As the demon's presence faded from my mind, so too did the calming cloud around my thoughts, and the wave of overwhelming fear from everything he had said came crashing down on me. I rested my head on my knees, feeling my body trembling.

Hordes of demons wanted me as theirs. They wanted to be king, and the only way for them to fulfill that wish was to force me to fall in love with them. That thought alone was enough to make me feel sick.

What was I supposed to do? I couldn't fight demons, and Sebastian wouldn't be able to take on a horde of them all by himself. I also couldn't let my friends stay and help, because they'd be slaughtered within two minutes. But I couldn't go with that demon. I didn't love him. I refused to. He could be as nice to me as he wanted, but I refused to love anyone but Sebastian.

A light knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. Although my brain knew it was one of my friends, my body decided to cower in the corner and remain completely silent.

When the visitor did not receive a response, they slowly opened the door. It creaked open quietly as someone poked their head in.

"Chrystal?" Sebastian's voice called quietly.

I heard myself let out a soft whimper.

The door closed again as Sebastian stepped inside and quickly found me hiding in the corner, curled up in a ball, palms pressed against either side of my head.

He crouched beside me and placed a hand on the top of my head, then I quickly moved and wrapped my arms around him. He sat on the ground and pulled me into his lap, holding my trembling figure in his comforting and protective arms.

"He's the same demon as before..." I told him. "The one from the cave..."

Sebastian held me tighter.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "I lied to you back then. He told me they knew who I was, but he also told me something I never told you about, because I'd been scared to." I started to tremble even more, the fear from back then making itself known to me once again.

Sebastian stroked my hair gently, trying to calm me, but didn't say anything as he waited for me to tell him.

I took a deep, shaky breath. "He had told me not to fall in love with a demon because they weren't capable of loving me back." I sighed, feeling the fear disappear after sharing the memory with him. "He knew I was falling for you even before I did."

Sebastian let out a soft chuckle.

"But he really was just trying to keep me from falling for you so that I could fall for him later... but if I hadn't..." I would have been long dead. I couldn't get myself to say the words aloud, but Sebastian seemed to have understood, because he held me tighter yet again.

"He talked to me again," I told him, staring at the wall. "I was stressing over that prophecy thing, trying to figure out why I had to be the one, and he calmed me and answered my questions." I thought about the calming spell I'd been under, and soon my trembling lessened.

"What did he tell you?" Sebastian asked cautiously.

"He told me about the demon king, how he'd had the power to see into the future, and had apparently seen me. He told me the reasons he was so sure I was the one it spoke of, like my name and my appearance and the trials I have already gone through."

"He seems to have thought about this for quite some time."

I nodded. "He also said there are others looking for me. Many others. He said they would force me into loving them long enough to earn the title of king, then kill me or lock me away for the rest of my life..." My hold on Sebastian tightened in an attempt to feel safe and keep myself from trembling again. "He said he was the only one who would like to rule beside me, and that he'd make sure I was protected and loved." I felt tears well up in my eyes and I buried my face in Sebastian's shoulder. "I don't know what to do... I don't want to go with him, but if I stay here..."

"If you are worried about the others," Sebastian spoke gently, "I have everything taken care of. Their vacation is ready. You just need to tell them about it."

I shook my head, trying to fight back tears. "It's not them. It's the demons he warned me about." My fists grasped his suit tightly. "I don't care if it's your job to protect me. We'll both be slaughtered by that many demons if we try to fight back."

Sebastian said nothing, and I took that as his silent confirmation that he, too, had no idea what we were supposed to do. He placed a hand on the back of my head and held me as I cried into his shoulder. I had to choose between living eternity with someone I didn't love or dying alongside the one I did. Sebastian was to consume my soul if that demon succeeded in taking me by force. There was no positive outcome. No matter what, I would either be dead or wish I was. And there was no one who could help me.

(I just read over this chapter for editing purposes and realized that it's absolute garbage. Sorry about that... I guess this is what happens when you limit yourself to 1000 words a chapter. Maybe in the future I'll make them longer.)