Ch. 3 - Practice Makes Perfect

Jeremy's words stayed on Damien's minds even days after their etiquette lessons. Damien wasn't sure what to make of Jeremy's attitude or advice, but for now it was what Damien needed as a starting point.

He would work hard to win people's hearts. He would rule to the best of his knowledge.

Like most students of the academy, Damien also kept his status a secret. For him, it was more important to do so.

If people found out that he was the Crown Prince of Forsythia, his popularity would skyrocket.

Then, if people found out that he was a Demon Prince of the Underworld on top of that, he would be exiled from society.

He'd be sent through the extremities of this social game these humans liked to play.

Contrary to popular belief, many demons lived quietly amongst humans, especially within Forsythia. Those who shared the lifeless complexion that Damien had, those who wore stiff expressions, those with changing hazel eyes, they were demons too.

It just so happened that Damien was able to claim the future throne for both worlds.

In Forsythia he'd be the first demon to rule as a king for a human domain.

In the Underworld, he'd be the demon king, to be the most feared amongst others.

In theory, it was a lot to take responsibility for, but the Underworld and Forsythia had been so intertwined to the point it had been on the way to becoming one domain.

Damien solidifying both of his positions was crucial for the future of Forsythia and the Underworld.

Although, Damien wasn't sure what he could offer during his reign. Especially, when he was among the demons who lived according to the rigid expectations of other demons.

It's the reason why Damien went off to attend The Noble Academy. He saw how happy the people of Azalea were, and what a better place to learn how to reign than a place with a good ruler. Perhaps, if he was lucky enough he'd even get to meet those who ran the country, the Queen or maybe even the Crown Princess herself.

Damien stared into his mirror. His roommate hadn't been home due to the recent Harvest Festival, which gave Damien a chance to practice his expression freely, whatever that meant.

He pulled at the corners of his lips and tried different degrees of a smile, but they all ended up looking the same.

Studying the people of Azalea wasn't as straightforward as he thought it'd be though. Damien thought he'd do well in the academy at the very least, but humans were a far more complicated mystery than he initially expected. He never saw a smile as a weapon, but here he was practicing it for the sake of his future.

How difficult was it to smile?

Fed up with his fruitless efforts, Damien kicked his mirror and rushed out his room.

Just for today, he'd go to the festival to observe how people smile.

———

Naomi stared at her mirror. She closed her eyes trying to conjure up the expression Jeremy left with her, but every time she had tried wearing his expression, she'd coil back in confusion.

Why was he wearing such a scary expression then? He seemed amicable, but as Naomi expected Jeremy had truly mastered the skill of high society facades.

Naomi shook her head. This wasn't the expression she needed to be practicing anyways. She wanted to learn how to put on a stoic expression, not a cold one.

Her mind then wandered off to Damien, the Damien whose eyes were full of life, but whose exterior was perfectly rigid.

He was irritating, condescending, and grim, but at least his character amused Naomi.

Damien reminded Naomi of the Queen sometimes. Both of them always wore stiff faces, but regardless their eyes had always been so transparent. She wondered, if she could master Damien's demeanor, would she end up just as skilled as the current Queen?

Naomi started to practice mimicking Damien's expressions. She stood before the mirror and tried to keep her face as stiff as possible, but it only made her look sleepy at most.

She shook her head and reset. That wasn't quite right.

Her mind wandered off to Damien again. His expression wasn't quite sleepy. It had more edge to it, sure, but it also held a certain softness that Naomi couldn't quite explain in words.

Then there were his eyes. Those hazel eyes of his were quite the sight. At times Naomi swore that they had a tinge of other colors of the rainbow, almost as if it looked like a prism against any light.

It was fun to tease Damien. Even the slightest of inconvenience filled those eyes of his with color.

It made Naomi want to tease him more.

Naomi snapped out of it and she saw her reflection making an unfamiliar expression. She was smiling like some maniac.

She gasped and kicked her mirror away.

"I need a break."

Even if it had been a few days into the Harvest Festival, the festivities hadn't died a single bit.

Damien strolled down the streets of Azalea. The day was bright, too bright for Damien's liking, but at the very least the vendors and tents provided some shade that made Damien's stroll a little more bearable. As Damien kept walking he noticed a few things.

Almost everyone had a smile on their face, from children, to vendors, to oblivious onlookers. A week of festivities meant a week of happiness.

When it came to smiling, everyone else seemed to do it with no effort. For most people it stemmed from genuine joy, but there were others who used it as a weapon. Jeremy was particularly good at it. So was Miss Labelle.

Was a played smile so necessary to be a good ruler?

Then there were others like Naomi whose smile clearly communicated. She had about twenty different smiles she'd shown Damien, but it didn't mean he knew what any of it meant, nor he had any desire to know.

Smiling was complicated enough, he didn't need to overcomplicate it by using Naomi as an example.

Humans were a mystery already, he didn't need an even bigger mystery.

What did happiness even mean to Damien?

He thought deeply, but came to nothing. He had no peculiar attachments to anyone or anything in particular.

Did he even take joy in anything that he had done?

"Come on right up! Make a deal with the devil! Place your bets! Win a prize!"

Damien's ears perked up upon hearing 'devil'. From a far booth painted in red and black, a vendor yelled again, "Come on right up, make a deal with the devil!" The vendor was also dressed in red, with horns on his head, stereotypically what humans thought demons looked like.

Damien approached the booth.

"Young Man, would you like to make a deal with me?"

Damien couldn't help it. He felt his face twitch.

"Let's do it. What's your deal?"

The vendor cackled, before bringing out an array of cups.

"First deal! I'll hide a die within these cups, and it is your job to find where it is. Deal?" The vendor reached his hand out.

Damien smiled and shook the vendor's hand, "Deal."

In an instant, Damien was able to find the die. Even when the vendor did more shuffling, Damien found the die. Even when the vendor hid it in his sleeve, Damien found the tiny die.

Of course, Damien would win this deal with guaranteed success. He was a demon himself, and a demon never loses a deal.

After the last attempt, the vendor started tripping his lines out of embarrassment, and instead of making another deal, he went straight to giving Damien the grand prize.

Damien laughed in victory. He grabbed the life-sized plushie of Cerberus, and although he had never seen the great creature himself, the familiar figure made him smile.

It was then when Damien caught himself. He held his face within his palms, and as he walked further down the street, he was able to find a reflective window.

Unlike before, his reflection smiled softly. He held up the plush next to his face, entertained. He laughed at himself, before happily walking away from the festival.

On that day, Damien concluded what made him the happiest was when he was the truest to his demon self.

——

Little did Damien know, from afar, a familiar person watched him.

Naomi, who had been exploring the festival, was able to spot Damien from a sea of strangers. His looks stuck out within Azalea. Compared to most Azaleans who sported an assortment of colors like the flowers that grew in the country, Damien had such a dull appearance.

She was about to call out to him, but he wore such a sullen look that she decided against her guts. She simply followed him, occasionally copying his stoic expressions. It was good practice regardless whether she talked to him or not.

While following him, Naomi was able to pick up on a few things. Damien, despite being quiet and disinterested most of the time, was always watching. He was always pondering over everything he saw. He pondered why children celebrated over catching fish, he pondered why certain vendors cackled like witches, he pondered why elderly couples sat under trees and slept contentedly.

He questioned all those scenes with the same stoic expression, but his eyes were always wondering. Perhaps it was the secret to his expression.

So Naomi tried it out herself. She focused all her energy into her thoughts, and started pondering over everything around her. She had never focused so much on the why's of the world, but it definitely slowed the pace she had been living life at.

In the slow of the moment she lost Damien, so she hastened her steps, and while passing the windows of each street, she caught glimpses of her expression, and just a little, she could see a semblance of Damien in herself.

Even when she celebrated her victory, her expression stayed indifferent.

After passing a few streets, she finally spotted Damien, and in his hands now was a stuffed toy, a dog with three heads. Naomi prepared her stoic expression to approach him, but as she neared him, Naomi was caught by surprise.

Damien in all his seriousness, wore a warm smile. He occasionally tossed the plush in his hands, but there was a skip to his step, and much more than before, the strange unfamiliar feeling in Naomi's heart began raging.

She felt her cheeks burn.

Then she stopped dead in her tracks as Damien of Forsythia faded into the crowd of smiling people.