In my teenage years, I had done something unthinkable. I had fallen from a cliff while hunting, and as I lay shattered and broken, I had wished for a miracle. Something answered my plea, but it was not an angel, nor the goddess—my would be savior was a demoness. Still, I had struck a bargain: in return for healing my mortally wounded body, I would trade her my first born child.
***
It had been a decade since then and I had neither wife nor child, but the demoness hadn't come to collect on the bargain. Having pushed that worry to the back of my mind, I had lived a simple life in my rural homestead. I lived off the land, raising chickens, growing vegetables, fishing, hunting—and selling the excess at market when times were good. The money from those sales bought me a life of quiet comfort.
But that would change on the rainiest day of the season. A knock sounded at my door and my heart skipped a beat; who would be out in this downpour? My visitor waited until she heard me moving around inside before knocking again. This time there came a voice from beyond the door, "Open up, Human! This damnable rain does nothing for my mood."
I opened the door and found myself face to face with a very wet—and annoyed demoness. She practically trampled me to escape the torrential downpour. Her wings flapped wildly behind her, sending droplets of water everywhere like a miniature hurricane. As soon as we were both safely indoors, she turned to me; her outfit dripping wet, she said, "I've waited long enough!"
I stood speechless for a moment. The demoness had come to claim my firstborn child as promised, but something in my expression must have told her that she wasn't going to get what she wanted. Her eyes took in the obvious home of a bachelor and her teeth clenched for a moment before she snapped a single word, slumping into a chair. "Towel." Not wanting to risk her wrath, I hurriedly complied. After drying her hair and clothes, she looked up at me with a look that made me shiver. "It's been a decade, Human, more than enough time to settle down. I see no wife! I see no children!" She snarled, "How am I supposed to get the firstborn I was promised?"
"I—I don't know," I stammered...it wasn't like I hadn't wanted a wife and kids to share my home with.
She rose from her seat; fire burning in her eyes as she started to pace. Long, tanned legs flashed beneath her dress and her crimson hair whipped around her head, framing her pointed ears and snapping black eyes. "You have a duty to fulfill your end of the bargain, Human. What is it you plan to do about it?"
"I'm sorry," my words fell flat against her anger. "I can't give you what you want."
I could almost see her mind working, her brow furrowing as she ran through her options in her head. She quickly discarded the thought of forcing me to find a woman. Instead, she began pacing again; her hands balled into fists at her sides. "What if there were another way?"
"Another way? What are you talking about?" My curiosity piqued.
"I will bear your child. Then, not only can I ensure that the deed is done, but I don't have to come back to retrieve the promised firstborn. Expedient, even though I must bear the indignity of having a Human's child." She announced, smiling. It didn't reach her eyes—her gaze remained cold and calculating. "What say you?"
She continued her pacing; her eyes never leaving mine until I gave my answer. "I refuse."
Her smile vanished in an instant. Her eyes narrowed and she stepped towards me, "Refuse? Are you sure that you're willing to accept the consequences?"
I shook my head slowly, "Let me rephrase that. I refuse to have a child with somebody I'm not in a relationship, we'd have to date first...and then marry. If you do that, then I will accept." Her eyes widened; the demoness seemed to be genuinely surprised by my stipulation—her face actually took on a flush of embarrassment, but I could tell that she was actually considering dating and eventually marrying a Human to get the promised offspring. Her hands fidgeted nervously; she kept looking between me and the fire in the hearth like she couldn't believe what she had just heard.
"If you are serious," her voice almost broke on the last word, "then there is only one option left to us." She walked up to me and took my hand in her own—her palm was damp with nervous sweat. "Very well, Human. We will go at your slow pace, building our relationship into something solid. Then you will marry me and we'll have a child together." With no room to weasel out of this and an odd feeling of anticipation, it would fall to me to plan our first date.
***