DEMON CRY

73.

Raphael was anxious. He had been pacing back and forth in his chamber. He had been like that ever since Felicia had taken Alistair away. She was going back to the castle, she had said, but he thought there was more to that.

From time to time, he would distract himself by staring at the paintings Alistair had made. He found it hard to believe that she had forgotten about them. Out of all of them, there was one painting he liked. Though they were only stick figures, he smiled. It was the painting with Felicia.

Sometimes he would catch his feelings and observe them. He would realize what it was and push the painting behind all others and pretend to admire the others, but its image would always linger in his mind.

But soon Raphael found something else to worry about. It had been many days since he had arrived in Tracovia but not once had he seen the Ditrai Prince. Doubt plagued him. What if he had tricked him? He was afraid of the fate that awaited him. Raphael had trusted his intuition and placed his faith in the foreign prince. He lost everything, and they labelled him as a traitor.

But there was no other choice, he reasoned. His King had been murdered.

Fisting his hands, he decided that he would look for the prince and ask him what he was planning to do next. By the time, he had made the decision, a knock on his door brought him back to the present.

A servant had given him a summon to be a part of the War Council. Raphael panicked. He had never wanted a war. All he wanted was peace between the two kingdoms. He felt wronged. The meeting was scheduled for the evening but he was determined that he needed to speak to Amara.

'I would like the audience of your princess.'

The look the servant gave him got on his nerves. For a moment, he wondered if this was all worth it. He had betrayed his nation and for what? A childish dream of peace!

At the same time, he didn't think it was really childish. He thought it was a noble venture that the Demon King wanted to pursue. Out of respect for the late monarch, Raphael bit his tongue and thought he would give them a chance to explain themselves.

A couple of hours later, a warrior entered his chamber and announced that the princess would see him. This was the first time Raphael had stepped out of his chambers. He was awed by the lavish interiors. The fort had polished floors and shiny walls ornated with wooden carvings.

He was told to wait in an empty chamber. It looked gloomy and dead.

Before he could open his mouth and ask where Amara was, the warrior had disappeared, closing the door behind him.

Raphael walked toward the door to see if the man had made a mistake.

'Raphael.'

He turned to find Prince Damien stumbling out of the wall. He was frail and had to support himself with the help of a walking stick.

Raphael rushed to help him. 'They told me that you weren't here.'

Damien sighed. 'I'm not.'

The demon bobbed his head and helped the prince to sit on a chair. 'So what's this about?'

'I have a proposition to make,' the prince began. 'I am speaking to you as a friend and also as the representative of our people.'

Raphael pursed his lips. 'I was asked to be a part of the War Council. The reason I wanted to help you was to end the war, not prolong it.'

'I share the same vision, Raphael but the Demon Queen would never allow it. We need to dethrone her. We need to make her powerless so that we can succeed in bringing peace to our Kingdoms.'

'Years and years of hatred won't disappear overnight, Damien.'

The prince smiled sadly, 'That is why we need someone on the Demon throne who will promote peace.'

'The Ditrai will rule over both kingdoms.'

'That would do more harm than good.'

'What do you propose?'

Damien shifted in his seat. 'Amara is working on a plan that will cause minimal bloodshed on both sides but I fear that it will not end there. More bloodshed will follow. The Dithrai needs someone who can value the lives of their subjects and who aims to strengthen the relationship between the kingdoms. We need someone who we can trust.'

Raphael inhaled sharply when he realized what the prince was implying.

Damien smiled. 'What do you think?'

The former General was stumped. He started at the prince, unblinking for a long time. For a moment he wondered if this was a ploy. He quickly dismissed the thought. That was odd. Something so foreign to his kind came naturally to him. He trusted the prince.

'The Demon throne will be yours.'

'Why?' He asked despite himself. 'You've come so far. The demon kingdom is within your reach.'

'Raphael, you misunderstood me. I admit, at first, I wanted to destroy your kingdom- but now, all I want is peace.'

The demon pursed his lips. 'What changed?'

Damien chuckled. 'I want to go back home. It's been a while since I've seen my parents. And I'm brave enough, now that the curse is lifted, to spend the rest of my life with Amara.'

'The curse is lifted?'

He nodded.

'How?'

'I should thank you for that. My curse was my hatred. You helped me let go of it.'

Raphael smiled. He didn't ask for more details. The prince was sincere and he felt it in his heart that there was nothing more that he could ask.