Demon Queen Wants to Paint

Rosa sat in the corner of Alphegor's room, silent tears rolling down her face. She clutched her right hand as phantom pain still lingered on it despite the skin on it being completely untouched. She had lost count of how many times Asdeus had pressed her nail against Rosa's skin, but the number was so large that five times in either direction made no more difference.

I need to find a way home as soon as possible… I don't know how long I can endure this.

Rubbing her hand absentmindedly, Rosa wondered how she could find a way back to Earth. She needed to find magic that could either send her back in time or allow her to travel through worlds. Both seemed so far-fetched even in a world where she could turn into a shadow.

But I need to do something. I can't just let Asdeus keep doing whatever she pleases. 

Rosa wiped away her tears, then with a determined nod slipped into her shadow form. She was about to slip under the door like she usually did when sneaking out of her room for art supplies. But Asdeus had warned her that she'll have more guards watching her. So she turned to the window instead. 

Carefully she got on the windowsill, and saw that she was very high up. Alphegor's bedroom was located near the very top of the Demon Castle. 

It shouldn't matter right? I'm a shadow right now. Shadows can't fall. Can they?

Her human instincts were screaming at her – urging her to go back. But she knew that her fears were irrational. She couldn't fall as a shadow. Slowly she glided across the windowsill, going closer to the edge. Few centimeters at a time, she went past the ledge willing herself to stick close to the wall.

I can't fall. I can't fall.

She repeated in her mind and slowly glided down the castle wall. Most of the windows were completely dark with only a few rare exceptions still having the lights on. As Rosa got closer to the ground, she also got faster, the natural fear of heights slowly lessening. Until she had finally reached the Castle Grounds.

That wasn't so bad. Now I have to find the library window, sneak inside, find the book that could have information about traveling to other worlds and then sneak back into my room. Easy.

Rosa knew the inner layout of the Castle pretty well by now, but finding which windows belonged to the library was more difficult. They all looked the same after all. 

Library is on the third floor and spans three floors up. It is also located on the opposite side of the Castle, not too far from the Main Hall. 

Rosa, still in her shadowy form, dove under the bushes, and circled from behind the Castle while avoiding all the prominent routes. Even with her superior speed in the shadow form, it still took her fifteen minutes to get all the way around the massive building. 

But thankfully, any further troubles of locating the library were quickly erased as she saw nine dimly lit windows spanning across three floors in a neat 3x3 pattern. 

That must be it. But why are the lights still on? Do they not turn them off during the night?

Rosa crawled up the castle wall again, and then went straight for the closest open window. Looking inside the library she saw that the light inside was much dimmer than during the day and wouldn't be enough to read comfortably, even with a demon's improved vision.

Two demon guards, one sitting on the first floor of the library by the entrance and the other on the third floor near the staircase, were looking over the stacks of shelves with heavy eyelids. Their gazes were unfocused, and one of them was steadily dropping his head lower and lower.

So that's the reason for the light. This shouldn't be too difficult.

Rosa slipped behind the nearest bookshelf, and then watched for the guards' reaction. Nothing. Neither of them seemed any wiser about her presence. She slipped a few rows deeper into the library and then began searching through the shelves.

Time magic or teleportation magic is probably what I should be searching for. Or perhaps some book that describes rarer and more powerful types of magic.

She went from shelf to shelf until she found a section named 'Forbidden Magic'. It was small and hidden in the deepest corner of the library, but it still seemed rather accessible for something that's supposed to be forbidden. Perhaps, what was forbidden for others was just regular literature for demons.

Let's see what we have here – Monster Fusing Manual, Necromancy for Beginners, Conniving Chaos Conundrums, How Not to Get Summoned by a Human… What's with these titles?

Rosa kept reading through the titles until she finally stumbled onto a few she thought could be useful – Unusual Magic Through the Ages and Magic from Other Worlds. She would have liked to flip through them a bit before grabbing them but was afraid of attracting the attention of the guards.

She emerged from the shadow, expecting to grab the book right away but realized that she was too short and couldn't reach it. 

Stupid tiny legs!

Rosa closed her eyes and then imagined herself taking on Azrael's shape. It was a double precaution – if she got caught, nobody would really dare to do much against him even if he was breaking some don't-enter-the-library-after-ten rule. He was one of the strongest demons around after all.

Opening her eyes, she snatched the two books, but in her haste, she pulled another book with her that fell to the ground with a gentle thump. She grabbed that one too, and then quickly blended into the shadows underneath the shelf.

"Who's there?" a gruff voice called out, and Rosa heard footsteps approaching.

Time to scram.

Slithering from underneath the shelves, Rosa hurried to the open window and then rushed outside, down the castle wall and then made the trip back to the castle backyard.

I think I'm good. Just need to climb back… to my room. Has it always been so high up?

Rosa mentally prepared herself and then started moving up the wall. It was a very odd feeling – with no body that the gravity could pull down she was effortlessly moving higher and higher. It didn't matter if the surface was completely smooth – she didn't need any footholds. In a few minutes, she was back in Alphegor's room with three large books clutched in her tiny hands. 

"These felt much lighter when I was in Azrael's skin," Rosa huffed and heaved the books into her bed. She slid under the covers and pulled the first book into her lap.

"Unusual Magic Through the Ages," Rosa quietly read the title and then began flipping through the weathered pages. The book appeared old as the white paper had already turned yellow, however it appeared to be well cared for. Unfortunately, the contents of it were not very useful to Rosa.

It described odd magic which could be useful only in very specific scenarios and were rarely beneficial to anybody. For example, one chapter described a way how by manipulating the inner structure of a fruit one could turn a sweet fruit into a sour one. And not the other way around. Rosa read that particular chapter twice to make sure it didn't work both ways.

There were more sinister magics as well, but Rosa didn't bother to read them. In the end, the book had no mentions of any time magic or magic that could transport a person to another world.

"Onto the next one," she sighed and then dragged the second book in front of her. It was titled Magic from Another World. She was feeling quite hopeful about that one, eagerly flipping it open.

Unlike the first book, this one seemed rather new, some pages refusing to separate from each other and instead huddling together in a cluster Rosa had to hold down to read.

After reading just a few pages, Rosa knew that this book wouldn't help her. It described, or rather attempted to describe how technology from Earth worked. It spoke about smartphones as if they were some magical tablets with unlimited power. Cars were described as loud beasts used for carrying people and things around. 

Computers apparently were far too difficult for them to comprehend and they called them 'oracle machines' that would grant the user any knowledge they wished for and could even materialize things after a certain amount of time. Rosa wondered whether they were talking about online shopping.

But it is a good sign that they know about the existence of Earth. That means that somebody had gone there and come back to tell others of it.

Rosa pushed the book aside and then eyed the third book that she had grabbed in a hurry. It was smaller in size and there was a tear on the front cover. When she took it in her hands, it felt like the poor thing would just fall apart.

"Let's see – Rarest Magic," she read the simple title aloud, and her heart skipped a beat. "This is it! This might be the book that I needed."

Rosa carefully opened it, making sure not to pull the fragile pages too hard and began reading through the contents. Her stomach began to churn after just a few pages. It spoke of vile rituals where one could sacrifice part of other beings to enhance themselves, or even outright kill them for magical power.

Rosa was tempted to slam the thing shut, but persevered and read until the end. And she was rewarded. On the very last page there was a short paragraph that spoke about magic that could transport a person to another world.

"Extremely rare and difficult to wield. The only person known to wield this magic is Queen Eirwen. The stone which she obtained the magic from is kept a secret and it is strictly forbidden to be used by anyone but the Queen," Rosa read, and then slowly shut the book.

"So my demon mother could wield it. Perhaps she used it to pull me from the other world into this one…" Rosa mused, but then shook her head. "No! How ridiculous. What use would a Demon Queen have for a human girl?"

She laughed to herself, but her laughter died down as she began to ponder – how exactly was she brought into this world? It was such a burning question when she just got here, but as years went by the matter lost its urgency.

But how could I find that out? It's not like I can go and ask Alphegor.

Rosa sighed, and after hiding the books in Alphegor's desk, returned to the bed to sleep. She didn't know how late or rather how early in the morning it was, but she decided to get what little sleep she could.

Next morning, Rosa barely managed to get out of bed. Gunna had a hard time waking her up and most of the morning went by in a sleepy haze. She only truly realized what was going on once she was back in the study room, alone with Asdeus.

"Shall we continue our lesson from yesterday, Princess?" the demoness smirked, and Rosa glared at her. Asdeus just laughed and put a fresh notebook and inkpen in front of Rosa.

"What shall I write?" Rosa growled, not bothering to hide her hatred for the woman. She tapped her sharp nail against Rosa's desk, and she flinched remembering how it felt pressed against her skin.

"You seem to be feeling a bit rebellious today. How about you write – 'I love Lady Asdeus' a hundred times," the demoness cackled. Rosa had no choice but to grit her teeth and start writing.

I still know so little about this world. If I understood the magic and structure of this world a bit better, perhaps I'd at least know where to search.

Rosa almost jumped out of her seat as a realization hit her. Asdeus gave her an odd glance, and she pretended to be engrossed in her writing. 

Faenor's gift! It was supposed to be a comprehensive encyclopedia of magical gems. It should help me understand exactly what I'm searching for.