A Kingdom for Slimes Ch. 02

Xera's part of the plan would take a lot of finesse. If she came across as too strong, the king and queen might send all their demon hunters after her at once and that would be a surefire way to ruin the entire operation. If, on the other hand, she appeared so subtly no one noticed her, that would put an end to their scheming, too. She would have to strike just the right balance of non-threatening and conspicuous.

After only a minute of flying, the gatehouse came into view. It was a squat building set like a bulge in the curtain wall. A few red flags flew from its parapets and the gate was complemented by an iron portcullis that was currently lowered, but other than that, there was nothing special to note about it. Xera landed lithely atop the building and stood at her full height, her sky-blue hair streaming like a pennant behind her. She had tossed the concealing robe aside during her flight, leaving her in her usual attire of a revealing one-piece leotard of black leather and dully gleaming metal, along with thigh-length black tights and armor plating up the front of her legs. Her arms were covered in sleeves of a similar make, and a metal choker adorned her slender neck.

"Oh my, how very alluring," purred Setsa from her invisible hiding place.

"Save the compliments for later," Xera replied under her breath. Then, turning her attention back to the castle spreading out below her, she shouted, "Quiver in fear, mortals! I, the demoness Xera, have come to claim your throne as my own!" She was prepared to leave it at that, but an unseen hand nudged her in the small of her back and urged her to finish the rehearsed line. Xera gave a little sigh, then bellowed out her best imitation of evil laughter. "This is degrading," she grumbled. "Everybody who heard that laugh is going to assume I'm more fool than threat."

"That's exactly the point," Setsa replied. "If they thought you were a serious threat right now, all the demon hunters in the kingdom would be out for your blood. You want them to underestimate you, remember?"

"This had better work then, for both our sake."

"Try adding some lines about how pathetic they are. The demon hunters usually like that."

Xera shook her head. "What a bunch of sorry masochists." Then, turning back to the castle at large, she shouted, "Send your best knight or demon hunter, I dare you! You mortals are all the same pathetic little bugs to me!"

Xera felt invisible hands start to knead her shoulders from behind. "Good, good," Setsa cooed. "Keep this up and you'll have me to 'fight', too."

"I have bigger issues to tackle right now, Setsa. Where do you think I should meet their chosen champion?"

"It's best to make sure it's somewhere you'll have the advantage. How about that bed chamber you summoned me into? I could feel a lot of residual magic in the air. That should weaken any rituals they might try to use against you, at least a little bit."

"True, but that's also the prince's bed chamber. Former prince, anyway. Now she's a slime off playing with her favorite knight somewhere. I think the demon hunters might be incensed when they learn what I did."

"That will make your job even easier, Xera. Humans don't think right when they're angry."

Xera had to agree with her friend on that point, at least. She had never known a human to be both rational and enraged at the same time. "I should probably tell them where I'll be then, shouldn't I?"

"I would if I were you. They might keep you waiting for days otherwise."

Beneath the gatehouse, a solitary guard was making his way from the barracks to the main hall. He jumped and scurried away as Xera shouted, "If any of you bugs want to try and stop me, I'll be in the prince's bed chamber! I'll be waiting for you!"

"We'd better not take too long getting back. That guard probably ran straight to the demon hunters to let them know about your challenge."

As the two flew back to the balcony, Xera's mind began to turn over the events of that morning. Something wasn't right about her proclamation. There should have been a bigger commotion than a single guard running off for help. No horns were sounded, no challenges shouted back. No one even yelled her for waking them up in the morning. While Setsa clearly thought the whole event had gone according to plan, she couldn't help but think something was being planned that she didn't know about.

"Hey, Setsa," she said after a moment. "Do you think maybe we're walking into a trap here?"

"What do you mean?"

"This seems too easy so far. There should have been more resistance from the castle when I was shouting at everyone."

Setsa sighed. "If it will make you feel better, dear, I'll circle the tower a few times while you go in. If anyone's going to ambush you, I'll see them and warn you before they have a chance to strike."

"That would make me feel better, thank you."

The disembodied voice of Setsa vanished, indicating the demoness had gone off on her lookout duty. Xera flew the remaining distance to the balcony and with a loud flapping of her wings, alighted upon the railing.

"Maybe I'm just being a worrywart," she said to herself as she pushed open the double doors and stepped into the bed chamber. Something was different, though. The air was crackling with magic, but not the residual energies from the fun she'd had last night. This energy was different and much more uncomfortable.

Xera looked down and noticed the chalk circle drawn directly in front of the doors she had just stepped through as a female voice said from somewhere out of sight, "Sounds like I caught myself a demon. For all your talk, you weren't that tough now, were you?"

The woman stepped slowly, almost casually, out from behind the privacy screen she'd been using as cover. Xera scowled as she immediately recognized the human's uniform. She was short and slim, the shin-length white overcoat draped over her slight frame. Her black hair was tied back in a stern bun and topped with a black-banded white beret, the badge clipped to the front indicating she was employed by the royal family. A pair of delicate spectacles framed her face and her hands were covered by sturdy white gloves.

If she wasn't trying to kill her, Xera might have found her cute.

"So you're the demon who was shouting from the gatehouse roof a minute ago? I'll admit, I thought you'd be a bit wilier with all that boasting you were doing."

Xera's scowl deepened. Even her accent was cute.

The demon hunter started to pace around the perimeter of the chalk circle, her feet lightly traveling along the edge of the intricately drawn runes and geometric symbols that elevated mere chalk to a form of powerful containment magic. "That's one of the biggest flaws of your kind, you realize. You all think so highly of yourselves and forget to consider the fact that humans are every bit as capable as you are. You fly to the top of the gatehouse and loudly proclaim your plan to overthrow the king and then don't even stop to consider that the same king you were just threatening would send an operative out to deal with you."

"I had thought of that." Xera would have said more, but she was busy watching the hypnotic swaying of the demon hunter's coat. Beneath the voluminous material was the impression of delightful curves. The fabric hid all that from view for the most part, but Xera could tell there was something to be seen.

The demon hunter stopped her pacing and turned to face Xera, one eyebrow lifted in mock interest. "Truly? Then why did you tell all the world you would be in this very room? You don't mean to say this is all an elaborate trap, do you?"

Xera had to stop herself from telling the woman about how Setsa was still out there. As far as the humans knew, there was only one demoness on the loose to deal with at the moment and as long as they continued to believe that, Setsa would have the element of surprise on her side. "Yes, it is a trap," she said, trying to sound as cocky as she could. "If you think these stupid scribblings will keep me in place, you're sorely mistaken."

"Oh really, now?" the demon hunter replied with a laugh. "Let's see you get out then. Go on, I won't stop you. Have at it."

Xera knew she had talked herself into a compromising position. If she refused, she would look like a coward for not trying to escape. And yet, if she didn't refuse, she would look like a fool for thinking she could in the first place. Just by standing in the circle's center, she could feel its caustic energies binding her in place. There was no way she would be able to break free without outside help.

Sensing the demoness' predicament, the demon hunter grinned cockily. "Just as I thought. A creature used to hiding in shadows couldn't possibly break through my magic. You're all talk, aren't you? Even that monologue you gave from the gatehouse roof was empty bravado."

"When I get out of here, I'm going to do so many things to you, it will make your head spin," Xera growled through clenched teeth.

"I look forward to seeing you try."

"What are you planning to do with me now that you've caught me, anyway? You don't look like you have the guts to kill me outright."

"My orders were simply to capture you. Now that I've done that, my reinforcements should be arriving within the half-hour to apprehend you and take you to stand trial before the king and queen. The royal family of this kingdom is merciful, even to scum like you. I assure you you'll be given a fair trial before your execution."

"The way you're talking doesn't make it sound very fair at all." Even with all this talk of being executed, Xera couldn't help but notice the way the demon hunter's coat parted ever so slightly in the front, revealing a soft black tunic, its v-shaped neckline crisscrossed with lace and suggesting a delightfully round set of breasts.

The demon hunter shrugged, which only had the effect of emphasizing the impression of cleavage beneath her coat. "You're a demon who was threatening a coup on our royal family. I said the king and queen are merciful, but you have to be realistic here. If we let you free after all that, what example would that set for any other enterprising demons?"

"I suppose that does make sense," Xera said with a sigh. In all honesty, she would probably do the same thing in their place. Which was a position she certainly intended to fill, so long as Setsa hurried up and realized she had been trapped. "But even still, there's one thing you're forgetting."

"Oh? And what might that be?" The demon hunter's self-assured grin wavered as the air in the bed chamber began to swirl with fitful gusts and the scent of burnt paper. "What's going on?" she asked as her coat and hat started to become too big for her.

Xera only smiled. Setsa had come though, after all.

"I'm sorry I took so long to get here," Setsa said as she stepped casually over to the pile of clothing where the demon hunter had once stood, a bottle tied with a silver chain and stoppered with a large cork in one hand. After digging through the mound of fabric for a moment, she gave a small exclamation of success and straightened up holding the demon hunter firmly in her free hand. "She seemed pretty cute, so I didn't want to waste that by turning her into a frog or something."

The demon hunter tried her best to shield her naked form from the giggling demonesses, but the glass bottle offered her no hiding places. "You'll pay for this insolence," she shouted. Her voice came out as a muffled squeak, however, effectively nullifying any intimidation she might have otherwise been able to leverage.

Setsa erased a sliver of the chalk circle with the toe of her boot and the binding magic dispersed at once. "Here, consider this an apology present," Setsa said, handing her the bottle.

"Apology accepted. Just make sure you don't take so long coming to my aid next time. If this little cutie hadn't been so intent on gloating over my capture, she might have actually been able to do some lasting harm in the time it took you to get here."

"But you weren't harmed."

"Yes, but I could have been."

With a swish of her thick tail, Setsa dismissed the argument. "So now that we've trapped ourselves a new pet, what do you say to starting our fun in earnest? I happen to have overheard some servants talking about how the whole staff was needed to help prepare the catering for a celebration this evening. That means most of the servants will all be in one place."

Xera's look of mild annoyance was quickly replaced by a mischievous grin. "How lucky for us, then. Are you feeling up to some mass transmutation?"

"Only if you are, Xera."

The shrunken demon hunter squeaked something at the two and banged her tiny fists against the glass bottle, but her protests were ignored. There were more important matters to attend to. The two demonesses shared a nod and stepped out of the bedchamber, this time using the interior door rather than the balcony. While Xera was certain nobody would contest her if she decided to fly circles around the castle, she didn't want to be too confident. That was what had gotten her into trouble with the demon hunter, after all.

As the two leisurely made their way down the curving stone staircase, a thought popped into Xera's head. "What exactly do we plan to do with the king and queen once we're done incapacitating all their servants?" she asked.

Setsa shrugged. "I figured you'd want to turn them into pets or something. I know how you love your slime girls."

"You aren't wrong there. But I'm not sure that would work for them. If what we've been hearing is true, the rulers of this kingdom have hearts made of sterner stuff than your average human. I wouldn't want to give them a body that could oppose my rule."

"How insightful of you. Perhaps you could shrink them into tiny slimes?"

Xera frowned thoughtfully. "Maybe, but I don't know if that would help diminish their fighting spirit much. You know how strong-hearted mortals can be."

"Well, I'm sure whatever you come up with will be wonderful. For now, we have some servants to play with."

The demon hunter banged on the bottle again. Xera looked down at her side, where she had tied the bottle's chain like a decorative belt, and sighed. "I think the bug wants our attention."

"You should give her a name," Setsa said, grinning. "She is a pet, after all. What good is a pet without a proper name?"

"How about Bug?"

The demon hunter squeaked furiously in protest.

"I don't think she likes that name," Setsa remarked. "How about another?"

Xera walked in thoughtful silence for a few heartbeats before responding. "Okay, then I'll call her Dolly, because that's how big she is now."

Setsa clapped her hands together in excitement. "Oh, I love it! Dolly's such a cute name."

The newly renamed demon hunter slid into a slump inside her glass prison at Xera's hip.

"I just had a thought," Setsa said after another moment of silence had passed. "Why don't we split up? I'll take care of the guards and you can have your fun with the servants. That way, no one will be able to come to the royal family's aid once we finally get to them."

"Do you think they've fled the castle by now?" Xera asked.

Setsa shook her horned head. "I doubt that they would run away and leave their subjects to face us alone. Not if they're half as kindhearted as you've said they are."

The two demonesses had reached the end of the spiral stairs as they talked. The arched door before them opened on the courtyard. The two paused in the threshold and regarded each other.

"Are you sure?" Xera asked. "Your plan makes sense, but I would miss having you as backup."

"Oh, you're just so cute!" Setsa exclaimed, pulling the other demoness into a tight hug that squished their breasts in a way that would give Dolly a wonderful view if she had the mind to look up. The two stayed in their embrace, but eventually Setsa moved away. "You be careful, okay? They're only servants, but they can be a tricky lot."

Xera turned as she left to flash Setsa a bright, self-assured grin. "You know me. I'll be fine and done in no time."

When Xera found the servants, they were all hard at work preparing the night's feast in the kitchen. The large, rectangular room was in a state of barely-controlled chaos. Servers were rushing with silver platters from counter to door and back again, chefs were wrestling with mounds of dough and vats of fresh jam, the head chef was barking orders as loud as he could over the din of clattering cutlery and rushing feet.

The demoness slipped in like a waft of cool air through an open window overlooking the gnarled trunks of an apple orchard. A minor illusion made her appear to the servants as nothing more than a curious pigeon come to see what all the heavy aromas were. If a servant wasn't so busy they couldn't even be bothered to spare her a second glance, they would have noticed the pigeon's proportions were significantly off and the coloration was a striking sky-blue, but Xera trusted no one would pay her any mind.

From her perch on the window sill, Xera watched the bustling servants and planned her angle of attack. If she transformed one of the servants closest to her first, the rest would be likely to run off before she could get to them. She would need to figure out a way to transform all of them at once.

After a time, the solution to her predicament presented itself. Two maids were standing by the kitchen's exit and gossiping in hushed tones with one another. Grinning to herself, Xera slid off the windowsill and into the kitchen, her disguise shifting into the shape of a mouse as she did so.

Navigating the kitchen floor without running into one of the servants was a harder task than she had been expecting. With each step, she had to twist and turn her body to avoid touching any of the servants and the supplies they were quickly transporting in and out of the kitchen. Before long, though, she reached the door and the gossiping maids. There was no more time to be wasting on planning. Xera allowed her illusion to drop and put all of her magical energy into the incantation she hastily spoke over the two.

The maids looked at each other in confusion, then turned to Xera. As they locked gazes with the demoness, their eyes widened in shock. "It's the demon!" one shouted, her voice already bubbling like swampy water.

"W-What's happening to us?" the second maid asked. Thin lines of smoke were rising from her black and white dress as the fabric was eaten away by her newly-acidic body. Her skin was turning a translucent green even as her friend was becoming a pale pink.

Xera laughed and moved away from the slime girls. "It's time to improve the looks of the rest of you lot," she said to the kitchen at large. "Who's next? Any volunteers?"

In response, the rest of the servants bolted for the door in a panic. The first wave to reach the door suddenly stopped in their tracks as they found themselves stuck in the slime girls' gooey bodies. The only door into the deeper parts of the castle now blocked, some servants turned to make a run for the path leading out to the orchard.

Xera was one step ahead of them. A wave of magical energy set the air to crackling with cold blue light as the forerunners melted into themselves and became brightly-colored slimes like the two maids had. The momentum of the escaping servants carried them directly into the sticky bodies of their friends, trapping them as their own transformations took place.

The shouts of terror that had filled the room at Xera's appearance slowly but inevitably started to change. First there was isolated giggling from the newly-transformed slimes as they discovered the pleasure of organic material within their bodies. This giggling was joined by gasps of surprise and pleasure as the as-yet untransformed individuals discovered that the slimes possessed a rather special property that made the human body tingle with lust at their touch. The kitchen started to fill with white smoke as more and more servants became quivering slime girls. First the clothing was dissolved, then the food that had been meant for the feast that night. Soon, there was nothing left in the kitchen but happy slimes and a few very confused mice.