#tdgap umbra

[tdgap-official]

The Demon God’s Angelic Prince—Part 3

Their outing ended soon after, though it could be debated when it really ended. They never parted ways or said goodbye, walking back to Rayyi-la together and to the palace, called the Pyl because of the royal line's name of the same letters. From there, they made their way to the prince’s wing.

Ember flopped down onto his bed in a rather unprincely manner while Umbra stood awkwardly in front of the door. Ember glanced in Umbra’s direction, taking in his appearance once again, before speaking.

“You know you can sit down, right?”

Umbra shook his head, declining, “Thank you, but I’m perfectly fine standing, Your Highness.”

“I insist. And please, drop the formality. We are no longer strangers and I dislike being called titles such as ‘Your Highness.'”

After saying this, Ember set down his flower and held out the same hand that was previously holding the gift and pulled Umbra down onto the bed. The other allowed himself to be pulled, quite reluctantly. He ended up falling face-first on the mattress—a position that Umbra wasn’t in for long as he was quite determined to stay proper. Ember sighed internally. How stiff could this guy be? They were in Ember’s bedroom and Umbra really couldn’t even relax a bit. It wasn’t like he was going to do anything to Umbra; Ember really wasn’t into that. Especially not with men. Certainly.

After some time Ember did finally coax Umbra into loosening up. They laid on the bed and stared at the ceiling and talked about this and that. They conversed about any random topics they could come up with. In the end they fell asleep like that, talking until their tiredness took hold of them.

Ember was the second of the two to wake up in the morning and found that Umbra was long gone from the room. How unfortunate. He vividly remembered their late-night conversation and could only feel disappointed that they were not able to continue it. He took a few steps out the door. No sign of Umbra.

Determined to find his new friend, Ember sneaked out into the gardens. Hopefully his parents and brother weren’t awake; no one was allowed in the gardens before dawn. There would be a sure scolding awaiting for both Ember and Umbra if they were found out.

It happened to be that Umbra had just gone out into the gardens. In the darkness, the two men bumped into each other, and then apologized and exchanged their good mornings. Such a meeting was not abnormal, yet Umbra seemed inexplicably awkward. There was no reason for this, Ember thought. He did not think of himself as intimidating in the slightest. In fact, Ember had to be the most approachable member of all of the royalty. So, Ember deduced, Umbra must’ve been skittish by nature. That made it truly a mystery as to why Umbra was so close to the king. That man had often gone on and on in entire monologues about how one should never trust such people. Given this, Ember found himself in a dilemma. Umbra could not possibly be jumpy, nor could he be acting like this just because of Ember’s presence.

“Your Highness.”

Now, maybe Ember was simply perceiving the other man’s attitude wrongly. His thoughts always did tend to wander. They were now. Fuck…

"Your Highness! Are you unwell? You've been staring for—well, nevermind. That's just you being you, isn't it?" Umbra spoke, getting quieter and quieter as he progressed as if he was growing embarrassed.

Umbra then held out a couple of flowers as if he needed to pay a compensation for some terrible deed he'd done. Ember, of course, grabbed them, but not without first giving Umbra a rather questioning look. Yes, it was understandable to be reserved with someone when first meeting with them, but after having multiple conversations, why would someone become even moreso closed off? 

"Are you fine yourself, Umbra?" Ember decided to question. 

"I am quite well, Your Highness. Did I worry you? Haha, do not worry…"

After such an awkward exchange, Umbra made his leave and Ember was left out in the gardens. He was alone once again. The poor prince didn't know how to react to the sudden absence of his dear new companion and thus went right back inside after the other. However, once inside, Umbra went one way and Ember went the other.

[tdgap-official]

The Demon God’s Angelic Prince—Part 2

The crisp breeze always felt the best in the hot summers, Ember found. That’s why, on this particular day, he decided to go outside and take a walk around the royal city. It would be a waste of this gift to spend all the day stuck inside his home.

With every step he took, more and more merchants urged Ember to buy their products. He knew he’d be a fool to buy such overpriced goods, even with how much money he had, so Ember simply smiled at all the merchants. Children ran over to him as he was walking, tugging on his green half-skirt, tugging on his gold jewelry, really just tugging on whatever they could get ahold of. The adult tried his best to shake them away.  

Ember made his way to the town wall, brushing his hands against the wooden surface. It wasn’t made to climb, no, that would defeat the purpose of it. Despite that, he’d learned how to scale these planks long ago. Ember pushed himself up, plank by plank. His hands grabbed and his legs pushed; the whole motion looked rather clumsy and childish, but it was the best that anyone would be able to manage.

Ember reached the top after a fair bit of effort. He smoothed out his half-skirt and sat on the edge, looking out at the scenes of the world outside the walled city. It was empty, though Ember would choose emptiness over the chaos of his kingdom any day.

“Come down here!”

Ember immediately looked down at the source of this shout—a man who, despite wearing the clothing style of every other Rayyi-la citizen, was outside the wall. The person was glaring up at Ember as if he was frustrated with someone or something. Or, perhaps, he was giving a curious stare.

“Why are you outside the wall?” Ember decided to shout back with equal force.

“Surveying the area for demons.”

 Ember nodded. That seemed to be a valid response, though he knew the other could very possibly be lying. It wouldn't matter either way. Though, if this person really was a demon hunter, it would be much to Ember’s benefit.

Demon hunters were the main guards of the entire country of Ryl, and specifically the capital city, Rayyi-la. Mainly, their job consisted of, as the name suggests, hunting demons. These highly talented people also occasionally served as advisors to the royalty. They were thought quite highly upon because of this, earning them a special addition to their outfit: two high-quality silk ribbons attached to the back of their clothing, as well as one across their chest horizontally.

This person did have the outfit signifying that they were a demon hunter, yet Ember was still hesitant. He surveyed the other man’s body, finding information in the intricate braids woven into the person’s long, thick black hair. The braids told him that the other was named Umbra, was a man, was 22 years of age, and was an advisor to the king. How interesting. Ember had never seen Umbra in his whole 24 years of life, despite living in the same building as him.

With this information, Ember felt safe enough to fall from the wall and onto the ground in front of Umbra. He landed gracefully, his half-skirt cascading down the side of his leg like a waterfall.

“Your Highness.” Umbra bowed his head in courtesy. “I apologize for my former rudeness. I wanted to discuss some matters with you.”

Ember nodded, plastering a smile on his face. The offer was quite nice, he would admit. So, Ember and Umbra began to walk, adopting a leisurely pace.

“I believe you haven’t seen me around before. You go out often, don’t you?”

Ember briefly nodded again. “That is correct. I enjoy seeing nature and the people of our city.”

“Good. You’re much more engaged than your dad. Anyways, he suggested that I become your advisor, since you are of age and I have had adequate training. I have no choice but to accept this offer, though I fear you will not like me.”

The two men walked in silence for a few minutes. Umbra was waiting for Ember to say something, and Ember was carefully considering his response. They were strolling through a quite volcanic and mountainous area, Ember came to notice. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but quite uncomfortable due to rocks digging into Ember’s barely protected feet.

“I think…” Ember searched for the right words, “…it would be nice.”

Umbra grinned, a gesture that was quickly suppressed. Now another silence grew between them, this one more comfortable than the previous. Umbra’s thinly veiled excitement was expected. Anyone who managed to work with the prince was lucky and would be regarded highly by all of Ryl. The requirements were highly selective, and Ember had to approve of them as well as the king and queen. It was especially an honor to work with Ember and not any other royals because, after an assassination attempt on Ember when he was a baby, his parents had become extremely overprotective. Thus, anyone who wanted to work with the prince had to work with the king or queen first, which meant having been selected by them as well.

In contrast, Ember thought the whole strict policy about who could work with him was a bit absurd. If anyone was going to attempt at his life, it would surely not be one of his assistants. He always treated them as equals and gave them as good a life as possible. They would have no reason to do anything to him. If anything, Ember believed he should have more assistants to protect him from such events as what happened when he was an infant.

Ember was interrupted from his musing by Umbra moving to stand in front of him. This man…

“Your Highness! This humble demon hunter is honored to have been accepted as your advisor, assistant, and bodyguard. I apologize for not bringing any gift for your highness, but please do take this yyupry flower as a gift. It was hand selected from the great gardens of the Moonlight Village. I hope for this to be a worthy gift.”

Ember stared at the flower and then glanced up at Umbra.

“You do not need to be so formal with me”—Ember accepted the gift and took the flower in his right hand—“but thank you.” The flower was a deep crimson color. The scent of this beautiful flower wafted up to his nose immediately. It truly was the scent of an exceptional yyupry flower, a distinct floral smell with delicate fruity undertones.

Ember then looked back up at Umbra, seeing that the other man was studying him as if waiting for rejection. Oh, dear. This man really did want his approval for everything. Ember mentally took note of that characteristic and let a comfortable silence fall between them.

[tdgap-official]

The Ryl Masterpost

-> The Story

Part 1, Prologue

Part 2

-> Extra Records

-> Other Significant Things