Charlotte

 

Stretching my arms up toward the ceiling, I slowly forced myself up into a seated position… and then promptly collapsed again.

I was tired. I’d spent the entire day yesterday playing video games in Heaven. Apparently, Earth had developed a new console and Granny Liz was quick, as always, to create a personal copy for herself. Advantages of being a Goddess, I guess? No need to pay for anything when you could just use divine magic to make a perfect replica. 

Of course, I had to promise not to tell my stuck-up sis. Mikaela would probably get all over both our cases for ‘wasting’ time and magic like that - as if keeping up to date with modern Earth tech wasn’t a totally valid use of time! I mean, how was I supposed to guide Solla towards a golden age of entertainment if I didn’t even know what proper entertainment looked like?

…Not that I’d really settled on ‘guiding Solla’ as my life mission, or anything. In fact, I wasn’t really sure what I planned to do with my life. Granny Liz was more than happy to help provide information and entertainment while I figured it out, though, and I fully intended to take advantage. I also made sure to play games with her like any good granddaughter would!

Speaking of playing games with her… 

“Can we cancel my plans for today?” I asked, glancing to the side where my one and only maid was standing at attention. Way too stiffly, too, but that wasn’t anything unusual. I was pretty sure Mirafell was allergic to relaxation… which was probably for the best, since I sorta counted on her to keep me from completely losing the plot. Not at all like my twin sister, who only even let her maids dress her to give them something to do.

“There are no plans for today, your Highness,” she told me, “other than breakfast with your family.”

“Right…” Shit, that was today, wasn’t it? Well, whatever. First I’d go to breakfast, then I’d go play video games at Granny’s place! “Are my clothes ready?”

“I picked them out for you an hour ago,” Mirafell replied. Her voice was respectful as always, without a hint of judgement. Her gaze, however, was basically screaming “You lazy brat!” at me.

Thankfully, I was an expert at ignoring that sort of thing.

“Perfect! Just put them on the bed, alright? I’ll get dressed once I’m done with my next nap.”

“Breakfast is in less than fifteen minutes,” Mirafell warned me.

“So… a quick nap?” I suggested.

Mirafell didn’t reply verbally, but the look in her eyes really said it all. “You lazy bum, get out of bed before I get in trouble with your dam again!”

You’d think it would be Mama she’d be worried about - you know, the legendary brat of a Demon Queen that everyone feared and hated? But I guess you couldn’t spend as much time around her as Mirafell had without figuring out she was nothing but a big softy. Kinda like Mom, actually - though she was mostly just so nice she was impossible to dislike. Even if she was formerly ‘the Heroine,’ who all demons were trained to fear.

Dam, on the other hand? Well, let’s just say there was a reason everyone in the tower considered her the true ruler of demonkind. The Shadow Queen. The Unleashed Darkness. The True Demon of Solla. The-

“Char, are you in there?” came a familiar voice. “Because if you are, then I sure as hell hope you’re dressed.”

“Of course!” I lied through my teeth. At the same time, I started moving at top-speed, blurring to snatch the backless black top and red skirt out of Mirafell’s hands and getting dressed as quickly as I could. Thankfully, it was made of good quality fabric - arachne silk, probably? - and didn’t rip from the rough handling. 

Not that any of that saved me. When I finally finished and turned around I saw none other than my dam standing in the doorway, blonde eyebrows arched as she looked over me.

“What have I told you about lying to me?” she asked.

“To get better at it?”

The look in Dam’s eyes was not amused. Not that it was easy to tell when said eyes were pitch black without any noticeable pupils or irises or whatever, but… well, you didn’t grow up as a succubus’s daughter without learning to read her face.

“Right…” I muttered, my tail drooping as I rubbed at the back of my head. “Sorry?”

“Uh-huh…” She examined me for a moment before sighing and shaking her head. “We’ll discuss this later. For now, your other parents and I have something important to talk to you about.”

“Can’t you just tell me here?” I asked. “I mean, it’ll totally ruin the taste of breakfast if I’m worrying about what comes next.”

Dam shook her head. “We’ll talk about it when we’re all together. Before eating if you really want.”

“I mean… if the food’s right there we might as well eat and talk, right? Best of both worlds?”

Dam stared at me for a moment before shaking her head again. “You just had to inherit your mama’s gluttony, didn’t you? Just as long as you’re able to pay attention, alright?”

“I’m not a glutton!” I protested. “I just… have a very healthy appreciation of food.” Especially the salty and greasy stuff. Spicy was good, too, though! And so was sweet… nothing like a good ice cream after a hearty bit of savory meat, you know? Or something creamy after something spicy. Or something spicy after something creamy. Or something spicy and creamy…

“Aaaaand we’ve lost her,” Dam muttered, shaking her head. “I swear, you take more after your mama every day…”

Mirafell just sighed.

***

 

Sitting at the breakfast table, I tried not to drool at all the food on display. Fried eggs, poached eggs, scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, country style potatoes, white gravy, brown gravy, ketchup, toast, jam, and so much more. Whatever we didn’t eat would be distributed to the servants, which was arguably a good reason to keep from pigging out to the fullest extent I could, but that never stopped me from absolutely stuffing my plate and face with every delectable morsel in sight.

My sister gave me a disgusted look, which I promptly ignored in favor of spreading some butter and grape jam on my toast. 

“So…” Mikaela asked after a moment, apparently having decided that it was a waste of time to glare at me, “what’s the big announcement that’s brought us all together?”

The question was directed at our parents. Mama, who sat at the head of the table started to speak, only to pause when Dam placed a hand over hers. 

“The three of us,” Dam said, narrowing her eyes at Mama, “have been talking about your future.”

Mom nodded, taking Mama’s other hand in hers. “It has to do with your birthday.”

“Okay?” I asked, glancing at Mama. She looked a little upset, but was keeping her mouth shut. “Let me guess. Mama isn’t actually all that on board with this?”

“I… am,” Mama said with a frown. “I just… disagree on the timing. You’ve only just turned twenty! Surely it can wait until you turn twenty-one?”

“You know it can’t,” Dam said, frowning right back at her. “We’ve already waited a week because you didn’t wanna spring this on them during their birthday party.”

“And I still say it’s too soon!” Mama muttered. “They’re still young!”

“They’re twenty,” Dam countered. “The same age Lucy was when you met.”

“And yet still a year younger than I was when I left the tower,” she replied. “Besides, in a year they’ll have full access to their holy and unholy magics. It’ll be safer for them then.”

“They’re literally invincible, Devilla!” Dam growled. “What the hell do you think could hurt them out there?”

“Nothing physically, but that doesn’t mean I’m not still worried about them…” She looked away as her voice trailed off.

“Maybe we should talk this over a bit more between ourselves before bringing the girls into it?” Mom suggested.

“Bring us into what?” I demanded, glancing at Mikaela. It was pretty obvious she wanted to know, too, but of course there was no way she’d barge into our parents’ conversation. Not Little Miss Perfect, no way. “You mentioned leaving the tower, right? Are you sending us on an errand or something?”

“Not… exactly,” Mama hedged, obviously still hesitant. “It’s just… Well, as you know, one’s twenty-first birthday - which is still a year away! - is rather important to a demon, and… Well… I know Mikaela in particular has intentions to take the throne once she’s old enough, but…”

“We’re kicking you out,” Dam interrupted Mama, clearly frustrated with her continued dancing around the issue.

“Temporarily!” Mama hurriedly added. “And you’ll still be free to visit for family meals! Every day, if you want to!”

“Wait, wait, wait,” I interrupted, sending another glance Mikaela’s way. She’d turned white as a sheet, but of course she still wasn’t saying or even doing anything that could be viewed as disrespectful. “You’re kicking us out? Like, out of the hundred-and-first floor, or…?”

“Out of the tower,” Mom said, “but I really think that’s a bad word choice! It’s not that we’re trying to evict you or anything - it’s just that we want you to go on a journey!”

“A journey?” I asked cautiously.

“Yeah!” Mom said. “You know, like your Mama and I went on! But… maybe a bit longer? Like, until you turn twenty-one.”

“We’re worried about you,” Dam explained. “You’ve spent your entire life in the tower. The only times you step foot outside of it is when you’re taking a trip to Liz’s divine realm. And even then, you spend more time researching Earth than looking into the going-ons in our own world!”

“So what? Your solution is to just… kick us out?”

Mama looked like she wanted to protest, too, but she kept her mouth shut when Dam gave her a look. 

“We just think you need to see more of the world,” Mom explained. “I mean, I know you’ve been struggling to figure out what to do with your life. Maybe if you see more of what’s out there you’ll be able to come to a decision!”

“What about me?” Mikaela asked, speaking up at last. “I get why Charlotte needs this, she’s been adrift for as long as I can remember, but I actually know what I want!”

“I know,” Dam replied. “That’s actually part of the problem.”

The look on Mikaela’s face was priceless. Shock, dismay, horror. She was probably running through all the worst case scenarios in her mind. Which… okay, maybe it wasn't so great. Even if I did like to see her getting a shock now and then...

“What’s wrong with knowing what you want to do with you life?” I asked, since she obviously couldn’t bring herself to.

“The problem is in the certainty,” Mama explained with obvious reluctance in her voice. “Mikaela, you’ve known what you want to do with your life ever since you were a little girl. It’s admirable, in a way, and yet we worry that you decided so quickly, and dedicated yourself so thoroughly, that you’ve never even gotten the chance to explore other options.”

“But… but I don’t need to explore other options!” she protested. “I’m a Demon Princess! Becoming Queen is the obvious next step, isn’t it? That way, I can help Dam with her work!”

“I don’t need help,” Dam said firmly. “I’ve been running this place perfectly well for over twenty years now, and I can keep running it for as long as it takes. You should focus on your own wants.”

“I want to help!” Mikaela insisted. “To ease your burdens! To pay you back for all the wonderful things you’ve done for us!”

“And you can do that,” Mama said, her voice soothing. “Nobody’s taking the position away from you. If you still want it after you turn twenty-one then the job is yours.”

Dam nodded. “What she said. We just want you to see what other options are out there before you lock yourself in for life. Especially since our lives are kinda endless and all.”

Mikaela nodded reluctantly, but I could tell she wasn’t convinced. I was willing to bet her tail was curling itself around her thigh even as we spoke. She liked to squeeze shit with it when she was upset, and considering most things broke when we squeezed them… Well, let’s just say we’d know if she was squeezing the chair leg or something else instead.

I wasn’t exactly convinced either. I mean, I hadn’t figured out what I wanted in twenty-years of living. How was a single year outside the tower supposed to help? But… if it’s what my parents wanted… I mean, I could be as dutiful as Mikaela when I wanted to be.

“We’re going out disguised, right?” I asked, just to be sure. “I mean, I know the war’s over, but you can’t tell me that going out there as demon princesses is going to help anything…”

Mama nodded. “You’ll likely have to dye your hair - white is too distinctive a shade and intrinsically tied to the Demon Queen line. As for your tail, you can hide it if you wrap it around your waist… and you’ll want to avoid summoning your wings or leaning into the succubus side of your heritage.”

“Duh,” I muttered. Sprouting big red wings would obviously be a dead giveaway, while using unholy magic - or otherwise leaning into our succubus side - had a tendency to turn our eyes pitch black. Avoiding that sorta thing was so blatantly obvious I almost felt offended that she felt the need to tell me.

The worried look Mama was giving me kept me from expressing that, though. She was just being a worrywart, same as always.

“What about diplomatic incidents?” Mikaela asked. “Aren’t you worried about sending a pair of literal princesses out into the world without warning anyone?”

“That’s just another reason for you to keep your identities secret,” Dam said, firmly. “You’re unlikely to be recognized by the common folk, and it’s not like you’ll be running into dukes at random street corners. The chances of you being recognized are minimal, but it’s still better to be cautious.”

“And I’ll be sure to take care of it if tensions do spring up!” Mom added quickly. “I still have some pull as the Heroine, you know.”

“Personally, I’m against it,” Mama muttered. “But I’m also outvoted. And… well, I suppose my own trip to the human world was rather enlightening… I have to admit that it might help you figure out yourselves a bit better to live outside of the tower for a while.”

“How are we even going to survive?” Mikaela asked. “Like, where are we going to live?”

“You’re going to be passing yourself off as adventurers,” Mama explained. “Much like I tried to do. Except, in your case, the guildmaster is actually aware you’re coming and knows who you are. It should hopefully help to avoid any problems.”

“Problems like you had?” Mikaela asked, suddenly perking up. “Can you tell us about them?”

Mama hesitated. She never really liked to talk about her own trip to the human world. I think she worried that it would give us wanderlust - ironic, all considering. Still, she didn’t exactly have a reason to hold back now did she?

“The more issues you tell us about the more we can avoid on our own,” I pointed out, deciding to help Mikaela out a little. “You do want us to avoid trouble, right?”

“Well… I suppose,” Mama murmured. “Though, really, I didn’t have that many problems with the guild. Mostly I just scared people by coming in as an obvious noble… At least until your mom - the Heroine - asked me out on a date in front of the entire guild.”

“That was an accident!” Mom hurriedly told us. “I just wanted us to go out together and have fun! And, you know, maybe go on actual dates later, but I wasn’t planning to ask you in front of everyone!”

“It nearly broke my brain at the time,” Mama chuckled. “To think the Heroine of all people would ask me out on a date… But then, you were never just the Heroine, were you?”

A soft smile spread across Mama’s lips as she spoke and soon enough she was deep into stories about her time as an adventurer.

~~~

Author'sNotes

 

 

Hello, and welcome to my new series! This is a direct sequel to Demon Queened, but since it's set about 21 years down the line from the first series you shouldn't need to have read the original in order to enjoy it. It's my hope to see both new and old readers here!

This chapter originally started with a bit from Mikaela's PoV, but I scrapped it thanks to advice from my editor (FallingLeaf.) It didn't really add much? And I feel like Charlotte's portion is better at grabbing the reader's attention, and giving them something to relate to.

That said, we'll probably see content from both their perspectives as the story continues, so do look forward to getting a peak into our favorite try-hard's head~!

PS: Sorry for the lack of cover. I've got one coming, but I'm trying not to rush the artist.

PPS: Almost forgot to mention, but you can read two chapters ahead of this (and many other) series on my Patreon for as little as a dollar! The chapters haven't been edited by FallingLeaf yet, though.