The demons lords of the Downside

For a moment Valerian and I stand there, myself numb from the fall and slightly shaken, unwilling to let go in case another hole might open up beneath up beneath me and swallow me up again. The Downside sure is a place full of surprises- but none quite as surprising as the ones that stand before me.

The meeting room is like any other you would find in a royal palace: big and practically screaming authority. I have snuck into many in my time, but this one truly takes the cake. Back in my palace, Alastor and I used to hide under the tables before the meetings started and listen into the adult conversation- when we were very young, of course. The meeting rooms were big and boring, but echoed with the secrets of our people, and the hidden knowledge stowed away under the crown. We never did really understand much of it, but it made the Queen absolutely livid when she learnt that we had managed to sneak past security- mostly by Alastor's illusion magic. After she found out what we had been up to, she locked me in my room for three days straight, ordering me never to interfere with royal affairs- despite the fact I was very much a part of those royal affairs as she was. Not that I listened to her anyway, I intervened with all the royal affairs for the rest of my miserable childhood.

Alicia scolded me for a week after- she always had taken my mothers side, or rather to appease her, after all, she was much more responsible than I had ever been. Meanwhile Al, in the daring and blazon manner in which he does everything, had snuck into my window to meet me after dark, where we would giggle about the happenings of each day and how angry my mother had been. He felt bad that I had been locked away, of course, but he promised to stay with me all night to tell me tales about the Folk, and the Devil. That always made things better. Then it wasn't so lonely.

This meeting room, however, is a magnificent one. A long, dark oaken table stands proud in the middle, dressed with a red tablecloth and several golden chalices, much fancier than the ones we have at the palace in Vriryn. The Queen always insisted that anything we drank, ate, or dined from, anything at all, would be white. White cups, white plates, white stools to sit a white privileged nobles ass on, white roses in a garden full of white canopies, and a white wedding dress for the most disastrous wedding of the century.

But down here, there is colour.

Crystalline chandeliers with flickering purple flames, ornate brown and white lattice wallpaper, spotted with imprints of golden flowers, and on the opposite end of the room, a huge set of double door pin pricked with glittering rubies. They say the Devil has accumulated a lot of riches in his lifetime, but a lot would seemingly be an understatement. If this man is rich enough to throw away rubies on a damn door, he can do just about anything.

Briefly I wonder if his bedroom would be of the same calibre: glittering with jewels and the forbidden secrets that no mortal has ever been privy to. And then find myself pondering over whether such an ancient creature will have a bedroom at all.

But the most terrific thing in the room is not the colours, or the mountains of glittering rubies and diamonds spotted over the ceiling, forming a cosmic explosion of glimmering stars, no, no. What is even more fantastical, are the people in it.

Two demons sit, seated tightly around the long table, playing cards, a dull expression pricked on their faces, quite obviously awaiting the arrival of their lord and master. When they see me, their eyes light up, wide grins spreading like twin sharks, a smile full of canines. One, a younger, thin looking man drops his cards on the table, flinging the prospect of the game aside and spreading his hands wide as he removes himself from his seat with a loud scraping sound.

"My Lord, you have returned!" he exclaims jovially, swivelling round to face us both.

He certainly is rather peculiar looking, much like the Folk in the Upper Realm, only slightly more... sinister. He wears a traditional knightly attire, a pair of horns sprouting from his head, curling down past his ears, several golden hoops strung around the points. His skin is a deep red in colour, his eyes gleaming gold, ruffled hair ablaze with fire, pushed back past his ears to reveal the array of studs on ear one. Judging by the sword at his side and the large, sweeping cape slung over one shoulder, I would expect him to be of someone of great importance- exuding a similar sort of regality that Valerian once did when I first came across him.

The slender demon man makes to come towards me, but Valerian crosses his arms protectively over me, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks. A long look exchanges between the two of them, a silent exchange, before the demon steps down, bowing lowly to his master.

"It is good to see you back, your highness'. Dreyfus and I have been awaiting your return with great eagerness, my lord," he says eagerly, bowing once more to the both of us, before straightening up eagerly to face us. Valerian raises an eyebrow sceptically.

"By playing cards, Tarquin? You must have been eager indeed," he jokes, his grip on me loosening slightly as the red demon- Tarquin, takes a few steps back. "But please do refrain from being overzealous with lovely Miss Elowyn here, she has had quite the day, and she has just been through the tunnel for the first time. Judging by the amount her heart is racing, one can presume she is positively shaken."

Right on queue, my legs begin to shake beneath me, the whole ordeal catching up on me all at once. My head spins nauseously, stomach threatening to spill whatever of this morning's breakfast left in my stomach right up on this nice carpeted floor. What a right shame that would be, an awful thanks for someone who has practically just saved my entire life.

Not taking any chances, Valerian quickly scoops me up and places me in a chair at the head of the table, bringing up a chair to sit beside me, watching carefully. Placing a delicate hand on my own, he gives me a steady smile, his hand tightening over mine, a hand that I am too sickly feeling to push away.

In all honesty, I feel like I might vomit. But doing my best to steel my stomach, I hold it in- I would not be embarrassing myself in front of my new associates today.

At the other end of the table, Tarquin bows low once more.

"What a pleasure it is to meet you, your highness, Miss Elowyn. We are delighted to finally have you with us."