Devil Ash Deceit (Devil Ash Saga) (26 page)

* * * *

It was King Satan’s constant denial of Shiva’s requests to fight that forced the girl to think outside the box. Denied, but not deterred, Shiva examined her options. If her father didn’t believe she could fight, then all she would have to do is make him see that she could. The problem was that she had never actually been in a real fight before. She needed to end her dry spell and find some equally matched opponents to spar with.

The girl started attending her tutor’s lessons regularly, acting as well behaved as she possibly could. It was all a ruse. After her lesson was over for the day, the girl would disappear to her room where she’d disguise herself in some boyish clothing she’d bought from a nice tailor on one of her shopping trips. She learned how to tie her hair up into a ponytail and then tuck it under a large cap. She looked just like a little boy; so much that no one questioned her as she snuck out of the castle.

The girl found the freedom of her new identity liberating. No one stopped to question her or make her return home. She wandered all over the Kingdom, exploring different parts of the four sections every day. For the first year, her thirst for action was quenched simply by exploring the Kingdom alone.

During this time, she approached children of all ages and attempted to interact with them. No one accepted her quite as easily as the South Hell boy named Dekko. With her identity hidden, Shiva could let her real personality out and act like a normal kid. It helped that Dekko also dreamed of one day joining the Royal Guard. The shared goal brought the two children even closer together.

When Shiva was ten years old, the Prince turned sixteen and joined the Royal Guard. He’d already been helping them out with demon invasions from an early age, but actually being made an honorary part of the team made Shiva all the more jealous. With that determination fueling her, Shiva started picking fights with every roving gang of street urchins she could find.

She got beat up a lot. Each time she could barely escape before anyone figured out her true identity. Luckily, her ten year old body wasn’t far enough developed to be discovered a lady. She hid her bruises and scrapes with silly frilly dresses and makeup during the day. It didn’t take her long to adapt to the streets, and to even start winning some fights.

Sparring with Dekko helped. The boy wasn’t nearly as strong or skilled as Shiva, but she had the benefit of a front-row seat to Darko and Phoenix’s sparring matches. Shiva was just happy to finally have a sparring partner, since it was at the top of all her birthday wish lists and never delivered.

Whenever the demon invasion siren would sound, Shiva and Dekko (along with any children they happened to be fighting at that time) would scramble home for safety. The girl was not at a level where she felt confident in fighting any demons just yet. She and her friend had more than a few close calls with the demons, but they’d always managed to get away safely.

Those years spent fighting on the streets with Dekko were some of the happiest times in Shiva’s life. For once, she had everything she’d ever wanted.

* * * *

When she was sixteen years old, Shiva screwed up. The Royal Guard caught her after a brawl in South Hell and her identity was finally revealed. She was brought to the Royal Throne Room, where not only her father but also Prince Darko and even her grandfather Wilhelm were gathered.

King Al was outraged at his daughter’s secret double life, going off on her about her responsibilities as a Princess. The other two family members had different opinions. Wilhelm smiled as he listened to the girl speak passionately at length about her desire to help protect the Kingdom by fighting alongside her brother and the Royal Guards. Even Darko seemed to pay more attention to the girl than usual.

Shiva stated her case that for the last few years she’d been fighting and getting stronger. She could hold her own in a fight now, and claimed she was ready to join the Royal Guard. Just in time, since her body had matured to the point where it was becoming difficult to hide it anymore from Dekko. There had been too many close calls during sparring where the boy had grazed her developing chest and almost figured ‘her’ out.

“I’m all for it,” said Wilhelm, much to the dismay of his son, the King. “The girl
wants
to fight. Clearly, she has proved she’s willing to go to great lengths to accomplish her dream. I don’t think its right to hold her back from it any longer.”

Shiva smiled lovingly at her grandpa as tears ran down from her eyes.

“But!” her father was quick to speak. “She’s a
girl
! A
Princess
! It’s not womanly to fight!”

“Need I remind you of the late Captain Venus?” asked Wilhelm. “
She
was strong enough to make Captain. They’re rare, I admit. But sometimes, women can really ‘kick butt’. Let’s not forget, Shiva too has the blood of a Satan flowing through her veins. I believe that with proper training, there’s no reason why she couldn’t become a powerful asset to the Kingdom, just like Darko is.”

While the King mulled over what his father said, it was Darko that ultimately made the call. “Let her fight,” the Prince said. “If she’s strong, she’ll survive. If not, she’ll die. That’s really all that matters.”

“She can’t die! She still has to give me grandchildren!”

“I won’t die!” said Shiva. “I’m strong and I’ll prove it!”

“You’d better not,” said Al. “We’re all that’s left of the Satan bloodline. As the rulers of Hell, our survival is of the utmost importance. Your brother already agreed to do his part in giving me grandchildren some day. I didn’t think I’d have to
ask
my only daughter…”

“I’ll do it!” Shiva cried. “I’ll do whatever you want! Just let me fight!”

Al looked to his father, who gave an encouraging nod. He looked to Darko, who had his usual bored face once again. With much hesitation, the King cleared his throat and made his announcement.

“I will let you join the Royal Guard,” he started. Shiva jumped for joy and screamed. “But!” the King was quick to add, “you must stay alive long enough to marry and continue our bloodline!”

“Yes!” Shiva said. “I promise! I’ll make myself useful, I swear!” Wilhelm engulfed the girl in a warm hug while Darko made his way to the exit. While Shiva and the old Satan celebrated, King Al had other thoughts on his mind.

No way she’s going to like it
, the King thought.
I give her a month, maybe a year tops before she realizes the Royal Guard is no fun. She’ll quit for sure! I’d stake my life on it…if my life weren’t so damn important!

There came a knocking on Shiva’s bedroom door one early morning, and Shiva was already eagerly standing on the other side to open up immediately. She’d been looking forward to this day since the conversation that took place in her family’s throne room only days ago. Today was the day that Shiva joined the Royal Guard.

The door opened and Goddard poked his head in. The Royal Advisor nodded curtly to the sixteen year old, then barged his way into her room. Shiva had awoken an hour ago, before the formation of the artificial sun even, and was already dressed. Behind Goddard, a castle servant wheeled in a large box on a dolly. The servant set the box down in the middle of the room and left the two alone.

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” Goddard said, handing the girl a crowbar. She took one look at the tool and realized Goddard did not intend to open the box for her. From now on, she’d be doing all the work herself.

“It’s not that unusual,” Shiva said, ripping the tool from the man’s clutches. “Women have joined the Royal Guard before. Grandpa even said one made Captain.” The girl stuck the pointier end of the tool into the crack in the top of the crate and started to pry.

“Women tend to die much faster in the Royal Guard, you know.”

“Not me,” said Shiva. With a mighty thrust, the girl threw all her weight down on the crowbar. The lid popped out of place and toppled to the floor. “I’m tougher than I look.”

Shiva delved into the crate. What she saw almost brought a tear to her eye. Gazing down into the box, amidst a plethora of packing paper laid several fragments of the girl’s new identity. The pieces, all cast of the most durable metals, were newly minted and in perfect condition. Each section was of the darkest crimson and emblazoned with the Royal Guard’s golden crest.

Shiva picked up the cuirass, or breastplate, and felt its weight. It was heavier than the girl had expected. She examined the rest of the pieces one by one while Goddard examined the girl. After removing each section of the armor from the box, the girl looked at Goddard.

“I’m going to put it on now,” she said. Goddard took the hint and turned around. Without waiting even one more second, Shiva stripped off her clothing until all she had on was her tightest undergarments. She threw on the armor with all the fury of a tornado sucking up cattle. Without so much as a word of instruction, only minutes later when the sounds of metal and flesh colliding stopped, Goddard turned around.

Shiva stood gazing into her full-length mirror, the armor a perfect fit. She inspected herself from all angles like an adolescent girl might examine her prom dress. The girl did a couple of squats, testing the weight of her new outfit. She wiggled her arms and legs until she was certain of how far they could stretch and bend. She even threw a few mock punches, smiling at how badass her reflection looked.

I’m never taking this armor off,
she thought.

Goddard cleared his throat. “If you’re quite ready,” he said. “Your orientation is about to start.”

Shiva turned around and strutted across the room like a fashion model. She and Goddard left her bedroom and headed for the castle barracks to meet with the Commander of the Royal Guard.

* * * *

The short walk down the hall to the stairwell to the basement was a monumental moment for Shiva. It was the introduction of her new identity to anyone who happened to be walking the halls at that same time. Mostly castle servants and maids, as well as some other Royal Guards caught sight of the Princess in armor. Shiva would never forget their somber expressions.

She followed Goddard downstairs and to the barracks. When they entered, every set of eyes in the room turned to her. There were twenty-some men in the room, a wide variety of ages between them all. Goddard led the way through the soldier’s bunk area to the office in the rear. He tapped on the door until a gruff voice inside gave permission to enter.

They stepped inside to find the recently promoted Commander Stryd sitting behind a large wooden desk. The man did not look pleased at all as he scribbled away at the paperwork, his dark-skinned brow wrinkled in frustration.

“They don’t tell you about all the paperwork involved when you take the position of Commander,” he said.

“Nor the Royal Advisor,” Goddard replied, a look of loathing on his face as he gazed at the paper stacks.

Commander Stryd dropped his pencil and stood. “Lady Shiva,” he said as he bowed his head in respect. “When I first heard you’d be joining us, I thought it was a joke.”

“I can assure you, this is no joke sir,” Shiva said. “I want to be treated the same as everyone else here, so please don’t hold back on me.”

Stryd looked to Goddard. “She’s all yours now,” the Royal Advisor said. “I don’t care what you do with her, just make sure she doesn’t die, alright?”

“Don’t you worry,” Stryd said. “We’ll take care of her.” His toothy grin did not look pleasant.

Goddard wished Shiva luck and stepped out of the office. The Princess and the Commander were alone.

“And don’t
you
worry, Princess,” said Stryd. “I’ve spoke at length with your father. We both believe that this is no place for you, but we’re willing to give you a chance. We won’t be giving you any
special treatment just because of your title. Here, we reward hard work and obedience.”

“That’s why I’m here,” Shiva said. “This is how I want to serve my family. When we exit this office, I am no longer a
Princess
.”

* * * *

Inside the small gymnasium connected to the barracks, Commander Stryd stood before his new recruits. Shiva was just one of the twenty-six men assembled there. They wore whatever pieces of armor they could afford, and there were even some with no armor at all. Stryd looked them all over, groaned, and then cleared his throat.

“You’ve all made a very brave choice to give your lives to the Royal Guard. I commend you on that. If not for good people like you, our Kingdom would not be able to exist. Your King thanks you. Your Commander thanks you.

“Before we get started, I am obligated to inform you that all but one of you will die in a future demon invasion. If that statistic bothers you, there’s the door. I only ask that you first take into consideration this one thing: do you think you could make it to the door before I strike you down with my blade?”

No one moved. No one spoke. No one even blinked.

“I didn’t think so. Now, you may be thinking to yourself, ‘I’d rather not get killed by demons.’ Well good news, because here in the Royal Guard we promote those who show the most promise to defending the castle. In other words, the stronger and more talented you are, the more likely you’ll be given a cushy castle guard job. Everyone else is demon bait. Work hard, get tougher, don’t be demon bait. Got it?”

Everyone in the room nervously bobbed their heads. A portion of the room was already internally debating abandoning this lousy job. Shiva stood up, much to everyone’s surprise, raising her hand with a question. She wasn’t called on, but she spoke anyway.

“What if we
want
to fight demons, sir!” she asked.

Stryd marched over to where Shiva stood. With his face only inches away from the girl’s, the Commander gave her a hollering the likes of which she’d never experienced before.

“This is
not
a Q&A session here! Did I give you permission to speak? I didn’t think so! You have a death wish? That’s fine with us! You can answer
every
damn siren for all I care! But until you complete basic training and prove you can do more than just throw your bodies into the jaws of a hungry demon, none of you are going anywhere near the battlefield! Now sit your ass down and shut your mouth!”

Shiva obeyed at once and took her seat on the bench. She understood that this was all part of the experience, that it came with the territory. Still, she’d never been spoken to like that before in her life and it was difficult adjusting. Stryd continued down the line of recruits, taking joy in everyone’s terrified reactions at seeing the man in charge berate a Royal Princess.

“Now, you may have all noticed a very special guest in our group. If you’re a little slow, I’ll save you time and tell you to look at the loudmouth who just spoke out of turn.”

Shiva could feel everyone’s piercing eyes on her. She stared straight ahead, trying her best to ignore them.

“That’s right, there’s Royalty among us,” Stryd said. “Except not anymore she’s not. The King has given me the order to treat her like I would any one of you, so don’t think she’ll be getting any favoritism while she’s with us. We’re going to start off with a little sparring drill so I can see what you’re all made of. Now line up!”

The nervous bunch of recruits stood at attention, filing into order and forming two lines. The men at the front of the lines stood inside circles painted on the floor of the gym. The goal of their sparring drill was to push the defending cadet out of the ring. Shiva waited anxiously in line for the opportunity to finally get in on some sparring. The men took turns throwing punches and kicks until the winners were decided. Those who won stayed in the circle while the losers returned to the rear of the line.

Stryd watched closely, evaluating everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, determining who would last in a fight with the demons and who would likely perish. The Commander was tasked with deciding where to place the new recruits based on their talent and potential. So far, none of the men had demonstrated anything impressive in their matches.

Shiva finally stepped into the sparring circle, ready for action. The girl stared down her challenger, a much larger and older man, taking a defensive stance and beckoning the man to strike first. Her opponent looked wary. He scratched his head and looked around the room before speaking to the girl.

“I’m sorry, Lady Shiva,” he said, barely lifting his eyes to look at the girl. “I don’t want to become known as the guy who beat up the Princess. I concede.”

With that, the man left the circle and joined the other line of recruits, so as to avoid running into the Princess again. Disappointed, Shiva entered the circle and turned to face the rest of the men. Each one showed the same wary uncertainty, avoiding the girl’s gaze altogether. Shiva waved the next challenger into the circle, but the man would not budge.

“What’s the hold up?” Stryd shouted from across the gym.

“I am waiting for my next opponent!” Shiva replied.

“All those who wish to challenge Lady Shiva, stay in that line. Everyone else, form a new line!”

Without hesitation, every man abandoned Shiva’s line and started forming a new one. The girl stood there watching, trying not to let her tears escape. For one hour, she stood silently by as everyone took part in the sparring drill. After a few rounds, the men were all starting to enjoy themselves. Opponents formed bonds after each respectable match, offering each other friendly handshakes and kind words.

No one even looked at Shiva. She stood by the entire time, waiting for someone to challenge her. When he’d seen enough, the drill ended and Stryd ordered everyone out. Shiva waited until the room was cleared before she would take a step outside of her circle. She approached the Commander, waiting by the door.

“Can’t you do something?” she asked him. “Order them to fight me!”

“I’m sorry Lady Shiva,” the Commander said. “I can’t order anyone to attack the Royal Princess! Such an order would be treason against the Royal Family!” With that simple explanation, Stryd left Shiva standing in the dark.

* * * *

Without anyone to spar against, Shiva missed out on the ‘training’ aspect of basic training. She still partook in any drills that didn’t require a partner, like working out and demonstrating flame abilities. But that wasn’t enough to get assigned a proper job in the Royal Guard. Because she could not display her fighting talents, she was placed in the one area that did not require any fighting ability: the kitchen.

Shiva carried supplies, chopped vegetables, ran errands, and scrubbed the floors. She was assigned virtually every job the Royal Guard had to offer
except
for fighting. She looked forward to the daily sparring drills that took place, hoping that each new day would bring a competitor willing to challenge her. The better part of a year went by without any takers.

Shiva decided that she wouldn’t let that time go to waste and worked on training her body instead. When she got to the circle and her opponents abandoned ship, she’d spend the time waiting for a challenger by doing push-ups and sit-ups. She refused to beg for a fight, opting to display her dedication and talent for all to see, hoping that someone would work up the courage to one day challenge her.

She started to wonder if this had been her father’s plan all along. He never approved of her joining the Royal Guard and wanted to keep her as far away from the battlefield as possible. It seemed apparent that the strategy employed here was to make the job as unbearable as possible so that she’d have no choice but to quit.

Shiva felt like quitting every day, especially during those lonely sparring sessions. As much as she hated her situation, she knew going back and admitting she was wrong and returning to her former life was impossible. Instead, she looked for a way out of her current predicament. Without anyone to spar against, she’d never get out of the kitchen. That had to change first before any progress could be made.