Chapter 7: Punishment

Kalika held tight to the big red demon as she rode on its shoulder in a very uncomfortable position. He was still running at a blindingly fast pace through the forest, and it was getting hard to tell how deep they actually were.

As they continued their travels, Kalika tried not to think about what would happen to her. Perhaps they'll just send her back to her cell with Lillian's punishment awaiting her. She couldn't imagine things getting much worse than her first few years of being tortured.

"Hey. girl." The deep voice of the demon interrupted Kalika's peace. "What is it?"

"Is it true… that you can't die?"

This question surprised Kalika. Apparently, she was more well-known than she thought. "Does it matter?"

"I would very well like to know."

"And what if I said it was true? Would you kill me to test it out?" Kalika looked a little bored as she responded.

"No. That is a privilege only afforded to the queen. Even as a general of the Demon King, I would be killed on the spot if they'd ever found out."

"Then what's stopping you from doing so? It's not like they'd ever find out. We're so far in this forest I doubt anyone would ever witness someone else getting killed. It's your own loyalty that's holding you back, isn't it?"

The demon looked at Kalika, a little surprised before returning his focus back to the path ahead. "I have my own honor at stake as well."

Kalika found the demons' retort a little amusing: "Really now? I guess both humans and demons have blindly loyal idiots by their side. But still… I truly hate your kind."

"The feeling is mutual then." The big demon just emerged from the forest. They were closing in on the castle's cliffside.

The red demon jumped without any warning, expertly climbing the cliff with each huge leap.

They eventually came to the castle wall and jumped into the castle garden.

The garden looked as if it had been well kept. Roses, peonies, orchids and even dahlias littered the garden. They all complimented each other with the vibrant pink color that flowed through the air.

Kalika would've liked to stay, but the big demon was escorting her. "It's true," Kalika suddenly said.

The big demon stopped suddenly. "What's true?"

"A-about me not being able to die… It's true… I can't die."

The demon paused for a moment before continuing to move on. "I see…"

They continued to move through the castle corridor until they happened upon a servant. "General B-" the servant immediately gasped as she saw Kalika on the demon's shoulder. "Inform the King and queen that I brought the girl back."

The demon servant raced ahead of them. Despite being unable to see in front of them Kalika could tell the servant was in a panic.

********

After traveling through the corridor for a little bit Kalika is brought into a cozy-looking room. She was dropped onto her back on the carpeted floor.

The floor felt hard upon impact. Kalika could tell that she was in the castle's guest room, which had all the furniture.

"So… where was she?" Lillian's voice rang behind Kalika.

Behind her, Kalika could see the Demon King and her sister, Lillian, dressed as royalty. They were sitting on a couch and looked ready for business. Kalika could see that her sister's eyes were now black with red pupils. Was she angry? This was the first time she'd seen Lillian like this.

"I…" Kalika tried to speak but was instantly killed by Lillian. 

"I wasn't talking to you. Bjorn."

The big demon watched as Kalika was revived, screaming in pain just mere seconds later. He was a little shocked to get instant proof, but then he quickly got on his knees to report.

"I found her by chance, hunting a straggler from our last invasion. It looked like she was among bandits trying to get their way with her. I have dealt with them accordingly."

Kalika recovered from the pain by looking back at the big demon and then her sister. Her sister's eyes went back to normal.

"I see…" Lillian looked back at Kalika with eyes a little more softened before becoming serious again.

"What were you thinking!?" Lillian was angry with Kalika.

Kalika didn't respond. She only looked away from her, giving an attitude.

"You've been too soft on her, Lillian. At this point the how and why doesn't matter. What matters is that she was outside these walls." The Demon King narrowed his eyes at Kalika. The Demon King looked quite aggravated.

"Lucius." Lillian looked back at the Demon King.

"Don't give me that. You remember the arrangements of our deal." "The Demon King's name is Lucius?" Kalika was surprised by this. 

"Deal? What Deal?" Kalika quickly questioned.

The Demon King Lucius sighed. "Go on Lillian, you explain it to her."

Lillian took a moment to look at the Demon King and then Kalika. "Seven years ago, I made a deal with Lucius, the King of Demons. As long as you stayed confined within these walls, I had full custody of you. Otherwise, if you ever went outside, some of those privileges I had with you before would be revoked…"

"A-are you kidding me? I'm not some pet, Lily!" Kalika became furious upon hearing this arrangement.

"That's right. You're not some pet." Another familiar voice came from the door of the room.

"You are one of our most highly held secrets. A human that cannot physically die is a very rare thing to find. You are indeed a one-in-a-trillion find."

It was another red demon with green eyes, but his visage was strikingly similar to the Demon King before her. Just like the Demon King, he, too, had his tail wrapped around his waist. The only difference lay with the hairstyle, eyes, and horns that were on the side of his head and pointed up.

"Rakon, you came much faster than I anticipated. As you can see, the girl is back. All thanks in part to General Bjorn."

Rakon looked at Kalika and then at the big demon general. "That is good to hear. That makes things convenient for me since I just finished with that so-called maid of hers."

"He's talking about that demon girl Rhonda, isn't he?" Kalika simply glared at Rakon, who paid no mind to her disrespectful attitude.

Rakon approached Kalika , arms starting to raise to her head. "If there are no objections, I shall pass down this girl's punishment now, too."

Kalika was a little confused by this. She expected to be punished, but not by a demon who looked like the Demon King.

"Yes, the sooner, the better," Lucius said.

"Before you do… I have some reasonable suspicion." General Bjorn spoke out. Rakon looked at the general, narrowing his eyes.

"And what would be this suspicion?" Rakon asked.

"I highly doubt this weak girl actually escaped on her own. I find it more likely that she was kidnapped, perhaps men hired by the same group that attacked yesterday."

Rakon was a little curious looking at the general. "And why would you think this?"

Lucius spoke up too. "It's quite possible one of the five generals caught wind about the girl's survival. After all, most of our men in the army are aware of her existence. It's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that rumors had spread as well."

Lucius then looked at Lillian and listened to them speak. He then turned back to look at Rakon. "And if memories serve me correctly, there is a hidden entrance to the dungeon on the cliffside. A hard-to-reach area for sure, but certainly not impossible. And it's not very well known unless you were part of the previous ruler's entourage."

"So, do you believe that further investigation is needed?" 

"That might be the case." Lucius responded.

Rakon started to laugh a little. Kalika, like Lillian, just listened intently as the two brothers talked. In Kalika's eyes, they were practically twins, with the only real difference being their horns and skin.

Rakon started to walk away from Kalika and back to the door where he had come from. "If that's the case, I'll lighten it to fifteen years in solitary detention."

"So, does this mean it's back to the dungeon then?" Kalika looked bored as if expecting this outcome.

"You'll actually be going beyond the dungeon. It'll be a more secure location that I'm sure you'll find very fun." Rakon seemed a little too excited.

Rakon then looked back at Lillian with a calm smile, finding she didn't like the outcome. "Huh? What's with the sour mood? You should be rejoicing. She could've spent twenty-five years in the pit. In fact, she can keep her little maid, albeit under our watchful supervision of course. It's quite a light sentence if I do say so myself."

Kalika Looked at Lillian, who seemed bummed by Rakon's judgment. "I have to concur," Lucius said solemnly. "It's only fifteen years, Lillian."

"Only fifteen years?" Kalika was a little surprised by how nonchalant the Demon King was.

"Okay. I understand." Lillian seemed much more conservative now. Kalika couldn't understand why Lillian saw it as a bad thing. Although Kalika didn't like it either, as far as she knew, she was goin back to a cell to rot like the last eight years.

Rakon then snapped his fingers, and some demon guards came through, grabbing Kalika.

"Now. Let's be one the way. Oh, and don't worry your majesty, you'll be able to see her whenever you want, like normal as well. After all, I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss the fun either," Rakon said.

"What is he talking about?" Kalika was puzzled by his last statement.

Rakon started to lead the way with Kalika and the guards, leaving behind everyone else.

"Wait." Lillian called. 

They didn't stop, but Kalika couldn't help but to glance back as she was being escorted.

"No." Lucius said. "Let her remember this. Its better this way."

Kalika witnessed Lillian looking much sadder. This just didn't make much sense to her. There was strange change in the air as if there was much more going on than what was said.

********

Kalika was now following Rakon and some armored demon guards. They were heading deeper and deeper into the dungeon that even Kalika wasn't familiar with.

They were now approaching a steel door. "It's right past these few doors. It's a single cell for now. But fortunately for you, our last friend is no longer with us. So, it's all yours."

They kept stepping through several roughly crafted iron doors until a larger steel one was visible. Shortly after Rakon the demon guards something in the demon language. They quickly opened, then went over to leave Kalika and Rakon alone.

Throughout their conversation, Kalika knew she recognized the voice. It was from the same demon that gave her the crystal. There were no doubts in Kalika's mind. It felt like the perfect time to get answers.

"Since we're alone, do you mind if I ask you something?"

 Rakon was curious about Kalika's inquiry. "Sure. What is it?"

"What do you hope to gain from doing this? Are you looking for power and wealth, or are you just looking to become famous in the eyes of your kin?"

"That's quite a strange question, Kalika." 

Kalika approached the front of the opened large steel door. "So is giving a prisoner a crystal." 

Kalika looked very bored as she stared at the ground. "I recognized your voice from back then. You can play all the shadow games you want, but don't take me for an idiot."

"Heheheheheh… You're a very observant human, aren't you? Maybe I've underestimated you. No. I overestimated you." Rakon surprised Kalika as he was right behind her, amused. He pushed Kalika lightly into the cell.

Kalika bawled her fist as she looked at the ground. She was clearly frustrated. "At the end of the day, I was just the pawn to you… wasn't I?"

"You can believe that if you want. After all, it won't change much."

Kalika looked at Rakon with a grim expression. "You must have quite a number of idiots by your side if you're that confident."

"Hahaha… I think I'm starting to like you. You act like a tough girl on the outside, but on the inside, you're probably just a soft and cowardly little girl."

Rakon had the door half closed and started playing with the side of it. He showed off some strange magic by draining blood from his finger. He swirled it around one of his fingers and swooshed it gently by the side of the steel door.

"I'm very familiar with your type. You might act tough now, but once there's a crack in the surface…"

Blood shaped as a blade started sticking out from the other side of the door. "The whole exterior becomes easy to peel away."

The blood turns back to normal, splattering the floor. Not long after, the blood wriggled its way back to its owner, burrowing it back into the veins. Witnessing this took Kalika aback.

"Girls like you are the most fun to break since you never know what you'll get at times." 

"You're a sick bastard!" she snapped.

Rakon simply smirked, almost chuckling. "You have quite the attitude." He started closing the door as Kalika stood in her new prison, listening to the demon's last words.

"I'll enjoy tomorrow's debut. Let's see what happens."

The door closed, leaving Kalika in darkness as she stood in her new cell. "By the way, a friend of yours will be stopping by shortly, so do lighten up a bit." Another steel door creaked shut as he finished his last words.

Kalika cringed, disgusted by the demon. She never imagined that she'd become some sort of pawn.

She looked at her new and more fortified prison cell with solid steel doors. This cell, unlike her old cell, had nothing in it other than dirt and grime. It certainly didn't help with how cold this new cell was. She could barely even walk around in it. It was so much darker than her old cell too.

And much more silent as well.

"So… This is my new home…" Kalika bawled her fist.

Anger soon started to boil over as she remembered what Rakon said. Kalika kicked the wall immediately in anger. Of course, she immediately regretted this.

"Damn it!"

Kalika sat on the floor, mulling over her thoughts as the pain from her feet pounds. She leaned herself on the wall, digging deeper and deeper into how she could've prevented this predicament. But no matter how she thought of it, she was doomed as soon as she accepted that crystal from the demon.

Her mind kept drifting off. She didn't know what to think. "What do I do now? Will I ever be freed of this nightmare?"

"I hate demons. I truly despise them…"

Kalika's thoughts were then interrupted by the patter of feet and heavy armor. Then, the creaking of one of the steel doors. She could tell there were two people, one small and another large.

A light soon shone through the small iron-barred window of the steel door, trapping Kalika. A blue-skinned demon guard in armor is seen peeking through the bar. It then opens the door , revealing Kalika's maid, who was also there.

Kalika couldn't see her face properly but could tell by her small stature and uniform that it was Rhonda.

"R-Rhonda… so you are alri-" Kalika stopped, shocked by what she saw.

A candlelight given to the maid girl revealed a bandaged head and a missing right eye. It looked as though it had been scooped out recently. Rhonda was even trembling visibly as if she were seeing Kalika against her will. Rhonda approached Kalika with a candle and a new pair of clothes in one hand. She placed the new set of clothes in front of Kalika and then respectfully bowed to her.

Kalika observed this girl, with a guilt-ridden expression before looking away. This girl had every right to hate her, and Kalika knew it. But to see the maid so scared was something she wasn't expecting. "He's just trying to shake me."

With the clothes dropped off, the maid simply left the prison cell. Rhonda gave one last pitiful look before the door closed leaving Kalika to her own devices.

Kalika clutched her hands, waiting for him to return.

"Did they really punish that girl because I escaped? No. He just wants to play on my emotions!"

A wave of unexpected emotions kicked in for her. She grabbed the clothes, throwing them at the door as hard as she could.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY! SO DON'T DARE LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! YOU HEAR ME!?

RHONDA!!"

Unknown to Kalika, Rhonda could hear her outside the second door separating them. She then started to cry.

"SO DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!!"

Rhonda clutched at her maid's dress as Kalika finished spouting her statement with shaky resolve.

Rhonda was at a lost, she was almost unsure what to do as she looked in the dark dungeon corridor. With reluctance, she continued to leave Kalika to her fate leaving Kalika with nothing but the silence of her prison.

Now quiet, Kalika looked at her trembling hand as if reflecting.

"Can I really escape?" she questioned herself.

She clenched her hands mustering up what little courage she could "I-I Don't want to give. Not now. There has to be a way."