Ash & Ichor [Friends with the King of the Underworld rewrite]

t w o

Damien and I met when we were both young. We were both lost in the forest for two very different reasons.

I'd packed up a backpack, ready to go on an adventure like my favorite heroine on TV.

Damien had been left behind in the human world for his safety. It was a last ditch effort to protect him as his Royal bodyguards fought off an attack. It was part of a coup to overthrow his uncle who was abusing power.

I'd found Damien in the night, rolled up, hugging his knees under a tree. He thought that I was a fae as well since I'd emerged from the thick woods soaked in mud and rain. I couldn't understand what he was saying but I understood it was urgent. He'd grabbed my hand and pulled me to the ground next to him, placing his finger to my lips before I could let out a scream of protest.

He then pointed to something in front of me. I squinted but I found a glint of metal in the moonlight.

Armor.

Impossibly ancient armor that looked as old as the earth itself.

I wasn't sure how I hadn't seen them before but the two men were looking for something in the darkness.

Damien held tightly to me. His hand pushed my shoulder down to the ground as if willing for the earth to swallow me whole.

We both stayed very still, but, somehow, they found us.

The long silver-haired one pointed to where we were and he and his partner charged for us.

We ran as fast as we could, Damien holding so tight to my hand that I thought he'd pull my fingers right off. I heard their footsteps closer still.

That's when Damien pushed me away and ran in a different direction, away from me.

His small legs didn't compare to the men running after him and in two strides, they caught up to him, one grabbing him by the shirt and holding him up to his face.

I spit the dirt and leaves from my mouth and pushed my hair away from my face. I watched in horror as the two grown men terrorized the small child.

The two men spoke amongst themselves then to the boy who saved my life.

Running on adrenaline, I stood and tossed my small Hello Kitty backpack at them. Then rocks. Then dirt. "Let him go!"

One of the men turned, annoyed, then charged at me with his large, ancient sword.

Not knowing what to do, I shut my eyes tightly, standing frozen in place.

But he never came.

When I opened my eyes again the man that had been coming at me at full speed now lay at my feet.

I still remember the blood on the leaves. The smell of it made my stomach turn.

I was scooped up from the ground and taken to a different location.

It was Damien's father that saved us from the two men. He had cut them down where they stood. He scooped us up from the ground, and took us somewhere safe.

The night I met Damien haunted me for years. Damien's father let us become friends afterwards since I bravely attempted to 'fight' Damien's would-be assassins.

Damien and I had been inseparable ever since.

Damien is the heir of a long standing royal family in power for thousands of years. He and his people are part of an ancient race that has lived alongside humans for centuries in the realm of the Underworld.

Most people thought of faeries as benevolent, small thumb-sized spirits of good.

But not Damien's race. They were mischievous and cunning.