Kaiyo was sure of two things in his life: he’s a proud wolf demon and this was a perfectly normal day. The terribly hot desert sun was the worst thing on the continent that’s for sure, but Kaiyo had willingly chosen to work alongside Selene for a couple years while her spa started to get more popular.
Today was just a day of errands. Kaiyo had gone to buy various foods and knick-knacks for the spa, and he was now on his way back to the spa on the outskirts of Hariq, the fire capital.
The desert sun was really coming down hard now, Kaiyo feels his life drain as he waves his shirt, letting some air flow through his body. This really was the worst. This stupid sun didn’t feel like setting early today, despite it being almost 8 pm. Kaiyo hates that sun.
In the distance, he sees Darkian guards posing as a checkpoint for anyone going to the outskirts of the capital. They were everywhere these days. What a pain.
He really needed something to make his days more interesting. As much as he loved the spa and the various drama that went down every time a Hariqan soldier and a Darkian soldier crossed paths, he really needed something to make the days less dull.
So it really appeared as if the Goddess heard his pleas when out of nowhere, he senses something wrong. To the left, far off the desert path, he just faintly sees a rift in space. And out of this rift, he sees what vaguely resembles a human fall from that rift in the sky and crash land in the desert sand.
Purposely antagonizing the Darkian guards at the checkpoint will have to wait, Kaiyo decides. He shapeshifts into a wolf, clutching his bag of errands in his now canine mouth, and leaps off the trail into the direction of this person that fell from the sky.
At the top of one of the dunes, he sees the shape of a person. She was awake, clutching her arm, looking around feverishly. Kaiyo shapeshifts right back into a human, not wanting to scare the girl, and slides down the dune towards her.
Upon seeing Kaiyo, the girl appears to hobble backward. He notices her eyes are barely open, almost squinting, trying to look around. He can sense that the girl seems more confused and scared than anything else. The terrible horrible desert sun probably isn’t helping either.
Kaiyo holds up his hands, “Hey, I’m not here to hurt you. Are you okay? What’s your name?”
The girl swallows thickly. She stumbles backward and trips over her boots, falling into the sand. The poor girl looked pathetic. She stops moving. Kaiyo takes that opportunity to walk over to the girl and sees she’s passed out from, no doubt, the heat and whatever caused her to fall from the sky like that.
Kaiyo closes his eyes, feeling the sun underneath his combat boots, feeling the thick dry air, and feeling every creature in a mile radius, feeling their auras, their life force. The Hariqan inhabitants’ aura manifested as yellow, the Darkian soldiers at the checkpoint showed up a deep purple, but… the girl in front of her had a crimson aura to her.
He opens his eyes. The ribbon in her hair catches his attention, it was golden yellow, the color of the royal family. And it seemed inscribed with ancient godly runes upon further inspection.
Ah. It all made sense.
Kaiyo curses the sun. He needed to take a back route home to avoid the Darkian guards. He shapeshifts back into a wolf and, through careful maneuvering, places the girl limply on his back. He picks up the bag of errands, and heads off, carefully navigating the desert in this stupid sun back to the oasis where Selene’s Salvation: Spa and Hot Springs resided.
Selene always kept the sliding door in the back of the spa where her room was open so that Kaiyo could sneak into the spa without dealing with pesky customers or more Darkian soldiers to ruin his day.
Selene’s Spa was quickly growing as one of the most popular spas in the Litian Kingdom. Situated a ten-minute camel ride from the entrance of Hariq, many fire tribe inhabitants jumped at the chance to try the spa for themselves. With excellent customer service, gorgeous hot springs decorated with palm trees and shrubs to create the ideal oasis landscape, and a spa treatment that offered a wide variety of treatments, from massages to facials to mud baths to exfoliate the body, it was hard to believe this entire operation was run by one ambitious succubus who Kaiyo had the pleasure of calling a long time friend. The spa had even expanded to include a second floor of rooms for overnight stays.
Kaiyo nudges the sliding door open and squeezes his canine body into the room, right as the door unlocked and Selene entered the room.
Selene was always seen as an elegant woman by many. Her blond hair, long, and always in a different hairstyle every day, always appeared soft and flawless even though it reached down to her lower back when untied. Today she had been wearing a soft deep red dress to contrast with her pink skin and her yellow eyes. Her devil tail and small bat wings were impossible to miss and quickly labeled her as a succubus demon if her skin color didn’t give that away automatically.
In contrast, Kaiyo looked like a ruffian. Messy red hair, mismatched yellow and blue eyes, and a hefty amount of freckles ever-present due to the stupid sun defined him. His wolf ears and tail remained present even in his human form. With his combat boots, ripped black pants, brown biker jacket, and the red bandanna around his neck present at all times, it was hard not to label him as a delinquent at first appearance.
Kaiyo did like to cause trouble when he was bored, but that didn’t mean he was a bad person. Or at least, that’s what he thought of himself as.
Right now though, he knew Selene was about to lecture him for a good ten minutes judging by her flared nostrils and the murderous intent in her eyes.
“Kaiyo,” she began slowly, her voice slow and controlled, “Get you dirty, sandy paws off my floor before I burn you alive and serve you to the guests.”
Kaiyo looks down at his paws. Sure they were a little sandy, and sure he had scratched the delicate wooden floor a little, but was it really that big a deal? He glides his front left paw experimentally. The wooden floor creaks and he sees scratches where his claws contacted the floor. He can visibly see ten years leave Selene’s soul.
“Change back, before I roast you,” Selene says threateningly, holding out a manicured hand. It begins glowing slightly.
“W-wait!” Kaiyo cuts the crap, “There’s a girl on my back!” That came out weirdly.
“Excuse me?” Selene looks more confused than angry now.
Kaiyo carefully turns his body, showing the girl to Selene, who gasps and grabs her immediately, putting her down and places her hand beneath her auburn bangs and on her forehead. “She’s burning, poor thing… Kaiyo, get me a wet towel from the bathroom and prepare a tatami mat next to my own.”
Now free of his passenger, Kaiyo turns back into a human, sets down the bag of errands and goes to the bathroom, and does as he’s told. He hands Selene the wet towel and goes into the closet to set down a tatami mat, complete with pillows and a blanket.
Selene sets the girl down on the mat, and, sure that she seems to be cooling down, takes a deep breath and exhales.
“Where did you find her? Who is she anyway? Her clothes definitely aren’t from anywhere around Hariq…” Selene asks Kaiyo who’s sitting on the floor with crossed legs.
“She fell from the sky, Selene. She created a rift in space, a portal basically. And judging from her rune inscribed ribbon and her crimson aura, she’s gotta be Soleil Orel, right?” Kaiyo says sensibly. Even though all the events that occurred fifteen years ago would lead to the conclusion that the young three-year-old daughter of King Aelius and Queen Thea died buried under the debris of the fallen royal capital, all signs pointed to the girl in front of them being that very same princess.
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Selene closes her eyes and senses the supposed Soleil’s aura. Kaiyo was right, it was of a crimson color, symbolizing the royal family.
“And you say she… fell from the sky?” Selene grabs a cushion from the closet and carefully sits down on it, making sure to not stretch out her dress.
“Yeah, I saw her fall. She seemed all out of strength, the sudden change of environment must’ve played a number on her.”
Selene doesn’t know what to say. By all accounts, the literal hope of the Litian Kingdom was right in front of them.
A clunk is heard outside in the men’s hot spring. Selene pinches her nose in disappointment. “Ugh, I have to get back to work, my break is over. If the Litians and Darkians could just stop fighting for one day, it would save me a lot of work.” She rises from her cushion and opens a door that leads out into a hallway. She looks back at Kaiyo, still innocently sitting down. “ If she wakes up, do not, under any circumstances, bombard her with unnecessary questions.” Selene glares daggers at Kaiyo before leaving to go deal with customers.
Darkian soldiers had been coming by a lot recently, just as the checkpoints were becoming more frequent. The problem is that it caused a lot of tension between the Darkian and Litian customers. They always had ridiculous complaints that Selene had to deal with all the time, with the most ridiculous one being that a Darkian didn't want to have a room right next to a Litian because Litians had bad “vibes”. Ridiculous. Kaiyo could see it was starting to wear her out, especially with her threats.
He sees Soleil stir, her eyes fluttering open. She proceeds to jolt up, her eyes darting around her new surroundings until they finally rested on Kaiyo.
“You…” She begins, “Who are you? Where am I? Is the Darkian mage still here? Ezra. Where’s Ezra?” She rambles off question after question in a frenzy, hugging herself. There was still a wild look in her violet orbs.
“Woah, calm down there missy, one question at a time,” Kaiyo calms her down, giving her a soothing motion with his hands until her body relaxes ever so slightly, “I have questions of my own too.”
“Oh really,” Soleil peers at him suspiciously, looking him over, trying to judge if he wasn’ a shady character, then she finally notices the extra appendages on his body. Her eyes widen, “Wait… Are you a demon?”
“Huh? Uh, yeah, Kaiyo Fen the wolf demon, that’s me,” Kaiyo scratches the back of his ear. Demons didn’t travel out of their city often, but they weren’t an uncommon sight either, especially in big cities like Hariq. He supposed wherever Soleil grew up, it was remote enough that demons were a rarity.
“That’s crazy, I’ve only ever seen a goat demon once when he stopped by Acre Falls to sell goods,” Soleil leans towards him, forgetting her suspicions, “Are your ears real?”
“What? Yes, of course, they’re real, what the hell, I need those to hear,” Kaiyo isn’t used to the sudden attention. It was usually Selene who attracted everyone’s eye. “Real ears, real tail, yes I can shapeshift into a wolf, and yes I can use magic according to the environment.” He rapidly answers all the questions he was sure Soleil was about to ask.
“Woah… That’s so cool, can you shapeshift right now? I’ve only ever read about it,” Soleil’s eyes gleam with childlike wonder, the traumatic memory of the mage’s attack now completely distant.
“Uh, no actually, my claws would mess up the floor and Selene would hang my head on a pike,” there’s a sinking feeling in his stomach when he notices Soleil’s disappointment. He coughs, “Anyway, so as you’re not too lost, this Selene’s Salvation: Spa and Hot Springs if you’ve ever heard of it. We’re on the outskirts of Hariq.”
Soleil nods, digesting the information, “That’s in the mid-south of the Litian Kingdom…” She laughs bitterly to herself, “I’m a long way from home.” Soleil crosses her arms, rubbing them, she suddenly feels quite alone in the world. This demon seemed nice enough… but Ezra… where was he?
“You fell from the sky, you looked so dazed and confused, I bet you don’t even remember it… You seemed scared of something, what caused you to open a rift in space?” Kaiyo knows it’s definitely a no-no question to ask someone who just woke up, but after carrying her through the desert, he feels the need to know.
“I…” Soleil looks down at her hands, “In the forest…” She shuts her eyes close, shaking her head, “It all seems so far away now… but I still remember the feeling, like I was about to die. And Ezra… I sent him who knows where. He could be dead right now too.” She blinks. Tears had suddenly appeared in her eyes, the memory was now back in the front of her mind and the guilt felt unreal. “Gramps was right.” Sobs escape her mouth, “He was right…” She clutches her mouth to block the sound of her sobs, she makes eye contact with Kaiyo and quickly looks away, “I’m sorry…”
“Hey…” Kaiyo says softly, “Don’t apologize. Whatever you went through is probably too traumatic to remember right now. I’m sorry for bringing it up.” He doesn’t know what to do. She was a complete stranger breaking down in front of him, and yet all he wanted was to hold her hand and tell her it would be fine.
She wipes her tears, “I’m sorry,” she says again and shakes her head, “I’ll need some time to clear my head, but… there’s a reason I’m here, there’s a reason I was attacked, isn’t there? Demons can sense auras or life force, tell me who I am, that’s all I want to know right now.” She’s pleading, tears are still in the corner of her eyes and she’s looking deeply into Kaiyo’s own eyes. There was nothing but an honest will to know her heritage.
Before Kaiyo can concoct an answer, the door of the bedroom opens and Selene walks back in, clearly exhausted by the rowdiness of her clientele. She perks up right away as she sees Soleil is awake, “Ah perfect, you’re awake, how are you feeling sweetie?” Selene has a mug of tea in her hand, she hands it to Soleil who gladly takes it.
“Ah, thank you,” she takes a sip of the warm tea, feeling the warm mixture spread through her body. “I feel odd, but not too bad. A day of rest and I’ll be out of your hair. Kaiyo explained to me where I am and how he found me. But, I was just asking him if he knew who I was.”
“Well,” Selene sits down on the cushion, “You know your own name, right?”
“Yes, it’s Soleil.”
Selene claps her hands, “Well that would all add up then. I don’t know how you grew up unaware of that fact, but you’re Soleil Orel, the one and only heir to the Litian throne.”
Everything clicks in Soleil’s mind. The ribbon, the Darkian mage, Gramps’ reluctance to let her go on an adventure. As much as she was at a loss by the revelation, it all made sense.
“Then,” she swallows thickly, “What do I need to do.”
Selene and Kaiyo exchange looks. “Wh-what do you mean, sweetie?”
“The Great Chaos was fifteen years ago. The Litian Kingdom lost everything to the Darkians. If I’m who you say I am, then there’s got to be something I can do.”
“We can go to Hariq tomorrow, Captain Sayid Yong can help you out--”
“-- except that would be dangerous,” Kaiyo interrupts, “There are Darkian troops all over Hariq for some reason.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“Ryuulong is our safest bet. The acting leader Lord Yamato was King Aelius’ brother, he will no doubt know what to do.”
“That would make Lord Yamato my uncle then… right?” Soleil says hesitantly. Kaiyo nods. “Well,” Soleil smiles, “Better late than never to meet family, right?”
“Alright then, we can leave tomorrow night, I’ll pack for the trip, it’s a three days walk on foot, I hope you’ll be ready,” Kaiyo grins before standing up and leaving the room.
As soon as Selene is sure Kaiyo is out of earshot, she sighs, “I hope he wasn’t too much of a bother. Kaiyo does love it when things get eventful.”
Soleil shakes her head, “No, of course not, I’m glad he’s guiding me to Ryuulong. As crazy as all of this is… it’s honestly still hard to process… but I’ll be fine, I just need some rest.”
“Of course, honey,” Selene smiles kindly, “We all need the rest, trust me, let me tell you, never start a business when there’s in-fighting.” She says in an exasperated tone. Selene heads off to the bathroom to take a shower, and by the time she exits, Soleil is already fast asleep.
The next day is filled with idle talk between Soleil and Kaiyo as the two get to know each other a bit more. Despite the events of last night, Soleil didn’t let the news get to her, but it was decided that she remained hidden in case she’s recognized or a demon senses her abnormal aura. They had also decided on leaving at night to avoid any Darkian soldiers that they could intercept on their way out.
By the time night rolls around, Soleil and Kaiyo are packed and ready to go. Selene is in Kaiyo’s room as he packs the last needed amount of food for a three days trip.
“Remind me again why we’re helping the lost princess of the Litian Kingdom and not just selling her to the Darkian Empire?” Selene asks matter-of-factly. “There’s nothing in it for us.”
“But there’s everything in it for the humans,” Kaiyo replies, placing the bag around his back, “This girl is literally the hope that the Litians need right now. The moment she gets into contact with Lord Yamato, it’ll be a revolution. There’s a chance for the Litians to regain peace and I’m all for it if I get to live history. We demons have nothing to worry about, but the Litians need this. I’ve seen how miserable the Hariqans have been over the last couple of years, the Darkians have taken everything from them.”
Selene chuckles, “So you’re saying you want to play heroes now? I’ve seen your fighting prowess and it’s not anything to be proud of.” She teases the wolf demon.
Kaiyo flushes, “Sh-shut up! I’ll get stronger along the way. Besides, we’re not going to run into trouble on our way to Ryuulong. As long as her identity is hidden from the public, I don’t need to fight. Now, come on, let’s get going.” He exits the room and heads to the front of the spa, right outside the entrance doors. Cobblestone made up the path to the entrance of the spa, beyond which lay a trail through a verdant forest that would bring them to Ryuulong in three days.
For a grand total of six days, Kaiyo could happily say goodbye to the stupid desert sun and say hello to the kind mild temperate sun of the forest.
Soleil is already waiting outside for the duo. She has a hooded cape on to hide her face, an idea of Selene’s.
“Sorry for the wait,” Kaiyo says, “Let’s get going.”
“Stay safe, don’t die,” Selene says monotonously. “I’ll try not to murder my customers in the meantime.”
Kaiyo rolls his eyes at his friend’s dramatics and off they go. Thoughts are still racing in Soleil’s mind, but she’s sure of one thing: she would finally get answers at Ryuulong.
Her destiny awaited.