A/N: Here's the second chapter! Just a reminder: this isn't going to have a normal happy ending. I mentioned at the start of the first chapter, but this is a very different story than what's typically associated with this universe.
Given that there was absolutely no precedent for following a strange young man through a portal to become his family's champion in exchange for food and board, Seph had no idea what to expect to see on the other side. But when she found herself standing in a dark throne room in a decrepit black castle, she decided to throw what little sense the whole situation had out the window. The room was bathed in green light from torches that were hung up on the wall, allowing her to view a variety of paintings that depicted hulking beasts with fur ranging from brown to pitch black and fangs that almost seemed to glisten in the light. She slowly turned around to view each painting when she was suddenly met with a creature that looked exactly like the one on the wall. Her eyes widened as she started to jump away from it but she paused upon seeing his hair.
"Soren?" Seph narrowed her eyes in an attempt to recognize the beast before her, but it did little to help. It was only when he nodded that she could start to see some resemblance between him and the man she'd met. "I assume this is what you really look like, then?"
"Yes, it is. I'm sorry for the disguise, but I didn't want to scare you away after everything that happened to you," he replied in a gentle tone. "Although, my title is a bit different here."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...here, I'm known as-"
"Prince Soren." A deep voice echoed through the room. Seph's head turned to her left to find a creature similar to Soren sitting on a throne that looked to be made of pure coal, causing a bit of dust to cling to the beast's brown fur. He wore a simple black robe with a matching crown that rested atop his head, inky black horns curling around it to keep it in place. His eyes, like Soren's, were disarmingly yellow and his fangs were sharper than any knife Seph had seen. Jutting out of his hands and feet were long dark claws that put her on edge, especially when they began to tap against the armrest of the throne. Seph was so taken by his sudden appearance that she forgot herself for a moment before remembering her place. She ducked her head down in an awkward curtsy when a deep rumbling coming from the king made her look back up. "Smart girl you've got there, my son."
"Father, this is our new champion: Persephone; Persephone, this is my father, King Damus," Soren nodded to the both of them as he gave introductions, taking note of the look of displeasure that Seph tried to hide when he used her full name.
"If it's all the same to you, Your Majesty, just Seph will do."
Damus opened his mouth to disagree when he felt a claw gently run down the back of his arm. He smiled and turned to face his wife, who was gazing down at the girl in front of them. Her eyes widened ever so slightly when she caught sight of the queen in all of her glory. Like the king and her son, she had brown fur that had a slight sheen to it resembling hair grease, causing the fur to look darker than it actually was. Her eyes were a duller yellow than that of the men in the room, but they were still plenty intimidating enough. She wore a dark red dress that had black silk threads spread across the fabric like shattered glass, and wore a crown similar to that of her husband. Black claws curving off of her fingers ran themselves down the length of the dress as she stood there, taking the young human in.
"Why do you insist on shortening such a powerful name?" The queen drawled as her eyes ran over the girl's form, her body fluidly moving from her husband's side to sit on her throne. Seph suddenly became more aware of the stinging cuts and swelling bruises that were scattered across her body, now making themselves known as her body grew less and less numb from being out of the cold. "'Bringer of Destruction'...now, who wouldn't want a name like that?"
"Someone who's never destroyed anything before," she mumbled as she cast her gaze down in submissive respect.
"Oh, don't worry...you'll have plenty of time to do that," a lighter voice called from behind her. She turned to find her gaze being met with a golden one that sparkled in the light. The beast looked much like Soren, only he was a bit muscular around the arms and his hair was a bit more tamed. A black sash running across his chest alerted her to his royal status that was further reinforced by the dark green robe that hung around his shoulders. He gave her what she assumed was supposed to be a charming smile before walking up to her and taking her hand in his, his fur surprisingly soft around her icy fingers that were further warmed by his lips as he pressed them to his mouth in a kiss. "Prince Vitsu, at your service," her hand vibrated as he mumbled into it.
She blinked for a moment, stunned by such a display, before finally clearing her throat. "From what I hear, sir, it's the other way around."
Vitsu gave her an impressed smile, his eyes flicking from hers to his brother's. "Father was right, Soren; a smart girl indeed." He shot her a wink before he made his way to his father's side, standing tall and proud next to the throne. Seph's gaze went from royal to royal as she tried to make sense of just how exactly she got into such a situation. Wasn't it just a few moments before that her biggest concern was getting to the train on time? And now here she was: in another realm altogether surrounded by creatures that would terrify grown men after making a deal to become their champion just to ensure that she'd survive to see the next day. Amazing, what the difference of a brand and a mugging could make on a life.
"I must say," Damus's voice brought her out of thoughts and back to the unbelievable reality she found herself in. "I was expecting you to be more...scared."
"Scared, Your Majesty?"
"Yes, girl; scared. We are Nitians, after all."
He chuckled upon seeing her brow crease in confusion. "I see you're unfamiliar with the term. Nitians, my dear, are creatures that feed on fear. To put it more accurately, we feed on the epinephrine- what you humans call 'adrenaline'- that's produced when you react to things that scare you. Our bodies aren't well-equipped to produce such things in the masses as humans can, so we've been forced to feed off of your species."
She took a moment to truly process what she had been told. Before her stood creatures that had only been spoken of in myths and legends: monsters that preyed on the very fear that they created. And yet...she realized that the king had been right in his assessment. These creatures made it their life's work to scare humans, but here she was feeling far more comfortable in their presence than she had ever felt back on Earth. A voice in the back of her mind told her that it was just the promise of a good meal and a bed that quelled her fears, but she didn't think that was true at all. No, there was a much different reason for her fearlessness.
"I suppose when you've lived the kind of life that I have, you learn to be scared of a lot more concrete things. You might antagonize my species, but you do it out of necessity...whereas humans are willing to kill each other for the sake of pure malice," Seph replied, her gaze darkening at the thought. "Which is why I must thank you all for what you're doing for me."
The king waved a paw in dismissal. "Nonsense. You're to be our champion; providing for you is the least we could do."
She was about to reply when she suddenly doubled over in pain, her stomach growling the loudest she'd ever heard. Warm paws caught her shoulders as soon as she started to lean forward but she couldn't hear what Soren was saying until the noises passed. Her cheeks began to burn as she looked up to meet the gaze of the royals, her body tensing as another round of hunger pangs started up again. But her embarrassment subsided when she was met with looks of concern instead of amusement. The queen rose from her throne and rushed to Seph's side, her clawed hands taking the place of her son's as he rushed off down one of the hallways adjacent to the throne room. She could see Vitsu moving out of the corner of her eyes but she had no way of telling what he was doing until a wooden bowl filled with a yellow-tinted broth was placed below her face.
"Drink," he whispered, lifting the edge of the bowl to her mouth. Seph's lips parted as soon as she felt the steam touch her face and she began to greedily suck down the broth, ribbons of it running off the corners of her mouth as she tried to down it as fast as possible. Her mind cared nothing of the flavor (though she would later recall it tasting like chicken), only to get it into her stomach. The only time she stopped was to gasp for air before going right back to drinking the broth. In a matter of mere seconds, she had finished off the entire bowl. Vitsu started to pull it away from her mouth when she hungrily grasped for it and began to lick the bottom, just to try and get every last drop of the broth as she could. When she was finally finished, the prince gently grabbed her hands and pried them off of the bowl before backing away from her in trepidation. Seph was still gasping for breath when what she had just done finally registered in her mind, causing her to look at the three creatures in shock.
"I-I…" There were no words in her mind that could justify what had happened. A warm pair of arms wrapped themselves around her shoulders as her breathing started to level out, soft fingers running across her chin to wipe off the leftover broth that still rested there.
"There's no need to apologize, my dear," the queen whispered in her ear. "You've been hungry for far too long...it was only a matter of time before it got the best of you."
"But I-"
"Laviatha is right, Seph." Damus lifted a clawed hand to gently run it through her hair. "You have no reason to apologize."
All of a sudden, she found it hard to swallow as- for the first time in her life- she received some form of affection. Seph knew deep down that this wasn't genuine and that it was coming with a price, but her desperation made her look past it and let her accept it while she could. Her eyes fluttered closed when she felt the second pair of Leviatha's arms curl around her middle, not even trying to stop the lone tear that slid down her cheek that yet another furry finger wiped away. Her silent reveling was put to an end when the warmth around her suddenly faded, her eyes opening once again to find Soren walking back into the throne room with a small bottle containing a dark red liquid that bubbled and churned. Vitsu and Damus parted themselves so that he could make his way in front of her, the young beast uncorking the bottle and holding it up to her.
"What is it?" Seph asked as she took the bottle from his hand, her fingers curling around the cool glass.
"Something to help with the pain. There's also a chance that it'll heal your injuries, but we'll see what happens." She arched her brow at him but downed the liquid anyway. Her chest began to heave with coughs as soon as it went down her throat, her mouth instinctively salivating in reaction to the intensely bitter taste of the concoction. Before she could comment on it, though, she could start to feel the stinging on her arms and face slowly fade away. She looked down at her arms to see the scabbing cuts that were lining her skin begin to be replaced by faded pink scars. Her brow furrowed when the scars didn't go away, her eyes flicking up to Soren's.
"I thought you said I'd be healed?"
"Yes, well, in our realm, we value scars. Means we've survived to battle another day," the young prince explained. He then reached forward and plucked the bottle from her hand, stuffing the cork back into the top before gazing at his father intently. Damus gave him a quick nod in response.
"Now that that's all said and done, it's time to make you our champion," he said. The king grabbed his wife's hand and led her down the hall on the right, followed by Vitsu who turned back to give Seph an excited wink, causing him to nearly run into the wall. He shot Soren a glare when he heard him chuckled at the near-miss, the prince huffing and straightening out his robe before marching after his parents in indignation. A furry hand lifted from her right side, her gaze flicking from it to meet Soren's. She sighed, placed her hand in his grasp, and followed alongside him as he led her out of the throne room and into the dark hallways of the castle.
The air grew colder the further down into the castle they went. A few Nitians that were a part of Damus's court occasionally made an appearance, looking just as potentially frightening as the others, who all looked at Seph's presence in shock. She wasn't sure what they were surprised at: the fact that she wasn't shaking in fear or the fact that a human was being led around by the royal family. It would seem that news of the Nitians getting a brand new addition to their ranks hadn't spread as much as she would've thought. Then again, she couldn't really make any judgements; she had just met them, after all. But her theory proved to be correct when she saw an older looking Nitian approach the king and whisper something into his ear, only to be thrown out of his way with a flick of his wrist. She flinched at such a brazen display of power and felt Soren's paw squeeze her hand.
"Don't worry," he said, "my father only does what's necessary when it comes to his people."
Seph gave him an empty nod as her gaze was fixated on the poor creature that was now groaning in pain while crumpled on the floor. If she had understood Soren's proposal as well as she thought she did, then she was going to be able to do something like this in the future. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought, but she couldn't tell if it was from fear or excitement; perhaps it was both. Her hand was given a gentle tug and her attention was pulled away from the old creature back to reality. Soren's brow arched, but she brushed him off with a shake of the head. His mouth set in a firm line, but he didn't press her about it. Instead he simply pulled her to his side and continued walking with her after his parents. It felt like ages had passed before they finally made it to the stairs going down into the dungeons when Damus cleared his throat up ahead of her.
"So, Seph," he started. "Did my son explain to you what exactly you'll be doing for us?"
"No, Father, I-"
"I'm sorry, is your name Seph?"
Her eyes widened at the sudden shift in the air as Damus turned around to give his son a warning glare. Soren shook his head out of the corner of his eyes before prompting Seph to speak with a nudge of his elbow. "Not really, Your Majesty; only that you want me to pull a dagger from a stone of some kind," she stuttered under the scrutinizing gaze of the king.
"And did he tell you what will happen once you do this?" Their steps began to echo all around them as they made their way down the stairs with Seph relying on Soren to guide her down as the only thing she could see was the occasional torch sconce and the slight glow that emitted from the family's eyes.
"Um, something about getting magic? I wasn't completely paying attention, if I'm being honest."
A deep rumbling could be heard ahead of her as she assumed the king and his son were laughing. Either that or it was a very small earthquake, she wasn't completely sure. "Well then, allow me to explain what you seem to have missed."
"In our dungeons is a stone in which a dagger is currently trapped. Now, normally, we wouldn't go through all of this trouble for a measly little dagger as we already have plenty of those, but this one is special. According to legend, this dagger contains within a very large amount of dark magic and whoever draws it from the stone will be gifted with that magic for as long as they live. There was, however, a catch that we didn't foresee: only the person who bears the same mark as the dagger may be able to pull it free."
"And I'm that person, right?" The air around her grew colder as they descended deeper still.
"You're correct, my dear. However, before you take it upon yourself to make this choice, I feel it important to inform you of what exactly it is that you'll be facing once you free the dagger." Her vision became spotty as they neared the bottom of the stairs, eyes blinking rapidly at the tears that began to form from the sudden brightness. Two identical torch sconces with emerald green flames dancing on the walls allowed her to see the grand doors that she assumed lead to the dungeons. They were a behemoth pair, made of finely polished obsidian that allowed for their reflections to become warped in the torchlight, the two of them standing guard like loyal sentries on duty. But Seph was unable to properly take in the sight since right at that moment, a series of soft whispers echoed in her ears. She couldn't tell what they were saying, but she could tell that they were coming from beyond the doors. Her feet started moving almost of their own accord towards the large black doors, her neck prickling under the watchful gaze of the Nitians. Both Damus and Laviatha lifted their arms and waved their hands slightly towards the doors, watching for the girl's reaction as they started to slowly open.
Seph had expected to see typical dungeon things upon entering: chains, torture rack, prison cells- the whole nine yards. She found none of that. In their place was a large stone that was about as tall as her hip with a strange looking hilt sticking out of the top of it. The start of what looked to be a jagged silver blade could be seen just below the hilt but the rest of it was seemingly swallowed by the rock. Her ears were now filled to the brim with the whispering voices whose words were constantly overlapping with each other, making them indiscernible. She made her way around the stone until she was staring at the very back of it where she saw the very same symbol that had been branded into her wrist. The tips of her fingers softly traced the design and she could feel the dagger's influence start to seep in. Like Soren said: she was hungry and this was the only way to sustain her. Before she could grab the hilt, though, a clawed hand caught her wrist in a gentle grasp. Seph tore her gaze from the stone to properly give her attention to the queen next to her. The whispers started to fade as she came to her senses with Seph giving her head a shake for good measure.
"Why did you stop me?" She asked with a creased brow. "I thought you wanted me to do this."
"It's as my husband said: you should know what you'll be dealing with before taking the dagger." With a wave of her hand, a small oval-shaped portal opened up in front of them. Purple and green light swirled about it for a moment before clearing up to show a group of creatures that look awfully similar to the Nitians that surrounded her. Unlike them, however, their fur was brightly colored with shades that varied from bright red to a regal looking black with softer features adorning their faces. Their fangs were much duller than a Nitian's and their claws looked to be rounded rather than razor sharp. But the biggest difference was their temperament. While the Nitians were clearly a species that operated in intimidation and darkness, these creatures looked to be far brighter with smiles spread across damn near every single one of their faces. They all suddenly broke out into a round of laughter that made Seph want to cover her ears. A series of groans could be heard all around her and when she turned to look at the royals, she saw they each had grimaces that ranged from annoyed to downright pained.
"I take it that laughter makes you weak," she mused. Her observation proved to be correct when she had to catch Soren from falling to his knees in pain. The creatures' laughs eventually died down, allowing them all to recover as best they could. "What exactly are those things?"
"Our cousins, of sorts," Vitsu growled as he struggled to stand himself upright again. "They call themselves Lauhinians, but you humans would know them as 'tickle monsters'."
Seph turned back to the portal to see that they were, indeed, tickling each other in what looked to be some kind of group wrestling match. She didn't know much about the subject if she was being honest, so she couldn't quite tell what exactly they were doing beyond tickling each other. The sound of Damus clearing his throat caught her attention and she looked over to see him help his wife right herself once more. "They're a form of Nitian that evolved to absorb human adrenaline through excitement and...joy." The king nearly gagged at the word, but managed to keep his composure.
"Why?"
"Because one Nitian a very long time ago decided that he didn't have the guts to continue in our ways, so he went off and created an entirely new species branch."
"Like ya do." Seph heard Soren cough up a chuckle at the dry response. She found it quite interesting that for creatures who were weakened by things like laughter were still able to appreciate her sense of humor. It was the first time someone had appreciated anything about her, if she was being honest with herself.
But this is no time for self pity, the voice in the back of her mind said as she forced herself to focus back on the matter at hand. "So...I'm guessing that you're all enemies with these guys? Can't you guys just, you know, grab some adrenaline from hospitals and make your own from that?"
"We already tried, our bodies can't take anything else except organic adrenaline, and it's a lot more fun to scare people," Soren replied, using his fingers to count off the reasons.
"Seph...what you need to understand is that while we certainly enjoy what we do, we never actually hurt anyone," Damus explained as he walked up behind her. "Scaring children? It's not the most moral way of going about things, I grant you, but we have yet to harm a child while doing what we do. And yet, King Lauhin and his sons are quick to call us monsters while they themselves do more harm than good."
"King Lauhin?"
Leviatha pointed her claw at the tall Lauhinian with black fur and a thick white mane wearing nothing but a sash and a loincloth that resembled human shorts. "Him...the hypocrite in black. A king who was so strict about humans entering his realm, and yet all it took was a pair of sisters to make him melt."
"Wait, what? He's brought humans in there?!" How many had he brought in? Did he pick and choose who got to go and who couldn't? Her thoughts began to swirl as she could hear the dagger's whispers rise into her ears once more.
"Well, to be fair, it's not the king doing it; it's his son," Vitsu clarified while inspecting his nails. He then gestured with his claw to the creature next to the king, a young Lauhinian who nearly reached the monarch's height that had bright red fur and green eyes that sparkled with mischief. Like his father, he wore a royal sash across his chest and a black pair of loincloth shorts. "Prince Jocu, protector of Earth."
Her head snapped over to him, fingers starting to curl in anger. "Protector? Protector from what?"
"Why, from us horrible Nitians, of course." Soren cast an angered gaze at the prince, his clawed feet tapping against the stone floor. "I find it quite bothersome that he has the gall to call us monsters while he willfully neglects those under his care."
Seph's face might've shown a look of confusion, but the blinking of her eyes said something else entirely. The whispers from the dagger grew stronger the longer she listened to them describe her future enemies and she was hearing no reason to turn back from her choice. But she couldn't deny that there was just a small bit of her that remained childishly curious. She could barely form the question in her mouth over the rage the bubbled inside of her, threatening to burst at any moment. "What do you mean…'under his care'?"
What she couldn't see were the wicked smiles Damus and Laviatha were exchanging behind her back. This poor girl in front of them had been harboring so much darkness within her that it was almost too easy to get her heart to turn. Amazing, they thought, what the truth could do to someone.
"Seph...Jocu is the one whose duty is to watch over the humans on the Earth. It's his responsibility to ensure that those who are suffering...those who are drowning in misery...that they're not alone in their pain; to give those without a home or family a place to go when there's nowhere left. To put it plainly, it's Jocu's job to spread happiness across the Earth the way all Lauhinian's do: with tickles and friendship." The youngest prince was now at her side, his golden eyes never leaving the girl's face. The glowing outline of the portal was reflected in her eyes as they became glassy with unshed tears.
"But...But if that's true, then…" Her chest tightened painfully as she did her best to suppress her growing anger.
"Then...it was his job to take care of you."
The floodgates opened when he finished. Red hot tears came pouring down her cheeks as she forced herself to look away from the portal. Her mind was reeling as the knowledge that she was supposed to be taken care of, that there had been a chance that she could've been saved from the life that she'd been living. All of the sleepless nights due to either hunger pangs or a wind that chilled her to the bone could've been filled with warmth and love. After all that she had been through, her heart ached to learn that she shouldn't have been alone through it all. But despite her anger, a voice in the back of her head tried to reason with her. It told her that there were far too many people on the Earth for a single being to look after and that it was ridiculous to expect such things. But it did little to stop her anger from raging on.
"He...there's a lot of people out there who need help. I can't expect special treatment just because-" Before Seph could ask anything else, she heard the portal changing behind her. She turned around to see the new scene that was being shown. Dozens of humans and what looked to be a variety of alien creatures all seemed to be celebrating the birthday of someone named 'Sasha', as evidenced by the large banner hung up over a large banquet table. And in the mix of it all were the Lauhinians. She saw the king standing next to a female Lauhinian with pale white fur whose mane had a different colored streaks that matched the younger male Lauhinians that were running around the party, and she could only assume that they were her other sons. Her eyes jumped from one to another as they bounded about, chasing teens and aliens alike with mischievous intent written all over their faces. But her gaze then found a sigh that made her blood boil: Jocu, sitting down on the ground and hugging two young human women close to him. The one on his right had blonde hair with pale skin and bright blue eyes that were magnified by the glasses she had to keep adjusting on the bridge of her nose. On his left was a girl that looked incredibly similar to her with the exception of having brown hair in place of blonde.
"Thank you so much for the party!" The girl on the left said, her voice slightly warped through the sound of the portal.
Jocu smiled and placed a loving kiss on the young woman's head. "Nonsense, Sasha. Your birthday's special; there's no way we would've missed it!"
They continued to talk, but Seph struggled to hear what they were saying over how loud the whispers had become. Her fingers were now curled into a clenched fist as her chest began to heave with deep, angry breaths. A part of her kept trying to reason with herself, to say that this might've happened a long time ago, that this could all just be a cruel lie being painted by the Nitians around her. But before she could fool herself into believing it, Soren raised his hand and ran it through her hair.
"The party started an hour ago," he said. "And he's been there the entire time."
All Seph could see now was red. She could feel her body begin to tremble as more tears streamed down her face, but there were no sobs to accompany them this time around. "So what you're saying...is that while I was being mugged...while I was starving...they got to enjoy his company? His care?" Her voice was unnervingly calm to the point where a twinge of fear went through the Nitians that stood around her, a feat that was not to be taken lightly. But if she noticed, she just didn't care anymore as the whispers began to fill her mind and soul. She could feel that dagger calling to her once more and she wondered how long it would be before she would be allowed to claim it as she so desperately wished to do.
Damus could see the darkness stirring behind her eyes and grinned, brushing his son aside so that he could whisper in her ear, "Yes, my dear; had it not been for my son, you would've wasted away in a painful, ignored death. The ones who claim to be good and just have abandoned their responsibilities in order to take care of the handful of humans they favor. So the only question left is this: ...what are you going to do about it?"
Her glassy eyes locked with his for a moment, before her head rolled around her neck and she felt her body twist around to face the stone. She walked over to it with a newfound purpose in place of the previous trance. Without any hesitation, Seph grasped the hilt tightly with both of her hands and nearly reared back at the amount of power that shot through her body. She shook her head to clear herself from the daze, and then started to pull on the hilt with all of her might. The dagger slowly rose out from its imprisonment as a black mist started to pour out of the space that was being made in the blade's absence. It was only a few seconds later that Seph was able to pull it free from the stone's hold, allowing everyone in the room to get a good look at the blade.
It was a jagged blade about the same length as her forearm with an intricate black design etched into the back of it that reminded her of the old inkblot tests she had read about in the public library once. But as the black mist flowed out of the stone, it increased by tenfold as it began to envelop Seph's body. It then started to swirl around her like a tornado that nearly sucked the breath out her lungs, her hair whipping around her face as the wind picked up. The mist started to thicken into a more liquidated state so that it looked like a tornado of oil was whipping all around her. Just outside of it, she could barely make out the image of something glowing on the stone before her arm was filled with a fiery pain. Her gaze immediately shot down to the brand on her wrist, now burning and glowing like a hot iron. A thin tendril of inky blackness shot out of the tornado and into the brand, her body jolting as an overwhelming amount of dark magic suddenly flowed into her. More tendrils followed suit with each one pumping in more magic to the point where her vision started to go blurry. The last thing she saw was the dagger slipping out of her grip before she succumbed to the darkness.
Her chest heaved with a gasp for air as her fingers suddenly curled tightly around whatever it was that had been placed in her hand. She opened her eyes and lifted her arm to shield them from the torchlight, pausing upon seeing the underside of her wrist. The brand that used to be there now looked more like a tattoo that had been filled with black ink. Traces of where the skin had been raised could still be felt as she ran her fingertips across it slowly. It was then that she saw that the dagger had been placed in her hand, the jagged blade reflecting the green light that illuminated the room. A furred hand brought her attention away from herself as it helped her to her feet. It took her a moment to gain her balance, her head growing light at the sudden change in orientation. But once it subsided, she was able to look around and ground herself in the strangeness of her reality.
Damus and the other Nitians were all looking at her expectantly with sinister smiles on their lips as they took in just how much she had changed. Her appearance hadn't changed much save for her eyes, which had gone from a pale hazel to dark brown with her pupils being but pinpricks now. Before they could say anything, however, she raised her hand over her head and waved it around the general area of the dungeon. A slight shimmer flowed over the dark stones before it took the shape of a large dome that surrounded them. The Nitians' gaze followed the dome's formation until it finished when they then gave her a look of confusion.
"An unimaginable amount of dark magic was just released into your realm and the Lauhinians are the type to keep tabs on you all," she explained. "Your dungeons are now protected from any attempts they might make to spy on you all."
They were quite taken aback by this. Not only had she gained mastery of her newfound magic in such a short amount of time, but she seemed far different than the shivering, starving girl Soren had brought in. This Seph held a calculating look in her eyes and venom on her tongue as she surveyed the dungeons with a more analytic gaze. The royal family exchanged looks with each other; just how powerful was this girl now?
Soren coughed, drawing her attention away from her inspection. "How do you feel, Seph?"
"Well, I'm not hungry anymore, if that's what you're asking. I'm not hungry, nor tired, nor cold. In fact," she looked down at the dagger, her fingertip tracing the flat of the blade. "I feel that some revenge is in order."
A conniving giggle flowed from her lips that was accompanied by the growing laughter of the royal family until it formed into a cornucopia of maniacal laughter. It died down after a few moments as they all collected themselves before she felt Damus's large paw rest on her shoulder. "Then come along, my dear! Your crowning must be planned at once!"
"Crowning? But I'm not royalty; I'm just gonna be someone who goes out to fight when no one else can."
"Nonsense." Laviatha said, walking over to wipe the residual tears from the young woman's face. "You're one of us now; that's more than enough reason to celebrate!"
The last bit of light that remained within her flickered at the thought. After so many years of loneliness and isolation, she had finally found a place she could belong. But the small smile that had started to grow evaporated into a hardened gaze.
"No. We can't let anyone know what's happened."
"Why not?" Vitsu asked, his brow furrowing at the sudden declaration.
"Simple: as of right now, the most that they'll know is that you've all gained something with powers neither of your species share. If we hold a large scale celebration that has me making an appearance, then we can kiss our chance at vengeance goodbye." She then began to look around the room in thought, raising her thumb to her mouth so that she could chew on it. It was when she looked down at the dagger in hand that an idea finally popped into her mind. "We'll do it here."
Seph barely registered their questioning as she trotted over to a nearby prison cell and pulled a thin stained sheet from a stone slab that looked to be some type of bed. Her hands worked carefully to wrap the sheet around the hilt of the blade as she made her way back over to the Nitians. Once the hilt was covered in its entirety, laid the blade down in the palm of her hand and stopped before the king, presenting it for him to take. He raised his hand hesitantly, looking over at his wife who only nodded in subdued encouragement before grabbing the dagger with his claws. Damus winced as if preparing to be burned by the dagger's power, but was quite relieved to find that nothing happened. His gaze then found Seph's and he arched his brow at her. "Are you ready?"
"As I'll ever be, Your Majesty."
"Alright then, my dear; kneel down." He watched as she took a deep breath and got down on one knee in front of him, her head ducked down in respect. Before he could start, however, she looked up to him with her index finger raised in questioning. "Yes?"
"Um...If you please, sir, I'd like to go by my full name this time."
"Oh? May I ask why?"
"Well...Seph's dead." His eyes flashed with admiration at how quick she was to accept her change; to accept that she wasn't the young girl she used to be. But her head had ducked back down too soon for her to see it. After clearing his throat, he motioned for his family to join him by his side before straightening his posture and raising the blade above her head.
"You entered our realm as a starving young girl, bloodied and bruised by the cruelties your world had wrought upon you. But now, you've become something more than what your lot has given you, and for that, I welcome you into the ranks of the Nitian court." Damus then pressed the flat of the dagger's blade down on both of her shoulders, going from right to left, before tapping it against the top of her head and stepping back. "By the power vested in me by my father and by the witnesses around us, I dub thee Persephone, the Destroyer, Champion of the Nitians."
Laviatha and her sons began to clap as Persephone rose to her feet, smiling as Damus gave her back the dagger. She nodded her thanks and paused when she saw the shabby clothes she was wearing, be-speckled with stains and grime from years of wear. With a wave of her hand, a cloud of black fog swirled around her body until it dissipated to reveal her in a black leather jacket that gave the illusion that it was made of dragon scales along with a pair of soft black pants and ankle-high slip-on boots. Her hair was now tied back into a tight bun with a thin black ribbon that still dangled slightly behind her neck. She let out a sigh as she felt the cleanest she'd ever been in her life.
"Feel better?" The queen asked, admiring Persephone's choice of style.
"Definitely. Now then," the new champion turned to survey her new living quarters, "we've got a lot of work to do."
A/N: Hope you liked this story! Review if you'd like to see more from this storyline!