"The magic of this place is really very unimpressive." Albedo said, looking sideways up at Demiurge while they watched the idle chatter.
"I agree, the very fact that we even got in here is a blight on this place." Demiurge replied as they strolled around the seemingly blind humans. The inner sanctuary of the palace was meant to be richly decorated, but in common thought both Demiurge and Albedo looked down at the gold, ivory, marble, and precious stones as if they were just a child's crude fumbling in the mud.
Neither needed to be able to read the other's mind to share the same thought, 'This is a hovel next to even the most poorly appointed room in Nazarick.'
What was far more interesting than their petty surroundings however, was the waif of a Princess, when the other woman handed over a document and remarked that it was a code, the Guardians followed behind her as she left the room.
Peering over her shoulder and down at the scribblings, the two raced against one another to decipher the hidden meaning, genius vs genius, each trying to establish an edge, Demiurge's analytical mind against Albedo's keen sense of pattern seeking and order.
"Hmpf, so that's it?" The waifish princess said, "Pathetic worms can't even create a decent cipher."
The code was forgotten in an instant and both Demiurge and Albedo snapped upright with backs straight, they traded disbelieving expressions, open mouthed dismay quickly settling in.
'She solved it before us?' They looked down at the weak little waif with a kind of shock and stepped aside to let her through to return to her companion, but she didn't turn around.
Instead in the dim room, the waif went over to the mirror, and the Guardians caught a first glimpse at her face. A wild, obsessive, monstrous face came over her. "Alright, now that's out of the way…" Princess Renner was clearly speaking only to herself, and set about 'fixing' her expression in the mirror. "Which one of these is best for conversing with her from here on out?" Renner's hands pushed and pulled at her face around the mouth, reshaping her smile, then her eyes, and then changing back and forth from the wild monstrous stare, to the sweet and concerned expression she molded for herself.
Reshaping her smile took several minutes longer than decoding the message, and by the time the Princess finished with her self manipulations, both Demiurge and Albedo were resolved.
'There is something to these worms after all. Perhaps some of them are 'spiritual heteromorphs' having the souls of monsters. Perhaps even…' Demiurge looked at the human with a kind of reverential awe. 'Could our creators have reincarnated themselves into these weak beings for reasons outside of our comprehension? Is that really why our master is searching through their ranks and gathering them into sacred Nazarick?!'
The more he turned that thought over in his mind the more it made sense.
"We shame our master. To think I ever doubted the worth of this mission." Albedo said and lowered her eyes in deference. "I'll go to him tonight and make a proper apology, and perhaps, if he would have me, more."
Demiurge tapped Albedo's hand, he felt the tremble when she said 'more', and knew just what she intended. And what she wanted.
"He is a supreme being, the Supreme Being. They do what they do in their time, not ours." It was a warning, but a gentle one. For all his sadism, toward those he called friends, he was the warmest of men, and Albedo took it as such.
"I know. All I can do is be there. Be there and be ready." Albedo answered and gave a grateful and warm smile up at her steadfast colleague and friend.
The Golden Princess left the room with her hidden shadows at her back and addressed her comrade with her faux smile spread out on her face. "Please be careful out there, Lakyus," she placed one hand on her cheek and made a tiny round shape with her mouth, her wide blue eyes were filled with innocent affection before she said, "you are after all, our very dear friend and we would not wish to lose you."
Lakyus seemed to eat up the affection, her hand coming out, she tapped Renner's hand in a manner not so different from what passed between Demiurge and Albedo a moment earlier, "Not to worry, Princess. Everything will work out. Just give me the details and your Roses will handle it from here."
Demiurge and Albedo waited patiently while the Princess marked spots on a map and prattled on about little details until at long last, the interminable meeting seemed to come to a close.
It was only when they were completely alone that Demiurge canceled his spell while standing directly in front of the golden haired royal. "Silence." He said, and any words of Renner's were cut short in an instant.
"Kneel." He commanded, his echoing voice brought her at once to her knees.
But to his surprise, the human did more than he bade her do, she instantly bowed her head as if she recognized she was outmatched. She had an unnatural calm about her, not as if she were a quavering animal about to be devoured, but more like she had prepared herself to one day face an unfortunate end and was steeled for it at all times.
"You may speak, and raise your head." Demiurge said.
"Who are the two of you, Lord, Lady?" Renner asked with a sharp eyed curiosity as she looked from demon to demoness.
"That is a lengthy explanation, human. However, when we are finished, everything you could ever want will be in your grasp." Albedo gave the sweet and tempting smile of the seductress, "But first, make sure we will not be disturbed by anyone for the next few hours."
"Releasing control." Demiurge said at once, and Renner felt her body become fully her own again.
"I will do as you say. Nobody will bother us until sunset, I will just need to take care of a few tiny things, and I will hear everything you have to say, noble demons." Renner said it with a serene and noble whisper, and once able to move, she rose to her feet and headed for the door to her room.
"Do you think she will run?" Albedo asked at once when they were left alone.
"Even I can't say. This is what we might consider her very first 'test' of worth. If she runs? If she sends or brings the guards?" Demiurge kept an eye on the door that closed he and Albedo off from the palace proper.
"Better she fail the Supreme Being now than later." Albedo finished the thought and tilted her head toward the table where tea sat still in its pot, and even if it wasn't Nazarick quality, it didn't smell half bad. "In the meantime, join me?" She asked.
"It would be my pleasure as always." Demiurge said and reached for the ornamental teapot while Albedo made herself comfortable, and with time to spare, why not indeed?