• Something about the tone of his voice, and the smile on his lips, utterly disgusted me. Not only that, but it also made me rather uneasy. “Are you giving me orders…?” I asked softly, never letting my eyes drop for a second. If this was some sort of dominance game there was no way I was letting him win it. I would not be bullied into leaving the human realm by some lower class demon I didn’t even know.

    I scrutinized him more closely. He was tall; about 5’ 10”, six inches or so taller than I was and looked to be about twenty-two. His build was thin, and only slightly muscled, just enough to make you think twice about him being a total weakling. His hair was a type of indigo tinted brunette and his eyes were a liquid brown, like melted chocolate. As I took notice of them they even seemed to swirl like liquid, dark and foreboding akin to a raging see. And yet he was smiling. There was such an odd intensity in his eyes and it didn’t seem to fit with his smile that was so carefree.

    He sighed and I finally redirected my gaze from his eyes and stared instead at his forehead. I still wasn’t going to look away, but he didn’t need to know I had been staring at him. Instead of looking at him I looked past him, through him. Maybe it would serve to ease my apprehension. He was speaking and I zoned back in to listen to what the man had to say.

    “No, Princess. I’m not giving you orders. Would never think of it. I’m just saying that it would be better for you if you weren’t roaming the mortal plain. Besides, humans are incredibly boring. I don’t see why you’d even want to come.” He shrugged and turned to one of the people in the car, before putting his attention back on me. “Regardless of that fact, it looks to me like you have no intention of leaving, am I correct?”

    I debated on whether I should answer him or not. It seemed to be a rhetorical question, but the way he watched me made me think he might want an answer. A thick, tense silence descended upon us. Now I sighed, this was getting really annoying. It was about time for me to leave this mess behind. I was going to go to that party, have a good time, and then do whatever the hell I wanted to afterwards. That is, that was my plan, until the man spoke again.

    “At least let us escort you to the party you’re going to. That way we can help out if anything goes wrong. They may only be humans but they can still do damage, even to you Princess.”

    “What?! No way! Absolutely not! I will not be babysat by a bunch of lower class demons, which are younger than me!” I yelled and turned away, continuing down the beach and leaving them behind. And then I was being turned around, from my own momentum, when a hand wrapped easily around my upper arm. The man had grabbed me and turned me sharply so that I swung into his chest.

    “Then you won’t have to. I’m older than you so I’ll escort you myself. The others can leave.” He said nodding to the people in the car.

    “I don’t need and escort! Especially not one like you! And I certainly don’t need to be babysat! I’m not a child!”

    “Funny. You’re doing a pretty good job of proving that to us, aren’t you?” He asked with a twitch of humor touching his features. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple silver chain necklace with a single black pendant in the shape of a cross. He slipped the chain around my neck and grinned. “There you go, Princess…” He whispered softly so the others couldn’t hear. “Now no one else will recognize you, so long as you wear this charm.”