Demon Queen Wants to Paint

Rosa lost any sense of time as she ran through the seemingly never ending dark of the Underworld. It'd been several hours since she escaped from the Demon Castle, and she was beginning to tire. 

I can take a short break now? Can't I?

She slipped out of her shadow form, cautiously looking around her. The darkness felt all the stronger in her physical form, encroaching Rosa from all sides. As a demon her vision was far better than human's in the dark. But here, where only odd bioluminescent mushrooms and plants gave some light, even this improved vision was not enough for her to reliably see further than a few meters ahead of her.

Where do I go now?

Rosa felt so small and helpless in the dark. But there was no going back anymore. Her time as Alphegor's daughter was over. The thought pierced her heart like a shard of glass, and a hot tear rolled down her cheek.

"I wanted to stay with him…" she muttered as more and more rolled down, dripping onto her dress and hands.

"It felt… like he could accept me as I am," she told the darkness her silent hopes as it was the only entity listening to her.

"I wanted to be accepted as I am. But I am not even the same race," she cried, and looked down on her hands. They were human hands – pale and pink, not the ashen pale hands of a demon. She had once again shifted into her human form without even noticing.

I don't belong here. I have to find a way back home.

Rosa hastily wiped her tears. There was no time to wallow in sorrow. She had to keep moving forward and get away from the Demon Kingdom. It didn't matter where she went as long as Alphegor could not reach her.

She exhaled slowly in an attempt to calm herself, and then looked around to observe her surroundings. The scenery was still just as quiet and dark as before, with an occasional quiet rustle from a bug or bat.

Where am I even? Is this still the Demon Kingdom? Must be. I can't be as fast to leave its border within a few hours. Then again I know nothing about the topography of the Underworld. Nobody has ever bothered to show me any maps.

Rosa kept walking through the dark on foot as she felt too tired to switch to her shadow form. She hoped to find some place to rest, but realistically where would she even be able to do that? The Underworld was still so foreign to her.

What would be considered a good shelter in the dark? On the surface, a cave would be a good choice, but what if you're already underground. A cave within a cave? How would I know that it wouldn't collapse on top of my head while I slept? 

Rosa suddenly stopped gasping as a realization hit her. 

What am I going to eat and drink?

She eyed one of the glowing mushrooms suspiciously and bent down to observe it closer. Its little cap shone with a bright blue hue while the stalk appeared more subdued. 

I don't know anything about Underworld mushrooms, but if biology taught me anything, it's that eating unfamiliar plants and fungi is not a great idea. It could make me hallucinate or give me a stomachache. Or maybe even worse…

She shook her head and then stepped away from the mushrooms. She didn't dare to eat it, and so decided to instead search for some settlement. While it could be risky as Alphegor would no doubt order the whole Demon Kingdom to search for her, she could remain safely hidden in her shadow form.

"Yes, it'll be alright," Rosa tried to calm herself by speaking loudly. For a moment, everything was silent, but after a few seconds a low, rumbling cry resounded somewhere from the darkness as if to answer her.

That did not sound friendly.

She tried to focus her eyes into the darkness, to see any movement within but everything was completely still. Perhaps it was just seismic activity that made the noise. Unwilling to think about the horrid monsters that might be hiding in the dark, Rosa decided to ignore the noise and keep going.

She managed to take exactly three steps, when the low cry resounded again, this time closer. Rosa stopped and her eyes darted around in the darkness trying to make out anything within it. Nothing. She could see nothing, but there definitely was something out there. 

Perhaps it would be safer if I continued on as a shadow.

As Rosa was about to slip into her shadow form, she saw a giant maw lunging straight at her. Out of pure instinct, she jumped back avoiding the sharp teeth by less than a centimeter. She could feel the heat that emanated from the creature and a few droplets of its spit landed on her hands and face.

The creature retreated back into the darkness before she could register its appearance, but Rosa had no intention of sticking around. She slipped into her shadow form and rushed away, vaguely following the mushroom illuminated trail. She heard a bellow from behind her and it echoed through the darkness, bouncing off from unseen walls.

Sorry, I have no intention of becoming anybody's dinner.

Rosa pushed on, leaving the hungry beast raging in the darkness over his lost meal. She heard its cries for a long while until they finally died down completely. Whether it was because of the distance she covered or because it had simply calmed down – she didn't know. 

But she decided to take no chances and kept moving forward. The further away she was from the Demon Castle, the better. But her strength was starting to wane, she knew she had to find a place to rest soon. Much to her relief, she noticed a few lights flickering somewhere in the distance.

A settlement perhaps? I could take what I need from the shadows and then run. But then I wouldn't get to rest. Maybe it's better to change my appearance?

As Rosa got closer to the lights, she saw that there were crude clay and stone buildings erected in what appeared to be a little underground village. There were lamps hung on the side of the houses and occasional posts with a larger lamp on top. Compared to the rich demon capital, the place looked very desolate and decrepit. But even here there was life.

Better shift some distance away from the village so nobody notices me.

Rosa hid behind some large stalagmites growing upwards like odd, sharp stone trees and materialized out of her shadow form. There wasn't much energy left in her, so she decided to keep her shift familiar and simple. She took her adult human shape but applied some demonic features – gray skin, small horns, pointed ears and a tail.

Ideally she would have liked to take the shape of a lesser demon, as it would certainly draw less attention, but she was afraid to use too much of her energy. Azrael had warned her that using too much energy for a transformation could make her faint and even make her fall into a coma. To create a more ignoble appearance, she imagined herself wearing ragged clothes with a gaunt face, sunken eyes and bony limbs.

After inspecting as much of her new appearance as she could in the dim light, Rosa took a deep breath and then hobbled towards the village. She didn't know exactly how merciful these demon villagers would be towards strangers, but she hoped that her pathetic appearance would at least earn her a scrap of food and a roof over head for the night.

As she approached the village, Rosa saw some demons chatting on the side of the street. As she had predicted, they were lesser demons – both of them were rather short and stocky. Not quite as short as dwarfs but much shorter than an average pure-blooded demon. They had broad shoulders, short but beefy arms with large hands and long nails. 

When they noticed Rosa approaching, both demons stopped their conversation and turned towards her. Their faces were most peculiar – very small, almost beady eyes and large, black noses. In a way they reminded her of moles, the only giveaway of their demonic blood being their tiny horns on the forehead.

"H-Hello," she dared to address them in a shaky voice. 

"Hello, stranger. What brings you to our tiny village?" one of the mole demons asked apprehensively, taking half a step in front of their companion. It was the stockier and larger one of the two. Whether they were male or female, Morrigan couldn't tell, but the other mole demon took a step behind the bulkier one.

"I mean no harm. I am but a weary traveler," Rosa lifted up her arms to deliberately show her skinniness and pale complexion. The mole demons relaxed a little, although the scowl from the larger demon's face never disappeared.

"A traveler? At this nook of the Underworld? Whatever are you searching for in this hellhole?" they sneered, crossing their arms over their chest displaying their impressive large claws in their full glory.

If I knew something more about these demons, perhaps I could appeal to them. Why is it that nobody ever taught me anything about the Demon Kingdom? Oh right… because I am four.

"I suddenly got attacked by a large beast with a giant maw. It attacked so quickly I barely managed to avoid it and get away," She decided to tell some of the truth to give her words some credibility. The smaller mole demon's eyes widened in shock, and they shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"What did the beast look like?" the stockier demon asked with narrowed eyes, but his posture relaxed a little bit.

"I-I didn't see anything besides its gaping mouth. It disappeared into the dark so fast," she admitted.

The mole demon opened his mouth to say something when their smaller companion spoke up instead, "Dear, other demons don't have such good night vision as us. They wouldn't be able to spot the Talpidot in the dark."

The larger mole nodded at his companion, his scowl finally relaxing in a more neutral expression.

"Talpidot? Is that what it was?" Rosa asked, the name completely unfamiliar to her.

"Most likely. They are large, nasty creatures which usually hide in the darkest recesses of the Underworld. It's not rare to encounter one around here. Unfortunately, it is rare to survive a meeting with one. How'd you get away?" the mole demon asked, leaning a bit closer.

"I just ran. Ran as fast as I could," Rosa replied, determined not to reveal that she could take a shadow form.

"You must be a mighty fine runner then. Or really lucky. What about your stuff?"

"I-I had to abandon it. It was weighing me down," Rosa lied. Both of the mole demons nodded at her explanation.

"Smart. Better to lose your stuff than your life. I suppose you're looking for a place to rest now," the stockier mole demon said, and Rosa nodded.

"Yes. And some food and water if it's not too much to ask. I can work to repay it," she offered, hoping that it might entice the demons to help her out.

"Nonsense. You're already all skin and bones. You're welcome to rest in our home and eat at our table," the smaller demon said and pointed towards one of the nearby houses with her long claw. "I am Kurmina, and this is my husband Henris."

"It is nice to meet you. I am… " Rosa paused for a second, realizing that she couldn't introduce herself as Morrigan. Her human name was as good of a substitute as any. "I am Rosa."

"Let's head inside, Rosa, and you tell us every last detail of your encounter with the Talpidot. We've been trying to figure out how to get rid of them for ages," Henris grumbled and began waddling towards his house with Kurmina following behind him.

At least I can relax for one day. Hopefully.