To Bewitch a Devil

Neera froze as the hairs on her body stood upright.

“Your ... majesty;” she cried as she locked eyes with the beast, her life flashing in front of her.

Zavian was silent as he aimed at the animal, his gait straight as though he had done this before.

The boar growled when it saw Zavian aiming at it. It kicked its feet across the ground and in a second, it leaped forward.

Neera shrieked as the beast leaped towards them, without a second thought, she stood up and ran for her life, screaming as she went.

Zavian did not move, he just aimed at the animal which was running toward him at an incredible speed, but just when it was about five feet close to Zavian, he released the arrow.

“Screech!!!”

Neera’s feet came to a stop when she heard a loud thud on the ground and she turned around, her heart still beating fast.

.....

She waited to hear something but there was no other sound and then she turned around, walking back to where Zavian was.

As she approached, she saw the animal on the ground with the arrow halfway through its skull. Neera stood in shock as she stared at the dead animal and then turned to Zavian who was putting back the bow into the bag.

“Where did you run to?” He asked, looking at her amusingly. The fact that she thought to run away when he was there was quite funny. Even without the arrow, did she think he would let the boar hurt her?

Neera stared at him, no words leaving her lips, she looked behind her and then back at him;

“I ran for my life. What if the boar got to me before you killed it?”

She asked, still shaken from what just happened. At her words, Zavian laughed; standing up, he inched towards her.

“You forget what I am;” He spoke, closing the gap between them. Neera’s chin flushed as she inched backward and stopped when her back touched a tree;

“A demon. I can kill the boar with my hands but this is a game and it h rules, darling.”

He said, pushing some strands of hair behind her ears. Neera’s chin flushed as her eyes fluttered.

They were dangerously close to each other and she could feel his breath on her skin. Her heart began to pound louder and Neera bit her lower lip because she knew he could hear it.

A smile stretched Zavian’s lips and in the next second, he placed the bag on her arm, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Let’s go.”

He said as he walked forward. Neera stood still for a few seconds as she regained herself before she followed him.

“Where are we going?” She asked as she hastened behind him.

“To find a bigger kill.” He said as he walked. Neera’s lips fell, “what of the boar?” Was it not a big enough kill?

“We have to see if we can find something bigger; walk in front of me;” he said as he moved to the side, letting her walk in front of him so he could watch her.

Neera clung to the bag on her arm as she stepped forward, she was tired already but it didn’t seem Zavian was going to stop anytime soon.

Neera’s eyes stared at the ground as she walked in front of him, her feet breaking the branches that had fallen to the floor.

Suddenly, she heard an animal’s scream and she turned in the direction of the voice, and almost immediately, Zavian’s voice rang in the air;

“Watch out!” He called and before Neera could raise her head, she was pulled from where she stood, and when she opened her eyes, she was in Zavian’s arms.

Neera’s heart plummeted as she opened her eyes in shock, wondering what just happened.

Zavian was staring at her with dread on his face. He touched her face with his hand, making sure there were no injuries on them.

“Are you okay?” He asked and Neera looked past his shoulders and her eyes widened when she saw the arrow that had burst through a tree.

“Your majesty!” A servant screamed as he ran to Zavian, horror on his face. He had seen an Elk and had fired an arrow but had missed. It was only when the Elk ran off that he saw the king walking afar off. Before he could alert them, the arrow had reached Neera.

Immediately, the servant fell to the ground and prostrated; “Your majesty, I deserve to die.” He cried, lying on the soil.

Neera blinked as she looked at the arrow which would have pierced through her head and color drained from her face;

“Are you okay;” Zavian held her face tenderly as he asked, bumping Neera from her thoughts; her eyes turned to him and she nodded lightly. He did not even glance at the servant on the ground as he concentrated on Neera, making sure that she was okay.

By now, his men gathered with their servants, holding the carcasses of the animals they had killed;

When they saw the servant on the ground and the arrow in the tree, they knew what had happened;

“Sire, we should kill him,” Ryan said stepping forward. The servant’s cries increased and he pleaded for mercy.

“Take him away;” Zavian ordered without even looking at the boy on the ground. Fear flashed through Neera’s eyes when she heard him and she quickly held Zavian’s hand;

“No, please don’t kill him.” She plt was clearly a mistake and she did not get injured in the end, there was no need to waste the boy’s life.

“Please, I am he did not intend to hurt me, spare his life.”

The men knew that the boy was not going to live, he had attempted to shoot at the king, and whether it was intentional or not, it did not matter.

But Zavian’s response shocked them;

He was quiet for a few seconds as he stared at Neera, then he turned to Ryan;

“Let him go; ” he said, and the boy rolled on the ground as he thanked Zavian and Neera profusely.

The men looked at themselves, all having the same thoughts in their minds. Did he just spare a servant who had attempted to shoot at him because of a slave girl?

Zavian held Neera’s hand as he ordered the servant to go bring the boar he had killed.

Turning to his men, he told them that he was done with the game, and without wasting an extra second, he left with Neera.

Now if they were not sure before, they were certain now. Zavian loved hunting, he won most of the time, and even when he did not win, he loved to get the biggest number of kills; but because of this woman, he had stopped without a second thought. They watched quietly as he walked away, holding Neera as though she was fragile.

Zavian left the forest and untied his horse from the tree and helped Neera get on it. Climbing up after her, he rode out of the forest.

“Are we going back to the castle?” She asked, starting a conversation after they had ridden for a while.

“Where do you want to go to?” Zavian asked in reply, and Neera was quiet. Well, she wanted to see the outside of the castle; the villages, and the people.

“I want to see the villages; ” she said; “I’ve not been to the outsides of the castle.” She said; the route to the forest was deserted and unoccupied by people so there was nothing fun to see.

“Okay, but we have to change into something else. We don’t want the people recognizing us.” Zavian said and Neera’s lips stretched into a smile, she didn’t think he would agree, he just wanted to try her luck. She was happy he listened to her.

They didn’t ride for long before Neera spotted several houses. As they approached, Zavian slowed down his horse;

When he reached, he helped her come down from the horse. Neera looked around in excitement. Zavian had brought them to the marketplace. Humans and demons were walking about like it was a normal happening. Back in her kingdom, she rarely saw demons, except when she went to the central city where the Duke lived, and even then, they did not interact with humans like this; but here, except for their pronounced features, you wouldn’t know the difference.

“We have to find a stable for the horse;” Zavian said as he pulled the horse into the marketplace.

As soon as the demons saw him, they bowed in greeting, their faces looking shocked when they saw Neera, was she the rumored girl who looked like the queen?

“This is why we should have come in a disguise. Very soon, there would be a crowd.” Neera clung to his hand as she tried to avoid their gazes.

Thankfully, they reached a stable, and Zavian gave his horse to the keeper. They followed a small passage and Zavian led them to a fabric shop.

“Get her something else to wear; he said to the keeper. He was a demon and recognized the king, so he did as he was told immediately.

Zavian waited outside as Neera went inside to change into something else. He sat on the bench and shut his eyes. After a few minutes, there was creaking on the floor and Neera stepped out of the change room;

“Your majesty;” she called softly and he opened his eyes;

In front of him stood Neera with regular clothing and a thin cloth over her face.

Only her eyes could be seen and her hair was tied up in a loose bun and held with a pin.