Demon Queened Ch. 11

"Eena!"

I recognized that voice. I spun away from Lissera's house to see Lissera herself, bent over and clutching at her thighs, breathing heavily. She held up a finger, then dropped her hand back to her leg again. I waited patiently as she caught her breath, then closed her eyes, stood up straight, and appeared to settle herself.

Then she glared at me.

"Why didn't you stop?!"

"I don't suppose we could discuss this inside?" I requested, glancing meaningfully around us. Up until that point most people had only smiled and waved at me in passing, but with Lissera stopping me in front of her house to shout at me several of them had actually paused to gawk.

Lissera, noticing the direction of my gaze, opened her mouth into a small "O" of surprise. "Huh... Never took you for the shy type. It's cute, though."

"I am not shy," I grumbled, crossing my arms defensively. "I simply don't think it's a good idea for me to attract attention. I thought you, of all people, would understand that." I lowered my voice to a whisper for that last part. It was possible someone could overhear me, with magic, but that was precisely why I kept my words vague.

"I think it's a little late for that... But if you really want to escape your fans, then come on in." She grabbed ahold of my arm and led me into her home.

It was small inside, just as I remembered. The house was comprised largely of a bedroom, which was mostly filled by a double-sized bed. Still, it felt much more spacious than it had when I'd been trapped in the room with Lucy. It was a bit hard to see her as a threat, now that I'd gotten used to her, but coming face to face with the Heroine for the first time really hadn't been great for my heart.

"So what can I do for you, Eena?" Lissera asked, smiling brightly. "I mean, if you just want your potatoes, you should see the Village Head."

"The Village Head?" I asked, tilting my head to one side. I hadn't come across anyone with that title during my last visit.

"She was laid up in bed last time you visited," Lissera explained. "She's pretty old and doesn't leave her house much. But she wanted to thank you in person anyway."

"Perhaps another time," I told her, shaking my head. I wanted to build good relations with this town, but meeting with the leadership of a village seemed a serious step. I'd want to be properly prepared - and properly dressed, too. I was wearing more than usual, in a vague attempt to mimic human modesty, but it was still a far cry from their formal wear. Not that I was entirely certain what humans wore when meeting those in power, but I somehow doubted that they'd go with a backless green top or a skirt that barely brushed their knees.

"I'm not here for potatoes, in any case."

"You're not?" Lissera ran a hand through her hair, looking at me almost nervously. "Then what are you here for? We're just a farming village, you know. We don't exactly have a lot to offer a literal queen."

"You'd be surprised," I muttered back. I didn't wish to discuss the state of the demon tower with a human, no matter how friendly she might be, but the truth was that we were lacking in certain key resources, such as salt and other minerals. While we weren't entirely without luxury goods, especially in the upper echelons, there were certain things one simply couldn't get at a moment's notice. Especially not if they were trying to avoid attracting undue attention.

"I require hair dye. Preferably of the same shade you used when last I was here. I... Do not have any human currency as of yet, but if you can accept a gem in trade, or if you're willing to let me pay you back down the line, I would very much appreciate it. It would be even better if you could teach me how to make my own, but I'm aware that might be asking a bit much."

"It was just walnut dye, Eena. It's pretty easy to make - you break up some walnuts, boil them in water, simmer them for about an hour, and then let the liquid cool overnight. I'll borrow some of my mom's supply, again - she always makes way too much of it, anyway."

"That would be appreciated," I told Lissera, allowing my shoulders to slump a little as a tension I didn't even realize I was holding left me. "And as for your preferred method of payment?"

"Geeze, don't worry about that! Like I said last time, Eena, you're the hero who saved my town. Helping you not get mobbed while traveling human lands is the least I can do. Even if I am sort of nervous about what you might be doing away from the demon tower..."

"Nothing nefarious, I assure you. Not that I expect you to take me at my word alone."

"No. I trust you. Or rather, I'm choosing to trust you? I mean, you could have turned us all into demons or had monsters devour us whole, but instead, you put yourself at risk to save our town! And I'm... I'm still sorting out what that really means, to be honest? But I want to believe you aren't as bad as Mother Reliz says you are."

I was silent for a long moment, not quite certain what to say. Lissera was trying to believe in me. She was fighting against what she had been told her entire life, on the basis of a single good deed. But to think that we would still be this far away from properly understanding each other...

"There's a lot I want to say to that, but I suppose I should start by thanking you for your trust. You will have to decide for yourself what sort of person I am, but for now, I hope I can leave the matter of walnut dye in your capable hands?"

"Of course! Just wait here. I'll tell everyone you only have time to stop by for a quick visit - maybe make up some excuse about you having to meet the Heroine. Someone started a rumor that you joined her party? So maybe they'll believe that..."

"I am meeting Lucy, actually, though I wouldn't go so far as to say I've joined her party. I have no intention of charging into Dimona Tower at her side, in any case."

Lissera, who had been reaching for the doorknob, suddenly froze in her tracks and turned back toward me, her motions so stiff I could practically hear her creak. "You're... Meeting up with the Heroine again?...You call the Heroine... Lucy?"

"It is her name. I'm fairly certain she'd prefer more people use it."

"B-But she's the Heroine!" Lissera protested, voice rising several octaves. "She was chosen by the goddess to... To... Well..."

"Kill me?" I finished for her, frustration leaking into my gaze.

Lissera's gaze dropped to the ground, and a conflicted expression crossed her features. Her mouth opened, only to shut again, her lips pressed tightly closed as if she were trying to keep the words from leaving her throat.

"I... I'm going to go get the walnut dye," she said at last, turning back toward the door and hurrying outside.

I watched Lissera leave, sighing when the door closed behind her. It was becoming clear to me that I'd been too optimistic about her. She had helped me; considering I was unconscious for three days, with the Heroine present, one could even go so far as to say that she had saved my life. As weak as Lucy currently was compared to me, I couldn't say I'd have come out unscathed if she'd had access to my unmoving body. I wanted to pay Lissera back for that someday.

But to her, I was the Demon Queen, the bringer of doom upon her world. I could tell she was trying hard not to see me that way, but it was always there in the back of her mind. She was scared of me and worried about what I might be planning. In the worst case, she might decide that I was a threat to humanity's precious Heroine and opt to turn me into the Village Head.

"Perhaps it would be best if I just left," I muttered to myself, staring at the door. To be fair, it wasn't as if I were in any danger. Even if the whole town came after me, I could simply fly into the sky where they wouldn't be able to follow. Even if I waded out among the hypothetical mob, I rather doubted any of them had the strength to actually injure me.

But I didn't want to witness it. I didn't want to see the happy faces of these townsfolk twisted in hatred and fear. I could already imagine the panic as they ran away from me, pointing up at the black-winged figure who had come to savage their livestock and corrupt their souls. So what if I had saved them? I was only a few days earlier than the Heroine, and being rescued by her might have put them on the map again. What had I really done for them, in the end? Merely killed some wolves. That couldn't possibly be enough to overturn a lifetime of the church's propaganda, let alone millennia of bitter feuding. I knew how to make the walnut dye. It was best that I simply left before anyone noticed.

I took a hesitant step toward the door. I doubted I would ever have the courage to visit Derrin Village again, and yet I still hoped that the townsfolk would remember me fondly. To that end, I would have to deal with the crowd during my exit just as I had during my entrance. Word would probably spread quickly that I was leaving. Perhaps Lissera would hear about it before she even reached the Village Head? That would be best.

I was perhaps a foot away from the door when I heard a high-pitched squeak, coming from the direction of the kitchen. It was a small noise, but in the silence of the house it sounded as loud as thunder.

My head snapped to the side, and my hands clenched themselves into trembling fists. That sound. I knew that sound. There was no way I could ever forget what that creature sounded like, nor would I ever mistake it for one of its harmless cousins. And sure enough, when I turned my gaze to the floor, there it was. A rather large specimen, measuring perhaps a foot in length, with another eleven inches of naked tail stretching out behind it. It had dirty brown fur and little pink feet that looked like creepy little hands. It stared at me with its beady black eyes, and despite my best efforts, I could not tear my gaze from it. I was terrified that it would dart off to who knows where the moment I turned away.

I do not know how long we stared at each other, caught in that awful stalemate. It made the first move though, and in so doing made its first mistake. The moment it turned away from me, I held out a hand and blasted electricity from my palm toward the horrid thing. Literally traveling as fast as lightning, it should have been impossible for the creature to dodge. Perhaps the shaking in my hand was what caused my aim to be off, for I only succeeded in scorching the woven rushes that were laid upon Lissera's floor.

The detestable thing stiffened in response to my attack. It didn't move, didn't blink, didn't even breathe. I had more than enough time for another shot, but my hand wouldn't stop trembling. If I was careless I could light Lissera's house on fire. Not the goodbye gift I wanted to leave her.

I forced myself to calm down and think. Rationally, I didn't need to kill it. I was fleeing this house anyway, so it would be enough to merely remove it from my field of vision. Then I could work on regaining composure and bleaching the sight of it from my brain. I was sure there was a way to drive it off, but the icy terror gripping my heart was making it rather difficult to think. Perhaps I should simply use less flammable attacks? I had been hoping to reduce it to an unrecognizable lump of ash. But if I couldn't vaporize it then I'd settle for making it very obviously dead.

Not taking my eyes off the foul beast, I cast my magic down toward the earth beneath my feet. Not wanting the creature to sense my spell, I moved the energy underground until it was right below the thing. Then I pulled my magic upward, manipulating the earth to drive a spike into my foe.

Somehow, though, that crafty creature sensed the danger and jumped to the side at the last second! What's more, the attack seemed to jolt it out of its fear, and it began to scurry. Not away, as I had hoped, but straight toward me! My entire body trembled, my legs barely capable of holding me upright. I shot blast after blast of compressed air after the beast, but my attacks were wild and succeeded in nothing but tearing up the rushes underfoot. The beast scampered closer and closer, and yet still my attacks wouldn't connect, until finally, it was running past my foot, its pink tail striking my ankle.

The world started to go black. A high pitch scream tore itself from my throat as my legs collapsed, and I fell to my knees. I was dimly aware that I had destroyed the rushes by my feet, meaning that I was now kneeling in dirt. I would need to wash up at the earliest opportunity, though that was a given, considering what had just touched me. The mere thought caused me to wail, as hot tears began to slip from my eyes.

***

"Eena?" A familiar voice called out from above me. My eyes slowly opened to stare at the tiled ceiling. I realized with a start that I was lying on the floor, bits of plant matter plastered against my face and hair. I vaguely remembered curling up to try and stop the sobbing before Lissera returned. I must have passed out from there. "Eena, are you okay? What happened? The floor's an absolute mess!"

"The beast," I whispered, looking up at Lissera. "Did you see what happened to it?"

"You mean that giant rat? It squeezed under a crack in the door right before I got here. Is that what has you on the floor?"

"Don't say its name," I hissed, flinching at the word. "You might call it back, or something..."

Lissera stared down at me; her confused expression took up the majority of my vision. "Eena. Are you... Scared of-"

"Don't say it!" I snapped. Lissera took a step backward in surprise, and I blushed bright pink from embarrassment and shame. "I... Apologize. I shouldn't have yelled. It's hardly an excuse, but I have... issues with that particular species of rodent. Just hearing its proper name is unpleasant."

"But... Eena... Aren't you the Demon Queen? The only thing that can defeat you is the Heroine, right? Why are you so scared of some ra..." She paused, no doubt noticing how I winced at her half-spoken word. "Rodents. Why are you so scared of rodents?"

"It is difficult to explain... I don't suppose you'd simply accept that I have a history with them?"

"Eena, you ruined my floor. I think I at least deserve to know why!"

"...I suppose you're right," I begrudgingly admitted, slowly getting back onto my feet. "Though it's not exactly a story I wish to see spread. It is simply that I was bitten on the ear by a rat when I was still a child before my invulnerability was fully in effect. The wound grew infected, and there was even some concern that I might lose part of the ear. It all worked out in the end, of course, but I've been rather terrified of the things ever since..."

The words I spoke were true, in a sense. The event really had happened as I described, but there had never been a period in this life where I was so defenseless that a mere rat could have broken my skin with its teeth. The events I described were from Jacob's life, and the infection in question had been bad enough to permanently reduce his hearing in one ear.

To think that trauma would haunt me across worlds and lifetimes. How frighteningly persistent.

"Wow," Lissera breathed, bringing me back to the present. "That must have been terrible if you're still dealing with it after all this time..."

"It was unpleasant, to say the least, though that is an ill excuse for what I've done to your floor..."

"It's fine, Eena! I just need to replace some rushes. Though if you could maybe fix what you did to the ground...?"

"Ah..." I quickly placed my hand on the floor and sent my magic out toward the earthen spike I'd formed earlier. After pulling it back into the ground, I pushed off the floor, myself, using another spell to quickly rid myself of dirt. "Apologies."

"I said it's fine, Eena! If you want to make it up to me though, you could consider making some time to meet with the Village Head."

"Again with that? I suppose I could do so, since you're so insistent, but are sure it's a good idea to put me so close to your village's leader? I am the Demon Queen. I might do something awful to them." I forced myself to smile as if it were a joke, but I was watching Lissera's reaction carefully. Would she deny that she saw me as a threat? Or would it finally spill out into the open?

"...You really have no faith in me, do you?" Lissera asked, looking down at the ground. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I told you, didn't I? I'm choosing to trust in the woman who saved my town. And I don't really know if it's the right move or not. Maybe you really are as bad as Mother Reliz says you are. Maybe saving my town, collapsing, everything has just been a plot to do something horrible to the Heroine. Maybe... Maybe I'm betraying the whole world, helping you? But..." She took a deep breath, then lifted her gaze back up to meet mine. "But I'm going to put myself in your corner, anyway. And if the whole world burns because of my mistake, then so be it. Because I won't ever betray the one who saved the people I care about. Not ever."

I stared at Lissera, not entirely certain what to say. Her response was a little childish, perhaps, but it also seemed open and honest. How was I supposed to respond to her, in light of my own doubts about her? I felt foolish and ashamed, and in the end, the only thing I could do was nod.

"I-I'll make time for your Village Head tonight, and head to Rendra city in the morning."

"That's great!" Lissera rejoiced, grinning so brightly it almost hurt to look at. "Now maybe I won't have to sit through another lecture..."

I balked. "A lecture? That's why you're so determined to have me see her?"

"You have no idea what it's like to sit through a three-hour lecture on proper village etiquette. Apparently, you should have been staying with her, not me, and I should have introduced you before letting you go out to fight the wolves."

"I... see..." I murmured, fighting to keep the worry from my face. Three-hour lectures? Just what sort of stamina did this sickly old woman have?

"Anyway, if you're going to go see her, you're probably going to need this," Lissera said, reaching into a pocket in her dress and pulling out a glass bottle, filled with a dark brown liquid. "It's pretty concentrated, so this should be enough. Any more and mom would notice the drop in her vat, so you'll need to make your own from now on."

"Vat?" I asked, uncorking the bottle and taking a sniff. I almost expected a chemical smell, but it was only the pleasant scent of walnuts that tickled my nose.

"That's right," Lissera confirmed. "My mom is a seamstress, and my dad is a tailor. And since mom often dyes clothes for the job, they have a whole vat of this stuff."

"Convenient." I channeled my magic into the vial, pulling every last drop of liquid from the glass vessel. It floated up above my head, and then descended down in a trickle upon my hair, slipping down among my tresses as I magically forced the pigment to bond with each strand.

"I think that's my line... I mean, I'd be exhausted in an instant if I tried using magic like you do."

"I suppose we'll simply have to be jealous of one another then," I teased, then let out a short laugh. "How do I look? Did I get everything?" I spun myself around so that she could see the back of my head.

"Every strand!" she confirmed, astonished. "I've never seen anyone's hair take to it so well! It's literally the same color as the walnuts."

"I suppose it's due to my hair having no pigment of its own," I theorized, running my fingers through my hair. Hopefully, my precise mimicking of the dye wouldn't lead to anyone seeing through my disguise. It wasn't as if I could change the coloration after Lucy had already seen it.