Close To Heaven

For hundreds of years, every aspect of Asha's life had been scheduled and planned with a single eventuality in mind: that one day, she would be crowned the Queen of Hell. 

And though her father had done his best to shield her from the worst of Hell and the protests against the daughter of an angel reigning over Hell, well… She wasn't the perfect, compliant, sheltered daughter she pretended to be—and knowing what she did, she'd come to the conclusion that she needed to take measures now to cement her claim to the throne. 

Unfortunately, the only way to keep demons in line was to prove that you were more powerful than them. Hell's entire hierarchy, at its core, was decided by who had the most power. If she could prove herself a match for her father, it would quell most protests. Whatever was left would just have to be solved by bloodshed.

The first piece of Asha's plan lay in requesting a change to her schedule and a new instructor for that change. She needed to dedicate significant time to physical training if she was going to be ready in just under a year. She'd put that piece into motion weeks ago, leaving her father to choose whomever he believed best. As seriously as he took her safety, she knew he would need time to find someone he trusted who also had the skill needed.

Today she'd taken the second step in her plan: registering herself as a contestant in next year's Tournament. 

As she briskly traversed the castle's familiar halls, Asha made sure not to fiddle with the bandage wrapped around her forearm. It covered the cut that had been made when she entered her name into the Tournament, her blood used to bind her as an official contestant, but if she was asked about it, she'd already prepared and practiced her lie.

Now it was time for step three. King Shax Gaap Eurynome had sent word that he'd found her a combat instructor, whom she was to meet. 

As Asha knocked twice and pushed open the door to her father's office, she found herself cautiously eager to meet the demon she'd be spending her every afternoon with for the next year.

When Xarakas woke up that morning, he assumed the day would be like every other: training in the morning, an arena match in the afternoon, dinner with his patron and her guests in the evening, and a night of having to serve his patron in the bedroom, as if he didn't spend the entire day acting on her behalf. 

Everyday was the same and would continue to be the same until he could prove his own worth and free himself from the bondages of patronage. So when he received a message from his patron, the High Priestess, as he finished his training, he was surprised—even moreso when the message told him to report to the palace, where he was to meet with the King of Hell. 

He'd met the demon briefly at some of his patron's lavish parties, but only in passing, so to be summoned by him for a one-on-one meeting was quite the shock.

But he reported nonetheless, bathing and dressing in clean garments before making his way to the castle, where the King informed him that he would be serving as combat instructor to his daughter, Princess Ashanti. To say he was displeased was an understatement, as he thought that spending his afternoons training her would be a waste of his time when he ought to be dedicating the time to his own training, especially if he intended to participate in the Tournament in order to earn his freedom anytime soon. 

But with the Priestess and the King ordering him to the task, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice.

So as the princess entered her father's office, he turned from where he stood by the King's desk to offer a formal bow, doing his best not to look too displeased. "Your Highness," he greeted, stepping forward to pull a chair out for her to sit so her father could tell her the details of the arrangement himself, both unsure and uncaring in regard to the specifics.