Chapter 6: Punishment

Kalika was held tight to the big red demon as she rode on its shoulder in a very uncomfortable position. He was running at a blindingly fast pace through the forest still. It was getting hard to tell how deep they actually were.

As they continued their travels, Kalika was trying not to think about what would happen to her. Perhaps they'll just send her back to her cell with Lillian's punishment awaiting her. She couldn't imagine things getting much worse than her first few years of being tortured.

"Hey. girl." The deep voice of the demon interrupted Kalika's peace.

"What is it?"

"Is it true… that you can't die?"

This question surprised Kalika, apparently, she was more well known than she thought. "Does it matter?"

"I would very well like to know."

"And what if I said it was true? Would you kill me to test it out?" Kalika looked a little bored as she responded.

"No. that is a privilege only afforded to the queen. Even as a general of the Demon King, I would be killed on the spot if they'd ever found out."

"Then what's stopping you from doing so? It's not like they'd ever find out. We're so far in this forest I doubt anyone would ever witness someone else getting killed. It's your own loyalty that's holding you back, isn't it?"

The demon looked at Kalika a little surprised before looking back forward. "I have my own honor at stake as well."

Kalika found the demons retort a little amusing. "Really now. I guess both humans and demons have blindly loyal idiots by their side. still though… I truly hate your kind."

"The feeling is mutual then." The big Demon just emerged from the forest. They were closing in on the castle's cliff side.

The red demon jumped without any warning, expertly climbing the cliff with each huge leap. They eventually came to the castle wall and jumped into the castle garden.

The garden looks as if it's been well kept. Roses, peonies, orchids and even dahlias littered the garden. They all complimented each other with the vibrant pink color that flowed through the air.

Kalika would've liked to stay, but she was being escorted by the big demon.

"Its true," Kalika suddenly said.

The big demon stopped suddenly. "What's true?"

"A-about me not being able to die… It's true… I can't die."

The demon paused for a moment before continuing to move on. "I see…"

They continued to move through the castle corridor until they happened upon a servant.

"General B-" the servant immediately gasped as she saw Kalika on the demon's shoulder.

"Inform the King and queen that I brought the girl back."

The demon servant raced ahead of them. Despite not being able to see in front of them Kalika could tell the servant was in a panic.

********

After traveling through the corridor for a little bit of time Kalika is brought into a cozy looking room. She is dropped onto her back on the carpet floor.

The floor felt hard upon impact. Kalika could tell that she was in the guest room of the castle with all the furniture.

"So… where was she?" Lillian's voice rang behind Kalika.

Behind her she could see the Demon King and her sister Lillian both dressed as royalty. They are sitting on a couch, they look like they are ready for business. Kalika could see that her sister's eyes were now black with red pupils. Was she angry? This is the first time she's seen Lillian like this.

"I…" Kalika tried to speak but was instantly killed by Lillian.

"I wasn't talking to you. Bjorn."

The big demon watched as Kalika was revived, screaming in pain just mere seconds after. He was a little shocked getting instant proof, but then quickly got on his knees to report.

"I found her by chance, hunting a straggler from our last invasion. It looked as though she was among bandits trying to have their way with her. I have dealt with them accordingly."

Kalika recovered from the pain by looking back at the big demon and then her sister. Her sister's eyes went back to normal.

"I see…" Lillian looked back at Kalika with eyes a little more softened before becoming serious once more.

"What were you thinking!?" Lillian was angry with Kalika.

Kalika didn't respond, she only looked away at her giving her an attitude,

"You've been too soft on her, Lillian. At this point the how and why doesn't matter. What matters is that she was outside these walls." The Demon King Narrowed his eyes at Kalika. The Demon King looked quite aggravated.

"Lucius." Lillian looked back at the Demon King.

"Don't give me that. You remember the arrangements of our deal."

"The Demon King's name is Lucius?" Kalika was surprised by this.

"Deal? What Deal?" Kalika quickly questioned.

The Demon King Lucius Sighed. "Go on Lillian, you explain it to her."

Lillian took a moment to look at the Demon King and then Kalika. "Seven years ago, I made a deal with Lucius, the King of Demons. As long as you stayed confined within these walls, I had full custody of you. Otherwise, if you ever went outside, some of those privileges I had with you before would be revoked…"

"A-are you kidding me? I'm not some pet Lily!" Kalika became furious upon hearing this arrangement.

"That's right. You're not some pet." Another familiar voice came from the door of the room.

"Your one of our most highly held secrets. A human that cannot physically die is a very rare thing to find. You are indeed a one in a trillion find."

It was another red demon with green eyes, but his visage was strikingly similar to the Demon King before her. just like the demon king he too had his tail wrapped around his waist only the only difference laid with the hair style, eyes and horns that were on the side of his head the pointed up.

"Rakon, you came much faster than I anticipated. As you can see the girl is back. All thanks in part to General Bjorn."

Rakon looked at Kalika then at the big demon general. "That is good to hear. That makes things convenient for me since I just finished with that so-called maid of hers."

"He's talking about that demon girl Rhonda, isn't he?" Kalika simply glared at Rakon who paid no mind to her disrespectful attitude.

Rakon approached Kalika with arms starting to raise to her head. "If there's no objections, I shall pass down this girl's punishment now too."

Kalika was a little confused by this. She expected that she would be punished, but not by a demon that looks like the Demon King.

"Yes, the sooner the better" Lucius said.

"Before you do… I have some reasonable suspicion." General Bjorn spoke out. Rakon looked at the general, narrowing his eyes.

"And what would be this suspicion?" Rakon asked.

"I highly doubt this weak girl actually escaped on her own. I find its more likely that she was kidnapped, perhaps men hired by the same group that attacked yesterday."

Rakon was a little curious looking at the general. "And why would you think this?"

Lucius spoke up too. "It's quite possible one of the five generals caught wind about the girl's survival. After all, most of our men in the army are aware of her existence. Its's certainly not out of the realm of possibility that rumors had spread as well."

Lucius then looked at Lillian and was listening to them speak. He then turned back to look at Rakon. "And if memories serve me correctly, there is a hidden entrance to the dungeon on the cliffside. A hard-to-reach area for sure, but certainly not impossible. And it's not very well known unless you were part of the previous ruler's entourage."

"So, do you believe that further investigation is needed?"

"That might be the case." Lucius responded.

Rakon started to laugh a little. Kalika, like Lillian, just listened intently as the two brothers talked. In Kalika's eyes they were practically twins with the only real difference being their horns and skin.

Rakon started to walk away from Kalika and back to the door where he came from. "If that's the case I'll lighten it to 15 years in solitary detention."

"So, does this mean it's back to the dungeon then?" Kalika looked bored as if expecting this outcome.

"You'll actually be going beyond the dungeon. It'll be a more secure location that I'm sure you'll find very fun." Rakon seemed a little too excited.

Rakon then looked back at Lillian with a calm smile, finding that she didn't like the outcome. "Huh? What's with the sour mood? You should be rejoicing. She could've spent 25 year in the pit. In fact, she can keep her little maid, albeit, under our watchful supervision of course. It's quite a light sentence if I do say so myself."

Kalika Looked at Lillian who seemed bummed by Rakon's judgment.

"I have to concur," Lucius said solemnly. "It's only fifteen years Lillian."

"Only fifteen years?" Kalika was a little surprised by how nonchalant the demon king was.

"Ok. I understand." Lillian seemed much more conservative now. Kalika couldn't understand why Lillian saw it was a bad thing. Although Kalika didn't like it either, as far as she knew, it was her going back to a cell to rot like the last 8 years.

Rakon then snapped his fingers, and some demon guards came through to grab Kalika. "Now. Let's be one the way. Oh and don't worry your majesty, you'll be able to see her whenever you want like normal as well. After all, I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss the fun either."

"What is he talking about?" Kalika was puzzled by Rakon's last statement.

Rakon starts to lead the guards and Kalika away leaving behind everyone else including Lillian. Kalika couldn't help but look behind as she was starting to be escorted.

Kalika saw Lillian looking much sadder. This just didn't make much sense to Kalika. It felt like there was a strange change in the air.

********

Kalika was now following Rakon and some armored demon guards. They were heading deeper and deeper into the dungeon that even Kalika wasn't familiar with.

They were now approaching a steel door. "It's right past these few doors. It's a single cell for now. But fortunately for you our last friend is no longer with us. So, it's all yours."

They kept stepping through a couple of different doors until a larger steel one was visible. Shortly after Rakon the demon guards something in the demon language. They quickly opened, then went over to leave Kalika and Rakon alone.

Throughout their conversation Kalika knew she recognized the voice. It was from the same demon that gave her the crystal. There were no doubts in Kalika's mind. It felt like the perfect time to get answers.

"Since we're alone, do you mind if I ask you something?"

Rakon was curious by Kalika's inquiry. "Sure. What is it?"

"What do you hope to gain from doing this? Are you looking for power, Wealth or are you just looking to get famous in the eyes of your kin?"

"That's quite the strange question Kalika."

Kalika walked in front of the prison cell door.

"So is giving a prisoner a crystal." Kalika had a very bored expression as she just stared at the ground. "I recognized your voice from back then, you can play all the shadow games you want, but don't take me for an idiot."

"Hehehe… You're a very observant brat aren't you. Maybe I've underestimated you. No. I overestimated you." Rakon surprised Kalika as he was right behind her amused. He pushed Kalika lightly into the cell.

Kalika bawled her fist as she looked at the ground. She was clearly frustrated. "At the end of the day I was just the pawn to you… wasn't I?"

"You can believe that if you want. After all, it won't change much."

Kalika looked at Rakon with a grim expression. "You must have quite the number of idiots by your side if you're that confident."

"Hahaha… I Think I'm starting to like you. You act like a tough girl on the outside, but on the inside you're probably just a soft and cowardly little girl."

Rakon had the door half closed and started playing with the side of it. He showed off some strange magic by draining blood from his finger. He swirled it around one of his fingers and swooshed it gently by the side of the steel door.

"I'm very familiar with your type, you might act tough now, but once crack surfaces…"

Blood that's shaped as a blade starts to stick out from the other side of the door. "The whole exterior becomes easy to peel away."

The blood turns back to normal, splattering to the floor. It's not long after that the blood wriggles its way back to its owner burrowing its way back to the veins. This took Kalika aback witnessing this.

"Girls like you are the most fun to break since you never know what you'll get at times."

"You're a sick bastard!"

Rakon simply smirked, almost chuckling. "You have quite the attitude." He starts to close the door as Kalika simply stands in her new prison, listening to the demon's last words.

"I'll enjoy tomorrow's debut. Let's see what happens."

The door finished closing leaving Kalika in darkness as she now stood in her new cell. "By the way, a friend of yours will be stopping by shortly, so do Lighten up a bit." Another steel door creaked shut as he finished his last words.

Kalika cringed, disgusted by the demon. She never imagined that she'd become some sort of pawn.

 She looked at her new and more fortified prison cell with solid steel doors. This cell, unlike her old cell, had nothing in it other than dirt and grime. It certainly didn't help with how cold this new cell was. She could barely even walk around in it. It was so much darker than her old cell too. And much more silent as well.

"So… This is my new home…" Kalika bawled her fist.

Anger soon starts to boil over as she remembered what Rakon said. Kalika started to immediately kick the wall in anger. She immediately regrets this of course.

"Damn it!"

Kalika sat on the floor mulling over her thoughts as the pain from feet pounds. She leaned herself on the wall digging deeper and deeper into how she could've prevented this predicament. But no matter how she thought of it, she was doomed as soon as she accepted that crystal from the

Her mind kept on drifting off, she didn't know what to think. "What do I do now? Will I ever be freed of this nightmare?"

"I hate Demons. I truly despise them…"

Kalika Thought are then interrupted as the patter of feet and heavy armor could be heard. Then the creaking of one of the steel doors. She could tell that there were two people, one was small and another large.

A light soon shined through the small iron barred window of the steel door trapping Kalika. A blue skinned demon guard in armor is seen through the bar peeking. It then opens the door revealing Kalika's maid is also there.

Kalika couldn't see her face properly but could tell just by her small stature and uniform that it was Rhonda.

"R-Rhonda… so you are alri-" Kalika stopped, shocked by what she saw.

 A candlelight given to the maid girl revealed a bandaged head and a missing right eye. It looked as though it had been scooped out recently. Rhonda was even trembling visibly like she was seeing Kalika against her will. Rhonda approached Kalika with a candle in one hand and a new pair of clothes in the other. She places the new set-in of clothes in front of Kalika then gives a bow to her respectfully.

Kalika observed this girl, with a guilt-ridden expression before looking away. This girl had every right to hate her, and Kalika knew it. But to see the maid so scared was something she wasn't expecting. "He's just trying to shake me."

With the clothes dropped off the maid simply leaves the prison cell. Rhonda gave one last pitiful look before the door closes leaving Kalika to her own devices.

Kalika clutched her hands waiting for him to return.

"Did they really punish that girl because I escaped?? No. He just wants to play on my emotions!"

A wave of unexpected emotions kicked in for her. She grabs the clothes, throwing it at the door as hard as she could.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR PITY! SO DON'T DARE LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT! YOU HEAR ME!? RHONDA!!"

Unknown to Kalika, Rhonda could hear her just outside the second door separating them. The maid girl starts to cry.

"SO DON'T YOU DARE LOOK DOWN ON ME!!"

Rhonda clutched at her maid's dress as Kalika finished yelling. Almost unsure what to do. She could do nothing but continue walking.

Kalika fell back onto the wall in silence.

Kalika then looked at her trembling hand as if reflecting.

"Can I really escape?"

"I-I Don't want to give. Not now. There has to be a way."