Demon Queened
- Thread starter PrincessKay
- Start date
- Original Mature Novel
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Thanks! Demon Queened is basically built on tropes I decided to do "my way" so I'm glad the end result is something you're enjoying! And the characters are all pretty close to my heart at this point, so I'm always happy to hear it when people get as invested as me~!
Chapter 34
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Author's Note: So, fun fact: I actually wrote two versions of this chapter! The events and dialogue are pretty much identical - but one version is from Chloe's perspective and the other is from Abigail's. My patrons voted to make Chloe's the Official One, but I've decided to make Abigail's (slightly less polished) version available to the public, as well. Some people find Chloe a little too chaotic, after all! So you can read it here~!
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Abigail asked for the third time.
"I'm sure," I replied, keeping my voice nice and patient. I mean, I could hardly blame her for the whole disbelief thing! We were on one of the nature floors, after all. Great for relaxing outside the city floors, not so great for eating fancy dinners. Especially this one, seeing as how it was forest-based.
"Don't doubt Chloe's information network," Nivera grumbled, glaring at Abigail. "She's never wrong."
"Almost never," I corrected her. Because sweetness is sweet, but getting carried away was just going to set false expectations! "There was that one time with the juggler! And yep, I know, you still think that she was up to something - your trust in me is really sweet. We did clear her, though… My intel's pretty solid this time, though, either way. A friend of a friend overheard another friend talking to her friend about how Araina got invited out to a sunset picnic by this girl in a super expensive dress. Also, I just straight up asked Araina what her dinner plans were while you two were busy. She got super flustered. It was the cutest thing!"
Seriously - she'd turned so red! And her adorable little feet started tapping away at the ground as she backed up, then shuffled forward, then went back again… No need to bring all that up, though! I mean, sure, communication is important, but I wasn't trying to make Nivera jealous! Especially about the feet. She always pouted when I said anything about someone having cute feet. I think she worried I might have a foot fetish, or something.
Anyway, Nivera looked like she had enough things she wanted to say already. Like 'why were you flirting with the enemy,' and 'why would you risk alerting our enemy by flirting with them,' and 'are you sure you didn't just want to flirt with a cute spider girl?' But all she actually said was, "Okay."
Which… No. Communication is too important to let her get away with that taciturn nonsense! Especially since I knew why she was doing it.
"Awww, look at my cutie Niv, acting like she trusts me completely!" I cooed. "Not that you don't, but you also really don't need to try and put up a 'united front' in front of Abigail and Bailey, y'know? We're allies. And I know you've got wasps in your stomach, wondering whether Araina's likely to change her plans, or contact the Aleesendra family. The answer is no, by the way! She has terrible social anxiety - really sucky stuff - so there's pretty much no way she's going to contact them an hour before the meeting just to tell them that she told some random girl where the meeting's going to be. Especially since I was all sneaky about it - y'know, went in asking her out on a date, then segued into teasing her about maybe already having one, and taking an interest in where? Even if she thinks it's suspicious, she'll second guess herself right up until the actual meeting time."
"Wait," Abigail said. "You asked her out on a date? Isn't she going to be a bit mad when she finds out you were trying to trick her? I mean, the plan is to get her on our side, right?"
"Who said I was tricking her?" I asked, tilting my head a little to the side. Mostly because I knew Nivera found it adorable when I did that, even if she'd never ever admit it in front of anyone. "I'm poly, she's cute, and I'm pretty sure she'd actually be into the whole 'bound up interrogation' thing Nivera's already plotting in the back of her brain. Though, maybe save the binding for after we've gotten to know her a bit better? And the interrogation for after I've gotten more of a chance to talk to her. Speaking of which, I'd really appreciate it if you could sit this one out, Niv. The poor thing's skittish enough already."
Oops, looks like it's 'Nivera Doesn't Want to Say the Thing she Wants to Say Take Two!' This time with a dash of suspicion! This time, I was going to take her "Alright" at face value, though. I had my reasons! And she knew I had reasons. And she knew I knew she knew about those reasons! And usually I'd say screw all that and demand that we actually explain our reasons, but this time… well, I had reasons!
"Come on, you two!" I called out to Bailey and Abigail. "We're gonna need to scamper like a set of squirrel girls on bitterbean if we want to make it there on time." Then I grabbed hold of both their wrists, and took off running like a… Well, like a squirrel girl on bitterbean, I guess! Partially because we really were running out of time, but also because Abigail looked like she wanted to ask a few questions in Nivera's place. Which, again, would normally be welcome, but - again - I had my reasons not to! So I was just going to have to keep them busy dodging tree roots while we ran for a bit.
"Fox up to something," Bailey grumbled from behind me. Which was maybe a bit of a problem, since it meant that she was good enough at keeping up to grumble, which in turn meant she might have the spare breath to ask questions I couldn't have her asking… but, thankfully, she wasn't the sort to talk much.
"I'm always up to something!" I agreed, because there's no deflection like a truth-based deflection! "I'm a trickster, y'know? I trick, tease, trap, and sometimes even bamboozle! But I also look out for my friends, so trust me, alright?"
"You know, most people would at least pretend to be trustworthy before telling people to trust them," Abigail pointed out. Which was totally true! And definitely the easier route to take. But…
"You say that like it's a good thing! If I acted like I'm always on the straight and narrow, I'd lose all credibility the moment you found out about my true nature. I'd rather be upfront on what you can and can't trust me with - speaking of which, it might be a good time to mention that I never lie, so if you want to mislead Araina through half-truths, you're on your own. But if you leave it to me, I'll be sure we get through this with all the sureness of a mouse sniffing her way through a maze! Which is to say that there's probably going to be a lot of backtracking, but we'll make it in the end."
"Wait. So you're a trickster who doesn't lie?" Abigail asked. I guess she was getting used to root-dodging, too. "How does that even work?"
"Pretty well, actually," I called back - or more like threw back! A little trick I knew, to make it seem like my voice was coming from behind her. It worked extra great when I paired it with an illusion. Of course, then I had to actually take the lead in guiding Abigail past obstacles, to ensure that she wouldn't stumble when her head snapped back towards my illusion. But that was fine! She'd probably only be looking for a second, anyway, so long as I made the fake image do a dramatic fade away. "Between the fun things I can do with my voice, the amazing things I can get up to with illusions, and absolutely crazy things I can do with my body - some of which you might see first hand, one day, if you're lucky - it's not actually that hard to get away without lying. And by never lying, I make sure people will take me seriously when it matters most! Communication's pretty important to me, after all."
"...Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit of a mess?" Abigail asked me, shaking her head. Bailey nodded, meanwhile, which… Okay, I wasn't going to say that didn't hurt - the girl was such an innocent sweetheart, I couldn't help wanting her to like me, but… Well, I had a mission to get back to!
"A very hot mess! Now come on, Araina's waiting right through those trees!"
Trees we passed through just half a second later. The arachne of the hour was standing by the opposite side of the treeline, nervously tapping her fingers together, shifting her legs about and occasionally glancing up at the sky to try and check the time.
"Hey Araina!" I called out, as soon as she was in sight. "How're you doing?"
"Ch-Chloe?!" she called out, jumping about a foot in the air. "And… aren't you… Queen Devilla's maid?"
"Fox popular," Bailey said. She sounded a bit impressed with me, which was nice, but… Well, I think she was impressed with the wrong thing. Araina knowing my name wasn't anything special!
"I mean, it would have been impolite to ask her out on a date without at least introducing myself, right? Also, hi Araina! Good to see you again so soon. Seriously. But also, I might have left out a couple tiny details about my entirely sincere interest in asking you out? Like the fact that I'm engaged to a fiancee who doesn't exactly mind me dating but does sorta have trust issues that can be difficult to work around? And also the fact that I'm Devilla's cousin. And she's Devilla's childhood friend. And that me, Devilla's friendly maid, and Devilla's… Bailey? All really really need to talk to you about your upcoming dinner with a member of the Aleesendra family."
"I-I'm not…" Araina swallowed and backed up a step, moving towards the trees. That wasn't good. She was definitely feeling skittish, but it could have been worse. She wasn't running away yet, at least. "I'm not in trouble, am I? It's just… I-I mean, Mellany reached out to me. S-she said she could help me with m-my image problem. I don't even… I wasn't going to give her a-any… I mean, I don't even have anything on Q-Queen Devilla, other than maybe a few rumors anyone could hear, s-so-"
"Relax," I interrupted, holding up my hands with my palm out. I needed to keep her from making any mistakes here, or Nivera might end up assuming the worst and doing something we couldn't take back. "I'm not here to make any accusations, alright? I just want to make sure nobody makes any mistakes they'll regret."
"Speaking of regrets," came a very familiar voice from behind me. I didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Nivera coming out of the woods behind me, with her arms crossed and her lips pulled down into an adorable frown. "I think we need to have a talk, Chloe. I have some new information that might change how you handle this."
"I'm sure you do," I replied, following through on the 'not needing to turn around' thing by… well, not turning around. "And I'll get to you as soon as I'm done reassuring our skittish General, alright?"
There was a moment of silence - shocked silence, if I had to guess, where everyone wondered what the heck was going through my brilliant mind as I completely ignored my fiancee. I ignored that, too!
"Araina," I continued, instead. "I'm going to have a talk with Mellany and get this all sorted out, alright? And I promise, whatever happens, I'll be speaking up for you. I know you don't mean harm. You're probably just scared because everything's changing, right? And you don't know where that leaves you?"
"I…" Araina hesitated a moment, before nodding. "Yes?"
"Well, we'll figure it out together," Chloe promised. "In a second. First…" I spun towards 'Nivera.' "Mellany! I stole your date. How about we make it up with that totally private chat you wanted?"
"Mellany?"
"Mellany?!"
"...Enemy?"
Abigail, Araina, and Bailey asked, pretty much in tandem, but not at all synced! Weird how that worked out.
'Nivera' meanwhile, blinked once, opened her mouth, closed it, and then let out a sharp laugh that sounded way too raspy to be coming out of my wonderful fiancee's throat. It was actually kinda creepy. "What gave me away?"
"Let's see…" I started, tapping my foot on the grass. "Excluding the fact that I recognized your name and knew you were a mimic girl - you really should have tried to interrupt before Araina said it, by the way - there's your hair and scales, which are both a few shades off. Also the fact that Nivera would never come in unannounced without using at least three hidden code words in the first sentence. And maybe some tail or hand signals, to be safe. Especially after I asked her to stay out of this. But also I asked her to stay out explicitly to bait you, since, y'know, Araina told me who she was meeting with earlier? Something I know you know, because there's no way you would have invited Araina to such an accessible place, in public, if you weren't trying to bait me out in turn. Right?"
"Actually, I was planning to ask for Araina's help getting in touch with Devilla," she claimed. "Meeting you was a surprise. Are you sure you aren't spending too much time with Nivera? It's warping your thought processes."
"Uh-huh." I rolled my eyes. "Because she totally got that way out of nowhere, and not, y'know, thanks to the same kind of upbringing you had? Now can we stop with the misleads and just get to the point? After you change, I mean. Kinda awkward interrogating my fiancee, y'know?"
Mellany let out another one of those creepy (from Nivera) laughs, and shook her head a little. At the same time, though, her body started to shift. Her tail curled up on itself, the scales melding together to form a solid lump beneath her demonoid half, which then stretched up and out in order to form a chest shape, one that came complete with hinges and a curved lid. The colors shifted from green to brown, and the scales became wooden grain.
The rest of her changes were a little less dramatic, but just as impressive. Her demonoid half, which was now protruding from the chest, became a touch less toned - though she kept the abs - while her arms grew just a little longer, and her nails extended, turning black alongside her fingertips. Her teeth, too, became long and pointed, meshing with one another to fill her mouth with a shark-like grin. Her hair, meanwhile, shifted from long wavy brown locks to a bright blonde bob that fanned out on either side of her head before coming to pointed ends. Her face became a bit more angular, meanwhile, while her green eyes shifted to two different tones - silver on the right, gold on the left. Finally, the black band that had surrounded 'Nivera's' chest sank into her flesh, revealing a perky pair of melons.
"Satisfied?" Mellany asked, baring her teeth in what might have maybe been a grin? If I was feeling charitable. Which I wasn't.
"Mostly!" I replied, with an actual grin. "I mean, there's still the whole underlying threat that comes with using Nivera's form - y'know, the bit that I know you can fuck up our lives, and you know that I know that, but neither of us are supposed to say it because unspoken threats are totally the best threats? Which is why I'm not even going to bother spelling out what I'll do to you if you ever actually follow through on that threat you totally didn't make. Instead, I'm going to invite you to come sit down and eat! I brought chamomile tea. And ham sandwiches!"
Mellany shivered. Which would normally make me feel bad, but for once I was pretty sure a heavy hand was warranted! Even if seeing her sharp toothed smile all strained was a bit of a downer. But she still tried to do the whole nonchalant thing, waving her pointy nailed hand in the air and going, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. No need for dramatics, alright? Copying her form was just the best way to separate you from Araina for a bit."
"Which you wanted to do, because…?" Abigail prompted. I think she mostly just wanted to feel included in the conversation, which was fair! She'd been sort of sidelined for all this.
"Because I wanted to work out a better deal for myself, of course," Mellany replied. "I mean, come on, that's why we're all here, isn't it? You want to make sure your new sugar mama stays safe. Chloe wants to keep her fiancee from having a mental breakdown when Queen Devilla inevitably returns to her old ways. Araina wants to… well, currently I'm pretty sure she wants to run away like a scared little bitch, but she's not doing that because she's also hoping to get everyone to stop hating on her, right?"
"Devilla is not my-" Abigail started
"Th-that's not-" Araina protested.
I clapped. "Yay! Communication! I like it. I mean, your views are totally tainted and twisted, and I kinda hate your guts already, but first impressions can be worked on! What's important is that you're actually saying what you mean out loud."
"I mean, you made it pretty clear that you want all cards on the table," Mellany said, with a shrug. "So let's do this. With Araina around, mind you, since you were going to tell her everything that happened anyway, right?"
I could tell from her smirk that she thought she was pulling one over on me with that. Most likely she didn't believe that I really wanted everything out in the open. I knew from dealing with my lovely - but uncommunicative - Nivera that it was a difficult thing for most bloodliners to wrap their heads around… but I actually did want everything out in the open, so, "Okay!"
Mellany blinked, which I kinda expected. Then she scowled, which I'd also more or less expected, and glared at Araina which… I wish I could say I hadn't expected. But, hey, in the end she went, "Ugh, fine!" Soooo… win?
"Let me make this simple for you," she continued. "I don't care about Araina. I don't care about her troubles, her woes, or whatever juicy rumors she might be able to share about Devilla. As far as I'm concerned, Granny Alira's an old hag who's obsession is just a waste of family resources that could be better spent on pursuing actual business opportunities. I asked Araina to meet with me, and put out false info about Granny taking an interest in her, explicitly so that I could try and lure you out - because I know you and your fiancee are two of the only people in this entire Goddess forsaken tower with both a hatred of bloodline politics and a willingness to actually do something about it."
"Uh-huh…" I gave her a nod, all serious like, hummed like I was actually giving it some thought, and then frowned like something had just occurred to me. "And what do you want for yourself?"
"A cushy government job," she answered immediately. "Paired with the rescinding of Devilla's ban on my family from entering political jobs. Excluding Granny, that is."
"You want your stock in the family to rise." Fallen from grace or not, it seemed like bloodliners were still bloodliners. The more someone accomplished, in a family like that, the more respect she'd be given and the more free reign she'd have to follow her own interests. It was a meritocracy, through and through - which sounded great, if you didn't know that they were all raised to be cutthroat bitches out to undo one another. Anything was fine, as long as their infighting never actually hurt the family's bottom line. Something for me to keep in mind, if I was going to be working with Mellany. She'd be a great ally, so long as it was in her best interest, but she'd as soon stab me in the back as pat me on it if it led her to a better deal.
"Um…" Araina raised her hand. "I just… want to keep my job? It's all I have left. Since everyone just sees me as Devilla's spy, anyway… And it's um. It sounds like Mellany doesn't really have any interest in helping me?"
I nodded, hummed, and fought the urge to run up to Araina and give her a big hug. Instead, I turned to Abigail.
"I think we're going to need Devilla."
Chloe
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Abigail asked for the third time.
"I'm sure," I replied, keeping my voice nice and patient. I mean, I could hardly blame her for the whole disbelief thing! We were on one of the nature floors, after all. Great for relaxing outside the city floors, not so great for eating fancy dinners. Especially this one, seeing as how it was forest-based.
"Don't doubt Chloe's information network," Nivera grumbled, glaring at Abigail. "She's never wrong."
"Almost never," I corrected her. Because sweetness is sweet, but getting carried away was just going to set false expectations! "There was that one time with the juggler! And yep, I know, you still think that she was up to something - your trust in me is really sweet. We did clear her, though… My intel's pretty solid this time, though, either way. A friend of a friend overheard another friend talking to her friend about how Araina got invited out to a sunset picnic by this girl in a super expensive dress. Also, I just straight up asked Araina what her dinner plans were while you two were busy. She got super flustered. It was the cutest thing!"
Seriously - she'd turned so red! And her adorable little feet started tapping away at the ground as she backed up, then shuffled forward, then went back again… No need to bring all that up, though! I mean, sure, communication is important, but I wasn't trying to make Nivera jealous! Especially about the feet. She always pouted when I said anything about someone having cute feet. I think she worried I might have a foot fetish, or something.
Anyway, Nivera looked like she had enough things she wanted to say already. Like 'why were you flirting with the enemy,' and 'why would you risk alerting our enemy by flirting with them,' and 'are you sure you didn't just want to flirt with a cute spider girl?' But all she actually said was, "Okay."
Which… No. Communication is too important to let her get away with that taciturn nonsense! Especially since I knew why she was doing it.
"Awww, look at my cutie Niv, acting like she trusts me completely!" I cooed. "Not that you don't, but you also really don't need to try and put up a 'united front' in front of Abigail and Bailey, y'know? We're allies. And I know you've got wasps in your stomach, wondering whether Araina's likely to change her plans, or contact the Aleesendra family. The answer is no, by the way! She has terrible social anxiety - really sucky stuff - so there's pretty much no way she's going to contact them an hour before the meeting just to tell them that she told some random girl where the meeting's going to be. Especially since I was all sneaky about it - y'know, went in asking her out on a date, then segued into teasing her about maybe already having one, and taking an interest in where? Even if she thinks it's suspicious, she'll second guess herself right up until the actual meeting time."
"Wait," Abigail said. "You asked her out on a date? Isn't she going to be a bit mad when she finds out you were trying to trick her? I mean, the plan is to get her on our side, right?"
"Who said I was tricking her?" I asked, tilting my head a little to the side. Mostly because I knew Nivera found it adorable when I did that, even if she'd never ever admit it in front of anyone. "I'm poly, she's cute, and I'm pretty sure she'd actually be into the whole 'bound up interrogation' thing Nivera's already plotting in the back of her brain. Though, maybe save the binding for after we've gotten to know her a bit better? And the interrogation for after I've gotten more of a chance to talk to her. Speaking of which, I'd really appreciate it if you could sit this one out, Niv. The poor thing's skittish enough already."
Oops, looks like it's 'Nivera Doesn't Want to Say the Thing she Wants to Say Take Two!' This time with a dash of suspicion! This time, I was going to take her "Alright" at face value, though. I had my reasons! And she knew I had reasons. And she knew I knew she knew about those reasons! And usually I'd say screw all that and demand that we actually explain our reasons, but this time… well, I had reasons!
"Come on, you two!" I called out to Bailey and Abigail. "We're gonna need to scamper like a set of squirrel girls on bitterbean if we want to make it there on time." Then I grabbed hold of both their wrists, and took off running like a… Well, like a squirrel girl on bitterbean, I guess! Partially because we really were running out of time, but also because Abigail looked like she wanted to ask a few questions in Nivera's place. Which, again, would normally be welcome, but - again - I had my reasons not to! So I was just going to have to keep them busy dodging tree roots while we ran for a bit.
"Fox up to something," Bailey grumbled from behind me. Which was maybe a bit of a problem, since it meant that she was good enough at keeping up to grumble, which in turn meant she might have the spare breath to ask questions I couldn't have her asking… but, thankfully, she wasn't the sort to talk much.
"I'm always up to something!" I agreed, because there's no deflection like a truth-based deflection! "I'm a trickster, y'know? I trick, tease, trap, and sometimes even bamboozle! But I also look out for my friends, so trust me, alright?"
"You know, most people would at least pretend to be trustworthy before telling people to trust them," Abigail pointed out. Which was totally true! And definitely the easier route to take. But…
"You say that like it's a good thing! If I acted like I'm always on the straight and narrow, I'd lose all credibility the moment you found out about my true nature. I'd rather be upfront on what you can and can't trust me with - speaking of which, it might be a good time to mention that I never lie, so if you want to mislead Araina through half-truths, you're on your own. But if you leave it to me, I'll be sure we get through this with all the sureness of a mouse sniffing her way through a maze! Which is to say that there's probably going to be a lot of backtracking, but we'll make it in the end."
"Wait. So you're a trickster who doesn't lie?" Abigail asked. I guess she was getting used to root-dodging, too. "How does that even work?"
"Pretty well, actually," I called back - or more like threw back! A little trick I knew, to make it seem like my voice was coming from behind her. It worked extra great when I paired it with an illusion. Of course, then I had to actually take the lead in guiding Abigail past obstacles, to ensure that she wouldn't stumble when her head snapped back towards my illusion. But that was fine! She'd probably only be looking for a second, anyway, so long as I made the fake image do a dramatic fade away. "Between the fun things I can do with my voice, the amazing things I can get up to with illusions, and absolutely crazy things I can do with my body - some of which you might see first hand, one day, if you're lucky - it's not actually that hard to get away without lying. And by never lying, I make sure people will take me seriously when it matters most! Communication's pretty important to me, after all."
"...Has anyone ever told you that you're a bit of a mess?" Abigail asked me, shaking her head. Bailey nodded, meanwhile, which… Okay, I wasn't going to say that didn't hurt - the girl was such an innocent sweetheart, I couldn't help wanting her to like me, but… Well, I had a mission to get back to!
"A very hot mess! Now come on, Araina's waiting right through those trees!"
Trees we passed through just half a second later. The arachne of the hour was standing by the opposite side of the treeline, nervously tapping her fingers together, shifting her legs about and occasionally glancing up at the sky to try and check the time.
"Hey Araina!" I called out, as soon as she was in sight. "How're you doing?"
"Ch-Chloe?!" she called out, jumping about a foot in the air. "And… aren't you… Queen Devilla's maid?"
"Fox popular," Bailey said. She sounded a bit impressed with me, which was nice, but… Well, I think she was impressed with the wrong thing. Araina knowing my name wasn't anything special!
"I mean, it would have been impolite to ask her out on a date without at least introducing myself, right? Also, hi Araina! Good to see you again so soon. Seriously. But also, I might have left out a couple tiny details about my entirely sincere interest in asking you out? Like the fact that I'm engaged to a fiancee who doesn't exactly mind me dating but does sorta have trust issues that can be difficult to work around? And also the fact that I'm Devilla's cousin. And she's Devilla's childhood friend. And that me, Devilla's friendly maid, and Devilla's… Bailey? All really really need to talk to you about your upcoming dinner with a member of the Aleesendra family."
"I-I'm not…" Araina swallowed and backed up a step, moving towards the trees. That wasn't good. She was definitely feeling skittish, but it could have been worse. She wasn't running away yet, at least. "I'm not in trouble, am I? It's just… I-I mean, Mellany reached out to me. S-she said she could help me with m-my image problem. I don't even… I wasn't going to give her a-any… I mean, I don't even have anything on Q-Queen Devilla, other than maybe a few rumors anyone could hear, s-so-"
"Relax," I interrupted, holding up my hands with my palm out. I needed to keep her from making any mistakes here, or Nivera might end up assuming the worst and doing something we couldn't take back. "I'm not here to make any accusations, alright? I just want to make sure nobody makes any mistakes they'll regret."
"Speaking of regrets," came a very familiar voice from behind me. I didn't even need to turn around to know that it was Nivera coming out of the woods behind me, with her arms crossed and her lips pulled down into an adorable frown. "I think we need to have a talk, Chloe. I have some new information that might change how you handle this."
"I'm sure you do," I replied, following through on the 'not needing to turn around' thing by… well, not turning around. "And I'll get to you as soon as I'm done reassuring our skittish General, alright?"
There was a moment of silence - shocked silence, if I had to guess, where everyone wondered what the heck was going through my brilliant mind as I completely ignored my fiancee. I ignored that, too!
"Araina," I continued, instead. "I'm going to have a talk with Mellany and get this all sorted out, alright? And I promise, whatever happens, I'll be speaking up for you. I know you don't mean harm. You're probably just scared because everything's changing, right? And you don't know where that leaves you?"
"I…" Araina hesitated a moment, before nodding. "Yes?"
"Well, we'll figure it out together," Chloe promised. "In a second. First…" I spun towards 'Nivera.' "Mellany! I stole your date. How about we make it up with that totally private chat you wanted?"
"Mellany?"
"Mellany?!"
"...Enemy?"
Abigail, Araina, and Bailey asked, pretty much in tandem, but not at all synced! Weird how that worked out.
'Nivera' meanwhile, blinked once, opened her mouth, closed it, and then let out a sharp laugh that sounded way too raspy to be coming out of my wonderful fiancee's throat. It was actually kinda creepy. "What gave me away?"
"Let's see…" I started, tapping my foot on the grass. "Excluding the fact that I recognized your name and knew you were a mimic girl - you really should have tried to interrupt before Araina said it, by the way - there's your hair and scales, which are both a few shades off. Also the fact that Nivera would never come in unannounced without using at least three hidden code words in the first sentence. And maybe some tail or hand signals, to be safe. Especially after I asked her to stay out of this. But also I asked her to stay out explicitly to bait you, since, y'know, Araina told me who she was meeting with earlier? Something I know you know, because there's no way you would have invited Araina to such an accessible place, in public, if you weren't trying to bait me out in turn. Right?"
"Actually, I was planning to ask for Araina's help getting in touch with Devilla," she claimed. "Meeting you was a surprise. Are you sure you aren't spending too much time with Nivera? It's warping your thought processes."
"Uh-huh." I rolled my eyes. "Because she totally got that way out of nowhere, and not, y'know, thanks to the same kind of upbringing you had? Now can we stop with the misleads and just get to the point? After you change, I mean. Kinda awkward interrogating my fiancee, y'know?"
Mellany let out another one of those creepy (from Nivera) laughs, and shook her head a little. At the same time, though, her body started to shift. Her tail curled up on itself, the scales melding together to form a solid lump beneath her demonoid half, which then stretched up and out in order to form a chest shape, one that came complete with hinges and a curved lid. The colors shifted from green to brown, and the scales became wooden grain.
The rest of her changes were a little less dramatic, but just as impressive. Her demonoid half, which was now protruding from the chest, became a touch less toned - though she kept the abs - while her arms grew just a little longer, and her nails extended, turning black alongside her fingertips. Her teeth, too, became long and pointed, meshing with one another to fill her mouth with a shark-like grin. Her hair, meanwhile, shifted from long wavy brown locks to a bright blonde bob that fanned out on either side of her head before coming to pointed ends. Her face became a bit more angular, meanwhile, while her green eyes shifted to two different tones - silver on the right, gold on the left. Finally, the black band that had surrounded 'Nivera's' chest sank into her flesh, revealing a perky pair of melons.
"Satisfied?" Mellany asked, baring her teeth in what might have maybe been a grin? If I was feeling charitable. Which I wasn't.
"Mostly!" I replied, with an actual grin. "I mean, there's still the whole underlying threat that comes with using Nivera's form - y'know, the bit that I know you can fuck up our lives, and you know that I know that, but neither of us are supposed to say it because unspoken threats are totally the best threats? Which is why I'm not even going to bother spelling out what I'll do to you if you ever actually follow through on that threat you totally didn't make. Instead, I'm going to invite you to come sit down and eat! I brought chamomile tea. And ham sandwiches!"
Mellany shivered. Which would normally make me feel bad, but for once I was pretty sure a heavy hand was warranted! Even if seeing her sharp toothed smile all strained was a bit of a downer. But she still tried to do the whole nonchalant thing, waving her pointy nailed hand in the air and going, "Yeah, yeah, I get it. No need for dramatics, alright? Copying her form was just the best way to separate you from Araina for a bit."
"Which you wanted to do, because…?" Abigail prompted. I think she mostly just wanted to feel included in the conversation, which was fair! She'd been sort of sidelined for all this.
"Because I wanted to work out a better deal for myself, of course," Mellany replied. "I mean, come on, that's why we're all here, isn't it? You want to make sure your new sugar mama stays safe. Chloe wants to keep her fiancee from having a mental breakdown when Queen Devilla inevitably returns to her old ways. Araina wants to… well, currently I'm pretty sure she wants to run away like a scared little bitch, but she's not doing that because she's also hoping to get everyone to stop hating on her, right?"
"Devilla is not my-" Abigail started
"Th-that's not-" Araina protested.
I clapped. "Yay! Communication! I like it. I mean, your views are totally tainted and twisted, and I kinda hate your guts already, but first impressions can be worked on! What's important is that you're actually saying what you mean out loud."
"I mean, you made it pretty clear that you want all cards on the table," Mellany said, with a shrug. "So let's do this. With Araina around, mind you, since you were going to tell her everything that happened anyway, right?"
I could tell from her smirk that she thought she was pulling one over on me with that. Most likely she didn't believe that I really wanted everything out in the open. I knew from dealing with my lovely - but uncommunicative - Nivera that it was a difficult thing for most bloodliners to wrap their heads around… but I actually did want everything out in the open, so, "Okay!"
Mellany blinked, which I kinda expected. Then she scowled, which I'd also more or less expected, and glared at Araina which… I wish I could say I hadn't expected. But, hey, in the end she went, "Ugh, fine!" Soooo… win?
"Let me make this simple for you," she continued. "I don't care about Araina. I don't care about her troubles, her woes, or whatever juicy rumors she might be able to share about Devilla. As far as I'm concerned, Granny Alira's an old hag who's obsession is just a waste of family resources that could be better spent on pursuing actual business opportunities. I asked Araina to meet with me, and put out false info about Granny taking an interest in her, explicitly so that I could try and lure you out - because I know you and your fiancee are two of the only people in this entire Goddess forsaken tower with both a hatred of bloodline politics and a willingness to actually do something about it."
"Uh-huh…" I gave her a nod, all serious like, hummed like I was actually giving it some thought, and then frowned like something had just occurred to me. "And what do you want for yourself?"
"A cushy government job," she answered immediately. "Paired with the rescinding of Devilla's ban on my family from entering political jobs. Excluding Granny, that is."
"You want your stock in the family to rise." Fallen from grace or not, it seemed like bloodliners were still bloodliners. The more someone accomplished, in a family like that, the more respect she'd be given and the more free reign she'd have to follow her own interests. It was a meritocracy, through and through - which sounded great, if you didn't know that they were all raised to be cutthroat bitches out to undo one another. Anything was fine, as long as their infighting never actually hurt the family's bottom line. Something for me to keep in mind, if I was going to be working with Mellany. She'd be a great ally, so long as it was in her best interest, but she'd as soon stab me in the back as pat me on it if it led her to a better deal.
"Um…" Araina raised her hand. "I just… want to keep my job? It's all I have left. Since everyone just sees me as Devilla's spy, anyway… And it's um. It sounds like Mellany doesn't really have any interest in helping me?"
I nodded, hummed, and fought the urge to run up to Araina and give her a big hug. Instead, I turned to Abigail.
"I think we're going to need Devilla."
Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for proofreading and Lulla for beta reading! I don't have a ton to say on this one, so I'll see you in chapter 35. (Said chapter will bring us back to Devilla, by the way! It's a little short, clocking in at around 2,000 words in terms of word count, but chapter 36 should more than make up for that at nearly 6.5k. I'm really looking forward to releasing that one!
Of course, both are already available on my patreon, for as little as a dollar~! Though the latter's still going through proofreading, due to its size.)
Of course, both are already available on my patreon, for as little as a dollar~! Though the latter's still going through proofreading, due to its size.)
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Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
Your job was already secure, you silly
Art: Mellany
- Pronouns
- She/Her
So, my friend Lulla got a bit inspired by Mellany, and drew a picture of her. (In fact, she's responsible for a good bit of her physical design.) This isn't her true form, but rather her default form if she wants to go full demonoid, or full monster.
Fun fact: Mimics in this setting are arguably a subspecies of arachne, what with being spider monsters. Trust me when I say that you do not want to see what a monster mimic looks like inside their chest! And you definitely do not want to get caught by one... *Shudders.* (Of course, they can shapeshift as well, but they're limited to inanimate objects. Usually ones that open up.)
And for the terminally curious who actually want to know how monster mimics work (since it's unlikely to show up in the story...) Well...
Fun fact: Mimics in this setting are arguably a subspecies of arachne, what with being spider monsters. Trust me when I say that you do not want to see what a monster mimic looks like inside their chest! And you definitely do not want to get caught by one... *Shudders.* (Of course, they can shapeshift as well, but they're limited to inanimate objects. Usually ones that open up.)
And for the terminally curious who actually want to know how monster mimics work (since it's unlikely to show up in the story...) Well...
Like I said, they're spider monsters. The inside of their chests is largely just a pair of chelicerae and a bunch of spinnerets. They web you up good and tight, and dissolve you in stomach acid, so that they can suck you up in much the same way as an ordinary spider might... If you're lucky, the chelicerae might end you. If you're lucky.
If you have a way to deal with the webbing, though, they're actually pretty damn vulnerable from the inside. The chest is their main protection....
If you have a way to deal with the webbing, though, they're actually pretty damn vulnerable from the inside. The chest is their main protection....
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LocalCatHybrid
Now I am become floof, the floofer of floofs.
- Location
- You know where...
- Pronouns
- Il/Lui
Like pyromancy? That seems like it'd be pretty deadly for a mimic from the inside... of course you'd be casting [Fireball] in an enclosed space, with all the issues that brings...
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I wouldn't recommend trying it, personally. But at the same time, if you're inside a mimic you likely don't have a ton of good options available to you.
- Location
- Washington State
I mean, either you fireball them, and die, or die; so you should probably threaten them with fireballing first right?
This has been an extremely good story. I love the relationships that your building. Lucy is a treat, like a paragon playthru on ME or DA 2.
Illa is great as a person who hit rock bottom and wants to be better. So great.
The lemons don't detract from the quality.
I look forward to reading what comes next.
Illa is great as a person who hit rock bottom and wants to be better. So great.
The lemons don't detract from the quality.
I look forward to reading what comes next.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Glad you're enjoying! Next update will be on Weds~!
- Location
- Oslo
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Maybe Araina?
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Yup, thanks for the catch~!
Chapter 35
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Devilla
A day of travel passed with surprising speed in Lucy and Feyra's company. I could tell that Lucy remained bothered by Kalice's treatment of her, but the forced smile that had emerged during that encounter made no further appearances after our parting. In its place, I was granted a frankly ridiculous number of its more sincere cousins. I didn't even want to think about what sort of social isolation she must have lived through for our simple conversations to bring her so much joy… Though, perhaps the magnitude had more to do with her feelings for me than the communication itself.
Regardless, outside our bumpy start the day of travel ended without further incident, and before I knew it we were setting up our tents. Or rather, Lucy and Feyra set up said tents, while I observed from a slight distance and did my best to learn. To be honest, I much preferred the idea of creating a stone haven for myself over setting up something so complicated, but Lucy had gone to the trouble of securing a tent fit for two people and I was hardly going to invalidate her efforts.
"Well," I began once the tents had been secured, "now that that's taken care of, I'm afraid I have something that needs doing. In the woods. It won't take me longer than a moment."
"Because that's not at all suspicious," Feyra grumbled. "Why the hell didn't you do it earlier? Instead of, say, standing around uselessly while we were putting up tents?"
"I think it's sweet that Eena wants to learn how to help," Lucy declared, giving me a bright smile. "Though you really could have done it then! I don't mind putting it up by myself."
"Nonsense," I protested. "It's our abode, if only for one night at a time. I should at least be able to contribute something to its construction…"
"Next time, then," Lucy promised. "I'll walk you through it step by step if I need to!"
Ignoring the fact that I could practically hear the eye rolling coming from Feyra's direction, I gave Lucy a serious nod of my head to broadcast my dedication and turned towards the trees. "I'll be back in a moment," I promised.
Truthfully, Feyra was likely right about me wasting a better opportunity. Delivering my letter to Abigail while Feyra was busy with her tent might have worked to prevent her from paying too much attention to what I was up to. If something went wrong with my teleportation, and I ended up teleporting along with my missive… Well, it would be preferable to have her distracted. At the same time, however, I stood by what I said - Lucy had secured a tent for us both, and pursuing my own interests while she set it up for us simply hadn't been an option.
Still, I had to admit that the sentiment had put me in something of a bind. I had little time for my task, if I wanted to preempt any potential shenanigans on Feyra's side. I suspected it would take more than a few minutes of absence for her to get ideas about revealing my true identity to Lucy, but considering the precarious nature of the current status quo… Well, the less time spent away from the duo, the better.
To that end, I reached into my pack, quickly withdrawing pen and paper from within the Empty Bag hidden within. Though I technically had some of the latter stashed in the pack proper - the better to pad it out - the paper I had hidden was wrinkle free. The pen, meanwhile, was best left within the confines of my holy artifact, where there was no chance of it breaking apart or leaking ink on my belongings, no matter how rough I got.
Considering the rush I was in, I chose to share relatively little in my initial missive. The fact that some humans had abilities akin to monster girls needed to be relayed, but I could - and did - choose to leave out the complexities of the so-called cursed and blessed bloodlines. Feyra's existence was similarly significant, paired with the fact that she had learned my identity, and of course the deal I had struck with her. The same precarious deal that necessitated my use of letters for communication going forward. As such I asked that she write anything I needed to know down and place it on the teleport pad, so that I could try and transport it to myself before sending her further information from my end.
Once all of that was dealt with, I stored my pen once again and pulled out my teleportation circle in its place. A simple, if pretty, metal disk, with intersecting lines carved seemingly at random across its surface, and random dots sprinkled about its face. The design was all but meaningless - likely meant only to keep people from copying it too easily - but there was still a certain beauty to be found in the randomness, so far as I was concerned. Whoever had created it had done a masterful job.
In the tower, one could use a circle such as this to teleport by simply standing upon it and pouring magic into it. So long as you - or whoever was operating the thing - knew the exact location of its twin, you would instantly be teleported from one circle to the other within an instant. It was a process I had always taken for granted in the tower. It wasn't until recently that I had discovered what should have been obvious to me long ago - that such teleportation magic simply wasn't possible with the meager amounts of arcane magic that the circles required. Indeed, the arcane magic worked as nothing more than a trigger, with the process itself being done through holy magic stored within the tower.
A startling discovery for me, yet it had only drawn a shrug from Abigail. She had gone on to inform me of the numerous 'miracles' the tower provided for its inhabitants - from garbage disposal sites that would simply and cleanly eliminate all waste, to floors where the sun shined down upon our crops despite us theoretically being indoors. And, of course, the lighting of the tower, including my own floor - something I'd never given much thought to, much to my chagrin. Though, in my defense, none of those things had ever applied to me directly! I'd never gone down to the crop growing floors, had never been required to throw out my own garbage, and could see in the dark so well that there was no real difference between night and day for me to begin with. Of course, looking at it another way, that only meant that I'd never taken much interest in how our people managed to stay fed, had never cleaned up any of my own messes, and hadn't cared enough to wonder how people other than me managed to find their way around a tower that barely even bothered with torches, beyond what was needed for ambiance.
…In any case, now that I knew that the tower had holy magic, I was far less concerned with the teleportation disk requesting some of my own to function. As such, I placed the letter upon its surface, pressed my finger down upon it, allowed it to pull holy magic from my body, and immediately found myself standing atop its twin in my bedroom.
"Well, that didn't work as I planned…"
"Devilla?!" Abigail called, leaping off my bed so fast that you'd think it a hot stove, rather than an extravagantly plush mattress. She ran towards me just as fast, and for a moment I thought I would get a repeat of Lucy's tackling hug. Instead, she slowed a step or two away from me, with a look that relayed not excitement, but relief. "Thank the Fallen… I wasn't sure you'd be coming back today."
"I wasn't planning on it," I admitted, glancing down at the letter by my feet. A quick bit of magic had it floating up to my hand, the better to be snatched from the air and handed off to a confused Abigail. "The letter should explain everything. I'll be back soon, alright?"
"Not alright!" Abigail cried out, an instant before I teleported.
Which, of course, meant I had to teleport right back again.
"What do you mean it's not alright?" I questioned her upon returning. "Did something happen?"
Abigail let out a breath I hadn't seen her take, no doubt relieved that I'd returned. The circumstances must truly have been dire.
"Yeah, something happened," she confirmed. "I met with Nivera and Chloe."
"Not Sallina?" I questioned, arching an eyebrow.
"...I wasn't exactly looking to meet another General after what happened last time," Abigail admitted with a shrug. "And it was fine. Nivera even apologized. Sorta."
"If it went fine, then why are you so relieved to see me?" I questioned her. "And where's Bailey?"
"Because what didn't go so fine was us crashing Araina's meeting with a member of the uh… Alees… sand... Whatever Alira's family is called. And Bailey's sleeping by your feet. It's been a long day."
I paused, taking a moment to glance down at the floor. I didn't see her at first - not until I craned my head around, and saw her curled up in the corner behind me, her chest rising and falling smoothly.
"The Aleesendra family?" I asked, lowering my voice in deference to the horned wolf's rest, even as I smiled down at her sleeping form. It seemed she'd gained the ability to stay a wolf in her sleep at some point. Perhaps because she was no longer weak from malnourishment? "Why would Araina be meeting with her?"
"Because she got into your head that you were firing her. And because Alira's granddaughter, Mellany, lied about being able to help with her image. Which is why we need you to meet with Araina, to calm her down. And maybe with Mellany, if you want to hear her out? Which Chloe seems to think would be a good idea, at least."
"Just Chloe?" I queried, arching an eyebrow. "Not Nivera?"
"Nivera doesn't want to go near anyone in Alira's family with a ten foot pole. She's pissed at what they did to you, and also about what was done to you to begin with. Also also, she doesn't hate you. Hell, I think you might be one of the only people in the tower she actually cares about."
"That doesn't even make sense!" I protested, unintentionally raising my voice in the process. My breath caught a moment after, and I spared a glance at Bailey, whose ear twitched as she kicked out a leg in her sleep. She didn't wake, though.
"Well, why don't you tell her that?" Abigail asked. "By which I mean literally tell her that. You guys haven't talked in, like, fifteen years, right? I think you're overdue for a conversation."
"I can't," I protested. "I… well, the letter explains it more thoroughly, but… I cannot afford to leave Lucy alone. Things might fall apart if I do."
"Well, things might fall apart here if you don't," Abigail countered. "Or at least Araina will. I'm pretty sure Mellany has some way of spiting us planned out if we don't meet with her, though - she just seems like the type. And let's not forget the whole debacle that came up with my last attempt to meet a General. I'm still not sold on Nivera's plan of acting like she's bribing me for info on you… Don't get me wrong, I'd love to take a few troubles off your plate, but I'm out of my depth here."
"As am I…" I sighed. "In fact, the only ones who seem to know what they're doing at the moment are Chloe and Nivera…"
"Who seem to think they need you to settle everything down," Abigail reminded me, letting out a sigh of her own as she shook her head. "Maybe I can ask them to buy us time? How long is this whole 'can't leave Lucy alone' thing going to last, anyways?"
"I don't know," I admitted. "I suppose I'll have to ask how long our journey will last, and get back to you."
"You never asked…?" Abigail shook her head and sighed. "Whatever. Just… get back to me as soon as you can, alright? I'll try to work something out."
"Thank you… Abby," I said, trying not to flush with embarrassment at my daring use of a friendly nickname, even as I attempted to reassure her with a firm nod of my own head. Then, with another application of arcane and holy magic, I was back in the woods.
As was a certain sleeping wolf, whose tail had landed upon the disk without my noticing.
So, as some of you may be aware, I actually reread Demon Queened from start to finish in preparation for this chapter - it's something I do now and again, to refresh myself on what I've already written. It helped me to remember a couple important details, and - just as importantly - helped firm up my grasp on the characters. Unfortunately, it may have also resulted in Devilla "backsliding" a little as early!Devilla is fresh in my mind. I don't think it's to an inappropriate degree, personally? I'm actually pretty fond of how she came out! But it's definitely something worth noting. (Though I'm not sure how much it'll stand out to people who aren't me.)
As far as comments on the chapter itself go... Well, the chapter's not that long, but it was actually packed with quite a few things of import. Like Bailey! I argued with myself a lot on whether to let her stay in wolf form while asleep, but ultimately decided that it was fairly small power up that would allow me to have a lot of fun in the upcoming chapters... I hope you'll look forward to it.
We also finally got the result of Devilla's teleportation experiments! There wasn't really a good way to fit it into the flow of the story before now, so I've been sitting on it all this time... (Though she obviously didn't experiment with it enough if she thought she could get away with just sending the letter! Poor girl thought she had a workable plan, but it's all falling apart.)
And then there's Devilla using a nickname for Abigail. It might not seem like much, but coming from Devilla... well, between that and her comments on Lucy's happiness, it seems like she's starting to accept that some people actually like her?????? Even though she doesn't understand it. Or expect it to last....
Many thanks to Lulla and FallingLeaf for beta and proofreading respectively! And thank you all for reading, too~!
PS: I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter's release~! It's about 3 times the length of this chapter, and... Well, you'll see in a week! (Or right now, if you want to head over to Patreon. Membership starts at a dollar! It and 37 are still undergoing proofreading though.)
As far as comments on the chapter itself go... Well, the chapter's not that long, but it was actually packed with quite a few things of import. Like Bailey! I argued with myself a lot on whether to let her stay in wolf form while asleep, but ultimately decided that it was fairly small power up that would allow me to have a lot of fun in the upcoming chapters... I hope you'll look forward to it.
We also finally got the result of Devilla's teleportation experiments! There wasn't really a good way to fit it into the flow of the story before now, so I've been sitting on it all this time... (Though she obviously didn't experiment with it enough if she thought she could get away with just sending the letter! Poor girl thought she had a workable plan, but it's all falling apart.)
And then there's Devilla using a nickname for Abigail. It might not seem like much, but coming from Devilla... well, between that and her comments on Lucy's happiness, it seems like she's starting to accept that some people actually like her?????? Even though she doesn't understand it. Or expect it to last....
Many thanks to Lulla and FallingLeaf for beta and proofreading respectively! And thank you all for reading, too~!
PS: I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter's release~! It's about 3 times the length of this chapter, and... Well, you'll see in a week! (Or right now, if you want to head over to Patreon. Membership starts at a dollar! It and 37 are still undergoing proofreading though.)
Yes, a great deal of shenanigans are afoot, or abreast, one of the two.
Thief of Words
Trans lesbian librarian
- Location
- Best book girl
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Shenanigans are entailed.
Chapter 36 - Devilla Will Remember That
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Note: So, I know some people like to skim (or even skip) the sex scenes in Demon Queened, and that's okay! But you might not want to do that this time. It's a lot less graphic than normal, and a lot more plot relevant. (That said, if you really can't handle it, nothing there is absolutely crucial - just skip down to the last three paragraphs and you should be good.)
"Bailey…" I fought the urge to groan or place my hands upon my face, choosing instead to look around me for a moment to ensure there was no sign of Feyra or Lucy in the vicinity. Satisfied with our isolation, I put forth the one-way sound seal I had learned from Lucy, and kneeled down to gently shake Bailey awake.
The horned wolf's ear flicked up a moment before her head did, her snout narrowly missing my face. Her tongue, on the other hand, hit the mark of my cheek quite expertly.
"Bailey!" I repeated, the word coming out much whiny than I would have liked. I reminded myself, firmly, that this wasn't the wolf girl's fault. I was the one who hadn't bothered to so much as nudge her away from the teleportation circle before activating it. The one who'd failed to notice her tail so close to my feet. "Do you know where we are?"
Bailey looked around, no doubt taking in the trees before turning her head back towards me and shaking her head slightly.
"Silly question." I sighed and shook my head. "Let me try again - do you know where we aren't?"
This time I received a nod of confirmation from the wolf, followed by her standing.
"Stay in wolf form, for the moment," I told her, preferring to be on the safe side. "I… need to take care of something, real quick."
Namely, checking in on Lucy. It was possible that Feyra had noticed my teleportations out of the area and subsequent absences. Hopefully she hadn't taken advantage of my time away to do anything I would regret - if she had, there was little I could do but face the music, but if she hadn't… Well, I couldn't shake the fear that she might take the gamble on my third disappearance, even if she hadn't done so on my first or second. If I were in her shoes, I might very well convince myself that it was a 'now or never' type of affair. I wanted to at least show my face in front of her and Lucy before that could happen.
Bailey, thankfully, nodded her assent without argument. I granted her a smile in turn, before dispelling my sound seal and turning towards our campsite. It wasn't hard to find - I simply listened for the sound of idle chatter. Though what I heard was more along the lines of 'excited babble,' as Lucy told Feyra about her not-date with me in excruciating detail. With a particular focus upon the faces I had apparently made at several points, and how 'cute' I had looked when the thought of indirect kissing had popped into my head.
Needless to say, I decided to rush my return to the campsite, abandoning all concern for the preservation of my magic and levitating myself over the twigs and stones to reach the two of them as fast as possible.
"Eena!" Lucy called out, once I'd broken through the treeline. "I was just telling Feyra about the hot sauce you have! It's really spicy, isn't it?"
"It seems to me that you were telling her far more than that," I remarked, painfully aware of the blush upon my features. "Did you really need to go into such detail about the shade of my cheeks after our skewer exchange?"
"It was the second best part, though!" Lucy exclaimed with a grin bright enough to blind.
"I know I'm going to regret asking this," Feyra said, "but considering you spent the last five minutes talking about the 'second best' bit, what the fuck was the first?"
"Watching Eena eat," Lucy answered instantly. "She gets this really blissful look on her face whenever she eats something good! Which is also how I know she didn't really like the skewer she took from me - not as much as she liked the other one - but she ate it anyway, because she knew I couldn't handle it as well as her! It was really nice being cared about, like that."
"B-Be that as it may," I said, fully aware of - but helpless to fight against - the fire further invading my cheeks, "I actually had something else that I wished to talk to you about. Namely, a question as to how long you think this trip will take?"
How long, in other words, would I be keeping Abigail waiting?
"Well…" Lucy began, hesitating a moment. From the look in her eyes, she obviously wished to know the reason behind my inquiry. She held that curiosity in check, though, as she mentally went over the trip in her mind. "We made pretty good time today, so… probably another two days to reach Daroom Woods? Then however long it'll take to clear the issue, plus the return trip, so…. Somewhere around a week, maybe?"
"A week…" There was no way I could ask Abigail to wait a week, was there? Especially if there was a chance it might take longer. There was also no way that I could spend extended periods away from Feyra and Lucy to deal with tower issues… At least not alone. But they didn't have to be alone, did they? Not if I asked Bailey to keep an eye on them. To stand in for me, as a presence to keep Feyra at bay… Lucy was already acquainted with the horned wolf, so it likely wouldn't be hard to convince her of Bailey's friendliness.
That left another issue, though - explaining my absences. Could I really disappear for hours on end, in the middle of our trip, without raising Lucy's concern? Without her questioning where I went? …Maybe. She probably wouldn't ask if I didn't wish to tell. She'd accept it, along with my other secrets, just as she'd accepted my question just a moment prior.
But was I satisfied with that? With leaving her completely out of the loop? Hiding everything from her, without so much as a crumb of information to satisfy her no doubt burning curiosity? How was I meant to be building trust with her if I didn't tell her anything?
"Eena?" Lucy asked me, worry writ clearly across her furrowed brow. "Is everything okay?"
"It is," I confirmed, nodding my head. "It's just…" I took a deep breath, allowing myself to wonder for a moment if I was making the right decision, before ruthlessly grinding that concern to dust beneath my mental heel. Lucy deserved my trust. Even if I couldn't tell her all my secrets, I wanted to tell her what I could. "There's someone I need you to meet. Can you follow me?"
"Alright!" Lucy agreed, moving towards me without a moment's hesitation.
Feyra, for her part, opened her mouth to say something - perhaps to protest - only to hesitate a moment as her gaze flicked between the two of us. Then she sighed. "I'll get the campfire going. Some of us actually have to worry about monsters attacking, you know?"
"We won't be far," I promised her, gently taking Lucy's hand and leading her back towards Bailey.
The redhead, for her part, seemed to hesitate a moment at Feyra's words, but ultimately surrendered herself to me with a faint squeeze of my hand. Still, I could tell that she was worried, from the way she glanced back towards Feyra now and again. As such, I chose to stop part way towards my goal, setting up a sound seal once we were suitably far from Feyra's sight and whistling to attract Bailey's attention.
Or trying to whistle, anyway.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asked, watching curiously as I blew air through my pursed lips, to no avail.
"Calling a friend," I informed her. "Or at least I'm trying to…" I didn't understand it. I knew how to whistle. I knew I did. I'd done it plenty as Jacob. But somehow, the knowledge wasn't translating right… perhaps because it had become more a matter of muscle memory than actual knowledge? In fact, I couldn't even recall the precise instructions, now that I searched my memories for them. Jacob must have learned it somewhere, yet no matter how hard I focused the memories would not surface…
"If she's close enough to hear you whistle, can't you just call for her?" Lucy suggested, stifling a giggle behind her gauntleted hand.
"...Bailey!" I called, wishing I could bury this memory as well as Jacob had his whistling tutorial. "Can you hear me?"
A short bark was my reply, followed quickly by the presence of the horned wolf herself, much to Lucy's apparent surprise.
"You kept her?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.
"More like she insisted on being kept by me," I replied, bending down a little to scratch the girl behind the ear. It was weird to treat her like a wolf, considering my desire to help her adapt as a demon, but Bailey's true nature wasn't something I was willing to get into. At least not directly. It would bring up too many questions about why I, personally, needed to keep my identity a secret despite willingly admitting to consorting with a demon. Still, to leave Lucy entirely in the dark about the nature of her new traveling companion felt wrong. So, once again, I would have to compromise. "She's different from the average monster. Smarter. I consider her to be on par with a human, at least in terms of raw intellect. Though I'm afraid her social skills are a little lacking…"
"Well, she's not growling at me, anymore," Lucy pointed out, pulling her hand from mine so that she could cautiously move it towards Bailey. The wolf girl allowed it, thankfully, her eyes closing in bliss as Lucy's fingers scratched behind her other ear. "I think that's already a big improvement!"
"Would you like to try communicating with her?" I asked, kneeling down besides her and running my fingers through her fur. "She's capable of using telepathy, of sorts - though you'd have to ingest a bit of her fur."
"You shouldn't suggest that too casually," Lucy warned me, frowning. "Lots of people would get really upset if they heard you saying that…" Despite having said that, she still reached out for Bailey's back. "Can I?"
Bailey hesitated for a moment, glancing in my direction, before nodding. Lucy thankfully didn't pluck the fur, but instead used a delicate dab of magic to cut a single strand. When I reached out to take a strand for myself, though, Bailey surprised me by pulling away.
"...You want to have a conversation with her alone?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.
Bailey nodded, her tongue lolling forth from her mouth in a way that somehow seemed to convey amusement to me.
For my part, I hesitated a moment before nodding my assent. There was no such pause on Lucy's side, however, as she instantly swallowed the hair, summoning a large glob of water to wash it down.
"It's just like using a potion, right?" she asked, closing her eyes. "Got it~! Let's see…" Lucy trailed off, her brow furrowing for a moment, and for the first time I got to witness what my conversations with Bailey must have looked like from the outside. And there was, in fact, a surprising amount to see - Lucy's expression flickered from happy, to serious, to sad, to happy again in the span of mere seconds. Afterwards, her eyes darted towards mine.
"...What?" I asked, stepping backwards a little.
"Bailey told me how you met," Lucy responded, with a small, sad smile. "And what she went through with her pack… but also how you've been a way better pack leader to her? Even though you'll never admit it, since you're always so hard on yourself. Then she threatened to stab and bite me a bunch if I ever hurt you, but she also said that she really hoped I could help you! And that she was rooting for me! As well as another girl?"
"Another…" I frowned. "You mean Abigail? She's just a friend. And I'm lucky that she'll even consider me that…"
"Abigail, huh?" Lucy asked. Her voice had a teasing tone to it - but though it matched her smile, and even her eyes, I couldn't help the nervousness that suddenly pervaded me. "Are you sure she's really just a friend? Because Bailey seemed to think otherwise."
"I'm sure," I promised. "Though, since we're on the subject, I did wish to broach the topic of monogamy with you… Namely in terms of how you feel about me sleeping with other people, as I highly doubt anyone but you would ever want me for more than my body."
The smile fell from Lucy's lips, and for a moment I thought she was about to tell me off for even suggesting the idea.
"I really wish you wouldn't talk about yourself like that," she said instead. "I mean, I fell for you, didn't I? So other people might fall for you too! But even if they don't, I think the fact that someone fell for you is proof enough that it can happen… and, also, I don't mind if you sleep with other people, but if you actually want to get together with someone else I'd like to meet them! Assuming you're interested in dating me, anyway?"
"I… I'm not… I mean, I'm not opposed to dating you, I suppose, but you shouldn't… I mean…" I paused, unsure of what I was even trying to say. "...I'll introduce you, one day…"
I had a feeling the two would enjoy teaming up to drive me insane.
"So is that everything you wanted to bring me here for?" Lucy asked, grinning as she scratched Bailey behind the ear again. "Because I really don't want to leave Feyra alone too long!"
"That's only part one, I'm afraid," I admitted with a grimace. "Though 'leaving Feyra alone' is, in fact, part of what I wanted to talk about."
"What do you mean?"
"The truth is…" Once more I hesitated, wondering if I truly wished to share yet more potentially incriminating information with Lucy. Once more, I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "Feyra figured out who and what I am. She wants to tell you. In fact, the only reason she's kept silent is because she's of the mistaken belief that I would hurt the both of you if the truth came to light. An untenable situation, to say the least… Especially since I might need to leave for brief periods, during the coming nights."
"Wait, that's why she's keeping quiet?" Lucy asked, her brow furrowing. "I thought it was because I told her I didn't want to know…"
I blinked. "You… knew?"
"I knew that she knows," Lucy confirmed, nodding. "She said she figured something out with her magic sight. But I told her I only want to hear it from you! And I do, when you're ready."
For a moment it felt like my heart was going to stop. A mixture of emotions were welling up inside me, warring for control. Frustration that I couldn't trust Feyra to keep silent, despite her fear. Sadness that I had to rely on fear to begin with. Happiness and gratitude for Lucy, who was keeping to her promise of trust, and… guilt. Guilt, because even though she'd go so far due to her trust in me, I still wasn't ready to trust her back. Not yet, at least. But if not now, then… when?
"After we're done with this mission," I decided. "I'll tell you everything."
"You don't have to!" Lucy protested me, much to my surprise. "I mean, it's fine if you want to? But you shouldn't tell me just because of a deadline! You should tell me because you want to."
"I do want to," I assured her, reaching out to gently take her arms. "I want to tell you everything. I just… can't. Which is why I need to force myself. Why I need a deadline. Without one, I fear I'll never cease my delays."
Lucy frowned at me, for a moment, before giving me the most reluctant nod I'd ever seen. "Fine. But I'm not going to be mad if you don't keep to it!"
"You won't have the opportunity," I vowed, sliding one of my hands down her arm, to find her fingers and squeeze them. "But that's for then. For now… Well, for now, I'm surprised you haven't questioned me about needing to disappear for a bit."
"Well, I am curious," Lucy admitted with a shrug. "But I don't want to pry too much? Though I guess I do really want to know if you'll be coming back during the night! I wanted to hug you while we fell asleep… It was really nice doing that in the inn."
"That shouldn't be a problem," I said. "Though I might miss a dinner or two, I can certainly be home by bedtime. Tonight, in particular, I need only leave you alone for a few minutes to arrange things."
"A few minutes?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side. "Can you really get anywhere that fast? …Ah. You don't have to answer that, if you don't want to!"
"You're allowed a little curiosity, Lucy," I said, a wry smile on my lips. "Though I'm afraid all I can tell you is that I have a method of traveling quite quickly."
"I know I am," Lucy replied, frowning. "But I keep thinking about that forced smile you gave me, back at the curio shop - when you felt like you had to tell me something, but you couldn't… and now you're trying to put a deadline on yourself, too! So I really don't want to add any more pressure."
"Would it help if I vowed not to answer more than I'm comfortable with?" I questioned. "Because I already know that you won't press. It's part of why I'm telling you so much to begin with. Because I want to trust you with everything I can, to make up for what I can't."
"You don't have to," Lucy reminded me - but though her words were stern, I didn't miss the smile on her lips. "But it does make me really happy to know that you trust me. As long as you're doing it because you want to, at least!"
"The trust I give, I give to you freely," I promised. "Though that isn't to say there's nothing I'd like in return… Namely, I'd like you to let Bailey travel with us. I believe she could prove useful for hunting, if nothing else. But more than that, I must admit that I want to use her as a deterrent. I worry that Feyra will blurt out my identity during my absences. Having Bailey present might make her think twice - she'll be like an extension of my presence, reminding her why she's kept quiet so far."
"Because of fear," Lucy pointed out, clearly unhappy with the situation.
"Something I'd like to rectify. In fact, I'm trying to convince her that neither I nor Bailey are of threat to her, at all - that we mean neither of you harm. If I can convince her of that, then I believe the threat of her spilling my secrets will naturally disappear as well…"
"...Alright," Lucy acceded with a little sigh, before giving Bailey a smile. "But you have to try and convince her too, Bailey - alright?"
"Thank you," I said, sighing in relief as Bailey nodded. "Then… if I could trouble you to convince her now, while I take care of something?"
"Right now?" Lucy questioned. "Without even coming back to camp?"
"It's something I've delayed for too long already," I informed her, thinking of how worried Abigail must be about Bailey's disappearance, before letting out a sigh. "Though, in truth, I might also be avoiding the look Feyra will give me upon my return. There's only so much terror I can take from that girl."
Lucy nodded sympathetically, squeezing my hand, just as I had hers. "Alright. But there's something I want to ask, too! Not in turn, though. I'll agree no matter what! But… when you get back… do you think we could have sex?"
I had to suppress a laugh. To think that after all this serious discussion the first thing on her brain would be sex… just how touch starved was she?
"That's fine," I agreed, a smile of relief upon my face. "I think I could use the opportunity to relax, in any case."
Somehow, the smile Lucy gave me in turn held no lust in it, only pure joy. It made my heart skip a beat.
***
"So, let me get this straight," Abigail said, her palms cradling her face. "You told the Heroine - who you're keeping your identity secret from - that another person in your party knows that secret, and that you're intimidating her into keeping quiet?"
"...Well, it sounds a lot worse when you put it that way," I remarked, crossing my arms. "And Lucy took it well enough, in any case."
"Only because she's insanely tolerant! You do know you wouldn't get away with that with anyone else, right? I mean, I know I'm a little on the extreme end, myself, considering I basically threatened to leave you if you didn't spill your secrets, but…"
"I'm aware," I replied, my voice dry. "Though I don't blame you, for the record. You had no reason to trust me at the time." And, in the end, it did serve to bring us closer together. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that sharing the burden of my failed Rite of Insight has been a relief. Though I feared that it may have put Abigail in an awkward spot…
"Do you regret it?" I found myself asking. "Knowing what you do now? I fear I failed to give much thought to the burden it might place you in, so eager was I to keep your company…"
"Don't you dare guilt yourself for that," Abigail warned me, narrowing her eyes. "I'm the one who pushed. And considering I actually enjoy your company these days, no, I don't regret it."
"Even though it's gotten you involved with so much drama? With Nivera, then Yara, and now this Mellany character, as well?"
"I mean, yeah, it's a bit of a pain," she admitted with a shrug. "But it's a small price to pay for ensuring our species survival. Honestly, I don't even wanna think about what route you might have taken if you didn't tell me."
"...Fair," I conceded, my cheeks tinged red as I recalled my early plans. To abandon the tower to its fate, and hope for the best with Lucy at the helm. "But still… if it wasn't for me, you'd be living in blissful ignorance."
"Yeah, except for the whole 'what the hell is going on with our Queen' thing that would be running through my brain," Abigail pointed out. "And don't ask me if I regret having met you, because I don't. You may have made my life more complicated, but I actually like having you in it. Besides, you're not the only one who's struggled to build meaningful connections, alright? I don't exactly have a ton of friends outside of you."
"Really?" I asked, arching my brow. "I find that hard to believe."
"Well, you shouldn't." Abigail huffed. "Most people would have just told me to go fuck myself, if I gave them an ultimatum like the one I did you, you know? Not that I really make a habit of doing that, but… I'm prickly. And not exactly outgoing. Add in the fact that my last job was working for my mom - you don't wanna know how many accusations of nepotism I got just for having good clients - and I haven't exactly had a lot of opportunities to make lifelong friends. I hate to say it, but you're probably the person I'm closest to right now…"
"As honored as I am to hold that position, I must say I think you sell yourself short. You are a caring friend who has stubbornly stood up for my self-worth - regardless of whether I think I deserve it. You've taken on my burdens as your own, and by your own account you don't regret it. And, most of all, you've held my secrets close and stood by my side when I've needed you most. So far from telling you to fuck yourself, I'd be more than happy to do it myself."
"Yeah, well…" Abigail trailed off for a moment, a faint blush visible on her cheeks. "Speaking of friends… What do you want me to tell Nivera?"
"I'd like you to set up a meeting between me and her, for starters," I said, deciding not to comment on the decidedly forced subject change. No matter if Nivera had positive or negative feelings for me, I didn't think we could call each other friends after everything that had transpired between us. "If I'm to be working with her - in any capacity - then I need to get that out of the way."
"Do you want me there?" Abigail asked, her pitch black eyes somehow radiating a sense of concern.
"Nearby, perhaps, but not present. Not at first. Maybe when I'm ready to meet Chloe…"
"Are you sure?"
"Not at all," I confessed, shaking my head. "But I think I owe it to Nivera to let her vent any feelings she might have towards me in privacy… though, to be honest, I'm not sure how well I'll weather it. I'm not looking forward to the emotions our meeting might dredge up."
"How much do you remember about all that, anyway?" Abigail asked. "I mean, it seems like a lot of it's pretty much stamped in Nivera's mind, but what about you?"
"Not much…" I grimaced. "The basics, of course. Our friendship, and the course it took. But as for the details… I suppose I should make an effort to retrieve the memories before we meet."
"...Retrieve them?" Abigail asked, her brow furrowed in apparent confusion.
"Well, yes," I confirmed. "I mean, it has been fourteen years, and they haven't exactly been at the forefront of my mind…"
"No, I mean… how do you retrieve a fourteen year old memory?"
"You just…. do? It's not exactly difficult, is it? The hardest part is making sure you don't pull it too far into clarity, and end up reliving it entirely."
"That's… not how memory works, Devilla," Abigail remarked, frowning. "At least not for most people… I guess it might be different for Demon Queens? I mean, you are all angels, or something, right?"
"I…" I trailed off, my brows knitting as the corners of my lips drooped. Abigail was right. That wasn't how memory worked - or at least, that wasn't how it worked for humans. Or demons, it would seem… Was that why I couldn't recall how to whistle? Because Jacob's brain simply hadn't had that information in storage when my last life ended? And more importantly… "Is that why you all kept getting my meal orders wrong?"
"If by 'meal orders' you mean all the super specific requests you put in, for cutting your toast the right way, and ordering the layers of your sandwiches just right, or serving certain foods at exactly the right temperature, then… kinda? I mean, I don't know about the other maids, but I always thought it was a pretty big pain to keep track of."
"...Oh," I whispered, surprised to find a wetness in the corner of my eyes. I blinked it away, rubbing at it with my arms.
"...Devilla?" Abigail asked, concern evident in her tone. "Are you okay?"
"I'm… fine," I assured her, even as my voice cracked. "It's nothing… really. It's just… I always thought you were all doing it on purpose… that, or you simply couldn't be bothered to care… Stupid, isn't it? Even if it had been a purposeful slight, it's not as if I ever did anything worthy of the effort to begin with. I don't know what's wrong with me…"
Suddenly there were arms around me, as Abigail squeezed me tight. My head was pressed upon her shoulder before I could blink, her hand laid gently against my hair. My eyes widened in surprise at the tender care she gave, but they also dried, as a smile came to my lips.
"Thank you," I whispered, my voice low. "I know I wasn't really worth caring about before, but-"
"You were," Abigail interrupted. "Worth caring about, I mean. Even when you were at your worst."
"...You give me too much credit," I whispered, cautiously wrapping my arms around her. Some part of me expected her to flinch, to pull away, and tell me that she wanted no such thing from me. Instead, she merely tightened her grip around my form. "But thank you, Abby."
***
I don't know how long I stood in Abigail's embrace. I only know that I felt refreshed when I finally left it - which was probably for the best, considering I knew what was coming next. A promise had been made to Lucy, and a promise would be kept. Even if I knew for a fact that she would let me off if I asked.
"I should get back to Lucy, and the others…"
"Yeah…" Abigail agreed, slowly nodding her head. "You'll be back tomorrow, right?"
"I will," I promised her. "To meet with you, and Nivera. And perhaps Chloe, if I'm feeling up for it… I hope you won't think less of me if I end up in your arms again?"
"I don't think that's usually how that phrase is used," Abigail remarked with obvious exasperation. "But no, I won't."
"Then it's a date," I confirmed, striding over to the circle.
"A date…" Abigail confirmed. For some reason, I thought I saw a tinge of red upon her cheeks in the moment before the teleportation circle took me, but perhaps it was only my imagination. I couldn't be sure - as good as my memory might be, it was still subjective. If I hadn't gotten a good look the first time, then no amount of replaying it in my head would give me an answer.
I shook off such thoughts, making my way to camp, where I found a fire merrily crackling between two tents. Bailey laid in front of it, her tail wagging as she panted. I knelt to give her a scratch behind the ear. "Are the others in their camps?"
Bailey nodded, before nudging me with her nose towards the larger of the two domiciles.
"Alright," I agreed, getting up and walking towards it. "I suppose I've left her waiting long enough…"
"It's fine!" Lucy called out, even as I pulled the flap apart to enter. "I don't mind waiting."
"Perhaps I do, though," I teased, taking in her form. She was dressed in only a loose shift - one that only hinted to the curves beneath. One that would be quite easy to remove. Yet when I reached out for her clothing, she grabbed my hand in both her own and squeezed.
"Not tonight," she said to my surprise. "Tonight, I want to take the lead."
"You do?" I questioned, caught by surprise. She had mentioned that she wished to learn how, during our previous sessions, but while I could testify to her studious nature I never expected her to try and take charge so fast.
"I do!" she confirmed, her eyes shining with a determination that would brook no argument. "And I want to start by removing your clothes! If you're okay with that?"
"...I suppose," I conceded with a nod. Though I had my doubts as to whether Lucy was ready, I thought I owed her a chance to prove herself. It wasn't as if I stood to lose anything, regardless.
Except for my shirt, that is, which Lucy swiftly took hold of, and pulled above my head. Her hands were perhaps a little too eager, pushing me to lift my arms in a hurry so that she could pull off the maneuver, but despite the hunger in her eyes as she took in my topless form, her movements were still somewhat gentle. She didn't so much as pop a stitch in my blouse, or my skirt when she tugged it down. When she reached my panties, meanwhile, she hesitated, eyeing me with a silent request for permission. Only when I nodded did she slip her fingers into the waistband, gently tugging the article down before going down to her knees and guiding my still-heeled foot through the clothes.
Lucy remained on her knees for a moment afterward, taking in my naked form with eyes filled with a raw hunger. "Can you lie down for me?" she asked after a moment. "I've got a bedroll already set."
I nodded, deciding to forgo mentioning my own for the moment, as I laid upon the soft surface Lucy had provided. Only once I was prone did the redhead reach for the straps of my heels, gently prying them from my form and placing them down besides my clothes. Then she crawled forward, placing her slender hands upon my thighs and gently - but firmly - pushed them apart.
"Aren't you going to undress yourself?" I questioned, as she placed her lips upon my inner thigh.
She didn't respond at first, choosing instead to kiss my flesh, once, then twice, then thrice, each one taking her slightly closer to my center - before parting, just when she would have reached my folds.
"I don't want to," she informed me, carefully moving her legs between mine, so that her knees pressed against the inside of my thighs. "I mean, if I do, you'll try to make me feel good, won't you?"
"That is rather the point," I confirmed, arching an eyebrow. "Though I assume there's some reason you wish otherwise?"
Lucy nodded. "You're always making me feel good. Every moment with you makes me so happy! And I guess part of it's just that you treat me like a normal person? But I also just really enjoy your company!"
"As I do yours," I replied. "But I hardly see what that has to do with not taking off your clothes?"
"Because it's not really the same," Lucy told me. "I mean, I know you enjoy my company, but… you also think it's temporary, right? You don't think it'll last."
I didn't reply. I suppose that my silence was answer enough though, for after a moment Lucy went on.
"The first time we had sex, I told you I wanted to try and get my feelings across to you… but I didn't really know anything about sex, at the time. And I didn't really know you!"
"You still don't," I pointed out. "The aggregate of our time together wouldn't even eclipse three days, as of yet."
"I know… I know there's still a long way for me to go! A lot for me to learn! But I still want to share my feelings with you…" She placed her hand on the ground beside me, lowering her head towards my breasts, coming close enough that I could feel her breath across one nipple. "I want to show you how I feel, right now. Even if it might change in the future! I want you to know that, right now, I really love being around you…"
She kissed the tip of my nipple, her soft lips caressing the hard peak. "I really love talking to you."
Another kiss, deeper this time, with her lips wrapping about the tip of my breast, her tongue teasing at its edge as she gently sucked, then nipped, drawing forth a soft gasp from my own lips even as she parted. "I love learning about you."
Her free hand moved to grope my unattended tit, her fingers curling around the slope and squeezing, as her thumb brushed across the tip. "I love the trust you've given me… The fact that you feel safe telling me all sorts of things…"
She kissed her way down the swell of my breast, occasionally nipping with her teeth as she slowly worked her way down into the valley between them. Then she placed a kiss there, as well, before planting both her hands against the ground and pushing herself backwards, until her head was once again poised over my sex. "I love how you help people! How you saved Derrin Village, and showed kindness to Bailey, and helped Feyra - even though I know you probably have excuses for all of it." She kissed my thighs, first on one side, then the other.
"And I know it's too early to say I love you… Especially when there's still so much I have to learn… But I'm going to do my best to learn as much about you as I can! And I want you to give me a chance, so…"
Her head lifted, her determined gaze catching my own eyes as a thrill of… something… went through me. Excitement? Fear? I didn't know what to call it. I only knew that it kept me captive to her gaze.
"Eventually, when you trust me enough to tell me everything… If I still feel this way… If I still want to ask you on a date… Do you think you can give me a chance?"
I wanted to say yes, but the words caught in my throat. For the second time that night, I realized I had tears in my eyes - though, this time, I couldn't say why.
Still, I gave her the only answer I could muster - an almost imperceptible nod. I wasn't even sure she'd be able to see it, in the relative darkness of our tent, but she must have, for an instant later her smile was brightening the world around us.
"Then tonight… just for tonight… at least for now… please accept my feelings for you!" Then her head was lowered towards my center. Her tongue slid against my folds, even as her fingers found my clit. She teased it with her thumb, bringing forth a needy whimper with the barest of touches, even as her tongue slid its way into my sex. It wasn't long before she had me crying out in pleasure.
The next thing I knew, I was laying against her chest, my own bedroll forgotten entirely as we squeezed together onto the short strip of cloth. My head against her chest, and her arms wrapped protectively against me. Our legs tangled together.
I felt loved - or at least cared for, as I had never been before. It didn't matter if it was only temporary. It didn't matter if Lucy's feelings had the depth of true affection, or were simply the result of a crush. Not in that moment.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder, as I drifted off towards sleep in her arms - after everything I'd done, with everything I still kept secret… Was it truly alright for me to feel like this?
Devilla
"Bailey…" I fought the urge to groan or place my hands upon my face, choosing instead to look around me for a moment to ensure there was no sign of Feyra or Lucy in the vicinity. Satisfied with our isolation, I put forth the one-way sound seal I had learned from Lucy, and kneeled down to gently shake Bailey awake.
The horned wolf's ear flicked up a moment before her head did, her snout narrowly missing my face. Her tongue, on the other hand, hit the mark of my cheek quite expertly.
"Bailey!" I repeated, the word coming out much whiny than I would have liked. I reminded myself, firmly, that this wasn't the wolf girl's fault. I was the one who hadn't bothered to so much as nudge her away from the teleportation circle before activating it. The one who'd failed to notice her tail so close to my feet. "Do you know where we are?"
Bailey looked around, no doubt taking in the trees before turning her head back towards me and shaking her head slightly.
"Silly question." I sighed and shook my head. "Let me try again - do you know where we aren't?"
This time I received a nod of confirmation from the wolf, followed by her standing.
"Stay in wolf form, for the moment," I told her, preferring to be on the safe side. "I… need to take care of something, real quick."
Namely, checking in on Lucy. It was possible that Feyra had noticed my teleportations out of the area and subsequent absences. Hopefully she hadn't taken advantage of my time away to do anything I would regret - if she had, there was little I could do but face the music, but if she hadn't… Well, I couldn't shake the fear that she might take the gamble on my third disappearance, even if she hadn't done so on my first or second. If I were in her shoes, I might very well convince myself that it was a 'now or never' type of affair. I wanted to at least show my face in front of her and Lucy before that could happen.
Bailey, thankfully, nodded her assent without argument. I granted her a smile in turn, before dispelling my sound seal and turning towards our campsite. It wasn't hard to find - I simply listened for the sound of idle chatter. Though what I heard was more along the lines of 'excited babble,' as Lucy told Feyra about her not-date with me in excruciating detail. With a particular focus upon the faces I had apparently made at several points, and how 'cute' I had looked when the thought of indirect kissing had popped into my head.
Needless to say, I decided to rush my return to the campsite, abandoning all concern for the preservation of my magic and levitating myself over the twigs and stones to reach the two of them as fast as possible.
"Eena!" Lucy called out, once I'd broken through the treeline. "I was just telling Feyra about the hot sauce you have! It's really spicy, isn't it?"
"It seems to me that you were telling her far more than that," I remarked, painfully aware of the blush upon my features. "Did you really need to go into such detail about the shade of my cheeks after our skewer exchange?"
"It was the second best part, though!" Lucy exclaimed with a grin bright enough to blind.
"I know I'm going to regret asking this," Feyra said, "but considering you spent the last five minutes talking about the 'second best' bit, what the fuck was the first?"
"Watching Eena eat," Lucy answered instantly. "She gets this really blissful look on her face whenever she eats something good! Which is also how I know she didn't really like the skewer she took from me - not as much as she liked the other one - but she ate it anyway, because she knew I couldn't handle it as well as her! It was really nice being cared about, like that."
"B-Be that as it may," I said, fully aware of - but helpless to fight against - the fire further invading my cheeks, "I actually had something else that I wished to talk to you about. Namely, a question as to how long you think this trip will take?"
How long, in other words, would I be keeping Abigail waiting?
"Well…" Lucy began, hesitating a moment. From the look in her eyes, she obviously wished to know the reason behind my inquiry. She held that curiosity in check, though, as she mentally went over the trip in her mind. "We made pretty good time today, so… probably another two days to reach Daroom Woods? Then however long it'll take to clear the issue, plus the return trip, so…. Somewhere around a week, maybe?"
"A week…" There was no way I could ask Abigail to wait a week, was there? Especially if there was a chance it might take longer. There was also no way that I could spend extended periods away from Feyra and Lucy to deal with tower issues… At least not alone. But they didn't have to be alone, did they? Not if I asked Bailey to keep an eye on them. To stand in for me, as a presence to keep Feyra at bay… Lucy was already acquainted with the horned wolf, so it likely wouldn't be hard to convince her of Bailey's friendliness.
That left another issue, though - explaining my absences. Could I really disappear for hours on end, in the middle of our trip, without raising Lucy's concern? Without her questioning where I went? …Maybe. She probably wouldn't ask if I didn't wish to tell. She'd accept it, along with my other secrets, just as she'd accepted my question just a moment prior.
But was I satisfied with that? With leaving her completely out of the loop? Hiding everything from her, without so much as a crumb of information to satisfy her no doubt burning curiosity? How was I meant to be building trust with her if I didn't tell her anything?
"Eena?" Lucy asked me, worry writ clearly across her furrowed brow. "Is everything okay?"
"It is," I confirmed, nodding my head. "It's just…" I took a deep breath, allowing myself to wonder for a moment if I was making the right decision, before ruthlessly grinding that concern to dust beneath my mental heel. Lucy deserved my trust. Even if I couldn't tell her all my secrets, I wanted to tell her what I could. "There's someone I need you to meet. Can you follow me?"
"Alright!" Lucy agreed, moving towards me without a moment's hesitation.
Feyra, for her part, opened her mouth to say something - perhaps to protest - only to hesitate a moment as her gaze flicked between the two of us. Then she sighed. "I'll get the campfire going. Some of us actually have to worry about monsters attacking, you know?"
"We won't be far," I promised her, gently taking Lucy's hand and leading her back towards Bailey.
The redhead, for her part, seemed to hesitate a moment at Feyra's words, but ultimately surrendered herself to me with a faint squeeze of my hand. Still, I could tell that she was worried, from the way she glanced back towards Feyra now and again. As such, I chose to stop part way towards my goal, setting up a sound seal once we were suitably far from Feyra's sight and whistling to attract Bailey's attention.
Or trying to whistle, anyway.
"What are you doing?" Lucy asked, watching curiously as I blew air through my pursed lips, to no avail.
"Calling a friend," I informed her. "Or at least I'm trying to…" I didn't understand it. I knew how to whistle. I knew I did. I'd done it plenty as Jacob. But somehow, the knowledge wasn't translating right… perhaps because it had become more a matter of muscle memory than actual knowledge? In fact, I couldn't even recall the precise instructions, now that I searched my memories for them. Jacob must have learned it somewhere, yet no matter how hard I focused the memories would not surface…
"If she's close enough to hear you whistle, can't you just call for her?" Lucy suggested, stifling a giggle behind her gauntleted hand.
"...Bailey!" I called, wishing I could bury this memory as well as Jacob had his whistling tutorial. "Can you hear me?"
A short bark was my reply, followed quickly by the presence of the horned wolf herself, much to Lucy's apparent surprise.
"You kept her?" Lucy asked, her eyes wide.
"More like she insisted on being kept by me," I replied, bending down a little to scratch the girl behind the ear. It was weird to treat her like a wolf, considering my desire to help her adapt as a demon, but Bailey's true nature wasn't something I was willing to get into. At least not directly. It would bring up too many questions about why I, personally, needed to keep my identity a secret despite willingly admitting to consorting with a demon. Still, to leave Lucy entirely in the dark about the nature of her new traveling companion felt wrong. So, once again, I would have to compromise. "She's different from the average monster. Smarter. I consider her to be on par with a human, at least in terms of raw intellect. Though I'm afraid her social skills are a little lacking…"
"Well, she's not growling at me, anymore," Lucy pointed out, pulling her hand from mine so that she could cautiously move it towards Bailey. The wolf girl allowed it, thankfully, her eyes closing in bliss as Lucy's fingers scratched behind her other ear. "I think that's already a big improvement!"
"Would you like to try communicating with her?" I asked, kneeling down besides her and running my fingers through her fur. "She's capable of using telepathy, of sorts - though you'd have to ingest a bit of her fur."
"You shouldn't suggest that too casually," Lucy warned me, frowning. "Lots of people would get really upset if they heard you saying that…" Despite having said that, she still reached out for Bailey's back. "Can I?"
Bailey hesitated for a moment, glancing in my direction, before nodding. Lucy thankfully didn't pluck the fur, but instead used a delicate dab of magic to cut a single strand. When I reached out to take a strand for myself, though, Bailey surprised me by pulling away.
"...You want to have a conversation with her alone?" I asked, arching an eyebrow.
Bailey nodded, her tongue lolling forth from her mouth in a way that somehow seemed to convey amusement to me.
For my part, I hesitated a moment before nodding my assent. There was no such pause on Lucy's side, however, as she instantly swallowed the hair, summoning a large glob of water to wash it down.
"It's just like using a potion, right?" she asked, closing her eyes. "Got it~! Let's see…" Lucy trailed off, her brow furrowing for a moment, and for the first time I got to witness what my conversations with Bailey must have looked like from the outside. And there was, in fact, a surprising amount to see - Lucy's expression flickered from happy, to serious, to sad, to happy again in the span of mere seconds. Afterwards, her eyes darted towards mine.
"...What?" I asked, stepping backwards a little.
"Bailey told me how you met," Lucy responded, with a small, sad smile. "And what she went through with her pack… but also how you've been a way better pack leader to her? Even though you'll never admit it, since you're always so hard on yourself. Then she threatened to stab and bite me a bunch if I ever hurt you, but she also said that she really hoped I could help you! And that she was rooting for me! As well as another girl?"
"Another…" I frowned. "You mean Abigail? She's just a friend. And I'm lucky that she'll even consider me that…"
"Abigail, huh?" Lucy asked. Her voice had a teasing tone to it - but though it matched her smile, and even her eyes, I couldn't help the nervousness that suddenly pervaded me. "Are you sure she's really just a friend? Because Bailey seemed to think otherwise."
"I'm sure," I promised. "Though, since we're on the subject, I did wish to broach the topic of monogamy with you… Namely in terms of how you feel about me sleeping with other people, as I highly doubt anyone but you would ever want me for more than my body."
The smile fell from Lucy's lips, and for a moment I thought she was about to tell me off for even suggesting the idea.
"I really wish you wouldn't talk about yourself like that," she said instead. "I mean, I fell for you, didn't I? So other people might fall for you too! But even if they don't, I think the fact that someone fell for you is proof enough that it can happen… and, also, I don't mind if you sleep with other people, but if you actually want to get together with someone else I'd like to meet them! Assuming you're interested in dating me, anyway?"
"I… I'm not… I mean, I'm not opposed to dating you, I suppose, but you shouldn't… I mean…" I paused, unsure of what I was even trying to say. "...I'll introduce you, one day…"
I had a feeling the two would enjoy teaming up to drive me insane.
"So is that everything you wanted to bring me here for?" Lucy asked, grinning as she scratched Bailey behind the ear again. "Because I really don't want to leave Feyra alone too long!"
"That's only part one, I'm afraid," I admitted with a grimace. "Though 'leaving Feyra alone' is, in fact, part of what I wanted to talk about."
"What do you mean?"
"The truth is…" Once more I hesitated, wondering if I truly wished to share yet more potentially incriminating information with Lucy. Once more, I took a deep breath and plunged ahead. "Feyra figured out who and what I am. She wants to tell you. In fact, the only reason she's kept silent is because she's of the mistaken belief that I would hurt the both of you if the truth came to light. An untenable situation, to say the least… Especially since I might need to leave for brief periods, during the coming nights."
"Wait, that's why she's keeping quiet?" Lucy asked, her brow furrowing. "I thought it was because I told her I didn't want to know…"
I blinked. "You… knew?"
"I knew that she knows," Lucy confirmed, nodding. "She said she figured something out with her magic sight. But I told her I only want to hear it from you! And I do, when you're ready."
For a moment it felt like my heart was going to stop. A mixture of emotions were welling up inside me, warring for control. Frustration that I couldn't trust Feyra to keep silent, despite her fear. Sadness that I had to rely on fear to begin with. Happiness and gratitude for Lucy, who was keeping to her promise of trust, and… guilt. Guilt, because even though she'd go so far due to her trust in me, I still wasn't ready to trust her back. Not yet, at least. But if not now, then… when?
"After we're done with this mission," I decided. "I'll tell you everything."
"You don't have to!" Lucy protested me, much to my surprise. "I mean, it's fine if you want to? But you shouldn't tell me just because of a deadline! You should tell me because you want to."
"I do want to," I assured her, reaching out to gently take her arms. "I want to tell you everything. I just… can't. Which is why I need to force myself. Why I need a deadline. Without one, I fear I'll never cease my delays."
Lucy frowned at me, for a moment, before giving me the most reluctant nod I'd ever seen. "Fine. But I'm not going to be mad if you don't keep to it!"
"You won't have the opportunity," I vowed, sliding one of my hands down her arm, to find her fingers and squeeze them. "But that's for then. For now… Well, for now, I'm surprised you haven't questioned me about needing to disappear for a bit."
"Well, I am curious," Lucy admitted with a shrug. "But I don't want to pry too much? Though I guess I do really want to know if you'll be coming back during the night! I wanted to hug you while we fell asleep… It was really nice doing that in the inn."
"That shouldn't be a problem," I said. "Though I might miss a dinner or two, I can certainly be home by bedtime. Tonight, in particular, I need only leave you alone for a few minutes to arrange things."
"A few minutes?" Lucy asked, tilting her head to the side. "Can you really get anywhere that fast? …Ah. You don't have to answer that, if you don't want to!"
"You're allowed a little curiosity, Lucy," I said, a wry smile on my lips. "Though I'm afraid all I can tell you is that I have a method of traveling quite quickly."
"I know I am," Lucy replied, frowning. "But I keep thinking about that forced smile you gave me, back at the curio shop - when you felt like you had to tell me something, but you couldn't… and now you're trying to put a deadline on yourself, too! So I really don't want to add any more pressure."
"Would it help if I vowed not to answer more than I'm comfortable with?" I questioned. "Because I already know that you won't press. It's part of why I'm telling you so much to begin with. Because I want to trust you with everything I can, to make up for what I can't."
"You don't have to," Lucy reminded me - but though her words were stern, I didn't miss the smile on her lips. "But it does make me really happy to know that you trust me. As long as you're doing it because you want to, at least!"
"The trust I give, I give to you freely," I promised. "Though that isn't to say there's nothing I'd like in return… Namely, I'd like you to let Bailey travel with us. I believe she could prove useful for hunting, if nothing else. But more than that, I must admit that I want to use her as a deterrent. I worry that Feyra will blurt out my identity during my absences. Having Bailey present might make her think twice - she'll be like an extension of my presence, reminding her why she's kept quiet so far."
"Because of fear," Lucy pointed out, clearly unhappy with the situation.
"Something I'd like to rectify. In fact, I'm trying to convince her that neither I nor Bailey are of threat to her, at all - that we mean neither of you harm. If I can convince her of that, then I believe the threat of her spilling my secrets will naturally disappear as well…"
"...Alright," Lucy acceded with a little sigh, before giving Bailey a smile. "But you have to try and convince her too, Bailey - alright?"
"Thank you," I said, sighing in relief as Bailey nodded. "Then… if I could trouble you to convince her now, while I take care of something?"
"Right now?" Lucy questioned. "Without even coming back to camp?"
"It's something I've delayed for too long already," I informed her, thinking of how worried Abigail must be about Bailey's disappearance, before letting out a sigh. "Though, in truth, I might also be avoiding the look Feyra will give me upon my return. There's only so much terror I can take from that girl."
Lucy nodded sympathetically, squeezing my hand, just as I had hers. "Alright. But there's something I want to ask, too! Not in turn, though. I'll agree no matter what! But… when you get back… do you think we could have sex?"
I had to suppress a laugh. To think that after all this serious discussion the first thing on her brain would be sex… just how touch starved was she?
"That's fine," I agreed, a smile of relief upon my face. "I think I could use the opportunity to relax, in any case."
Somehow, the smile Lucy gave me in turn held no lust in it, only pure joy. It made my heart skip a beat.
***
"So, let me get this straight," Abigail said, her palms cradling her face. "You told the Heroine - who you're keeping your identity secret from - that another person in your party knows that secret, and that you're intimidating her into keeping quiet?"
"...Well, it sounds a lot worse when you put it that way," I remarked, crossing my arms. "And Lucy took it well enough, in any case."
"Only because she's insanely tolerant! You do know you wouldn't get away with that with anyone else, right? I mean, I know I'm a little on the extreme end, myself, considering I basically threatened to leave you if you didn't spill your secrets, but…"
"I'm aware," I replied, my voice dry. "Though I don't blame you, for the record. You had no reason to trust me at the time." And, in the end, it did serve to bring us closer together. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that sharing the burden of my failed Rite of Insight has been a relief. Though I feared that it may have put Abigail in an awkward spot…
"Do you regret it?" I found myself asking. "Knowing what you do now? I fear I failed to give much thought to the burden it might place you in, so eager was I to keep your company…"
"Don't you dare guilt yourself for that," Abigail warned me, narrowing her eyes. "I'm the one who pushed. And considering I actually enjoy your company these days, no, I don't regret it."
"Even though it's gotten you involved with so much drama? With Nivera, then Yara, and now this Mellany character, as well?"
"I mean, yeah, it's a bit of a pain," she admitted with a shrug. "But it's a small price to pay for ensuring our species survival. Honestly, I don't even wanna think about what route you might have taken if you didn't tell me."
"...Fair," I conceded, my cheeks tinged red as I recalled my early plans. To abandon the tower to its fate, and hope for the best with Lucy at the helm. "But still… if it wasn't for me, you'd be living in blissful ignorance."
"Yeah, except for the whole 'what the hell is going on with our Queen' thing that would be running through my brain," Abigail pointed out. "And don't ask me if I regret having met you, because I don't. You may have made my life more complicated, but I actually like having you in it. Besides, you're not the only one who's struggled to build meaningful connections, alright? I don't exactly have a ton of friends outside of you."
"Really?" I asked, arching my brow. "I find that hard to believe."
"Well, you shouldn't." Abigail huffed. "Most people would have just told me to go fuck myself, if I gave them an ultimatum like the one I did you, you know? Not that I really make a habit of doing that, but… I'm prickly. And not exactly outgoing. Add in the fact that my last job was working for my mom - you don't wanna know how many accusations of nepotism I got just for having good clients - and I haven't exactly had a lot of opportunities to make lifelong friends. I hate to say it, but you're probably the person I'm closest to right now…"
"As honored as I am to hold that position, I must say I think you sell yourself short. You are a caring friend who has stubbornly stood up for my self-worth - regardless of whether I think I deserve it. You've taken on my burdens as your own, and by your own account you don't regret it. And, most of all, you've held my secrets close and stood by my side when I've needed you most. So far from telling you to fuck yourself, I'd be more than happy to do it myself."
"Yeah, well…" Abigail trailed off for a moment, a faint blush visible on her cheeks. "Speaking of friends… What do you want me to tell Nivera?"
"I'd like you to set up a meeting between me and her, for starters," I said, deciding not to comment on the decidedly forced subject change. No matter if Nivera had positive or negative feelings for me, I didn't think we could call each other friends after everything that had transpired between us. "If I'm to be working with her - in any capacity - then I need to get that out of the way."
"Do you want me there?" Abigail asked, her pitch black eyes somehow radiating a sense of concern.
"Nearby, perhaps, but not present. Not at first. Maybe when I'm ready to meet Chloe…"
"Are you sure?"
"Not at all," I confessed, shaking my head. "But I think I owe it to Nivera to let her vent any feelings she might have towards me in privacy… though, to be honest, I'm not sure how well I'll weather it. I'm not looking forward to the emotions our meeting might dredge up."
"How much do you remember about all that, anyway?" Abigail asked. "I mean, it seems like a lot of it's pretty much stamped in Nivera's mind, but what about you?"
"Not much…" I grimaced. "The basics, of course. Our friendship, and the course it took. But as for the details… I suppose I should make an effort to retrieve the memories before we meet."
"...Retrieve them?" Abigail asked, her brow furrowed in apparent confusion.
"Well, yes," I confirmed. "I mean, it has been fourteen years, and they haven't exactly been at the forefront of my mind…"
"No, I mean… how do you retrieve a fourteen year old memory?"
"You just…. do? It's not exactly difficult, is it? The hardest part is making sure you don't pull it too far into clarity, and end up reliving it entirely."
"That's… not how memory works, Devilla," Abigail remarked, frowning. "At least not for most people… I guess it might be different for Demon Queens? I mean, you are all angels, or something, right?"
"I…" I trailed off, my brows knitting as the corners of my lips drooped. Abigail was right. That wasn't how memory worked - or at least, that wasn't how it worked for humans. Or demons, it would seem… Was that why I couldn't recall how to whistle? Because Jacob's brain simply hadn't had that information in storage when my last life ended? And more importantly… "Is that why you all kept getting my meal orders wrong?"
"If by 'meal orders' you mean all the super specific requests you put in, for cutting your toast the right way, and ordering the layers of your sandwiches just right, or serving certain foods at exactly the right temperature, then… kinda? I mean, I don't know about the other maids, but I always thought it was a pretty big pain to keep track of."
"...Oh," I whispered, surprised to find a wetness in the corner of my eyes. I blinked it away, rubbing at it with my arms.
"...Devilla?" Abigail asked, concern evident in her tone. "Are you okay?"
"I'm… fine," I assured her, even as my voice cracked. "It's nothing… really. It's just… I always thought you were all doing it on purpose… that, or you simply couldn't be bothered to care… Stupid, isn't it? Even if it had been a purposeful slight, it's not as if I ever did anything worthy of the effort to begin with. I don't know what's wrong with me…"
Suddenly there were arms around me, as Abigail squeezed me tight. My head was pressed upon her shoulder before I could blink, her hand laid gently against my hair. My eyes widened in surprise at the tender care she gave, but they also dried, as a smile came to my lips.
"Thank you," I whispered, my voice low. "I know I wasn't really worth caring about before, but-"
"You were," Abigail interrupted. "Worth caring about, I mean. Even when you were at your worst."
"...You give me too much credit," I whispered, cautiously wrapping my arms around her. Some part of me expected her to flinch, to pull away, and tell me that she wanted no such thing from me. Instead, she merely tightened her grip around my form. "But thank you, Abby."
***
I don't know how long I stood in Abigail's embrace. I only know that I felt refreshed when I finally left it - which was probably for the best, considering I knew what was coming next. A promise had been made to Lucy, and a promise would be kept. Even if I knew for a fact that she would let me off if I asked.
"I should get back to Lucy, and the others…"
"Yeah…" Abigail agreed, slowly nodding her head. "You'll be back tomorrow, right?"
"I will," I promised her. "To meet with you, and Nivera. And perhaps Chloe, if I'm feeling up for it… I hope you won't think less of me if I end up in your arms again?"
"I don't think that's usually how that phrase is used," Abigail remarked with obvious exasperation. "But no, I won't."
"Then it's a date," I confirmed, striding over to the circle.
"A date…" Abigail confirmed. For some reason, I thought I saw a tinge of red upon her cheeks in the moment before the teleportation circle took me, but perhaps it was only my imagination. I couldn't be sure - as good as my memory might be, it was still subjective. If I hadn't gotten a good look the first time, then no amount of replaying it in my head would give me an answer.
I shook off such thoughts, making my way to camp, where I found a fire merrily crackling between two tents. Bailey laid in front of it, her tail wagging as she panted. I knelt to give her a scratch behind the ear. "Are the others in their camps?"
Bailey nodded, before nudging me with her nose towards the larger of the two domiciles.
"Alright," I agreed, getting up and walking towards it. "I suppose I've left her waiting long enough…"
"It's fine!" Lucy called out, even as I pulled the flap apart to enter. "I don't mind waiting."
"Perhaps I do, though," I teased, taking in her form. She was dressed in only a loose shift - one that only hinted to the curves beneath. One that would be quite easy to remove. Yet when I reached out for her clothing, she grabbed my hand in both her own and squeezed.
"Not tonight," she said to my surprise. "Tonight, I want to take the lead."
"You do?" I questioned, caught by surprise. She had mentioned that she wished to learn how, during our previous sessions, but while I could testify to her studious nature I never expected her to try and take charge so fast.
"I do!" she confirmed, her eyes shining with a determination that would brook no argument. "And I want to start by removing your clothes! If you're okay with that?"
"...I suppose," I conceded with a nod. Though I had my doubts as to whether Lucy was ready, I thought I owed her a chance to prove herself. It wasn't as if I stood to lose anything, regardless.
Except for my shirt, that is, which Lucy swiftly took hold of, and pulled above my head. Her hands were perhaps a little too eager, pushing me to lift my arms in a hurry so that she could pull off the maneuver, but despite the hunger in her eyes as she took in my topless form, her movements were still somewhat gentle. She didn't so much as pop a stitch in my blouse, or my skirt when she tugged it down. When she reached my panties, meanwhile, she hesitated, eyeing me with a silent request for permission. Only when I nodded did she slip her fingers into the waistband, gently tugging the article down before going down to her knees and guiding my still-heeled foot through the clothes.
Lucy remained on her knees for a moment afterward, taking in my naked form with eyes filled with a raw hunger. "Can you lie down for me?" she asked after a moment. "I've got a bedroll already set."
I nodded, deciding to forgo mentioning my own for the moment, as I laid upon the soft surface Lucy had provided. Only once I was prone did the redhead reach for the straps of my heels, gently prying them from my form and placing them down besides my clothes. Then she crawled forward, placing her slender hands upon my thighs and gently - but firmly - pushed them apart.
"Aren't you going to undress yourself?" I questioned, as she placed her lips upon my inner thigh.
She didn't respond at first, choosing instead to kiss my flesh, once, then twice, then thrice, each one taking her slightly closer to my center - before parting, just when she would have reached my folds.
"I don't want to," she informed me, carefully moving her legs between mine, so that her knees pressed against the inside of my thighs. "I mean, if I do, you'll try to make me feel good, won't you?"
"That is rather the point," I confirmed, arching an eyebrow. "Though I assume there's some reason you wish otherwise?"
Lucy nodded. "You're always making me feel good. Every moment with you makes me so happy! And I guess part of it's just that you treat me like a normal person? But I also just really enjoy your company!"
"As I do yours," I replied. "But I hardly see what that has to do with not taking off your clothes?"
"Because it's not really the same," Lucy told me. "I mean, I know you enjoy my company, but… you also think it's temporary, right? You don't think it'll last."
I didn't reply. I suppose that my silence was answer enough though, for after a moment Lucy went on.
"The first time we had sex, I told you I wanted to try and get my feelings across to you… but I didn't really know anything about sex, at the time. And I didn't really know you!"
"You still don't," I pointed out. "The aggregate of our time together wouldn't even eclipse three days, as of yet."
"I know… I know there's still a long way for me to go! A lot for me to learn! But I still want to share my feelings with you…" She placed her hand on the ground beside me, lowering her head towards my breasts, coming close enough that I could feel her breath across one nipple. "I want to show you how I feel, right now. Even if it might change in the future! I want you to know that, right now, I really love being around you…"
She kissed the tip of my nipple, her soft lips caressing the hard peak. "I really love talking to you."
Another kiss, deeper this time, with her lips wrapping about the tip of my breast, her tongue teasing at its edge as she gently sucked, then nipped, drawing forth a soft gasp from my own lips even as she parted. "I love learning about you."
Her free hand moved to grope my unattended tit, her fingers curling around the slope and squeezing, as her thumb brushed across the tip. "I love the trust you've given me… The fact that you feel safe telling me all sorts of things…"
She kissed her way down the swell of my breast, occasionally nipping with her teeth as she slowly worked her way down into the valley between them. Then she placed a kiss there, as well, before planting both her hands against the ground and pushing herself backwards, until her head was once again poised over my sex. "I love how you help people! How you saved Derrin Village, and showed kindness to Bailey, and helped Feyra - even though I know you probably have excuses for all of it." She kissed my thighs, first on one side, then the other.
"And I know it's too early to say I love you… Especially when there's still so much I have to learn… But I'm going to do my best to learn as much about you as I can! And I want you to give me a chance, so…"
Her head lifted, her determined gaze catching my own eyes as a thrill of… something… went through me. Excitement? Fear? I didn't know what to call it. I only knew that it kept me captive to her gaze.
"Eventually, when you trust me enough to tell me everything… If I still feel this way… If I still want to ask you on a date… Do you think you can give me a chance?"
I wanted to say yes, but the words caught in my throat. For the second time that night, I realized I had tears in my eyes - though, this time, I couldn't say why.
Still, I gave her the only answer I could muster - an almost imperceptible nod. I wasn't even sure she'd be able to see it, in the relative darkness of our tent, but she must have, for an instant later her smile was brightening the world around us.
"Then tonight… just for tonight… at least for now… please accept my feelings for you!" Then her head was lowered towards my center. Her tongue slid against my folds, even as her fingers found my clit. She teased it with her thumb, bringing forth a needy whimper with the barest of touches, even as her tongue slid its way into my sex. It wasn't long before she had me crying out in pleasure.
The next thing I knew, I was laying against her chest, my own bedroll forgotten entirely as we squeezed together onto the short strip of cloth. My head against her chest, and her arms wrapped protectively against me. Our legs tangled together.
I felt loved - or at least cared for, as I had never been before. It didn't matter if it was only temporary. It didn't matter if Lucy's feelings had the depth of true affection, or were simply the result of a crush. Not in that moment.
Still, I couldn't help but wonder, as I drifted off towards sleep in her arms - after everything I'd done, with everything I still kept secret… Was it truly alright for me to feel like this?
This chapter is my first decently lengthy one in quite a while. I hit a few moments I thought I could end it, but then I kept going anyway... And I'm kinda glad I did.
I've been trying to find an excuse to bring up Devilla's memory for a while. While there are a few species that never age, angels are somewhat unique in that they're actively meant to live forever, and this trait reflects it. (Her passive memory is much like a human's, but unlike a human she can actively "retrieve" memories that would otherwise be lost.) I expected the revelation to lead to a bit of humor - that the fact that her hyper-specific orders were Ridiculous by mortal standards would just be an "Oops!" type moment. Instead, Devilla started crying... Oops?
The scene with Lucy was also meant to be pure sweetness, but I guess it's not Devilla if it doesn't include pain... To be honest, this chapter had me reeling. I'm not sure I've ever written anything that hit me like this... I hope you enjoyed reading it. (The next two chapters are already up on Patreon, by the way~! Though they haven't been proofread quite yet - the size of this one delayed everything else by quite a bit.)
Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for proofreading and Lulla for beta reading! And, of course, thanks to all of you for reading!
PS: I'm experimenting with using titles. Not sure if I'll stick to it, but I've been wanting to try... What do you think?
I've been trying to find an excuse to bring up Devilla's memory for a while. While there are a few species that never age, angels are somewhat unique in that they're actively meant to live forever, and this trait reflects it. (Her passive memory is much like a human's, but unlike a human she can actively "retrieve" memories that would otherwise be lost.) I expected the revelation to lead to a bit of humor - that the fact that her hyper-specific orders were Ridiculous by mortal standards would just be an "Oops!" type moment. Instead, Devilla started crying... Oops?
The scene with Lucy was also meant to be pure sweetness, but I guess it's not Devilla if it doesn't include pain... To be honest, this chapter had me reeling. I'm not sure I've ever written anything that hit me like this... I hope you enjoyed reading it. (The next two chapters are already up on Patreon, by the way~! Though they haven't been proofread quite yet - the size of this one delayed everything else by quite a bit.)
Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for proofreading and Lulla for beta reading! And, of course, thanks to all of you for reading!
PS: I'm experimenting with using titles. Not sure if I'll stick to it, but I've been wanting to try... What do you think?
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TYFTC!!! Another Great one. In regards to Devilla well…. depression and self deprecation doesn't go away even when you are subjectively happy. the anixiety lingers like a bad plague. She has people who love and care for her so she'll have an easier time but her circumstances sure don't make it easy.
Also Lucy and Abby are very perceptive like geez.
Also Lucy and Abby are very perceptive like geez.
That last scene with Lucy was very sweet, Abby is getting a final piece of the puzzle which is the source of Devi's mental issues, she forgets nothing. Every mistake, every tantrum, every insult, every loss is always just within reach. Kinda hard to move on when it's stuck front and center.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
She's got a long and hard road ahead of her, but having the right people by her side does make a difference... you're right though - easier doesn't mean easy.
Rather than purely being perceptive, though, I'd say Abigail and Lucy are quickly becoming attuned to Devilla in particular. She's also not as hard to read as she'd have you believe...
The good news is, her memory isn't that different than a human in its passive state - things fade, unless she actively tries to recall them. The bad news is, she's not exactly the sort to let things go...
That is perhaps her greatest failing. Also why her past life didn't overtake her aside from the integral knowledge of empathy and French fries. If the rest of your life is at the tip of your tongue then an extra is fine.
Not sure if that's how you planned it but it kinda reminds me of the first 10-12 seasons of red vrs blue where some college guys are just having fun and stumble onto an actual compelling plot.
That level of photographic memory has been displayed in fiction from the pilot, Kallo, reliving the creation of the Tempest. Also allowing thane to escape his pain for a time and enjoy the memories of his wife.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
I've never seen Red vs Blue, so it definitely didn't influence this - but I can certainly relate to having fun and stumbling upon a compelling plot... Demon Queened was originally meant to be simple and fluffy smut, after all.
Demon Queened - Chapter 37 - Breathless in Bed
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Devilla
I awoke early the next morning, to the feel of something soft and warm pressing against me. Or rather someone, and a rather naked 'someone,' at that. Lucy had apparently discarded her shift at some point after I'd fallen asleep. Which meant she'd either stayed awake long enough to see me off to the land of dreams, an embarrassing prospect, or she'd somehow undressed herself in her sleep… something I could honestly see her pulling off.
Regardless, I was currently graced with the admittedly pleasant, if somewhat dubious, honor of having her breasts thrust in my face.
"Lucy?" I whispered, not wishing to wake her, but rather wondering if she'd already awoken. The main response I received was from her nipples, which seemed to harden a little in response to my warm breath. Her breathing also hitched a little, as a soft moan came from her lips.
"Eena…" she murmured, her eyes still firmly closed. A moment later her legs tightened around mine. "Eat… so cute…"
I bit my lip to resist a repeat of our last night together, fighting back the urge to demand insight into her dreams. So far as I could tell, she was either dreaming of a sexual act, or - much more embarrassing - watching me eat. Either way, the cute snore she let out at the end was reason enough to let her stay asleep.
Alas, my forbearance heralded my downfall, for a moment later her sleeping arms wrapped about my head, and pressed it in between her tits. A pillowy grave I might have very well died in, had I not come to a rather startling discovery: I did not need to breathe. Or, at the very least, I could seemingly hold my breath indefinitely to keep from waking Lucy.
Of course, that wasn't to say that abstaining from oxygen was a pleasant experience. One did not suddenly cease two lifetimes of habit without some form of mental discomfort, even if my body itself made no protest. Still, if I had to choose between waking up the adorable snorer, and doing without a basic necessity of human life… Well, I wasn't really human to begin with, now was I?
In fact, the more I learned about myself, the less human - or demon, or even mortal - I felt. To think, even my memory would work so differently than that of regular people… Just how much did I differ from those around me? What startling discovery would come next? First my memory, now being able to live without oxygen - would I next find that my heart didn't even need to beat? Abigail had told me, once, that as an angel - a 'divine being' - I had power beyond mortal comprehension, but I don't think I'd ever really processed what that truly meant. How fully I differed from all those around me, and from the human I had been once upon a time.
Just how little did I actually know about myself?
"Mrrmmmm…" A sound came from above me. At the same time, Lucy's grip about my head tightened for a moment, pressing me against her sternum, before loosening up and releasing me altogether. "Eena…?"
Placing my hands upon the awoken redhead's shoulders, I gently extracted myself from within her cleavage, the better to grace her with a shaky smile. "Good morning, Lucy."
"...Are you okay?" she asked, all grogginess disappearing from her voice as she stared into my eyes, as if expecting to find the answers looking back at her.
"I'm fine," I promised her, shaking my head. At the same time, my smile became a bit firmer. "Or at least I will be. Your company is already making me feel better."
Lucy frowned for a moment, weighing the truth behind my words. "Are you sure?"
"Positive," I confirmed. "It was only some intrusive thoughts - the best cure for which is a good distraction. And I happen to find you rather distracting, even when you're clothed."
"Clothed…?" She looked down upon herself, taking in her naked chest with widened eyes. "Oh! I guess I got undressed in my sleep!"
"Let me guess - you normally sleep in the buff?"
Lucy nodded. "Yup! I mean, it feels good to just strip after a day in armor, you know?"
"I can't say I do," I admitted, shaking my head with a laugh. "But I also can't say I'm surprised. Somehow, sleeping nude seems very… you."
"I mean, it is something I do!" Lucy pointed out. "Though I'm not really sure how it's a 'me' thing, beyond that? But what about you? Do you sleep in clothes?"
"Not generally," I admitted with a shrug. "Though I can't say I've ever undressed myself in my sleep, on the few occasions I've worn something to bed."
"Maybe it's a sign of how safe I feel with you!"
"Or how horny you are," I teased, glancing down at her chest. Considering I was still eye to tit with her form, I had a rather good view of her perky nipples. "Speaking of, did you want to start our morning off with a bang? Or should we be thinking about traveling?"
"I mean-" Lucy began, only to stop when we heard a loud yelp coming from outside our tent. "That was Feyra!"
Lucy grabbed my shoulders and leapt to her feet, barely taking the time to ensure I had my feet properly placed upon the ground before running out - still sans clothes. Not that I was any better off, following just a step behind. Yet for all our rush, we found only a fully clothed Feyra with her hand against her heart, staring down at a sleepy looking Bailey.
"Right," Feyra muttered, seemingly to herself. "Monster wolf. Forgot that was a thing, somehow… Must have blocked out the sheer stupidity of me agreeing to it."
"How did Lucy manage to convince you, actually?" I questioned, curious despite myself. I very much doubted that Lucy would use her authority to insist, favor to me or no.
"Gah!" was the only response I received, as Feyra seemingly became aware of mine and Lucy's presence for the first time. "You're naked!"
"That's hardly an answer," I pointed out, rolling my eyes as I moved towards the tent. "But I'll put on clothes, if it makes you comfortable."
"Me? You're the one who's naked! Or… well, both of you… Dammit, if the Goddess strikes me down for seeing her Heroine naked, I'm going to be pissed!"
"I don't think the Goddess would do that," Lucy protested, even as she followed me back to our tent. "I mean, what's wrong with seeing someone's nude body? The church teaches that our form is a gift from the Goddess, so why would there be anything wrong with sharing it?"
"I'm well aware of what the church teaches," Feyra replied. For some reason, her tone of voice seemed unusually dry. "I'm also aware of the fact that the fucking Heroine is buck naked in front of me!"
"Saying it repeatedly isn't going to make it any less true," I remarked. "But if you give me a moment, I'm sure we'll both have it corrected."
"A little late for that, unless you can somehow burn the image out of my brain?"
"Is it really that bad?" Lucy questioned. "I mean, I thought I looked pretty nice?"
"That's not the… You can't…" Feyra groaned, throwing up one hand into the air. The other was, of course, still occupied with shielding her eyes. "Just get clothed already, alright?"
I let out something between a grunt and a laugh, reaching into my pack and pulling out a red top that covered… well, the majority of my stomach. None of my arms, unfortunately, and admittedly very little of my chest. My skirt wasn't much better, barely reaching a quarter of the way down my thighs. I only had so many outfits that actually covered me anywhere close to fully, though, and I figured it was best to wear them during the times I'd actually be witnessed by more than three people.
"...I thought you were going to put on clothes," Feyra grumbled when I emerged. "Not underthings."
"I like it," Lucy declared, eyeing me up and down. "I mean, I think I'd like just about anything you wore? But I definitely don't mind getting to see more of you!"
"You're biased," I pointed out, a soft smile on my lips. "But thank you."
Feyra groaned again. "As if traveling with a literal monster wasn't bad enough, I've got to deal with an exhibitionist too…"
"You're rather grouchy in the morning," I remarked, eyeing her up and down. "And you still haven't told me how Lucy convinced you to allow Bailey's presence."
"She gave me puppy dog eyes," Feyra muttered, looking away from me. "And it's not like I could have refused you, anyway, is it?"
"You could have," I told her, frowning. "You still can, though I know full well you don't believe that. I only hope that by the time I've managed to convince you otherwise you won't actually mind our company."
"Yeah, yeah," Feyra grumbled, waving her hand dismissively. "Come on. We're burning daylight."
I glanced at Lucy, receiving a helpless shrug in response. Followed, of course, by a bright smile, a hug, and a kiss on the cheek that had me bright red.
"Come on!" she said. "Let's get everything packed up!"
"What about breakfast?" I questioned, eyeing the campfire. Or the ash that remained of it, at least. "Wait. Did anyone keep watch?"
"I have some hardtack!" Lucy informed me. "And a holy spell for keeping watch! It tells me if anything big or dangerous comes too close, so long as I cast it before sleep."
"Hardtack does not count as breakfast," I declared. Not that I knew much about the stuff, but from my understanding it was… not breakfast. "How about I get us something proper to eat? Seeing as how it's already known that I have a way of traveling great distances in a hurry."
"What?" Feyra asked. "You planning to fly off to the nearest town and bring us back some eggs?"
"Something like that," I confirmed. "Though I think I can do a little better than just eggs… I still haven't introduced Lucy to the wonders of the potato, after all."
"I think I had some at the village?" Lucy informed me. "They were… okay? It was part of a stew."
"You had the best they could provide, I'm sure, but trust me when I say I have resources they lack. I'll have your tastebuds singing."
"Alright!" Lucy agreed, giving me a bright smile. "I trust you. You'll bring back something really good, right?"
"As quickly as I can," I promised her with a smile of my own. Then it was off into the woods, so that I could teleport back to the tower and get us something good. Or at least something more worthy of being called breakfast than hardtack.
***
Lucy
I watched Eena leave through the trees, biting my lip a little as I curled a few strands of hair around my fingers. It was something I liked to do when thinking, and I had a lot of thinking to do! Even if I felt sort of guilty for doing it.
I'd told Eena I trusted her, and I meant it! And I wasn't just talking about the food, either - I trusted that she was a good person, that she meant well by me. And that whatever she had done during her dark past she wanted to do better now…
At the same time, though, it was pretty obvious she wasn't just an ordinary demon! No more than Bailey was an ordinary horned wolf. I mean, I was pretty sure those couldn't talk so well! If you could actually call the mental communication talking? It was mostly images and feelings. Her image of Eena was all about Eena being a leader, though.
It made me wonder… did she have some connection to the Demon Queen? Was she some high ranking officer in her army? One of her generals, maybe? It might explain why she'd done things she regretted… and it might be why she had access to expensive stuff like super spicy hot sauce, why her clothes were all so nice, and why she could casually go somewhere to get breakfast. I mean, she obviously still had connections to some sort of demon encampment…
Still, I trusted her. I didn't know what she was after, but I knew she didn't mean me harm. She could have already hurt me, if that was the goal… and more than that, everything I'd seen from her said she was legitimately trying to do good! Like how she helped people, left and right, without ever knowing it would get back to me…
…Unless she did know? Somehow? But… I didn't think she did. I mean, for one thing, she seemed really bad at hiding things so far! Plus, even if it was somehow a ploy, that wouldn't change the fact that she'd helped people. That, of all the ways she could have tried to get close to me, she did it by doing good. By trying to be good.
I didn't know what she'd done in the past, or why she didn't think she could ever do better. I didn't need to know, either, because I knew her heart was good. That she wanted to do good. She just needed a little help!
She just needed someone to trust in her.
Thanks, as always, to FallingLeaf for proofreading, and Lulla for beta reading! After testing things out with the public release of chapter 36, I've decided to try and come up with chapter titles. Here's hoping I can come up with some good ones!
I'm afraid I don't have a lot to comment on about the chapter itself... other than its size. Depression was kicking my ass when I wrote it, which is the biggest reason it's so small. It was all I could manage... (Depression is still bad, but it's a lot better than it was when I wrote this...) Chapter 38 isn't much bigger, but 39 breaks the 3.5k mark!
You can, of course, read the rough drafts for both chapters on my patreon for as little as a dollar~!
I'm afraid I don't have a lot to comment on about the chapter itself... other than its size. Depression was kicking my ass when I wrote it, which is the biggest reason it's so small. It was all I could manage... (Depression is still bad, but it's a lot better than it was when I wrote this...) Chapter 38 isn't much bigger, but 39 breaks the 3.5k mark!
You can, of course, read the rough drafts for both chapters on my patreon for as little as a dollar~!
Yeah, one of my favorite parts of the morning is cuddling with my wife. If only I didn't have to work we could have that moment everyday.
Very cute moment between the two.
Very cute moment between the two.