The Married Life Of Immortals

After leaving the underground where her king resided, Zerifa headed to one of the many gambling dens around the city. They were the best place to listen to any news, since the owners liked to gamble their businesses on who knew the most. The current winner was a female demon named, Lulune, who had a penchant for taking advantage of others.

When the Queen of Demons entered her gambling den, every eye in the room turned towards her, but no one dared say a word.

"Lulune," Queen Zerifa said, her voice soft, but the entire room was dead silent, so it carried all the way to the back of the massive casino, and the demon in question immediately stopped her business deal, and walked over.

"Your grace, it is an honor to have you in my establishment. What can I do for you?" Lulune asked as she knelt, and Zerifa's mouth curved up in a smirk.

"You may stand, and stop groveling. I am here to collect your debt, and take what I am due," Zerifa replied, and a nervous smile appeared on Lulune's lips.

"Of course, your grace. This week's donation of rare delicacies is sure to be a delight for your pallet," Lulune said, and then started to sweat when Zerifa shook her head.

"It is not your usual donations that I am after. The Emperor has irritated me, so my appetite is much larger than usual. Your business is doing quite well from what I can see, so you should have no problem giving me three weeks worth of exotic dishes and treats. That is my price for letting you continue to enjoy your wealth."

"But, your grace! That is 250 Demus per week. I barely have that much left over after I pay my taxes. If I give you that much, then I will be forced to shut down my establishment, and the other business men and women will start to doubt me, and the economy will crash," Lulune quickly stated, her voice pleading, and Zerifa's eyes narrowed.

"Do I really look that stupid, or does my sizeable form make you think that I am merely a pig that needs to be fattened up?" Zerifa asked, her voice turning harsh, and Lulune paled as she realized she had made a grave mistake.

"Your Grace! Please, forgive my impudence! My words were poorly chosen. I can give you the food, but it will take me time to acquire such a quantity," Lulune begged, and Zerifa rolled her eyes.

"You have one hour. After that, I will start eating your guests. If you think running out of funds will ruin your business, just think how you will fair when the other finds out that anyone that enters your doors is eaten alive," Zerifa snapped, and then pointed at Lulune's head. "I will take my payment from you if you fail to comply. The other option is to hand over everything you own right now, and I will let you leave this city with your life. Do not test me, child."

Zerifa's threat was made clear, and Lulune knew that she had no choice, and so, she lowered her head.

"I understand. Please wait for me in the dining room," Lulune said, her voice quiet and defeated, but Zerifa just rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, stop being dramatic. It is not like you are going to die, yet. I just have an insatiable appetite for fine food, and the Emperor is being an ass, so I need to fatten myself up, and take my mind off him. You and I both know this is just an act, but I warn you, I am not built for games," Zerifa said, her eyes cold, and Lulune nodded her head, not bothering to look up at her.

"Yes, your grace," Lulune whispered, and Zerifa walked towards the back room and sat down.

A demon came over to serve her a drink, but he was too close, and she reached out and grabbed his face.

"I hate when the meat is sour," She said as her hand tightened, and then her mouth opened.

With one bite, the demon's head was gone, and her jaws moved as her tongue and lips moved over his head. She swallowed, and her stomach started to rumble as the body fell to the floor still twitching.

"Ugh, he was disgusting. Lulune has the worst taste in employees," Zerifa muttered, and then her hands started to rub her stomach. "I wonder what a human would taste like? Can't be any worse than the trash around here, but the creature can eat hearts of demons?"

Very few demons knew the truth about themselves, and why they were in this world, but demons like Zerifa, Ragnath, and Gustave knew the truth. None of them were actually demons, but sparks trapped for eternity to die and be reborn, losing their memories each time. The only reason that some demons knew the truth was because they were the few that had not died since they were imprisoned in the Demon World.

Though, while knowing this, and understanding it, Zerifa had no desire to die, or return to the proper cycle of reincarnation. She was quite content with her life as it was, but this human was threatening to ruin it all. Queen Zerifa had been unsure if she should tell the Emperor about the human, but decided it would reach his ears at some point. She also expected him to leave the city, which was why she decided to tell him sooner than later.

In the middle of the Queen's thoughts, a knock came from the door, and she instructed them to enter. "Come in."

The door opened and a group of demons carried in several massive dishes that were placed down before her. Zerifa's eyes scanned over the dishes and she nodded, then gestured to the demon next to her.

"You may go, and inform Lulune that her debt has been settled, for now," Zerifa ordered, and the demon nodded.

"Yes, my Queen. I shall inform her after I am finished introducing the special dishes today. The first is Demon Wyvern thigh. This particular one is not a native of the area, but was flown in from the southern mountains," The demon said, and Zerifa's eyes sparkled.

"Something from that far away? Does this mean it was freshly killed? No, don't tell me, I want to taste it first," Zerifa muttered, and picked up the piece of meat, which was roughly the size of a large chicken, and took a bite.

"Mmm, very nice. The marinating has a perfect balance, and the skin is crisp yet the flesh is so tender," She said, and continued to eat.

"I am glad it is to your taste. The next dish is a Demon Wolf liver, grilled over a fire made from the bones of the demon wyvern you just ate," the demon announced, and the meal was brought in front of her, and a bowl of gravy was placed next to it.

"I will not hold back," Zerifa said and took a large spoon and scooped up the entire organ, and placed it in her mouth.

Her cheeks moved, and the organ vanished in seconds. She then dipped the spoon in the gravy and ate that as well, and then wiped her face.

"I hope that the next few portions are much bigger than this one, or I might be looking for a snack after. Maybe you will taste better than the other scum lying on the floor there. I hate to waste a meal, but one does not continue to eat something they do not like," Zerifa said, and the demon's eyes went wide, and started to shake as he only then noticed the headless demon servant tossed in the corner.

"Y-y-yes, your g-grace. P-please excuse me," The demon said, his eyes wide as he scurried out of the room, and the doors were quickly locked, but Zerifa was already reaching out for the next dish.

She didn't even bother asking what it was, but tore the flesh apart with her bare hands, and swallowed. After she had eaten ten more dishes, she sat back, and groaned, her stomach distended greatly, but no matter how much she consumed, nothing in this world ever satisfied her.

"If only you could have lived another few decades," Zerifa muttered as her eyes fell on the body of the demon that she had eaten. "Then you would have grown into a nice, fat, succulent demon. Then you could have become my snack, instead of those that are always bitter and disgusting. I guess it is time for me to go and find something that will actually satisfy me, though I do wonder, what would happen if a spark was consumed? Is it even possible?"

Zerifa laughed softly, and the door opened as more servants brought her food. She would continue to indulge herself until she grew bored of it, then Zerifa planned to do some actual gambling. While a glutton for food, her greatest passion was gambling of any kind, but she wasn't interested in Demus, the currency of the demon kind, but more exotic wagers. The kinds of bets that only a Queen could afford, and only a demon could risk.