We followed the chatty translucent bureaucrat down the twisting, curved, and winding hallway. The walls, blank of decoration save for the tastefully applied dark wallpaper, served for little distraction from his conversation. As much as I appreciated his presence leading us through the castle that was proving to be a labyrinth of hallways, he was the least interesting demon I’d ever met. Though I found myself liking him nonetheless, he was as bland as his transparent skin.

“…and you can call me Alathor! Ah, although, some call me just ‘Ala’, which I must say, I am not fond of…” His words trailed off, already narrow eyes narrowing even further.

I exchanged an amused look with Tom through peripheral vision. He bit back a chuckle. Alathor shook his head abruptly, interrupting his own sour musing about his nickname to keep speaking.

“…the guest rooms are all down this wing,” he said, as we took a sharp turn into a sweeping narrow hall, all lined with the same deep velvet carpet and darkly colored walls. It smelled faintly of must, as if it were rarely used.

Alathor stopped unceremoniously in front of two doors, right next to each other. More identical ones continued down the hallway. He gestured towards them with a flourish.

“This one, good sir, is for the young hunter,” waved Alathor at the door on his left. “And this one, dear princess, is yours.” He opened each one, twisting the knob so that the door was ajar. “The King assumed you’d feel more comfortable close to your friend for now. Whenever you desire, you can move to the royal wing. Just let us know!”

Tomas and I stood awkwardly, just staring at Alathor, who awkwardly stared back.

After an uncomfortable silence, Alathor’s eyes flitting back and forth between the dazed hunter and his newly acquainted demon princess, he spoke. “Well, it’s time for bed. Off with you!”

He ushered Tomas inside his room, practically shoving him through the door.

“Oh, Princess, I almost forgot! I’ll come by in the morning to pick you up for breakfast with the King.”

I heard the door click behind me, and Alathor’s nervous steps pitter patter away, getting quieter and quieter.

In front of me was a quaint room, elaborately decorated. The carpet, the same, lush velvet as the hallway, expanded into a large rectangle of space, edged by walls papered in elegant, swirling designs, their color a lighter hue than the carpet. Each of those walls had some sort of bookshelf, except for the far wall where a balcony opened up to the air beyond, hinting at red spires and the rest of the castle. The bookshelves were crammed with books, a bit of dust, and a wide variety of baubles that though looked very pretty, were very foreign and unfamiliar. I had no idea what any of them were. Most were wrought in gold and glass, their apparent shine dulled by the race of time, dust layering over them. The bed, a gigantic number, the sheets of a magnificent and luxurious russet material, was edged up against the right wall, its four gilded posts extruding nearly to the ceiling. It looked so comfortable; I eyed it hungrily, ready to collapse onto the bedspread, when the sheer curtains of the balcony caught my eye again. I could only see peeks of the landscape through the sheer curtains, flowing ever so slightly with the nonexistent wind.

I approached the balcony, stepping through the flowing curtains that smelled faintly of mothballs, and out onto the balcony, carefully and delicately. Whatever I had expected of a royal demon’s quarters, it probably wasn’t this. The balcony, framed by the same red stone of the castle, was smoothly sculpted into beautiful fencing. I ran a finger across them – they were surprisingly cool to the touch. In the corner, there was a short wrought iron side table, a circle of artistically woven metal, topped with glass. A matching chair with fat, plushy cushions sat behind it. Immediately, I could picture myself taking in the sunrise in that chair, sipping at a cup of my morning coffee. I shook my head to remove the thought. I didn’t have time for domestic fantasies in the demon realm.

I turned back to the countryside, sure that I would always be awed by the land below. Those red spires, their rocky and impossible ascent into the sky, majestic and phenomenal. The red dirt, vibrant, making it feel as if I were on another planet altogether. And maybe I was. I furrowed my brows. I had been assured that this realm was, size wise, the exact spanse of the human kingdom, but obviously, the landscape didn’t translate. Beyond the spires showed the night sky, stars flickering as pleasant white pinpricks above. Those stars felt the same, but I didn’t know enough about constellations to compare. Was I looking at the same sky as my mother could be right now?

I closed my eyes and breathed in the night air, the coolness of the day inhaling through my body. I turned and sat on the balcony chair, leaning my head back against those plush cushions. My eyes remained closed, sleep teasing me, my breathing become heavy and even. The night sky had mesmerized me, and I had fallen under its spell, dozing off.

“Hey, you’re out here too!” said an excited voice, one that I recognized immediately.

Without opening my eyes, a smile playing at my lips, I answered: “Hello, Tomas.”

He chuckled. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Neither could I, until just now,” I said, opening my eyes to watch him watching me, leaned over his balcony, an easy smile on his pleasant face.

“Ah, sorry I woke you up,” he said, chastened. He straightened up, gesturing at the landscape beyond. “Can you believe this place is real?”

“Barely,” I said. I sighed, staring out into the unknown. I returned my gaze to him, noticing he hadn’t bothered to change clothes yet. The healer demon had cut away the cloth around his shoulder, smothered it in something, and bandaged it. “How’s your shoulder feel?”

“Actually, not bad,” he said, glancing at it in awe. “Whatever they did to it made it just feel kind of sore, as opposed to about to fall off.” He shrugged his shoulder up and down to test it.

“That’s good; I’m glad you’re not hurting. But you’re not tired? We’ve been going nonstop for days; you’ve earned a rest.”

“I could say the same thing to you, you know.” He stared at me, and for a moment, it looked like he was concerned. But the flash of concern passed, covered by an irreverent grin. “Isn’t it funny?”

“What?” I said, taken aback by the subject change.

“How I was right from the very beginning.”

“About what?” I said.

“Your being a demon!” he insisted, pointing towards me with an open hand. “I told you so.”

“Dumbass,” I whispered, unable to hold back the giggle that fell from my lips. How comical it was, now, after how far we’d come. Even though I hadn’t really accepted it myself, had barely begun to process it, I felt in my gut that it was true. I was a demon, apparently. And still a princess, no less. As to what that meant, I had no idea.

“I was, though. And I feel like I should say… even though I did happen to be right… I’m sorry for how I behaved back then, when we’d first met. If it wasn’t for me bungling this from the beginning, the alliance wouldn’t even have been in danger.”

I considered his words. He was right, to a point.

“I don’t blame you,” I said. “You just did what you thought was best with the information you had at the time.”

He sighed. “Is that ever enough?”

“Philosophical tonight, are we?” I couldn’t help the smile that lifted the corners of my mouth.

He exhaled sharply with a smile, a huff of dry amusement. “Only for tonight.”

“Tomas?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“For?”

“For bringing me here. And… for many other things, besides,” I said, the words feeling strange in my mouth.

“Pssh, you could’ve gotten here without me. That last bit was all you, anyway. Hell – oomph, I probably can’t be saying that; it might be offensive… Um, regardless, you saved my life, in the caves, in diamond lake, and getting us through to the palace.”

I blushed. “We couldn’t have even made it through those caves without you, and I wouldn’t have even known where to start if you hadn’t known Sage.”

“Let’s agree that we’re even now, then, okay?”

“Actually, we’re not, are we?”

“Huh?”

“You did all this, so I’d help you be accepted into the Guild,” I reasoned. “But don’t worry. I’ll hold up my end of the deal. I’ll do what I can, whether as a demon princess, or through my mother… er, um, Queen Selissa.”

“Speaking of, your royal demonic highness,” he said.

I giggled; it all sounded so strange that it was almost funny. “Yes, human?”

“Speaking of, how are you really doing with all of that? Coming to terms with your new identity?”

I sighed. I didn’t really know what to say. “Of course, I’m not okay with it, I’ve learned this information hours ago. Although, it does explain a lot…”

I’d never physically resembled my family. They were all tall, athletic, tan-skinned, and fair haired. I was literally the complete opposite of that. My pale skin always burned in the sun, never tanned, my hair was as black as night, and I was so much shorter than the average adult height that I’d often been mistake for a child. I’d always felt like an outsider in my own palace, even though my parents – foster parents, I supposed – had always treated me with kindness, like a daughter of their own. I wondered if Selissa had been afraid of me, if that’s why I couldn’t help but feel out of place. I couldn’t blame her, but nor could I imagine trading my only child for a demon to raise instead. Whatever the reasons behind her choices back then, it was a bit too late now.

“Callie?”

“Uh-huh?” I said, interrupted from my thoughts.

“Regardless of who you are, or whatever your title is, I think you’re pretty great,” Tom said quickly, and he turned his head sharply away, avoiding my gaze.

I looked down at the railing ahead, unable to form words. My cheeks heated; nobody had spoken like that to me before. Everyone from court always hid behind fancy words that meant nothing, never anything so sincere. Even more so, he’d never spoken like that to me before. I felt utterly confused by it.

“Anyway, we should try to get some sleep, goodnight!” Tomas said as she rushed back into his room, the sheer curtains covering his balcony entrance fluttering in his movement as he pushed past them.