Prince Aleric Sonhest wasn't one to be frightened by visitors in the night.

Being the second prince meant he had a lot of targets on his back, and it was no uncommon thing for assassins to show up at his doorstep. Dressed as maids, coming in through the window, serving poisoned food; he had seen it all. Being outwardly anti-nobility and a candidate for crown prince put nearly the entire aristocracy against him, his own family not excluded. Even his father, the king, didn't like him.

This didn't bother Aleric though. He was a firm believer in his late mother's teachings; that all humans are created equal under Ysid. Each day this principle drove him to reject the policies that would benefit the rich over the poor, and to eventually take charge of the distribution and organization of the city guard, which had become one of the first public policing forces in the world. Paid by taxes, these knights were less corrupt than the King's personal guard. Aleric fought to have all tried equally under the law, and to bring down heavy punishment upon those who broke it.

To those who had never seen him, it was a wonder how the third prince maintained so much influence despite being the mortal enemy of his family and the upper nobility. How did he remain such a strong candidate for the crown?

After seeing him, the reason became clear. Aleric's golden eyes and shaggy, white hair spoke for themselves, demonstrating how all his power came from the unyielding support of the church of Ysid. Those physical traits meant that without a doubt, he was one of Ysid's chosen children. It was no wonder the church, a power equal in strength to the noble faction, had his back.

Aleric was one of a few rare humans known as Angels.

Five races populated the world of Nil; Dwarves, Elves, Finnied (Merfolk), Tothied (Beastfolk), and the most populus, Humanity.

Each race, formed by the five Gods, had members among them who were blessed. They were the most powerful of a species, standing above their peers. More often than not they became figures of great influence or rulers, performing feats that would go down in history. In some races, the traits were passed down through families, but in humanity, the appearance of the chosen children was seemingly random.

There were Jeweled Dwarves, High-Elves, the Serpentes Finnied, Shape-Shifters of the Tothied, and for humanity, Angels. Each had specific physical traits that separated them from the others as well as unique skills. In the case of Angels, white hair and golden eyes was their signifier. They also possessed any number of incredible abilities beyond that of human capability. In Aleric's case, it was his absolute strength on the battlefield. Whether in hand-to-hand combat or with the blade, he had never been defeated.

On this night of a dazzling harvest moon, Aleric leaned against his bedframe in the heart of the palace district. He was hunched over his blade, Erthamel, sharpening the sword in the gentle gleam of the night and a single candle's flame. He had been struggling to sleep, sensing that something was sneaking about the Palace- although oddly enough he hadn't gotten a visual or sensed any disturbance. Whatever was moving about kept themselves perfectly hidden, bothering no more than a few blades of grass.

'Probably hired by one of my brothers.' Aleric thought, back to the wall with the door to his room and the balcony windows in view. 'A talented assassin has made their way in tonight.'

Or maybe it was just a fox, and he needed to go to bed.

If it were a person they would be in for a cold awakening. Aleric would strike them down, just as he had all the others. He let out a tired sigh. Despite his skills, he didn't like killing. He'd always been soft that way and did his best to hide it. Another trait of Angels was their caring, gentle hearts. To him, it was a weakness, not a strength. It was such an issue it even caused problems at mealtimes.

He put in a lot of effort to hide his distaste for meat. While he ate it at big gatherings, all it did was remind him of the adorable, sensitive living thing it had once been. It was particularly hard with rabbits. Aleric really loved rabbits.

He had a secret glen he visited occupied by a bunny family he cared for. His favorite was a black bunny with bright, red eyes. It had been the hardest to befriend, but the two grew incredibly close once he had. If he didn't know better, he would've thought the creature understood the complaints and stories he told it. The bunny trusted him implicitly, although it still maintained a standoffish attitude.

The thought made him smile.

A tap at the balcony window. The smile fell. Aleric rose from his seat, sword readied as he approached the noise. It had come from the glass door to the balcony still covered by elegant green curtains. His hand gripped the fabric and pulled it back.

The door to the balcony opened with a click, but there was no rush to stab him. No arrows came hurtling from the sky.

Instead, a dazed and unfocused young girl stood harmless before him.

She looked to be around his age, but their appearances couldn't have been more different. In contrast to his white hair and golden eyes, this girl had hair as black as a raven's feathers tumbling over her back in gentle waves. His strong, grounded build dwarfed her almost whispy, ethereal presence. A delicate but sharp face looked up at him, revealing a single gray right eye that reminded him of the stormy open seas. The other eye was wrapped carefully with a white bandage. The two gazed at each other, her one eye still looking through him like she didn't know where she was.

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'Is this the assassin? Are they on drugs?'

The girl made no movements, which made Aleric oddly nervous. He didn't sense the slightest killing intent, however. The aura she gave off was akin to someone sleepwalking; far away and lost in a dream.

Her pupils weren't blown in strange ways, and she looked clean and well-kept. Not at all like a person under the influence. Pale eyelids fluttered with sleep. The shirt she wore was comely and gray tucked under a short, dark cloak, and tan pants hugged her subtle, thin curves. Her bare feet were covered with dirt, held up by skinny ankles betraying how little she ate. This was no noble.

'Has some nobleman hired an orphan girl and sent her here to kill me?'

It was all he could think of as an explanation, but it didn't feel accurate. Besides, how could some random girl pass the guards in this state?

He couldn't help but think about how a bit dressed up in a woman's clothes (and back to a healthy weight), she would've been jaw-droppingly beautiful.

Aleric was pulled from his musings as her face shifted with a sudden consciousness. Her gaze locked on his, full of strange clarity. She took a step towards him.

For some reason, Aleric stepped back in response.

One by one, as she strode towards him step by careful step he walked backwards in tandem until he was forced to sit down on his bed. This didn't stop her, the wind blowing loose strands of hair around her face, the door still open behind her to the unknowable moonlit night.

Aleric felt his heartbeat quicken, the sword falling from his hands and slipping to the floor with a clang. It was the strangest feeling like he was in front of a predator, but not one that wanted to hurt him. A rare encounter with a lazy panther whose terrifying, slitted pupils stared into your own, fusing your feet to the ground and coating your neck in sweat. He wasn't one to be afraid, and that wasn't any different now.

Truthfully, he didn't know what he was feeling. The moment was strange, the encounter so odd that he didn't want to disturb it. How could he fight back or kill her, anyway? She looked so underfed; hands worn with the pain of the streets. He felt pity. Uncertainty.

He remained motionless as she came to a halt before him.

A pause. Nothing but the quiet sound of their breath. Then, she slid forward, propping a leg up on the bed while the other one came up on its tiptoes to reach him. Hands slid onto his chest and his breath hitched at the contact. The moment slowed as her chilled body meshed with his warm one.

'Is she going to…?'

Her lips drew closer to his own. Their breaths mixed but inches away from the mouth of the other.

Then, she moved past his face entirely, instead sliding her rosy lips down his neck.

His eyes widened, back arching involuntarily at the sensation.

"Wai-" He began to say, placing a single hand against her to move her away.

Instead, he gasped, fingers clutching against her shirt as she pushed him back, bringing them both down to the bedsheets while her sharp teeth pierced the flesh of his neck.

'She's…biting me.' He thought numbly.

At the site of the contact, the sharp pain rapidly faded into a warm throbbing, a heat that spread up his neck and flushed his cheeks. Each of his limbs felt weak, having lost the strength to do anything. Or did he just not want to? With each twist of her lips, she sucked tantalizingly slow gulps of blood from his veins, and he experienced every sip in full.

"Miss…" He mumbled, embarrassed how it was almost a whimper, "Please, you aren't in your right mi…" His voice faded into a low groan as she buried her face down further, forcing his neck to tilt back as he increased the area of contact between them. Her knee was now pressed precariously between his legs, causing his breath to come out in unsteady rasps. This couldn't go on much longer. Why had he let her…?

With a wet pop, her teeth came out and her lips slipped away from his neck. In a moment of clarity, he grasped her shoulders and pushed them both up to a seating position, the girl propped on his lap as their eyes locked once more.

"What…are you?" Was all he could manage, feeling dizzy at the sight of her bloodied mouth and dripping lips. Her gray eye shone with a mischief that did something to his frenzied heart.

She giggled, voice like a songbird, and leaned forward again. This time there were no teeth. A gentle, wet kiss with her pursed lips gifted itself on his cheek. Long dark hair fell across his chest. She pulled back, and without a word retreated from him, hand lingering a tad longer than it needed to on his chest.

As he watched her turn around, the moonlight hit the mirror near his bedside table causing a harsh reflection, the vibrant shimmer casting blinding light on his face. He blinked, turning his head away while standing up to follow her, unable to see. Rushing blood went to his head and his feet stumbled across the floor.

"Hold on!" he called, rubbing the dizzying light from his eyes as he shuffled to the door. It remained open, but he found no one was there. Looking every which way from the edge of the balcony, he searched.

She was gone.

Aleric calmed his unsteady breath, bringing a careful hand up to the bite on his neck. It stung to touch. The pads of his fingers circled the wound and then traced their way up his neck, settling on the blood-stained kiss mark. There they stayed, lingering along with his racing thoughts.

Aleric was no playboy. There was no time to mess around with women, and he had never really wanted to. It all had too many unknowns, too much about people that could be taken advantage of or used against him. Loving was as dangerous to him as it was for the people who loved him. He was safer alone, and people were safer without him. Besides, there was so much more to focus on. Controlling the church, securing the throne, pushing back the noble faction, preparing public sanctions and services...

'Preventing war.'

His head shook with shame. It all felt like a weird dream, but the wound was real.

And so was the lingering heat of the kiss.

'What sort of human drinks blood?' He thought. Had he just become someone's dinner?

Aleric shut the door, closing the curtains in a single pull. He didn't sense anything amiss in the palace anymore. The intruder had come and gone. No one was looking at his room, and he was once again alone.

The prince drifted in and out of dreamless sleep that night, finding that the coming morning did not bring answers or restfulness.