The two suns were already shining high in the sky when Craydon woke up. There was noise coming from Meryda’s room, and he looked at the open door as he was getting out of bed, only to see her happily chasing her orange Salamander and speaking in a low voice, “Come here, you smelly little thing! You are going for a bath, even if I have to drag you there by your tail!”
As Craydon was going to the closet to get his clothes, he overheard something falling into the water and a cheerful voice coming from a very well-known green being: “We got him, Meryda! Stay still, you stubborn! Meryda, bring the soap! Jelly, hold him still, or he is going to escape! Come on, Meryda!”
“Coming! Here! Stop trying to bite me, you mean lizard! Aaahhh!”
The sound of his daughter falling into the bathtub made Craydon go to her room and peek through the door that led to her bathroom, only to see Meryda in the bathtub with only her underwear, holding her Salamander tight while the Fae was rubbing soap all over his body with the blue Slime covering the Salamander’s mouth, keeping him from biting anyone to get free.
Craydon stopped near them and asked with a smile, “Since you are already there, why don’t you have a bath as well?”
“Might as well do that! What about you?”
“I am going, I am going! At least you had a good night’s sleep?”
“Yeah. It took me a while to figure out how to turn off the lights. I wasn’t finding the crystal. Pretty neat way they have to turn on and off the lights!”
While Craydon was returning to his room to fill his bathtub, he mumbled as he looked at the tap, which had a crystal on top. “They sure have neat things in this country…”
When he was inside the bathtub and with his eyes closed, he felt hands on his shoulders, rubbing a sponge on him, and he jolted, only to hear a soft voice in his ear: “Relax, I am not going to bite… much… Hehehe!”
He gulped, and without even looking back, he said, “Thanks, but I can wash myself.” When he felt the sponge going down his chest and reaching for his abdomen, he grabbed the soft hand. “And I already have a woman in my life, so I would appreciate it if you didn’t mess with me.”
“That is a pity. But you said that because you thought I would mind? I am not looking for a relationship, just an adventure. One or two nights, perhaps, maybe even three.”
“Not going to happen. Now go away before my daughter sees us here. I don’t want to explain this strange misunderstanding.”
While biting softly his earlobe, Demon Manananggal retorted, “What misunderstanding? You know very well what I am doing, and so do I.” She slowly let him go and said right before leaving his bathroom, “Last chance… not going to stop me? Okay… I am going downstairs for breakfast. Feel free to join me when you are done!”
When he heard footsteps going away, Craydon whispered, “That woman is dangerous…”
…
When Craydon and Meryda were in the hall of the hotel, the Fae returned from the front desk and said, “The receptionist explained to us how to get to the breakfast room. This way!”
As they were walking along the lobby, Meryda saw more people walking around, and despite the ears and tails, most of them had horns on their heads.
Then she heard a familiar voice say, “No way! What are you doing here?”
Behind her was the young soldier with whom she talked at the Ooman campsite. She put one hand over her mouth and gasped, “You are alive! And…” As she noticed with whom the young soldier was, she recognized the other soldiers who were also with him, the Monster Tamers she met on the same night, and a few other faces she had never seen, and said, “And you as well… and you… What are you all doing here?”
One of the Monster Tamers said with a serious look plastered on his face, “Monsters captured us, then they tossed us over some Drakes, and they took us here. We don’t know what happened to our tamed Monsters. Some Half-Demons who looked like Demi-Cats were waiting for us, and they brought us here a little while ago. A young Half-Demon Demi-Dog guided us to our rooms on the first floor so that we could wash ourselves, and he came to get us for breakfast some minutes ago. What about you? They also captured you during the fights?”
With an awkward smile, Meryda remained in silence, not knowing what to say, until Demon Manananggal spoke from behind her. “The attack on your campsite was a rescuing mission. I went to save Meryda and her father from the Oomans’ hands, and you are all mere spoils of war. But this is not the right place for such a serious conversation. This kind of subject is best taken care of during a meal. Mind to follow me?”
She turned away, making the young soldier take a long, deep breath. He had been holding it ever since Manananggal started to speak, completely taken away by her beauty. He then faced Meryda and asked, “Who is that woman? She is absolutely beautiful!”
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“High Demon Manananggal, one of the Dark Height coven, the ones who rule over the Demon's country. We better follow her because I want to know what she has to say.”
The captured Oomans and Demis followed Meryda and her father to the room where the absurdly beautiful woman with dark bat wings entered, and they marvelled at the sight inside.
Several tables with four chairs each, with enough food for them, and long tables near a wall full of different types of food.
There were a few Half-Demons carrying trays to the tables with glasses with drinks, dressed in the same pattern uniform the receptionist was using.
On the farthest table, Manananggal was seated all alone with an enormous Magical Crystal in her hand, looking at the newcomers and smiling. “Have a seat, if you please, and eat. While you eat, I will answer all your questions. Or at least, I will try, because there are some things about Demons that not even I can speak. But first, welcome to our outpost, the City Byadri, which is normally used to receive all newcomers who arrive in our country.”
The Oomans went to the tables, and Meryda followed her father to the one where Demon Manananggal was because she was signalling them to join her.
With her mouth already salivating, Meryda grabbed a fork and stuck it on the cake with a strong orange colour that was on the plate in front of her, and as she was munching, delighted by the taste, a young Demi-Cat brought a green juice in a glass for her, leaving right after to fill the glass of the other guests.
Demon Manananggal was looking around, noticing the glances the Oomans were shooting at her, and she smiled and nodded at each of them, making them avert their eyes.
Craydon noticed the heavy silence around, and he whispered, “They seem to be very apprehensive. Did someone threaten them?”
“Not yet, but I will in a few moments. Let’s see how long it takes for them to start questioning me. This is not my first time with captured Oomans, you know? I have done this plenty of times over the years. Oh, it is about to start!”
Craydon noticed how a middle-aged man was whispering to the others at his table as if they were encouraging him to speak, and after clearing his throat, he got up. “Aham!… I have a question. You said you went on a rescuing mission, so that means the attack was just to capture that powerful Monster Tamer at your table? If that’s true, what will happen to us?”
“Like I said, you are mere spoils of war, and we always keep our spoils. You could have died during the rescuing mission when the Monsters I sent to your campsite were fighting, but they had clear indications that no Ooman or Demi was to be killed. A few could be captured, but not killed. They then took you to get here, and I hope you have been well treated so far, considering you could all be dead if I wanted. Make no mistake; you can still die if you don’t follow our rules.”
The whispering around went on for a few seconds, and the same Ooman man asked with a pale face, “And… what rules are those?”
“Obey our laws, which will be properly explained in due time. We deal with crimes swiftly and accordingly, through prison time and forced labour. But if you kill a Demon or a Half-Demon, we will immediately execute you. No excuses, no pardons, no questions asked. We will integrate you into our society, help you find a job, or teach one if you don’t know anything more than fighting. And you may never leave our country. The only way for any of you to leave is by dying. That can be arranged if you wish to depart sooner than the end of your natural life by feeding you to the Drakes who brought you here. Any more questions?”
A woman with long, red hair got up and said with an angry look, “You mean we will be incarcerated forever near you filthy Demons? I would rather die!”
Demon Manananggal signalled for a hotel employee to approach and said loud and clear for everyone to hear her, “Please take that woman to the Drakes.” She then stared at the still angry woman and said, “I hope you don’t cause a scene, as you are going for your death. You chose that way out, so now, keep your head high and proud and face your end without trying to escape. It won’t be of any use. If anyone can’t stand the thought of living in a country full of Demons and Half-Demons, join her and leave my presence. To the others who wish to stay and live a better life than you could ever have in an Ooman country, I shall welcome you with open arms.”
More Oomans got up, shouting threats and refusing to live in that country. Their voices went silent the moment rays of Magic came from the chandelier on the ceiling, knocking them all out.
Hotel employees rushed to carry them out of that room, with a few cleaning the floor from the glasses and food that fell, while all the other captured Demis and Oomans froze in fear, looking at the chandelier and wondering what those rays were that so easily knocked out the soldiers and Mages who were shouting.
Manananggal sighed and got up. She looked around while saying, “It seems I didn’t explain myself properly. You are spoils of war. Your lives belong to me, and me alone. I chose to let you live last night, and I also chose to give you a good life in my country. I could choose to kill you all, but I won’t. Over the centuries, we successfully integrated all captured Demis and Oomans into our society. The ones who didn’t want to fit in became Drake’s food. Like those fools who are now leaving us. You won’t be allowed to leave our country because the rest of the World can’t find out about us. We have lived in peace for millennia, minding our own business without messing with other countries, and we never tried to conquer any country or kill anyone deliberately, despite the lies the Oomans fed your ears with.”
A Demi-Dog man got up and asked, “What… what about Monsters and wild animals in this country? Most of us lived in villages or cities, which were often under attack. That was the main reason for me to join the Ooman Alliance, actually. I wanted to gain a Magical Crystal as a reward for my services to give to my hometown.”
“Understandable reason. While you were riding a Drake to get here, did you notice that this City doesn’t have a protective wall around it like all the cities in Demis’ and Ooman’ countries?”
“I… saw it, yes. And the absurd size of this City is also impressive.”
“That is because our Mambabarang fighters are better Monster Tamers, and also because our tamed Monsters take care of any wild Monster or wild animal. We also raise quite a few Monsters on farms as a food source for our increasing population. I was told Bone Boar meat has a very appealing taste among the Ooman population. Or Half-Demons with Ooman ascendancy.”