Demon Queened - Chapter 62 - Rough Draft

Abigail

“Mmm!” Devilla moaned, between hurried bites of food. “You know, when you told me the menu would be experimental, I must admit to having some concerns, but when I saw what they were experimenting with…”

“Yeah. My friend might have left that bit out, actually, but… glad you liked, I guess?” 

Maybe I should have seen it coming, though. Of course the experimental restaurant’s experimental dishes were going to involve salt and potatoes - you know, the two new culinary ingredients Devilla had brought back to the tower? I was just glad they had a few new preparations for us to try. Like fries with strips of meat, melted cheese, and various spicy peppers.

“Liked is an understatement,” Devilla told me, smiling. “The sheer number of things they did with potatoes today….”

“Yeah, I have no clue how you fit all that in you,” I admitted, shaking my head. “You probably ate half your own body weight, sampling all those dishes.”

“Well, you did say that our review of the food was part of the agreement with your friend,” Devilla pointed out. “If I’d stuck to one or two dishes, as you did, I imagine she would have held complaints.”

“Probably,” I admitted, before eyeing Devilla. She was wearing a very short black dress today that showed off her legs, while clinging to all her curves. Which was probably a good thing, if it kept people from studying her face too closely. Even with her brown hair dye, and her horned illusion in place, I was still a little worried someone might notice the similarities between ‘Eena’ and the face on her coins.

“Look, I gotta go settle the bill, so I’ll be back in a second. Try to stay out of trouble, alright?”

“Are you sure that you don’t want my help with it?” she asked. “I do keep some of our coinage on me for emergencies.”

“Yeah, no. This one’s my treat,” I said, shaking my head. Partially because it was but also because I really didn’t want her tagging along for this next part. Not because I was doing anything bad, but just… Well, let’s just say that the conversation I was about to have was best done in private.

Prostitute-client confidentiality wasn’t sacred or anything, but discretion was appreciated. I mean, the whole reason people came to brothels was so that they could experience their favorite kinks without any judgement! And Devilla already knew my specialty was dominating people in the bedroom, so… Yeah.

Knocking on the kitchen door, a high pitched, “Come in!” welcomed me inside, where I was greeted by the sight of Cheela cooking six or seven different things, somehow managing to coordinate all her tentacles to handle all the various cutting, mixing and cooking tools. She was a tentacle girl, her lower body diverging into no less than eight limbs. She’d told me once to think of her like an octopus that could live on land. Not that I really had all that great a grasp on what octopi looked like.

“Hey Cheela. I’m here about the uh… other part of my bill. Next weekend work for you?”

“Take it that means your date enjoyed, huh?” Cheela teased, somehow finding the time to give me a cheeky wink despite all the food she was managing.

“She liked it, yeah. Though I’m getting a little tired of potatoes popping up everywhere I go, personally…”

“What can I say? They’re the next big thing! Or they will be once I figure out exactly what I can do with them...” Cheela shrugged. 

“Well, you already had us fill out placards with our thoughts after every dish,” I pointed out. “Not part of what I agreed to, by the way… you’re lucky my date enjoyed raving about everything so much.”

“Hey, girl’s gotta get her reviews in where she can! And you’re the one who wanted a last minute table… You’re lucky we usually keep one reserved. Y’know, in case anyone important comes in…”

“Yeah, well, I appreciate it,” I muttered, rubbing the back of my head.

“Appreciate it or don’t - you’re the one paying for it,” Cheela reminded me. “Next weekend, yeah? I can get your special?”

“Just like you used to,” I promised, giving her a small smile.

“That’s good enough for me,” Cheela replied. “I thought I’d never get another night with Mistress after you went and left the brothel.”

“I still take clients from time to time, you know? When I’m hungry.”

“Something tells me you won’t need to for very long. Assuming this girl’s worth all the trouble you’re putting yourself in for her?”

“I wouldn’t call dominating a girl or two trouble,” I countered, rolling my eyes. “Anyway, I’ll see you, alright?”

“Later.”

***

“A smithy,” Devilla said, her eyes wide.

“I told you I was bringing you to one,” I reminded her, crossing my arms and poking her stomach with my tail. “Or did you already forget, miss Perfect Memory?”

“I didn’t forget,” she hurried to assure me. “I just… Well, I’ve never seen one before. What’s more, when I think of the fact that you brought me here to have a weapon forged… Well, I feel oddly excited, I suppose.”

“Yeah, well don’t get too excited, alright? It’ll probably take all night for her to actually make the stuff, so you won’t be seeing the results until morning at the earliest.”

“Of course,” she said. Totally cool and composed on the surface, as always - at least on the surface. The sparkle in her eyes and the faint tremble in her hands as she reached for the door told a different story, though - one I was much more inclined to believe.

The moment Devilla opened the door, hot air rushed out to greet us. I have no clue how hot it was in there, but if someone told me you could cook an egg on any flat surface I’d believe her.

“Beth?” I called out, putting a hand to my mouth and projecting as loudly as I could.

“Come in and close the door!” yelled a raspy voice. “You’re letting all the heat out.”

Devilla entered without a second thought. The heat probably didn’t even bother her. Me? It took a moment to screw up my courage and step into the sweltering place.

“You really like it hot, huh?” I half-complained, closing the door behind me. 

“You’d know,” came the reply, as the owner of the smithy rounded a corner in the hallway and came into view.

She was an orc - big, green and muscular, with a couple small tusks poking out of her ears. They tended towards big, visible muscles as a species and Beth was no exception, her nearly seven foot frame sculpted from pure muscle muscle.

“So,” Beth said, “what are we working with?”

“Working with?” Devilla asked, tilt ing her head a little.

“She means materials,” I said, quickly, knowing that Devilla’s education was surprisingly sparse in some areas. “Orcs can work with any material as if it were metal.”

An Orc’s wild magic made them natural smiths - which wasn’t to say that every orc went into that line of work, or anything, but… Well, while not every orc was a smith, pretty much every smith was an orc. I’d heard it wasn’t always that way, but considering how precious metal was compared to, say, wood, or even cast off monster girl bits, it was easy to see why smiths that could only work with mundane materials were falling behind. In an orc’s hands, things like shed scales and claw clippings could be used to create anything from basic utensils to fierce fighting weapons.

I didn’t know how good Beth was, but she made enough money to afford me and tip well so I figured she couldn’t be a complete hack. She’d also been more than willing to keep her smithy open a little late for us, in return for a night with me.

“Would have thought that was common knowledge,” Beth said, frowning a little as she turned to me. “What sorta client did you bring me, girl?”

“A good one,” I replied, defensively. “She just… didn’t do great in school, alright? Troubles with her teachers.”

“I apologize if I’ve caused offense,” Devilla added. “The truth is, I’ve simply never had direct need of a smithy’s services before.”

Beth grunted, then shrugged. “Well, no skin off my back, I guess. Still waiting for an answer to my question, though - what materials did you want to use?”

I glanced at Devilla, who in turn arched an eyebrow at me. Which… wasn’t the best start.

“I kinda thought you’d have something on you,” I admitted. “I mean, you’re the one who’s been going on adventures, right?”

“I wasn’t exactly scouring the lands for monster materials,” she replied, frowning. “But I suppose I do have some things.”

Out of her bag came two blood red horns, eerily similar to the one Bailey had on her head. It was a chilling reminder of what she’d done, the night she’d met Bailey… but if Bailey didn’t mind it, I sure wasn’t going to say anything about it.

“I also have some of these,” she murmured, pulling out a seashell. When Beth and and I both gave her confused looks, she shrugged and explained. “It’s my understanding that the inner layer of these - the mother-of-pearl - has a great deal of compressive strength. I thought they might be useful in forming a handle, or some such. Perhaps even a blade? I’m thinking a dagger and a sword would be nice.”

“A dagger and a sword, huh?” Beth murmured, looking at the shell. Specifically the iridescent bit that Devilla had pointed out. “I’ll need a lot of them.”

“I have a lot of them,” Devilla promised, pulling out handful after handful from her bag. “I planned to bake the lot of them, at some point, but I ended up snacking on quite a few of them when bored.”

“Raw?” I asked, a little horrified.

Devilla just nodded, though. “For some of them, I’m fairly sure that’s how you’re meant to eat them.”

A loud, raucous laugh interrupted us, drawing our attention to Beth. “A dagger made of shells…This should be an interesting challenge. I like it.”

“Then perhaps this will add to it,” Devilla said, smiling at her and reaching into her bag. This time, she pulled out a handful of diamonds. “I think the dust of these could be of some use? Or perhaps you could simply smith them wholesale. I’m not entirely sure how your abilities work with gemstones.”

“Same as with anything else,” Beth replied, taking them carefully from Devilla’s eyes. “Don’t know who’d be crazy enough to ask me to smith a weapon with diamonds, but… Alright. I’ll see what I can do…” She shook her head, then shot me a glare. “Don’t know what bigshot you got yourself involved with, girl, but I hope you’re still going to be available for what you promised?”

“We can find a timeslot during the weekend,” I assured her, ignoring Devilla’s curious glance for the time being.

“Out, then,” Beth said, pointing towards the door. “I’ve got work to do.”

“Of course,” Devilla said, giving the girl a small nod of her head and turning towards the door. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

Beth grunted, and I thought that was going to be all of it, until she added, “Feel free to tell her what the deal is. No need to let paranoia ruin an otherwise nice relationship.”

“Yeah, well, I was probably going to have to do that anyways after you went and acted so obvious about it,” I pointed out. “But thanks for the permission, I guess.”

“You know, I really wasn’t planning on asking,” Devilla told me, as I left the place. “Though I must admit to being somewhat curious.”

“It’s fine. No big deal. I’m just sleeping with her in return for her doing a rush order. Nothing to worry about.”

“...I suppose not,” she said, after a moment. The pause caught my attention, though.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked. She didn’t have a problem with me sleeping around or anything, did she? I knew she’d mentioned her past life had been human - I really hoped she wasn’t about to tell me that came with some sorta weird sexual hangups.

“It’s fine,” she tried to assure me, but I could still hear the uncertainty in her voice. “It’s just…”

“Just?” I asked, hoping I wouldn’t regret pressing the issue.

“I just hope that you aren’t putting yourself out on my account. It occurred to me that you never did quite tell me why you left the brothels for my employ, you see… It couldn’t have been a step up for you, no matter how much working for me paid.”

“So you’re worried something in the job didn’t agree with me?” I asked, checking to make sure I had my facts straight. When Devilla nodded, in response, I let out a laugh as the tension eased out of me. Of course she was worried about me. That’s what Devilla did - worry about everyone but herself, constantly. Usually worrying me and I guess everyone else now in her life, in the process. “I’m fine with sex work, Devilla. That’s not why I quit.”

“Then why?” she asked me, before hurrying to add, “Not that you have to tell me, if you don’t wish to, of course. I wouldn’t dream of pressing the matter.”

“It’s fine,” I replied, sighing as I massaged my forehead. “It’s… not like it’s a secret or anything. “Honestly, it was just… coworker drama, I guess. Some of the girls thought Mom was showing me ‘unfair favoritism’ or some such. Maybe they were right? I dig get first pick on a lot of the newer clients… Mom always insisted it was because of my skills, though. That the clients just liked me.”

“You don’t sound convinced,” Devilla pointed out, arching an eyebrow.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. People don’t normally like me. And Mom… she can be a bit much sometimes. I’d like to think I worked for everything I got, but… either way, it was creating a lot of problems for her. A couple girls even quit in protest.”

“So you left?” Devilla asked.

I nodded. “Pretty much. I go back sometimes, still, for the meals - lust just tastes better when it’s directed at you, y’know? - but for the most part I’m gone. I took a job as your maid because the pay was good, and they promised on the job training.” They also offered letters of recommendation for your next job, after you were inevitably fired. It was a good way of breaking into the business, for people with no real contacts in the industry.

I wasn’t going to say any of that, though. No need to feed Devilla’s self-hatred.

“You still go back, hmm? I suppose that means I haven’t been doing a great job of keeping you fed. A failure on my part, considering our initial promise…”

“You’ve been busy saving the world,” I pointed out, dryly. “And could you maybe not actively look for ways to twist what I say into some sort of barb? I’m trying to have a good time with you here, you know. Plus I… I mean… It doesn’t exactly feel good to see the girl I like being bad mouthed by anyone. Even herself.”

I was aware of the faint blush on my cheeks as I admitted that. Putting it into words was embarrassing, to say the least.

It wasn’t anything compared to the blush on Devilla’s face, though.

“Yes, well,” she murmured, so quietly I almost failed to hear, before clearing her throat. “That is, ah… I suppose… we should carry onto the final part of this date?”

“The final part?” I asked, arching an eyebrow.

“The part where I make sure you’re fed,” Devilla replied, with a teasing smile. “I might have failed my duty as an employer, but I have no intention of doing the same as your date.”

“...” I considered telling her that her lust didn’t exactly do the trick for keeping me fed, for some reason, but… Well, in the end, I decided to simply sigh and shake my head.

I’d tell her eventually. It was sort of important information. No way was I going to swipe that radiant smile from her face, though. Instead, I took her hand, and led her towards the nearest window. It was time for us to return to the 101st floor.

***

My bare back crashed against Devilla’s bed sheets as she pushed me down. I was naked, my clothes abandoned on the floor, right next to Devilla’s. Despite the firmness of her opening act, though, she seemed almost hesitant to crawl into bed next to me.

“Something wrong?” I asked, teasingly. “Do I need to get up and pull you in?”

“No, it’s just… Well… You aren’t going to declare that I need to be on the bottom again, are you?” she asked, with an adorable pout. “Because I can top, you know!”

“I’m sure you can,” I replied, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. Even if Devilla couldn’t tell the difference, it was the principle of the matter. She was being sorta vulnerable right now, and I wasn’t going to make fun of that. “But you always focus on everyone else when you’re on top. Which is why I think you should give up the position for the time being…” Saying so, I snaked my sinuous tail around Devilla’s body, and smacked her ass with its spade.

“Eep!” she squealed, jumping half a foot into the air. Before she could recover, I sat up, grabbed her hand, and yanked her into bed with me, sending her body crashing into the huge mattress.

“Abigail?” she asked, eyes wide as I began to crawl over to her, putting my body above hers.”

“Yeah?” I asked, tail swaying playfully from side to side now. I tracked the way her eyes moved with it, a smirk on my lips.

“Are you perhaps… playing things up to hide your own nerves?”

I froze. Not for long, but still long enough that Devilla knew something was up.

“Sex with someone you care about can hit quite differently, in my experience,” Devilla went on, sitting up. “There’s no shame in feeling nervous about such an act. No matter how experienced you may be in matters of the body, I fear neither of us can claim to be more than amateurs when it comes to the heart.”

“Alright,” I admitted. “So maybe I am scared. So what? It doesn’t change the truth. You suck at taking care of yourself, and I’m topping.”

“If that is what you sao desire,” Devilla said, “I suppose I could allow myself to be pampered.”

“Pampered, played with…” I shrugged, before giving her a teasing smile of my own. “One of the two.”

“And I thought I was the brat, here,” Devilla replied, laughing a little. I didn’t join in.

“You aren’t, though,” I said, quite seriously instead, looking her in the eye. “Not anymore. Maybe not ever - I don’t even know anymore… and don’t try and tell me how terrible you were, because I know just as much as you at this point. I’m just saying you. You know. Deserved better?”

“I believe everyone in this tower deserves better than they’ve got,” Devilla replied, in a serious tone of her own. “But it doesn’t excuse the sins we make.”

“What sin? Being a scared little girl who didn’t know how to run a country? Being isolated by the people who should have been taking care of you? Never getting socialized properly? You were set up to fail, Devilla. So stop blaming yourself for everything, and let others take the damn responsibility for once.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Devilla said, staring down at her hands. “I still don’t understand why everyone is so insistent. Why do people argue against the norm, for the sake of someone like me? Saying that it was the mistakes of others that lead to my own, as if that somehow miraculously makes things better for the people I hurt. The people I failed. The people - my people - blame me for everything… I was a failure of a princess, and if not for the ritual going wrong I’d have been a failure of a queen. Yet you all act like I’m worth something… Like I was worth something, even before the rite went wrong. I don’t think I’m capable of understanding why, to be honest. If I didn’t know you all as well as I do, I’d think I was the victim of some sort of cruel prank.”

“Devilla…” I didn’t know what to say. Here we were, lying in bed, about ten seconds from having sex, and she was spilling her heart out to me. Opening up,  naked and vulnerable before me. 

If I screwed up now, would I screw her? Probably. Depending on my reaction, I could make things a lot worse. In fact, I could imagine all sorts of responses that would hurt her - laughing, shaking it off, making a joke. I just couldn’t figure out any that led forward.

Except for one, anyway. One way I knew better than any other. So I leaned down and gently kissed her thigh, then looked her in the eye. “I don’t know how to answer all this. I’m not some sorta… I don’t even know what sort of person would have all the answers! But there’s one thing I do know, and that’s that I like you. That I want to have you in my life. So if you’re willing to test the waters with me on that…” I slid my hands between her thighs, gently encouraging her to open up.

She did. Opening her legs just as easily as she had her heart, and staring at me all the while - with this look, somewhere caught between fear and hope and wonderment. Like she couldn’t understand how this was happening. Why this was happening.

…I wasn’t entirely sure myself. I didn’t know if this was the best way to answer her fears. I just figured that sex was what I knew best, and if there was any way for me to share the complicated feelings in my gut, this was it.

So, with that in mind, I slowly lowered my head to Devilla’s slit, gently swiping it with my tongue. She tasted… well, to be honest, she didn’t taste much different than all the other girls I’d tasted. Which wasn’t to say there weren’t variances - there always were, sometimes even with the same girl - but it wasn’t anything special.

The way she reacted, though? The little tremor that went up her body, the way her thighs started to contract only to hold in place as Devilla fought to keep control… Again, it was nothing I hadn’t seen before. Yet somehow it was special. It felt good knowing that I’d created that reaction, and that Devilla trusted me enough to let it happen.

I pushed a hand against her shoulders, urging her to lay in the bed properly again as I lowered my head to her center again. She obeyed, and I continued to gently lick at tease at her core, trying to get her nice and wet. Then, ignoring the whimper that came from Devilla’s mouth when I parted, I shifted my attention to her breasts and slipped a nipple into my mouth. Then, just as my teeth began to nip the tip of her tit, I maneuvered the spade of my tail up and into Devilla’s center.

She gasped, of course. Gasped louder as my tail began to gently pump, twisting and contorting itself to press flush against Devilla’s walls, stimulating her even as I reached down between her legs with one hand to start teasing at her clit. I didn’t need my eyes to find it - I knew exactly where to look, and with well-practiced ease I began to tease it from its hood, play with it, and make Devilla moan.

“You’re worth all this and more to me,” I whispered, only to blush at the cheesy line that had just slipped from my lips.

Devilla ,looked like she wanted to respond - either with a snappy comeback, or something just as sappy - but I didn’t give her the chance. I twisted my tail inside of her, curling the edges up and over to create a slightly more phallic shape as I pumped myself in and out of her, teasing at her clit all the while.

“You’re going to come for me,” I whispered. Normally I’d have to maneuver closer to her ear, but with Devilla’s senses? I could basically murmur into her boobs and she’d hear. The best bit was, afterwards, I could go right back to sucking at her nipple, teasing at her clit, and even using my spare hand to squeeze her other breast. I timed another nip with a pump from my tail, making her cry out in a blissful mix of pleasure and pain. 

One of Devilla’s hands shifted, from gripping the bed sheets to reaching towards me. I grabbed her wrist and pinned it.

“Naughty girl.  First round’s mine,” I teased, kissing her wrist before returning to my duties. My tail pumped, my lips kissed, my teeth nipped at her flesh, and before long I had her back arching as she screamed. Then, and only then, did I stop playing with her. Instead, I moved up to kiss her somewhere new. Somewhere we hadn’t touched since Devilla’s bold move, back when this all started.

I kissed her on the lips.

~~~

Author's Notes

Depression did its best to keep this one at bay..... I finished it, though! Despite several hours laying in bed staring at the ceiling and trying to motivate myself to write a sex scene! Hope it makes up for the shortness of chapter 61?

Speaking of 61, there's a non-zero chance I'll go back and edit it a bit. Have Grell and the others actually talk about the bandit thing, maybe? Bond a bit before they reach the city... and make it just a touch longer in the process.

I don't know. We'll see. In the meantime, enjoy chapter 62~!