Here is my task one entry for Ayil. I received a score of 9... so considerably lower than Zahr's. Enjoy! :)

Ayil struggled against the ropes that bound her hands behind her. They dug into her skin, burning it. She shook and winced, thinking back to what had happened.

She laid on bed the previous night, exhausted, but satisfied after a long day of hard work.

The next thing she knew, hands came over her mouth, muffling her screams. Rough, calloused hands grabbed her arms, pinning them behind her back, throwing her down to the floor.

"Come on, angel," a voice hissed.

She whimpered as the demon's claws sunk into the flesh on her arm. "Please... do not... do not hurt me..." She begged, unable to stop the tears as they leaked out of her eyes, falling over her thick, white lashes.

"No promises," the demon snarled. He grabbed her hair, jerking her head back and yanking her to her feet.

She groaned as the movement shot pain through her scalp.

"Look at her! She's so white and pretty..." He laughed and leaned in to nuzzle her neck, smelling her. "I had no idea that angels smelled this nice. Did you, Terman?" The demon holding her glanced at another demon in the room, who stared at her.

"No, I didn't." He laughed and stepped closer to her, one footstep at a time. The demon called Terman reached a hand out and trailed his hands along her neck, until he grabbed it.

She gasped and struggled, trying to breathe.

The demon holding her tightened his grip, making her wince. She could feel blood trickling down her arm.

"Terman, Saer, enough!"

Ayil's eyes shifted to another demon in the room, a woman.

"We're supposed to bring her to the Demon Realm alive!"

With those words, pain flared in the back of her head, before she lost consciousness.

The next thing that Ayil knew, she woke up here... She glanced around her surroundings, trying to calm the panic thudding inside of her. Squished in-between two other angels that she briefly recognized, she guessed that they were in the back of some sort of vehicle. Judging by the jerks and bumps, it was a long journey. She didn't even know how long it took to travel to the Demon Realm from her own, but there was a part of her that didn't wish to know.

She had no idea what fate awaited her. Execution? Imprisonment? Torture? She exhaled, a shaky, terrified breath, and terror clawed at her the more her thoughts wondered.

There were seven other people in the vehicle with her, all of which were angels from her Realm. It was small in size, barely large enough for all of them to fit together comfortably. They do not care about your comfort, Ayil, she reminded herself.

They were all around her age, with the exception of a younger boy, and two other, younger girls. Ayil briefly recognized the youngest of the two girls as Ambyr, a girl from her village. She was such a sweet girl, with a kind face, one that was now marred by tears and twisted in fear.

"It will be alright," Ayil murmured to her.

Ambyr gazed up at her, swallowing nervously.

"Yes. Ayil is right. All will be well," the angel on her left, Mistique said.

"You should not lie to her, either of you." The male voice who spoke came from Ayil's right, where Zachariah knelt. His hands were also tied behind his back. He stared straight ahead, not acknowledging any of them, despite that he had just spoken to them.

Mistique met his eyes with a look of disbelief. "Zachariah!"

He did not respond, nor did he seem phased by her scolding.

Ayil met Ambyr's eyes, and smiled as warmly as she could. "We are all scared, but as Mistique said, all will be well."

It was some time later when the vehicle finally stopped. Demons surrounded them and hauled them all out of the back, shoving them forward. A few of the males with them attempted to fight back, one of which Ayil noticed was Zachariah. The demons quickly knocked him and the others who fought, unconscious.

Despite their differences moments ago, Ayil and Mistique both rushed forward, kneeling beside Zachariah's unconscious body.

"Get up!" the demon called Terman commanded.

"He is wounded," Ayil said.

Mistique glared up at the demon. "You must help him!"

Terman laughed, but something about the sound chilled Ayil to the core. He grabbed both of their arms roughly, shoving them forward.

Ayil stumbled, but Mistique caught her.

Ambyr and the other youngest girl, Joy, turned around and looked at them desperately.

"It is alright," Ayil reassured them. "Go on." They followed behind the younger girls quickly, as the rest of the demons rounded up the males.

Ayil gasped at the marvelous sight before them. It was a palace—crystalline and bright. Gold and white marble made up the main structure of the place, which towered so high above their heads, Ayil could not see where it ended. Several towers loomed behind the main keep, staring ahead, like ancient stone guardians overlooking everything far below. Lights danced through the hundreds of windows that were scattered throughout the building, and Ayil thought she could see silhouettes dancing inside.

Fear and panic were briefly replaced by wonder and awe as she stared at the marvel before her.

"Get moving!" Terman ordered. He pushed her in the place directly in-between her shoulder blades, and once again she stumbled. She would have fallen were it not for Mistique gripping her arm tightly.

She had no idea if the girl was comforting her, supporting her, or if it was the other way around. We are comforting each other, Ayil decided at last.

They were not lead into the main keep. Instead, they were taken around the side, where a building made out of dull, grey-stone stood. It was low to the ground, and the stones were cracked. Vines and weeds grew around it, making it appear old and withered.

They were shoved through a gate and lead down a long staircase. It twirled downward, and the deeper they went, the darker it became. Darkness seemed to close around her, bringing back feelings of panic. Fear transformed into terror. Every beat of her pounding heart was a calling in desperation.

Saer, the demon from the night before, tore her away from Mistique, who called out to her. Joy and Ambyr screeched, crying out for her. Saer pressed his face against Ayil's cheek, making her wince.

"Welcome to your new, temporary home," he snarled, just before he shoved her inside a cell.

The walls were grey and damp. Cracks slivered along the floor, walls and ceiling. The air smelled dank and stale, making Ayil gag. She collapsed onto the cot, drawing her knees up to her chest, as if she could hold herself together. The water dripping along the walls wet down her hair, making her shiver.

Tears escaped out of her eyes, and despite how hard she tried to hold herself together, she allowed herself to cry. Sobs wracked her body outwardly, as emotions swirled around her inwardly like a wild and furious storm.

A voice laughed, freezing her insides. "What's the matter? Never seen the inside of a cell before?" The voice was male, but when she looked around the cell, there was no one there.

"Behind you."

Ayil jumped, nearly falling off the cot. There was a small hole in the wall. Cautiously, she peaked through it. There was a male on the other side, in what appeared to be another cell. His eyes were blood-red, and he had claws.

He was a demon.

Ayil gasped and jumped back.

He laughed, and there was something unnatural about the sound. It was like hearing a lion chirp.

The doors to her cell creaked open, and in was thrown another girl. She was young, although she appeared to be quite tall for her age. She glared at Ayil, crossing her arms.

It was that moment, that Ayil realized the girl was a demon. "What are you doing here?" Ayil questioned.

The girl smirked and shrugged. "Apparently, I wasn't invited to the party."

Ayil pursed her lips. "You were captured as well?"

The girl nodded. "Yep. By my own kind. What a shame." Although, her tone suggested she wasn't too particularly bothered by it.

Ayil's muscles relaxed but she hadn't realized how tense she had been. "I am called Ayil."

The girl snorted. "Yeah, whatever."

"How are you called?"

The girl frowned, furrowing her eyebrows. "Rudella."

Ayil smiled at her. "It is nice to meet you, Rudella."

Rudella huffed. "Yeah right. Aren't you angels all high-and-mighty? You're better than everyone else, so why would it be nice to meet the race you despise the most?"

Ayil shook her head, unbothered by Rudella's words. "That is a stereotype. Not all angels are pompous and perfect. Just like I want to believe that not all demons are bad."

There was a low chuckle from the cell behind her. Ayil had forgotten the male demon on that side.

Rudella appeared to have not heard him. Ayil suspected it was because she was directly in front of the tiny hole, and the sound only carried to her, not Rudella.

Ayil forced her thoughts away from the male demon, and instead trained them on Rudella. "How old are you, Rudella?"

"Fourteen, but don't think that makes me a child. I could kill you without a second thought."

There was warning in the girl's tone, but something else there, which made Ayil doubt what she said. Ayil did not express her doubts, however, instead choosing to keep her thoughts to herself.

"I am sure at least a small part of you is scared. After all, you have been kidnapped by your own kind, and thrown into a dungeon," Ayil murmured.

Rudella scoffed. "Look, just because we're cellmates doesn't mean we have to get all buddy buddy, okay? I don't know you, and I don't have any intention of getting to know you. So why don't you just keep that perfect little trap of yours shut, got it?"

Ayil swallowed, trying not to outwardly express just how deeply the girl's words affected her. Rudella turned her back to her, facing the outside of the cell.

Ayil collapsed onto the cot, sighing. She wrapped her arms around herself, longing for her parents. They had died many years ago in a demon attack. Are they going to kill us all? Ayil couldn't sleep because her thoughts refused to shut down. They continued, and the more they whirled inside her head, the more anxiety and fear they brought until Ayil was consumed with it.

"That's exactly what they're going to do," the male voice said.

Ayil's eyes shifted to the small hole. It was that moment she realized that she had spoken her fears out loud. "Are you certain?"

There was a pause.

"Yes."

"How do you know?" Ayil asked, hesitantly.

"Because they're going to make us slaughter one another."