Miko ran down the streets of Azure City, tears streaming from her face. It was the cruelest thing anyone had ever done to her and as she turned down a dark alley, exhaustion and sadness completely overwhelmed her and she collapsed to the floor.
"Ummm, miss? Are you alright?"
Miko raised her head and turned to the source of the voice. The alley was pitch black and all she could see were a couple of yellow glowing eyes. Their glow seemed almost hypnotic, soothing her and eventually she began to speak.
"I've had the most dreadful evening! For years I've served as one of the captains of the Sapphire Guard - I've had to project this aura of discipline, never allowing anyone to get close to me, setting an example for those below. I've been so lonely…", she said, before starting to cry once more.
"Don't be like that - tell me what's got you so upset."
"One of my lieutenants approached me this afternoon and said that there was a fancy dress party later. Normally, I would have been too pre-occupied with my duties to attend but I decided to show my human side for once and join in. I chose to go along as a French maid…"
"Where's French? Never heard of the place…"
"I'm not sure either, it was recommended to me by the chap at the costume store. He said he needed to go for a lie down after I tried it on in the store though."
"You look fantastic, miss. I'm sure you'd have won first place!"
Miko felt herself blush at the crature's compliment. "That's when it all went wrong. I walked into the hall and it turned out I'd been tricked. Everyone else was in regimental uniform, staring at me in this ridiculous outfit. I felt so humiliated, I just wanted to run…" She felt an arm move across her shoulders, turning her towards those hypnotic eyes once more.
"You seem like a good person, so let me give you a little advice. Appearences really don't matter as much as people think. What matters is how you feel about yourself."
Miko leaned into the darkness and slowly kissed the creature where she felt its forehead would be. She felt a wave of heat race through her body as a large broad tongue moved across each of her shoulders, causing the hated dress to fall to the floor. She was naked underneath and as the creature's tongue slowly moved across her body, Miko felt a huge hand reach between her legs and gently lift her up into the air.
Finally, she began to understand. Appearences didn't matter, duty was unimportant - all she cared about was her mysterious lover in the dark.