Demon Girl (A Summoner Fanfic)

Chapter Six

Arye was summoned during lessons. They were practicing their shield spells, which he was improving on, and watching most of the Nobles show off their talent. It was quite dull, really.

The messenger who came in was dressed smartly and held a scroll, which he proceeded to read out. So many formalities, why on earth did he need a scroll to convey a simple message?

"The Provost requests Arye Everleaf's skills in..." The messenger paused a moment, obviously confused by the words. Arye wondered what it was; he wasn't particularly good at anything. Besides, wasn't the King there? The messenger coughed to cover up his confusion, "The Provost requests Arye Everleaf's skills in mind control."

It took Arye the time to stand and walk to the door for him to realise what that meant. He would see Maelin! He felt excited, but also fearful. What if the King was there? What did they want? Was she okay? Well, he could answer his last question: No, she was definitely not okay. She wouldn't be until she returned to her home.

They walked past marble stairs, finely polished and delicately carved. To Arye's surprise they passed the stairs to the Provost's office and continued. Soon the marble was replaced with other, less grand materials, and the carpet underfoot became matted and worn. The fine draperies vanished, and stonewalls showed. The air took on a certain chill, and Arye wasn't surprised when the messenger led him down rather than up.

The carpet was long gone, and the stone stairs were roughly cut. As they progressed further down the air became decidedly colder, until Arye was shivering. The stairs were narrow, so they walked in single file.

"Where are we going?" Arye asked as an attempt at conversation.

"What we are going to is part prison and part torture chambers." The messenger said curtly, his voice clearly saying that he wanted to talk no further. Arye respected this, but was suddenly filled with fear for Maelin. What were they doing to her?

"We're here." The messenger said, before producing a set of old looking keys and unlocking the first door on the left. He opened it outwards and stood aside to let Arye in. It occurred to Arye that he hadn't shown even a hint of a smile. Well, that was until he noticed the small, hate filled smirk directed at Maelin.

Arye was horrified by the conditions they were keeping her in. Angry red welts covered her wrists and ankles, and she was covered in gleaming iron chains. They shackled her wrists and ankles at least three times each, if not more, and even her neck had a tight, heavy collar on it. She was shivering in her thin white shift, and she was so consumed in her look of pure hatred at the king that only a flick of her ears showed that she knew the door had been opened.

"My... My King? Provost, sir?" Arye said hesitantly, and Maelin whipped around, as best as she could under her imprisonment, with a look of surprise. Then her ears flicked again, and she sighed. In her eyes he could see that she was tired, not from lack of sleep, but she was tired of being held like an animal. She was sad, too, though that was to be expected.

"Ah yes. My King, let me introduce you to Arye Everleaf. He is the most skilled of our students at speaking to the demon without letting it take his mind." The Provost introduced Arye. If it weren't for the King, Arye might've laughed at this. The Provost forgot to mention that he was the only one to have his mind taken by Maelin, along with the fact that she was the one who wasn't taking the control, rather than him stopping her.

"This is the boy? He looks an awful lot like a commoner." The King scowled heavily at Arye, who averted his gaze so as not to look rude. Maelin was still looking at him, so he carefully returned her gaze. She looked slightly away, and gave him a hint of a smile.

"That would be because he is, my King. Unfortunately it was too dangerous for us to experiment on the Nobles." The Provost explained uncomfortably, then to change the subject added, "Should we get on with it then?"

"Yes. Boy, get on with it." The King commanded, and Arye sat to avoid falling at the end of it.

"Wait, what am I finding out?" Arye said as an afterthought, "My King." He hastily added.

"The location of her people. Now get on with it boy, commoners are expendable." The King commanded, and Arye hastily nodded.

He felt sick to the stomach about what he was about to do. There would surely be a way out of it, so that he wouldn't have to give away her tribe's secrets. He tried looking into Maelin's eyes, but she refused to look into his.

"Is it working?" The King muttered impatiently to the Provost.

"No. His eyes will turn green when it works." The Provost explained.

"Then why isn't it working?" The King asked angrily.

"I don't know. Boy, why isn't it working?" The Provost addressed the question to Arye.

"I... Um..." He knew he couldn't say it was Maelin's fault, even though it was true, "It's just taking a bit longer than usual." He lied.

"Well hurry up then!" The Provost barked, and Arye winced at the harsh tone.

Again Arye tried, and again Maelin refused.

"Please, they're going to hurt you." He whispered to her. Luckily the King and the Provost where continuing whatever heated discussion they had been having before Arye arrived.

Something seemed to break behind her eyes and she looked at him. With that she entered his mind.

I'm not telling you anything. Was the first thing she thought to him, and he could feel fear laced in the words.

I'm not asking you to. We need to come up with something we can tell instead of the truth. Arye replied calmly, Why do they want to know?

Wouldn't it be betrayal or something? They want to know so they can find more of my kind. Maelin replied, to Arye's shock. He sent the shock to her, and she sent back confusion.

Do you really think that lowly of me? What they are doing isn't right! He explained his feeling.

Oh. I thought... Well, I guess it doesn't matter what I thought, seeing as I was wrong. Maelin sent back.

So, what will tell them? Where were you found? We can tell them you come from some unreachable place. Arye offered. Maelin sent him a picture of a beautiful, lush forest that grew just beside a volcano.

That was our old home, so there will be remnants of us there. Our current home is pretty much unreachable anyway, which is why we chose it. Only our hunters are allowed out, and then only at sunrise.

What were you doing, then? Arye asked, confused. Hadn't she been found during the middle of the ether day?

That's not important. Describe the image I sent to you and we should be fine. Here it is again. Maelin sent him the picture again, and sent it as a memory so he would remember it.

Thanks Maelin. I should probably go now... Arye said, though he didn't want to leave.

Yes, probably. He could tell she didn't want to go either. Soon, though, he felt her control slipping. Just as he came back to the surface, he felt her thoughts one last time.

Thank you, Arye.

~

Hello! I know I said I would update on Fridays but I'm changing it to I will update at least once a week. You know the feeling when you just want to write? I get that quite often. So this means you might get lucky and I'll update 10 times in a week (unlikely, but possible) or I will be lazy and update once. Don't forget to vote, comment and follow! Thanks, Honey_Fall.