Chapter 2: My First Day With The Demoness

Chapter 2: My First Day With The Demoness

Six Hours After the Battle of Grey

“This is stupid. God damn it I wish we had AC!” Kane yelled as Abel lay lazily on the floor of their one bed-room cabin while she paced half-naked in an attempt to cool off from the stuffy heat permeating the space. “Who the hell does Marceline think she is pulling a prank like this?! Doesn't she know that I'm THE demon queen?! The leader of an entire nation?! I'll have her flogged for this insolence!”

“Former.”

“What?” Kane said, pausing in the middle of the room.

“Former demon queen. Plus, you have to hand it to Marci, the barrier is pretty intense,” Abel said as he lay perfectly still and symmetrically in line with the rest of the nearby furniture. “It's a small price to pay for our freedom.”

“I’m sorry, are you trying to piss me off?”

“Nope, just making small talk. If you just relaxed it'll be a lot cooler. Heat rises after all, why don't you join me on the floor in meditat -”

The slam of a door was the answer Abel expected as he opened his eyes and sighed.

This is going to be a long six months.

Abel sat up, casting his eyes over the interior of the shack.

A kitchen, a bedroom, and an outhouse. Not exactly the accommodations he was used to either but it was no different than a studio apartment back on earth.

Well, if one discounted the lack of plumbing, central air conditioning, refrigeration, and electricity. All amenities from Earth that weren't developed in this world.

A fact of which Abel had grown accustomed after five years in this world however the problem they were experiencing was the lack of ventilation in the single room cabin. Coupled with one bed and nothing but squashes to eat, the safehouse they were promised was a far cry from what they got.

Still, they were alive, and more importantly, free. Well, as free as one could be in a six-acre plot of overgrown farmland in the middle of nowhere.

“A former paladin and a former demon queen, what a bad joke,” Abel muttered before rising and performing another series of checks on the cabin to make sure everything was in order.

****

Kane exhaled as she stood in the setting sunlight, her pale body glistening with beads of sweat while her red eyes scanned the fields of green that lay before her.

“Scan,” Kane said, attempting to activate her system skill only for the ability to glitch and falter.

Tch. Can't even use basic system skills now.

“Status,” Her vision glitched as the system failed to appear. Kane looked down, eyeing the silver wristband on her arm that inhibited her system abilities and drained her connection with her god. “How inconvenient.”

“Hey, here.”

Kane turned as Abel exited the house, handing her a chilled wooden cup with iced water.

“W-where'd you get ice from?!” Kane said, snatching the cup.

“I made it.”

“With magic?!”

“Relax, so long as we don't use our system powers we should be fine,” Abel shrugged, sipping the ice water as Kane stared at the crystal liquid in her cup.

So magic still works… Kane thought to herself as Abel stared at her.

“What?” Abel asked.

“You didn't poison this did you?”

“I-really?”

“Take this away. I'm not thirsty,” Kane said, handing Abel the cup.

“Clearly,” Abel said, looking the woman up and down whose body didn't seem to tolerate the heat well. “If I wanted you dead you think poison is how'd I do it?”

“What I think is irrelevant. At the end of the day nothing changes the fact that we've been mortal enemies for the last five years. I haven't forgotten what you've done just because we're temporarily allies. For all I know this is all a clever ruse to kill me.”

Abel sighed, his shoulders dropping.

“Look, we've both done things during the war we regret, but we should at least try to be cordial with one another.”

“Let's get something straight, I don't trust you, Abel Wright and I do not believe I ever will,” Kane said firmly.

“And yet you trusted me enough to go along with Marceline’s plan.”

“The difference is she's a lovable oaf who doesn't have a conniving bone in her body, you on the other hand, I see past the veneer of your smile. I know more than anyone what the Hero is capable of.”

Memories of their clashes played at the forefront of Kane's mind, the desolate battlefields, ruined landscapes, and flames of war. The mountain of dead caused by the Smiling Man.

“The pot calling the kettle black,” Abel scoffed, “We’re both guilty of atrocities, but fine, suit yourself.”

Kane watched as Abel greedily gulped the liquid down, her eyes fixated on the chilled cup before she looked away as Abel let out an obnoxious, “Ah.”

The two stood in awkward silence for a few moments, neither moving as each person's expression darkened.

“Look… Sato-”

“Wait, if you can use ice magic this entire time, why have we been suffering for the last six hours?!”

Abel chuckled. “Maybe I wanted to see you strip. All part of my conniving plan.”

“Tch! If you're done being childish, how about being useful and lowering the temperature?” Kane scowled, folding her arms over her chest.

“Hm? I could do that,” Abel said before taking a seat on the grass and lazily stretching. “But first, you'll have to do something for me.”

Kane narrowed her eyes as she noticed the mischievous look on the paladin’s face.

“Disgusting pervert. I didn't think you had it in you to be so lech-”

“What? No, I just wanted to know more about you,” Abel quickly corrected, “We're both from Earth, both been summoned here, but despite fighting you for the last five years I realize I don't know anything about you. Where are you from? What's your favorite color? Do you know any magic that doesn't require the system? How old are you?”

“And after all these years you're now suddenly curious?”

“I mean, we're supposed to be here for three months,” Abel said, patting the ground beside him and gesturing for her to sit. “Might as well get to know one another.”

“So this is your plan, withhold AC to gather Intel.”

“That's one way of putting it.”

“Pass, I'm taking the bed, you can sleep on the counter or outside, or better yet, kill yourself,” Kana said, walking off into the cabin and leaving Abel to sit alone outside.

“Yeah well, you're not the only one who wants me dead,” Abel said as he exhaled and placed the two cups beside him in a neat and orderly fashion.