Artemis' POV

I close the door behind me with a final sounding click, and as I let go to turn away, I can feel fear creeping across my skin. I can't lose her. Not after I just got her.

Percy please come through for me.

With nothing else I can do, I allow the twins to lead me away towards the Hall, knowing that the best shot they have is making it out of here is when all the attention is on me.

I glance from Marco to Marcus and see the latter cutting his eyes over to his brother every so often, worry prominent in his eyes, and when I look at his twin, my heart squeezes when I see the same dead burning look I saw in Carls eyes the night before.

No, not him too.

A wave of guilt and sorrow pass through me, but I don't allow the emotions to cross my features, knowing that Marcus probably has no idea what's going on, and alarming him now will only put it his life in danger. But I have to think of something.

Trying my best to not react to the faces I see around me, possessed and awake alike, I can feel this ominous tension in the air, nipping at my anxiety, feeding on it as we pass through the halls. It almost feels like there something in the air that eats away at your will and hope until they have enough wiggle room to come in and take you over.

During my studies in becoming Princess, I've read my fair share of information on every species, and I vaguely remember a chapter I read while I was away about Demons and their possession power.

Some Daemons have been cursed by other deities and the price is that they lose their physical body, cursed to live in shadow and within their home realm for all of eternity.

But there's a catch.

There are said to be ancient relics scattered around the world that gives those besides the Daemon King power to control these lost Daemons and their shadows.

All they want is to get back to a physical form so they can do and wreck havoc as they please once more. All someone had to do is get a group of people they hate, find one of those relics, and two birds are down with one stone. Not only do you have an army of Daemons that will follow your every command, but their loyalty is heightened by the fact that they were granted their freedom from shadows, and now have a body to roam free.

The man standing before me, while Marco's soul is still in there somewhere, as long as he didn't let the darkness swallow him, is not the man I grew up with and played Knights in the Royal Gardens.

The thing leading me towards the Throne Room is just an eve conniving Daemon who's willing to do someone else's dirty work just so he can walk in the sun and among the living once more. And poor Marcus doesn't have a single damn clue. My heart squeezes in sympathy for my life king friend, but without knowing what to say, I keep quiet as we reach the hall where the grand doors are standing, the guards on either side nodding before lowering themselves in a bow.

   Once they raise they go to open the door, and I take a deep breath hoping that the man of the day isn't as obnoxious as every other man they have brought before me. Knowing that the possibility of that is next to zero, I square my shoulders and prepare myself for the worst as the doors open.

When I walk through the grand doors, I find my Aunt Lucile sitting in my mothers thrown, the woman still absent, and I can't help but wonder, if only for a second if something bad happened to her.

   No, no matter how evil the woman may seem, she's still family. Mother Arla is probably sick just like she said.

    I push aside the wayward thought as I walk towards my Aunt and look on in surprise when I find Susanne sitting in my throne, and my nostrils flare at the blatant disrespect shown to both myself and the Crown, until I notice the guilty weathered look along my cousins face, her usual high and mighty attitude drained out of her as she sits in the shadow of her mother.

"Good, you made it in time for once." Aunt Lucy states and I can't help my jaw tightening at the snide remark, but I ignore it as I stand before her, smoothing out my plum colored dress before I curtesy slightly before the Princess. The old hag.

"It's for the betterment of the kingdom." I reply, though if only she knew what I was really talking about. And of course she doesn't, she only smiles, satisfied with my answer before she goes to motion the guards at the door to bring in whatever Male they decided to flaunt me around with today.

"Artemis, I would like you to meet someone named Damien King. He's a very influential man throughout the Faerie kingdom as well as the rest of the city. His father was Mayor of Kaulike for twenty years and helped the rest of the world finally get some information about Faeries that wasn't based on Fairytales. Though is isn't Royal, a man good with the knowledge of running of a city, taking care of people and building connections is exactly the type of man we would want as King and father of the Heir." My aunt explains grandly and I fight the urge to gag in her face, but refrain from doing so knowing it would only make my situation worse.

Instead I smile tightly at her before turning to face the doors, expecting nothing more than another greasy annoying man that wants nothing more than in my pants and power over people.

If I walk around for a few minutes with the man, that should be enough to let me ditch him and follow Bri back to her bothers house, the only place she would feel safe enough to go at a time like this. I smooth out my dress and square my shoulders, preparing myself for the worse. The guards on either side of the door step aside as they begin to open from the outside, and I watch as they open just enough to let a man through.

I swallow my shock as a tall gorgeous man with dark hair and a strong body walks through the door, his button down shirt opened at the top, his slacks pressed to perfection.

The arms of his sleeves are rolled to his forearms, his hair a messy but attractive mess, and I can barely hold in my laugh of amusement as my Aunt blanches at his obvious lack of respect for Royal protocols.

The man swaggers his way towards me, and a snort almost falls from my lips when I see the many rings adorning his hands and a tattoo that seems to peak out from his back onto his shoulders. He walks straight towards me, his shoulders back and head high, not stopping until he's about two feet in front of me.

He reached out a lazy arm before bending slightly at the waist, standing himself up before smiling at me.

"Good morning, your highness. I'm told I'm here to seduce you, but I have a feeling you're not into that kind of shit. Would you care for a walk near the stables then, we'll be close to what most of the assholes here speak. Horseshit." He explains to me charmingly and this time there's no stopping my unladylike snort that flies out of my mouth.

"Finally. A knight in shining armor." I joke back and the man throws his head back to laugh before extending his arm towards me which I happily take, intrigued by this surprising turn of events.

"Now, wait just a moment-" I hear from behind me, practically hearing the smoke leaving her ears as we speak.

"Bye, Aunt Lucile!" I call back interrupting her, and the two of us snicker as we leave the Throne Room and enter the hallways, immediately going outside when we find the closest door. I turn towards the handsome stranger with curious eyes before I open my mouth to speak. "You we're not what I was expecting when I heard Mayors son." I admit candidly and he laughs, full and heavy before turning towards me.

"Imagine my surprise when the Crown Princess joins in on the joke." He reply's back cooly and I nod in agreement. "So, you care to tell me why they parade you around like a piece of meat?" He asks causally and I look at the side of his face before turning away.

"I can't trust anyone at the moment, but if you want the answer to that question, I'll tell you someday." I answer before asking one of my own once I see his calloused hands and strong physique up close. "What do you do if you didn't follow your fathers footsteps?" I ask in return and he faces me to give a sly smile.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." He tells me with a quick lopsided grin and I laugh though a small part of me thinks that he might just be serious.

"I think we'll be great friends." I tell him patting his arm and he laughs before answering.

"To the stables!" His deep voice booms out and I laugh at his attempt at playing the Knight in shining armor as I called him.

As I turn my head to the right and watch the horizon towards the gates, I can barely make out my brothers black mustang passing the gate and smile in relief knowing they made it out of here.

"To the stables!" I echo and we're off.

~~~~~~~~~~
I hope you guys love Damien bc that man is going to be around for a long time. if anyone can guess why, i'll make you a character in your favorite book, but only if you're first.

Thoughts?

Comments?

QOTD: Whats your favorite kind of fish?