My Demon, My Love...

Dalair Vivek was a handsome, young noble demon of twenty years. He had been wandering aimlessly around his family’s estate for several hours. His mother was a kind and wonderful demoness, however, recently she had been putting pressure on him to make some decisions in regards to his future. She had grown excited at the prospect of grandchildren after a friend of hers had become a grandmother.

Dalair’s father was not much better. Though he did not share the same strong desire as his mother for grandchildren. He was constantly pressuring Dalair to make more contributions to the family’s estate. He had yearned for Dalair to join the King’s Army, but Dalair did not have a taste for that kind of violence. He was a gentle creature and found more pleasure in intellectual pursuits, something that most demons would not understand. His father was much kinder than most demons, however, he still desired many of the same accomplishments from his son. Nonetheless, Dalair had no desire to die for a king whose laws and behavior he did not respect.

“This way, ladies. Welcome to your new home.” Ubert called out.

Dalair’s quiet contemplation was interrupted as Ubert’s voice echoed down the hallway. He looked up and saw that Ubert was leading in the servants that he had just collected for work from the slave traders.

“Poor, sad humans. At least, they’ll have a better life now that they are here.” Dalair thought as he looked over their new human servants.

Suddenly, a young woman with pale skin and strawberry blonde hair came around the corner with the group. She was the most beautiful being that Dalair had ever seen. He was immediately captivated by her; he had never been so attracted to anyone in his entire life.

Over the next few weeks, Dalair tried not to think too much about the slave he had seen. However, he found it harder and harder to do so. Her image had been burned into his brain. If that was not enough, it appeared that everywhere he went around the estate, she was there performing her assigned duties. He would find himself staring awkwardly at her; luckily, he would notice before she would, and he would quickly adjust himself to avoid the embarrassment that would result if someone were to witness him.

On one such occasion, someone did notice Dalair staring at the young servant with a dreamy look in his eyes. Umay had just come home from a trip to the countryside with some fellow nobles. She was excited to be home and was looking forward to seeing her family and her best friend, Netis, whom had to stay behind due to illness. When she, unexpectedly, stumbled upon her brother carefully watching the new servant girl.

“Why don’t you just go talk to her?” Umay teased; startling Dalair.

“Shh!” Dalair quickly hushed her as he ducked out of sight.

Umay followed Dalair, giggling as he reassured himself that he had not been seen by the servant. Once they had put some distance between themselves and the servant, Umay decided to question Dalair again.

“Do you like that servant girl? Why don’t you talk to her?” Umay pressed.

“Didn’t you just get back from a trip? Why don’t we talk about that?” Dalair attempted to change the subject.

“I don’t want to talk about my trip right now. I want to talk about your crush on the new servant girl. Do you even know her name?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Umay. I don’t have time for this.”

“Well, then make time.”

Dalair attempted to walk away. Umay determined, persisted by jumping in front of him before he could go any further.

“Seriously, Dalair, if you are interested in her you should talk to her. You are a charming, young demon with a lot to offer. But she will never get a chance to see that if you don’t speak with her first.” Umay insisted.

“Right, Umay. Because that poor girl, who has suffered through, darkness only knows what, at the hands of our kind, would really be interested in me.” Dalair responded, sarcastically. “She probably hates all demons and certainly would not want to become romantically involved with one.”

“You seem to forget though, brother, that you are member of the noble family that is now providing her with the best possible existence for a human in this realm. She may be grateful for that and take the time to see you for who you really are.”

“I highly doubt that a few weeks of kindness would ever make up for the years of pain that she has, likely, endured.” Dalair moped.

“You never know unless you try.” Umay shrugged before turning and walking away.

Dalair thought about his conversation with Umay over the next few days. He struggled back and forth with the decision of whether or not to introduce himself to the servant girl. He wanted the chance to get to know her more than anything else in the world. However, he did not want to face the rejection that he felt was, not only, assured but also completely justified.

The next time Dalair came across the human cleaning a lounge in the estate, he found himself overcome by the desire to speak to her. So, he took in a deep breath and reminded himself to remain calm. He walked up to her, feeling like he was moving in slow motion.

“Hello, miss, I have noticed that you are a new servant here. So, I thought that I would introduce myself, I am Lord Dalair Vivek.” Dalair said with an unexpected confidence.

“Hello, sir.” The servant girl answered with a bow.

“May I ask your name, miss?”

“It’s Penelope, sir.” The servant answered without looking up.

“I see you have not been brought up to speed on the way we do things here yet, have you? You do not have to keep referring to me so formally.”

“No, I am afraid I am not accustomed to this. This is the most casual estate which I have ever served.” Penelope explained.

“I am certain that it takes some getting used to. However, I hope that you will find yourself happy here. We strive to provide the best possible accommodations for the humans in our employ.”

“I have noticed, sir. I must say that it is a refreshing change of pace.”

“Good. Well, let me know if you need anything, and I mean anything, at all.” Dalair offered.

“Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Dalair smiled and gave a slight bow, he was not sure why he made this motion; though, it had seemed like an appropriate thing to do in the moment. Then he turned and walked away before she could see his cheeks turning red from embarrassment. He smiled and praised himself for the achievement of talking to her.

“Ah, Penelope.” Dalair thought. “A lovely name for an even lovelier girl.”

Penelope watched Dalair walk away. She had noticed him on the first day that she had arrived at the estate. She had stolen glances at him whenever the opportunity had arrived. She found herself enamored with him; his dark-skin and dark hair. She had come to notice that despite the darkness of his eyes, she found them light and sparkling.

Penelope knew that there was no way that anything would ever develop between them. Even in an open-minded family such as this, surely, human-demon relationships were still taboo. The prospect was still intriguing and there was nothing wrong with enjoying the idea in the privacy of her own thoughts.

It started to become a daily occurrence that Dalair would seek out Penelope, so they could talk. They began to get to know each other better and grew more comfortable in the others presence. After several weeks of meeting this way, Dalair finally got the courage to take their relationship a step further.

“Penelope…I have a question for you. If you say no…or if you don’t want to answer…I understand…there is no pressure…you do as you please…” Dalair stammered.

“What is it?” Penelope asked with a giggle as she reached out placing her hand lightly on Dalair’s.

“Well, I was just wondering…if it was at all possible…that you might be willing…to consider…having dinner with me?” Dalair stumbled.

“Like a date?” Penelope questioned, trying not to blush as she did so.

“Well, uh, yeah. If that’s alright.” Dalair answered, staring down at his feet.

“I would love to have dinner with you, Dalair!” Penelope squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

“Really?! That is so great! So, I will meet you outside your quarters this evening after everyone else has been served dinner then?”

“It’s a date.” Penelope confirmed.

Penelope was extremely nervous for their dinner. She had made a deal with another servant, so that she would be able to leave her duties early. This allowed her a chance to rush back to her quarters just before dinner was to be served. She had tried on every dress in her closet but had found none of them to her liking. She wanted something that would make Dalair say “wow” when he saw her. Unfortunately, she did not own anything that looked like that.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door; startling Penelope. Could Dalair be there already? She had hoped she would have more time. She took one last look at herself in the mirror, looking over the violet smock that she had chosen to wear. She sighed, knowing that this unflattering thing was the nicest dress that she owned. She walked over to the door and opened it slowly. She was relieved to see Umay, rather than Dalair, standing on the other side.

“Oh, my darkness, Umay, it’s just you.” Penelope breathed a sigh of relief.

“Expecting someone?” Umay inquired.

“Well, umm, I…” Penelope stumbled over her answer.

Penelope was unsure if she should tell Umay about her date with Dalair. She did not know if Dalair would want others knowing or, even, if it would be safe for others to know. He had not said anything to her about keeping it a secret. In these situations, though, Penelope had learned long ago that it was better safe than sorry. No matter how kind the Viveks may have been; there was no chance they would take kindly to their only son dating a human.

Without warning, Umay began laughing hysterically. This surprised Penelope, causing her to jump back a bit.

“Don’t be silly, Penelope. Like my brother would not tell me about your date tonight when I was the one who encouraged him to talk to you in the first place.” Umay chuckled.

“So, Dalair told you?” Penelope hesitated.

“Of course! That’s why I am here. I figured you might need something to wear.” Umay gestured to the trunk sitting at her feet.

Without a single thought, Penelope jumped into Umay’s arms, out of gratitude. She tossed her hands around Umay’s shoulders, hugging her, and began thanking her, repeatedly.

“No need to thank me. Let’s just get this trunk into your room, so we can see if I have something that fits you in here.” Umay suggested as she, gently, released Penelope’s grasp on her.

They each grabbed one end of the trunk and carried it into Penelope’s room. Umay closed the door and revealed all of the beautiful treasures inside the trunk to Penelope. Penelope marveled at all the colors, laces, and fabrics that lay neatly folded before her. She had never been allowed to touch such finery with her bare hands before and here was a lovely demoness who would not only allow her to touch the dresses, but also to wear one. It was almost too good to be true!

“Alright, we need to be quick. I brought a lot of options because I was not sure of your size or color preference. I also was not sure how dressed up you would like to get, so I brought some more casual, garden-style dresses; as well as, some more sexy, cocktail dresses; and some more elegant, ball gowns; plus, a couple of styles in between.” Umay explained.

Umay began pulling out one dress of each major style in a different size. She made Penelope try them on until they found the right size. Then they began to look at colors and styles to decide on the best fit for the evening. They were having so much fun dressing up, that they let the time get away from them and before they knew it, Dalair was at the door.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The door swung open part of the way and, much to Dalair’s surprise it was Umay who had answered. She opened the door only enough for Dalair to see her, but not enough to see into the room.

“She is not ready yet!” Umay scolded.

“What are you doing here?” Dalair asked in shock.

“I am helping Penelope find something to wear. Wait here. She will be out in a few minutes.” Umay instructed.

Then, without further discussion, Umay shut the door in Dalair’s face. After several minutes, the door finally opened again. This time it revealed Penelope in a beautiful emerald green cocktail dress that fell just past her knees. Umay had also let her borrow a pair of heels and helped her to fix her hair into a stylish bun.

“Wow!” Dalair uttered, almost breathless.

“Yes! I got it!” Penelope allowed herself to squeal with delight, internally, of course.

Umay smiled a knowing smile. She had never seen her brother like this before and as far as demons went, he tended to be more caring and sensitive than most. She knew that there was something special about the connection that Dalair and Penelope had. She had high hopes that this could lead to good things for her brother.

“Well, I will leave the two of you to it. Have a good time!” Umay excused herself.

“Thanks again for your help, Umay.” Penelope called after her.

“Think nothing of it! Happy to do it!” Umay called back.

Penelope turned her attention back to Dalair. He nervously cleared his throat and shuffled his feet around before making eye contact with her again. He knew that she was beautiful, but tonight she absolutely glowed.

“Umm…may I escort you, mi’ lady?” Dalair finally spoke up after a moment of awkward silence.

“Why, thank you good sir.” Penelope giggled.

Dalair offered Penelope his arm and she took it, happily. He led her out to the gardens of his family’s estate, they walked down a little bricked pathway until they came to a beautiful spot near a creek that ran through the property just behind the gardens. Dalair had decorated the area surrounding the small, wrought-iron table and chair set, that sat next to the creek, with strings of white, twinkling lights. It was the most beautiful thing that Penelope had ever seen, and she gasped upon the sight of it; making Dalair smile.

“Dalair, this is lovely!” Penelope breathed.

Dalair led Penelope over to the wrought-iron table. He gestured for her to sit at the chair nearest to them and she gladly obliged. He retreated to a nearby tree and when he returned he carried a wicker picnic basket. He began laying the meal out before Penelope on the table.

“I had a special meal whipped up just for the two of us.” Dalair smiled.

“This is all so wonderful! You really should not have gone to so much trouble.”

“It was no trouble. Nothing that I could do for you would ever be any trouble.”

Penelope smiled, sweetly, up at Dalair as he poured them each a glass of wine. This all seemed more like a dream or fairytale. By Penelope’s experience, demons were not kind, caring, or compassionate beings. Yet, here was Dalair and she had found all of these qualities within him. He was more perfect than any man that she could have dreamed up, however, he came from a species that had enslaved her kind for several decades. While her head called for her to revile him; her heart sang out, full of love.

They spent the rest of the evening engaged in deep conversation. They had hardly noticed that several hours had passed. It was well after midnight when Dalair escorted Penelope back to her room. They said their good-byes and Penelope thanked him for a wonderful evening. Just as Dalair was about to turn and leave; Penelope leaned forward, grabbed his face and gave him a quick kiss. Blush immediately burned across her cheeks and she quickly ducked inside of her room.

Dalair made no such attempts to hide his excitement. A large, goofy grin spread across his face and he even found himself doing a little dance out of joy. Penelope was everything that he ever wanted, and demoness or not, he would do whatever it took to be with her.