“Are we devils?” asked Remilia.

It was lunch time at the royal palace of Nozgo. The dining hall was massive, capable of fitting seven elephants.  And yes, that’s actually been proven. The King had held numerous exotic performances in this very hall, before his daughters were born of course. Oh! Was he rowdy when he was young. The nights of raunchy love-making he had at his prime were something a common man couldn’t even dream of. The most beautiful of women, from any race or country. Be them human, monster, angels or goddesses he’s had a taste. Certainly as a man, it was a past to be proud of.

But those nights of his prime had long become a distant memory in his head. Throughout the passage of time, he had wizened and humbled. Now he sat alone with his fifth and most troublesome daughter in the peaceful sanctity of the dining hall, progressing slowly through his purposely simple lunch.

“Dad! I asked a question!” Remilia whinged, inviting a quizzical glance from the King.

“No Remilia. We’re Demons, not Devils.” Teranus sighed, “I believe you’ve asked this question many, many times before, baby girl.”

“I know, I know…” Remilia pouted her perfect, cherry lips and toyed with an elusive noodle on her platter.

“But I don’t buy the whole ‘Devil has the word Evil in it’ thing.” She said quietly.

“Huh.” The King hesitated slightly before answering his beloved daughter.

“What do you mean you don’t buy it?” He laughed, “It’s just a cultural thing; don’t think too hard upon it.”

He patted her head and curled a cluster of red hair between his fingers before letting go.

“You’re turning into a very charming young girl Remi.” He smiled wistfully, “I’m more worried about all the boys who’re going to start chasing you everywhere, then whether we’re devils or demons.”

Giggling at her father’s anxieties, Remilia gently took hold of his hand and flicked him in the palm.

“Don’t be stupid papa, nobody believes you when you say you’re just going to lie down and let the boys in.” She said, “I bet all the princes will be scared of your presence even when you’re over five hundred!”

Teranus chuckled at his daughters quick wits and took his hand back to continue eating.

“Fine then! No boys until I’m five hundred!” He laughed.

“I’d be forty by then! Nobody would want an old hag like me!”  

“Hahaha! I guess you’ll just have to hope this old man dies early!”

“Never!”

-----------------------------------------

Randel had never heard the King laugh so joyously in his entire career within the palace. But then he’d only been in the palace for the past five months.  But nonetheless, he felt as though he had intruded upon some rather important father and daughter time when he burst into the dining hall with urgent reports from the nightshade.  Though the King was rather calm about his rowdy entrance, Randel could still see definite hints of annoyance as he handed over the letter. He feared that he would’ve been punished harshly if not for the joyous content of the parcel. Or maybe not. After all, the reason Randel had considered the position as royal postman was because he had heard that the King was a wise and kind man. ‘Very empathetic of his people’ was the phrase. So perhaps he wouldn’t have been punished either way. But let’s not tempt fate.

“What excuse do you have for entering the royal dining without even so much as a knock?” Teranus asked.

Randel bowed as low as his squeaky back would allow and replied with his head almost at his knees.

“Your Majesty, I apologise profusely for my misconduct. Shall I be banished from the palace?”  He asked with tears welling in his large, round puppy eyes.

“Probably not.” Teranus answered clearly, “But let us see to the contents first.”

Randel had never been so nervous in his entire lifespan of thirty six years. But he tried his damnedest to look suave in front of the fifth princess.

As he had imagined, she was ludicrously beautiful. Her burning auburn hair paired with her dichromatic eyes, crafted a look that was unmatched in all of Alexstrasia. With perfect curves and an intellect unfitting of her young age, there was no wonder as to why she’s said to be the most sought after female in all of Nozgo. Her only possible flaw was perhaps she had been slightly spoiled by the King. Being the youngest child in the family, the only response she’s ever heard to her requests have been ‘whatever you’d like my dear.’ Or ‘Of course my darling.’  But if a man could even be considering that when faced with her perfection, they’d be deemed mad without a doubt.

“Ms. Sinclair?” The King smiled as he read the paper.

“Yes, Father?” Remilia responded.

“What’s your opinion on marrying a human?” Teranus raised the paper before him, hiding a cheeky grin from her daughter.

“Well.” Remilia raised a delicate eyebrow, “It would depend on who it is?”  

Randel was shocked. A human!? With the Princess !? Outrageous! He could think of no one suitable. Humans were puny little animals who crawled at the Demonkin’s feet. It was only thanks to their kindness, that they were even allowed to mature. Now those ungrateful scums think they’re the top of the food chain. Harvesting animals and destroying forests at their own decree. Even turning on the demons! How does the King even consider such a proposal!?

Randel ground his teeth from where his knelt, unsure of how to respond.

“It cert-“

“Father.” Remilia cut in and gestured towards Randel, “Our extremely loyal and hardworking postman has yet to be dismissed.”

“Oh but of course.” The King apologised and faced Randel, “Thankyou for your time dear friend, you have done us great service. I apologise for not noticing earlier.”

“Is there anything you would like as a reward?” He asked, “Perhaps a pay rise will do your family good.”  

“Your majesty, you are too kind. Randel has no right to receive such rewards.”

Randel bowed deeply and walked towards the exit, but stopped before the heavy iron doors.

“But if sire insists, I have only a question to ask.”

He had to know why! He had to know why the king even considers the human! It didn’t matter if he had to lose this job for it. If this question was to be left unanswered, he’d be plagued for life!

“Go ahead Randel.” Teranus nodded.

“Why does your majesty even consider having a human marrying our princess?” Randel asked, his voice choking with desperation, “And why does Lady Sinclair not object!”  

Remilia, stunned by this sudden burst of emotion was at a loss of words, but the King having somewhat expected this, answered calmly.

“Randel my friend, for the longest time Nozgo has been a nation of the past.” Teranus sighed. “And though I’ve tried to avoid this matter since I initially recognised it in my prime, I feel it has come the time to face the truth.”

Randel gulped. He felt as though he was about to hear something incredible, a historical turning point unveiled before his very eyes.

“Us demons are proud creatures. And perhaps in the past we were justified in being so conceited in our thinking.” The King chuckled idly, “But times have changed. Whether we accept it or not, the humans are now the ones in the driver’s seat.”

“No amount of regret or bigotry will bring back Nozgo’s glorious history. But progressive thinking will lead us forward.” Teranus stared deep into Randel’s eyes, “Our biased views against the humans must be changed. Don’t you think?”

Reluctantly, Randel nodded. Though he couldn’t imagine what could initiate a reconcilement between Demons and Humans, he still recognised the sense behind the words of the King and the need for Demons to adapt.

“I apologise sincerely for my outburst your majesty. It was extremely rude of me to delay you further from finishing your meals.”  He stood up and took a step back, “Thank you for bearing with my foolishness, Princess Remilia as well.”

“It is rare for a demon to so quickly understand the need for change. You should be proud” Teranus smiled at the demon as he walked towards the exit, “Oh and by the way…”

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“Yes, your majesty?” Randel quickly swung around on his heels.

“The marriage proposal was merely a joke.”

“What?”

The demon postman stood frozen in the dining hall, unsure what to do.

Remilia was the first to crack and laughed mischievously at the demons reaction. Teranus soon joined in and stood up to pat him on the back.

With tears of laughter in his eyes, Teranus consoled the young demon.

“You’ve brought us great news of a human acquaintance of mine. “Said Teranus as he wiped his eyes of tears, “In my moment of joy, I had forgotten you were here and took a sly jab at Remilia. I’m so dearly sorry for your confusion.”

Randel stood there smiling awkwardly in the arms of his King. It was a memory he cherished till his death. To have happened upon such a moment in the royal court… who would have ever imagined these turns of events.

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“So Papa…” Remilia growled at the old man, “Why did you not tell me earlier!?”

“Ssshhhh…” Teranus whispered, “Randel just left, he might still hear us! And what do you meant I didn’t tell you!?”

“Old Human Acquaintance!?” Remilia reached across the table and pinched her father’s face, “You mean Restari!?”

King Teranus the Dark, former leader of the Elite Force Nightshade, Conqueror of the Eastern deserts and Slayer of Midnight Drakes submitted to his daughter’s abuse and spilled the beans.

“Okay! Okay!” He laughed, all the while rubbing his swollen cheeks “Let me read the letter to you okay?”

Remilia nodded eagerly and clasped her hands tightly between her breasts.

“King Teranus the Fifth, Ruler of Nozgo and forever our favourite leader.” Teranus chuckled, “We, the nightshade are proud to inform you that your suspicions regarding the imprisonment of Mr. Restari Altra within Zeria has been confirmed.”

He glanced at the young lady before him and smiled as she breathed a sigh of relief.

“To further your delight for today, we have uncovered information on Zerian Operations within the neutral districts. One piece of information which we thought might be interesting to your majesty, is the release of high ranking criminals from Off-Map, maximum security military prison compound Zexar. That’s the one built by the joint operation of Lasgard, Riaf, Zeria and Sinsa.”

Teranus flipped the page then continued.

“We believe that Mr. Altra will have an extremely high likely hood of release in Zeria’s ironically illegal operations. We also believe that the other power nations aside from Zeria have also just garnered this information recen-“

Remilia jumped up from her seat, cutting her father off and walked hastily towards the exit.

Teranus despite being interrupted, was unperturbed and continued reading, albeit slightly louder.

“In Nightshade’s opinion, it is in Nozgo’s interest to refrain from taking any actions at this stage. Though Mr. Altra is an extremely important ally of Nozgo, if the nation were to interfere at this moment of continental anxiety, it is likely that Alextrasia will enter an inter-national war unlike any before.”

Remilia paused with her hand a mere millimetre from the handles and waited for her father to speak.

“So Remilia.” He spoke gently, asking the question that she had dreaded.

“Are you willing to send Nozgo and its people into war for the sake of one human?”

Slowly she turned to face her father, and dropped to the floor, sobbing at her dilemma. Remilia was perhaps spoiled, but not unintelligent. She knew the right answer, but it was not the answer she had wanted.

“But father… He… He saved me in Krikstin.” Remilia choked as regret welled from within her heart, “I have to save him here. H-how could I bear to be so…selfish?”  

“I-I…” She sniffed, “I love him papa.”

Losing to the despair she leant against the metallic gates and dipped her head, causing her crimson hair to form a luscious drape before her face. The King saw his daughter so dishevelled and couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow within his own heart at her predicament.

“I want to help you Remilia.” Teranus sighed and joined his daughter on the spotless tiled floor, “But firstly we do not even know of his exact position. Secondly, there’s the fact that Nozgo can’t sustain a war against the humans, neither do we want to fight the humans.”

He took her daughter into a tight embrace and leant her head into his reliable shoulders.

Rocking her slowly in his lap, his expression brightened ever so slightly as he made an unknown decision and whispered to his crestfallen daughter.

“I’m only telling you this because you’re a princess and I have no choice okay?” He smiled sadly.

Remilia looked up to her father strangely, not fully understanding what he meant.

“The possible locations of Restari had been narrowed down by the Nightshade to three Neutral cities.” He continued without explaining.

“The first is Pitenburg on the south west of Grandura, the second is Luxiana on the edge of the Saskazan Deserts and the final location is Brikard, the infamous dragons keep with its kilometre long dragon gates.”

Remilia stared at her father, trying to figure out what the wise king was thinking in giving her this knowledge.

“Why papa?” She asked, her face puzzled, “Why give me this knowledge knowing I can’t pursue him?”

“Ms. Sinclair?” The old man teased.

“Yes, Father?” She answered.

“What’s your opinion on marrying a human?” He asked.

Remilia got off her father’s lap and sat down beside him.

“Would I have to leave you papa?” She asked, leaning her head on his trustworthy shoulders.

“Yes…But I’ll have Lilaia, Ariadne, Astri and Lissandra to comfort me.” He chuckled.

“Oh don’t lie papa. I know I’m your favourite and plus they’re always away on their little trips.” Remilia frowned, “Won’t you be lonely?”

“If I ever get bored, I’ll just fill this room with seven elephants again.” He laughed heartily.

“Along with some beautiful ladies of course.” He cheekily added, pinching Remilia’s cheek softly.

Pretending to be unimpressed, she quickly scooted away from Teranus, but stopped with a darkened expression.

“Perhaps it’s better not to go.” She said and bit her lip. “If they find out that I am royalty from Nozgo, they’ll definitely drag the nation into this.”

Teranus grimaced at his daughters sharp wits, but had an answer prepared.

“A citizen of Nozgo going on this quest will indeed put us in danger, much less royalty.” He sighed and struggled to keep his voice steady for what he said next.

“But…but a banished demon has no connections to the kingdom.” He finished, barely upholding his cool composure.

“I’m sorry darling.” He grasped her tender hands, “This is the best I can do with the Kingdom in mind.”

“It’s okay papa.” She answered and glided her hands along her father’s greying, but ever rigid hair.

“I couldn’t ask for more than this.” She laughed weakly, an obvious attempt to lighten the mood.

“Don’t worry for me papa.” She said.

“I promise to the gods that I’ll be back.”

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Hey guys! Beeps/Aspiringnewbie here! HOW ABOoOoOOOOUT THAT!? Two chapters in two days! BOOM. How many days has it been since the last time I did that huh? LIKE YEARS!!! Omg, I'm so hyped right now guys, you have no idea how much I loved writing this chapter. I loved it so much, it was almost sexual, but not really. Actually that's kind of weird so I'ma stop. Anyways, for more interesting content on Logophilia and Object Sexuality, go to my website: https://aspiringnewbie.wordpress.com/. Oh and slightly earlier chapters. 

Beeps out.