Phaedra stumbled slightly when she stepped out into the main courtyard. A small table was in the middle, where Carth was sitting. A chair was pulled out across from him which she presumed was for her.
Aside from that, the courtyard appeared to be empty. No guards. No crowd. Even her escort was leaving now.
She glanced back at Yroth, who merely shrugged. It was good to know the dragon had no more idea than her. She motioned for Yroth to wait behind before she slowly walked forward, glancing around nervously. It wasn’t often a demon wanted to hide such a ritual. Most demons she knew loved putting on a big show. “So you’ve made your decision? What you desire?”
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Phaedra sat down and cringed. The chair was wooden and, to her embarrassment, her fleece made a little squishy sound when she sat. She hated this place. She was so, so tired of being sweaty and sticky and feeling overheated.
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Phaedra sighed before nodding. He really seemed to be taking this a bit too simply. Did he think she was really that harmless? “Very well? I guess? So, what is it you desire, should you win?”
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Phaedra only barely managed to suppress the urge to squeal when she saw his ‘pet’. A mouse demon. She was so CUTE! While mouse demons tended to be incredibly small, this one was likely a runt even amongst them. The tiny little mouse crawled up onto the table, hidden from view before, and then took a small bow. “Your ladyship,” the girl said.
Phaedra had to dig her fingers into her knees to suppress the desire to snag the tiny thing up and hug her. Her voice was so cute and tiny and the little maid outfit she had was so precious. She even had a little pink bow in her hair. Where had they FOUND a bow that small? Even standing on two feet the mouse likely wouldn’t have come up to her waist. “You want to fight me and a dragon, with a mouse? Are you sure?” Phaedra asked.
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Phaedra dug her nails into her knee when the little mouse girl cringed at that point. She didn’t know what he had done to frighten her like that, but every instinct she had told her to grab the mouse and hug her tight before tearing the Carth in half. “Very well, I see no reason to object,” Phaedra said.
A moment later the mouse was gone. It took her a moment to realize the mouse had run off, now sitting back under the table. She was fast. Incredibly fast. Was this why Carth wanted her?
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Phaedra’s eyes narrowed and she let out a low growl. Once again she saw the world begin to turn red and she struggled to suppress it. “I see. Very… well. I accept your challenge.”
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Fortunately, Phaedra had dug her nails so deeply into her legs she had managed to draw blood. She took the goblet, dripped the blood in and swirled it around, before taking a single drink from it. A moment later she felt the magic washing over her. She held the goblet out to him.
Carth chuckled and took it. “You really are a naive little thing, aren’t you?” he asked. “I just want you to know you’ve played into my desires from the beginning.” She heard a heavy thump behind her a moment before he drank from it.
Phaedra glanced behind herself to see Yroth was unbound, the collar and bindings on the ground. The mouse demon on her shoulder, a small lockpick in hand.
What?
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Phaedra couldn’t help it. She tried to suppress it, but she couldn’t. She covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head. “N-no, please. Go on.”
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Carth stared at her with confusion and fear. Yroth stared at her like she was an idiot.
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Yroth sighed before dropping the mouse demon in her lap. Before the poor thing could run off, she gave her a tight little hug. “Awww. You’re a widdle fuzzy thing, aren’t ya?” Phaedra asked.
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Carth gulped, backing away ever further while the dragon towered over him. “I-I offer you your freedom, I--”
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Carth gulped before he started to grow as well. Phaedra almost felt bad for him when he rose up. As fox demons went, he was fairly large. Nearly two stories tall, with half his body made of glowing red stone, the other half seemingly of flame. From the stone lava leaked down, dripping on the ground. With his three tails behind him, swaying lightly in the night, he would have looked quite intimidating.
If not for the fact Yroth was already nearly twice his size, Phaedra would have worried. As it was, she quickly turned her back to what she was certain would be a grisly display and focused on the mouse. “So what’s your name?”
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Yroth stared down at her, eyes narrowed to slits. “Who?”
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Yroth just gave a light snort.
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Yroth gave a low growl before beginning to shrink back down. “Very well.” She didn’t shrink down to her kobold form, however, instead remaining a full, albeit smaller, dragon. She grudgingly allowed her to put the bindings back on.
Phaedra sighed before turning to walk out from the courtyard. Cringing when she passed one of the tails, still wreathed in flames. Well, her dad would at least be proud. So long as he didn’t find out why Yroth had done the fighting for her. Now all she had to do was convince everyone she, still, somehow had Yroth under control.
Also, she needed to find out how that mouse knew how to make a cute lil’ maid outfit. She’d never even seen a maid outfit like that in this world! Maybe she could get one. Maybe she could get Yroth one, too!
On second thought, Yroth might kill her if she suggested it. So maybe just one for her.