Jurao the Demon King had a problem he wasn’t sure how to deal with - someone was tending his garden, and he didn’t know who.

He had been waging war against upstart lordi for the past three decades - this had been because his Ascension was unusual. He had been the previous King’s top general, who nominated Jurao over his children. Surprisingly, the princelins had no issues - of the five, none had the ambition to run the kingdom. So in that sense, Jurao’s Ascension went smoothly.

He passed through the Royal Trials, emerging from the Thousand Caves of Torment victorious and more powerful than ever - but without noble demon blood, many lordi were unhappy. And so they - as was their right - attempted to establish their own kingdoms. As was his duty, Jurao had gone to each lordis’s domain to beat them and prove his abilities.

No lordis had managed to fend him off the ten days required to legally establish their own kingdoms, so the United Demon Kingdom remained whole.

It was this errand that had caused him to realize the garden had a caretaker. Compared to the garden he left behind, this one was far more verdant and healthy. He likely wouldn’t have noticed a slow change - but such a drastic one was obvious.

When he’d asked his staff that had remained, no one claimed credit - nor was anyone aware of someone tending the plants. Which was troubling.

Demon gardens were a form of passive defense - Jurao’s protected the back entrance of his castle beyond the imposing inner wall. The plants were beautiful, but none were ornamental. All were sentient, able to move of their own volition and attack trespassers without remorse. These trespassers would become their food, which was why no gardener was officially employed.

In peaceful years, most of the plants became dormant - being fed kitchen scraps to keep them from becoming too unhealthy. That was why it was evident from their health, despite only a few attempted attacks from various factions, that someone had to be caring for them.

The only way someone could be tending them long enough to cause such a drastic change without being known was if the garden itself was protecting them.

Jurao didn’t know what it meant for the garden to hide its own caretaker, but it unsettled him. The garden clearly felt the trespasser that had taken up caring for it was no threat, so Jurao could pretend not to know anything - but as a general, he didn’t like that kind of unknown variable.

So, after settling more urgent affairs, Jurao banned all others from the garden one afternoon to enter alone.

“Show me to your caretaker,” he said.

As King, the garden could not refuse him - though the leaves around him rustled in a way that felt… uneasy. Like it would rather disobey.

Despite this, a nearby hedge opened up - and the rustling died down to just one or two plants to guide his way. He was led to one corner of the garden where the Stranglehold Vines grew - and at once, he understood why the garden had hidden its caretaker so well.

A human crouched near the base of the heavy metal trellis the vines grew on, tutting gently as he cleared up some broken vines, tossing them into a bucket. He spoke softly to them, saying, “You fought a strong opponent this time, didn’t you? Good work, nicely done."

Jurao didn’t make himself immediately known - there had been a minor attack yesterday from one of the unhappy lordi, but the garden had handled it before any guards had even gotten involved. A testament to how well they were being cared for, really. Which was what made him observe for a few moments.

Some of the vines were wrapped loosely around the human’s arm - not hindering him as he worked, more like an affectionate gesture. The man was white, with long wavy brown hair full of twigs and leaves being plucked out on occasion by vines. His eyes were a pale, almost white blue - an odd color for a human, as far as the demon knew. His clothes were dirty and in tatters - mended, but for too long without replacement. As one would expect from a gardener, his arms and legs were covered in dirt.

His face was plain, with a light spattering of freckles across his nose and cheeks. He was heavyset, with a square face and messy beard and mustache. Other than being human, nothing about him particularly stood out.

Jurao’s study complete, he stepped out from the nearby cover and quietly walked up to the human.

The man looked over as he caught movement in his peripheral, and his gaze slowly trailed up to the demon’s face.

Humans were a small race, most barely surpassing six feet in height. At over nine, Jurao knew most humans found his size intimidating.

This human, however, did not appear afraid - he simply stared for a moment before saying, “Ah. It seems I’ve finally been discovered.”

“… you aren’t surprised,” Jurao replied. He had a bad habit of saying everything as a statement, even if he meant it as a question. His voice was mostly monotone - he was not the kind of man prone to much speech to begin with.

The human seemed to take it as a question anyway, shrugging before replying, “They couldn’t hide me from you forever, your highness.”

“You know who I am,” Jurao said in that same statement tone.

The human nodded.

After a moment, Jurao sat down, crossing all four arms, “Explain how this came to be.”

The human bowed his head, then glanced at the bucket of cut vines before turning to sit facing the demo. His voice remained soft as he began, “For certain reasons, I was running from my home and often starving in the streets in the human realm. I must have fallen through a minor rift by mistake, to end up in the Demon King’s garden.”

Jurao nodded - it was a rare but not unheard of occurrence, humans slipping into the demon realm or vice versa by mistake. The Boundary was thinner in some places than in others. Those in high emotional states or with innate magical powers could slip through minor rifts that opened up in these locations. For one to deposit a human into the garden directly, however, was impressively bad luck.

Though, in this human’s case, he supposed that was debatable.

“I was a gardener before, so I recognized the plants here weren’t human ones,” the man went on, “As I was starving, I saw one bush bearing fruit, and so I approached it and asked for one.”

“You asked a bush for fruit,” Jurao interrupted.

The human nodded, “I always heard demon plants were sentient, so I thought it was only polite to ask."

“Even though you were starving,” Jurao said.

The human frowned, “It was hardly the plant’s fault I was starving.”

The Demon King snorted involuntarily - even demons didn’t usually show a plant so much courtesy. This line of thinking was… amusingly simplistic, but rather than remark on it, he said, “Continue.”

The man nodded, “The bush kindly did give me fruit to eat, and I noticed the soil around it was very dry. So I went to find some water for it - then I noticed the other plants in the garden were also in trouble, so I did what I could for them, too. I had intended to leave as soon as I was feeling better, but I wanted to make sure the plants were healthy first - they hid, fed, and sheltered me, so I guess I just forgot I needed to leave until now.”

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Jurao stared at the man in front of him for a few minutes, still amused by his straightforward manner. He certainly looked like someone that had been living in a garden for some time - enough that he asked, “How long have you been here?”

The human stared back, blinking a few times before frowning and looking at the ground with his brows furrowed. After some time, he said, “I don’t know. Does your highness know when King Ferrick of the human kingdom of Jost took the throne?”

An interesting landmark event, Jurao thought, saying, “Fifteen years ago.”

Ferrick the Rude had usurped the former King of Jost - Jurao had informants in the human realm, but if it hadn’t been such a violent overthrowing, he likely wouldn’t have recalled it.

The human in front of him nodded, but still frowned as he said, “Then perhaps… ten years?”

This sounded like a reasonable estimate - considering the garden’s health and the state of its caretaker. Unless the human had a truly cunning plan, it was clear he had no ulterior motives in tending the plants beyond his own apparent affection for them.

Having come to this conclusion, Jurao stood and turned - he took a few steps and said, “Follow.”

He heard the human stand, but paused and looked back at a rustling sound.

The vines around the man’s arm had gone taunt with just enough force to keep him from moving away.

The human sighed and patted the vines on his arm, saying, “Come on now, you have to let me go - he’ll make you in a moment if you don’t on your own. I am a trespasser, you know - even if he wants to kill me, that’s within his rights.”

“I have no such intention,” Jurao said, realizing the garden likely also assumed he meant harm. The human was right on all counts, after all.

The man looked over, brows arching in surprise.

“My gardener shouldn’t be in such a sorry state,” the Demon King explained.

The human looked down at himself, frowning as he examined his current state. As he did, the vines wrapped around his arm retreated.

“Follow,” Jurao repeated, turning and walking again. After a few moments, he paused and looked back.

The human was a few steps behind him, and paused to look up expectantly.

Jurao pointed to the spot next to him, “Here.”

The human obediently walked over to the demon’s side.

“… I could not sense you behind me,” Jurao offered - which was true. This human had a very calm aura and walked softly - his presence seemed to completely evaporate once he was out of sight.

“I have often heard that I fade into the background,” the human confirmed, still looking only mildly surprised.

Jurao hummed an acknowledgment, then began walking again - slowing his pace so his shorter companion wasn’t struggling to keep up.

The human walked next to him easily - though as they drew closer to the palace, he seemed to shrink in on himself. Of course, this was natural, considering the generally poor relations between humans and demons.

When they reached the door, Jurao’s Right Hand - promoted from his time as General - was waiting. Minaz stepped forward, saying, “My Lord, that was rather brief-”

She stopped mid-sentence, eyes falling naturally to the human walking so boldly next to the Demon King. She was over eight feet herself, and thick with muscle. Her skin was pale purple with red angular markings across her four arms and torso. She wore a leather top and shorts, as demon skin rarely required armor. Her long white hair was tied back, and her four red eyes with their black sclera were blank of any emotion. Her long tail swayed a little behind her, her legs ending in hooves. She also had small tusks and horns.

“Minaz, fetch Hujur for me,” Jurao said, walking past her lightly, “We’ll wait in the dayroom.”

“Of course, my lord,” she said, putting a fist to her heart and bowing before striding off. She was nothing if not a consummate professional - when he made it clear this was someone traveling with him by his order, she had no more questions. At least, not in front of others.

The guards at the door shared a look, but did not have the station to question where this bedraggled human had come from.

Immediately through the doors was the promised dayroom, lightly furnished with lounging furniture. Jurao came to stand in the middle of the room, pointed to the nearest chair, and said, “Sit.”

The human did, looking small sitting on the edge of the chair.

Several nobles were milling about, and they all openly stared at the pair.

“My lord,” one said meekly, cautiously approaching, “Might I ask-”

“The garden is open now,” Jurao interrupted, and closed his eyes - well known to mean a conversation was finished.

As no one else was brave enough to approach, a few nobles did head outside - and a few slipped further into the palace. The rest remained, whispering to each other.

This did not bother Jurao as he waited patiently, but he did peek an eye open to look at the human.

The man had his head bowed and his hands clenched tightly in the fabric of his pants.

Jurao tilted his head, opening all four eyes before turning and crouching down, “You have a problem with crowds.”

The whispering spiked at this gesture - at first, they could speculate that this was a trespasser bound for punishment after interrogation. But would the Demon King bend on one knee and speak gently to someone in that situation? Certainly not, in their opinion.

The human shook his head, then sighed, “Only when they’re watching me, your highness.”

Jurao hummed, then stood. He glanced around the room before saying, “All of you leave.”

This Demon King was prone to such short and vague commands - though he had been away from court and wasn’t known for harsh punishment. As such, it took a few moments before the nobles started filing out of the room.

Once they had left, the human did appear to relax - picking his head up to look around the room.

By then, Minaz had returned with the palace head steward, Hujur. Hujur was a little taller than Minaz, and thin and angular in build. He also had four eyes with black sclera, but his were gray. Fox-like ears adorned his head, as well as ram-like horns and short tusks. He also had the legs of a fox. He also paused and stared at the human as he entered the room.

“My lord,” he said slowly, “What is this?”

“He’s the royal gardener,” Jurao said, and waved at the man, “Fix him.”

Hujur closed his eyes and took a deep breath - Jurao could almost hear him count to ten - then opened them and approached the human, “What is your name, sir?”

Jurao flinched, realizing he hadn’t thought to ask.

“… Braelin,” the human replied, seeming more uncertain now than when the Demon King had approached him.

“If you would follow me then, Braelin,” Hujur said graciously, holding out an arm.

Braelin looked at Jurao, then sighed and hopped down from the chair. He trailed behind the Steward - who had to keep looking back in surprise, equally unable to sense him.

“My lord, if you would indulge me,” Minaz started, then glanced around to make sure no one was listening before asking, “What the fuck?"

“He’s already been taking care of the garden for the past ten years,” Jurao said easily, “I figured making it official was fine.”

“There’s no fucking way no one noticed him for ten years,” Minaz replied, crossing all four arms, “Especially not the garden itself.”

“The garden hid him,” Jurao replied, “It likes him.”

Minaz groaned, rubbing her forehead, “Alright, whatever. It’s not like I could ever figure out what you were thinking before - or change your mind.”

Jurao hummed an acknowledgment and nodded, “Tell Hujur to present him at tonight’s meal - nothing special, just the usual staff dinner.”

“Of course, my lord,” Minaz rolled her eyes, then sighed, “I suppose I’ll make sure no one tries to harm the human in the meantime.”

“I would appreciate that,” Jurao nodded again, then headed off to attend to his usual duties.

“Yeah, yeah…” Minaz sighed again, headed off after Hujur and Braelin.