Under Snakes Skin

I was a Tough Lady Killer Mobster, But Now I am a Klutzy Maid Girl, That will Take Down a Demon Lord!

Chapter 9 – Under Snake’s Skin

“Take the girl to my activities room!” The queen demands the guards to do.

The words cause the color to escape the faces of the prisoners and Lady Marril. But Azulle herself was puzzled. While she had cleaned many rooms about the castle the rooms of the Queen were restricted to only be handled by Marril. A chill runs down her spine as the guards themselves begin to shake and tremble.

“I know we follow the queen’s orders, but it’s just a child.” Asks one guard.

“Trust me this child is nothing to sneeze at.” Proclaims the familiar voice of the guard Jenson. “But I am not too keen on this punishment ether.”

Azulle tries to come up with words but finds it hard to speak as the guards bring her into a room that was likely once a fine bedroom but now proudly displayed many numbers of torture devices and mere look down showed while the room was kept clean, the wooden floor was forever stained with the remains of those the queen played with. And now it was Azulle’s turn. She gulped as the door closed. And it wasn’t too long after her screams would cry out to echo the halls to ears that turned away in order to maintain peace within the castle walls.

Elsewhere plates get smashed by Brookins. “How could we let the queen take the girl. We all know what she will do!”

“Do you have a death wish old man! I want to help the girl too but there are countless guards and even some spell casters guarding the queen. What would you have us do to lead a raid on the place? The best we can do is hope the girl comes out able to stand on her own legs.” Grell complains.

“Awe, look at the mess you made Brookins. Don’t you go getting all hot under the collar and destroying my little tea set up for you all now?” Captain Jenni states picking up the mess.

“I am sorry Captain but there has to be something we can do.”

“I am with Brookins I don’t want my sweet and lovely Azulle to have one scar from that nasty queen.”

“You got even half a plan.” The two look down as Vindall rests her head in her arms. “Look I agree it ain’t right what the queen is doing to her. But most of us are prisoners or have you forgotten. If we go out causing a ruckus then you can expect that the comforts of this jail will be replaced by the sharp cold steel of an executioner's ax.”

“Face it while the King may be able to keep the girl alive. The queen won’t likely let that girl be anything more than a slave to her violent needs.” Grell grits his teeth and slams his fist.

“Mmm, maybe, but I think that there might be a way to save, Zel yet.” States Kawa hanging from the ceiling with a giant spider suit on.

“Another kid?”

“Kawa, I didn’t think you were on my prisoner's list?”

“Nah Captain I just came to check out the guys that Zel said she was training with. That and to come to guide someone else here as his guard.” Kawa slides down a rope and points to the doorway where Gil is hiding behind the corner.

“Prince Gil, you came here!”

“I heard from Kawa that my sister trained here for a few days.”

“What of it, you royal parasite!” Brookins shouts.

“The kid probably just wants to train as well. Makes sense at least after the butt-kicking the girl gave him. But sorry your highness I have no interest in training you.” Vindall states rolling to hide her face from the group and try and get some extra hours of sleep.

“Yes, my last trainer well his way of swordsmanship is good and all but...”

“But in a real fight, all that flashy dancing about is practically worthless. That what you were going to say, your highness!”

“Ye...yes.” Gil holds his head in shame. “I try his way but when I fought against the slimes and then with Azulle. I found my attacks weren’t enough.”

“Well, then Grell you should teach the prince!” Vindall grumbles. “You are a trained warrior after all.”

“Sir Grell?”

“Bah, damn it. As a hired hand of your family, I guess I can’t deny your request. But I will only do it if you find a way to help the girl.”

“Really now I feel left out that no sweet little kids will play with me.” Claire looks at Kawa who gets nervous at her stare.

“Why do I get the feeling me taking you on as a teacher would lead to bad things.”

“Stay back you pervert. I will teach the .... what are you ...” Brookins pushes Claire away to her disappointment.

“Kawa is Kawa, and that’s all that I am. Yes indeed.”

“Ah well that clears things up I guess.” Tundall laughs.

“Awe but I wanted someone cute to play with as well.” Claire pouts.

The scene changes tonight at the castle. A shadow moves about down the hall followed by another and following them is Gil with an irritating look on his face. “Seriously you two don’t need to be sneaking about. I am royalty I can go anywhere I want in this castle.” Kawa and Brookins come down from the ceiling where they were using magic to keep them hidden away.

“I am sorry prince Gil but it is a must that any ninja be unseen.” Replies Kawa dressed in a flashy orange outfit, while Brookins is in his sundress.

“Sure, you two can really hide looking like that. Morons.”

“To master stealth, one must be able to hide wearing even the brightest of colors.” Brookins states. “Besides this outfit is so comfortable!”

Gil makes his way around the corner of the hallway only to come face to face with two guards. “Excuse me guards I am going in.” Gil is suddenly halted with the guards pulling out their weapons to block his forward movement.

“Guards what is the meaning of this, I am your prince I wish to go to my mother’s crafts room.”

“No one is allowed in the queen’s crafts room. Her majesties order.” One of the guards stout fully declares.

“This is a matter of my future I need to regain Azulle she is my maid and I need her to do her duties. So please part ways and.... one of the guards punches Gil in the gut sending the young boy crashing to the ground.

“I am sorry your highness but....” the guard is halted as a shrill scream lets out from down the hall. Then behind the guards quickly Brookins and Kawa drop down with ropes in hand and in one swift action the two knock out the guards.

“Still think our outfits won’t allow us to hide young prince?” Brookins laughs but quickly stops as his back gives out and he is bent backward in an odd position. “Gah, I am getting too old for this mess. You two move along I will bind these two and make my way back to my cell.”

Gil and Kawa push forward towards the room where the scream appeared to have come from.

They rush to the door throwing it open and there in the dark the queen stands in a strange erotic set of armor with Azulle bound in a steel corset and in strange shoes with iron spikes on the inside of the heel forcing the wearer to walk balancing on their toes less they spear their heel. The opening of the door causing the queen to halt her from continuing to whip Azulle whose face is dripping blood, snot, and tears. Azulle recalls back to her years as Hideo Eito, and with it figures the old her could easily learn a thing or two from the sadistic actions of torture that the queen enacted on her in merely a few hours.

“Gilford, what are you doing here. I have direct orders that no one was allowed in while I work on correcting past mistakes.” The queen holds Azulle’s head up by the hair and despite the pain, she is in Azulle forces out a devilish grin.

“The only past mistakes here are how you are allowed to have any power!” Azulle wheezes out. Only to be met with a hard punch to her face.

“Mom stop this!”

“Are you trying to defy me as well Gilford!”

Kawa starts to pull Gil’s arm to move back as the queen starts to move to the two. Fear hitting Kawa causes his grip to send tremors onto Gil’s arm.

“Mom, Azulle is my servant and I will punish her you don’t have to do this...”

“Oh, but I do my little hero.” The words cause a shudder of cold down Gil’s spine. Something was off about his mother. Never had he seen her like this. The queen's very face seemed twisted and her movements were the looks of a madwoman. “I need this girl to learn her lesson and bend to my will. If she doesn’t then you can’t be the great hero. She will take from you your glory. She will take from us this kingdom.”

The two start to back away as a rattle is heard but the queen keeps following the two. But a sudden swing of Azulle hit the queen deep in the back hard enough that the spikes on her twisted footwear dig into her heels. The queen turns and sees the girl still smiling as blood drips out from her teeth as she continued to swing from her bindings.

“Still getting in my way!” The queen reaches to a nearby brazen where iron is placed. Grabbing the burning iron, she thrusts it toward Azulle and catches her right at the arm the smell of burning flesh causes the weaker stomached Gil and Kawa to get sick. While Azulle cries out in pain. “See Gil this child needs to be broken. Or she will break what we have. What I have made here.”

“And what is it you have made mother?” Gil asked trying to recover from his nausea. “What kind of kingdom do we have that the people we rule over hate us. That we torture our servants to do our bidding. How can you expect a hero to rule over a kingdom of slaves!”

“You know nothing of slaves.” The queen grips the hot iron tight and starts walking towards Gil and Kawa. “To be hunted by them, ether killed for what little you have gained in life or imprisoned in cages to be used and humiliated by them. The scum of this world is strong in this kingdom, and when I came here, I expected I could destroy it from within. But then I found one so daring to stand before me unflinching in fear or rage.”

“Um, who is she talking about, Gil.”

“Heck if I know.”

“That damn woman. How dare she get in my way. This Kingdom was mine. It was to be yours, my child. But that witch of a doctor and her even worse destined brat of hers kept getting in my way.” The queen is right on the two so close that they could feel the heat coming off the iron starting to redden their exposed skin. But the queen suddenly turns back when a crash is made behind her as Azulle had successfully snapped her bindings off their perch sending her to the ground and stabbing her heels again to the point blood bursts out of the shoes. But she still stood shaking in pain but still bearing her smile.

“Why are you still smiling! Break already!” The queen goes to swing at Azulle but Gil in an act of bravery dives onto his mother’s arm and is deeply burned across his chest. He lets out a cry of pain but is able to hold the queen's attack back.

Azulle stands in shock for the second time the one she was sure to be planted here, her false brother was protecting her. But she knew that this would be short-lived and quickly bent over to take her stance for her Devils Rush. With blood oozing out from every step the world seemed to slow and her vision turns to red as she burst forth smacking into the queen catching her by her bound hands across the queen’s neck. The world slowly came back to normal for Azulle though the color remained she could see the queen’s neck was now twisted. She thought as she began to crash from the blood loss that she must have surely killed the queen and would likely be imprisoned if not executed for this action of regicide. But as her vision began to fade, she saw the queen's neck twist more and grow long, along with it scales appeared to replace the queen’s skin.

A monster. The queen was a monster. Azulle had no energy left to keep fighting. But the revelation of the queen’s heritage shocked both Kawa and Gil. The two panicked take a step back only to push into three figures standing in the doorway.

“Wretched Human girl. See my dear Gilford, see how they look at us when we appear unlike them. We work so hard to be like them to play their games of love and peace yet the moment they see us as we are they fear us.”

“Mom... no you can’t be my mother.”

“Step back young master. This beast clearly isn’t your mother. Monster what have you done with our queen.” Shouts guards that have accompanied two others that Gil can now see are the King and Lady Marril.

“Jelizza, what have you done with my, Jelizza! Monster!” The king cries out.

“Nothing you fool of a king. I am your beloved queen, your Jelizza!”

“No, you can’t be my mom or the queen.”

“You doubt me too Gilford!” Despite the anger, the pain hits the monster queen’s eyes. “You humans defile this world with your ways.” Marril starts to move towards Azulle to try and heal her but the queen’s body shifts again forming a long snake-like tail and whipping Marril into a wall. “My lord's plans may be exposed now but I won’t let that girl get the better of me.” The queen rushes grabbing Azulle’s broken body making her way to a stained-glass window. The guard strikes out at the queen gashing her arm but she knocks his sword away.

“What is that thing? Shouts the guard running to get his sword.”

“It has my daughter don’t let it escape with her!”

Gil sits there in shock unable to move. Kawa is scared but is rushing to help Marril up. “No Kawa I will be fine. We need to get to Azulle though first quickly.”

Meanwhile, the snake-like form of the queen moves about dragging Azulle’s body on the rooftop. “You and your mother just had to get in my way. I would have been done by now if you didn’t stand to turn my dear Gilford from me. Why what makes you so special. Gilford is the hero, not you! You are just a worthless Maid girl. I was going to raise the hero of my blood and have him be willing to fight for my lord. But you... you somehow got in the way. My Gil was to be born during the blood moon, not you. I even made sure that Gil was given the hero tablet denying you of that right. But still, you beat him. How are you stronger than my false hero?” The queen holds the barely conscious Azulle above the edge of the roof. Below her is a cliff overlooking the roaring sea and rocks.

“I... will ... beat... the demon lord. I ...have to.”

“Why must you get in our way!” Azulle shuddering in pain starts to let out a faint grin. “Have it your way Girl I will not die this day. But one day I will return and take what is rightfully mine. But you won’t be here to stop me then.” The queen lets go of Azulle and she begins to drop. A scream is let out from behind the queen where the Guard and King have started to follow the two. The queen lets out a laugh as wings burst out of her back and she drops along with Azulle. But on her descent, she doesn’t see the girl. Did she drop that quickly? None the less the queen spreads out her wings and glides off into the night laughing that one major obstacle in her quest was out of her way for good. The maid girl was dead and soon she could amass an army and reclaim her throne and her son. She laughed as the King fell to his knees sobbing at what was surely his loss of a daughter and his wife.

Kawa and Marril stepped out to help the guard bring the king in to join his heartbroken son. The queen’s reign was gone and now so to was Azulle and her devilish grin. The crazy boyish maid girl was no more... that was a common thought. But when a strange old man in a frilly sundress pulled a young and badly beaten girl up from the wall the sorrowful group's eyes changed.

“I think that rotten old snake dropped this.” Brookins declared. “Perhaps you all would know what to do with her?”

“Guard quickly take her to her mother. Marril ... “

“You needn’t worry my king I will accompany the girl.” Marril replies to the king.

“Master that was awesome,” Kawa states in awe of Brookins's actions.

“Well, it’s what good stealth and skill get you. Now it’s due time for me to get back to my cell.”

“Surely sir you will stay and let me reward you...”

“My reward would be to kill you, my king.”

“What! Why save my daughter then threaten my life.”

“Well, it’s my duty to kill you. But perhaps tonight let’s just say I did it for the girl for exposing the real problem of this kingdom and we can work on that whole oath of regicide I have in the morning after I get some tea and cakes in me.” Brookins bows and drops off the building disappearing in the night.

“So cool!” Kawa retorts and the king chuckles.

“Yes, dear Kawa I guess he is kind of cool.” The king turns to Gil still shuddering in fear. “It’s okay Gil you did well protecting your sister. Don’t you believe those lies of that creature you are a hero through and through? Let’s get you to see the doctor too about that injury okay.”

Gil is starting to cry “Dad I am not human? Was that thing really my mother?”

“No son you are what you want to be in this world. Be it a hero, human, or monster. You are and will always be Gilford, my son. Don’t worry we will find your mother eventually. I will see to it. But for now, I am just glad that you and Azulle are safe with me.”

The King leads the young prince and his substitute servant out of the destroyed room as the time fades. And morning hits Azulle’s eyes waking her once again in her mother’s bed with Francois laying on her. “Ryoko!”

“Five more minutes.”

“Well, I told you to not go out and get yourself hurt did I not. Now, look at you. I am sort of glad you’re in this shape because there will be no running out and having fought for a while till your feet heal up more.” Proclaims Eris.

“Mom.”

“You gave everyone a scare. Me as well. I watched the noise from my window. When I saw that monster drop you, I was about ready to kill myself knowing I lost you Azulle.” Azulle’s mother grabbed ahold of her daughter and hugged her with all her might but the squeeze caused Azulle to have difficulty breathing it was then that she noticed despite all the bandages she was still wearing the iron corset that the queen placed on her. “I was able to remove the shoes but given how much damage they did I imagine you will find it better to wear heels than normal shoes for a while. As for this I, unfortunately, can’t break whatever curse is on it. It’s not locked like a normal corset, but I would gather the spell needs a skilled mage to deal with it. But it doesn’t seem to harm you and I can cast some spells I know to alter its size to better fit you till we can find a way to get it off.”

“Just my luck. As if I couldn’t get any girlier!”

“Awe come now Azulle you look so cute perhaps you should act more like a girl. But then I guess I will just settle for having my daughter alive even if she claims to be a man in another world.”

The days would pass and Azulle would heal up but adept at what the monster had done to her. The king was disheartened that there was no sign of the queen. But even more, the heart has broken at Gil’s depression as of late. Still, Gil made good on his promise and let Azulle lead the group as the trio trained. He even helped Azulle form a bargain for the slimes to have an agreement to work and help out the castle’s staff and duties. While Azulle kept her secret from the rest of her team, she grew a bond with her slime allies talking and reminiscing about their days back on earth. Even the prisoners of the castle were given new duties and jobs. All seemed peaceful in the castle. But then quick trips to town proved otherwise for Azulle. The town was in misery and respondents from outside the kingdom showed that things were still far from peaceful beyond their borders. The Demon Lord and his army had barely even started a fight. And for one creature the fight for the kingdom was still something yet to come.

“I will have what is mine.” The queen slithers. “You gather as many monsters as you can. I need to have an army to visit my dear husband and make them all pay.”

“Yes, lord Envy!”

The queen laughs as the sunlight fades onto the distance look of the kingdom on the horizon.