The Tales of the Demon Prince

Chapter 2: When the fun begins.

Chapter 2: When the fun begins.

The traveler opened his eyes and was greeted with dawn's first light. He sprung out of bed and began to straighten his few things. He instinctively looked for his cloak, but he remembered he gave it to the young woman from last night. A shame, he'd have to get a new one. He sighed and went downstairs:

The 'Merry Minstrel' of the morning barely resembled the 'Merry Minstrel' of the night. The Prince found the place to be fairly deserted except for a cook or two in the kitchen and a customer from last night slumped in sleep from too much rum. But there, at one of the tables, sat a well groomed woman. Her posture straight, her brown hair brushed back, book in hand, spectacles, an orange damask dress, and a folded up cloak.

"Good morning." She said, looking up from her book and put it away in a messenger bag that was hanging on her shoulder. The traveler sat down across from her.

"You're the barmaid from last night. . . ." He seemed confused, she now looked completely different. But it was true; she had the same scent; cinnamon and a hint of chocolate, mixed with the smell of old paper. He really hadn't looked at her much the night before, but now he noticed more of her features such as her frosted blue eyes and care in her grooming.

"I hoped you would recognize me. I had to make sure to return your cloak." She adjusted a small pair of spectacles on her face. Ah, maybe that was the reason for her blinking the night before and for her red puffy eyes. . . . She must be very dependent on her spectacles.

"My cloak. . . . . ." The demon looked at it and shook his head. "I gave it to you as a gift, Miss. Please keep it as such." He stood up from his chair and started to walk towards the front door.

"W-wait!!" The woman shouted, quickly shoving the cloak into her bag and dashing after the demon. "I n-need your h-help with something!"

The traveler looked slightly annoyed. "No." And he walked out of the pub.

The woman looked flabbergasted. She stood in shock for a second or two before chasing him out the door and down the dusty road.

"Wait! Pl-please wait!"

"I said no! Leave me be! I must be on my way."

"Please! Can you at least listen to what I wish to say?"

The demon stopped and grumbled. "If listening to your plea will make you stop then. . . . . What ails you?"

The woman caught her breath and adjusted herself before speaking. "I would like to accompany you on your travels." She held up a hand before he could protest. "It's dangerous for a woman to travel alone; and if you had someone travel with you, it would help disguise the fact that you're a demon. . . . .which is very dangerous in itself."

The demon sized her up, looking at her and weighing her proposal. "Even if I said yes. . . . ."

She held her breath. An opportunity like this is very rare.

"What would you give me in return?" There was interest in the man's voice. What did she have to offer? After all, he seemed more than capable of taking care of himself in case anything got dangerous.

The woman quickly went to work of digging through her messenger bag and pulled out a small parcel wrapped in canvas and twine. She gingerly unwrapped it with her delicate fingers and produced a book about the size of her hand. It was bound with stained leather that was turning grey-brown with age, the sides of its pages were splotched and faded with years of age, and there was an even thicker piece of leather that closed the two halves of the ancient book together with a silver clasp that was covered in rust and smudges.