Grimilde quietly observed Snow White. Beside her, Doc[1] looked down at his shoes, then glanced at the two women with a confused expression: "I still don't understand..."
The princess and the queen waited for him to continue, but what he revealed was completely unexpected: "When you told me about the refuge in the woods, I thought it belonged to Ronny Gall, a man I knew personally. Your description is that of Gall's dwelling, but the location is wrong." Doc asked for a map and indicated the correct location and the approximate one obtained with the information shared by the two women.
"Magic?" the girl asked hesitantly, but the queen shook her head. "Demonic power... it was too real and concrete to be an illusion."
"Queen Grimilde is indeed right!"
Astrael appeared out of nowhere, startling Doc and Snow White, who jumped on the spot. The blonde, however, moved quickly, advancing toward the demon, stopping a few steps away with a glare. "Astrael."
"Yes, Your Majesty?" The demon bowed slightly, and then a body sprawled on the ground became visible behind him. "I brought you a surprise."
Grimilde grabbed the tall, sharp-eyed man's shoulder and pushed him away angrily. When she saw Aron before her, curled up on the ground with red eyes and pale skin, she stopped. "Why did you bring him here?"
Her voice left no room for doubt: she was furious with Astrael. The demon wasn't interested in the conflict; he wanted to get back to the inn as quickly as possible and enjoy his well-deserved night. "Little Aron was telling me he met a certain important and distinguished gentleman, who was wandering around the capital, intent on betraying the kingdom. Did I do right? I brought you one of the traitors! Come on, Aron, you have to tell the queen who this gentleman you saw was."
Astrael crouched beside the boy, who whinpered and hide from everyone; the demon raised his hand to grab his hair, but was stopped: "I see no reason to inflict any more pain on him. He's terrified."
The princess wasn't intimidated by the demon's eyes and approached Aron, softening her voice to speak to him: "Aron? Why don't you tell us who you met? We won't hurt you."
"You... you... you will hurt me."
The princess shook her head, noticing that the young man was watching her from under the locks of his wet hair that covered his face. His arms were held close to his head, as if to protect it. Grimilde sighed and returned to her desk, sitting down and trying to control her emotions.
She hated it when things got out of control, and apparently, with Astrael, it would be impossible to maintain the minimum order.
"I don't trust you." Aron had gathered some courage and glared at the princess; she didn't seem surprised by his attitude and continued to smile. "I know."
"It's about the Marquis of Terran." The demon thought it best to hurry things along. The princess stood up, staring at him blankly, then looked at the queen.
Grimilde simply snorted: "We thought so. What do you expect me to do with Aron? Why didn't you take care of him?"
"Grimilde!" The princess was incredulous: she had never seen the queen so indifferent to someone's suffering, despite him being a traitor.
Astrael sneered, as Doc stepped forward: "What if you left the young man in my company? We could keep an eye on him and spare him prison... he doesn't seem so bad to me."
The dwarf watched the boy from afar and felt sorry for him: he acknowledged his wrongdoing, but he believed in the possibility of human redemption.
Grimilde took a moment to consider the proposal and, confident in Doc's abilities and reasonableness, decided to allow him some freedom.
Aron would be the dwarves' work force, but she would also ensure that he was kept under the watchful eye of the queen's personal guards.
"Anyway..." she sighed, "why is he in such a bad state?"
The queen turned to Astrael, who was pacing around the room, keeping his eyes on the furniture and books, whistling indifferently. Grimilde had just finished informing one of the guards to look after Aron during his stay at the castle; Until he left with the dwarves, he would be watched at all hours of the day. Aron, when he saw the guards, had followed them willingly, believing he was being saved from the evil demon who had captured him a few hours earlier.
"I didn't do much. He's just a coward."
"Of course." Grimilde gritted her teeth and placed a hand to her temples, massaging them. Snow White silently reached her, then lowered her face, whispering something close to her ear.
Astrael watched them attentively, while Doc's cheeks were flushed and he looked away from the scene, which was fraught with ambiguity.
Watching the queen and princess so intimate with each other was truly a pleasure; the dwarf could be sure they were both in good hands. The two girls were strong and determined, able to support each other along the winding path of life, facing every problem with their heads held high, without being crushed by external pressure. Although Doc was a resident of the woods, he had a vague understanding of Arran's political dynamics and knew that the nobles and their Council[2] were attempting to control the queen after the king's death.
"I think I'll go rest."
When the princess spoke, Doc, adjusting his glasses, smiled at those present and looked at Snow White.
"And I'll accompany her. After that delicious banquet, I really need a good night's sleep."
The queen nodded and wished them both goodnight. Her eyes stopped on Snow White for a long second, then turned away. She would have liked to talk to her again, but she had an important matter to take care of. Astrael said nothing, but watched the princess with his usual unsettling smile.
"So..." Doc began as they exited the queen's office. The princess continued walking beside him, sparing him only a glance. "Yes, Doc?"
"You and the queen..." The dwarf's sentence trailed off, leaving a pause that implied only one thing. Doc was suspicious and seemed to have understood even more than he was letting on.
The princess paused: "W-what?" she asked hesitantly. The dwarf gave her a respectful smile and widened his eyes: "Perhaps I misunderstood... in that case, I apologize, but I thought I detected some, so to speak, sparks between you."
"Sparks? What kind of sparks?" The two resumed their walk as if nothing had happened.
"Those sparks that make even the stars jealous. Those born of love, princess." At those words, Snow White blushed and turned her face toward the corridor they were walking along, lit by the candle flames. She knew her blush would not go unnoticed, but she no longer had any way to hide the truth. "Doc..."
"Oh, don't be shy. Love is truly a magnificent thing. Where I come from, it's the greatest gift of all. Isn't it the same here on Arran?"
Snow White breathed again, gathering her thoughts for a moment, before continuing her conversation with the wise man walking beside her. "Doc, I must thank you."
"And for what, Princess?"
"Your support comforts me." And she smiled warmly, surprising even Doc himself, who was increasingly amazed by Snow White's candid nature and her unparalleled strength.
"Princess, I believe it would be impossible for anyone to refuse you anything. The queen must feel the same."
The princess knew she had a new friend, one she could trust and turn to for help in times of need, while Doc was happy to have been able to lighten, even if only slightly, the burden weighing on Snow White's shoulders. It was certainly not easy: same-sex love was not even contemplated in Arran, and the most widespread religion placed it in chaos, evil, something that had no place in the natural order of things. The dwarf wondered instead about the queen's origins: who knows what she thought?
When they reached the princess's wing of the castle, the dwarf gave a small bow before turning and walking toward the rooms made available for him and his companions.
Snow White watched him leave and then entered her room. She walked slowly to the balcony, drew back the curtains that hid it from view, and opened the glass doors: it was cold, but the night sky was worth the chill.
Snow White spent only a few minutes gazing at the stars and the bright, full moon, then returned to the warmth of her room.
She didn't expect to find Astrael in front of her: "What are you doing here?" She asked, unsettled.
"I don't even know." The demon lifted the corners of his mouth, stretching his lips into a relaxed smile, but his red eyes remained alert and piercing, as usual. Astrael was incomprehensible, an enigma to Snow White: it would have been so much easier to recognize him as an absolute threat, but apparently he was helping the queen and had no intention of harming her... at least for now. Of this, however, she wasn't entirely sure.
"Astrael?" The girl wasn't exactly scared, but finding herself alone in a room with a demonic creature wasn't ideal. "What can I do for you?"
The princess tried to be calm and control her anxiety, displaying resolve and a determined look, but the demon could smell her fear, her worry, and this satisfied him, made him happy. His evening had been ruined by that man named Aron, but perhaps he could make amends, right now in the princess's room.
"You should know that we demons hate humans. Do you wonder why I stick around Grimilde?" He took a step towards her.
"Aren't you worried about what I might have planned for the queen? The tragedies I want to unleash, the despair I want to spread through her family... don't exclude her. After all, the same blood flows in their veins." The demon's voice grew lower and hissing, until it became like a breath of wind, which surrounded the princess's body, enclosing her in its embrace.
"What are you talking about?"
[1] Fun fact: Doc in Italian is called Dotto.
[2] The Council is the governing body of the kingdom, Made up of the nobles who owned the land on Arran. For the most important decisions, the Queen must interface with them.