Chapter 7: Planning and Plotting
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"Stay here." Seto commanded and Serenity froze, looking up at him sadly. He continued out the door and Malik closed it behind them. Once inside the greeting hall, Seto sat atop his throne. The Wolf leader stepped through, followed by a tall blonde human.
"Lord Seto." Joey greeted. Seto offered him a nod and turned to the blonde. "This is-"
"I know who this is. What are you doing here, princess?" Seto snarled as he asked. The blonde bowed.
"I'm no princess. Not anymore. I've disowned my lineage." She claimed.
"Hey... Where's my sister?" Joey asked, looking around the room. Some demons chuckled as they peered on. When joey returned his gaze to Seto, he had nodded off to another demon, who then left quickly.
"If she's the reason you're here..."
"No. That's not it. I was just expectin to see her. Mai." He turned to the princess, letting her take the conversation.
"We have an issue." She said, not knowing where to start. Seto raised an eyebrow.
"Lots of people have many." He pointed out sarcastically.
"It's about my fa- The king. He's gathering forces-"
"I already know he plans to take the castle. We'll never let-" Seto was the one to be cut off this time.
"He wants you dead, castle be damned." He fell silent. "He wants to eliminate all of the racial lords. He wants to dominate the powers of the world. He's been working on it for years now. I never thought he would actually be able to get enough followers to support him... but..." She trailed off, still barely able to believe it.
"How many?" She demon lord demanded.
"He's got two legions of six thousand to the north east and three of four thousand, and one of eight to the direct north." She informed him. The numbers were large. Far more than he could possibly muster. Even if each of his soldiers could take on five of the kings, he was still far overpowered. "But it's worse than that." His eyes flickered to hers and he gave her an intense stare. "The vampires have joined him." Seto's eyes widened. The vampires were the second strongest race, just under him. Those numbers and that strength... they were unbeatable.
"I propose an alliance." Joey spoke up. Seto scoffed.
"What could you possibly offer this situation. You may lead the dominant pack of the northern county, but that only brings the numbers up by maybe five hundred. I rule all of the demons. My numbers reach the thousands. It barely makes a dent." He said, bringing a hand up and squeezing the bridge of his nose.
"Hey, every body counts!" Joey shouted. "We've also got more than you think. We've been busy." Joey turned away from him. He began walking out of the room, and Mai turned to follow him.
"...Joey?" He froze. Mai and Joey both turned their heads as Seto smirked down at him.
"Serenity..." She took a step towards him but froze, and turned to Seto. He raised an eyebrow at her, surprised and amused by her submissiveness. At least she wasn't demeaning him in front of his subjects. He nodded, allowing her to move freely. She smiled and ran to her brothers arms, hugging him tightly. "Ren, I was hopin I'd see you here. They been treating you right?" He asked, looking down at her.
"Yes." She said into his chest. They parted and Seto spoke up.
"About the alliance." Joey looked at him incredulously. He had risen from his throne and had an arm outstretched to a door. "I have some propositions of my own. Follow me." He turned and walked through that door, and Serenity, Joey, and Mai followed. Once inside, they saw Seto place himself at the end of a long table. He signaled for Serenity to approach him and for the others to pull up a seat. Once Joey and Mai had taken a seat at either side of him, he pulled Serenity across his lap, leaning back and listening to her squeak on surprise.
"What the hell are ya doing?" Joey demanded as a blush flashed across Serenity's cheeks.
"Just getting comfortable." He said with a smirk. Serenity wriggled a bit, trying to find some comfort snuggling across the demons hard body. She found a position and laid her head across his chest as he stroked her hair. "Now, we're going to need to rally our forces." he began. " We also need supplies. Food, water, armor. We're going to need to hunt immediately. I'll instruct the shadow demons to wait and gather food before leaving."
"Shadow demons?" Joey asked. Seto sighed, and Serenity rubbed his shoulder, reminding him to keep calm. She was confused, but if everyone continued to talk she knew she'd figure it out, and didn't want to question the demon lord in case she angered him.
"Every demon has an element. One of ten. It is the elemental power that infuses itself with you. It's similar to being a druid: humans who ask little favors from an element and are granted short bursts of power from their guardian element. Demons are humans that asked an element for eternal powers. The element infuses itself into them driving out their soul and giving them their power and in exchange. The new demon must make a pact with the elements, making two vows to live by for the rest of their eternities, and to never ask anything from the elements again. If they break their vows, the elemental power leaves them, never to return." Seto explained.
"Then you... were once human?" Joey asked in shock.
"No, I was born a demon. Those who are born do not need pacts. We are just born soulless. Now if you don't mind, I have to feed and cloth an army." He said, getting frustrated by the questions. Serenity looked up at him in surprise. She hadn't thought to ask him any of this. " Shadow demons can travel through the shadows at incredible speeds. They would usually make it here within a few hours, but I'm going to delay them and have them gather food. That way when they arrive they'll only be a day or so ahead of the others." Seto began.
"Wait." Joey said, obviously getting an idea. Seto glared at him, waiting for the reason why he should delay his orders. "How many shadow demons are in the castle already?" Joey asked.
"Just me." Seto answered. "We're a rare breed." He said.
"How many do you have?" Seto raised an eyebrow, but tossed some numbers around in his head.
"About three hundred?" He thought out loud. Joey smirked.
"Can you get some twenty or so here now?" Seto narrowed his gaze on Joey who was smirking.
"Why?"
"You're not the only one who has to feed an army... and the king's already gathered all the food we're gonna need." Seto smirked. He didn't expect an idea like that from someone like Joey. He nodded and glanced down at Serenity, who was tucked neatly against him, smiling at her older sibling.
"I know exactly where the store houses are." Mai said, now finding a use for her in all of this.
"Then it's agreed. We meet back in two days." Seto nodded. Joey and Mai bid farewell to the demon lord and Serenity. After they had gone, Serenity followed Seto to the dining hall. There he sat at a table, and motioned for her to sit across him. He called a servant over, and turned to Serenity. She nodded sweetly to the servant before realizing it was Bryan. She shot a hesitant glance over to Seto who smirked at her and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Aren't you going to tell him what you want?" He asked, a hint of playfulness in his voice. She smiled and nodded, turning up to Bryan.
"Is there any warm soup left?" She asked cheerily. Bryan nodded and turned to Seto, swallowing hard.
"Calm down. I'm not about to hurt you." Seto said, trying to steady the boy. " Lamb." He ordered, and Bryan left. When he turned back Serenity was smiling at him. She was beautiful, obviously happy about seeing her brother and the days events as a whole. She took his breath away. They spent the rest of dinner together and Seto rose, signaling for Serenity to rise with him.
"I need to leave, to get the infiltration squad. I'll be back sometime during the day. Malik will be in charge until I return." He informed her. " Oh, and... feel free to talk," he shot a look over at Bryan " to anyone you want." He offered her a smirk and before her eyes, faded into the shadows of the room. She smiled to herself, happy to have the freedom.
Malik traveled the halls looking disheveled. He made his way to Seto's study and slammed the door behind him. After finally placing himself in the seat he sighed and closed his eyes.
"Looking a little rough around the edges, my lord." A sarcastic voice pierced his calmness. He didn't have to look up to know who it was.
"Lana, you know you're not allowed in Seto's private study." He reminded her, landing his narrowed gaze on her. She shrugged.
"You're in charge now." She said, moving towards him and placing her hands on his shoulders. " Your rules don't have to be the same as his... My Lord." She said into his ear as she began to rub his shoulders. He quirked an eyebrow up but allowed her to continue the massage.
"What exactly are you insinuating?" Malik asked, wanting her to get to the point.
"Oh nothing at all. Obviously Seto will come back and with friends... Just that... well... nine hundred years is a long time to rule. And you are young and strong. Stronger than him." Malik had a sinking feeling in his gut, but after a moment passed, a smirk crossed his lips. He stood abruptly, startling her and making her jump back. He turned and looked down on her, smirk still plastered across his face.
"You think I could rule in his stead?" Malik grinned. She smirked up at him and walked closer, placing her hands across his chest.
"Of course. I think you're much more brilliant. You are always by his side, making all the right decisions and guiding him to his successes. You're the real leader. You should have taken his place at the top."
"And how, exactly would I manage to gain the demon colonies trust and respect should I decide to forcibly take the throne?" He asked her. She smiled and stroked his cheek with her hand.
"I believe, I can be of service to you in that regard... Your Majesty." She brushed her finger along his jaw and he chuckled.
' This will be enlightening...' He thought to himself, studying the demoness before him.
Serenity spent the day hanging out with Bryan and wandering the castle. She still hadn't been in the village just beyond the keep, but she figured she had the rest of her life to visit. She had separated from Bryan so he could deliver meals to private chambers of demons and was looking for a good window to see the village below out of. The sun had already set hours ago, but there was enough moonlight to allow her some visibility.
The village was actually rather large. The surrounding castle walls held a great deal of land and there was plenty of room inside them. She even spotted two small farms within the walls. Though it was night, the streets were crowded and moving with life. It seemed the entire place was wide awake. She silently wondered if demons slept at all. Just as she was about to head back to her room, she heard a loud clang in the hall.
When she rushed over to investigate, she saw a large man, tall and muscled, holding Bryan up by the collar. His platter had been spilled over the ground and his feet barely reached the floor.
"What are you doing?" Serenity yelled, running up and grabbing at the arm that held Bryan. The man tossed her a glance, and narrowed his gaze. He dropped Bryan and yanked his arm back. He wreaked of alcohol and some other things Serenity didn't want to know about.
"You shouldn't get into things you cant deal with, mortal." The man scoffed. He raised his fist, threatening Serenity and she cowered against the wall. Before he could attack, a metal serving platter swung across his shoulder, gaining his attention. Serenity watched as Bryan then dropped the platter and took off down the hall as fast as he could. The man began to pursue him and Serenity followed.
They were heading towards the main hall, where Bryan would be able to utilize the other demons just hanging around the area as helpers to calm the angered one. Serenity noticed, though, that the man was rapidly gaining on him. Bryan might be able to just make it through to the great hall before the demon was on him, but he might injure or kill him before anyone could do anything to stop him. Serenity couldn't let that happen. She leaped at the man, intending to halt him. She caught onto his arm, slowing him and he gave an angered shout. He crushed Serenity into the wall and she cried out. She heard a loud crack as her bones broke against the cold stone. The demon had already resumed chasing Bryan, leaving her broken in the hall.
"What the hell is going on down here?" Malik screamed. He made his way to where Serenity was, just ten feet away from the entrance to the great hall. Two other demons had run too the spot as well and were restraining the one. Malik bent to Serenity who couldn't lift herself and growled. Lana bent behind him, getting close to his ear.
"You could just let her die... it's not your fault if something happens to her. And he will be blamed." she whispered nodding to the now bound demon. Malik glared up at her.
"She distracts him. I can use the diversions." He whispered hastily back, pushing her off of him. He looked up at the two demons who had tied down the angered one and nodded them over. "Get Ryou. Now." He demanded and the left quickly. Lana shook her head slowly and retreated into the great hall and out of sight.
When Serenity woke, a bright light hovered over her, momentarily blinding her. As she slowly focused she realized it was emanating from a person, rather than a torch or the sun. The being smiled down at her as she woke. She lifted herself easily and glanced down at her body as memories became clear. Her body was whole and healthy. She looked back to the glowing man. He had a kindness in his eyes that warmed her soul.
"Hello, how are you feeling?" The man asked her. Aside from his glow, his appearance was unusual. He had warm brown eyes, which was normal enough, but his hair was pure white.
"I... I feel wonderful. How long has it been?" She was expecting him to say something along the lines of weeks.
"About seven hours." He said, shocking her. "I am Ryou." He extended a hand and she took it.
"I'm Serenity." She said, still in awe of her good health. "Did you do this?" She asked, looking over herself again. He smiled softly and nodded. She took another look at him and paused. "You... You're a Fey aren't you?" he nodded again.
"We specialize in healing magics." He explained. He was about to say something when the doors burst open behind him.
"Where is she?"
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Ok, this is to the driver on I-495 just before exit 38 around 4:30 Christmas day, just in case you read this fanfic. CHECK YOUR BLIND SPOTS BEFORE SUDDENLY MERGING INTO THE NEXT LANE. Also; IF YOU ALMOST HIT SOMEONE AND CAUSE THEM TO SPIN OUT OF CONTROL ALMOST HITTING A GUARD RAIL AND ALMOST CAUSING A MULTIPLE CAR ACCIDENT, DON'T JUST DRIVE AWAY. We're fine by the way. Thanks for not asking. We only ended up skidding to a halt about 8 inches away from the bumper of the car that was behind us... facing them... you know... the wrong way … on the highway... completely stopped...
Oh but a real thanks to boyfriend for taking the emergency vehicle obstacle course training, otherwise our car would have flipped and we would be dead... also to the people in the cars that stopped and blocked traffic so we weren't hit by more people who weren't paying attention. Yeah... we just had a great day.
I hope your days went better.
R+R+E~L
