Euothia is similar to Earth, maybe a little more magical? Euothia has inhabitants like squarines, wizards, hybrids, demons, and octopians. Earth has similar creatures like cats, dogs, humans, and birds. Earth's creatures are also in Euothia but more… dangerous. Earth is mainly inhabited by one species, humans.

Humans have no major competitors. Sure there’s bacteria and viruses but nothing monstrous. I have never been to Earth. My studies state that a human’s worst enemy is another human.

And I don’t get it.

Euothia is uneven.

            Kings are decided by brawls. In each kingdom, there lie one major species. Though, as it’s written here: only one species can be proper, worthy king. And of course, that species is mine.

In this universe, time moves at a different rate, therefore measured in a unique way. Demon Domain measures years in hundreds, giving us fifty days of sun and fifty days of night. Angel Area counts days like you humans, just pronouncing their incapability to keep track. By our time the year is 45,196,326 and for the brainless, 326. In Euothia, there is a bi-yearly oddity, commonly referred to as Blood Season. Everyone bleeds, each species in a different way. Some, like the mermaidens, get cuts, making half of the ocotopians sea red. These phenomenons make Euothia powerful, and Earth weak. 

And to everything, there is an exception. In this case, demons.

My kin doesn’t bleed, for we are superior. 

But, the exceptional exceptions have exceptions of their own. And in this case, that’s me, the demon here that needs to stop, and yet, I don’t even get a year's break, like the rest of this place.

Everyone here has a job, and mine will be one of the greatest. But how can I do that when the world has no mercy for me?

Every night I yearn for it to stop.

But does it stop?

No.

I can’t smile. It’s not like I physically can’t. I just have trouble. Blood season doesn’t stop for me. I’m always in pain, always bleeding. Unlike father and mother, who never bleed, I bleed daily. They see it as unholy. They tell me to stop but I can’t. I can’t stop bleeding, nobody in Euothia can. But they don’t understand.

Nobody seems to.

Now, who is talking to you? Well, that must be me, Prince Damian Von Choclin of Demon Domain. Currently situated at eleven, I am heir to the throne. The only one. I am a purebred ark demon, just like very royal here. Purebred. Dark. Demon. Nothing short of perfect.

Except for me. I rule over demons of all kinds: Reapers, hybrids, light, and others of the dark clan. All of which acknowledge strong leaders, this place would be chaos if it weren’t for the King of Demon Domain, a role that I will be taking on in the future. Strong meaning, powerful, calm, smiling at all times is traditionary. Bleeding? Nothing of the sort.

But to do that, I must follow my rules, just like everyone else. My rules are simple. Smile at all times, listen to my father, the King of Demon Domain, obey instructions, and lastly, hide any imperfections to act like a purebred dark demon, like I should’ve been from the start. Simple, common tasks, as I was told.

I don’t want to follow them.

But I do, for I have no choice but to.

I am unaware of what lies outside my kingdom. Most of my attendants, including me, have strict rules not to talk about the outside world. I have altered rules compared to the others. The castle has a “restricted” section. I may not lay a claw on the zone. I may only be allowed to wait outside, for the restricted area contains the offices and rooms of my mother and father. I was told by my former personal butler, no longer existing, that the restricted area is the only place in the castle that contains windows, showing the land outside the castle. The restricted area also contains the courtyard, which I was once allowed into when my mother nursed for me.

Though, I don’t recall those times. I have this hunch that mother must’ve cast me with a simple memory alteration spell because I don’t remember her nursing me.

I have never crossed the kingdom walls, which have no gate, instead a solid wall. Usually demons, of all ages, simply fly across and gazed at whatever is out there. And so you’re wondering, why can’t I get up there? Well, the answer is simple, I’m a mutated demon. My ear curves when it should move out straight, while the other seems to be completely fine, stretching out like an elf, my legs contain dangerously sharp, long claws when they should be just a small nub with a sharp end, and my wings are gone when kids my age have long feathery, or leathery wings. These kids soaring through the sky, as I imagine, wave to me during my studies. In one instance, a boy with light purple skin was sitting in the medical office. He seemed very new to the place. After a few minutes of staring, I realized he had a “halo,” a word that I had learned in Exotic Species, a book I clearly enjoyed because it wasn’t about demons. Demon books seemed to brag about being a demon and comparing species was always, “why a demon is more experienced”. Halos are bands that practically flew above an angel’s head. Though, this boy seemed to be turning into a fallen angel, an angel that has committed a series of sins causing them to become more of a demon-like angel. This was seen as unholy in the angel’s culture.

As you can clearly see I very much enjoyed contemplating what that boy did. Anything other than demons was far more interesting than learning about… well, demons.

After he was done being treated and it was my turn to get my check-up to examine if I would ever become “normal,” he talked to me! He said his name was, Mionvoti Lyuoteil (All angels have fancy names like that). Afterward, he started jumbling some words out of his mouth before the butler shuffled him out of the way. I don’t think I ever saw him again. I do think he would be residing in the castle because he saw my deformed self. Precautions would’ve been taken if an outsider saw my state.

In Kingdoms and Clans with Mr. Chari, I was taught that every species has its own kingdom. Of course, lessons like these only ended with long conversations of how and why demons overrule such “small,” kingdoms. The drawings on his wall seemed to show that we were the pathetic ones. Though, after debating with him about why these species still had large cities and were still as intricate, he sighed and took the pictures down. Later he was scolded because he had shown the outside world to me. He used the phrase “they were only drawings,” often in the harsh conversation with my mother.

If they were only drawings why’d he take them down in the first place?

I didn’t pay attention to any of his lessons afterward because the door was left open to supervise his teachings. In my defense, hearing people getting angry at one another was much more entertaining than listening to professors who have bare white walls.

Mother does not like me very much, or so I think. Father doesn’t like me very much either. Though, that’s a fact. Dads only enjoy the company of successful sons. And sons only like successful dads.

So I’m happy with what I’ve got.

“Damian Von Choclin, sir? Your mother has requested your presence.”

“Thank you Mr. Bushé, I shall go.” Is there some sort of surprise? I’ve never seen Mr. Bushé smile so happily before.

“It would be better if you go now, young sir.”

“Indeed you are, Mr. Bushé.” His smile is such an annoyance. Anytime he talks like this, his smile feels out of place like he was told to smile.

❊ ❊ ❊

“Mother?”

“That’s madam in front of guests”. Guests? She could have told me to wear something other than my robe. Mr. Bushé should have said something.

My robe was a generous gift from mother and father before they found out I had a constant blood season. I guess that’s when they changed? The robe was made out of perfect squimer skin. Squimers are plump animals, close to what humans call, “sheep,” made for clothing. They do fly, which causes them to be much harder to retrieve. This one was easily eliminated by mother and father in less than a few nanoseconds. After a few years, I asked Mr. Bushé to add a waistband. He cut some out of rope and then tied it around in 3 layers. The robe was perfect for me because it hid my non-existent wings and covered my tail, which shouldn’t exist.

“Madam, where are you?”

“Third door to the right, Damian. I know you know that when I was five, I could find every piece of furniture in the palace.” This castle is a maze to me. The only familiar sections I know are the study halls and the restricted zones, which I spend most of my time mesmerizing at.

“We have a guest, Damian. Show her around.”

“Where?”

“Look down Damian. Did Manners and Masculine not teach you anything?” Mother never liked publicly shaming me. Though today she seems to not have taken pity on me. “Let me rephrase that, have you been listening to anything? I told you to cut that growing ponytail days ago!”. Mother always has the most precise language.

I look down to see a white cat. To be more precise, a white cat with light brown spots. She seems to be extremely distressed. Probably because of the bulky, thick eye mask. The mask seems to cover her eye so thoroughly she can’t seem to see.

“Damian, this is Yehain. She’s your new pet, do what you want with her. I suggest using her as target practice for Lundo. He’ll need it. You may kill it. Now that I think of the idea, it would be great. Please, kill it, if you can.” She looks at me like I’m capable of nothing. “Don’t take her mask off. She’ll do something you don’t want. To be clearer, she will turn you into what you don’t want to be. You learned that in your studies, right? Got it?” Is that supposed to be really scary? Must be for her. Who knows what mother’s scared of?

“Yes, mother.” I don’t actually want to listen this time….

“Good, now take that rat away. Make sure to cut the ponytail. You’re lucky I’m obligated not to interfere with the prince’s physical attire decisions. Don’t ignore my warning for I’ll go tell your father.” The power is split differently here. The King of Demon Domain can make all decisions, that’s why it must be a blood-related Von Choclin. Then the Prince of Demon Domain would have higher rankings than the Queen of Demon Domain. Due to such beliefs, mother’s threats are limited.

❊ ❊ ❊

“What’s your name?” Oh right, the kitty can’t talk.

“Your ‘mother’ told you, right? If she was actually your mother. You should pay more attention, it’s Yehain. By the way, what type of mother makes you call her madam? ” Okay, so maybe kitty can talk, maybe even a little too much.

“Oh right… I’m Damian…uh your-” I try my best to get to her. The area I took her to was a small tunnel that I found. Sadly, it led to nowhere. The best part was that it was right behind a painting.

“I’m what?! ….Ow, that wall hurt.” I was right. This cat can’t see because the blindfold is much too thick.

“Let me take your blindfold off.”

She hisses at me, like an Earthian cat, “you’re going to get hurt!”

“I don’t exactly care. Now shut up and stand still!”

“Weren’t you listening at all?! I’ll turn you into-” Pulling the blindfold off, my eyes meet her’s. Woah, those eyes. They’re nothing like what the textbooks showed. There was nothing about eyes that are two different colors. One’s dark blue with a slit pupil and the other’s a bright red with no pupil. I guess the textbook was wrong when it stated: “All species have pupils in their eyes. These pupils show emotions.”

“Why are you not changing?!”

“I don’t want to be myself. Common knowledge adults don’t get.”

“...”

“...” Those eyes.

“Can you stop looking at my eyes? They hurt when my power is in use.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry…” They’re so different. It feels calming looking into them. I’m mesmerized.

“Am I really that cool?”

“Oh no, sorry…”

“It’s fine, you’re like people on Earth.”

“You remember Earth and your eyes were the same color?”

“I remember every life. It’s a pain actually. I don’t know what’s up with my eyes on Earth though. People thought that they were contacts.” The shifting in her voice concerns me.

“Contacts?” For all I know, “contact” means to physically touch. What does that have to do with eyes?

“Oh… never mind. Earth stuff.”

“...”

“What?”

“How is that fair?”

“It isn’t”

“Can you become a humacat then? I want to see your hybrid form.” Hybrids are an exotic species with no kingdom to themselves. Yehain is probably a humacat. She was a cat in her last life on earth and a human in a life before. I come to think that these species were more elite than demons but I was talked out of that one fast. Now I think that I might’ve been correct in the first place. Hybrids have one main form, which is a cat for Yehain and a second form which is both together. Most hybrids, like Yehain, try to hide their existence as a hybrid. Hybrids are seen as freaks in Demon Domain. Two different species? Pathetic, it’s one or the other. I don’t really care what people think of them. I was too busy imagining a life not being a demon. That was another interesting lesson with pictures.

“How did you know that I was-”

“School, I learn at an extreme rate.”

“Who are you?”

“Me? I’m Prince Damian Von Choclin of Demon Domain.”

“You’re a demon prince?! But you’re bleeding?” “Deformed. They try to hide that.”

“That’s never-” I immediately interrupt her and finish her sentence with: “Happened. I know, don’t tell anyone. I need to be known as perfect.”

<--Yehain Desamona-->

I hate the earth. Humans treat animals so poorly, or at least these humans do. I want to go back to Euothia. Euothia is nice to cats… they don’t leave them here. I’m starving.

“Mother….”

I’m so hungry…

A little

❊ ❊ ❊

I’m back.

On Earth, humans rule. In Euothia, Demons have an advantage.

“Ruling” and “Advantages” are different.

They always are.

“Yehain stay here. I think I heard from my brother. Who knows what he’ll do to you. I still want to see your human form though.”

“Okay, Damian. Fine. My form is pretty disgusting though. In fact, all humans are disgusting.”

“Doesn’t that sound nice.”

“Shut up.”

“Fine.”

❊ ❊ ❊

I don’t actually have a brother. Lundo is a demon reaper. Surprisingly, one my age who was assigned to “reaper” us. It’s simple if anybody plots to destroy the kingdom, they’re eliminated. Lundo can sense that.

Reapers also don’t have blood seasons. They’re a group of demons which, weirdly enough, don’t need food. Instead of food, they need blood.

Before, reapers were a dangerous species. Mainly because they had to drink blood to live. Sorta like… vampired? Is that what they’re called? Oh no, wait… vampires. Except, they’re actually real. Now, reapers resort to drinking their own blood. They do it for energy. But, reapers need more than their own blood to keep themselves alive.

Although, that’s what criminals are for. In Euothia people don’t have such trials. I’m not sure about the other kingdoms though. Demon Domain has no mercy to keep their frightening name.

The Lundo is-

Lundo has a star in his eye…

He has found someone to kill.

When reapers find someone that has broken their rule they get stars in their eyes. For the next thirty minutes or so, Lundo will attack, at a low level, anybody that crosses paths with him.

It shouldn’t be much trouble to fight him off for any normal demon. But I am not a normal demon.

I need to run.

I have no idea where “brother” came from. I don’t actually know when he came either. One day, when I was nine, he came to my room and introduced himself. He looked at me like I wasn’t actually from Euothia. I never expected someone to think that. That’s also when I started getting more aware of what people thought of me. Maybe that’s where I messed up. Maybe if I was more hopeful I would’ve become a better demon. Who am I kidding? Since when did that work?

Moving on, Lundo doesn’t bleed which I thought was unfair. Due to the fact that I’d never seen anyone the same age as me. I pictured them to be just like me. I was even more confused when he refused to eat with us for lunch. I ended up getting so angry at him I yelled at him. When he responded I was clearly humiliated. Mother scolded me that day…

I’ve never seen Lundo’s parents. To be honest, I don’t think he’s ever met them. He was sent here by his master. I don’t think his master would be his parent. What does he actually think of them? Does he still talk to them? He doesn’t talk about them… To be fair, I don’t talk to him. I like listening to his conversations. One day, dad confronted him and asked him to stop talking to himself because it was getting “weird”, as he quoted from mother, who was standing right beside him.

I still can’t help but wonder… Who did Lundo eliminate? Do mother and father know? Worse, what if they were after me? I mean, it’s the most possible explanation. Usually, princes visit their kingdom daily. I’ve never been outside the castle walls. I guess I’m the weakest the Choclin family has ever had-

“Damian Von Choclin?”

“Oh, yea…” It’s Lundo! I better be proper… “What is needed, Lundo Xavier Choclin?”

“Call me Lundo. It’s too long to say my full name. I’m obligated to say yours.”

“Yea, Lundo. Um, what did you need?”

“Mother has requested your presence.”

“That’s the queen to you. She’s my mother, not ours.”

“Yes, that was informal of me to say. I’m sorry, my prince.”

“No, it’s fine. Where is mother?”

“Your mother’s in the courtyard.”

The courtyard? Mother’s in the courtyard? She’s never in the courtyard. In fact, the courtyard is in the restricted section. I’m not allowed to be there. Mother was the one who banned me. Mr. Bushé suggested it was my studies but I doubt that.

“I’m not allowed to be there.”

“I have specific orders for you to go. Your mother said ‘immediately’.”

“O-okay? I guess I’ll go.”