Chapter 19

Charlie woke up on the morning of the next day, after having such a pleasure-filled night with the woman he never thought he would come to love in such a short time.

He left the bed and walked to the nearby window, staring out at the view which it provided him. Mount Cleo gave a great scene of the sky and the demon kingdom which was ruled by his father. He turned away from the window for a bit as the moans from Stacy called his attention. She had not woken up, she was still sound asleep like the beauty she was right there on his bed.

After seeing to it that she had rolled herself back to comfort, he faced the window again and returned to his thoughts.

He recalled the conversation he had with his father last night before he went to Stacy, as after he thought about it for a long time in the study room, he decided to take the Daivie throne.

It was far from what his heart desired, but then he told his father the real reason he did it after going to inform him in his chambers.

"I am only doing it because of my grandfather's sacrifice, and also to protect the woman I love."

"Are you doing it because you want to make her a royal?" Luther asked him.

"That will be for Stacy to decide if she wants to join me, but besides that, there's something else I have to do to protect her."

"I understand, son. And I want to thank you for making this decision, not just for your bride, or for your grandfather, but also, for the good of the Daivie."

"When will the coronation be?"

"Anytime you want, son. Your mother and I will be rounding up our assignment with Lucifer soon, so we will be moving back here permanently. We will be there to guide you through whatever challenge you may face."

"Thank you, dad."

"I am really proud of you for taking your responsibilities as you should. I assure you that you may not like it now, but it will be one of the best decisions you will ever make. I will begin making preparations for your coronation."

As Charlie was about leaving the bedroom after their talk, he didn't know why, but he strongly felt another presence close-by.

And no, it wasn't the presence of his father, nor his sleeping mother, it was a different presence, a much more different presence. It felt as if someone had been spying on them.

***

Now fast forward back to the next morning, after Charlie had the most passionate sex with the woman he never thought he could feel something with. He exchanged views between his window and the naked red-headed sleeping beauty on his bed.

She was still asleep, Charlie knew she would be very tired from all they did last night, she was unlike the demon she'd slept with, who didn't need any source of renewal for his energy. He didn't bother to wake her up, as he thought she would need her strength for all he would tell her later.

After some time, Charlie got dressed and left his bedroom, he went in the direction where he felt his mother's presence, as he needed to have a talk with her. She had fallen asleep by the time he entered his parent's chambers last night. Luther might have already told her, but she still needed to hear the decision he had made last night from his mouth.

Lillian was in one of the back houses, addressing a group of servants who were gathered, receiving orders from her. Even though he needed to see her, Charlie thought not to disturb her and wait instead. The meeting didn't take long, and after the servants had dispersed, he walked up to her.

"Good morning, mother."

"Good morning, my love. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," he answered, even though knowing there was hardly any time to, but that wasn't what he came here to discuss.

"Your father told me of your decision to take the throne. I am very happy for you, darling."

"Thank you, mom, that's part of what I wanted to see you about today."

"Really? Okay then, we shouldn't be standing here. Let's go and have a seat in the garden."

The Daivie clan house garden was unlike any natural garden you could see in the human world. It had special plants that housed smaller winged creatures. These creatures had demon features, the main distinguishing factor being their little sizes. These creatures were the ones responsible for keeping and tending to the rare moving plants, none of which could ever be found in the human world.

As the Daivie queen and prince entered, the little creaures greeted them by spraying rose petals in the path they walked, untill they got to one of the benches made from the barks of a tree. The creatures then left them after they'd settled down.

Now that they were alone and relaxed, they could continue their conversation.

"I am proud of what you did, Charlie. I know it was not an easy decision to make," Lillian commended.

"I also told dad the reason I chose to do it yesterday."

"Yes, Luther told me that your love for Stacy also influenced this decision in a way."

Charlie smiled as the memory of last night flashed before his eyes in a second, "yes, it did."

"So, do you plan on marrying her? You know that will automatically make her a royal if you do. She won't have to worry about being human anymore."

"No."

Lillian was puzzled, "no?"

Charlie nodded, "I will not be marrying Stacy, mom. I came here to tell you that I will be letting her go."

"Why?"

"Dad told me about everything last night, your death, grandpa's sacrifice just to bring you back. I hate that it touched me so much. I don't know why dad did though, why he had to let me know then, but if it were his motive for trying to make me do what he wants, then he got it quite alright."

"No, don't say that, Charlie. Everything you father told you was the truth. And believe me, the news of your grandfather's sacrifice hurt me the most. I didn't see my life even as half-worthy to be exchanged for a demon king's soul, but Gustan still did it anyway for his son's happiness. I told Luther to keep it from you because I didn't want to burden you with the truth, I wanted to keep all that guilt to myself."

"But it wasn't your fault. You were just the victim."

"I know, but none of that eased the hurt I felt after knowing what Gustan did for me. It felt as if this new life of mine should have never been given in the first place. It really took a lot to put all that behind the past, and I needed to do it because I now had two sons who were looking up to me. I'm sorry that you're just finding out about it now, but I want you to know that everything we hid was to protect you, my love. The only thing your father and I wanted was to protect you."