Royal Affliction Ch. 11

'I'm dying, aren't I?' she asked me.

'Don't give up hope, milady,' I said, though we both knew she was fading.

She looked at you in your basinet and said, 'I want to hold her.'

I laid you on her chest and she cried again, saying, 'She'll be all alone. I was the only one who could love her.' She looked at me and begged, 'Please help her. Get her out of here, away from him. Make sure she's safe or kill her.'

I agreed to do what I could. She gave you a kiss and shut her eyes. She died about an hour later," the demon's expression was sad and thoughtful.

"Then HE killed her," Mayhem interrupted.

The woman eyed the closed door and leaned closer to whisper. "He may have contributed to her death. But so did her failure to tell us the severity of her pain and her forsaking her will to live."

May frowned at her. "You said it yourself, she was getting better."

"Too late."

There was something familiar about the demon. A second later, May worked out why.

She glared at her. "You looked after me when I was little."

"You remember." The demon smiled. "My name is Kianuit."

"But you broke your promise. You left me there."

She shook her head. "I said I would do what I could. I cared for you when you were an infant, until the King left. During that time I tried to protect you from harm as much as I could without jeopardising myself. However, my allegiance has always been to him, so I came with him here and you were left in your sisters' custody, with whoever they chose to tutor you."

May was not impressed with the demon's actions, but she couldn't reasonably expect more. The demon was one of the King's employees, reporting to him. Her interests were not invested in his ex-lover or her cursed mutant offspring. The amount of compassion she'd showed them was greater than many would have bothered with. Not to mention how kind it was for her to share the story with May now, so she'd know her mother cared about her.

"Go now, Mayhem. Before someone discovers us." She got up and shooed her towards the door.

May walked away from her, but paused with her hand on the doorknob. "Thank you for caring for her. For us. And for telling me about her."

The women nodded. "Elektra was always nicer to me than the rest of the King's lovers. Especially that bitch, Anarah. Farewell, Mayhem."

"Farewell."

May found the scaled servant girl waiting outside in the perfect position to be listening in. Although, May doubted she would have be able to hear much through the thick door. The little demon escorted her back to the spot she'd arrived in and pushed a lever in the rock. A black cloud materialised before them, smelling of sulphur and zapping with purple electricity. The elevator appeared from within the smoke, the door sliding open with a ding sound.

"Returning already, Princess?" The operator held out his arm in invitation.

"Yes." May stepped inside and the door slid closed.

The world flew past the window again, this time going down as the elevator rose. Once they arrived at the gates of hell, the demon ushered her out and pointed to one of the doors.

"Take that one there, Your Grace."

"Thank you." May opened the door and stepped through.

It closed behind her, leaving her in complete darkness. She walked forward a few metres and the smoke parted. She was back in the dank room in Depravia's lair, and very glad of it. She knew she had to report to her sister, so she went through the many passageways to find her. The brief journey had taken much longer than it seemed and it was now night time.

A servant guarding one of the reception rooms opened the door when he saw her approach. "They await you."

May walked inside the blue-painted room. Her sisters were playing a board game and drinking wine from goblets. Despondia put hers down and got up to greet her.

"Deploria! You've returned." She hugged May, her hands wandering to squeeze her butt. She took May's hand and dragged her over to sit next to her.

"Did you have fun?" The Queen asked.

"Mmm, I met your mother. She slapped me in the face."

Depravia laughed. "Ah, Anarah. Always a charmer."

Despondia's hand moved from around May's waist to sneak up and massage her breast. "Was our father pleased to see you?"

She looked at them both, knowing they all knew the answer. "He was overjoyed that I'd come to sully his lair."

Her answer amused Depravia. The Queen poured another drink and handed it to May. "Have a game with us, baby sister."

At times when May didn't have a lover, she occasionally liked to spend time with her sisters —when they were in good moods, but right now she just wanted to find Sybari. Depravia could see her impatience.

"No need to rush off. Your pet is probably still with the other succubus. They could be fast asleep by now. They had a busy day cleaning the throne room."

May glared at her, outraged. "You made her clean?"

The Queen giggled. "That would have been funny, but no, I didn't make her do it. That's where we found her, helping her little succubus friend. Cute how they stick together, isn't it?"

May found herself staring at a tray of canapés on the side table and she realised she was starving. Seeing where she was looking, Despondia picked up the platter and offered it to her. May took one and smiled at her sister. She liked it when they were nice to her. It was quite late, and Sybari was probably in bed—sleeping or otherwise. She could stay a while and play a game.

*****

Please Note: These are fictional characters who are not human and have supernatural powers. Please don't put cake up anyone's hoo-hoo. Cake is not vagina-friendly.