The day the Demon Princess arrived, the sun was not shining nor was there any hint of blue in the sky. In fact, it was raining. Heavily enough that the only way for the sounds of water falling to be muffled was when he dragged his thick curtains and covered his windows. Moving to the standing mirror, he just stared at himself.

Right, he was actually going to do this. He was going to be meeting with the Demon Princess and try to be civil about it. A soft sigh escaped his lips. Part of him wanted to leave this castle and find the Tünder. But he knew that if he did, Father would hunt him down to drag him back. He couldn't risk letting him know of their meeting spot.

Smoothing his white gloved hands down his chest, he stood straight.

At least, the quicker he was done with meeting her, the quicker he could leave and meet with Ilayda. Aryzath glanced at the covered windows, listening to the pitter patter of the rain. Just like this, just the thought of the tiny droplets falling from the sky — he missed her.

Did she love the rain as a water Tünder?

He took in one last deep breath and forced his limbs to move. Father was most likely waiting for him at the entrance of the castle — a custom to greet the other visiting royals with respect. Not that Aryzath thought they deserved any considering they were just using each other at the end of the day but voicing that particular thought would cause a diplomatic incident to happen.

With each step he took to get to where Father was, the deeper his heart sank into his stomach. Under his parent's gaze, he cleared his throat and resisted the urge to adjust his stance once he was standing next to him. The doors were ajar and it was clear that with the guards taking a stand at either side, many more than there used to be on a normal day, that the Demon Princess and Helius were about to arrive.

"At least you're decent today," Father said.

Aryzath snorted under his breath. He was quite used to being judged by the older creature. "Yes," he said. "Will they be here any moment?"

"Yes," Father said, shifting his hands to place it behind him. "Remember, be respectful. You are not here to be the usual absent-minded prince you have been all this while."

Slight irritation washed over him at that.

Deciding to hold off from saying anything back to the other man, he gave him a short nod. There really wasn't anything he could do now, could he? He had to go through this even if he didn't want to.

What would he even say to her?

He decided to count down back from ten in his head just to calm himself down. Unlike Arya, he was never good with polite mannerisms in face of annoyance. He couldn't dial up his charm like she could and get people falling all over him — not that he had problems in terms of suitors.

A nudge on his right had him blinking back to reality. Father took a step forward, greeting two figures and a few more behind them. Aryzath hadn't paid attention to how they got here — but judging by the lack of vehicles, there was magic involved. Demon magic had always been something he thought was made for the Sire.

They always left a sense of distress and destruction in their pathway and Aryzath had the misfortune of witnessing that once. When he had been a fledgling and a Demon captured by the soldiers during a raid to their lands tried to curse him.

When the Demon Princess stood in front of him, the first thing he saw was her face. Her eyes were heavy with dark pigment, bringing out the redness in her irises into a faint glow. It didn't make him feel better that he was near someone who could cast a dark spell on him should she want to.

Dressed from head to toe in black, her dark curls bounced every time she took a step towards him. Long nails painted in black adjusted a large hat she was wearing where if he was just any closer, he would be shaded by the round circumference flaring outwards.

"I trust you had a smooth journey, Helius?" Father asked, question aimed at the taller creature next to the Demon Princess, similarly dressed in black from head to toe with smoky-shaded eye and a crooked smile on his face. "We'll be having lunch first, just to settle down. And then we'll take the negotiations elsewhere."

"That'll be perfect," Helius said, his voice deep as he reached over and slapped a hand on Father's arm.

The older creatures didn't glance at his direction, preferring to leave him with the Demon Princess as if it was an unspoken agreement. He wouldn't be surprised if it was something planned. She tilted her head slightly. Clearing his throat, Aryzath gestured to the entrance of the castle with a hand.

"I'll show you to the dining area," he said.

"My, I expected at least an introduction." Her voice was sickly sweet, and it sent shivers running down his spine. "Are you not going to do that?"

"I thought you know who I am," he said, glancing at her. Her ruby red lips stretched upwards into a brief smile. "Aryzath. I'm Aryzath."

"I'm Corvina," she said. "I bet you didn't even know my name."

His face warmed at that. There was no need for him to know of Helius' family hence the lack of effort on his part. Being more keen on his facial expression, Aryzath forced his lips upwards for a moment.

"Of course I did," he said. "Now, let me show you to the dining area."

"Very well," she said, following him. It was silent for a few seconds before she hummed under her breath, catching his attention. "You don't seem very excited to meet me, Aryzath."

His shoulders jolted slightly at that. "I assure you, that's not it."

Corvina didn't add anything more to that. The journey to the dining hall was quiet — enough for Aryzath to gather his bearings. While he didn't want to be here, he couldn't afford to slip up. Especially not in front of Father.

The conversation during lunch was mostly contributed by Father and Helius. Corvina, who was sitting next to him, occasionally would add a sentence or two into the conversations but ultimately remained as stiff as he was throughout the meal. When he would glance at her, she would be staring at the older creatures with a glint in her gaze that had him shifting in his seat.

Something about her made the hairs on his neck stand.

"I'm glad to have you both here," Father said after their meal had been cleared off by the servant. Aryzath thanked his helper but the rest were ignored, much to his displeasure. Simply dismissed with a wave of a hand. "I've heard a lot about your contribution to the military, Corvina."

"Yes," she said, sitting up straight. "I merely do what I can for my people."

"Always humble," Helius said, the corner of his lips tugged upwards. "She's the one who strategised how to protect our borders from the pesky Weres. We couldn't have done it without her." After a beat, he added, "It would be a pity to let her go and serve this kingdom."

Father chuckled. "She will be treated well here, I can assure you that."

Aryzath's throat dried when all eyes landed on him, as if he was to confirm just that. He couldn't — not really. Guaranteeing her happiness here was a burden he wasn't ready to take. Curling his fingers into fists and placing them on his lap, he decided to settle with a nod.

"I do believe she will be," Helius said. "I'm hoping she'll be helpful in finding the Tünder."

At the very mention of the species, he resisted the urge to sit straight. It wouldn't do good to be hasty at the moment.

"I do have some idea on how to go about it," Corvina said. "Mostly on how we could probably lure them out of their hiding."

"They're masters of disguise," Aryzath said, unable to hold his tongue — especially when Ilayda's face flashed in his mind. "They won't get caught that easily."

Corvina glanced at him, her red eyes seemed glow just a tad brighter. It was unpleasant — that look on her.

"That they are," she said. "But we don't need to ambush them. What we need to do is entice them out."

"And how would we do that?" Father asked.

"Well," she said, gesturing a hand towards them. Some tendrils of magic sparked between her fingers and creating a dark mist. An image formed at the palm of her hands but just the presence of dark magic this close had Aryzath tensing his shoulders. His blood ran cold as a picture of the forest came to be and then fire. "We just give them something to worry about. After all, they're connected to nature, aren't they?"

"By burning down the forest?" Aryzath questioned, voice low.

She vanished the image away; her fingers danced in the air almost like how Ilayda would do when she played with her water. "I'm suggesting we threaten what they value the most. After all, we do know that they're beings of nature. Take that away and we could make them come to us."

It made sense.

And because it made sense, dread flooded through him. It was akin to someone forcing ice into his veins. He could do nothing nor say anything as Father laughed while Helius sat there, looking prideful. She was a strategist they said — and her brilliance showed in her quick wit to suggest a plan that his court had yet to think of.

Damaging part of nature and upsetting the cycle all for a land to conquer sounded absurd.

But from the glint of Father's eyes, it was clear that that it didn't matter much when it came to fulfilling Sire's orders.

"That's an interesting idea, my dear," the older Dragonkind said. "I find myself liking it."

Corvina smiled, leaning into her seat. "Thank you." She glanced at Aryzath. "I hope to make you all proud."