Demon Queened - Chapter 64 - Rough Draft

Devilla

I arrived in an empty tempt, Lucy having apparently already packed up her bedroll. Exiting myself, I stretched my arms towards the sky and let loose with my best impression of a yawn.  

“Eena!” Lucy called out, hurrying to embrace me. “You’re awake!”

“And you’re already dressed,” I remarked, noting the armor that once more adorned her form. It was rather hard to ignore, what with my body being pressed against it. “Did I truly oversleep so badly?”

Lucy shook her head. “It’s not that!” she promised me. “It’s just that I smelled Dyona’s cooking.”

“Cooking?” I asked, belatedly sniffing the air. My nose quickly caught the scent wafting from the campfire, where Dyona was cooking slices of what looked almost like bacon on a pan she held over the blaze.

“My Lady makes a point of procuring fresh ingredients whenever possible,” Dyona informed me, without lifting her gaze. “It’s part of why we travel by carriage. She hates travel rations.”

I swore I saw a flicker of a smile on Dyona’s lips as she said that last part, but it was gone so quick I couldn’t be certain. Even reviewing the memory left me unsure if I was looking at a sign of affection or just a random twitch of her lips.

Regardless, it was nowhere to be seen a moment later when a yawning Grell walked out of the carriage. “What’s for breakfast?”

“Fried pork rations and eggs. You’re free to eat the first while we await the latter - assuming you wish to show off your gluttonous side in front of our guests, that is?”

“Bah, the Heroine saw plenty of it yesterday,” Grell remarked. “And I’m sure Eena here won’t mind. The Heroine said you have a good appetite, yeah?”

“I enjoy food, if that’s what you mean,” I replied. “Though I would hardly describe myself as gluttonous…”

Lucy giggled at that for some reason, before plopping down on the ground and gesturing for me to sit besides her. “Come on! We can snuggle up together until breakfast is done.”

“As lovely as that sounds, I’d be remiss if I didn’t at least offer my help during breakfast.”

“You can cook?” Lucy asked, looking at me with surprise.

“A little. Abigail taught me.” 

“The offer is appreciated, My Lady, but I can assure you that I have things handled,” Dyona replied. “Why don’t you sit down with your girlfriend? I’m sure the Heroine has missed you during your brief absence. Seeing as how she was out here half an hour before you, I mean.”

I froze, briefly, at the mention of absence - only for my posture to thaw a moment later, when Dyona clarified. For a moment, I thought she’d been aware something was amiss. 

“Well, if you insist,” I agreed, shaking the worry off and settling on the ground next to Lucy, and leaning against her. Though I wouldn’t exactly call it cuddling, what with her armor in between the two of us, I would go so far as to call it a relaxing way to spend time before breakfast. Even if I couldn’t feel the warmth of her flesh, simply knowing she was next to me provided a warmth all of its own.

From there, the day passed in much the same way as the previous had. We ate a simple meal, waited for Dyona to enter the carriage, and then picked it up so that we could make our way forward.

It was straightforward, if slightly boring, and thanks to our efforts we had the town in sight before night could fall. Though we did have to pick up our pace a little, in order to make it to the gates before they closed.

“Are you doing alright?” I asked Grell, as the guards waved us through. They’d been a bit bewildered by the sight of three girls carrying it, but they had settled down after noticing Lucy. I suppose such feats of strength were expected from the Heroine, and her companions.

“I’m fine,” Grell insisted.

“You certainly don’t look at it,” I pressed. She was panting, drenched in sweat and trembling faintly. The run had taken a surprising amount out of her, despite the ease with which she’d previously helped us.

“It’s nothing,” Grell insisted, flashing me a grin. “I’m just low on magical power, is all - ate through most of it enhancing my muscles.”

“Enhancing your muscles?” I frowned. “I wasn’t aware that was something one could do.” In fact, the only people I knew of who could do that were-

“It’s because I’m from a blessed bloodline! Lets me turn my magic into muscle. Which is way better, let me tell you - not that there’s anything wrong with doing fancy magic tricks, but there’s nothing quite like punching a problem away, you know?”

“My Lady,” Diona called out, from within the carriage. Whatever she was about to say, though, it was too late.

“So that’s where I know you from!” Lucy exclaimed, before slapping a hand over her mouth. “Uh… I mean… Sorry? I won’t tell anyone!”

Grell slumped - a gesture I didn’t exactly appreciate, considering we were still carrying a carriage, but which I could forgive under the circumstances. “Bah. Forgot you’d be aware of this sort of thing…” 

For my part, I merely shrugged. “I won’t ask. Though I’ll admit to assuming it has something to do with the origin of such a bloodline?” Blessed bloodlines were usually a ‘highborn’ thing, according to what I’d been told. It would make sense for Lucy - or rather, the Heroine - to know a thing or two about them.

“Nah, it’s fine… The Heroine’s the main one I needed to hide from anyways… Dad’s going to be pissed if this gets back to him…”

“It won’t!” Lucy promised. “I’ll keep your secret! Though I don’t really get why it needs to be a secret, in the first place…”

“Because I’m a screw up,” Grell answered, shrugging. “An utter failure of a noblewoman. I mean, have you met me? I’m basically a diplomatic embarrassment waiting to happen.”

“That’s-” 

“It’s fine,” Grell interrupted. “I mean, it’s seriously fine. I prefer the life of an adventurer to that of a noble lady anyways.”

“But what about your family?” Lucy pressed.

“What about them?” Grell asked.

“My Lady visited her family just a week prior,” Dyona remarked, leaning out of the carriage window. “They’re on remarkably good terms.”

“Oh yeah,” Grell agreed. “We’re actually way closer than when I actually lived there. We used to fight all the time! And not the fun sort of fight, either. The whole becoming an adventurer and hiding my real name thing was my… Well, actually Dyona’s idea.”

“I was rather worried about your position in the household if things continued as they were,” Dyona remarked. “Something that affects my position as your maid. Besides, I’d always wanted to see the world. Now I can be paid to look after you in the process.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Grell replied, rolling her eyes. “You only stay with me for the money.”

“Just as you only stay with me because you couldn’t survive on your own. It’s a fine arrangement, don’t you think?”

“I think we’re here,” Grell replied, tilting her head in the direction of a large inn. “Let’s park this thing and get rooms, alright? Hopefully they’ll have four.”

“Three,” Lucy corrected. “I’ll be sleeping with Eena!”

“Is that… Allowed?” Grell asked.

“Of course!” Lucy declared. “Or at least it should be. Why shouldn’t a girl sleep with a girl she loves?”

“You mean… in the same bed, right?” Dyona asked, cautiously.

“Among other things!” Lucy said. “I’m sure the Goddess wouldn’t mind, though! I mean, why would she give me such strong urges if she didn’t want me to give into them?”

“To… test you…?” Grell offered. “I guess?”

“I’m pretty sure you’re committing blasphemy,” Dyona remarked.

“Yup!” Lucy agreed, casually. “I’d get a really angry letter from the church if the Grand Patriarch found out, too! So I guess we both have secrets we don’t want each other to tell to anyone, right?”

For some reason, Grell and Dyona didn’t have a response to that.

***

Lucy

***

“You’re ready, then?” Devilla asked me.

“I am!” I promised. Not for the first time, either. That was fine, though! I knew Eena was just nervous - I was a little nervous, too! I mean, this was only my second dating experience, and I was doing it without Eena. Plus, I was going to the tower by myself! If anything went wrong, I’d be in big trouble…

It was fine, though! I knew that Abigail would have my back, and I was sure I could rely on Eena’s family if things got bad. More importantly, it was worth the risk. I would never get close to Abigail if I didn’t put myself out there - and I was determined to at least try and see if the three of us could all find happiness together!

Besides, I sort of wanted to see what life was like in the tower. What people were like. I knew in my heart that they were the same as us humans, but I still wanted to see it with my eyes, so that when I stood in front of other humans and told them I believed in demons I wanted to have firsthand experiences I could share.

Of course, I had every intention of telling Abigail that! It wouldn’t do to sour our relationship by keeping secrets, after all, and while I didn’t really think of it as an ulterior motive or anything like that, I knew that keeping it quiet might make it seem like I had some sort of sinister purpose.

“Alright then,” Devilla said, before reaching out to grab my hands and plant a kiss on my lips. “Have fun on your date.”

“I will!” I promised, before focusing on Devilla’s bedroom. I could feel the teleportation circle seeking out my holy magic, just like Eena told me it would. So of course I gave it access and instantly disappeared.

~~~

Author's Notes

It's another short chapter, I know - pretty much for the exact same reason as last time, too. I want the date to be its own thing. Hopefully a long enough thing to make up for how short this one is, though I can't make any guarantees. Even I'm not entirely sure how this date's going to go! (But I look forward to writing it and finding out.)

Next up is (hopefully) either the final slime story, or the next chapter of DQ... I wanna work on the one-shot, but I have to admit that the date is calling me.