Tales from the Dark Isles (Gladis&Lyra Meiko)

[Gladis]

​

It was a late mid summer afternoon, and the sun was standing high upon the blue painted sky. The speck of glowing yellow radiating just enough heat for it to be comfortable, yet it was far from warm enough for bathing in the sea- which was rather unusual around this time of year. Here and there heavy clouds could be seen hanging in the sky, especially becoming many in number south of the castle. It was clear that before long, there would be rain.​

"To be honest, this whole summer has seemed colder than usual... although that could also just be me getting older," the elderly king murmured to himself in thought as he peacefully strode through the garden, almost as though he had all time in the world. This, of course, was all but true and he knew that very soon he would have no choice but to return to his duties.

The king had as kind a face as his personality- and in all of the kingdom, he was loved and adored by his people. It was mostly due to his strong sense of judgement and caring nature. Yet, as it always is, not everyone cherished the king. Some considered him a fool, others due to greed and selfishness simply thought him to be too just. Nevertheless most treated him with outmost respect. His belief was that a kingdom should not be ruled by the hand of fear, but a good will and strong mind. A king should want to make their subjects happy and win their loyalty by his good deeds, not force it upon them with threats and despair. A king who did not serve his people, but used his authority to have them serve him, was not worthy of being called king- in his opinion.

"Your highness? Your highness, may I have your attention for just a moment, please..."
The aged king was pulled from his deep thoughts by the voice of a young servant girl, a note of urgency in her voice. He turned around to face her, his brows slightly furrowed as his lips curled into a slight but friendly smile. It was somewhat of an attempt to calm the maid, who seemed far too agitated for her own good. "You may. Is there anything I can do for you?"
The young maid returned a nervous smile and gave a slight nod of her head. "Indeed. Your highness, there is a... young lord asking for an audience with you, preferably at once. I-I told him to wait b-but..."
The king held up his hand and his smile widened. "Well, then. Take me too see this young lord and I shall listen to what he has to say, hmm?"
"O-of course!" the servant girl replied, curtseying before turning on her heals and heading back into the castle, "I'll take you to him at once."
The elderly king chuckled softly as he followed her, finding her nervous behavior quite endearing.

Despite the fact that the servant girl had labeled the visitor 'young lord', what awaited him in the throne room was still not quite what the elderly king had expected. The boy was young, 11 or 12 at most; yet his icy blue eyes were not those of a child. They were the eyes of a man who had experienced decades of hardships and misery, witnessed things worse than any nightmare and yet never experienced even an ounce of love or warmth. They were they eyes of a killer, the eyes of a demon. Although his body was meek and his expression devoid of emotion, his eyes burned fiercely with determination and desire.
Never before had the king seen such eyes, or experienced that he could not hold another's gaze for particularly long. Without doubt, the child sent shivers down his spine.
The boy had come alone, as far as the king understood. In the throne room only his own servants and guards were present, and yet he had the feeling he was being watched by an unseen force, hostile, to be sure. Nevetheless, he refrained from showing any sign of fear by the beautiful child's presence, and forced a diplomatic smile while he gazed down at the boy from his throne. "And how might I aid you, my child?" he asked softly.

"My request is simple," replied the boy, his voice as flat and emotionless as his expression, "Abdicate the throne at once, and surrender this kingdom to the Dark Isles."
The kings eyes nearly popped out at the boys request and he noticed the guards closest to him tensed. One of them look furious.
"What insolence! Who do you think you-" The guard never had time to finish before the king lifted his hand to silence him, a slightly nervous chuckle rumbling in his chest. "What a entertaining joke... though I suppose that was not the only reason you came here?" The dark isles? the king thought with a frown, Surely this must be a fabrication of a child playing a bad prank? Why would they send a mare child to do their conquering? The king had heard rumors of the dark isles. They were said to be a frightening place, devoid of all hope and love- and ruled by the curliest emperor of all time: the demon lord.
The boys expression remained the same, almost as though it had been set in stone. The very look in his eyes as he gazed upon the king in silence made it quite clear that his words had been anything but a joke. As the boy did not reply, and simply continued to stare, the king settled in his throne and sighed, his smile faltering. A hint of uneasiness showed in his eyes and could be heard in his voice as he spoke again.
"Who are you, child?" he asked slowly, narrowing his eyes.
"I am known by many names, yet prefer to go by my title, Arashi Shuriken: Emperor of the Dark Isles." Just for a moment, the hint of a smile flickered across his features. It was a cold, bloodthirsty and frightening smile. The boy named turned on his heals began to stride towards the doors, though halted right before he was about to exit, casting the king a sideways glance.

Every last bit of color had drained from the kings features as he realized who the child before him was. Had anyone else made such a statement and looked like the child, perhaps he wouldn't have believed them. Something about the eerie boy told the king that he was speaking the truth. Never had the king imagined that the feared Emperor of Darkness who Swallows Countries was merely a young child; a boy... and a beautiful boy to that.

"We shall give you one month to consider your options. If you have not made a decision by the time the red moon rises, we will take your kingdom by force. Think carefully: Should you reject our favor, the fate of your kingdom will be a unpleasant one." The young Emperor didn't have time to take more than one step before the king shouted the order that would be the end of his highness.
"C-capture the brat! Alive, though! Make sure he is alive!" the king barked, pointing a shaky hand at the boy. Small beads of sweat had were glistering on his forehead, a look of fear completely having overcome him.

​

Arashi merely turned back around, an expression of utter boredom crossing his features. "What a den of utter fools and cowards," he murmured as the doors to the throne room slammed shut behind him, cutting off his only escape route.

***
​

The servant girl from earlier was sweeping the floor of one of the hallways when she heard a commotion coming from the throne room. For a moment she considered just assuming that everything would be alright and carrying on with her duties, but with each passing second the commotion became noisier and noisier... until suddenly there was total silence.Her eyes were wide, her hands clasped clasped around her broom as she hesitantly edged towards the doors leading to the throne room. Just as she was about to knock, they slammed open. A terrified shriek escaped her lips, her hands trembling. The broom clattered to the floor, and she took a step back in shock.

The scene she was met her eyes was all but pleasant.​

The floor of the throne room was covered in blood and corpses- some complete, while others were completely disfigured with several limbs severed. Clearly a fierce battle had taken place. In the middle of it all stood the same boy she had spoken to earlier, covered in blood and a sword clasped in his pale hand. Fighting all those men on his own must have had its strain, even on the demon. While this might be the case, he seemed to have come to little harm himself- not even a scratch visible upon his porcelain skin.

The maid froze as the boy lifted his chilling gaze, focusing those pale blue eyes on her. His hand moved, and before long he was pointing the bloodied sword directly at her.
"And you..." he said, his chest still heaving and falling heavily, "you have neither family nor a master to serve, do you? I recognize an orphan when I see one. Truth to be told, now when the king dead, you have nowhere else to go and no one to serve... from this day onwards, you will be my servant."

The young emperor staggered over to her and grasped hold of her sleeve in order to steady himself; he looked as though he was ready to collapse any moment, and for just the blink of an eye... he actually appeared like the child he was; meek and shattered.

That was the only time Rosalie would ever see him cry.

​

As the red moon rose over the island, the 11th devision of the black army marched into Regalia, a kingdom which had fallen into chaos after their king and his guards were brutally murdered by a still I identified culprit. When morning arrived, Regalia, renamed Crimson Island, officially became part of the dark isles and was put under the supervisory rule of Lord Astoroth- the Crimson General.

This was the third kingdom the young Emperor had claimed in more or less such a manner, and it would definitely not be the last.

​

Arashi was seated by a window in his sleeping chamber, cold blue eyes focused on the barren world outside. From this view, it appeared to be a truly dark and lifeless thing. This was only half the truth about his empire. Surly it was dark, but for the most part it was all but lifeless. One just needed to know where to look for something to happen. Several years had passed and his empire had grown drastically. With the empire, the emperor also grew and what had once been a meager looking but beautiful child, was now a tall and handsome man, appearing to be somewhere around his late twenties. Of course, being a demon he didn't physically age like a human. There was no way to tell how old he really was.

No matter how much he had physically changed, his eyes remained the same as they had been back then. Cold, calculating, fear inducing.

Arashi glanced up as he heard a knock on the door, knowing full and well who it was even before she spoke. "Come on in, Rosalie..." he said, his expression remaining bored and his voice as flat and lifeless as always.

She opened the door and slipped inside, shutting it behind herself before she headed over to his side. She too had aged, though so far more quickly than Arashi. Having been around fifteen when they first met, the maid was now old, her long hair white as snow and her once smooth skin marred with wrinkles. Yet, in a way she still retained the simplistic beauty of her young days. Especially her large dark eyes were still just as gentle and kind.

Rosalie stood at his side silently for a while, following his gaze as she tried to figure out how to approach the subject troubling her for quite a while.
"You've been very quiet lately- more so than usual, milord. Are you not feeling well? Is there something heavy weighing on your mind?" started carefully, watching him through those intense, brown orbs.
Arashi kept his gaze trained on the dead landscape outside, his expression remaining emotionless as he said nothing for a while. "... grab my hairbrush," he ordered. His voice was surprisingly gentle, but somehow also appeared to be distant.
Rosalie sighed and left, only to reappear a moment later with a hairbrush in hand. Quietly, she stood behind him and gently began brushing through his long black hair, again waiting for him to speak. If he wanted to answer her question, he would do so. Asking again could only end up in aggravating him. She had long since learned that upsetting the emperor was a very bad idea indeed.

Finally, Arashi spoke. "Rosa, your husband used to be quite skilled at locating people at request, wasn't he? While he was still active in the trade, that is."
Rosalie narrowed her eyes slightly in thought before hesitantly nodding her head. "Yes, I would suppose so... why?"
"I am looking for a wife..."
Rosalie nearly dropped the hairbrush in response to the direct but somewhat strange reply, grimacing slightly. "You already have seven, aren't they enough?" she asked wearily.
"No," the emperor retorted calmly, tracing his fair fingers alongside the mosaic pattern of the window sill. "The seven wives I have are each from one of the dark isles I conquered. I cannot imagine any of them particularly like me, some even despising me with all they've got. They all look upon me with either fear or contempt. I do not hold it against them. Not everyone is like you and can forgive: especially unforgivable deeds," he paused and breathed a soft sigh, "Hm... honestly I don't care if they do. Their only reason for being here is for conceiving my children and then both they and their child will be sent back home, if they so wish. What I want is a wife that is truly my own..."

It was a displeased frown that painted Rosalie's face, and she found herself boldly giving him a light smack in the head with her brush. "When will you learn, you young moron? You cannot own a person!" She was clearly aggravated by his request, scowling in dislike.
Arashi turned his gaze away from her for the first time during that conversation, his expression blank. "... don't be silly, of course you can. Anyway, may I finish?"
Rosalie arched an eyebrow before sighing and resuming with brushing his hair. "Yes, continue, milord... you should not have to ask for my permission," she smiled slightly, sadly.
"I always feel like a caged bird in this palace. Everywhere I go I bring despair, I cause fear. Everything around me is impure, sullied, shattered and tainted. Even the things I touch. I want someone innocent, someone pure..."
"You've been reading cheesy romance novels as of late, haven't you? Or perhaps you are taking one of my fairytales just a little bit too seriously..."
Arashi grimaced. "Of course not..." he turned his gaze down, in a way indicating the exact opposite. "I'm just... bored."
"You are bored and for that reason wish my husband to find a wife for you?" she questioned slowly.
"I am glad that you understand, now get to work." he replied, a slight smirk tugging the corners of his lips.
"Good grief... very well, I shall speak to my husband. You're a spoiled brat, you know that?"

​

Three months passed, and Rosalie's husband did his best to locate a fitting wife for the Emperor. Eventually he found a young woman from a kingdom still untouched by the empire of darkness. The girl was from a poor family, which gladly had given away their daughters hand in marriage in return for generous payment. Not that the Emperor would need to know any of this. All that mattered was that she was pretty- looked pure and was a virgin. Surely the emperor would pass that off as being pure, would he not? His world view was skewed enough that it would have come as no surprise.

Arashi was sitting at his desk, the only sound present being quill scraping against paper as black ink formed sentences. There was a knock on the door, causing Arashi to stop his hand and glance up. He'd almost expected Rosalie to be standing there, and was just about to give her the usual 'come on in', when he was reminded by the bitter truth that he had seen her off just a few weeks ago. Never again would that pleasant old lady brush his hair so gently. In a way it made him sad. She was the closest thing to a loving mother he'd ever had.

"What do you want?" he asked, sounding uncharacteristically grumpy.

"Your highness," the voice of his most trusted general sounded through the door, "Your bride... is waiting for you in the throne room."

 

[Lyra Meiko]

It was such a lovely afternoon, the last day that a beautiful young lady got to walk the stone paved roads of her flourishing home land. The sky was a constant hue of light blue, with puffs of white clouds to decorate it. The storm season recently passed, so the weather was just starting to get better in the area. The sun was boldly shining among the clouds, not letting a single one block it's bright spot light. The rays that shone through from the sky persistently touched the rosy cheeks of joyful citizens, admiring their happy kingdom and the lovely weather. Each woman in a flowing dress of lighter colors that reached their ankles, and their hair up in different manners, held back by rose stems. Each man wore an aired out shirt and pants, also with their flowing manes adorned with different colored roses. Although their kingdom had a completely voluntary dress code, all seemed to wear strikingly similar outfits.

Their heeled shoes buckled the stone pavement of their streets as they walked past tall buildings that were squeezed ever so close next to each other. Each building had slanted roofs and stain glass windows that local artists got to decorate. Each building seemed pretty distinctly different from one another, except for the fact that each had flourishing flowers growing all over the sides and in between the slight cracks of each tower. Included in this village was a baker, a seamstress, a library, a market, and many other components that made this one of the main villages in the kingdom. This small village was apart of a larger kingdom, although the kingdom itself was also quite small, that was named Westerrose. Westerrose's most evidently cultivated crop was that of roses. They bred all sorts of colors and styles all year long. Every citizen wore them and had them in their house and outside of their house. The citizens loved them so much that the gentle and flamboyant ruler named the kingdom after the flower!

The small yet lovable kingdom of Westerrose was able to be so quaint and happy because it was protected by a series of steep and dangerous mountains that many dared not to travel. Westerrose was on the west side of the mountains, and the inhuman and outrageously large empire of the dark isles was on the east side. The evil empire was so close to this pure one, yet the mountains were so dangerous that the evil empire had not dared to reach so far yet. In fact, even if the dark empire did decide to cross the mountains, the army would probably miss Westerrose because Westerrose was not only protected by the mountains, but then surrounded by a large forest. Westerrose really was not worth bothering.

Now, walking along the stoney paths of the lively village near her quaint home was a young woman sporting the same similar attire to every other woman in the village. She was not quite tall or quite short, being a sort of middle height for a lady her age. Her dress was long sleeved and went down to her ankles, it was a pure white color. It covered her thin body well. Although her body was as frail as a piece of glass, her face had strong features that made her look brave. Her skin was pale which offset her dark brown hair that reached past her full some bust and down to her hips, that had a bit of a curve as well. Her hair was actually in a high pony tail at the moment, pulled back by a band made of flower stems and petals, so if pulled down her hair would be even longer. She had pretty eyes that matched the color of her hair and were decorated with longer eyelashes. Her lips were a healthy pink color like some of the flowers around her. There was not a single imperfection on her face. She was a very beautiful girl who many men seemed to stare at as she walked by. She tended to get many silly proposals when she was younger and pretty for a young girl, but now that she was this beautiful many men found it difficult to even speak a single word to her. They all assumed that she must have had a man already who would cut their heads off if they even muttered a simple hello to her. Of course this was not true, this lovely lady who was so beautiful that her name was almost like a kingdom itself did not exactly have a suitor yet. This girl's name was Adonia.

Adonia belonged to a family that consisted of seven including herself. There was her mother, who worked long hours for the village's seamstress. The cruel seamstress worked her mother like a dog, making her not only sew but deal with customers and clean the building like her mother was some sort of servant. There was her father, who was a loyal farmer. Her father grew fruits, vegetables, and of course flowers on the small area of land around their shabby home. He also raised cattle, chicken, and wool producing animals.Then, besides Adonia herself, she had four younger siblings. Three of them were proactive younger brothers who aided with the farm work and one of them was a younger sister. Her younger sister tended to cling to Adonia a lot as the younger sister was the baby of the family. Her family was quite large in comparison to their income. Adonia's mother did not make much even though she did so much dog work, and her father's income was strictly seasonal and based on luck. If the crops did not do well, they would not have food for the season. Whenever such things happened, Adonia would pick up jobs around the village and on other farms. Adonia did not mind doing hard labor for her family. As her mother always praised her, Adonia was a good girl.

Now, our heroin Adonia was in the village because the woman she was working for right now had given her a list of things to pick up. This rainy season was not a good one for her father, so Adonia actively searched for a job and found one assisting an elderly woman with no family to take care of her. This was easy work that paid quite well, so Adonia did it with a smile. With the money, Adonia's father would be able to buy an abundance of seeds for the now sunny season that was starting. On the list was the usual; eggs, milk, fruits, perfumes, and flowers of course. Reading the last thing on the list made her heart flutter a bit, flowers. There were a few other things on the list that she had gotten already and were carrying in her woven basket, but she specifically waited to get the flowers last. There were two main reasons for this choice. For one, the flowers would be more fresh if they were picked up last and brought home quickly. Secondly, there was someone she wanted to visit at a specific flower stall, and if he knew that she had more work to do then he would send her away. With no other work to do, there was no reason for him to send her away. The old lady would not mind her taking a bit of time to do such things anyways, she was sweet and patient. Adonia was a witty girl, and she had thought about extensive explanations she would give the person she wanted to see if he tried to send her away. Of course, no matter great the explanation she would think of, she would probably be sent away anyways unable to even talk back. This person who made her heart flutter also made her tongue twist.

This young man she spoke of was named David. David, like mentioned before, worked at one of the many flower stalls in the village Adonia was visiting. He was tall, a bit tanned from being out in the sun often, had lovely blond hair, and deep blue eyes that made village girls swoon. He was very kind and Adonia could not help but admit that she had a slight crush on him. She even had the feeling that David felt somewhat the same way because she was the only one that he gave free flowers too. They were always childhood friends and their families were close as well. The families often talked about wedding the two one day, to which Adonia had no objection.

So, Adonia happily skipped over to David's flower stall, calling out to him with a wave and a smile. Her voice was quite chipper.

"David~!" To which he turned and waved back, a smile spreading across his face the minute he heard her lovely voice.

"Good Afternoon, Adonia. Out shopping?" He asked, tilting his head slightly with his question. Just seeing him made Adonia swoon, he really was quite handsome when it came to men in their tiny kingdom.

"Of course, and I've come to pick up some yellow roses for the mistress." She replied happily.

"Oh? This mistress you speak of has good taste, yellow roses are in season right now. Did you know they represent friendship? Unlike red that represent romance and salmon that represent desire, if you want to express your friendship to someone you give them a lovely yellow rose." He explained as he began to put them together, picking only the best, bunching them together with a silk ribbon, and then putting a covering around them so Adonia would not prick herself. David was quite careful and thoughtful.

"Well of course I do, it would be a shame for any citizen of Westerrose to not know the language of the flowers." She answered, taking the flowers into her arms once he was finished with them, and handing him the money. Their hands brushed for a moment, making the woman squeal in her thoughts. It was so silly how just a simple brush of the touch could make her act like a teenage girl, but it did forgetting about her age. She was in her early twenties.

"Ah, I should have expected that you would know, you know everything don't you?" He said, laughing slightly and putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, maybe." A giggle escaping her lips as they turned into a coy smile.

"Well, I already knew that much." He smiled and sighed slightly, then taking a yellow rose that happened to have not a single thorn, and slipping it into her hair, adding another flower to her pretty locks. This made her blush slightly.

"Now go and run off, those flowers will wilt in this sun. The drought season has just begun." He said, shooing her away. This made her frown and whine slightly.

"Oh come now, they are strong, they will last." She tried to rebuttal, not wanting to leave so soon.

"Perhaps, but think of the smile that will come across her face once she sees them." He explained, placing his gentle hand on the top of her head. David was always thinking of others before himself, this was something she loved and hated about him. She was slightly annoyed that he found away to send her off after she ever so carefully thought of ways to make herself stay, but she could not deny him now. Something in her mind told her that she knew their conversation would end this way, they always did no matter how hard she tried to keep them going. So, she could not bring herself to dish out her lengthy rebuttal.

"Well, if you insist. I'll see you later then David." She smiled, enjoying the placing of his hand for a moment and then shaking it off and walking away, waving with her free hand. He waved back, and then she went off back to the old woman's house with all of her things. The two were not a couple, though they did act like children infatuated with puppy love. David had never kissed her, in fact Adonia had never been kissed. Adonia was a truly a virgin in all means of the name. The two had never even held hands. At most, he would touch her face or her head. He also gave her flowers quite often, like he had just done so. Every moment with him made Adonia's heart race, and she wished for the day that they would wed would come sooner. At that moment, she did not know that today would be the last day she would see him for a very long time.

After ending the days work with the old woman, Adonia started her trek home. It was a bit of a walk between the village, the woman's home, and then her own home; but Adonia did not mind because it was a beautifully scenic walk. There was a solid path that if you walked along, you could see fields of rice, rivers where women would do work, and then the distant mountains in the backgrounds. Adonia took this path every day. It was time in the day where she could unwind and process her thoughts after a busy day. Although her feet were often sore after walking so much, she didn't really mind too much. The beauty of the landscape would normally distract her.
​

​

She soon came across her quaint home that consisted of a few spread out buildings that all had different purposes and the bit of farm land that they owned. There was something off about things though that made Adonia stop in her tracks however. The thing mentioned was a dark carriage that was parked in front of her house. There were two majestic black horses attached to it, each one looking like it was worth more then an entire income Adonia would accumulate yearly. She was almost mesmerized by their beauty, starting to reach out to touch one before it scoffed at her which made her flinch away. Soon, she quickly scurried inside as she knew something was up. Not only were these foreign horses in front of her house, but her father had not put any of the animals back inside of their homes yet although the sun would be setting soon enough. He always made sure they were all put away by this point.

She walked inside quietly, about to open her mouth until she saw her parents sitting at the table with an older man who looked like he came from a land of hardship. Her four siblings were in another room. The two parents were nearly on the edge of tears as they counted through a large sum of money in an ivory sack. Adonia slowly stepped into the room they were all in, looking quite confused. The mother looked up, once she realized that Adonia had walked inside, soon a large smile growing on her face.

"Oh Adonia! We have such wonderful news you must come sit!" She said, sounding ever so over joyed. Adonia had no words for what was going on, so she simply sat down in the open chair near her parents, glancing at the older man who seemed to be analyzing her appearance. Then she looked at the table. Many pictures of her were spread across it, making Adonia feel uncomfortable.

"Mother, father, what on earth is going on?" Adonia asked, bewildered as to what was happening.

"Oh dear, we have gotten such a wonderful offer. This man is willing to give us such a large income. So large that we could buy more land, fix all of the repairs on the house, we could even buy little Lilian one hundred frilly dresses!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide with joy as she referenced buying dresses for the young sister. These words made Adonia gasp slightly.

"What? Why in the world would we be given this money?" Adonia asked quietly, with a surprised undertone on her voice. Her father decided to speak up next.

"Well, the lord of his home kingdom is searching for a wife-" He began to say carefully, before Adonia stopped him, blinking slightly in doubt.

"Wife? You don't mean that this is all in exchange for me, do you?" She said with disbelief.

"Oh, Adonia dear this is such a great opportunity for the family! He has searched for many months for a maiden suited for his lord, and after we showed him a few pictures of you he said that you were perfect! You are coming of age and we were planning on finding you a husband soon anyways. Now, a husband has come asking for you and he is willing to pay the family. It's just so wonderful! And to think, you are going to be married to a lord! Does that not sound like a fairy tale, dear?" She asked, horribly ignorant to the true situation. In fact, they all were. One of the poor things about Westerrose was that because they were all so cut out from the outside world, no citizen knew much about the politics of the outside world. No one, including Adonia, had any idea of the situation that they were sending her into. The man who came to take her away did not think of mentioning anything either that would scare the family away. Adonia was left quiet, thinking about the situation deeply. It was true, the family did need money, but to be married off to someone foreign? At the moment, she did not know how far away she would be going. She didn't know anything about the man either, that she would be marrying.

But, it didn't really seem like it was her choice either. The parents were already clinging to the large some of money, and she knew it would break their hearts and cause them to spite her if they had to give it back to the quiet man watching Adonia.

"I see." She began to speak up, but quietly. "Well, I am honored to have such interest put in me. I assume it will be best to pack and leave then, I'm sure it was quite a travel to get here." The man across the table nodded, although her voice sounded unsure and shaky. The parents of course were too consumed by the wealth. Adonia tried her best to keep her posture and seem polite, although she did truly want to start throwing a temper tantrum like a hormone filled teenager or like an angry toddler.

Adonia rose from the table, slowly making her way to her room where all of the siblings were waiting. They seemed to have been listening to the entire conversation, between the thin walls of the tiny and frail house. Lilian, the youngest sister, quickly ran over and hugged her.

"A-adonia! Are you leaving!? You're not leaving right!?" There was a shrill in her tiny, high pitched voice. Although there was a lump in her throat, Adonia forced herself to keep a painted smile on her face.

"It seems like I am." She tried to explain calmly, kneeling down and putting her arm around her younger sister.

"B-but why!? And where!?" She looked up, with tiny tears starting to form in her big brown eyes. Adonia signed slightly. Lilian truly loved her older sister so much, all of the young siblings loved their beautiful and kind older sister.

"Well, I'm not exactly sure yet, Lily. It could be quite close, or very far." She said, although she had a feeling that it was going to be far.

"But even if it is far away, I'll be sure to visit and write. It's important that I go. If I wait too long to get married, no one will want me." One of the younger brothers then decided to stand up, his fist bunched up.

"That's not true! You have David!" He said firmly, which caused a wave of sadness to come across her face. David, this was something she would have to tell David. They were not official, but it would still feel wrong to just leave without telling him. She did not know if she would have the strength to, however. She convinced herself that she would not have time to either.

"Yes, but David is handsome enough, he will be able to find a different wife. Doing this is for the best of all of you. If I marry this man, none of you will ever go hungry again, and making sure of that is very important to me. Do you understand?" She tried to explain, them all, but hesitantly nodding their tiny heads in response.

"Good, and don't worry this is by no means a goodbye. I will visit, and write, and you must all attend my wedding. If you do not, I will be quite upset without little flower girls and ring bears." She said with a slight chuckle, trying to bring smiles onto all of their saddened faces. After a few kisses and hugs and of course more words exchanged, Adonia packed a few important things of hers. There was an untouched journal and quill pen that she had been saving to write in and with, and album with friendly pictures that she had accumulated throughout the years of her life so far, a few important articles of clothing, and a few other unimportant things to anyone except for herself. Once she was done packing, she changed into her best clothes and put more flowers in her hair. Then, she made her way back to the room where her father was making final remarks with the man about their little deal. Adonia had always imagined her parents would be more emotional about giving their daughter's hand away in marriage, but they did not seem emotional in the way she imagined at all. The family made a few final remarks to each other, and then Adonia was sent into the carriage that quickly started moving. The last look she had at her childhood home was that of her siblings on the verge of tears and her parents looking as if salvation had finally come to them. She thought of many things as they left, being quite quiet although she had company with her. She though of her family, of David, of her home, and what her future held for her. It was so quickly that the course of her life changed, that what she thought her future would be vanished from her mind. Thankfully, they took a route that did not pass the village so she would not have to see David or say good bye.

The ride to this kingdom spoken of was long and quiet. This was okay though, every day Adonia wrote a dated entry in her leather journal. Her cursive was carefully drawn and as beautiful as her face. One of Adonia's many hobbies was writing. The man who she never spoke a word too, although he did try to reach out to her, knew routes around the mountains but they were long and time consuming paths. It took days to get out of the forest and onto the other side of the mountain, finally reaching the kingdom adorned with a bloody moon. Adonia's eyes widened at the site. This kingdom was nothing like her own. There was not a living plant in site, the paths were rocky and unstable, life was nowhere to be seen. She had hoped that they were simply passing through a bad area, but the deadliness of the outside never ended. This was not a place that she wanted her family knowing she was living now. She could not even imagine what kind of man was the ruler of a country like this.

They soon reached the towering castle. It made her gasp. It seemed like she had married into a world of gluttony. Although most would be overjoyed to go from rags to riches, it made Adonia uncomfortable. When the carriage was parked, servants flooded around taking Adonia's things and moving them although she requested to take them herself. She heard the people talk about how she was very rustic looking and that she would need to change. She was moved into a tall carpeted room with a wardrobe, a mirror, a bed and such. A flock of bird like maids came in and started taking her measurements, stripping her and squeezing her to her discomfort and dismay. Every single rose was ripped out of her hair as she was thrown into a pool of chilled water and scrubbed to the bone. Her slightly matted hair was brushed roughly and parts of it were put into a bun and then held back by a long ivory silk veil. Once they were done with her hair and she was taken out of the water, they wrapped a large corset and dress wire onto her, making her waist seem even thinner then it already was. She was then stuffed into a frilly and strapless black wedding gown that made her chest puff out slightly, fishnet style gloves to match, and then she was decorated with jewels. For the first time in her life she had her ears pierced, long silver crosses hanging from them. Under her dress were tall black heels, silk stockings and then a dark wedding style garter belt. Once they were done dressing and cleaning her, they painted all of the desired make up onto her face and nails. All of this the maids were able to do although Adonia fought them until she was no longer able to move. She had never had such an moment in her life happen quite like this. When she looked in the mirror, she looked so foreign and exotic, not like herself at all. All of her features were sharpened drastically and seeing herself like this almost made her scared of her own face. She surely did not look rustic any more.

Once they were done, they gave her a bouquet of red roses held together by a black ribbon to hold in her hands. They then left her by herself in what she assumed was the throne room, she had only seen a throne room in books before, her stiffly standing straight with the roses held downwards. She kept her eyes locked on the door and her composure calm although she was quite ruffled up. Not once ever since getting here did they tell her anything about her husband to be, other than that he would see her soon. A group of butterflies seemed to be throwing a festival in her stomach, because she felt quite sick and nervous.
​

​

 

[Gladis]

General Mammon
​

The sound of heavy footfalls echoed through the corridors as the emperor made his way towards the throne room, Mammon trailing after him. Lord Mammon was a tall demon, though not quite as tall as the emperor himself. He was of a rather brawny build, and had long white hair hanging freely around his shoulders. His features were sharp, though he could by all means be considered handsome, though there was something unsettling about his fierce, poisonous green eyes. What marked him as a demon, unlike the emperor who had no such features, were a pair of large horns growing from his head, and the tail twitching beneath his robes from time to time. The demon general was garbed in the robes of a warrior, mostly consisting of leather and metal.

The emperor himself was dressed in a less barbaric looking clothing, though most of it ranged between hues of darker blue and midnight black. They too, consisted to a large degree of leather and other, smoother materials, though unlike Mammon's they'd been decorated by gold embroidery and expensive gems and stones. What most were unaware of was that every pretty stone actually was there for a reason- more than just being accessories. They'd been carefully infused magic, and each severed a different purpose.

As Arashi closed the distance between him and the throne room at a steady pace, the chatter of the maids reached his ears. Their voices were dry and raspy, inhuman. Almost every inhabitant of the castle was of another race, and the maids were no exception. Rosalie must have been very lonely, Arashi realized. Not that she ever complained about it or showed dissatisfaction in any way. She had always been grateful for serving Arashi. The emperor of darkness had never quite understood why, which was one of the reasons he'd found her fascinating. She never did what he expected, and despite her initially shy nature, she developed into quite the fierce individual. First she was like an elder sister to him- something he'd never had before. Later she became like a mother. She was indeed someone he'd held very dear.

The chatter of the maids died down as soon as Arashi came into sight and they scurried away into the shadows. This might just have been as well, since there wasn't need for anyone to open the doors. As though an invisible force was at work, the doors swung open in just the right time for Arashi to enter. Likewise, the doors fell shut behind him and Mammon, who quickly snuck inside before the doors closed. He wasn't sure if his lord would appreciate it, but curiosity had gotten the better of him. He did make sure to stay as silent as possible, though, and remained at the tall doors as Arashi began a slow stride towards the lady in the black dress.

She was the most beautiful woman Arashi had ever laid eyes on. She was not beautiful in the sense that he had imagined his future wife would be- heavenly and etherial. Nevertheless she had a sort of natural beauty about her that was unlike anything he had ever witnessed before. Of course, the make up and black dress she'd been forced to wear destroyed this image somewhat, and Arashi wasn't quite sure it suited her. While it suited the emperor's wife, he was unsure if it was fitting for her as a person. In fact, he found himself feeling quite furious at his servants, which he was sure were still cowering in the shadows.

"How rude," he commented, his voice laced with a hint of irritation, beginning to take on an intimidating tone, "do they have no respect for the future empress?" Indeed, Arashi was all but pleased by this charade. There was no way he was going to have a wedding in such an improper manner as this- even if he'd done so more or less with all his other wives. It wasn't strange for the maids to think that this would be no different. How could they know that for once, Arashi actually wanted to do it properly? The only one who had ever been mildly capable of telling what was going on in Arashi's head was Rosalie- and she was dead. He was going to chastise them for their misbehavior later. For now he needed to make sure that his future wife was cared for. He was sure she must have felt rather uncomfortable and confused.

"Mammon, go get general Lucifer," Arashi ordered, never once taking his eyes off his bride.

The demon bowed politely. "As you wish," he said and turned on his heals, disappearing through the door, which once again shut behind him.

Arashi stopped before her, gazing down at her with those terribly cold blue eyes as he let his gaze slide over her in a almost predatory manner. He extended a hand, carefully letting a few locks of chestnut hair slide between his fingers. It was soft and silky, causing the ghost of a smile to cross his otherwise emotionless features.

"May I ask for your name?" he asked calmly, tilting his head to the side just slightly as he watched her. While he hadn't meant to come off as intimidating- it would not have been strange for her to think so. Even the slight smile which had flashed across his lips moments ago, had resembled a leer, rather than an actual smile.

 

[Lyra Meiko]

Adonia waited and waited, standing in the stiff position that she was left and stuck in. As the moments ticked by while she was standing there, she got more and more nervous as to who or what was going to come through those doors. Not a single staff member had talked directly to her, only to each other around her. You could say that the hospitality at this joint was amazingly friendly, or at least that is what Adonia would write in her journal sarcastically later that day. That is, if she got her journal back. Adonia had no clue as to where the servants who took her stuff left her things. She had no idea where the maids who stripped her left her favorite dress either. Adonia was confused and alone in such a big and spooky room. The only kind thing that anyone had done to her so far was giving her the soothing bunch of roses, but those were probably just meant to further decorate her. Or maybe they were to make her feel at home, she was not sure.

Adonia's deep, brown, sharp eyes scanned the room that she was left in. The room was quite large. There were mighty wooden doors to her west and east, and then an even larger one behind her. Tall stained glass windows decorated the sides of the room, where the doors didn't cover the walls. Said walls were a charcoal grey color. In front of her was a throne fit for a king, as the saying would go. On each side of the throne was a painting. On the left side there was a map. She assumed it was simply the map of this land, which she still did not know the name of as no one had told her. She mentally scolded herself, knowing that if she did not act like such a child and actually talked to the man who drove her here, she would not be so oblivious to the world around her right now. She did not pay that much attention to the map itself, but it was quite large in scale, the land seeming to cover a large sum of area. On the other side of the throne was a painting of a man. Adonia was too far away to get a close glance at the man, so she simply assumed it was the lord. She could only note a few features, mainly involving the outfit that he was sporting in the painting. It was highly decorated, like the room itself it was hanging in. Leading up to the throne was a bloody red carpet that covered the shiny black floor.

The room was so cold. Not just in temperature, but Adonia felt so scared and alone, although she would not admit that to anyone. She did not enjoy being thrown into the unknown world that she was. In mere moments she would be meeting her husband, the man that she would be spending the rest of her life with. This scared her. It scared her how far away she was from home. She had never been so far from her family in her life so far. This castle seemed nothing like her home in Westerrose. In Westerrose, her home was so tiny but filled with so many bodies that she was always warm. In this home, the space to people ratio was so high that the warmth she wanted was impossible to find, this was how it seemed a least. Adonia wished that David would come through the door and reveal this all to be an elaborate proposal, but there was no way that could be the case. David was far too poor and such a traditional man. He believed in a simple star lit dinner and then popping down on one knee. Adonia had always dreamed of the day that David would do such for her, but now that day would never come. She wished so much to be able to feel the warmth of his hand for just a moment more, but her time with him was finished, and would never come back. In her heart she knew this, and that is why it was throbbing.

It was not only these combined factors that were upsetting her, but to add to that there was fear growing in her heart as to who this lord might be who she was engaged too. The only king she knew, other than fictional ones she had read about in stories and the ones she had read about in history books, was the flamboyant and romantic one of Westerrose. He was very into art and literature, and flowers of course. He was quite good to his people. He taxed fairly, never went into war, and always had a listening ear. He would throw balls all the time that were open to everyone in the kingdom. Adonia had only been able to go to one, and that was when she was very young and before here siblings were born. She remembered it being so much fun. She remembered dancing all night in a lovely dress. The dress she remembered was fluffy and yellow, which brought out her natural beauty unlike the one she was wearing did. The black dress she was stuffed into only made her seem plastic and fake. The dress, and the make up. She hated both. She was quite uncomfortable.

Now, something told her that the lord who ruled here would not be anything like the king of Westerrose. Westerrose's king's happiness and joy shown through in the land and the people. Kings had that sort of effect over their land. If the king of this castle was anything like his land, then he must be void and dead as well.

Suddenly, Adonia was ripped out of her nervous thoughts by the opening and slamming of the door to the east. Her eyes quickly looked over, only to see two very tall men standing there. The first, and the one in front staring at her, looked cold. He was dressed in dark hues, which offset the ivory white color of his skin. His hair seemed almost as long as Adonia's, except in a jet black color. His eyes seemed to pierce through her body like a sword. They were the same color as the jewels decorating his body. Adonia glanced over at the portrait near the throne. That portrait, which she could not see well, seemed to have some similar features to the man who was slowly easing towards her, his gaze never leaving her. When she looked back she was so captivated by this man's gaze that she did not look at the other man who was standing behind. The captivation also kept her flight or fight response from kicking in, and if it had she would taken the route of flight.

Once he stopped in front of her, her head was tilted upwards, staring, mesmerized by his eyes. She followed his gaze as he looked over and analyzed her, like everyone else seemed to in this freezing place. Out of all of the things and people she had seen so far, he seemed the most cold. His smile was stern. His face was almost solemn. It scared her how different he was from David. If David was the sun, this man would be the moon.

He soon reached out, running a hand through her silk like locks of hair. Her nerves wanted to flinch away from him, but for some reason, could not. She heard him speak, asking for her name. Although they spoke the same language, the way he spoke was different from anywhere she had heard before. Back in her home there were a few character traits to the way they spoke. For one, whenever an R sound was spoken, it sounded rolled or groaned even. Secondly, they extended the sound of E's very much. Thirdly, they tended to say very short and quick I's. These were just a few examples, the point was that he did not follow some of these sounds that she was ever so used to hearing. His voice was a bit more stern, per say. Regardless of how he spoke, she spoke in the style that she was used too. That is, after she stared at him for a little while longer, keeping an awkward silence running after he asked his question.

"M-my name is A-adonia." She started off, a bit quietly and squeaking out. Her voice started to sound more gentle and pretty once she was able to try and find some composure and cleared her throat near silently. "My family name and where I am from are no longer important, as I know I will be taking yours, so just calling me Adonia would be very gracious of you." In a proper introduction, one would say there first name and also their family name and where they aired no matter what social class you were from, this is why she introduced herself in a similar way. She would have bowed after she was done, but his frozen hand was keeping her from doing so.

She then gently pulled a rose from her bouquet, which she finally assumed was given to her as a kind act as she was from the kingdom of the roses. She broke their staring contest for a moment, to make sure there were no thorns in it, then she looked up, reaching towards him and attempting to gently slip it into his dark locks. As seen before with David, this was a sign of affection in her country. Red roses specifically represented romance, and as they were engaged she found it fitting. Her body was terrified of him, and was scared of doing this act at first, but she hoped that doing this would make him want to treat her kindly. The thought did not cross her mind that perhaps he would not know what this act symbolized.

 

[Gladis]

General Lucifer​

"M-my name is A-adonia. My family name and where I am from are no longer important, as I know I will be taking yours, so just calling me Adonia would be very gracious of you."

"Adonia," the Emperor repeated in a surprisingly soft muse, tilting his head slightly to the side. He carefully let go of her chin, almost as though he was dealing with a porcelain doll, threatening to break at even the hint of harsh movement. It was what she looked like to him, and perhaps also what he feared. He feared that one wrong move would somehow crush her. And yet Arashi had the feeling that no matter how carefully he treated her, she'd still at some point be tainted. This was something he was afraid of, and thus he dared not touch her too much. It should have to wait for the wedding night, he decided. "Empress Adonia of the Dark Isles," he repeated calmly, looking as though he were in thought. Then he gave a slight nod of his head in approval. "I like it," he said before introducing himself, "I go by many names, but prefer to be adressed as Arashi, Emperor of the dark isles. Since you are to be my wife, you have no need for my titles. Simply call me Arashi, understood?"

He could sense that she was nervous- most likely afraid. Arashi did not blame her. Many were so struck by fear before him, they could barely open their mouths to speak. Mind you, some were even rendered completely speechless. It simply was in the aura he omitted- dark, all-encompassing and intimidating. While she was more or less glued to the spot in fear, at least she managed to speak before him. This pleased Arashi, more than he liked to admit.

As she broke his gaze to inspect the roses, he watched her intently in silence, curious about what she would do. She had never imagined that she would actually willingly move closer to him, and even place a rose in his hair. The act was foreign and alien to Arashi- not like anything he'd ever experienced before. He was completely taken aback by her actions- understanding that it had been some sort of sign of affection. It was therefor a look of confusion which reflected in his otherwise cold blue eyes. Slowly the ghost of a smile started spreading across his lips, just like when he'd touched her hair, and while it can be doubted if this actually was the case... his cheeks seemed to take on just a slightly pink hue.

A loud yawn was what broke the haze Arashi had been caught in, causing his mind to bounce back to reality. The smile disappeared, once again replaced by a solemn look.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your majesty's lovey dovey moment, but thou called for me, sire?" The woman speaking as tall and slender, not possessing a body quite as formidable as general Asmodeus, but nevertheless a form most woman could only dream of. She was extremely pale, like most people of the dark isles, the hue of her skin bordering on white. Her orbs were bright red and passionate, and she carried an air of pride. Her hair, raven black and rather short, matched her dress of the same color well. It was long and tight fitting, hugging her body lovingly. It was richly decorated mostly by ebony feathers, of which the one's around her shoulders and neck were of largest importance. Her ears were pierced, a pair of golden, bone like ear rings dangling against her shoulders. She was not only beautiful, but also looked fierce and commanding. She, unlike Mammon, had no external features besides the red eyes, which marked her as a demon.

Arashi blinked, turning around to face the woman standing at the entrance of the throne room. "Ah yes, so I did," he agreed with a slight nod of his head before motioning to Adonia, "my lady must be tired after such a long journey. As you know the crow maids are quite insensible. I would therefor like for you to tend to her to her personally. Remove that makeup and dress her in something more... comfortable, and perhaps fitting. I expect to see the both of you at dinner," and with that said, the demon lord turned on his heals and left the throne room. The reason he had chosen Lucifer of all his generals was a) that she was a woman, thus understanding Adonia better, and b) that she was the most reliable out of the three female generals. She had a good sense of fashion, and was generally a pleasant woman to deal with... if you could get past her way of thinking of herself as superior to everyone but perhaps Arashi himself. Even towards him she acted in a familiar manner, dropping most pretentious titles and formalities. Most would never dare do this with Arashi- not even the majority of the demon generals. This was a privilege Lucifer, Beelzebub had earned on their own. Asmodeus also dropped the formalities when they were alone, but she never did this in public. Belphegor tended to use the titles sarcastically- much like Lucifer had done moments ago, but the rest adressed him correctly as their lord, emperor or sire.

The black haired woman turned to Adonia, her red painted lips curling into an amused smile. "So you are to be his wife. I must say, the old man who chose you has good taste. The crow servants less so. Follow me, darling, and I shall show you to your room. Is there anything specific you wish for, clothing wise? I might need call the tailor..." as she spoke, she began her stride out of the throne room, gesturing for Adonia to follow her.​

 

[Lyra Meiko]

Adonia watched each of his subtle moves very carefully. Her eyes followed his and her ears fully listened to every single word he spoke, no matter if it was muttered or louder. She listened as he slowly said her name multiple times, seeming to have a slight change in emotion whenever he said it. He seemed to be thinking of the sounds of her name, she wondered if it pleased him. She also wondered if certain names did not please him, for whatever reason. Adonia could not imagine having negative feelings towards someone based on a mere thing like their name. A person didn't choose their name, their parents did, so that did not make any sense to her. Of course, it was just a situational thought so it did not truly matter very much. Her thoughts did not matter either way, because he confirmed that he liked how her name sounded. Of course, they way she said and the way he said it sounded different due to their different accents. She soon learned that his name was Arashi. She had never heard a name like such before, nobody in her country that she knew of had a name with such a hard R and S sound in it. She did not dislike it, it sounded quite foreign. She nodded towards him when he said to just call him by that. She would do as he told, not that she had the choice, but being able to call him a name without a title made her slightly happy.

She, meaning Adonia, then watched her future husband's reactions to her symbolic act of affection. Moments like these were ones that her and David shared quite often, so it felt a little wrong performing the act onto this unknown man, but it was something she knew she must get used too. She stared at the confusion in his eyes, waiting for him to understand. It seemed that he was not familiar with the customs of her land, which was to be expected. She would teach it to him if he liked, in turn for learning the customs of his kingdom. She was not familiar with the customs of his land either, but he did rule this land so she was sure it would not be very hard to pick up everything. She would be married to the ruler of a foreign kingdom. A country that she had only been in for the first time. It felt quite odd thinking about it. She wondered why not someone whom actually lived here was chosen as his wife. She wondered if she was merely a concubine, but that must not have been the case because he muttered her name and the title empress right next to each other. She was to be the empress. Soon, the ghostly smile that was painted on his lips before reappeared. This ghostly smile spoken of seemed more creepy than it did joyful, but she could not help but feel that it actually was a happy smile. Although his eyes were cold and his lips were curled in an odd way, something inside of her told her that it was simply how he smiled. Or maybe she was wrong, she really was not sure at all. She wanted to believe that he was actually smiling, that he understood her good nature.

She figured it might be a good idea to explain it, but as she started to part her lips they were interrupted by a yawn that had a bored connotation. Her eyes gazed over with Arashi's to see the demonic, yet lovely looking general. The moment that Adonia looked at this woman, her face had gotten a bit pale. When getting here, everything around her was moving so fast that she could not really look at or analyze anyone. The first person she really got to study the face of, other than the human looking man who brought her here, was Arashi her future husband. He did not seem human, of course, but she figured that was just her imagination making him seem more scary than the actual man was. It did not seem like that was the case, she realized after studying Lucifer. Adonia came to this conclusion by looking at this she general. Her eyes were red like fire, and her skin was pale like a fictional vampire that lived in a novel. Growing up in the strictly human country of Westerrose, Adonia had never seen anyone like this before. She rubbed her eyes slightly, looking up again and seeing no change. She then rubbed her eyes once more and looked at Arashi. Studying him while he was talking made her see things more clearly. Although the features were subtle, and it was truly his aura that made him seem demonic, but there were certain characteristics about him that made him seem like he was no human. This world did not even feel human. Adonia truly was developing a bad habit of staring at people.

She was snapped out of it again when Arashi gestured to her. From what she could piece together, Adonia was suppose to go some place with this foreign woman, who seemed to be quite familiar with Arashi. This woman did not use many formal titles, and the ones that she did use seemed a bit sarcastic. It's not that Adonia had a problem with that action, but it just seemed a little odd to her. There was not a single person in her home kingdom that did not use a proper title when talking to the king. Nobody was forced too, but everyone loved him so much that they felt wrong not calling him a name of respect. He was quite a wonderful ruler.

Then, without looking back at her, her soon to be husband left her. She did not feel especially warm next to him, but she felt less alone. Now, it was just her and this woman. Adonia seemed like she wanted to reach out for him to stay, not that she trusted him or even liked him just yet. Her thoughts and feelings were a bit of a mess right now. She didn't know what action she should have taken. They were both strangers, wither or not she was engaged to one. So she stopped herself and simply kept quiet, keeping her gaze away from any eye contact. She did in fact look over at the woman, but kept her eyes at the woman's lips so that it would seem like she was actually making eye contact. She watched as it curled into a smirk and soon began to talk. She listened to her words and then nodded slightly every so often. She did not really want to talk much anymore, or even look at the general. Her nonhuman red eyes made her more nervous. She felt even more glued to her spot, but she was soon gestured to walk so she had to leave the sort of safe space she created in her head. She also had to talk.

"What I wear does not matter to me very much. Since it seems that he does not like what I am wearing now, I suppose it would be best to change me into something more to his taste. I'm sure the clothing from my country would not suit this place. The maids who dressed me did take away my previous clothes, so I gander that they are gone." She spoke quite softly, and although her strides were quick she was taking small steps. She kept her distance from the seemingly prideful general lady.

 

[Gladis]

Lucifer could sense the air of fright Adonia was emitting. It was quite pleasant for the demoness. She, like most other demons, fed on such emotions after all. Nevertheless she'd been tasked with tending to the soon to be empress, and she somehow doubted that Arashi would be very pleased about hearing of Lucifer scaring Adonia on purpose. So she did her best to change that smile which had closer resemblance with a smirk, to something at least somewhat friendlier. "Come now, little bird. There is no need to look so scared. No one here is out to harm you. Doing so would surely send the wrath of the demon lord upon us all. I don't believe anyone is foolish enough to aggravate his majesty on purpose." Lucifer liked giving people nicknames, and it seemed the one she had decided for Adonia was 'little bird'. Perhaps because Adonia somewhat reminded her of a caged canary.

"What I wear does not matter to me very much. Since it seems that he does not like what I am wearing now, I suppose it would be best to change me into something more to his taste. I'm sure the clothing from my country would not suit this place. The maids who dressed me did take away my previous clothes, so I gander that they are gone."

The black haired demoness looked thoughtful at this statement, tilting her head to the side as they continued down the corridor. It was surprisingly empty- the servants making sure to stay out of their way as Mammon had ordered. It was another way to keep Adonia from getting too frightened. Some of the servants looked quite grotesque, as Arashi usually cared little for the appearance of those who served him. The halls were as grandly decorated as the throne room, though not a speck of gold was visible. Everything was gray, black, dark blue or silver. At some point they reached a hallway where seven portraits hung on the walls- each one depicting one of the demon generals. Beneath the portraits there were small but grand labels, displaying the name and title of the general. The portrait of Lucifer, for example, was labeled Lady Lucifer of Pride, Commander of 72 legions.

"Of course it matters what you wear, little bird," the demoness pointed out with a sigh, "You're not comfortable in those clothes, are you? While I don't believe it will be possible nor wise to recover your old clothes, giving you something to wear which you feel comfortable in is the least we can do. Wouldn't you agree?"

She led Adonia through the corridor and up a staircase to a new corridor, which had several doors lined along the walls. Each door lead to some sort of room (mostly bedrooms), and the corridor was long. It turned and and wrapped and creaked, splitting off in this and that direction. It looked as though one could quite easily get lost on this floor, and Adonia was lucky to have Lucifer accompany her.

Eventually she stopped in front of one of the doors, opening it and stepping inside. She beckoned for Adonia to follow her. Then she turned on the light- revealing that they were in a saloon. "Now, let us see what we can do…" the demoness started, shutting the door behind them as she took a good look at Adonia. "We'll start with removing that makeup," she decided, clicking her fingers to conjure a basin filled with water. "You can wash your face here while I go search for something more suitable for you to wear…" and with that said, Lucifer opened one of the doors in the room and disappeared.

She'd barely been gone for a few seconds when suddenly two more appeared in the room. One was what appeared to be a young woman. She was quite a bit shorter than Lucifer, but instead had a ten times more appealing body. Voluptuous and formed like an hour glass, she could very well had been the spitting image of the idea woman. A curtain of long, red hair fell over her shoulders, reaching to about her waist, and a pair of horns sprouted from her head. She was dressed rather… skimpily, to put it nicely. Dressed in scarlet matching her hair, she exuded a very passionate aura.

The child that accompanied her was the exact opposite. Petite and dressed in a frilly dress with black and white, she wore an extremely bored expression. Her hair was snowy white, reaching to about her shoulders, and her eyes were a piercing yellow. In her arms was a cookie jar, which she was hugging protectively. She didn't have a pair of horns, but her ears were long and pointed. As she yawned two longer, vampire like canines could also be spotted. They were small, but definitely there.

The red haired woman pouted discontentedly, tilting her head to the side. "So Lucifer gets to play dress up and we weren't even invited. I'm offended…" scoffing, she stepping up to Adonia and let her crimson gaze sweep over the newcomer. Slowly her scarlet lips started curving upward in a smile, dispelling the former frown. "Ah, I suppose it doesn't matter… you're so pretty!" she suddenly exclaimed, throwing her arms around Adonia without warning and pulling her into a hug, "we can be friends, can't we?" she added. It all did look slightly strange, to say at least. Especially considering the fact that the demoness was slightly shorter than Adonia. "We woman have to stick together, after all!"

"Let go of her, you flamboyant moron. Stormhead won't appreciate it if you squeeze his future wife to death," the child commented, sounding as bored as she looked. She took out a cookie from the jar and bit into it, deciding to add nothing more.

Blinking, the red haired demoness let go of Adonia and took a few steps back. "A-ah! Sorry! I was just so excited…" she apologized, smiling a little at Adonia before turning her attention to the white haired child. Sticking out her tongue at the youngest demoness in the room, she parted her lips, meaning to say something more though she was interrupted by Lucifer, who just then happened to reemerge from the room.

"And that is why Arashi asked for me and not the two of you, Asmodeus and Beelzebub." Lucifer said pointedly, giving them a stern look. "What are you doing here anyway? Don't you have work to do?"

"I just wanted to see if the master's new wife was as pretty as everyone's whispering about!" Asmodeus tried to reason, smiling broadly.

"Asmo bribed me with cookies," Belzeebub added simply and yawned. Then she took a seat and grabbed another cookie, munching on it silently.

Lucifer rolled her eyes, sighed heavily and turned back to Adonia before holding up the dress she'd picked. It was long and baby blue, a color she was sure would look good Adonia's eyes. It was made out of a fine, light material and looked as though it would be comfortable to wear. "Do you think this is alright?" The demoness asked, setting her stern red eyes on Adonia.

 

[Lyra Meiko]

Adonia walked behind the she general Lucifer, trusting where ever that she was taking Adonia would not be some sort of chamber of torture. Adonia could just imagine being brought to a cemented cell room with all sorts of pain devices, chains, and everlasting darkness. Adonia knew that this was a childish thought that was crossing her mind, but it was creeping in her mind never the less. This place was frightening. Nothing truly bad had happened to her yet. Well, that is except for leaving her family and her childhood friend, being whispered around being her back constantly by all of the creatures that were ever so foreign to her, and having her comfortable clothes taken from her and being stuffed into this restricting gown. Those were only trivial things, she convinced herself. Very trivial things that she would not let bother her. She was in fact on her way to fix one of those trivial matters in fact. That is, if Lucifer was taking her where instructed. Something in Adonia's mind was convincing her that this female general flew on her own path, not one of anyone else. She walked along anyways.

As they walked, general Lucifer seemed to be trying to convince Adonia that there was nothing to be afraid of. Adonia was weary of this fact, but welcomed Lucifer's effort of putting on a kind smile for the timid human. Adonia tried her best to smile back, but it did seem timid and a bit sad. Adonia was not comfortable in this fictional world that she was going to be married into. Just moments ago, she thought that demons and monsters were only silly tales made up by the human mind, but that in fact was not true in the slightest unless Adonia was dreaming right now. Adonia wanted to be dreaming. She wanted to be back in her kingdom of warm and friendly humans that all smelled like flowers. No one really smelled like flowers here. To test out this dreaming theory, Adonia pinched herself while Lucifer was not looking. She did not want anyone to see her and think she was not in the right of mind. Adonia sighed slightly under her breath. She was not dreaming. Maybe she needed to pinch harder. She did not really want to though. She was sure that the people around her would be angry if she had tiny bruse marks on her arm. So, she lifted her roses to her nose so that she could have a smell of home. She would not let anyone take these flowers from her.

So Adonia simply tried to follow along and listen as best she could. She didn't like all of the attention that she was being given. She wanted to just blend into the background of the darkly decorated castle. She thought about how she was to be empress. Thinking about it made her stomach sick. Something about that did not feel right. She knew that she did not want to be apart of a harem of wives, that was for sure, but being someone so important was not something she wanted to be either. She was also still unsure of this emperor. She wanted to know him better before she was to be his empress.

She was soothed a little also for some reason when the scary Lucifer lady called her by the name of little bird. No one had called her that before and she did not know why it soothed her, but it did for whatever reason. Maybe it was because she felt like a caged bird in the outfit she was in. Maybe it was because she wanted to be free like a bird, to be able to sore out the window right now and fly back to home and to her family and to David. Perhaps, it was just that people who had nicknames for one another were normally closer. Being closer to this woman would probably make Adonia more calm.

One thing that was in fact not making Adonia calm was how empty the halls were. Adonia knew that this place was packed with people, she could just feel it, but none were to be found. It was packed, yet also empty feeling when she first arrived. She could not help but feel that there were millions of pairs of eyes watching her. She was paranoid. Walking past the beautiful portraits of the demons did not help. She felt like each pair of painted eyes was staring her down. Each face frightened her, but one would only be able to tell by her body language because she was very very quiet. There was nothing to be afraid of, they promised her. If anyone harmed her, the demon lord would be angry, they explain to her. But she was afraid of him too, a little less so for some reason unknown, but still afraid. She would be a fool if she was not afraid of a man named the demon lord.

Adonia continued to follow Lucifer, the essence of fear never leaving her. Whenever the general would speak, Adonia would just nod, not wanting to speak anymore. She was eventually led to a salon type room where a water basin had appeared right before her eyes. Demons and magic, Adonia noted that these two things were something she now had to get used to whether she liked it or not.

Adonia was instructed to get her make up off, then watched as Lucifer left to fetch her some clothes. Adonia first put her flowers down on the side of the basin so she would not get them wet. Adonia felt a little bad about washing it all off, the make up. She did not like it at all, but they crow maids seemed to work hard on her and Adonia respected hard work, no matter how gaudy. This did not matter though, because before she could reach out and turn the water on two new women burst into the room. Their sudden arrival made Adonia flinch and step backwards in defense. She looked over them quickly, noting their beauty but also their demonic features. One had the physical appear that most humans could only dream of, minus the horns. The other was the size and shape of a child, but had the apathy of a hormone filled teen. Adonia slowly tried to back away as the curvy demon slowly got closer too her, but could not escape once she wrapped her arms around Adonia quite tightly. Adonia squeaked in discomfort but her body froze, unable to move or back away. She was also unable to say a single word, no matter how many questions were asked of her. She could feel the air escaping from her ever so human body.

Thankfully, the flamboyant woman soon led go of her, letting Adonia catch her breath. Her eyelids still half open, she watched the interactions between the two women. Once Lucifer came back inside, it was confirmed that they were both generals. From the way they interacted, they seemed more like petty sisters then official and royal co-workers. It was also confirmed that what Adonia was paranoid about was true, people were watching her and whispering about her. This made Adonia sigh again slightly. She was only able to nod when she was the comfy blue dress that Lucifer had picked out for her. It seemed more breathable then this corset restricted monster of a dress. Adonia was more happy about this dress than she seemed.

 

[Gladis]

Lucifer nodded her head, pleased with this answer as she pointed Adonia to the walk in closet. "Good, you can change in there, then..." she informed with a slight nod of her head to emphasize her words. She could sense that Adonia was nervous in her presence, and she was pretty sure the other two demonesses weren't making it any better. Asmodeus especially, with her constant need to get physical, could be quite irritating. Beelzebub on the other hand could be outright frightening when she truly was in a bad mood- something even Lucifer had to admit, but would never say out loud. Not that she thought that Beelzebub would get into such a mood now, but the grumpy teenager demon could nevertheless prove to be a problem. That was the main reasons as to why she wanted the two of them out of there. Arashi had tasked Lucifer with making it as comfortable as possible for the young lady- and Asmodeus and Beelzebub did far from help with that task.

"Here," she said, placing the dress in Adonia's arms before turning back to the two demonesses. "And I want the two of you to leave now. I'm sure Arashi will introduce her to you in time, but-" the demon of pride was never allowed to finish her request, as Asmodeus was at Adonia's side again, gazing at her curiously.

"May I braid your hair once you're done changing?" she asked hopefully, hesitantly reaching out towards it but... then stopping when she felt Lucifer's hand on her shoulder.

"Don't make her feel uncomfortable," the black haired demoness ordered sternly, glaring at Asmodeus. Perhaps Lucifer was taking her task just a tad bit too seriously. Asmodeus' actions this time around, and even the time before, had been friendly, after all. She truly did wish to make friends with this girl, as he had failed to do so with most of Arashi's other wives. Currently, there were seven of them... it was rather ironically, actually, considering there were also seven generals. With Adonia, they would be eight, though... and with every kingdom Arashi conquered, he'd add a wife to his 'collection'. That was the custom of the dark lands- a way to negotiating with the kingdoms within their boarders. The woman he married from that kingdom would produce an heir, who in turn would become the overlord of their native country. With his demonic blood in their veins, there were bound to his will, and thus qualified as lords and ladies. This was already in full effect in three of the seven kingdoms, the last four still being children. One of them was actually still residing at this castle, though Arashi wanted to send them back home as quickly as possible.

The problem was that the woman had rejected the child from the very moment it was born, and taken her life- leaving the heir to her kingdoms throne all on their own. Mammon with a soft spot for children was the one currently caring for the newborn but... just the sight of the infant stirred emotions within Arashi which he did not like. Quite honestly, they frightened him. Thus he had told Mammon to keep the child out of his sight until they could return her back to her kingdom.

Asmodeus sighed softly, folding her arms over her chest. "Fine... now hurry up and change. I want to see you in the dress!"

 

[Lyra Meiko]

When handed the simple blue dress, Adonia took it carefully. The fabric was so airy and silky, she had never touched something so lovely before let alone wear something like it. The dresses worn in Westerrose were normally very rough to the touch, yet airy and solid. Adonia had to wear dresses that she could do farm work in, so she was not used to wearing something so delicate. She took a moment to admire it, zoning out the chattering demon generals. She thought of it as a metaphor for her life now, like the dress her life seemed like it would be comfy and beautiful. Changing into it was also somewhat symbolic of her change of life. She would not be putting the dress on slowly, it would be quick.

She then watched as the hugging demon tried to ask her a question about braiding her hair, but Lucifer denied the request before Adonia could say a single word. Since they were a bit distracted, Adonia took the time to wet a cloth and remove the heavy make up from her face. Adonia would feel much better once her face was freed of the painted mask that only the maids seemed to like. Adonia actually loved to braid hair, and she had taught her younger sister how to braid. They used to braid each others hair every single day, weaving roses into each others lovely locks of flowing chestnut. The demons still made Adonia nervous, but perhaps if she got to know their hair then she would feel more familiar with them, no matter how weird that sounded.

"U-uhm I actually wouldn't mind if you braided my hair... " She began to squeak out, trying to interrupt the ladies after she finished cleaning her face and put the cloth back on the side of the basin. "My younger sister and I often used braid each others hair. There were a few braids in my ponytail when I got here, but the maids unraveled them. My sister is very young so the braids were probably uneven and not worthy to be seen in a place like this...but I'm sure you do a better job. I just asked that if you braid my hair then I get to braid yours too...it might help me calm down a bit..." She finished, saying the last bit a little more quietly then the other nervous sentences. While talking, she did not look at any of them directly in the eyes and her body swayed a little nervously. Once she was done, she turned quickly and headed into the closet to chance. Like compared in her earlier mental metaphor, she changed quickly and then looked at herself in the mirror. The blue dress fit her body well. Now that she was in something more comfortable and her make up was off, she could actually somewhat recognize herself in the mirror. This made her heartbeat slow down quite a bit, watching herself breath in and out in this new outfit.

She then took a step out, peeking out at first and then walking out fully. A slight blush crept across her face because she could feel their eyes on her. She would have to get used to people watching her.

"Do you think this will be too his liking? I think it is very comfortable..." She said softly, holding her hands in front of her and keeping her eyes on the floor. She seemed to be biting slightly on her pretty pink lips as well.

 

[Gladis]

"U-uhm I actually wouldn't mind if you braided my hair... "

The redheaded demonesses expression lit up, a look of excitement returning to her red orbs. "Really?!" she asked, almost looking like a child at Christmas. Indeed, Asmodeus was somewhat like a child- personality wise. She was the next youngest of the demon generals, and contrary to her appearance and title, usually acted the part. She was playful and naive, at least in certain aspects, while she was all but innocent in other ones. Currently she seemed to be delighted over the fact that she would be allowed to braid Ardonia's hair- something she viewed as an opportunity to sow the seeds of friendship. While the other generals showed little interest in befriending the empress-to-be, Asmodeus wanted to do so very much. Lucifer thought it to be a little strange, considering Asmodeus' relationship with Arashi. Shouldn't she be jealous of Ardonia, instead of displaying all this affection.

"Then I'll braid it for you, and you can braid mine," she said softly, watching Adonia step into the room. Both Lucifer and Asmodeus kept their eyes on the door, waiting for Adonia too return. Only Belzeebub remained indifferent, muting away on her cookies until she'd emptied the jar. Then she curled up on the floor, yawned and seemed to drift off to sleep. The little general was peculiar like that- but skillful when needed nevertheless.

Asmodeus clasped her hands together in excitement, nodding her head eagerly as Adonia stepped outside, asking . "You look absolutely wonderful," she gushed, restraining herself from giving the girl another affectionate hug. "Doesn't she, Lucy?" she asked, shooting the older demoness a glance.

Lucifer regarded Adonia carefully in silence for a moment, before nodding her head in approval. "That will do just fine. I think Arashi will approve of it as well."

Asmodeus hurried over to Adonia's side, gently grasping hold of her wrist. She dragged her over to a chair, sitting her down before pulling up another chair behind her. Then she grabbed a comb and satin ribbon, which she would use to tie the bottom of the braid with once she was done. She sat down behind Adonia, gently starting to comb through the chestnut hair, rejoicing of feeling the soft strands against her skin. "You've got really beautiful hair, miss Adonia..." she said softly, dividing it into three parts once she was done brushing through it, to begin braiding it afterwards, "tell me a little about yourself..." she added, genuinely curious about this beautiful young girl.

 

[Lyra Meiko]

"Oh, well thank you for all of your compliments...but I'm really not all that interesting." Adonia began to explain softly, enjoying the messaging feeling of the loving general's brush strokes. Adonia kept her eyes closed the moment Asmodeus started to brush through her hair. When she did, she could teleport herself back home and imagine that it was her kind younger sister performing the act instead. Right now, her younger sister Lilian was probably crying her eyes out, or maybe she was done crying and her eyes were merely a terrible red color. All of her siblings had probably cried when Adonia had gone. Adonia had very much wished to be able to have them here with her, or better off her back home. At the same time though, neither of those things would have been able to last. All of the people here would scare her family even more than they did Adonia. Adonia also knew that she could not stay home forever. If she was not wed now, she would simply be married to David sooner than later. David...

Adonia tried not to think of David too much since she got here. David would make her heart throb and ache, he would make her want to cry and run away. Adonia had not been here long enough to think of running away, that would be selfish and stupid of her. The man that she would be marrying could be nice, even if he was some sort of monster like everyone else here. So, if she was to be happy here, she would need to forget about David. She would need to forget every word that had ever came out of his mouth, every flower that he ever gave her, every look of longing he ever sent her way. The two of them would never be anything more than platonic childhood friends.

So, Adonia would let them lead her wherever needed, like she let Asmodeus lead her to a chair and begin braiding her hair. Adonia would have moved herself, but the general was quicker and Adonia was a bit frozen from the stares. Adonia had hated being stared at. She had been quite a bit back home, but when people looked at her there it would be because she was pretty. Here, Adonia felt more like a meal or a foreign creature. She felt like an animal at a zoo. If Adonia remembered correctly, the last human she saw was the man who brought her here. Oh how she wished she had asked him more about this foreign place.

"I am the eldest of five. I have three younger brothers, and then a younger sister as well. Then in my family there are my mother and father. I have uncles and aunts and cousins and such as well, but that is all for my close family. We all run, or I suppose ran now that I live here, a family farm where my dad produced all sorts of items for the town market. We had all sorts of animals and crops and such, it was quite calm and peaceful." She slowly began to explain, her voice a bit calmer than it was before. Without the nervous jump in pitch or the shaking, Adonia's voice was amazingly relaxing. She was not sure if the general who asked was really interested, but talking about herself would keep her mind off of David.

"That being said, you can tell I'm by no means a princess or anything of the sort. Which confuses me a bit as to why I was chosen to marry into this family...I know it's seen as tainted to have someone of my social status to marry someone so high in the ranks. I suppose I'll have to ask this fiancee of mine when I get the chance...If I do get the chance...He seems a bit hard to talk to. I only did get to say a bit before he walked off." Adonia seemed to ramble on a bit, finishing with a sigh. She tried not to move a lot, so the braid would be even.

"I don't want to sound like I'm complaining though, I am grateful of the dowry that he paid to my family. I know it will be put to good use and that my family will be able to live comfortably without my financial help. I only hope that if something happens where they need more, he will be willing to help them. I hold my family closest to my heart. I also hope that he will allow me to invite them to the wedding...if we are going to have a formal one of sorts...again I don't really know much about what goes on in a place like this..."

 

[Gladis]

Asmodeus listened quietly but intently to what Adonia had to say, very much interested in the place she was talking of. The dark lands was what she had grown up in, and as the youngest sibling of the seven generals, she had seen least of them all. She could barely just imagine what Adonia's home must have been like, and thought it sounded quite wonderful. In fact, she hoped that Arashi would never get the idea to conquer the little kingdom, seeing as that might destroy the peace. Even if that was not usually his intent, those who served him had other ideas of how things should be dealt with. They were, in most cases, just as gruesome as humans can be in times of war. Therefor it would have been better to just leave the little kingdom be- which Asmodeus hoped Arashi would, mainly due to the origin of his wife.

The red haired demoness giggled softly, her hands working swiftly but gently as they braided the hair. "It sounds like your home was quite the wonderful place," she mused before looking thoughtful, frowning a little, "so you're the eldest? Hmmm... like Lucifer, then! Lucifer is also the eldest out of us. Then comes Leviathan, Satan, Belphegor, Mammon, Beelzebub and last, me. I always get bullied by the others because I'm the youngest," she complained, pushing out her her lips in a pout. Especially Beelzebub, she's a meanie-ouch," she cringed and glanced to the side, seeing the short, child like girl standing there, glaring at her. She had kicked Asmodeus quite hard. "You're talking too much," she chided, clicking her fingers to conjure another jar of cookies before plopping back down onto the floor to much on them. The little demon of gluttony never seemed to be able to get enough of food. Not so strange, perhaps, considering she is indeed the demon representing gluttony.

Asmodeus sighed softly, tilting her head to the side as she looked thoughtful. "The lord did not wish for a wife of royal blood, he wished for a wife pure and kind. I don't think it matters to him if she is of noble background or not," she reasoned, her lips quirking into a slight smile, "things work quite differently here. I'm sure he will explain everything to you at dinner, just ask. He isn't as scary as he tried to make people think," another gentle giggle rolled from Asmo's lips as she leaned closer to Adonia from behind, "though don't tell him I said that," she whispered into Adonia's ear before straightening up again. "Although I suppose my opinion is biased. I love him, after all," she said it without hesitation, without even thinking of it as strange to announce this to his future wife. While Asmodeus knew he would never return her feelings, she loved Arashi. Perhaps because he was the first to make love to her, or perhaps because beneath all that coldness, she had managed to spy a gentler, kinder nature. His world views were askew (though not for a demon), yes, but he could be very passionate and kind when circumstances allowed him to be.

"I am sure that if you asked his majesty... he'd be understanding of your wish. Maybe," Asmodeus wasn't entirely sure he would. He had never had a family he adored, which made it hard for him to understand even how the generals cared for one another. While they weren't actual siblings by blood, they saw and treated one another as such, considering they had grown up together. She wasn't even sure it was a good idea to take Adonia's family there. As far as she had understood, Mr. Jenkins had never specified whom they were marrying their daughter off to. How would they react if they found out she was about to become the wife of the feared demon emperor? Surely it would shock them... and perhaps make them worried about their daughter. As long as they didn't cause a scene, though, Asmodeus supposed it would be fine. "I don't know, to be honest," she admitted wearily, neatly tying the ribbon into Adonia's hair.

"Your turn," Asmodeus smiled, gently handing Adonia the brush before turning around so that Adonia was now sitting behind her. "Brush my hair, please!"

 

[Lyra Meiko]

"Well thank you, I'm sure it looks lovely." Adonia began with a sweet smile, truly grateful that Asmodeus braided her hair and chatted a bit with her. She trusted that the braid looked nice, not feeling like looking in the mirror because she wanted to get right into braiding the woman's hair in return. She was going to braid her hair like she did her sister's every day. The conversation between the two of them, though a bit odd at times, was helping her relax and mellow out. While she listened to Asmodeus's words, she merely nodded when she saw fit rather than talking. She did not even say a word when the child demon had kicked the woman braiding her hair. Adonia thought that this child was a little odd, but was cute no less. Adonia had quite the soft spot for children.

What Adonia found more interesting than anything else were the things that Asmodeus told her about the man she was to marry. Adonia had so many questions for this man, all of these questions relying on her ability to speak around him. Now, Adonia was able to squeak out her name earlier but she was not sure if she would be able to emit anything else. Maybe she could write down what she wanted to say instead, writing was always easier than speaking. Now, Adonia was a bit consumed in her own thoughts so she did not exactly catch when the general said that she loved Arashi. Adonia surely did hear it, but she did not think much of it.

Adonia's gentle fingers took the soft brush once the general handed it to the future empress. She then moved so she could be behind Asmodeus and begin to braid her hair. While changing who was in front of whom, Adonia took the flowers from the basin and held them to her side. Now, she was letting her fingers run through the demon's locks, almost messaging her gently. For now, she was going to focus on brushing.

"I see, well I hope I can please the image that he created for his wife. Though, pure and kind...I suppose that is not a hard character to act out. I will do my best to become the role he wishes for. He seems like an interesting enough man, no body from my country can even compare to the atmosphere that he created when he walked into the room." Adonia started to speak as she ran the brush through the woman's hair.

"The men back in my country are much different indeed, I could compare him to the king of my home country I suppose. The one in my country seems more flamboyant and artistic at a first glance I suppose. I did not get that sort of flying rose petal gaze from my fiancee, if you understand what I mean. He seems more like a king from a story book, one with lots of land and many wives. That, and concubines. Speaking of, I'm a bit surprised that I am not one of those. I was almost sure that I was going to be one from the how the arrangement was described. Everything was so vague and confusing, but now I understand you all must not have wanted my parents to be frightened." She explained, and then started to mumble. "But they would not have really cared much, even if they were scared."

She then started to braid the hair, but a bit differently than the way Adonia's hair was braided. Adonia took one rose first, and started to weave it into Asmodeus's hair. Before doing so, she made sure that the rose was without thorns and would not hurt the woman, only make her look more beautiful. This was how they braided in Adonia's country, with roses woven all throughout the females mane. This was a careful process, but would look beautiful in the end. So, Adonia took her time and decided to talk on, taking a new rose every once in a while. Adonia did note that the color did make the general look quite beautiful, more so than before. Or at least she fit more into her country's idea of beauty with them in her hair.

"Like I said, I am just happy that such a donation was given to my family. I value family before anything else, I'd especially like to have my own someday. I've grown up around children, I nearly raised my siblings. I'd be so happy to have daughters and sons of my own, very very happy. I've dreamed of it since I was a young girl. You see, I had this childhood friend and when we were young we used to joke about what we would name our children. He always said silly things like all of the sons would be named after him, and I wanted to name all of my daughters after different flowers like my sister was. Her name is Lilian, but Lily for short of course. So, I would list down all of the flowers I wanted to name my children after. It would always start with Rose, and then Iris, Daisy and so forth. As you can probably tell, flowers are very important to me and my country." She finished with a giggle. Adonia found it easy to talk while she was braiding.

 

[Gladis]

Asmodeus listened to her talk silently, shutting her eyes as she smiled at herself. The place Adonia came from sounded so wonderful and the young demoness couldn't help but feel slightly awed. She also enjoyed the feeling of having her hair braided, and Adonia did it so gentle, unlike Lucifer. It was almost as though she could dream herself far, far away to the kingdom her newfound friend was speaking of- almost as though she could experience how wonderful it was. And the men... they sounded absolutely wonderful. The demoness of lust found herself licking her lips almost as though she were thinking of sweets, though she quickly regretted doing so and gave herself a mental slap. It wasn't appropriate. If Lucifer had been capable of reading her thoughts, it would probably have earned the younger sister a physical slap as well.

"Your home country sounds so lovely..." Asmodeus remarked softly with an almost dreamy expression, loving the feeling of Adonia braiding the roses into her hair. She hadn't thought of doing so when she did Adonia's hair, but found it to be an absolutely lovely idea. She supposed it had to be a custom from Adonia's home country. Flowers, as she said, seemed to be very important there, after all. It was so very different from the dark lands. Like a distant dream to the young demoness... and perhaps Arashi would feel the same. That Adonia was a distant dream he could finally touch and hold, that she was the manifestation of what he could never have, but was so much yearning for. They seemed like night and day, in a way, an image that fascinated Asmodeus very much.

"And David too. He sounds so yumm- I mean lovely!" she quickly corrected herself, blushing a little, "lovely..." she repeated wearily, hoping she hadn't weirded Adonia out. Indeed, she did have a tendency to express herself a little strangely from time to time. "Hmmm... I've always wanted to name my children after pretty gems.. such as Opal or Emerald or Sapphire," she stated softly, yawning a little. She didn't have any children yet, but she decided that if she ever had any, they would definitely be named after stones.

Once they seemed to be fairly done with braiding, Lucifer cleared her throat, gazing at the two through stern, blood red eyes. "Adonia, I believe it is soon time for dinner... unless you feel tired and would like to call it a night, I suggest we start making our way towards the dining hall. The lord is waiting for you..."

 

[Lyra Meiko]

Adonia by nature was very gentle with Asmodeus. By the time that Adonia was done with her art of a braid, Asmodeus could be mistaken for a queen of fairies or something of that sort of magical nature. Her hair style did look quite beautiful with all of the roses, so much so that any woman of Westerrose would be jealous of how well the roses complimented Asmodeus. Adonia was very satisfied with her work and could not help the smile from forming on her face. Adonia did not think poorly of Asmodeus lack of chastity. Adonia almost though it was cute. Adonia admired woman who were brave enough to speak as such. Adonia would never be brave enough to speak with such energy and have such lustful eyes. She was not even jealous when Asmodeus expressed her lust towards David. Adonia in fact wished that she was able to speak of her lust towards him so easily. All Adonia could ever say about him were compliments of his personality.

"Oh yes...David is quite lovely." She began, putting the brush down and picking up a lone remaining rose, then holding it close to her heart. A slight blush seemed to crawl across her face and a look of longing captivated her gaze. Everything about her in this moment seemed to scream intimacy. She was a lost maiden who truly represented the idea of love.

"David has always treated me well, ever since we were children. In truth...I was thinking just a few days ago that he was going to propose to me soon enough. However he was beat out." She said with a slight giggle that had more of a sad tone. She would not let the smile on her face fade, of course. In truth, she was not sure why she was telling them any of this. They all seemed so loyal to Arashi, it would only bring trouble to talk of her lost love. This could not stop her though, David was on her heart and mind. She was unsure if David would ever leave his residence in her heart. She had someone else that she needed to occupy the space now.

"I truly...loved him. He loved me too. Or maybe he didn't. My lips are still virgin, even my hands...have only ever brushed his. David was such a good man." She let out a sigh.

Her maidens despair was soon interrupted by Lucifer's call for dinner. This reminded Adonia of her place here. She was to be the wife of the master of the house. She had no time and no right to weep for David. David was gone from her life, she knew in her mind that she would never meet him again. In her heart, she knew this away, although she did not want too. No, she would need to forget David. David was never in her life. Arashi was the one she was to fall in love with. She had to convince herself to love him, or the rest of her life would just be tragic.

"Of course, I would not want to keep my fiancee waiting." She replied with a bright smile, which did seem somewhat forced. Her normal smile sparkled and made one's heart feel light, like an angel had just kissed one's forehead. This smile seemed fabricated, like a child's doll. But was Adonia anything more than that here? It seemed that she was merely a doll. A well tended to doll, one that was fun to play with and was popular because the doll was so pretty.

 

[Gladis]

Asmodeus listened quietly, feeling the foul hands of jealousy slightly pull the strings of her heart. Yet she kept the smile on her lips, trying to imagine how wonderful it would be to have a person like that. There was no way Asmodeus would ever know. Hardly any creatures capable of such emotions existed in her world. Heck, she wasn't even sure she herself was capable of feeling true emotions... and yet, what was it she felt then? Even if she was a demon, she could feel jealousy. She could feel desire and pain. What was there to say that she couldn't feel love? Even if that was what she'd been told since birth, Asmodeus refused to believe in it. Yet... even then she doubted. What if they weren't wrong? What if that truly were the case? Did it really matter? Asmodeus didn't know, nor did she wish to keep dwelling on it.

"That all sounds very nice," Asmodeus said softly, folding her hands on her lap. The demoness didn't think Arashi would appreciate hearing that his fiancee had been speaking of a man she loved and thus decided to keep it to herself. The other two demonesses would most likely do the same- or so she hoped. Even if she felt jealous of Adonia's emotions, she didn't exactly wish for the human to suffer because of them. Especially not at the hands of her future husband. Things were going to get though enough even without it- or so Asmodeus believed it to be.

Lucifer clicked her fingers and the large double doors to the dining hall swung open, revealing a long table with many chairs. Even if the table had room for many, it had only been set for two. Arashi was seated at the far end, his expression blank as he gazed at the two. Adonia's place had been set on the side of the table, next to the emperor's seat. There were several grandiose dishes laid out on the table, many of which looked rather good. It wasn't the kind of food you'd be expecting in a kingdom ruled by a demon- with fresh fruit laid out between the many plates and bowls.

"There, go inside. He's waiting for you..."

 

[Lyra Meiko]

Adonia could not help but stare in awe at the dining room for a moment, stopping in her tracks at the door. Everything was so refined and beautiful. It was not until a few moments of gawking that Adonia realized that the table was only set for two. At this, she looked at the women who had been aiding her all of this time.

"It will only be the two of us? No one else?" She made sure to keep these questions at a whisper. Adonia was under the impression that she was going to a dinner with all of the people of the castle that she would have to meet eventually, but this seemed not to be the case. The table was only set for her and her fiancee. She was not exactly nervous that she would be alone with him, but just a little shocked. Adonia always ate with a big group of people, so this would be another transition she would have to adjust herself too.

Once it was confirmed that the dinner was simply for the two, she hesitantly nodded at the kind generals and stepped inside of the room quietly. Her steps were very light as she walked to the chair that seemed to be her place at the table. It seemed as if all of her bravery that she had when she interacted with him earlier was gone. She was nervous to look at him, or for him to even look at her. Although she was well clothed and covered in every modest area, she felt like she was bare naked as she walked to the table. She blamed her nervousness on the dead silence of the room. Every breath she took she scolded herself for because they seemed so loud. Every step she made, she could feel herself cringe. When she got to her seat, she bowed her head slightly at him as a way of greeting. Then she started to pull her seat out. It was heavy, and of course made a loud dragging sound that did not help her embarrassment of making loud noises. Once everything was silent again, she quickly sat down in her place. Ironically, she felt the need to break the silence again with her voice.

"This all looks very lovely. Thank you for having me for dinner." She said quietly, and then got a little more embarrassed because she thought the speech she was using was too figurative. So, she felt the need to explain herself and embarrass herself further.

"A-ah uhm not have me for dinner as in eating me, more like eating dinner with me...or something like that. A dinner that's not human, err, made of human." Her voice was nervous and she used quite a bit of hand gestures to go along with her words. It was simply a habit of her people that she picked up from a young age.

Although, he probably understood what she meant in the first place she felt like she needed to explain her words because she was still unsure of his humanity, if he had any. Adonia was just a bundle of embarrassment at the moment. She did not know how to act or what to say. She wondered if she was better off being quiet, but at the same time she figured that was not a good course of action either. Really, she did not know what to do around him at all. Every move seemed like the right one in her head, and then wrong in action.