When the first man grabbed Thana's wrist, her training kicked in. She yanked away, skidding backwards. Admetus swooped down, scratching at the men, and without skipping a beat, Thana ducked into the nearby thicket. She practically flew from tree to tree, and when she was sufficiently ensconced, she paused, her heartbeat pounding in her ear. King? There was a king? More to the point, what the heck had happened?

Whatever the case was, it clearly had been no ordinary demon that she'd fought. It had triggered that huge quake, and now, she was being hunted down as though it were mediaeval times. Thana peeked out from the tree, and breathed out, grateful to see nothing but forest surrounded her. Admetus fluttered down from above, perching precariously on the thin limb of tree sticking out in front of her eyes.

Thana looked around the forest, ears open, body tense. What sorts of options did she have? She was in a strange land, where apparently magic was still thought of as witchcraft. She couldn't stay in the woods forever. She had to keep moving. If these really were the times where witchcraft was feared, then Thana had a whole lot more to worry about than human threats. A lot of the dangerous demons who had passed in her existence would be alive now. And they wouldn't take her presence lightly.

Cautiously, Thana stepped forward, eyes scanning her left and right. She began walking in no particular direction, but once she was moving, she knew she would eventually end up somewhere. Naturally, she might not end up someplace safe, but she at least had a destination, unknown though it might be. As ridiculous as it sounded, the simple task kept her mind off of Emrys.

She dug her fingers into her palms, forcing herself to keep moving. Emrys hadn't deserved to die that way. He had been a good man, and all he had ever done was try to keep her safe. He had given up everything for her. And she hadn't even been there to keep him safe. Thana looked down at her hands, and opened her fists, surprised to see blood beading on her skin. Her nails had punctured her palm and she hadn't even realised.

Leaning against a tree, Thana breathed out slowly. Admetus flew down and landed at her feet, rubbing his feathered head against her leg. It wouldn't do to keep hurting herself, that, Thana knew for sure. Something here had triggered that demon that had killed Emrys. She was sure of that as well. And so help her, she was going to find out what, and make sure it suffered.

Her legs were covered in scratches from the undergrowth she had waded through, and her feet were protesting in silence. Thana knew she couldn't make much more, but she was reluctant to sleep in the forest. Nowhere in this place was safe, but still. Sleeping in the woods was just asking for trouble. Thana dragged one foot in front of the other, feeling the burrs and spikes digging into the soles of her feet. Even Admetus was tiring, opting far more often to walk rather than fly. Night was drawing close, and despite herself, Thana was afraid. She wasn't afraid of the demons, unrestrained and powerful, but she was afraid of herself. When the sun set, her demon side seemed more in control of her body. She hated the night. She felt more attuned to the demons she hated, and that was why she killed any demon she met in the dark hours. The more she could focus on her hatred of them, she could forget about the loathing she directed towards herself, and her demonic side.

"Ah!"

Thana jerked her foot back, nursing her stubbed toe. She had been so consumed in her thoughts, she hadn't realised she had literally, hit a wall. She guessed it was a mountain she had reached, considering the jagged stone that had cut into her boot. Glancing at Admetus, she felt along the wall, not entirely sure what she was searching for. She walked as she ran her fingers along the wall, and as she stumbled on the uneven ground, it felt as though the wall itself moved. Chiding herself the silly thoughts, Thana took another side-step, but her foot never reached the ground.

It was as though she stepped through a rotting floorboard in an ancient house. The ground caved in below her foot, and screaming, Thana reached along the wall for a handhold. Her fingers danced along the cragged rock, the sharp edges slicing into her fingers. Slippery from blood, she vainly fumbled for a grip. Dropping to her good knee, she raked at the dirt, trying to pull herself out of the pit, but as she pressed into the forest floor, the earth cracked. Eyes widening but powerless to stop it, she free-fell into the hole.

Only as she was spiralling downwards did she wonder why Admetus had not come to her aid.

She felt as though she had been falling for hours. Thana daydreamed as she fell, the surrounding darkness her only friend. It was fitting, she thought, to die in the midst of her fear, alone. Fitting retribution to her failure to protect Emrys. A harsh landing on a stone floor jerked her out of her maladaptive thoughts. Thana blinked. It was dark, yet she could see. She realised it was from a sliver of light sneaking into the room. Thana stood, gingerly testing her weight. Nothing seemed broken, she thought, relieved. She felt around, her fingers gripping a handle. Jackpot. She turned it cautiously, and she pushed it open. Two things happened so quickly, they were almost simultaneous, and she was unable to process either until a good five minutes later.

Thana opened the door into a brightly lit room, and judging from its warmth and medley of pots on the walls, it was a kitchen. That was all she was able to register before a slight figure in an apron swung a heavy black object at her. Thana immediately ducked, dropping to all fours, and swinging a leg out to trip her adversary. A resounding 'thud' confirmed that her plan had worked. Thana straightened and snatched up the heavy black weapon, before looking down at her adversary. She raised an eyebrow.

The kitchen maid was a tiny thing, barely more than a girl. She had long auburn hair pulled back into an endless French braid, and despite the simplicity of her clothes, they were impeccably well cared for. Each garment looked new. Truthfully, Thana was surprised the girl had been able to even lift what she now recognised to be a heavy based frying pan. She looked distinctly underfed and underweight. The fierce gaze she directed at Thana discounted any underestimations the half-demon might have harboured against her. The disgust with which the girl surveyed Thana also reminded her that this girl might be an enemy, as harmless as she looked.

"Who are you?" Thana asked, hefting the pan, silently congratulating the girl on having been able to swing it.

"That's my line," the kitchen maid spat out, scrambling to her feet. "You're a demon, that's what you are, and I know Diaspro sent you. Haven't you all done enough damage?"

Thana raised her eyebrows again. The girl talked tough enough, but she had the look of a frightened rabbit. She was twitching, and her hands were trembling. Her eyes were wavering, and they belied the strength in her voice. Thana took a step forward, filling it with as much menace as she could muster, and she raised the pan. Immediately, the young maid stepped backwards, tripping over her long skirts. Thana supposed she must look a fright, with her ripped clothes and countless bruises and scrapes. Still, did her appearance really account for the sheer terror in the kitchen maid's eyes?

"Hey!" Thana said gruffly, her irritation colouring her tone. "If you can't back up your trash talk, don't even bother acting tough. I'll ask again. Who are you, and where am I?"

"I...I don't talk to demons," the girl stammered out.

"How do you even know I'm a demon?"

"Everyone knows how to tell," the girl said belligerently. "It's no big secret, how to figure out what a demon is."

"Is that so?" Thana didn't really care for the girl's snobbish tone.

The girl didn't reply. Thana was palpably annoyed. If all humans were like this, she figured, she was glad she had spent her life growing up in the middle of a snowbound wasteland with not a human in sight.

"Because what I think," Thana continued, as though the girl had not just been inexcusably rude, "Is that you don't have a clue what the hell you're saying. If I were a demon, do you think I would be stopping here to make chit-chat with you?"

As the girl stopped to ponder this, Thana hardened her tone.

"Or maybe I'm just a smart demon, who is trying to trick you into trusting me and then I'll kill you. Either way, your fate rests with me." Thana paused to let the girl internalise the severity of her threat. "So now, I'll ask again. Who are you and where am I?"

The kitchen maid slumped down to the floor, breathing out unevenly. She was clearly scared out of her wits by Thana. Yet, Thana mused, she had been brave enough to try to stand up to her. The girl was a puzzle. Thana tilted her head, surveying the girl again. She was much too young to be anything official in the kitchen, and it was quite possible that she had spent her entire life being yelled at. Even if the girl believed Thana's bluff, it was doubtful whether she would co-operate with someone who was too loud and rowdy.

Thana relaxed the arm that had been hoisting the pan, and looked the girl in the eye. She had the most startlingly clear eyes. They were sky blue, bright and beautiful. They made the girl's already pretty face exquisite. This was no ordinary kitchen maid, Thana realised.

"Hey," Thana said more gently, "I'm as confused as you are. Heck, I've never even met many humans before. I'm not here to hurt you. I'm here to find some answers. I'd really like to know who you are. You're the first person to ever try to hit me with a frying pan."

A smile twitched at the corners of the girl's lips, but her face remained impassive. The eyes that should have been guileless were extremely intelligent. She must have had a hard life, Thana thought, to have that haunted aura about her. She was smart, yet, at the same time, incredibly twitchy. She was like an abused rabbit of a sort.

"Keira."

Thana blinked, staring at the girl. She straightened, and Thana was surprised to realise she and the girl were within an inch in height of each other.

"My name is Keira," The girl re-enunciated. "Keira Evans. I'm an all-round kitchen maid here. Pot scrubber, potato peeler, knife sharpener."

Thana couldn't tell if she was joking about the last one or not.

"As to where you are," Keira continued, "you're in the kingdom of Nightsheria, ruled by King Rayleigh. I don't think you're working with Diaspro anymore, but despite what you said, I know you're a demon. And demons bring trouble wherever they go. I have no great love for demons, but it's been my experience that some humans are just as bad as they make demons out to be."

"I'm Thana," she said, a smile of relief touching her lips. "And... Keira, I'm not...I am not quite a demon. I'm a half demon. My guardian was killed, by a demon, and after I killed the demon, I was pitched into this place. The first people I met were soldiers. They tried to take me to the king, and I ran off into the forest. I fell into some kind of hole in the ground, and I ended up here."

Keira's eyes had widened while Thana was talking. She was so quick to speak her words were almost garbled.

"A half... Did you tell anyone else this?"

"No, of course not, I told you, you're the first person I've talked to," Thana said, confused.

"Don't! Don't tell anyone else this. It's worse than being a demon in these parts. Everyone knows King Rayleigh is on the hunt for any and all half demons. He's been killing them all."

"Why?" Thana inquired, appalled.

"I have no idea, and what's more, this girl, Diaspro is his little minion. She's his niece, and she's as ruthless as he is. She's usually the one who does his dirty work, which is why I automatically assumed you were working with her. They've been allying with the demons, to kill out any of the half demons. What's worse, is that they aren't just stopping with the half demons. Everyone fears this kingdom now. They all know what happens to the people who get on Rayleigh's bad side."

Thana felt like she was drowning in the tumult of information Keira was firing at her. An upsurge of anger blossomed in her, with the idea that all of her kind were being hunted and killed, in this superstitious day and age, by the same beasts that had killed Emrys. What she couldn't understand, however, was the intense hatred she felt towards the unknown king.

"How do you know so much of all this Keira?"

"Because," Keira said, her eyes shining, "I knew the one person who could and did stand up to the tyranny Rayleigh and Diaspro have been pulling. She was amazing, and brave, and the best caster of magic the world has ever seen."

"Where is she? Why isn't she stopping this madness?" Thana asked, a little in awe of this unknown persona of greatness.

"She can't. A little over seven years ago, Diaspro poisoned her at the Grand Ball. Ever since then, she's been a prisoner in the keep of the castle. She was the last hope the world had, and she still is. Her name is Alexandreia Nightshade, and she's the daughter of the king. Diaspro hates her. When I was younger, Diaspro used to bully me a lot. One day, when Alex saw, she stopped her. Alex used to sneak me into her lessons, and she taught me about the supernatural. That's how I knew you were at least part demon, Thana. Look, that quake, and the demon who killed your guardian, it's got to be Rayleigh who's behind it all. And trust me, you won't be able to get within ninety feet of him if you don't take out Diaspro first, and in order to do that, you have got to rescue Alex. I know she can fix this mess we're in."

Thana tilted her head, sceptically regarding Keira. She had evolved from the close mouthed kitchen maid of a minutes ago, to a regular chatterbox. It was a marked difference. She was clearly desperate, and she was obviously close to Alex. While Thana doubted Alex would really be able to dispatch Diaspro and Rayleigh as easily as Keira claimed, she knew that it wouldn't hurt to have another magical ally on her side, especially one as purportedly strong as Alex was.

"I'm in."

(Any thoughts??? What do you all think of Keira? How do you think the characters are developing? Is it interesting? Please comment! I really would love if you do... -Amaris)