Sarah Anderson and Sam, Courtyard.
"Look out!" Sam's scream tore through me like a great shard of glass.
I felt my eyes widen in surprise and my pulse quicken at what I saw as I turned my head to the side.
A tall brute demon was right on top of me with his massive, hackneyed sword raised up in the air. "Grrr--!" A typical cry of war exited his scar-deformed mouth.
"Ahh-!" As quickly as it all happened, a desperate and also terrified scream of my own crawled up my throat. My foot slipped out upon catching some loose soil and I fell onto the ground with a loud thud, face heading the grass. Immediately, I covered the back of my head with my arms and embraced myself for being sliced. The excruciating, piercing metallic sound of clanging swords hovered in the air; silence followed, remaining the next minutes. Uh? I frowned a bit confused at the lack of deadly occurrence. I lifted my head, "Am I alive? Why am I alive?" I looked up at the man in front of me.
Sam had stalled the brute's strike right on time. He stood there still, his facial expression tense and full of rage, holding up his red dragon-like sword that supported at the time the brute's blade, painting, and gasping for air. A sheen of sweat covered both their perfectly lined out bodies, free-flowing like condensation on a windowpane, beading their forehead and dripping from their chin. Both of them stepped away from each other. Around the brute's figure was a faint brown and yellow light that was diminishing with each breath he took. Around Sam, however, was a clear view of a tense red and green aura. It seemed to flicker like flames, but it didn't seem to die off even after the dangerous encounter had passed already.
"S-Sam ..." I stammered in a low tone of voice, myself short of breath, extremely grateful for his quick thinking and action.
When he turned at last to face me, he had this stern look on his face and was staring at me intensively. His eyes were narrowed, rigid, and harsh, giving such a glare that froze me 'till the bones."What the hell?! Jumping into an open field meant for practice with weapons, REAL ONES, like that?! Are you mad?! Completely out of your mind?!" He yelled, scolding me similar to when a teacher consecutively scolds his students for talking mindlessly with each other, not having a care in the lesson.
I shrank before his high voice. "I-I'm s-sorry! I-I'm so sorry!" Straightway, I joined my hands together in a form of an apology; I now regretted piously my thoughtless action, this could have ended up badly for me.
"You can't be that reckless of a person..." Sam ruffled his hair; the brown tips haphazardly pushed so they intertwined into beautiful chaos."Geez, ya doofus..." He murmured as a relieved sigh exited his lips. "My brother would have chopped my head if you would have lost yours..."
My eyes widened and my face washed blank with surprise, like my brain's neurons couldn't pass on the message fast enough for me to take in his last words. "What?"
Sam's face frowned confused. "What? Did I say something wrong?"
"Did you just--" Every muscle of my body just froze before the realization. "You know who i--"
Sam opened his mouth to speak but closed it quickly as he was interrupted.
"Prince Aomaris." The Brute demon stepped forward. "Do you know this... maiden?" He knew better to choose his words wisely. "I've never seen her around, she could be pretty much an intruder or--!"
Intruder?! Who did he take me for?! I didn't want to be there in the first place! Irene brought me against my will!
"That's none of your business, you little shit." He answered inexpressively; and that was Sam for you.
"B-But my prince--!" The demon babbled taken aback by Sam's straightforwardness.
"Practice dismissed. You can go piss off someone's ass." Sam ordered, waving his right hand up in the air dismissively.
The brute's face held forward in a steady gaze, and had an air of authority which was palpable for miles; Sam could not see it as for him was with his back turned at the brute, but I could. He squinted at me through hardened eyes. It seemed to transpierce through my very soul which sent a cold chill up my spine. "As you wish... your highness." He said in muted tones but, keeping his expression from before while bowing his head slightly forward.
Sam stretched out his right hand to me, encouraging me to take his hand with a faint movement of fingers. After a brief hesitation, I grabbed his hand and he pulled me up to my feet. Once up, I whipped out the dust off my clothes."You didn't have to be that rude to him." I called it to his attention, even if deep inside I disagreed with my own words.
Sam shrugged. "I don't like being here, you already know that." He said gloomily. "Turn around, your ass is dirty."
I twisted my waist, turning my lower body to the front. "Where?" I asked not seeing any stain of dirt on my chess flannel shirt.
"Right here." Sam tapped my ass quite roughly to get it off.
"T-Thank's!" I hurried on, with a hot blush. I slapped my cheeks trying to send away the sudden, out of place embarrassment. "Get a hold of yourself, Sarah! Sam is like a brother to you and you're with Erik!" I whispered, senselessly that he could hear me.
Sam cleared his throat."Not a problem!" And, with a constrained expression for mostly like hearing me, Sam straightened himself up, placing his hand on each side of his waist. "So, what do I own the pleasure to be in the presence of the most recently Queen of the Demon Realm?"
"Q-Queen?" I stammered. "I'm no queen, I'm... just Sarah, a normal human girl that wants nothing more than love and happiness..."
Sam raised my chin, forcing me to look up at him; his eyes showed the kind of gentle concern my grandfather used to have. He laid his hand lightly on my shoulder, leaving it there while he spoke with such a soft voice that I felt his words calming me more by the way they were said than the actual words. "In the first place, no one expects you to be ready for this kind of rule or to master it by the end of the day. The difficulties you feel are normal and totally comprehensible since the only life you knew how to live was the one up in the human world."
I closed my eyes; a lone tear rushed down my face. "I just want to go home--" I confessed and whipped the tear away with the back of my hand.
"Have you try saying that to Erik?" He asked.
I sniffed; I hated so much being on the verge of crying, my nose would just get gritty. "I can't."
"Why?" He wore a puzzled expression.
"Because..." I began. "... he is with some else!" I shouted without thinking how it would sound saying it out of the blue and out of context.
Sam's eyes widened for a second before narrowing in anger."What?! He did what?!" He snarled more than speaking."I'll go see that BASTARD in this instant and teach him how to think with his head and not his dick! Grrr-- I'm going to tear that pretty boy face apart!" A cruel sneer formed on his smooth face before turning his body towards the previously left-open door by me.
"Wait--! Let me explain--!" I ran after him, I couldn't let him go after Erik because he hadn't done anything wrong. "Ugh! I should not have started like that..." I muttered disappointed at myself for being a ragged mouth. My hands twitched with irritation and I launched forward. "SAM!" I yelled as I grabbed his arm and stopped him middle-way."He did not deliberately leave me-- He was forced to! Someone is pretending to be me... in looks and all!" I exclaimed, anger and hatred of my own getting the best of me. I closed in the distance between Sam and myself. My voice lowered, almost to a whisper. "You have to believe me since he doesn't... please..."
Sam remained in silence for a brief moment. He didn't blink, just kept his eyes burning into mine.
"Please..." I repeated. "Trust your instinct, Sam..."
"I am." He finally spoke. "Just tell me one thing first."
"O-Of course! A-Anything!" If that was what it took for him to believe me, I would answer anything.
"What did you do when I stole your first kiss? Only the real Sarah would know." Sam asked, eyes squinting to detect the truth more easily. "On second thought..."
"Y-Yes...?" What was he thinking now? Whenever Sam thought, was a bad omen.
"If what you're saying is true, and there's someone around pretending to be you then... the supposed impostor would have to, beforehand, study your life, your routine, your very actions to the minimum detail to actually take your place. She would know what to answer me if a situation like this one would arise." He explained.
"Then what do you suggest we do? To ask Damien to check out my thoughts like some kind of polygraph?!" I asked almost jokingly, but Sam seemed to take my question differently.
"Precisely!"
"Wha--?"
"Now, come!" I want to see for myself if you're telling the truth or not! And if so, help you get my brother back!" He said loudly while taking my hand into his, and gripping onto to it incredibly firm."But, I'm rooting for you already!" And he winked at me. Then, he pulled me by the arm and we entered the castle once again and went looking for Damien, hand-in-hand.