To Bewitch a Devil

Neera rolled onto her back and could feel herself sinking into the softness beneath her. She sighed, this was a beautiful dream. She could smell lavender and lilac, and instead of the squeaking noises of her furry neighbours, it was a bird that was keeping her company.

A beautiful, beautiful dream.

Neera turned again and still felt that foreign softness. Slowly, she opened her eyes and was greeted with the very familiar insides of the King’s chambers. She rubbed at her eyes; it looked real. Neera sat up with a start, and a pain shot up to her head.

“Easy”, the all too familiar voice said. Neera looked up, and there, in the flesh, sitting on a chair next to her bed, was the King himself.

“Zavian.” She called.

Zavian moved to sit on the bed, and Neera could not help the magnetic pull towards him and threw her arms around him. Fresh tears flowed freely unto his shoulders.

“They were going to kill me.” She shuddered. “I thought I was going to die. They were going to...”

“Shh, you are safe now.” He assured her. He held her like she was glass, afraid to hug her too tight. She looked so weak and fragile, and at that moment more than ever, he wanted to punish all his prisoners in his dungeon, skin them alive until they begged for death.

.....

When they brought her in the day before, she was unconscious. He had the doctor at his side the minute they stepped into the palace, and she was still alive, that was all that mattered. The maids had taken care of stripping all the clothes from her and washing her clean, for the last thing he wanted her to be reminded of the minute she woke was any sign of that place.

He had ordered the entire building where she was found to be burned to the ground with the numerous people he had killed inside. They stood no chance against Zavian and his men. When he saw her in that cell, all frightened and tied like an animal waiting to be slaughtered, his anger would have combusted him to flames at that spot.

Zavian gently pried her hands off him and tucked her silver hair behind her ear. Wiping the tears from her face, he consoled her as she cried even more. He took a glass of water from the table, and with gentle hands, fed her some.

“You’re safe now, and whoever did this will be dealt with.” He promised.

A knock sounded on the door and Zavian summoned the person in. Neera watched the doctor walk in, the one she noticed was the first ugly demon she had ever seen. He was holding his box of medicine and his eyes jumped between her and the King, as if feeling like an intruder.

“You are awake”, he said to her with a smile. “You have been out for a long while. I hope you are feeling better. I will have to have a look at those wounds.”

He stepped towards her and took her wrists, and she gasped as she just noticed the bandages around them. The doctor worked on removing them, and when she saw the extent of the depth of the wounds, she tore her eyes away from them.

“I brought my best healing herbs and potions.” The doctor assured as he worked on it. “Don’t worry; you will be up and about before you know it, and you have to eat”, he titled his head towards the food tray holding food on the table next to her. “You need it now more than ever.” The doctor spoke. Neera nodded but that moment, she saw Zavian stand. He must have noticed the panic emanating from her because he was by her side in seconds.

“I am not leaving your side”, Zavian spoke softly. “I want to give instructions to the guards just outside this door. I have to go make sure something like this never happens in this Kingdom ever again.”

Neera only nodded in response. The doctor worked in silence, and Zavian left her in his care. When he stepped outside the doors, keeping one foot inside his chambers to keep Neera’s mind at rest, he summoned the six guards stationed outside.

“Report”, he ordered.

“All points of exit from the palace have still remained sealed. There have been no attempts to leave by anyone.” A guard spoke;

Zavian looked back inside the chambers. Neera had her eyes closed, her head resting against the pillows. He was going to do everything in his power to ensure she was safe. He had kept the guards from the day she went missing for questioning, and made sure the giants at the main gate were extra armed in case there was to be an escape.

“Anything happens to her”, he pointed towards his chamber doors and to each of the guards. “And I promise you will suffer a fate worse than those in the dungeon.”

They nodded and Zavian dismissed them and returned to stay with Neera. The doctor stood, and Zavian watched Neera’s sleeping form.

“She went back to sleep. It is the effect of the drugs”, the Doctor explained;

but don’t let her sleep for too long. She needs to replenish with food as well.”

A knock sounded and the chamber doors opened. His best friend, Azriel, came in all strapped in his uniform. His eyes glanced at Neera’s sleeping form, and he looked back at his friend;

“How is she?” Azriel asked, careful to keep his voice low.

The doctor excused himself, leaving them three of them alone.

Zavian didn’t take his eyes away from Neera, “She needs to recover, I need you to stay here for a little while. I have some unfinished business.”

Azriel looked at his friend and nodded. Ever since the whole situation with the maid, he had been spending a lot more time in the palace by Zavian’s side, who had never left the chambers since Neera’s return. When it came to trusting, he knew he and Zavian shared an unbreakable bond for centuries.

“I won’t leave her side, I promise.”