Monster by Starset

The Demon Killer Awaits...

Smoke curled around the figure on the balcony. From her place situated high above the world in a palace that wasn't hers, a Realm that wasn't her home, Vanessa could see everything and safely say that she felt... Peace. It was the calmest she'd felt since she'd left her pathetic excuse for a "home" in the Danarion Realm. Ever since she'd gone back, only to discover that her sister- her actual sister- had found a way out and now resided with the people she'd once sworn to kill.

Now, only the moon and smoke served as her comfort. The kick of nicotine surged through her veins as she inhaled deeply, exhaling a plume of smoke a moment later from her lips chapped and dry from spending so much time in the desert. She was glad to be somewhere else where the blistering, boiling heat of the twin suns weren't scorching down on her back and burning her skin to a red crisp.

The valley far below her was alight with the silver glow of the moon, illuminating houses, shops, and people that milled about like tiny ants; working even in the dead of night. It was warm- not too warm- and everything seemed at peace.

She knew it wouldn't last for long. Times like these usually never did.

With the last drag of her cigarette, her Leader appeared. Even though the two weren't related by blood- only spirit- Vanessa still cared for Bella as though she was Katie, Vanessa's only true sister.

"You should be enjoying the party, Vaney." Bella announced calmly, leaning against the stone railing of the balcony and peering down to the valley.

Vanessa huffed out the smoke straight into Bella's face, only for the smoke to be whipped away by a lone breeze. "Shouldn't you be deciding the next course of action with those other fancy Generals?" Vanessa replied, her voice deep and gruff as she always remembered it being.

Bella chuckled, reaching up to undo the strand of gold-painted pearls and the various pins securing her hair atop her head. Her brown locks fell in neat waves down her back with the final pin removed, and for a moment, Vanessa understood how some who knew Bella's mother claimed that Bella looked exactly like the previous Queen of Atlantis. It'd been a long time. A very, very long time since Vanessa had seen that look on her Leader.

"I think Ali is going to eat the Scaldovian's out of house and home. She's already had three plates of food and I think some of the other Generals are getting uncomfortable." Bella commented, stuffing the pins and pearls into the satchel at her waist. Vanessa only scoffed before venturing, "Good. They should be uncomfortable."

There was silence besides the chirping of crickets, the fluttering of wings, and the muted sound of the orchestra from deep within the belly of the palace. Bella shook her head, turning her gaze to her sister-by-spirit. The woman's eyes glowed aqua, like twin halos to match her unbreakable swords currently sheathed across her back. Even draped in her gown of blue and gold gossamer and fine silks, she looked like the warrior she had always been. No longer the scared, sad teenager Vanessa had encountered seven million years ago.

It seemed like some people forgot how deadly the whole team was. People stuck at various ages, forced to look exactly the way they were when the immortality took effect once the oath had been made. Even Vanessa herself forgot.

"You know... They don't know who you are," Bella started, her voice softer than it should have been. Vanessa only snuffed out her cigarette and flicked it into the forest far, far below before turning to face her sister-by-spirit.

"They will soon enough. No one forgets the Demon Killer."

Bella frowned in response. It was all the confirmation Vanessa needed to stalk back to the double doors thrown open wide to the welcoming night air, her combat boots thudding on the stone. Once she reached the threshold of the doors and the blinding, flickering flames of the candelabras and chandeliers assaulted her vision, she turned back to the princess on the balcony.

There was a whistle of wind, a flick of Vanessa's wrist, and Bella caught the dagger with one deft hand. She raised an eyebrow at Vanessa before her eyes went wide in recognition.

"Keep it. Even Demon Killers and princesses of lost kingdoms need all the protection they can get." Vanessa offered, giving her sister-by-spirit one last nod before slinking back into the lively palace like a shadow in the night.