Demon Queen Wants to Paint

Rosa stared at the screen in disbelief. The woman who had declared that Rosa was not her daughter was calling her of her own volition. 

For what purpose? Did she have a change of heart? Doesn't seem very likely.

Rosa reached for her phone with a trembling hand, and after exhaling a breath, answered the call.

"Hello?"

"What took you so long to answer? I've been trying to reach you for several days now!" resounded the familiar and yet at the same time foreign voice of her mother. She sounded angry, just like she usually did when speaking with Rosa.

She tried to contact me before? Am I dreaming? Is this some sick joke on Azrael's part? Will I wake up and find myself in Alphegor's torture chamber?

Rosa pinched her leg to make sure whether it was real, and the pain indicated that it was.

"Well?" Mother asked, her voice filled with annoyance.

"I… I was busy the last few days and didn't check my phone," she lied, her voice low. She didn't want to talk to Mother after everything she had said to her. For a moment she considered just ending the call, but Rosa was curious to know what the woman actually wanted.

Mother cleared her throat and said, "I suppose I can't blame you too much. Your new job must be keeping you busy. How is it going, by the way?"

The question caught her completely unprepared. Her mother never bothered to ask about anything related to art, yet now she was inquiring about her new job at an animation studio. Rosa still clearly remembered how Mother had said that a respectable business would never call themselves 'Studio Goblin'.

Really? Judging a whole company solely based on its name. How petty can one be?

"It's… busy. There's lots of new things to learn," Rosa replied awkwardly, hoping that Mother would get to the heart of the matter.

"I imagine so, dear. Do tell me more about that company. Your sister told me that it is one of the biggest animation studios in the country," she said excitedly. At the mention of the word 'sister', Rosa instantly thought of Deziara. She couldn't even properly recall the features of her human sister. They seemed vague and distorted from the passage of time.

So that's what this is really about. She learned that Studio Goblin is actually one of the big guys, so now she is inclined to talk to me again.

"Well…" Rosa began, unsure of what to say. She never really had gone to Studio Goblin. No doubt her internship was terminated by now. 

"Actually, don't tell me over the phone. There is probably too much for you to say. We'll come visit you over the weekend," Mother said, her voice sounding very foreign from her excitement. Such emotions were never directed at Rosa, only towards her younger sister.

"I don't know if it's a good idea… I still have much work to do," She tried to talk herself out of the unpleasant visit. It was the last thing she needed right now – to host her family and entertain them while she hadn't even gotten her bearings after leaving Doppelta.

"Are you too good to meet your family now?" Mother's voice instantly turned cold and ruthless.

"No, that's not what I meant–"

"Then we are coming! I'll be expecting you to be a gracious host. See you then," she said and then ended the call, before Rosa could object. She stared at her phone for a few seconds, then sighed and slumped down into her bed.

Great. Now I'll have to listen to another lengthy lecture of why I am a failure because I have lost my job. Just what I needed right now.

She lifted her phone above her head, and went to her email, expecting to find an angrily worded message from Studio Goblin. On the very top of her received email list, there stood an unopened message from them. She braced herself mentally, and opened it, ready to accept the rejection. Much to her surprise, the letter contained an address, date and time for when she should come to their headquarters. July 25th, 8:00 am.

Rosa gaped. That was tomorrow. She still hadn't missed her chance – she could still work in Studio Goblin and fulfill her dream. She jumped up out of the bed, and headed straight to her wardrobe. An appropriate outfit was necessary for such an occasion.

***

With the GPS app open in her phone, Rosa went through the busy street checking the nearby buildings for the Studio Goblin sign. She was wearing a tight pencil skirt and a white blouse, trying to adhere to the business-casual style. The clothes felt oddly coarse against her skin, and they restricted her movements so much she was almost tempted to head back home to find something more comfortable.

I never felt like my demon clothes were uncomfortable, even if some of them looked like a goth's fever dream. The fabrics they use for Princess's are probably much more sophisticated than what I have bought at clearance in the local store.

Rosa paused as she finally saw a tall building that had Studio Goblin sign above the front entrance in large, green letters. She smiled and headed straight towards it, her low-heels clattering against the paved road. The shoes felt even more uncomfortable than the clothes, not to mention that the constant 'click-clack' that came from them reminded her of Asdeus.

Rosa shook her head, dismissing the unpleasant thought and entered the building through its glass door. The foyer was neat and lined with posters of their previous animated features. Behind a modern, sand colored desk sat a young woman dressed similarly to Rosa. She had dark brown hair tied neatly into a bun, and appeared very professional.

"Hello," Rosa greeted her somewhat nervously.

"Hello. How may I help you?" she asked with a polite, professional smile.

"I am here for my internship," Rosa replied, and the woman nodded, opening a notebook that stood at the corner of her desk.

"Name?" 

"M-Rosa Smith," she stuttered, nearly calling out her demon name. 

Get a grip, Rosa. You're back on Earth now. You are a human.

So she tried to convince herself, although she knew full well that underneath her human face hid a little demon girl. But there was no time to think about that – she had to focus on the task in front of her.

"Take the elevator to the sixth floor, and go to the cabinet number 665," the woman said and pointed towards the elevator. Rosa nodded in thanks, and headed towards it. 

The whole situation felt so odd to her. Just a few days ago she was rushing through the Underworld trying to run away with her life, and yet now she was riding in an elevator at Studio Goblin. She should have felt happy and relieved, but there was a strange heaviness that kept weighing her down.

It'll pass, Rosa. Focus. You need to make a good first impression.

As the elevator reached the sixth floor, Rosa was greeted by a long, monotone hallway with many doors lining the walls, each with its own number. She searched for room 665 and found it at the very end of the hall. After gathering her nerves for a minute, she exhaled and knocked on it.

"Come in," a feminine voice replied from behind the door. Rosa opened it and peered in. The room inside was rather small and stuffed to the brim with shelves filled with papers. In the middle of the room was a desk behind which sat a tired-looking woman in her thirties. She was rubbing her temples as she stared at the drawing tablet in front of her.

"Hello. I am here for my internship," Rosa said awkwardly, feeling as though she had just interrupted something.

"Internship…" the woman muttered as she dragged her stylus across the surface of the tablet. Then, as the information finally registered in her brain, her eyes snapped up to look straight at Rosa. "You're the new intern?"

"Yes," Rosa confirmed, and was shocked when the woman groaned loudly and slammed her stylus onto her desk.

"Ugh! I can't believe he actually pushed the intern onto me when I am already falling behind schedule. I am going to demand a bonus for this bullshit," she mumbled, and searched for something among the sea of papers on her desk. "What was your name?"

"Rosa Smith," she replied meekly, wondering whether it would be better to just leave.

"I am Penny. Give me a moment," Penny grumbled, digging through the papers. As the search dragged out, and she was unable to find the desired thing, Penny threw up her arms in frustration and slumped back into her chair.

"Is everything alright?"

"Okay, I am going to be brutally honest with you, newbie. I currently don't have the time to deal with you. There's a deadline coming up for the concept art I need to submit for the new movie, so that is currently my priority," the woman said as she rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"So what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know, to be honest. I've never dealt with interns before. Why don't you just grab that chair over there and come watch me work?" Penny said in a resigned voice and then straightened, taking the stylus in her hand again.

"Alright," Rosa took the chair and positioned it behind Penny, so she could see the screen of her tablet. It appeared that she was working on some sort of dark landscape, but the piece was still in its early stages so Rosa couldn't tell what exactly it was supposed to be.

Penny returned straight back to work, furiously laying down one color after another, drawing as if it were a speed challenge of some sort. She watched the woman with keen interest admiring how she added one layer of color over the other. First black, then dark blue, then dark brown. Rosa couldn't understand what exactly she was trying to create.

The scene is certainly dark. Perhaps it takes place during the night? In some forest? Or maybe in a cave? Or perhaps within a dark mansion?

Penny switched the color to dark grayish and began laying down large squares in the middle of the picture. They looked rather awkward and blocky at first, but then she began adding darker gray and black shadows, giving the building more definition. Then using dark blue, she drew in arch-like windows and afterwards began defining a brick-like texture.

It's a gothic castle similar to the Demon Castle back at home. Wait… Why did I just think of Demon Castle as my home? How foolish. I am back home now. This is where I belong.

Rosa shifted in her seat, and continued to observe Penny work. She watched how the woman used various features within her drawing program to multiply the patterns she had created and laid it over the whole castle. She made cracks in the walls, copied them and spread them around giving the castle a more abandoned look.

Demon Castle never had a single crack in the walls. Everything was always new and clean.

The stylus glided towards the windows next, making the glass shattered in places, drawing broken shards laying on the windowsill. Penny even went as far as to draw blood drip down in one of the windows. Rosa shifted uncomfortably, feeling her hold on the transformation slip for a bit.

Is sitting still for long periods of time somehow harder for maintaining the transformation while walking? Or perhaps it is just more difficult on Earth? Less magic here or something akin to that? I wish I could have found out more about how magic truly worked.

Penny nodded to herself, seemingly satisfied with the castle and then turned towards its surroundings. She drew black dead trees with broken branches, scattered around where the castle yard should be. Instead of the dark greenery Rosa had grown accustomed to, dark thorny bushes took their place, clearly intending to turn away anyone who dared to come close.

That's just too much. Nobody in their right mind would grow so many thorny bushes in their yard. What purpose would they even serve aside from annoying the poor gardener?

As the woman continued adding menacing details throughout the piece, Rosa grew increasingly more uncomfortable in her seat. It seemed very hard against her flesh while her body began feeling heavy. 

I wish I could take my smaller form. It is always more comfortable in it.

"What do you think?" Penny asked suddenly, breaking Rosa out of her thoughts She looked at her piece from various angles, as if trying to find something in it.

"Me?" Rosa asked, surprised by her sudden question. They had sat in complete silence for more than an hour.

"Is there somebody else here?"

"I suppose not…" Rosa muttered, and then took a careful look at the drawing again. While it certainly looked dark and menacing, it also appeared somewhat dull and lifeless. It had the base of the Demon Castle, but none of its magnificence. No grand lanterns to illuminate the outside or the intricate statues of grand dragons or beasts.

"I think it could use a bit more… life," Rosa said, and Penny whirled around in her chair, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Okay, I didn't explain the concept I was going for, my bad. It is supposed to be a demon castle," she said in a condescending voice.

"I understand that. But there are people living there as well, are there not? Shouldn't there be some lights in the windows? Everything appears very uniform, but I think a real castle would have some more variation. Some taller towers, and some shorter ones. And it wouldn't be so worn out and broken. This castle just looks abandoned."

Penny looked at Rosa as if she was insane, her eyebrows furrowed into angry grimace, "Ah, why did I even ask? What would a newbie who barely knows how to hold a stylus know about drawing concept art?"

"Let me educate you, intern. The castle of a villain always has to look as decrepit, lifeless and uninviting as possible. People would not live there, in fact, they wouldn't even go near it. They need to be afraid of monsters that are living there."

"They are not monsters!" Rosa jumped up from her seat, glaring down at Penny. The woman looked at her incredulously, one eyebrow raised. Rosa felt a hot tear stream down her face, and touched it with her hand, shocked at her own emotional outburst.

What is wrong with me? It is just a drawing, not the real Demon Castle.

"I… I'm sorry. I'll be leaving now," Rosa mumbled and rushed out of the tiny office.

"And don't come back! Newbies who don't know how to listen to their betters have no business working for Studio Goblin," Penny shouted behind her.

But it wasn't her rejection that made the tears flow down Rosa's cheeks. It was the realization that she missed the Demon Castle. And that she would not be able to return to it.