-- Lilith POV, Skyview Monastery --

  Someone was shaking her at the shoulder, "Demon, wake up."

  Uhh, did she miss the bell again? Who was supposed to wake up at five bells morning anyways. But she had to be in the dining hall at six bells or she would be in trouble. Hopefully some kind brother had woken her in time so she could make it.

  "What time is it", she managed to say, trying to open her eyes. She felt so very sleepy. She didn't actually want to open her eyes. But it seemed she had to.

  "No time for talk. Come with me." The voice urged her, the hand still on her shoulder.

  That was not how she usually was woken if she slept in. She felt dozy but finally managed to open her eyes.

  A torch lit up her cell and blinded her sleepy eyes. She rose a hand to shield her eyes from the light, but she couldn't make out the face of the person holding the torch. Not even details of what they were wearing. There had to be some sort of emergency if they woke her like this.

  "What happened?"

  "I know they keep you imprisoned here. I can help you get out. Just come with me." She felt pulled at her upper arm, urged to get up from the mattress. It made her head shake slightly, which really didn't help her to think better.

  "That's not right", she finally managed to collect her thoughts.

  "Come, move. We don't have much time." A stronger pull at her upper arm this time. The persons grip was firm.

  "Who are you?", she inquired, not following the pull but let her weight work against it.

  "A friend. Quick now, come before the others wake up."

  No that wasn't right. Why was he worried if the other monks would wake up? And no one here would call themselves a friend. They all were brother someone or father someone. And she couldn't hear anyone else. It didn't even seem to be morning.

  "Intruder!", she screamed on top of her lungs, "Help!"

  There was some stirring nearby. She tried again, "Assassin! Help!"

  "Stupid demon", the voice cursed. The grip on her arm vanished and the torch was carried away with quick footsteps.

  She could hear doors being swung open, busy feet. Someone peeked into her cell, "Are you alright?" It was the voice of one of the two monks who had welcomed her when she arrived. She didn't know his name, but he had been friendly.

  "Yes. Someone wanted me to follow him. I don't follow strangers at night."

  "Good. Stay here." The face vanished again and she heard him shouting, "Guard the gates! Trespassers!"

  "I will", she confirmed, but the monk who had asked her to stay was gone already. She could hear his hurried footsteps fading in a distance.

  She had no good idea how much time had passed when another monk showed up, but she was dressed meanwhile and felt more ready to start the day. "Superior Martins wants to see you."

  And now she was sitting on this uncomfortable, tail pinching chair again. They had tail friendly stools and benches everywhere. Just superior Martins had to have chairs. His office was lit by candles, the bit of sky that she could see through the window was still dark.

  "Seems word got out that you are here", superior Martins opened the talk, "That's troublesome. At least no one was hurt. Good that you called for help in time."

  "I didn't know what to do," she admitted. "First I thought it was some emergency and we have to evacuate or something when he woke me and urged me to come with him. Something about it felt wrong. I asked for his name, and he didn't say brother someone or father someone but 'a friend'. Then I yelled."

  "Quick thinking," superior Martins acknowledged. "We don't know how he came in yet. Or where he is now."

  She thought for a bit, looking into some distance, before she focused on him again, "Do you want me to search for him? I can smell fear. If he is hiding somewhere in the monastery and is afraid to be found, I'll find him."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Now he hesitated, "It sounds like a terrible idea to me to let a demon hunt a trespasser. It also sounds like a terrible idea to me to let you roam freely. Can you tell me, why it might not be a such a terrible idea?"

  She thought for a while, trying to come up with reasons which wouldn't cause more apprehension than there was already.

  "To me it sounds better to find him and hand him to the authorities, than to let him escape. Show we can handle such a situation. Well, show we aren't pushovers. Might discourage others to try again if we do that. Might even be good if I catch him. So if the word spreads, they know I do not want to be liberated or anything like that. I can't imagine they all want to end up in jail for trespassing and attempted kidnapping."

  He took a deep breath. Candles cast warm, gently flickering light over the room while they both sat still for a while until he came to a conclusion.

  "I don't like it, but I'm willing to give it a try. You'll stay with some of the brothers all the time. I don't want you to walk alone. If you want to go somewhere, you ask, and they decide if you can go there or not. They can call the search off at any time, and you'll obey."

  She nodded and tried to hide a smile , "That should be fine."

  -- Superior Martins POV, Skyview Monastery --

  He was looking at a candle on his desk, even long after she had left.

  Lilith was trouble. Regardless if she worked, talked or just existed. Since she had arrived the regular days were gone. He really wanted the regular days back.

  It had seemed so easy first. Bind the demon, have her follow rules and orders. She actually did, and quite dutifully even. And still days never returned to the regular order that he had enjoyed so much.

  And now someone had come to kidnap her.

  He got up to look out from his window. The monastery courtyard was still dark, the sky above just a very faint blue and silver. It wasn't even dawn yet.

  A kidnapper.

  Definitely not sent by the church. If the church wanted Lilith, they would just order him to ship her to whatever place they wanted her to be. He'd be the first to know, because he had bound her. He'd be the one they needed to release her.

  The king? Unlikely. The king just had exiled her, made her the churches problem, and in particular, his problem. And like the church the king didn't need to send a kidnapper. The king would just send an order.

  So, someone else. Not church, not king. Someone else knew Lilith was here. He'd like to hope it was just the one who knew, but how likely was that? In his imagination a rumor about a demon kept in a monastery spread like a fire all over the place. That was something everyone wanted to tell, and everyone wanted to hear.

  Lilith plan sounded good enough though. Make it official that they caught a trespasser. Have the authorities involved. A trial in court, then the sentence. People would see, would hear. He couldn't make it official that Lilith had caught them, even if she did, but he at least could show the monastery was prepared and would hand any trespasser to the authorities to be dealt with.

  Yet. A demon on the hunt. With his permission.

  He turned away from the window and began pacing up and down in his office before he eventually got to his knees to pray.

  -- A figure in the dark --

  Why did she scream for help? They kept her as prisoner. A demon in a monastery. Why had she refused to come with him? He had promised her freedom.

  The room he was in right now was dark. The air smelled stale, quite certainly no one had been in here for a long time. He listened at the door. There was shouting, but in a distance. No foot steps or anything which sounded nearby. He opened the door very slowly and peeked through the gap.

  No one to see. All that he could hear seemed to come from a distance. He peeked left and right. All clear. He needed a hiding place that was farther from where they were searching him right now. He had come from the right. Left it was, then.

  From door to door, he silently made his way, ready to vanish into a room once foot steps should come closer.

  Should he try again? Had she not heard, not understood that he was a friend, coming to help her? It had to be some sort of misunderstanding. Maybe she had been dizzy from sleep, too confused to understand.

  He still had some food and water left. Maybe he should try again. After their evening meal everyone went to their rooms. Maybe the demon just had not understood him, woken so suddenly. Maybe she was scared what they would do to her if she tried and their escape failed. That had to be it.

  Yes, he would try again before she fell asleep. When she had a clear head and understood that he came to help. That he could keep her safe.

  He reached a staircase. Upstairs. More rooms. It was quiet here, the air still stale. He peeked into one of the rooms. A table, chairs and a bed in there. Better quality than what they had given the demon. Just pray that everyone assumed that he had fled, and wouldn't check these rooms once the agitation was gone. He needed to sleep at some point.

  He entered the room, slipped under the blanket on the bed and closed his eyes. If someone peeked in just briefly, the room would look empty. Just don't snore, he told himself. He needed sleep to be fresh in the evening. Let time pass and let the search run dry.

  Then ... he needed better words. So the demon would understand he was her chance to be free. And then she had to grant him a wish. Or three. Usually demons granted three wishes.

  -- Lilith POV, Skyview Monastery --

  She was all excited! Excited enough that she barely noticed how she was lead back to her cell. She would hunt!