"I swear! Let's get started without him." Chemistra pulled away the silk blanket from slightly sticky skin. They were both completely naked and waiting for Axel to arrive. It was the beginning of winter, but today was unseasonably hot… and in the Dark Land, winter was just the time it became less hot. And wetter. It rained all the time in the winter of the Dark Land. Sora frowned, a bit uncomfortable with the suggestion.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Chem. You know how Axel can get." They were in a threesome now, but there were some limits to the relationship. Mainly, Axel and Sora were the primary couple with Chemistra as a pleasant addition. Chem didn't seem to mind at all, and she claimed to love them both. But Sora knew that Chem cared for him a bit more than Axel… they were best friends and partners, after all. They talked and worked together all day. And even now that he was technically Lea again, Axel had a jealous streak. Sora really didn't want to get him mad at Chem. Axel's jealousy was all too likely to turn murderous.
"He's an hour late, Sora. This is ridiculous. We have to go to that damn play in another hour and I need to freshen my makeup." Sora was caught between a wince and a giggle. That level of relentless practicality wasn't typical of Chemistra, but then, the play was a social occasion. She needed to put on a good front to compete with the succubi. It was a lost cause, really, with their unnatural glamour but Chem was determined to try. "If he takes much longer we're not going to get our freak on at ALL and I'm horny!" She stretched, and Sora couldn't help but stare at the way rich, full breasts moved…
"You're crazy." He said, but gave up as Chemistra's arms slid around his neck and her hot mouth fixed on his. "Mmm… someone's going to kill you someday." Sora would be very sad when that happened, but not particularly surprised. Chem took a lot of risks.
"Maybe, but I'll die happy." She breathed in his ear, her breath a whisper of warmth in his ear. Sora lowered his head to gently suck on her nipples, and Chemistra moaned softly. Chem was the first woman he'd known, and she'd taught him exactly how to please her. She'd needed no teaching to know exactly how to please him… warm fingers found his half-erect member and began gently stroking him, slow and firm, then gently squeezing. Sora smiled and returned the attention, one hand slipping between her legs to find that special spot, slowly stroking the tiny nub of flesh. "Mmm, Sora!" She groaned and pulled him on top of her, spreading her legs invitingly. Sora took the invitation, pressing into the slick, glorious heat under him as her thighs clamped down around him. "Sora!"
"Chem." He breathed into her ear as he began to thrust in a slow rhythm. She felt so good under him… he nuzzled her throat, kissing the soft skin as he speeded the rhythm. They were both oblivious to the door opening.
Axel stood for a moment, taking in the scene with surprised, curious eyes. Then his eyes went flat and hard for a moment… then just as suddenly softened. A small smile played over his face as he watched the activity on the bed, then began to disrobe.
I must remember not to be that late again. He mused to himself as he removed his boots. He hadn't wanted to be late, but Viridia had had some pressing concerns about his southern properties. Concerns that were really very serious. Axel was afraid that a different sort of war would be beginning soon… but that hardly mattered at the moment. What mattered now was an absolutely evil idea that had crept into his mind, spurred by a small poster he'd spotted down in one of the incubi hangouts. Calling in some lotion, he lubed himself up carefully. It would have to do. Slipping up behind Sora as he moved with Chem, Axel suddenly pressed his hands against the boy's hips and leaned in, whispering in the brunette's ear. "Surprise buttsecks." Sora squeaked, eyes going wide as Axel slowly thrust into him… and Chem started giggling helplessly. It was somewhere between nauseating and sexy, but Sora quickly recovered as Axel found his sweet spot, thrusting against it with unerring skill. Axel took control of the rhythm, and Sora groaned in pure please at the feeling of being surrounded and filled at the same time. It was hard to hold back his orgasm, as the pleasure quickly brought him to the edge, but he fought it back, eyes tightly closed.
For a long, timeless moment the three demons moved together. Then Chemistra cried out first, her back arching and her insides clenching tightly around Sora. Sora followed, unable to resist that wonderful feeling, releasing his hot seed inside her. It took Axel a moment longer… he'd started last… but he came as well, and Sora gasped softly as Axel slowly ran a hand through sweaty brown spikes.
"…Surprise buttsecks?" Sora managed to say when he had his voice back. Chem started giggling again, then made a small oof sound.
"Hey, guys? I love you both and all, but can you get off?" Axel laughed softly, pulling away from Sora so he could move off the dark siren. "Thank you, that's much better… yeah, surprise buttsecks? Holy crap Axel, you're a pervert!" She sounded delighted with the revelation, and Axel grinned.
"I'm a demon. And the two of you were asking for it, starting without me." Axel said reprovingly. Chem just grinned, calling in her pipe and taking a quick drag before passing it to Sora. Then she jumped out of the bed in a rather sprightly manner.
"You were late! And I need to freshen my makeup." Axel blinked as she made a beeline for the bathroom, and Sora laughed, taking a pull from the pipe.
"Am I missing something?" Axel knew about the play, of course, but he'd never known Chemistra to be that concerned about her appearance. She was a Rage, not a full siren or succubus. Sora grinned, a bit tired but happy.
"I'm not sure, but I think there's some kind of contest going on with the sirens and the succubi." Sora wasn't clear on the details, but he thought the outfits on display would be spectacular. Chem's certainly was, although he'd only caught glimpses of it. Axel lifted an eyebrow, then snorted.
"The last time they had a contest, it seemed to be how naked they could get without actually stripping." He wasn't looking forward to that again. It had been entertaining, but he preferred at least a little mystery when he looked at a woman. Well, except in the hot season right before the move to the summer palace. They could do anything they liked then. Axel looked at Sora for a moment, then sighed and pulled the smaller man into an embrace. Sora blinked, but relaxed against Axel's chest, closing his eyes as warm arms surrounded him. "I can't wait until the two of you are on the day shifts again." Sora nodded. He understood exactly what Axel meant… right now, their schedules just didn't align in any way. They had to carefully plan out when to meet for some intimate moments, and that was a little wearing. Doable, but wearing. They both looked up as Chem exited the bathroom… and blinked.
"Nice." Axel said appreciatively and Sora could only nod. Chemistra was in her gown for the night… and it was beautiful. Waves of black and gold fabric were caught on one shoulder, the other shoulder left bare. The dress hugged her curves, and had a broad golden belt that appeared to be woven gold. It probably was. Chem had been around long enough to put together an impressive assortment of jewelry. More waves of black and gold fabric made up the skirt, rippling nicely and occasionally giving peeks of dark skin. Chem grinned, and Sora noticed that she was wearing dangling, golden chandelier earrings set with black onyx and a matching choker of woven gold. It was a beautiful outfit and complimented her dark good looks perfectly.
"It's okay. I'm not going to be embarrassed in front of those damn succubi, anyway." Axel grinned at that. "Maybe the two of you should get dressed too, we have to leave soon if we're going to make it on time."
"A point." Axel gave Sora one last kiss before going to his discarded clothing. He felt no need to dress up for this, no matter what the succubi and sirens were doing. Sora frowned, then decided to change into a fresh set of his Rage uniform. The ones he'd been wearing before were a bit sweat stained from all the flying. Soon they were all out the windows and flying to the theater. It was a new construction in the town, and this would be the first time they had visited it.
"Nice." Chemistra said appreciatively as they entered the lobby. There were carvings everywhere… very creative ones, often a little obscene. They were all lightly gilded and made for an impressive display of bad taste. There were vendors selling various snacks, but they wouldn't need that. They would be sitting in one of the private boxes and they came with a good assortment of snacks and liquor.
"It deserves a good fire, in my opinion." Axel didn't bother to keep his voice down, and several demons shot him an uneasy look. "Mother would like it. I'll have to bring her next time." Actually, he thought his mother would be laughing at what the succubi statues were doing. Axel frowned faintly as he thought of his mother. He hadn't had much time to spend with her… business was really picking up for him, and they were things he had to pay attention to… but he knew he needed to make time. Blynda and the First Housekeeper, Ylra, were helping his mother adjust right now… but he needed to be there. He'd blocked out some time tomorrow specifically for it.
They went to the box, picking up programs along the way and took their seats. Axel fell silent as Chem and Sora chatted about the program… he had a lot to think about.
Things weren't really going well in the Dark Land. That might have seemed counter-intuitive, since they were no longer at war… but that seemed to mean the demons were turning their churning energy against each other. Axel was having to sit on them quite firmly. Not only that… the High Lord was technically in charge of the entire Dark Land, but in practice he did not control the deep South. When they had been at war with the angels, it hadn't been necessary. The deep South was full of biological treasures, true, but it was too difficult to live in and not much good for agriculture. The breadbasket of the demons was the middle lands, and also the lands close to the angel's borders. That was part of why the fighting had always been so fierce when the angels invaded the Dark Lands.
But now the demons were launching safaris into the deep South. It was actually one of the more productive and innocuous ways they could come up with to get ahead… but it seemed to have stirred up the demons living in the deep South. Or something else was stirring them. Viridia's estates weren't the only ones being hit, although they had been hit the hardest. Something was going to have to be done, and soon, but Axel looked forward to it even less than a war with the angels. The demons in the South wouldn't be as powerful as the angels, but they wouldn't have to be. They knew the land and his demons didn't. Axel made a mental note to promote Desdemona as soon as she got back from her safari. He would need demons with survival knowledge of that area, and soon.
The worst part of it was the persistent feeling that something was actually stirring the demons of the South. Why were they getting so hostile over the safaris, after all? The safaris were not trying to make trouble with the natives. Quite the reverse, they were willing to pay for all kinds of things, and with goods as well as money. Why was this happening? He'd asked Bon-Bon, but she'd just told him that some things couldn't be tampered with. Axel wasn't sure what that meant, just that the future would be what it would be.
"Axel, the play is starting." Sora said quietly as Chem poked him in the side with a grin. Axel finally directed his attention outwards and blinked as he noticed the costumes of the sirens and succubi in the audience. They really had gone all out for tonight… Chemistra's gown wasn't elaborate at all, compared to some of the wedding cake confections he could see.
"There's a lot of bad taste in the audience tonight." Axel smiled as Chem laughed… he'd known she'd enjoy the dig at the succubi and sirens. "I like your gown much better."
"Me too!" Sora said with a grin, and Chem laughed throatily.
"You guys are both so sweet. Never change, you hear?" Picking up the little theater glasses on the shelf, they began to watch the play. Axel smiled… it was an epic story of the Land of Light as well as the Dark Land, involving plenty of love and daring deeds.
He was glad the war with the angels was over. Now if only the demons would settle down…
Orinda frowned as she looked at her breakfast, not really seeing it.
Knowing your son was a demon king in an alien world was different from really knowing it. She was realizing now that she hadn't quite come to grips with it before. She'd thought she had, but that hadn't really been true. Sighing, she began eating her porridge. Axel was having trouble finding time to spend with her, but that was fine. She'd expected that would happen when her children started having their own lives, and was determined not to be a burden for them.
And the Dark Land itself was fascinating. She still wasn't used to most of it, of course, but she was already making herself quite useful to the First Housekeeper. She had been a manager at a laundry mat once, and it was much the same skills. Blynda, though, was quite odd. Orinda didn't think she was going to have much to do with the Hourglass. They were entirely too mystical for her taste. She preferred things she could touch and feel.
She stopped eating for a moment as a wave of homesickness rolled over her. She really hadn't wanted to leave her home. Orinda was already missing the comfortable house, the comfortable routines and the people at the laundry. She'd liked the other girls there. But it really was for the best.
She hadn't told Axel about the changes since he'd… died. So he didn't know that their country had basically been conquered a couple years after his disappearance. Orinda was grateful that he hadn't been there to see it. Axel would have been just the right age to join the militia, and she was sure he would have… and very few of them had returned alive. And if he had survived, he would probably have joined the resistance movements that had formed afterwards. Things were bad, and had just kept getting worse as the guerrillas had honed their skills. So it wasn't really surprising that the occupiers had begun to get… quite harsh with their new subjects. Orinda shivered faintly as she thought about it. They had suspected Axel of being tied to the guerrillas. If he hadn't come to save her, she doubted she would have survived. She would have been one of the people who just disappeared.
Shaking her head at herself, she kept eating the porridge. The realities of her world made the Dark Land look very appealing. And she certainly couldn't go back now… she'd be killed immediately after what Axel had done. So it was time to adapt.
"Mother?" Orinda looked up, startled. She hadn't heard the door open. Axel was standing there, looking a little uncertain, and she couldn't help but smile.
"Axel!" She stood and happily gave him a hug. It was amazing, really… she'd given him up for dead so long ago. Feeling him real, there and in front of her was always a wonderful thing. Although… "Have you been eating enough?" Orinda frowned and Axel laughed.
"Mother! You know I'm naturally thin." Orinda gave him a severe look, and Axel smiled.
"Yes dear, but I know you've been busy. And you tend to forget meals when you're busy." That was in fact true, so Axel decided to reassure her a bit.
"The cooks wouldn't let me forget. They want to show off their skills to me and the other First Lords and Ladies, so there's always something around." Orinda smiled, taking a seat again.
"Well, that's good. Axel, honey, I've been wondering. Are there any openings in the housekeeping staff?" Axel blinked. He hadn't been expecting his mother to try to get an actual job so quickly. "You know me, I don't like to sit on my hands. And I don't think nature hikes would be a great idea here." Nature hikes were one of her main passions. Axel winced slightly.
"Not yet anyway." When his mother made the transition to full demon, that might be different. "I'll talk to Ylra and see what openings might be coming available." Either they would have to create an entirely new position, move someone… or have a quiet assassination. Whatever worked best.
"She mentioned something about the Second Housekeeper spot maybe coming available." Orinda said cheerfully, and Axel blinked, wondering if she understood what that meant. It meant Ylra was anticipating the Second Housekeeper finally having a fatal 'accident.' Which wasn't really surprising, when you got down to it. The Second Housekeeper was what could euphemistically be referred to as a character. Her slavies had other names for her, mostly obscene. But everyone was more than a bit frightened of her. She was a truly nasty customer… but getting more insane every year. "And yes honey, I do know what that means." Axel blushed slightly, embarrassed that his thoughts had been so obvious… but she was his mother, after all. She could read him like an open book. "But it couldn't happen to a nicer person. Did you see what she was doing to that Falina girl last night?"
"No, what?" Axel said, momentarily diverted. Falina wasn't a newcomer, she was a girl from the slums who was working her way into the Keep under the Second Housekeeper. Axel was only aware of her name because she seemed to always skate out of dying, even when most demons would have bought it.
"Well, Falina might be quite a bitch but I think the honey and the ants were just a touch extreme." Orinda sniffed. "And the whip was absolutely unnecessary." Axel blinked, wondering if Falina's luck had finally run out. Was the succubi still alive? "How she survived that last part, I'm not sure, but she's recovering." Axel was a bit started at how easily his mother accepted all this. He'd have expected her to be horrified by such a graphic demonstration of the dark side of the Dark Land.
"What would you have done with her instead?" Axel asked, curious. His mother looked thoughtful for a moment.
"Given the way things seem to work around here? A good beating and I'd have made her clean out the bathrooms. With her tongue, if she gave me any back talk." Axel choked at the image. "She really was very impudent, after getting caught with a table knife like that."
"Ah." If Falinda had been caught stealing and mouthed off to the Second Housekeeper, she really was lucky to be alive. But she did seem to have a way of surviving. "Actually, mother, I was wondering if you would like to come meet the First Lords and Ladies with me today? If you might be taking the Second Housekeepers place, it would be valuable for you." The Second Housekeeper was one of the First Lords and Ladies. Being a Housekeeper in the Keep was a very prominent position, and the Third Housekeeper had a place in the Council too. He'd been planning to take his mother with him to the meeting anyway, but this gave extra reason for it.
"I would be glad to, Axel. I'd like to see how your Council works." Orinda really was looking forward to it. She'd worked in one laundry with a bunch of younger women and they had managed to raise backbiting to an artform. She was sure the Council of the Dark Land couldn't possibly be any worse.
And it would be interesting.