Hi hi!
Assuming this chapter makes it out in time, Merry Christmas!
Assuming it didn't, really can't tell when what is going to come out at this point, Merry Christmas!
Nothing quite like that last minute Christmas panic to really get you going, am I right? I mean, jeez, don't lie, you've all had that one person you forgot about on Christmas Eve, so you have to go around in your panic to try and get SOMETHING to send out.
But hey, enough of that, let's move it on!
ONWARDS!
Of all the places he knew he'd go in his lifetime, Aranea never assumed himself to end up here.
No royal demon would ever be caught dead in the territory of Asmodeus, unless for some sort of important transaction, but here he was anyway.
He tugged the black shawl he wore closer around him, ignoring the sounds that seemed to be closing in on him almost. If that newly-reformed shell of a succubus was right, he wasn't too far from his goal.
Asmodeus' domain, often called Erostey, was a bit more obscure than he'd first imagined. Of course, he'd never stepped foot into this part of the kingdom, never really having a reason or want to do so, but standing here, now, he had expected it to be more flamboyant, like the sin himself.
The buildings looked almost dull, which only helped him more so when it came to finding the right place.
It stood tall and proud in the middle of the town, with colors of dark purple and velvet red running up and down the sides.
Aranea looked around, before entering, making sure that no one was trying to follow him, before closing the door behind him.
Looking about the room, it was barren and rather bleak, nothing but the dark purple wallpaper and a staircase going up in the far back right corner. In the back of the room was a sort of stand, a receptionist desk he thought.
He looked around a bit, slowly growing more and more uncomfortable with each passing second. He didn't like this place, not one bit in the slightest, but he was there for a reason. He wouldn't dare to leave without what he had came all this way for.
Finally, someone walked down the steps. The demon had plum-colored hair and red eyes, Judging by the clothing, this one seemed to be a servant, "Hello, are you here for an appointment?"
"No, I'm here looking for the lady of the sword." Aranea muttered, looking around.
This caused the demon to give him a look, eyes narrowing at the black shawl, "...If you do not have an appointment, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Are you now?" Aranea scowled, pulling the shawl down, "I asked to see her, and I will not leave until I am able to."
Normally, his face and name was enough to get him anything. But right now, he could see it, this demon was not amused in the slightest, "...If you do not leave-."
"Let him through, he may be of some amusement."
Aranea followed the voice, attempting to look up the stairwell, only to see nothing hiding up there.
The servant sighed, before going back up the stairs, "This way please, your highness."
Aranea didn't comment, following the servant up the stairs, but he wasn't dense to the point where he could hear his own title being spat out with disgust.
He wondered what kind of succubus this demon would turn out to be, but even his speculation wasn't forced to wait for too long.
At the top of the stairs was extravagant in the most simplest ways.
For starters, the carpet was red, the shade matching the hue that the couch and footrest had.
Behind the couch, two other servants, looking fairly very similar to the one who had escorted him, stood at attention, tending to the succubus lying out on the couch, "I take it that you are the demon sword's latest sheathe?"
"You may call me that, yes." the succubus went on, the newly returning servant going to rub and massage her legs, "Some like to call me by my full title; Gloria de Regina, Asmodeus' queen. You may call me Gloria."
Her eyes were a dark reddish purple, almost akin to Corvus'. She wore a dark purple corset-like top that showed off just a bit too much, with almost spider-like pieces of...some sort of cloth jutting out from the hips. Her lavender hair was so long that it easily draped itself over the back of the couch.
"He may be a prince, but he shows no respect." One of the servants said, as he brushed the succubi's hair.
"To think that he doesn't have enough common sense to get down on his knees to show his reverence." The other said, looking like he was filing her nails.
"Some son of royalty he turned out to be." The last spoke up.
"Boys, be silent." Gloria chided, before turning her attention back to Aranea, "Now, what is it that you want of me, Prince of Spiders?"
"I've come for the sword." Aranea said, cutting right down to the chase, "If my sources are correct, you are it's sheathe."
"You wish to strike down a demon." Gloria sighed, before waving her hand. All three of her servants dropped what they were doing, before leaving through a door off to the right, closing it behind them, "What makes you think I'd be willing to go with you?"
Aranea was about to go on about how he didn't need her, only the sword, before stopping. She smirked, she knew what he was thinking, "The sword will slowly deteriorate without the sheathe, so, how long do you plan to use my time?"
"I'll need you around during a wedding."
"Oh, you plan to massacre family and friends at a lovely union of two lovers?" Gloria said with a smirk, "I always knew that you royals were cutthroat, but this is a whole new low for a mad grab of power."
"Believe me when I say that this union is anything but lovely." Aranea scowled, pushing his glasses up, "I need you to be there at my brother's wedding, it'll be three days time; I need that sword."
Gloria's eyebrow rose, "By brother, I don't suppose that you speak of Corvus, do you?"
Aranea's silence did more than answer, causing her to laugh, "Well, you royals truly will do anything for power, won't you?"
"Power is not what I have in mind." Aranea scowled, as the succubus rose, circling him almost like a vulture.
"So, what do you do it for?" Gloria murmured, almost more so to herself than him, "Fame? No, that would tie in with power, as would wealth…"
She finally stopped off to his right, before laughing, her hand covering her mouth, "You do it for love, don't you?"
Aranea forced himself to stay cold and rigid, "That does not concern you."
"Maybe it's love, or a deep hatred for your brother...No, it must be a mix of both." Gloria mused, before placing both hands on his shoulders.
Aranea shuddered, her being this close made the air around him feel as if it were freezing, forcing her hands off of him, "I asked you a question; will you be there?"
"Of course; a union such as this one would surely allow for my husband and I to attain some sort of guest invitation," Gloria clarified, "But what will you offer me in return for the sword's usage?"
Aranea scoffed at her tone, that fake innocent wonder within her voice was false, and he knew it, "What is it that you want from me?"
"...How about we leave it to a favor?" Gloria murmured, "Some day, either sooner or later, I'll have a request for you that you won't be able to turn down."
Aranea shook his head, the deal seemed too good to be true, "Why would you let me off so easily? What do you have to gain?"
To that, the succubus laughed, shaking her head as she went back to sit on her couch, "You see, young prince; as of late, I've grown quite bored. Yes, I've seen a lot in this life, and I know that I am nowhere near my end."
"But, with that said, I hope that you'll be able to offer me some...Amusement in my rather boring life, eh?"
At any other time, Kuro would have hated where she was at the very moment.
She was stuck standing in the middle of the room, wearing just enough to keep decent, as the maids rushed about.
The head one, Ms. Sarai, kept to the back of the room, shouting orders to the other three. None of the words got to Kuro though, she could see her mouth moving, but she only heard muffled speech here and there.
She had no idea how long she was kept there, standing still, until the other three maids finally backed up, looking pleased with their work, "What do you think, my lady?" One of them asked, the other two hauling a long mirror into place.
The dress was beautiful, more extravagant than anything Kuro ever had enough money for. The corset was lined and designed with white gemstones and pearls, the skirt just almost touching the ground, lined with what almost looked like liquid gold. There were no sleeves, just a bracelet one both wrists to connect three strands of fabric each to the back.
The person in the reflection wasn't Kuro. No, it was some foreign rich demoness, someone who had never known a real hard day's work. She looked too pure, especially with the white gown, too dainty to be her.
"I...I look perfect." Kuro said with a dejected sigh, unable to look at herself any longer.
She could almost hear Abraxas, making fun of her for being all dressed up like some doll. She could see Zagan making comments about how she was, in fact, a girl, all while Vale would shout at all of them to be quiet so that he could work, before going back to talk to Shax about some important issue or another.
She almost had to blink the tears away, hd she not run out of them a long time ago.
Finally, the maids took the dress off, happy with their work, as they all went outside. they chatted about the wedding, wondering if they'd be able to attend and what kind of demons would be there.
Once the three were gone, Ms. Sarai tossed her back a simple washed-out white gown, giving her a look as she put it on, "...Have a good night, Lady Kuro." She finally said, her tone making it sounds more like "good riddance", but Kuro couldn't care less as the maid left, closing the door behind her.
Once she was gone, Kuro dove for the bed, pulling the sheets off to reveal the book and glasses. She gingerly opened the book, as if afraid that it could crumble to dust the moment she made contact, before reading some parts of it over.
Kuro was no mage, she knew that much, but just reading Shax's handwriting heled to calm her down, imagine how hell was when everything made sense.
Her other hand was fiddling with the glasses, those stupid yellow-tinted glasses. She use to threaten to put them on, to see how Abraxas liked to see the world, but now that he was gone, she couldn't bring herself to tarnish such a memory.
She jumped when a knock came to the door, "Come in." She called, wincing at how dry her voice sounded, as she moved to hide the items.
The door was pushed open, revealing Corvus on the other side. He held a vase of flowers in one hand, the other holding what looked to be a bag, "...Kuro."
Kuro couldn't speak, only nodding as he walked in, closing the door behind him, "I brought you some flowers from the garden," He murmured, setting them on the vanity, before opening the bag, pulling out a loaf of bread to hold out to her, "Here, you must be hungry."
Kuro only shook her head, not meeting his eyes. Corvus sighed, putting that on the vanity as well, before sitting next to her, "...I take it that the maids have finished your dress fitting already?"
Kuro nodded.
"...Than I can assume that you know what will be happening very soon?"
Another nod.
Corvus sighed, looking Kuro over, "...Kitten...I know I've said it before, and I know that it doesn't mean much, but I'm so-."
He was cut off when Kuro threw her arms around him, burying her face into his chest. Corvus was taken aback, nearly falling off of the bed had he not held her back.
Kuro didn't know what to say or what to think, but right now, she just needed some comfort, "...Can we stay like this, just for a bit?"
Corvus sighed, looking out the window as he held her tighter, "For as long as you want, Kitten."
And so they stayed there, well, Corvus stayed there. Even long after Kuro had fallen asleep on him, he was still holding her close, as if she'd slip out of his grasp.
He planned to do this, even after they were properly married, for as long as he could and as long as she liked.
This is what he was willing to hold out for.
This was what he was willing to fight his brother for.
And he'd be damned if he lost after sacrificing so much.
Well, I've got nothing else to really say.
I know that this chapter is short, but it's all really just build up for the next chapter, which I might have to divide into two parts if it ends up being too long.
But hey, we're all ready to go here, Corvus and Kuro have...Something, I guess? I don't know, either way, I'll take it at this point. It's not exactly what I was going for, but hey, it's progress! If I have my chapters counted out correctly this time, we've got two more of these left and we're clear! Now, if only I could write these consistently instead of popping on every now and then...
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed, we're finally at the final push, and I'll cya next chappie!
Till then, bai bad!