Chapter Five : Courting

Slithering down over the rocks, careful not to fall, Roberto made sure to keep in the shadows. He was welcomed here, but he hated the attention he received.. he was not a hero, nor a godlike warrior, like the stories made him out to be.
Wings opening up, he leaped into the air, glad he was colored black, like the sky. It was night now, and the light shining throughout the city made it beautiful. It was here he was born, here he received permission to court Victoreannas, and here his child was born. He had many fond memories here, at the capitol..
Soaring through the sky, his tail absentmindedly flicking through the air, his gaze drifted to the castle. Wouldn't take long to get there… might as well relax. Turning onto his back and letting the air hold him up, he gazed upwards to the star-filled sky. After a second or two he turned back, giving his wings another flap as he pulled himself higher into the air, above the clouds. The feeling that had been prodding him lately – an unexplainable aching feeling – hit him. He wondered – was he getting closer to her? He doubted it. Whatever force – or forces – controlled his life, they wouldn't make this easy for him. He had never had it easy..

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After being forced into a small tub of cold water and being scrubbed rigorously until she thought her skin would fall off, Victoreas was pulled out of the water and toweled off by the two women, despite herasking to do so herself. She felt awkward.. she bathed herself every other day and could do this herself, though what they used to clean her puzzled the teenager – something like the bars of soap her father would give her each month to keep herself clean, except liquid, and it smelled good, not rancid like the home-made bars.
They left her alone in the room for a few minutes before coming back in with the dress and clean undergarments for her. This time she pleaded to dress herself, and they agreed, letting her slip on the clothes, only helping her with a thing called a corset; which she now utterly loathed. It hurt to breath, but she didn't complain; the first thing her father taught her was not to complain – life could be worse.
Grumbling, she crossed her arms as they sat her down, starting to comb through her hair again; braiding the golden locks into a single braid, ending it with a yellow ribbon.
She felt utterly ridiculous.
" Why do I have to get dressed up?" Victoreas asked, more to herself then anyone else. Right then a small sponge with something that smelled nice was being dabbed lightly onto the skin of ventral side of her wrists and all around her exposed neck and shoulders.
" Find mate," Meru stated simply, continuing the task with her sister.
" …what?" She squeaked softly, her face flushing. Find a mate..? But she didn't want to be some strange male's mate! From what she read in the books her father gave her about the demon race, most if not all of the time the female had no say in the choosing of her lifemate, and any male could ask the female's father if they could court their daughter.. her father wouldn't do that, would he?..
" You find mate. Stay here." The woman lightly patted the girl on her head, struggling to speak English; it was not the native tongue for her kind.
" But I don't want a mate.." She whimpered softly.
" No choice. Time has come." Peru murmured, rifling through a small wooden box whose contents Victoreas couldn't see. Finally she found what she wanted, and held out for the two others to see; a black choker with a small golden locket hanging from the middle. She stepped forward, leaning down to put it around Victoreas' neck. The clasp clicked and she pulled away, smiling at her work. " Most acceptable. Master pleased."
" Huh?" Victoreas blinked, but decided not to push it further. She was still in shock from the previous news.. Meru ushered her up, leading her out of the room, Peru following them.
" Act like lady. Behave. Speak not unless spoken to." The words garbled up a bit in the last sentence, but Victoreas understood them fine. Shut up and don't do anything stupid..

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Diving down through the clouds, Roberto eagerly flew down to the castle, latching himself onto the ancient stone. Lighting up the wall, he made his way, letting scent and memory guide him. Finally he spotted the window that had the smells of his creator wafting out – lifting a taloned hand up to the sill, he pushed himself up through the window, blue eyes scanning the area. Books, scrolls, papers scattered everywhere. Detailed drawings of creations – including one of him, the drawing Beelzebub had commissioned to detail everything about his most magnificent creation..
There were many other things here, though the most amazing was the bone armor he knew his master had worn in the first great war. Adorning the cold black steel was the bones of Beelzebub Lucifer's father, Hentiir Lucifer; and to the side, hanging off the wall, was the huge skull of the great demon, which had been worn as a helm by Beelzebub. The black magic runes were still there on the armor, as black as the raven's feather; they had not faded, despite the wars having ended thousands of years ago. Powerful magic, indeed..
The male stood, large ears flicking back as he gazed around for sign of life.
" Come for a surprise visit, Conostrene?"
He grunted in reply, turning around to the area where he had heard the comment, a smirk on his face. " 'Ello."
" Greetings yourself, you idiot. You know you shouldn't sneak up on me." Melding out of the shadows, the smaller male chuckled, still half-invisible; his bottom half flicking in the low light of the room. " But, eh. Could hear you coming."
" If I didn't want you to hear me, you wouldn't have heard me."
" I know. Now what do you want? You and Terkui plan a meeting?"
He blinked, ears flicking back as he heard the mention of his youngest brother Javero's old name. " He's here?"
" Would I lie to you? He brought his daughter here to find a mate."
" I see…" He stayed silent for a minute or two. " Lucifer. Have you been checking the Oracle's Pool?"
" Ofcourse.. I was wondering when you'd come here. You just came at a conveniant time." He snickered. " You know, you're slow to feel it."
" Hey… I just came here for help. Do you know what body she's been reincarnated to?"
" No clue."
" Then this was all a waste of time.."
" I don't think so. Stay awhile, Conostrene. You're too much of a damn recluse, and the militant grouping has gone south since you've left. They're lazy bastards.." The male chuckled. " Don't make me order you to stay. I hate doing that to friends."
" Well, since you asked so nicely," He said sarcastically, " Maybe I can spare some time out of my busy schedule."

Author's Note: Do not steal my ideas. JC not mine. Characters are mine.
Shoo now, don't bother me.. – VW/BAC
(and yes, homemade soap usually DOES smell like crap.)

EDIT: I changed a few words that were bugging me. -VW