Page 25 of Their World

“What brings the King’s guard here?” one of them asked.

“Princess Liliana Rubyserpent has been sent here to learn more about demons, per the order of King Jolmach,” Zoman announced loud enough that all could hear.

Many whispered in surprise.

“You’re a demon princess?” one of the demons with wings asked and scoffed. “You don’t even have horns.”

“I am part demon,” I explained. “And sadly, I do not have horns.”

“You’ve not been raised here?” an older female who shuffled forward with her back slightly stooped asked.

I shook my head. “It appears my parents snuck me away to the other world without the others knowing. I was raised there, and they did not tell me of my demon heritage.”

“You don’t remember your parents?” one of the children asked as he clung to the pants of the female beside him.

“I do not,” I replied. “My mother died when I was very young and my father was killed when I was only four-years-old. I was adopted by the King and Queen of the Hybrids and raised by them under the assumption that I was a hybrid.”

One of the females with a hunch at the top of her back, hobbled forward and clutched one of my hands in both of hers.“You poor thing! That must have been awful. Please, come sit at my fire and let us tell you about your people. Yourtruepeople.”

A few of the females continued to glare at me, one even held a sword in her hand, but some looked at me with pitying expressions. The children were incredibly curious and followed us to a large firepit.

“Do you have another form?” the female with the hunched back asked me.

I nodded. “It’s … sometimes it scares people, especially children.”

“Please, show us,” she said. “It will help me in providing you some answers and advice.”

Stepping back, I closed my eyes and shifted into my full snake form, curled up slightly so I didn’t stretch across the area. As soon as I shifted, I felt … different. Normally when I shifted into my snake form, it felt good, but as I shifted here, it feltsomuchbetter, like I was stronger here. Like my form was meant to be here.

“A ruby-eyed serpent not just in name?” the older female gasped and lifted shaking hands up to her mouth. I hadn’t noticed until she did that, that she had sharp, pointed teeth.

Several of the other females, and all of the children, came closer, a few dropped to their knees as they faced me.

“It can’t be,” Zoman whispered as he stepped forward.

Four females stepped between us, hissing and growling at Zoman. Protecting me!

He raised his hands in surrender. “I wasn’t going to harm the princess. I’m assigned to protect her, remember?”

“Stay away from her,” the female who had asked me to shift snapped. Turning to me, she said, “You may shift back now, dear.”

Reluctantly, I shifted back. It was easiest to speak in human form, but it had felt so good to be in my snake form.

“You truly are our missing princess,” one of the females with silver fur and long, canine ears that flopped down to her shoulders whispered.

“How are you so certain?” I asked.

The hunched back female sat beside me and waved her hand at one of the others.

That female she’d waved at ran into a nearby house and returned shortly with a thick book with pages worn from use and discolored from age. She handed it to the hunched back female seated beside me, bowed, and hurried back several steps.

“Please give us space,” she said to Zoman.

He scowled. “I am to protect the princess.”

“None here will harm her and you are not of our community. You are lucky we allow you here even now. Go,” she snapped.

To my surprise, Zoman bowed and walked to the fence that marked the edge of the city.

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