Losing everything I thought I once had

Chapter 4

The staircase that spiraled out of the archive seemed a lot longer than it had 35 minutes prior, the steps stretching out for what felt like miles. The two prison “escapees" were speaking in demon, their words trying to hide themselves. Betty fluttered up the stairs at a slow pace, her wings keeping her from walking.

“So, your highness?” Mesora’s voice caused me to turn around, walking up the stairs backwards. I tilted my head and raised an eyebrow, prompting her to continue. “Do you not have good wings or do you not know how to use them very well?”

Having been raised on the surface, I was not used to the ability to fly. Yet, the feeling of a tail was something that felt familiar, a feeling I was used to. My wings were strange, compared to the other’s, so I tried to keep them hidden unless absolutely necessary.

“Oh, you know. My legs do just fine,” I stated simply, spinning back around and nearly tripping. The constant stretch of my leg to reach the next step was getting tedious, my legs wanting to turn to jello.

“And they certainly look fine,” Antoka purred, heat exploding on my face. “You were very soft earlier, by the way.” I fought the urge to pull the back of my dress down.

“Are you always this perverted or did my sister being your chance at freedom bring it out?” Betty asked, facing the duo. Her arms were crossed over her chest, her hair put in two small pigtails resting at her neck.

“I don't know, babe. Wanna find out?”

“Would you two stop it? I'm not sure how the rest of the kingdom is gonna take me bringing two prisoners back to civilization. So, I want all three of you on your best behavior, think you can do that?”

Sounds of assurance reached my ears, the top of the stairwell coming within view. I ran my fingers through my bangs, watching the hair fluff out before sitting back where it usually does. A sigh escaped, a dust of ice sparkled out.

I leapt to the top of the stairs, three steps high causing a bit of overuse in my legs. I turned my head, seeing the three padding after me. Fluffing out the hair against my neck, I closed the archive behind everyone.

The ground shook slightly as the stairs rose, flattening themselves and matching the stone floor next to them. A pillar made a clicking noise, hiding the numpad that granted access into the old library, any evidence of a secret book storage gone.

“Well, now what?” Mesora asked, tucking some of her grease and dirt filled hair behind an ear. Her purple gaze was kept on me, except for the occasional glance at her partner of crime.

“Get you two a shower and a fresh set of clothes. You smell like you've been dead for a week,” Betty responded, covering her nose with her hand. “And then, Mesora, I will personally give you a makeover fit for a Queen!”

“But, shouldn't you give it to your actual Queen? Or has it already been done?” Mesora glanced between the three of us, picking at the dirt under her fingernails.

I turned my back to them, hugging the book against my chest, leading the way to the castle. I could hear their footsteps behind me, a few silent mutterings from Antoka. My tail lashed as I opened the door, standing to the side to make walking room. Ushering them inside, I closed the door behind us, the light from inside the castle nearly blinding me.

I weaved in between the bodies, to stand in front, turning right in the foyer, motioning them to follow. I lead the way through an adjacent hallway, a set of rooms on either side. Without looking at the doors, gliding my hand along the wall, I stopped at the fourth one on the right. The door was black, gold accents swirling around the edges and handle.

“Mesora, there is a shower in here and you have full choice of anything you want to wear afterwards. At least, until we can get you your own,” I stated, opening the door and pushing the female demon inside. I turned toward Antoka, a glare in my eye, “now, Antoka.”

“Yes, your highness? What would you like me to do for you?” He asked, leaning forward with his hand on the wall. I reached up, wiping a noticeable smudge of dirt off his forehead, an eyebrow raised.

“What is wrong with you?” Betty questioned, reaching up and spinning her halo.

“Doesn't matter the issue. Betty, I need you to go out and get something for him to wear. Antoka, come with me and I will get you a shower,” I turned to lead him further down the hall before stopping. “And before you ask, no I am not going in with you.”

“A guy can certainly dream, now can't he?” Antoka spoke, moving to walk at my side. With actual lighting, I could see that he stood around a foot taller than me, yet he leaned back as he walked.

“Dreams are normally kept quiet,” I muttered, hearing Betty scamper off. My heart lurched as I realized I was alone with a man I knew nothing about. I gulped and kept my head high, moving a hand to the gun at my hip.

“No need to worry, babe. I ain't gonna do nothin' to you. Imagine what Mesora would do to me, if I assaulted the Queen. Hell, imagine what the country would do to me if I assaulted you. Besides, that ain't my style,” he rested a hand on my shoulder.

“Well, at least you're honest. You don't get demons like that too often,” I flicked his hand away before opening a door and, checking inside, shoving him in. “Shower, shower, shower.”

I reached for a door, finding an empty closet inside. Letting out a huff, I moved to the second door inside the room. Turning out empty, I whirled around and scanned the room, spotting a third door. I slithered past a bed and a table, shoving open the wooden door.

Inside was a sparkling clean washroom, a crystal-esque shower standing in the corner. A marble sink sat along the wall, the counter next to it stacked with towels. Letting out a sigh, I backed up and shoved the dirt coated demon inside the room, slamming the door behind him.

“Take as long as you need. Honestly, I have all day,” I told him, hearing the shower water turn on.

“Wait, that's actual running water? Where the hell did you get this?” He asked, his voice muffled by the pounding of the water and the thick door between us.

“It was one of the first things I asked for when I moved into the underground. I did not want to shower in burning hot lava, thank you very much. It's just some piping mixed with a magic filter, that brings in lake water and boom. It's like an amazing recycling water plant thing.”

“Why is it reusing water?” The thudding of the water gave a different tune, announcing any movement.

“Because humans are awful and they would get on our case about us taking water. This way, we don't have to deal with any of that blabbering,” I responded, swiping my two fingers down through the air and pulling up the demon database.

“You're fully aware this is gonna take a good hour at least, right?”

“Again, I have all day. So scrub as much dirt off of you as you can. You'll have a task from me when you're done.”