Balance

Balance.

I stood with my feet spread, my right foot pointed toward my foe. My savior? We would see. My mind was calm, my muscles tense. I hefted the sword in my hand, its weight almost invisible as I turned and rotated it effortlessly around its center of gravity. My four sons stood at my sides brandishing clubs, axes, hammers, and knives. They growled, their deep voices echoing off the cavernous walls and ceiling of the castle's great hall.

I remembered my first time entering the hall thirty years prior. I was covered in black demon blood, just as this new hero was. My chest was heaving, my heart pounding. I recalled the way their queen's midnight hair had shimmered in the candle light, the way she had collapsed into my arms, pleading for my hand in marriage. Now with grey hairs and a soft heart I stood where she had stood, hoping for what she had hoped for.

The knight took a few steps forward. "I have come to purge the world of evil. You must now die, demon king." He readied himself, raising his sword to challenge me.

My eldest son glanced at me, his red eyes flashing and eager for blood. I nodded and he rushed at the man.

As their weapons clashed I recalled holding him in my arms for the first time. "No green?" I had asked his exhausted mother.

She had smiled, her own green eyes glowing brightly. "Do you not recall the red eyes of your foes? Only the queen's eyes are green. It is the evil I carry." She looked down in shame.

I remember setting our son on her chest and holding a hand to her beautiful face. "It is our evil burden, not just yours," I had assured her.

My son dodged a powerful blow from the invader then jabbed at the man's armored shins. The hero jumped back and steadied himself. He looked short of breath, exhausted. I sighed and closed my eyes, recalling our fifth and final child, my wonderful daughter. I remembered finally seeing the faint glow of green in the back of her black pupils. "This is the one?" I had asked.

My queen had smiled weakly, covered in sweat as the midwife handed me the bundle of blankets and child. "She is our firstborn daughter. She carries the curse."

I had gazed into her eyes for hours that day, hypnotized by the gentle green glow. She was every bit as beautiful as her mother, but so full of purity and peace. She cried less than our sons had, and growing up she had always been mindful and obedient. The perfect daughter.

My heart jumped as the hero's sword slashed at my eldest son's thigh. He fell back, yelling through grinding fangs. "You'll pay for that!" He rolled out of the way as the knight lunged forward, then swiftly brought his axe down on the man's back. He fell flat on his face and my son quickly mounted him, holding the blade of his axe on the back of his neck between the plates of armor and the helmet. "You were not strong enough, hero," he growled.

I closed my eyes as my son finished the job. A tear trickled down my cheek. My daughter would be of age in just two weeks. Two weeks to find a suitable hero. Two weeks to weed out the weak so that she could marry the strongest.

I sheathed my sword and turned to leave. "Well done," I called to my son as I headed deeper into the castle.

"Wait," my son cried, running after me. Metal bits jangled against his leather armor as he jogged to catch up. "Did I not do well?" he asked.

I sighed and smiled at him. "You did well."

"Then why do I feel that you are disappointed in me?"

"I am not disappointed in you," I assured him. I stopped and put a hand on his shoulder. "I am disappointed in the man you defeated." I turned to leave.

My son stood, stunned, and watched me go. As I passed through the doors to my bedchamber I heard him cry out. "So you wished me to die?"

I closed the door behind me and leaned against it, grabbing my face and grinding my teeth.

"My great warrior returns from battle." My wife smiled and got up from the bed. Unlike my human hair, her black hair had no streaks of white or any signs of aging. It flowed gracefully like a midnight river as she approached me. She looked just as supple and beautiful as the day I had come to destroy her.

I fell into her embrace and held her close.

"Your son," she began. She sighed. "You need to tell him."

I released her and leaned back. "Tell him what? That I need him to die?"

She hesitated, but nodded her head. "Yes. He is old enough. He can handle the truth."

I shook my head. "It is too much. He has led raids against the human kingdom, he has defeated all of their greatest warriors, and he..." I paused. "If I tell him that he needs to die... that we all need to die, he will turn against me."

"You don't know that," she said softly.

"It would be reasonable."

She let out a long breath, her chest slowly sinking as she melted back into my torso, holding me tight. "We don't have much time," she whispered.

"Is there no other way?" After so many years searching for a strong demon warrior for our daughter, holding tournaments and competitions, contests of strength and valor, we had eventually resorted to harassing the human kingdom in search of a great hero, a hero such as I had once been.

"She must do as I did," she said solemnly. "She must submit to a strong warrior, the strongest. There is no other way."

"Our son," I said, almost pleading. "He is the most powerful fighter in the kingdom."

She laughed and shook her head against my chest. "She cannot marry her brother."

My eyes burned and tears began wetting my eye sockets. I pressed my cheek into her cool, silky hair and pulled her in even closer. "Then I will lead an attack on the human castle. Surely that will draw out their greatest warrior."

She was silent and unmoving. She continued to hold me, refusing to let me go. I felt my chest under her face grow hot and damp. Then I heard her sobbing. I squeezed her until I was worried I would crack her dainty frame. Her whole body heaved and shook. I wet her hair with my own tears and stroked her back before kissing her on the crown of her head.

My mind was once again thrust back to our first meeting. I recalled the tokens of marriage on the altar. I recalled the way her body had writhed and struggled against the evil inside her. She had painstakingly guided me through the demon marriage rite, instructing me patiently through every step while she fought valiantly to contain herself until I could complete the ritual. Then I had carried her spent body in my arms to perform the final step of the ceremony in the bedchamber. She had been beautiful then, and she was beautiful now.

"I know it wasn't..." I began, but I was overcome with emotion. I clenched my jaw and relaxed. "It may not have been required that I fall in love with you, but..." I tightened my grip on her.

"I know," she breathed. "And I love you too."

Chills pricked at every inch of my flesh and the great love in my heart was joined by a vast emptiness, a cold void of sorrow and despair. I took her by the shoulders and pried us apart. "Watch over our daughter in my absence," I said.

She nodded and tried to return to my arms, but I withstood her so she turned, weeping, and fled to the comfort of our bed.

My son was waiting outside my bedchamber. I rushed past to prevent him from seeing my face.

"Saddle up the horses," I said firmly. "We are going to raid the humans' greatest fortress." I took off to get his brothers.

"But that sounds like a suicide mission," he protested, shuffling quickly to follow me.

I said nothing. I swallowed and bit down hard. My footsteps echoed for a millenium in the halls of the demon kingdom. Each one a lifetime of repeating steps.

"Father, please tell me what is going on. I am prepared to die for our kingdom, but not without an explanation." He stopped short, putting his foot down and glaring hard at the back of my head. He was authoritative and proud, strong and mature.

I halted and took a deep breath. Without facing him I asked, "do you know why we raid human camps and villages?"

"Because they are our enemies," he answered easily.

"I am a human," I offered.

He hesitated. "Yes, but you are one of us now. You are my father."

"I was your enemy," I said. I turned to face him, my face still streaked with tears.

His eyes widened. "But not anymore," he said slowly.

I shook my head. "Son, there are no enemies. Humans and demons fight together against just one evil, though they do not know it."

He stared at me, his mouth agape.

"Do you know why your mother and sister have green eyes while yours are red?"

He shook his head. "I assumed it was a trait, like your brown eyes or your fair skin."

I smiled. "They carry a curse. They are vessels for a great evil. Soon your sister will come of age and the evil will pass fully to her, and before that happens she must marry a strong warrior. By submitting and promising herself to him, the evil is subdued. But if she is not wed within the fortnight, all living things will suffer for a thousand years."

A wave of realization washed over him. "The tournaments," he whispered. "The raids." He blinked and looked down at his hands. "We have always needed..." He looked up at me. "That is why you were disappointed that the knight could not defeat me."

I nodded my head and a single tear streamed down my face. "I wish it wasn't so," I choked.

He was quiet a long while. We stood facing each other while years of unspoken conversations filled the void between us. At long last he breathed again and whispered, "I understand. I'll ready the horses."

Balance.