I felt a sharp pain as I hit the wall, I pulled up my hand and saw that I got a small piece of glass stuck in it and I was bleeding profusely. A large shadow covered my view as a large clawed hand grabbed my wrist to bring it up to its face. Its tongue started to lightly lick the blood off, as gross as it was, it was a little sweet. After it was done, I felt the tongue licking the tears away.
"Why do you cry?" It asked and I realized that the monster was Dimitri.
"You look so sad in this form."
I looked up and I saw the bright blue eyes of Dimitri's that were always filled with pain and sadness.
"Stay?" I was surprised at the one word.
"Yes."
I was afraid that he was going to crush me when he hugged me, but he tried to not hurt me with his strength. I yawned and my eyes started to flutter close, and then he slowly lowered me to a clean spot on the ground. He howled one last time before my eyes fully closed.
'He sounds happy now,' was my last thought before I fell asleep.
I was tempted to find a gun to shoot the birds chirping in the window and disturbing my sleep. I slowly opened my eyes and felt my pillow moving.
'Pillows aren't supposed to move.' I thought as I looked up and saw that I was laying on Dimitri's shirtless chest. 'What?! How did I get here?!'
I started to back away but his grip around my waist stopped me from moving. His blue eyes opened and looked directly at me.
"Are you scared of me now?"
I couldn't stop the laugh from coming out and he looked so confused.
"I'm sorry, but when you say that after being that giant creature last night," I said between laughs. "How can I be scared of you when you ask me like that?"
'He can be so mean, but I could tell he is also sweet.'
"I guess I owe you an explanation, long ago I met a fellow demon and I got mad at him because he had a beautiful girlfriend. I stole his girlfriend and broke her heart just because I could. He cursed me to turn into a monster every full moon and to have my life tied to a glass rose." I pulled him to me and he tried to push me away. "I regret what I did but I can't turn back time to fix it. He never told me how to break the curse."
"As I learned growing up, don't try living in the past. Live life day by day."
He smiled and I realized his temper was used to keep people from getting close to him. He grabbed my hand before standing up and pulled me up with him.
"Come with me, I want to show you something."
I followed him down the halls to a part of the castle that I never saw before. He pulled out a key and unlocked the door.
'This must be his bedroom! I wonder why he brought me here.'
He walked over to a small table and picked up a mirror with strange knobs on it.
"You said earlier that you missed your father. If you twist the knobs and speak his name, you can see him." He reached out and wiped away a tear from my face. "Are you sad?"
"No! It's just the thought that I could see my father's face again makes me happy."
He handed the mirror to me and I turned the dials to turn it on. I started to smile when I saw my father, then the mirror pulled away and I saw that he was sick in bed. Dmitri grabbed the mirror before it hit the ground. He took one look at the mirror and his eyes widen in shock.
"Look, you can go see him for a week," I watched as he pushed his hair out of his eyes. "But you have to come back when the week is over."
"Yes, I promise that I will return."
He smiled at me before he sent me to my room to get ready to leave.
'I don't want to leave him alone but I don't want my father to die.'
I heard a jangling sound near my ear and I jumped up in surprise. I heard Dmitri's laugh as I turned around to see him holding a set of keys.
"Since your father took your ride, I am offering my bike."
I grabbed the keys from him.
"Thank you, I will keep it in perfect condition! I'll see you next week!"
Without realizing it, I quickly kissed his cheek before running down the hall. Halfway to the bike, I stopped when I realized what I did.
'I can't believe that I kissed his cheek!" I touched my lips lightly. 'At least it wasn't his lips!'
I turned down the hall and found where his motorcycle was. I heard something clang in my bag, it was the special mirror. I guess he snuck it in so I could check on him while I'm gone. I smiled as I put the helmet on my head, then I turned the bike on. I looked back at the castle, as I entered the forest, and I saw his shadow standing by one of the windows. I waved at him before turning to face the road. The feeling of the wind brushing against my clothes made me feel as if I'm flying and I almost missed the speed because it was rare for me to drive before. I pulled up into the driveway and took off the helmet before running into the house.
"Father! I'm home! Father? Where are you?"
"Up in my room." I heard him whisper.
I ran up and saw my five siblings next to his bed and he looked so weak laying there.
"Oh look it's the baby, he's finally back," Sara said as I grabbed Father's hand.
"Briar, is that really you? I thought that you died."
"Yes father, it's me. I came back as soon as I heard that you were sick. But, I can't stay for long. I promised the lord of the castle that I would return in a week." I started to wipe away his tears. "But, I will promise that I will try to see you again if he allows me."
"I'm happy as long as you are here right now."
For five days straight, I was the one that nursed him back to health. He told me how worried he was for me while I was gone and I told him about the sweet side of Dmitri.
"Is he treating you right?"
"Yes father, he may have a dark side but I don't care."
"Then I will be happy for you even though he is a guy and a demon."
I felt so happy and I hugged him.
"Thank you, father."
"Briar! I have some food and drink for you! Let Father rest, both of you need your energy to help him recover." Samuel told me as I got up to follow him.
"Thank you, Sammy!"
I started to dig into the food and then I started to feel hot and feverish. The drink was causing my throat to close up and I couldn't breathe. I shoved the food off of the table as I tried to get up, but my legs got weak and I fell to the ground.
"How dare you be the happy one? You are the youngest but Father cares for you more than us!" He said as my vision darken. "I hope you never get to see your prince again!"
I fully blacked out at his last words and my body felt heavy.