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(𝗬/𝗻)'𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗳𝗶𝘁
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗔𝗔𝟮𝟵.
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"ꜱᴀʏ ᴍʏ ɴᴀᴍᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴡᴇ ᴡɪʟʟ ɴᴇᴠᴇʀ ʙᴇ ᴀꜰʀᴀɪᴅ ᴀɢᴀɪɴ."
ꜰʟᴏʀᴇɴᴄᴇ + ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴀᴄʜɪɴᴇ
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Twirling my dagger around in my hand, I blankly stare out of my large bedroom window at the dull skies outside, skies that are so dead and empty.
"You haven't even touched your food," a gentle voice speaks and it echoes around my bedroom. "And I left it more than two hours ago, Princess (Y/n)."
"Not hungry," I grunt without turning around and placing my dagger on the table in front of me.
"But it's your favourite," the voice tries to tempt me. "Have you gone off (y/f/f)?"
"Maybe," I mutter and start picking at the wood on the edge of the table.
"Do you want me to fry up some fish, Princess (Y/n)?"
My hand stills the moment my maid asks me this. "No, thank you."
"I think the youngest son of the Supreme Deity wouldn't like you sulking around like this," my maid pushes on as she picks up my full plate. "You always did like eating the fish he made. Are you sure you don't want me to bring you some?"
Abruptly, I noisily push my chair back and shakily stand up, my fingernails painfully digging into the wood of the table.
"Enough, Lenora," I snarl and finally look up to face my maid. "Enough."
"Enough of what?" she asks innocently in a quiet voice as I head over to the window and sit on the ledge.
"Enough of your badgering," I growl at her while crossing my legs and placing my hands on my knees. "That's the last thing I want or need right now."
"Want or need," Lenora repeats softly and from the corner of my eye, I can see her gorgeous blue eyes watching me carefully. "What do you want or need then, Princess (Y/n)?"
"For you to stop calling me by my official title," I snap and point a warning finger at her. "Why the hell are you being so formal today?"
"Because you're not acting like yourself today," Lenora snaps back before huffing loudly. "After your meeting with the Ten Commandments this morning, you've just been lazing around in your room doing nothing. It's pathetic."
"Well, there's nothing for me to do," I say through gritted teeth.
"Then you're not the (Y/n) I know. Get your ass out of this room, Your Majesty," Lenora says with a raised voice before storming out of my bedroom.
Sighing, I slowly drag myself off the wooden ledge and stand beside the table, my hand trailing across the surface before I grab hold of my dagger. I lift it near my face and turn it over so that I can see its pommel where the letter (y/f/i) is engraved.
I hate it when you frown, (Y/n), a beautiful voice from the past fills my head. So I'm gonna make sure I'll always be there to make you smile!
My seven hearts ache to hear that voice again but I try to push it out of my mind as I press my lips on the cool blade of the weapon that was gifted to me more than 3,000 years ago by the youngest son of the Supreme Deity.
My older sister and all of my friends, including my best friends, made it quite clear who they loved and who they would fight for till their last breath and in the end, they were either killed or cursed because of this. And I was the only one who wasn't because I was a coward who never openly took a side.
The eldest daughter of the Demon Queen was cursed along with her lover, the eldest son of the Supreme Deity, and because one of my best friends tried to help his older brother, he was cursed with them as well.
When my awful mother, the Demon Queen, found out that my older sister and I had befriended a Vampire, my other best friend, she wiped out the entire Vampire clan as if they were nothing but mere ants.
And then my mother was forced to reside in Purgatory because of her overwhelming powers while I was sealed away with the rest of the Demon race in our realm.
The moment this happened, I swore to myself that I would avenge Gelda's death and make sure that I would free my other best friend. To do this, I need to become the next Demon Queen so that I can also create the peaceful world my best friends and I used to talk about all the time.
Closing my eyes, I hold my dagger to my chest as old memories take over my mind.
Bright jade eyes so full of life, raven black hair that would always look wonderful whether it was untidy or not, pale skin that helped make those magnificent eyes look sharper.
Blood red eyes that would light up the whole room, fair blond hair that would catch your eye a mile away, skin so smooth one would wonder if it was real.
My two best friends; one whom I've lost forever and one whose out of my reach.
But I will make sure my surviving best friend will be freed from his curse the moment Fraudrin the Commandment of Selflessness breaks the seal on the Demon realm. Nothing will stop me from finding him and keeping him safe.
Shaking my head to get myself out of my thoughts, I quickly slip my dagger into my sheath and head towards the door of my bedroom. Once I've shut the wooden door behind me, I start making my way towards the main hall of the palace.
When I reach, I walk to the centre of the hall to the enormous round table where the Ten Commandments and I usually have our meetings. Silently, I drag my hand along the backrests of the chairs before reaching the chair where I normally sit.
My head whips around when I hear a sudden noise behind me but I quickly relax when I see that it's just two of my comrades.
"Princess (Y/n)," the Commandment of Reticence greets me politely and bows his head slightly while placing a hand on his chest.
The Commandment of Purity simply waves at me with a bored expression on her face, saying, "Hey (Y/n)."
"Hey Derieri and Monspeet," I greet back and nod my head in acknowledgement. "What might you two be doing here?"
The cute pair immediately share an odd look with one another before slowly turning back to me with completely blank faces.
"Lenora's worried about you," Monspeet says simply and then tilts his head to the side. "And she's not exactly in the wrong here. You're not quite yourself today. Even during the meeting this morning, your mind seemed to be elsewhere."
"It's just one bad day," I argue quietly as I tap my fingers on the top of the chair's headrest. "I'll be fine tomorrow."
"Will you though?" Derieri drawls, her gaze piercing into me.
"I will," I say tightly as I slowly cross my arms over my chest. "I'm the leader of the Ten Commandments and the daughter of the Demon Queen; I will rise as I always have."
Monspeet chuckles at this blunt statement while Derieri merely narrows her eyebrows but before either of them can say anything the massive doors of the hall slam wide open and we turn to see the Commandment of Truth and the Commandment of Faith rushing in.
"Can you feel it, little (Y/n)?" Galand roars with excitement to which I immediately snarl.
"Don't call me that," I snap at him when he and his comrade come to a halt in front of us. "I've had enough with you—"
The five of us immediately freeze when we feel a strong tremor shake the entire palace and hear a familiar voice whisper, The time has come, my brothers and sisters.
"Fraudrin," I breathe the name of our old comrade. "You've finally found a way to break the seal."
"Princess (Y/n)!" a guard calls out to me from the entrance of the hall. "A portal has suddenly appeared in front of the palace!"
The second he says this, the Demons beside me quickly follow me as we scramble out of the hall to the entrance of the palace.
"He took his time," Melascula murmurs as we all stare in awe at the enormous, purple portal.
"But he's done it," Monspeet points out.
"What the hell is that?" a new voice asks and I glance over to my right to see the Commandment of Repose and the rest of the Commandments behind him.
"Gloxinia," I murmur. "Drole, Grayroad. You sensed the portal as well?"
"Indeed," the Commandment of Pacifism hisses. "Fraudrin has finally managed to remove the seal. However, as we have already discussed before, there is a very high chance that time has passed differently over there."
"How infuriating," Galand growls. "What makes matters worse is that the damn Goddess race won't be there, including the Four Archangels. Which means we can't get our revenge for our fallen Prince."
Just before I turn my gaze to the ground, I see every Commandment shoot Galand either an enraged or disapproving look.
Our fallen Prince.
My older brother.
The second eldest child of the Demon Queen.
A member of the Ten Commandments.
My brother who was murdered by the Archangel Mael.
"Everybody, stay away from the portal for now," I say, clearing my throat as I look back up to the group. "Judging from the magic emitting from it, it's still unstable. So I suggest everyone gets geared up before we're summoned by Fraudrin."
Everyone nods their head affirmatively at this order and then dashes off to the palace behind us.
"Time to get out your old armour then," a warm voice speaks and I turn around to see that it's my maid. "Shall we get going then?"
"Yeah," I say quietly. "Yeah, let's go."
Glancing back at the swirling portal one last time, I then spin around on the spot and start to follow Lenora back to the palace.
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"(Y/n), I swear if you don't relax your shoulders in the next couple of seconds, I'm gonna whack your head," Gloxinia mumbles at me.
Cracking my knuckles, I grumble back, "I'd like to see you try."
"Easy now," Monspeet says while Galand and Melascula chuckle at our interaction. "No need to get into a fight before we get to our destination."
"Yes," Grayroad agrees with her fellow Commandment. "Although I do agree with Gloxinia to a certain extent; you need to relax a little, Your Highness."
"There must be a reason why you're so uptight," Melascula comments as she lazily floats above Galand's head. "Worried about getting through this portal to the other realm? No, that's not it. Worried about meeting your older sister perhaps?"
Silence fills the air at this question and I can feel every Commandment's pressing gaze on me, waiting for my answer.
"Why should I be worried about meeting that traitor?" I question coldly and then make eye contact with Melascula.
Giggling, Melascula answers, "Because she's always been stronger than you, (Y/n)."
"Not anymore," I growl and turn my head back to the portal. "I'll show her who's going to become the next Demon Queen."
Derieri snorts at this while Monspeet says, "There's the (Y/n) we know; harsh, brutal, cold."
Scoffing at that, I focus my attention on my reflection in the purple portal in front of me.
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(𝗬/𝗻)'𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗺𝗼𝘂𝗿
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗗𝗔𝗔𝟮𝟵.
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It's been quite a while since I've worn my armour and I've forgotten how well it looks on me.
My (long/short) (y/h/c) hair blends nicely with the top of my black outfit and my (y/s/c) skin but what really makes my armour stand out is the trailing sashes and my (y/e/c) eyes.
When I was younger, before everything went to hell, I was never really confident about the way I looked but my two best friends helped me choose and design all of my outfits, do up my hair, presenting myself. And all of that has played a huge role in making me the person I am today.
"It's happening," Grayroad notes and we all immediately feel magic pulling us to the other realm.
"Brace yourselves," I tell everyone firmly. "And don't let your guard down."
Blinding light fills my vision so I quickly close my eyes but place both of my hands on my dagger and sword on either side of my hip, each weapon attached to its own sheath.
Once everything seems to settle down, I slowly open my eyes to see that we're all within a narrow canyon and that there are two Humans ahead of us.
No, one of them appears to be a host for Fraudrin. How interesting.
"Hello, Fraudrin," I greet my comrade and he bows respectfully when I say this. "It's been a long time, old friend."
"It has, Your Majesty," the Commandment of Selflessness agrees while I let go of my weapons and let my hands fall to my sides. "However, it's been much longer over here."
Just as I'm about to respond to that, the Human on the ground beside him begins to move and groans, opening his eyes.
"Wait, Dreyfus?" the Human mutters in confusion.
"You did very well," Fraudrin says as he crosses his arms and looks down at the Human. "The ceremony is now complete."
"Dreyfus," the Human says as he struggles to stand up, "those eyes and that pattern on your face—"
"To show my gratitude for your usefulness, I will allow you to live," Fraudrin interrupts him. "Besides, it's what this man asked me to do. You are free to go wherever you like."
"Free to go?" the Human questions as he stands up straight. "What in the world are you talking about?"
Sighing impatiently at how long this man is taking to figure things out, I take a couple of steps forward to the pair and I hear the other Commandments do the same.
"It's been 3,000 years but we've finally returned," Fraudrin says with delight.
"3,000 years, huh?" I drawl as I come to a stop and I can't help the smile that takes over my lips. "Please tell me that she's still alive. I'll see you soon, Elizabeth."
"Hey Fraudrin," Melascula calls out. "Is that a Human body you're inhabiting by any chance?"
"Indeed," Fraudrin confirms. "Using it has been quite easy."
"How is it that we were the only ones able to escape?" Gloxinia questions.
"Because I didn't have enough blood from the Apostle of the Goddesses to break the seal," Fraudrin explains. "My apologies."
"That's the bottom line, huh?" Derieri says as she places a hand at the back of her head. "Not much there."
"In other words, you're saying that the presence of the Goddess, Giant, and Fairy races are barely detectable?" Monspeet asks.
"During the war 3,000 years ago, they ended up losing most of their power as we did," Fraudrin continues. "Essentially, it's the Humans who rule Britannia now."
The Humans rule Britannia now? How intriguing.
"My goodness," Melascula murmurs. "So the most short-lived, fragile and hapless of the five races is in control now?"
"Hey, you were the only one who escaped being sealed, right?" Galand questions. "What've you been doing all this time?"
"I had a lot of things to sort out," Fraudrin replies to which I narrow my eyebrows. "I've only been self-aware ten years, and there was this meddlesome group called the Seven Deadly Sins standing in my way."
The Seven Deadly Sins? The name itself already confirms who's behind forming such a group.
Grinning, I guess, "Elizabeth, right?"
"Bottom line is that I'm tired," Derieri says with a small yawn. "I gotta recharge."
Turning around to the others, I say, "Yes. Before anything else, our first priority should be getting some rest. The long-term effects of the Goddesses seal seem to have depleted our magical powers. Edinburgh Hill should be to the East. We can rest when we arrive. Let's go!"
Crouching to the ground, I then shoot towards the clear skies above with the rest of the Ten Commandments. With my hands turning into dark wings, I easily make my way through the blue skies before settling down at a steady pace and from the corner of my eye, I see the others by my side.
We're finally here; Britannia.
I've still got a long way to go before I find the youngest son of the Supreme Deity.
The only problem is, wherever he is, his older brother will be there and wherever the eldest son of the Supreme Deity is, my older sister will be there. I need to figure out how exactly I should approach this while making sure to lead the Ten Commandments at the same time. Easier said than done.
I blink when I realise that we've finally reached our destination which seems to be destroyed in a very peculiar way.
"Bottom line is I don't understand," Derieri notes when we land on the odd terrain.
"Indeed, I must admit, finding a castle where there was nothing for 3,000 years is quite strange," Monspeet comments with crossed arms. "But how did it get in such a wretched condition?"
"It seems to have had an explosion of magical power radiating from its centre," Melascula observes as we all stare down at the massive pit. "Quite an intense one at that."
"Hmm, indeed," Drole murmurs. "Similiar. 30,000 feet. Residual magic."
Chuckling softly, Gloxinia says, "I see."
"It's quite obvious who's responsible for this mess," I hum as I place my hands on my hips. "Elizabeth. But what the hell was she doing in a place like this?"
"Now come on, let it go, (Y/n)," Melascula says as she turns to me. "Let's try to relax and enjoy ourselves. We haven't been here in years."
"True," I say, sighing. "But that doesn't give us the excuse to completely let our guard down. Just because we haven't been here for 3,000 years doesn't mean that the other races have slacked off. With that being said, I think we should release some of the Albion, Grey, and Red Demons."
"You think Elizabeth will respond to such a threat?" Gloxinia questions.
"I'm sure of it," I say as I continue to stare down at the black hole in front of us. "Especially if we send in more than one."
As I take a few more steps forward and then kneel down on one knee, Fraudrin asks me, "Is this your first order for me, Princess (Y/n)?"
The only way I can find my best friend is by finding my older sister which means we need to catch her attention and this is the only thing I can come up with right now.
The sooner I have him by my side, safe and well, the better.
Zeldris, remember my promise to you.
Looking over my shoulder to the other Demon warriors, I whisper, "Do it."
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