The Prince of Demons

Luna

Nil and I were woken up by Nautilus. Nil wrapped his arms around me protectively, before relaxing because it was Nautilus. She was smirking at the two of us. We didn’t get a lot of sleep. It took Nil and I a while to calm down after the man attempted again; Nil had deep bags beneath his eyes as well. Sleep was not going to come easy for a while, even with Nautilus nearby. We followed her to the deck of the ship.

“Luna will be wit’ me. Nil, ya will be wit’ Sizal.” Nautilus ordered while gesturing to a rabbit Beastkin.

Sizal had a sword in hand as Nil walked over to him as I wondered why we are practicing with specific people today. Nautilus was standing across from me doing some light stretching. What was today’s lessons? Hopefully it wasn’t sparring with her wiping the floor with us repeatedly which was not helped by the fact I heard Nil and Sizal sparring. After a few seconds I heard Nil fly over the edge of the boat. He climbed back up as Nautilus faced me.

“What’s ya Luna?” Nautilus asked as she continued to stretch.

“. I’ve been learning .” I told her.

“Not anymore; I’ll be teachin’ ya . And t’ fight. Ya need to be better. Ya are far too weak.” Nautilus informed me. Fighting lessons from her?

“What’s the difference between and ?” I inquired. I am kind of curious what her answer is. I learned last time, but my teacher was not the greatest.

“ is changin’ things and adjustin’ what they are. is about makin’ things around yaself an’ buffin’ yaself. can restore, can reinforce. They are similar.” Nautilus explained as she took a fighting stance.

“So wha-“ I began as Nautilus immediately launched me off the ship; it was a fast, simple, open palm strike. After falling for a bit, I got a nice bath in the ocean. Oh, there’s a ladder. I climbed back up as Nil fell into the ocean. It was weird being able to see the ship moving swiftly. Nautilus made a form of bubble around the ship to move us. Once back on the deck, Nautilus was glaring at me.

“Ya were off balance. This is the basic stance. Legs sp’ead, bent knees, back arm by ya chest, and an arm in fron’.” Nautilus instructed taking the stance again.

I mimicked what she showed me. It would be huge to learn from her. Nautilus immediately launched her attack again. I slid back, slamming into the ship railing, but not off the edge at least. Nil was trying to deflect Sizal’s onslaught. I walked back to the starting position, retaking the stance without Nautilus coaching me. Apparently, it was not correct as I went flying off the edge as she slammed her palm into my chest.

“Again.” Nautilus snapped at me, retaking the starting stance.

My morning consisted of trying to get the starting stance correct. Correct was not getting sent flying by Nautilus. She is draconian. Nil was trying to deflect Sizal to the best of his abilities, but Sizal was incredibly fast. Nautilus would only correct me once about every five times. Lilas and Ailla enjoyed watching Nil and I get sea baths.

“Time fo’ lunch.” Nautilus declared. Lunch better be light because it will not survive Nautilus’s training otherwise.

“How does your torture go?” Nil asked, leaning on me.

“Learning the basic stance. Nautilus insists that the path to learn is made in open handed hits.” I informed him. My chest hurts so bad.

“I’m sure you’ll get hit less.” Nil comforted me. He’s trying at least.

“I’m sure you’ll get hit less too.” I replied, leaning against him.

We walked into the mess hall, where some surprisingly good food was waiting for us. What is this? It was some rice dish with numerous pieces of seafood and vegetables mixed in. It was filling and felt great after getting beat down by Nautilus all morning. I wondered what the afternoon is going to bring as I was dreading her lessons. How did Nil face such strict lessons repeatedly? Now that I was thinking about it, how did he face such harsh lessons without much complaint? The pirates were quite loud during lunch as we sat next to each other.

“How do you face such strict lessons?” I asked Nil. Nil mulled it over for a second, thinking about his answer.

“Because if I want to be strong, I need to. There have been attempts to kill me or my brother in the past; I’d much rather deal with a strict lesson than not be strong enough when my life’s on the line.” Nil answered. I mean, he’s got a point. Even as we were scrambling for our lives, Nil was able to buy every possible second.

“That would make it palatable.” I quipped. I guess that’s a good way to look at it; that's actually a great way to look at it.

“You don’t have to look so surprised.” Nil grumbled, glaring at me a little.

“I’m sorry; I just was not expecting that answer.” I confessed, looking away from him.

“You thought I was completely useless on all personal matters.” Nil snapped, looking a bit red.

“Not completely useless; just not usually the best. You do have moments that surprise me.” I replied, feeling embarrassed.

“That’s hurtful.” Nil retorted, looking like a hurt puppy.

“I’m sorry Nil; that wasn’t fair of me.” I apologized. Nil kept looking at me, unsure of what to say.

“Please let me make it up to you. I’m sorry.” I continued, leaning against him.

“Please don’t do it again.” Nil requested, setting his head on mine.

“I won’t. You view everything so differently it just catches me off guard when you’re more grounded, which isn’t fair.” I replied, stroking Nil’s horn a little.

“What do you mean?” Nil inquired, seeming to have relaxed.

“You are so unique. You view the world and do everything your own way. It’s nice; I like it.” I explained. I could tell Nil smiled.

“Alright, I guess you aren’t completely wrong about me struggling with personal matters. I can forgive you.” Nil teased. Lords we both reek of salt water.

“Still hard to stomach Nautilus launching me. So, why was Sizal launching you? Other than an appreciation for the cool water of the sea?” I inquired, trying hard not to imagine what torture was waiting for me after lunch.

“I need to practice fighting more. I try to dodge and use to evade rather than deflect attacks. He is fast and it’s hard to get away in such a confined environment.” Nil answered with a moan.

“Come on! Les go!” Nautilus roared, as her voice easily carried over all the noise.

We walked back to the deck where my torture resumed. Nautilus kept beating the shiza out of me; she was an incredibly strict teacher. It was a struggle to get the starting stance right. Why? I think you could’ve extracted Nautilus’s palm print from my chest towards the end. I was definitely getting sluggish by the end. It hurt all over. Climbing up the ladder was making my arms beyond sore. Keeping my balance was making my legs and core hurt. I’m going to hate life tomorrow. My reprieve from torture was when the sun began setting while Nil was still getting beat senseless by Sizal.

“Why are we stopping?” I gasped, trying to figure out why Nil earned extra training.

“Th’ lad has a for . Ya don’t.” Nautilus answered immediately. So why am I getting the pleasure of learning the starting stance?

“I see.” I quipped, trying not to curl into a ball on the deck.

“Don’ worry. Tomorrow ya will be learnin’ . Practice ya .” Nautilus comforted me with a smirk.

Nil was launched over the edge yet again while Nautilus walked over to Sizal and tapped him out. I could see Nil internally cry when he saw his new opponent. I can kind of understand Lux’s enjoyment of his suffering, when getting lessons like these misery does enjoy company. Nil took a deep breath before getting into position to spar Nautilus. Let’s see how he enjoyed a palm to the chest. Nautilus instantly descended upon Nil. To my surprise, he actually deflected the opening palm strike while attempting to attack with his sword. She wasn’t even phased, quickly using the hand kept by the chest to swat the sword aside. Nautilus quickly stepped in, looking almost like she stomped in front of Nil. Wait, she cut in kind of deep. Nil dropped to the ground, trying to sweep one of Nautilus’s legs, but it was definitely awkward from where Nautilus moved to. There was a loud ring as it was obvious from Nil’s face whose leg took more damage. Before he could recover, Nautilus sent her knee into his chest with a swift kick, sending Nil flying over the edge of the ship.

“Lad’s bette’. Good job Sizal.” Nautilus praised with a thumbs up.

“I’m pre’y sure Cap’n told ya to practice .” Egoff lectured from behind. I tried not to sigh.

“I was curious how Nil would do.” I grumbled. I’m amazed he managed to last that long.

“No slackin’.” Egoff snapped. Don’t make the elves train. I could see Lilas and Ailla nearby acting like they were on a leisure voyage.

“Yes sir.” I sighed. I need to endure this.

I began training my as Nil returned to the deck. As I practiced, I could hear Nautilus progressively hit Nil harder and harder. How bones weren’t breaking was beyond me. At some point, Egoff tapped my shoulder. The sun had long set now, as I was seeing Nil face Nautilus yet again. I’ve known he was as stubborn as an ox, but still impressive to see. The two began again, and I realized why Nautilus had begun hitting Nil harder. Nil was using to deflect Nautilus; I could recognize his and . Nil was so fast at casting it worked. Using only and the occasional offhand to deflect an attack, he was faring much better than earlier. Nautilus would occasionally dash in before Nil would near fly away from some fast . What is he doing to move that fast? The crew was looking on slack jaw as Nil put up an impressive display against Nautilus. Even Ailla and Lilas were looking a bit stunned as Nil survived longer than thirty seconds. His ability to switch what and he was using were rapidly getting better as he kept Nautilus away.

Wait, that’s Nil’s idea face. It was the expression the preluded some of his greatest, and stupidest, ideas. What was he about to do? Nautilus kept the pressure as Nil began using behind her. Your idea is to use Nautilus to shield you from your own ? Nautilus manifested a shield behind her as Nil detonated the . Nautilus lurched slightly as Nil launched a at her pivot leg. For the briefest of moments, Nil actually managed to get Nautilus off balance. He swung in, cleanly connecting with his sword. Pure joy washed over his face as he connected. Nautilus, however, quickly decided Nil deserved less holding back. She pivoted much quicker, dashing into Nil. Nil attempted to dodge away, but Nautilus hooked a leg around him, sending him back to the deck. BAM! The entire ship shook from Nil bouncing off the deck as Nautilus kept going. She did a light punt, sending Nil to be more eye level with her as she grabbed him. Nil made a weak attempt to away, but Nautilus simply followed the before palm striking Nil back into the deck again. He did not even bother trying to get back up as Egoff walked over and healed him. Nautilus had a light scuff where Nil managed to connect.

“That was petty, Cap’n.” Sizal teased. Nil was slowly standing up now, positioning himself to practice his .

“Yer on night watch.” Nautilus ordered as the rest began cackling.

I walked over to Nil and kept practicing . We stayed there for a while, before I felt a weight on me. Nil, I am not a pillow. He was looking at me with his puppy dog eyes. I bet he can barely move after that last spar. My body was definitely not much better than his at the moment. I need a for .

“What Nil?” I inquired as he barely moved.

“Carry me.” Nil requested, keeping his puppy face going.

“You’re heavy. I can barely move myself.” I retorted as Nil pouted a bit more.

“Pleeeeeease.” Nil begged. He’s got a surprisingly good puppy face.

“No. Now carry me.” I told Nil, who smirked.

“I’m not that strong.” Nil shot back, smiling like he wasn’t playing with fire.

“Oh really?” I checked, curious what was going through his thick skull.

“My one arm is numb, and the other was swinging a sword most of the day. I’m probably going to have to switch which arm is wielding the sword tomorrow.” Nil retorted, still smiling.

“Then what has you smiling?” I asked. He probably would struggle to stand at the moment.

“Your feels nice.” Nil informed me. What? What kind of compliment was that? Why did I feel red?

“Let’s go eat.” I deflected as I tried standing. Nil you are too heavy for me to move.

Nil sensed I was trying to stand, so he shakily got to his feet. His face made it obvious he was struggling to even breathe. Ailla and Lilas were admiring the ocean but heard us staggering along. The two helped us reach the mess hall for dinner. We ate in relative silence as we both were trying to recover as much as possible. It was so loud in here. Nil and I wolfed down our food, before trying to find the motivation to walk again.

I’m so sore. Nil whined mentally. His face was clearly struggling not to show how much pain he was in.

How do you think I feel? I don’t have like you. I whined right back.

Why did we sign up for the torture voyage? What were we thinking? Nil inquired, looking like he wanted to scream a little.

Nautilus distracted us with her strength, sailing ability, and willingness to bend rules. It’s her fault. I answered immediately.

Yea. Nautilus tricked us. Nil agreed, with a nod before grimacing from how sore he was.

We must avenge ourselves. Eventually. We have easily a decade before we can mildly inconvenience that monster. I told Nil, making sure not to move too much as we talked. Existence is pain.

Gives us time to plan. She shall rue the day she tricked us. Nil agreed, shifting back and forth a little so he didn’t move much a second time.

Let’s go sleep. We need to think of a starting point. I ordered Nil, who just smiled.

We both staggered to our feet, shuffling towards our berth. What took us maybe three minutes this morning took us over ten now. How much is tomorrow going to suck? Every muscle I had was crying from today. Muscles I didn't know existed were making me want to weep. Your feels nice. Why did I remember that? You are also to blame Nil. He collapsed onto the bed, looking ready to die. I joined him, trying not to remember his comment too much.