Raising the next Demon Lord Chapter 5

Raising the next Demon Lord Chapter 5

 

Part 1

With a smothering blanket of tension hanging over their heads, Abagail and Timaios rode in a horse drawn carriage alongside the warrior woman’s old friend and ally, the hero, Gerald Dominick. Each bump the cart hit caused Abagail to clutch her head, most likely due the possible concussion she’d sustained at the hands of the formerly living demon hunter, Clayton. Her attention was split between the pain of her head, worrying about her unconscious husband and keeping the hood on Timaios’s head in place. The young boy’s hood was doing a bad job of covering his blood red locks but concealed the other demonic features well enough that he could pass for a human child.

“Kris will be alright, Abagail.” Gerald spoke up as he turned to watch a medic attending to the archer. “To think I’d run into the two of you here. It’s been far too long.” He smiled.

“Well, yes it has…” Timaios gripped tightly onto Abagail’s side as he tried to hide his face.

“…Don’t worry, young man. I don’t bite.” The older knight leaned in giving a warm smile. Again, the young demon boy hid his face, squeezing deeper behind Abagail in her seat. “He doesn’t seem fond of me.” Gerald chuckled.

“Tim is…a little shy around strangers.” Abagail referring to the boy by his name surprised him.

“I see. Is…he adopted?”

“Ye-yes…” Abagail held back bile in her throat. Uttering that lie left the woman feeling sick to her stomach. “We’re traveling. We’ve got some where we need to be as soon as possible.”

“I’m afraid I’m a bit lost. If you’re headed some place, why travel through the Zeme forest? That place is infested with monstrous creatures. Which I assume you’ve encountered, considering the shape Kris is in.”

“It was a huge spider that got to him.”

“Also, about those…bodies.”

“They were bandits! They surrounded us and demanded money. With Kris down, I had no choice but to defend myself.”

“I see…”

“…” (Did he buy that?)

“We’ll be in Zeme soon. Once there, I’ll have a room prepared for the three you in the barracks.”

“Is that really alright?”

“Yes, after all I am the captain of Zeme’s knights.”

Part 2

The carriage pulled into Zeme, its creaky wooden wheels bouncing on the cobble stones being followed by other horse drawn wagons that’d passed the city gates. Abagail felt somewhat nostalgic watching familiar tall stone buildings pass by. Many other stagecoaches pulled in alongside the troupe as peddlers began unloading equipment and goods for the next day. With small buildings lining the streets, it felt surprisingly homey to Abagail; except for the imposing castle at the centermost part of the city sporting a tower that reached for the sky adorned with the Zeme flag, a wolf baring a saber in its mouth.

“Is that the barracks?” Abagail pointed out a long two-story establishment with a bunch of men, most likely knights, as they were all armed with swords, drinking and making marry around the entrance.

“Yes, it is. And with those men outside, it won’t take long for…”

“Men!” An angry and commanding voice called the drunk knights to attention. Down from the second floor, a young snow white-haired woman leapt, landing right in front of the men gracefully, with her ponytail billowing in the wind. “Disgraceful! Showing your asses like this in the captain’s absence! I’m of every mind to make all of you clean the stables for the next month!”

“That won’t be necessary, Louise.” As soon as Gerald spoke up all the knights turned and saluted their captain.

“Welcome back, Captain Dominick!” They said in unison.

“Alright, alright. All but three of you, head inside.” Gerald waved his patrol team and the other knights back inside the barracks. Three men stayed behind as Gerald instructed. “I’ll need you three to carry this man to the infirmary.” The men acknowledged Gerald’s request and grabbed the ends of the stretcher, hoisting Kris up. As they walked past the front, Abagail tried to exit the cart but was stopped by Gerald with concern. “You need your rest.”

“But…!” Abagail wanted to be beside her husband more than anything at that time.

“We’ll take care of him. He’s an old ally…so I promise we’ll make sure he’s comfortable and safe.” That reassurance made Abagail feel a bit better.

“Sir, if I may?” Louise walked up to her captain. “Who might this be?”

“Ah, this is Abagail Pewter. She’s a close friend of mine from long ago. Do me a favor and walk her and her son up to one of the empty rooms we have.” He said with a yawn as the knight captain stretched and walked away.

“…” Louise looked Abagail up and down, then turned about face. “F-Follow me.” She stammered for a second and then led Abagail and Timaios into the barracks. Discarded weapons, armor and some clothing sat in the corner of the front room. Louise groaned audibly, but then quickly hid her face as she blushed with embarrassment. “Please…ignore this.” The snow white-haired knight woman brought Abagail and Timaios up to the empty second floor room, as commanded. “This area will be yours.” It was a rather large room, two beds, a bathroom, a nightstand workstation all looking especially pristine.

Abagail walked Timaios in and sat the young boy on a bed. “Thank you…Louise, was it?” She spoke with the young knight woman who blushed and looked away.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m very, tired, but if anything happens with my husband, please let me know immediately.” Just before Abagail could close the door she was stopped.

“Um…! Your name is Abagail Pewter…but your name used to be Abagail Highwater, right?”

“…Yes, it was. What about it?”

“I…I’m a huge fan of yours, ma’am. Your feats during the war, the battle with the Demon Lord, they’re spoken about in such high regard.”

(A fan, huh. That explains her change in demeanor.) “Thank you, but…”

“Ah, yes! You’re tired! I’m really sorry!” Louise bowed her head, the white hair atop her head bobbing wistfully, her azure blue eyes filled with joy. The young woman ran off covering her blushing face.

“*Sigh*…” Abagail sat down on the bed and looked over toward Timaios, the demon boy who she’d have to share a room with.

“Miss Abagail…are you-” A knock came from the door. Abagail got up to check who it was. There stood Louise, a bit hesitant but holding medical supplies.

“I-I asked Captain Dominick if I could - I mean, should bring you some medical supplies for your cuts and bruises…so here…” Girlishly, Louise handed Abagail the box of bandages and medicine. Then much like before, dashed off.

“…That girl is very weird.” Abagail returned to sitting on the bed. She eyed the closed door, expecting to hear another knock from Louise. After a few seconds, she gave up on her regular wariness and started applying treatment to the injuries sustained from the battle earlier. Timaios sat, clutching the stuffed dog Bravo as he watched Abagail. “…You did good…helping Kris back there.” The young boy smiled while covering his face with the plush. He noticed the difficultly Abagail was having applying the ointment to her back. From the battle with Clayton, she’d gotten a black eye and bruises all over, so he ran up, offering his assistance.

“I can help!”

“Don’t!” She surprised Timaios. “I…can handle it myself. Go to bed.” Frightened, the young boy scurried underneath the covers. Abagail got up, feeling a bit guilty for the outburst. To clear her mind, she sat on the windowsill, looking off into the night sky. With a deep breath, she took in the scenery, still filled with worrying thoughts of about their situation. “Kris…please be okay.”

Part 3

Joints aching, head throbbing and stomach churning, Kris finally woke up to bright and blinding rays of the sun breaking through the window. He was in a room he didn’t recognize but was able to discern it was some type of medical ward from the few nurses walking about checking on other men in the room. When one took notice of Kris having had regained consciousness, she approached him. “Excuse me…where am I?”

“You’re in the Zeme Knights’ barracks. Now that you’re awake Mr. Pewter, the captain would like to have a word with you.”

“Captain?” The woman walked away, leaving Kris slightly confused. (So, we ended up in Zeme. I wanted to avoid coming through here as much as possible, but I guess it’s too late now.)

“Long time no see, Kris.” A familiar voice called the young man’s name. He looked over to be greeted by Gerald Dominick.

“Gerald!? I guess I should’ve expected you.”

The knight captain took a seat bedside Kris’s bed. “So, it’s been what, 2 years? How have you been?”

“Uh…great, great! Gerald, where’s Abagail…she was with me, right?”

“Yes, her and your son are down in the mess hall.”

“Oh. That’s good.” Kris laid back down and breathed a sigh of relief. (He said ‘son’ which must mean he’s seen Timaios. Does he know about him being the Demon Lord’s son? I’ll continue with the idea he doesn’t. I like Gerald, but this is the last thing I can trust anyone else with.)

“I remember, you were so eager to have children 2 years ago. You’d mention it off hand all the time, to the point that Sabrina and Cordelia thought you were coming onto them.” Gerald laughed.

“Wait, what!?” Uncharacteristically, Kris got quickly unsettled by that comment. “Why are you bringing that up now?”

“Just a passing thought. You and Abagail…I’m happy to see that the two of you got what you were looking for. The family you cared about so much.”

“…Thank you, Gerald.” Deep down, that hurt Kris. It wasn’t what he’d wanted, it wasn’t even close. “What about you? I wouldn’t have thought that the ‘hero’ himself would come back to Zeme and just become the knight captain. Would’ve thought you’d be married off to some noblewoman and become a duke or something.”

“Haha…people place far too much importance on that. The whole ‘Hero’ who landed the final blow on the Demon Lord thing, it’s not that important. I was just a part of the team.” As humble as he was heroic, Gerald batted away the praise.

“Hey, can you tell Abagail to come and see me. I want to talk with her.”

“I’ll get on that in a minute. Let’s catch up a bit.” Gerald got up and looked out of the window. “Kris, where are you all headed?”

“Huh…? Oh…to…” (I can’t tell him Fausthood. It being the Demon continent is way too suspicious.) “Azzar…we’re planning to visit my old homestead.”

“Azzar? I thought that place was totally wiped out.”

“Well, Azzar was always more of a group than a place if anything.”

“Why go back?”

“…To see my parents graves…”

“Right. It must have been a long time since then. I hope you weren’t on a strict schedule.”

“Well, with me laid up the way I am now, it’s not like I can exactly rush.”

“From what I understand and have seen, you two have gone through a lot with the spider and those men.”

“Yeah, those demon hunters…err, they…must’ve been wandering the forest looking for demons or something! I was already out by the time they showed up. Fortunately, Abagail’s as strong as she is. I guess we owe that to you.”

“She helped me grow stronger too, it was mutual. Well, I’ll go and get Abagail, you relax.” Off Gerald walked. Kris felt some relief and doubt with him gone. Gerald was a smart, swift and reliable man, and despite Kris also being competent there would be very little chance of him outwitting the ‘Hero’ himself.

Part 4

“More!” Mesmerized with a nearly toppling mountain of plates piled up on the table, a group of knights in training watched two women down more food than they believed possible. “One more for her too!” Two plates were brought out from the kitchen and quickly snatched away from the mess hall waiter. Abagail and Louise devoured food so fast that even Timaios was awestruck. “Ahh…Good, I’m off to train! Come on Tim…uh, Tim!”

“O-Okay.” The young boy put down his utensils and grabbed his caretaker’s hand as she sped off, pulling the boy along as if he were a doll.

One soon-to-be knight cautiously walked up to Louise, face still buried in some mashed potatoes. “Uh…Vice Captain?”

“Blgghh!” Louise vomited and collapsed back onto the floor. “H-how does she…keep all that down…?”

Timaios and some knights on the training ground were captivated by Abagail’s graceful and fluid movements. The warrior woman glided about with the wooden sword in hand as if she were dancing, despite the practice weapon being weighed down with several heavy stones. “I’ve really…gotten rusty.” Abagail stopped and began thinking to herself. (I’m so disappointed in myself. Has all this time not fighting for my life made me soft?) Sullen, the proud warrior stared off into space, frustrated by her dwindled strength without noticing Gerald approaching from behind.

“Abagail, is something wrong?” Instinctively, when Gerald placed his hand on Abagail’s shoulder, she unleashed a nearly decapitating attack on her friend, just barely managing to duck the wooden sword by a hair. “Whoa, careful!”

“S-Sorry! I wasn’t…paying attention.”

“Guess I shouldn’t approach you from behind. Are you alright?”

“I’m not sure, Gerald. Lots of things…have been happening lately.”

“Oh? Like what…?” The knight captain took a seat on the benches alongside Timaios, who quickly jumped up, using his caretaker as a barrier to separate them. Abagail sat down and reluctantly the demon child joined her, still clinging to her side. “Tell me what’s bothering you.”

“…” Abagail wanted to open up with Gerald. (I can’t tell him that being around this boy - around Timaios is bothering me. Just thinking about Uzziel makes my stomach scars burn. Then again, I guess that’s not all that’s bothering me…) “It’s just…I’ve gotten dull.”

“Dull?”

“In the forest, we encountered that massive spider, and then those bandits. We were barely able to survive. I’m starting to think that, maybe all the safe living I’ve done since the war has made me go soft.”

“…You know, I think back to Abagail Highwater, the rowdy country girl who grew up on the battlefield. The one who was sent to the Zeme Knight Training Academy to grow even stronger, since she was the best in her whole village.”

“Where’s this going?”

“You came into the knights’ barracks and do you remember what you screamed?”

“…” Blushing, Abagail recalled the incident. “B-bring me your best, and I’ll show him what for!”

“Hmm…I’m pretty sure it was ‘Bring meh ur best, ya hear! I’ll kick his arse!”

“I wasn’t that much of a bumpkin!”

“Haha! Sorry, I may be remembering wrong. But I do remember what happened next. Do you?”

“…Yeah, all the knights surrounded me, thinking I was just some little girl. I beat them off one by one!”

“Then…”

“Then…you came. Top of your class, Gerald Dominick.”

“Yup! You challenged me and we fought. Within…2 moves I’d beaten you, right?”

“Geh! That was 15 years ago! Why do you remember that?”

“One of my crowning achievements, actually. You were so serious that even after you were defeated and thrown out, you came back the next day, and the next, continuing on until the captain at the time heard you out. You wanted to train and become a knight. At the time, it was unheard of for a woman to be a knight, but you refused to accept anything less.”

“Are you digging up the past just to embarrass me?”

“No. I’m saying that you’re one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. Training with you for years was what made me into the man I am today, so when I say this, I mean it. I know you can overcome any type of weakness you’ve built up in your own head.”

“Thanks…I just feel like, I’m betraying everything I worked for all those years ago. I’ve gotten weaker because I got complacent.”

“You can always get stronger again. So long as your heart beats, there’s still enough fire in you to keep going.”

“Hahahahah! That sounds like something Kris would say. Actually, I should go and check on him.”

“Right…he’s woken up, but I’d like-”

“Seriously! You should’ve told me sooner!” Abagail grabbed Timaios up in her arms, to the boy’s surprise, and sprinted off toward the medical ward leaving the conversation unfinished and Gerald a tad blue.

Kris laid in bed, head still pounding as the toxins passed through his system. Stomping boots running up the staircase outside the medical ward didn’t help with the headache, though the racket did signal to Kris the imminent arrival of his wife. “Nurse…” The bedridden archer called out to a young nurse who neared the door. “It’s probably better you don’t get too close. I think that door is about to fly open in…” Just then Abagail burst in through the door.

“Kris!” She yelled, only to get shushed by the staff.

“Hey babe.” Kris casually waved. “Oh, Timaios!” The young demon boy escaped Abagail’s grasp and ran past the nurses, leaping on Kris’s bed to hug him.

“Kris!!” He jumped so hard and fast that the hood covering his blood red hair and horn nearly flew off.

“Hold on, Timaios…” Kris pulled the cowl down barely able to contain the excitable kid. Timaios began to cry silently, overjoyed that his caretaker was safe. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Hey, how’s Bravo?”

“Ah! Here look! I made sure to protect him!” The boy pulled up the stuff grey dog, Bravo. He smiled from ear to ear as the plush remained unscathed.

“Kris…” Abagail moved in, kissing her husband deeply as Timaios his head quizzically at the gesture. “Thank God you’re alright.” She winced in pain a bit.

“I’m fine, but are you?”

“Slightly banged up.”

“Don’t let her fool you.” A nurse commented. “Miss Pewter has bruised most of her ribs, dislocated a shoulder and suffered a slight concussion.”

“Well…that shoulder was dislocated a long time ago.” She said with a half-smile.

“Why aren’t you laying down? If you’re so beat up, you shouldn’t be pushing yourself.” Kris tried to stand but found his legs too weak. “Great…we don’t exactly look like heroes right now, do we?”

Abagail leaned in and whispered to her husband. “Kris…we need to get out of here. Even though we’re both not at our best, with the boy…”

“I know. I’m in no shape to move right now, but in about a day or so, I should at least be able to walk.” Timaios felt neglected, being left out of the conversation, so the boy got up and walked to the window looking out across Zeme. Many people walked the streets, buying items, chatting, playing. Timaios looked on envious, wanting to join the lively hubbub.

“Can we go out?” The request surprised both Abagail and Kris.

“What? No. Do you…do you not realize what’s going on?” His frustrated female caretaker grabbed the boy up by the back of his shirt. Kris quietly pondered to himself.

“Actually Abagail, maybe you two should.” Abagail was confused at her husband’s suggestion. “You don’t need to say anything. Yes, we need to stay safe, but if Timaios starts getting restless, it’ll make things harder; and like I said before, I’m not going anywhere today at the very least. Just take him around town, please.” Kris looked to his wife, playing on her feeling of never being able to deny a request from the eyes of the man she loved so much.

“Ugh! Fine.” Timaios’s face lit up as the young boy began jumping up and down on the bed with joy.

“Enough!” The nurse cried out. “Heroes or not, this is a room meant for sick and ailing patients! If you want to jump around, get all cozy or hold secret meetings, do so elsewhere!”

Part 5

“This is far from what I wanted to do today.” Abagail trudged down the main street of Zeme holding Timaios’s hand. The young boy’s face filled up with wonderment at all the stores and people. (To make matters worse…there’s this one…) She referred to, in annoyance, the bright and cheery child gripping her hand and his stuffed plush tightly. (And this one…) Then referring to the blushing, white-haired young knight, Louise tagging along. (Why on earth did Gerald make her come with us?)

“Um…!” Timaios spoke up. “Over there! Can I go play?” The boy pointed to a park with many structures made for hide-and-seek and to climb on. Abagail looked into the star-filled eyes of Timaios and relented with a sigh. The group walked over to the park and ecstatically, the child of the Demon Lord, who no more than 4 days beforehand was being hunted, began to play like a normal kid.

“Um…” Abagail waited on the bench alongside Louise, finally spkeaing up for the first time since the outing began. “Miss Abagail, can I get you anything? Would you like something to eat? No, wait. You ate earlier. Uh…how about something to drink? No, you probably already did that too! Uh…” Flustered the knight woman fussed with her hair.

Abagail chuckled. “Louise, right? You’re Gerald’s vice-captain, I’m guessing.”

“Yes, I am!”

“To think, a woman as vice-captain… Gerald once tried to make a case for me to be promoted, but all the higherups were hesitant.”

“It was because they’d never had a female knight before. You were the first in the whole history of Zeme. Your accolades in the war…I feel you don’t understand how much they’ve effected the entire world.”

“Oh?”

“The stories of Abagail Highwater who became Zeme’s first female knight, fought in numerous battles across the world against the demon scourge, saving countless lives and defeating the Demon Lord. You gave so many girls I grew up with, myself included such a role model; something to aspire to being other than a princess or wife.”

“Oh, come on, your making me blush!” Abagail said modestly. Close by a young woman’s voice could be heard shouting in protest. It caught the attention of both women, who simultaneously stood up and looked for the source. The cry echoed from a nearby alleyway. Abagail checked to make sure Timaios was safe and ran alongside Louise toward the backstreet.

There sat a fallen angel woman, her clothes tattered and being harassed by two unsavory looking men. “Come on, you should just come with us.” One said while tightly gripping the demon’s wrist.

“No…please.” Before another advance could be made onto the fallen angel, Louise stepped in, grabbing the man’s forearm with a vice like grasp.

“Ow ow ow!” Cracking and breaking bones resounded in tune with the man’s shrieks.

“Her saying ‘no’ was a clear declaration of her not wanting to engage with you further. Unless you want to be tried by the Zeme Knights, be on your way.” The frigid glare Louise showcased surprised even Abagail. The men, fearful of whatever could come next scurried away.

“T-Thank you so much!” The fallen angel dropped to her knees in reverence of the white-haired vice-captain.

“Now then…on to you.” Louise’s expression still being as cold as ice, spoke down to the demon. “If you wish not to be bothered by such vulgar men, then not looking as you do should be your priority. Your lips, hair, skin and wings should remain hidden.”

“Am I to hide…my entire body? This is who I am!”

“…Then maybe you shouldn’t be walking the streets so nonchalantly. It’s your own fault if someone comes up to you again. Keep that in mind.” Louise walked away from the fallen angel as she began to weep. “I’m sorry you had to see that Ms. Abagail. Demon’s are…difficult to deal with. I’ve learned you cannot give them easy treatment, just because they’re less capable of living without their king.”

“…Wasn’t all of that a…bit harsh though?” Abagail looked at the young demon woman again, feeling sympathy.

“Maybe…but they’ve placed themselves in this situation. It’s no one’s fault but their own.”

“…” At that point she understood what kind of person Louise was. The cold eyes of the vice-captain were saved only for wrongdoers…and demons.

“You go ahead back to your son. I may have to file a report on this.”

Abagail rushed back to Timaios’s side in the park. The young boy stood with his back to his caretaker as she ran up, noticing that he was speaking with someone. Whoever the person was, they were obscured by the children’s play building. Abagail immediately got on guard, and more so when she noticed the familiar face of the one demon hunter who she let escape the battle with Clayton.

End of Chapter 5