The Demon King's Hero Of Light 29 Chapter 29 Underhall And Etiquette

"I was following the secret pa.s.sage from underneath the old throne, and it led us here," she explained, stepping down back onto the path. Several of her guards were staring at her with their mouths hanging open, after witnessing her standing on thin air.

"That pa.s.sage hasn't been used in several hundred years," said one of the snakes, that Aella was going to call Frank.

"It was placed there, by the original builder of the castle, to allow him an escape route if he was ever overrun. No one really used it, and then they abandoned the throne room," said the other snake head, Louie.

"What is this place?" she asked, looking around. It was actually kind of pretty, with the light beams and the waterfalls.

"It used to be the underground meeting place of the demon council, set up by the first king. He wanted an area that was hard to access, to prevent spies from listening in on the important decisions. But it was never used for that. The other access tunnels have been closed off for a long time," said Frank.

"It's also our home," added Louie.

"You've been alive since the first king?" asked Aella, impressed with their age.
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"We're the ones who guard the lesser known entrances to the palace. Only friends are allowed entry there. We attack any who are not granted permission to enter."

"And eat them," added Louie.

"Then how were you on the stairs above, if you guard the entrances down here?" she asked, placing a hand on her hip and giving them a look.

"We've grown a bit, since we were first put down here. It has been a long time, after all," said Frank with a grin.

"So, you guys can wander almost the whole palace now, right?" she asked, getting a smirk on her face.

"We hear a thing or two," said Louie with a wide smile that showed lots of pointy teeth.

"Wait, you hear what?" asked Torrod with a worried look.

"Don't worry, we don't squeal on the maids when they get laid," said Frank with a knowing look.

"Wait, what?" asked Ulrik with a surprised look on his face as he turned to Torrod. "I thought we were a team! What's this about you getting one of the maids?"

"I was going to get you, but I couldn't remember which door was your room," said Torrod, throwing his hands up defensively. "Besides, you can come by tonight. She said she was going to bring her sister."

Aella rolled her eyes as the two seemed to come to an agreement, and the other demons were watching the drama with amus.e.m.e.nt. She a.s.sumed this was a common thing between them. It was obvious all of the demons were used to being with each other, like brothers. It made the struggle she had gone through, all the more difficult. But that part of her life was over, and if she had anything to do with it, then no other children would go through with what she had.

"Frank, Louie, I want you to notify me whenever you hear anyone in the palace talking about anything that could be treachery. I'm sure there are spies and traitors everywhere, and I want you two to let me know when you think you've found them, alright?"

They both nodded before pulling themselves back into the holes they had popped out of.

"How many traitors and spies do you think there are?" asked Vesh, studying her carefully.

"It makes sense that someone doesn't want the war to end, for one reason or another, otherwise it would have by now. I intend to find out why, so the war can finally end. We need a time of peace to put the kingdom back into working order."

They all nodded in understanding, since they had all sat in on the reports as well.

"It's almost time for lunch," she said, looking back at her retinue. "Let's see how fast you can all squeeze your way back through those tunnels!"

With a laugh, she darted back into the pa.s.sage, with grumbled curses behind her. If it wasn't for her added abilities as the Hero of Air, she would have had to wait for them to lift her back out of the hole, but using her ability to walk on air allowed her to escape long before they could catch up to her. Firion was the first to jump out of the hole, quickly spotting her, and getting out of the way for the next to follow.

"If we are to protect you, why would you run away like that?" puffed Frederik as he pulled himself out of the hole.

"I think the need for guards would be heaviest outside the palace, where the castle won't protect me with magic. Don't you think?" she pointed out as everyone headed for the doors to the banquet hall.

There were grumbled replies of agreement, but it was obvious none of them were happy with it.

"When do you plan to leave the castle?" asked Seifer, as they opened the doors to the dining hall.

"I'm not sure. It troubles me that the heroes haven't bothered to come fight me yet."

She stopped in her tracks, when she saw how much food was set out on the table. Servants were lined up all along the walls of the dining hall, and she could see the three tutors waiting as well.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, motioning to the heavy-laden table.

"Your Majesty requested to eat in the dining hall," said Edgar, approaching her with a bow.

"There's enough food to feed the entire city here!" she cried, moving towards the table to see it better.

"Is Your Majesty upset?" asked Edgar with a worried look.

"You bet I am! There's a famine going on, and you are wasting food! From now on, no more than one plate per person, per meal! I know my guards eat a lot, but this is ridiculous!"

"Your Majesty," interrupted the pink demon tutor.

"What?"

"It is common palace protocol for the cooks to prepare enough food for everyone who resides in the palace at each meal. The king and his, or her, retinue eat first, then whatever is left is what the rest of the palace staff get to eat. This may seem like a lot, but it is the amount everyone in the palace would eat in one sitting."

"Then why has there not been this much food when I was eating in the other throne room?" she asked.

"That table would not hold everything. Had it all been eaten, then more would have been brought. If you restrict one plate for each of you, then there will be no food for the rest of the palace staff to eat."

She walked up and down the table, thinking about his words. They made sense, but it was still ridiculous to have so much food set out, as if to feed an army, rather than just her and her demon guards.

"Fine, then let's eat. Have the three of you tutors, figured out in which order you will be teaching me?" she asked, sitting in the chair that was obviously for her.

Shooting a glance at Firion, the pink demon nodded his head. Firion was eyeing him, stroking his sword handle, as if waiting for her to give him the go ahead to use it.

"It was decided I would go first, since you have no interest in learning to dance, I have only etiquette to teach."

"When would etiquette be needed?" she asked, reaching for her gla.s.s as Edgar filled it with wine.

"Etiquette is polite behavior, that you would need to exhibit whenever you had a guest eating at your table, in order to impress them," he explained.

"So, whenever the n.o.bles come, or when a human comes?" she asked.

"It would be best used for both situations. Though there hasn't been a human in this palace for generations, other than the heroes, and I doubt you would want to impress them."

She nodded as she took a bite of a tart. Her retinue was watching her, before eating, to make sure nothing was poisoned.

"Edgar, I want a tiny piece of everything on this table. I want to taste everything, to see if it is poisoned, and to see if I like it."

"Very well," he said, bowing and taking her plate up and down the table. When he set it back down in front of her, she sighed at the size. She didn't have a prayer of finis.h.i.+ng it all. She would have to nibble each thing, and waste food.

"Shall we begin?" he asked.

"Might as well," she said, picking up her fork.

Vazzug, the pink demon, walked her through the polite way of eating, and talking, over the next hour. Whenever she wanted to scream or rage, she swallowed it and nodded instead. She needed to learn to be a better king, and this was one of the things she would need to know. Even though she hadn't met with any of the n.o.bles yet, she knew it would happen sooner or later, and she needed to act like a real king when it did. From what she had heard already, there hadn't been a proper king since the first king was imprisoned.

"I have to admit, Your Majesty, I am very impressed. You have picked up on everything I wanted to teach you today, without any mistakes," he said, greatly impressed as he finished.

"If you were forced to memorize things as I was, you would not be so impressed," she remarked, placing her fork down without a sound. If this was all there was to being king, she wouldn't have any problems.