a kiss on her hand before walking off to his own room. Himari felt exhausted after everything that had happened. She quickly showered and changed before crawling into bed and falling into a blissful sleep.