Hi hi!
Before I begin this chapter, special shout out to MadaraUchiha-Chan, who drew what is now the cover image of My Fair Lady. I have no talent when it comes to drawing, so to know that someone went out of their way tp basically draw me some fanart is a huge thing for me so thank you so much!
Amy: Fuck, so only Kuro gets fanart!?
Erin: Shut up and be jealous somewhere else.
Kuro: *Snoring in the corner on the room*
Me: Seriously tho, the fanart makes Kuro look like such a badass that doesn't give when really she's just a huge house cat. But I've wasted enough time!
ONWARDS!
The drink before bed was a good idea.
Either hangovers didn't work on her anymore, or she was just so use to the feeling that her mind was telling her to feel nice; but either way, it helped her to remain calm, if only for a few more moments.
"I didn't know that my mate was an alcoholic." Corvus murmured from behind her, pulling her back down when she tried to sit up.
"I wasn't aware that you didn't know when to stop touching me." Kuro scowled, pulling his arm off, "Seriously, the least you can do is give me some space."
"There will be no need for such hostility." Corvus murmured, trying to pull her back down, only to give up when she got off of the bed, "Honestly, at this point, I prefer the calm drunk version."
"As if I would be stupid enough to drink around you." Kuro scowled, before rubbing her arms, "When did it get so cold?"
"Maybe it's because you decided to sleep in your underwear."
No other set of words made Kuro look down, squeaking before diving back under the sheets, covering herself with the blanket, "Stop staring!" Kuro shrieked, face red.
That was one way to wake up.
"Hmm, I REALLY like you when you're drunk." nothing could stop the shudder that went down her neck when Corvus decided to get a bit too close, practically breathing down her neck, "But, while I could, there is a little something I'd like to give; or rather, take away."
"And what would that be?" Kuro growled, trying her best not to give in to how uncomfortable she was. He was too close, and she was wearing too little.
"You could say that what I'm about to offer you is a sort of...deal." Corvus sighed into her neck, making her jump ever so slightly, "When we first meet formally, do you remember how it ended, my dear kitty cat?"
"You were being much too close?" Kuro suggested, "Not much has changed from then."
"Do you not remember?" Corvus asked, before nuzzling into the back of her neck, like a cat vying for attention.
"You bit me like the piece of shit you are?" Kuro growled, moving away from him.
"It is tradition," Corvus pushed past, before an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her down with a yelp from the cat demon, "For the male to mark their female with a special type of...tracking venom, as it is commonly called."
"You put a TRACKER on me!?" Kuro nearly screamed. She would have socked him if he hadn't held her down, leering over her.
"While I did, that is where my deal falls into place." Corvus said, brushing some of her hair out of her face, pulling away right before Kuro could bite him, "The basis of any good relationship is trust, even if it's only a tiny bit between the two."
"What are you getting at?" Kuro scowled, looking away. She couldn't believe that she was so indecent before his...this prideful asshole!
"I will take off the tracker if you'll stay within the walls." Corvus proposed, "Of course, unless I am forced to, I will not confine you within the walls. But, if you plan to go out, I would like to know of it."
Kuro looking off to the side, a pout on her face. She's always hated it when people knew exactly where she was. For the longest time, she has done everything she could to blend in to get what she needed and leave. So, to know that he had a way of following her, there really was no other option.
"Deal." She murmured through her scowl.
Instead of shaking the hand she'd outstretched, still looking away, Kuro nearly screamed when he sank his fangs into her shoulder. She had half the mind to punch him in the side of the head, but before she knew it, he'd withdrawn himself from her, pulling himself off while licking the blood off of his lips, "You taste divine, my dear."
"Shut up, you Prick." Kuro murmured, rubbing her throbbing shoulder as he got up from the bed. He had worn a dress shirt and pants to sleep, which was a lot better than what she was wearing.
"Don't worry about it, the bleeding will stop soon." Corvus sighed, "Now, if you'll need me, I'll be in the library. I have a lot of studying to do so that I can be at my best for our wedding."
Kuro made a face at the word, watching how he was about to leave, only to stop. She growled at him as he got closer to her, that same stupid shit eating smile on his face, before he bent down, kissing her on her forehead, "I will see you later on, my dear."
And with that, he left, closing the door behind him.
Kuro made a face, before childishly wiping at her forehead, hoping to get whatever he'd left behind off. Making sure he wouldn't walk back in, Kuro went ahead to find something to wear. But, upon to opening the door, she was taken aback.
Inside, all of the dresses still hung, but sitting at the bottom was a fresh set of a nice and casual clothing.
"Oh, no fucking way." Kuro murmured, pulling it up before looking it over. It was the very same thing she'd come to this wretched place in, from her red hoodie to a chain necklace. She wasn't sure if you'd warn it, but she really didn't want to think about how they might have gone into her apartment and grabbed what they thought she'd like.
On the side, one last present sat: her knee-high boots.
If she had to choose, she'd good out, without hesitation, in only her hoodie and boots just because of all the blood she'd gotten on the hoodie and all the things she'd crushed under foot.
Without hesitation, she pulled it all on, finally comfortable. Fuck what other demons thought, casual was comfortable.
"Who is it?" Kuro asked when a knock came to the door, a rather quiet one at that.
"May I c-come in?"
Kuro grinned to herself, finally, the only solace in this damn castle is dropping by for a visit, "Nothing be stopping you."
"Umm...okay?" Vanth murmured, pushing the doors open, "I'm here to clean up a bit."
"'Aight." Kuro shrugged, moving back as she pushed a sort of cleaning cart into the room. She couldn't help but laugh a bit, the cart looked like it was three times Vanth's weight, easily.
Vanth walked over to the bed, pulling all of the sheets, pillow cases and the bed sheet, "You want some help, kid?"
"No, it's quite alright." Vanth insisted, quickly tossing on new sheets, smoothing them out, "After this I get to take the rest of the day off!"
"If you say so." Kuro shrugged, not being one to push. If she wanted to be independent then Kuro could respect that, "So…how's your day been?"
"Umm...N-nothing unusual." Vanth murmured, walking over to the window to clean it with a rag, "Woke up early to finish all of my work early."
"I don't like that word." Kuro shivered, "Early is the worst thing known to an apathetic."
Vanth nodded quietly, "It isn't t-the best, but it is life."
"Yeah." Kuro murmured, before curiosity took over, "Can I ask something?"
"Oh course." Vanth insisted, moving about the room to clean.
"How did you end up here?"
Vanth stopped what she was doing, as if shocked by the question, "Look, if you don't want to answer, it's cool-."
"N-n-no, it's o-okay." Vanth murmured, shaking a bit, "I'm t-told that it h-h-helps to speak o-out your p-problems."
Kuro watched as she seemed to go through a mini panic attack, before she shook her head, "I... I used to l-live in the Rift, w-w-with a few friends." Vanth took a deep breath, "We didn't have much, but it was me and four others. We were like a family."
"Sounds like a lot under one roof." Kuro inputted, trying to ease the tension, "Especially in the Rift."
"It was nice." Vanth murmured, "Before them, I was alone, and they helped me...they helped me so much…"
"...But it didn't last. One of them, the oldest. His name was...He was...we liked to treat him like the father figure." Vanth laughed softly to herself, "He made it his job to be able to do the most when it came to providing money."
"I know how and where that goes." Kuro said, knowing that Vanth wouldn't have to explain whatever this demon went through. It was simple for someone like her, but for Vanth to force herself to push it all out, it must have been a bit too much.
Vanth nodded, rubbing the back of her head, "He...He always was a follower of Avarice...He went too far." Vanth murmured, "He'd always take it one step farther, steal just this much more, swindle just these many more people...He went too far."
"He thought that a noble who just so happened to walk into Rift would be a great target." Vanth shuddered, looking Kuro dead in the eyes, "It's hard to steal from Satan's second in command."
"So, what happened?" Kuro pressed.
"He ran back to where we were, and we all got caught." Vanth murmured, eyes going wide, as if remembering something she really didn't want to, "One of us g-got out, but the rest of us got taken in for...you know…"
"Yeah." Kuro murmured, walking Vanth over to the bed, having her sit down, "No need to explain. Already know about how damn bloodthirsty these guys can be."
"He was taken away by some of the higher ups." Vanth murmured, "I haven't seen him since. A-a-and t-the o-other t-t-two...They...T-they…"
"So…What happened to you?" Kuro pushed past, rubbing the girl's shoulders as she began to shake, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"N-no," Vanth gasped, as if someone was choking the air out of the poor tiny girl, some of her hair falling out of place from how much she was shaking, "They decided to keep me around. I don't know h-how, and they n-never really explained why, b-but they did." Vanth sighed, "If I'm h-honest though, I wish I w-went with them, y-you know?"
Vanth's eyes went wide as she began to shiver, hands reaching around her head to hold the back of her neck, almost as if she were trying to cover it, "T-they did things to m-me...Terrible, t-terrible things..."
Kuro could only watch as Vanth went deeper and deeper down. Vanth seemed to be on the brink of a complete break down, the grip on her neck beginning to tighten, as if in order to ground herself.
"Well...Have you seen the other two around?" Kuro asked, hopeful. She knew she wasn't good at this comforting stuff, but hopefully giving her something else to focus on would help, maybe?
Vanth shook her head, sniffling, "If I'm lucky, she's somewhere out there, not knowing if any of us are still alive." Vanth forced out a laugh, the sound more like a dying cat then a laugh, "It's kinda funny, isn't it?"
"Stop that." Kuro muttered, whacking her in the back of her head, much to her surprise, "There's no need to act thought about it. There's also no need to laugh it off and pretend that you're okay with it either."
Vanth sniffled, trying her damn best not to cry, before looking up at Kuro, "But t-that's w-w-what you d-do."
"I only do it because that's just what works for me." Kuro shrugged, patting her back. She was total crap when it came to comfort, but she was decent when it came to making people laugh, "I've grown use to laughing at myself to feel better, good or bad. I treat life like a joke because, to me, that's what it is. This doesn't work for everyone, so don't bother trying to become me, okay?"
Vanth nodded, before looking back down at her hands, "I…I'm just...I'm sorry…"
Kuro scoffed, before dragging Vanth onto her shoulder, "Just let it out."
"H-huh?"
"You're about to cry." Kuro grinned, looking off, "Trembling lip? Watery eyes?" Kuro threw an arm over Vanth's side, "Go ahead, I won't judge."
She had expected Vanth to slowly give in, maybe a few tears here and there, but she'd stay strong and refuse to cry. So, it was a huge surprise when Vanth turned and bawled into Kuro's shoulder, snot and all.
Kuro couldn't help but be a bit confused, she had little to no clue as to help someone that was crying. What do you do when someone cries on you? Kuro hesitantly began to pat her back, "Umm, there there?" Kuro murmured, cringing when Vanth began to cry louder.
Well, she had said to let it out.
After what felt like hours, Vanth slowly began to calm down, "T-thank you." She murmured, forcing herself to stand up, "I needed that." Vanth smiled softly, rubbing the tears from her eyes.
"Ah, yeah, sure, no problem." Kuro grinned right back. Sure, she didn't know what in the hell she'd managed to do, but fake it till you make it, right?
Vanth jumped when another knock came to the door, "Hey, Vanth, I heard you were in here!"
The voice made Kuro cringe. It was like every angry lunch lady poured into that one voice, with a dash of angry Asian parent, and maybe a hint of that women's special time of the month.
In other words, Kuro did not like this person.
"Give me a moment." Kuro sighed, standing up, walking over to the door, pushing it open to reveal a rather surprised woman. Said demon was on the shorter side, to the point where even Kuro was taller, "Can I help you?"
"Princess Lilim!" The cried out, getting down on her knees, "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I was told that Vanth is in there?"
"She is." Kuro sighed. There were points where all the royal treatment got redundant, but there was always that one person that kissed ass a little too hard. She had to admit, sometimes it was a funny thing, "And why do you ask?"
"I'll need to speak with her outside." The women requested, not daring to look up to meet Kuro's eyes.
"I guess I can allow it." Kuro sighed, trying her best to act like the most basic of bitches, "I'll want to talk to her once you finish."
"Of course!" Kuro then motion for Vanth, who had just finished cleaning up, to come over, "She just wants a word with you."
Vanth nodded, walking out. The other lady politely closed the door, to which Kuro pressed her ear up against the door. She really didn't like this lady.
"So, you think that you can just go ahead and run up here to hide away, huh? Is that it?"
Now she fucking hated this lady.
"N-no, Ms. Sarai."
"So that means that we'll stop wasting time and go out to buy groceries, right?"
"B-but, it's n-n-not-."
"I don't remember asking for your opinion, Vanth." Kuro scowled at the tone she was using. What she'd give for her old sniper, or even that chain set that Zagan had gotten her.
So many different ways to deal with a bitch like that.
"Now, you'll head into the market so that we have decent food for tomorrow's dinner; there will be a party thrown for the Princess." The lady, Ms. Sarai, scoffed at the last word.
"Y-yes Ms. Sarai."
"Good. Now, off you go. The sooner you come back, the sooner I can have you cleaning the kitchen. All twenty of them."
"B-but that's not my job today, Eryn was supposed to-."
Kuro nearly threw the door down when she heard the smack of skin on skin. This bitch went ahead and slapped Vanth, "Stop wasting time and get to work."
"Yes, Ms. S-S-Sarai."
The moment those loud heels were outside earshot, Kuro pushed the door open. Vanth had fallen to her knees, holding her face.
With a sigh, Kuro helped Vanth up, "Who the fuck does she think she is!?" Kuro growled, ushering Vanth back in, "You holding up okay, kid?"
Kuro winced when Vanth moved her hand away, a long red mark going from the bottom of the left side of her nose all the way to the end of her chin, "Shit, bitch should learn to cut her nails." Kuro murmured, walking to grab a cloth from her little desk, before going into the bathroom to wet it, "Same with her temper."
"She's forced to d-do a lot." Vanth sighed, eyes drooping. Kuro really wanted to find out who and where that lady was, having forced Vanth through that right after her crying fest, "S-she runs a lot o-of the labor here. She's in t-the same boat as us, s-she just has a l-lot more pressure on her."
"That wouldn't stop me from fucking her up." Kuro growled, cleaning up the mess that the bitch left on Vanth's face, "God, might go ahead and use her for live target practice."
"P-please don't, that's r-really gruesome." Vanth murmured.
"No promises." Kuro grinned meticulously, "I don't care much for two faced bitches."
The two waited in silence, before Kuro finally pulled away, "It's not too deep, so it should be fine."
"Good." Vanth sighed, getting up, "I n-need to go o-out now."
She then pulled a list from her dress pocket, unravelling it. Kuro's jaw nearly dropped when it bounced down to the floor, still not stopping for a few feet until Vanth sighed, "I think t-that s-she wants t-to kill me. You c-can only find half of this s-stuff from R-rift."
"And you're expected to go?" Kuro mumbled, looking over her shoulder at the list, before making a face. She seriously doubted that they needed that much Cyanide for dinner tomorrow.
Kuro shook her head, before walking out, grabbing Vanth's wrist, "Come on." She mumbled, walking out of the room, not bothering to close the door.
"W-where are we going?" Vanth asked, as Kuro lead her down the stairs behind her.
"Well, I'm not gonna just let you walk around Rift alone." Kuro murmured, hoping and praying to whatever unholy things out there that she was going the right way. Even if Corvus had given her a tour, all of the directions seemed to blend together in her head. It wasn't easy to be present when your mind looked like this half the time:
"Hey, Kuro."
"Yeah, Kuro?"
"Where is the yarn ball, Kuro?"
"Fuck, I don't know, Kuro! Why don't you go ahead and ask Kuro?"
"I just asked Kuro and Kuro said that you had it, Kuro!"
"Well why are you listening to Kuro, Kuro? Well, all know that Kuro is filled with shit!"
"Hey, don't say that about Kuro!"
"No one asked, Kuro!"
"Hey, wait, Kuro."
"Yeah? What do you need, Kuro?"
"Does anyone have any idea where we are and what we're doing?"
"...Oh shit, Kuro…"
"Kuro?"
"I don't know where the damn yarn ball is!" Kuro grumbled, much to Vanth's confusion, before finally coming to a stop, "Here it is!"
Kuro pushed the doors open, a very tiny and scared Vanth right behind her, "Yo, Crow crapper, you in here?"
The library looked to be a large maze of bookshelves, some of them so high up that they needed those fancy stairs of wheels to grab the books from the very top.
In the middle of the stupid maze, a large dark mahogany table was set, a lamp sitting in the very middle, making the room just light enough to read and yet just dark enough to be ominous.
Corvus sat there with two other people, both of which glaring at Kuro, who couldn't care less. Corvus, who sat with his back towards them, looked up, a surprised look on his face, "Yes? Do you need something, Kitten?"
"Can I go out with Vanth?" Kuro asked, slowly walking up behind him. Just this once, she was willing to go ahead and ignore the pet name. If it meant that she could go outside, she could do this much.
"…Your personal maid?" Corvus sighed, standing up. Kuro couldn't help but think that the set of reading glasses he had on looked pretty damn good on him, "If you'd like. I will have some of the guard-."
"Actually, could you not?" Kuro asked, a bit sheepish. She was sure she'd be able to go and get out, but so wondered how far she could push him. At the same time, she didn't want to step over that line.
Sighing, Corvus held his forehead, shaking his head, "...It is common protocol to have someone of royalty to be kept under watch at all times."
"Technically, I'm not 'of royalty' till we're married and all the bullshit." Kuro shot back, "Come on, please?"
Corvus gave her an emotionless look, too which she could feel Vanth shuddering behind her, before Corvus sighed, "I am willing to let you go out, but you must first do something for me."
"...What do you want?" Kuro asked, curious.
While the way that he smiled was unnerving, she couldn't help but think that he looked decently good with those glasses-ack, no, no thinking like that. It was the atmosphere, yeah, definitely the atmosphere.
"You can go out if you'll give me a kiss." Corvus said, his smirk widening ever so slightly.
Kuro made a face, "...Do I have to?"
"How badly do you want to go out?"
While Kuro wanted nothing to do with the arrogant Crow, she wasted no time to stand on her tippy toes, planting a quick kiss on his cheek, before dashing out of the room, "I'm not talking to you for the rest of the day!" Was all she shouted before dashing out of the library, shutting the doors behind her.
Kuro groaned, holding her face, "The things I'm willing to do for you."
Vanth shook, her knees looking like they're about to give out, "I'm s-so s-s-sorry, it's m-my f-f-fault-."
"Don't worry." Kuro shrugged, shaking her head, "I said it once, I'll say it again. I'm not gonna let you walk around Rift alone; especially when the guard looks like they're trying to take control."
Vanth looked like she was about to speak, only to stop, the sound of loud metal steps slowly getting closer. Vanth peeked out from behind Kuro, only to hide back behind her.
Kuro turned to face the guy, only to grin at the familiar armor, "Hey, my dude Marax! What be good?"
"Princess Lilim." Was all he said, getting down on one knee.
Kuro scoffed, a grin still on her face, "Come on, I know I've asked for just Kuro."
"My apologies, Princess Kuro."
"Oh, my Satan." Kuro groaned, "No Princess, No Mistress, no title! Just Kuro, it's not that difficult."
"My apologies." Marax murmured, getting off of his knee, "But, I do have something for you."
Kuro watched as he pulled a piece of paper, a letter, from some sort of metal pocket, maybe? She didn't know, nor did she want to dwell on it too much.
"Please don't be some sort of fan mail." Kuro groaned, holding the letter, before looking up at Marax, "Who is it from?"
"Broker."
To that, Kuro's eyes widened, as she looked over the letter, "Did he say anything else?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
While the way he said it sounded a bit harsh, she also knew better then to look into it, "Thank you."
Marax gave her a small nod, before leaning over, "Oh, good evening to you, Vanth."
"H-h-hello Mr. M-Marax." Vanth whispered, holding on tightly to Kuro's sleeve.
Marax gave one last small bow, before walking on.
Once he was gone, Vanth sighed, looking over the letter Kuro held, "W-what is that for?"
"I'm about to find out." Kuro murmured, shaking her head, "I can't believe that we're still using these code names."
Kuro opened the letter, making sure that no one was around, before reading it over. Just from scanning it, she could tell it was Vale. Only he had a sort of fetish for curvy words, as if his hand was trying to dance ballet on the damn paper.
The situation is becoming dire. We are under a code Storm. We request your arrival at base.
"Fucking shit." Kuro grumbled, walking down the grand staircase, "I leave for less than a week, and already shit is beginning to fall apart."
"W-what's going o-on?" Vanth asked, following Kuro out the large entrance of the palace.
"We're gonna do your run for food and cyanide and crap," Kuro mumbled, pushing past the gates, hands in her pockets, a dead look in her eye, "But I have to drop by a place real quick.