The Royal Bedroom.

The trip to The Royal Bedroom was swift and mostly without incident. It wasn't actually too far from your old room and fortunately there was only one guard patrol that had to be evaded. Akina easily kept the two of you out of sight to evade them. Finally you arrive and head in. Looking around, your first impression was that it looked oddly...normal. You have been in it several times talking to your parents and it looks just like it always has. It would probably have made you a bit misty eyed if you weren't in such a hurry.

Akina quickly pulled the door closed behind you and pressed her ear against it, "Go look around while I keep watch at the door."

You nod and quickly start searching around. As you search, you discover that there are little things that suggest the purpose of this room has begun to get corrupted into the demon's pleasure chamber. Strange tools and object litter the drawers and chests and it looks like some chains are are waiting to be installed on the wall. on the bedstand, you see an iron collar with the word "Slut" engraved on the side of it. Grimacing, you set it down before moving over to the desk.

On the desk, there are several papers that are shuffled around lazily. Some of the papers are documents about the state of the kingdom. Those are simply tossed aside. The most prevalent object on the desk looks to be a letter. there's a quill and inkwell beside it and looks like it was written relatively recently. Curious, you pick it up and read it.

Dear "Esteemed" Colleague,

Despite going against your recommendations. I have deemed it to be possible to take control of the Itherian Crown personally. After some preparation, I succeeded while you are a failure. I have recruited my brother and sister to assist in this endeavor and now that they have arrived. The kingdom is entirely under my control. Do be aware that if I find out that you have decided to make any attempt to dethrone me in the future, I will send my armies to get you.

Certainly, I would pay much to see your reaction to this news. A lowly succubus such as I have done what you, an archdemon, could not. We do not have to be subservient to humans to remain subtle when we can simply take their forms to do so. Of course, I'm sure the true reason why you do what you do is because you secretly enjoy being a cock guzzling slut and a fuckhole for your silly king and anybody else you fancy. Perhaps you get off on your pride as a demon being tarnished every morning when you wake up pretending to be that flat-chested Elven whore...

The insults continue for several sentences before the letter abruptly stops. It would seem as if whoever wrote it either ran out of time to finish it, or needed more time to think up more insults for this mysterious archdemon. You would wonder who this person was and the seeming animosity between her and your mother if you weren't still staring in horror at the fourth sentence.Your hands tremble a little, "Akina...There's three of them."

Her head jerks around "What?"

"Read this. Fourth sentence." You step towards her.

She quickly closes the gap and takes the letter out of your hands. Her eyes wander the sheet and widen before turning towards the door. Grabbing your hand, you get pulled towards the door, "We need to leave...now"

Perhaps had Akina not left her post at the door, she would have been able to avoid what happened next. Unfortunately, due to the urgency of the situation; she had forgotten her training and policy of always have a lookout. Her mistake was clearly realized when all of a sudden the door was kicked off its hinges and fell to the floor. The dust kicked up by the impact, made it difficult to see the features of the large silhouette of a man stepping over the collapsed door.

Akina pushes you behind her and curses at her mistake, before storming forward and assailing the giant of a man before he can properly assess the situation. She swings the blade at the base of his neck. There's no chance for him to draw his weapon and despite his size, quickly reaches his hand up and places it between him and the blade. As the sharp blade sinks into the palm of his hand, he grabs and squeezes the blade trapping it in his vice-like grip.

As the dust clears, you and Akina are left to stare in shock. The large man had a thick helm hiding his face, but the blade in his hand was clear as was the black blood that drooled down the feline's sword. She clenches her teeth and struggles to free the sword, but to no avail. Showing skillful flexibility, she bends down while keeping ahold of the short sword and pulls a knife out from under her boot and aims a swing it toward a gap in his armor at the elbow. Her swing pulls the rest of her body off the ground using the blade sunk into his hand as leverage.

The man grimaces and lashes out with his other hand and grabs Akina by the wrist. She gasps in surprise at the unusual agility for a man of his size. He quickly pulls Akina away from her blade and a sickening crack is heard throughout the room from her sword arm and she loses her grip on the blade and is thrown across the room and crumples to the ground.

You gasp in horror at the injuring of your friend and rush over to her to make sure that she's okay. A quick look over shows that she isn't bleeding and a check at her pulse tells you that she's still alive. However, her sword arm was clearly broken from the **** of being suddenly wrenched off the blade and now is bent in a way that it shouldn't be and she was definitely ****.

From behind, you hear the clank of the blade that used to be embedded in the man's hand clatter to the ground and the pearly voice of another that you do not recognize, "See? I told you they would come here to find evidence against you."

"You did good coming to me, sister." The voice of your brother immediate catches your attention and you turn. The form of your brother, Donmal is now standing in the room. You know it's not really your brother, but your mother taking his image to rule the kingdom herself. Beside him is the girl from your old room. She is grinning at you with a smug superiority that makes you wish to slap it off her face. Behind both of them is the large man that single-handedly defeated Akina.

His deep voice booms, "What should we do with the other?"

Now the grin that annoys you the most is that of your brother's doppleganger. "Take her to the dungeon. I have plans for her."

The large man stomps towards you, "My pleasure."

You pull a small knife that Akina gave you for emergencies and hold it out in front of you as he gets closer, "Don't...I won't be taken...without a fight." Your heart beats loudly and your legs feel like jelly. He chuckles and ignores your threat. Steeling yourself, you grip the knife with both hands and thrust it towards his belly. A loud screeching sound is heard and the small screeches off his armor harmlessly. You stare at the scratch it made in shock for a moment until suddenly he moves and you feel a sharp pain collide with your head as everything goes black.

The first thing you notice is the throbbing pain in your head. After that the coolness of the ground beneath you. Gasping, you quickly sit up as the memory of what happened comes crashing back and you look around. A thick iron gate covers the only exit out of the little cell that you're in. On one side, a tattered bed and the other side, a bucket....the dungeon. Gripping your head, you stagger to your feet and wander to the door of your cell. The hall is dotted with torches and the cell across from you is empty. Where's Akina? You call"H-Hello?" However nobody answers.

Down the hall, you see the shadow figures of a pair of guards playing cards. You call out to them again and they still ignore you. Ignoring your headache, you keep calling until you see one of them get frustrated and throw down his cards and walk over to your cell. "What's all this racket for? Shut up before I get the whip out."

You bite your lip and step back from his threats, "I...Just want some questions answered."

He groans, "Fine. If it shuts you up."

Perking up a little, you ask, "How long have I been here and what of my friend?"

"A Day? Two days? Dunno" He grumbles irritably. "As for the other girl. The traitor was taken to a special holding cell to await her execution. Seems like someone nearly ripped her arm off. Oh well, it's what she deserves."

A pang of irritation wells up inside you, "She's not a traitor. The King is a demon!"

"Pshaw. Traitor-speak from another traitor. The only reason you're here and not waiting for your own execution is because the King ordered it. Honestly, I'd have just been done with you both on the spot. Just a week after assassinating the last king she has the gall to try for two? With your help? It's pretty obvious now that you were seeking the throne and wanted to take shortcuts." He thumbs the pommel of his sword. "That's enough questions. Sit down and shut up before we get rough."

He returns to his card game and you sigh and sit on the bed. At least Akina is still alive, but with her arm broken; it's unlikely that she'll have any chance of escaping on her own. You look at the locked cell and think about all of the armed men between you and freedom. Perhaps sneaking into the castle wasn't the best course of action. Everyone did pretty much agree that it was a long shot and looking at the situation it has put you in now, it does seem to be a bit...hopeless.