Chapter 28: Grey-Haired Demon Slayer

Audrey wasn't sure what woke her up. For all she knew, it could have been the screeching of her new 'subjects'. It was a miracle that she was even able to sleep like a rock void of any nightmares, considering how she felt like the sky practically crushed on her yesterday.

Villainapolis didn't have the same idea. They called for a week free of turf wars and decided to celebrate. She lost track of the amount of fireworks she heard cracking in the sky all night. The Parademons and Paradooms, apparently so enthusiastic to have a mistress, immediately built a chateau for her. Audrey didn't even get a chance to say anything to her friends; the subjects were just too eager to have her opinion on how they built the halls, the rooms, the gardens, or even picked their names. The events had drained her and a Paradoom had tucked her in her new chamber.

Somehow, these rapid workers nailed it at building comfy beds. She had fallen asleep the moment she had been tucked.

A loud knock alerted Audrey. She hadn't changed since the turf war, but she still shielded herself with the lemonade pink blankets. "Y… Yes?"

"It's just me." Audrey sighed in relief when she heard Iclyn's voice coming from the other side of the door. "Brought ya some takeout breakfast."

"Coming!" Audrey got up, intending to open the door herself but one of the guards beat her to it. She groaned when she saw a Parademon opening a door for Iclyn, her hands bearing three paper bags and two cups releasing steam.

"Thanks… Alphonse?" Iclyn frowned at the Hello, My Name is ALPHONSE name tag on its armor. The Parademon grunted something with what seems to be a smile before closing the door behind the teenager. "Seriously, why do they all go by artsy names? Your guards just outside your room are Alphonse and Mucha, I saw three Paradooms painting your staircase and they were named Henri, Toulouse, and Lautrec, and I don't want to know why, but the Parademons fixing up your ballroom are named Moulin and Rouge."

"I don't know… I didn't feel like calling them by numbers or figuring out names myself, I just told them to go with it." Audrey shrugged.

"Well, for 'going with it', they're seriously hive-minded. Be warned, nearly every inch I've seen so far is covered in Art Nouveau and Deco." Iclyn placed the goods on the coffee table with vine and reed-shaped legs. "Hot chocolate overdosed with whipped cream, caramel and mint sprinkles, fruit flavored pancakes with strawberry jam and powdered sugar, turkey sausage, and 75% off coupons for the next 5 holiday meals you order Bergen's and Troll's."

"Thanks." Audrey took a sip from her cup but took a step back after nearly burning her tongue. She contended to cool it down with some pancakes.

"How are you doing though?" Iclyn quietly asked. "After the shit that happened yesterday…"

"I don't know anymore." Audrey solemnly shook her head.

"You don't know?" Iclyn's tone almost caused the bedroom to drop in temperature. "You're being harassed by a demigoddess, you displayed hell-like strength, you accidentally became the permanent legal owner of the leftovers of an empire, and a moronic news reporter felt the need of having your inner demons revealed! In your shoes, I'd either be pissed and smashing things!"

"I honestly do not know, OK?" Audrey raised her hands in the air, nearly knocking over her cup until Iclyn caught it. "I just… Do you think I had an exact agenda? I left Auradon because I wanted to help my friend find her sister and because I wasn't wanted back in Auradon. It's not like I knew what would happen during and after the trip…" Audrey bent down on her cushioned chair, placing her hands on her face. "I didn't even think of what I was going to do with the rest of my life. And here I am, finding out that despite everything, my life still ends up being planned out by others…"

"Jessie didn't tell the others. Strictly me. She knows I don't gossip." Iclyn finished her drink in one gulp, steam slithering out of her nostrils. "Are you really Sleeping Beauty's daughter?"

Audrey sighed. "It's a miracle nobody has slaughtered me yet…"

"It would be the dumbest thing ever, considering who you're contracted to." Iclyn stopped eating, whipped off the powdered sugar on her lips with a paper towel, and sat upright on her chair. "Do tell me everything. And please, don't lie. I can tell from body heat waves when somebody lies."

"That's a bit creepy." Audrey shook her head. She didn't want to find out how Iclyn could freeze her if she lied, so she let everything out: her family's expectations, how they wanted her to marry Ben to boost their status, how Mal came in, how Audrey used Chad Charming for rebound, the coronation, her 'spa vacation hiatus', the royal proposal that led to her grandmother shaming her, her transformation and time as the Queen of Mean, her near death until Hades revived her, the ostracizing she endured despite Ben and Mal's forgiveness, Carlos' death, meeting Gothy, the entire list of mayhems during the trips, and everything leading up to the present. Iclyn paid close attention and had a strange expression of disturbed concerns when Audrey brought up the family pressures, the dog bites, Alastor talking to her in nightmares, the extraction of her Auradonian stench, the anger that reawakened her dark side, Penna's curse, and the truth that Kory Lokisdottir, for some unknown reason, targeted Audrey as her new toy and went on to poison Carlos.

"…I mean, yeah, I reached this point where I acknowledged that I can't not pass a contract with Alastor…" Audrey had a hard time saying that word out loud. "But how was I supposed to know that the universe would automatically decide that just because I summoned this one guy, I'm paired up with him?"

"Better paired up with this guy than anyone else." Iclyn got up and pulled open the red-and-pink bird patterned curtains, revealing Villainapolis in the morning. The subjects were doing their business, a few flying around the chateau and others working in the garden. "Trust me, there are worse demons out there than the Radio Demon. He might be a bloodthirsty sociopath, but at least he's got boundaries."

"Compared to what?" Audrey tempted to ask. All Iclyn had to do was point a blue gloved finger out the window. Evidently, she was pointing at the city's electronic billboards that stood out on the skyscrapers, but her finger was more focused on the billboard for the Porn Studios Theater.

"That and the IMP? Who knows who, but the reason those demon companies have any of that here are because they have some sort of clientele among the living… and because nobody in Villainapolis complains about it. The imps at the IMP are pretty decent, but if you were a bitch crazy enough to summon one of the Three Vs, you'd actually wish to have Alastor as your personal demon. I don't know what the Radio Demon could possibly want from you, but as far as I've heard, any living or undead being crazy enough to summon Vox and Valentino became shells of themselves and lost their joys of lives. I don't know what Velvet does and I'd rather not find out." Iclyn shut the curtains. "Besides, give yourself some credit. You're the first person to ever summon Alastor."

"He already brought it up. I feel so lucky," Audrey responded sarcastically.

"In the end, it's not your fault… OK, technically it's your fault for not knowing the supernatural implications when you sang about your problems… But in the end, it's an ongoing cycle of everyone's fault." Iclyn shrugged. "Good, evil, and the in-between clash. Both have their own ambitions. Good becomes delusional from its former glory days and seeks to bring itself up to the stories superior than theirs. Bad either learns from its mistakes or goes the jerkass way to inflict their internal pain onto others. The chaotic indulge into their personal pleasures from the smallest candy to the wildest rager. A whole cycle of revenge, a lifetime of plans, all because the sides think they can control an individual's life for the sake of their interests. When the wheel stops spinning in the direction they want you to go to, they feel like it's your fault if the wheel broke. But what really matters is which way you want the wheel to go." Iclyn looked at Audrey, who stared blankly at her. "What?"

"You sound like a philosopher." Audrey shook her head. "In the end, what's your point?"

"That you got to stop whining about how people expected your life to turn a specific way!" Iclyn nearly snapped but didn't hesitate to tap Audrey on the head. "Pull yourself together, for Dickens' sake! Was it your mom who told you to leave Auradon?"

"No!"

"Was it that what's-his-name Benny or Bob, I don't care, or Chad who told you to beat the crap out of Jareth, Vincent Salt, Indimia Rex, and Kory Lokisdottir? Was it Mal who said you can't leave to discover yourself? Was it anyone who told you to or not to summon a demon?" Iclyn jumped on the coffee table. "You answer your own questions! You make your own decisions! You remind the world that you are Audrey the Queen of Mean, and it's not anyone, especially not some smile-paste demon who's going to bring you down! Go, confront the adversity! Fight! Win!" Iclyn raised her hands, snowflakes flying everywhere and some frosted snow creating fireworks shouting the words TEAM AUDREY.

Audrey frowned a bit. For the few days she was here, she wasn't used to seeing Iclyn giving big smiles the way Jessie Joker did, but Iclyn's pep talk did managed to cheer her up. "You know, you're right!" She got up. "I keep blaming myself even though I'm trying to move forward. I'm not in Auradon anymore! I'm…"

A loud shriek erupted from outside, interrupting Audrey. "What was that?" She asked.

"Either it's the most off-key boy band I ever heard or the Paradooms forgot that the Villainapolis Henchman Union will tear apart their dental insurance if they resort to cannibalism," Iclyn said.

Minutes later

Audrey had to give credit to the Parademons. For subjects who barely knew her, they had managed to compile an entire wardrobe for Audrey overnight. After skimming through her closet, she settled for a sleeved black flapper top with a rose pattern formed out of beaded rose quartz, black flare pants with a printed pattern of pink art nouveau birds, and dark pink Italian heels with a matching high collared coat. It was a miracle that she could even run properly as she and Iclyn rushed down to the main floor, Audrey politely but hurriedly acknowledging the creatures that bowed before her. They got to the chateau's garden, where the screams originated from.

Despite the general hellish appearance of that scrap of Apokolips, the Parademons and Paradooms pulled in a lot of effort to make their queen's garden as nice as possible. The stone floor had been polished and reorganized to make pathways shine like obsidians under the sunlight. The lava canals were renovated, with some additional plumbing for the phoenix and deer statues to spit lava in the fiery fountains. Pinkish red roses had been planted in maze formats, and despite the fall season, blooming cherry blossoms and magnolia trees had been planted with live oaks. A French colonial style gazebo was placed in a crescent shaped lava pond where for some supernatural reason, giant alligators were swimming in it like koi fish in a regular pond. Speaking of the gazebo, a couple of Parademons and Paradooms were there, grunting in amusement as one Parademon floated over the pond, dangling some teenager by the ankle and shaking him while the gators jumped up and down from the pond.

"Laissez moi tranquille, espèce de connards sans cervelles!" (Leave me alone, you brainless assholes!"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" Audrey shouted. The creatures stopped in their entertainment; the gators even sank deep into the pond in shame.

"Murdering a minor for sport without permission from the honcho…" Iclyn shook her head. "You know Audrey, you really need to encourage them to attend union meetings about how to preserve their dental AND life insurances."

The Parademon holding the boy came to the ground to face the Queen. Audrey tilted her head a bit to have a better look: the boy looked like he could be only a couple years younger than her, maybe even three. His hair was unusually gray but she picked up some signs of black roots. Judging by his hair's messy state and the fact that he was wearing a nightshirt, he must have been sleeping when the creatures snatched him. The purple nightshirt was worn out and obviously three times his size, he had to use a rope as a tight belt. Because the Parademon was holding him by the ankle, the girls were exposed to his black underwear with garters and pale legs bearing a few scars. For some reason, the garter on his left leg had an empty black leather sheath, the kind used to carry a knife. His purple eyes looked angrily at Audrey.

The Parademon grunted something to Audrey. "Vincent says that they were patrolling the city in case somebody would try to harm me while I was sleeping… Aw, you guys are sweet." Audrey translated.

"Wait, you understand them?" Iclyn asked.

"I don't want to figure out why. Anyway, they were flying over this abandoned church and picked up his scent…" Audrey scowled. "Apparently, because they picked up my scent when they were around me, they were able to individualize my friends' scents. And Vincent says that he picked up Gothy, Crystal, Beatrice, Willywaffle, and my scent on him that told the Parademons and Paradooms that he tried to attack us before we got to the Troll Lands." She pointed at the boy. "Obviously, they broke in and found him sleeping in the church. Vincent says Van Gogh accidentally hit a window, so the kid woke up and immediately attacked them. They captured him and confiscated the bag he was sleeping with. When he wouldn't answer in their interrogation using a Speak & Spell, they decided to feed them to the gators."

'Vincent' grunted something that caused Audrey's cheeks to burn. "Vincent! That's revolting!"

"What?" Iclyn asked.

"He said that a couple of the Parademons also wanted to… God, I can't even say it out loud! Vincent, tell them to wash their mouths! And put the guy down! I'll deal with him while you fetch him some clothes!"

'Vincent' nodded and dropped the boy on the ground. One of the Paradooms in the gazebo grunted some sort of question that caused Audrey to glow an angry pink aura.

"If I want Vincent to fetch a… WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? GET HIM MODEST CLOTHING AND HIS PROPERTY, FOR PETE'S SAKE AND SOME FOOD! AND IT BETTER NOT BE POISONED!" Audrey's screams caused the creatures to scram and fly back to the castle, some actually letting out apologetic whimpers. "My God! Why do they even have laced corsets for prisoners?"

"Darkseid had kinky servants." Iclyn gave out a toothy grin. It dissolved, however, when she grabbed the boy by his gray hair and pulled him up, his bare toes barely touching the obsidian-colored ground. "You think your relatives sent him after you?"

"I work for no one!" The boy spat. "I merely thought that bringing the princess back to Auradon would calm down that demon of hers! He's been vandalizing Auradon to pile up his ideas for how to have her fulfill their contract!"

I do not deny it, Alastor's voice appeared in the back of Audrey's mind. I have made a stop to it and gave them a strict reminder to mind their own business.

I'm surprised you're even talking to me.

I have my respects for you, my Queen, but I would rather die again than be your betrothed.

"The jerk…" Audrey muttered and looked at the boy. "I don't give a hoot about Auradon. Besides, Alastor said he stopped the 'vandalizing', so your trip was nothing."

The boy arched his dark-colored eyebrows. "A demon with the Greek name for 'avenger'? Ça m'étonne pas qu'il te soit si fidèle." (It doesn't surprise me that he's so loyal to you.)

"C'est un peu risqué. Il me fait la tête d'enfant boudeur en ce moment car il a récamment découvert qu'on ai fiancé par un maléfice." (It's a bit risky. He's making the face of a sulky child at me right now because he recently discovered that we got engaged by a curse.) Audrey suddenly spoke in fluent French, shocking both Iclyn and the boy.

"I forgot. La fille de la Belle au Bois Dormant. The daughter of Sleeping Beauty," the boy mumbled.

"And who are you?" Iclyn yanked his hair. Despite her roughness, he didn't wince or yelp even once.

"Charles Luther Frollo. Charles, for short. Don't call me Charlie."

"Frollo's son…" Audrey widened her eyes.

"And Mother Gothel's." Charles' comment caused Audrey to be even more startled. "Wow, Gothy didn't tell you? I'm surprised she didn't, considering that the last time I spotted you, I sabotaged the train, you were unconscious and I nearly had you until that girlfriend of my blasted sister called a gargoyle and I got carried back to Villainapolis. Do you realize what it's like to get stuck underneath a gargoyle when the sun rises, turning it to stone? It's a miracle I could even reach my blades and smash it to pieces to get it off!"

Iclyn scowled. "You want me to shove him back into the pond?"

"Oh, so just because I'm Frollo's son means that I also meet my death in a fiery pit?" Charles asked with sarcastic pessimism.

"Let me see if I get this straight… Gothy never told me she had another sibling besides Cassandra!" Audrey frowned. "She kept telling me that Mother Gothel never showed an ounce of love for her kids, abandoned Cassandra for Rapunzel, and outright ignored Gothy… and you're telling me that she had no problem leaving you behind?"

"To be fair, we had our shares of problems." Charles shrugged. "OK? Her problems were with Gothel, mine with Frollo. We kept ourselves separate, with no intention of mixing…"

"YOU'RE SIBLINGS!" Audrey yelled, her hair nearly turning pink. "SHE DITCHED YOU FOR ANOTHER SIBLING!"

"And you ditched your family," Charles said quietly. "De quell droit tu me juges?"

By what right do you judge me? That's the words in French that Charles used on Audrey, causing her to take a step back and avoid transforming in anger. By what right does she judge him? It would have sounded laughable, the son of the most self-entitled French bastard to say that to the daughter of the most underrated French princess, but deep down, Audrey saw that Charles was calling her out on her own hypocrisy. Did it mean that she was rethinking everything? Obviously not. But it made her take a step back on how she judged Charles.

'Vincent' and two Parademons came flying back, 'Vincent' carrying two trays full of food and tea, one Parademon carried freshly cleaned clothes and some sort of black satchel with purple buckles, and the last Parademon carried a wooden tub full of bubbly water. The moment Charles saw the tub, he kicked Iclyn, causing her to let go of him. He tried to make a run for his satchel but 'Vincent' caught him and tossed him into the tub. Audrey moved out of the way to avoid the splashing water.

"Man, this kid knows how to kick!" Iclyn rubbed the area he kicked while Audrey dismissed the Parademon who put the trays on a table under the gazebo's shade. Its comrade placed the clothes on the steps and presented the satchel to Audrey.

"Leave me alone! I don't like baths!" Charles fought to no avail as 'Vincent' ripped off the nightshirt and began scrubbing him with a sponge.

"Can you please scrub harder, Vincent?" Audrey asked. "I don't want to hear him while I check his belongings."

This is some interesting morning entertainment, she heard Alastor chuckle. At least he will smell like a fresh field of French lavenders.

Is it even from France or is it like how French vanilla is actually from Madagascar?

"Fancy blade." Audrey was interrupted from her 'mental talk' when she saw Iclyn pulling out a dagger from the satchel. Sure enough, she saw how the design was identical to Gothy's own dagger, reminding her about Alastor's old warning about a grey-haired boy bearing the twin dagger. She didn't know why, but for some reason, Audrey began feeling woozy. Things were getting blurry..

"CLOSE MY SATCHEL!" Charles shouted from the tub. "I HAVE STUFF IN THERE FULL OF IRON!"

Iclyn realized what was happening when she saw Audrey having a hard time breathing. She tossed the satchel across the gazebo and used her ice powers to cool off Audrey's burning cheeks until the latter regained her senses.

"What happened?" Audrey asked. "I suddenly felt like I was gonna fall asleep…"

"Most of your magic is Fae… And Fae folk are weakened by iron, so the iron in his satchel must have thrown you off…"

"Actually, most of my weapons are a mixture of iron and silver. Stuff to protect myself against Fae AND demons." Charles slowly stepped out of the tub. Despite his soaking underwear and garters, he immediately put on the purple dress shirt, black pants and derby boots, causing the girls to see the scars he also had on his back. Charles tapped his feet, probably unused to such fancy shoes, and went for his satchel. Audrey and Iclyn almost went in defensive mode when he took out his dagger, only to pull up his pants and place the dagger into the sheath, covering it with the fabric. "My best guess, Audrey, is that thanks to your demonic summoning, your Fae magic got mixed with 'Mr. Alastor's' demon magic. Probably makes you a very dangerous person, but then again, considering my trinkets make you faint, calling you 'very dangerous' would be like trying to figure out a snake charmer's odds of not getting bit by a mamba."

"Were you planning on using those against me?" Audrey frowned.

"Against you? No. Against others who'd interfere against my business? Most likely." Charles grimaced. "Besides, my social life degree back on the Isle was the equivalent of the Antarctica temperature."

"Ouch." Iclyn set up one of the trays with a cup of tea, buttered toast, and a berry salad sprinkled with sugar. She took some cautious steps as she brought the goods over to Charles.

"Merci," he nodded and accepted the tray.

"So, you made your own anti-Fae and anti-demon weapons?" Iclyn sat down on the floor next to him while Audrey kept herself at a distance. "Except for Audrey's migraine, it's kinda cool. What did you make?"

"Well, the dagger is already its own thing. Still not sure how mon père landed on it. Didn't work for him against Quasimodo, but I did manage to repel some Fae spell." Charles started rummaging through his satchel, leaning it so that Iclyn could see inside it but not pull anything out to alarm Audrey. "Throwing blades, a retractable bo staff, nunchaku with electrifying chains… My book on demonology history and my scrapbook on witches and demons… My only exposure is from the Isle; I don't have full knowledge, but I try to come up with random stuff just in case anything could happen. You know… Fae repellant with a mixture of marigolds, primroses, garlic, clovers, berries, bread, and obviously iron lacing… Liquid nitrogen with a high concentration of holy water… Some throwing stakes… A container full of ten different types of dog poop… A universal remote…"

"A universal remote?"

"What? I'm paranoid about the idea of a TV-headed demon." Charles shrugged. "Nasal and ear plugs, you know, in case somebody wants to make me smell or put something in my ear… Honestly, my list goes on… Oh, I forgot! My inhaler!" Charles pulled out a black-colored inhaler with a purple flame motif and took a whiff out of it.

"You got asthma?" Iclyn asked.

"No. Let's just say that Frollo still has his old fireplace troubles. Sends smoke everywhere and the chimney goes through the attic. I'd get puffs of smoke and flying ashes when I tried sleeping." As if to spite him, one of the Parademons spit some smoke out of its mouth, a great quantity of it flying by Charles' nose and leading him to cough uncontrollably. Audrey spit the tea out of her mouth when she spotted red drops coming out of Charles' mouth and staining the gazebo's wooden floor. Before she could shout anything, 'Vincent' ripped off the smoke-spitter's head off and threw it into the lava pond. A cold glare from Audrey was enough to send them flying away.

"Charles?" She quickly rushed by his side while Iclyn urged Charles to drink some tea.

"Je vais bien…" Charles sighed once he was done with his tea. "I'm fine. This happens to me frequently. I'll…" It didn't help that he was coughing violently.

Take him to a doctor, Alastor's voice rung in Audrey's mind. He needs a doctor for his respiratory problems.

I see that. Why you care confuses me. I thought you warned me against him.

Indeed. He is a dangerous child, but a useful one at that. You will need his protection during the rest of your trip. I insist, my Queen, that you give him the medical attention he needs.

"Iclyn, Charles needs to see a doctor," Audrey said.

"I don't need a doctor!" Charles protested.

"Charles, did you even meet a doctor when you were living on the Isle? Did you even go see one in Auradon?" Audrey shook her head. "Iclyn, are there any doctors in Villainapolis that can help him?"

"The bloodbender Hama is the best shot if you pay her well." Iclyn bent down and lifted Charles in her arms, nearly cradling him like a child. "Maybe fix up his veins and use her healing water to soothe that pain. Won't stop the coughing, but at least he'll slow down on it. Dude, how much do you weigh? I feel like I'm lifting a teddy bear with only half the stuffing!" Her comment made Charles hug on to his satchel.

A Parademon came flying in, bowing and grunting something to Audrey. "Seriously, DaVinci? OK, I'll see what I can do. Let her inside."

"What happened?"

"Queen Blackfire is at the front door and wants to see me."

"What for?"

"Well, I hope it's not to kill me. I don't want to see what Alastor will come up with if his first and only client dies before fulfilling a contract."