To Hell with Love

by Luniverse

The Misguided Troupe ends up in Hell trying to save their elf friend, but end up in the wrong layer. Obviously, the bard gets more involved that they should but simultaneously saves their necks, despite all the trouble.

Now sit, please, for I am about to tell you a tale both as old as time and still yet being written. A story of treasure, of deceit, of adventure, but above all a story of love.

We find our heroes, the famous, or perhaps more accurately infamous, Misguided Troupe teleported to Malbolge, the sixth layer of the Nine Hells.

We see five people holding hands in a circle; they let go of each other and look around.

"I thought I was gonna be sick." Gil, a lithe wizard halfling with short dark brown hair and green eyes, says, holding her stomach and grimacing.

"This doesn't look like the right place." Mardy, a delicate paladin dwarf with shoulder length blond hair, says, gripping her sword handle tightly as she feels a shiver run down her spine. Hell isn't exactly a paladin's go-to destination. She instinctively inches closer to Adonis, a tall tiefling with dark red skin, thickly braided purple hair reaching her lower back, and the hint of a tattoo crawling from her neck to the edge of her jaw and cheek. Long, spiraling, gold-engraved horns grow from the top of her forehead, arching back and up to the tip where jeweled pendants hang. Her molten gold eyes survey the area around them, her gaze discerning.

"Not really surprising that we ended up in the wrong place," Krern, a stout halfling rogue with ginger shaved hair, snaps with a scowl.

"I told you it's hard to teleport to a plane I know nothing about. Would love to see how well you'd do it yourself." Vah'lar, a sturdily built, tall half-orc druid with braided long dark hair falling over her shoulder, snaps back. A roar startles the group, calling their attention to a rockslide coming towards them, boulders rolling rapidly in their direction from so far up the slope, they can't even see where they fell from. "Quick! Over there! A cave!" Vah'lar shouts as she points at a cave entrance not too far ahead. The others immediately follow her lead as she sets off running. As they reach the cave, they notice that Gil has tripped and is struggling to right herself and keep moving. The boulders gain on her as she tries to catch up with her friends before she can get swept up by the avalanche.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no." Krern whispers to himself as he watches his friend race towards them, knowing she won't make it.

"Oh, god! GIL! HURRY!" Vah'lar tries to motivate her, eyeing the boulders that are much too close for anyone's liking and the halfling that's much too far for their comfort.

"Oh, no. Gil! RUN! FASTER!" Mardy shouts, her eyes welling up. Adonis shakes her hands and murmurs a lullaby as she extends her hand before her.

"Don't fuck me, Gil." She says under her breath as purple energy crackles at her fingertips and a portal rips open in front of her. Adonis jumps through and appears right in front of Gil, opening her arms to catch the halfling and letting their combined momentum throw them backwards, falling through the portal and back to where the rest of the group was. Just in time, too, before the dimensional door closes behind them. As Adonis' back hits the ground, Gil holding onto her for dear life, the boulders fall against the cave's roof and bounce off their stony hiding place, continuing their way down the infinite slope that is Malbolge. They all sigh in relief now that they are safe from the avalanche.

"Yeah… This definitely isn't Dis." Adonis says with a chuckle as she rubs Gil's back. "You're safe now, darling." Gil nods, loosening her grip and helping Adonis get up.

"Honestly, the shit that Caelynn puts us through… she's gonna owe me big time when we get her ass back home." Gil says, crossing her arms as Mardy pats her down, making sure she's not injured.

"You mean us." Krern says.

"Yeah, definitely us, I don't like being here one bit." Mardy lets out, still breathing heavily.

"Not one bit." Vah'lar agrees.

A deep chuckle rumbles from inside the cave and from the darkness emerges a tall, muscular, crimson-skinned fiend, with gigantic wings folded against his back and thick black horns curving up from his forehead. He walks forward, hooves clacking on the cave's floor. Following him are two large devils, fleshy in texture, their lower bodies crawling like slugs, their faces melted with the rest of their bodies, split with wide, sharp, toothy grins.

"My, my, my, look what we've got here." The pit fiend sneers, inching closer to the troupe.

"We should take them to the Dark Prodigy," says the corruption devil to the right. Mardy grips the hilt of her sword tightly, ready to fight at a moment's notice. Adonis senses her tension and gently grabs her arm.

"Don't even think about it." She says to Mardy under her breath. The pit fiend laughs throatily as the others chuckle.

"Ooh, feisty and smart. This will be plenty to entertain her. The Dark Prodigy will be pleased." says the other corruption devil. The pit fiend towers over Adonis, making her look up at him with a claw under her chin. He lowers his face towards her, burying into her eyes as if he were surveying her soul.

"Oh, yes. They will do." The pit fiend sneers. "They'll do just fine."

Being dragged in chains by the devils, the Misguided Troupe witness Malbolge in all it's screeching, descending glory. They are dragged past huge bone-like towers that ascend into the darkened red sky like stretched out fingers, pleading for vengeance, as tortured screams echo from a few of them. There are plenty of demons of all kinds roaming the area, from ice devils to hellwasps, all of them welcomed and cared for by the regent of this layer, the Queen of the Eirynes. The troupe stops on their tracks with the view before them. In the distance there is a gargantuan skull with bright red gems for eyes and two sharp fangs rising from its jaw; the skull was embedded with flat stone and metal constructions, making it clear, for those who wouldn't know, that it is a fortress. Adonis recognises it from stories she heard and read, Osseia, the fortress built from a hag's skull.

"Keep moving, scum." The fiend hisses and pulls the chain forcing the group to walk.

"Fuck." Adonis whispers under her breath. Gil and Vah'lar look at her with worry. "I really hope we're not going to see who I think it is."

"Who?" Vah'lar asks quietly.

"Glasya, the Princess of Hell… daughter of the Fallen Angel, Asmodeus." Adonis answers stiffly, when she notices the pit fiend is listening in to their conversation. Everyone tenses as Adonis answers Vah'lar's question. The Dark Prodigy was known for having an extensive amount of torture chambers among her towers.

"We're fucked." Krern curses.

"I don't want to be tortured." Mardy whispers.

"Oh, but you will." The pit fiend cuts in. "You see, our Princess loves tortured souls, corrupting them, bringing them pain and suffering, it entertains her. And you… you are all a gift for her to be entertained." The fiend smirks and turns back walking forward. Everyone feels the sting of dread in their hearts and minds.

As they approach the fortress, they notice a body not too recently impaled and limp on one of the fangs, dry blood coating the darkened bone. They're dragged into the fortress and keep their heads low so as to not make eye contact with any of the eirynes, fiends, succubi or hellwasps that inhabit the castle. Up four floors they go, the chains weighing on their necks, ankles and hands, almost tripping them. They're dragged in, stopping just under the center of the room and the devils pull their chains hard, making them all fall to their knees.

"My Queen," the pit fiend greets the regent with an emphatic bow. "We bring you these mortals as gifts and tokens of our appreciation." The other two fiends bow their heads, smiling.

"I see… And where did you happen to acquire such a deliciously sorted group?" A deep, delicate, velvety voice rings out from where the throne is. Adonis looks at her friends, all with their heads bowed, except for Mardy who was staring firmly at the Princess, even if with fear.

"We found them in a cave entrance, running from the avalanche." Adonis looks up slowly and sees, sitting on an ivory lithe yet imponent throne, a woman with coppery skin, bat like wings folded behind her back, her tail swaying slowly to her side, black horns embedded with silver arching from her head and her sharp flame-like eyes eyeing the troupe with intent. She seemed to shine like a light consuming star, even with all the dark leather armor, as the space around her was almost devoid of light despite the torches. By each side of the throne stood large pit fiends well armored and with whips in hand, making the fiend that captured them seem way less threatening. Adonis jaw goes slack. Holy shit, what a woman.

"Why are they here?" Glasya asks. The pit fiend hesitates before he speaks. Glasya's eyes meet Adonis' and the tiefling feels like she's staring at the moon.

"He can't answer that. He's too stupid to ask us relevant questions." Adonis says in Infernal, the words come faster than her thoughts, rolling harshly out of her mouth. Glasya raises an eyebrow and a smile starts creeping on her lips. The fiend turns to Adonis hissing.

"You speak when given permission." He raises his fist and backhands Adonis. She hisses in pain as her face is swatted to the side. She spits at the fiend's feet to see if there was any blood in her mouth.

"I was given permission to speak the moment I was given a voice." The fiend starts turning to her, tensing in anger, when a sultry cackle rings through the room. The fiend turns to see Glasya laughing as she looks at Adonis.

"Well now, you I like." She says smirking and Adonis feels a smirk growing on her own face. "Could you tell me then what brings you to my welcoming realm?"

"I certainly could, my queen, but as I set my eyes on you I seem to have forgotten my original purpose, and can't think of a better reason to be here other than to revel the grace that is to be in your presence. But a nice walk with you and a lack of chains might jolt my memory." Adonis says not breaking eye contact, smiling cockly as Glasya laughs umbashfully. Though her friends don't make a sound, she can feel them groaning.

"My, my, aren't you a delight." Glasya says and turns to the devils. "I thank you for these gifts. Now you can go." The pit fiend that had been fuming in rage seems mildly calmer. "And please, take the chains off of them before you leave. No need for that in here." Truth is, torturing was quite entertaining but having someone trying to charm her was a rare occasion for Glasya, so she'll enjoy this as extensively as she wishes to.

"But-" The fiend starts and guards flanking Glasya tense their grips on their whips as Glasya gestures for them to leave and the fiend resigns to bowing and obeying. The devils aggressively retrieve their chains and storm out of the throne room. Glasya watches them leave before turning to the troupe that is starting to get on their feet, thankful for Adonis' silvered tongue.

"Introduce yourselves." She softly commands and the troupe takes turns saying their names, not bothering to lie. "So… what brings you to my home?" Glasya asks once again. The group looks at each other to see whether they answer or not.

"Well… we-" Vah'lar starts but is promptly interrupted by the rumbling sound of a hungry stomach. They all look down at Gil who sheepishly covers her belly.

"Sorry… I forgot to eat before we travelled."

"Well, what a dreadful host I'd be if I didn't invite you for a meal. Please," Glasya eyes one of the eirynes and gestures. A group of them scurries off. "Accompany me for dinner."

"I'm sorry miss, but I doubt we eat… whatever it is that you eat." Mardy says, eternally tense and uncomfortable in this environment.

"Please, kind paladin, do not doubt my manners or hosting prowess." Glasya says getting up and walks off, followed by her guards. The troupe goes after her and are promptly flanked by more guards.

They are guided to an ample room with red and purple silks dripping in arches from the ceiling, a large table takes one half of the room as the rest is filled with carpets and large silky pillows; some fiends, succubi and erinyes are leisurely sitting on the pillows, talking among themselves or taking turns teasing a human and a dwarf who seem dazed with everything around them. As Glasya struts in, the devils look at her expectantly, starting to get up.

"Do carry on, my darlings. Don't mind us one bit, but do give us some privacy." One of the eirynes nods, smiling and gets up pulling a rope that releases a thick yet somehow almost transparent curtain. Glasya sits on the main chair and gestures for the rest of the troupe to join her. Before Glasya is done sitting, food appears at the table, plates and utensils set for all of them. The troupe is slightly taken aback but join the table as the guards presence push them further towards the chairs. Looking at the food it all seems freshly made, roast chicken with baked potatoes, string beans and such. They all share a look of surprise and distrust. Glasya looks them over and serves herself as an eiryne serves her wine.

"Please, help yourselves freely. All I ask in exchange, for now, is to know why you've appeared in my realm, uninvited and unexpected." They all nod and start serving themselves, Gil does so with wanton.

"We came to your realm by mistake," Adonis starts, "now I think it's a rather fortunate mistake." She gives the archduchess a half smile, who raises an eyebrow in amusement.

"A friend of ours is trapped in the city of Dis." Vah'lar continues. "And we came to rescue her."

"Rescue?" Glasya inquires, almost chuckling.

"Yes. She was tricked by a devil." Krern says scowling as he chews. "He made the contract look like she just owed him money, but actually she gave him her soul."

"The bastard came after her when she ran to us for help. We couldn't reach her in time and he took her." Vah'lar finishes.

"He truly tricked her? It wasn't just loopholes in the contract?"

"It was categorical deception. No doubt about that." Adonis says. "So we came for her. No way I'm leaving her to be tortured or corrupted by… by anyone. She doesn't deserve it. She was just looking for help… in the wrong places."

"I see." Glasya eyes one of the fiends accompanying them and nods discreetly; the fiend hurries off out of the room. "Well I find you very brave to venture all the way to the Nine Hells just to save a friend. But completely foolish to do it so unprepared to the point you can't even land on the right layer."

"Foolish and brave is right, after all we are the Misguided Troupe for all that counts in the material plane. But Caelynn isn't simply a friend… she's my family, Princess. She's my home when I find none. I won't leave her even if it's the death of me." Adonis says; her words start with ease but as she speaks her grip tightens and her eyes darken with intent, her voice becoming more serious and deeper. She holds Glasya's gaze without bucking or reverence, but as if they were equals. "All I ask you is to give us the chance to at least try and save her… to at least try to bring her home and I promise that if we fail to save her I will return and do your bidding, whatever it is that you wish." Adonis finishes burying into her eyes, trying to decipher those dark, fiery irises. No longer in the intent to charm in this moment, simply baring her chest with honesty. Glasya looks at Adonis, no longer simply amused, but fascinated. Foolish mortals were common, but to find them with enough intent to stare her down and be simply honest… Now that was a rare gem Glasya thought she'd never see. Finding people with such love and determination wasn't a common thing in her layer, she received the ones with greed and lust mostly and the ones to be imprisoned and tortured. The Queen of the Eirynes stares Adonis down, taking her in, noticing how the tiefling doesn't budge under her gaze. She hums, resting against her chair and looks at the others, some still eating but all looking at her expectantly.

"I see… I will ponder on your words and give you my verdict after you rest, for you must be dreadfully tired after such voyage." Glasya says and they all nod.

"I thank you for taking it into consideration and not simply dismissing our words." Adonis says softly.

"I… yes we're very thankful." Mardy says in disbelief. Glasya smiles at them and stands.

"Finish your meals. I have matters to attend to." Glasya turns to her guards, "make sure they're taken to their chamber as soon as they finish eating." And she stops next to Adonis and says quietly to her, "I might request your company later. Do not be late." Adonis nods, a smile creeping on her lips and Glasya struts off with her two bodyguards flanking her. Adonis looks at her friends with a cocky smile and continues eating.

"What?" Gil asks her, chewing a mouthful of chicken.

"What, me?" Adonis says clearly playing dumb.

"Who the fuck else you moron?" Mardy says slightly exasperated. Adonis laughs, raising her hands in surrender.

"Alright, alright…" She looks at each one of them and says, "her highness might request my company later." Around the table there are looks and sounds of amusement, surprise and outrage.

"You wouldn't possibly-" Mardy stops talking, shaking her head, knowing full well that yes, Adonis definitely would.

"Holy shit-" Gil starts.

"I can't believe it… how did you do that?" Vah'lar says with wide eyes, incredulous.

"Someone's getting laid!" Gil finishes excitedly and highfives Adonis across the table.

"Or tortured and brutally murdered." Krern says matter-of-fact-ly.

"Way to cheer me up, man." Adonis looks at him questioningly.

"You can't deny it's a possibility." Krern says and Adonis nods. "I'm just not gonna let you ignore that your company might not include things you enjoy."

"You're right, you're right. I'll be careful. I will." Adonis says and they all nod, knowing that she won't. They soon finish eating and stand, but not before Gil grabs some potatoes and hides them in her pockets.

They are promptly taken to a room and instructed to only leave when called. As they walk in, a devil stops Adonis.

"Be ready for when the Queen calls upon you." They say almost growling. Adonis bows her head slightly.

"Of course. I won't be late." She answers and walks into the room, closing the door behind her. They sigh in relief being finally out of direct devils' grasp. They look around to see the room is composed of one double bed, a desk, a cupboard and a body length mirror opposite to the bed.

"If we squish really hard we can all fit on the bed." Mardy says shrugging.

"My only demand is that I'm someone's little spoon." Krern says firmly.

"Just make sure none of you push me off the bed and we're good." Vah'lar says emphatically as she walks over surveying the room and drops her bag on the desk.

"Guys, we can sort that out later. I can sleep on the floor if need be. But right now I need to get ready 'cus Glasya, the Princess of Hell, might call upon me at any moment." Adonis says looking at the group, eyebrows raised, trying to convey the urgency of the situation. She was afraid this could tip the balance to whether they'd be freed or become Glasya's property.

"Oh, that's true. You've got a date." Vah'lar says nodding.

"Or a torture session." Gil chips in.

"It'd still be a date for her." Vah'lar retorts.

"I'd hate to be late or to not look delicious for my date slash torture session." Adonis says walking towards the bed and dropping her satchel on it, "so let's get to it." Adonis starts undressing herself and going through the things she has in her satchel as Krern and Mardy help her out, Gil sits on the bed and occasionally chips in and Vah'lar produces a bucket, filling it with water for them to get cleaned up.

Adonis looks at herself in the mirror. Her makeup done to accentuate her lips against the dark red skin, cheekbones and jaw; her already captivating golden eyes framed by dark eyeliner. She chose, with a silent but visible approval of Vah'lar and Gil while the others looked at her as if they'd given up to make her proper, to wear her leather vest, with nothing underneath it, the straps closing it but leaving a clear view of her cleavage all the way down to the rim of her dark leather trousers, and her leather boots as usual. Wearing purely the leather vest exposes her tattoo of a hissing hydra curling around water plants from her sternum up her cleavage, and from the hint on her cheek it's now visible a floral mandala going down her neck, encompassing her shoulder and down half her bicep where it starts thinning and from the flowers grows a white fairy dragon that swirls down her arm, resting its head on the back of her hand, the head framed by the henna like patterns that can be seen on each of the fingers on the same hand. She examines her image turning her face from side to side, her long dark purple hair loosely braided down her back swaying slightly with the movement and her horns clean as possible, the gold adorns and the sapphires, rubies and amethysts pendants contrasting against all her deep colors. She reaches into her satchel and takes out a small ornate vial; she opens and rubs the liquid behind her ears, nape, wrists and a drop just above her clavicle, that trails down her chest leaving a discreet wet mark. She looks at Vah'lar with a side smile.

"Can you give me a flower?" Adonis asks with bright eyes. Vah'lar shakes her head, chuckling.

"What flower do you want?" She asks. Adonis hums to herself, thinking.

"A tiger lily… I do love those bright colors." Adonis says after a moment. Vah'lar nods and produces, with a simple druidic trick, the deep and bright orange lily the tiefling asked for.

"Here you go, lover." Vah'lar gives it to her, winking.

"Thanks!" Adonis smiles brightly at the half-orc and takes the flower. With a flick of her wrist the flower disappears and a deep sigh comes from Krern.

"Ooh, you're gonna use the magic trick!" Gil says enthusiastically.

"Of course. It's so simple but it's always a nice touch." Adonis answers.

"We know." Gil and Vah'lar answer. Adonis smiles, looks back at the mirror and stares for a moment.

"Fuck… I do look amazing." Everyone groans. As if on queue, there's a knock on the door before it bursts open, in the way that someone instructed to respect privacy but doesn't care about it would do.

"The Queen demands your presence in the throne room immediately." The fiend commands and steps to the side waiting for Adonis. Adonis nods and takes a deep breath before strapping her harp to her hip; she looks at her friends and smiles confidently.

"Don't wait up for me. I'll see you guys later." She says pretending there was no fear in her heart despite the excitement, and walks out of the room.

Adonis walks across the halls with the guards at her heels and takes a turn, guided by the guard, to the throne room. She walks in to find Glasya sitting on her throne playing with a dagger, no longer wearing her armor.

"The pri- your guest is here, my queen." The guard gnarls. Glasya chuckles lightly.

"Thank you, darling."

"My liege," Adonis says with a bow of her head, not meeting Glasya's eyes for the moment. Glasya scours Adonis with her eyes, slowly, attentively, taking in her features. She slowly takes in the golden adornments on her dark horns, her strong features accentuated, her golden eyes even more captivating than before, the exposed red skin through the leather straps, showing off her cleavage and toned muscles, the comfortable trousers and leather boots; she notices for the first time the hydra curling up her chest, and that the hand tattoo connects with the neck tattoo through an intricate, delicate yet vivid floral mandala. All in all, an exquisitely beautiful woman for Glasya to be entertained by a bit. Glasya finishes taking Adonis physique in without trying to be discreet about it, and smiles at her.

"I'm glad to see you keep your word." She says with a cocked smile and stretches out her hand holding the dagger towards her guard. He takes it and keeps it on his belt.

"I'm a woman of my word." Adonis smirks, "And I wouldn't dare to waste one second without you, when I could be spending it in your presence." She finishes, still smirking, and gives another small bow with her head. Glasya smiles.

"Leave us." Everyone starts moving and Adonis notices there are way more guards there than she noticed. Her personal bodyguards move awkwardly, unsure if they were supposed to go as well, sharing a questioning look with each other. "Everyone, please." She says without looking at them, the bodyguards scurry off… and so do the devils camouflaged with the walls. Adonis raises her eyebrows in surprise, looking around.

"Damn."

"I appreciate security, but also cherish my privacy."

"In your place, so would I." Glasya chuckles and gets up; as she stands her pearl white silk dress drapes down and hangs on her body like a waterfall, much like the curtains Adonis saw earlier, the dress seemed transparent yet was not see-through, a mythril dragon bracelet swirls around her arm and a simple gold necklace with an empty pendant. Adonis' eyes follow the waves of her body as her jaw grows slack. She tries to speak but nothing comes to mind. Glasya sways closer to Adonis with a smile.

"You delighted me so much earlier, I thought it only fair to entertain you as well."

"Not necessary, but I am glad for it."

"How about we do as you suggested and go for a walk?"

"Oh… how could I ever deny such a delightful woman?" Glasya laughs. Adonis offers her arm, "Well, shall we?" Glasya nods, looks at Adonis' offered arm and elances it with her own before leading the way.

Glasya walks softly, like a breeze leading Adonis through the halls. They step into an open space and Adonis can once again see the blood red sky glooming over them.

"Here we are," Glasya says stepping forward and stretching her arm to present the space. "My balcony." Adonis follows her and looks around taking in the scenery. The balcony is wide and long with a coppery shine to it on all sides. "Come." Glasya gestures for Adonis to follow her as she walks across to the edge of the balcony. She places a hand on the copper fence and looks out to the landscape before her. Adonis approaches slowly, looking at Glasya. She tries to decipher the Queen's dark look to her kingdom, but can't understand the solemnity in her gaze. As she approaches, what seemed to be whispers become clear screeching voices in pain; they seem to come from all sides but she can't find the source and she's glad for it. She follows Glasya's gaze and looks out to the landscape, seeing some of the finger-like towers spread out on the slope; she looks down to see if far off in the distance she can see where it ends, but it seems to be unending and steep.

"Does it ever end?" Adonis asks unnerved by the screeching.

"Eventually." Glasya answers softly, her eyes lingering in the crimson horizon. And suddenly Adonis can't really hear the screeching. She knows they're still there, loud and present, but now muffled to her ears, almost unnoticeable. She looks at Glasya still staring at her kingdom and now she sees it… sadness, resentment, but also care and softness. Adonis looks up at the sky. Kinda looks like my skin, she thinks to herself with a chuckle. Glasya looks at her curious as she hears the chuckle and finds the tiefling staring at the sky with a small smile, her golden eyes gleaming and the soft sound of the pendants swinging from her horns distracting her from the screams. Adonis looks back down at the sharp landscape and stares a bit more, strangely finding herself captivated by its apparent eternity.

"Oh… it is beautiful." Adonis says in awe, Glasya chuckles lowly at her wonder. Adonis turns to Glasya, still smiling, to find her looking straight at her with a soft, amused look. She watches as Glasya's flame like eyes trace her features leisurely and stop on her lips for a moment and then back up at her eyes. She smiles and holds Adonis by the chin, running her thumb up her jaw.

"Aren't you quite the wonder…" Glasya says smirking; her eyes trail back down to her lips and starts tracing Adonis' smile with her thumb. Adonis stares at Glasya's attentive gaze on her lips and her smile starts fading. Glasya looks at how Adoni's lower lip gives under her thumb and finds herself entranced, not noticing that the tiefling's smile has faded. Adonis watches Glasya's smile fade slowly, the flame in her eyes becomes strangely still, following the slow movement of her thumb as it grazes her lip; then suddenly there's a flick in her eyes and she snaps out of her daze releasing Adonis of her grasp and taking a step back. "I'm… I-" Glasya feels completely uneasy; captivation was her area of expertise, she's not one to fall victim to it.

"You're breathtaking." Adonis says as she sees the archdevil struggle to find words. Glasya stops stuttering and smiles.

"Careful, I enjoy breathing company." Adonis laughs heartily and nods.

"Noted. I'll make sure to keep some of my breath in my lungs."

"I appreciate that."

"Do you appreciate this?" Adonis asks as she bows lowly, stretching her arm towards Glasya and with a flick of her wrist she produces the flower Vah'lar made for her.

"Oh!" Glasya chuckles. "Well, aren't you charming?" She takes the flower and brings it close to examine it as Adonis straightens up. Glasya brings the lily to her nose and smiles. "She's beautiful. I had never seen one quite like this… all dotted."

"It's one of my favourites." Adonis says stepping closer and Glasya gives her a half-smile. "Do you like flowers?"

"The one's I've seen, I do." Adonis turns her head inquisitively and Glasya gives her a full smile. "Come," she takes Adonis by the arm, "I'll show you." And starts strolling along the balcony. "Tell me, what do you do with a silver-tongue like yours?" Adonis smirks, raising an eyebrow.

"I can do plenty with this tongue." Glasya laughs, throwing her head back. "I can show you."

"Oooh, my. You are fun." Her eyes sparkle, the fire in them almost yellow. "You really need to be careful with what you offer."

"Oh, not much I can do about it. I inherited it from my mother."

"I see. Your mother made bad deals?"

"Oooh, yes. Definitely." Adonis says laughing. Glasya raises an eyebrow and smiles, waiting. "Well… to keep it short, she, I think accidentally, managed to give me and my siblings away."

"Is that how you got your horns so fancy?" Adonis cackles in response.

"Most definitely not." She says with a smile, her eyes slightly glazed over remembering. "I mean… sort of. I got it after I was free. We were taken in by a circus owner who paid off a debt my mother had with the lord of our town. So eventually he got his money's worth out of us and we became free and my money was actually mine… so I got spending. Very worth it."

"I'm sure it was. And I'm assuming much of that money came by with your silvertongue…" Glasya says, waiting for Adonis to continue.

"Well… some of it comes from that, some comes from being… devilish, some comes from my wonderful musical talent." Adonis shrugs with one shoulder.

"Has your silvertongue ever brought you love?" Glasya asks curiously. She was always entertained with mortals' notions of love. She watched curiously as Adonis turns her head to the side, her eyes sharp and focused on her memories.

"Love… you see, love is much like beauty, you can find it almost anywhere. Sometimes it's a trifle, sometimes it's so very strong but ephemeral and by the time you step out of the room it's gone. Sometimes it's love that will make you go through the nine hells just so you can see their face again even if it's just for one last time. Sometimes it's love worth writing songs and poems about or that it's better to be buried and forgotten 'cause it brings nothing but festering onto your wounds." Glasya watches Adonis eyes carefully. She doesn't keep eye contact at all moments, recalling the things that made her feel all those sorts of love. "I have loved plenty, from stones to people. I am… a being of passion. I feel too much too often and when I love I… I don't… I can't hold back. I feel it all, no exceptions." Adonis starts smelling a rather sweet odor, soft but very contrasting with the usual sulfur and metallic smell of hell.

"All very interesting and I must say it's very… captivating hearing you speak of love." Adonis smiles at her softly, eyeing her lips before darting back up to meet her eyes. "But have you been in love, like truly the ways mortals speak of in all their dreams and poems?" Adonis chuckles.

"Yes… yes I have. I've loved deeply, a few times actually. And I still love them, but it's a different love. But I- I'll always love them." Adonis says, now serious and focused.

"Is Caelynn one of them?" Adonis chuckles softly.

"No, no." She says through the chuckle. "Cae… she's… different. It's a different sort of love. Just as deep, but different." Glasya hums, nodding and pulls Adonis to the side stopping their stroll to lean against the fence.

"I think I understand. It's wonderful to hear your… take on love."

"My take on love?" Adonis laughs and leans against the fence as well. "What is your take on love then?" Glasya shakes her head and looks off into the distance.

"Love can be beautiful but it is always trouble. It's problematic and a liability most of the time. Not very useful for me unless it's giving me a soul." Adonis stares at her, eyebrows raised and eyes wide in surprise. She sees the frown, the sudden stoic expression and sharp voice.

"You've been in love. Deeply." Adonis says not taking her eyes off of her. Glasya raises her eyebrows and looks down at her hands and shakes her head. "Don't lie to me. Your eyes are made of fire, Glasya, and I know fire. I have it running within my blood." Glasya gives off a dry laugh and looks at Adonis almost with anger. But when her eyes meet Adonis' she doesn't see hubris or accusation; she sees softness, curiosity and something aching to concern, and so her features soften from anger to acceptance.

"I have… I was very very young. This was long before there was even the possibility of me being an archduchess." She stops to think, biting her lip. She meets Adonis' eyes once again trying to find in them a reason not to trust her, but instead she finds genuine interest and curiosity. For someone who should have been sealing her feelings and thoughts away, Adonis had been nothing but open and forthright about them; that caught Glasya completely off guard, since she's used to having to thread through dodged questions and vague answers. "Alright…" She whispers to herself. "Do you know of Levistus?" Adonis squints her eyes curling her lips, trying to recall. "He's… he's the archlord of the Stygia, the fifth layer of Hell. I was deeply, head over heels in love with him. He's much like his realm, stoic, rather cold and elegant. And with me he was soft, he was caring, even warm, like he was with no one. I was young and relatively naive," she chuckles. "Naive as a devil can be. I was sure our love was endless and true. And then I found him in bed… with my mother. Now she's dead and he's trapped in a block of eternal ice that he'll never break free from." Adonis eyes are wide. "With time I started to understand what I didn't understand then, that I was groomed and used. But that came after much pain, rage and disaster. I turned all the hells on their heads, I went into the Abyss and killed a demon lord. Not the one I was hoping to, but still brought a hoard of demons with me who are loyal to my power."

"How- how did you turn Hell upside down?" Glasya chuckles to herself.

"With a lot of anger, a sharp mind and just as sharp a tongue." Glasya looks away, disgust and anger taking her as she remembers. "After the fiasco with Levistus and my mother, father was very angry at me, so he forced me to be… Mammon's concubine." She practically spits the last word and Adonis almost gasps in disbelief. "As you can imagine, it wasn't pleasant at all and there was no silver lining to it. I had already been used by one man, I wouldn't be by another. So I did what I do best, make other people start the conflicts I want to start without involving myself at all. That's how I didn't start The Reckoning."

"Oh, wow… damn." Adonis says her face going from distraught to a 'not bad' expression.

"Yea… father wasn't very pleased with that either. After that, basically all of Hell wanted my head on a spike without having one single proof to their accusations. Meanwhile I kept on making a ruckus all over. Things happened and overtime I truly understood what that love really was and what it meant to me." Adonis nods and locks eyes with Glasya and the archdevil sees she's still waiting for something. "Unlike you, I have no love left for him. Lust can take you a long way towards your goals and desires, love? Not so much."

"Lust takes you where you want to go. Love doesn't have in mind what you want, it just takes you wherever it pleases if you let it."

"Love can't take you anywhere."

"Love brought me to Hell. It brought you to understanding the truth of your realm's nature. It takes us to places we never thought of going, places that maybe we didn't even know they existed." Glasya looks at Adonis almost with a glare but still she finds no arrogance. She turns her head to the side almost incredulous and again takes the tiefling features in. She shakes her head and scoffs.

"What good has love brought you?"

"I mean, beside the whole obvious part of friendship and maturity and such. It makes me quite a bit o'money," and then she smirks with a chuckle. "And quite a bit o'pleasure too." Glasya smiles, almost laughing.

"Wouldn't that be lust?"

"For me? Yes. But many people can't tell the difference between the two. And the money comes from my poems and music. People love love and that gives me money… and a few bruises." Adonis winks.

"I can imagine." Glasya smiles as Adonis stares right back at her. Adonis stops to look at her, tracing with her eyes, her soft features on the copper skin, the delineated lips, until she meets Glasya's eyes. She sees the flames around her pupils and starts getting lost as you do staring at a bonfire. Glasya watches as Adonis becomes dazed and she starts laughing to herself, but Adonis' eyes gleam. She stares and the tiefling's eyes seem more and more like a pool of molten gold, rather than simply the solid color, and she feels… reeled in. Adonis' jaw starts growing slack when there's a flick of blue fire in Glasya's eyes that snaps her out of her daze. Adonis blinks, looking away as she clears her throat. Glasya leans back surprised by the sudden change of her heart rate and looks away as well, bringing a hand to her chest.

"Umm." Glasya licks her lips, frowning. She found herself baffled and speechless and that unnerved her to no end. Adonis looks at Glasya discreetly and notices the frown. She looks back at the view of Malboge beyond the fortress, trying to calm herself.

"Y'know how I called this beautiful?" Adonis says nodding towards the view.

"Yes. That was just a few minutes ago." Glasya says, raising an eyebrow.

"When I got here I did not see beauty. I always look for beauty. I can find beauty anywhere, in every nook of the world… I didn't expect to find any sort of beauty in Hell." Adonis licks her lips and curls them, seemingly measuring her words. "And I didn't see it anywhere, until I set my eyes on you. You're a star, a solitary star, shining on a dark sky. In a place I thought I'd find no beauty, I found one of the most beautiful beings I've ever seen in my life. And let me tell you, I've seen a lot." Glasya's mouth hangs slightly open and she swallows.

"Do not mistake me for something I am not. I am a devil. I am the daughter of Asmodeus, the King of Hell. I can bring no light to anywhere I am, Adonis." She says trying to find the coldness she liked keeping in her heart and this meddling tiefling was somehow managing to melt down.

"And your father was the Morning Star, the brightest angel in the skies. Not saying you bring light, but you do shine, Glasya." Adonis says and reaches out for Glasya's hand, hesitating. Glasya is taken aback by her boldness but decides to see if Adonis goes through with it. Seeing that Glasya didn't react in a negative way, Adonis reaches and holds her hand. "I saw no beauty in this realm until you showed me there's beauty. And now I can say I have found beauty even in Hell. I might be a fool, Glasya, but I am not blind." Glasya scoffs, trying not to smile. Adonis gives her a half smile and starts bringing her hand up, closer to her lips. CRACK. Adonis jumps back startled and pulls Glasya closer in an instinctive, but clumsy reaction to protect. She looks up as three enormous boulders bounce off the metal ceiling of the fortress, arching over them and crashing a long distance away from the fortress and continue rolling down. Adonis stares, still startled and Glasya starts laughing, moving away from her grasp.

"Ooh, that was great. You got so scared." Adonis looks at her wide eyed.

"Fucking boulders, dude. Deadly boulders."

"I know. That's why my fortress has the ceiling angled like that, to direct the boulders and avalanches away from us." She chuckles a bit, still entertained by Adonis recovering from her scare. "You get used to it eventually."

"I'm sure you do. You've had millenia to do it." Adonis huffs and breathes deeply, calming down. "Shit, huh." Glasya smiles trying not to laugh.

"Since you appreciate beauty so much, I'm gonna show you something. It'll compensate for the boulders."

"Please, do." Adonis says somewhat relaxed. Glasya takes her by the hand and guides her forward. As they walk the sulfur scent gets even weaker.

"Here." Glasya says walking towards a set of stairs. As they walk down Adonis can see, even under the red sky, vivid deep green grass spread across the area with a wide variety of bushes, flowers and all sorts of plants. When they reach the last few steps, Glasya stops and turns back to Adonis with a soft smile. She extends her arm gesturing to the view below them. "Welcome to my garden." Adonis stares wide eyed and lets out a soft wow. Glasya smiles and pulls her towards the garden.

Adonis watches as Glasya lets go of her hand once she reaches the garden. She steps into the garden with bare feet and sighs, her toes curl into the grass as her wings flex and her head falls back. Suddenly Adonis sees before her a woman without a mask, not without burden, but no longer attempting to hide herself. Adonis follows her, watching her caress the plants as she walks by. She stops in front of a fluffy, tall green bush and whispers to it, a branch stretches from it towards her; Glasya offers her the lily in her hand and the vine takes it, curling around the stem and then she notices the vine merging with the lily's stem until there's no difference between the two. Oh wow… that's amazing. Adonis thinks to herself but doesn't manage to speak it so she keeps on following Glasya.

"How?" Adonis asks after a few moments of silence.

"I don't know. I just offered the flower and the bush took it." She says with a thoughtful smile. "Maybe it enjoyed the idea of having a little bit more life in the garden."

"That is good to know, but how is this whole garden here?"

"Oh… I don't know that either." Glasya chuckles looking at Adonis at her side. "When I was building the fortress, at some point, I started catching a sweet scent around here and then I found this garden and made sure I have easy access to it. Take care of it the best I can. Doesn't really seem to need water, but as long as I'm-" She stops and thinks to herself a bit, "um… as long as I'm well, so is the garden. When I'm not at my best, the garden begins to wither. It's weird, but I enjoy its company. And so do my hellwasps."

"I agree, it is weird and so full of meaning, I imagine." Adonis says lightly. Glasya looks around thoughtfully.

"Yea, I guess it does. Not everything needs an explicit meaning, but this garden, these flowers do have meaning to me."

"Back home we do love finding meaning in all sorts of things."

"Oh, I know. It's funny. I've taken advantage of that quite a few times." She looks at Adonis with a playful glimmer to her eyes. "Does the flower you gave mean anything?" Adonis thinks to herself. In truth she chose the lily because it is one of her favorites, no hidden intention behind it other than the general swooning, but it does have a meaning as far as she knows.

"I gave it to you because it's one of my favorites." Adonis finally says.

"And…" Glasya says, prompting her to continue. Adonis blinks, looks down, curls her lips trying to remember. She bites her lip and steps closer, looking down at Glasya.

"I dare to love me." She says softly. Glasya's eyes go a bit wide, letting out a small oh.

"I see." Glasya smirks and gets closer to Adonis, looking up at her. "Careful… I like challenges." Adonis stares back at her, noticing the flicks of blue in her eyes are more frequent than before.

"In this case then, you should be the one with caution." Adonis says as she leans closer to Glasya, without quite closing the distance between them.

"You are fun." Glasya chuckles. "I'm glad I didn't send you and your troupe to the Tower of Pain for information."

"Oof, so am I. So much easier to get info from me with food and a nice conversation."

"I've noticed." She says and steps away to continue strolling through the garden. Adonis stares as she moves away with a feeling creeping in too close to what she likes to call 'she'll be the death of me' territory. She unstraps the harp from her hip, takes a moment to think and as her fingers thread the strings she starts walking again; softly, the ode to aphrodite starts ringing through the garden. Glasya looks back and smiles.

"That's lovely." She says and continues walking, taking a turn and then another into the garden.

Glasya stops, closer to the stairs, in front of butterfly bushes and softly takes one of the branches in her hands admiring the colors. Adonis reaches her, still playing and stops by her side, concentrating in the music. Glasya prys her eyes away from the flowers to look at Adonis playing. She steps closer, watching the red fingers strumming the strings, swiftly running through the harp with no seeming effort. Glasya feels the need to reach out but refrains herself as Adonis strums the last notes; the latter sighs with a soft smile on her face and straps the harp back on her belt. Glasya carefully takes Adonis' right hand and traces the tattoo design with her thumb. The music still stringing in her mind, her jaw slack with the vibration ringing through her chest and she steps even closer.

"Did you enjoy that?" Adonis asks softly, looking down at Glasya. She looks up at the tiefling, seeing the golden eyes brighter yet seemingly deeper than before, the lip bite in expectation and the soft tremble to her hands.

"I…" Glasya blinks slowly and leans closer to Adonis, staring at her lips, "ummm." Her other hand rests on Adonis' shoulder. She leans even closer and sees Adonis' eyes flicking down to her lips and then back up to her eyes. She swallows as the princess starts closing the distance between them inch by inch, uncertain on whether this is genuine or a very delicately thought-out trap. She looks down at the almost metallic copper lips and then back up to her eyes and notices there's almost no red to be found, the flames of her eyes have become mostly blue. Adonis stares at her as if enchanted and raises a hand to cup Glasya's cheek, caressing it softly. "Yes, I most definitely did." Glasya finally finishes her answer.

With that, Adonis inches closer slowly, her free arm wrapping around Glasya's waist to pull her closer, as she blinks softly leaning down. With a push of her feet, bringing her to her tiptoes, Glasya finishes closing the distance between them and sealing their lips in a kiss. The kiss is soft at first, Glasya's lips are warmer than Adonis expected, almost too warm. Glasya wraps her arms around Adonis' shoulders, pulling herself even closer to her, deepening the kiss, slowly. For a creature of fire, feeling warm isn't rare, but feeling warmer is, especially in circumstances that involve such vulnerability; this was unnervingly familiar to Glasya and she hated it because last time it happened her heart was broken and her lover trapped in ice. She steps away abruptly, heaving softly and raises a hand to her lips, feeling her heart racing. Adonis looks like she was snapped out of a daze; she blinks a few times and breathes deeply before her eyes focus on Glasya again. She sees the wide-eyed expression on Glasya's face turn into a confused frown as her hand drops to her chest.

"What… I-" Glasya swallows and shakes her head a bit. "-sorry. I'm sorry."

"What for?" Adonis says approaching her with a half-smile. Glasya looks up at Adonis, then down at her lips, opens her mouth to say something but doesn't. "There's nothing to apologize for." She reaches out and wraps a finger around one of Glasya's fingers and watches her for a moment. "I'm definitely not complaining." She says caressing the side of the devil's face and lets her hand drop, slowly tracing the outline of her body. Glasya stares back at her, eyes gleaming, and bites her lip. With everything going through her a mind and chest she hesitates for a moment but then…

"To hell with it." Glasya says under her breath, more to herself than anyone else. She pulls Adonis back against her and deepens the kiss. "Tonight you are mine."

"I thought that was given." Adonis says chuckling into the kiss, "not like I have a choice." Glasya laughs, breaking the kiss.

"Oh, my. How tyrannous of me." She says as she plays with the top buckle of Adonis vest. The tiefling looks down as she feels the top of her vest loosen a bit and sees the first buckle has been unfastened. "Seems like you're victim to my every whim." Glasya says as her free arm wraps around Adonis shoulders once again.

"Woe is me." Adonis says with pretend suffering before Glasya seals her lips again with a kiss, and she starts guiding the devil towards the stairs. They bump against the wall, not getting bothered by it at all as the need in their touch grows at every moment.

"It's been over an hour." Krern says, arms crossed and frowning at the door.

"Are you sure it's been that long?" Vah'lar asks.

"I'm sure she's fine. Queen Glasya seemed very… sincere, for a devil." Mardy says trustingly.

"Over an hour? They're probably going at it." Gil says, shrugging.

"Or she's getting murdered and we're next." Krern retorts.

"Well, then why don't you go and check on her then?" Gil snaps at him, noses flaring, arms crossed and sternly shifts on the bed trying, and failing, to feel comfortable.

"Y'know what? That's exactly what I'm gonna do."

"Oh, by Mellora. Don't let her rile you up." Vah'lar says.

"She's probably fine." Mardy tries to assure him.

"She might be fine, but I rather be sure." He says jumping off the bed and strapping his cloak around his shoulders. "I should be back in 30 minutes max. If I take longer than that, run." He says and quietly slithers out of the room.

The moment he steps out, a guard starts turning the corner up the hallway. Krern grabs a pebble in his pocket and throws it skittering through the floor and it hits the wall behind the guard, who turns abruptly, grunty and goes after the sound. "Alright." He tightens the hood over his face and starts taking turns towards the throne room, following the path he remembers. He docks and hides in the shadows to escape the eyes of the patrolling guards, but as he gets closer to the throne room the patrols become scarce. As he approaches the corner that turns to the throne room, Krern starts hearing soft panting from two sets of voices. He sticks his back to the wall as he takes a turn and slowly creeps into the throne room. He sees his red skinned friend kneeled on the throne, her naked back turned to him, pants pulled to her ankles as the queen of Malbolge is sitting on her lap, legs wrapped around her waist and wings curling and uncurling with their movement; their bodies merged in a tangled sync. The light coming through the windows reflects on the shiny coppery skin contrasting against Adonis' red freckled one; he sees the tattoo on her back - a moon above a lake, with the empress emerging from the moonlight, biting a pomegranate, and under the water, shining with the moonlight, death offering the blue flower of life - almost come to life with the movement of her back muscles. Adonis wraps her arms tightly around Glasya, bringing her closer as the movement of her hips become brisker. She lets out a low moan as Glasya's nails dig and drag down her back with one hand, pulling her head back with the other, her long and now loose purple hair cascading down her back like lavender rain. Glasya's legs tighten around Adonis' waist as her toes curl; a raspy moan escapes her as her wings stretch out and then curl, embracing both them, her body quacking. Krern, who had found himself petrified in what could be horror, shakes away his stupor and steps back into the hallway. He starts walking back to his chambers talking to himself, bloody hell, why did I have to go looking?! Uuughh I'm never gonna get that outta my head. And then he gags right before thump he goes face first into a metal plate. Krern looks up as he hears a growl. Towering over him is one the queen's incubi.

"H-hi! Ummmm" Krern looks around looking for an escape.

"You left your quarters without permission or supervision." The incubus hisses at him.

"I was looking for a washroom." The fiend sneers. "I really just didn't want to bother." The fiend grabs him by the wrist and lifts him off the floor. "I'm really sorry, please. I was already going back. I just didn't want to do anything in front of the girls." Krern is almost crying as the fiend's gleaming black eyes dig into him.

Adonis gets off the throne, delicately sitting Glasya on it, who is heaving with her eyes half closed, as she gets up. She looks to one side, finding her vest and Glasya's dress thrown on the floor to one side of the throne. She bends down to start pulling her pants up when she hears Glasya softly clearing her throat, and looks up at her.

"What, pray tell, are you doing?" The queen asks with a raised eyebrow and a soft smirk; she had slipped into Infernal shortly after dragging Adonis out of the garden.

"Pulling my trousers up?" Adonis says matching the harsh fluidity of her infernal language.

"Why?"

"It's hard to walk with them down, miss." Glasya chuckles.

"Well then, take them off." Adonis smirks.

"Alright. Would've done it earlier but you seemed to be in a rush." She says and unlaces her boots before kicking them off and removing her trousers. "There you go, your highness." Glasya looks her up and down, her eyes shining blue.

"Now… let me take you to my chambers." She says keeping in mind that they'll come through her servants and that she needs to remind them to serve a meal for the rest of the troupe.

"Please do." Adonis smiles, offering her free hand to help her up. Glasya takes it after leaning down to pick up her dress and Adonis' vest and guides her forward, not letting her go.

Krern is thrown inside the bedroom and the door slams behind him. He gets up looking completely disheveled and tries to fix his appearance pulling his shirt down and smoothing down his hair. All the girls are standing with all of their gear on, seemingly ready to fight, and looking at him wide-eyed.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Mardy asks.

"Uh…" Krern looks back at the door. "Um… yes. I am."

"You took a really long time, Krern." Vah'lar says looking at him worriedly.

"Uuuh, it took longer than I thought to find them without getting caught." He says walking to them and taking his cloak off. "Do you have any water? My throat is very dry." He asks Vah'lar.

"Of course." She grabs her waterskin and gives it to him. "But is everything alright?" Krern nods and takes a big gulp. The girls all release a long breath and start taking their armor off again.

"Were they boning?" Gil asks with a rather closed off expression and Mardy grunts as Vah'lar rolls her eyes.

"Oh for fuck's-" Krern takes a deep breath and sighs. "No," he hops on the bed. "When I found them they were just talking. Laughing a lot, having some wine, but that's it."

"Hmmm, okay."

"Can we go sleep now?" Mardy asks.

"Please," Krern adds.

"Of course. I'm very tired and I won't keep on waiting for Adonis if she's getting off well." Vah'lar says, already laying down. "C'mon, let's sleep." She says tapping the space in front of her. Mardy shuffles over and cuddles against her.

"C'mhere, I'll be your big spoon." Mardy says dragging Krern closer to her.

"Fine." He grunts, but is quick to accommodate himself. Gil huffs and puffs with her arms crossed.

"You guys are insufferable." She says before lying down as the last small spoon to fit on the bed.

Adonis rests her head on the surprisingly fluffy pillow, breathing heavily and throws an arm over her head. She looks to her side to see Glasya lying down, wings half spread, eyes closed and a faint smile on her lips. She stays there looking at the coppery skin glistening with sweat, her chest rising and falling with every deep breath and she starts saying something in a soft whisper but it slips away with a sigh as she turns to look at Adonis. Glasya stretches her arm and places it on Adonis' abs, who doesn't take her eyes off of the devil watching her eyes tracing her own movements as she caresses the tiefling's crimson skin. Adonis thinks about holding her hand but finds herself frozen in place, watching Glasya's blue flaming eyes as she blinks a few times, as if trying to stay awake, but soon slumber takes her and her arm falls limp. Adonis stays there, looking at her, golden eyes deep with sleep,and lets her own hand slither across her stomach until she reaches Glasya's hand; she stretches out her fingers gently and Glasya, still asleep, spreads her own, letting Adonis enlace their fingers together. Adonis blinks and the room goes dark for a moment. She feels soft warmth surrounding her, something weighing on her, smooth moisture on her neck. Adonis stirs, not sure how long after and blinks, the red light from the sky filtering in through the windows and canopy. She turns her head slowly and her chin hits against something hard and silky; she looks down and sees Glasya resting her head on Adonis' chest, hair a complete mess and an arm tightly wrapped around her waist. Only then does she notice the light purple silk blanket covering them. Adonis sighs with a soft smile on her lips and turns her face, smelling the soft scent of sulfur and flowers coming from Glasya's hair, and gives her a soft, long kiss on the forehead. Glasya stirs and curls, tighten her muscles and grunts.

"Mmmm, the bard has woken from their sleep." Glasya says with a groggy voice.

"Hmm," Adonis chuckles softly. "And apparently I've woken the queen of Hell."

"Ha!" Glasya throws her head back, "Not yet queen of Hell, just of the eyrines and this steep layer."

"Of course, of course. How could I forget?" Adonis looks down to her, "It's just that after the little time I've spent with you I can see you only as a queen…" She thinks to herself for a moment, weighing the consequences of her words right before deciding she'll deal with it. "Be it the Queen of Hell… or of my heart." Glasya's eyes go wide, the flames in her eyes that were starting to have a more orange tone, go back to being mostly deep blue; she props herself up on her elbow to better look at Adonis and match her gaze. She drags her hand from Adonis' waits to just above her belly button and up between her cleavage, tracing her clavicle, slowly.

"Aren't you the sweet talker…" she says as she softly traces Adonis' smooth skin.

"You have no idea how sweet I can talk." Adonis says, her eyes flicking between Glasya's eyes and lips. Glasya catches Adonis' eyes and stares down at her, jaw growing slack.

"Then give me an idea." She says in a soft, almost hoarse whisper. Adonis stares back at her and cups her cheek with a hand, caressing it softly. She props herself up on an elbow and pulls Glasya closer, giving her a deep kiss that Glasya is quick to return. Adonis pulls back and stares at Glasya's eyes, watching the flames whipping within it, her soft jawline, long neck; as sharp as she seems to be, Adonis found she couldn't be softer. She curls her lips, pressing them as she thinks for a moment before speaking. Adonis takes a deep breath.

"Fondly, I give you my heart

Knowing that you can fill it

As much with love

As you can with pain

I wish to understand your fears

When you're far and when you're near

All flesh comes to dust

Dust that fire will never be

And if you are to be the flame to bring my demise

I'll gladly fall into your eyes

I can feel you tremble

And I can feel your dread

But I will try

Not knowing if I'll suffice

Fondly, I give you my heart

That you've filled with joy and with fear

Knowing that you will fill it

With so much love

As well as pain

I ask only for a kiss

And that you care for it, dear." Adonis finishes, blinking slowly. Glasya stares at her, slack-jawed, wide eyes in disbelief that her stomach sank with every verse and her heart aches pleasantly at every beat of the bard's words. Adonis sees Glasya's eyes turn into a firestorm and, just as the latter was considering the possibility of killing her, pulls her in for another kiss. Glasya's anger burns away as she sinks into the kiss. She drops her weight on Adonis, who catches her with ease, and wraps her arms around the tiefling's shoulders.

"You… you're a dangerous one." Glasya says after pulling away from the kiss, chest heaving. Adonis smiles.

"Me? Dangerous? Glasya, please, next to you I'm soft, not… I am but a fleeting butterfly."

"Notes and butterflies come as fast as they go, but can stay in the mind and your heart for longer than anyone thought possible." Glasya says thoughtfully. "Things that are so delicate… so small, but have an effect so much bigger than them are dangerous." Adonis hums in response. "So you, my sweet, flowery tiefling, are too dangerous for your own good." Adonis almost scoffs.

"Are you saying I have a place in your heart?" Adonis asks without thinking. Glasya pulls back.

"I… No, that's not. I-" She looks away and swallows. "We should check on your friends." Adonis looks at her attentively.

"Yea…" Adonis says looking away. "I was going to say that." She looks back at Glasya and sees her clearly uncomfortable with her moment of unexpected vulnerability. Adonis scoots closer to her and rests her chin on Glasya's shoulder; she turns her head, her lips trace their way up her neck and stops right under her ear. "Last night was great, y'know… never knew sulfur would taste so sweet." Glasya lets out a puff of air through her nose, trying not to laugh.

"You're impossible," she says with her cheeks darkening.

"I think impossible people aren't kissable." Adonis says it, very serious. "You should confirm that in case I am impossible." Glasya shakes her head but turns her face towards Adonis, looks down at her lips and as her eyes blink closed she leans into Adonis, letting herself melt into her arms as their lips meet.

The troupe startles awake with a series of sharp knocks on their door and grunt to get up. Vah'lar gets up groaning and runs her fingers through her long dark hair before opening the door. Outside she finds an eiryne looking at her with something bordering disdain.

"Your meal is to be served. Ready yourselves. The Queen will join you shortly."

"Right away. Thanks." Vah'lar nods and closes the door as the eiryne turns away. "Alright, you rays of sunshine!" She says loudly. "Time to get ready and go see if our favorite tiefling is still alive." They all get up grunting and complaining but do as she says.

They are all sitting on the same long table, eating slowly, as they've been doing for the past 30 minutes.

"Hey, guys!" Adonis says hurrying into the chamber and sits next to Vah'lar. They all look at her with wide eyes. "Uummm… sorry, promise I'll eat quickly so we don't have to stay here longer than necessary." They all keep staring at her.

"Honestly, you're so fuckin-"

"I apologize for my delay." Glasya says strutting in and sits at the table. "I was tending to some business." Krern cups his hand and brings them up against this mouth.

"Is business your new pet name?" Adonis hears Krern's voice whisper into her ear. Her face twists as she tries very hard not to laugh and shoots him a look. He shrugs looking falsely innocent.

"Well… I did some thinking after what you've told me and I will help you get to Dis, where your friend is. After that, you're on your own." Glasya says looking at them all and then smiles at Adonis. Adonis watches her as she speaks and notices her eyes have gone back to the orange and yellow flames but when she looks back at Adonis with a smile, blue flames take over her eyes once again. She smiles back at Glasya and fights the urge to wink at her.

"Thank you, that's most generous of you." Mardy says, once again taken aback by the gentleness received from the archdevil. Glasya gives her a small smile.

"I do not wish for people who do not belong here to be here. And trickery is something that should only be done with… honesty." Glasya responds. Gil, Mardy and Krern look at her puzzled by Glasya's statement, which amuses her. Adonis finishes shoving food in her mouth during the exchange, looks to her friends and gives them a nod.

"Then we should be going." Adonis says looking at her friends and then meets Glasya's eyes. "Our stay has been… more than any of us could expect, but I will not leave Caelynn to wait a second longer if I can help it."

"Then you must go on your way. I'll see that you are properly escorted to the City of Dis." Glasya says and gets up. They all hurry to stand up as she does and she walks out. They follow her to the entrance of the fortress before Glasya gives a nod to the standing guards and walks back in. Vah'lar grabs Adonis by the arm before she can walk away and drags her a few meters away.

"Don't you want to wear something more… protective?" The half-orc says eyeing her cleavage. Adonis smirks.

"Like you don't enjoy the view."

"Oh, I do. But I'd hate to see that hydra burnt away." Vah'lar says and extends Adonis' belongings to her.

"Thank you. You're amazing." Adonis grabs her satchel and pecks Vah'lar's cheek. She starts unbuckling her vest immediately after pulling her long sleeved linen shirt out of her bag.

"You're gonna do that out here?" Mardy asks.

"We're in hell, summerchild. I doubt a pair of boobs is gonna be a big deal." Adonis says as she pulls off her vest, slips into her shirt and back into her leather vest, not caring to adjust or buckle either of them. A moment passes when three fiends approach them.

"The Queen demands your presence before your departure." The middle one says firmly to Adonis.

"Of course." Adonis answers, and sees Glasya right at the door of the fortress. "I'll be right back guys." Adonis says to everyone and paces towards the coppery queen.

"You demand my presence?"

"More of a request, but to fiends there isn't much of a difference." Adonis smiles and takes Glasya's hand.

"Potatoh, potahto." She shrugs and kisses the hand she holds. "I thank you for your hospitality, my queen."

"Is that all you're thankful for?"

"No, but I don't think thankful is the right word for the rest of it."

"What would the right word be then?" Adonis hums to herself, thinking.

"I don't know… perhaps delighted. Bamboozled…" She smiles softly at Glasya, letting her eyes linger as the devil laughs. "Enchanted." Glasya looks back at her intensely.

"All good words." She almost pulls Adonis in for a kiss but stops herself short. She clears her throat, bringing a hand to her chest and takes a step back. "You played the harp for me."

"I did." Adonis says.

"Show it to me." Adonis does as asked and lets Glasya take it. She brings it up and kisses the edge of it, closing her eyes and hands it back to Adonis, who looks at the kissed area. There she sees, burnt in, the symbol of Glasya. She blinks in amazement and looks at Glasya questioningly.

"Everytime you play it, think of me." Glasya says, wanting for it to sound like an order, but it comes off like a wish, almost a plea.

"Everytime I play it, Glasya, I'll be playing for you." Adonis responds and before either of them can think to react, pulls her in for a kiss, it's soft yet deep and almost tastes of tears. At the edge of the stairs behind them a corruption devil watches the exchange attentively and as he starts merging with the wall the two protectors, always close to Glasya, rush at it. The devil turns and twists but both of the fiends grab it by each arm. Glasya turns, surprised with the commotion. The high fiends drag him down the stairs, forcing him down to kneel before Glasya, who scoffs at the sight.

"My, my. Thought you'd be dead by now, with all the times we've caught you snooping around." She gestures to her guards who let go of him but keep close.

"I guess I'm unlucky, Princess." He says rolling his shoulders and getting up.

"What are you doing here?"

"Same as always. Checking on you." He says and eyes Adonis slyly before looking back at Glasya. "Your father sends his regards. You haven't visited him in a while."

"Of course I haven't. I have a whole layer and a few businesses to take care of. As he ruled it to be. So if he wants me to visit he can find a way to give me a break, or come visit himself."

"Of course, he did. He believes in your potential. He also would like to remind you of the offer he made-"

"To know what I'm building. I haven't forgotten. Tell him I'm building a playroom and I will cash in my wish soon enough. Now go."

"A play- Princess, please, you don't think your father is-"

"Oh darling, please be aware that the only reason you still stand is because I have decided not to kill you. The moment I grow bored of you and decide I want to see a new face every time my father decides to spy on me because it'll make my life more entertaining, you're dead." The devil swallows and a scoul digs into its face.

"I will keep it in mind. And send your response to our King."

"Oh, send him my love, would you darling?"

"Yes, of course." He says with a bow and Glasya gestures with a wave.

"Have someone escort him out." A chain devil, a fiend and an ice devil hurry down and start taking him away. Glasya gives a deep sigh and rubs her temples. "It took him long enough to send his roaches after me." Adonis stays very, very quiet just looking. "Sorry you had to see that. Politics in your plane are complicated, here they're downright slimy.

"I see." Adonis' grip on the harp tightens. "I-" Her lips curl and she looks down at her own hand. Glasya smiles at the sight and cups Adonis' cheek with her hand and makes her look up. She inches closer and kisses her other cheek.

"Don't be a stranger." She whispers in her ear and pulls back enough to look her in the eyes again. Adonis gazes deep into her eyes.

"We'll meet again. You'll see. I don't have the power to come here at will, but you… you can see me anytime you feel like it. I'll love to show you around some time."

"I'll see if I find time to pop up." Glasya says, entertaining the idea and pulls Adonis for a kiss. They melt for a second and then Adonis pulls back.

"We have to go."

"I wish you luck. Be careful. Hope you save your family. I…" Glasya gazes at Adonis, suddenly looking vulnerable, as if she was made of porcelain.

"Thank you, my queen." Adonis answers with a small bow. She takes a step back and hesitates, taking one last look at Glasya, her face becoming stern before turning on her heels and jugging to her troupe.

"Sorry guys. Let's go save our favorite moon elf." She says and they all nod, not making any quips and are led by two fiends away from the fortress and towards the river Styx.

They travel up the river Styx, the water rushes harsh and deep, scalding all those who fall in it and are not meant to be there. They are quickly escorted to the city of Dis and left there without a word further than "Our Queen's command has been fulfilled," before they turn and leave. Adonis looks around seeing the many demons and some tieflings strolling around. Her nostrils flare for a moment as her eyes darken.

"C'mon." She says almost hissing, gesturing to her group and quickly turns into an alley and waits for everyone to be in before walking further down the alley, far enough to feel more hidden. "Alright, guys. Let's find my girl."

"And how exactly are we going to do that?" Krern asks.

"You know this city?" Gil asks, watching Adonis as she starts pulling stuff from her belt pouch.

"No. Believe it or not, I've never been in this layer of Hell before."

"Oh, I-" Gil starts a bit embarrassed, but is promptly interrupted.

"What are you doing?" Vah'lar asks.

"Localizing ritual to find Cae." She says looking from Vah'lar to Krern and nods to him so he knows he wasn't ignored; he nods back.

"You know how to locate her?" Mardy asks, surprised.

"No. Not her, but I can locate something of hers."

"Alright. I'll keep watch." Mardy says, giving her a nod and turns to watch the entrance.

"I'll help you." Vah'lar says, crouching down, mirroring Adonis.

"Thanks Val."

"What are we looking for?"

"You know that necklace she has?" Adonis says stoically, but as she recalls it a smile creeps into her lips. "The one I gave her."

"The rainbow one?"

"Ya."

"Alright, let's do it." Vah'lar places a hand on Adonis shoulder and nods. Adonis brings one hand to her chest and with the other grabs a twig and starts tracing the floor with it as both her and Vah'lar start whispering an incantation. As they finish it, Adonis brings her hand from her chest to the ground where she was tracing arcane symbols and presses it to the ground. Her skin singes against the more than hot ground, but she grits her teeth and takes in the fire. Her eyes flare open, shining and she suddenly looks up staring at nothing; Vah'lar gasps simultaneously.

"Let's go." Adonis says as she stands, helping Vah'lar up and it takes every ounce of effort in her person to not just power walk towards the magical pull in her mind and instead be careful not to draw attention to herself as she approaches it. Everyone hurries to follow her.

The troupe keeps uncharacteristically quiet as they follow Adonis and Vah'lar. Adonis quickly steps through crowds and takes all the necessary turns with her party at her heels, but her speed picks up by the minute until she's nearly jogging, which becomes hard to keep discreet for the smaller ones. She takes a turn into a narrower street and speeds on a few meters before a strong hand grips her bicep and she's shoved against the wall.

"Adonis, Mardy and the halflings really can't keep up with you when you're like that. You know that." Vah'lar says holding Adonis against the heated wall. The tiefling stares at her angrily, eyes shining. "I know you want to find her; we all do, but if you keep going like that it's just gonna make things more complicated." Adonis grimaces at her friend, almost hissing as she bares her teeth. Her eyes flick from one of Vah'lar's eyes to the other; her mouth opens as if to speak but then a tear streaks down her cheek and then another, and another, and another until they become constant and frequent. Adonis looks down, shaking in rage, her face wet. A tall, red and gold devil, shiny and colorful as a glass mosaic and just as broken, falls into her friend's arms. Vah'lar wraps her arms around her the moment Adonis looks down. "I know, I know. But you need to be alive to save her. You…" Vah'lar pushes Adonis so she can look her in the eyes, her face still wet, but tears kept at bay. "You're already you. No need to call more attention to yourself by storming through hell like a force of nature and end up kidnapped as well. That's not gonna save Caelynn. You keep it together until we find her to then unleash it… that will save Caelynn." Adonis nods repeatedly and steps away from Vah'lar, silently asking for personal space.

"You're right." She swallows, "you're right. Okay." She takes a deep breath. "Yea, okay. Sorry. I just. It- Fuck. They will suffer for every scratch on her skin." Adonis says and starts walking again without taking another look at her friends. They take a few more turns before Adonis stops abruptly, signalling them to stop and sticks herself to the wall. "The magic is fading, but I think she's in there." Adonis says nodding towards the house across the way. It's large, dark like the rest of the city, with jagged walls, large iron doors and barred windows.

"I'll cast it again." Vah'lar says with a hand on Adonis' shoulder. "Mellora, guide me." She whispers under her breath and holds on to Adonis as she concentrates on the spell. A shiver goes down her spine and she lets out a sharp breath; Adonis looks at her and nods. "Alright. We've got her. Let's go." They cross the street to the house, curving around the doorkeepers without being noticed and find a back door.

"Krern." Adonis calls her friend.

"I'm on it." He responds moving towards the door and starts patting around the edges. "Alright, not trapped." He tries the lock, "but locked. Give me a moment." Krern pulls out his thieves' tools and starts working the lock. They all wait as sweat beads form on Krern's forehead, his tools whine and start bending when click. "Tah-dah." Krern says rather sternly and sighs relieved.

"Awesome." Gil says, hyped up.

"Let's go in carefully." Adonis says and Krern opens the door slowly. Krern walks in first quietly and is followed by the rest, Vah'lar closing the door behind her.

"She's right behind this wall." Vah'lar says quietly, indicating the wall to their left.

"Alright. Krern I need you to check who's inside this room." Adonis whispers to him. "We'll wait here for your return. Don't. Get. Caught." Krern nods.

"I won't." He whispers back and as he pulls his hood up, he camouflages with the shadows. They stay quiet for a couple of minutes when Krern makes himself noticed again. "I couldn't count them. They almost saw me. There are a bunch of devils in there." Krern whispers and his voice cracks as his eyes well-up. "Caelynn is there… Adonis, they- they're torturing her." Adonis jolts up as if she had been punched and before anyone can do anything she extends her hands before her, whooshing her arms open; a purple crackling energy follows her gesture and opens a portal that she jumps through immediately, disappearing into nothingness.

Adonis bumps into wraps, chains and bones as she finds herself between Caelynn and a chain devil, she looks around and sees 8 other devils. With a shout she trusts her fist forward, decking the chain devil on the jaw and CRACK, thunder rings from the punch. An invisible thunderous force crackles through the room, sending tools, handcuffs and devils flying off; one of the devils is thrown and impaled by a spike on a wall, he tries to pull himself off as he gurgles, but he quickly grows weak and drowns in his own blood. Adonis whips around towards Caelynn and takes in her pale silver skin stained with blood and bruises, her almost white hair matted with what seems to be ash and blood, her deep green half-closed eyes staring at Adonis, mouth slightly agape in disbelief.

"My angel." Adonis let's out a puff of air and quietly starts unbuckling the straps that keep the elf tied to the vertical table. "Ah, my angel, thank the gods you're alive." Adonis says, framing Caelynn's face with both her hands and kisses her face as her hands warm up with healing energy.

"I wouldn't call myself lucky up until now." Caelynn lets out in a hoarse, whispered chuckle. Adonis smiles and starts helping Caelynn off the table.

"C'mon, let's find a way out of this Hell." Adonis says and turns, holding on tight to Caelynn. All the devils are knocked out of the thunder induced daze they were in and start looming over then as the door slams open and even more devils start to rush in; battle cries and metal clashing can be heard on the outside from devils and their friends alike. Oh no, no nono. Caelynn feels her whole body tremble as she sees the devils rushing at them. Please, if someone can hear me, please save us. Please. She closes her eyes and holds onto Adonis. Vah'lar, Gil, Mardy and Krern rush in, limping, trying to break through and reach Adonis and Caelynn. In a moment of desperation, attempting to create space between them and the devils, Adonis bends over, holding Caelynn and screams. As the screech spreads through the room, forcing everyone to cover their ears, Caelynn tightens her hold on Adonis. Suddenly, deep within her mind she feels a warmth growing and a light extends itself to her, like a helping hand. I am here to help you, child. Tell me, do you wish to be helped? A soft, earthy voice rings through her mind. Yes, please. Please save us. Caelynn responds. Are you willing to become my servant? I will take care of you, my child. The voice makes itself heard despite the shattering scream emanating from Adonis' evocation voice power. Yes. Please, take us somewhere safe. She feels the entity nod in approval and whoosh. Adonis and Caelynn fall on something soft; a series of thuds and grunts can be heard from not too far away.

"What the fuck?" Adonis says when she looks up. Around her she sees a beautiful green forest, leafy trees, bright and soft grass, birds chirping and the smell of sweet fruits and flowers all around. "Where are- fuck. At least it's not Hell." Adonis looks on to see Vah'lar and Mardy rushing to Krern as he drops to the ground holding his gut, pale as can be; as they treat him, Gil sits off to the side with a scowl and starts jabbing the ground with a dagger. Adonis feels Caelynn dropping on the grass and start laughing, and looks down at her. "What you laughing at?"

"You really weren't kidding when you said you'd go to Hell for me." Caelynn says breathing heavily.

"Fuck no, I wasn't. You're my best friend, Cae. No way I'm leaving you to be eaten by wolves." Adonis says and sits next to her and starts pulling from her pouch a herbal kit to start treating Caelynn's wounds.

"We- urgh," Caelynn hardens a bit as her wounds sting from the cleansing herbs. "We're in the Feywild."

"Huh." Adonis hums looking around. "Neat. It's very pretty… How do you know that?"

"The person who brought us here just told me."

"Oh, I see… Seems legit. We'll have to talk about that." Adonis looks up, "Gil, why don't you make yourself useful and set camp?" Gil looks at her unpleased, "You look all pretty sitting there all bruised, but you're not helping. Please, help." Gil grunts and gets up to start looking for firewood. Caelynn chuckles despite the pain and discomfort.

"She's not happy with you." Caelynn says, amused. Adonis shrugs.

"I don't know. Not really my problem unless she comes talk to me about it." Adonis answers and then her expression becomes tender and pensive, "What matters right now is that you're safe. We can deal with the rest later." Adonis says rather calmly. Caelynn smiles softly at her.

"C'mhere," She says, pulling Adonis to a hug. There are some grunts and whining as they try to settle down in a way that won't further hurt Caelynn. As Gil starts to start a small fire next to them, the rest join them and start making food, passing it around and taking in the calmness of the scenery. And this, my friends, is just a glimpse of how far love, of any nature, can take you.