Skelecat Princess

A demon princess teaches her subjects a lesson

Sitting on her ornate throne within the Citadel of the Underworld, the ruler known only as the Skelecat Princess had been listening to the woes of her subjects for many long hours. After the umpteenth complaint of 'Your lava rivers are acting up and scorching my fur!' she had decided to ease her peoples' troubles (and her own migraine) by utilizing her personal mages' powers to alter the Demon Feline people's fur.

Walking through the Citadel, the princess adjusted her facemask and walked briskly through the hall of black marble that would take her to the Magi Quarter, her heels clicking on the smooth surface. Complain about the lava, will they? Don't they realize it's the only thing that keeps us hidden from those disgusting humans on the surface? Gritting her finely pointed teeth in frustration, she made sure her crown was in place and threw the ornate doors open with as much form as her frame would allow. She might have been slightly smaller than the other demons under her rule, but she was physically more powerful than they. "Dellich! I have a job for you." Crossing her arms, she strode to the very center of the room and began to tap her foot, making it obvious that she was irritated and needed his attention. Now.

The young mage whirled from his position over his writing table and made his way as quickly as he could to his Princess' side, he did not wish to have her fist thrown in his face. Not after the last time. "What is it, your Cattiness?" He kept his ears flattened and his head bowed in subservience, her royal blood protected her from any kind of offensive magic spell he could weave. He saw her muscles tense subtly underneath her clothing, and the mage seemed to shrivel beneath his flowing red robes. "Your fellow countrymen seem to find my lava rivers...Unnecessary. They don't like the heat scorching their precious fur. So I want you to get rid of it, from every single Feline that resides in the Underworld."

Her statement caused the mage's head to jerk up in surprise, looking at the mask that hid her delicate features from view with incredulity. "But that's impossible! Not to mention the fact that it would take a tremendous amount of magic if I were to attempt it!" The hellish Princess hissed at him in anger, plucking a single, diminutive gem from the belt about her hips and thrusting it at the quivering man; she snorted in amusement when she noticed that his amber eyes widened as he scrambled not to drop it. "That should have more than enough power for you to do it." Turning on her heel, she went back the way she had come and left him to figure out how to perform the duty she had assigned him with. We'll see how much these pitiful demons complain when they no longer have their luxurious fur. They will know better than to come to me with unimportant issues. She knew she would order someone's tail chopped off if she went back to her throne room, so the Princess made her way to the door that would lead her to the underground passages of her Citadel.

It was pleasantly warm in the tunnels, and she felt most of her tension slip away; her shoulders relaxed, and her step lost its irritated stomping. Why is Father the one that goes off to organize the patrols between the Underworld and the Human Realm? I don't like his cat demons. Shaking her head, she arrived at the one place where she could be sure nobody would bother her: her father's private dipping pools. Giving a grateful sigh, she began to take off her garments, carefully placing them on one of the stone benches nearest to the hottest pool she wanted to get into. Her mask was removed last, revealing a surprisingly human face, despite her Feline ears; narrowing her deep blue eyes, she forced herself to stop thinking about her duties in the Citadel and relax. If only for a few minutes. Slowly, she dipped herself into the pool, hissing as the high heat turned her furless skin a bright shade of pink.

Before she had been submerged more than twenty minutes, she heard tapping on the stone floor, as if there were someone heading her way. Frowning, she wondered if she was hearing things. I'm the only one in the Citadel who knows this place even exists, other than Father. Pursing her lips, she ignored the sound and sank her body deeper into the water, allowing her muscles to become lax again. No sooner had she completely relaxed, than she heard someone clearing their throat off to the side. Without a second thought, she plucked a long, sharp needle out of the ornaments in her hair and threw it in the direction of the intruder, jumping up to defend herself if she needed to. She saw that her needle was suspended in midair, barely a centimeter from her target's jugular; a single, sculpted eyebrow rose when she realized it was the mage bothering her soak. "Is your task already completed, Dellich?" That had been faster than she had imagined.

His face burning beneath his fur, the mage tried to tear his eyes away from the unclothed visage of his Princess, but found himself unable to. She was, after all, entirely visible from the curve of her hips up, and her hands were still held up in a slightly defensive stance. A highly revealing defensive stance. But he forced himself to look at her face, ignoring the fact that her mask was absent, and cleared his throat a few more times."Yes, your Cattiness, I actually found a spell in my tome that was designed specifically for the task you set me," he even managed to convince himself that his voice was normal and not a scratchy squeak. A crafty smile appeared on the Princess' face and she walked up the steps to get out of the pool and dried off, donning her official attire once again. As soon as her mask was in place, she left the underground room and made her way back to the throne room.

Dellich scrambled to follow and keep up with her, the image of the young woman still branded into his memory. They soon reached the throne room, and found that nearly the entire population of Felines was crammed into the cavernous room, demanding to know where the Princess was and why she had disappeared. They had issues to settle! I'll settle your issues, alright. Grimly, the Skelecat girl strode to her throne and sat, raising her index finger slightly. Instantly, the clamoring of her subjects ceased; they knew she could, and would, kill them if she so chose to. "Before we proceed, I have a few things to inform you of. First: I am the only one who makes demands here in my father's absence. Second: The lava rivers are the final defense for us if the humans ever find us. Is that clear!" She received timid nods. They could smell her anger, and the intensity of it made their fur brittle.

Giving a razor smile that went unseen, she beckoned the mage with her finger and he reluctantly stepped before her throne, standing at her feet. "Dellich here was instructed to find a way to protect all of your fur from the intense heat of the lava," instantly, she felt a wave of relief roll over the crowd. It sickened her, they were supposed to be warriors! Her father's Hellcats to be called on to battle at his side when war broke out, but they were more worried about their fur being scorched than they were about training their bodies! That was about to change. Prodding Dellich with her foot, she let him know that it was time to implement the spell. Gulping, the cat mage threw the little gem she had thrust at him into the air, every eye in the place following its trajectory. It stopped in midair and began to spin as the mage wove the spell around it. The Princess watched it amplify and sink with satisfaction. As soon as the magic touched the demons' fur, they began to swat at themselves with their handpaws; panic ensued as all her subjects' fur began to melt off their bodies, leaving them naked in their minimal clothing. There seemed to be another side effect to the spell, as their features changed to become slightly more humanlike than they had been. Although they still did not look the way the Skelecat Princess did. Not that she had any plans of revealing her appearance to them, Dellich seeing her even by accident was one person too many.

Snapping her fingers, the Princess got her subjects' attention again, as they bemoaned the loss of their precious fur. “Let this be a lesson to you all. This Hall is for important problems ONLY. Something as petty as your fur getting singed by lava is not to be brought here again. Maybe someday I'll allow you to be returned to the way you used to look, but for now this is the way you shall all remain. If I get even one complaint about your current appearances, I will punish everyone by turning you all into humans! Now begone from my sight!” The room cleared almost instantly as all the demons scrambled to put as much distance between them and the Princess. When all was quiet, the Princess sank back in her chair, quietly wondering what her father would think when he saw what she had done to his favorite pets. Whatever he thinks, they need to learn a lesson, and this is the best way to do it. Her brow cleared as she reached that decision and her thoughts turned to Dellich. Now, what to do about him? He's seen my appearance. The mage gulped as he felt her pensive stare on himself. The Skelecat Princess' delighted laughter could be heard for miles around the Citadel of the Underworld.

Author's Note

Written for monstahh` on Menewsha ^_^