Lilas

“Mistress, you could peg me quietly.” I pleaded, giving her my best puppy dog eyes.

“Lilas, you will survive me not pegging you for a couple of more days.” Mistress replied as she pet my head.

“How about fingers? I can be quiet if we use the ball-gag.” I whined, nuzzling against her.

“Do I need to remind you of the children in the house?” Mistress stated, still reading her book.

“The oddest children in the world.” I retorted, trying to worm between Mistress and the book.

“They are staying quite composed, but they lean heavily on each other. Did you find anything out?” Mistress checked, setting her book aside so I could snuggle in.

“I’m fairly confident Nil is Crown Prince Nil of Speranza, which is why I’m wondering why Luna was the target. Additionally, anyone who tries that hard to kill a kid I doubt is going to accept failure.” I explained to her, setting my head beneath hers. This is the best place.

“If he is a Crown Prince, I’m wondering why he let her put a collar on him. Demons are supposed to be fairly prideful, aren’t they? I’m surprised he immediately followed her lead.” Mistress told me, propping her knees up and pushing me into her.

“Luna seemed to know how to act and instantly knew what to call Nil. According to my sources, Crown Prince Nil has black instead of white eyes. I don’t know why they’re black, but I don’t see that trait being common.” I replied. Mistress began gently massaging the nape of my neck.

“We’re helping them regardless. Extorting with kids is a ghoulish move Mom and I won’t do. I get the feeling they’ll repay the favor.” Mistress declared as she kissed the top of my head.

“What do you think our kids will be like?” I probed to change the topic. I love when she pets me like this.

“I just hope they’re healthy, and smart like their father.” Mistress answered as light began trickling into the room.

“How many do you think we should have?” I inquired as I blushed a bit.

“I think two. I know my little lamb will be the most doting stay at home dad in the world.” Mistress told me after pretending to think for a moment.

“Yes Mistress.” I chimed, relaxing a bit more into her.

“You have today off, right? Did you want to tag along with Dad and Nil?” Mistress checked.

“Isn’t Pops helping Nil learn archery?” I verified. I really don’t want to tag along with that.

“Dad was taking him on a tour of the town today. Four days of nonstop training and physical conditioning, Nil needs a break.” Mistress informed me, smirking a little. Maybe I was a little obvious there.

“That might be fun then!” I quipped as I hugged myself in a bit tighter.

“Who knows, you might even make a new friend.” Mistress teased, resting her head on mine.

“He’s seven.” I retorted, shifting so I could stare at Mistress.

“Then think of it as practice with our future kids.” Mistress stated as she nuzzled my nose.

“Okay Mistress.” I conceded. She was smiling wide at me.

“Just try it, you might have fun.” Mistress lectured, gently massaging my neck.

“What are you and Luna doing today, Mistress?” I inquired, trying to find an alternate activity.

“The women’s only spa. She might be needing some minor healing and restoration after all of our sparring.” Mistress informed me. Can’t tag along to that.

At this point, we could hear Luna and Nil beginning to wake up. The two talked softly about something for a few moments. Mistress and I got ready before heading to the kitchen. I was in charge of making coffee while Mistress made breakfast. Pops arrived about halfway through Mistress making breakfast. Nil and Luna were sitting at the table, both yawning.

“Lilas is tagging along with you and Nil.” Mistress told Pops.

“Okay. I was going to show Nil the market so make sure to bring some gold.” Pops informed me.

Nil immediately looked at Luna as the two had a brief mental conversation. I wonder what they discussed. We ate breakfast in somewhat silence. Mistress split off with Luna while I went with Nil and Pops. Nil was relatively quiet as we walked. His eyes were scanning constantly as we reached the marketplace. Pops and I were getting a lot of people stopping and saying hello. Nil stood patiently, looking around the marketplace. It was amazing seeing the gears in his head turn as he studied each detail. It was extra lively today, as Andelsday was a prime day for trade. The stalls stretched as far as the eye could see. Nil was standing right next to Pops the entire time. His would occasionally jot out to scan around. Until it stopped. Nil focused on something. What caught his attention? He would look back at Pops, and then returned to looking in the same direction.

Pops, can we see what caught Nil’s attention? I requested as Nil's eyes were fixed in a direction.

I highly doubt Nil is stupid enough to bring us to an operative of some sort. Pops retorted, as he was exchanging pleasantries with some merchants.

I’d still like to see what he’s interested in. I informed him. Nil might give us something interesting.

Fine. Pops conceded as we were giving polite nods goodbye.

We resumed walking, still swarmed by several elves. After a few moments, Nil gradually navigated us towards what caught his attention. Let’s see where the Crown Prince brings us. The answer was anticlimactic. It was a stall that sold dirt, and dirt additives. Seriously? But. Nil was smiling like he found priceless treasure. It definitely caught me off guard. What purpose would dirt and dirt additives serve Nil? Nil clearly wanted to be here though.

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“Is this pure saltpeter?” Nil asked the merchant. I was utterly baffled by why he would come to a dirt stall.

“Buzz off you forling halpspung.” The merchant snarled at Nil, before seeing Pops and I.

“Did you just call our guest a halpspung?” Pops checked, his eyes boring holes into the man.

“Oh, halpspung is a slur. How enlightened.” Nil sighed, looking wildly unimpressed.

“I. I. I didn’t. I’m sorry Matriarch Servant!” the merchant groveled. Being racist to a literal child.

“What did you want to purchase Nil?” I inquired, glaring at the merchant.

“I was asking if this is pure saltpeter; absolutely nothing else mixed in. I also noticed you sell charcoal and sulfur. I’d like seven and half pounds of saltpeter, one and a half pounds of charcoal, and one pound of sulfur.” Nil explained. Why does Nil want saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur? It was such a bizarre list.

“Last I checked, it was illegal to discriminate against other races for selling goods. So, either sell him ten times what he asked for at the price of what he wants, or risk the court.” I snarled at him. Pops was still boring holes into the merchant.

I can’t carry that much. Nil told me. His face was still a bit annoyed.

Merchants here have low grade for selling bulk goods. I informed Nil. He clearly took a mental note. That’s what he was originally checking; he was seeing what he could copy. But what was so special about saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur that distracted him?

“That will be seventeen gold.” The merchant informed Nil.

Nil manifested seventeen gold and went to pay for it before Pops paid on his behalf. Nil smiled and thanked Pops profusely. He was smiling wide as he got his prize. Either Nil was used to racism or didn't overly care. He handled that surprisingly well. Nil immediately began scanning again. Pops was making the merchant look ready to shiza a brick. Does Nil like gardening? I highly doubted it. There was something sinister about Nil’s face that made me think that wasn’t right. There was some mischievousness to his smile.

Why does he want saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur? Pops asked me. Nil seemed overjoyed to have been able to purchase some.

Not a forling clue. I confessed. Nil instantly locked onto something else.

Let’s see what his shopping list includes; he is our guest after all. Pops said with a smile.

Nil proceeded to grab the oddest things. What was Nil doing? Nil wanted a scale, a mortar and pestle, a sieve, a funnel, and a bunch of tea bags. No tea, just the bags. It cost him a grand total of sixty gold. Nil looked like he was having the greatest day of his life. Pops looked at me, clearly trying to grasp Nil’s shopping list. He clearly was not just grabbing random things, he moved with too much purpose. But. What was he possibly getting?

What is Nil acquiring? Pops inquired, clearly baffled by Nil's shopping list.

No idea. Some secret Demon weapon? But, why would he so casually assemble it? I theorized to him.

We did some other shopping, but nothing else caught Nil’s eye. He was very polite and behaved as I racked my brain trying to figure out what he just purchased. Okay. Think it through. What pieces can I put together? Work from what I could figure out. What was the easiest piece? The sieve, the scale, or mortar and pestle stood out as the easiest. But he bought three granules. He bought different weights of each; that’s what the scale was for. He probably needs them at the ratio he bought them at. Seven and a half, one and a half, and one. Seventy-five, fifteen, and ten does add up to one hundred. Assuming he was bought exactly as he needed. But what is he hoping to accomplish?

Nil was a kid; he may not realize subterfuge. But why? A scale for measuring them. Wait. Is he mixing them? They’re granules. Mixing them as powders is easier. That would mean the tea bags were for storing the final result. The funnel for getting the final result inside the bags. That would make sense, but still. It was such an odd list. So why the sieve? Everything else makes sense but the sieve. What was the sieve for? He’s grinding the saltpeter, charcoal, and sulfur into fine powders and mixing them. Put the final result into the tea bags he bought. He didn’t buy enough tea bags though. Nil would've been short by quite a few. But what was the sieve for?

What is it Lilas? Pops asked as we kept walking.

He’s mixing the three powders at the weight ratio he bought them at. Or he picked those weight because that’s the nearest half pound to what he needed. The quantity will be the closest to what he needs regardless. The mortar and pestle are for mixing them, the funnel to get the result into the tea bags, and the scale is for whatever ratio he needs them mixed at. I can’t figure out the sieve. I explained to Pops. I was racking my brain for what the sieve was for.

If he was using it for gardening, why would he need the tea bags? Pops inquired as we stopped at a food stall.

I mulled it over. He bought things typically used to fertilize and improve soil which was what made this baffling. Couldn't he just those when he wanted? Assuming Nil was some passionate gardener making his own blend of fertilizer, why would he need the teabags? What did they add? It’s a measurement. What else? You put tea in bags and steep it in water. Wait. He didn’t need a bunch of tea bags; he just needs them for keeping the mixture while in water. But if they got wet it would make a paste. That defeats the point of the mortar and pestle. It hit me. THAT’S IT! They were mixed wet. The sieve was for breaking the paste back into fine powder. The tea bags were for drying out the final result. How did a kid think of this? This is quite thought out, but what is that mixture used for? How much was actually needed? The tea bags are just a drying method.It was still odd that a child was thinking something like this out to this extent.

The tea bags are for drying the mixture. The sieve is for breaking apart the wet mixture because apparently it is mixed wet. I informed Pops excitedly.

Okay. What is the mixture for then? Pops checked. I mean, the mixing methodology is interesting, but I couldn’t fathom what they did mixed together.

I have no idea. Nil might honestly just enjoy gardening. I confessed as we ate our snacks.

“Have you two figured out my nefarious scheme yet?” Nil chimed in with an amused smirk. He had such a shiza eating grin it was infuriating.

“What do you mean?” I asked. He did notice.

“You two have been talking mentally for a bit, but more importantly, Lilas has clearly been trying to figure out why I bought what I did. Now why gardening mix is so interesting is beyond me.” Nil taunted with a smirk.

I just. I’d be willing to bet he’s lying but I can’t fathom what those are used for other than gardening though. For a child, Nil had an impressively smug smile. Pops and I glared at Nil as he put on his best innocent face. Did he buy this stuff just to mess with us? I doubted that. Nil was definitely chuckling to himself as we continued walking. His grin was aggravating as we walked.

“Glad it’s amusing.” I grumbled at him.

“Glad you asked.” Nil retorted. What?

“You’d just tell us the answer?” I checked, wondering what the catch was.

“Chalas did show me some more proper archery and gave me a few to help. I could return the favor and give you the answer.” Nil explained. Oh. I could just ask. That also probably means the answer is either useless to us or not helpful.

“What did you buy the ingredients for?” Pops inquired, looking a bit amused.

“Black powder. And to answer the next question, it’s highly explosive when exposed to fire. Issue is with , it’s not overly effective.” Nil answered. He really told us the answer. And that’s why you mix it wet, so it doesn’t accidentally explode.

“Why make it then?” I asked, trying to figure out the use.

“I want to test some stuff. If it fails, I can just make fireworks with it.” Nil explained. Wait. Demons do like using fireworks in their celebrations. It’s a weird hobby, but I guess to him they’re nothing special.

“So, Luna likes fireworks?” Pops checked, smirking at me. I THOUGHT THERE WAS MORE TO IT!

“Sometimes.” Nil deflected immediately, looking away. He’s done something he shouldn’t have with fireworks before.

“I do apologize that the merchant was being discriminatory against you.” I told Nil who just kind of shrugged.

“I was bound to encounter it sometime. It’s no issue. Being irritated at them is only going to cause me annoyance.” Nil replied, still smirking at me.

It was odd. Nil didn’t feel like a kid at all. I mean, a bit. But the way he talks and acts was quite abnormal. Nil was standing there, kind of staring at the two of us. I could see how much he was thinking. According to Mistress I got a similar look. If I asked him if he was actually the Crown Prince, would he tell me? It would put him in an awkward spot though. He may not realize we intend to help either way. I guess I will just observe him more for now. Nil looked oddly, nervous. Why?