The sounds of footsteps echoed through the winding hallways of Lucifer's Mansion.
Rose and Luna walked through them and soon they came across a tall and slender woman in a maid outfit. Her hair was long and light pink, her skin was pale as snow and her eyes were glistening pink. Her outfit was more black and adorned than the one of the other Battlemaids. She was currently washing the windows.
Rose cleared her throat and approached, Luna stood a bit to the side.
"Hello Stella, how's work going"
Rose smiled confidently as she looked at Stella. Her hair slowly swayed along with her dress despite there being no wind in the mansion.
Stella slowly turned her entire body to face Rose and gave a deep bow.
"Good day, my lady. Work is going according to schedule, the floors have been cleaned early today, the rooms are being taken care of by each of the maids and the windows are, as you can see…being taken care of right now"
Rose chuckled softly and waved her hand at Stella.
"Jeez, Stella, how many times do I have to tell you to stop being so formal around me? Not only am I still not used to it after two hundred years but it makes me feel older than I am. So be at ease."
Stella raised her head from the bow again, the expression on her face unchanging and blank as she looked at Rose.
"It is only natural that I treat somebody with so much power in high regard. I'd be mistreating my duties…speaking off, Luna finished with her serving. She could start helping others clean up."
With a nervous chuckle Rose rubbed the back of her head and cleared her throat.
"Well about that, Luna and I are going to earth, and we've wanted to bring Lucina and Mari along so they could meet their masters"
Luna fidgeted in place, her hand playing with the hem of her skirt, and her legs not being able to be still. Clearly worried about how Stella would reply.
Stella would give a deep sigh and shake her head.
"My Lady you're spoiling the maids too much, they're meant to serve, do their duties and to protect their Masters with their lives. You're turning them into buddies whom you drink tea with. If it were my choice I'd have them stay here and continue their work…but if that is what Lady Lust commands then I shall let them off the hook and cover their work for them."
Rose nodded with a soft smile as she closed her eyes. She brought her hand up and placed her hand on the shoulder of Stella. She then opened her eyes, her blue eyes sparkling as she stared directly into her eyes.
"Thank you, I'll make it up to you the day you stop seeing yourself as a tool to be used"
She'd then grin and turn on her heel, looking at Luna with a wide smile she gestured to follow her again.
Luna before leaving gave a deep bow to Stella, with a soft smile.
"Thank you Overseer"
Stella waved her off, her expression still blank.
"Just go already, your Mistress commands it"
Luna raised her head and hurried behind Rose to catch up.
Stella sighed deeply yet again and turned back to the windows.
"These young demons, all fun and no duty…"
She murmured to herself like an old lady would.
After some time, Rose, Luna and two other girls would be gathered in the entry hall of Lucifer's Mansion.
One of them would be a younger looking Demon, her hair black with a streak of red on the left side. Her eyes were crimson red, her horns were too crimson red and curved slightly at the top. Her outfit was adorned with a red strip of velvet. The expression on her face was blank, And she kept a European styled sword at her hip in a scabbard.
The other one was a taller and more mature looking demon, her body also stood out as it was on the more curvier side. Her outfit didn't hide any of it either. Her hair was long and blonde, reaching down under her hips. Her eyes were light grey, the expression on her face was a confident smile, she had pointed elven-like ears. And her horns were thick, straight only with a bit of a curve and quite long too.
Rose waved her hand in the open air and a large red rift opened at the entrance door, covering it up as Rose took a step forward and looked at the entourage going along with her, she first looked to the Black haired Demon.
"Cheer up Lucina, you get to meet your Lord for the first time, does that not make you excited"
Lucina looked at her, the expression on her face unchanging.
"But I am delighted my lady, words cannot express how excited I am to meet the one whom I'll serve"
Rose sighed a little and shook her head, muttering something under her breath about being heartless.
She then looked at the blonde one.
"Well at least Mari seems to be excited to meet her Lady"
Mari nodded slightly as she looked at Rose.
"I am my Lady, I heard she is beautiful. I can't wait to help her take care of stuff, like tailoring her clothes, doing her hair and overall just serving her"
Rose scoffed a little at that, her smile slowly fading from her face.
"You guys…were in Stella's care for way too long. Besides don't expect to be able to serve them right away, they're both Earth born Demons like I am, so they might not enjoy the care so much from the start…nor from what I heard are they too giddy on going to hell either, and I doubt the Executioner has any room for two more demonettes in his temple."
Mari frowned a little at that and sighed.
"Don't crush my dreams like that my Lady, a woman can dream about serving her lady'
Meanwhile Lucina's expression…still unchanging as she looked down.
"Truly tragic"
Luna while off to the side chuckled a little.
"You two remind me of myself when I was about to go into Rose's service"
Rose smiled as she looked at Luna, her name being used instead of "My Lady" clearly made her happy.
"Indeed, you were just like them…that aside, what sort of Lady dreams of SERVING someone much younger than them?!"
Luna giggles a little and smiles softly, gazing at her two colleagues. As Rose still despite being in hell for two hundred years can't get used to the hierarchy formalities.
After a while the four finally stepped into the rift and appeared in the courtyard of the Kawakami temple, at the main gate…unfortunately for them-it was currently raining.
Rose stood there, her arms crossed with a bit of a scoff on her face, glared off into the distance.
"Just my luck…"
Meanwhile the Maids looked up at the sky in awe as there is no such thing as rain in hell, and the only "rain" they'd ever get to experience was in a shower, so the three didn't really mind and more so enjoyed it.
Suddenly, out of the door of the temple, Yui stepped out. Her blonde hair swayed as she closed the door behind herself.
"Welcome! And thank you for using the Kawakami Temple as your choice for travel!"
Yui gave a gentle bow and a smile as she looked ahead at the group.
"Oh I apologize for the rain, would you like to step inside for a beat, warm up, dry off and rest a bit before the rain wears off?"
Mari didn't hesitate and rushed forwards.
"Oh my, you must be Lady Ichika!"
Rose tried to stop her, but a part of her held back to see how this played out. She crossed her arms and grinned as she looked at the comedy unfold in front of her.
Yui, a bit bewildered, froze up as this tall demonette walked up to her and grabbed her hand to shake it. Bowing slightly as she did.
"It's such an honor to finally meet you My Lady, words can't describe how happy I am to be in your service"
Mari said in a giddy voice, it's a surprise she didn't stumble over her own words.
Yui forcefully removed her hand.
"Now slow down there, I'm not Tomia, not to mention you know that she lives here. I am Yui Kawakami"
Mari quickly took a step back and gave a deep bow again.
"My apologies, I didn't know that the executioner had a daughter?"
Yui raised an eyebrow at that.
"Executioner?"
Before Mari could say anything Rose stepped forward and gave a courtly bow.
"Hello there young lady, we're here on Deadly Sin business. I am Rose Mary, the Deadly sin of Lust and these are the Maids of the sins.
She'd point to Luna first with a big smile, as she straightened up again and raised her hand above her hair to cover herself at least a little from the rain.
"That one is Luna, she's in my service"
She'd then point to Mari, who stood not far from her.
"She's Mari, to be of in service of Tomia Ichika."
And lastly she'd point to Lucina, who'd give a gentle wave to Yui, with a blank expression on her face.
"And that is Lucina, to be of in service of your brother, Kaito"
Yui, a bit overwhelmed by the fact that a Deadly Sin just came out of nowhere along with maids that will apparently be serving her brother and friend, freezes yet again. But in a minute she gains back her composure and bows to each of them.
"Yui Kawakami! Nice to meet you, now since you're our guests please step inside, I'll have some tea ready for you along with some snacks, I'll go fetch Kaito and Tomia in the meantime, I'll also grab you some towels to dry yourselves off"
Rose and Luna's eyes lit up at the word of tea and snacks, though Mari and Lucina would be a bit put off by the fact that somebody would be serving them for once.
Soon the group would find themselves around a heated table inside of the temple. Each cup of tea in front of them and a plate of cookies in the middle of the table.
Rose was the only one who utilized the heating of the table as soon as she sat down and slid her legs under.
Noticing Rose do it, Luna and the other two followed suit.
The four already had towels wrapped around their shoulders, showing that they had been drying themselves off.
In a couple of minutes Yui would walk in with Kaito and Tomia in tow.
The four at the table would be left in awe, be it Tomia's beauty or Kaito's menacing presence. They knew for sure that these two were their new Lords.
As the four had sat there in silence, the first to get up was Rose. With a big glee she walked up to Tomia and smiled down at her in awe.
"You really are as pretty as Pandora said, in a cute kind of way"
Tomia's cheeks flushed red as Rose said that and looked up at her , though Rose wasn't that much taller than her.
"Thank you…"
She said and fidgeted in place for a bit.
Kaito crossed his arms and looked at Rose. He, unlike Tomia, was pretty much towering over her.
"Sensing your aura, you must be Lady Lust that Pandora spoke of. To what do we owe the pleasure?"
Rose cackled a bit and looked at Kaito.
"Well ain't you the tower, and Pandora spoke of me?! How sweet of her….jokes aside, I came here to get to see the two of you…and well to have you introduced to your to-be servants once and if you make the decision to move into hell"
Rose gestured towards the three girls sitting at the table.
"Not the red headed one, that one's mine. Need her to match with me!"
Rose grinned and jokingly pointed at her own red hair.
Tomia looked a bit confused, she looked up to Kaito as if to expect him to have something to say but he looked about as confused as her.
"Servants? Nobody told us about those, nor do we have any use for them.."
Yui leaned against a wall, not too far away from Tomia.
"I was just as confused as you are now Tomia"
Kaito scanned Lucina and Mari with his eyes. Truly the fact he'd have a girl serving him didn't sit right with him, as the look on his face gave it away.
Rose noticed it and shook her head.
"Now don't go sulking down over the fact you'll have a pretty girl serving you"
Kaito glared at Rose with the kind of look that screams. "Seriously?'
Rose would shiver a bit and take a step back, she felt some feeling rush over her as Kaito glared at her. She quickly shook it off and went back to being friendly and energetic nearly instantly.
"Jeez…young boys your age at my time would kill for such an opportunity…times sure change huh?"
Yui would pick up on that and look to Rose with a curious look.
"Does that mean you're an earth born Demon like us miss Rose?"
Rose turned her head back quickly to Yui, and gave a big nod.
"Yup! Born in 1787 to be exact, making two hundred and seventy-three years old."
Yui's eyes widened in surprise as she stared at Rose in awe.
"Woah! You're quite young for a Deadly Sin"
Rose giggled a bit and then sighed.
"Would be a nice compliment if I did not have two super young demons that far surpass me in strength from what I heard, anyways…enough talking and enough about me."
Rose looked back to the table and the Maids.
"You three definitely wanna meet the newbies too!"
Mari nodded and quickly stood up.
She gently walked over to Tomia and smiled down at her. Before grabbing the hem of her skirt and bowing.
"Mari..at your service my lady."
Tomia was a bit flustered by this but didn't seem to exactly mind it. So she smiled gently and nodded.
"Glad to meet you Mari, I am Tomia Ichika!"
She grabbed her hand and squeezed it, shaking it like an adult would.
Mari was confused by this as this seemed way too odd to her, not to mention…Tomia had quite a grip strength. But being a good servant she took it before Tomia let go. She then gripped at her hand.
"Wow, she's so strong"
Mari mumbled to herself.
She then moved to Kaito and looked at him, nearly at his height.
Before she'd even get the chance to bow, Kaito would raise his hand to stop her from doing it.
"Please don't bow to me…. I'm not used to that"
Mari, not knowing what to do, only stared, and fidgeted a little, looking back to the other maids for some support, who only gave her a shrug back.
"W-Well…even though I am a servant to Lady Pride, please do not worry to ask me for service also. You're still my Lord afterall"
With that Lucina and Mari would switch. Lucina went straight to Kaito but didn't bow, seeing that Kaito didn't like being bowed to, she looked up at him with the blank expression on her face.
"Lucina at your service my Lord"
Yui stood aside and glared at the two of them. Mumbling to herself.
"Why do they look so alike?! And I thought I'm the twin"
Kaito nodded a little to acknowledge her. Trying to be nice not to beat her off since he understands that this is like a life to her.
Lucina would take a step back and for the first time, gave a very slight smile.
"You're cool, I will be doing all your laundry, cleaning, food, washing-"
Tomia's ears perked up the sound of that as her face snapped to Lucina, staring holes into her.
Kaito froze up for a second as he looked down at Lucina.
Lucina would continue
"-and perhaps if Lord desires it I will even lay for you"
The room would let out a simultaneous
"WHAT?!"
Except for Lucina and Rose.
Tomia's eyes would go into a scowl as they began to glow the bright azure color.
Yui, sensing what may come, grabs Tomia by the shoulders and pulls her off to the side before she gets to do anything.
Kaito waves his hands in embarrassment.
"Hell no! You do NOT have to do that!"
Rose chuckles a little, this seems to be more amusing to her than she anticipated.
"Now, now…who thought what kind of training Stella has been putting you through girls."
The Kawakami household on the other hand was in quite disbelief at what they were hearing.
Lucina looks to Rose, the face still expressionless.
"Stella says that we must be good enough in anything our Lords need us. Of course considering we desire it so too, and my Lord is quite the handsome young man."
Kaito at that comment blushes. While Tomia is still being held back by Yui…seemingly not doing too well as her eyes glare at Lucina as if she's some predator ready to pounce on its prey.
Yui though is a bit curious and speaks out whilst holding onto Tomia in a embracing hug, to try and keep her from tearing apart Kaito's new servant.
"Say, how old are you maids?"
Luna takes the initiative in answering from the table as she looks to Yui.
"We've been born not long after the fall of Original sins. So about…sixteen-thousand years, the three of us have been waiting for some of you for ages. Unlike the other girls…"
This made Tomia ease up a bit.
"Somebody has been waiting for me to appear for that long?!"
She wondered to herself, thinking how commendable that is for Mari for having such patience.
Kaito bows his head a little to Lucina.
"Thank you for waiting for us"
Lucina turns back to him and shakes his head.
"It should be us thanking you for having the honor of being your servants."
Mari scooches next to Luna and whispers to her ears.
"Never in a thousand years did I see Lucina this excited"
Luna gives a slight nod with a soft smile on her face.
"She's precious isn't she?"
Luna whispers back as she looks at Lucina's deadpan expressionless face.
Tomia clears her throat, her eyes back to her normal non-glowing state.
"Well it's been a pleasure meeting you Lucina, but…"
Tomia leans in a bit to her ear and whispers.
"Hand's off Kaito"
Lucina's face went pale for a second, she sensed something she never really did…or well at least not to this level…fear.
The aura Tomia had radiated over her through that sent shivers down her own spine.
"Y-Yes my Lady"
She took a quick step back, showing that she felt threatened by Tomia.
Everyone in the room couldn't help but notice it, though it had seemed that nobody had the guts to say anything about it, other than Rose of course.
Rose would chuckle to herself as she swooped in next to Yui, as the others conversed among themselves, mainly Kaito asking about how hell is.
"Fufufu~, something between those two? Tomia seems to be overly protective of our Wrath."
Yui would smirk and look at Rose.
"The two are heels over the head over each other, and still don't realise It…it's quite entertaining to watch the two of them interact sometimes. Especially my brother, he's so hard headed and can't see that Tomia loves him…kinda hard to imagine it the two to do much though, starting to see Tomia as a younger sister of sorts"
Rose would lean against the wall that Yui was leaning against.
"She is quite something, never seen anything like it…nor felt the aura she puts off, even Lucifer does not radiate half as much power…Kaito, is also odd I can't barely sense anything from him, but I heard what he's capable of, it's all so…intriguing"
Yui would turn to Rose to face her.
"Say, what really is the reason you visited today? If it's to see my father he's not here today, apparently helping out a friend with his demonic rift over down south."
Rose would smile gently and look up at the ceiling.
"Well, truth be told I was just kinda bored…and I missed the earth. Hell is nowhere near as enjoyable to be in as here, I need to visit England again one day, Luna would love it there"
Yui would smile a bit back, whilst looking at Rose.
"England huh? Well I shouldn't be surprised, you are rocking Victorian style clothes, and you did mention you're from earth."
Rose would grab the hem of her long skirt and look at it longingly, a sad smile appearing on her face.
"Yea, it's my favorite…my mom used to wear it, before she passed away. She wasn't a demon like I am, and dad wasn't around…yet my mom still took up the challenge of raising a demon."
Rose would let go of the hem and shook her head. Clapping her cheeks to settle herself.
"But that's a long story, best for over a shared cup of tea!"
She'd grin at Yui.
Yui seeing the body language would give a smile back, but deep inside she wanted to know more and help if need be.
"Well, I guess we have something to do to pass the time!"
Over time, the group after a bit more talking slowly started to say their goodbyes. The sky had cleared out and the sun was breaking through the clouds, casting a warming ray on the wet ground, reflecting all around, making the tranquil courtyard a sight to behold.
The three maids looked at it in awe, nothing they could ever get to see in hell.
The rift at the main gate opened yet again, and the three maids stepped forward, Kaito and Tomia slowly left for their rooms. But Rose and Yui hanged back.
Rose looked back before leaving for Yui and smiled.
"I'll make sure to come back soon, you make an amazing tea, I'll bring some cakes from hell and we can talk a bit more!'
Yui gave a nod and a bit of a wave with a big smile back.
"Glad to have met you Rose, looking forward to seeing you again soon!"
Rose gave a wave back, and walked gracefully through the rift. Something in her felt rekindled.