Chapter 82

“What is the meaning of this?” Lucille snapped, taking a step forward.

“He is a devil!” Lord Duheart responded indignantly. “Do you think that it is acceptable that he be allowed to walk among the light unrestrained?”

“He’s half faery!” Lucille cried out, causing many of the fairies behind Lord Duheart to gasp.

She was just repeating what she had heard from Baba last night. She may have been pretending not to listen, but it looked like some things were hard to put aside. Lord Duheart’s grin turned slightly threatening, and I could see his hands tightening on the reins of his horse. I already knew the direction this was going from the moment he approached. There was no way to avoid such a slight. I had come to expect at least this much.

Even if Baba herself stood in all of her glory as the Grand Magus and declared I was a faery, they still would convince themselves they misheard or the Grand Magus was in some way compromised. The prejudices were built inside them deeply, and they spanned an inconceivable time involving wars between beings I could barely contemplate. Suffice it to say that there was no magic phrase or argument that would suddenly cause fairies to accept my existence now.

I put a hand out and touched Lucille’s shoulder. She jerked back, and the anger on her face fell to worry as she looked me up and down. I shook my head slightly and sighed.

“There is no helping it,” I told her.

Lord Duheart’s dangerous look relaxed a bit and he gave a short nod. Two fairies approached me, but two others at my side stepped forward and physically blocked them. The first was Bala, and the second was Aeryn. I was a bit surprised by that. Of anyone, I didn’t think these two would be the ones to want to protect my honor. Thankfully, their display only went that far. The two women stepped aside and the momentarily helpless guards took a deep breath and finally approached me.

They had a pair of irons in their hands, and they quickly put them around my wrists and locked them. There were dozens of ways I could use my magic to escape them if I needed to. I had never displayed my magic in front of the faeries though, so they had assumed that I didn’t have any. Once they finished locking me up, a long chain was then attached to the back of Duheart’s saddle. The girls tensed when they saw this.

“This is going too far!” Saria spoke up.

It was one thing to bound my hands, but to drag me behind his horse with a chain was a bit much. If he suddenly broke into a gallop, I would be dragged along the ground helplessly. Perhaps, he even wanted that.

“You seem to be under some misconceptions.” Lord Duheart shot Saria a look. “You are not our guests. I was sent to capture this devil and bring him before the faery queen. The rest of you are cohorts. You should consider yourself lucky if you are not found equally guilty.”

“Guilty?” Saria blinked. “Guilty of what?’

“Of assisting and abetting an agent of evil, of course!” He snorted before his eyes turned to another source, causing me to tense. “The drake will also need to be restrained.”

Whether Aster could understand their words or not, as soon as the eyes turned to him, he lowered his head and hissed. The two men had a much larger iron, but as they took a step toward him, he bared his teeth and started to growl at them. They froze immediately. Unlike me, Aster generated some real fear in these faeries.

“Aeryn… do it,” I ordered.

Aeryn had no affection for Aster, yet the dragon had seemingly grown attached to her in the absence of Mother. Even so, Aeryn hesitated for a second, showing her reluctance to chain up the dragon. After a moment, she walked forward, ripping the massive iron from the two men’s eyes. At least, they had the decency to look embarrassed. Aster still looked cautious, but he allowed Aeryn to approach him and even wrap the collar around him. Part of this might have been that her breasts were resting right on his nose while she did it, but maybe I was just imagining that.

After a bit of fiddling, she finally locked the collar properly. One of the men then brought the chain still in his hand and connected it to my irons. Thus, I was connected to the horse on one side, and the dragon on the other. If the horse started running, I’d be dragged along, but if Aster decided he was going to start running in the opposite direction, I’d be likely torn apart. Lord Duheart could be truly spiteful, it seemed.

“Let’s go!” He kicked his mount into motion without another word.

The horse started to move forward rather quickly, and I failed to properly predict the speed, so I was suddenly yanked along. I saw Bala stroking her sword, and even Baba was watching with a cold expression on her face. I gave Bala a slight shake of the head, and she tightened her grip on her blade, but she still touched it. The other girls began to follow, although each wore a different expression. Saria looked indignant, while Aeryn looked to be in a foul mood. Bala was icy, and Lucille appeared worried.

I was glad to see that Aster began to keep pace with only the slightest bit of hesitation. He mostly did this because Aeryn was pulling him along, her hand on his collar to give the impression she was in control and it was her will that he moved in such a direction. Like that, the procession continued across the plains.

The walk into town only took about ten minutes. The capital city of the faery was rather large, and the outskirts we started walking through were outside the wall, but they quickly grew dense enough that they would be hard to distinguish from the inner city. The only obvious difference was that those parts were in the wall, and these parts were outside. The procession started to capture eyes. A group of a hundred war-worn mounted soldiers, led by a handsome man in charge with the best and nicest armor.

If that wasn’t enough to capture attention, the group of beautiful women might. There was a beastkin girl, two elves, and even a human. Then again, as soon as people noticed, the main attention was dropped onto me, the devil being pulled behind his steed. I looked at every part a criminal deserving of scorn, and the public didn’t disappoint in coming to such immediate conclusions. I began to hear cries of excitement and congratulations to Duheart for catching a monster. Meanwhile, there were other negative cries aimed at me.

“Go back where you came from!” One cry came out.

I found that one somewhat ironic considering I had been captured and forcibly made to come here. Of course, I had wanted to come here anyway, but that wasn’t so much a choice. After taking Mother and Olivia, I had never had a choice.

While the children seemed to look at Aster with awe, to the majority of the crowd, he was only a passing interest. They all knew that the drake’s territory wasn’t far. If the faery guards went out and captured a drake, what of it? It only proved the power that their people had at their fingers and boosted the population’s opinion of Duheart. A few had recognized him and known his name, and once enough people had shouted out his identity, they started to chant it.

“Duheart! Duheart! Lord Duheart!” People excitedly cried out.

The entire procession had become like a miniaturized parade. Come one, come all, look at these beautiful foreign women, the chained-up devil, and the wyvern beast. All of this is coming through your street one night only. The girls certainly didn’t like being gawked at, and Aeryn was doing everything she could to keep Aster placated despite the extreme stimulation. The march through the city was exceedingly slow, especially as the crowds grew thicker and only parted just before Lord Duheart’s horse.

I used the time to get a feel for this village. Faeries didn’t live that much differently than humans. Most of them didn’t have wings. Some had wings, but I had a distinct feeling that they didn’t work. Only the Faery queen had wings and the ability to fly that I had seen. I didn’t know if Duheart had wings, or if they were hidden in his armor.

For most of the residents, the only difference between them and humans was lighter hair, more eccentric eye colors, and pointed ears. Most of them looked identical to devils other than the skin and hair color. That made their pure hatred of the devil kind even more laughable, and hate devils they did. The more Lord Duheart basked in their admiration, the more riled up the crowds became. Eventually, their yelling and their jeers no longer were enough.

I didn’t know who threw something first, but I felt some kind of food strike me. More food was thrown, a drink coming short and splashing on the floor, while a drum of meat did hit my shoulder. The next thing to come was a stone. I barely dodged, as it was aimed skillfully for my head. It just managed to nick me on the forehead, drawing blood. Had I not dodged, such a precise throw might have killed me. I looked to see who was the would-be assassin, only to see that the throw had come from a boy who wasn’t even in his teens yet.

Someone else threw a drink, but it failed to strike as another person stepped forward and took the blow. “My lord!”

Captain Moar had stepped forward. The last few days, he had been useless as we were passed around from the care of one person after another. This was the first moment he was able to step up and protect me. As he did so, the others seemed to get the same idea. Saria and Bala stepped up to my other side, and then Lucille. Even Baba stepped forward, although if we were being honest, any throw would go right over her head.

The steam of the crowds who had started throwing stuff seemed to lesson as people began to block my way. They were perfectly happy throwing things at a devil, but attacking these pretty women was a bit much, even for them. They settled for booing the girls and calling the devil lovers and traitors. For their part, the girls kept their backs straight and didn’t respond. For perhaps the first time since I had come to this world, I felt a bit angry about my existence. These girls by my side were forced to suffer because of the person that I was. I had always previously separated myself from the so-called devil, and even when I coerced the girls to help me, I had never once regretted my actions. It was at this moment that I doubted myself.

It only lasted a moment, and then those feelings of helplessness were replaced with rage. If this world didn’t accept me, then I would make it. These people were fools, and the same people that would throw stones at a prince will one day grovel at my feet. I didn’t realize the dark expression had reached my face until a gentle hand touched it. I blinked to see Lucille cupping my cheek affectionately. Her thumb came up and rubbed away the drop of blood that had started to fall down my forehead. A moment later, she stuck that thumb in her mouth. I raised an eyebrow, and she blushed, looking away.

“That’s enough! We’ll take it from here!” A group of guards coming from the castle had cleared out the crowd and were waiting at the gate leading through the wall that divided the city.

Lord Duheart’s smile finally diminished. “What is the meaning of this?”

“The Queen’s orders!” The man responded. “We are to personally escort the prince the rest of the way.”

“I was ordered to bring her before the queen myself?” Lord Duheart’s voice began to take on a petulant tone.

“It is now no longer in your hands.” The man snorted.

For a moment, things seemed to grow tense. I thought the two groups might end up fighting. Duheart’s group seemed more battle-ready and hardened, but this new group gave off the feeling of elites. They’d be the type of soldiers who worked directly under the faery queen.

“Very well… as the queen commands.” Just as it looked like Duheart might give an order of disobedience, he lowered his head and acquiesced.

He shot a look at me, and I could see the hidden fury in his eyes. His catch had been taken from him, and he didn’t even have the right to show me to the queen himself. The entire point of everything he had done was to win the favor of the faery queen, and now by her action, he was denied further glory.

He reached back and unclipped the chain, allowing it to fall from his horse and land on the ground with a thud. “Let’s go!”

He gestured to his men as he turned the steed around and left us there, not even waiting to make sure that the new group secured us. This would be the third group that had captured us since we had come to Dongeng. It was starting to feel like a game of hot potato.

The man rode up to me. “Come with me.”

He said nothing else as he turned and began to lead the way. The man leading the way didn’t seem particularly insolate or hateful. Rather, he seemed formal and cold. The other guards didn’t look our way at all and only seemed to follow. I had no choice but to pick up the chain and follow behind him. The crowds were much less in this area of town and so we were able to move much faster. It was almost no time at all before we came to the castle. There was a quick exchange as the men dismounted and then continued to escort us into the castle.

The faery queen castle was rather large and grand. It wasn’t grand in the same way as the human palace back home. The human palace was functional. This place, on the other hand, had these tall ceilings and needlessly large rooms. The hallway was large enough three carts could be driven through it back-to-back. Everything was larger than it had a right to be, almost like giants used to live here. That was when I remembered that titans were once a thing, and devils were allegedly thirty feet tall. Perhaps this place was made for a different species entirely and seemingly preserved throughout the years by the faeries. That would be my best guess.

The men finally stopped at a massive set of doors. Lucille reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Mother… is behind that door.” She spoke in a fearful voice.

I nodded. “Then, it’s about time to get this meeting over with.”

I had been hearing about this woman for ages and had only gotten a glimpse of her. I wish I had known more about her. Knowledge was power, and other than her hatred for me, the rest of it seemed to be a complete mystery. Lucille’s hand tightened on my arm.

“This… won’t go how you think.” She spoke strangely.

At that moment, the chain around my neck unclicked. I didn’t even feel any power as it suddenly fell to the ground. The one around Aster unclicked as well. The guards didn’t look like they had done anything. Was it her? Had she done it even though she couldn’t even see us? I gulped before strengthening my resolve.

“Let’s get this over with.” I declared.

The guard held up a hand. “The queen has requested a private meeting with the prince.”

“Unacceptable!”  Saria cried out, but the men all tensed, and the calm and aloof atmosphere suddenly turned volatile enough that any other words she wanted to say became choked.

“You dare go against the queen’s order?” His voice’s tone was no different, but it had taken on a seemingly dangerous vibe to it.

Before Saria could summon the ability to speak again, Lucille grabbed her arm. “It’s fine. We will comply.”

Saria shot Lucille a surprised look. “But…”

“You must trust me. Brother… will survive.” She ended that by shooting a less than convincing look toward me.

Saria closed her mouth, not saying any more. With no more complaints, I moved forward, the doors, if swung all the way, could have allowed a small army to march through, but they have only opened just a crack, which was still enough for me to walk in. As soon as I passed into the massive room, the door shut behind me. A private audience with the faery queen, huh? I hoped I could turn this in my favor.

My eyes couldn’t stop but fall on a woman sitting on a throne on the other side of the room. Her beauty was obvious, even from this distance. Her hair was blonde and silky, and her skin was fair and flawless. It was no wonder that my father hadn’t hesitated to accept the marriage proposal. One look at her was enough to cause many to become infatuated. Even Lord Duheart’s actions almost seemed too reasonable when held up against her beauty. She wore an elaborate dress of white, made of extremely fine material and embroidery. This wasn’t the same thing she had worn when she had taken Mother. Strangely, it looked like she had dressed up. Her hair was done, as was her dress. Didn’t it seem a bit like she was posing on the throne when I first came in? I must have imagined that.

“Hello, David.” She responded.

“I’ll survive, huh?” I muttered to myself.

If I was going to survive the succession, I was going to have to do far more than just survive this conversation. I was going to have to make the faery queen who hated me an ally.