VD - That night

It’s dark outside. Demi sleeps peacefully beside you.

Careful not to wake her, you slip out of bed and put on a robe before stealing out of the house into the night.

You make your way across the grass. The big hills, some of which are heavily forested, make it hard to see a lot of light. The glow of Demon City is visible over the hills, and some of your neighbors can be seen sometimes… but that’s about it. Demi’s land is substantial and almost kind of isolated.

But the Demon Moon is big and bright. You reach the construction site and hold your robe shut as you poke around with interest. Plot lines are placed in the ground where they’re going to have a huge garden with walls. In fact, the whole castle is going to have walls around it. The castle itself was going to be big, but with these walls, mazes, and gardens surrounding it? It’ll be ridiculous.

They’re able to work so fast because they’re demons. Even Cas and Pol are incredibly strong, and Lady D’s daughters are the same way. Lady D, meanwhile… can probably be used like a crane would be in the real world.

You touch the rough, stone blocks that they’re building with. There are rolls of red carpet and… hmm. You check out some big, wooden crates. What’s in these?

“Mistress?”

The voice startles you. You turn to see a huge, white ghost materialize out of the shadows. It’s Lady D in her white dress and big hat.

“Gosh. You scared me,” you say with a laugh.

“Is everything all right?”

“I was just looking at this stuff,” you say.

“Is it to your liking?”

“It seems like a lot. Like more than we had in the plans,” you say, not trying to offend her.

“I’m very passionate about this project,” Lady D says earnestly, laying one hand on her incredible bosom. “I assure you, Mistress.”

“Um, yeah. I really appreciate it,” you say. “It just seems like overkill.” You have looked up some of the other castles around, and this one will be competitive with them. You wanted a nice place to throw parties, not to get into a pissing contest with the most important people in Demon World.

“If it’s more than you wish for, Mistress, I will complete this project without compensation,” Lady D offers generously. “That is how strongly I feel about it.”

“Wow,” you say. That’s a hell of an offer. She must be worried that she changed the plan on you. She must think that you’re going to be mad. You smile at her. “I kind of enjoyed compensating you,” you admit.

Lady D shifts her weight to one colossal hip. “Well, Mistress. Even if I forego my pay, I might be convinced to accept a tip.”

“Just a tip?” you ask.