Chapter 114

Chapter 114: Chapter 114

Dulce roused with a frown, feeling lingering anger before he even remembered what he was upset about. The first sight he saw was Asael’s dark expression, sitting up with a hand to his head.

"Asael, you’re back," He acknowledged, "Did you want your summons undone?"

"There’s no reason to ask him," Ruoxi muttered, "Simply undo it and be done with it."

"Speak for yourself." Asael tossed at him. "Not yet," He addressed Dulce in a more pleasant voice, "I was worried about your stay in the Hells."

Dulce glanced at Kath’tan at the question, reminded of what happened before they left Threnval. "It was pleasant, we spent most of the time in Ashford." He rose to his feet, "How did you all fare? Was there enough food? Was the desert unpleasant?"

Ruoxi and Asael went quiet, the climate had barely registered in their worries, but they weren’t going to say that they fared terribly because of Dulce’s absence.

"It was an unpleasant time without you," Caedos said without mincing words, "Don’t leave again."

"I-" Dulce started to say, already on the brink of apologizing.

"Not yet, Dulce has to accompany me to my home first." Ruoxi cut in, rising from the armchair he was seated on to walk over to the Vampire.

"What?" Dulce blurted out, confused.

Ruoxi didn’t bother with an explanation, knowing that if he stopped to give one, he would be prevented from leaving. He simply picked up the Vampire and warped away.

Qingyi was still lounging on the veranda, a tray of drinks next to her. She was curious about the new guests but she knew that Ruoxi would explain everything to her in time so she sat back and waited.

"Ruoxi?" She called in surprise at his sudden appearance, her attention fixed on the confused man he held. It had to be the Vampire who owned the palace, the summoner who had saved Ruoxi.

"We’re leaving," Ruoxi said shortly, already creating a portal.

"We’re... ah!" Qingyi exclaimed in shock when her wrist was caught and she was pulled into the portal.

It dissipated just as the other Demons arrived, each one’s expression darker than the other.

"That shameless Incubus." Kath’tan bit out.

Asael shot him an unimpressed look, "You took him away for well over a week."

"And?" He prompted, equally unimpressed.

Caedos remained silent in the face of their squabble, staring at the spot where the portal dissipated, then he turned away to go on a run, his thoughts unknown.

-+-

Dulce stared blankly when they stepped out of the portal, they were standing at the edge of a large lake, lotuses large enough to be small boats littered over the glistening blue-green water.

His first action was to try to come down from the Demon’s arms, only to be prevented.

"We’re not at our destination yet," Ruoxi said calmly, gold eyes alight.

"I..." Dulce trailed off, at a loss. "I didn’t prepare for a journey."

Qingyi was staring at him curiously, the Vampire wasn’t at all what she had been expecting, but she could tell Ruoxi thought very highly of him. After all, the uncaring Demon had waited patiently for his return before returning home.

"That doesn’t matter," Ruoxi said lightly, beaming.

Dulce felt Qingyi’s gaze on him and turned to her, seeing her for the first time. "Another Demon?" He asked curiously.

"Qingyi, my childhood friend." Ruoxi introduced.

"A pleasure to meet you, I’m Dulce Montesserat."

It was difficult to take the Vampire seriously when he was being carried so gently, especially when he had such a quiet and serious demeanor. "A-A pleasure to meet you too," She said in turn.

"Now, put me down," Dulce insisted, "I can walk just fine."

Ruoxi was content with the Vampire in his arms, but he listened. It wasn’t until he was staring right at that striking face wearing such a placid expression that he realized just how much he had been affected by Dulce’s absence.

"Thank you," Dulce said gratefully when he was placed down on the grassy floor, stumbling immediately and heading right for the water.

Ruoxi caught him and pulled him close with a hand, reminded of what Kath’tan had said about portals making the Vampire uneasy. "Are you alright?"

"Just a little disoriented," Dulce looked around. "Where are we?"

"Huayuan, Lotus Garden." Ruoxi explained, "My home."

Huayuan was the kingdom of the Cubi, split into islands which the Cubi called home. The islands were called gardens and were independent of each other, despite the Cubi maintaining friendly relations.

Qingyi was the first to take a step, jumping on one of the large leaves scattered over the lake, her dark pink hair streaming out behind her.

Dulce gave his surroundings a proper look this time, his gaze drifting to the sky. There was a single sun, just like earth, the sky unnaturally blue. The sun was large, spikes shooting out of it like a flower, yet the weather was moderate, a cool breeze blowing, carrying with it the scent of flowers.

They were standing on a little island, similar to the other islands speckled across what was the largest lake he had ever seen. It stretched far out as eyes could see, the water too calm to be called an ocean.

And across the lotus flowers and leaves in front of them, was a city. It was on an impressively large island; this was Lotus Garden.

Ruoxi curbed the urge to pick up the Vampire again, instead offering a hand. "Are you fit to move?"

"Yes," Dulce murmured, taking the offered hand. The Hells was startling, it was completely different every time, looking around, it was difficult to believe that he was back in the Hells.

He jumped onto the first leaf with Ruoxi’s guidance, still dazed from the quick succession of events. "How long will you stay?" He asked, distracted by the beautiful scenery but still worried about the state of affairs back in the desert palace.

"Not long." Ruoxi said quietly.

But not quietly enough for Qingyi to miss, she said nothing though, picking up the pace and running across the bridge of flowers with the dexterity of a butterfly.

They soon arrived on the large Island, right away coming across a woman and a young child holding a lotus nut the size of his head. Despite the daunting size, he bit into it with relish, cradling the fruit in both hands.

"Qingyi! You’re back," She said in surprise, "And you brought..." She trailed off, unrecognition in her eyes.

Qingyi skillfully diverted the conversation, guiding the Succubus away from the water’s edge. By the time she returned, she was all alone. "Perhaps we shouldn’t walk through the Garden." She murmured.

Ruoxi didn’t argue, "Does Lady Lihua still live in her manor in the center of the island?"

"She does," Qingyi acknowledged. "Perhaps I should have gone ahead to inform her of your arrival."

"It doesn’t matter."

"I’ll meet you there," Qingyi took a step away from them, there were no houses close to the edge of the island, it was instead taken up by grassy land pockmarked by little lotus ponds. "I need to let people know I’m fine."

"Who is Lady Lihua?" Dulce asked curiously, confused, and stolen away on this trip but still good-natured.

Ruoxi had never spoken about his home before so he was completely in the dark, anxious despite his willingness to accompany the Demon to his hometown. Did this mean that Ruoxi planned to return to the Hells? Would he also want his summons undone?

"My mother," Ruoxi informed him.

"Your mother?" Dulce repeated, startled.

"I thought she was dead," The Incubus went on, "I thought the island was destroyed."

Dulce went quiet, realizing that Ruoxi brought him on such an important journey.

"Let’s go," Ruoxi said after a short spell of silence, offering his hand to the Vampire again.

Dulce took it and braced himself for the disorienting mode of transportation.

They stepped into a surprisingly simple room, the walls were made of a light material, almost like mulched wood. It let light in through its translucent walls despite the doors and windows being closed.

They didn’t linger long in the room before Ruoxi stepped forward and opened a sliding door. The hallways were made of the same material, and they carried a fresh scent, it smelled of greenery and the lake.

"I can wait behind while you go find her," He said, slowing down.

"Why would I bring you along if I wanted that?" Ruoxi teased.

The Demon walked slowly, almost like he was slowly rediscovering his past memories. Dulce remained quiet by his side, curiously looking around, Lotus Garden was incredibly pleasant, even the structures carried a delicate, fresh air, like they were no different from the flowers around.

They had been heading deeper into the manor but the next door Ruoxi opened let in sunlight.

The manor had been built around a pond and on one of the large lotus flowers laid a Demon, her black hair flowing down into the clear water around her.