"You're sure you feel okay?" Evania asked, tracing circles on Sylvia's skin where her spiraling tattoos used to be.
Sylvia smiled warmly, pressing a gentle kiss into the top of the vampire's head. "I'm okay. I promise. It's worn off and I feel completely back to normal."
"You looked like you weren't having as much fun as you usually do for a few rounds there." Evania noted, glancing down at their intertwined naked and sweaty bodies.
"I'm usually pretty easy aren't I?" Sylvia grinned like it was an accomplishment getting Evania to laugh. "I guess my nature really does let you get the better of me."
"So you did like it?"
"I absolutely did Treasure. I would have stopped you if something was wrong. I was just able to ride it out a bit longer because my brain wasn't flooded with two bodies full of pleasure at the same time."
Evania chuckled a bit. "Do you have any stories from Britain?"
"I have a ton of stories."
"Any that you'd share?"
"Of course. What do you want to know?"
"What were your parents like?"
Sylvia seemed in thought for a moment. "My dad was a King. He was running a whole Kingdom everyday, making sure people were safe and that they had food and water. Yet, he always made time for me. Even after endless hours in the war room making plans with his knights, he would visit me before he went to bed just to tell me he loved me. Or he'd spend another few hours teaching me to wield a sword." She held her arm up into the air to examine the golden markings across her skin like she was looking through them. "It's so weird to think that this sigil was always on his arm."
"Do you miss him?"
"Every child misses their parents when they pass away. In my case it was thousands of years ago, so I've had a long time to accept it, and yes, I miss him. But now he's finally part of me again." She smiled and the sigil on her arm seemed to pulse with the divine magic that came from the sword.
"What's your favorite memory of him?"
"Hmm." She went quiet for a few seconds as she thought about it. Eventually another smile touched her lips. "When I first transformed into my true form as a little girl, and I thought I was a disgusting monster. He pulled out Caliburn for the first time since he had pulled it from the stone and showed it to me."
Evania could see the image in Sylvia's mind of her as a small child, cowering in her room like a caged animal. Her father came into the room ready to kill a monster only to find his daughter hiding under the bed.
"Daddy, what is wrong with me? I have horns like the devil! I am a monster!" A child sized Sylvia cried out to her father, scrambling back to avoid her father's gaze.
Arthur was wearing his usual blue and gold robes, though he had a silver and gold breastplate over his chest like he had just gotten out of a meeting. The golden sword Excalibur was hung at his hip with his hand on the hilt, preparing to draw it to protect his little girl. He had the brightest green eyes Evania had ever seen. His hair was a golden blonde, and he had decent enough beard to match. A golden crown sat atop his head with blue jewels set into the metal.
He knelt down beside the bed, placing his hands on the floor as he smiled at the purple rings that stared up at him from underneath. "Sylvia my child, come out from under there. Horns or not, you are no monster." He stated, his voice heavy with a gentle kindness Evania quickly found herself comparing to the way her father used to talk before he was turned.
"I have a tail! And wings! Morgan said I was the daughter of the devil!" Sylvia answered.
Arthur chuckled. "She's not entirely wrong. Your mother has all those things too."
"Mother is a monster too?"
"Not a monster my love. A demon. But that does not make you a monster, or evil. Your mother is the strongest and kindest person I know. She may occasionally grow horns and a tail, but she's never done anything to deserve the title of monster or devil."
"The maid said I was an abomination! She said I was a changeling here to steal the real Princess away!"
"You, Sylvia, are the greatest gift I have ever received. You are a gift from God, given to me to protect our people till the end of time." Arthur told her as he held his hand out for her to take. Sylvia crawled forward a bit, listening as her father spoke. "You are one of the kindest people in this whole Kingdom, and nothing that anyone says can ever change that. Your skin may be a different color sometimes, you may have horns, tail and wings. But you will always be a protector of those who need it. You will always be a light in darkness. And you will always be my greatest treasure in my whole Kingdom."
Sylvia crawled out from under the bed and stood before her father who was still crouched down before her. Her tiny horns barely curved out of the side of her head, her wings clearly not big enough to lift her yet, and her tail coiled around her leg like she was trying to hide it. Her little socks had torn revealing part of her hooves poking out. "Promise?"
He placed a hand on her shoulder and with his other hand he pulled Caliburn from the air beside them. He then held the blade in front of Sylvia, and the little succubus stared down at her reflection in the metal.
"One day, I will not be King anymore. Be it by old age, or my own resignation. I will step down from my throne, and will pass the crown to you."
"N-no! You cannot! You are supposed to pass the crown to your first born son! I cannot wear it!" Sylvia stated.
Arthur gently touched the hilt of the blade to Sylvia's chest, and the blade seemed to shrink in on itself before disappearing into her body. She glanced down to find the golden cross hovering over her clavicle signaling that she was now in possession of the Crest of Excalibur and Caliburn itself, though at the time she likely did not know.
"One day, when you are big and strong, you will have people you want to protect as well. When that day comes, Caliburn will protect you the way it protects me. When your birth is called into question, when bad people try to tell you that your nothing, or less than, or a monster." He placed his hand over the crest. "You will tell them 'I am Sylvia Pendragon, daughter of King Arthur Pendragon and the rightful heir to Britain. I hold the Sword of Kings, and I will be the greatest King this world will ever know!'"
Sylvia giggled at her father before pulling him into a hug. "Thank you daddy."
"Of course my Treasure."
Evania blinked as the memory came to an end where she found Sylvia smiling softly up at her. "Did you get lost in here?" The succubus asked.
"Your father called you Treasure?"
"I was the most important thing in my father's life. You are the most important thing in mine. It makes sense, doesn't it?"
Evania flicked her on the nose getting her to giggle. "Will you ever meet the Queen of England?"
"I want to prank her." Sylvia confessed.
"Are you serious?"
"Absolutely!" The succubus laughed. "Just picture it, they invite a succubus into the palace for tea or dinner or whatever, and that succubus is literally the descendent of King Arthur Pendragon. And while everyone is distracted by her regal appearance and bloodline- shit she just turned all of the Queens dogs into chickens -temporarily of course!"
Evania laughed, doing her best to stifle it with her hand. "Oh my gods! You would!"
"Or maybe change the color of all her decorations! Or make her think she's not wearing pants the entire time! Or make her think my pants are invisible but only to her so when she asks people about it they'll be like 'wha? No she was definitely wearing pants.'"
Evania couldn't hold back as she laughed loudly, tears beginning to spill from her eyes.
"Though I think Dogs to chickens would be funniest. The idea of her walking around with a whole bunch of chickens with harnesses and leashes really tickles me."
"She would never let you back!"
"I'm family! And technically the true heir. She would have to deal with it until I came back here!"
Evania continued to laugh for a few more moments before slowly calming down. "Your father seems like he was an amazing man."
"The best."
"What about your mother?"
"Well, you can actually meet my mother."
"You won't tell me about her?"
"Well, what do you want to know?"
"What is she like?"
"She's... well... she's just like my dad. Same mindset even. She never thought she was evil in any way though. Never saw being a succubus as something to be ashamed of or to hate. She always thought everything she did was for the right reasons."
"She sounds like she could be a little prideful."
"Pride is the wrong word. It wasn't that she was overconfident and obnoxious in any way. She wanted what was right. Everything she did was always for the right reasons. She thought about her actions and how they would effect everyone around her. She would probably get along great with Kai."
"You think so?"
"My mother, at least as far as I've known her, had always been the person who would throw themselves into the fray to protect someone even if they treated her like garbage. She saved Morgan's life so many times and that spiteful woman still cursed me."
"How many noses have you broken because you didn't like the way someone spoke to you?"
"Too many. I was always in trouble for hitting people when they were being rude to me or the castle staff." Sylvia smiled. "But my parents never scolded me for it. The guard would tell me a lady should never do such things. My parents would say 'your right! A lady would never! But a princess! A hero! They absolutely would!'"
"How many guards did you kick the crap out of?"
"Most if them. Some thought Morgan and Mordred's words were correct, and that I was a monster. I could never draw Caliburn so I couldn't prove that I was really King Arthur's daughter, but I proved it by fighting till I couldn't. Even when I was on the ground I would pull myself back up and throw myself into a battle I knew I couldn't win because I needed to be the hero. Which was how both my parents were."
"You sound like you had a good life." Evania noted.
"It was a good few years." She shrugged.
"Mordred is sometimes said to be King Arthur's illegitimate son. Is that true?"
Sylvia shrugged. "I don't know. I think he claimed that he was the first born they chose to abandon. That he was Arthur's real child and I was the replacement."
"Did you... well... I guess you met him when he took your wings."
Sylvia sighed. "I met him a few times. He was one of my father's Knights for a long time before he finally betrayed him by carving my wings off. He was... he seemed like a good man."
Once again Evania could see the memories in Sylvia's mind. She was standing in the garden, tossing bread into the pond for the ducks like a true princess. She heard the heavy footsteps of an armored knight making their way towards her getting the ducks to back away.
"M'lady." Came a voice that sounded not unlike her father's. Sylvia turned to face the knight as he made his way over. His silver armor painted with golds as his red cloak hung over his shoulders. The man was wearing his helmet, and without fail he made his way over and bowed respectively. "Your father has asked that I accompany you when you go about from now on. The Witch Morgan is seeding the minds of the people of Britain and he fears you may be in danger."
Sylvia smiled warmly. "That does sound like him. Though, I can handle myself. However I would enjoy the company. You are Mordred, correct?"
"Indeed M'lady."
"Just call me Sylvia. No need for formalities if you are to be my protector and likely long term friend."
"That's kind of you to say m'- Sylvia. Not many members of your father's council possess the same kindness as you do."
"You'll have to forgive the old men I'm afraid. Most of them still do not like the idea that a simple stable boy suddenly became King of Britain by pulling an old sword from a rock. If Merlin had not intervened I doubt it would have happened."
"You have such little faith in them?"
"Of course. It's just as you said, Morgan is twisting the minds of those around us. Making many believe that either I or my mother are some kind of creature hell bent on the destruction of this beautiful place. I just want to see these people prosper." She sighed deeply.
"That's very noble of you."
"Well, if you're to be my protector I suppose you are going to have to know where it is that I stand. I dread the idea of becoming Queen, if and when my father dies. I do not know if I am fit to rule."
"The greatest rulers are those who never wish to lead."
Sylvia smirked at the man before noticing he still hadn't removed his helmet. "Is it not hot in that armor?"
"You never know when someone may attack you. If I am to keep you safe I must be prepared for anything."
"If you are to be my protector, you will overwork yourself in a few hours by acting like that. We are in the garden, surrounded by four dozen other knights waiting to throw their heads on spikes at my expense." She shook her head at the thought. "I have enough servants. I would like a friend."
A chuckle could be heard from under the helmet before the knight reached up and pulled the helmet from his head before tucking it under his arm. He had short, nicely trimmed blonde hair and a clean shaven face. His eyes bright green and filled with mirth as he looked over the woman before him.
"Then I suppose I'll have to try a bit harder Sylvia."
Evania noticed that the last sentence seemed to sting Sylvia more than she expected it to. The succubus visibly cringed at the words.
"He looked a lot like your father."
"I do not know if he really was my half brother. But the next few years found us getting very close."
"Did you fall in love with him?"
"I don't think it was the same true love you would see in a fairy tale, and not even close to the love I have with you. But... it was a crush none the less. I genuinely cared about him, and I thought he felt the same. I do not know when he started to listen to the venomous whispers of Morgan, but he stopped seeing me, and only saw a means to an end."
"I'm so sorry Sylvia." Evania tightened her grip around her lover.
"Its in the past. My scars have long since healed, and you are to thank for that." Sylvia smiled lightly, enjoying the joy that radiated between the two of them.
"Forever and Always."
"Always and Forever."