The woes of a demon king

Chapter 15 Meeting

Jaune stood arms crossed over his chest as he slowly tapped his foot looking down to all the princesses before him. And Yang. The girls all sat in chairs provided by the maids, as Cinder sat in her throne looking over each and every girl. They had been sat like this for the last 10 minutes in a stark silence that was filled with nothing but awkward looks from Ruby, questioning stares from Blake and polite, but obviously annoyed glances from Weiss. Yang had simply taken to copying Jaune to stave her boredom which he couldn't blame her for doing. Jaune could tell that the girls were very confused by the turn of events as they looked over Cinder in turn while behind her throne Liz lay on her back happily throwing a ball into the air catching it and repeating the process.

"So, you three girls are the princesses and a guard." Cinder didn't look at Yang when she said this, simply dismissing her with a wave of the hand. "Please leave, the princesses are the ones I want to talk to."

Yang scowled as Cinder just crossed her arms over her chest. "Sorry, but you can't order me around as you see fit." Jaune just sighed when Cinder's eyes flared. He reached up and clapped her on the shoulder stopping her from doing anything.

"Don't worry Yang, you can stay." Yang seemed happy as Cinder shot Jaune a glare but shook her head and turned back to the girls before her.

"Fine then, why don't you introduce everyone." Cinder waved Jaune to introduce all the girls. He just let out a deep breath and stepped forward.

"Ok, well like I said this is Yang." Jaune waved a hand at the blonde who just smiled happy to be introduced first. "She is the royal guard for Princess Ruby Rose from Patch island in the Vale territory, she is the one in red." Ruby waved nervously at Cinder who just raised a brow at her questionably. Ruby shrank under the stare and slowly brought her hand back to her lap. Jaune wanted to cheer Ruby up but felt he would do that later after finishing the introductions. "Next we have princess Weiss Schnee and Princess Blake Belladonna. Weiss is from Atlas which you could tell from her namesake, and Blake is from Menagerie."

Weiss stood and gave a polite curtsy. Cinder nodded in a satisfactory manner before turning to Blake who simply nodded her head politely. Cinder seemed curious but didn't seem displeased with the action. She gave the three princesses a once over again before humming in thought.

"I must say none of you seem to look the part, save for Princess Schnee." Ruby flinched when Cinder shot her a glance when she spoke while Weiss seemed a little pleased for being acknowledged but gave an apologetic look to Ruby. Blake didn't seem to care about what Cinder said simply rolling her eyes at the remark. Yang though didn't seem pleased with Cinder dismissing her baby sister so easily. Jaune quickly stepped in to keep sparks from flying. And maybe a few fireballs.

"Well I am sorry you are displeased with their introductions but seeing as your visit was so unexpected they didn't have the time to properly prepare." Cinder looked to Jaune as he walked up behind Ruby resting his hands on her shoulders. "Believe me when I say Ruby certainly can look her namesake."

Jaune smiled at the surprised look that spread across Cinders face. However, he missed the blush that had made its way across Ruby's cheeks as she lowered her head slowly twiddling her thumbs together nervously. Jaune moved from Ruby and walked over to Blake who just raised a brow questionably making him rethink clapping her on the shoulder. He turned holding an arm out to Blake presenting her to Cinder.

"And then there is Blake, she is Faunus so I quiet enjoy her more natural appearance. The image of a wild kind of beauty. I think they all look like proper princesses. So, please do hold off on the insults, after all they are my guests." Blake gave Jaune a surprised look before her lips curled ever so slightly into a smile. Cinder on the other hand didn't really react before a small mischievous smile formed on her face.

"Well then, while you may not have been the one to kidnap the princesses Jaune it seems you have become rather attached to them. I truly am worried you might decide to take one of them as your bride over me." Jaune was taken by surprise before scowling at Cinder as he put his hands on his hips.

"Simply complimenting someone doesn't mean I have romantic interests." Cinder chuckled at this seeing Ruby wilt slightly at Jaune's words while Blake just gave him a small questioning glance.

"Please Jaune, if you can speak so openly about how you view a person then there is some sort of feeling you have towards them." Jaune turned away from Cinder chiding himself internally. 'Damn she got me there.' He just rubbed the back of his head as Ruby looked at him closely from behind. He needed to think of an out for this situation seeing as if things went on it could backfire on him. He really can't handle Cinder very well. Really though he would first have to deal with the girls so they don't say anything that might give Cinder a sort of leverage on him. How? He didn't know but he knew if the girls said one wrong thing he was going to regret it. He cleared his throat before waving a hand to Cinder.

"As true as they may be, we are getting off topic. You wanted to meet the princesses and you have, I think we should take a break for now and prepare for lunch before we continue on with this little meeting." Jaune waved his hands out looking to the girls getting nods from them while behind Cinder, Liz shot up to her feet cheering about food just as the ball she was playing with fell down hitting her on the head. The girls seemed perfectly fine with this but Cinder looked like she wanted to argue but didn't.

"Fine then, we can speak more over a meal. I certainly would like to hear more about these young lady's thoughts on your hospitality." Cinder stood and ushered Liz out of the throne room with a maid to prepare for lunch. Jaune just stood with the princesses before letting out a relieved sigh. That was until he shot all the girls a glare making them flinch.

"So, which one of you is going to explain to me why you were eavesdropping on my conversation with Cinder, and why you all left your rooms when I told you not to?" All the girls turned away from Jaune with a wince as they tried to think of an explanation for their actions. Yang seemed to be the one to break the ice though as she stepped forward.

"Right well before any of us explain ourselves let me apologize for what we did." Jaune nodded and accepted the apology while all the other girls went along with Yang apologizing as well. "OK, now that we finished that let me say that Ruby and I had no intention of eavesdropping on your conversation, it's just when that dragon showed up we kind of wanted to see what was going on." Yang shrugged with a small apologetic smile. "I mean this only really counts for one of us but you know what they say, curiosity killed the cat."

Blake dug her elbow into Yang's side at the stupid remark making her wince. Jaune rolled his eyes at Yang's stupid joke before rubbing a hand over his face. "Right so can I assume curiosity is the reason you all showed up or is there another reason?" Jaune looked to Blake and Weiss for their answers only for Blake to glare at him obviously thinking he was making the same cat joke as Yang. He quickly told her that wasn't the case. She glared just a little longer before huffing and crossing her arms.

"I had actually been on my way to the library when Yang dragged me to the garden." Yang look hurt at Blake's words before saying that Blake had chosen to follow her when she told her he was in the garden. Blake dug her elbow into Yang again. Jaune just shook his head at the girls before turning to Weiss.

"And your reason?" Weiss just patted her dress down before turning away and waving to the hallway.

"It would be better if we spoke in private." Jaune raised a brow but agreed and waved all the girls off. Ruby looked like she wanted to stay but Yang pulled her away as Jaune followed Weiss out into the hall. When they were, alone Weiss let out a tired sigh. "Right well I guess I should just simply say this straight." Jaune was surprised by Weiss' change in demeanor. "I am sorry to say but it seems my sister Winter might be coming here in hopes of killing you!"

Weiss blurted out making Jaune's eyes widen in shock. Weiss took a deep breath calming herself before looking up to Jaune whose eyes were the size of dinner plates. Weiss waited a few seconds till Jaune finally blinked before slowly bringing his hands to his face and groaned in frustration.

"Please tell you're kidding?" Jaune looked through his fingers at Weiss only for her to shake her head. He threw his head back groaning even louder. "Fuck!" He began to pace back and forth cursing over and over about how he couldn't understand how this turn of events came about. He turned to Weiss holding his hands up and trying to speak but couldn't before turning and looking up into the sky. "Are all the fucking gods in both of our worlds just trying to ruin my life?!"

Weiss winced at his words before clearing her throat. "Well this may actually be my fault." Jaune stopped his pacing and slowly turned to Weiss slowly for her and waved his hand for her to go on. "You see last week, after you dealt with Neptune and Sun, I used that note you gave me to contact my sister and told her how Sun and Neptune failed. I might have been a little smug with the way I wrote to her." Jaune took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh, by the gods. What did you say?" Jaune put a hand on his hip and waited for her answer. She just turned away shyly.

"I told her how Neptune failed and just how foolish it was for him to ever come here. And in my anger at the idea of Winder not having enough faith in me to make my own decisions I told her that all she was doing was acting like our father." Jaune didn't like the way that sounds and the horrified face Weiss had didn't make him feel any better. "I'm sure you can tell I don't really like my father but neither does my sister so I'm sure I hurt her feelings when I said that. She didn't get back in contact with me after the message last week till today and she happened to forgive me..."

Jaune could tell just what she was about to say. "She forgave you but only because she thinks I brainwashed you?" Weiss nodded solemnly at his words as he let out a small groan that turned into a sad whimper. "Why does every human in existence think of me as such a monster?" Jaune really hated his life at the moment. He really did. While dealing with Cinder was new and difficult for him, it was easy because he knew how demons acted. But when it came to humans he was still not very good at dealing with them seeing as they had different social norms compared to demons. Right now, though he just hoped things didn't escalate to an even worse situation.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Winter sat behind her desk in her office rereading the note she received from Weiss. She had a deep grimace on her face before crumpling the note and quickly smoothing out the wrinkles in a panic. She lets out a sigh of relief when the paper smooths out and glows before looking like new. She could only assume it had something to do with the magic involved in the creation of paper and how it can be used for communication. She grimaced when the note returned to what it had said originally. She hated what was written on the note but she could only hope that it was all the demon king's fault. 'It had to be the demon king. Weiss would never be so cruel, no matter how upset she was.' A knock on the door to her office pulled her from her thoughts. She quickly folded the note and hid It under some paperwork before her.

"Come in." She called as the door slowly opened to reveal a young man dressed in a white and grey uniform with the Atlas military symbol on his shoulder.

"Specialist Schnee, it would seem your father has arrived." Winter quickly bit back a curse before waving a hand at the young man.

"Tell him I am busy Private. If he asks for my sister tell him that she is still refusing to speak with him till he rethinks the arranged marriage. Just like you have told him every other time he come's by." The young man looked like he wanted to argue before nodding. Winter leaned back in her seat letting out a tired sigh rubbing a hand over her face in frustration. The past few months have been difficult to deal with, especially with her father, seeing as she had to lie to him about what happened to Weiss. She had told him Weiss had chosen to stay with her in protest to her marriage. Her father wasn't happy when he heard that and exploded in rage. He had screamed for several hours before threatening to call General Ironwood. Winter had stopped him before he could and told her that Weiss would need time. Really, she didn't like trying to make her father feel better, but she didn't need him to learn about the truth so she had to.

Still she did tell General Ironwood to lie to her father for her just in case he came by. The General didn't understand at first but he said he would do her this favor out of the respect he had for her and the enjoyment of pissing her father off. She was lucky to have such a good commanding officer. A knock on her door pulled her from her thoughts again. She groaned in frustration as she got to her feet and stomped on over to the door and swung it open. "I already told you what to say Private!" Winter shouted only to stop in her tracks when she saw a young tan girl flinching in shock before her. The girl was short dressed in a short sleeved white shirt with a blue skirt and thigh high leggings. On her arms were long gloves that reached all the way up to just above her elbows and were fingerless. The girl had short navy blue hair with a blue beret.

"F-forgive me ma-am is this a bad time. We can come back later if you wish." Winter cursed herself for forgetting the meeting she had set with the young girl before her.

"No Corporal Ciel, I apologize, I was just lost in a train of thought and let my emotions get the better of me. Please come in." Winter stepped back waving a hand into the room looking right behind the Corporal to see a young girl around the same age as her with short curly orange hair that came to her chin with a pink bow in the back. The girl had bright green eyes with light skin and freckles. One thing that stood out about the girl was her clothing as she had an older fashioned blouse with overalls that came into a skirt with black and green stockings. What was strange about this was the green like energy that flowed through the skirt and stockings. The green energy looked like that of mana in liquid form flowing through her clothing. Winter watched as the Corporal and the young girl with her entered. "Corporal Ciel, who is this with you?" Ciel paused before her turning to look at the girl before turning to Winter.

"This ma-am is Penny Polendina, she is my charge by General Ironwood's order." Winter was surprised by this turning to Penny who gave her a small bright smile.

"Greetings Ms. Schnee I hope we can get along." Winter was surprised by the young girl as she held her hand out for her to shake. Winter took it politely before wincing at the strength in the girl's grip. Penny quickly let go when she saw the grimace on her face. "Oh, I'm sorry I am still learning how to control my strength."

Penny said sheepishly as Winter rubbed her hand waving off the apology. "No, it is fine you needn't apologize." Winter turned to Ciel who just stood at attention. "Ciel could you share with me why this young girl is under your care." Ciel looked surprised but nodded.

"Yes ma-am, Penny here is actually a homunculus." Winter's eyes widened in shock as she turned to Penny who smiled at her waving a hand lightly. Winter waved back before looking to Ciel to go on. "You see ma-am Penny was only just 'born' recently. The General asked me to help her get used to things and watch her as she trains. From what I have seen she is a combat type homunculus specialized as a Spellsword. She is very powerful from what I have seen."

Winter was shocked by this information. While it was no surprise that Atlas was making homunculi the idea of seeing one and not being able to tell it apart from a human was shocking. Most if not all homunculi made in Atlas were like dolls with artificial body parts to replace limbs that didn't grow properly. But Penny didn't have any as she looked like a completed homunculus, almost like the homunculi made by the demons back during the Millennia of Darkness. Winter looked to Penny who just smiled. She looked back to Ciel with a contemplative stare. "Ciel, just how powerful is she?"

This surprised Ciel and took a moment to think before answering. "Well so far she has yet to fight anyone she can use her true powers against. From what I know she has a holy relic fused into her which is why she so strong. And from what the General has said, she might be strong enough to even kill the demon king."

Winters eyes widened in shock. 'Strong enough to kill the demon king. If that is true then maybe she can help me save Weiss.' Winter quickly shook her head dispelling the thoughts only for them to come right back. She couldn't possibly think of stealing one of Atlas' homunculi for her own personal mission, let alone a newly born one that probably has only been alive for a few weeks. Still the idea was there and with the information of how strong Penny was made her want to use her help to save Weiss. She cursed herself for what she was about to do. 'Please forgive me General.' Winter stood before Ciel and Penny taking a deep breath.

"I'm sorry but I'm about to ask something extremely selfish of you two."

End

An/ well I am back and you happy little reader people are probably pissed as shirt about me taking my sweet little fucking time to finally update. Well I am sorry but shit and piss all over my name as you like but I am back. Also sorry. I am a human I think I have the right to being a little selfish and be lazy. But yeah I am back you happy reader people.

So do leave a review on what you think of the chapter so far and how you like it.

Also follow and fav if that is your thing.