Demon Queen Wants to Paint

Azrael threw a careful glance at the guards who were standing by the entrance, none the wiser about their nefarious plans. The sound barrier that Azrael created worked perfectly. Rosa did feel a little bit bad for them, since if they got caught, the guards would most likely lose their job.

But it was just their job. For Rosa this could be a question of life and death. She wasn't worried about Azrael though. The demon had a way of slithering out of any real punishment, only having to deal with some minor inconveniences for his transgressions.

"Now, listen carefully. If we want this to succeed, we cannot get caught. Do you get it?" Azrael warned, and Rosa nodded her head. That would be the ideal scenario, although she had a feeling that it was quite unlikely.

"Good. Now to execute it we're going to have to be very, very stealthy and go at night, when there's the least amount of guards and spying eyes."

"Are we going to sneak in as shadows?" she asked, although it was unlikely that there would be no countermeasures against demons in their shadow form. Then anyone who had a shadow form could just do what they wanted in the castle.

"No, that won't work. We're going to do it the old-fashioned way," Azrael grinned, and rubbed his hands together like some movie villain.

"Old-fashioned way?" Rosa cocked her head.

"You'll see when the time comes. We're going to do it at night. I'll come to your room once everything is ready. You–"

The training room door swung open, and the horrible clatter of heels resounded through the empty space. Rosa could recognize it anywhere, and she did her best not to let her fears show. Azrael's face also grew cold.

"I see you've completed your lesson for the day. I shall be taking the Princess with me now. We're already falling behind schedule," Asdeus said with a sweet smile. Rosa wanted to turn into a shadow and run away, but managed to restrain herself. The punishment would no doubt be harsher next time.

"Who cares about your stupid schedule? She's four, she doesn't need to learn how to write yet. Normal children learn that at seven."

"One could argue that she has no reason to study magic at her age either. Normally four year olds haven't even awakened their ability at this age," Asdeus retorted and then looked at Rosa with her predatory gaze. "But our Princess here is very special. Besides, you've held her up for long enough."

Azrael pressed his lips together in a thin line, but had nothing to say against that.

"Come now, Princess. We have a lot to learn."

With trembling footsteps she followed Asdeus, mentally preparing herself for yet another one of her lessons. The fingers on her hand twitched in anticipation.

I have to endure it for just a little while longer. Soon I'll be able to go home.

As she exited the training grounds, she threw a last glance back at Azrael and saw how his fists were clenched and he was gritting his teeth. But before she could properly decipher his reaction, Asdeus tapped on her shoulder forcing her to move forward.

***

Rosa was leaning against Alphegor's wardrobe and looking at her trembling hands. Asdeus made her 'corrections' thirteen times that day. The skin on her arm was clean and unblemished without any signs of injuries. But she could still imagine the horrid pain Asdeus's nail brought.

"I have to end this soon. I don't think I can take it for much longer," she mumbled to herself in English, hoping to find solace in her language. She would have to endure just a little while longer. And then she'll go back to her tiny apartment.

She'll draw landscapes of sea, forests and plains filled with life and greenery. She'll start her job at Studio Goblin and help them create animated movies greater than anybody has ever seen before. And best of all – Asdeus would not be there.

But neither would Deziara. Nor Gunna. Nor Azrael. And definitely not Alphegor.

The thought was surprisingly painful.

"What are you doing?" Azrael's familiar voice broke Rosa out of her contemplation and she jumped up. The white-haired demon was standing by the window, looking somewhat worried. It's not an expression she'd seen on him before.

"You scared me!" Rosa accused.

"I've been here for a while and you've just been staring into nothing," he strode towards her and looked over her body as if inspecting it. "Are you alright?"

What an odd question.

"Yes?"

Azrael opened his mouth to say something, then closed it and adapted his usual casual grin, "You're ready to see some treasure?"

"Yes!" Rosa nodded.

"Excellent. This will be a great test for your shape-shifting skills," Azrael extended his hand towards Rosa.

"Shape-shifting?" she asked and tentatively took his hand. For a moment they disappeared into darkness, and Rosa found herself and Azrael down in the castle backyard. 

"Yes. You see the treasury is protected from most magic, so the only way to get in is to do so by physical means."

"You don't want me to shift into a dragon and break in, do you?"

"No, of course not. Brute force won't help anyway. We must be delicate. And dare I say – this method is only possible because of you, Princess," Azrael grinned, mischief dancing in his eyes. 

He's like a little kid who is about to break into a candy store. God, I hope this actually works. It's probably the only chance I'm going to have at finding that gem.

"Why me?" Rosa asked and Azrael crouched down into bushes. She followed suit and saw one of the patrol guards making his ground through the backyard.

"Because you're the King's heir, obviously. I'll explain more once we get there. Now sit quietly and observe the guard as he passes by. Take in every detail you can," he whispered and then disappeared into the shadows. Rosa also adopted her shadow form and waited.

Few minutes passed before the demon guard finally strode by the exact bush they were hiding in. Rosa did her best to memorize everything she could about the demon. She'd seen him before in passing, so she was able to focus on more unfamiliar parts of him.

Once the guard had walked away a good distance, Azrael slipped out of his shadow form as did Rosa.

"Did you memorize everything you could?"

She nodded.

"Good. Now we're going to the first floor of the castle, right before the servant wing starts. Do you know the place I'm talking about?" Azrael whispered, occasionally throwing a glance over the yard.

Rosa nodded in response again. She remembered that particular part of the castle from their excursion to the city. The contrast between the main castle and the servants quarters was so stark, she couldn't forget it. 

"We're going to go to that spot as shadows. You'll have to go very fast. And once you're there, you have to emerge from the shadow disguised as a guard."

"Why can't I transform into the guard here and then you teleport us back into the castle?" Rosa objected, wondering what were the limits of his ability. She also doubted whether she could do a transformation right after exiting from shadows.

"Because all teleportation magic is monitored within the castle."

"And shadow forms are not? Besides, didn't you just teleport us downstairs?"

"They're impossible to track. And nobody cares if somebody teleports outside. Now prepare to go on three," Azrael lifted three of his fingers and began a silent countdown. Rosa wanted to object, but before she could, the countdown was complete, and he was gone.

Damn, Azrael! Give me a moment to respond at least.

Rosa slipped into her shadow form and then sped into the castle, heading through the empty corridors straight towards the servants wing. She saw an occasional guard or maid doing their daily duties, but overall the place was rather empty.

As they neared the designated spot Rosa did her best to concentrate onto the guard persona, trying to recall every detail and imagining herself becoming larger and stronger. She imagined having muscled arms and wearing the classic dark uniform all guards wore. But then she lost control of her shadow form and fell to the floor with a loud crash.

"That wasn't very graceful," a guard with Azrael's voice looked down on her, grinning from ear to ear.

"You went too quickly," Rosa rushed to her feet and almost fell over again. The guards' body felt far too large and heavy. It was difficult to move it – like she was wearing a full body suit.

"You imagined yourself shifting too soon. But it's alright, I don't think anybody noticed," the guard Azrael looked around, and after a few moments of silence, he nodded to confirm his words.

"What if somebody had been here?" Rosa grumbled.

"It's fine. I would have put them to sleep."

Of course you would have…

"Come, we're going down now," Azrael motioned towards a narrow, dimly lit corridor, and Rosa followed. The place was almost too narrow for the bulky guard, and Rosa had to walk carefully so as to not accidentally bump into the occasional bucket or mop propped against the wall.

Slowly the corridor began to veer left and down, on an increasingly steeper slope. Rosa began to fear she might slip when the corridor came to an abrupt end. There was no door, no lever, no nothing. Just a dead end.

"What's this?" Rosa asked the guard Azrael.

"Just watch," he said, and then began stomping his feet. Rosa was about to roll her eyes at him, the gesture looked like one of Deziara's temper tantrums. But there was a pattern to his stomping that kept repeating over and over.

After a minute, a low rumble came from the wall and it began to part like a slow sliding door. It opened up into a sort of tunnel with a staircase that led further downwards.

"After you, milady," Azrael bowed in a mocking sort of way. 

"You go first," Rosa retorted. She had no intention of going into that dark, suspicious place first. If some weird guardian monster would jump at them, then Azrael could take the brunt of it.

"As you wish," Azrael cackled and then proceeded downstairs. Rosa followed shortly after, struggling to fit the guard's giant foot on the narrow staircase. 

"Can't we turn back now?" she asked.

"No. It is important that we remain in this form until we pass a certain threshold. Once we are downstairs, do not talk. If somebody asks you something, either nod or shake your head. Or better yet say nothing at all."

Rosa was curious to know what exactly awaited them further ahead, but decided to remain silent. She didn't want anyone to overhear them talking. Not that Azrael would give a straight answer anyway.

Soon Rosa saw a brighter light up ahead and then descended into a chamber of sorts. It had three exits and a large demon guard sat in the very middle of the chamber, his expression completely unreadable. If a mountain would be made into demon form, this is how it would look like.

"What's up, Chad?" Azrael greeted him with a friendly smile and a wave of his hand. Rosa cringed inwardly as Chad just blinked, not appearing in the least bit interested in having any conversation.

"Your pass?"

"Of course. Here you go, buddy," Azrael pulled something out of his guard uniform and presented it to Chad. Rosa glanced at it, and it appeared to be a piece of paper with a signature on it. Chad looked down at it then just grunted. Rosa couldn't tell if it was approval or not, but Azrael smiled and proceeded towards one of the corridors.

"Thank you, Chad. Always a pleasure talking with you."

Rosa was about to follow Azrael, when Chad suddenly spoke up, "Your pass?"

She froze mid-step and turned to look at Chad, unsure of what to do. Azrael quickly rushed back and threw one hand around her shoulder.

"Oh, we're going together. Partners and all that," Azrael chuckled.

Oh, no! There's no way he's going to buy that cheap lie. This is as far as we get.

"Okay," Chad replied and then his gaze wandered away from her, looking at the entrance door again as if they didn't exist anymore.

"You heard the man. Let's go, partner," Azrael pulled her along into the corridor, a victorious grin spreading on his face. Rosa was about to object to his half-assed methods when she noticed a change in the air. It felt heavy like before a thunderstorm, and then there were lots of odd slashes and burn marks along the floor and walls.

"W-What is this place?" she whispered to Azrael, not noticing that she was clutching his sleeve.

"Welcome to the Dungeon, Princess!"