I begin to stir from an eventful night’s sleep. Slowly opening one of my eyes to glance around the room. The amber glow from outside seeps in through my window. Closing my eye again, I turn over to snooze. Feeling the warmth of someone laid next to me, a small smirk crosses my lips. The memory of last night creeps into my mind. I run my claws along the side of her body, hinting that I wish to continue our activities. Growling she pushes my hand away.

‘I know, its tiring work tormenting the damned and pleasuring your king’ I mock.

Fully awake, I sit up in my bed, letting my eyes fully adjust. I pull back my cover and dismount the bed.

Stretching, my wings unfold to their full, magnificent span. Striding over to the balcony door, pull back the curtains and turn to watch my sleeping companion.

She growls once more and hides her face under the covers. Chuckling to myself, I open the balcony door, stepping out into the unforgiving heat, my wings unfold once more and with little effort I beat the hot air away, the force of them sends a gust of air over the castle, nearby windows shake in their frames at the impact. Smiling to myself, pleased that I haven’t lost my edge. I run my hand through my long, black hair; smoothing out any strands that came loose during the night. Leaning on the balcony railing, I notice something seems different. Inhaling the hot, dusty, ashy air there are no unusual scents. Scanning the horizon to see if there are any new developments. Nothing…

My eyes are drawn to the pit in the distance, something tells me it is down there. Frowning, I turn and head back to my room, my strides cover the distance with ease, reaching a black cabinet on the opposite side of the room, I open the door and take out a bottle, taking a swig, I let the cool liquid run down my throat; licking my lips, enjoying the smooth warm taste. Looking at the label on the bottle, I am reminded of how I came to possess such a tasty treat; one of my Lesser Demons had brought it back as a gift after he was summoned to the Earth realm; this and the 5 souls that summoned him. Chuckling at the memory, I place the bottle back into the cabinet and search for the cloth I was wearing yesterday. I wrap the dark blue, satin robe around my waist, decorated with a gold trim. Infront of my mirror I begin polishing my horns, they appear to have been scratched during the night’s activities, frowning, I look over to the bed.

I sit on a chair close to the window and stare out, I can’t shake this feeling that something is different.

‘SLAVE!!’ My voice echoes through the castle, the vibration causing the windows to shake once more.

My bed fellow stirs angrily.

The sound of something valuable breaks in the distance followed by the sound of chains scraping against the stone floor.

Tapping my fingers on the chair arm, I wait impatiently.

The door opens, ‘Yes, my Lord?’

A timid head from one of the Lesser Demons peers around the door. Growling with impatience, I motion my hand for her to enter the room.

Without questioning, she enters, her thin, weak frame floats across the floor. The thick, heavy, barbed chains wrap around her neck and attach at her ankles, the length of them exceed her height and drag along the floor behind her. Her horns are dull and chipped, her dirty, red hair is matted. Her black eyes stare at the ground as she shakes, nervously waiting for my command. I turn my back to her, and motion to my hair.

Understanding she rushes over to a drawer and pulls out a hairbrush, another gift brought back from the Earth realm. She approaches me cautiously, placing a thin, grey hand on my head, she begins to run the brush through my mane, I find the sensation rather relaxing. She comes across some tangles that had appeared due to my eventful night. She delicately tries to untangle them and fails, losing patience with her effort she tries a harsher approach, she rags the brush through my hair causing me discomfort. My patience is wearing thin with her, solely fixed on her task she doesn’t notice my body stiffen. I feel a boiling heat of anger course through me, tired of her useless attempt, I quickly spin to face her, grabbing her stick like neck in my grasp. ‘You, useless little bitch!’ spitting in her face; the room shakes from the vibration of my voice; my glowing, amber eyes reflect in her soulless, black iris. Furious with anger, I drag her to the balcony and toss her weak frame over the edge, she lands on one of the large iron spikes surrounding the castle wall, her impaled body slowly slides down the shaft of the spike and eventually coming to a halt a couple of feet from the ground. I watch intensely, as her black blood trickles on to the stone flags. ‘Well, my day is already off to a good start,’ I mutter to myself.

During the commotion my companion has given up on the idea of sleep.

‘Do you insist on killing every demon maid that struggles with your hair?’ she smirks, trying to push my patience further. She grabs the brush and finishes the job.

‘I will get one of the princes to create a new one,’ she sighs.

Growling, I dismiss her comment. ‘If they had bred a decent one in the first place, I wouldn’t have this problem.’ I feel her eyes roll at my comment.

I admire her design through the corner of my eye. Her long, auburn hair flows down to her breasts; She has two circular, goat horns that frame her face, she decorates them with gold clasps and chains, unlike mine which slightly follow the curve of my crown then taper up at the back. She is muscular; as a military demon that’s the least I expect. Her hourglass figure would entice any male to attempt courtship. It’s a shame for them, that she’s as heartless as she is attractive.

‘Dreamora, I have a task for you,’ my mind focusing on my thoughts from earlier.

‘ Of course, my Lord,’ She replies in a soldierly fashion, she stops brushing my hair and focuses on my instruction.

‘There is something different in this realm, something relatively new. I want to you to investigate it. I sense it is coming from the Pit, but I cannot pinpoint it. Check in at the barracks surrounding the pit, find out if one of the Generals has created a new abomination, if so, I want details.’

‘Yes, my Lord,’ She bows and turns to leave the room.

‘ Oh and Dreamora!’ Stopping her in her tracks, she turns to face me.

‘Do not return empty handed!’ Bowing again, she leaves me alone in my chamber.

I lean forward onto my hands, frowning trying to figure out what has changed. I don’t like it; I admit to myself. Pushing the thought to the back of my head, I leave my room and head to the throne room.

I stroll down the dark, maze-like corridors to my throne, before I can reach the hall, I smell the scent of the princes, hovering in front of the door to the throne room; I haven’t even begun my day and they are already are grovelling for something. I turn the corner and continue to walk towards them, as if they did not exist. Simultaneously they turn to face me after hearing my echoing footsteps; The three of them bow in synchronicity as I approach the door. What a pathetic sight, to think I created these weeds, even in my basic demon form I tower above them, my wingspan out stretches theirs. Snarling in disgust, I stride past them and open the door to the throne room. They do not follow, instead the stand at the threshold. I climb the stairs to my throne, admiring the décor of hanging corpses scattered around the room, a long, blood red carpet leads the way to the throne. I stand before my seat and admire its detail, the throne is made from bone, it is centuries old, now fossilised black with ash, the heat from the environment gives the throne a glossy look, it reflects the amber flames that light the room; around the base of the throne, are piles of skulls for decoration. Some covered in wax, from the burning candles I had placed on them for extra light. As much as I love this world, it does get very dark, even with my eyesight. I take my seat and get comfortable before beckoning in the impatient trio.

With a motion of my hand they step forward into my presence.

I stare at them, not making any attempt to start the conversation.

My oldest price Aizenial, clears his throat, my gaze locks on to him. Arching my brow, I allow him to proceed.

‘My Lord,’ he bows, ‘I wish to draw your attention to high influx of souls, currently entering our domain.’

‘I am aware,’ I confirm to him, ‘humanity does seem to be losing its way. How is this a problem for us?’

‘How do you suppose we deal with this influx? my Lord,’ He asks.

What a stupid question, I look at him to see if he is serious. ‘Make more demons and expand the pit, if need be, but time and space down there is unlimited, the influx should not cause any disruption.’

My second oldest begins to add to the conversation, ‘My Lord, if you please, would it not be wise to send someone to the Earth realm to investigate…’

I raise my hand to stop him from continuing this any further, ‘Why do you need to go to Earth? It is not our business what the humans do with their petty lives, your job is to rule your section of the pit. Is this not enough?’ my impatience with this tedious conversation is growing. I take a deep breath to calm my anger. The trio take a step back knowing, taking a long look at each of them before giving my final answer.

They are not interested in the influx of souls, they want something from the Earth realm, but what?! From left to right, I scan them carefully, hoping they twitch under the pressure.

Aizenial, my oldest, the tallest out of the three, his short brown hair slicked back between his curved horns. His chiselled features are admirable, his bright blue eyes contrast against his dark, olive skin, he has one heavily scarred wing on his left side; I ripped out his right wing last time he attempted to usurp me and severely damaged his left one as a reminder. He rules the military demons around the surface of the pit. It is his job to keep the damned in their place.

My second oldest, Nicolieus, sturdily built, his black hair reaching the tips of his shoulders, his wings are both intact, his skin is ruby red, and his black horns are a similar shape to mine. Out of the three he is the most impressive, as he reminds me of my younger self. He has never put a hair out of line, unlike his siblings, however I find his tactics in torture questionable, he personally chooses to torture his victims, mentally torturing them with twisted images of their forgotten lives or implanting repetitive scenes of emotional abuse, he forces his lesser demons have their way with his victims, not really my style, but each to their own, I suppose. His sections of the pit are the base, the first and second tiers, mainly new souls are here, he usually leaves them to their own devices, letting the Salamander, The Imps and Lesser Demons have their fill with basic, gruesome torture.

Finally, the youngest and the one I despise the most, Silathis. Slim build, with dull, grey skin, sporting a face to match his name. I ripped out both of his wings as punishment for the two times he attempted to usurp me; once on his own and once with his brother. His wings are now displayed in the throne room, hung up by meat hooks, I take great pleasure in destroying them, whilst he watches, each time he pisses me off. As a reminder of his disobedience, I also snapped off his left horn and singed the end so that it cannot regrow, I now use this horn to drink from. His hair is a murky blonde, greased over with sweat, his eyes a dull, grey colour matching his skin. I had banished him to his layer of the pit after his second attempt to take the throne. He carries the scent of the pit on him, burning flesh and sulphur; He now hides away in the maze of caverns on the third tier, along with the Lesser Demons and the Abominations. He only appears at my door if he or his brothers need something.

Scrutinising the three, I ask again.

‘Explain why you need to travel to the Earth realm?’

Nicolieus answers, ‘To investigate the humans, my Lord, see what has changed on Earth to create this influx, I have a feeling that the balance has shifted.’

I look at Nicolieus, holding his gaze. I have no reason to doubt him compared to the other two princes but asking to travel to the Earth realm is a big risk. It is incredibly difficult for a Royal Demon to travel to Earth, and our presence on that plain can shift the balance without us knowing. ‘You are aware of what you are asking me, Nicolieus? Your very presence can create this disruption if there isn’t one, not to mention the impact it will have if there is an issue,’ I caution.

‘I am aware my Lord,’ he replies, looking at me understandingly.

I lean forward on to my hands in thought. ‘I need more time to think on this request,’ Waving my hand dismissing them. They all bow and leave the room closing the door behind them.

‘Hmm, a shift in the balance, is that what I’m feeling? If so, the cause is not on the Earthly plain but here… right under my nose.’