A Royal Warning

"Hey, Sav'era?"

"Yes, my lady?"

"You know you don't have to call me that. Not when we're alone anyway."

"Ah, well, it's good practice." The demon laughed. "While I'm here, I should play the part, right? Anyway, what was it that you wanted?"

"Did you hear about Lord Roujin?"

"The name sounds familiar, but I don't think I ever met him. Why?"

"It's the scandal of the hour!" Susan said. "Apparently, he was found this morning having died in bed! In bed but um, not in his sleep if you catch my meaning. His heart gave out according to the healers."

"Hmmn. How strange. Was he an old man by any chance?"

"No, not at all. He was young and very fit."

"That is odd," Sav'era agreed. "But perhaps he had a defect of the heart? I have heard you mortals can be prone to that. Sometimes, you just stop whatever you are doing and die."

"It's not THAT common," Susan frowned. "And usually there are warning signs. In this case there were none. It's very strange. And there is another thing too."

"Oh?"

"The paladins haven't said anything about it, but he was apparently involved in something very bad. Because of the way he died, they investigated his chambers and found some pretty bad stuff."

"Pretty bad stuff? can you say anything more specific?"

"No." Susan frowned. "They haven't told me. Said it ''wasn't the sort of thing that an innocent maiden should know'' The nerve! I am a princess, you know!"

"And not nearly as innocent as they seem to think," Sav'era laughed. "At least, not in that particular sense."

Susan's face grew red, and she started to stutter before pulling herself together again.

"You're doing that on purpose!"

"You're adorable when you're ashamed of your desires," Sav'era said. "But in this case, I wouldn't worry about Lord Roujin anymore. I have a sense that neither he nor anyone associated with him will be doing any further harm."

Susan crossed her arms, looking towards Sav'era with concern.

"You didn't do anything, did you? Apparently, Lord Roujin was pretty bad, but the paladins are saying that his **** wasn't an accident. They think he was killed by someone."

"Huh. How annoyingly perceptive of them," Sav'era sighed. "I would have thought that these less experienced paladins might have let something slip, but I suppose not."

"Sav'era, what did you do?"

"Nothing that can be traced back to you, my dear." Sav'era said, but Susan fixed her with a look.

"I'm not worried about me, Sav'era. I'm worried about you. You know my sister is captain of the paladins who guard the palace? She's very suspicious. She knows someone did something and I am pretty sure the only reason she hasn't found out it was you is because she didn't think to check for a demon. It's been so long since we interacted with your kind! But if she did, I am sure she would find you."

"I have some tricks of my own," Sav'era said. "I have faced paladins before, don't you forget. We succubi are good at hiding ourselves when we need to."

"I hope so, Sav'era." Susan was unusually grim. "Because if my sister finds you, you know she'll do her best to kill you. And not only her; she has a whole order of paladins ready to back her up. Don't assume that just because these ones have never faced a demon you can run circles around them. They may not be up to the level of the old ones you fought, but there are a lot of them and they're just as determined. If you get unlucky, or they get lucky, all the experience in the world isn't going to save you."