A Prince of Darkness

As the group anxiously waited in the hospital, a heavy tension filled the air. The memory of Sharla's fall replayed in their minds, the darkness claiming her and the uncertainty of her current condition haunting their thoughts. The room was hushed, the only sound being the whispers of worried voices.

Keliana's eyes were fixed on the closed door of the examination room, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't shake off the image of Sharla falling from the sky, her hair billowing in the wind as she clutched her sword for dear life. Keliana knew they had to do everything they could to save her.

"You have been checking her vitals for a while now. Why isn't there any change in her heart rate?" Dante asked as he now stood beside the doctor who flinched at his sudden presence beside her.

"I have done all that I can do. It is up to her now and her body to recoup," she replied as she did one more scan of the patient.

Sharla was connected to a machine monitoring her heart and brain activity. She had an IV inserted into her left hand. Her brain seems to give more signals than her heart at first very erratic. After a few minutes, they were both at the same fast pace.

The doctor then left the room to speak with the others in the waiting area.

"How is she, doctor?" Nico asked approaching her first. General Clint returned with the nurse as the doctor exited Sharla's room.

"She is stable and breathing normally. She needs time to heal and recuperate. I suggest that you be brief with your visit and let her rest."

"Thank you, doctor," Nico and the General said. She nodded her head then walked off with the nurse to attend to another patient that was just rolled in.

***

Dante stared at her beautiful angelic face which looked anxious. Her eyes seem to be moving behind her eyelids. He gently held Sharla's hand in his covering her hand with both his.

"I wish I knew why you make me feel this emotion I have never felt before. I have worlds to build and kingdoms to destroy. A pretty face doesn't entice me, it has to be something else. I should be out there not in here with you. Why? Where do you come from?" he asked lost in his own thoughts.

"Ehem," Nico said as he cleared his throat.

Dante hadn't realised that he had an audience. He quickly released his hold of her hand and stood a distance away.

Nico approached the bed and held her hand. He bent to whisper in her ear and the movement behind her eyelids stopped. She seemed more relaxed and the heart machine and brain-machine slowed down to normal levels.

"We should leave her and let her get some rest," Nico said to everyone.

They nodded and went out of the room except for Dante.

"Hey, you too creep, you need to let her rest," Nico said with disdain. He didn't trust this demon that suddenly took an interest in Sharla. Where did all these other people come from? he wondered.

"Dante, we should go. I am sure you can return sometime tomorrow to check on her." Drako said standing beside him.

"Why would we let a demon back in here? Who knows if you will try to destroy us now that you have been inside our home?" Nico vented.

He doesn't normally blow up on people but he saw Dante as a threat to him and Sharla's future relationship. He didn't or couldn't let someone else enter her life or her heart for that matter. He would do what was necessary to keep these demons from her.

"You are fortunate that I don't see you as a threat. I will leave for now but will return to see how she progresses. It's best to not get on my bad side, so I suggest you let me visit without any hindrances," Dante sneered.

"Boys! Please stop this right now. Look it is obvious that you both care about her. So everyone needs to calm down. So much has happened. There must be a way to call a truce and all become friends... right?" Keliana suggested.

"I am not sure what world you live in. But we kill demons, we don't befriend them," Nico said.

"Then I think you should let demons look after their own kind then. Perhaps we should take her with us?" Dante smiled.

"What are you talking about? Sharla is no demon, you idiot," Nico spat.

Dante smiled and walked closer to Nico. Standing a few inches over him, he replied, "Why don't you ask your general what happened? He knows what she truly is."

"General Clint, what is this demon babbling about sir?" Nico asked.

"Nico, let's talk about this tomorrow, right now I am not sure what is what," he replied.

"What does that even mean?" he asked puzzled.

"We swear not to cause any harm as long as we are here. We will be on our best behaviour. But trust me, Dante will not take no for an answer. Give him what he wants and we will not cause another war or set this place on fire. You already look like you had a recent fire. I assume a nursery was over there," Drako asked.

"I think we should all go back to our own homes and think about what happened today and how we can prevent another tragedy from happening," Keliana suggested.

"My dear sister, I know what you want to hear. But we are princes of darkness and will do what we want to do. However, we can call it a truce for now. I am curious to see what will become of Dante and Sharla once she awakens," Drako replied.

"There will be no Dante and Sharla when she awakes so just keep dreaming and move back to your own territory Dark Prince," Nico spat.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say you have feelings for your captain," Dante smiled. "Let me warn you, I always get what I want. You do not want to stand in my way."

Nico stood defiant and strong in his stance. "I will not yield to you demon spawn. Now take your family and get out of our territory before we expel you from this place. Once you are expelled you can never return no matter how hard you try," Nico smiled back at them.

"Come on Dante, I am sure you don't want to start another fight now with her life on the line. Let's go and give her time. We will meet her again, trust me, brother," Drako said holding his shoulder.

Both Nico and Dante stared down at each other. No one wants to give up their stance. Eventually, Drako and Keliana pulled Dante away as a portal appeared to take them to their own destination.

Once the portal closed Dante shrugged off both Drako and Kelliana's hold.

"I am sorry about your friend, but you can't demand someone that isn't yours to have," Keliana said.

"You don't know what you are talking about. I have always taken what I wanted. Why should this be any different?" he rebutted.

"Because she is not a thing you can make claim to. She is a human being or a person for that matter. You can't do that. Suppose she doesn't feel that way about you?"

"Then I will make her feel that way by any means necessary," he replied.

"Then that is not love. You can't force someone to love you. That comes naturally and over time. She may hate you for it if you try to force yourself on her. Try getting to know her first before you do anything stupid," she counselled.

Dante paused briefly before speaking again. He looked where they were and realized they were in Drako's new family home.

Sighing, "I will take into consideration what you have said. But if they give me grief to see her, then I will bring the war to them, the likes they have never seen," Dante warned.

***

A shadow suddenly emerged behind them. Michelle gasped as the shadow solidified itself.

"Benara! Where have you been?" Michelle cried as she hugged her friend. She thought she would never see her again as she disappeared after being briefly freed from Drako.