Chapter 6: Possessions

It had been a century since Dracula's most recent appearance. This time, Thanatos had some additional news for the demons.

"After speaking with Lord Dracula, it has become apparent that he does not intend to abandon his war. Until the humans have been fully punished, the conflicts will continue. It is also our agreement that, in all future offensives, I will be assisting him directly on the front line.

"This means that there will be periods of time where I will not be fulfilling my leadership duties here. In light of this, I am considering establishing a hierarchy so that the underworld will not fall into disarray in my absence.

"My official decision will be made shortly. Continue as you were." With this, he left.

There had almost been a hierarchy before. At the very least, there were demons that everyone held in higher regard than others, and they would often defer to them. If nothing else, Thanatos's decision would make it official.

After Thanatos's departure, Galamoth slowly stood up and headed in the direction of the forge. He knew what would happen next. More quotas. More work. It was almost becoming rote by now. He knew that he was good at it, but...

He had just heard someone say his name. Curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to take a roundabout route and find out who was talking about him.

It was not a hard conversation to follow. A number of imps were squeaking to each other about the upcoming hierarchy plan.

"Are you sure? Galamoth?"

"He's strong. He's respectable. You could do much worse."

"But a lord? I always thought of him as a follower. It's not like he's ever tried to push us around."

A slightly wary voice. "That's a bad mental image."

"What's that?"

"Look at him, walking over there." Galamoth was smart enough to not make eye contact with the group. "Could you imagine him wielding that kind of power? What if he tried to usurp the leadership? Could anyone stop him?"

"You don't think Death can?"

"Well, not if he's off at war."

"Everyone else could always gang up on him. Remember the fleaman?"

"I don't think I know that one."

"Well, it was a while back."

"That takes me back. It's hard to believe he's the same guy now."

The hesitant one spoke again. "Death was there. He saw it firsthand. I'm saying, there's no way he'll risk it happening again."

"Maybe. We'll have to see."

"If you're right, it's a shame. Everyone really seems to like him."

"Don't dismiss him yet. He might put him in a lower position. A confidant to a lord, or something like that."

"You'd think. You'd also think he'd get a clue and order him to duty already."

"No kidding. He looks like he could win the war by himself."

"Hey, don't get carried away. Dracula lost, too."

"Oh, yeah."

And the conversation trailed off to other potential lords in the room.

Galamoth had been thinking about whether or not he was lord material, admittedly. All of the demons were like that today. But he hadn't really considered the pros and cons of it, and those arguments were not particularly reassuring.

The lower rank idea sounded appealing. He had often tried to help the demons, directly and indirectly, and they liked him for it. Maybe he could make a name for himself helping another lord. Given the right kind, he could certainly accomplish something. He didn't think he was the type to take charge, anyway.

And suddenly, there was the thought that he had been dreading. If you aren't the kind to take charge, why did you ever come here? You can't lead an army across the void of space, brainwash a population and make an effort to seize a planet for your own, and then tell people that you aren't capable of ruling over them!

He could still hear the imp's voice in his head. Could you imagine him wielding that kind of power? What if he tried to usurp the leadership? Could anyone stop him?

Someone already had. And now it felt like everyone was trying to convince him that he should have never tried. Including himself.

What had this place done to him? And was it for the better or for the worse?

Before he could think of an answer to his question, he suddenly thought about something he had noticed during Thanatos's speech.

Galamoth prepares a new blank sheet of paper.

The next day's events and their consequences had been completely unexpected. Could he have prevented it? Probably. Would he do it differently if he had the chance? He doesn't know. There is something to be said for trying new things, and nothing had actually caused him any long-term problems. In several ways, it may have even helped.

He starts writing again.

I wanted a straightforward answer this time, so I visited one of the succubi and asked her directly.

"Why do you wear clothing?"

In retrospect, he thinks, maybe he could have predicted the outcome.

The succubus looked at him with a sly smile on her lips. "I can certainly remove it if you want me to."

Galamoth didn't react. "I am not propositioning you. I just want to know why demons like you do so if you..."

She frowned after the first sentence, but the smile returned in time for her interruption. "So you don't want me to figure out what's wrong with you?"

"What do you mean, wrong with me?"

"Some of the others were talking about it. They said you're completely... unattainable. It's too bad." She pressed her hand against his leg. "A fine specimen like you..."

Galamoth glared at her. "If you will not answer my question, I have no business with you."

Her smile didn't waver. "We wouldn't want that. Here, I'll make you an offer. You let me give you a try and I'll answer all the questions you want."

He looked at her suspiciously. "I seek good answers. If you are going to be distracted..."

She interrupted in a more matter-of-fact voice. "You asked why I wear clothing. From the context, I assume you are referring to us succubi in general. The truth is that it makes us more alluring to mortals."

As he stared at what she might have called an outburst, she slipped back into her softer tone. "That wasn't enough detail for you. I can tell. You may keep asking questions if you like. Oh, and sit down, if you would."

After a moment's worth of hesitation, he did so. She slowly approached him. "And yet you don't cover everything", he said.

She ran her hands over his lower leg a few times, then lifted one of her own legs in order to straddle it. "That's right. Covering everything would be missing the point." She laid her hands on his knee, which he lifted, pressing his foot against the floor.

"I still don't see why you prefer that to nudity."

With surprising strength in her upper arms, she pushed against his knee and brought her body into a handstand over his knee. She continued to turn forward until she landed, straddling his upper leg.

"It's a simple concept", she said. "By wearing clothing, I bring more attention to the parts of my body that are not covered." She punctuated this by pressing her hands against the sides of her fully-exposed breasts. They bounced slightly.

Galamoth nodded, but gave no indication if he liked what he saw. "So this works better than pure nudity, then?"

"You have to understand human mentality", she said, and pitched forward. Her bosom landed on his thigh, and as she released her grip with her legs, her entire body gently slid down the scales into what would have been the side of his crotch, if he had only been mammalian in nature.

"Nudity is seen as a show of beauty or sex appeal. It appeals to their animal instincts." As she said this, she rolled to the side until she was sprawled on the ground with a full view of the space between his legs. "And since I actually wear something, they realize that anything I do not cover is deliberate. Could you lean back slightly?"

Galamoth looked down at her for a second, then followed her instructions. "If it's so attractive to them, why would they ever wear clothes?"

This, he did not expect her to try. She started sliding herself forward on her belly, using her limbs against the ground to provide forward momentum, and tried to squeeze herself under his abdomen. "Some say it's to keep them warm." After a few seconds, her entire upper body was pressed tightly between the floor and his cloaca. He felt her hands grip the sides and pull downward. "However, it's pretty obvious to me that they just want to think they're civilized, so they dismiss such concepts as awkward."

He felt part of her trying to press into the opening. Foolish, he thought. She would be too tall and too wide around to get more than a single limb inside.

After a few attempts, she stopped pressing, and he heard her take a deep breath. "They feel more important when they are dressed, you know."

And suddenly, he couldn't feel her on the outside of his body, and the weight inside his cloaca had increased greatly. He winced in realization, if not discomfort. "She didn't..." he muttered. Eventually she stopped moving around so much, and then he felt no movement at all.

He feared the worst. "Are you okay?" he ventured.

"Were you going to ask another question?" From within, he could feel poking, as if she was trying to get his attention.

His eyes widened. She could still hear him? "What... what was the last answer you gave again?"

He didn't see her smirk, but he could practically feel it. "Humans like to wear clothes to pretend that it makes them more civilized. Pay attention."

"...right", he responded, trying to get more comfortable with the current situation. "Do you believe that the same thing applies to demons?"

And he felt her move around, this time in small movements. It felt like she hadn't planned what she was doing, but was doing it anyway. He could also feel something soft pressing against him from inside...

"Very rarely. I figure anyone around here who wears clothing is a former human or deals with humans on a regular basis, like I do." The motions slowly came to a stop. "Well, I think I've done all I can. Could you stand up for me?"

He nodded, a needless gesture given the situation, and once again rose to his feet. As he did, she lithely slid back out of his body, none the worse for wear. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like from her perspective.

Now that he could see her again, she looked different. She was about one-third of the height she had been at when she started, and there were black bat-like wings coming out of her back.

She looked up at his expression, then gave him her smile. "Had to make a few adjustments to get anything done." In a brief display of magic, she returned to her normal height. "I could even come up there if you like", she added with a wink.

Galamoth just stared at her. "...not now."

The succubus sighed. "I figured you'd say that. You didn't react to a thing, even after I found what I was looking for. I just couldn't get it to budge. Well, a bit when I flapped my wings, but that's probably a result of the wind pressure." She looked at his confused expression, and smiled again. "Anyway, I hope you got the answers you wanted. Thank you for letting me try that."

She had answered his questions, hadn't she? And now that he was thinking about her answers, he was starting to form a theory.

He knelt down before her and gave her his own smile. "That was a far better answer than I was expecting. Thank you very much for your time."

She shrugged dismissively. "Please. My job takes a lot more intelligence than it looks."

And he left, once again wondering why these succubi kept treating him like there was something wrong with him.

Thanatos made good on his promises. Many of the demons headed off to battle, and a small section of the main room was put aside for the safe keeping of a piece of parchment that revealed the current hierarchy.

The structure was less complicated than most had anticipated. At the top was Thanatos, although at least one demon suggested in a snide voice that you could put Dracula above his name without much criticism. Next down were the lords; they were limited to seven at this time, and they were the important ones anyway.

There were no lesser lords of any kind. That was the end of the list. Anyone else in the room was simply a demon. Galamoth could not convince himself to get very upset about this. He had known better than to get his hopes up.

"What the hell? That's stupid!"

He turned to face the demon who had just made the outburst. He was not particularly notable, and Galamoth had to wonder why he would have gotten so upset.

He found out quickly.

"Galamoth! Why the hell are you still here?"

Galamoth looked around. "I can't use the portal."

"Not that! Someone must have seen you in the arena! You were kicking ass! You could wipe the floor with any of us! So why aren't you up there fighting the Belmonts? I thought we wanted to win this war!"

Galamoth shrugged. "I work the forge. I always have."

The demon threw its hands up. "That's crap! At this rate, you're gonna be rotting in there for eternity!" It gestured at the paper. "Nice new hierarchy, huh? Let me know when it gets a clue, will ya?" And it stormed off.

Galamoth stared at the departing demon for a few moments. Then he turned back to the hierarchy. He looked at the names on the list. Then, without another word, he turned and headed to the library.

Time was of the essence. He started with the Egyptian texts. If nothing else, he desired consistency.

Galamoth sets down his pen and takes a look at himself again. There isn't that much of a difference, is there? If he gets himself in the right mindset first, he can still lead himself to believe that it had a chance of working.

He picks up the pen again. The waiting wasn't the hardest part, but it was still tedious. I spent plenty of time rereading the other texts I had researched, as well as counting my gold coins to make sure that I had enough.

Finally, I was informed that my chosen assistant had returned from the portal. This was fortunate. Too many times, I had worried that he could have been discovered and killed in battle, and that would have cost me a lot of time.

It was a very large delivery, so I had chosen one of the larger demons for the task. As he brought my requested goods, I took the time to inventory them. After deciding that they were enough for the task, I paid him for his services and took the large bales of flax.

I wouldn't have much of a chance to work with them yet. There would be more time after the war ended.

If Galamoth remembers his mentality correctly, this was the time when he was starting to become jaded about the wars. He can't blame himself. They would largely go the same way every time. Dracula would recruit his minions and they would go on the offense. Eventually a member of the Belmont clan would head directly to Dracula's stronghold to confront him and his lieutenants directly. And, almost undoubtedly, Dracula would lose the conflict, at which point the portal would be closed and most of the demons would be banished back to hell.

Still, he thinks, it would have been much less interesting if not for Thanatos and his backup plans. This had been no exception.

"Dracula has placed a debilitating curse on the Belmont", he had announced after the demons had been brought home. "He will die shortly, and his bloodline will end."

Other demons weren't immediately enthusiastic. One asked if there was any chance that the Belmont could remove the curse. Thanatos had thought of that, and he pointed out that he knew of no methods that didn't involve resurrecting Dracula, so any possible remedy would aid the demons as well.

Galamoth had thought it was an interesting plan, even if he had his suspicions that it wouldn't work. Still, he thought, give it a chance.

He had more pressing concerns at the time anyway. No matter how inconsequential they were.

Galamoth headed back into the forge, this time carrying a pouch full of gold. "I'm ready to collect on your promise."

The forgemaster raised an eyebrow. "My promise was that you could use the forge if you provided the metal yourself. This has not changed. I cannot sell the metal."

Galamoth had expected this misunderstanding. "No. I will be using the gold as my metal."

The other eyebrow raised to match the first. "Gold is not very strong. You know this. It is soft, bends easily and is inferior to other metals in battle."

"I am not making this for battle."

"I don't understand what you plan to do, but you may certainly use the forge."

The gold coins were not very large, so Galamoth had to use an expensive amount of them for his intent. He had made some estimates while he was waiting, and while the final sum was rather wasteful, he felt that it was not going to be any trouble to replace that amount in the arena.

After he finished his forging, he headed back to where he had stored the flax. He had read up on the process and done a bit of practice work, but he knew that he was no expert at the craft. Still, he had the materials and he wasn't going to give up yet. He had even considered getting a smaller demon to assist him on the finer details, but decided against it. He had enough time to eliminate any flaws he came across, and he didn't want the plan to be revealed too soon.

All told, the project took just over a month.

I had no idea if this would work or not. I also realized that, considering recent events, it might make me look like I was trying too hard. In the end, I tried it anyway. I had spent the effort and I wasn't about to let it go to waste.

After fastening the belt and tying the cloth, I strode forth into the main room.

Everyone who noticed just stared at me. If nothing else, it attracted attention.

Galamoth prepares a blank sheet of paper and starts making an effort at art. At the same time, he thinks about what had convinced him to try this.

When Thanatos had made the speech that day, he had noticed that the lord was wearing a different cloak design from before. It wasn't a significant change, but it made him wonder why Thanatos had bothered with the change. Very few of the demons wore anything, after all.

The succubus had given him a theory. Dracula was Thanatos's direct superior, and he had been a human once. Also, many of the demons who had been made lords possessed outfits of their own. This may not have been a coincidence.

Galamoth shakes his head. Somehow, he had managed to convince himself that the trick to getting their attention was to design an outfit and wear it.

He finishes the drawing and looks at it. He is not a great artist, but the design is clear. It made him look just like a hieroglyph that he would expect to find on a pyramid wall. He wore what appeared to be a traditional Egyptian outfit, only tailored to his size and minimalist enough to heighten his nonhuman appearance. The loincloth was made of linen and lined with gold, and a golden belt attached it to his waist. By design, the cloth closed in the back, but not in the front; it was kept in place in the back by being tied to a pair of golden kneepads he had forged. He also forged six bracers: two were worn as anklets, two as wristbands, and two were clasped around his arms just above the elbow.

It was admittedly gaudy, but it matched Egyptian tastes and it looked particularly interesting against his skin color. Sobek would have been proud.

Too bad, he thinks as he sighs. No one else was.

Having gained no useful feedback from the stunned silence, he opted to sit down in an unoccupied area and wait for someone else to start a conversation.

"I... take it this is what you were asking me about back then." He looked up to see the succubus from before. Her smile was replaced by a bemused grin.

He nodded. "Essentially."

"I can't say I expected you to do something like this. Ever."

"You don't like it?"

"I'll let you know when I get over the shock."

Galamoth looked down at himself. "I can only guess that means it doesn't look natural."

The succubus shook her head. "Not in the slightest. Giant dragon things don't usually dress up."

Galamoth sighed. "I suppose that was part of the point."

"Really? Enlighten me."

"Imagine you're a new demon, introduced to hell, and you saw me the way I normally look. What would you have concluded about me?"

The succubus smiled. "I was actually in that situation, you know."

"Oh? What did you think then?"

"The usual. You were a giant dragon thing that shouldn't be messed with if I valued my life."

"And what would you have thought if you saw me wearing this?"

She smirked. "That I shouldn't mess with you if I valued my sanity."

Galamoth rolled his eyes. "Very funny. Be serious."

She hopped up onto his thigh and rested her arm on a kneepad. "All right. You tell me what you want them to think and I'll tell you if it works."

He took a breath. "I'm still a 'giant dragon thing'. Nothing I do will hide that. But the fact that I'm wearing clothing at all proves that I'm civilized. The outfit is Egyptian in style. I must have been wealthy to be able to use that much gold, and the fact that it is form-fitting suggests that it was made specifically for me. The bracers should prove that I am interested in battle, and they still show the arms and legs so people can see my build..."

"And the absence of any covering in the front proves that you have nothing there", she added in a mocking tone.

She'd know, he thought. "Your point?"

She gave him an even look. "I understand your logic, but I can't really say that this outfit is your style. Personally, I like you better natural and fearsome."

He sighed at this.

She ran her hands over the kneepad, feeling the contours. "It's ornate, though. If you crafted this, this is very good work."

Galamoth tried to take comfort in this. It didn't help.

"I could see someone else wearing something like this", she continued. "Smaller, of course. I'd say they were shamelessly showing off, though."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "You think I'm showing off?"

"That list of reasons sure sounded like it. This is really odd for you. You always used to give me the impression that you didn't care what anyone..."

Galamoth's hand was starting to ache. He winced from the pain, and then realized that the succubus had trailed off in mid-sentence and was no longer sitting on his leg.

Opening his eyes, he discovered why. She had backed away slowly and was staring at him silently. As were several other demons, some of whom looked worried.

His hand continued to throb in pain. He looked down to find that his hand, which had been resting on the ground in a casual manner during the conversation, had dug its fingers into the ground, resulting in a number of cracks. At the moment, he was holding a chunk of stone that had been forcibly pulled from the floor, and he had been holding it tightly enough that it broke apart in his hand. Loudly. And he hadn't even noticed.

He stood up. "I need to be alone." And he left through one of the passageways.

Galamoth rereads the section he has just completed. He doesn't like to think of himself as the irritable sort, but it had happened and it was worth noting.

Before writing this next part, he decides to stop for a bit and work on his other task. He sets his pen down, sorts and stacks the pages neatly in a pile, and leaves hell.

An hour passes. The room is perfectly still.

Eventually Galamoth returns. Thinking for a moment, he decides to stop by the main room so that the demons can properly inform him about the portal, and then returns to this room. He needed that break, he thinks. He wasn't the only one.

He picks up the pen and details the next conversation.

Galamoth closed his eyes and sat quietly in the corner of an otherwise empty room. The various golden garments had been discarded in a pile next to him.

"They told me you were in a bad mood. What's wrong?" It was Rebecca.

"I do not wish to discuss it", he responded without looking up. "Don't concern yourself with me."

"I want to. You helped me when I was hurt before. Let me try to help you."

He opened his eyes and turned to face her. "You've been here a century now, correct?"

"I think so, yeah."

"How do you stay sane down here?"

She looked off into the distance. "The usual. I do a lot of reading, I hang out with the other magicians, I try to help people whenever I can... you know, some of them just can't stand the heat down here, so a little icy breeze helps a lot."

He shook his head. "For a century? You were human once. Don't you miss the surface?"

She nodded. "Often. Last time we went to war, I took the portal and just took a look around again. I treated it like a vacation. You should..."

"I can't."

She stopped.

"I just made a fool of myself with these garments I made", he said, pointing to the pile. "Everyone thought I was trying to impress them."

"You don't need to. You know that. They're already impressed by you."

He lowered his head. "It wasn't for them. There are exactly two people I need to impress right now, and neither of them ever seem to be around."

She paused. "You mean..."

"Dracula and Thanatos."

"Is this about the hierarchy?"

He gestured to the empty space behind her. "It's about my entire life here. I have spent well over two centuries in this underworld of theirs. An underworld that clearly was not designed to hold someone like myself." Despite not leaving his seated position, he raised his arm and touched the ceiling to make his point. "And nothing has come of it."

"Your work in the forge..."

"We've done nothing but lose this war." He paused, reconsidering his comment. "They've done nothing but lose this war. Meanwhile, they won't even give me a chance to fight."

"What about the arena? You do well there."

"That's not the same. Fights there are for showmanship and personal gain. I speak of fights that matter. Laying down your life to prove that you are strong and willing to suffer for something you believe in."

She raised an eyebrow. "You want to kill?"

"I want to prove that I can."

She didn't respond to this. He hoped that he hadn't upset her.

"You don't know how I came to be here, and it needs to be said." And appropriately abridged, he considered. "I was sent here after I waged a losing war against Dracula's son."

"You tried to kill Alucard? You?"

He didn't know how to react to her incredulity. "They called him Adrian back then. I shouldn't explain my motives, as they were quite cruel, but... in the end, he defeated me."

She didn't respond. He suspected that she was still trying to imagine what he could have been like as a violent warrior. He didn't think it was much of a stretch.

"I deserved death for my actions. But Lord Dracula... saw something in me. He offered me a chance to redeem myself, and I accepted it."

Her voice regained its composure. "And you're still here today. Really, just listening to your story, I can tell that being here has done you some real good."

"No. I have been trapped in here for over two centuries with only a few activities allotted to me. That's three human lifetimes." And one of my own, he didn't add.

He clenched his fists. "I am being punished. Meanwhile, everyone else wants me to believe that this is a reward."

"Galamoth..."

His voice had reached a shout. "All they need to do is give me a sign that they still believe in me. It doesn't even need to be any kind of status. Just acknowledge my presence! Allow me to fight with them against the Belmonts! Let me be their loyal servant! Something! Prove that they didn't just throw me into this dungeon and forget about me!"

He lowered his head and rested it on his hands. "If that is what they did, then I should have chosen to die..."

A cool breeze had started to blow through the room. As soon as he noticed it, he rolled his eyes. He should have expected her to try this. Even worse, it was working.

He took a deep breath. "You're right. That does feel good."

Her voice was equally cool. "You don't need to get so worked up about this. Very few of us get to personally meet with any of the lords. If they want us, they will come for us."

"Yes, but..."

"Meanwhile, we are still here. We still respect you. We still appreciate the things you do here. We like you."

He lifted his head again and sighed. She sounded honest enough.

"You shouldn't take out your frustrations on us", she continued. "We don't want that, for you or for ourselves. We'll help you get through this."

"I'm not sure how you can."

"We'll find a way."

He closed his eyes, laid back against the wall and allowed the icy breeze to blow over his body. Once he felt considerably calmer than before, he spoke again.

"Thank you."

She smiled. "I'm here for you. Like you were there for me."

"I suppose I should head back. They probably want to know that I'm okay."

She glanced at the pile. "I never got to see you in that outfit."

He winced slightly. "It's just as well. I'm told it looks ridiculous on me."

"Maybe it does. I think we could both use a laugh."

As far as Galamoth recalls, he never did get rid of that outfit. At least, not deliberately. It had taken a lot of work to craft and he didn't feel like throwing all his effort away. It wasn't quite as ridiculous as it seemed, and he kept thinking that he might find another use for it. And he didn't need the gold for anything else, although he remembered that he could always melt it down and reforge it if he needed to.

Rebecca was correct as well. He had lost no friends that day, even if some of the newer demons were more cautious around him than usual.

Still, he felt like he owed at least one demon something.

The succubus was in her room when he located her. She turned to see him and gave him a smile. "Oh, it's you. Feeling better?"

He nodded. "I shouldn't have reacted like I did. I want to apologize."

She sighed. "No, it was my fault for making fun of you."

"You always make fun of me."

"Yeah, but I think I overdid it that time. So did the Frozen Half find you?"

His eyes widened. "You knew about that?"

She smirked. "I kinda mentioned where you were, yeah. I figured, if you would listen to one person around here..."

He nodded. "Thank you for that."

She smiled again. Then the smile disappeared. "So, about Frozen Half..."

"Her name is Rebecca, actually."

"Really? In that case, what do you think of Rebecca?"

He gave the succubus a long look. "Is something wrong?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I know... we pretty much proved I don't have a chance with you. I suppose I shouldn't try."

"You are still thinking about that?"

"I really thought I could succeed, you know. And I kinda pushed you around because of it..."

Galamoth had never been in love. He had never lusted, either. But he had read books about the effects of such things. Given the evidence, he could not be sure what the succubus was doing, but he figured that it was one or the other.

"May I ask a question?"

The succubus put on one of her smiles. "Go ahead."

"They say succubi can take the form of a man's deepest desire."

She shrugged. "Oh, that. It only really works on living humans. It helps when they have dreams for you to use as a reference."

"You still did some changing that day. I was wondering why you didn't try something a little more drastic."

"Like what? I don't know what a female giant dragon thing looks like. I don't know what you look for. I don't even know if you look for anything! So... I was just myself, I guess."

He smiled. "It's nice to hear that." A pause. "You really look like that? You don't have to fake being attractive?"

She raised an eyebrow. "So you do think I'm attractive?"

"I do not claim to be an expert, but... yes. But I had been thinking that maybe you were really an old witch or a skeleton or a male demon or..."

She took on an appearance of mock anger. "A male demon? You must be joking! I'm one hundred percent female!" She then resumed her smile.

He grinned. "Right. That's good to know." A short pause, then he stood up. "I must admit that it has been fun. If you are interested, I would like to continue to talk to you in the future." And he turned for the door.

"Wait." He turned. She was looking at him with a thoughtful look in her eye. "I just want to know."

He turned to look at her. "Yes?"

"If I had been... would it have mattered to you?"

As always, the war plan ended in failure. The Belmont had gotten some help and succeeded in resurrecting Dracula himself simply so he could kill him again and end the curse. Thanatos, as usual, was in a bad mood, but continued to do a very good job hiding it under his cold exterior.

The news had been so sudden, it was barely considered a battle. A few demons were stationed, and then everything was over days after it had begun. I didn't even need to fill any forge quotas.

Still, I had my own reason to spend more time in there. I still possessed a small amount of melted gold, and I decided that it was enough to be forged into a few small golden items. With nothing better to do, I decided to make them.

It was a few months later when they proved to be useful.

Thanatos had once again been doing some heavy research. In order to ensure that he could concentrate on his task, he had started delegating some of his leadership duties to the new lords of hell. This was not completely unexpected.

When one of the lords pointed out that this would require them to devote some time to their own tasks without interruption, Thanatos came to the decision that the lords needed rooms of their own. This way they would be easier to find in case of emergency, and a policy could be put in place where none of the minor demons would be able to bother them without permission. This was a popular decision, except for a few demons who were worried that the lords would start, well, lording over them.

Galamoth had just been explaining the new policy to a few of the new demons when another demon interrupted him rudely.

"Hey, Gally!" As a few heads turned, he decided to lower his voice to a whisper. "Check out what's going on over there!"

"Excuse me", Galamoth said to the recruits, then turned to look. "What am I looking for?"

"Scarm... uh... ugh, I can't pronounce Italian names... anyway, isn't he flirting with your girl?"

Galamoth blinked. "I do not own a girl."

"You know who I mean. Frozen Half?"

He could see them now. He couldn't tell what the two were talking about, but he had grabbed her arm for some reason.

He looked at the demon again. "Why are you telling me this?"

The demon stared back at him as if he was crazy. "You mean you don't care?"

Galamoth sighed. "If it'll make you happy, I'll find out what's going on."

He resorted to his usual method. Walk through the room, keeping his distance, and listen in on the conversation.

"...I think it would be fun" the demon was saying. "What do you think?"

"I don't know", she said, shaking her head. "I had other plans."

"Come on. This offer isn't going to last forever."

"But..."

Another demon piped in. "I wouldn't pressure her. She's Galamoth's girl. You know that, right?"

"What?" the first demon said and Galamoth thought in unison.

A demon a few feet away mumbled to himself. "Since when is Frozen Ha..."

Rebecca spoke up again. "I wouldn't exactly say that, but..."

The first demon didn't notice her comment. "Which one's Galamoth again?"

The second demon shrugged. "The really tall dinosaur one." He gestured toward Galamoth. "Over there. Staring right at us."

Galamoth had long since resigned himself to the fact that he would never be difficult to spot in a group. But he had been staring at the speakers, hadn't he? He tried not to react like he had overheard them.

After staring straight at Galamoth for a few moments like a deer staring at headlights, the first demon excused himself in a fit of unintelligible words and left quickly. Galamoth watched him leave, blinked a few times, and then headed over to where the conversation had taken place. "What was that all about?"

The second demon was the first to respond. "Oh, he was just asking her to..."

Rebecca stopped him. "It doesn't matter."

Galamoth frowned. "Sorry about that. I saw you talking and he started pointing at me. I hope I didn't ruin your conversation."

"He ran off pretty fast", another demon said. "Do you think he felt threatened?"

Galamoth shook his head. "I didn't do anything like that."

"I don't know. Just look at yourself. I don't think anyone could possibly see you and not be afraid."

Galamoth smirked. "Maybe so."

The next few hours passed uneventfully. Galamoth finished his conversation with the recruits and even found time to talk to one of the lords about his accomodations. Then he headed to the library and started to read again.

Rebecca showed up soon afterward, looking worried again. "Look, about earlier, I..."

Galamoth looked up from his book and shook his head. "I already apologized. I shouldn't have gotten involved."

She sat down. "Did you hear the conversation?"

"Part of it. I didn't really pay attention until that other guy said that you were my girl."

She nodded. "That's what I was worried about. I didn't..."

"I heard what you said back there."

"Yeah. I have no idea how that rumor came up."

Galamoth frowned. "It's rather unfair, isn't it?"

"What?"

"You're a very nice woman and a great sorceress. It's depressing that some of the demons around here speak of you as if you are nothing more than a possession."

"...thank you." She smiled slightly before turning for the door.

It can be hard to understand how people think, Galamoth thinks. Especially when they originally grew up in a society that was vastly different from yours. But sometimes, there's just enough similarity that you can figure it out.

The succubus was a later addition to the demons than Galamoth had been. And she claimed that her appearance was natural. If these two facts were true, then it was highly probable that she was once a human. She certainly took to her new life well.

She had a veritable collection of smiles for every occasion. Galamoth had noticed. One of them was very similar to the one that Rebecca had just used. It was weaker than the others, like she wasn't in a smiling mood, but wanted him to see her smiling. And the succubus had used it just before she started talking about Rebecca, and how she no longer thought that she had a chance...

And by noticing, he thinks, he had accomplished more than he could have ever guessed.

I set the book down and decided to voice my suspicion. "Maybe I'm wrong..."

Rebecca stopped and turned to look at me again. "No, it sounds right. They shouldn't..."

"You have been acting like you want to be my possession."

She froze, then stared wide-eyed at me. It was an awkward pause. She apparently had no idea that I would say that, yet, at the same time, her reaction suggested that I had said something that affected her heavily. Perhaps she had considered the idea before. Maybe multiple times. Maybe for a long time.

I decided to break the silence. "If it is your desire, I will gladly claim you." And I smiled. Sincerely. It felt like I had said the right thing for the moment, and I could not think of any reason why I would not honor my offer. I liked her, and it was easy to recall several occasions when I had felt like I wanted to stay beside her and protect her.

Eventually she spoke, hesitantly yet honestly. "...I would like that."

I didn't plan my next actions, but based on the books I read, they felt natural. I closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. I then walked over to another shelf to find where I had hidden a box previously. I placed it on the floor and opened it.

"Very well", I said, resting my left hand on the ground. "Come here."

With a curious expression on her face, she walked over to me and sat on my hand. I lifted her up and allowed her to look over the edge of the box and see the four rings that rested inside. They were the last items I had forged using the remaining gold. They were fitted to my fingers, but this wouldn't pose a problem.

I reached into the box with my right hand and picked up all four rings. Then I lifted my left hand until she was at the same level as my abdomen. With a slow tilt of the hand, she laid backward until her back was resting upon my wrist and her legs were resting upon my fingers.

The next part went as smoothly as I had hoped. I gripped one of the rings and slid it upon my left thumb. Shortly afterward, I slid the next one onto her left leg, just below the knee. The third one went onto her right leg, mirroring the other one. The fourth one went onto my ring finger.

Having finished my task, I started to close my fingers slowly. She noticed this and folded her legs first. Once my hand was closed, my fingers rested upon her chest, gripping her firmly but not harshly. I then laid my arm across my upper chest so that she could lean back and look at my face as I gazed down upon her.

"You are now my possession."

I smiled at her. She smiled back.