“How are you going to protect your poor helpless little sister like this?”
“…Helpless?”
“Sorry?”
“Nothing.”
Slowly but surely, Jean grew manlier and manlier with every passing day.
Fast forward a few months. Everyone, except for Jean, was enjoying their normal, everyday lives.
Alice was no exception as she appeared to have thrown herself a lovely tea party. That’s when Hatta and Haigha popped on over.
“Heya!”
“How have you been, Alice?”
“Long time no see. What’s the occasion?”
“We came to check on Jean’s progress.”
“He’s gotten a bit better. Emphasis on bit. But enough about Jean; how about a cup of tea? Seb, treat our guests.”
The three chatted over a nice cup of tea. About what, you may ask? About that time they set out for the Demon Lord of the North’s castle, of course.
“It was quite the journey, all right. We wouldn’t mind going on another one for enough coin. Just, you know, pick something simpler next time, please.”
“You’re in luck because I don’t plan on doing anything that boring ever again, either. I honestly didn’t expect the journey to drag on as long as it—”
Alice was suddenly cut off mid-sentence by a loud scream.
As the four prepared for an impromptu battle, Lilith ran up to them and cried, “The Demon Lord of the South is at the garden, my lady!”
They exchanged glances and rushed off to the garden, only to come across a familiar scene.
“A-Alice! Help me!” Jean cried.
“Hahaha! I’ve got you now, princess,” the Demon Lord of the South cackled, cradling Jean inside his arms.
“Do any of you care at this point?”
“Can’t say I do.”
“Nope.”
“Not really, no.”
And so, they just indifferently watched Jean get abducted.
✦ ✦ ✦
❤❤❤
“WE’LL be heading back home now.”
“See you, Alice.”
“I’ll come over to your place next time.”
They parted ways as though nothing happened.
“It’s teatime, Seb.”
“As you wish.”
Everyone else in the palace was busy collectively losing their minds. But these two did not have a care in the world, as always.
Alice went back to her room, only to find a familiar face standing in front of the door.
“Fancy meeting you here, Cheshire. Didn’t think you’d just sneak into the palace like that.”
“I heard something interesting was going down, so thought I’d drop by.”
“Something interesting? Whatever could you mean?”
Poor Jean had already been forgotten.
“Actually, how about we discuss that over a nice cup of tea? There’s also cookies.”
“Yay! Cookies!”
They entered the room and enjoyed each other’s company
“So, what did you mean by something interesting?”
“I almost forgot. Remember how the Demon Lord of the South kidnapped the prince?”
“Almost like it happened just a second ago, actually.”
Apparently, she hadn’t forgotten. It just felt like the distant past to her.
“That’s because it did.”
“And?”
“Basically, the Demon Lord of the South is the Demon Lord of the North’s younger brother. Apparently, when he heard his brother had mistakenly kidnapped the prince, he laughed and said, ‘I’d never mistake the breathtakingly beautiful princess for a guy. What a loser.’ And, well…”
The teacup inside Alice’s hand shattered.
“Seb, did he see me?”
“He didn’t just see you, my lady. He took a good, long look and took off with Jean regardless.”
“Did he see a breathtakingly beautiful princess in Jean and not me?”
“Relax.”
“But I’m in a dress, and Jean was wearing his prince clothes.”
“Calm down.”
“Why were his cheeks flushed as he was getting carried away? Is he a perv?”
“Simmer down.”
“No, no, no! Are they all idiots?! Or are they just secretly into guys?! How else could they pick so wrong not once but twice! Twice?! I’ll kill him! Kill him good! Real good! First, I’ll drag my heels across his face! Then I’ll pick him up and toss him against a wall! Then I’ll slap the life out of him! And then, finally, I’ll make him grovel at my feet in a pool of his own blood!”
A truly fearsome combo the Demon Lord of the North had already experienced firsthand.
Cheshire had vanished sometime into Alice’s heated monologue. His work here was done. Now all he had to do was sit back and watch the show.
“Seb, get Hatta and Haigha.”
“Speaking of which, Hatta left you this letter.”
“Letter?”
We’re leaving. Don’t try to find us.
“They couldn’t have gone far. Lilith!”
“Yes, my lady?”
“You know the drill!”
“Yes, my lady.”
Lilith was standing nearby just in case she got a chance to taste that sweet, sweet idyllic lifestyle once more.
“First, we pick those two up! Then we infiltrate his castle. Seb, ready?”
“Give me another thirty years or so.”
“Come again?”
“Let us make haste, my lady.”
And so, they set out on yet another journey, for equally petty reasons. Alice’s adventures were not over yet.
✦ ✦ ✦
❤❤❤
MEANWHILE…
“Jean was…a guy. He was a guy all this time…” the Demon Lord of the North mumbled to himself, slouched on the throne room floor. Then suddenly, the door creaked open.
“Long time no see, Demon Lord.”
“What is it, Dodo?”
“The Demon Lord of the South kidnapped Prince Jean, or so I’ve heard.”
“He what?! Why I oughta— Oh, what’s the point? It’s hopeless.” He hung his head in shame.
“What makes you say that?”
“I lost. Even if I somehow got Jean back, that princess and her butler would have my head.”
“I’m pretty sure those two wouldn’t care! In fact, if you help them out, they’ll probably even recognize your marriage.”
“That’s the other issue. Jean’s a guy!”
“So what? Just use sex change magic. You yourself once said that ‘Love overcomes all obstacles.’ Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”
“My younger brother is a formidable threat, and so are his minions.”
“Just ask Aliseb and the others for help. I, too, will assist you to the best of my ability.”
“You’d do that for me? After all that’s happened?”
“We all await your magnificent return, my liege.”
He stood up, the flame in his eyes reignited, and unleashed the magical energy he had previously sealed off.
“I’m handing you two Summoning Bells. Once it rings, jump inside the portal, and you’ll be instantly taken to my location. Hand the other one to Cheshire and be ready to fight at any moment.”
“As you wish.”
And so, the Demon Lord of the North set out on a journey of his own to rescue his love.