On the Road Take 2

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I often dream of a demon. He carries me out of a house in the forest. His arms hold me close. His heart beats steadily in my ears. It’s warm and soothing; it has always been so. He takes me through the forest to a lake. He sits down, removing my shoes and his. He leans my back against him, holds me dearly, and dips our feet into the cool water.

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The Witch spent the rest of her day at the inn resting while Succubus went on the prowl. When the Succubus returned to their room, it was already late at night, and the Witch was still in the travel clothes she’d meant to remove after taking a nap. In fact, she was in the same position she’d laid down.

Concerned, the demon immediately felt for the Witch’s pulse at her neck and checked her forehead’s temperature, but they seemed fine.

The Succubus sighed as she sat down next to the Witch. The demon wanted to take the Witch’s hand and hold it in hers or give the Witch a kiss on her forehead. However, she thought it wouldn’t be fair to do these things to a sleeping person.

Instead, the demon watched at the Witch with gentle eyes. For a moment, those eyes turned into a color.

The next morning, when the Witch awoke, she found herself on one side of the bed and the Succubus on the other. To be precise, the Succubus had combined her bed with the Witch’s. The Succubus was already awake and brought over a wet towel and a pan of water just like yesterday morning.

“I thought you might feel better if I slept closer to you since you touched the Paladin yesterday,” the Succubus said.

“I feel better, thanks. Are you going to keep doing this every morning?” the Witch asked.

“It is my duty to serve you, My Lady,” the Succubus said.

“You don’t have to. You’re my Guide, not my handmaid, and none of the other Guides did this,” the Witch said.

“That’s because they don’t know how to serve humans. If they did, they would have done this as well,” the Succubus replied. “I’d feel uncomfortable if I didn’t serve you properly.”

“But a cleaning spell would take care of it,” said the Witch.

“That wouldn’t be sincere enough,” the Succubus said, shaking her head and smiling.

“Last time, when we traveled together, I also couldn’t convince you,” the Witch said, sighing.

“I wish I could stay with you even in the human world. I respected your wish to be alone. Without your human heart, I knew that loneliness wouldn’t drive you mad. However, when we are together, I hope you’ll let me serve. As I said, you are precious to us.”

The Witch wondered if the Succubus knew what she was talking saying. Every time the Succubus was nearby, the Witch’s cold heart warmed, and she could feel emotions again.

“What if another human did what I did, wouldn’t I be replaced?” the Witch asked.

The Succubus returned the question with a gentle smile. “No, of course not. You would still be the first who to try to understand us and make peace with us.”

“Then what if it was dozens, hundreds, thousands of humans? Even if I were the first, I would not be unique anymore. I would be one of many.”

The Succubus was at a loss. After some time, she hesitated, “You’ve… dated people, haven’t you? The first one is always special.”

The Witch tilted her head, thinking. “I can’t really say… I’ve never really dated anyone. I became this way when I was seventeen. No one wanted to get close to me. Even now, I’m feared or respected from a distance. But I suppose I can understand what you mean.”

“You’ve never dated anyone in all 369 years of your life?” the Succubus asked, baffled. The demon brushing her hair, froze.

As a succubus, she didn’t have a normal understanding of a human’s love life. But even she knew that it was normal to date a bit before marriage.

However, to hear the Witch hadn’t dated anyone in her whole life—a life lived far longer than any other humans, was crazy.

“Like I said, people saw me as a freak. Why would they do that?” the Witch answered, unbothered. She shrugged her shoulders and realized that they were stiff from her sleep. Or maybe they were stiff from this awkward conversation. She got up from the bed and stretched.

There was a time when these things bothered her, but not anymore. Why worry or think about something when you don’t need it to survive? It’s not like a kiss would improve her stats or power. She had not accepted that she wasn’t normal.

“You don’t want to change that?” the Succubus asked. “If you don’t mind, I can change into a male and take care of it for you.”

“What? No, there’s no need!” She averted her eyes and backed away. The sudden suggestion startled the Witch so much that she didn’t know how to react. She didn’t even blush because she was so flustered.

“Really? It’s no trouble at all,” the Succubus replied as if she was going to water flowers. She pretended she didn’t see the Witch backing away. She didn’t want to scare her anymore.

“I know you don’t see doing it as a big deal because you’re a succubus. Most humans prefer the other person to have some attraction to them and vice versa, and maybe even be in love,” the Witch said.

Although the Witch also wanted to say that she wished to save herself for the one she loved, she didn’t want to open another can of worms. Not when the demon was in this form.

More importantly, it hurt that the demon was so nonchalant about it. The Witch tightened her hand on her chest.

“I know, but I thought you were beyond all that. Demons do it whenever they feel like it. It’s more like a business transaction,” the Succubus said. “We aren’t emotionally dependent like humans. It doesn’t matter if we feel anything for our partners as long as we do the deed.” She finished combing her hair and started packing her things for the trip.

It might seem silly and naïve, but the Witch had been waiting for true love. What meaning is there in pure pleasure when there’s no love?

Meaningless pleasure would only break her heart. She’s been waiting for the one she loved to love her back. She had been waiting for him for so long. She looked at the Succubus, her eyes hazy with doubt, wondering how the demon really felt about her.

“Yes, I know that,” the Witch said. “However, just like you said, we’re not emotionally dependent, so I feel no need to lose my virtue. It’s really no big deal. I can wait. Besides, there are certain magic that only the pure ones can do.”

The Succubus raised her eyebrows and asked, “That’s the first time I’ve heard of that. What are they?”

“I’ll show you when the right time comes,” the Witch said. She also wanted to start packing to distract herself from this embarrassing conversation, then realized that she had never unpacked last night.

“Really, why do you have to be so secretive?” the Succubus said with a wry smile. 

After a simple breakfast, the duo set out on their journey. The Succubus transformed into a male. He stood tall with broad shoulders and toned muscles. “For safer travels,” he said as they made their way towards the city gate.

But did he need to make his face so fatally handsome, thought the Witch. They should be keeping a low profile. After the Witch complained, the Succubus altered his face to look more mundane.

“I’m tired of being attacked on the road because folks think we’re weak women.” The Succubus shook his head. “I thought it would be better if one of us is male.”

“That must be hard. Transformation magic is difficult to learn,” the Witch said, impressed with the Succubus.

“Not really. Transformation magic is in our blood. It is in our nature to alter our form to be attractive to our targets. Most succubus females were originally males, but it’s easier to find targets as a female,” The Succubus said.

It was true that when the Succubus was female, many people looked her way on the street. The Witch also noticed that the Succubus looked prettier this time compared to the last time they met.

“Male borns started learning transformation at a young age. As females, we learned how to alter our features, but nothing drastic as gender change,” the Succubus continued. “It took a bit of experimentation.”

“You mean most men have been sleeping with men, and they didn’t realize?” the Witch said.

“Yup, that’s right!”

The Succubus and the Witch laughed.

“To demons, it’s not a big deal, but some humans make a big fuss out of it. But ignorance is bliss!” the Succubus said.

The demon was glad that the Witch laughed. He felt the Witch was different from before. On the surface, the Witch was as quiet as always. Even the way she moved was soft and mild. But this time, the Witch was eerily more still, like she was afraid she might disintegrate if she moved carelessly.

This had put the Succubus on edge. That was why he was being so careful, rarely letting her leave his sight. Even while he was out seducing men, the demon kept within range to detect the Witch’s mana in case anything happened.

It didn’t help that on the first day, the Witch’s finger started to crumble when she only bumped into the Paladin. The Witch was half human, and Holy Powers never affected her so.

The Witch was weakening, and the Succubus couldn’t find the reason for it even after observing her for two days.

The demon wanted to get to Pandemonium fast. That was the only hope of finding a cure.

Thankfully, the Witch thought the same.

When they arrived at the gate of the next city, the Succubus and the Witch found a few familiar faces waiting for them.

“I hope you had a good night’s rest,” the Paladin said, greeting the Witch with a bow. The Scholar and the Fleur followed the gesture.

“My apologies,” the Fleur said. “I didn’t know you were the Witch of the White Rose. I’ve always wanted to meet you. If you don’t mind, can you tell me about the flora in Pandemonium?”

The Fleur curtsied to the Witch and the Succubus. “I’d also very much like to hear how they are used,” the Fleur said to the Succubus without appearing surprised at his new appearance.

“Did the Succubus yesterday have a brother?” the Scholar asked. “They look alike.” He turned his head this way and that, studying the Succubus.

“It is I, the one you used as a shield yesterday,” the Succubus said. “I used transformation magic. Safer travels this way.”

“You couldn’t tell with those glasses?” the Fleur said. “He had the say mana signature as yesterday.”

The Scholar clicked his tongue, mildly peeved. “Their functions only activate when I feed mana into them.”

The Fleur looked at the Scholar with sympathetic eyes like an adult looking at a child who couldn’t climb the stairs.

“I’m only human, okay? The Scholar said to the Fleur.

The Fleur shrugged their shoulders and gave a weak smile. “My apologies. I didn’t mean to be rude. It’s my first time out in the human world. Please continue to give me guidance.”

“Don’t worry about it,” the Scholar said.

“Well, we’ll be off, take care,” the Succubus said, and taking the Witch’s hand, he led her to the gate.

“I meant what I said about protecting you on your journey,” the Paladin said.

The Witch and the Succubus looked at each other. They rolled their eyes at the same time.

“Looks like he’s not giving up,” the Succubus said.

“I appreciate the thought, but I find your persistence uncomfortable,” the Witch yelled back to the Paladin and ran way.