The Shadows Within

After Solas’s birth, Finn left me with Nyla to attend to his duty. The infamous generals wanted to meet him, but that wasn’t my concern. No, all that was in my mind was the little pup in my hands.

Nyla told me he would grow to full size within a week. Something I couldn’t believe, then again, he was a demon feeding on my magical power. So, I needed to open my mind to this world's possibilities.

At least I didn’t think I was surrounded by aliens anymore, or perhaps I was.

This is another world, so it can be considered alien-like.

Putting on more comfortable clothes to walk in, I placed little Solas in a bag; he fit snugly in it. With that, I headed out with Nyla into the halls of a broken castle. She took me into the dining room to eat before showing me around the castle.

Thankfully, because it was morning, everything was easier to see. Though, there was a light tint of purple everywhere. Its thickness got worse with every floor we went down. Nyla assured me it was okay to breathe in as long as I had my dose, yet I couldn’t help but feel jittery the lower I went.

Something about it gives me the icks.

The castle appeared to be a tomb more than a home, as the decorations outside my room were destroyed or burned down. Unidentifiable dark stains were on the stone, the floor, and the walls; whatever they had used to paint had withered with time.

Whatever happened here is older than I am, that’s for sure.

There were signs of a fight everywhere my eyes landed.

How long have these people suffered?

Before that thought could’ve gone further, the little goblin stunned me right where I was.

“I’ve been waiting so long for our lord to get a wife! The lady should be the one to decorate! A new start for all of us!” She hummed, walking towards our destination.

It left me silent the entire walk there.

Being the demon lord’s wife isn’t something I am keen on fulfilling.

The way she spoke about it made me bite my tongue, though.

She’s loyal to her king and nothing else—no point in fighting.

It was going better than the previous day, but not to the extent of marrying him. All I wanted was to get to know him better. If I were stuck there, I would have to figure out a way out of this mess. Yet I couldn’t deny Finn’s pain; it made me want to know how he lived so long with that burden.

Perhaps in his reasons, I could find mine as well. Since Solas popped out of his shell, Finn’s warning rang in my head.

The pup will die with me if I expire. My stunt with the window gave you an idea of how little I care for my safety.

I had willingly been leading into a trap. Though, I couldn’t get bothered by it. Solas was adorable, even if it dented one of my exits.

It doesn’t change how the demon king trapped me. This trick came from Rizak, surely. There's no way that you could’ve thought of that.

Although the owl appeared friendly, there was no doubt that he was set on using me too.

All of them were, but I must stay calm and collected for now. I must see what they're planning and ruin it.

At least the other monsters weren’t threatening me; even when I walked down the halls with Nyla, they all gazed at me before continuing. The ones inside the castle had their humanity to some extent, or at least that was what the little goblin said.

I don’t understand what she means by that, but they shouldn’t touch the king’s future wife, right?

Once in the dining room, everything was a mess there, too. Most of the wooden decorations were charred, and even the table was deformed.

“Sorry for how everything looks, but the king has other things on his mind. I try to keep everything clean, though!” Nyla smiled, ushering me inside.

This is too much for you alone. How can anyone live like this? No, why live like this when you don’t have to?

It only made me more curious about what Finn was thinking.

“Sit, sit, please, so we can bring you a meal!” the little goblin continued to smile.

Releasing a sigh, I sat in one of the more stable chairs, unsure how a little demon like her could make a meal. The kitchen was probably taller than she was. Nonetheless, she disappeared into the room on the left when I studied my surroundings.

Whatever happened in this place left its mark everywhere. Well, all but my room.

The effort they made it look normal was unreal. They did the same in the bathroom, but everything else was as if a storm had passed. Shaking my head, I picked up the bag holding Solas within, still sleeping soundly.

You look nothing like what I thought you would. None of you are… what I thought you’d be.

A smile crept up my lips when I poked his cheek; it was so soft.

I’ve only known you for a couple of hours, yet…

Before Finn left, he mentioned that once Solas was bigger, he could speak. This allured me in many ways, and I became jittery at the thought of having a talking dog for a friend.

If he would be...

Suddenly, a loud noise startled me, triggering me to glance at the door to see the demon lord and Brielle entering the room.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to scare you, sparky.” He chuckled.

The female wolf glowered at me, remembering everything I had said the previous day. It caused me to avert my eyes away from them.

Scary…

“You’re done with the others?” I mumbled, feeling the pressure of the wolf.

From everything I said before, it wasn’t like I didn’t bring it onto myself. At least Finn appeared friendly, but his eyes were still fridged.

“Hardly. I needed a breath, and what better excuse than to check on my fiancée?” he declared, triggering me to glance at him.

However, before I could argue anything, Brielle pointed towards the door Nyla had entered. “Is that smoke?”

When I noticed the fumes, I ran towards them, worried for Nyla. There wasn’t a moment when I thought of my safety. She had been sweet to me, and I didn’t want to see her injured or worse.

Opening the door, I saw her coughing as a flame on the stove was out of control. However, before I could run in to grab her, Finn grabbed onto my shirt, yanking me from back towards him. Falling into him, he raised his hand towards the inferno.

It was drawn to his hand a second later as he devoured it.

Closing his hand, a soft sigh came from him. “Nyla, love, what are you doing?” Finn huffed, eyes twitching.

His grip on me was tight and protective, something I couldn’t understand. The little goblin turned to us, still slightly wheezing.

“Oh, my lord.” She hacked a bit more, shaking her head. “I thought I could make a meal for our lady.” She paused, coughing some more, “But I forgot about the heating! It’s been so long since I’ve cooked!” She tried to explain herself, getting off a stool she had been using to reach the stove.

That was when I noticed he even consumed the smoke surrounding everything, too.

All but her.

“I told you to let Gael deal with it.” He let me go.

Where he had held me, for some reason, it was warm, too.

“But m’lord, he hasn’t returned since he entered the human territory yesterday.” She announced, taking a few steps towards me.

Finn's soft red aura alerted me that his mood was souring.

“He isn’t back?” he muttered, clenching his hands into fists.

Oh, no, no one will lose their head because of me.

“It’s fine. I can scavenge something up.” I stepped in, hoping to stop where this was headed.

Whatever Finn was doing before he came there obviously already had him in a bad mood. It was showing more with everything that went wrong.

“But Sylvia, I—” Nyla tried to discourage me.

Probably some queen-bull shit.

“Look, I learned to cook when I was eight. I’ll be fine by myself. And I won’t burn down the kitchen.” I didn’t let her dissuade me.

Stepping into the room, everything was like a tornado had gone through. All her fellow goblins were covered in some food, too.

“Arg, let her do as she pleases. I have to go back to the generals. It’s better if I explode there than here.” Finn huffed, walking out of the room.

Brielle scowled at me before leaving, too. A soft giggle left me, turning towards Nyla, covered in flour from head to toe. The entire kitchen was a mess, yet I didn’t mind it.

“Gael’s the castle cook, I’m guessing?” I asked, wetting a rag to clean.

Picking up a broom made of hay and wood, the little goblin smirked. “Oh, yes, yes. He is. But we demons don’t have to eat every day like you. So, he leaves for the human territory to find new recipes.”

That’s pretty interesting. A demon who likes to cook. Huh… They really aren’t any different from us.

Other goblins were around us, helping us clean, too. However, their appearance was still unsettling, so I kept my distance even if I didn’t mean to be rude. Thanks to his humanoid appearance, Finn was easier to get used to; the others would take some time.

This brings me to…

“Wouldn’t the humans fear him?” I asked, trying to create chatter to ignore the grumbling from my belly.

Hunger was nothing new. I was used to going nights and mornings without eating. My father made sure I was underweight for most of my life until I got a job to buy my food. Of course, all the fast food made me gain a couple of pounds.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too much, thanks to school and work keeping me active, especially when I tried to get into an archery and kendo club. It was fun and accessible since the school offered them as electives, and being an honor student allowed me to have two.

I was pretty good at both, but I never got too much into archery. Kendo, the sword art, was more alluring to me, but I did everything to stay away from home. I usually got home in the early morning hours after my part-time job.

A couple who owned the restaurant I worked for has constantly fed and paid me for the past eight years. They even let me study while I cooked and served, but I lost my nirvana last week when they got into an accident.

The wife died, leaving behind the old husband who had to close the restaurant, leaving me without a place to work while he figured out everything. I understood his reasons, even if they meant I’d be fucked.

His family came first, and he had to mourn her.

Heck, I cried at her loss, too. She was one of the good ones.

It was one of the many reasons I found myself up on that edge. The little goblin reminded me of that old, kind woman.

Life’s one tough son of a bitch to go through.

“He’s a shifter. No one there knows his real form.” Nyla answered, prompting me to hum.

“I see,” I mumbled, wiping the table.

The doors opened again, allowing someone else to enter the kitchen. Turning around towards the noise, I saw a man with crimson eyes and blue hair. It was longer than Finn’s, reaching his bum in a tight ponytail.

His skin was tan, much like a light chocolate bar.

“Who the fuck is this?” the man huffed, dropping bags full of ingredients onto the stone floor.

The moment my eyes shifted towards one, something changed in the room. With a single movement of his hand, the mess was gone.

Is that magic? Like the candles that turn on by themselves. This is so disorientating!

Nyla was unfazed by it, turning to him with a giant grin on her lips.

“Oh! Gael! I thought something happened to you in human territory! I’m so happy to see you!” she beamed, dropping the broom.

I couldn’t help but feel a little in this stranger’s gaze.

“Nothing but a nice ass that kept me there. Now, who’s this girl? She smells human.” He huffed, studying me with an icy stare.

I could tell this demon wasn’t used to humans being on this side of the fence. The little goblin rushed towards him, jumping before slapping his head.

“Gael! Watch your words! This is the lord’s fiancée! You knew she was coming!” she scolded, pouting.

For the little thing that she was, she had personality. For some reason, this man reminded me a lot of their lord. The surrounding air was heavy and darker around him compared to the rest. His eyes were lifeless, too.

“Oh… so she’s finally here? I thought that was later.” He shrugged, walking towards me.

Grabbing onto my hand, he kneeled before placing his lips on my hand and kissing it. I couldn’t help but pull away from him.

“Pleasure to meet you, my lady. My name’s Gael. Suppose the king doesn’t satisfy you. I surely can, with my body and cooking.” He smirked, prompting my eyes to twitch.

What? Is any demon here normal?!

It appeared the mountain of colorful characters kept increasing, and this one appeared to be one to be wary of. Yet Finn trusted him with me, which would be something that eluded me.