A Kingdom for Slimes Ch. 03

"That's one melodramatic demon you summoned, Stathis."

"Yes, well, I didn't pick her specifically."

"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!"

At that, Elaine's face dropped into a concerned frown. "We'd better get going, then. Being caught by the captain would be one thing, but there would be no saving you from the demon hunters. Come on, help me find a jar."

The two moved away from the window and began to scour the room for a jar to hide the former prince in. While there was plenty of mess cluttering the corners and desk surface, nothing seemed to be of the right size to fit all of Stathis into. The seconds turned to minutes and Elaine grew more and more flustered with their passing. The royal demon hunters outranked even her. If they found her with the slime, there would be no time to explain her situation.

"I found something!" Stathis announced at last. Elaine turned to see her holding aloft a large glass jar. "I had taken this from the kitchen the day before my transformation."

"I don't care where it came from. Just get in," Elaine said. Far below, she heard the sound of the door opening and heavy boots hitting the stone steps at a jog. "Hurry, we don't have much time!"

"I'm going as fast as I can," Stathis protested. She was halfway in the jar, but the going was slow. Elaine kept glancing over her shoulder, expecting to see the door burst open any second.

"Faster, faster, faster," she muttered under her breath, gripping the jar tightly with both hands as Stathis slithered her way in.

Just as the last of Stathis was disappearing into the jar, the door opened to admit seven demon hunters. "Oh!" Elaine exclaimed, jumping up without bothering to put the lid back on the jar. "Did you hear the demon's challenge, too?"

The woman at the front of the group glared at Elaine. 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. "We did hear the demon's challenge," she said. "And we also heard some other interesting rumors on our way here."

"Oh really? What kind of rumors?" Elaine thought she was doing a good job of keeping the panic out of her voice, although internally, she was cursing at the squire with everything she had. The little sneak wouldn't have betrayed her, would she?

The head of the demon hunters strode forward and stooped to wipe something off the floor. "Someone told us they had seen signs of a slime infestation in this tower," she said, holding her hand out to show the knight the splotch of pink goo on her fingertip.

The knight started to edge around the group of stony-faced warriors. This situation was quickly going from bad to worse and all she could think of was the need to smuggle Stathis to safety. "O-Oh, really? That must be the demon's fault."

Two of the largest demon hunters intercepted Elaine, each seizing an arm. Their leader stepped close enough for the knight to smell the scent of mint leaves on her breath. "You have been acting very suspicious, Elaine. We're going to have to imprison you until we've sorted this out. Once I've banished the demon, I will be down to question you."

One of the demon hunters not currently man-handling Elaine crouched in the center of the room and began to draw the outline of a chalk circle on the floorboards.

"Wait, I can help!" Elaine pleaded, but her words fell on uncaring ears. As she was hustled out the door, the last thing she saw was the leader of the demon hunters smirking over her shoulder at her.

The prison wasn't terrible, not in the way some castle dungeons were. There was a narrow cot in one corner and a barred window just beyond reach set into one wall. The floor was bare stone, as were the walls and ceiling, and the door leading out of the cell was made of reinforced wood. A few cobwebs in the corners were the only thing that could pass as decoration, but Elaine supposed she should have expected that. It was a prison, after all.

"Well, now we've done it," Elaine said glumly. She had taken a seat on the edge of the cot, the jar full of Stathis by her side. "They're going to kill you and expel me from the knighthood. That's if we get lucky."

Stathis lifted her head out of the jar. Elaine had to hold back a laugh at the ridiculous sight. "It could be worse. They could have just killed us right there in the tower."

"True, but how are we going to get out of this? I've toured the prison enough times to know that the two of us aren't escaping."

"I could probably squeeze my way out," Stathis said.

"But then you'd be caught before you could leave the castle. I'm sure security is tighter than it's ever been right now."

Stathis sighed, the sound reminding Elaine of rushing water. "Then I guess we're trapped here."

The sound of confused shouts drew Elaine's attention toward the window. "Something's going on out there," she said.

"What is it? Can you see?"

Elaine got up and stood on the cot, but even then, she was too short to see through the window. "I can't see, but there's definitely something happening." From the window, flashes of deep cerulean light dyed the walls of the cell. The sound of shouting soldiers soon became intermixed with a woman giggling and panicked squeaks.

"That doesn't sound like Xera," Stathis said doubtfully. "Oh, I know! Lift up the jar. I'll be able to see out the window for you."

"Oh, right, why didn't I think of that?"

Once at the window, Stathis leaned forward to get a better view. "There's a second demon!" she exclaimed. "She's... She's doing something to the soldiers!"

"Is she fighting them?"

"...Not exactly. She's turning them into something, like what Xera did to me. She's turning them into more slimes!"

"More slimes? I'll never understand these demons."

"Hey, slimes are cute. Just look at me."

"You look like raspberry jam."

Stathis nodded cheerfully. "And I taste twice as sweet! Hold on, something else is happening. The demon's leading the slimes toward the throne room."

"So this was all a ploy to steal the throne? And here we are, unable to stop them."

"I don't think it will be so bad. If they didn't kill the soldiers, they won't kill my parents either. They'll probably just turn them into something fun."

"I think your brain's turned to jelly."

Stathis giggled. "That it has, Elaine."

After the last of the slimes had disappeared into the throne room, Elaine sat back on the cot. There was nothing to do now but wait and hope someone came to let her out of the cell. She had no way of knowing what fate had befallen the demon hunters, but if there were more than just Xera running loose, she couldn't imagine they had met a good end.

The sun was beginning to set when the sound of feet echoing down the hall drew Elaine out of a nap she hadn't realized she'd been taking. She tried to jump out of the cot but found herself unable to move more than a few inches. Looking down, she realized with a rush of embarrassment that the former prince was sleeping on top of her, gluing her to the cot's surface. Stathis' massive breasts jiggled faintly with each exhalation, squishing against the knight's own.

"Hello?" a voice called. "Is anyone in here?"

"I-I am!" Elaine shouted. "Please, let me out of here!"

The feet stopped, then hurried toward the door to Elaine's cell. There was a moment of jangling keys, then a loud click as the lock was turned out of place. The woman on the other side of the door was a demon, but not Xera. Her skin was dark blue and her tail was thicker than Elaine remembered the original demoness' being. She was clad in more jewelry and fine silks than she had ever seen a person wear at one time. "Oh, there you two are!" she exclaimed. "You must be the knight and her adorable slime companion. The queen was looking for you."

"I take it this isn't the queen I was serving."

The new demoness nodded and smiled. Strangely, there didn't seem to be any guile or malice in the smile. That fact made Elaine all the more aware of the fact there was still a sleeping slime atop her.

"Then who might you be?" the knight asked.

"My name is Setsa. I'm a friend of the new queen. If you two could follow me, I'll lead you to the throne room. Xera would love to see you."

"...I would, but I'm a bit stuck..."

"Oh, that's no problem. I'll help you." Before Elaine could say her help wouldn't be necessary, Setsa reached through Stathis and grabbed the knight's wrists. The demoness grunted and tugged and finally, Elaine was free.

She shook some of the slime off her limbs and looked from the open door to Setsa. "And what if I refuse?"

"Then I get to turn you into a slime, too!"

"Fair enough. Lead the way, then."

The throne room was exactly as Elaine remembered it, except for the addition of multi-colored slimes milling about aimlessly. She noted that most of the slimes had decidedly feminine forms. At the far end of the room was the throne. Lounging atop the velvet cushions was the cerulean skinned-demoness known as Xera. The former king's crown was sitting atop her horned head and one hand was toying with a wizard's staff.

"Ah, there you two are," Xera said upon seeing Elaine and Stathis enter.

Stathis waved to the new monarch. "Good afternoon, Xera."

"It's nice to see you again, Stathis. I trust your knight has been keeping you safe?"

The former prince nodded cheerfully.

"Good. In that case, Ms. Knight, I have a proposition for you. You can swear fealty to me and serve as my knight, or you can be turned into a slime and cast out to live in the swamp."

"Your friend already threatened to turn me into a slime today. I think I'll choose the option that lets me keep my own body."

"Excellent. Then you may approach the throne and kiss my feet as a sign of your loyalty. After that, you're free to go have fun with your cute friend."

Elaine sighed but didn't resist. These two had defeated the entire castle alone. There was no way she could oppose them. Not now, anyway. But if she was trusted and allowed to stay, she might find a way to stop whatever it was they were planning. Getting onto her hands and knees, she placed a light kiss on the demoness' bare toes.

"And with that, my dear, you seal yourself to me. Please rise and accept your new title: Champion of the Endless Mire!"

"Endless Mire?"

Xera waved a hand dismissively. "That's what I'm renaming this kingdom once I'm done with a little project I have in mind. Setsa will fill you in on the details later. For now, I need to have some time alone if you don't mind." The demoness clapped her hands and two slimes started to slither happily forward, toward her on the throne.

Elaine didn't need to stick around for that debauchery. "Come on, Stathis," she said. "We can rest for today." Indeed, she needed a long rest after the day's events. As she left the throne, the sounds of tickled pleasure drifting behind her, she thought she might need many days' worth of rest for some time to come.