I Thought I Was Marrying A Gay Princess and Got The Demon Lord Instead [song & Blood Briar]

[song]

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All you have is your fire
And the place you need to reach
Don't you ever tame your demons
But always keep 'em on a leash
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To Third Great War historians in the future, there were two important names that every human should remember.

Queen Rhiannon Ó Buadhachanáin, first of her name, the ruler of the kingdom of Galicia, and the matron of Castle Neviosegu. The mighty queen had songs written about her for uniting the elves and humans together against the demon invasion on their lands. Later, the same queen that had denounced the demons and their totalitarian aspirations to subjugate her people soon became the biggest proponent for peace. It turned out that her oaf of a late husband (whose name wasn't worth mentioning anyhow) had been a hothead in battle that chased glory for his entire life. He had died attempting to make their people look like heroes doing some stunt in the battlefield.
After his death, peace negotiations went off without a hitch.

The second name was easy to remember if anyone could memorize the first.

Of course, the legendary Queen had a daughter, Princess Rhiannon II Ó Buadhachanáin, second of her name, heir to the kingdom of Galicia and Castle Neviosegu, and the humankind's one and only Great Mage. The Princess preferred to go by Rhia in both special occasions and not-so-special occasions.

Compared to her mother, Rhia's accomplishments were rather modest. That was considering there were no songs written about her yet. Even if there were, they'd hardly capture the true nature of what it was actually like to fight next to the Great Mage during the Third Great War. If there were songs written about Rhia, there would have been more sung about her anti-social demeanour compared to the fact that she had once sniped a demon general from 100 floors above the tower from the outside. The war had ended once the two of them, the Princess Rhia and Lord Fieryxiine had reached a stalemate once neither of them could go on.

It became a source of pride regardless of the side each subject was on.

After the Third Great War had ended, it was practically impossible to get the princess out of the house. Rhia had been burned out from the social interaction since she came out of the womb. The social dread had only exacerbated after completing such an arduous task. Now, the Great Paladin, Aliya, had to drag the Great Mage out of the Castle to even say hi. That was because Aliya was the only one a part of the Great Party that stubborn enough to keep trying.

Though, perhaps Rhia should have prayed to the goddess that Aliya believed in before the paladin dragged the mage out of her bedroom that day.

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The entire night was a blur. It was a gala that the Great Archer had hosted in his ostentatious estate. As soon as the war ended, he immediately hired civilians that idolized him to build him what was essentially a marble temple in his honour. Though, the Great Archer did everything but worship or act pious within those walls. In fact, the reason why many party guests wore masks was to conceal the sense of shame towards the acts that happened within his estates.

But that was a story for another time. What mattered was that Rhia had gotten too drunk on demonic wine and met another princess that seemed too good to be true. Though, at the encouragement of the rest of her former party, Rhia had managed to get a single dance in. They chatted throughout the night, and she swore that the mysterious princess actually seemed to enjoy her company. Conversations flowed easier than the rivers that connected to Castle Neviosegu, and her smile was as bright as the sunrises that peered through Rhia's bedroom window.

Though, Rhia had little social stamina and wished to go home. Once she did, she had passed out on her bed and woke up (hungover and in the middle of the night, as one does) to a mysterious letter containing a portal inside. A... wedding? Her senses felt nothing off with the magical architecture or script within the portal. Besides, who would take the risk to trick the Great Mage in her own home?

Besides, this could be Rhia's last chance before she died as a spinster queen, and she'd prefer having no songs written about her than one about the Great Mage dying alone.

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Compared to that fateful masquerade ball, the wedding was the complete opposite. That was almost stark in how equal parts infuriating and depressing it all was. The ceremony had been small, with Rhia being cycled through handmaidens that did her hair and makeup in a hurry, as if they were moving too quick for her to realize the plot taking place. That was hardly the issue with how socially dense the Great Mage was.

The main issue was that the entire wedding function had stunk of magic. The beautiful wedding robes were enough to placate her slightly. However, as soon as the rings and vows had been exchanged, the woman she had married felt no qualms revealing that the jig was finally up.

Moments before, the pair of princesses had exchanged glowing rings soon after the vows had been exchanged. Hers was a gold band with a stone that resembled sapphire to match her pale blue eyes. The reveal immediately made her blood boil. Rhia's palm was directed to the Demon Lord Fieryxiine herself.

Stupid... she was so stupid... Angry tears were welling up in the corners of her eyes when she fired her spell with all the mana she had in her system.

And they said that demons were the prideful ones.

However, her eyes widened in horror when all the magic she had cast had been absorbed in the Demon Lord's corresponding ring. The two of them had exchanged spells, with each attempt being nullified thanks to the sanctity of marriage. Even physical hits had no effect. The fight had gotten petty enough that Rhia had manifested her wooden staff and attempted to knock Lord Fieryxiine over the head, only for a solid, transparent barrier to knock her over. Not that it would have been a successful tactic, considering the Demon Lord had at least a foot of height over her.

So the wedding had ended in a bitter stalemate.

Luckily, it was after the Great Archer's ball that Rhia realized that she rather enjoyed the taste of demonic wine. And thankfully, they had bottles in spades around Castle Baalgral. Once the glamour faded, she realized that many of the generals she had fought against had treated her with a sense of friendliness and ease that she had never experienced during battle.

Though... it was probably due to her mother, Queen Rhiannon's earnest efforts to build bridges between humans and demons. Rhia supposed that anyone that was in support of peace would be treated like a friend... right? Though, what was a more earnest effort to maintain peace than to join their families?

Rhia continued to drink from the bottle while insulting the Demon Lord that she was now married to, seeing no point in even facing her new bride with some decency. Especially not with all those damn flirtatious one-liners that the blonde was in no mood for. Rhia's rants had grown belligerent at some point, until her vision began to black out for longer and longer amounts of time every time she blinked.

The last sight Rhia remembered before blacking out was Lord Fieryxiine's majordomo, Yrel, looking over her messy appearance.

And... why did she feel like throwing up?

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"Fuck... I'm still here." Her head was pounding from the second hangover in a row. Her long blonde hair had travelled over to the Demon Lord's side of the bed. She immediately darted up once she saw her clean wedding robes in a wooden basket. Wait... what was she wearing then? She could see herself in a mirror nearby. Another set of pyjamas that were made of some demonic fabric she didn't quite recognize.

And that stupid ring on her finger.

Out of annoyance, she harmlessly struck the Demon Lord with her fists. Even an attempt to push the sleeping Fieryxiine off the bed failed based off of how weak her body was. "What the fuck?! Did you... did you change me without my permission?!" She crossed her arms, already angry at the arrangement. All logic had leapt out of the window, conflating the soreness from their altercation during their wedding night to the pain that came from rough lovemaking. For some reason.

"I know all demons are deviants by nature, but this is sick, even for you. I respected you as a warrior, but to think that you would be so despicable as a woman." She continued, having no problem with sounding holier-than-thou. Rhia was a virgin. How could she simply forget about the first time she had sex?!

That, and Mephistro Dominion was a long journey away from the human kingdom of Galicia. Even if she tried to escape, Rhia doubted that the Demon Lord would have permitted her from going home. That, and while she was extremely magically capable, her survival skills couldn't say the same. All she could do was hope that her friends had known that she was missing and actually look for her.

But if Rhia was going to be stuck here, the least she could do was make sure that their marriage was just as miserable for the demon as it was for her. "I guess it must have been disappointing." Rhia's blue eyes bore a hateful hole into hers. "No one simply forgets they made love unless their minds wanted to forget. Truly... you must have been absolutely unremarkable."

 

[Blood Briar]

ratwyfe - Cryptid (Mothman)

It was supposed to be her era of triumph, a jewel to place atop her crown (literally - the commemorative ruby was going to hover majestically over the precious metal) of rulership and one of the greatest expansions of demonic domains ever seen. Years of planning, training and mobilization in the making, the Mephistro Host was set to conquer Galicia and add its bountiful territories to her dominion.

All of the petty hardships of being on the road and making do without a single luxury in sight were going to be worth it, in the end... or so she supposed. Lord Fieryxiine held accommodations barely above those of her commanding officers, which in turn weren't much better than those of the common soldier. As important as hierarchy was when it came to who made decisions and who followed them, one of the Lord's guiding principles in war was solidarity in all things. Her troops could always count on her leading in battle with sword and magic and not holding herself above or behind them, and morale remained high for her side throughout the Third Great War following a leader who would risk it all with them.

She just hated that it separated her from all the creature comforts she so indulgently enjoyed.

By the time of the war's final engagement, the Demon Lord was utterly weary of the muddy realities of the battlefield. That bloodlust could balance that weariness so well kept her going outside the tent, but inside it, she'd become a bit of a dispirited wreck. So it was that when the opportunity came - and to her credit, the Great Mage was a cataclysmic threat to her army - the spirit of peace had become deeply appealing to her.

Besides, humans didn't live all that long. She could just wait until the heroes of the era had gone soft in old age.... or so it might have possibly gone, were Lady Fier not so enamored with convoluted schemes and complicated plots.

---

Seducing the Great Mage enough to lure her in wasn't even difficult, in the end. Shock and awe was an area where the Demon Lord excelled, and whether a silver tongue or the sword arm made no difference. It helped that the human even had some interesting things to say; they readily discussed matters of arcana with avid interest, and Rhia's obsessions were on clear display there.

All of that was of minimal importance to her grand design, though. As she expected (nevermind her hubris), the Great Mage accepted the invitation and showed up with some level of willingness and uncritical concern. Enough so that she missed all of the possible tells that something was very much not what she was expecting.

The moment she dropped her glamour and saw Rhia's utter surprise was one she captured mentally to relive over and over again. It was glorious. A true credit to her ingenuity and persistence, and one she'd revel in for months. How often did a plan succeed so flawlessly, after all? And with the enchantments that bound them in uncompelled vow, it was next to impossible for the Great Mage to ever pose a threat to her again. Sure, she could throw a tantrum and drop an inferno on fields of the Dominion, but all Fieryxiine had to do to stop her was snap her up in a bear hug and walk her off.

That didn't stop her from dueling with Rhia once she unleashed on her, though. It was fun. And with so few consequences, she'd much rather engage her than her vent any of her feelings on the others demons around her. For all her faults, the Demon Lord was not a callous ruler.

After a night filled with verbal sparring and one-sidedly flirtatious banter, Lady Fier retired to luxuriate in her victory. The largest obstacle to her winning a Fourth Great War had been taken off the board.

Not that she intended to immediately begin such planning. Some extended celebration was in order, and she knew her generals and staff would appreciate it.

Eventually, she retired for the night, having feasted on several courses of smug gloating and self-congratulatory musings.

---

Waking up to some rattling of human flesh against her own came slowly. The Demon Lord hated ending her sleep, and the weak attempts at dislodging her from her lavish bed were incredibly irksome. Despite how unwilling the spirit, her eyes eventually opened to regard the Great Mage she'd so recently entrapped. She was yelling and upset, which wasn't unreasonable with the deception she'd endured, but the words filtering into her consciousness were much less warranted. Groaning, she almost covered herself up in sheets and comforter and ignored the human.

Something told her that would only escalate the outrage, though.

Sitting up with a sleepy rub of her eyes, the not-quite-so modestly dressed Lady Fier - she preferred loose devilmoth silks for pajamas that hung more like split sheets on her form, though their opacity prevented the hapless human from seeing much - brought her attention out of restfulness to deal with this disturbance. "Why are you yelling." Disdain for the unnecessary volume was clear in her voice.

Assessing her wife's (there was a label that'd take some getting used to) state of dress, which was much more modest than her own, she slowly raised a reproachful brow at the protestations. "I don't know what you're talking about," she replied dismissively, beginning to stretch her arms. Is she always this noisy? I didn't expect this. Maybe a localized silence spell... A hand continued with a gesture of disinterested dismissal, her thoughts trailing off. "My servants must have thought you'd sleep more comfortably in pajamas."

Rhia hadn't even been in her bed when she fell asleep. This was all awfully presumptuous of her.

Fieryxiine's moderate annoyance deepened with the human's rather uncharitable accusations; worse, a bit of embarrassment slid into her cheeks at the implications of relations. Were this later in the day, she could be firing off at full capacity instead of having to put up with slowed responses to her insults.

Glaring at Rhia, she extricated herself from the tangle of sheets with substantial displeasure. "Mage, I haven't even seen you naked." A taloned finger and thumb reached out to catch one of the human's sleeves between them. "Do you really think you'd be wearing anything right now if I'd taken advantage of you?" The question was much more direct than she felt comfortable with when it came to matters of romance (let alone sex). When she was shamelessly flirting, the ability to make another blush felt and direct a conversation felt entirely in her hands. Outside of that pocket of familiarity, she wasn't nearly so experienced or confident - and being woken up made her far more irritable. Her preference would have been something rather salacious and suggestive to spite the woman's insinuations. Alas, the sundry unpleasantries of married life were already hitting her in unexpected ways. What a headache.

 

[song]

"Why are you yelling. I don't know what you're talking about, my servants must have thought you'd sleep more comfortably in pajamas. Mage, I haven't even seen you naked."​

The Demon Lord, her now wife's (which she thought even bitterly) rather nonchalant response driving her further off the edge. The conclusion she drew was now getting worse. "So that means your servants have seen me naked too! Why would I believe that you didn't do anything to me as my... my new..." Rhia wanted to throw up. "...wife?!"

"Do you really think you'd be wearing anything right now if I'd taken advantage of you?"​

Her heart raced as the rather attractive Demon Lord closed the distance and grazed only her clothing. Her blush was too obvious on her pale skin (that hadn't tanned since the peak of the Third Great War). Almost embarrassed by her own reaction, Rhia pulled away from her immediately. Her hand balled into a fist as she grabbed onto a pillow.

"I... I don't know!" The mage had answered too quickly.

"W-Wait, you're clearly trying to lie to me!" Rhia chucked the pillow at the demon that slept with her. "Who's to say that you didn't have your way with me and then have your servants dress you?!" Not that she was blaming the servants for the Demon Lord's sinful desires. The other servants were actually rather kind to her. Some of them even had the patience to listen to her impassioned rants just moments before she passed out. If they did see her naked, it wasn't their fault.

It was Lady Fier's fault, obviously.

After all, unlike the Demon Lord, she was no forceful tyrant.

Her eyes squinted, infuriated that the soft pillow hadn't hit the Demon Lord. Instead, it hit the demon's side and fell limply off the rather roomy bed. Oh shit. The Great Mage, with all her years holing herself up in a library attached to her bedroom, realized immediately. There was no barrier. Last night, she had remembered that even landing a pathetic punch had been blocked off by what appeared to be an invisible suit of magical armour.

It was too bad that demonic magic was one of the only fields that continued to elude her, due to its wide range and the lack of regard for silly human morals. Much text outside of what was accepted were hard to find and required dangerous trips across the entire surface world for a faint promise of an ancient tome. Rhia remembered how inconvenient that was to adapt and strategize around.

Not that the tenacious human didn't have a workaround.

She suspected that what evened the playing ground during the war, at least on the magical power front, was her sensitivity and pattern-recognition when it came to mana traces. Similar to how arrows made a slight whoosh sound seconds after firing, spells had their own trace. Whether it was a smell, the drop of parchment, or even a leftover reagent on the ground, Rhia learned that almost anything could be traced and studied. Her hands searched along the night table on what was officially Rhia's side of the bed, picking up her wire-rimmed glasses.

She couldn't see magic without them, after all.

Without thinking, she advanced towards the Demon Lord with no harm to hurt her. Rhia tossed another pillow at her, this time aiming for her face. "How am I supposed to believe you when you were flirting with me all night?" She could hardly remember what exactly Lady Fier had said to her, but that didn't matter.

That stupid smirk Fieryxiine had on her face was enough proof that the fellow blonde was trying to get under her skin. That, and the confident tone of voice, the way she closed the distance whenever Rhia wanted to shrink. "You were like a snake, waiting to just strike at me, weren't you?" Rhia grew bolder once her hypothesis had been proven. She pulled one last pillow from her side of their matrimonial bed, gently whacking the Demon Lord.

"I... I feel all sore and shitty because of you!" Rhia whined like a princess that didn't get the dress she wanted. It didn't help that she felt emboldened by the fact that neither of them could hurt the other. Surely, there were no consequences for enacting some of her own petty revenge. "What's wrong? Don't like being married? You hate your wife already?!"

 

[Blood Briar]

"W-Wait, you're clearly trying to lie to me! Who's to say that you didn't have your way with me and then have your servants dress you?!"​

Resting her face in a hand, she didn't try to avoid the pillow thrown at her, but it did make her growl quietly. "What convoluted..." she was rubbing her eyes now, the growl not quite over. "Do you always refuse to take responsibility for getting yourself into a drunken stupor? Would you have rather woken up in your wedding dress?"

"How am I supposed to believe you when you were flirting with me all night? You were like a snake, waiting to just strike at me, weren't you?"​

Grumbling after the pillow fell off of her hand, she lowered it to glare at the human again. She reached out then put a single finger to her forehead, pushing her back to full arm's length. "Why wouldn't I flirt with you? What better way is there to gloat?" That probably didn't sound as exculpatory as she would have wanted. "Besides, have you seen yourself blush, mage? You light up every single time. From chin to hair!" She laughed heartily, her first break from the grouchy mood her wife had put her in. Fieryxiine still wasn't happy to be awake right now, but she could at least take pleasure in tormenting Rhia.

"I... I feel all sore and shitty because of you! What's wrong? Don't like being married? You hate your wife already?!" ​

Snorting, she pulled away the finger to clack two of her claws together in front of the woman's face. "You trifling -- I am as bound by the rings as you are. I could not hurt you if I wanted to." Tired of her whining, she practically leaped across the bed to knock her down onto her back with a mild push. Fieryxiine leaned down over Rhia, a hand placed next to her head while she gazed fiercely into her eyes. The Demon Lord really did not like getting woken up early. "Consider all the ways in which I could hurt you if I wasn't stopped by this ring. You're rather smart, yes?" She leaned in closer with those last two words to punctuate them, eyes lit up with a fiery anger. "If I wanted you to suffer, would you be bleeding, dead, or just hungover?"

After giving her a couple more seconds of having to stare into the intensity radiating from her, the Demon Lord pulled back up to her knees and reached over to flick a bell hanging off of the wall on a metal claw. Grabbing the comforter, she whipped it around her with a sweep of her arm and leaned back into the headboard, dour mood expansively clear on her face.

 

[song]

"You trifling -- I am as bound by the rings as you are. I could not hurt you if I wanted to." ​

"Trifling what?" Her voice shifted to a more curious, baiting tone. The silly little reason underlying it was that Rhia was curious to hear whatever demonic slur she had for her people this time. After all, during her time fighting the Third Great War, the mage had been called every name under the sun: pinkmeats, shrimp, she had even heard the battle-paint her people wore flung at her like an insult. All of it had turned to be humourous when each demon general was brought to their knees before she finally reached Lord Fier. Now, demonic insults turned more benign, with words like Lily-tongue to refer to her people's lack of a spice tolerance.

Rhia stayed close to the demon's face even as she threatened to claw her face like a mangy cat.

Tired of her whining, she practically leaped across the bed to knock her down onto her back with a mild push. Fieryxiine leaned down over Rhia, a hand placed next to her head while she gazed fiercely into her eyes. The Demon Lord really did not like getting woken up early.

"Consider all the ways in which I could hurt you if I wasn't stopped by this ring. You're rather smart, yes?" ​

The Great Mage attempted to show some self-control before failing and opening her mouth to instigate the Demon Lord. "Smarter than you." Rhia glared at her through her glasses. It seemed they both shared some penchant for being at least a little antagonistic towards each other. Instead of intimidating the same way her former threats were intimidating to her foes in battle, this already felt like a typical marital spat.

"If I wanted you to suffer, would you be bleeding, dead, or just hungover?"​

For some reason (and Rhia would swear it was the rings and not any other emotion at all), her heart skipped a beat. Still... that seemed to throw her thesis for a loop. Could the insinuation of harm still be negated? Or perhaps it was the familiar response to being attacked by the Demon Lord during their many duels that caused her to blush again. Taken aback by the lack of fear (and the emergence of another emotion), the much smaller human broke their eye contact to bless Fieryxiine with her signature tomato-like blush.

"Neither, because I'd kill you in your sleep if the rings weren't on." Rhia replied. It was the most rational conclusion. What the hell was the Great Mage going to do close range when she could hardly run for a kilometer without sweating or passing out?

Her head hit the pillow softly, her breath inhaling to signal that she had forgotten to breathe for the entire duration of Fier staring at her. It was the closest anyone had been to her face.

Maybe she needed to go to sleep too.

The human, eyeing the fact that there was only one comforter available. True, she was here as a conquest and as some sick plan for world domination on the demon's part, but could she have put in a little more effort to make Rhia more comfortable? "You should cater to your wife more." She pulled the comforter, hoping that the demon would budge.

However, Rhia was only the Great Mage, and not the Great Warrior.

"Come on, I can't get a comforter too? Do you want me to freeze? No wonder all you demons are just hotheads." She didn't care about how bratty or juvenile this attempt to get under her skin was. All Rhia wanted to do was anger her into a victory.

 

[Blood Briar]

"Trifling what?"​

"Trifling tomato," she snorted. Was she always this annoying? ... should she have gone for the Great Warrior instead? No, no, Rhia was the right choice. Even if she was now regretting it some.

"Neither, because I'd kill you in your sleep if the rings weren't on."​

Lady Fier rolled her eyes. While she didn't expect the Great Mage to be  happy about this turn of events, she didn't expect her to be a child about it. Rhia had given her every opportunity to do harm; there was nothing stopping her from commanding her minions to do the deed if she really wanted the human dead.

"You should cater to your wife more."​

"All that wine you drank last night wasn't enough for you? Do you need more to jog your memory?" Looking at the noisy human in rather a surly manner, she snorted. Fieryxiine suspected she just wanted nothing more than to be a nuisance.

"Come on, I can't get a comforter too? Do you want me to freeze? No wonder all you demons are just hotheads." ​

"You want to be warm? Fine." Nudging her to fall again with a single finger, she rolled the mage onto her stomach and shifted her position on the bed to rest sideways on top of the human's lower back. The Demon Lord took care not to force weight painfully down into her -- the ring would prevent that anyhow -- but used her denser, larger body to pin the fussing thing she now labeled wife. Still keeping the comforter wrapped 'round herself, Rhia was now mostly covered, excepting her head. She wasn't trying to suffocate her, after all, and had intentionally put her weight not on the back of her lungs. "You'll have your own room tonight," she growled quietly. Clearly, it had been a mistake to leave this sort of planning to her staff, who hadn't deigned to give the Great Mage her own chambers to make raucous noise within enjoy. Perhaps they meant well, or perhaps they were simply teasing her again. Whatever the cause, she was very definitely uninterested in having a repeat of this rude awakening. "Maybe I should lock you within it," she muttered, though knowing the Great Mage's skill in magic, it was a pointless thought. The only way she could keep her well and truly restrained at his point would be to carry her everywhere in a headlock, and who had the patience for that sort of fuss?

Not much later, the doors opened and three mildly feral-looking, pale, almost white-skinned demonesses with long white hair and white canid ears in well-tailored suits entered. "Yes, my Lord?" they spoke in unison. "Contact Yrel and have them find a new bedroom in the castle for my wife," she spoke with some tempered indignance, "and draw me a bath in the meantime." "So early," one of the trio mused quietly, "she must not be in good spirits," another whispered in reply, before they all chimed together, "Right away my Lord!"

Left alone again for the moment with the shutting of her doors, Fiery glanced down at the human to make sure she was still fine. The creatures could be fragile, and Rhia hardly looked like she went in for anywhere near the same fitness as the rest of the Great Adventurers who had stymied her advances in the Third Great War.

 

[song]

"You want to be warm? Fine."​

"O-Ow!" Rhia complained, more than she should, considering that she wasn't truly harmed. Though, she wanted to exaggerate it as much as humanly possible. After all, she was grasping at straws to get on the Demon Lord's nerves. "T-The absolute gall! You... you..." The comforter over her body while Fier sat on her rendered her almost speechless.

After all, what words were there to describe a species as annoying as a demon? Any slurs that could have escaped her own lips about Lord Fieryxiine's people weren't enough to describe the bane to her existence that her wife was. On top of that, Rhia suspected that the strength of magic able to hold back both of their lethal amounts of mana was enough to keep both of them alive for as long as they both lived.

It was a shame that demons were practically immortal. That meant that they had to be subject to each other's antics for eternity. Luckily for her, Rhia had enough spite in her for a lifetime.

"You'll have your own room tonight,"

Lord Fier had sat on her, married her against her will, and slept with her (not necessarily in that order, but it didn't have to be for her to be beyond angry with her), and she had the nerve to simply banish her to her own room?! "C-COWARD!" The human screamed on the top of her lungs. How dare she simply minimize exposure to the human after all that Lady Fier had done.

"Maybe I should lock you within it,"​

"You can't lock me in! Not when the locks in your castle are at least eons old!" Rhia had checked the locks somewhere in between her drunken rambles about wanting to run away. "It'd crack if I cast any low-rank spell against it, even your precious little bedroom too." Even though that was a bluff, even if she hadn't, the demons had existed long before the humans did. Rhia's people were a rather fast-growing, young bunch of species in comparison to ancient peoples like the elves or fae.

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Contact Yrel and have them find a new bedroom in the castle for my wife, and draw me a bath in the meantime."​

"F-Fine! Draw your little bath!" Rhia let out an indignant squeal, angry that she couldn't tolerate her enough to let Rhia bitch at her, and angry at herself for somehow being hurt that she wanted a separate bedroom. "I'LL MAKE SURE THE WATER IN THE RESEVOIR IS COLD ENOUGH FOR EVEN A DEMON TO FREEZE!"

A ball of ice manifested in her fists before it quickly melted once she realized that Fieryxiine wasn't going to let her off that easily. Despite how manic and brazen the human was with her threats, it was notable that neither of the servants seemed to take her credible (and feasible) threat. After all, making her life miserable? Still wasn't murder.

Surely, she was just going stir-crazy in the demon realm. She'd rather be terrorizing Fieryxiine than locked up in a room alone. The more she simply sat there below the Demon Lord, the more the absurdity of her situation finally set in. Maybe a fragile human like her was never supposed to venture outside her little bubble.

"You sure you even wanna leave me alone?!" Rhia taunted her. "I'm just going to plot ways to kill you while I'm all alone, you know. I wonder if you can still be killed in an 'accident'. Or maybe I could pay off one of your servants to slip some poison into your sweet little demon wine." Of course, no one, demon or human would be willing to assassinate anyone on either side. Especially when peace was hard-fought and mutually agreed upon. That, and no one wanted to find a new spouse for either heir.

Without either of their knowledge, their spat would be an eternal stalemate.

"Speaking of wine, I want your servants to stock at least fifteen bottles if you're going to ship me off. Poison it or not, I'll find out. And speaking of, why don't they run me a bath too? I want to be clean after you've rudely touched me without my consent on more than one occasion."

 

[Blood Briar]

The Demon Lord gazed down at the obnoxiously loud human. She'd started rubbing one of her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and wondered how much gagging and binding she could get away with on Rhia before it would count as harm. Truly, this was already pushing her toward levels of creativity she had not anticipated, and they had not been married for even 24 hours yet.

Nudging the comforter over Rhia's face, she let it give a bit of muffling of her voice before giving up on the petty gesture. She was far too loud for it to matter.

"You can't lock me in! Not when the locks in your castle are at least eons old! It'd crack if I cast any low-rank spell against it, even your precious little bedroom too."​

"You accuse me of taking advantage of you while you sleep and now get upset that you're getting your own room? You are impossible." Unfurling the comforter in a huff, she popped off the bed with a mild tremor of the stone floor where she landed, so careless and angry was her dismount. Wanting something, anything to use as distraction, she walked toward her wardrobe closet.

"You sure you even wanna leave me alone?! I'm just going to plot ways to kill you while I'm all alone, you know. I wonder if you can still be killed in an 'accident'. Or maybe I could pay off one of your servants to slip some poison into your sweet little demon wine."​

"As if they would prefer serving you over me," she snapped at the noisome creature.

"Speaking of wine, I want your servants to stock at least fifteen bottles if you're going to ship me off. Poison it or not, I'll find out. And speaking of, why don't they run me a bath too? I want to be clean after you've rudely touched me without my consent on more than one occasion."​

"If I knew you were such a drunk, I would have found an endless tankard for you already," she scoffed. Turning away from the wardrobe to face her, a hand was on one hip with the other tensed into a fist. "Push me and I will find a way to imprison you. Why can't you be a good little mouse and enjoy my castle without bothering me?" She made a face, nearly sneering, but then pulled it into a smirk. "Or does the thought of being away from me upset you that much?"

Actually walking into the closet now, she gestured with a hand, triggering a burst of wind that made all of the sheets, blankets and comforter fly away from the bed. Sure, it was petty, but then the Mage certainly deserved it. Another gesture followed that to erect a field of protective magic around its entrance which doubled as a barrier of silence. While Rhia could certainly make it crumble with some effort, it was at least a little peace for her while she decided on what to wear.

That irksome human, she growled softly. How can she not be mortified at being so petulant??

 

[song]

Fine. Maybe she was impossible. It was hard to be anything else when Rhia was given no option but to stay married. Sure, Fier could complain all she wanted about their predicament and how it was mutual, the human hardly wanted to entertain that train of thought. It made no sense to her. Even if the Demon Lord didn't care for her sympathy, goddammit, she just wanted to feel normal for once.

The bigger tragedy was that she had no library for her to dig around. That is... if Lady Fier would be willing to let her plot kill time there.

"If I knew you were such a drunk, I would have found an endless tankard for you already, Push me and I will find a way to imprison you. Why can't you be a good little mouse and enjoy my castle without bothering me?"​

"Really? I wonder how you can possibly imprison me more. Trapping me to you is prison enough." Rhia scoffed at the fist. After all, neither of them could hurt each other, to her chagrin. No matter how badly the weak Great Mage wanted to slap her in the face just so she could say she tried.

"Or does the thought of being away from me upset you that much?"​

Can't it be both? Rhia would never dare to say such an intrusive thought out loud. Maybe she would rather plan a heist to run away while she was trapped in her own room.

Rhia's loose (although modest, all things considered) pyjamas flew up in the air. It took her only a second to recognize that a spell was intentionally cast that caused her clothing to fly up. Only for a brief second though, not enough for anyone to actually take the time to enjoy. Rhia pulled down her clothing, covering her extremities with both of her forearms.

"H-How dare you!" Fier definitely wasn't beating the allegations that they did not sleep together. "You absolutely did that on purpose and I'm tired of the bullshit. You expect me to let you get away with that without saying anything? Nothing at all?!"

Though, Rhia was not exactly going to beat the allegations for being a rather clingy wife with attachment issues, either. Her hands reached to the door where the Lord Fieryxiine was standing. Maybe the Great Mage would regret this when she inevitably retired to her own room later on, but she didn't care. There was nothing more to lose or gain with the Demon Lord anymore that wasn't a petty domestic power-grab.

And no. Rhia was never going to be mortified for being petulant. Not when the human princess had no one that would actually impact her life if she did embarrass herself in front of them.

Then a thought hit her.

If Lady Fier already saw her naked (much less had her way with her), what was there to be so goddamn prudish about? This was what Lady Fier wanted after all. Maybe she could use her own body (and her dire lack of sex appeal) to her advantage in making Lady Fier's life as miserable as possible. Her hands immediately gathered power to target the demon's noise barrier. Sure, it would have taken away negligible mana from her endless reserves, but it didn't matter. The small waste of energy was well worth it for the gain in petty revenge.

"Maybe I should join you in that bath. I bet the guilt of taking advantage of me is going to settle in once you realize who you're looking at." Rhia bluffed, acting like a scientist finally testing out her hypothesis.

 

[Blood Briar]

"H-How dare you! You absolutely did that on purpose and I'm tired of the bullshit. You expect me to let you get away with that without saying anything? Nothing at all?!"​

Being unable to hear the woman anymore certainly had its perks. Perhaps some sort of permanent silence ensnaring her would be something to look into, she mused. Admittedly, that would end up being extremely difficult to have any sort of lasting effectiveness. Rhia's title as Great Mage was entirely warranted. She'd have much more luck just tying her up with rope than trying to ensorcel her.

With the annoyances of the day having already piled up well across this morning not-even-an-hour-yet (the Demon Lord made another groan), she went for the easy and imperious outfit she often wore for matters of state and the like. It wouldn't intimidate the human, of course, but she felt most ready for battle in it, and sparring later on sounded perfect for working out some of her present frustrations.

"Maybe I should join you in that bath. I bet the guilt of taking advantage of me is going to settle in once you realize who you're looking at."​

Lady Fier twitched at what her wife threw at her. She was rather fortunate that the barrier was on the opaque side of things, lest Rhia see her have any sort of blushing response. Living that down would be another great annoyance that she didn't want to deal with. Exhaling and smoothing down her emotions, then doing it again just to make sure, she dismissed the barrier and left the wardrobe, giving the mage a haughty look. "I didn't marry you for your looks." It was definitely a factual statement, though it would have been a complete lie to say she didn't find the mage cute. In that human sort of way that one might put in an enclosure to watch and feed with grass pel-oh, she was thinking of bunnies again. Rhia is more of a mouse, anyway, she mused, and then shook her head to dismiss. "Which should be proof enough that I didn't touch you while you slept." A snort punctuated the sentiment.

Walking toward the doors leading out of her chambers with clothes in hand, she offered an imperious raise of a brow. "I cannot technically stop you from baring yourself to me if you are so desperate for my attention."

With that, she left the bedroom and walked down the hall with intention, not making it any easier for the obnoxious human to follow her. Down a flight of stairs and along another hallway, and she pushed on the already-open double doors to where a large bath-room was situated. Inside were the three pale white demonesses in fine suits busying about the process of preparation. A walkway surrounded a large open section of water on three sides, with the fourth being the outer wall, which was thoroughly reinforced magical glass. It offered an incredible view of the surrounding countryside from this high up in Castle Baalgral, while also giving the eagle-eyed viewer the ability to see into any debauched activities happening near the window. The Demon Lord often stayed closer to the entrance for that reason, and there was a particularly lewd contingent of demons who sighed wistfully when she'd had the tentacle-summoning sigils permanently removed after disturbing her bathing for the last time.

Scented salts dropped into the water, towels fluffed and stacked, breakfast fruit, nuts and salted meat plattered, and bathing soaps and oils for hair. The trio of demonesses bowed to Lady Fier and then took their leave: "Enjoy your bath, my Lord." Waiting for the doors to close behind her, only then did Fieryxiine remove her night gown and set it on a reclining chair. While stairs were laid from the side into the water, forming breaks in the thin protruding edge of stone lining the walkway, she wasn't looking for a calm ingress -- she wanted to be in the hot water yesterday. Putting one foot onto the stone lip, she propelled herself forward into a shallow dive, landing well past the initial mid-depth section and into the deep half of the bath. Kicking her legs and sweeping her arms, she circled around in the depths for a few minutes before surfacing, feeling much better with the application of force of muscle. Releasing a deep exhale, she lazily pushed herself toward the bath's edge to rest against the side and just soak for a bit. Time away from her bratty wife would do her mood some good.

 

[song]

"I didn't marry you for your looks."​

While the Demon Lord knew that her head shake wasn't to communicate how unattractive she found her human wife, Rhia naturally took it in the worst possible light. there was no compelling reason to give Fier the benefit of the doubt. Not when the last time she did was how they even got in this sticky situation in the first place.

"Which should be proof enough that I didn't touch you while you slept."​

Ouch, she held back a wince to the Demon Lord's snort. Rhia wanted to send her off into a portal of purgatory. It was too bad that the rings would probably consider that intent to harm. Wait... why was she upset that she didn't actually get taken advantage of? This was all backwards and all she wanted to do was blame the Demon Lord.
"I cannot technically stop you from baring yourself to me if you are so desperate for my attention."

Technically was right. But being called desperate was not. "Maybe I should!" Rhia exclaimed. "I never had to force someone to marry me. S-So it's you that's the truly desperate one out of both of us." She almost wanted to let out a mocking laugh until she began to feel the fear that perhaps she'd be wrong. Would Rhia have been able to find someone without her relative 'usefulness'?

Stupid, tiny, human legs.

The Great Mage ran down, attempting to catch up to the demon. Were the stairs in the demon realm bigger or something? Rhia almost tripped over her feet once or twice, finding herself panting and sweating by the time she got to the bath. That had to be the most intense workout she had done since the Great War.

And there were no stamina potions in sight, either. Crap.

She huffed, nearly doubling over once she got to the large double-doors. Even if it took Rhia forever, Lady Fier had a strong magical presence that made her easily trackable. That was why they had ceased the war. Rhia had tailed her all across the tower, cornering her in the topmost level. It was only when the Demon Lord ran out of mana and was unable to move that they finally called a stalemate. The Great Mage was the only party member that was able see the Demon Lord's castle and live to tell the tale.

The rest of the party members had been knocked unconscious before they reached the mighty Fieryxiine. It was funny how Rhia was now to haunt the halls of the Demon Lord's castle at the end of it all.

Though... Rhia had only gone straight up. She had no idea what was around the common floor. While she was catching her breath, the pale demonesses gave her a friendly wave. Rhia coughed awkwardly before waving back. "W-Woah!" She made a shocked noise, realizing her clothing had been stripped from her and replaced by a towel meant to fit a human. It seemed like they were on their way from leaving anyway.

Wait... how did they know that she'd be here? Now that she thought about it, there was no bath in their attached bathroom. Was this... one of the only baths in Castle Baalgral?

Now that Rhia raised her head, she was greeted with beauty. Rhia rubbed her eyes under her glasses. The human would never think that demon landscapes could possess such beauty in peacetime. Though, she was also hit with a very familiar magical sense.

This place... it reeked of previous tentacle magic. The removal of the sigils was a poorly-done job to rid it's presence, the same way a tapestry would be used to cover a hole in the wall. Now that the human princess had thought about it, the last elected Demon Lord from centuries before had multiple notorious rumours spread about them that reached even the human realms.

So why would she suspect that Fieryxiine wasn't the same?

Rhia defiantly got into the tub, directly across from the entrance to face her wife. Her chest rose and fell as she watched the Demon Lord... relax. Was it... rude to stare? The blonde didn't know. She could barely even think with Lady Fier's body in full view. The water was clear enough that she was able to see where each of her skin markings started and stopped. It was a sight for sore eyes, but she wondered if Fieryxiine would feel the same.

The Great Mage's body was comparatively less impressive in her view. Her body could be described as soft. While she was shorter than most, she found herself showing the slightest bit of softness due to her relatively sedentary life. Most of the weight went to her thighs, hips, and chest, making her look deceptively curvy over all those robes.

And not to mention, whenever Rhia's skin saw the slightest bit of sun, they wanted to display that loud and clear with a light smattering of freckles along her face and chest. Were Rhia to turn around, the Demon Lord would be the first demon to see the sight of a pair of dimples on her back. The scent of the bath calmed her, seeming to remove most of the prudishness around her own exposed body. Or maybe it was the fact that the demon was just as uncomfortable being here as Rhia was.

There, face to face in the bath, Rhia felt small. Smaller than she ever had sharing a bed with the Demon Lord. The sheer sight of Fieryxiine's muscles reminded the Great Mage why they needed an entire party to bring her to her knees. Maybe this feeling was making her silent.

Her hands reached to remove her towel. She didn't know what had possessed her. Either it was the ambient historical lewdness that was emanating in the air or the fact that Rhia would most likely never leave the castle without Fieryxiine tailing her. Hells, she even kept her towel on at all times when she was sent to demon prison.

Though maybe a part of Rhia wanted to fluster the Demon Lord and thought she knew how. Perhaps it was the same side that wanted to mix two volatile chemicals together to see what explosive spell she could cast. Her hands cast a simple spell to carry some of the fruit over to her side, causing her to resort to writing the incantation in the water. The motion caused the scented bathwater to ripple.

Her mouth opened once several grapes and salted meats began to float in the air. Without a care in the world, she ate them all, catching her breakfast in the air. "What are you looking at? I haven't eaten yet, either." Rhia asked, wondering of a more borderline approach to annoyance would be more effective. Her breasts were in full view as she casted her spells. "Besides... You said didn't marry me for my looks, so this shouldn't bother you."

A bit of hurt seeped through her voice, as much as she hated it.

 

[Blood Briar]

With all that had transpired that morning, she could have easily spent an hour or two alone in the heated pool, letting the irked feelings seep out of her and into the water. Though she was deeply aspected toward fire, any and nearly all creature comforts called to her, and the weightless warmth of a hot bath was especially soothing. She found it more relaxing than massage, even, and its full body effects topped even magical intoxicants -- though those certainly had their place too, from time to time. Plus, while she'd not have readily admitted to it, swimming in the bath reminded her of days at the beach when she was young. There was something pleasantly nostalgic in it.

At the sound of the doors opening, Lady Fier began speaking before turning her head, "I don't need anything else right now, thank you-" then she spotted the mouse of a human standing there with just a towel covering her. Her eyes narrowed while she entered the water, her frustration returning. "Can you do naught but make of yourself a nuisance? An entire castle to roam and you chose to follow me at every turn? Who even enters a bath with a  towel o-"

Then her eyes widened and she turned away with a sudden blush in her cheeks. "Why are you in my bath? This is outrageous, even for you. Waltzing in naked and.. and... unrepentant!" The Demon Lord had begun making less sense as her speech went on, and all the command and suaveness had evaporated in the span of time proceeding her getting a glimpse of the Great Mage without any clothing. She'd seen the freckles on her face, but hadn't known they'd covered more of her body-

Huffing, she turned her back fully toward Rhia. She couldn't let her  win like this, even if it was difficult to look away from the soft human who better resembled a dessert than a great soldier on the battlefield. How had she even won with a body like that?! Nevermind that it had stirred some of her protective impulses as her mind once again compared her to a small, adorable mouse. She had help, of course. But how did that fact assist her now? This wasn't some clashing duel of blade and spell where she could trounce the Great Mage with physical prowess. And while she  could subdue her along certain lines of physicality, Rhia was currently naked! How could she touch her now???

It was like someone had reached into her mind and plucked forth her one (okay, one of many) weakness(es). Perhaps the most potent one of all, truly, that the Great Mage could wield against her.

Watching the food float past her was only more galling. That was  her breakfast, after all.

"What are you looking at? I haven't eaten yet, either. Besides... You said you didn't marry me for my looks, so this shouldn't bother you."​

" You are the one exposing yourself to  me. Why would my reasons for marrying you have any bearing on you being so flagrantly lewd?" While she could certainly continue to deny any act of wrongdoing on her part, it'd be absolutely ridiculous of her to deny that she was currently flustered.

Not that that would stop her.

Normally, she'd have plenty of creative ideas for how to turn the tables on the human, but she was currently distracted thinking of certain curves, leading her to snatch floating fruit and meat out of the air to stuff noisily into her mouth.

That would show her, surely.