Page 5 of Crowned A Traitor
Magic could be cruel, but it had its beauty. She pressed her hand to the doorknob, allowing the magic to know her and the door unlocked itself. This particular tunnel was usually free from the Queens' eyes. The Ogres didn't like the cold tunnels this high in the mountain. The door sealed behind Klara and torches lit her path to the heart of the Castle. The thin air caused Klara's lungs to ache, something she had never experienced when she had a heart. However, the sharp chill she was used to. It would lower her body temperature and keep her from being detected by the Seekers, a small ant that emitted a pitch that would incapacitate intruders long enough for the Ogres to capture them.
Klara followed the torched walls, hearing thousands of Seekers rattling around. The closer Klara got to the Castle, the brighter the torches became.
The Queens loved their privacy, and the Seekers are one of their favourite weapons. Klara had suffered one or two of their attacks as a child when she had tried to sneak out the hidden doors at ground level. That was before Klara knew they couldn't detect in cold conditions. A Seekers scream was enough to make a Creature claw off their ears.
The mud turned to cobblestones as she reached the door to the east wing of the Castle and Klara's presence forced it open.
Klara glanced back the way she came, wishing she could make a break for it. But she wouldn't survive the journey to Kalos without a heart. Klara opened the inner door to the Castle corridor, and the smell of food wafted from the kitchens close by. Arthur's cooking was the best Hell could offer. The Queens' took him for themselves, but only after the King ordered Klara to be raised in Malum.
Klara knew the Queens would be feasting after their evening rituals. There were no Guards or Ogres that she could see. Klara needed to join her Guardians to avoid suspicion so she strolled down the corridor knowing the quickest way to the Queens would be by portrait. Klara searched for Ethel the Deplorable, once considered a great warrior before Father gave her a seat on the council and her greed got the better of her. Klara stepped into the painting and found herself staring at the feasting Queens through the matching portrait in the banquet hall.
~3~
"That rancid girl is going to get us skinned," Eve said fretting while sucking on the skin of a snake. Klara felt ill watching their vicious appetites.
"Why the King created a child only to dump her on us is a mystery to me?" Eve continued, and Klara could see the bored expression on Abadan and Lilith's face.
"Maybe the King was lonely in the Manor," Lilith said, the sound of her scraping fork against the gold plate pierced Klara's ears.
"Don't be ridiculous! He has us," Eve smiled sweetly, clearly still in love with the fallen Angel who lured her from the Garden. Lilith shrugged, ignoring her sister Queen.
"Abadan you must admit that dumping his Creature of us is too much! Klara has no respect for us," Eve continued, and Klara was about to jump in when Lilith slammed her fist on the table, shaking the plates and platters laid out before them. "Questioning the King is above your station Eve," Lilith warned, dropping her cloak from her strong shoulders.
Klara often wondered the same since nobody had made an attempt on her life in years. She was older now, trained, and yet her Father hadn't asked her to return home to Hell. Maybe Lucifer couldn't handle her becoming a woman or handle a rival for the throne. He created an Heir, and as soon as his council of Demons pointed this out to him, Klara was packed up and shipped off, and something told her his intentions weren't entirely for her safety.
???
"Klara Lucifer, where have you been?" Queen Lilith scolded not bothering to turn in her chair as Klara stepped through the portrait. "Don't let me interrupt the feast," Klara smiled, avoiding the question as she strode past the long table. Grateful that her jacket made her appear whole. The gold candelabras on the long table lit up the vast quantity of foods from every corner of the Forest of Malum. Almost every night they feasted despite many of the Creatures going hungry.
Klara resisted the urge to sigh in relief as the chill of the Castle eased her pain. The heat of her skin overwhelmed her as her body failed to heal itself without a heart.
"Care to try that again," Lilith said, twisting the fork around her fingers.
"Out, I was out." Klara pulled up the collar of her jacket, hoping the scent of blood would escape their senses.
"Out where? The Guards have been searching since the second moon descended," Lilith continued while Abadan kept disturbingly silent at the head of the table. Klara could force them to reveal their true intentions toward her. Let the King see what they thought of their ward, how they despised and wanted rid of her, but that would cause too much trouble. Klara would rather leave them to rule while she made her plans to live in the blissful lands of Kalos.
Abadan would deal out her punishment while her mentor Lilith loved to scold. "I don't see why I am to blame for the Guards' failure."
"How dare you speak to us with such a tone… you have ruined my appetite." Eve tossed her napkin on the table. "Then I will leave you before I ruin your feast."
Klara wiped the sweat from her forehead and hoped their ravenous appetite would distract them from her altered state. "Stop. Right. There." Abadan ordered, and Klara froze. Most of the time, they preferred to act like she didn't exist, that was until it was time for training and lessons, and then every little thing she did was held under a microscope. Lucifer had entrusted them with her education, and he doesn't take failure well.
"Answer the question," Abadan smiled, exposing her sharp teeth. "Where have you been skulking?"
She leant over the table, her sharp features lit by the candlelight while Lilith and Eve continued to dine. She could reveal their pure form, Eve an old crone, twisted by magic. Abadan, a Demonic beast. Only Lilith would appear the same, as the First Woman she held an absolute divinity, but Klara granted them some mercy. Klara examined the high arched ceiling and dark steel beams that held the ancient stone roof in place. Starlight broke through the large holes where the ceiling had fallen through. How could such a beautiful place home such evil?
"Around," Klara said, glancing at the foreboding portrait of her Father hanging above the arched doorway. "We aren't finished this conversation," Abadan snarled, and two Ogres appeared in the doorway blocking Klara's path.
"Come and join our table, let us be civilized," Abadan said. Klara's eyes drifted to the food at the table, and her mind filtered back to the Beanstalk. The dismembered Humans, the blood clot sauce, and the thought was enough to make her gag.
"I already ate," Klara said, trying to wave the Ogres away. Although the Ogre's beige overalls were clean and their batons polished daily, the rancid smell of the damp southern swamps still wafted from them. Without precise instruction, the Ogres wouldn't dare lay a finger on her, so Klara ducked under the crossed batons.Not a good move, she winced as she felt beads of blood drip down her abdomen.
"Thank you for your service," Klara said, recovering before anyone noticed her hesitation. The towering Ogre fixed his eyes on her with sharps fangs protruding from his lower lip.I need to get out of here, she thought scolding herself.Just get to the kitchen.
The Ogre opened his thick green lips to speak, but Klara placed a hand on his arm, showing him his family safe and secure in the southern swamplands. It was an idle threat, but the Ogre didn't know that. The Ogre huffed, and Klara winked at his silence.
"Enjoy your meal, my Queens," Klara bowed her head looking back at them, and Abadan returned the sharp nod. Klara watched Eve's mouth fall open at Abadan's lenience.
