BANYE (Updating)

Dark Chamber

The halls were silent. The voices that usually filled the large palace were gone. The walls echoed with emptiness and the soft sounds of Ying Yue's bare footsteps are the only sign of life.

She walked through the dark frigid halls and inched forward, keeping herself close to the wall fearful of something what could be lurking in the shadows, unseen and unnoticed.

She felt it in the pit of her stomach, something unsettling. And after what felt like a long neverending hall, a sliver of silver light sliced through the gothic interior. And then came a noise.

It wasn't such a normal noise. It's something Ying Yue has never heard before. The sound is eerie and haunting, not something you could find in the surface but something that only lurks in the darkness.

A shriek.

Hissing and braying, guttural bursting through the silence like thunder after lightning making her flinch at the sound of the creature.

She took several steps bracing herself and hurried across the hallway when something big flew overhead. She couldn't make up what it was but the long talon extending from its body made the creature appear many times larger than it is.

"What the heck is that?"

Ying Yue spun around, eyes on the dark ceiling. She may as well be blind since she couldn't spot it. Even with her sharp demonic eyes, she couldn't see anything.

But thanks to her enhanced sense of hearing, she could at least hear every shift or movement the creature made.

Ying Yue gripped for the dagger from the harness tied to her leg when long slender fingers wrapped around her arm. The grip was strong, cold and she sensed some hostility and jealousy reverberating in the other person's energy.

She took a swipe, lightning strike of her dagger but the creature had been swifter disarming her so fast that Ying Yue was confused at what happened or how was the creature able to disarm her so easily.

Ying Yue went rigid. Then a pale beautiful face came into her view. Nikita's fangs glistened as she smiled. "Lady Ying Yue," the female demon greeted with failed casual attempt in her voice. Nikita couldn't hide the hiss, the hatred, in the undertone of her voice. "What're you doing here?"

Ying Yue has never wandered in this side of the palace before. It was hidden by Banye's magic.

There's places around the palace where she can freely roam into. Beautiful places that she could only imagine in her dreams. These are illusions Banye created with his spell to give her the fantastical world he wanted her to have.

And there are places that are forbidden. These places are also hidden by Banye's magic that no matter how much Ying Yue tried to find them, she comes back around in circles or lost only for one of the guards to escort her back to the main room.

"Nikita." Murmured Ying Yue, Nikita's features somehow sharper than she remembered.

"You shouldn't be here, you're not allowed to be here." Answered the female demon.

"What's in here? What was that thing that flew overhead?"

"That is a low level demon I trapped and brought here."

"Low level demon?" Ying Yue had no idea there are levels to a demon's status.

Nikita's lips curled. "Of course, you wouldn't know princess. You only know about being a princess. It doesn't matter whether you are a mortal or a mortal turned demon, you will always be a princess."

Ying Yue thought of a retort but it wouldn't be of any use. Not when Nikata's hatred is imbedded in stone. Ying Yue tried to free from Nikita's grip but Nikita kept her icy hold on her half dragging Ying Yue back to the light and to the throne room.

***

In the throne room, lounging in his ebony stone throne is Banye. His head inclined at the sound of people bursting through his door. He wore his usual emblazoned tunic with an addition of armor plates that encased all of him except for the head, but with his disheveled hair and the sight of the helmet nearby, Ying Yue had assumed he had been up to something he had not shared with her. Banye had been far too elusive lately.

Something about Banye's expression let Ying Yue know that he's surprised and he wasn't expecting to see her, especially being dragged by one of his trusted sentries.

Nikita let go of Ying Yue with a hiss. "I found her wandering in the prison chamber, my lord. Looks like you need to keep her leash tighter. She can't be wandering into places where she could easily get hurt." The last thing Nikita want to do is save her. "Maybe, I'll let those monsters kill her next time."

Ying Yue almost rolled her eyes. Nikita must've forgotten how she almost beat her in a fight.

"Yeah, but that one time, she wasn't expecting you to have incredible strength." Banye uttered as he rose from his seat. "You still need years of training to even catch up to her skills."

"You're inside my head!" Ying Yue hissed. Banye had made promises to stay out of her mind.

"I'm sorry, my love but sometimes, I can't help but hear your thoughts when you're angry. You may as well be yelling at me."

"Are you ever going to punish her?" Ying Yue protested. "How do you let her get away treating me so rudely?"

Banye breathe, his face seem apologetic but did not answer which only made Ying Yue angrier.

He stepped down from the steps elevating his throne from the rest of the room. "You're awake, Ying Yue. How long have you been up?"

Banye raised his hand as he strode closer picking up Ying Yue's hand to press his lips against the back of it.

Ying Yue yanked her hand quickly. "Not long. I just woke up not long ago."

Banye grabbed her hand again. Slowly, carefully and apologetically, pressing another kiss on it. "I would have been by your side if I've known you would wake up early."

Perhaps, his spell is waning its effectiveness on her and this is something else that worries him on top of everything else.

"You put a sleeping spell on me!" Ying Yue snarled.