"I still have so much to learn in Malum, Creatures I have yet to study. Spells I haven't cast. Lilith might have signed off on my training, but Eve should be part of the decision whether I'm ready or not to rule and not just ready for combat."
"You haven't seemed all that passionate about the management of the Forest before," Lucifer leaned in closer, "And Eve informs me you show less and less interest in her lectures." Trust Eve to hand in reports that scold me but praise her own efforts.
"Only because I wish to travel further, to learn more. Not just what comes from Eve's books and grimoires."
The King stilled as the Doomed removed their plates for the next course. Lucifer clasped his hands under his chin.
"Lilith has already informed me of your excursions." Klara wanted to run from the room.
"I have allowed it to further your training, but how far do you wish to venture on that divided monstrosity of a plane?" His eyes flashed black for a moment, and Klara swallowed, knowing she was treading on thin ice.
"The River border and Neutral Lands are being overlooked, and we can't have any Kalion Creatures seeping in. Their goodness would spoil the balance and upset the natural order of Malum," she said, knowing how much her Father hated the Lands of Kalos. The Fae Queen in particular. The Kalion Creatures made his skin boil more than his thermostat.
"And why do you think a Fae would want into Malum?" Lucifer asked, "they have more than they need in their own lands."
"My guess is that they want access to the Port," Klara bluffed. The Fae had their own way into the Human World. "They might have everything they need, but if that were enough, we wouldn't have Dark Fae roaming the Forest."
The King's silence lasted longer than she anticipated. Frendall rested his fists on the table, ignoring the plate of food being placed in front of him.
"The Heiress is right, and if I may interject, most aren't coming through the Neutral Lands and across the River but there have been reports of Creatures coming and going through portals instead."
Klara had to stop her jaw from dropping to the floor as Frendall spoke on her behalf.
"Smugglers from both sides have been increasing in the last five years. Bribery is becoming more and more common."
Frendall was confirming Klara's argument for her. Perhaps Lucifer would trust her if her statements had the backing of his Commander. She picked at the meats on her plate, unable to eat. If Klara told her Father, she didn't eat meat and hadn't since she'd left, she was sure he would force-feed her every bite. He would say that compassion is terrible for one's life expectancy. However, the King hadn't seen the standard of meat in Malum.
"And you wish to eradicate this smuggling problem?" The King said, picking the fishbone from his teeth with his fingernail.
"Yes, I knew how much this would upset you to hear, and that's why I have been hunting," Klara edged closer, needing the King to hang onto her every lie. "I thought since the Ghouls were able to smuggle Human corpses through the Port than maybe they knew how Creatures were passing to and from Kalos despite the River and Neutral Lands being near impossible to pass."
Lucifer dropped the food from his hand, "seems that you have started to grow a fondness for Malum and its Creatures."
"From the Southern Swamps to the Giant Territory, what's not to love?" Klara beamed, and some of the Higher Demons at the table applaud.
"You wish me to rule? Let me show you I can lead. This isn't just about the Kalion border, as Frendall said portals are popping up all over Malum, and until we find the culprits, there will be no order."
"Those filthy Creatures, what is there to like?" Purple Hair interrupted, and Klara glared at her.
"Some of those Creatures would say the same about Demons. Not all are filthy and repulsive."
"Well said," Lucifer clapped, and the Demons raised a glass to her response even though Klara could feel her palms burning as her magic sensed a threat. "Since Frendall's scouts can back up your claim, I will give you a year," Lucifer said.
A year is all I need. Hell, she would be gone tomorrow if she could gain passage and this gave her the perfect cover. "I'll leave this evening.”
Lucifer raised an eyebrow, "so eager to leave? Stay with your Father for a day or two. Let me see how you have progressed."
"As much as I want to stay, no time can be wasted…" the clattering of plates silenced her as Lucifer smacked his hand against the table.
"You leave when I say so."
Klara bowed her head in apology for her rashness. "Frendall, you will oversee my daughter's progress. He will report back on the steps you have been taking."
A spy. A babysitter. Klara clenched her jaw, and Frendall looked to the King.
"And I can always spare a Lesser Demon or two," Purple Hair spoke once again, and Klara wished she had her axe.
"Your support is much appreciated," Lucifer told Purple Hair. What a kiss ass. Who is this Demon to interfere? Klara let it slide, hoping the Demon would remember her place and keep quiet.
"No," Klara said. "I don't need an envoy if there is too much movement in the Forest it will scare those involved and smuggling will cease."
"I merely wish to show my support for our future Queen."
Klara was a second away from shoving the apple from the roast pig into Purple's mouth. Klara glanced at her Father, surprised he was allowing an outsider to join their conversation.
"Who are you to comment on our business?" Klara's words were cut short as Frendall's foot connected with her shin. It didn't hurt, but it distracted her from scolding Purple Hair.
"I do not wish to offend you with my opinion, it's our duty to protect you and if the Malum can't, then we must." Klara could see the shine of delight in her Father's eyes as he drank up Purple's every word.
"Thank you for your concern. The Queens would be thankful to hear that you care so much about my daughter's safety," the King praised her, and Klara sat dumbfounded.
"Of course, we only want to protect our Heir," Frendall chimed in breaking the tension.
Purple Hair's hand gripped Klara's once again. Klara was surprised that she dared to keep contact with her, Klara's revealing powers were famous in Hell, and yet Klara saw nothing. The Demons' mind is blank, such a spell could only come from the strongest of grimoires. Klara felt the heat of her skin intensify, as she slowly chipped away at the spell to reveal Purple's secrets, Purple dropped her hand as the heat had burnt her. Her sudden movement told Klara that she wasn't a natural spellcaster. "Let there be no tension between us, I only wish to help." Purple's yellow eyes flashed, and Klara faked a smile.
"Your concern is appreciated, but if I need your assistance I will ask." Klara turned her back on Purple. "Father, Frendall belongs at your side. To take some of your personal Demons from Hell would risk your safety, and I don't want to see you suffer. I want to do this alone. I can send reports, and I can accept spot checks, but an Overseer and Demons will diminish my standing with the Creatures in Malum and your own council." Klara added the last part quietly to emphasis her false care about what the Higher Demons thought of her.
"I see your point."
"Don't you agree Commander Frendall that the safety of the Heir should come before pride?" Purple's raised voice stole her Father's attention.
"Mila, to see you care for my daughter brings me great comfort," Lucifer said.
"Mila?" The truth hit Klara like an Ogre's baton. "You are Eve's daughter?"
"Ah, yes," Lucifer smiled. "How thoughtless of me, she was only a young thing when you left, and still in the care of her mother in Malum," Lucifer said. So, when I left, you traded me for another and tortured my best friend into becoming one of your soldiers. Klara struggled to keep the thought to herself.
"During your last visit, I would have liked to have introduced you, but you left in such haste," Lucifer said sharply.
"Eve is my mother,” Mila interjected before Klara could respond. Since her mother spent the last decade raising me instead of her, no wonder s
he wishes to see me roasted on a plate.
Eve was gifted with powerful magic, and Klara guessed that's how Mila was shielding herself from her touch. But the burn in her skin and bones told Klara that Mila was no ally and she certainly wasn’t as strong as her mother, Eve.
"How is your brother, Cain? Eve mentioned he was on Human soil."
Frendall thumped her harder, and Klara smiled at him, not bothering to return the strike. She was playing with fire, hoping Mila would reveal herself since her touch couldn't. Mila pursed her lips while the other Demons turned swiftly back to their food.
"Last I heard my brother is off sulking by some lake in the Human World."
"It must be hard to be without your family close to protect you, so I must insist that you retain your Lesser Demons."
The scorn in Mila's eyes told Klara of her hatred. Mila was one of Lucifer's unclaimed spawn, and Klara was a divine creation. "Your kindness is much appreciated. Should you need me, I shall be ready and willing.” Mila, like many others, wanted Klara's birthright for herself. The only difference between them was that Mila was birthed by a Human, whereas Klara was created from Lucifer's bone and blood.
"Have you completed your training you must still have a year or two to go?" Klara said, and Mila picked up her fork. "A mere formality, I'm strong enough to take on anything that comes my way."
Mila's reply causes various micro conversations to cluster at the lower end of the table. Klara flinched as Mila flung her arms around her.
"How has your new heart taken? We would not want you to be weakened," Mila said, and the individual conversations grew as the Higher Demons saw that Mila held no fear in touching the Heir.
"Seems they already care so much for each other's wellbeing," Frendall said to the King, clearly seeing the tension Lucifer couldn't.
"We will have to look out for each other in this vile world," Klara said.
"I knew you two would be a force to be reckoned with," Lucifer delighted in their false embrace as Klara peeled herself away from Mila.
Klara reached for her Father's hand. "I beg you to let me take on this task. If I need help, then I will call for Frendall or Mila. Since they both have your every confidence."
"A chance to prove yourself," the King tested it on his tongue as Frendall's gaze fixed on Klara. He doesn't believe me, yet he helped me. Klara figured she would find out what Frendall wanted in exchange for his silence.
"Exactly, a chance is all I'm asking for as I'm sure Frendall has proven himself countless times.”
The King's eyes drifted to Frendall while Mila remained all too focused on her food. Klara was relieved Mila held her tongue or Klara might have been tempted to take it.
"One year." The King said firmly.
"You won't regret this." Klara straightened in her chair. One step closer to salvation. The sound of Mila scraping her fork against the plate jarred her, and Mila offered a faint smile to excuse the mistake.
"I will inform the Queens of my decision, and you will start right away. I want reports on the breaches as soon as possible."
"And those she discovers?" Frendall said, not looking away from Klara.
"Death." The King said chewing through eel skin. Klara's grand scheme might ensure her escape, but she couldn't take the life of a Creature trying to escape their desperate life.
"A lesser charge surely, most in Malum are desperate, they do not know their treason," Klara tried to press her point, but her Father's grueling eyes told her to hush.
"Good and evil. There is a clear divide, we are born into our nature and pushed hard enough, it will be revealed." The clench of her Father's jaw told her not to push further.
"We can't have one land corrupt the other," Lucifer bellowed, and the table rose their glasses once again. Klara rose her glass a fraction of a second too late, and Mila caught Klara's hesitation with a weak smile.
The feast vanished with a wave of Lucifer's hand, and the starving Doomed looked over the remaining plates with forlorn hope. A skeletal hand passed Klara’s shoulder and lifted her plate. Starvation was a great weapon, Eve had told her during her lectures, harnessed correctly, you could bend the strongest will.
"Let us retire to the throne room for drinks and potions." Lucifer stood as he addressed the room. When will this night end! Klara thought as she took her Father's arm.
~7~
“Frendall, how is your mother doing?
The crystal glass cracked in Klara’s hand as Mila spoke. “Are you all right?” Mila raised an eyebrow as the bright green liquid leaked through the crystal. A Doomed scurried between them and took the glass from Klara. “Don’t know my own strength. Must be the new heart.” Klara laughed it off as some of the other guests stared at her.
His mother? Klara looked at Frendall’s fixed jaw while Mila exposed her sharpened smile. She must take chunks out of her tongue. Klara deemed it a fitting punishment for someone incapable of keeping their mouth shut. Mila waited for Frendall’s response.
“Excuse me?” Frendall said as the Doomed interrupted them with another glass for Klara.
“I’m sure Klara has been filling you in on her accomplishments in Malum.”
The Queens? Which Queen? Klara studied Frendall’s features, his slightly crooked nose and strong chin, it wasn’t pointed like Eve’s, and his hair and skin was much too light to be one of Lilith’s descendants. Then she saw it, the ears. Abadan wore her hair down so no one would notice her small ears that stuck out ever so slightly from her head. It was a small feature, a simplicity overlooked. Klara’s stomach heaved, and it wasn’t the eyeball soup from earlier. Frendall was Abadan’s son. She was the Demon that had betrayed Father.
“Mila, that is not a suitable conversation for present company,” Lucifer said.
“Oh, I apologize my King. I didn’t think it was a secret. I assumed that since she is close with the Queens,” Mila covered her mouth with her hand.
“Your mother…Abadan,” Klara said looking at Frendall. His back straightened, and he downed his drink. “Yes, how is the High Queen?”
“Ruthless as always.”
“I’d expect nothing less.” Frendall took another glass of venom from a Doomed’s passing tray.
“Like mother like son,” Klara smiled, and her Father placed a hand on her back. “Do I sense a tone Klara,” Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
“Why wasn’t I told of this?” Klara asked, and Lucifer kissed her cheek, he had no intention of answering her. Klara looked around the room, does everyone know? With Lucifer’s favour and the High Queen of Malum as a mother, Frendall’s claim to Hell threatened her own. Good thing she had no interest in Hell. It was the lies that caused fear to snake up her spine. The story her Father had told her about Frendall had been a lie. He was the reason why Abadan continued to make her life a misery and sent her here to show Lucifer how dutiful her own son was while Klara was a misfit in need of punishment.
“The High Queen is well,” Klara said offering a more polite answer this time.
“But I think that’s a private matter not to be discussed in public,” Lucifer cut in, and Mila bowed her head in feigned apology.
“I fear the viper venom has taken its hold. Do forgive me,” Mila’s black eyes danced in the light of the candles as Klara glared at her. Least Klara knew from her eyes that Mila had taken the life of an innocent. Her Human side inherited from Eve was entirely corrupted.
“No such thing as forgiveness in this Hellish place,” a Higher Demon in a suspiciously tall top hat joined their conversation. His yellow eyes and snake-like tongue slithered between his thin lips as he spoke.
“Lokey!” Mila air-kissed his cheek even though the Demon towered above her. Klara felt like an outsider once again as Frendall offered his hand to Lokey. How are these Demons to be my allies if I don’t even know their names or natures? Lucifer may have pushed her out, but he had cleared the way from Mila.
“The evening has been frightfully dull,” Lokey whined, his voice high as he l
ooked around the room full of lavish outfits and hushed corner conversations.
“Is my homecoming not eventful enough for you?” Klara said, and the towering Demon bowed deeply. Klara expected his bright purple top hat to fall to the floor, but it remained atop his head. “Apologies, Heiress I spoke without thought,” he hissed, and Klara allowed him to rise.
“But a party is a party, and the smell of conspiracy is so thick in the air I fear our King will grow...” Lokey drew in closer to Klara offering his arm, “unsettled.”
“What would you suggest?” Klara said, taking his arm and Frendall’s jaw clenched. “A dance. It has been a while since we danced,” Klara addressed the room. The King clapped his hands, and a rush of Doomed filed into the room and took their places at the bandstand.
“A dance would be wonderful,” Mila said, stepping towards the steps to their Father’s throne. Klara sensed the but coming.
“A duel would be much more satisfying,” Mila said confidently, and the room muttered their approval. Klara rose her hand to her chest, still able to feel the weakness in her limbs. If she never met another Ghoul, it would be too soon.
“Yes! A little bloodshed always spices up a dull evening, no offence Heiress,” Lokey hissed in her ear.
“Father choose your pairing,” Klara moved to the steps below where her Father sat surveying the festivities. Lucifer tapped his fingers on the armrest of his throne.
“Since you have only returned, I feel you should pick daughter.” His words drew her back, he doesn’t wish to punish me.
Lucifer motioned for her to join his side and Klara’s lips twisted into a smile. Mila’s nostrils flared as Klara tried to suppress her smug grin as she stared down at her half-sister.
“Sit child,” Lucifer ordered, and a smaller silver throne appeared at his right hand. The last time she sat on her throne, her little legs had dangled over the edge. Silver was deadly to Demons, and its appearance made the majority of the guests take a step back regardless of the distance between them and the throne. Her ability to sit on the lethal throne demonstrated her extraordinary strength.
Crowned A Traitor: A Hellish Fairytale Page 8