What am I to you?
At the posed question Valerian turns his attention to the two demon lords, drinking from his cup occasionally, his wings twitching in a slight irritation. Meanwhile I pour myself another drink, already feeling the rush of alcohol burning through my system. Valerian gives me a sideways look, as if to say: 'don't do that', but I keep on drinking anyway, uncaring of the consequences.
"The Princess, quite unfortunately did not know of the arrangement I made with her mother, and was under the illusion- but by no fault of her own- that she was an entirely ordinary mortal. Since she quite obviously had no idea about my plans for her, I allowed her to make a deal with me," he adds, noticing my body tense up beside him. The red demon snorts into his cup.
"She's got you on a leash that one, Val, never in my goddamn life have I seen you appease anybody as much as you have now. What, you love her or something Val?" he snickers, eyeing me over the rim of his cup in a frankly awful attempt to hide his grin.
I lower my eyes menacingly.
"Keep up that attitude and I will have you on a leash too," I snarl impetuously, inclining back on my chair as I take another swig. I may not be the smartest stick in the box, but I sure as hell know to bite back to rowdy nobility who think they are somehow worth more than the world itself. Thankfully, Tarquin falls into a submissive silence, deciding it best not to dish out any more bullshit remarks.
Valerian takes one last sip and places his cup firmly back on the table, dabbing wine away from his mouth with his thumb.
"The lady has warned you," he says simply, but underneath the table, his tail is flicking wildly. Clearly, it is a touchy subject for the demon king.
After a long and prolonged silence between us all, and the occasional sip of wine which sends my head rushing with a faint yet growing dizziness, Valerian sighs. Carefully, he pushes aside his cup.
"Dreyfus, I want you to round up the other demon lords and ladies. Have them here by tomorrow, there is no use me explaining the situation without them present. They need to see the Princess. If they refuse, you know what to do."
The room darkens marginally as Dreyfus nods his head with acknowledgment, a cold aura washing around our bodies with an icy and commanding chill. Assertively, he tucks his knife back into its sheath.
"As you wish, your highness," he says, standing and bowing. Valerian stands mutedly, watching Dreyfus straighten out his cloak and righten the position of his belt with a practised ease. Then, trailing an array of membranous wings behind him, he stalks out the large doubt door at his end of the room, leaving only the echo of heels behind him. After the echo has died away, Tarquin turns to Valerian, pouting.
"Why can't I go with him, you always give Dreyfus the best jobs," he sulks, folding inward on himself, the rings around his horns jangling angrily. Valerian clicks his tongue.
"You know well enough that Dreyfus is the only one capable of handing the other Demon lords by himself. I am not about to waste your efforts. Besides, I have another job for you." he says lowly, curling a finger towards himself to indicate Tarquin to come forward. Immediately, his face lights up, and this little red demon stumbles forward, placing himself by the arm of Valerian's chair. Gingerly, Valerian leans in to whisper something in his ear, causing the red demons face to only brighten further, a buzz wavering about his form that can only be described as pure, unadulterated excitement. At last Tarquin pulls away, rubbing his hands vigorously.
"You can count on me Val. I will have it done," he reports, saluting briefly, then chuckling to himself, rubbing his hands together once more. "I will see you two tomorrow. Better get ready, Princess. The other lords have a tendency to bite. Have a good night~" he calls in a sing songy voice, scooping up the remaining cards off the table before prancing right out of the room.
Puffing out my cheeks I recline back into my chair, feeling a blissful content-ness wash over me.
Already, these demon lords are far, far better than the nobles up in Vriryn. Demons may they be, they actually talk with me, engage, treat me like an actual person- aside from maybe being a bit too overzealous with their flirting, which is something I probably should have expected. But they are demons, famed for their conniving trickery and debauchery, famed to be the most cunning race ever created, a title that they certainly live up to. Truly, the Devil has outdone himself.
As soon as Tarquin's humming has faded out into nothingness, and the silence of the room has set its unwavering claws into our skin, the Devil glances over to me from his chair, an unreadable look on his face.
Joyful and blissfully ignorant, I go for another sip of wine, only to have my glass snatched from my fingers.
"That's enough of that, Princess," Valerian chuckles to himself, pushing my cup to the other side of the table and far out of my drunken reach. True, the effects of the alcohol are yet to fully take a hold of me, but I expect when they do, they will hit hard.
"You are taking this remarkably well, chérie," he says cooly, eyes glinting. For a moment he eyes the fidgeting gesture of my hands, before his eyes flicker back up to my face. I merely shrug.
"Did you get that from reading my mind?" I ask, partially out of curiosity, but mostly from necessity. If I am going to be here living as his consort, the more I know about things, the better. With a deliberate slowness, Valerian lifts up his glass and takes a sip from his own chalice.
"Perhaps I did, but not to hurt you, you understand," he insists, before setting down his cup, observing the crystalline gems on it with a faint and dulled disinterest. I snort lightly.
"Do you know how odd that is coming from the likes of you- the literal Devil? The Upper World are literally terrified of you- and I have seen what you can do, you aren't just some guy who has taken me to the Downside for the hell of it. Yet you treat me like an honoured guest, like hurting me would be the worst thing in the world. Why?"