Demon Queened Ch. 05

In the end, I spent an hour just prettying her up. When I was done, I gave her a little pat on the head and rose to my feet.

"You should be fine from here," I informed her, a little smile on my lips. "I know I must be crazy, letting you go like this, but I do hope you'll stop making issues for the townsfolk. It would be even better if you relocated, but I suppose that might be asking a bit much. I'll be quite cross, though, if I end up having to come back and deal with you."

The wolf didn't respond but merely stared at me. After a moment, I shrugged my shoulders and turned back toward the town. It was only a quarter-mile back, and then I could collect my potatoes. I'd have to hurry back home after that; it was already quite late, and I was starting to feel tired. Very tired, in fact. Just walking was taking a surprising amount out of me. Which made me all the more annoyed when I had to stop and turn around.

"Why are you following me?" I asked, placing hands on my hips glaring at the wolf. "If you're expecting me to feed you, or some such, I'm afraid you're barking up the wrong tree. I've got nothing on me but salt and shellfish, and I'm sure you know more about hunting than I ever will. You're in good enough shape to hunt, now, aren't you?"

The wolf didn't respond but simply stood in the center of the road. Her tail was wagging happily as if she were simply a pup excited to be getting attention. The blood-red horn on her head, however, reminded me that I was dealing with a wild monster. My impromptu healing session might have earned me some goodwill, but there was no telling if or when it would turn on me.

"I know you can't understand me, but I certainly hope you know better than to waltz into town," I sighed, turning away and starting again down the road. The wolf followed me for quite a while but stopped when we hit the edge of the forest. I half expected it to whimper when I kept walking, but it remained as silent as ever, just watching me go. I tried not to worry about the fact that it was now sitting in the center of the road. It would likely scatter once I was out of sight, in any case.

I picked up the lantern by the wall on my way back, lighting it with a spark of magic. I also reached into my purse, preemptively pulling out the pack leader's horn so that I wouldn't have to explain where I'd been storing it. As a final touch, I used a spell to turn my hair brown. I was getting very fatigued by that point, and my feet felt heavy as lead. Still, I forced myself to continue walking down the path. I knew at this point that I wouldn't be reaching the tower that night, but I still needed to return the lantern and maybe ask them to deduct a night at the inn from my reward.

When I reached the gate, I was surprised to see a figure waiting for me. My usually crystal clear vision had turned into something of a blurry mess in my exhaustion, but I recognized the purple hair.

"You came back," Lissera said, her voice confirming my suspicions. "Did you find the... Wait - in your hand - you really got them!?"

"Yes," I told her, forcing the word out. It was suddenly difficult to breathe. I wasn't sure what was wrong with me. "I... Inn.... Bed... Need..." I was gasping for breath, and my vision was starting to blur. It was all I could do to walk forward.

"Woah! You don't look so good," Lissera observed, moving forward and wrapping an arm around my waist. Without much choice, I leaned my shoulder against her.

"Need... Sleep..."

"Come on. My house is at the edge of town - much closer than the inn. Let's get you tucked in."

Alarm bells were ringing in my head at the suggestion. I knew it was a bad idea, though I couldn't say why. But we were already walking forward before I had the chance to protest, and forcing words out was so difficult. I wasn't even sure why it was a bad idea. A closer bed sounded like a beautiful thing to me. And then the door to her house was opening, and a moment later, I was stumbling into her room.

Her bed was stuffed with straw. It wasn't very soft, and it poked a little when I collapsed against it. The pillow wasn't much better. Despite that, I soon found myself closing my eyes.

There was something wrong with this, but I couldn't put my finger on it. It was getting so hard to breathe. My vision was going dark. But I couldn't fall asleep yet. I had to think. I had to figure out what was wrong.

But before I could, the darkness took me.

***

When I awoke, I couldn't remember where I was. The bed beneath me was scratchier than anything I'd felt in either of my lifetimes, and the pillow was just as bad. The blanket over me was woolen, which made it warm but very scratchy. When I peered around me, I could see that I was in a small room with shuttered windows. I could see a little light through them, which told me it was morning but did nothing to tell me where I had ended up. The last thing I remembered was trudging back toward the village. I'd been intent on getting a room at the inn. Had I succeeded?

Suddenly the doorknob rattled. I reached quickly for my magic, intent on turning my hand brown, but then froze. My hair was already a dark brown, the usual white nowhere to be found. What exactly had happened to me?

The door opened, and I was surprised to see Lissera on the other side. Then I remembered. She'd met me at the town's gate and led me inside. She'd taken me to her house, where I must have collapsed. Why had I collapsed? Had I really been that tired after only a single day's work? It was true that I'd never put much of an effort in, in this life, but that still seemed a little much.

"You're awake!" Lissera exclaimed, grinning in sharp contrast to my frowning face. "I was really worried for a little there... Our doctor called it the worst case of magic depletion she'd ever seen."

"Magic depletion?" I asked, shocked. I'd never run out of magic in my life up to that point. But then, I'd never spent an entire day flinging nonstop spells. Between flying for more than three hundred miles, while maintaining spells pretty much the entire way, and then everything I'd done on the beach, plus my flight back, my illusion in town, and everything that had followed - perhaps it wasn't surprising that I'd run out, after all. Actually, I was fairly impressed with myself for hanging in so long.

Still, Abigail hadn't outright collapsed when she ran out of magic. Was it because I'd tried to hold on too long? Or was it because of the difference in our species? I wasn't wholly mortal, so perhaps my body was more dependent on magical energies? Though the fact that a human could recognize it implied that it could happen to others, too.

"That's right," Lissera confirmed, oblivious to my deeper wonderings. "You were out for three days, too. I've never even heard of someone taking that long to recover their energy."

"Three days!?" I screamed, grabbing the blanket and pulling it off myself. I tried to stand, only to be hit by a rush of dizziness. My legs didn't feel weak, precisely, but it was apparent they hadn't been used for some time. And I was starving. How had I not realized that before? My stomach was crying out for food.

"Careful," Lissera told me, coming forward to prop me up. I leaned against her shoulder, thankful for the help. "I don't know how demon bodies work, but if you're anything like a human, you'll need to eat before we get you moving around."

"A..." I stared at her, my mouth opening and closing like a fish. "You...?" I couldn't get out the words.

"I saw the white hair, Eena," Lissera informed me, with a small frown. "White hair. There's only one being that looks human, except for her white hair. So far as I know, anyway. Your majesty."

"I-I'm not..." I started to lie, then trailed off as Lissera arched an eyebrow. "..Why did you help me, then? If you know?"

"You saved my town," Lissera reminded me, a small smile flitting across her face. "For potatoes. I don't care who or what you are - I can't think of you as evil after that."

"And... My hair?" I asked, glancing down at my dark brown tresses.

"Walnut dye. My whole family works with clothing, so I know a bit about dyes. I didn't know what to do when you collapsed, and I couldn't let the doctor see your white hair, so..." She trailed off, shrugging her shoulders.

"Thank you," I said, putting as much honest emotion into the words as I could. I couldn't know for sure how vulnerable I'd been, but if there'd ever been a chance to kill me, it had been then. She would have been a hero to her people, and the demon queen line would have come to an end. Instead, she'd shown me kindness I'd never expected and wasn't sure I deserved.

"You saved my town," Lissera reminded me, again. "I mean, you did save my town, right? You had that horn, and there haven't been any attacks since you went out there."

"I killed the wolves," I assured her, smiling faintly. "All but one of them, anyway, and if she causes trouble, I'll finish the job." It was the least I could do to thank the woman who'd saved me.

"Alright then. I'm going to go get you some food - you wait here, okay?" Lissera guided me back to the bed, settling me down. I nodded, relieved to be off my feet.

"Just wait right there," Lissera reiterated, heading toward the door. "Don't go anywhere!"

I nodded, unsure why she was being so insistent. It was a little suspicious, but I was reasonably sure she didn't mean me any harm after all that had happened. And it wasn't like I really had the energy to go anywhere, anyway. So I waited, in the dark room with its single shuttered window, sitting still on the bed.

She came back about ten minutes later, with a wooden bowl in her hands. It was full of porridge, and the sight of it brought a small smile to my lips. When she handed it to me, I immediately began to dig in. It was bland, without even a hint of sugar, but I still ate every bite.

"So?" Lissera pressed after I finished. "Are you feeling better?"

"Very much so," I confirmed, smiling and standing. My legs supported me much better this time, and I could feel energy flowing through my body. If a human slept for three days, I doubted they'd recover this quickly, but it seemed that I was made of sterner stuff.

"Good," Lissera said. She looked relieved. "Alright. The villagers all gathered as many potatoes as they could for your reward, so I've got them in the main room for you. You should take them and get out of here. Quickly."

"Is something the matter?" I asked, frowning once more. "Or do you simply want me out of the way now that you know what I am?"

"What? No," Lissera refuted, shaking her head rapidly back and forth. "It's not that. It's just... There's been a little bit of a complication?"

"A complication?" I parroted back, my frown deepening. "What sort of complication?"

"Well, remember how Monica and I were talking about Trevill? The one with the horse? Went to the city to get an adventurer?"

"Yes, I remember," I told her. "Is he back?"

"He's back," Lissera confirmed. "And he brought an adventurer with him. And when we told her that a single adventurer had taken on all twenty wolves - well... She decided she wanted to meet you. And she's been pestering me about when you'll be up to seeing visitors, ever since."

"I see. But I don't see what.... Wait. She? So Travill also brought back a single adventurer?" I asked. A single adventurer, coming to slay twenty wolves? That was fine for me, but hadn't Monica said something about this requiring an entire party?

"That's right," Lissera confirmed, nodding. "And I don't think you want her pressing into your backstory..."

"And... If I could ask this adventurer's name?" I asked, my mouth dry.

"Helllooooo?" called a voice from outside the bedroom. Lissera flinched instantly. "I knocked, and knocked, but nobody answered, so I just came inside! You're here, right, Lissera? How's your patient?"

A woman walked in, not waiting for a response. Just looking at her, you could tell she was an adventurer of some sort. She was wearing greeves that went up to her knees and a skirt made of leather straps with decorative gold studs. The armor that covered her upper body was somewhat form-fitting, hewing close to her stomach and sides. It didn't show boobs or cleavage, but it still made clear she had curves. She was wearing bracers, and her left hand was encased in a gauntlet, while her right hand was free. There was a large sword buckled to her left side.

She had red hair and orange eyes, and she smiled brightly when she saw me.

"You're awake! It's so great to meet you. I can't believe you really took out twenty wolves by yourself! You must be really strong. And I hear you're self-trained? And not even an adventurer, yet! But you're already taking on quests like twenty wolves, and you're doing it for literal potatoes - which is really nice, by the way. I was just going to turn down the reward, but I know people need to eat, and taking the reward in a way the village can pay is just brilliant!"

The woman paused, then laughed. "Sorry," she told me, "I'm babbling and babbling, and I haven't even told you my name." She held her hand out toward me, a grin on her lips.

"I'm Lucy. The heroine!"