The two grand doors swung open. In stumbled a young devil, horns barely able to scratch a succubus. He came carrying a very thick file.
“Ma’am,” he said, catching his breath. He looked up at the tall tower before him. Seated at the top, a rather sophisticated demon was writing at her keyboard. She wore a red blazer to compliment her milky white skin and horns. Her shirt was black with a white tie to pull together the look. Unlike a lot of other demons in her position, she chose not to showcase her breasts despite their large size. Her red skirt followed the blazer, continuing with her darker tights and finishing off with a pair of very fancy demon-brand high-heels. She peered down at the young demon, pushing her small and simplistic glasses from the bridge of her nose to the top of her head where her equally white hair sat in a neat, professional ponytail. She was alone in her room. Her office.
“Yes?” She replied, taking little note of the ‘imp’ before her,
“It’s her, ma’am,” he tried to speak, “n-not her, but the one you’ve been looking for,”
“Which one? Listen, Claudice, I’ve asked you to find a number of demons here before. You’re going to have to be a little more—”
“Not a demon,” he interrupted, “the girl. The hooker,”
The demon said nothing else, simply sitting back in her chair, out of view of Claudice. Her expression was undecided, she didn’t know how to feel.
“Ms. Lacey?” He asked,
“Yes,” she said, getting herself out of her chair and walking down her long, painful staircase of her large, clean, and organised office. She got to the floor, making it ever more obvious just how large she was in contrast with the demon she had ordered to find her offer, “do you have her with you?”
“Not yet,” he said, “but we can get her whenever you’re—”
“Now,” she said sternly,
“Are you su-”
“Now!” She demanded.
The demon took a breath and pulled a key from his pocket. He hesitated, “m-ma’am, you know how this works… of course,” he said, making sure Ms. Lacey knew what she was getting into. But before he could go any further, she simply said,
“Claudice. Please, open the door,”
Claudice pushed the key into the empty air, twisting it. A door-shaped hole appeared within reality itself, slowly swinging open to reveal a familiar scent. The fresh world of the innocent, and within that specific door was a woman dancing on a metal pole to a large crowd of adult men and women. They all cheered, throwing their human currency towards her as she spun around with a surprisingly amount of skill. She was clearly very good at this profession.
Before Claudice could give any kind of second-thought, Ms. Lacey walked through the door, entering the human realm.
The screams were instant from the crowd along with several other dancers. However the only one that didn’t scream nor react was the main dancer, who simply danced and danced and danced as if nothing had ever changed.
Ms. Lacey waved her hands, causing all the people in the room, besides the woman at it’s core, to turn from mature adults into prepubescent children. They all screamed as their suits and dresses fell to the ground over their simple bodies. Ms. Lacey walked in, waving her hand again, causing all the children to turn to stone before their eyes.
Yet this woman continued to dance on this pole like nothing else in her life meant anything to her.
Claudice stood on the other side of the door, still in Ms. Lacey’s office. He watched as Ms. Lacey approached the woman dancing, asking her to stop for a moment. The woman complied. Ms. Lacey placed her hand on this womans forehead. She closed her eyes and spoke,
“Humanitas mea vitam tibi necessariam dabit,”
She opened her eyes, looking at the body of her former… of her best friend, Nancy.
“Stacy?” Nancy asked, looking up at the demon woman before her,
“I am so so sorry, my dear,” Stacy said, “the last of my humanity belongs to you and will hide you from my world. You deserved none of this,”
“H-how long has it been?” Nancy asked,
“Too long,” Stacy said, “but I have to go. I am so sorry I can’t stay longer. Go live your life without thinking about me. I am where I want to be, and now you are free,” she finished, “goodbye Nancy,” she said.
Ms. Lacey stood up. The young woman she was speaking to had disappeared. Seemingly transported far away. She made her way to the door, but before she entered, she waved her hand and watched as every single one of the stone children grew to adults, then their bodies reformed back to flesh and bone. They all screamed as they looked at one-another, naked and terrified. Ms. Lacey walked through the door and shut it behind her.
—
A few weeks pass before Ms. Lacey heard the expected knock at her door. Once again, Claudice entered first,
“Ms. Lacey, I have a message from…” he hesitated,
“Mistress Rose herself,” a voice said as she stepped into the room. She looked up to Ms. Lacey with a grin on her face, “Sister Lydia. I believe we’ve met before,”
“Indeed,” Ms. Lacey replied, getting out of her seat and heading down her steps,
“Love your office, by the way,” Sister Lydia complimented, “as you may know, I am one of Mistress Rose’s closest daughters, and she has sent me to personally deliver you a message,”
“I understand my misdeeds and I am prepared to face the consequences,” Ms. Lacey said swiftly and professionally,
“No no,” Sister Lydia snickered, “she’s impressed. She wants to meet you,”
“Excuse me?” Ms. Lacey said with genuine shock,
“She finds it incredible that you hid a human girl so well that even she can’t trace her. Truly impressive,” Sister Lydia smiled.
Ms. Lacey was very surprised, but continued her usual calm and collected demeanour,
“Thank you. It is an honour to be recognised by Mistress Rose, but it must be known I did it out of a selfish want, without the Empire in mind,”
“She is well aware,” Sister Lydia continued, “and whatever you say, she knows. And that which she does not know is even more impressive. So please, if you would be so kind,”
“Of course,” Ms. Lacey said, nodding appropriately,
“I’ve got a feeling I’ll be seeing a lot more of you soon. Don’t you?”