Book 5 Chapter 2

Joan sat on the edge of her bed, her knees together and hands resting on them.

It felt weird.

This was her room. Her actual room. As far as she knew, until this adventure was over, this would be her room. Once the Inferno God was destroyed, there might be somewhere else for her to go, but for now this was where she would reside. Not someone else’s room. Not a guest room. Her own, actual room.

For now, it just had a wardrobe, a bed and a desk, but eventually she might have other stuff in it. Probably. There was also windows, the wooden slabs now open and allowing fresh air into the room. It was a little dusty, but that wasn’t so bad. The room had likely been storing things before she arrived here.

It wasn’t like she had much, either. She’d already unpacked everything and put it away, but pretty much her entire life could have fit inside the wardrobe so it looked almost empty.

But she had an actual room now. She had someplace she could put things like extra clothes or things she collected. If she wanted to have someplace to put things. Maybe she could get a bookshelf and start getting more books. Not that she wanted more books than the few she had and her journal, but she COULD. Or maybe a tapestry. Something. Anything.

It was her room.

She couldn’t really remember having her own room, at least not as Joan. Even when she had been the Hero her ‘room’ had never felt like her room. She had spent so much time traveling that she didn’t really return to it often. It felt more like someone else’s room than her own. Some of the taverns they’d slept at had felt more like home than her actual home ever had. She’d probably spend just as much time on the road now as she had then.

Yet this oddly did still feel like her room. It was freeing in a way. She had a room, she could put things into it. Joan tugged on the covers a little bit, before giving them a firm tug to mess them up. It was her bed, so nobody could care if it was messed up.

She slowly slid off the bed and walked over to the window, gazing out around the wooden slabs. The wall around the keep wasn’t that tall so, even though she wasn’t on the highest floor, she could still just peer out over it and make out the village below. It was her room, truly her own room. Anything she wanted or desired she could put here.

Joan’s eyes swirled back towards the wardrobe. Her swords were hanging up inside it, resting on a hook on the door. She walked back towards it and pulled it open, tugging both swords down and walking back to the bed. She didn’t have to hide them here, either. They were hers, where better to have them than her own room?

She gave a chuckle and unsheathed the blade that Searle had given her. “Should I name you?” she asked. Unsurprisingly, the blade didn’t answer her. To be honest, she would have been more worried if it had. She gave two quick flicks with the blade, followed by a slash. It felt so nice and balanced in her hand, perfectly weighted for her. She really did have to give Searle credit, he hadn’t chosen anything shoddy.

Joan slashed twice more before spinning and cutting once again but using both hands. To her surprise, the edge of the blade shifted to red and then blue before a few trace flames burst out from it, quickly evaporating into smoke. She almost dropped the blade entirely, before shaking her head. “Right. I probably shouldn’t fiddle with you too much,” she said before sheathing it.

However, once again she felt a small longing wash over her. As good as this sword was, it didn’t truly make up for what she lost. The Star of the Hero was a weapon that could never be replaced. Still, at times she could almost feel like her new sword was closer than she could hope for. “The Star is gone and will never return,” Joan said gently. “There’s no hero to carry it. But that’s fine. You’ll be my new Star, won’t you?” she asked before sitting down on the edge of the bed and resting the sheathed sword over her lap. “So why don’t I call you… what was that word? The name for a new star? I know I’ve heard it before. It…” She frowned and closed her eyes, struggling to remember what the word was.

The birth of a star had a special name, she just couldn’t remember what it was.

Finally, it clicked and she remembered even why she knew the name. Nova, the name of a spell that Hardwin had eventually created. “I hereby name you Guardian Nova, my new star that has saved my life so many times now.”

Joan didn’t know why, but she couldn’t help feeling that the sword was happy about it. Which she knew was impossible, swords didn’t have feelings. But she wanted to believe it could. She then placed it aside and picked up her other sword, the one that was superior in so many ways. She couldn’t actually remember using it, though. The time had just never come up. While it was an incredible blade, it just hadn’t been at hand when she needed it most.

Slowly she gripped the hilt and pulled it from its sheath. Or rather, she tried. The blade refused to budge. “What?” Joan asked. With a grunt she held the sheath and hilt tightly and pulled as hard as she could. None the less, the blade refused to come free. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she said after a few moments of fruitless tugging. She looked it over, searching for some latch or snag, but there was nothing she could see. The sheath didn’t look as if it had warped or anything. As far as she could tell there was absolutely no reason for the sword to refuse to be drawn. None of the less, it did refuse.

Joan took a long, slow breath before placing the sword down. She waited a few seconds before tugging on it again, with the same result. “Really? Come on, why don’t you--”

A sudden knock on the door made her jump and she turned towards it. “Yes?” she called out.

“It’s Korgron. Can I come in?”

“What? Oh, right, yes,” Joan said.

The door opened and Korgron walked in with a smile on her lips, her tail flickering slightly behind her. She, unlike Joan, looked as clean and impeccable as ever. Though she wasn’t sure if it was because the demon’s bath had already been prepared or it was because she was a Chosen. She really did miss the ability to go through a storm and come out looking marvelous. Now she couldn’t even keep her hair straight through a light breeze. “How are you holding up, Mouse?” Korgron asked. “Your room looks nice.”

“I’m holding up well fine, Corked,” Joan said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Here, can you take a look at this?” she asked before tossing the sword to Korgron.

Korgron snatched it out of the air, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t call me Corked. Also, you shouldn’t throw swords. What’s wrong with it?” the demon asked before drawing the blade in a single movement.

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“Don’t call me Mouse,” Joan said. “And that. I tried drawing it, but I couldn’t. Was it hard?”

Korgron shook her head. “No. It’s a nice enough sword. It’s pretty similar to some of the style we use when we forge our more powerful weapons. At least, the magic seems the same.” She sheathed the sword and held it out to her. “And fine, Joan.”

“Thank you,” Joan said before taking the sword and, with incredible ease, unsheathing it. “Well, that’s weird.”

“You sure you weren’t doing it wrong?” Korgron asked.

“Possibly? Not a lot of ways to unsheathe it, though. Maybe there’s something inside the sheath it snagged on,” Joan said before turning the empty sheath upside down and shaking it. Nothing came out. She sheathed the sword again and tried unsheathing it without issue. “Weird, but okay I guess.” She put it back on her bed and glanced up. “So what did you need?”

“Just finished cleaning up and wanted to come check on you, make sure you were okay,” Korgron said before sitting on the bed besides her. The demon then reached out and stroked her cheek. “You need a bath too, it seems.”

“Yeah,” Joan said. “It’s not like the castle, though. No giant ones everyone can use at once. Just the ones they haul around everywhere and have to keep refilling.”

Korgron gave a small nod and a sigh. “I know. I can’t believe they were planning to refill that thing by hand, so tedious. I did it with a single spell, you should have seen their eyes bulge.”

“Oh, I imagine so,” Joan said with a light chuckle. A hydromancer could have done it easily, but she doubted there were many here who could do such magic. Still, she supposed she should count her fortune. It was such a hassle that she knew more than a few people only had the occasional bath, or had everyone share the same bath water. At least considering the Chosen it seemed they were willing to go the extra mile to give them all fresh baths. Hopefully she’d get one as well. “I don’t suppose when they bring it to my room you could…?”

Korgron’s grin only grew, revealing the sharp fangs in her mouth. “I don’t know… can I, Mouse?”

Joan sighed and took a deep breath. She then lowered her eyes, putting on the saddest face she could. “Never mind. I guess if it’s too much trouble for you, Corked, you don’t need to.”

Korgron let out a low hiss. “That’s playing dirty, Joan.”

“No dirtier than you, Korgron the Everlasting,” Joan said with a small smile. “How are you feeling, anyway? Liking the new title?”

“This place is very strange,” Korgron said. “They keep whispering about me when they think I can’t hear it. They’re terrified. Some of them, at least. Others stare at me like I’m the most amazing thing they’ve ever seen.”

“Most people who’ve seen a demon here have good reason to fear them,” Joan said. “But I imagine those who haven’t are probably fascinated by the novelty. A demon AND a Chosen? Trust me, you’ll be getting requests from suitors before the day is out.”

“Now that will be vile,” Korgron said. “Though, I apparently won’t be the only one receiving such requests.”

“Thalgren, already?” Joan asked. “Can’t say I’m surprised. Dwarves look a lot like humans but--”

“Probably, but I meant you,” Korgron said with an amused smirk.

Joan gave a soft sigh and rolled her eyes. “Unlikely. I--”

“Oh, no, I’m not saying you will. I’m saying you are,” Korgron said quickly.

“Wait, what?” Joan asked, the color draining from her face.

“Apparently news spreads fast,” Korgron said. “I was walking by this ‘study’ and heard Hardwin and his mother speaking--”

“Spied on them, you mean,” Joan said.

“Do you want to hear or not?” Korgron asked.

“Fine,” Joan said, though a part of her really didn’t want to hear at all.

“Apparently quite a few letters have arrived from those who wish to meet the daughter of ‘Lord Hardwin Ferocious Duskedham’, and introduce her to their sons,” Korgron said with an amused smirk.

“Lord Hardwin Dusklam, or Hardwin the Ferocious,” Joan said, correcting the demon. She couldn’t help feeling a knot in the pit of her stomach at that thought. “Requests are already arriving?”

“Indeed,” Korgron said. “Quite a few, by the looks of it. They were talking quite rapidly about you before I was shooed off.”

“Until they caught you listening to them and told you to go away,” Joan said with a sigh. “Great. And Hardwin’s response?”

“He didn’t seem interested,” Korgron said. “But I figured I’d check on you, ensure you were settling in okay. How this place compares to the room we had prepared for you.”

Joan tried not to snicker. Oh, of course. Korgron just wanted to make sure that the accommodations the demons offered beat the ones the humans did. “Well, the baths back in Kazora were far nicer. Though this room is less dusty.”

The first made the smile on Korgron’s lips grow bigger, but the second made her frown. “I see. Well then, I suppose next time we’ll need to ensure they’re better cleaned beforehand. They did have more time to prepare here, at least.”

“Oh, of course,” Joan said, unable to keep the amusement at her friend’s annoyance contained. “I’m sure next time I visit Kazora my room will put this one to shame. Maybe even--” Her words were cut off by a knock on the door. “Uhhh, who is it?”

“Miss Joan? Your bath?” a rather tired sounding voice called.

“Oh! Right, one second,” Joan said before getting to her feet and running to the door. The servant on the other side looked absolutely exhausted and she couldn’t help feeling a bit of pity when he hauled the big, wooden tub into the room. Or the look of relief when Korgron told him that she’d fill and empty it with magic so he could retrieve it later. Once the door was closed behind him she gave a light chuckle and glanced towards the now filled, and steaming, tub. It did at least look comfortable. “Thanks, Korgron the Everlasting. Maybe you should be Korgron the Generous.”

“Hmmm, that does have a nice ring to it,” Korgron said. “Though I don’t want all of you humans constantly begging me for things.”

“I doubt they would,” Joan said. “You are still a demon. I mean, I will. But I’ve known you for centuries.”

Korgron gave a light chuckle before getting to her feet. “Hmmm. Perhaps generous does work, then. I’ll let you enjoy yourself, though. If you need anything, I’ll be in my room. On--”

“East wing,” Joan said. “Guest rooms. Right?”

Korgron blinked and then gave a small nod. “Been there before?”

“Plenty of times,” Joan said. “I’ll find you. Thank you, by the way.”

“Of course,” Korgron said before heading towards the door and pausing before she left. “I do mean that, though. If you need anything…”

“I know, I’ll find you. I’m safe, really,” Joan said. Once the demon was gone she shook her head and chuckled. She was home now, who would hurt her here?

When she slipped into the water that thought hit her once more.

She was home now. At least, her current home. Her new home. Not a guest, not a temporary resident. But home. With her own room and everything. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d truly felt like she actually had one. Even if it was the home of her best friend, it was also her home. With someone who may not fully trust her, but at least did want her here.

It wasn’t a feeling she altogether disliked, either.