It was getting late, and the sun was already setting. It was the end of my last day off. It was bittersweet saying goodnight to all the guards at the barracks, but I was so tired I was falling asleep just sitting there, no matter how lovely the conversation was.

They all tried to smile as I walked out, each one trying to offer to walk me back. That would have only made it harder though. Whatever I was going to face when I woke up, I knew it was something I had to face alone.

“My lady– Or I mean… Siya.”

I turned around. The cold air caused a chill to run across my skin as the wind picked up and the sun's warmth vanished over the horizon. Zu was standing in the firelight coming through the barracks door.

“I wanted to thank you properly… Please, if it's not too much trouble, take this.” He handed me a small envelope with what felt like a stone inside of it.

It was my first time receiving a gift that I could remember so I couldn't help it when I felt my face turn red. I wasn't even embarrassed, just genuinely grateful. I slowly reached out my hand and took it. “Thank you…” I didn't know what else to say.

I saw him glance over my shoulder. As I turned around I noticed Finlo and Callum failing to be discreet as they intentionally hung back to stay out of our conversation.

“Is your arm still injured? It doesn't look swollen anymore,” he asked coldly, taking back my attention.

I folded my hands behind my back trying to hide it. “I-it's fine, really, I told you not to worry, remember.”

He faked a soft smile and nodded. “I'm still sorry about it though…”

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I brought my arm up in front of me, opening and closing my hand. I didn't even know why I tried to hide it. It was still bandaged, it was obviously injured. “To be honest it still hurts, but I've been through worse.”

He chuckled. “Of course. How else would you have gotten the name Longsuffering Princess.”

I looked over his shoulder at one of the other guards who quickly turned away, whistling. “So that's what they're calling me now.” It didn't seem very fighting after all the care I had received during my time off, but when I thought about what was awaiting me the next day, I could see it a little bit.

His eyes followed mine, before returning his attention to me. “Well, anyway. Thank you. You took a beating for me, that makes us family.

I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at his weird logic. What he said wasn't technically wrong, I did more or less pick a losing fight. I didn't even fully understand why, but regardless it seemed he benefited from it.

I felt like the fact that he was the one that gave me the beating was an important detail though. “So… you beat up all your siblings? Dang, here I thought I was special.”

“That's not- You are, I mean…”

It was funny seeing his cold expression finally melt away as he fumbled over his own words.

It was almost painful to watch. “Relax, I was just kidding.”

He paused like he was deep in thought about something. “Siya, when we fought, were you really not scared of me?”

I thought back to his flaming eyes and the intense pressure I felt as my sword broke in two. “You looked like you wanted to kill someone…” I muttered looking away for a moment. “It didn't feel like that someone was me though…”

I couldn't explain it, it was more like he was fighting himself. “I don't really like pain, so I was afraid of getting hurt for a moment when you wouldn't stop, but I don't think that's really what you meant. Don't get me wrong, you were terrifying, but if the worst you were going to do was kill me that's not so bad.”

I had said those same words to myself hundreds of times, even accepting my own death without a fight in the case of the bitterweed, somehow that time it felt like I was lying though…

He grimaced. “You speak like a sheep and fight like a demon in the body of a mouse.”

I smiled back at him. ‘I'll just pretend like I understood that.’

He stepped out and closed the door behind him. “I'm going to show you my real face…” He raised his hand up, placing his thumb and his pinky on his cheekbones and his other three fingers on his forehead. As he did I saw large horns start to appear.

They were back like his hair at the base but turned into an intensely glowing purple towards the tips. His eyes lit up as well, but instead of the flames, I saw in them before, this time it was a calm glow.

“Your… an Oni?” I had only ever read about them in books. Supposedly, Oni were a subtype of ogres that were known for extraordinary skill instead of just brutish strength. They could be identified by their horns, otherwise they were mostly human-like in appearance.

It was hard for me to hide my excitement. He marked the second person I met who wasn't human. ‘Now it feels like a fantasy world.’