Auntie Agreas' welcoming hit me like a brick, but any suspicion of foul intentions was quickly alleviated by the amazing four course spread she presented us at her oversized dinner table. My mouth salivated as exotic, well exotic to me, dishes were laid out before me by her sharply dressed servants. Could the food have been poisoned? Gee, that thought hadn't even crossed my mind; but, like Lily trusted her, so I did too. Honestly the tasty food was more than enough to make me forget that awful little name she called my goddess. Well, mostly forget… for a moment at least… no, no, no, I was not about to let a delicious meal be tainted by my twisting guts hotpot of emotions. 

"I hope everything is to your liking, it is not often my cooks have to prepare a meal for a human guest," our gracious hostess laughed as she daintily sipped from an obtusely large crystal glass of wine. 

"Ish weally good!" I politely paid my compliments through a mouth full of food.

"I am glad you think so," she said between another dip of wine, "I have been told replicating the texture of meat is difficult, but if you enjoy it then my chef's hard work has paid off."

"Thish ishn’t meat?"

"Did I not tell you? Demons are vegetarian," Lily answered for her.

"Oooh, wow, I'd neber have gueshed," 

"Eve, swallow your food before you talk," Beli tapped my head, "try and show a little decorum in front of our hostess."

"Shorry…" I swallowed, "I mean, sorry."

"I have to wonder though," Agreas narrowed her eyes, her gaze suddenly piercing me like a speeding arrow shot through my chest. "What are your intentions with our Queen, champion of the devil?"

She really had to go and ask it, all while I was enjoying that delicious not-meat. My intentions were pure, of course, but like the suspicion in her voice was sour enough to curdle milk. I wanted to avoid heavy conversation, but I also didn't want to leave any reason for her to doubt my noble desire.

"My intentions are pure, I swear it, we're just friends, even if Lily is really cute and I wouldn't mind cuddling with her or holding her hand or something but regardless still ultra-super-pure!"

"I… well that's not…" my little outburst of honesty seemed to leave her speechless. Everyone kinda seemed to be thrown off, even Lilith who had been sitting next to me, eating in silence, seemed to fidget a little in place as though my confession left her feeling a little… awkward. 

"Silly child, I was not asking about your romantic feelings, I was inquiring about your quest."

"Oh…"

"You still haven't learned to think before you speak," the voice in the back of my mind scoffed.

I chuckled nervously and laid my face down into the table, "if you're going to execute me or something you can do it now…" when I was done being melodramatic, I perked back up and gave an earnest answer, "we're going to fulfill our wish together!"

"Oh, and how do you intend to do that?"

"We… we're gonna… well you see, if we bring the heart together, then..."

"Preposterous," she cut me off with a sharp tone, "it is childish and naive to believe the Devil Abelia would grant any favors to the God of the Demons," she sighed, then added "not that it is even within her power to grant favors."

A fervent wave of confused anger thrashed about in my gut, "what do you know? When she sees the demons aren't really the savages we thought they were then I'm sure she'll be willing to… wait," a little light flickered on inside my head as her words clicked into place in my little tiny brain, "did you say 'God of the Demons'?"

"So then you do not know?" Lilith shrunk under Agreas' gaze, "hmm so then she did not tell you,'' for the first time since our dinner began, Agreas placed her wine glass down, "Demon royalty is more than just royalty, it is Divinity. Gaze upon our Queen and observe her eyes, one pink and one blue. A mark of the Goddess Isatanael."

"Huh?" Voxie chimed in, "what was that name you just said?"

"Of course you would perk up hearing your wife's name," Agreas chuckled, "Isatanael."

"Wife? What, no that's the void…" Voxie stopped mid sentence, "oh… that was something I wasn't supposed to know yet."

"Sorry, did I say too much?" She casually apologized with a dry little laugh.

Voxie shook her head, "no, no, it's okay… but it's probably best you don't mention anything from when I met you."

"Noted," she raised her glass back up to her lips and took a good long drink. "Now," she said after having drained her glass of its contents, "putting aside silly delusions, tell me, what is your true goal?"

Silly delusions? This lady wasn't pulling her punches. She probably thought I was actually evil, or maybe just stupid. I just didn't really understand why she was so skeptical of me… I was being honest. "I… I want to be a girl," I gave my most earnest reply, "and in order to do that… I need my wish granted."

"Remind me again, how was it you planned to have said wish granted? What is the goal of a champion’s quest?"

"Guh…" I mean fair, but that wasn't my plan anymore, "Lilly and I are going to fulfill our dream together, like I said, I don't have to kill the Demon King if she's willingly giving up her heart."

"And are you willingly giving up your heart, Lilith?"

"I have no intentions of being the demon king, and as such have no connection to the heart," she closed her eyes and rested her chin in her hands as she leaned against the table, "I too wish to be a girl, and my servants have made it quite clear that such a desire makes me unfit to be their king."

"Of course," Agreas agreed, "you would make a far better Queen."

"King or Queen, I have no desire to rule."

"So then, you would hand over the source of our magic to the Devil?"

"No, never to Abelia," Lilith's words stabbed my back like an icy cold blade, digging deep as it pierced my heart.

"But… but, Lilith!"

"Eve is an idiot," ouchie, why so mean now? "She's impulsive and reckless, she is just blindly charging forward through life without any critical thinking," okay, okay, I get, I suck… "Her plan is terrible, it could never work and I would never hand over anything to that vile false god, Abelia," yeah, yeah you said that already, "to Eve, however, I would give my heart and soul."

Oh… "Huh?"

Agreas smiled a big toothy grin, her sharp fangs framed by her curly crimson lips, "Lilith my dear, you sound just like her, it honestly warms my heart."

"What do you mean?" 

"Isatanael, she spoke the same way of some silly little goddess she loved.”

“Which goddess was that again?” Voxie asked.

“Oh, just someone she simply called 'Bonbon'. Certainly not a goddess I am familiar with." 

Voxie stood up and bowed, "thank you for the dinner, but umm… mind if I step out?"

"Oh? Are you sure, love? You are going to miss the dessert."

She shook her head as she politely declined, "I appreciate it, but I… I need to…" part way through her sentence she began to mumble underneath her breath. 

"Alright, I will have the servants show you to your room then," Agreas waved and two young demons dressed in fancy black suits stepped forward.

"Thanks," Voxie bowed her head again and followed the two servants out of the dinning hall.

"Rather abrupt of him, but also not surprising," Agreas chuckled, "now, where were we?"

"Actually, Aunt Agreas, I too would like to be excused as well, if you don't mind," Lilith stood and placed her dining cloth on the table.

"Oh dear, I was having fun catching up with you, it's been well over a hundred years since I'd seen you, love," that number had to be a joke, no way was Lily that old, "very well, the servants will show you all to your rooms."

"Thank you, Aunt Agreas," Lilith bowed her head slightly.

"Sweetie, don't bow to me, you're my Queen."

"A force or habit, I suppose," with that Lilith left the room, following another demon servant out the door.

"Umm, thanks for the dinner?" Would it have been rude if I asked for the dessert before I left?

A servant stepped up to me and nodded, "this way, Miss."

Oooh being called “Miss” was nice, like super nice, honestly almost better than having dessert. But yeah, riding the emotional high of being addressed as a lady, I followed the servant to the door.

"Hold a moment, Champion," Agreas voice resonated with so much authority I couldn't help but freeze in my tracks as if halted by magic, "a word of warning for you, in all worlds yours is a tale of tragedy. Continue down this road and it will lead to nothing but heartache and ruin."

With those foreboding final words she excused me, though I couldn’t shake a tingle that now traveled up and down my spine. I honestly didn’t know what to think about Agreas, or her warning at the time, so I decided I would just not think. An easy task for me, just clear my head of all thoughts and be at peace. Okay… that’s a lie. I could never quiet the voice inside my head and honestly, I didn’t want to. 

Well, whatever, I followed the servant through a marbled hall whose floors were so polished I could nearly see my reflection in them. It was a good thing I wore shorts under my dress, right? Haha…anyways, they brought me around a few corners of samey-looking halls, all which had their walls covered in a myriad of portraits to the extent I could have been led to believe that the walls were made exclusively of paintings. Either this woman had a very big family, or there was something more to these paintings, I’d have asked the servant, but… I didn't really care. I felt so sleepy, and my ability to hold any kind of conversation seemed to slip the closer we got to my assigned guest room. 

“Here we are, Miss,” he said, bowing as he held the door open for me. Relieved to no longer be walking down winding halls I dashed inside the room and plunged myself onto the plush pillowy bed, giggling as I sunk in. “Would you be requiring anything else from me, Miss?”

“Huh? Oh, uh no, no, I’m all good.”

“Very well, sleep well, miss,” he bowed again and left. The minute the door was shut and I was certain he was no longer in earshot of me I giggled and shrieked with delight once again.

Wow, being called Miss feels really nice! I kicked my legs and thrashed about the bed before my sleepiness caught up to my giddiness. 

“Eve, be careful, this doesn’t feel right,” the voice in my head warned. 

“Don’t worry silly, you promised you’d keep me safe no matter what right? I’ll be fine,” I said between an abnormal amount of yawns, shimmying myself underneath the velvet blankets. I think they complained more, but I was too sleepy to understand, and in a matter of seconds I was drifting off to the land of Nod. 

My comfortable restful sleep however was short lived. Before I was conscious enough to see or hear the world around me, I felt a silky smooth hand cup my face between their fingers. I tried to move but my mind and body were at odds, my body favoring the nice still comfort of sleep, but despite not stirring a single muscle, the person whom the hand belonged could tell I was aware of them. “I’m sorry Eve, I didn’t mean to disturb you,” Lilith spoke softly, her breath blowing hot into my ear.

“Li…Lily?” I just barely managed to mumble. It was her, I am fairly certain, although her voice did sound just a touch different.

She giggled and I could feel her body shift the bed next to me as she climbed into my bed, “you sound rather exhausted, has our journey really been wearing you out that much?” I finally managed to move a little, shaking my head just slightly in response, “good girl. You’re a lot tougher than I had expected, honestly.” The bed sank even more as I felt her body move even closer to mine, “do you think you can speak?”

“I… I sleepy,” wow, that was probably the lamest thing I could say, I probably sounded like a little kid to her.

She giggled again, “yes, you are quite sleepy, aren’t you?” She began to run her fingernail on my chest in little circles, tickling me in a surprisingly pleasant way, “so, did you really mean what you said?”

“Mean what?”

“You said you wanted to cuddle with me,” Oh, that… I was really hoping she had just ignored that. “I wouldn’t mind, in fact, I would actually really like it.” Nevermind, yes please, cuddle me! She wrapped a leg over my legs, and her arm over my chest, and nuzzled her face against my cheek. It was absolutely adorable and goddess I hated that I couldn’t fully enjoy it in my half conscious state! “Eve, can I ask you a question?” 

“Mhm,” I barely was able to respond, but maybe that was for the better, because my voice would probably have been squeaking and weird with how excited I was getting.

“What are we going to do?”

“Whatchu mean?” Words Eve, use your words…

“When we find the Demon king’s heart?” she answered, her breath tickling my ear, “are we really just going to bring it to Abellia?” 

What do you  mean? You already said you wouldn’t do that right? Was that just a lie to please your aunt? “I dunno…” it was the most honest answer I could give, really.

“Hmmm, I see,” she sighed, “I was hoping you’d have some sort of plan,” my heart broke hearing the disappointment in her voice, like damn, I really was just a screw up after all, just like Jacob said…

“Sorry…”

“Oh, you don’t have to apologize, it’s better this way,” she squeezed me even tighter into her embrace, “if we don’t have a destination, then our journey will never end,” she sounded surprisingly happy about it, even though that meant we wouldn’t get our wish, honestly I couldn’t understand how she was so content with it.

“But how will we be girls then?”

“Silly girl, you don’t need magic for that.” I couldn’t agree less, that was the whole point of our journey after all, how else could we change ourselves? I didn’t argue though, or more accurately couldn’t, exhaustion was my only excuse for my silence.

After that she was quiet for a bit, her warm body cradling me, her hot breath sending all kinds of sensations through me as it blew against my neck. Being held by her so lovingly I felt safe for the first time since… since forever. Come to think of it, I never was safe before, was I? Even back at the orphanage I was always in danger of some form of harm. Whether it was beast or bandit, my life was simply at the mercy of those bigger and stronger than me. And when it was not my life on the line, I found myself in many other kinds of danger. Becoming a Champion had exponentially increased all risks to my life, while simultaneously equipping me with a means to combat said dangers. But even with all the power I had, being the greatest Champion of the Divine Kingdoms, I was never truly safe. That is until I was there in that bed, in the arms of the Demon King herself. What threat could possibly be greater than the combined might of the Golden Champion and the Demon King? If I could spend all my nights in her arms, I think that would make me happier than anything else in the whole wide world… Anything except having my wish granted.

“I’ve wanted this for so, so long,” I could feel her tears begin to stain the pillow beside my head, “Bonbon, I’ve missed you.” 

“What did you call me?” I actually don’t know if I asked it outloud, or if I only thought about it. I didn’t have the energy to ask again and honestly it was okay. I wasn’t sure why she would call me ‘Bonbon’, or why she would say she ‘missed me’, but it didn’t matter. It was actually a really cute name, and I wouldn’t have minded it if she called me it again. But, that thought would have to wait as sleep had begun to take me once more.

   I wish I could say I woke up feeling rested, because in many ways I did, though I also felt something else that was just not describable as ‘rested’. I also wish I could say I woke up with Lily there still clinging to me like she had when I drifted off, but sadly my bed was Lilyless. I yawned and stretched and felt every joint in my body crack as if I just broke free from a terrible petrification spell. Was I getting old? No, of course not! I was like twenty-something, I think… actually, I didn’t know how old I was, but I did know I was still young and full of life. Except I wasn't… full of life that is, because despite the wonderful nights sleep in the arms of a cute demon, I was still exhausted. 

A tap tap tap at the door commanded my attention, and so I sprung to my feet to answer it.

“Good afternoon, Miss,” the servant boy from last night greeted me, “I have come to convey a message from the lady of the Manor.”

“Good morning~” I greeted him back, “so what's the message?”

“She wishes for the Queen’s party to come and join her out in the garden for afternoon tea.”

“Oh yeah? Sounds fancy,” I shrugged, “sure, guess I’ll go,” I turned around ready to head back to bed, “wake me up when it’s time, would ya?”

“It is time, Miss,” suddenly my brain caught up and I realized why his greeting sounded so odd.

“Wah? I slept in?”

“Yes, you have been sleeping for approximately forty hours now,” Forty! What?

“Heh, that’s funny, I thought you just said I was sleeping for like a whole day or something.”

“Yes, more accurately you slept through a day and a half,” he corrected me.

“Eheheheh…” I laughed nervously, “silly me, sleeping in again,” I played it off rather coy, but like, damn that was crazy. How could I sleep for that long? Well other than the time I wasted all my mana on a super duper explosive incantation. Was I… was I just getting old for real?

“Come along, Miss, I will show you the way,” he didn’t give me any time to agree before he started marching off. I ran along to follow him, all while feeling like my body was shackled to great giant balls of iron that I dragged behind me. 

“Oh wow Eve, you look terrible!” Voxie’s adorable voice annoyingly chirped as I joined up with the others out in a gorgeous little flower garden.

“Says the girl without a face…” I grumbled.

“Huh? What was that?”

“Nothing~” 

Beli grasped my shoulder in her strong, metal clad hand and squeezed, “Eve, how are you feeling?” In pain, I thought, why are you squeezing me so hard?

“I’m good, I’m good,” I lied. Despite the fact that something wasn’t quite normal with me, I had no intentions of worrying anyone else about it. 

She looked at me, doubt evident all over her face like it was some kind of mask, and patted my shoulder, my body feeling as if it was going to collapse under the pressure of her hand, “please, take care of yourself, okay?”

“Yeah, of course, of course,” I shrugged and smiled before striking a cocky little pose, “I’m the strongest human in the world, probably, I’ll be fine~”

My disguise of arrogance did not fool her, she continued to burn holes in me with her worried eyes. 

“Eve, you’re awake,” Lily’s sweet voice caught my attention and snapped my head one hundred and eighty degrees around to her direction.

“Yep, I was just a lil sleepy sleepy is all, but I’m good now!” 

Her mismatched eyes stared at me, long and hard, but eventually my uber convincing faux grin broke through to her, and her brows unfurrowed as she smiled, “well, I’m glad you are feeling well then.”

Ha, fooled you! Oh, yeah that wasn’t something I should have been proud of… But still, at least I knew that if I couldn’t make it as a champion, I probably had a promising career as some kind of actor, right? Not that anyone would ever find me entertaining, of course. 

“Well, now that the children have all assembled I’d like to ask you all to come along with me,” Auntie Agreas laughed gracefully as approached us, shading herself from the sun underneath a pretty black silk parasol. 

“Aren’t we supposed to be having tea or something?” That sounded like something perfectly suitable for the spot we had found ourselves in, after all, a beautiful little bed of flowers by a bubbling brook seemed like the perfect backdrop for a tea party.

“Yes, yes, of course, there shall be tea and confections waiting in the center of our little hedge maze.” More walking, is this lady trying to kill me?

Despite, or perhaps in spite of, my exhaustion I sauntered along the little garden hedge maze without any verbal protest. Actually, it was really pretty if I was being honest. The bushes were not just your run of the miss green leaf bushes, no, these ones were brimming with a variety of vibrant flowers that speckled the bushes like polka dots. They were pink, with a little white pattern that started in the center and spread across them to the ends of each petal. I thought they looked a lot like blossoms actually, but that didn’t make sense because blossoms grow on trees. Even the bushes themselves were odd, in fact, for the first time I had realized, all the flora in the demon kingdom seemed off. 

Thinking back the the first city I had visited, the vibrant myriad of colors that were on display in the flowers that sat in little plant boxes that hung from windows, or islands of grass encamped in a brick barrier along the sidewalks, all perplexed me and all my knowledge I had about flowers. The garden inside the park of that second city was so lush and green, but in a vibrant hue that just outclassed the greenest of greens in the Divine Kingdoms. The Emerald fields that we crossed through, again, greener than any green could possibly be. The wildflowers that dotted the landscape, all so bright I’d have almost been convinced the flowers could produce light of their own. 

And now, in this little garden, I’ve seen pretty pink blossoms that grow on bushes, blue roses, and even more impossibly green leaves. Was… Was it all fake? Like, was I being bamboozled? Did the gardeners of the Demon Kingdom just secretly paint all their flowers? No,  couldn’t be, right? Now that the thought came to mind, I had to know, I had to test my theory for myself. I didn’t need sleep, I needed answers! So, as we navigated the maze, I reached out, and touched the soft little petals of a pretty little blossom, and suddenly I yearned for my garden.

Huh? What? My garden? Well that thought certainly didn’t make sense, because I didn’t have a garden. Well, not really at least. I tried growing flowers in secret a couple times back at the Abbey, but they typically didn’t last. So yeah, no, I did not have a garden. So then, why did I feel as though I missed it?

Well… that didn’t matter, the flower was real, the bush was real, that’s the only thing I wanted to know, and now I knew. 

  “Beautiful, aren’t they?” Lily asked, catching me caressing the blossom.

“Yeah, they are.”

“Legend says this garden was planted by the first Demon Queen, Lilith,” Lily smiled at me, “she planted them as a gift for someone she loved.”

“The Demon King?”

Lily shook her head, “no, someone else, or, at least that’s what the legend says.”

“It’s not a legend, it’s a fact,” Agreas stated, “I would know, I was there.”

“Hah, that’s funny, I think I just misheard you,” obviously I had to, because like, she’d need to be thousands of years old to have known the first Demon Queen. 

“I was there when my Uncle married the Goddess, and together they became the Demon King and Demon Queen,” she laughed, “Voxie would know, she officiated the wedding.”

“I didn’t hear that, lalalala,” Voxie covered her ears, I think, and rocked her head back and forth.

“Oh, sorry love,” she patted Voxie on the head as she apologized, “but I know what you must be thinking, ‘Auntie Agreas, you’re too young to have known the first Demon Queen,’ am I right?”

“Well, yeah, I mean, that happened a really really looooong time ago, didn’t it?”

“From a mortal perspective, yes, it was centuries, maybe even a millennium, it has become quite hard to keep track of the years if I am being quite honest.”

“How… how old can demons live then?”

“We have no natural end to our lives,” Beli answered, “a demon only dies one of three ways; you are killed, you become consumed by malice, or you take your own life.”

“Well, choking to death is also a possibility,” Lily cleared her throat and mumbled. 

“So then Lily is going to live forever?” I wasn’t actually sure if I envied her, or felt sorry for her. On one hand, never growing old sounded nice, but on the other hand, life probably had to get boring after living that long.

“Unlikely,” she sighed, “Demon royalty have been known to have many enemies.”

“That is why you have me here, my Queen, I will always keep you safe,” Beli held her fist to her chest.

“Hey, and me too! I’ll protect you Lily!” I wrapped my arms around her neck and gave her a little hug.

“Thank you, Eve,” she chuckled and rustled my hair, “though honestly it will probably be me who ends up protecting you.”  

  “Wha? Hey, I’m really strong, you know!” I stamped my foot and puffed out my cheeks, putting on a far livelier act than I thought I could, considering how super-duper sleepy I still was.

She chuckled again and said something silently that I am almost certain was to the tune of, “you’re too cute,” but maybe that was just wishful thinking. 

“So wait,” my brain once more caught up trying to process everything that had been said, “did you say the demon king married a goddess?”

“Why yes, well, technically,” well then what is it, yes or no?, “she was created in the image of the goddess, from a significant portion of the Goddess’ own heart, as a gift to him for having nursed her back to health when she fell from the heavens.” 

Okay, okay, now this was starting to sound like some convoluted fairytale nonsense. Ladies just falling from the sky and making living meat puppets to look like them was the kind of mumbo jumbo that I just didn’t think I could believe. Although, it also kind of sounded like it could have been a really cute and romantic story, so like, maybe it was worth hearing out.

“So, are you just gonna leave it at that, or you gonna tell us what happened?”

“I would love to weave you the tale, but sadly there is a much more pressing matter I wish to discuss with you all,” damn, she really is just going to leave my curiosity hanging like that, “but first, let is have our tea~” as if she magically timed her words, we meandered around the last little twisty twist in the maze and arrived at a quaint little gazebo where a table set with teacups and various little cakes and stuff waited for us.

Indulging myself on a buffet of cupcakes, macarons, and other sweet confections, I quickly forgot all about that silly story of Goddess’ I wanted to hear only a couple minutes prior.

“Wow, Eve, you really like sweets, don’t you?” Voxie giggled, and I felt just a little bit like I was being judged.

“Yeah, cupcakes are the best,” I answered unashamed as I devoured another soft, fluffy, sugary sweet cupcake practically whole. 

Lily giggled and whipped my lips with a cloth, “you’re making a mess of yourself, Eve,” the gesture seemed so natural, I didn’t even think to react… well, maybe my scorching red cheeks were a reaction enough, because even Lily began to blush and turn her head.

“I can’t help it, I just really like them,” I chuckled, turning my own face as embarrassment caught up to me, “what about you, Lily, you got a favorite dessert?”

She nodded and presented me with a small little white ball, “bonbons are my favorite. White chocolate ones filled with walnuts and coconut are especially tasty.”

“White chocolate?” I tilted my head as I examined the cute little ball of sweetness she had in her hand.

“Here, go ahead and try it,” she brought it near my lips, “say ‘aw’,” she instructed and I did as she told me. With the cutest giggle she fed me the bonbon. My tongue was greeted by a silky-smooth creamy delight as the sweet chocolate shell melted inside my mouth. As I chewed, I could taste a cacophony of nuttiness mixed with a buttery sweet filling. It was like nothing I had ever tasted before, though also so incredibly familiar. Forget parfaits, this was the best new thing I had eaten since arriving in the Demon Kingdom! Although, parfaits were still very, very yummy. 

“Well, I am very sorry to spoil the moment, but I believe it is due time we discuss these urgent matters,” Auntie Agreas cleared her throat, then waved to a servant to step forward and hand her a folder. She laid several pieces of paper on the table, all with the most realistic paintings I had ever seen, so realistic in fact, I could have been convinced that the subject of the painting had their soul stolen and embedded into that paper. I was so mesmerized by the quality of the pictures, it took me a moment to realize who it was I was looking at. These were the Champions of Abelia we fought mere days prior.

“The first threat here is the Azure-Wolf, Lorena. Our spies spotted her far closer to the city than I feel comfortable with,” Agreas stated.

“I have heard about the Azure-wolf, rumors say she tore a behemoth in half with her bare hands,” Belial chuckled, “I had been hoping I would have an opportunity to test my mettle against such a powerful foe.”

“Rumors aside, her body stat is quite astounding. She certainly is not to be taken lightly,” Agreas continued, “and from the information they were able to gather, she seems to be accompanied by the Harepin Girl as well.” 

“Oh, I know her, or, I know of her,” I didn’t recognize them at the time, but I had run across the Harepin Girl pretty early into my quest, “that’s Snowflake, she’s from a little village in Pailon, so like her people are pacifists and we shouldn’t really have to worry about her.” 

“Pacifists don’t aid other warriors in their quest to slay kings,” Belail growled, “all of our enemies are a threat so long as they walk on the soil of New-Eden.”

Yeah, I guess she had a point, but Snowflake was really nice. Actually, I was really surprised she became a Champion, but then again, I didn’t know her that well so maybe it wasn’t as odd as I thought.

“Aside from those two, there was reports of an army of skeletons under the command of a Dawn-elf,” she tapped on the picture of a slender man in a black cloak with a wide brimmed hat, “superstition is beginning to spread through the countryside that a necromancer has waltzed into our land.” 

  “We encountered this man, and the others back in Elkado,” Lily sighed, “I had hoped Eve’s attack was enough to dissuade them, though it would seem even an aggressive show of power such as that has had little bearings on their own resolve.”

“It would appear that The Azure-wolf and this Snowflake Girl have kept a relatively low profile, but the necromancer on the other hand has been caught exhuming corpses from graveyards.”

“I thought you cremated all your corpses?”

“While it is true that within most cities it is common practice, there are many different races living within the kingdom that practice different burial ceremonies,” Lily answered me.

“Wait, other races? I thought only demons lived in the demon kingdom,” I mean that is the name afterall, right? Demon Kingdom, not ‘A large variety of races Kingdom’.

“It is called the Demon Kingdom because it is ruled by the Demon King,” Agreas corrected me, “just as the Divine Kingdom is led by the children of Abelia, and thus, are ruled by the ‘Divine Kings’.” Okay, yeah, she got me there, I should have known that. Though to be honest, I didn’t even know all the kings. I actually only knew about two or three of them, like Ishamael, Melcheiza and Bodenarte. Though I wasn’t entirely sure if that last one was still king due to some silly political stuff that I never really understood. 

“I feel as though we are getting off track here,” Beli tried to steer the conversation back on course, “so then, these three Champions must be dealt with, correct?”

“Well, yes, to put it bluntly we cannot have Champions of the Devil waltzing about our countryside, especially so close to my precious city,” I felt as though perhaps I had been slighted and not even known it.

“I apologize, it would appear my presence here is jeapordizing your people,” Lily bowed her head.

“Oh come now, my sweet Lilith,” Agreas ‘pshawed’ her, “you are my Queen, your safety is one of my topmost concerns.” 

Lilith shook her head, “even still, I do not want to put any others in danger. It was for that very reason Abbadon was built.”

“And yet even Abbadon has fallen,” our hostess stood up and walked around the table, stopping behind me. “So now, Champion of the Devil, will you prove your loyalty to our Queen and face your ilk on the battlefield?” She placed her hands on my shoulders, her long pointy nails lightly pressing into my skin.

“Of course!” I didn’t hesitate to answer, “If it’s to keep Lilith safe then I’ll fight a thousand Champions if I have to!” I would have stood up and slammed my hand on the table as a display of my resolve, if she wasn’t hovering right over me that is. Still, I was determined to keep Lily safe no matter what.

For some reason… Come to think of it… How did I even get there? Just a little over a week ago I was ready to kill her, and now I was pledging to protect her life. How did that even happen?

“Don’t be foolish,” I could hear the voice in my head growl, “your safety is more important than hers.”

“No, Lily is the most important person in the world to me!”

“Such a bold declaration,” Agreas laughed, “but words are cheap, and vows easily broken. Show me your resolve, Champion of the Devil.”

I actually don’t remember how the rest of that little ‘tea party’ went, because I guess after that I got really sleepy again, and before I knew it I was in my bed in the guest room. How though? Did someone carry me? Did I walk there myself? When did I get back? All these questions would have kept me awake, if it were possible for anything to keep me awake, but I just felt an incredibly strong sense of sleepiness pin me to the bed. 

Wait… no, that wasn’t what was pinning me to the bed, it was… Lilith!

“Oh, you’re awake?” This time I could open my eyes, barely, but I could open them enough to see the faintest of smiles beaming down at me. My silver haired companion's body pressed against me, as she held herself up, her face only thumbs away from mine. I could barely make out any details because my eyes still had the fuzzies from having been woken out of an extremely deep sleep, but I could see her smiling at me, a sparkle in her eyes. She shifted to one side and laid down next to me, her hand gliding over my face, pushing my bangs aside, “I’m really happy I am able to do this with you, Bonbon,” she whispered. Again, that name, why was she calling me that name? It wasn’t even that I didn’t like the name, it was actually really cute. There was such a warm familiar fuzziness hearing it come from her lips, but that feeling only perplexed me even further. And as much as I wanted answers, I just couldn’t ask her anything, because I was just so sleepy.

She scooted in closer to me till it was impossible to get any closer, her arm and leg once again crossing over my body as she held me tight. My heart beat should have been through the roof, but strangely enough it wasn’t. I was calm, the calmest I had ever felt. It was… nice. I wanted her to hold me, I wanted her to squeeze me, I wanted her to never let go of me. My mind was at peace and my body was still, so long as I was in her arms. Before the sweet darkness of slumber took me again, I heard her say, “I am going to protect you, I am going to keep you safe this time. I won’t lose you ever again.”

What... no, I am supposed to protect you! 

I couldn’t say that to her though, because once again I went unconscious before I could even utter a single syllable. 

Light cracked in through the crimson curtains that lined the obnoxiously large window of my room, and I found myself waking up to another sleepy eepy day. This time my body felt far less rigid when I did my typical morning time stretch, but I still couldn’t shake that horribly drowsy feeling. 

“Eve, I am worried about you, this isn’t normal,” the head voice voiced her concern, and I just shook my head and smiled a big dumb bright smile.

“I’m A-o-k!” I gave a thumbs-up and then proceeded to shake out the sleepies, or try to.

I pulled a brush from my magic satchel and stood in front of an oversized mirror that sat above an incredibly long armoire and brushed my hair.

“So many silver hairs…” I sighed, “the potion’s not working,” I grumbled and pulled out another vial from the satchel, downing the contents before checking my hair again. “Ha, there we go, the Golden Champion retains her… goldieness…yeah…” I wanted to be chipper, I wanted to be spunky, but I was just waaay too tired. In fact, I felt even more sleepy than I had just minutes prior. Doubly so, maybe, or like one and a half times as much… I’m not good at math so like, I don’t know, it was a bigger number of tiredness than before. 

Regardless of the level of my sleepiness stat, I was ready for the day, or I was ready to pretend I was ready for the day. They really need to invent a potion that makes you less sleepy, if they did that, I would probably drink one every day.

Well like I said, regardless of all that, I marched over to the door, and flung it open with a “I’m ready to kick butt” attitude. An attitude that caught Voxie off guard as she stood in front of said flung open door.

“Oh, Eve, glad to see you’re up!” She sounded both startled and relieved, “Agreas wants us to meet with the town watch from the nearby village.”

“Sure, okay, what for?”

“They say the necromancer was spotted there,” she answered tapping her foot to the ground, “seems like our battle against the Champions is going to be starting far sooner than I had expected.”

“Yeah, one day notice is pretty short…”

Voxie shook her head, “it wasn’t one day though, umm, Eve are you okay?”

“Yeah, of course I am, why?”

“Eve, you’ve been asleep for three days.”