Sheila looked around the enormous twilight shaded hall, trying to take in everything. She had never before been asked to join Venger for dinner, nor had she ever been allowed out of her suite of rooms. Denara had come for her, teleporting the thief out of her rooms and onto a narrow staircase on the other side of the wooden door. A snoozing red dragon had rested at the bottom of the stairs, guarding the entrance to main part of the Palace.

The servant woman had led Sheila thorough a maze of torch-lit corridors, each one adorned with richly embroidered tapestries and gold framed painting of scenes through out the Realm. It had surprised the thief to discover that Venger had such fine taste in art and home décor. However, she thought back to the bookshelves now filling the hall off her sitting room and realized that there was far more to this demon man than she could have guessed.

Now, standing in front of a polished hand-carved table, Sheila could see just how good the dark lord’s taste really was. Each place setting was impeccable, down to the correct placement of the cobalt-hued wine goblets. Fine linen napkins were elaborately arranged into the shape of a dragon in the center of each plate.

Venger had been watching her admire the table and the hall for the past several minutes. She was clearly taken with the intricate interlocking columns that rose to support a ceiling covered in a huge mural of the Moon Desert on a starlit summer night. In truth, he was rather proud of this palace. Not all of his dwellings were as finely decorated as this one, but this was his favorite so nothing had been spared in its appointments.

At first, he had been hesitant to invite her to dinner, letting her out of her rooms to see the rest of his palace. However a niggling voice in the back of his mind suggested that it might be a good idea. Over protests from Shadow Demon and the knowledge that he would be going against the wishes of the Dark Ones, he had made preparations for an elaborate evening, right down to an Earth-like dinner in his favorite hall. He had rationalized it by thinking that a willing queen might be far better than a stubborn one.

In truth, he simply wanted her company. Venger liked the way Sheila made him feel. It had been so long since he felt anything besides hate and anger. The feelings she stirred in him were foreign and yet pleasing at the same time. The thief could also touch the buried part of him he himself could not control, the last bit of goodness left in him. It was perverse, perhaps, but he liked that idea.

Without warning, his deep voice broke the silence of the hall.

"Beautiful though it may be, it is not nearly as beautiful as you, sweet Sheila."

"Thank you, Venger," Sheila bowed slightly, deciding for the night to put on her best manners, lest she be shut back up in her chambers once more.

Even Sheila had to admit that she looked good, if not more than a little sexy. She wore a billowy micro-mini skirt of pale green silk, slit up the side just as all her skirts were, and ending just below the juncture of her thighs. Most of her left side from her hip down was exposed, including a good bit of the soft mound between her legs, just as Venger liked.

She also wore a mid-riff baring top consisting of four varied length strips of silk in the same color as her skirt. Her bare breasts and taut nipples were visible through the gossamer fabric, but Sheila didn’t particularly care. It tied around her neck so her back was also bare, save for a small emerald-colored stone that attached directly to her skin. She had found it while rummaging in her jewelry box when it affixed itself to her finger and wouldn't come off until she wet it.

Matching earrings dangled from her ears, lightly brushing her shoulders. The thief also wore a delicate golden bracelet accented with pale, sea green stones. She wore no shoes. Instead her feet were adorned with anklets that appeared to begin just under her toes and snaked up the tops of her feet where they encircled her ankles. The anklets were set with the same sea green gems as the bracelet.

Sheila had even used some of the makeup Venger had provided for her. She had no idea where he had obtained it. Yet she knew that he or one of his minions had to be able to return to Earth at will for the makeup was not just pots of crushed berries or dye, as she and Diana had been offered so many times in various villages. No, the items Venger had given her came from Estee Lauder and Channel. It was a small gesture for Venger, she was sure, but a huge shock for her.

What caught Venger’s attention however was the gold and Sea Gem tiara adorning Sheila’s head. Her coppery hair had been brushed until it gleamed. She had then pushed it back and used the crown to hold her hair in place, much like a headband.

Venger sighed as he gazed at Sheila, taking in the sleekness of her body and the way it curved in the half-light of the hall. He pulled out her chair from the table and she allowed him to seat her. With a snap of his fingers, the table shortened considerably and he seated himself at the other end, now just inches from her.

Silently, a servant appeared to fill their wine goblets and placed steaming bowls of thick soup before them. Sheila dug into the soup hungrily. She never usually had much of an appetite anymore. Yet, sitting here with Venger for company, she felt as if she could eat twice as much as normal.

They ate in silence, Venger gazing in longing at Sheila across the table. She sat straight in her chair, yet her body was much more relaxed in posture than normal. He almost thought she was enjoying herself.

They remained that way through much of dinner with only an occasional word passing between them. Finally, as the dishes of a chocolate and berry flavored mousse were placed before them, curiosity got the better of Sheila.

"The mural up there, who painted it?" she asked between mouthfuls of dessert.

Venger looked up in surprise. He had never expected her to actually talk to him, to start a normal conversation.

"Malikan the Magnificent," he told her. "He was the greatest artist of the Realm in his time. The work was done at my request when I first built this palace."

"Did he do it willingly?" Sheila cast her eyes down at her dish, fearing that she had angered Venger when he did not answer.

"Yes," came the quiet reply.

She looked up and blinked several times. Venger didn’t appear to be angry, merely hesitant.

Without thinking, she opened her mind and searched for the angry black cloud she associated with his thoughts. She sensed the same small thread of goodness she had seen on her first night here, only tonight it was a bit stronger. She decided to press on.

"Why?" It was a simple question and one that she hoped might get him to talk. He seemed far less angry tonight than he usual.

"Because I asked," Venger laid down his fork and looked Sheila in the eyes for the first time that evening.

"I was not always the creature I am now," he continued. "You know that I was studying to be a magician, much like your friend Presto. I had visions of helping the people of the Realm. To do so, I needed a place to call home. Thus, I began construction of this Palace with my father’s help.

"Then, plans changed. However, this palace was nearly completed by then. I simply added a few more touches to make it truly my own."

"What I saw on the way here was beautiful," she ventured, "especially this room. I've never seen anything like it. Even at the art museums back on Earth."

Venger regarded her for a moment to see if she was serious. An internal debate was raging across his mind. He did not want to reveal too much of himself. After all, Sheila was still Dungeon Master’s pupil and his sexual slave. However, the desire to reach out to her, to connect on some level that wasn’t quite as violent was strong tonight, much stronger than ever.

"I chose the furnishings myself," he finally spoke once more. "Everything here was to a be a work of art, beautiful beyond anything in the Realm. This was to have been a place of peace and healing. No longer, however."

"Was it worth it?" Sheila asked, honestly interested in the answer. "Your choice, I mean?"

"There are times when I am no longer sure," Venger admitted and she watched as his eyes began to mist over with some long forgotten memory. A single tear rolled down his face, sizzling as it touched his skin.

In spite of every instinct warning her against it, Sheila rose from her chair and crossed the few feet to his chair. Something in his voice had touched the part of her that felt for this man. She had heard the note of sorrow, in his voice and she was filled with the desire to make it better.

"It’ll be okay," she said softly, laying a hand on his arm. "I don’t know how, but it will be."

He grasped her hand and stood up. "Come, sweet Sheila. Let me show you something that no one else has ever seen. Something that never was but perhaps should have been."

She grasped his hand firmly as he led her to a sweeping staircase the spiraled up to a mezzanine halfway towards the ceiling. Together they walked up the steps, hand in hand, until they reached the top of the stairs. He led to her to the edge of the mezzanine, which looked out over the Hall or Twilight. She could see the dinner table far below and corridors stretching out in every direction.

"Behold!" he breathed and waved his hand.

Gold fire flew from his fingers and Sheila gasped, shutting her eyes to the blinding light. When she opened them again, her jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

The Hall of Twilight sparked with a rosy glow. Late summer evening sunlight spilled across the floor from cathedral-like stained glass windows, illuminating every corner of the cavernous room. The Moon Desert mural sparkled as if set with a million diamonds, reflecting the light from the torch-lit chandeliers. The interlocking pillars Sheila had admired earlier glinted with inlaid gold and Sea Gem trim.

"It’s beautiful!" she cried, looking up at Venger in disbelief.

"This is how my palace was to have looked long ago," he sighed, his face bathed in a pink light. "Until tonight, it has never appeared this way, the way it was intended."

He paused. "Would you like to see the rest of it?"

"Yes," Sheila breathed. "Please."

Venger picked her up and spread the immense wings of his cloak. They soared off the balcony, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. He took her to nearly every room in the palace, each one now ablaze with golden light that chased the shadows from the corners.

Each room was just as lovely as the last, some with stained glass windows and others with fine art or hand-carved furniture from the Realm’s rare Katana trees. In each room, Venger took great pride in showing her even the smallest detail, things no one had ever seen before.

Sheila for her part drank in every new sight and sound. In some rooms, tinkling music seemed to drift down from the ceiling. Another room held brilliantly colored songbirds that combined their sounds into an elaborate symphony.

From time to time she would study Venger when he wasn’t looking. A small smile played about his lips, and his features had softened once more to reveal the handsome, raven haired man Sheila was working hard to forget existed. She tried to fight the feeling of desire growing inside her, wanting to squash it down. But it simply would not die.

Eventually, Venger took her to the top of another staircase. This time, instead of a balcony, she was faced with a golden door, accented by a silver doorknob.

"What’s in there?" she asked when he finally put her down.

"A place no woman has ever been," he answered. "My bedroom."

He paused, but she continued to stare at the door.

"Do you wish to see it?"

"Yes," she whispered.

He pushed open the door and Sheila was once again amazed by what she saw. Rather than the ornate room she expected, it was really quite simply furnished. There was a Katana wood bed, as well as several other bedroom pieces. Small torches flickered in a chandelier overhead. Tapestries depicting various parts of the Realm decorated the walls and a set of large stained glass doors led out onto a balcony overlooking the Fire-Lit Mountains.

"Do you… like it?" he questioned as he followed her into the room.

"I’ve…I’ve never seen anything like it," Sheila whispered. "It’s not what I expected."

She crossed the room and opened the doors to the balcony. Stepping outside, she felt the cool wind on her face as the suns prepared to set behind the mountains.

"There is much here that is not as expected," Venger told her as he came up behind her.

Tentatively, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned back into his embrace, marveling at the warmth of his body. Even after all he had done to her, she still thought his body should be cold.

Venger turned Sheila so that she faced him.

"Let me love you as a man loves a woman and not as one loves a slave. Please, Sheila. Just one night is all I ask."

Sheila was dumbfounded. This was not the Venger she was used to, but then, so much of what had happened tonight was different from normal. He was begging her to let him make love to her. It thrilled her, aroused her. More than that, she wanted to make love to Venger, even if it meant betraying Hank in a way.

Her mind made up, she leaned into him and lifted her lips to his. The kiss was sweet and exciting, yet still tender. Her arms entwined around his neck and pushed back his hood, revealing his thick black hair. Sheila had no idea how long they kissed, only that when broke their contact, the suns had already set, casting everything into a bluish tinged haze.

She pulled away briefly and began to lead him back into his bedroom, removing his winged cape as they went. They settled on the bed, his body pressing down on hers. Looking into his eyes, she found that they were no longer glaring red but a soft brown. The horrid, fanged face had melded into the handsome one from her first night in captivity. But unlike that night, this face was solid, not an illusion.

Venger lavished her body with kisses, pulling off her clothes as he went. He took great care in removing each piece of jewelry, letting his teeth nibble the skin where he removed some adornment. All he left on her was the gem affixed to her back, for he found it rather sexy.

Sheila, for her part, was just as eagerly undressing him. She stripped him of his robes and boots in short order so that they lay on the bed together, skin to skin. The thief breathed deeply, inhaling the musky scent she now associated with him as he became aroused.

His hand fondled her body with a lover's touch. There were no demands or pressure, unlike every other time he had bedded her. His teeth still tugged at her nipples, but he wasn't attempting to hurt her. Rather, he wanted to pleasure her. He stroked her between her legs with firm fingers, finding her most sensitive spot, one he had never touched before.

Sheila ran her hands down his back, clawing at him with her nails. She stroked his penis with strong hands, caressing his base and eliciting moans of pleasure from him.

Gently, he spread her legs and pushed himself inside her. She arched up into him willingly, sliding him further into her. Once he had settled himself, he began stroking in and out of her, each time pulling out almost completely before plunging back inside her. She tightened around his responsively and he moved faster.

When they finally came together, the sensations washed over Sheila in waves until she cried out Venger's name over and over. He hugged her to him, murmuring words of passion into her ear as he tried to catch his breath.

After several minutes, he pulled out of her. Once again, he reached out to pull her to him and once again she did not resist. She rolled over onto her side to look into his eyes once more.

"That was wonderful," she told him, seeing herself reflected in his now chocolate colored eyes. "I didn't know you could do that."

"I did not know myself," Venger admitted. "But you touch a part of me I have long thought dead and gone. That is the part of me which asked for your love tonight."

"I know," she sighed. "I don't care, either. This, this person that I can see in you. He scares me, but…"

"Scares you how?" he pressed, part of the old Venger rising in him, looking for an advantage.

"It scares me because…Because I think I love that part of you."

She rolled onto her back, trying not to look at him, not believing that these words were coming out of her mouth.

"Sweet Sheila, if you must know, that part of me scares me too. It is too much of the person I once was and not enough of the man that I now am. Yet, I find it hard to resist. For that is the part of me that loves you."

He hoisted himself up so that he hovered over her, and looked directly into her sapphire blue eyes.

"I say it to you tonight, Queen Sheila, for if I do not, I may never be able to say it again. I love you. And I have never loved anything in my life they way I do you."

She did not respond, but raised her arms and pulled him to her, into a deep kiss.