Chapter Text
↳ ✧ Location: Teyvat Grande Palace Gardens
You dreaded the day of your twenty-first birthday. You sat in a circular enclosure of your favorite flowers in the luxurious garden behind your castle. You were dressed in a gorgeous gown that fit snugly against your upper body but flared out around your hips. The dress was made of the finest silk and was adorned with jewels of a complimentary color. Your neck had a gorgeous lace choker with gems that were the same color as the ones on your dress. Your hair was styled in a way that complimented your features. Despite being a mortal, you looked liked an absolute goddess based on how you were dressed.
Tonight you were to be taken by the demons. This prophecy was set in stone long before you were born. Growing up you were aware of the heavy burden you had to follow when you turned twenty-one. Throughout your life, you thought of birthdays as a countdown that was bringing you closer and closer to your demise. You hated that you were going to be separated from your friends and family but you had to do this. It was either live unhappily with the demons or watch your kingdom get destroyed with your own eyes.
The deal was made between your grandparents and the demon king long ago. The humans were losing the war horribly and if one more attack were to occur, the humans would have been wiped out. Your grandparents were desperate and offered to make a deal with the demon king. Based on the books you read, he was a dragon-like demon who had been alive for centuries. He agreed to end the war under the condition that the next princess to be born will be under his control. Your mother was already born so she didn’t count, which meant that you were next in line. Your grandparents agreed to the deal, signing their names on the magical contract that set everything in motion.
The demon king knew that at some point a powerful healer princess would be born and he wanted to have you for himself. You were far too powerful to have sitting in a castle awaiting to get married off to some lousy prince for political affairs. The demon king had analytically calculated this event, knowing good and well this would work out in his favor.
Memories of your life began to flash before your eyes while you patiently waited for some of the demons to come and bring you to their kingdom. You had to wait outside in the luxurious palace gardens since that was a part of the story. The stories you read depicted an image of you sitting in the gorgeous palace gardens that were surrounded by your favorite flowers and beautiful streams. These flowers would light up and glow gorgeous hues thanks to your magical powers flowing in the atmosphere around you.
You smiled to yourself while tears started to form in your eyes. Memories of your friends and family began to flood your mind. You were going to miss having Jean and Barbara accompanying you in the morning wherever you were going. You’d miss Kaeya and Diluc’s constant teasing that was always settled down by the calm personality of Ayato and his sister. The numerous shopping trips you had with Mona, Lisa, and Lumine crossed your mind since you loved going dress and jewelry shopping with them. Thinking about Lumine made you think about Aether and how he was the man you hoped to marry.
You grew up with Lumine and Aether so you were very close to the twins. You considered Lumine to be your best friend who you told everything to. There was a moment during your teens when you began to develop a small crush on Aether. He was so kind and charismatic, always greeting you with a smile and planting a kiss on your hand that made your heart flutter. Had you not been in this shitty situation, you would have loved to have him be your husband. The feeling was reciprocated on his end, but he knew better than to commit to someone who was on a time limit. This left the two of you with a feeling of emptiness that would never be repaired.
You started to weep quietly in the garden. You’ve been sitting on your knees for hours now waiting for the demons to take you to your new home. You hated sitting here in the dark by yourself. You were ready to leave now. Goodbyes were shared with everyone earlier and the thought of the scene was making you want to cry some more. It was heartbreaking to say your final goodbyes to your family and friends; that heartache was further increased from sitting here alone in the gardens you used to run around in as a kid.
What is taking them so long? you thought. You opened your eyes and stared out at the glowing flowers and the gorgeous creeks that rushed past you. The sounds of crickets chirping in the distance were all you could hear. It made you feel uneasy that this was taking forever. Could this have been a false prophecy maybe? Perhaps you’d get to stay here after all?
You thought too soon since you heard rustling in the distance. Rather than be scared and turn around, you opted to keep your eyes on your hands that were resting on your lap. You didn’t want to see the demons who were coming to get you. You just wanted to get it over with already.
You saw a mushroom roll in your direction. A strong lavender scent began to take over your senses. This mushroom looked extremely unfamiliar. It wasn’t a native species in your garden, so it must have belonged to the demons. Before you could reach for it, a strong feeling of sleepiness began to wash over you. Your eyes lidded and you tried to fight off sleep, but your body hunched over and your eyes blacked out. Before your face could smack into the stone beneath you, a strong hand caught your waist and pulled you up.
“You think this will make her sleep the whole way there?” A feminine, sweet voice asked.
“She’ll be knocked out for a long time. This mushroom is potent enough to make you sleep for over a day without waking up,” a male voice answered.
“It’ll be harder to carry her when she’s asleep. Let’s use our beast forms and take her home,” the woman suggested.
“That was the plan,” the man replied.
You were knocked out cold during the demons’ conversation. The two foxes looked at each other and nodded before turning into their larger kitsune and fennec fox spirits. One fox was an elegant pink color with long, gorgeous tails and beautiful designs decorating her coat while the other was black with a long green stripe running from his head to his bushy tail tip. The male fox leaned against the ground while his companion pushed your limp body on top of his back. Once you were situated, the two foxes quickly began to run through the palace gardens and disappeared into the night.
Your family and friends were watching from one of the palace windows. Your mother covered her eyes and walked away from the window while your father followed suit. Kaeya was leaning against the glass with an upset facial expression while Diluc had his back turned completely. Jean had her arms around Barbara who couldn’t contain her sobs while Mona was doing her best to contain her sobs with Lisa by her side. Lumine was standing next to Aether who was trying his best to comfort his weeping sister.
“This isn’t fair… surely there was another way,” Lumine scoffed while she wiped her tears.
“I guess royals love transactional conveniences,” Kaeya muttered. “I personally don’t think y/n’s life was worth giving up to those horrid monsters. There’s no telling what is going to happen to her beyond these palace walls.”
“There’s nothing we can do,” Aether sighed. His heart ached seeing your limp body getting taken away by the large fox demons. “I just hope she’ll be okay.” In his mind, he’d find a way to save you. He wasn’t sure how yet, but he wanted nothing more than to run to your rescue and bring you back home. Perhaps that was a thought for another time.
You were gone. The beloved princess of Teyvat has been carried away by two fox demons and was now on her way to the horrid land of Daemonium. Nobody knew what was going to happen to you now. They feared the worst, but deep down everyone hoped for your safety. This was the last time your family and friends would see you… for now anyway.
‧₊˚✧ ‧₊˚ ╠╩╗ ⋆ ♔ ⋆ ╔╩╣ ‧₊˚✧ ‧₊˚
↳ ✧ Location: Daemonium Palace
You groaned and twitched in your sleep. Nightmares were flooding your mind that you thought were real. In these nightmares, you were being chased and tortured by demons who loved watching you get hurt. The last nightmare you had was so gruesome that you woke up with a deep gasp. Your eyes were wide open and you panted to catch your breath.
Instinctively you tried to reach up and rub your face, but your hands were bound by chains that were attached to the headboards of the bed you were laying on. Your hands were chained above your head and your wrists were in individual cuffs that were tied to one chain. You tried to move your arms but with no luck, you could hardly move an inch.
“Is the princess awake now?”
A random voice in the room startled you. You looked over in the direction that you heard the voice and you stared in shock. There was a rather tall man standing in the room with you. He had tall, fluffy fox-like ears on his head as well as a bushy dark green tail. He had black hair with some green streaks on the front strands of his hair
“How are you feeling?” The male fox asked.
His counterpart appeared out of nowhere and she excitedly ran towards the side of the bed. She was a tall woman with long pink hair and two ears that were flattened and flowed with her locks. She smiled at you with a surprisingly sweet grin. “What a doll! The princess is more beautiful than the books said.”
You stared at the two of them with a worried look. These foxes were demons? They seemed a lot nicer and less scary than what you grew up being told. You believed that all demons looked like horrid monsters who had looks that could literally kill from being so horrendous.
“Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Yae Miko. I’m a kitsune demon who brought you here,” the woman hummed.
“I’m Tighnari, a fennec fox demon who also helped bring you here,” the man stated.
“Um… I’m y/n, the Crown Princess of Teyvat,” you responded with a worried voice. They were being so nice to you that it was giving you chills.
“We were assigned to bring you here for His Majesty. Now that you’re awake, we must bring you to the throne room so he may inspect you along with the others,” Tighnari stated.
Tighnari moved closer to your chains and unhooked you from the wall. The chain was extremely heavy so there was no running away. He held the chain easily in his hands as if it weighed nothing. There must have been some sort of spell on it that weighed you down but didn’t affect demons. You stood up and winced at the soreness of your body.
“You’ve been asleep for quite some time. I’m sure that poor human body of yours is sore,” Yae Miko hummed. She walked on the other side of you while Tighnari led you out of the nice bedroom you were sleeping in.
“Who are the others?” You asked. The books you read about your prophecy only spoke about being the subject of the demon king.
“I’m sure you know the tale about how you are to be a subject of the demon king and his other higher-ups,” Tighnari replied. He noticed your confused expression. “Did you humans change the lore of the story?”
“I thought I was to be sent off for the demon king,” you answered. “I don’t know what other demons you’re talking about.” Was the story miswritten? That made you worry even more. What was the true story?
“Oh my,” Yae Miko giggled. “You’re in for an awful surprise.”
“Well, allow me to tell you the real story. The Demon King is someone you are going to be at the mercy of ultimately. However, he has a council of demons that are going to host a trial today on what to do with you. Are you familiar with that?”
You shook your head no. This story was drastically different from the one your parents told you. “There are three demons who are going to be in charge of deciding what to do with you today. They are referred to as The Oni, The Yaksha, and The Homunculus. The trial will be held privately in front of the Demon King - also known as The Dragon - while the rest of us wait outside the grand doors that lead to the throne room.”
You raised an eyebrow at the news. This was completely different than you thought. Perhaps your grandparents watered down the story to make you feel less afraid of this day, but that wasn’t really helping you. Now you were even more worried than before. “So… my life is in the hands of this demon council and the king.”
“That is correct,” Tighnari replied.
“This may be the last time we see you, Pretty Human. But, if you’re lucky and they’re in a good mood, you might get to live here with us,” Yae Miko hummed.
You gulped at her words. There wasn’t enough time for you to ask more questions since you were now in the main hallway of the palace. The golden and black doors leading to the throne room were in front of you while the grand staircase that was covered in red, luxurious carpet led to a room full of demons who stared at you with curious eyes. Although the trial was private, the demon civilians were allowed to await the verdict at the bottom of the grand staircase. Murmurs and whispers filled the room while all eyes stared at you. You felt your body starting to tremble with anxiety.
“Dehya, can you open the doors so the princess can go inside?” Tighnari asked.
The woman you assumed to be named Dehya nodded and pressed his hand against the golden and black doors. A golden hue began to shine from her hands and the doors started to open slowly. The throne room was dark and it made you even more scared to enter. Tighnari and Yae Miko shuffled you inside and Dehya followed behind you three.
Once you were in the middle of the room, Yae Miko pushed you down gently to sit on your knees. She whispered in your ear that it would be in your best interest to be very respectful since you’re at their mercy now. She then stood up and walked behind you to join Dehya and Tighnari.
“Oh, Mighty Demon Lords, fox demons Tighnari and Yae Miko have successfully brought you the Crown Princess of Teyvat. We hope that this trial runs smoothly. The civilians of Daemonium await your verdict,” Dehya announced with a bow. Tighnari and Yae Miko bowed toward the darkness as well before the three of them turned to leave. The door shut behind you, leaving you in a pitch-black room by yourself.
It was oddly quiet. The hair on the back of your neck was standing and your heart was racing. Suddenly, a large burst of flames erupted from somewhere in the darkness. A large, metal chandelier with thousands of candles was lit ablaze while lanterns hanging on the walls were sparked to life with magical flames. The room became bright quickly. You noticed that you were sitting on the low ground while four large judge benches looked down on you. They were made from dark wood and you saw three large figures looming above you. Behind them was a taller area where a throne room chair was. You could see the silhouettes of four demons staring down at you with their glowing eyes.
“Tell us your name, Crown Princess of Teyvat,” the figure sitting in the throne chair demanded. His voice was deep and brought chills down your spine.
Your heart started to beat even faster. I’m really gonna die today aren’t I? You gulped before speaking, doing your best to not let your voice crack. “M-My name is y/n Your Highness,” you stammered. You assumed that the person in the throne chair was the Demon King since that made obvious sense.
“I’m sure there’s no need for me to explain why you’re here today,” the Demon King stated.
“No… Your Highness,” you replied.
“Good. Then allow the trial to begin,” the Demon King finished. “Go in the order you are sitting in.”
The appearances of the three demons sitting at the judge benches became visible to you now. The three of them stared at you with vastly different facial expressions. One demon was staring at you with interest gleaming in his eyes accompanied by a smirk, another demon stared at you with a gentle, unenthused look, and one demon looked at you with a deadpan expression. You didn’t like how oddly human one of the demons appeared.
The first demon was a tall man with wild, white hair and large red horns poking from his head. He had red lines on his face and visible sharp fangs when he smiled. “Why not keep her around and use her as a fun little pet? She could be our new entertainment for our demon kingdom.”
The second demon was a tall man with blonde hair and gorgeous blue eyes. He was one of the demons who looked far too human for your liking. It made you wonder what he truly was. “Killing the princess will not bring back the lives that were lost during the war. We’d make more use of her if we keep her alive.” His voice was calm and gentle, so much so that it made you feel nervous.
The third demon was a shorter man with short black and green hair. He had thin black horns sprouting from his hair and he stared at you with a deadpan expression. He seemed to have little interest in you. “I agree with The Homunculus but what can she possibly do? Human physical abilities are far weaker than demon capabilities. The only use we could make out of her is by using her for her magical abilities.”
The Demon King listened carefully to everyone's suggestions. He had no intentions of killing you, but he wanted ideas on what to do with you. His sharp, golden gaze was staring down at you with such intensity that you found it hard to maintain eye contact. You could see the silhouette of his large, sharp horns on his head and his large, powerful dragon-like tail that was covered with spikes. You were terrified to see his appearance, but you wondered if he looked somewhat human like the rest of his council.
“If the Crown Princess stays alive, we will have to assign someone to take care of her. Humans are far more different from demons when it comes to hygiene, food, and health concerns,” the shorter man with black horns stated. “We will have to keep that in mind if we allow her to live.”
“Don’t fret, I already have some demons in mind who can take care of her. I’m sure they won’t mind the extra pay,” the demon with large red horns and white hair suggested. “It can’t be too hard taking care of a human.”
“You say that now,” the shorter demon muttered. He sighed and looked over at you who was cowering down on the floor. “We will have to buy clothes, food, and other necessities for her.”
“It appears that you suggest we keep the princess alive,” the Demon King interrupted.
“That would be our best option given our situation. Killing the Crown Princess would be showing too much mercy,” the blonde demon responded.
The Demon King thought for a moment. “I will follow through with this idea. However, she cannot be under the surveillance of one demon servant. If we are to keep her, you four will be responsible for knowing her whereabouts.”
Your heart felt like it was going to break. You didn’t want to spend your time with these four demons. You feared for what they’d do to you, especially the two that seemed excited to have you in their grasp. You stared up at the Demon King with fearful eyes. He noticed that and held back a chuckle. How scared yet cute you looked.
“Perhaps I will grant you four a break and keep her in my chambers from time to time. It is only fair to grant you the honor of having time off away from your new pet,” the Demon King offered. Had you not looked at him with those pathetic pleading eyes he would have never said that.
“Oh? So that means we’ll all be sharing the princess?” the demon with long, white hair hummed.
“At the very least we must introduce ourselves to our new princess. Be kind and join me for introductions,” the Demon King demanded.
The lights around you went out and all you could hear in the darkness was the chuckles of the men around you. You figured that your heart was beating so hard that they could hear it. Not only that, but they were demons, so they could definitely smell the fear radiating off your body. Seconds later, the flames of the candles and lanterns came back on and you were now surrounded by the four looming figures that stared at you with intense eyes. One of the demons leaned to pick you up off the floor. A slight cry of pain left your lips while he squeezed your arm. You looked up and noticed it was the demon with long white hair and red horns. He looked at you with a cheeky grin.
“She’s so much smaller than I thought!” the demon chuckled. He towered over your body. It was unreal how tall he seemed compared to you. You had to tilt your head up to meet his eyes. “Mind if I call you Little Princess?”
“You may call her whatever you want. She’s ours to do whatever we please,” the demon with black horns retorted. He was slightly taller than you but much shorter than the demon that was holding your arm up. His body type was also slimmer compared to the beefcake keeping your body from smacking the floor again.
“Be nice to our guest now. Tell her your names since you will be taking care of her,” the Demon King instructed.
The tall, buff demon chuckled before speaking. He grabbed your chin and made you look him in the eye. You thought your heart was going to explode. “My name’s Itto but I’m referred to as The Oni. I’m sure I’m the one and only oni that will be in your life.”
The shorter demon next to him grabbed your cheek gently with one hand and moved your face to look at him. Itto pouted slightly since he no longer had your attention. He rolled his eyes at Itto’s corny comment before speaking to you. “I’m Xiao, also known as The Yaksha. It is a pleasure to have you as my new captive, Crown Princess.”
A gentle hand grabbing your unoccupied one caught your attention and you looked in front of you. It was the blonde demon who looked like a human. He never smiled at you, but he gently moved your hand up to press his lips against your knuckles. “I’m The Homunculus, but since I’ll be one of your captors you may refer to me as Albedo.” He lowered your hand down and you felt your face heat up. He was so gentlemanly that it made you feel weird.
You felt chills run down your spine. You were terrified about what you were going to endure with the four of them. They seemed to be silently fighting for your attention. Your eyes moved back and forth from the four men who were snickering and glaring down at you. You gulped and stared at the large figure that was looming behind them. Albedo moved over so that the Demon King could introduce himself.
He was a tall man with a slender, strong physique. He had a large, thick black dragon tail with golden spikes on top of it. Some of the black scales on his tail were golden but they were scattered around. He had two long, sharp golden horns sprouting from the top of his head. He looked down at you with an intense gaze. You felt like you were going to melt from his stare alone.
“I’m the Demon King who goes by two aliases. Many call me The Dragon but my closest subordinates call me Zhongli. You will refer to me as Your Majesty since you do not have the pleasure of saying my name currently,” Zhongli stated with an intense tone.
“Y-Yes Sir…” you stammered. The look in your eyes was making Zhongli feel so much authority over you. How submissive and obedient you were. That would be fun for him and his demon lords.
“You are to leave now. Tighnari and Yae Miko will escort you back to your temporary chambers. You will be alone until dawn of the next day comes. You will start your day with whoever interacts with you first. After that, it will be a free-for-all who gets you.”
Your entire body was starting to shake. The looks the demons were giving you were sending so many chills down your spine. You hated the look that the demon men were giving you. They were going to have so much fun playing this cat-mouse game with you. You were their prey and they were the predators. Oh, how interesting your life was about to get with them.
Tighnari and Yae Miko returned with Dehya who came to fetch you. You were released from the circle of demons that were surrounding you. Tighnari and Yae Miko walked you out of the throne room while Dehya remained behind.
“The new caretakers of our princess will be Sucrose and Gorou. Be sure they know they will receive more funds for taking care of Daemonium’s princess captive,” Zhongli instructed.
“Of course, Your Highness,” Dehya bowed. She turned and walked away to shut the door behind her.
“What a beauty she was. She’s far more gorgeous than what the stories told,” Itto hummed. He was going to have so much fun playing with you when his day to have you came. “Honestly, I wanted to kill her and send parts of her body to her family but she’s too beautiful to murder."
“I only hope she isn’t stupid enough to try to escape her situation. Her magic will slowly become weaker and weaker the more she stays so it’ll only be a matter of time until she’s rendered useless,” Xiao inputted. He was curious about your magical powers since you came from a strong family of healers who also had formidable combat skills.
“You’re saying she’s got some fight in her for the time being? Even better,” Itto teased.
“Are there any limitations on what we may do to the princess?” Albedo asked, his eyes staring at Zhongli with a calm gaze.
“There are no limitations. This is the deal that her grandparents signed years ago. Her mind and body belong to us, so you may do as you please,” Zhongli replied. He watched as his demon friends chatted about their opinions of you and what they were hoping to do with you while you were in their care.
Oh how intriguing this is going to get for you, my dear Crown Princess, Zhongli thought to himself. You had no idea what you were about to be involved in.