Dem'rick and the Dryhirian Stone

Chapter One:

Third level, two doors on the left of the palace wing, his destination was engrained in his memory as he slithered through the secret passage. It was narrow, and for a man of medium build it was difficult to move quickly, especially when time was not on his side. The bells of the old clock chimed through the town and he froze his racing heart was about to burst out of his chest. When twelve chimes finished ringing he let out a soft sigh, relieved it was only the ridiculous old clock telling it was midnight and not the warning bells.

He continued his race down the passageway and up the creaky ladder that led to the third level. The darkness of the passage was a considerable problem. It was hidden within the walls of the palace, created to be used to lead the royal family out in times of dire situations, long forgotten after so many years of peace only to be found by a curious boy of twelve trying to hide from his mentor. The only source of light was the cracks under the entrances to each of the separate rooms. It was nighttime, everyone should be asleep, and so no lights came from the rooms, which meant he needed to recall the exact steps it took to get to his destination.

Upon reaching the correct floor he began racing once again counting the doors until he found the one he wanted. His shaking hands traced along the cold stone until a groove confirmed the entrance and it popped open with a slight push. The hidden entrance groaned softly as it opened to a bedroom.

The room was dark, save for a small light flickering, emitting a tiny glow in the corner next to a bed. A woman was curled up, the covers wrapped up to her ears and when he stepped in he did feel a chill in the air. The fireplace had died, unattended for probably the last few hours and left the room frigid. He focused on her face and the curve of her cheekbones, the length of her brow, and the slight part of her lips when she breathed in her deep slumber.

The floorboards creaked as he crossed the room and he kept a close eye on the door, wondering how many guards would be posted outside tonight. Only a few moments, he told himself as he sat at the edge of her bed and rubbed her shoulder gently, "Di, wake up." He whispered.

Di's eyes fluttered open and she jolted upright glancing around the room in a short panic, but let out a sigh when she saw him. The book lying next to her rustled, and he quickly set it on the stand by her bed before it fell to the floor, possibly alerting the guards to check on their ward.

"Dem'rick, w-what—"

"I don't have time to explain," Dem'rick interrupted, setting a hand on her cheek feeling something wet when he made contact. Di must have felt it too because she retracted grabbing his hand, before turning the lantern wick to bring more light in the room.

Red was smeared on his hands, splattered across his chest, and racing down his arm from the cut he received just moments earlier in the night. Why had he not noticed it before? Now he did, as it covered Di's cheek where he had caressed her. Di examined the blood on his hands, noticing the cut that stretched across his forearm pressing just above the wound. "You're bleeding," It was a thin cut, not too deep, but caused a lot of the blood that was still trickling down, staining more of the white crotchet blanket on her bed. She moved quickly, releasing his hands and running over to a wardrobe grabbing a basin that sat on top. The water began spilling over the sides, despite her best efforts to not disturb the contents.

Once the basin was at his feet, she rushed back over grabbing fresh cloths from a drawer and returning to his side. Dem'rick watched her hands at work, ripping the cloth apart, wetting it down and wiping the wound delicately, her stormy eyes full of determination but he could still see the small amount of fear hidden behind the blue flecks.

"It's not all mine," Dem'rick confessed, "It's not all mine." He whispered again, wanting the words and the actions he just committed to sink in. Those words also brought hesitation to Di's work and he took the blood stained cloth from her hands trying to scrub as much of the blood off as possible. Di grabbed the remaining of the cloth and wrapped it around his bicep, creating a simple but effective bandage.