Re: On why getting into contracts are bad and with demons are worse. (Lenny+Witchy)

[Dr. Jones]

“A simple compliment would be nice.” The devil replied with a slight teasing tone as he settled onto the other bed. The room had similar design as the lounge, simple with tasteful wallpapers, two twin beds with clean white beddings, a closet and a table with two chairs; clearly a room for two. There is a restroom connected to the room with shower and a toilet (do they have indoor plumping back then??))

Alfred rolled around in the bed that is softer than most he had ever laid in, feeling a little bored. “Hey Arthur?” He asked. “What exactly did that Ludwig guy do?”

[Ghost]

He snorted disdainfully, turning away from the demon to face the wall. "Compliments are earned, not given out freely. I suggest you pull your own weight before expecting anything of the sort from me."

At the next question he tensed up, before closing his eyes. There was no harm in letting the demon know, he could always order it to never tell anyone else. "Ludwig Beilschmidt (the name tasted bitter on his tongue) is currently the General of the Army. He rose to that position, say, about a year ago but whether through connections or his own work it's yet unknown. However, what has been extremely obvious was his intense hatred for magic."

"At first most of his orders were reasonable - execute the occasional mage that caused a lot of trouble, burn necromancers at stake along with his original duties to the Kingdom. But soon enough he began to attack smaller mage-based villages, and under the guise of the King's orders. It was too late before anyone realised what was happening, and by that time more than half of the mages accounted for in the kingdom were deceased."

"I hold the title of High Mage, advisor to the King on magic and Chief Warlock. My duty was to be the spokesmen of those who practices magic and I had intended to inform and recommend to the King that Beilschmidt should be removed from his position. I have no idea how he managed to infiltrate my defenses and learn of my plans beforehand, but he intercepted me before I left the grounds and destroyed everything."

He closed his eyes. "This is not revenge for my own responsibility to the mages, no matter how much it seems like it. Had Beilschmidt not attacked me, I would have just removed the source of the problem and there would be new people willing to take up the art. But he did, so no matter how petty this seems, no matter how unsupported I'll be, I will have my revenge at all costs."

He lapsed into silence, before finally ordering, "You are not to tell anyone of this. That is an order, understood?" Even though no one would be interested in his life story, Arthur did not want to run any chance of something so personal getting out. He fell asleep, not waiting for a reply.

Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

[Dr. Jones]

“It’s not like I would gossip to anyone about it,” Alfred said. However he did not get a reply. Arthur has already fallen asleep. It was probably a tiring day for the wizard, for Arthur does not strike Alfred as the type to fall asleep so quickly and soundly in the presence of another; a devil no less. For an hour, the devil listened to the slow heartbeat from his summoner. Alfred does not require sleep nearly as often, once a week was more than enough. As he had just awoken, there is an even lesser need.

Finally decided that lying on a bed was boring; Alfred got up and soundlessly approach Arthur. He watch the peaceful sleeping face, devoid of the constant scowl that had not disappeared whenever Arthur is awake. At least my master this time is cute, Alfred thought to himself, holding in a chuckle. His last master… unappealing to the eyes was an understatement. He almost didn’t want to eat him when his mission was complete. But Arthur; Alfred knew he would enjoy every last bit. His power, his pride, his hatred, everything just makes him all the more appealing to a devil such as Alfred.

The devil walked over to the window and opened it. With a deep breath, the blonde disappeared into the darkness. Quickly, I have to complete this contract as quickly as possible.

[Ghost]

Arthur was alerted to Alfred's absence the following day, if the empty bed and the sun shining full onto his face through the open window was any indication of that. He quickly got up, all traces of sleep erased by the rays of light that penetrated through his eyelids and made itself generally uncomfortable, and headed for the washroom to wash up. 

As he grabbed the towel and rubbed himself dry, he realised something - he had no clothes save for the women's wear, and he was not about to embarrass himself any further. He scowled at nothing in particular, and waited for a sign, a noise that Alfred had returned.

When he thought he heard something, he called out. "Alfred. I need clothes. Get one of the correct gender this time."

He paused, contemplating. "Get something formal - we have to go into court - and something inconspicuous. We don't want to attract too much attention."

[Dr. Jones]

“Sure thing.” Alfred replied, appearing behind the wizard. He was just wondering the streets, talking to the locals before he heard Arthur calling his name. With the contract bounding them together, the devil could hear Arthur whenever the man called out to him.

“Don’t worry; I’ll get it right this time. But you have to admit, those girly clothes doesn’t look too bad on ya.” Before Arthur could lay insults at him, Alfred already set out to complete his task, leaving behind a light chuckle.

The devil return to the clothing shop he was at before, this time, with money. There were still leftovers from what he had stolen before. Really Arthur is rather insensitive about the money issue. It’s as though he expected Alfred to have money or something. Of course, stealing from human was merely child’s play. The devil went up to the shop manager and requested for the formal wear that Arthur wanted. The manager showed him many sets though aside from the color, Alfred really couldn’t tell the difference between them. He just chooses the standard set of black dress pants and blazers with a silver vest. Upon the insistent of the manager, Alfred also picked out an emerald green tie for the outfit. Green would go well with his master’s eyes… probably… but what does him, a devil knows about fashion?

[Ghost]

Although he should be more aware of how the demon appeared behind him when Arthur was clad in nothing save for a towel, he instead settled for scowling at the spot where the demon had been.

"You'd better," he snarled at the spot lacking an Alfred, "and I don't look good in girly clothes."

When it finally came back with some male formal clothes, Arthur decided to try a new tactic. Perhaps insults would only lead to more disrespect (as as been the case with one apprentice he had met before, a tanned girl that insisted on wearing her hair in pigtails with red ribbons). He noted the green tie and thought that perhaps the demon put just a bit of effort into this serving thing.

"Thank you," he said, swallowing down the rest of the (insulting) sentence even if it was on the tip of his tongue. He quickly dressed in the clothes, patting down his unruly hair in vain and trying to make it look generally smoother.

There, much more neater. And manlier.

An hour later, they were in front of a back door that Arthur had seen but never used. ("Change into something formal too," he hissed at Alfred. "Be my butler or friend, or something.") Hopefully this door would lead them somewhere near Gilbert's usual residence when he was in season.

And this was the season, so chances were high. "Let's go." He opened the door and plunged into the too dimly lit (for his liking) corridor that awaited.

[Dr. Jones]

Alfred followed behind Arthur, his clothes changed as soon as his foot steps through the door. His comfortable loose t-shirt and jacket was replaced by a formal dress shirt and a slick black suit. The pair of baggy jeans was replaced by a pair of neatly pressed black dress pants, accompany by a pair of shiny black leather shoes. The devil caught up to Arthur who had walked ahead and settle by his side.

“Man, these clothes are uncomfortable.” Alfred replied, loosening his navy tie with his gloved hands. “I don’t know how you people can stand wearing these.” A grin was nested on his lips, in a good mood that the magician had thanked him. Just because he’s a devil, doesn’t mean he can’t appreciate being appreciated. Besides, Alfred had a feeling it isn’t something that the magician does often.

[Ghost]

"It's called being civilised," Arthur replied coolly. One foot in front of the other, and why the bloody hell is this corridor so dark and cold? "What do you demons wear down below - wherever that is - wait, I imagine you all just parade around in your birthday suits." He chanced a glance at Alfred. "You don't look half bad yourself. Are all demons supposed to be this good-looking?"

Wait, what did he just say? Darn it. That was not meant to be a compliment of any sort. Arthur huffed, deciding not to take any further actions in case he would only dig his own grave deeper, speeding up his pace. Was that the door - yes, yes it was. He felt around for the doorknob before finally pushing the door open and into a kitchen, which was thankfully empty.

"You would have thought that that entrance was meant for a rendezvous of the romantical sort," he grumbled to himself. Arthur would deny this too, but he did adore reading novels of gentlemen courting ladies when there was no business to attend to. More often than not he had tried several tactics with his own fiancée, only to be ignored at best. He soon gave up on her after several tries.

He went to the other door, which opened up into a much more well-furnished corridor. "Let's get a move on. Best catch him before his performances, he'll be too drunk after parties."

[Dr. Jones]

"You think I'm good looking?" Alfred grinned widely as he up his pace to keep by Arthur's side. The magician was ignoring his comment and choose to continue talking, but Alfred can see the pale cheeks was once again dusted in pink.

"Clothes are over rated." the devil replied. The two stepped into one of the fanciest corridor Alfred had ever seen. Where he's from, decoration isn't much of a priority. There were old paints and large expensive looking vase that is evenly spaces through out the corridor. The red rug under his feet looks soft and well taken care of. Whoever lives here must be loaded!

"Why are we here anyways? Who's this "him" you're talking about?" It would be nice that Arthur would tell him what they're doing before they charge in. It's not like he could read minds or anything.

[Ghost]

"I told you yesterday," he hissed. "Gilbert Beilschmidt, court entertainer." They turned into another corridor, and he tries knocking on a door. "This should be the one," he whispered, before the door abruptly opened and he was pulled in roughly by the scruff of his neck.

"Hey," someone screamed into his ear and he winced, because god that hurt. "Were you sent here to service the awesome me- wait a sec, you're a dude." He was spun around and came face to face with Beilschmidt himself. "They hardly send me dudes."

Arthur had planned to barge in, lock the door and proceed to wrangle the information out of his target. His first two steps had been compromised, so he supposed he would go with the third - but that was where he had not planned so thoroughly. "Fuego," he snarled and sent a bolt of pain through Beilschmidt, who immediately yelped and dropped away. "Beilschmidt," he sneered, and motioned for Alfred to lock the door, "a pleasure to meet you. Now I would like you to answer my questions, or else tonight will be the night where you prove unable to entertain the court's ladies and gentlemen."

[Dr. Jones]

"Yeah, like the bare minimum of the plan." Alfred complain when suddenly he saw Arthur being manhandled. He was just about to interfere and maybe decapitate the unlucky human that was hurting his summoner when he saw the man yelp and released him. The devil grinned, he suppose Arthur isn't as helpless as the other humans.

It took him a few seconds to process the odd look Arthur was sending him before he understood that the blond wanted him to close the door. Alfred locked the door before moving to stand next to the magician and look at the man that was glaring them. The man was of larger build, very similar to that of himself. His hair was a very pale blond that looks practically white. His red eyes narrowed at them.

"That was so not awesome. And what the fuck was that? I bet you're one of those dirty magicians with your evil voodoo magics." The man glared at the magician in front of him. "You don't scare the awesome me and I won't be telling you anything!"

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