The Demon and the Princess

Chpt 1 (Image- Han Jiyong)

It was a cold dark and cloudless night where the moon beamed down surrounded by the starry sky. In a quiet apartment overlooking the city lights, a lone figure sat by the window peering down in silent thought. His eyes cast in search of something but what could those eyes see but the bright lights of a busy city lifestyle that knew no sleep. The man stood up slowly brushing back his dark hair back before straightening out his black dress shirt keeping his neat but dark appearance. He sighed before opening his eyes which were an odd reddish lilac colour. His gaze was cold and inhumane but that was appropriate as he was no human being. This man was Han Jiyong, the current King of the Demons

Having roamed our earthly realm for over 1000 years Jiyong only had one emotion towards humanity. Disgust. Jiyong had seen all the wars and all the cruelty humans had caused to one another. In the old days, many of the humans were influenced by demons to act upon their dark desires such as greed, anger and even fear. But at a certain period, Jiyong questioned his own purpose as demons feed of those they could corrupt, however more and more humans no longer needed demons to become evil, rather just faith and following of a more powerful and corrupt human. The influences of the Heavenly Jade Emperor and his court of Gods were beginning to lose their power and good influence upon the humans causing and imbalance on both sides of the Yin and the Yang. Unfortunately, the Gods along with the Jade Emperor no longer had the ability to come to the human realm at will and as their good followers shrank in numbers, they needed a new method to restore balance to the world.

And this is where the Demon King enters the fray. Jiyong had always entered the human world without permission and knowledge with the Jade Emperor despite him knowing if he was caught the Jade Emperor would subject him to 1000 years of torture. Instead a deal was made, Jiyong would use his powers to locate and subdue or even eradicate the most influential of evil for a free pass to roam the world of humans. This was all that was needed as a chance to search Earth freely was his only objective now. However, he wasn’t allowed to be obvious in doing so, but sure enough Jiyong had taken a small part in seeing to the ends of both world wars, the death to Sudan and Osama, Kim Jong Il and others. Regrettably for himself, in the 600 years of the deal, Jiyong has had no such luck in searching for what he was so desperate to find

His lilac eyes suddenly sprang into life as for an odd reason as his senses were startled suddenly. He had felt an unfamiliar sensation that had eluded him over the past 1000 years. Jiyong had finally felt the slow rhythmic thuds of his beating heart and as his eyes soften, the previously expressionless man began to smirk. “At last the missing piece of my heart. It has finally shown itself” he said before slowly making his way out and into the world.

--Scene change—

Elsewhere, a mass gala was being held for the rich and famous with the typical gloating and bragging of the powerful. And in the grand building the gala was being held in, you would find smaller but still equally as lavish private rooms that the richest and most powerful of families rented out to get ready or simply take a break from mingling the ‘common folk’. In one of these rooms, sat a young lady who looked into her mirror with a slightly desolate look. Her beauty and aura simply was ethereal and untouchable. Her pale and petite figure bought envy upon her from all others and her wealth gave her unlimited access to anything she needed. But why did she seem so unhappy with her situation? Simple, it didn’t matter to her if she could get what she wanted if so many others struggled with finding what they needed. She gave all she could to help charity and took part in the work herself to help as many as she could, but still it was never enough. The cruel world still caused the less fortunate to suffer while the wealthy kept prospering. A sad fact of her life that she despised. This was the life that belonged to Irene, eldest daughter to the Bae family and heiress to the powerful Red V conglomerate group.

The door opened behind her with a loud jarring noise allowing three figures to enter. Her mother, father and her childhood friend and CEO of EXO industries Kim Suho. Irene stood up plastering a smile on her face and bowed “Father, Mother, Suho ssi. You’ve all arrived” She said before giving her parents a hug and bowing again towards Suho.

Mr Bae smiled before pulling out a jewellery box “My daughter, tonight is one of the first public appearances you will make that isn’t charity work, so I want you to look your best” He spoke as Irene hated these galas compared to the rest of her family “So I want you to where this. And before you say no, it is a must for this Jewel is always handed down to the first born of our family”

Irene nodded in understanding seeing as if it was a family heirloom she had not much of a choice. As the box was opened the eyes of everyone but Mr Bae began to glow as a necklace encased with a diamond chain with a ruby at the tip. It seemed ordinary at first but something about it made it irresistible as its tempting call reached out to its viewers. Mr Bae quickly took the necklace out and wrapped it around his daughter’s neck asking her “What do you think of our family jewel. The Devil’s Ruby. A true one of a kind jewel”

Irene just nodded and accepted the necklace. Even though it wasn’t something she’d typically want, for some reason she couldn’t help admire the jewel and its seductive allure. But the Jewel also gave her an odd sense of familiarity as she stared into the heart of the ruby. Suho smiled upon her and spoke up as he approached Irene “Irene, you look beautiful and the jewel only elevates your beauty to new heights” as he held his hand out and bowed.

Irene nodded meekly as she slowly took his hand and the pair were soon followed out of the room and into the grand ball room by her parents. The ball room shone bright gold with only the highest class of paintings decorating the lavish interior as crystal chandeliers hung illuminating the place. Of course, the women flaunted their rare and limited edition jewellery and custom designed dresses but as soon as Irene walked in, there was no competition. All eyes were drawn towards the pureness of her radiant beauty in either awe or jealously, and the ruby made her elegance all that more alluring. However, even though all eyes were upon Irene, her gaze had wandered around until it was fixated at one lone figure standing against the wall towards the far back. She felt drawn towards the dark figure whilst his lilac eyes began to open and stare back……. As the devil began to eye his heart