Part 5
Xellma decided to enter Ashe Castle through one of the secret entrances only she knew of. Unless the children had discovered them and never told her, the locations of these entrances died with Rebecca, just as she always intended. In the basement of an unremarkable building, she pulled a torch and entered a small tunnel. Fortunately it had not grown over with vines, as without Divine Creation magic, she'd never be able to clear the way.
This particular tunnel went straight to her bedroom, and she had the foresight to install eye holes to check if the coast was clear first before entering. Looking through them, though, she spotted Heather, laying in the bed. Was he... crying? She decided to open it slightly louder than intended.
Heather jumped when he saw the wall move out of the corner of his eye. That was Rebecca's secret tunnel! Nobody else knew about it. When he saw who emerged from it, he wasn't sure what to think though. It was definitely a slightly younger Rebecca, no doubt about it. The aura of uneasiness, the curled black horns on her head, though, that was different. He decided to speak first.
"Who are you to wear the face of my dead wife?" He demanded, his eyes still red from crying.
Xellma had to act quickly and decisively, lest the room become overrun with guards.
"I can't stay long, Moonfall Prince. Even the Demon Queen has places to be, just know that I chose this face for a reason." Xellma said with a gentle smile. "I'm here to deliver a message on a certain someone's behalf, though."
Heather's curiosity overcame his anger, not to mention, hearing Rebecca's voice again was nice, even if it wasn't really her. "What message? On who's behalf?"
"Dark Imperium loved you, Prince. With all her heart. From the moment she first met you, she was completely head over heels in love." Xellma said gently, placing her hand on Heather's shoulder. "There was a reason she chose you to father her children, even despite knowing you were a rusalka. She-no." Xellma stopped. She couldn't do this facade any longer, she had to say goodbye to Heather properly. "I, Prince. I loved you so very much, more than words could ever say."
Xellma didn't realize how much she missed Heather until this moment. Overcome with emotion, she simply hugged Heather, holding on tightly.
"I wish I could stay, but I have a new empire to rule over in death." Xellma said quietly. "My lovely Moonfall Prince, my Heir of spirits. My... Heather Dorchaidhe."
"Oh Rebecca, it really is you, isn't it?" Heather said, returning the hug. "Nobody else could ever pronounce my last name."
"That's not who I am, not anymore." Xellma said. "I'm the Demon Queen of Hell now, Xellma."
"Surely you didn't come back from Hell just to say goodbye to me." Heather said, not letting go of the hug.
"It was one of the reasons. I was going to go to the state funeral, but it seems so silly now. Make sure they let me in to the private one, and that will be good enough for me." Xellma said. "Before I go, I need to speak with Verka."
"Of course, I'll have her come here at once." Heather said, finally breaking off from the hug, and leaving Xellma alone in the bedroom.
As Xellma waited in the room, she wondered if she would ever get over them. She supposed that was part of why time passed so much faster in hell, to help you get over your mortal attachments through the march of time.
Verka's mouth dropped open when she saw who was waiting for her in her parent's bedroom. It wasn't quite her, she could tell from the smell, but it was close enough.
"Mother?" She asked, with a shaky voice. Xellma simply nodded, and Verka ran to her, hugging her tightly. "Oh, mother!"
"That's who I used to be, yes. I cam to say good bye, as I was robbed of that chance when I was still Rebecca." Xellma said softly. "My darling eldest daughter, I'm sorry you couldn't inherit the throne, but I hope Princess is a good consolation prize."
"You look like her, and you sound like her, but I know you are not, in my heart. My mother is dead." Verka said, continuing to hug Xellma anyway.
"Yes, you're right. I'm the Demon Queen Xellma, and once I was Rebecca Ashe. I only came to attend Dark Imperium’s funeral."
"Truly I had a wicked mother for a demon to attend her funeral." Verka said, finally releasing the hug.
"The wickedest. I do have something else to tell you, though. A rotten world and a heart of guilt."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Verka asked, completely confused.
"I'm not sure, actually. King Xolarand asked me to pass it on to you." Xellma admitted, shrugging her shoulders. I do have something I need to test on you, though only with your permission."
"Test what?" Heather asked, quietly re-entering the room and closing the door.
"I have a demonic... aura, we'll call it. The effect is called Queen's Orders, and if I use someone's true name when speaking to them, they are compelled to obey my command with a geis. I want to see if it works on the rusalki."
"What do you want to do?" Verka asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm simply going to command you to tell me something embarrassing. If you refuse to tell me, then I will have my answer."
"Very well, but if you try anything funny we'll banish you." Heather said, crossing his arms.
"Banish me? Banish ME?" Xellma started laughing. "The only mage on the continent who could even attempt to banish me is Neptis Celeste, and she's 2 weeks away in Dragonpost! Prince Heather, when was the first time Rebecca made you wear a dress while having sex? How often did you wear women's clothes when having sex with her?"
"In 770, not long after we first arrived at the Ashe Family Manor. Every single time we had sex she made me wear her clothes, and would often refuse unless I did so." Heather replied immediately without even pausing.
"Father!" Verka almost shouted.
Inwardly, Xellma was doubled over in laughter. Forced to reveal a fetish in front of his own daughter, this was downright Vordean. Next was Verka's turn while Heather recovered from the shock.
"Verka, what's your favourite and least favourite kinds of food?" Xellma grinned, she knew Verka always hated talking about food.
"Female elves taste the best, their flesh is mana rich and has a distinctly sweet flavour, the small breasts typically mean less overall body fat in the torso area, and the marbling is typically very good. Male dwarves are difficult to eat, there's always so much hair and they tend to have a strong musk, even to their flesh." Verka replied as casually as could be.
Xellma cackled, Queen's Orders worked perfectly on rusalki. She made a note to thank Vordea later for that. "Oh my, that was perfect, yes it appears Queen's Orders works just fine on spirit plane denizens. I'll see you both at the funeral."
Xellma dissolved into a puddle of ink on the ground before either of them could reply.
"How did she do that?" Verka asked, horrified that she spoke of her eating habits in front of her father.
"About what we both just heard, I won't tell the guards why female elves keep going missing if you don't tell your siblings about the dresses." Heather said, quickly moving to cut off blackmail, and realizing who was behind the disappearances.
"Give me access to the prison or it's in the next Royal gazette." Verka threatened.
"Once a week and only the condemned prisoners." Heather replied, negotiating.
Verka and Heather glared daggers at each other for a tense minute before Verka finally relented and left.