EL: If any of you read my other fanfiction, Clouded, you guys know why I'm late on updating.
Astra: Well, I don't so tell me why.
EL: Password...
Astra: What?
EL: My password...
Astra: I can't hear you.
EL: I FORGOT MY PASSWORD, OK? I'M SORRY. I REALLY AM.
Astra: You're too loud.
EL: And you're annoying. *turns to crowd* Guys, Kouen's going to be really quiet in this chapter. It will be annoying (I'm sorry), but I just can't figure out a way to present his character. I don't own Magi.
The woman giggled as she observed the scene in front of her. An entire army's worth of men- they actually were, in fact, an army- was lying on the ground, unconscious, surrounding her. Some were twitching.
"I win the bet. Now I get to become a general, right?"
Three princes stared at the hooded woman in surprise, not able to comprehend what had just happened.
"Wait. Did she really just take down an entire army by herself? In like, 10 seconds? And that was... En-nii's army, right?" Kouha whispered to his brothers, Kouen and Koumei.
"Yes... This is unbelievable... my brother and king, if she becomes a general..."
"..."
Earlier... before the massacre... except no one was really massacred...
Kouha snickered quietly. "I like this girl. Astra, was it? Let's recruit her."
"But we don't know if she's capable or not. We need capable soldiers, Kouha," chided Koumei.
The woman shrugged. "I bet you could put an entire Kou army against me, and I would still win."
Kouha grinned, a mad look in his eyes. "You made the bet, girl." He turned to Koumei. "Let's do it."
Koumei, who was hiding his smiles behind his fan, asked her, "Wait. Do you have a metal vessel?" He didn't see how anyone would be so confident without one.
"No. What is that?"
Kouen found that amusing. A single woman against an entire Kou army? Without a metal vessel? The victor was obvious. He felt the corner of his lips twitch and struggled to keep himself from laughing.
"Alright." His two brothers turned to him in surprise. "I approve of this match. Would you like for me to inform the army that they should not kill you?"
"It's okay. But, please tell them to watch out, because I might kill them instead." The woman seemed to be snickering quietly under her hood. "Oh, and if I win the bet, you'll make me a general, not a soldier or something stupid like that ok?"
Kouen felt his lips twitch again. "'You drive a hard bargain' is what most people would say. But if you can actually beat an entire army without a metal vessel, you should become a general."
"I'm glad we think the same way, Prince Ren Kouen."
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What will you do, Lady Astra? Will you resort to using your strength, or wits?
Lucifer, why is it that I always feel like you are always the most annoying little-
Now now, Lady Astra, let's not use that kind of language.
Did you just interrupt my sentence?
...
There will be consequences.
... Yes, Lady Astra.
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Back to current time... yes, we're skipping the massacre...
Astra looked up to meet Kouen's eyes. "So, Prince Kouen, you will keep your promise... am I right?"
"..."
"Prince Kouen? Are you perhaps going back on your word?" Astra's voice was suddenly sickly sweet.
"No. General Astra, would you like to choose which province to guard?"
"..."
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Hm? What's this? You're a general now, Lady Astra, oh great ruler of Ruinisa?
Lucifer, I want to remind you that you are currently a level below me in social and authority ranks. I can also demote you to a lower ranking at any time I want, in case you forgot. I also want to remind you that I have not yet given you punishment for earlier, Lord Lucifer. Please keep your pride under control.
Hahaha, Lady Istrius, you wouldn't want do that. You know, my family holds a lot of power...
Lucifer...
Yes, Lady Istrius?
Lucifer, I am aware about the amount of power your family holds. But, you know my family holds much more. And DO NOT call me by that name once more. Twice the punishment. Actually, thrice the punishment, since you called me that two times. Oh, and I think we'll pay a visit to Cerberus, just so I can prove to you my power. Be prepared to get cut into little pieces by me and fed to a dog.
...Yes, Lady-
Don't Lucifer.
I would never, Lady Astra.
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"Hey, En-nii."
Kouen turned his head slightly to face Kouha.
"Why isn't she doing anything?"
"She's probably thinking."
"She thinks too much."
"Prince Kouen. Can I ask for a favor?"
"What?"
Astra made an annoyed noise. "I'd... like to become your... uh... what do people call it? Adviser? Counselor? One of those things. Basically, a person who helps you through life. Because er... you look like you need some help. Of course, I'd still like to go onto the battlefield and kill some people, but yeah."
"I do not need an adviser."
"Please? I beat your entire army."
"..."
Koumei decided to step in. "My brother and king, I think it would be wise to have her as an adviser as well as a general. She seems to have a considerable amount of knowledge, and I think it would be wise to-"
"Alright."
The woman suddenly stood straighter. "Really?"
"Yes."
"Yay!"
Astra turned to Koumei. "Thank you, Prince Ren Koumei."
Koumei was surprised. "How do you know my name?"
She shifted beneath her cloak. "There's this little thing called communication, Prince Ren Koumei. You should try it sometimes, you might find that you actually like it."
"Well, I do know how to communicate..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Kouha exhaled through his nose loudly and gave Astra an irritated look. "Hey, can you take off your hood?"
"Why?"
"Because it's weird to not see someone's face."
"That's weird?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, fine."
A hand pushed its way out of the dark flaps of the cape, reached up, and pulled the hood down.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Ok, you actually look like a normal person."
"Of course I do, what were you expecting?"
"A demon? I don't know."
"Excuse me?"
Astra's appearance could actually be described as one opposite of a demon's (but that all depends on how you think a demon looks like).
Astra had a mature but somewhat childish appearance. Her long, slightly wavy black hair piled around her shoulders due to its length. Her dark eyes, thin black eyebrows, and light pink lips stood out on her otherwise pale face. Her right arm, which was still gripping on the cloak's hood, was also pale.
Koumei frowned. "Astra, do you have bad health?"
Astra tilted her head and stared at Koumei quizzically. "Why would you think that, Prince Ren Koumei?"
Koumei chuckled nervously and scratched his neck, not liking the formal his name was being said by a current ally. "You can just call me Koumei."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, since we're all allies, we should start getting used to each other by using first names. Is that alright, Kouha, Kouen?"
Kouha shrugged a yes and Kouen nodded his approval.
"Alright. Why did you think that I was sick?"
"Your skin is very pale."
"Hm? Really? This is actually considered a normal skin color among the people of my village. Your skin color is actually viewed as dark to my village. They say that you guys have problems and the problems are showing up on your skin, which makes it darker. I totally agree with them." Kouha cringed at her explanation.
At the mention of the word "village", Kouen became more interested in the conversation. "What is the name of the village are you from?" he asked Astra.
She shrugged. "My village doesn't have a name."
"What?" Kouha's face scrunched up, as if he had just smelled something really, really bad- like poop. "Why not?"
"Well, it helps us stay off the maps so we won't get attacked."
"Come to think of it, that's actually a smart thing to do." Koumei said, looking thoughtful.
"Yep. It's really effective."
Kouen stared at Astra. "Where is it?"
"The village? Why?"
"I want to visit it."
"Why?"
"Your village probably has a lack of certain things, and it might also have some things that we need or don't have, so perhaps trading would be possible."
"No need, Kouen my village was built on very rich soil and we have a lot of crystal mines and stuff like that so, we're fine."
Kouen raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"Well, I just want to see it even more now."
"Well, you can't."
"And why not?"
"The village leader doesn't like outsiders coming into the village."
"And who exactly is the village leader?"
Astra shifted and smiled up at the princes. "Me."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
Kouha did a double take. "Wait, you're a village leader?"
"Yeah... why?"
"I just can't imagine a little girl like you being a leader of an entire village."
"I'm actually older than you, Kouha."
"Um, I'm 19, you know. And how can you be older than me? You're like, a foot shorter than me."
Astra glared at Kouha. "I'm only two inches shorter than you. And I'm older than you. I'm older than you too, Koumei."
"Wait, you're over 26 years old?!"
"Yeah."
"Ok, how old are you exactly?"
"I'm 28 years old."
Kouha and Koumei both simultaneously gave sighs of relief.
Kouha turned to look at Astra again. "That's good. At least you're not older than Entei. That would be weird."
"You mean Kouen?"
"Yeah."
"Hm... maybe I am older than him."
"What?!"
"I'm joking!"
Kouen made an irritated noise. "Astra, where is your village?"
"Kouen, I know about you. And if my instincts are right, you probably want to conquer my village and add it to your little collection of "countries and villages dominated by the Kou Empire", am I correct?"
"No, I simply want to do trade with your village."
"Thank you very much, but my village does not need any trading to happen at the moment. If we happen to need trading to occur, I will inform you, but right now we don't need any."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, very sure. In fact, just yesterday, I received a letter from the substitute leader, Lucifer. He told me not to worry, that there was nothing unwanted happening."
"Your village seems to be in very good condition. How far does it date back?"
"To the time before the great King Solomon lived."
"What?!" Kouen's face finally showed something other than "I don't care". It was interest. Kouha and Kouemi looked shocked.
Kouen slammed his palm on his table. "Tell me more."
Astra smiled sweetly. "I can't. Or, at least not today. Why don't we talk about this later, Kouen? I promise you more information, just on another day."
The first prince made a dissatisfied sound, but nodded his head in agreement, interest still showing in his eyes.
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Lady Astra, you didn't have to tell those idiots that you came from a village when they asked you about your skin color, you know?
Why not, Lady Belphegor?
It would be a lot easier to just tell them that you were sick with some condition. It would probably have made them pity you and treasure you more. Ah, humans. Such ignorant, foolish creatures.
Well, Lady Belphegor, that probably would have actually made them break the alliance. They wouldn't want a diseased ally, would they? Also, the "village" gives them more information about my past, so they won't have to suspect where I'm from or whether I'm an enemy spy or not. It also keeps their interest in me, something I do not want to lose.
Lady Astra...
Yes, Lady Belphegor?
Your book... you do know, my friend, that the more you consult your book for advice... it... drains your life force...
Don't worry about that, the curse will not have any effect on me.
But it-
The curse will not harm me in any way.
You don't know that, Lady Astra!
Belphegor, why don't you trust me just a bit more? Just like when we were younger?
...Of course, Lady Astra.
Besides, I didn't use my book to find out that I should do that. I have my own mind, too. Now, Lady Belphegor, you must be tired. Run along, and take a nap as always, will you?
Of course, to hear you is to obey. Now, if you'll please excuse me...
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Astra's POV
Life as a human is such a pain; how do they stand it? I couldn't use my wings to travel at all (so I wouldn't raise any attention), it was way too hot (insert groans), and so many fugly-looking guys were coming up to me and asking me if I wanted to have a drink (what is that?), which was disgusting (hence, the cape). And, of course Lucifer just had to come along and make the entire journey to the Kou Empire much more enjoyable for me by teasing me about how I was only capable about doing things an average human would be able to do. He and I are gong to have a long talk when I get back to Ruinisa, in which violence will probably (Did I say probably? I meant will) be included.
On the bright side, I got to form an alliance with the Kou Empire. I looked up to see a man with a long, black braid stare at me.
Judal, my mind whispered, the oracle/magi of the Kou Empire and Al-Thamen. According to rumors, he's annoying. I noticed he wasn't the only person staring at me. The three princes were, too.
I gave them an innocent "what's going on?" look. "What's wrong, Judal, Kouha, Kouen, Koumei?"
Judal kept a good pokerface on but I could see how his pupils dilated, just a bit, showing that he was surprised that I knew his name. If there was anyone who was an expert on masks, it was me.
Kouha stepped towards me and started poking my cheek. What an annoying little boy. "Judal was saying that your rukh felt weird."
I feigned surprise. "What do you mean?"
The great magi himself (insert muffled choking sounds) approached me, a scowl on his face. "Who are you?"
I smiled. "I'm Astra. Cut your hair, Judal. It's way too long."
His scowl deepened. "Huh? What do you mean my hair's long? A magi's hair is supposed to be at least this long. And what about your hair?"
"What about my hair?"
"It's long, too."
"But I'm a girl. I can have long hair."
"Says who?"
"Says me."
"No one cares about what you say."
"I do."
"I don't."
"I do, and you can't do anything about it."
"Well, I don't and you can't do anything about it either."
"Well, what if I don't care?"
"Well, then I don't care either."
Judal and I stared (glared) at each other. Meanwhile, Kouha forced Koumei to play rock-paper-scissors with him, Kouen started reading a scroll, and Koumei stomped on Kouha's foot because he won a round of the game.
What nice allies I have chosen...
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Lady Asmodeus. We need to talk.
Yes, Lady Astra? Let me guess, you slept with one of the princes already? Oh you're such a seductress!
No, unlike you, I don't have any interest in seducing men and the like.
Aw, you're such a bore! But I have lots of faith that you'll fall for that first prince, um... Ren Kouen, was it? He's a handsome man, isn't he? Except that goatee...
Lady, we have already talked about his goatee, have we not?
Yes, yes. But that goatee! It's so... unattractive!
Yes, I know.
That other prince, Ren Koumei... he's... well... messy. Yuck.
Yeah, go on.
And Ren Kouha... he's okay, I guess.
Yes, Lady Asmodeus, your topics of interest are nice, but I did not call you to talk about that.
Oh? Then what did you want to talk about?
I want you to answer this honestly.
Hm? Is it something important? Well, ok.
How is Lucifer doing?
HUH? Are you perhaps... interested in Lord Lucifer?
NO. NEVER.
Ho? But... I heard that Lucifer was interested in you, Lady Astra.
Don't make me laugh. He does not love me.
...Who knows?
Anyways, how is he ruling?
He's actually governing Ruinisa pretty well, the lower classes love him.
Good to know.
Now if you'll excuse me, Lady Astra, I need to go-
Meet some human males? Asmodeus, you need to control your lust.
Exactly. In fact, I'll be targeting the male servants in the Kou Palace. See you, Lady Astra!
...Yes.
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Third person POV
Astra sighed in the middle of her and Judal's epic glaredown. He narrowed his eyes but didn't stop glaring at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Tell me!"
"It's really nothing..."
"Just tell me!"
"No, no, it's okay..."
"What do you mean it's okay?!"
Sparks were beginning to fly off of Judal as he broke free of the glaring contest. Astra smirked at him. Kouen looked up from his scroll.
Astra leaned towards him. "Oh? So the great magi of the Kou Empire is about to lose his cool?"
"No."
"It doesn't seem that way..."
"Hmph." Judal crossed his arms and turned his head away from Astra. "It's not like I care about what you're thinking."
Astra started coughing uncontrollably to cover her laughs. "Yeah right."
"Tch."
In Runinsa...
Astra returned to her home to find that her fellow rulers were waiting for her.
Lucifer knelt down in front of her respectfully. "Welcome back, my love."
She gave him a long stare. "Say that again."
"Welcome back, my lo-" Lucifer winced and felt his cheek burn. The ruler of Ruinisa had slapped him. Oh well, he thought, I'm used to it by now.
"Lord Lucifer, I am sure that you're aware of the fact that you are't my lover?"
Lucifer smiled at Astra brightly. "Oh, but honey, you know that we are madly in love. You're just too shy to tell everyone!"
Beezlebub and Leviathan looked shocked.
A crack appeared in the ground next to Lucifer's foot. "Oh? And since when when was I your lover, Lord?"
Lucifer's smile grew wider. She's so easy to tease. "You didn't forget the time when we slept toge-"
Blood splattered across the smooth floors of the castle. Astra withdrew her hand from Lucifer's stomach. He coughed up blood. "Lucifer."
Lucifer lifted his head and smiled slyly, blood flowing freely out of his mouth. "You're blushing." His actions were rewarded with a kick in the shoulder.
"I am not." She was.
Asmodeus gave Astra a twisted smile. "But Astra~!"
"What?"
"You really are blushing!"
"A-am not."
"Oh? Did you just stutter now? Could it be... you're actually interested in Lucifer?"
"No!"
"Hm? Your face tells me otherwise-"
"SHUT UP!"
After killing Lucifer five consecutive times...
Astra looked up from her book. "Yes, Lucifer? Have you come to propose your love to me again?"
He laughed. "Right as always, my lady. But then again, you might have found that out by consulting your book, am I right?"
"No, I figured that out on my own."
"It seems that you are gifted in both strength and intellect, my lady."
"Yes, yes. How are your wounds from earlier?"
"Ah! It seems that you truly do care for me!"
"Shut up about that and answer the question."
"My wounds are fine, lady."
"I see. Now go away."
"You have nothing else to say to me?"
"No."
"Are you not glad to see me?"
"No. Never."
"But you were blushing earlier~"
"I WAS NOT."
"Oh! That's right. Lady Astra, are you planning to spend the night here?"
"No."
"Hm? Why not?"
"Prince Kouen was kind enough to provide me with a room in the Kou Palace to spend the nights in. I am only here to check on how my country is doing."
"Come on, Astra. Would you like to sleep in my room again?"
In the blink of an eye, Lucifer's sword, which hung at his side, was drawn by Astra and used to cut his arm off.
He pouted and calmly walked over to pick up his (very bloody) cut-off arm. "Astra, even if cutting off my arm doesn't kill me, it still hurts, you know?" He stuck the arm back on and flexed it, checking for any problems.
"And that's exactly why I cut it off."
"You're such a meanie. Don't you think the torture you so graciously delivered to me earlier is already enough?"
"You deserved that as punishment. "
"No, no, Lady Astra. You did that to show how much you love me."
"Enough. Lucifer, if you are here for no other reason than to tease me, please leave."
"I'm here to ask if you want to spend the night in my room."
"And your answer is no. Now leave."
"Why, Lady? Is it because you have fallen for that lowly human prince?"
"No, it's because I simply just don't want to sleep with you."
"But remember that last time you-"
"Lord Lucifer, you are excused."
EL: Was that long enough for you guys? Will you forgive me now?
Judal: No.
EL: You! I put you in the chapter and you thank me like this?!
Judal: I didn't get enough screen time.
EL: At least I put you in!
Judal: Meh.
EL: DON'T "MEH" ME!
Judal: Meh.
EL: *makes weird noises* Whatever... I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I spent way too much time on it. I'm really sorry for any mistakes. Please insult me. Insults are good. Well then, see you guys in the next chapter!
P.S. I NEED HELP. PLZPLZPLZPLZPLZPLZ GIVE TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE KOUEN'S CHARACTER.