I examined the room around me. There had to be something I could use. There were tall windows that I could reach, but they looked out onto a massive drop. I would die if I tried to jump out that way and escape. The windows were covered by fluttery sheer curtains, reminiscent of the ones covering the balcony in my room at Hazuzu’s castle. The tower’s walls were lined with bookcases, filled with books, but it wasn’t as if I could stab anyone with paper.

There was a divider that I peeked around, and it revealed a small bedroom area. Lush covers, thick downy pillows, all placed just so on a large bed. My prison was comfortable, at least. I left the bedroom area, pausing to run my fingers across the sheets. So silky.

On the other side of the divider was a tall mirror, a full length masterpiece framed in delicate wrought iron. I stared into it, squinting my eyes at my appearance. My eyes had too many bags underneath them. These adventures had taken a toll on me. My bangs were slightly too long, poking into my eyes if I didn’t brush them the right way. I sighed. My skin was pale as ever, despite the time I’d spent outside adventuring. I wondered if I’d be able to change my appearance now that I was almost a full grown demon.

Though I wasn’t sure what I’d change, if I were honest. Looking at myself, it felt like me. I knew I wasn’t perfect, but I felt that my looks were a fair representation of how I felt inside. Maybe all along I’ve been tweaking myself to fit my personality this whole time. I looked up and down in the mirror again, taking in the dirty clothes that I was wearing. I’m sure there were clothes around here somewhere. The healer had been wearing clean clothes, anyway. Maybe there was something for me, too.

But first, I had a better idea. I checked to make sure that I had enough pocket space, patting the tight trousers that I wore. Perfect. I looked back up at the mirror. I had to be quick for this to work, because the guards would come in as soon as they heard. I positioned myself at the side of the mirror and shoved it as hard as I could.

The iron framed mirror barely budged. I took a few steps back and ran, putting my full weight into the blow. The mirror knocked over, the glass shattering everywhere, cutting my face and hands as I fell into the mess of shards.

Immediately, guards slammed open the door, yelling, running towards me. Quickly, I grabbed the largest shard my fingers lit upon and shoved it into my pocket, cutting my palm on the sharp edges. Well, at least I knew it would be sharp enough. I grit my teeth against the pain of the slice through my skin.

The guards hurried to right the iron frame, one of them kneeling at my side.

“Princess,” the guard growled. “Are you alright?”

I sat up, careful not to press myself into more broken glass. “I fell,” I said.

“Klog, clean this up,” he commanded. He examined my face, determined I wasn’t too hurt, despite the several cuts on my skin. “It all looks superficial. You’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure? I’ve got a nasty cut on my palm,” I said, lifting my hand for him to see. If they thought I was hurt enough, maybe they would bring the healer back to fix me. Unless he was already dead. I didn’t allow myself that line of thought.

The guard peered closely at my hand, noting the blood seeping from the wound. He sighed. “Zaavi won’t be happy about this.” The demon guard stood, his face stoic. “Don’t move.”

I was so stunned by his words that I actually complied. My muscles tensed up; surely, they didn’t mean that Zaavi was here. No, they meant that he would be upset to learn of his prey being endangered. He was still held tight under magical lock and key, as he had been for centuries. It was impossible for him to have been released.

I took in several breaths to calm myself, reassuring myself of the facts. Zaavi wasn’t here, he would simply be displeased when he hears of his follower’s shortcomings. They must have some form of communication with him, or his followers would have lost their loyalty, abandon him to the prison he’d been consigned to. The guard was just upset because their leader here in the human realm would be angry. That had to be it.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I sat back on my haunches, careful not to poke myself with the sharp shard of glass in my pocket through the cloth. When that leader did arrive, which they were bound to eventually, I would be ready for them.

~

The rest of the day passed in silence, in isolation. My fists, constantly clenching and unclenching, didn’t allow for the slice on my palm to heal, breaking the scabs every single time that I moved. But I couldn’t help it. The anxiety I felt about my intended actions ate into every cell of my being, my fear growing with every hour. What good would it do me to attack the leader? It probably would earn me nothing except the knowledge of how badly they wanted me alive. It was a gamble, I knew. Was it worth upping the ante?

The moonlight filtered through the tall windows, shining through the sheer curtains and painting the floor with a square of pale light. The healer had mentioned that I should get on Zaavi’s good side, whatever he meant by that. If he was here, which I didn’t allow myself to even really acknowledge, then he was willing to kidnap me to achieve his goals. My opinion clearly wouldn’t matter to him. I was just a pawn in this game, a game I didn’t even know I was playing until recently. It was only days ago that I was spending my time as a privileged human princess, avoiding court and seeking refuge alone with my books.

At least there were books here.

I didn’t know exactly what I should do. But I knew I had to do something. I’d grown so much from the child I was only weeks ago. My experiences have shaped me, my knowledge had armed me, and now, I had to raise my expectations for myself. I would do whatever I could to escape this place and warn Hazuzu. Obviously, Zaavi wanted revenge. The healer had told me as much in his brief history lesson. The motive was clear. I was probably going to be used as bait, or some kind of motivation to get Hazuzu to do whatever Zaavi wanted.

I couldn’t turn my back on him. He was my father, despite the fact that I didn’t know that until only days ago. We hadn’t even had a chance to reconcile, to really catch up, and I had so many questions to ask him.

Like about my mother. According to the healer, her name must be Charybdis. Why had she been gone? Hazuzu hadn’t mentioned her, not even once. Neither had anyone else I’d encountered. Truth be told, I didn’t even think about her existence. It was overwhelming enough to learn everything I had in that short amount of time; thinking about anything beyond that was apparently past my mental capacity. I had to have a mother – it was simple biology. Unless demons reproduced differently… The healer’s face appeared in my mind, unbidden. Where did that even come from?

I shook my head to clear it of those thoughts, my cheeks flushing. I didn’t want to ask my father those kinds of questions just yet. Not that I could at the moment anyhow. I would just have to assume that it was similar enough to humans. Most of the aspects of their lives seemed about the same. But the healer had mentioned Charybdis, the princess of the demonic realm. What was her role in all of this, and where did she go? I had too many questions about that line of thought; I should table those for now. I knew it would do no good to dwell on those thoughts. There was no way out of that rabbit hole, and I would get lost trying to figure them out with the minimal amount of information that I had. It simply wasn’t enough. I had to find out more.

The healer had said to get on Zaavi’s good side… maybe I shouldn’t attack the leader if and when they show themselves. If I do, then what good would it earn me except the wrath of the demons whose mercy I was at? Unless it was of the utmost importance to have me alive and well, then I’d be dead, and tortured at best. It wasn’t as if I’d be able to fight my way out of the tower, not with however many demons stood watch. Even if I could fight, and knew how to handle a weapon, all I had in my arsenal was a measly shard of glass that cut me just as much as it would my victim. I sighed. There wasn’t much I could do except to play along.

I decided I would have to pretend to comply with the leader’s wishes, whatever they were. I would obey, make them trust me. And then, maybe they’d loosen up enough that I’d be able to escape, somehow. If nothing else, I needed to buy myself time, figure out a way to escape this place. I should let my enemies underestimate me, and then show them how they’d regret it.

My exhaustion came over me. I had been pacing the floor all day, unable to rest, my mind a mess, chaotic trains of thoughts that kept colliding into each other. I sidled up to the luxurious bed that they were kind enough to provide for me. I lacked for nothing in this comfortable prison, this gilded cage. That didn’t mean it was any less a prison.

I fluffed the pillows, wincing when my palm hit the pillow the wrong way, and settled into bed. Almost immediately I fell asleep, the wind whistling pleasantly through the windows, the calm, warm breeze lulling me into unconsciousness.