PlasticBottru

Sinthia and The Demon Duke of DeSidea: 10

Added 2019-12-05 21:41:50 +0000 UTC

It was a cloudy, grey and dreary day on the DeSidea land. Every day was cloudy, grey and dreary there, but today was an especially drab one. There had been light drizzle on and off, and it was cold. Two horses rode on a pale dirt road, making their way to the distant black castle that stood like a wicked scar against a bare landscape. At first, they seemed like normal horses, but as they drew closer and closer to a small shack by the side of the road, the size of the horses became apparent. They were monstrously huge, towering at almost twice an average man’s height. One was jet black with red, swirling eyes, and the other a deathly pale white, almost glowing with calm orange eyes. The black horse was larger and far more imposing. And the figure sitting atop it even more so. They drew closer to the house, where a terrified man stood, trembling at their arrival.

When they reached him, the man on the white horse came forth first, stopping before the frightened man who was dressed in a purple and grey uniform. The Postal Service uniform. The man on the pale horse, covered in a light grey cloak asked in a startlingly clear voice, “What business does a human have upon the land of demons?” At this, the man jerked like a rickety wagon, and fumbled to bring out a large parcel wrapped in printed red paper that had been resting behind him. “I-I have a delivery f-for the Duke of DeSidea.” At this, the man on the white horse turned to look at the one in black. “For you, Your Grace.” There was a heavy silence, before the man cloaked in black stirred his behemoth of a horse forth. The delivery man, already terrified, seemed to descend into even more fear. He held on to the parcel tightly, partly because he did not want to drop something addressed to the very Duke of Demons himself and partly because he felt like he would collapse if he didn’t hold on to something. “H-here it is, Your Grace.” A squeak left his throat. The Duke, moving slowly and menacingly, held out his hand. It was gloved in sleek black leather, but you could still see their shape. Claws. The delivery man shakily placed the parcel in his outstretched hand, gave a hasty and frankly clumsy bow before turning and nearly running in the direction they had just come from. There was silence for a moment, before the man on the white horse said, “A package! How exciting!”

Back in the castle, the Duke had placed the parcel upon his desk and turned his back to it, carefully pulling his gloves off. Behind him, a man with sweeping white hair and orange-brown eyes stood. He may have had his spine snapped straight and hands firmly behind his back, but the twitching smile on his lips gave away his excitement. Well, that and the bushy long white fox tail that flicked back and forth behind him. “You’re being a bother, Elias.” The Duke’s low, monotone voice darkly stated, but Elias’ excitement did not dampen. “Will you open the parcel now?” He asked, still somewhat maintaining a dignified tone. “Are you so curious as to my package?”

“Why, yes Your Grace. Hardly ever do we receive anything in the mail.”

“We?”

“Well, you. But the excitement permeates to us all.”

The Duke grunted at that.

He turned round to face the package now, and languidly began to unwrap the red paper. Whatever was inside was wrapped with sturdy wrapping paper and fixed securely, while a deep purple envelope rested on it. The Duke took it in his hand and read the front. “To The Duke of DeSidea, Kairn Edrick DeSidea.” It read in sweeping, golden ink. From the coloring alone, he knew where the parcel came from.

The letter, he set aside and focused on unwrapping the package. With his sharp claws, he cut away the rope and fasteners, and eventually peeled back the paper to reveal a painting. This admittedly perplexed him. Elias was right there, watching in excitement as well. “Oh?”

“Have we not already received one of these? What were they called... an engagement portrait?”

“Why, yes we did, Your Grace.”

They turned to look at the work of art. A woman in a regal blue dress, sitting in a red chair with a book in her hand and abacus resting on her lap. Closely behind her was a bookcase filled neatly. Her dark green eyes stared firmly ahead, and her lips set. A look of determination. “We did indeed receive an Engagement portrait from your fiancé, Your Grace. But the Language in this one is vastly different.”

The Duke scoffed. “Ah yes. The Language of Portraiture.” He did not understand why humans insisted on making things complicated, like this Language of Portraiture, but he unfortunately was subject to their conflated mess of communication and understood that there were consequences to ignoring them. “And what is the message, Elias.”

Elias stepped back a little, now more serious. “It seems the artist refrained from exaggerating her features this time. They decided to go for a realistic approach. It shows that she is a frank and straightforward person. The royal blue dress shows her regality and seriousness, and the intricate and trending design of the chair shows her attention to the fashion and details. It means she is highly aware of herself and the value of others opinions will have of her and how she presents herself.”

The Duke’s eyebrows rose sarcastically at that observation. “The books suggest her interest and value of knowledge and information. The colors indicate that the books are of an administrative and/or law nature. The abacus shows clearly her attention to finances and spending. She will be responsible with balancing the books. And finally, the book in her hand. Hm...” Elias leaned forward slightly, squinting at the writing.

“It says “Business... Pra. My guess is “Business in Practice.” She has a keen and personal Interest in Business, your Grace.”

Through all this, the Duke sat down on his leather chair, his arms folded in front of him. It was absolutely maddening how human beings insisted on this subtlety. Exhausting. “So she has an interest in administration, law and business? Then the portrait before was a lie.”

“Of course Your Grace. It IS a perfectly human thing to portray oneself as desirable as possible, even if it means to lie.”

Elias then took the letter that had been cast aside in his hand and passed it to the Duke. “Perhaps a suitable explanation lies in here.”

The Duke took the envelope and flipped it open. Immediately from it, a sweet, flowery scent flowed into the room, filling their nostrils. It was a tad bit fruity too. This made the Duke recoil in surprise ever so slightly and made Elias’ tail—which has been calm and still—begin to wag again. “Oh my.” He exclaimed, barely hiding the excitement. The Duke unfolded the paper. It was a bright, cute pastel pink with white and peach flowers printed on it. In sweeping calligraphy—the same as the gold on the envelope— the letter read:

Dear Duke of DeSidea,

Good day. I hope that you have been well and your days have been fulfilling. I myself am well, having recovered splendidly from my earlier accident. I know quite well that it is unusual to write a letter in such a manner, but I simply wanted to write to you.

You see, Kairn—May I call you Kairn? I do hope you do not mind—I have been so excited over these past few weeks to meet you. So excited was I, that I commissioned a new portrait to be painted. The truest representation of me that could be depicted. In this way, doesn’t it feel like we have already partially met? Your portrait was the most genuine I have ever laid my eyes upon, so to me it feels like I have already seen your face and heard your voice.

Although it is embarrassing for me to admit, I am simply very excited for the day when I see you in the flesh, but until then, it would be wonderful if we could keep correspondence. Don’t you think so?

-Sinthia Anne Marie, Fourth Princess of Ophelia

The Duke and Elias stood over the letter, staring at it as if the words did not properly register. There was an empty silence before Elias, having finally gathered himself enough to speak said, “Your Grace. I believe she is flirting with you.”