Chapter One

She slowly walked down the hall, lighting the lamps as she went. Her long dark brown hair was pulled back into a braided bun, for slaves were not aloud to wear their hair loose. Her equally dark brown eyes searched the hall for something interesting, finding nothing but the stone of the castle. Her dress was a little too large for her, an off white color. Slaves did not deserve dyed clothes after all. The clothes were rather thin, and hardly kept out the cold of the night. Not that it mattered, she thought as she reached for another lamp. She was more then used to the discomforts of life.

She was called Da Qiao, for she had no name. Her father had been a worker in the castle, but had died. A horse had kicked him in the head one day. She had been taken from her mother to replace him, and became a slave. She had been stripped of her name at that point, and had been young enough then to not remember what it had been. Her mother then died in child birth with her sister, who was taken as well into the slavery for the castle. She had no name either, but was called Xiao Qiao as she was the younger one. Da had been the one to raise her, with the help of some of the other slaves.

At first having no name saddened her, and often made her feel inferior to others. The slaves that had names. Slaves that were bought, or traded. They had names. Da, coming in as compensation, did not have that right. But, she had easily accepted it after one incident with a troublesome slave. He had listened on one of the magic lessons for the, at the time, youngest prince. He had tried to use it on Da. But having no name, it had no effect. Names were the basis for magic. If the caster had the chosen ones name, then all havoc could be wrought. Da didn't try to delve too deep into the system. Magic was far too confusing when not properly taught. But she was grateful after that. Xiao as well, decided it wasn't such a curse anymore.

Most still looked down on them for being nameless. Scorn, however, was nothing new. They were slaves. Slaves attracted that sort of attention on a regular basis. Da learned to quietly take their opinions, and then let it drift away on the breeze. But, being aloof to their taunts had its downfalls. This was why she was lighting the lamps in the damp lower levels of the castle. The princess had been none too pleased that Da did not break out in rage or tears at her taunts.

Holding the torch close to herself, selfishly hording the warmth it provided, she searched ahead of herself for the next lamp. There were supposed to be 315 lamps for her to lamp. That, though, wasn't supposed to be her punishment. A beast was supposed to be locked away on this level, which explained some of the dust on the floor. The monster was said to have been terrible centuries before. He had killed the people, feasting on their flesh. He even out fought all the soldiers sent to destroy him. The story went though that the princess at the time, schooled in magic, had been able to guess his Ancient Name, and then was able to seal him away. Bigger, more dangerous spells, took more special names. Or so Da was told by another slave that listened in to the magic lessons. Da was never assigned to those rooms during lessons.

The monster was then locked away down in the lower regions. The royal family was supposed to be able to call on it, but had never done so. Da herself didn't really believe it. Stories were over exaggerated, in her opinion. Maybe there was a monster centuries ago, some demon. Possibly, it was locked away down in some room. But the tale was too fairy tale like to her. She knew the fairy tales, often watching over the little children.

She came upon four lamps, and lit them with some difficulty. She had to jump to reach the two on top. The light allowed more vision, she saw the door. One had to show up for the rumor to be true. The demon had to be locked away. And locks usually required doors. Curious now, since the door was made of lovely stone. It was engraved with tigers and cranes. The lake the tigers slept near was vast, filling most of the background, mountains rising with the cranes. Some trees bent over the scenery, creating a sort of arch or frame for the picture.

"Who would go through such trouble and care for a demons door?" she mumbled, lighting running her fingers over the engravings. Of course, nobody answered. Biting her bottom lip, and glancing down the hall, she blew out the torch she held and laid it under one of the lamps. She would relight it after peeking inside. She was only a young girl, barely reaching sixteen. She was still expected to be curious. She was not supposed to abide by her curiosity anymore, but that was a technicality.

Pulling a pin out of her hair, ignoring the curl that bounced against her cheek, she found the lock and started picking at it. Surely the door wasn't the only thing keeping the demon locked away, so it would be alright to open it. Besides, it had to be fed and what not to keep it alive this long. So the door could be opened. Ignoring the fact she really knew nothing about the magic she was relying on to save herself, Da smiled with satisfaction when the lock clicked. She was, however, surprised that the lock was so easy to pick.

Pushing the curl behind her ear, she pushed the door open. It was eerily silent as it opened. Which was a good thing, Da thought with a frown. She peeked around the massive door. The room was very well lit, again surprising Da. Pillows of the warmer colors littered the floor. Lamps hung from each wall. In the middle of the room was an incense burner, currently burning the smell of cinnamon and mahogany. An archway led farther inward. The angle was bad, but Da could make out the sound of water, and could see stone steps from beyond the archway. She didn't, however, see any sort of demon prowling around.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, and refusing to back down, she stepped into the domain. What demon would get these kinds of luxuries, she thought trying to ease her nerves. Surely this was just one get away room for one of the royal family members, and they spread word of the rumor to keep people like Da out. Nodding her head, she gently stepped around the pillows. It was surprisingly warm in the room, almost uncomfortable. Licking her dry lips, she made it to the arch without stepping on anything.

Leaning on the stone, she looked around the stone. What she saw shocked her. When she had imagined the demon, she had expect some hairy mess of a being, with razor sharp claws, teeth like a dragon, breath like poison, drool like acid, and eyes like coals. She had imagined long limps, and a wolfish face that snapped and barked. She had anticipated something hideous and terrifying. What she did see, while still terrifying, was not what she expected.

He was very human like in shape. He had a chiseled body, arms thick with muscle. His skin was tanned, and glistened from the water he lay in. His hair was a simple brown, darker then her sisters but lighter then her own. It fell around his face, touching his shoulders slightly. He had a strong jaw, a goatee growing. He was staring at the wall across from him, she viewing his side, and his eyes looked like a bright brown. Almost glowing. Which was one of the reasons she knew he was a demon.

Another was the fact that the steam swirled around him, like he was some magical entity that the steam desired. Steam didn't swirl normal people. Nor should the pond be steaming. There was no way to heat the water without magic. So, if nothing else, he was a powerful magician of some sort. Controlling elements was difficult for their names were not their essence as a whole. She doubted he was a magician though, because of the giant yawn he gave. His mouth was filled with the fangs of her imagination. Changing the shapes of bone was more dangerous then controlling elements. Any who had done so in the past had died in the process. Even just teeth. The last thing that gave him away, if those weren't enough for her, was the sense of power and danger that radiated off of him. He was a predator.

He yawned in the pool, scratching his cheek for a moment. How often had he stared at the opposite wall? Really, it wasn't fascinating the first time. Frowning at it, he dropped his hand into the hot water. One of the perks to being Demon of the Smokeless Flame, as the humans loved to call him. His body temperature was always warm, but with some concentration, he could have himself a warm bath as well. That and he rarely suffered from any sort of temperature outside. It was a good perk, living in the dank lower regions of the castle

With a bored groan, everything always being the same anymore, he stood and stretched. Really, the only entertainment he got was exercising, and that was just because he could let him mind go blank as he did so. He stopped for a moment, as the steam disappeared as he let his body temperature drop to its normal degrees. A new smell filled his chamber. So used to the damn cinnamon and wood, the smell of flowers and sunshine had his mind reeling. How long had it been since he had something new?

Eyes snapping open, he turned. She stood in his archway, brown eyes wide. Like a deer. Her mouth, lips dry and cracked, were slightly open. Her skin pale, if not slightly dirty, matched her rags of clothes. Her hair was messily put up, and he couldn't stop the smile on his face. Her face flushing, eyes shooting downward and then back up to his face, she screamed and turned. Still smiling, he hopped out of the pond. She tripped over all the stupid pillows, arms flailing wildly. She knocked over the incense burner. But it didn't slow her.

It would do him no good to try and stop her. She was too close to the damn door. The charms on it prevented him from going near it. But, as he picked up the still scalding hot burner and righted it, he still grinned. She was marked; the red welt on her hand was all he needed. He was of the Smokeless Flame. Attracting her again would be of no great difficulty. And it was just what he needed, he though as he straightened and stared at the door. A little entertainment would keep him sane. Now, all he needed to do was find his clothes, contact some friends from the outside, and get her back here.

***

"So you want me to find a slave girl, who was in here, burnt herself, and ran away screaming? Why do you want to bring her back when she has obviously been through enough?" the elegant man said, picking an apple off of the plate he had brought in.

"Because I need something new," the demon said, reclining on some of the many pillows. He watched as his friend plopped down with as much grace as any other movement. Which in his mind was a useless talent, but amazing none the less. Plopping usually wasn't graceful.

"Ce. I understand being locked in here is tedious, but to bring a young girl into this?" The other man sighed. "Besides, am I not enough?"

"You know I'm thankful for you not abandoning me, Yu. I'd definitely be insane if you'd left. But… she was new."

"I'll bring you somebody."

"I want her."

"Why her? All you saw of her was gaping, screaming, and flailing. That's not a good first impression, for either of you." Ce shrugged, grabbing one of the grape stems. "Wonderful."

"I'm spoiled and picky." Ce laughed.

"So I've learned." Yu let his head fall back to stare at the ceiling. To a point it was understandable. Ce had not seen another being besides himself and a few family visiting's in a few centuries. It was not that hard to fathom why he wanted to see the first stranger again. But it was dangerous. Not only for himself, but for the slave as well. Of course though, Ce would hear none of that.

"Who would know anyway? Nobody'll listen to the slave, nobody talks to me anymore. So unless you plan on telling the world, it'd all work out."

"Why would she even want to return?" Yu lifted his head. He took out a chunk of the apple, one eyebrow raised.

"That's your job to figure out. You're the smart one. You're the one who's watched the world go by. You should have figured woman out by now."

"Your belief in me is encouraging, but no. I have yet to figure out woman. Though I assuredly know more then you," Yu said, grinning haughtily.

"That's what I just said." Yu glared at him. "So, can you do it for me?"

"I don't know if I can. But I can try. It could take a while, though, Ce." Yu caved in, tossing the core of the apple back on the platter.

"That's fine. I've waited centuries for entertainment. I can wait longer. Though I fear if you don't make it in time," Ce said with a smirk.

"You mean you can get worse then this?"

"I might get cryptic. Or speak in riddles."

"I shall try to be quick, dear dear friend." Yu laughed. He was cut short though by the sound of a click. Both heads swung to the door. Yu gave a sideways glanced to Ce, who was sitting much straighter. "What?"

"I smell it."

"It?" Yu hissed.

"Flowers and sunshine." Ce closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "So much better then cinnamon or dust."

A girl's voice interrupted them. "Come on Da! I just want to see. If we don't go in, we'll be fine. He didn't chase you, so I bet he can't leave. I want to see the demon. You didn't have to come."

"I'm not letting my little sister come see a demon on her own!"

"Well then shush. We'll both give the door and big push, and it'll swing open, and we won't even have to enter, okay?"

"Xiao. This is entirely unnecessary. I told you everything."

"Well, I want to see it. I didn't believe, but if you saw something, it's true. Besides, if it's a guy, it's our rightful duty to save him."

"But he wasn't just a guy. He was-is a demon!"

"Are you going to help me or-" She was cut off there. Yu opened the door wide, and stared down at the two with a raised eyebrow. She glanced up, mouth forming an almost perfect 'O'. Besides her was the girl Ce had obviously been talking about. She jumped back, looking ready to run. "Maybe he can leave…" Xiao said quietly, voice full of fear and awe.

"He… that's not him…"

"You were right. He's definitely not human-wait! There are two?" Xiao squeaked.

"Hello, ladies," Yu said, in a way he hoped was none threatening.

"He's pretty," Xiao whispered to Da, and the muscle in Yu's jaw twitched. Da grabbed her forearm and pulled Xiao behind her. Which to Yu was laughable. She was no shield, barely any bigger then her sister. But it was a noble move, none the less.

"Please," Da mumbled, "let us be. We shall leave you in peace."

Yu considered playing with her. Toying with her fear. He was a demon, and it had potential. But the fact of the matter was Ce wanted this human for himself. It would serve no other purpose then to anger Ce to scare her off. Sighing, he held his hands up in the universal sign of peace. "I have every intention to leave you entirely whole, good maidens."

"What?"

"Yes, you shall be free to go. Except, my good friend has a need of you. If you two fine young ladies would be so kind as entertain his musing for but some little time, you are welcome to leave."

"And if we don't want to?" Xiao asked, holding onto Da's shoulders.

"Then you are free to return to the upper levels of the castle. No harm shall befall you by my hand. Or his, since he has a good need of you."

Xiao glanced at Da, who was chewing on her bottom lip. Mulling over the idea, Xiao nodded. "Okay."

"What?" Da hissed, and started to spin around. But remembering the demon, she stopped. She would not give him her back.

"They promised they wouldn't harm us," Xiao said, as if that solved all the problems. "And we... or I wanted to know. Isn't it curious that there are two demons down here?"

"No. Not at all. We should forget all about this and return to our chamber."

"I… don't make me do it alone Da," Xiao gave a small whine, pouting.

"… Fine." Da turned to face Yu, her glare impressive for a woman of her short stature. Yu simply smiled in return, and stepped to the side with a sweeping bow. Da walked in, keeping Xiao on the opposite side of the demon. He simply chuckled at her attempt, broadcasting his fangs. Da stopped herself from shivering. Xiao gave a gasp at the inside, pointing at things that she liked. Da held her other hand, but paid her little mind. She was staring at the other demon, who was now clothed she thought with a blush, that was staring at her.

"Can we sit?" Xiao asked.

"Of course," the sitting demon said with a chuckle, finally looking to Xiao. Xiao giggled, but didn't sit. Instead she started inspecting the pillows, and peeking into the other rooms. Da stared at him for a moment, trying to still her heart, before slowly making her way around and sitting farthest from him. He watched her move, the darned smile never leaving his face. The demon at the door gave a laugh, making both girls jump before walking in and sitting down beside the other and watching them with an infernal smirk of his own. Da wringed her hands, sure this was going to turn out bad for her health.

Chapter Two

"Well," Xiao said, sitting down next to Da with her usual chipper manner, "What'd you want? I got a lot of secrets about the royal family. But then… they're secrets," she drawled, pressing her index finger to her bottom lip in a thoughtful manner.

"We haven't even introduced ourselves, and she is straight to business I see," the elegant one said with a roll of his eyes. "I am Zhou Yu, my ladies. A humble vessel for my lord, Sun Ce," he indicated to the man beside him.

"I am called Da Qiao."

"Xiao!"

"A pleasure, my dears," Yu said with a feral grin.

"So, yeah," Xiao mumbled, eyes rolling around the room again, before landing back on Yu, "is he dumb in the head or something?" she asked, jabbing her thumb at Ce. Da gasped and slapped her over the head, then turning fearful eyes to both of the demons. Ce made his move, throwing his head back and laughing wildly.

"No," Yu stated with a deadpan voice, looking rather unimpressed.

"That was," she looked to Da for support, "inappropriate… My apologies."

"None needed," Ce said with a chuckle, looking back at them now. "It was… refreshing."

"Really?" Xiao's nose scrunched up as she looked at him, before glancing at Yu. "Then, can I ask something else?"

"Yes," Ce said slowly, eyes trailing back to Da.

"Are you really demons?"

"Of course," Yu groaned. "What else would we be? Human?" He smirked.

"You might be able to pull human off," Ce said, glancing to Yu. "I'm sure I couldn't anymore. I'm so out of the wing of things."

"What kind of demons?" Xiao asked, smiling broadly now. "I don't hear a lot about the magical things. I don't think the professors trust me in the rooms. But some of the other slaves tell me such things."

"Things?"

"Yes, things!" She floundered for the words.

"Beings of more magical quantities, such as demons and unicorns," Da supplied, Ce's eyes whipping to look at her. His eyes didn't leave her face for a long moment, before drifting back to Xiao as she spoke.

"Yes! Those! And, most of them aren't good enough to tell me a lot about you… demon things! What kind of demons are you?"

"I am known as a demon of the Smokeless Flame," he said slowly.

"And I," Yu said before Ce could speak for him, "am a demon of the Core."

Xiao looked at them both in awe, before saying, "What does that mean?" Ce started laughing again, and so Yu spoke first.

"By the Core means that my line of demon was born from the center. My family in particular was born from the center of the Flame, the hottest point," he smirked again. "By coming from the Center, the demons have a greater sense of grace and a higher intelligence level." He leaned back in an all too familiar, superior manner.

Ce calmed down, shaking his head at Yu, "Not to mention an ego."

"As do you," Yu scoffed.

"Yeah, but mine is personality, yours is hereditary." He dodged a half hearted swing from Yu, before looking back at the two. "From the Smokeless Flame simply means we were born from an area that had flames, but no smoke. An old myth was that we were made to protect some magical flame." He shrugged, picking at some grapes now, though not taking his eyes off of the girls, "but I don't really believe. It's been awhile since I saw anything, but I don't remember any magical flame. Basically we're a higher class Fire Demon."

"So your really just… royalty like?"

"You could say that," Yu sighed.

"And the stronger you are, the higher ranked you are?"

"Yes. The strength of your family, or the leader of your clan, is your rank. Be your strength intelligence your simply power."

"Wow," Xiao mumbled, and glanced to Da. "Do think them," she jerked her thumb upwards, "would still be royalty if our system was like that?"

"No,' Da said plainly, glancing to Xiao before again watching the demons.

"What is your system like? Your world?" Ce asked, leaning on his knees. It was one thing to hear from Yu, but he was just an observer. It was different with them. With her.

"Nothing special, surely not entertaining," Xiao sighed, falling back into the pillows. They started to give way, and slowly she slipped down and fell into the mass. Arms flailing, she gave a shriek that had both demons flinching. Da glanced down at her, and tried to stop the giggle. She didn't miss the way Ce looked at her again.

"She is correct," Da said quietly, ignoring Xiao wiggling on the floor. "We are but slaves. We clean, take care of, and worship the royal family. The only thing we are good for is gossip and spying, neither of which I am sure a demon lord such as yourself would have no need of." She tried to keep her tone even, tried to keep the fear in check. Ce said nothing in response, simply stared at her, as if trying to etch her into his memory.

It was at that point, lying in the pillows, that Xiao realized she wasn't important. She was only there because she had to be. It made sense. Ce only knew Da, and obviously Yu was just too above everybody to care. Grunting, and finally giving up on being tactful, she whined, "Da! Help me!" Da jerked to a start, whipping around in her seat to look down at her. With a sheepish smile, she reached down and pulled her up. Ce smiled as he watched her help straighten Xiao's clothes.

Yu scoffed at it all, leaning back to look at the ceiling. Really, he was going to have to look harder for a way to get Ce out of the darned cell room. If he was this fascinated with a simple slave girl, who could be admittedly beautiful-but still only a human slave girl-then things were getting desperate. Scratching behind his ear with another groan, he glanced at the platter. "I do hate to be the bearer of bad news," he said, and Ce jerked to look at him, "but it is probably rather late. It is hard to tell time down here, but I assume you girls have your slave duties to tend to in the early morning." He stood up.

"Oh yeah, huh? I didn't think about that!" Xiao mumbled, hand covering her mouth with a thoughtful expression.

"Obviously," Yu said with a roll of his eyes. Both girls looked at him, and immediately recognized the look. It was the look all the royals gave them, being nameless and a slave. A look of superiority, a look that said they were barely human. And to a demon, Da thought, that might not mean much on its own. Not even giving him a glare, both girls reverted to their, as Xiao called it, stone façade. Shoulders squared, they both looked at his stomach or at the floor. Both gave a bow, in unison, to both demons, and then turned to leave. Ce was quick to his feet though.

He caught hold of Da's wrist, and she hissed in pain as she wheeled around. He gave a small gasp, and his body temperature quickly dropped to simply warm. She glanced up at him, the stone expression gone as she gave him a wary look. He turned her hand around to view where the burner had hit her. It would have been easy to track her, the design on the burner bright red welts on her hand. To think that they didn't even give slaves bandages to wrap their wounds. Carefully he covered the wound with his mouth, ignoring her gasp and the slight pull from her, he sucked on the wound.

When he pulled away he licked his lips, not only savoring her taste but the tingling sensation that came with healing burns. As a fire demon, burns were never a problem. He could also close a wound with heat, but otherwise was not known for his healing abilities. Ce surveyed his work, the welt disappearing. It had been fresh enough that not even a scar should still be there. He glanced up at her, and only then remembered it wasn't customary for humans to do such a thing. Really, he was so out of touch with his humanity.

Da stared at her hand, shiny from his kiss. She then looked up at him with a mixture of shock and fear. She had felt his fangs against the side of her hand, gently grazing the skin. Her heart was beating far too quickly to be healthy. She didn't catch Yu's groan, but blushed when Xiao whistled. She tugged at her hand again, hoping against hope that he'd release it. "Will you come back?" he asked voice as tender as the kiss had been. Da glanced from her hand back to his face. It was desperate, and looked nothing like a feral demon. He looked innocent and bare before her.

"Ah," she said, still pulling at her wrist. He didn't let go. "Well, I…" Could she say no? "As a slave… I can… do not have a lot of time…But… I will… try." She gave in. She let him break her. Did he have to have that look on his face? Cursing herself, Da held her hand to her chest when he finally released it. The look on his face was one of pure joy, like a child. Da couldn't bring herself to glare at him. Xiao giggled and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the room and into the chilly hall. Behind them, Yu slammed the stone door.

"That," Yu snapped, "was-"

"Save it," Ce sighed, falling back onto the pillows with a grin.

"What is it with you?" Yu growled.

"I'm getting company that can visit more then you. If she comes once, it'll be easy to make her come again." Ce looked up at him.

"She is a human. A human slave no less! Beneath us to begin with, inferior to us in all ways, but on top of that a slave. She is below the average human!" Yu huffed.

"I've never been picky about my company. I don't think. There were some people I hated," he drawled, rubbing his goatee. Yu snarled and stomped away towards the door that led to the inner chamber. Ce laughed, reaching for the last apple on the tray.

Da got little sleep that night, but with her nerves fried she couldn't bring herself to panic when she was specifically called to meet with the eldest princess, Lady Diao Chan. She remade her hair, and found her other dress, she only had two, and woke up Xiao to inform her of her leaving. Xiao had mumbled something, scratching her head through her tangled lumps of hair and sat up. Da didn't stick around long enough to see if she stayed up. Quickly she made it down the halls, rubbing her eyes and trying to get out all of her yawns. It wouldn't do to yawn in front of the princess. Lady Diao Chan was much nicer then her sister, but it was never good to take such risks in the castle.

Coming to the door, she glanced at the guard by the door. He looked down at her, but otherwise was as still as marble. Carefully she knocked three times on the door. "Come in," a soft, musical voice said. Da spare one last glance at the guard before entering. She stopped just inside the doorway, dropping to her knees and keeping her head down. She wasn't allowed to speak unless spoken to. "Ah, Da was it? I am glad you came."

"You did call her, Sister," a sultry voice said, one that Da recognized as Lady Zhen Ji. She was the one who had sent Da on the lighting mission. She was not overly unkind, or truly evil. But she was a proud woman who had moments of horribleness. Da couldn't bring herself to hate either of them in that moment, but then she was overtly tired.

"Shush Ji," Chan chastised. "I really am happy to see you Da," she said, sounding true. "I have had a talk with Ji, and she is quite apologetic about what she did. Aren't you Ji?" Da looked up through her dark eyelashes.

Ji sighed. She was sitting on the window seat, looking ethereal with the rising sun in the window. But that was nothing new. Her beauty would last the ages, they said. She was a woman untouched by the moon and stars and flowers. It was no wonder why the woman was proud. "Yes. I was upset, and I lashed out at you," Ji conceded, turning to stare at Da. Her dark hair was pushed up elegantly, in many knots and twists. True to her nickname, the peacock princess, hanging from the largest bun was a peacock's feather, accentuating her long neck.

Da tried to think of a reply. Something that would politely deny the apology, but Lady Chan gave her no time to think, let alone speak. "Stand up, dearest. Come on now, stand up." Da swallowed the lump in her throat and stood. She still, however, stared at the floor. When the hem of a dress came into view, she knew Lady Chan had gotten up. The eldest princess was just a mighty rival to Ji. Her hair was up as well, but half fell down her back, a lighter shade then her sisters. She had a much wiser look to her, and softer eyes. She wore a light purple dress that showed off her wide hips. "Isn't she lovely, Ji?" Chan asked, glancing over her shoulder. Da blushed.

Ji stood from the window seat, and when she stood before Da she grabbed her chin and lifted her face to inspect her. "With a little work, she would no doubt be pleasing to the eyes. Why Chan?" Ji asked, already sounding exasperated and bored.

"And don't you have a sister?" Da nodded slowly. "Surely as pretty as you. This is just perfect."

"Why?" Ji stressed.

"Well, aren't we in need of a maid? The one's we take with us on outings who isn't particularly hard-featured?" Chan smiled, one finger pressed to her full bottom lip. It was obvious she was speaking about Chen, one of their personal maids that was reaching her mid years and had a trying life to say the least. She was specifically for Chan, but that never stopped Ji from using Chen's experience for herself.

"Don't be so pessimistic Ji. The other maids can teach them. And we'll be able to go out more with them."

"Oh, wonderful," Ji snapped, throwing her hands in the air. "Another ploy to find the man in your dreams?" Chan flinched, and looked to the floor. "Fine, so be it. Whether I want it your not, you shall go and tell your wishes to father. If I do not want one you will only take this one- Da was it?- or both. Who knows with you. Do as you will Chan. You always do." Ji huffed and walked passed Da and out of the room

"I apologize for her outburst," Chan said quietly. "Things have been a little turbulent in the family lately. Would you like becoming my maid? Or my sisters. Father might decide that on his own who is what. But you and your sister could be promoted." Da stuttered, and unable to say anything, nodded her head. "You are one of our nameless slaves aren't you? Father might even like you more for that. A little added protection for us, if I can convey it right."

Alright, so I fell in love with a story I made in Better Half and have written more for it. This is it. Of course I've also gone and fallen in love with (28)Found as well. We'll see where that takes us as well. I have a "T" rating on it now, but I think I might have to go and make in "M" depending on where this goes (nothing like a sex scene, don't get your hopes up). I'll have to think about this. Please review!