O4: Demon King and Falling Water **

*Content Warning: Abuse, self-harm, nudity*

“Where are we going, Yara?” We had been walking for what seemed like hours through the woods alongside a large road.

“We are heading north. From what I’ve found there should be somewhere we can stay in a town up there.”

“And why are we walking there?”

“Because I don’t have a car. And we are kinda fugitives so we can’t really use public transportation.”

“Could we not have gotten horses? Or do those not exist in this world either?”

“No, Ond, horses exist. But I don’t know how to ride one. This isn’t some RPG where you can just rent a horse carriage to take you to another town even if you haven’t been there.”

“And cars are those weird machina that keep moving fast, right?”

“Yes. And they are expensive, and they will hurt if one hits you, so don’t even think of jumping into the road.”

“What if we just stole one? We’re criminals now anyway, right?”

“We are not stealing a car. Don’t you have some kind of magic or something that could help?”

“Well, if I had my wind elemental magic, I could fly. But as I am now, that is impossible. I don’t know all of the light magic spells, so the best I can do is make it so you can walk through walls and stuff. If Ceatha were here, she could let us fly through the sky like a bolt of lightning or walk on the air like it was ground.”

“See, that sounds nice. Why couldn’t I get her instead?”

“HA, Ceatha is a goody. If she were with you, she probably wouldn’t have tried to escape from that jail. You’d probably still be behind bars, and your computing machines or whatever would have been found by the police.”

"Computers, not computing machines. And I guess you have a point. Come on, just another hour or so and there is a spot we can camp for the night."

We arrived at a large building surrounded by those cars of various shapes and sizes. "Wait out here," Yara yelled as she ran to enter the building. After a few minutes, she returned. "Okay, I told them we were vagabonding. They said we are free to use the trucker showers here once they are open, and that we can rent a room here with cash. It will only be one bed though."

“That’s fine, we are married after all.”

“Y-yeah.” Yara’s face seemed a little flushed as she rubbed the back of her neck. The sigil signifying the completion of the marriage contract had appeared on the back of both our necks in the same spot. It was a symbol of two interlocking rings being held aloft by a gryphon. Gryphons were seen as a symbol of marriage because they were a union of land animals and sky animals, or something. I always preferred dragons when it came to creatures of the sky.

Our room was rather simple. It had a single bed and a desk with a glass box similar to the ones Yara used. As well there was a separated portion with a toilet and a sink. There was no shower in this room like at Yara’s apartment, so it reminded me more of the restroom at the pizza shop. Yara put our bags on the desk and seemed to be doing something on her handheld glass piece. I sat on the bed and looked out the window, watching the cars come in and out of the stone field in front of this building. Humans in this world were certainly interesting. I had yet to meet an adventurer or anyone of a similar description. Magic seemed nonexistent to these people as well. This world might be easier to take over than I thought, even without dragons.

“I’m going to go see when we can get in the showers. Here, I’ll put the TV on for you.” Yara pressed a button on a small rectangle and suddenly pictures and sound came from the screen.

“Is this some sort of crystal ball! There’s a man inside it!”

“It’s a TV. It’s hard to explain I guess, but the things in there usually aren’t really happening for the most part, unless it’s a news story. Watch it for a little bit, maybe you’ll learn something.” Yara threw the rectangle to me and left the room.

"Learn something? Who does she think I am? I still don't even know how to read, I had minions do that for me." The man on the tee-vee was wearing a strange hat and seemed to be in a desert. Another man in an equally strange hat appeared on the other end of town, calling the man names. It was then that they each faced each other and, after a moment of silence, fired something at each other. The man who had done the name-calling was lying on the ground dead while the other man had an injured shoulder.

“Woah, what was that?” It was a strange device to be sure. It was smaller than a crossbow, yet it shot much faster. It left a trail a smoke at the end that the man still standing blew off. Was it a magic device? Did all humans have those devices? Come to think of it, the men at that jail had similar devices they fired at us… Was this how humans were able to survive in this world? Is that what they used to kill the dragons?

Yara entered the room, a couple of towels in her hand. "Okay, we can go in now."

“Yara, what is that thing?” I pointed at the man.

“A TV, I told you that.”
 "No, not the tee-vee, the thing the man in it is holding."

“Oh, that’s a gun.”

“Do all humans have those? Are they a threat?”

"I wouldn't say all, a good majority in this country probably do, but guns today are more powerful than a six-shooter like that."

“This is valuable information… I will keep the spell I used against the men at the jail on the ready, it seemed to block the projectiles just fine for a time.”

"Battle planning can be for later, for now, we have limited shower time. Now come on."

“Eh, are we going in together?” I was a bit surprised at Yara’s decision.

“I-it’s just because it’s faster that way. This facility is only supposed to be open to truckers and their families, so they are doing us a huge favor for letting us stay here already.”

“A trucker?”

“Truckers are… they drive those big cars with the big boxes attached to them. They deliver goods from city to city.”

“Ah, so like a merchant caravan… so this is an inn for those people?” This world must be pretty peaceful if it can dedicate an inn to a single profession.

I followed Yara down to the shower rooms. They were rooms with locks that you had to be given a special key for. The room itself had a place where you could sit your clothes and towels and then a spot for the shower itself. A clock was on the wall, probably to tell you how much time you had left in the shower.

I had no problems getting undressed, I didn't seem to feel shame for this body for some reason. Perhaps my consciousness still did not think of it as my own? Yara, on the other hand, was hesitating.

“Weren’t you the one who was saying about wasting time?”

“Yeah, but…”

“No buts, except yours once you take your clothes off, and mine.” I tried to imitate the dance one of my wives performed as a demonic courting ritual, but Yara simply laughed.

“Okay, fine. But promise you won’t freak out…”

“I promise. Besides, we are married now. We should see each other naked at some point anyway.”

Yara began to remove her clothes, and I could see why she was having some concerns. Much of her back, as well as her forearms and thighs, were covered in scars. I felt rage burning inside me that I did not expect to feel. Why, why am I angry? I needed to know who caused this!

"Who did that to you?" I grabbed Yara's wrist, holding her now uncovered body in place.

She shifted her eyes. "The ones on my back were my foster parents, but they are long gone by now." I sensed anger and relief in her voice. "The other ones… were me…"

I didn’t know how to respond. I felt overcome with more emotion than I had before. All I could do for a moment was hold onto her as tight as I could, pressing our bodies together. Once I regained my composure, I looked her in the eyes.

“You, Yara, are my beautiful wife and the first princess of demons on this planet. You are more precious than any other human being. No one can ever take that from you. Don’t you ever, do that again. Okay? Let me know if you are feeling that way, and I can help you take out those emotions however you need to. Once I get my magical abilities back, I can try to do some water elemental healing magic. It might not be able to make the scars disappear now, but…”

Yara silenced me with her lips pressed against mine. It was not our first kiss, but I felt more connected to her now than I did then, somehow. Our lips locked as I wrapped my hand around her fingers. The timer on the shower had somehow started, and we found ourselves intertwined as the water ran over us. As we drew apart from each other, I wasn't sure if tears were streaming down her face, or if it was just the bathwater.

We spent that night lying next to each other in bed, never letting go of each other’s hand.