Chapter Text
Hari woke up knowing nothing but pain.
An agonized groan escaped her lips as her mind slowly returned to the land of the living. Everything was dark and her body felt so weak. She didn’t even have the strength to open her eyes.
While she was left floating in an abyss of darkness and pain, Hari’s memories slowly returned to her. She remembered being approached by Rikain and then him stoking her temper. The memory of her losing control of her blood and stupidly trying to unleash her latent demon powers was a particularly difficult pill to swallow. She supposed that she was going to receive quite the lecture from her father when she saw him next. And she wouldn’t even fight it, because she deserved every single thing that had happened to her.
She wondered if Shan hated her now.
Time was irrelevant as strength slowly returned to her. She doubted that she would be able to outmatch even a butterfly, but at least she could make her fingers twitch. It wasn’t much, but it was something.
Sometime after Hari had felt her consciousness return, she realized that she wasn’t alone. Someone was often holding her hand or gently wiping her face. They were talking to her, but Hari couldn’t make out the words. She was still so tired, and every nerve in her body was shooting off waves of anguish. It was difficult to focus on anything else.
Was this her life now? Darkness and pain? If so, she deserved it.
Eventually, the words began to become clearer and the pain began to fade slightly. Hari still couldn’t muster the strength to open her eyes, but at least she was no longer alone in the darkness. Her chest warmed when she realized that Haki was the one tending to her in her current state.
“…Dad is…everyone wants to see…Shan…”
The words faded in and out with Hari’s awareness, but they were still so sweet to hear. Hari could feel the love coming from her younger sister as Haki took care of her. It made her sad when she picked up on the grief in Haki’s voice. Hari knew that she was the cause of that grief, and that was wrong. As the older sister, Hari was supposed to protect Haki from pain, not cause it.
I need…to open my eyes, Hari thought tiredly.
It was remarkable how something as simple as opening her eyes required so much effort. Even more than twitching a finger! Her right eye refused to open, but her left one slowly responded to her will.
Everything was blurry, but at least it was better than being surrounded by darkness. It took a few moments to realize that Hari was in her bed. She blinked a few times and her vision cleared. Her body was propped up on a bunch of pillows and she was tucked in snugly by her blankets. She smiled fondly when she looked across her room and saw that Haki was curled up on the loveseat under a thin blanket, fast asleep.
How long has Haki been taking care of me? Hari wondered.
She intended on lying in bed in silence while Haki got some much-needed sleep. But now that she was awake, Hari found that her body was incredibly uncomfortable from being still for so long. She tried to move her body slightly to alleviate her discomfort, but the movement caused something on her back to pull painfully. It was too late for her to hold in the pained gasp that escaped her.
Instantly, Haki’s purple eyes opened and she shot up. She gaped at Hari in stunned disbelief for a few moments before her eyes filled with tears and she dashed across the room.
“Unnie!” she cried. She sat on the edge of Hari’s bed and gently cupped her cheek. “Are you okay?”
Hari smiled faintly. She opened her mouth to talk only for her chest to wrack with a series of painful coughs. She lifted an arm and clutched her chest as she struggled to regain her breath. Haki leapt to her feet and hurried over to Hari’s desk and poured a glass of water. She returned Hari and held the glass up to her lips.
“Slowly, Unnie,” Haki said softly, eyes still shining with tears. “You were hurt really bad.”
The cool water felt amazing as it trickled down Hari’s parched throat. She drank greedily before she sagged back against her pillows with a grateful sigh.
“Thank you,” she rasped. She smiled tiredly. “What happened?”
Haki set down the cup and bit her lip as she stared at her. “You fought against Rikain,” she began slowly.
“I was an idiot,” Hari said dryly. “I’m sure that Dad will make that clear. Did I hurt anyone?”
“No, but the magical backlash was very bad,” Haki sniffed. “You’ve been unconscious for three weeks. Dad only took you out of the recovery chamber two days ago once he said it wasn’t going to help you anymore. Yoshua has been making medicine for your injuries.”
It was then that Hari took a look at herself. There were angry welshes covering her arms and chest. Her back was pulling painfully, so she assumed that they were there as well. Then she realized that she still couldn’t open her right eye. She raised a hand and gently placed it on her face.
“Unnie,” Haki whispered sadly.
Hari didn’t need a mirror to know that her eye was messed up. She remembered a particularly painful moment when Rikain had landed a blow on the side of her face and her magic had not responded kindly.
“Did I lose it?” Hari asked simply.
Her sister shook her head. “Dad said that your eye will recover,” she said hurriedly. “But he doesn’t know how long it will take.”
After listening to the rest of Haki’s tale, Hari felt exhaustion crashing down upon her. Haki helped her to the bathroom so she could briefly freshen up. Before sleep reclaimed her, Haki urged her to eat some soup that a tearful Yoshua had brought after being called. Hari was too weak to even hold up the spoon and quietly accepted Haki’s help and was spoon fed.
She was so tired that she didn’t even remember falling back asleep.
The next time she woke up, Haki was gone, but she wasn’t alone. Hari swallowed thickly and forced herself not to look away.
“Hey, Dad,” she whispered.
Her dad, the Demon King, was sitting in a chair at her bedside. His purple eyes were searing into her and there was a tight frown on his normally cheerful face.
“You were an idiot,” he said bluntly. “And you very nearly died because of it.”
Hari bowed her head in shame. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I just…I lost it. I deserve whatever punishment you have for me.”
For a few minutes, Hari sat in silence while her dad scrutinized her. She couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eye. Her dad was so important to her, and she valued his opinion dearly. And as a princess, she was supposed to be above reproach. Not potentially cause a war between the devils and the angels.
So, she was very surprised when her dad stood and pressed a soft kiss to her hair.
Her head shot up and she stared at her dad in surprise. He was giving her a sad smile and she could have sworn that there were tears in his eyes.
“Don’t scare me like that again,” he said firmly. “Your royal blood is too dangerous to awaken without being anchored.” He sat back on the chair and sighed heavily. “You’ve created an opening now that cannot be closed.”
Hari winced. “Do you think it’ll happen again before the succession?”
The Demon King ran a weary hand through his hair. “It might,” he admitted. “If you lose control again.” His eyes burnt into hers, his next words unspoken.
The message was clear. If her blood awakened again, then it would very likely kill her. She nodded grimly.
After speaking with her father for a while, he made his exit when Yoshua entered with another round of soup and some more medicine.
“Thank you for tending to Hari, Yoshua,” the Demon King said gratefully. “We are lucky to have you.”
Yoshua blushed and stared at the tray she was carrying. “It’s my pleasure, Your Majesty,” she stammered.
She stood to the side and waited respectfully while the Demon King left. Once the door closed, she hurried over to Hari’s bedside and set the tray down.
“Hari how are you feeling?” she asked anxiously.
Relenting herself to the fact that she was going to be asked that question a lot, Hari smiled. “I’m feeling better,” she lied. “Please don’t worry about me.”
Clearly that wasn’t happening. Because Yoshua gave her a teary glare and grabbed a jar of medicine off of the tray.
“We need to keep tending to your wounds to help them heal,” she said firmly. “Can you sit up?”
After a day of rest, Hari was able to push herself up off her pillows. Her body was shaking slightly at the effort though. Yoshua sensed this and quickly helped lift Hari’s shirt so she had better access to the angry welts. The medicine was quickly applied and Hari sighed at the cooling sensation that helped to partially ease the pain. Her right eye stung in particular.
Once Yoshua was done, Hari rested back against her pillows. “Thank you,” she said with a smile. “Dad is right. We are lucky to have you.”
She shook her head. “I’m not doing anything special,” she denied. “You’re the one we’re lucky to have.” She sniffed again as tears began to spill down her cheeks. “We all thought you were going to die.”
Though the overly sensitive Yoshua was often seen tearing up over something, it didn’t make it hurt any less. The guilt made Hari’s chest tighten and she had to force herself to keep her own tears at bay.
Thankfully, she had more strength and was able to at least feed herself. Though Yoshua kept a close eye on her the entire time and was ready to snatch the bowl out of her hands the second it looked like she couldn’t handle it. Hari was so hungry that she finished the entire bowl. She smiled at Yoshua as the empty bowl was taken from her hands.
“Any chance I can get some more?” she asked hopefully.
“Sorry,” Yoshua said with a shake of her head. “But you need to build up your strength. I don’t want you to get sick because you ate too much after being sustained by magic for so long.”
“Fine,” Hari sighed. “I’ll follow your lead on this.”
Yoshua smiled slightly and gathered the tray together. “I’ll bring you more medicine in the morning. So please try and rest.” She bowed her head respectfully before Hari was once more left alone.
Though Hari was still exhausted and in pain, she found that she really didn’t want to keep sitting in bed. Especially wearing the same pajamas she assumed she had been wearing for a while, judging by their smell. Slowly, Hari swung her legs over the side of the bed and used the nightstand to help her get to her feet. Her legs shook terribly and she had to lean heavily on the wall as she made her way over to her dresser for a change of clothes. Though she desperately wanted a shower and hot bath, she didn’t trust herself at the moment to not slip up and drown. That would really piss her dad off.
After she was dressed, she slowly made her way to her window. Night had fallen and the world was still. It offered a sense of serenity to her guilt-ridden mind. She admired the view for a few moments and was startled out of her contemplative state when there was a knock on her door.
“Unnie, can I come in?” The door opened and Hari heard a gasp. “Unnie, are you alright being on your feet?” Haki’s anxious voice said.
“I’m a little unsteady,” Hari admitted. “But I’m getting better.” She turned and smiled at her younger sister. “I’m sorry again for making you worry so much.”
Across her room, Hari saw that there were tears once again in Haki’s eyes. “Unnie!” Haki cried as she rushed forward and gently embraced her. “You shouldn’t be on your feet yet,” Haki chided. “You must be in so much pain!”
Hari rubbed Haki’s back softly. “I’m alright,” she assured her. “I can stand for a bit.”
Against her shoulder, Hari felt Haki shake her head. “If you fall, you’ll only set your recovery back,” she insisted. Haki pulled back, tears now leaking from her purple eyes. “Please, tell me if you need anything,” she pleaded. “Let’s get you back in bed.”
The longer that Hari stood, the more she felt what remained of her little strength leave her. She grudgingly admitted that perhaps Haki was right.
“I guess so,” Haki began.
Then, a spike of pain ran down her back. Hari groaned and felt her knees buckle. Thankfully, Haki reacted quickly and wrapped her arms around her waist to hold her up. Hari threw an arm around Haki’s shoulder.
“Unnie,” Haki cried tearfully. “Are you alright? Let’s get you in bed and I’ll go get Dad.”
Another lecture from her father for being reckless was the last thing she wanted. She forced a smile on her face, though she feared that it came across more as a grimace.
“No, no, I’m okay,” she lied. “Just…help me back to bed.”
Thankfully, Haki was just as strong as she was, though she seldom used it. Haki helped Hari back on her bed and stared worriedly as she laid down flat on her covers. The wave of pain was slowly calming down from a flood to a trickle and Hari relaxed. She looked up and this time, she felt herself smile sincerely at her precious sister.
“Haki, lay down with me,” she requested.
After a moment of frowning at her in concern, Haki gave her a sad smile and agilely climbed over her before resting down beside her. Hari smiled and closed her good eye with a content sigh.
“Haki, please don’t worry about what happened too much,” Hari said softly. “It was my own stupid fault, and this is the price I’ll pay.”
“Unnie,” Haki whispered sadly. “Aren’t you worried about…” her voice broke off uncertainly.
“My royal blood that I’ve partially awakened?” Hari finished for her dryly. “A little. Dad did what he could to reseal it, but he made it clear that I’ve created a crack that can’t be fixed.” She turned her head so she could see Haki with her good eye. “My blood might decide to awaken without me before the succession.”
There was fear in Haki’s eyes as she looked at her. “We could bind it,” she said softly. “Like what I did.”
Hari shook her head regretfully. “That wouldn’t work,” she said gently. “First off, the Demon’s Body can’t be bound like Demon’s Spirit. And second, I’m going to need my demon one day when I take the throne.” She sighed. “I’ll just have to be really careful until then and work even harder on controlling myself.”
After that, the two sisters rested in silence for a while. Hari could tell that Haki was desperately trying to think of some way to offer comfort. Eventually, Haki smiled and the turned her head to look at her.
“Unnie, I went to see Shan today,” Haki said happily. “I told her that you were awake. She wanted to come see you right away. But I told her that it was too soon, so she’ll be here tomorrow.”
Dread filled Hari’s stomach and her good eye widened. She felt a whole new kind of pain fill her as her last encounter with Shan filled her mind. Seeing her kiss the asshole Rikain had been enough to make Hari’s blood boil with jealousy. Something that the battle angel had been more than eager to fuel both in the alley and during their fight. Hari knew that she was in the wrong when it came to her fight with Shan in the alley, but that wasn’t what bothered her.
If I die, would you even feel it?
Shan’s lack of response at her words hurt more than any physical wound currently afflicting her body. It was no secret that Hari held deep feelings for Shan, though how deep, she didn’t truly know. But to constantly be kept at arm’s length, neither pulled in, nor released, was difficult to bear. And now that Hari had been defeated so completely by one of Shan’s officers? The one Shan had kissed?
“I don’t want to see her,” Hari said honestly. “Not really.”
This was clearly not the answer that Haki was expecting. She sat up and stared down at Hari with a shocked look on her face.
“You don’t want to see Shan?” she said in surprise. “But…she’s coming tomorrow. You love seeing Shan.”
Hari smiled sadly and hoped that Haki couldn’t see the torrent of emotions currently running through her. “Well…that girl…” she broke off and took a deep breath. “Maybe angels and demons will always be conflicted with each other.”
She felt slightly guilty at saying that as she knew how close Haki was with Hiskaya, but perhaps they were the exception, rather than the rule. At one time, Hari had thought that she and Shan would also find their way together. But now, that seemed like nothing more than a fleeting dream.
The two sisters spent hours talking about anything that they could think of that would keep them distracted from the topic that was really bothering them. Hari smiled when Haki eventually drifted off and fell asleep, clutching Hari’s arm tightly. Though Hari was also tired, she didn’t want to sleep any more than she already had. She laid in bed and stared up at the ceiling for hours until she saw the faint light of the dawn begin to appear in the window. Gently, she extracted her arm and exited the bed. She grabbed a change of clothes and quickly retreated to her bathroom to change and grab a towel. If she was going to make herself scarce during Shan’s visit, then she might as well make the time productive.
Thankfully, the castle was quiet since it was so early in the morning. No one noticed Hari as she slowly made her way down the hallways to the back of the castle. A couple of tired guards blinked at her in confusion, but didn’t question her. She had to take a break to catch her breath once she reached the back of the castle before she continued walking towards her destination.
“Zeke,” she called softly. “Come here, boy.”
In the back of the yard, white eyes opened and stared at her from inside a shed. A soft growl echoed in the quiet morning and then thundering steps began to race toward her. Hari smiled at the large devil dog and hugged Zeke’s muzzle when he reached her.
“Hello, Zeke,” she said fondly. “Did you miss me?”
Clearly, the answer was yes as he proceeded to spend the next couple minutes sniffing every inch of her and showered her with kisses. Hari took it all with a smile and walked with him back to his shed. Her body protested fiercely as she quickly fed him and she had to sit down while she forced her body to stop shaking from the waves of pain.
Maybe this isn’t a good idea, she thought as she panted heavily. I shouldn’t be out of bed.
But then the memory of Shan’s cold eyes directed at her in the alleyway flashed through her mind. Hari got to her feet and approached Zeke.
“C’mon, Boy,” she said softly. “We’re going on a trip.”
While they were walking out of the garden, Hari was surprised to find Yoshua up and tending to her little herb garden. Hari winced when Yoshua stared at her in stunned disbelief and hurried over to her.
“Hari, why are you out of bed?” she asked anxiously. “I haven’t brought you your medicine. I thought you were still sleeping.”
Time was of the essence, and Hari knew that she needed to get going. But she couldn’t hide the fact that she looked like crap. Her body was covered in wounds, her eye was scarred shut, and she was damp with sweat from her trek downstairs.
“I’m getting some fresh air,” she said honestly. “I’ll have Zeke with me, so I’ll be safe.”
Yoshua frowned, green eyes already shining. “Hari, you shouldn’t be alone,” she protested. “Give me some time to grab your medicine and I’ll go with you. Or I can get Haki.”
Hari shook her head. “I’ll be fine,” she insisted.
To prove her point, she grabbed Zeke’s shoulder and vaulted herself on his back. Hopefully, Yoshua couldn’t catch the fact that the action sent another flash of pain searing through her entire body.
“At least tell me where you’re going,” Yoshua pleaded, now openly crying. “So I can come find you later if you don’t return.”
Though Hari didn’t want to say anything, she couldn’t deny the request. It was coming from a place of concern and sincerity. Hari didn’t want to bring any more unnecessary pain to those who cared about her.
“The Healing Spring,” Hari admitted. “I’ll be back later, I promise.”
Before Yoshua could formulate another plea, Hari urged Zeke forward. The hound was eager to run and soon took off, leaving the castle in the dust.
Thanks to Zeke’s strength, he was able to easily carry both himself and Hari amongst the floating lands that made up the Middle World. They made it to the one that housed the Healing Spring with no difficulties. Zeke trotted cheerfully through the forest until Hari stopped him and she stiffly slid off his back with her towel under her arm.
“Stand guard here, Zeke,” Hari ordered while she scratched under his chin. “I’ll be close.”
In response, he gave her a big kiss all over her face.
Hari chuckled and made her way to the spring. She sat down heavily on a nearby rock and groaned. Her body was tight with pain and she was starting to shake from exhaustion. She wondered how long Yoshua would wait before she came running after her.
Sighing, Hari slowly began to take off her clothes. Once she was naked, she began to slowly ease her way into the cold water.
“I wonder if the Healing Spring can heal a broken heart, too.”