Love Conquers All Pt. 02

"Leave us." He ordered his demons to step outside.

Nakushi knew this was it, the moment she had dreaded ever since she learnt about her pregnancy- the moment where her daughter would be separated from her for life. She wasn't ready. Not yet. She just needed to buy some time somehow.

As the human tried to come up with an escape plan they were interrupted by a commotion. The king grew annoyed and stepped outside to deal with it the intruders that were creating a ruckus outside. Nakushi saw the opportunity and grabbed her daughter.

"You have to make a portal so we can escape."

"What do I need to do?"

"Draw a rectangle large enough for us to step through and press your palm against it."

Khushi grabbed a hold of her mother's hand and drew a doorway on the wall behind her. Before any of the demons outside caught wind, the mother and child had escaped.

*****

"What in hell are you doing here?" the king asked his eldest son making no attempt at disguising his displeasure at their arrival.

"I commanded you to bring your brother to me."

The younger sons drew back in fear as the eldest bowed low before their father.

"My lord, we were informed that we would find our brother here. The dai confessed to being brought here by the nameless one."

The king considered this piece of information. He began to see the puzzle coming together. His son had needed the dai for the birth of the new demon, which meant that the winged creature had to be his son's daughter, his granddaughter- someone more like him than any creature in hell. No wonder she felt no fealty to him. He finally had his heir. But what role did the human have in all of this? He still had to figure that part of the puzzle. He turned to go back in; it would be easier, he thought, to just torture the answers out of her.

*****

The demons were distracted when Nakushi and her daughter escaped from limbo so they had no way of knowing which direction they were headed in. She hoped it would be enough to buy them sufficient time to plan their next move.

The child held on to the mother as she sped away using her natural demon abilities. It was clear to her that the world they were in was not safe for her mother. Her mother had told her about earth, she just had to figure a way to safely get there. She wished she had someone who could teach her about her demon-half and help her understand the extent of her abilities. She hoped to once more meet the kind demon who had fed her his blood. She remembered how safe she felt with him and trusted him to know to do next.

*****

"You imbeciles!" the king bellowed at his sons, "Because of your intrusion they managed to escape."

"They, my king?" they asked confused.

"Yes, they've both escaped. Now, make yourselves useful and go and find your brother like I asked you to. If you fail in your undertaking, do not bother returning to court." He threatened.

He turned to his council members who were too caught up in their lust for the human to understand the significance of anything taking place.

"Send the word out, I want to find that demon child. An award for whoever brings her to me, UNHARMED." He suspected that the last part may have been unnecessary as the child was most likely an immortal like himself and her father, but he didn't want to risk anything happening to his heir.

*****

Nakushi was panting as she was dragged across the white coloured mountains by her daughter. She was amazed at how strong the child was for someone so young. She did her best to keep up despite being fatigued.

The demon child was relieved. So far it didn't appear like anyone was following them but she knew she would feel a whole lot better if she had a clue about where they needed to go instead of running aimlessly like they were now. Her mother was struggling to hold on; if she was not allowed to rest for a while she would likely perish along the way. She needed to survey the place to get a better sense of which direction felt safer. They stopped abruptly when they reached the top of the mountain.

"Please sit and rest awhile mama," she said, "while I take a look around."

The child stood up and opened her hands wide. The feathers on her wings appeared to be almost fully grown now. But she wasn't certain if her wings were strong enough for flight as yet. She hopped and flapped her arms in an attempt to take flight, but it didn't help. She wished someone had taught her how to fly. She recalled the time she had jumped off the bed and managed to glide through the empty space before landing with a thud.

Maybe if I had a place to jump from, I could fly, she thought to herself.

She spotted a sheer drop not far from where they were at the time. Giving no thought to how she would land, Khushi ran the short distance to the edge, opened her arms and jumped off.

Nakushi watched in silent horror as her daughter jumped off a cliff. She dragged herself to the edge expecting to find the remains of her daughter below.

Khushi felt her insides sink at the jump off and felt she was doomed to meet her end on the white rocks below. Instead she found herself caught by a gentle breeze that allowed her to glide through the air without crashing. It almost felt like she was being carried by the breeze.

The human was relieved to see her daughter alive and circling the mountain a couple of times before landing beside her.

"You scared me." She said, hugging her child tightly.

"I think I scared me too." Khushi admitted with a giggle. Flying had been a scary but thrilling experience she was eager to try again soon.

"Did you see anything?"

"Yes, I believe I know where we need to go."

"And where is that?"

"That way." Khushi pointed straight ahead. "I saw a strange looking object."

"What was it?"

"I don't know the word for it. I can show you."

Khushi bent down and used her nails to sketch what's she'd seen.

"That looks like a tree. But you seem to have drawn it upside down."

"No, that's just how it is."

"That is strange, but, how would you know that? You've never seen a tree."

"I found it strange because it's not on the ground but it isn't flying either. It's just there in the emptiness in between."

"You were right, that is strange. Do you think it's safe?"

"I don't know about that. I just feel like we need to be there."

Her daughter seemed convinced and her daughter was no ordinary child. She thought it best to follow Khushi's instinct and go to the suspended tree.

*****

The demon brothers were unsuccessful in their attempts to locate their immortal brother thus far. They checked all the usual places and turned up empty handed. It occurred to the eldest that their brother may once again seek the knowledge from The Tree if he was planning to make a play for hell, like he suspected him to. He was about to leave with his brothers when their father barged into his quarters.

"What success have you had?"

"None so far, father."

"So, why do you stand around instead of doing something about it?"

"I was just getting ready to leave."

"And where will you try to look for him this time?"

The prince hesitated before replying, "The Tree."

The king agreed that it seemed to be the most likely choice. He resented the dwellers of The Tree because they refused to live under his command. The only reason he didn't have them executed was because he knew they could never rise against him and The Tree appeared to offer them a certain degree of protection too. It made sense for the nameless one to once again use the knowledge of The Tree to escape his father's judgement. It also made sense that his granddaughter would most likely have escaped to join her father.

He nodded, "Alright, I will join you too."

*****

The rakshasa had no idea how long he had waited already to speak with the dwellers of The Tree. Even the manjhi had grown tired of waiting and left, but the demon knew that he had really left because the demons that made The Tree their abode made him uncomfortable. He worried about how his family was faring without him for so long, but couldn't risk leaving without getting the information he needed. He found it peculiar that they hadn't even spoken to him of a deal so far. It almost felt like they were delaying, he thought, but why? What could they be waiting for?

*****

Khushi was nearly spent from carrying her mother to the strange tree but they had finally gotten close enough for her mother to see the spectacle with her own eyes. Even though her daughter had described the tree to her, she was not prepared for the bewildering scene before her. Roots climbing to the sky, only there was no sky. With their destination well within sight, the human felt a little energized and made an attempt to finish the remainder of the journey walking on her own. She sensed that one way or the other, it would all be over soon.

*****

The demon princes were no match for their father. The younger sons had fallen so far behind that they couldn't even be seen anymore while the eldest struggled to keep up. Their father was appalled at their pathetic displays. How could any of them think they could replace him as the ruler of hell if they couldn't even keep up with him now? At least the nameless one had shown promise if only he had not committed fratricide. Killing your kin was an unforgivable crime in hell, after all they weren't humans.

The king with his excellent vision could see The Tree from as far as he was. He could also see his scion struggling to carry the human along with her. Once again he deliberated about the nature of their relationship.

The human is her mother. It suddenly dawned on him. He halted in his tracks, wondering if he was walking into a trap set up by the nameless one.

*****

As they reached the tree Nakushi had greatly withered away. Her daughter feared that her human mother would succumb to death any moment now. With bleary eyes the human looked at the tree ahead of her and thought he saw a familiar face not too far away. She was too worn out to trust her senses any more. But her heart told her she wasn't mistaken.

"Raku." She called faintly with whatever strength she had left.

Khushi wasn't certain what it was her mother had seen but she was sure she heard her call out a name. She called out the name she had heard her mother say.

"RAKU?"

The demon turned towards the sound and was dumbstruck by the sight of a shrivelled up woman that looked like his human along with a little girl with white wings. He raced to his family shocked to see them aged so much and his beloved close to death.

"My darling, what has happened to you?" he asked, gently lifting his beloved into his arms.

"We needed to escape. We were visited by the king and his men." said the child.

The demon nodded in understanding. He was gone too long and now his human would be dead. He couldn't afford to wait anymore. It was time to return her to earth.

"Who are you?" Khushi asked the demon holding her mother in such a tender manner.

"My dear child, I am your father. Come now, we must return your mother to earth before she expels her last breath."

"Return her? Will we not stay with her?"

"No, I haven't the time now to explain, but this is the last we will ever see of your mother. It is the only way." He said with great difficulty, finding it hard to even breathe due to the pain gripping at his chest.

Unlike her father, Khushi had a human half which made it possible for her to cry. The tears welled up and flowed from the little girl's eyes. Even the thought of being parted from her mother hurt too much. Her father felt her sorrow and his own but he had no way of expressing it.

"No, it cannot be." said Khushi adamantly. She was not ready to be parted from her mother. "There HAS to be some way."

"We're ready to talk to you now."

For the first time the father and daughter noticed that they were no longer alone. The Tree dwellers had finally come to strike a deal with the demon.

"I need to return her to earth right now."

"We may have a solution that is suitable for all. But what would you be willing to give us in return for such knowledge?"

"Anything." The demon said emphatically.

"Your immortality?"

"YES." He replied without hesitation

"What about her, will you give her to us?"

They were pointing to his daughter. Sacrifice his child for his freedom, he asked himself.

"NEVER!"

"Not even to save your human? She's not going to make it."

The demon was torn between his love for his human and his child. How could he choose between the two he loved above all else?

When they got no response from him they turned to the young demon.

"What about you, princess? Would you give up your powers and your chance to rule hell- maybe more- to save your mother's life and to save your father from being a prisoner for all eternity?"

*****

There was no time left the demon quickly opened a portal and pushed his human through to earth. He was distraught knowing that she would have no memory of him or their daughter or the love they had shared.

*****

The demon king stood at a safe distance noting the goings on. The human had been pushed through a portal and most likely send back to earth. It looked like the deceitful dwellers of The Tree were in the midst of negotiations with the nameless one and his granddaughter. He watched them shake hands and knew a deal had been struck.

He shook his head and left. He would need to find another opportunity to get his heir back.

*****

The woman woke up to a ringing sound. Her head hurt, she felt weak and tired and desperately in need of sleep.

"Ma, Ma? Wake up Ma."

She was being shaken awake. She opened her eyes and gradually took in her surroundings. She was lying on the ground inside Jwala Temple. She held her head to ease the pounding sensation.

"Huh- What is it?" she asked, feeling disorientated. The light was hitting her in the eye making it difficult for her to clearly see who she was talking to. She heard movement and giggling. She turned her head towards the sound and squinted to see who it was.

"Papa come here quick and look at Ma being silly."

The little girl ran out and quickly reappeared with a man. She was pulling him by the hand towards the woman.

"I found her asleep!" The little girl exclaimed. "... On the ground!"

The man leaned forward and offered his hand to help the woman up. She took it and he pulled her to her feet.

"You grew tired from your climb up to the temple, didn't you?"

She looked at him, still in a daze.

"I knew you would. I asked you to come later in the car with us. They've got a proper road now and it comes all the way up the mountain and stops just behind the temple."

She squinted some more, her vision still fuzzy.

"I knew this trip would take a toll on you. It was already going to be an emotional strain, it didn't have to also be a physical one." She heard the man say but her eyes were now focused on the little girl dancing and twirling around. She had white wings.

"You have such pretty wings," she said.

The child gave her a strange look uncertain if her mother had really forgotten or was just being silly.

"Yeah, have you forgotten that you gave them to me?"

"Hush Khushi, your mother is just tired." He gently admonished her. "You know your mother was just a little girl like you when she lived here."

"I want to see the rakshasa." The little girl shouted excitedly.

"Sure, come let's look at the rakshasa."

The three of them walked to the giant obsidian statue that dominated the space. The woman held back a little as the man and the girl inspected it closely and talked amongst themselves.

"Come on Rakesh," the woman said to her husband, "let's go back. You were right, I did overdo it today."

"Told you jaan, I know you better than you know yourself." He responded smugly.

"If that's true I suppose you carried some lunch? I'm famished for some reason."

Her husband laughed and grabbed a hold of her hand, "Come with me, I have something to show you."

Khushi raced ahead of her parents. Before Nakushi left the temple she noticed a crack at the base of her rakshasa's statue. She felt that was significant somehow, but couldn't tell why. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked out of the temple holding hands with her husband. She looked ahead and was surprised to see a cloth laid out with a picnic basket on it. Khushi was already busy unpacking it.

"What did I tell you love?" the man asked his wife.

She smiled brightly at him. He always seemed to anticipate her needs. They sat down and ate their meal in the shadow cast by the temple. When they were done and got up to move she watched how Rakesh's eyes sparkled in the sunlight. People would often comment about how strange his amber coloured eyes appeared- unnatural, they would say- but they always struck her as filled with warmth and the nagging sense of something familiar.

The End.