A Demon's History: Lotus Thorns

Chapter Six: Check

          The meetings happened every couple of months, and each time Lleon and Anahera went out of their way to go at each other's throats. She got so riled up that she would leave a few feathers. Angel feathers were different than other feathers. They turned black in the hands of a Demon. He witnessed this one day when he plucked one off the ground during a break. He wondered if Angels were so easily corrupted as the feathers on their backs. He so badly wanted to know.

"I wonder," Lleon commented, leaning his head down near hers. She was startled by his sudden presence. "What do you look like under all that modesty?"

"Do you wish to claim me or kill me? You send very mixed messages." She told him.

"It's just foreplay." He told her, bringing his hand onto her hip and hiking up the fabric of her dress. She would whip around quickly. Her spear pressed against his neck.

"I expect a perverted Demon like you would have such distasteful thoughts, yet I somewhat expected more from a prince."

"Don't insult me, Anahera. I'm more than that." He scoffed, pushing the spear away.

She met his golden eyes, despite one being covered by the eyepatch. That thrill her eyes brought him was back. He hated how dismal the look in her eyes was. He wished to know what went through that mind of hers.

"Then what?" She scoffed. "A barbarian? A thief? Un pirate? What happened to your eye?"

"It was damaged. How? That is none of your business." He told her. "Feeling nostalgic?"

"You have come to ask me to be your maiden then?"

"Not at all. I am surprised you even remember that." He snarked.

"I still read that book. I never finish it, always stopping in that one place." She eyed him suspiciously. "Do you not remember? You always became so flustered when the pirate kissed the maiden. Did you never want to do the same? Did you want to kiss me but were too afraid?"

There was a pit in his stomach. He could not think of a witty remark to change the course of this conversation. How did she manage to corner him when he usually was the one to corner her? When he didn't say anything, she continued talking.

"Either way, I have no interest in being your wife. It is forbidden and you have hurt me."

"I hurt you?" He scoffed, breaking his silence. "Your audacity is astounding, Anahera."

He wanted to say more but their break was over. Reluctantly, he sat back down, irked that she looked so unbothered. He had to admit it though. He did not expect her to get so quizzical about his behavior during their reenactments when they were children. In a way, she was right, and he hated that.

           Lleon fiddled with a chess piece that he brought from his office. The white queen. He always found the queens interesting. She was able to be flexible and able to capture any piece she wished. To be cornered by her meant certain doom unless she was captured first. So, he would just have to catch her first. This would prove to be rather difficult. Despite her unconfident behavior, she remained stone-faced. Her indifference annoyed him. He could never guess what she was thinking a lot of the time.

She was able to guess what he was thinking, however.

He tried a lot to reveal what was underneath her shawl. She never relented, always one step ahead. It was a childish act of him to pursue, he knew this well. Of course, this all seemed like a bully boy chasing after a girl he did not know how to express his feelings towards. This was a more malignant game. It was all to satisfy his curiosity about how different she truly was.
He eventually was able to achieve this when he pulled her aside during one meeting and pulled it off all in one moment. Anahera gasped and covered her chest, though it was only her cleavage that showed. She was flustered, face red from embarrassment. She backed herself into a corner.

"Pretty thing you are," Lleon murmured. "Just wished things were-"

He cut himself off when he heard her sniffling and desperately wiping her face. She was crying.

This was not part of the plan.

While he should not have cared-he should have been amused-he handed her shawl back. He turned away from her as she took it back. There was a pang of guilt inside him. Suppose those were old feelings coming back to bite him. He used to hate seeing her cry, whether because her father forgot her birthday or because she got bumps and bruises. He remained indifferent outwardly.

"Great body and smart mind, yet you're insecure. What a joke." He muttered.

She didn't say anything, instead focusing on covering herself back up. He opened his wings as people passed by to cover her further. He would prefer if it were only him that saw her like that. She shoved his wing to the side when she was done.

"I hate you," Anahera murmured, avoiding his gaze.

"You just decided that now?"

"Do you truly have no respect for me?"

"I do. I'm allowing you to talk to me."

"You approached me."

"Doesn't mean you have to run that pretty mouth of yours." He then went on to roughly pin her against the wall and take a fist full of her hair. She gasped out in pain as he pulled her head back and forced her to look him in the eyes, lowering his voice as he spoke. "I can think of several other ways you could use it."

"I will bite you." She hissed.

"I wouldn't mind that at all."

She scoffed and pushed him away with surprising strength. He let go, backing up a bit in surprise. Though she eyed him one last time, she said nothing else and walked away, the clicking of her flats echoed off the hallway's walls. Lleon decided to skip out on the rest of the meeting. He could not stop thinking about her. Those curves she hid underneath her clothes. He wanted to feel every single one of them. Those were only his boyish and naive thoughts though. Still, it did not change his mind about ending her life. It did not help that she was evading most of his moves. She was like a cat, and he moved too slowly to catch her off guard. He needed something grander. For now, he would just have to keep wasting each of those nine lives. It did not bother him too much. She was fun to play with anyway.