Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia,
This is your reminder that the Centenary Ars Goetia Reunion is next week, taking place in King Paimon's castle in Envy. As a member of Ars Goetia royalty, you are automatically invited to join in on the celebration of our glorious bloodline! While you are not required to join this event, we cannot control what others will say about you behind your back.
From, the Ars Goetia Commission
Stolas dreaded the day that he would receive this letter, and now here he was, reading it as he sat on his couch. Every Ars Goetia and their family would be at this event. If he were to go, he would have to bring along Blitz and Loona, who would undoubtedly be given judgemental looks.
"Ugh, what do I do, Spindle?" He said to the family horse, who was standing next to him. "Should I just… not go?"
Spindle gave a neigh.
"You're right," Stolas said as he stood up with newfound determination. "I'm not ashamed of my family, nor do I regret marrying Blitz! I'll show those Ars Goetia at the reunion that I love my husband and my daughters!" Once he made that declaration, he came to a stunning realization.
"I just took advice from a horse," Stolas said in disbelief. His husband's influence was clearly rubbing off on him.
The door nearby soon opened, revealing Blitz and Octavia. The two had recovered enough from their fight with Striker that they could go back to work. But today Blitz was picking up Octavia from school.
"Alright, what did we learn today?" Blitz said as he walked in with his stepdaughter.
"If you're going to headbutt someone, aim for the bridge of the nose," Octavia replied.
"That's my girl!" Blitz gave her a pat on the back before she went to her room, with Stolas watching her with concern.
"I fear what you teach our daughter," Stolas said to his husband once Octavia was out of earshot.
"Hey, I'm just teaching her to defend herself in a practical way, one without that magic shit. Who knows, she might remember it on a hit."
Before Blitz could walk any further, Stolas cleared his throat and pointed to Blitz's shoes, which were covered in blood. "Oh, sorry." He said as he removed his shoes and put them outside the door. "Some paparazzi guy cornered us and wanted to know what it was like to be an imp married to a royal. Let's just say he won't be asking any more questions."
"Oh yes, that reminds me. Do you have a moment to talk?"
"Depends, do you know what time it is?"
Stolas took a deep sigh as he undid the front of his shirt, revealing his glorious chest floof. "FLOOF TIME!" Blitz shouted as he jumped onto his husband and buried his face in his chest hair. Twice a week Blitz would do this, as he felt that Stolas's floof was softer and more welcoming than any pillow.
The prince carried Blitz to the couch where he sat down. "So… there's an important event next week."
"Is it Demon Horse Day!?" Blitz said as he pulled out of Stolas' floof.
"No, that's not until March- WHY DO I KNOW THIS!?"
"Well, if it's not that, then what is it?"
Stolas took a deep breath before speaking. "Before I answer that, I need to ask you something. Do you know what an Ars Goetia does?"
"Something about going up to Earth and making deals with humans?" Blitz guessed as he got off of Stolas' lap and sat next to him on the couch.
"That's one of them, but a royal Ars Goetia has many responsibilities from ruling legions of demons to gathering knowledge for the glory of Hell. One of those duties is to answer the summons of humans from Earth, in which we give them a service in exchange for their sworn loyalty to us should their lives be forfeit."
"So… you help humans with what they need, but they get damned to Hell and serve you in the process?"
"That is correct."
"Doesn't that add to the population problem we're having?"
"Doesn't your assassin business do that too?"
"True, but I'm kinda doing this under the sins' nose. Are the higher-ups ok with what you're doing?"
"We have… special permission. Satan's last command before vanishing was for us to continue our work until he returns. Even after 200 years, his word carries weight, so the sins give us some leeway as long as we're discreet with our presence on Earth. Plus, Ars Goetia promise protection from Exorcists to their subjects, though whether they actually follow through with that varies."
Stolas noticed he was losing Blitz's interest, so he wrapped up his explanation. "The point is the Ars Goetia are very respected, by the nobles at least. And every century we reunite to celebrate our achievements. As it turns out, the next one is happening next week."
Blitz groaned, "Don't tell me we're going there."
"We have to, every Ars Goetia is going to be there!"
"Every Ars Goetia? Even Stella and your parents?"
"Yes."
"That's exactly why we shouldn't go!"
Stolas stood up from the couch. "Blitzy, aren't you sick and tired of running away from your problems!? I know I am. All my life I've been hiding who I really was because I feared the consequences, but no more! I love you, Blitz, and I'll shout it from the rooftops if I have to!"
"Alright, alright, you made your point." Blitz originally said that to calm his husband down, but even he admitted that Stolas was right. Blitz himself has done some brave things this past year, from marrying Stolas to opening his heart up to Loona. It was only fair that he stood by his husband, who was about to do something similar.
"Fine, we'll go." Blitz finally said. "But you're gonna make up for ruining floof time."
Stolas smiled before giving Blitz a hug. "Thank you, darling."
"Anything for you," Blitz said with his own smile as he returned the hug.
The day of the Reunion came. Paimon's ballroom was the largest one out of all the Ars Goetia castles, able to fit all the demons who were attending. These demons ranged from Kings to Dukes to Princes and so forth, all dressed in purple and black formal wear.
Suddenly, a portal opened in the middle of the room, and out came Stolas along with Blitz, Loona, and Octavia, each wearing the same formal wear as the rest of the demons attending here. The moment they entered, every royal stopped what they were doing and stared directly at them, making Stolas and Octavia uncomfortable.
Blitz and Loona, however, were annoyed at their gaze. "What's the matter!?" Blitz said to the group. "Never seen an imp walk into a party with his Ars Goetia husband!?"
"No, actually!" One demon said within the crowd.
"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Someone said as they pushed their way through the nobles. What emerged was an avian demon who clearly didn't get the memo about the purple theme of this party, cause everything he was wearing was blue, from a blue cloak to a blue fur vest, even a tiny blue crown on his head. The man grinned with delight the moment he saw Stolas and his family.
"Of course he's here…" Stolas said with annoyance as the demon happily approached them. This demon was Andrealphus, Marquis of the Ars Goetia and Stella's brother.
"Hello, my dear brother-in-law!" Andrealphus said as he put his arm around Stolas. "Or should I say, ex-brother-in-law!"
"Andre," Stolas said, "Still where the drama is at, I see."
Andrealphus giggled. "You know me so well." He turned his head toward the crowd, who were still gazing at them. "If you're going to stare, at least make it less obvious!" The demons heeded Andre's advice and went back to chatting with each other, giving some side-eye to Stolas as they did so.
"I swear, people just don't know how to eavesdrop anymore," Andre said as he rolled his eyes. He then turned his attention to Octavia. "Oh my, you've grown so much since I last saw you, my dear!" He said as he patted her head.
"Thank you, Uncle Andre," Octavia replied, trying her best to be polite despite how uncomfortable she was.
Andre noticed Loona next to her and went to greet the hellhound next. "You must be the imp's pet! A pleasure to meet you!" He said as he shook Loona's hand. She didn't appreciate being called a pet, plus there was something about him that made her want to kick him in the balls and throw him over one of the tables set up at this party. But for the sake of Octavia and her dads, she restrained herself. "You know, my personal bodyguard is a hellhound. I feel you two would get along well!" The moment Andre turned away from her to greet Blitz she made a low growl in his direction.
"And you must be the imp of honor," Andre said as he shook his hand. "Always happy to meet the man who made my sister more of a mess than she already was!"
"Yeah, I can have that way with people," Blitz replied.
"I still remember the time I first heard about you and Stolas' fiasco. Imagine, a prince of the Ars Goetia preferring an imp over her! I've never laughed so hard in my life!"
Andre backed up so he could address both Blitz and Stolas. "Oh, and in case you're both worried about the bitch we shall not name being here, don't be! She isn't!"
"What? She isn't here?" Stolas said. Stella loved to go to parties and mingle with other royals, so the fact that she wasn't at the biggest Ars Goetia party of the century shocked him.
"Nope! She ran away from home, possibly because she wasn't getting pampered enough anymore."
"Well… do you know where she is?"
Andre raised an eyebrow, "Why do you care? I certainly don't, she got what she deserved."
"Maybe, but-"
"My advice, Stolas: Forget her. Just enjoy the party with your new, happy family. Unless there are some unhappy things in it you wish to tell your supportive ex-brother-in-law?"
"That will be all, Andre." Stolas dismissed Andre, who took the hint as he bowed.
"Very well, enjoy the party! We have a blood punch fountain at the tables and a King Solomon pinata at 4." Andre left them to go into the crowd of royal demons, possibly to learn some more gossip.
Blitz held his husband's hand. "At least we don't have to worry about running into her."
Stolas sighed, "Yes, but I can't help but feel guilty about what happened to her."
"Don't be, Dad," Octavia said. "If it makes you feel better, she did call me a degenerate."
"... you're right, that does make me feel better." With his guilt gone, Stolas looked around the room. He recognized almost everyone here. They were cousins, half-brothers, or acquaintances. However, one demon from the crowd caught his eye.
A bird-like demon with feathers as black as Stolas' was staring at them with a smile. He instantly recognized her as his own mother, Ophelia. Blitz noticed her too, and when he did, it felt as if time had stopped. This was the woman who spared him from a potential execution all those years ago and was the first royal to treat him with respect.
Loona saw who her dads were looking at and remembered what Blitz told her about the queen who treated him well. Realizing they had a lot of catching up to do, she decided to give them some alone time. "C'mon sis," She said as she put an arm around Octavia's. "Why don't you show me the blood punch fountain?" Loona then pulled the confused Octavia away from Stolas and Blitz, who approached Ophelia.
"Hello, Stolas," Ophelia said, happy to see her son again as well as Tilla's son.
"Hello, Mother," Stolas replied, smiling awkwardly. Ophelia noticed Blitz avoiding eye contact with her.
"My, you've grown so much, Blitzo," She said.
"Er, Mother, the O is silent."
"Oh, that's right. I apologize, Blitz."
"I-it's fine," Blitz replied, still avoiding eye contact. Seeing Ophelia again brought back a lot of memories for him. And while not all of them were bad, it was memories that he would rather forget.
Ophelia tried to break the air of awkwardness that was surrounding them. "Well, in any way, it's good to see you both. To think, the two little boys I saw playing together are now married! Speaking of which, how did you two meet again?"
"Pure coincidence," Stolas said. "My guards caught him sneaking into my chambers. Recognizing my old friend, I told them to let me handle him. So I took him to said chambers thinking that he wanted to rekindle our friendship."
Blitz finally spoke. "Then I fucked his brains out and took his grimoire for my job."
"You needed Stolas' grimoire for your job?" Ophelia replied.
"Yeah, I kill people on Earth," Blitz replied, ignoring the shock on Ophelia's face. "I used to get by with a rented one from some librarian, but then someone bought it off them. Since that was the only grimoire they had, I had to get someone else's."
"Oh… that's… an interesting line of work." Eager to change the subject, she remembered the ring she gave the imp and asked him what his mother thought of it.
"That thing?" Blitz said. "My, uh… my Dad took and sold it."
"Oh, that's… unfortunate." Inside of herself, Ophelia was once again cursing Cash.
"I'm gonna go get a drink," Blitz said as he left Stolas alone with his mother, which made things even more awkward.
"So, he had sex with you for your grimoire," Ophelia said.
"Yes, at first," Stolas replied. "But then he proposed to me and now we're married."
"He proposed to you?"
Stolas nodded with a smile, the memory still fresh in his head.
"Stolas, do you love him?"
"Yes, I do."
"Are you sure?"
The prince was suspicious of her question. "Where are you going with this, Mother?"
"I just want to make sure you don't make any rash decisions."
Stolas was taken aback by what she said. "This is NOT a rash decision. If anything, it's the only reasonable one I've ever made."
"I-if you say so."
"Besides, I thought you said you were proud of me."
"I am, it's just… it's my duty as a mother to be concerned for you. Sometimes the things we think make us happy turn out to be the things that make us miserable."
"If it's your duty, then where were you all those years? Ever since I was ten, you've never been there when I needed you! It was always father who made decisions for me, but not once did you stand by me!"
"It's because… I thought you were scared of me. After what happened between me and your father I saw-"
"You mean that fight you two had? I was a child, of course I would be scared of something like that! But it didn't matter, you were my mother, and I still loved you."
Ophelia was surprised by what Stolas had said. She had managed to convince herself, with Paimon influencing her, that her own son was afraid of her and that it would be best to keep her distance from him else she would frighten him again. But it turns out that it wasn't the case.
"You weren't afraid of me?" Ophelia said, trying to confirm it once again.
"No, I just wanted you to be there for me. You never showed concern for me or comforted me when I married a woman I couldn't care less about, but now that I'm married to a man that I do love you finally show up and act worried for me!? Which side are you on!?"
Stolas could see a tear go down his mother's cheek. Feeling regretful, he turned away from her. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. It's just these royals and the worry of seeing father again, I… I need some time to think."
As she saw Stolas walk away from her, she reached her hand out, wanting to say something. But the words didn't come out. So instead she just cried harder as she went to the restroom to hide her tears.
Meanwhile, Blitz was standing on the balcony overlooking the city of Plousios with a drink in his hand. The balcony itself was a long hallway-like area outside the main room. It was the perfect place for him to be alone and process his thoughts. He had only been at this party not 10 minutes or so and already painful memories were resurfacing thanks to seeing Ophelia again. Memories of his mother's death, his father's apathy, and even Barbie and Fizzaroli's betrayal, the worst of them all.
Maybe it'd be best if he just snuck out of this party.
Blitz quickly shook the thought out of his head. He's not that Blitz any more. He was going to face his fears and anxieties for his family's sake. Just as he was about to head back into the party, he saw Andrealphus approach him.
"There you are!" He said as he came out from the party room. "I've been looking everywhere for you! How are you enjoying the party?"
"It's fine, I guess." Blitz replied before drinking from his cup.
"Fantastic! Anyways, I'm here because I need to introduce you to someone very important."
"Um… ok. Where are they?" Blitz said as he looked behind Andre, thinking this person was with him.
"Just follow me, I'll take you to them. They prefer their privacy, I hope you understand."
Blitz nodded as he put his drink on the stone balustrade and followed Andre down the hall, wondering who this important person was. At the very least, he had hoped it wasn't someone from his past. There was a door at the very end of the hall which Andre proceeded to open. He then motioned Blitz to enter, and as the imp did so Andre closed the door behind him, putting Blitz on edge.
The room was dark, the only light source coming from the window on his right. But he could see mannequins and stacked boxes on his left, making him come to the assumption that this was a storage room of some kind.
"Hello, Blitzo." A voice from the darkness said, which made the imp jump a bit. A figure came into the light and revealed himself as Paimon. "Oh, that's right, the O is silent now isn't it?"
Blitz didn't say anything out of shock. This was the first time he had actually seen his father-in-law in person, but he recognized the demon from the pictures in Stolas' mansion.
"I apologize for the secrecy." Paimon continued, "I'm not supposed to be here yet, at least not without the other kings. But I had to get to know the imp who married my son."
The way he talked combined with his empowering posture made Blitz uneasy. He sounded almost condescending, like he was asserting his dominance over him. It also sounded like this was more than just a meet and greet.
Paimon approached the window and looked out into Plousios. "You had an eventful life, performing in the circus, being a clown at Loo Loo Land, starting your own business, and now marrying an Ars Goetia. I'm almost impressed."
"How the fuck do you know about that stuff?" Blitz said.
Paimon turned toward Blitz, "I'm the king of the kings of the Ars Goetia! I can get whatever information I want with just a word."
"Hate to stop your stroking, but Asmodeus is one of the Seven Sins and an Ars Goetia king. So isn't he above you?" At this moment Blitz was glad he paid attention to Stolas' explanations of Ars Goetia before the party.
Paimon chuckled, "As I expected, a wisecracker. I also know about your family, from your sister leaving you to become an actress to the death of your mother. What was her name again? Tilla?"
Blitz clenched his fists. "If you're trying to piss me off, you're doing a damn good job."
"I just find it odd that you, someone who runs away from his problems and pushes people away, proposed to my son and continued to stay with him especially when he offered you a grimoire free of charge to end your arrangement with him. What is it you're after, hm? His money, his power? What's in it for you?"
Blitz used up every ounce of courage he had to speak up. "You wanna know what's in it for me? My happiness, that's what! You're right, I didn't confront my problems in the best way, but I'm trying to change that because I'm sick and tired of being scared of having a decent relationship with someone! Sure, I might not have cared that much for Stolas when we started this whole thing, but now I know that deep down he loves his family and goes out of his way to protect the people he loves!
"Stolas was willing to give it all up with me just to fix things with his own family. You're also right in that if this was the old me, I would've just taken the grimoire and never looked back. But then I remembered how I was backstabed and left to rot by people I cared about. Was proposing to him a bit much? Maybe, but all that I knew was if I left him alone in that situation, I wouldn't be any better than the people that left me!"
Paimon's face was one of pure surprise, "You actually love him, don't you?"
"…. Yeah, I do. I love Stolas." Blitz said with a smile.
"It's worse than I thought." Paimon said to himself. "No matter, I must continue as planned. I can't have you corrupting my son anymore than you already have."
"So what, you gonna kill me?"
"Kill you? No, there are things worse than death." With amazing speed, he pinned Blitz to the doorway as he covered the imp's mouth with a napkin. Blitz soon realized that it had chloroform on it and tried to break out, but Paimon was much stronger than he looked.
"I'm going to make you watch your life fall to pieces… again." Were the last words he heard Paimon say before everything went black.
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