"Enjoying the view, Princess?" Mint sat stoned faced atop the shoulder of the Black Yeti, the Demon of the East. Biwanari sat on the horn of the creature with a broad smile. "Honestly, I'm surprised you gave in so easily. Given the urgently I was told to come fetch you, I was expecting to be fighting off Saints or one of the Primordial Nymphs. Perhaps at the very least, a second generation nymph. You can imagine my disappointment when my only form of entertainment ended up being a band of elf-fanatics."
Biwanari twisted her body around the Yeti's horn to glare at her. "What makes you worth my time?"
"I don't know." Mint truly did not know. She wasn't worth this much effort. If told last spring Minerva would send one of her daughters after her, she'd reply with, "Why?"
Rather than grow annoyed, Biwanari's grin returned in earnest, the chilly air reverberating with her laughter. "Oh, mother! You really have no idea? Truly? What a jest! This was indeed worth my time!"
"And what is my value? It seems everyone has a high appraisal of me, though I can't fathom why. I'm only the ninth princess of a minor Nacht kingdom." Yes, she was a true-blooded elf, but she wasn't divinely gifted. She was long lived, but not immortal, and her magical abilities were nothing special. The only unique thing about her was that she was born at midnight on the 87th of Artemis, just before the end of Elfania's season and the start of Solaris's.
Biwanari's grin broadened even further, displaying her draconic teeth. "What a humble princess."
"I was a maid; I'm nothing more than a consequence of a midnight fling. The King just happens to be my father."
"Is that how you see it?" Biwanari dropped from her perch to sit beside her, getting very familiar. Mint tipped her head away to avoid getting poked by the Demon Drin's horn. "I must say, despite your claims to be 'just a maid,' you have some noble baring. Most would not be so calm in my presence. Most would tremble like hares or soiling themselves. You've a stern spine for sure."
"I've merely grown used to your presence. If you desired my death, I would already be dead, so I can assume you need me alive. I know of your reputation, so the fact that you've yet to torture me means you need me intact." Mint watched the demoness's face twist through several emotions: amusement, intrigue, and annoyance, before settling on exasperation.
"This is why I hate these types of missions!" Biwanari bared her teeth as she grabbed Mint by the neck. "I want to twist that pretty little face of yours into pure agony, hear your cries of despair, and gouge your flesh! To hear your whimpers, begging me to stop as the hope fades from your eyes! I want to break you!" The demoness released her hold and grabbed Mint's arm that bore the mark of Minerva. "But you have this, so there's no need to."
Mint stared at the mark of Minerva, "You're answering my prayer?" She'd asked all three goddesses to change her fate. The fact Minerva was being the most proactive chilled her blood. After all, she'd failed the goddess's challenge, meaning the interest of her request had gone up substantially.
"In a way," Biwanari sang. "Half of it at least. If you behave, we'll ensure your mother is safe. As for your freedom—you'll have to repay your debt to mother before that can be considered."
She very much doubted it would be so simple. One rarely escaped Minerva's embrace, if ever. "Let me guess, I must become a demon, perhaps a succubus or something along those lines?" Mint expected Biwanari to roll with laugher, and extol all the torment she would be forced to endure to produce more demonic spawn. But she didn't, which caused her spine chill.
"We've something much more important than being a brood slave, my dear."
What that was, Biwanari didn't explain, nor did she want to find out. Mint looked across the horizon as the Night Yeti stomped through the forest to who knew where. Try as she might, Mint couldn't help but wonder what was in store for her. Biwanari would chuckle while smoking her pipe and ask what fate she imagined. The demon trying to gleam some amusement from her.
What a pathetic life I lived.
Resigned, Mint reflected on what had put her here. She'd had no real dreams to speak of, only expectations that'd she'd serve in her father's castle as a maid, perhaps get married to a squire or knight, and continue her family's line of servant hood. Nothing more, nothing less. This entire business of becoming a princess and being used for bargaining felt like punishment for a sin she didn't commit. If she'd lived the life of her half-sisters, she could have accepted all this. And maybe understand how she arrived in her current situation.
What is it about my blood that makes me so special? Because I'm a pure-blooded elf? Is that all it takes? Would I still be here if my father wasn't the king? If my mother were human?
No answers came. For a moment she thought about jumping from the Yeti's shoulder, but it was likely Biwanari wouldn't allow her such a simple death. The Minervians needed her alive, it seemed, but in what condition? Mint was sure if she pushed, Biwanari would inflict some sort of punishment upon her. Stoic as she was, she wasn't eager to suffer through pain. If given the choice of being sacrificed intact or in pieces, she preferred to be whole.
Sacrifice… The word brought clarity to Mint's mind. She needed to be alive and in favorable condition to the point Biwanari the Tormentor was not allowed to mar her flesh. The answer was sitting right in front of her. The face of Biwanari wasn't the demon's actual face. It was the face of the woman whose soul she hallowed to steal her body.
"You're going to use me as a vessel."
"You figured it out rather quickly," Biwanari snickered as she refilled her pipe. "It's takes the fun out of it. I was looking forward to witnessing your horror when my sister consumes your soul. But I'm sure you'll scream all the same; they all do."
"Your sister…" Mint's mouth went dry. Biwanari had many sisters, all of them horrendous demons of legend. "Which one?"
"Which one? Really? That's what you want to know?" Mint nodded, which broadened the demon's smile. "Personally, I would prefer my younger sister [insert 5th ring demon], but Lilith is favored. It was difficult enough to summon me, given the time and resources, not to mention the lack of quality vessels. It makes sense to summon the most powerful of us first."
If Biwanari was considered a force of nature, her elder sister Lilith was a catastrophe. The legends say the mother of succubi would birth a 100 pure blooded demons of any kind a day. Not the weak demonic beasts created from mortals, but high rank demons like the Night Yeti they rode upon and greater. Titans of such calamity that crushed mountains, split the sky, and burned the land to ashes. Left alone, she could flood the entire earth with hellspawn. It was to the benefit of all on the mortal plane she never be allowed to leave the black pit.
"Go ahead and try," Biwanari laughed. Mint had her jaws wide open, poised to bite off her tongue, but she physically couldn't do it. No matter how she struggled, it was beyond her own will to live—something else was holding her back. "Mother's brand will stop and such foolishness. Cut your throat, it will heal; stab your heart, you'll grow a new one. Like it or not, princess, your life is no longer yours to end. It's ours. But don't worry, even after my sister takes your body, your mother will be perfectly fine. She'll be one of the few lucky mortals to see my mother's victory. It's the least we can do for giving us such a perfect vessel."
Tears flowed freely down Mint's cheeks as Biwanari's laughter filled the cool spring air.
Goddess Elfania… She prayed fervently to her patron goddess to spare her from this fate, but even as she prayed with all her being, doubt clouded her heart. Whom could her goddess send? Would she send anyone? As her thoughts shifted towards begging Solaris for help, Verk came to mind. At first, she thought it was passing hope of desperation, but her ears twitched at the sound of a familiar hoofbeat.
"Oh my," Biwanari said, rising from her perch. "Seems I will get to have some fun."
Mint twisted around to see Verk, riding full tilt towards them sword drawn and blazing bright emerald. His face a mess of desperation and rage as his steed Europa bounded over the tree towards them. His visage that of a valiant knight come to save his princess.
Tears bubbling from her eyes, Mint screamed his name with a mix of passion, desperation, and joy, "VERK!" He leaped towards them with a roaring battle cry, and jumped from his steed, and beheaded the Yeti instantly. Mint fell towards the ground, her tears sparkling in the sunlight as Verk reached for her hand.