The Noctalis Incident (Iron and Fire 2) pt1

It was a busy day at the manor of Darian Noctalis.  The week before had been much the same.  There was a buzz among the servants and staff for the honored guest that would be arriving that day.  Kalia had been woken early once again, given her weekly bathing, and put into a far nicer maid’s uniform than she was used to.  A slave wasn’t usually given the nicest clothes.

The guest was a young, but very high ranking member of the Ironblood family, one of the most influential demon families in the world.  Specifically, it was the daughter of the family’s patriarch, a Miss Carnivas Ironblood.  She was set to be here any minute, and Kalia had been working her hands to the bone with the servants and other slaves.  Master Noctalis had been quite busy today, a godsend to her; no worrying about incurring his wrath.

The servants buzzed with stories that Kalia had already known.  No one knew who her mother was, the patriarch wouldn’t say, and any who were present at her birth were supposedly sworn to secrecy.  But in the years since her existence had been made known, her name had spread far.  

Skirmishes with other families, raids on heavily fortified citadels, even attending summits with her father.  Many spoke highly of her, even going as far as to say she would very likely replace the Patriarch someday.  She also supposed to be quite beautiful, compared to a siren, a warrior goddess, even the sun itself.

All this had developed a kind of admiration in Kalia.  She’d never met the woman, so she couldn’t possibly know if all these stories were true.  But she wanted to believe someone like that could exist, and that she could meet her, maybe even talk with her.  The fantasy was embarrassing to say the least, and she’d die before she told it to anyone, but she was still eager to see what she was like at the very least.

Master Noctalis entered the dining room where they were working and barked above all the noise.  “Our guest has entered the town and will be here shortly.  We will of course be holding a feast to welcome her, all except for Marie, Bethany, and Kalia, set the table.  The three I just called will be helping me greet the young madam.”  The look he cast toward the two servants made them shiver and run over to him, but for Kalia, it just made the bruises hidden under her dress hurt.  
She walked calmly, but quickly, over to the man.  He regarded her with cool apathy for just a second before leading the trio out into the main hall.  

“When she gets here, you take her bags, introduce yourselves, tell her it would be a pleasure to attend to her needs, except for you Kalia, you do not speak unless spoken to, and you give the shortest answers you possibly can.  Are you all clear?”  Three “yes sir”s and at least one silent cursing of his existence later, they were all just outside the manor waiting for her car to arrive.

Kalia had been expecting a limo of some kind, extravagant as someone of great wealth and power would want.  But what came was a horse drawn carriage, and none like she’d ever seen.  It was huge, armored, and undecorated.  Six massive horses with silvery grey hair and glowing orange blood veins drew it onward coming to a halt upon command.

The driver sat upon its spot.  Two long, metallic arms held the reins, a third clutched a whip, and a fourth tipped its hat to them. The creature's face was covered by a bandage wrap, except for the eyes and spaces for two horns that came out the front of its forehead and protruded out in front of the hat.  A cloak enveloped it and obscured its body from view.

All four residents were quite taken aback by the appearance, so much so in fact, that they didn’t notice the much larger creature behind it until it had come up beside the carriage.  It was at least eight feet tall with a round, slightly egg-shaped head, with a spiked steel shell on its back.  His shape was almost apelike, with arms nearly the length of his body.  The monster was an Ironblood; that much was clear.  

The big demon opened the door to the carriage, with a grimace to the inhabitance inside. There was a short hushed exchange with the passenger, then a sigh and nod.  He turned toward the four and cleared his throat before speaking in a growling and scratchy voice.  “I, Krull Vatoise Ironblood, subservient boot-licker and personal staircase to her ladyship, am honored to announce the arrival of my great lord and mistress, Lady Carnivas Ironblood, daughter to Patriarch Grenivol Ironblood.”  He then proceeded to get down on one knee with one hand in front of the opening to the carriage, and the other just beneath it, making an impromptu staircase.  

A leg clad in black dress pants and a dress shoe stepped onto the massive palm, and a hand of a darkish red color grasped the edge of the opening.  Carnivas Ironblood pulled herself out of the carriage and finally gave Kalia her first look at the woman.

She didn’t disappoint.

The first thing that struck her was how remarkably human she looked.  She was quite slim, actually, just a few inches taller than Kalia was too.  Her hair was short, just down to her ears, which were just barely pointed.  If she didn’t have the similar skin color, one wouldn’t really be able to make the connection between her and her father.  Aside from her dress pants and shoes, she wore a white blouse, and a black vest over it, outlining her figure.  
Her face looked as though it was made for the smirk she wore.  Her cheeks wrinkled easily to accommodate the expression, her chin ended in a subtle point, and her brow was so smooth that it looked like she’d never worried in her life.

As she stepped down she pulled on a long black coat with a deftness that said she wore if often.
There was confidence in her stance; she knew how important she was.  The smirk was relaxed, almost lazy in its serenity, but there was something in it that felt missing, though what it was Kalia couldn’t say.  As she stepped down to the second hand, she put her hand up and patted the bare head of the other demon, “I’m really enjoying this, I hope you know that.”

“Bite me.”  Was the demon’s response.

“Aaah, you’re a good sport.”  Carnivas chuckled, then stepped off the hand onto the ground.   She turned toward the four waiting for her and gestured back at the big demon.  “We had a bet on the way here, I won.”  She gave a deep bow.  “Like the lug here said, Carnivas Ironblood, present and accounted for.”  She stood back up and walked forward, holding her hand out toward Master Noctalis.  “Darian Noctalis Huller I presume, nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is all mine, Lady Ironblood, I am grateful that you could take the time to consider the Noctalis Clan for your alliance.”

“Well I wasn’t about to knock on Bastion Crowley’s door.”  She said with a laugh.

Master Noctalis laughed as well; Bastion Lumenis Crowley was the head of the Lumenis Clan, eternally at odds with the Noctalis.  The ideals of the two differed as greatly as the element they came from.  “Won’t you please come in?”  He clapped his hands and the two young servants came forward, bowing.

“A pleasure to meet you, milady.”  They both said in unison.

“I am Marie.”

“And I am Bethany.”

“We would be honored to assist you in any way we might.  May we take your bags?”

She smirked amusedly at them while they were bowed, but straightened her face as they stood up.  “Actually, I think I’ll be fine getting this on my own.  But thank you both, you are very kind, and if I do require assistance, I will be sure to call upon you.”  

Then her eyes shifted, catching Kalia’s before she could look down.  The bright glowing orange color was typical of the Ironblood family, but it was the first time she had seen it.  She couldn’t look away.  The expression was much less appealing than the eyes though.  Her smile had dropped off of her face, entirely.  “How about you,” the tone was cool and unkind; Kalia was caught off guard.  The demon began taking steps toward her.  “Not very talkative are you?”  A hint of venom found its way into her voice.  

“I, I didn’t, I mean, I was…” Nothing came to her, she couldn’t get a thought out.  She looked to her master for help, but he seemed to be expecting an answer as well.  He was throwing her under the wheels.  

Lady Ironblood circled around behind her, she turned around to keep the other woman in her sight, fearing the worst.  Unconsciously, she backed away from her, trying to keep her head, refusing to succumb to the terror that was building within her.  The Ironblood advanced after her, making her back up faster and faster.  

Finally, one of her boots caught her dress and she fell backward into one of the steeds leading the carriage, ending up on the ground.  The great beast reared up in a startled manner over her, and for just a moment, Kalia was quite sure she was going to die.  Her eyes widened with panic at the massive hooves above her.  But just before they came down, a hand wrapped around her arm and yanked her out of the way.

Kalia and her rescuer tumbled backward away from the horses, with Kalia landing on top.  It took her a moment to reorient herself.  “Ya alright there?”  Came the voice of the demoness beneath her.  The girl opened her eyes to see the Ironblood’s smirk back on her face.

She nodded silently, stunned into silence, her face having gone red.  

“Fantastic.  Then if you wouldn’t mind, I think you might wanna let me up.”

The sentence galvanized her into motion and she stood up as quickly as she could, not daring to speak another word now.  Master Noctalis ran over to Lady Ironblood to offer her a hand, but she didn’t take it.  As she stood up on her own, the driver to the carriage came down from its spot, walking on two of its arms and yelling.  “Oi oi OI!  What the smolderin ‘ell wazzat?!”  It, now identifiable as a he, yelled to the horse.  “Ow long you been doin this, eh?  Think you could learn some manners after all your years, maybe?  Oughta take a go’damn bludgeon to ya!”  He turned to his superior and bent his arms to bow apologetically.  “Forgive me, milady, Oi ‘ave no oidea why ol’ Ekruuz did that, e’s normally quoite well be’aved.”

“It’s fine Mitheed, at least he didn’t kill anyone.”

Master Noctalis immediately stepped forward, putting himself between Lady Ironblood and Kalia.  “If I may also extend an apology, you put yourself in danger for the incompetence of one of my servants.  You know how imps can be.”  He cast a momentary wrathful glance at Kalia; there would be punishment for this later.

“So she’s an imp then, interesting.  I accept your apology, Lord Noctalis, so long as the girl be a bit more careful next time.  And maybe a bit more upfront with her introductions, it’s rude to ignore a guest when they arrive.”

“Of course, of course.  I will make sure she is up to form next time.”  All three of the servant girls could see him visibly relax after the heart attack-worthy moment that had just transpired.  Kalia could practically feel the beating she would be getting that night already.

“Well, why not start now, I’ll even help.”  She said with a humorless smile.  She walked past Noctalis and straight to Kalia with her arms crossed, not speaking.  After a moment she inclined her head slightly, “Well, introduce yourself, girl; you seem capable of talking, if just barely.”  She spoke condescendingly, then continued without waiting a second, “Or do you still need help?  Here, how about I show you.”  She folded her hands in front of her and bowed very stiffly.  “First you do this, deep enough as if you’re going to perform an act best left in the bedroom, then you say as meekly as you can, ‘hello, my name is’, and then you tell me your name.”

The entire time, Kalia’s overly pale face had been getting redder and redder, hot shame washing over her.  This couldn’t have gone worse if she’d tried.  Carnivas Ironblood stood back up and smirked again, clearly enjoying the display, “Now you get to try.”

Kalia did as she was told giving a bow just as stiff if not more so, trying to keep her voice steady to keep from embarrassing herself further, “Hello, m-my name is Kalia, I would be honored to atten- I mean help you any way I could possibly, I mean, any way I might.”  She mentally kicked herself at every screw up.  She forced herself to stand back up and look Lady Ironblood in the eye.
After a moment, she smiled in satisfaction.  “That wasn’t too bad.”  She looked to the other two servant girls.  “You’re all free to go.  Master Noctalis can see me to my rooms.”  She walked back to the carriage to get her bags.  “Krull, help me carry this crap, would you?”

“Right-o.”  The big demon took two of the bigger bags, while Carnivas took another two, and Master Noctalis lead them both toward the large front door.  Kalia couldn’t hold it in any longer and she burst out crying, strength quickly leaving her legs.  Marie and Bethany swooped in to catch her and help her back to the servant’s quarters.

Carnivas was a few feet behind her companion and the Master, apparently still within earshot, and she turned her head back toward them.  But Kalia couldn’t bear to catch her eye again.
“Condescending witch.”  Bethany muttered under her breath.

“Are you alright, Kaly?”  Marie asked her.  Kalia nodded weakly, still trying to get herself under control.  

They went through another entrance to the manor and brought her back down to the servant’s quarters where the servants who weren’t working in the banquet hall for the welcome feast were residing.  As soon as they saw the state Kalia was in, several of them gathered around, asking her if she was alright.  Now that she had had some time, she was able to get herself together again.  

She gave them the best smile she could and said that she was fine.  The slave knew she should have expected the woman to be like that.  Demons weren’t known for their kind mannerisms.  Her being an imp only worsened the situation.  She’d been here her entire life, so she didn’t know how a demon’s power had affected her birth, but it branded her a mutant and lesser being to demons, and the child of fools to most humans.  The most common way an imp was born was because humans were attempting to control a demon’s mana, and usually failed.

The bottom line was, she couldn’t have expected any kind of meeting with a demon, especially one of Carnivas’s status, to end well in any way whatsoever.  Most of the others returned to where they were, but several kept a protective eye on her.  It would be a few hours now until the welcome feast, so Kalia decided to rest for a little while.  After removing the maid dress and hair ties, she laid down on her stiff bed in her light thin undergown, and fell asleep.