Days with the demon queen
Chapter 29: Test day

Chapter 29: Test day

Ronnie wiped away Lily’s tears with the palms of his hands.

"I’m sorry. I’m sorry I made you relive those memories" Ronnie articulated softly. He looked at Lily with eyes filled with pity and sadness.

Lily put her hand over Ronnie’s hand, savoring the moment. She then opened her eyes.

"You’re afraid, aren’t you?" Lily whispered.

"That level of carnage, losing the people you love like that, it’s terrifying. More terrifying than anything I’ve seen in my life" Ronnie spoke slowly.

"Isn’t it funny? I’ve been a cocky bastard all this time. Saying I’ll protect you when I’m not nearly strong enough" Ronnie said, looking down at the bed.

Lily raised his head with both her hands till they locked gazes.

She moved closer to him, her face almost touching his.

"You’ve been protecting me since I came to this realm. I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m glad I was finally able to share my story with you" Lily whispered. Ronnie felt her breath on his face. They both went silent. Ronnie stared at her lips intently.

Lily moved in for the kiss. Ronnie hesitated for a second but he met her lips half way. The two shared a passionate kiss.

"What was that for?" Ronnie asked.

"I don’t— know. It just seemed right at the time" Lily responded. She looked away, trying to hide her flustered expression.

"I— I see. We really should get going now, don’t you think?" Ronnie stuttered, staring at the ceiling. When Lily noticed his expression, she laughed softly, a tear drop trailed down the side of her eye.

"You’re so predictable, Ronald Carpenter. Indeed, we should get going" she got off the bed.

They had bade grandpa farewell, Ronnie used a class vacation as an excuse. They traveled on public transport to the cafe downtown that Mr. C told them to meet him at. By the time they got there, Josh had already arrived. They went in.

"You sure took your sweet time preparing. What are those bags for?" Josh asked as Ronnie and Lily sat across the table from him.

"Aren’t we going on a trip? It doesn’t hurt to prepare, right?" Ronnie asked.

Josh stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then broke into laughter.

"I think we’re using one of those talisman things" Josh said.

A look of embarrassment washed upon Ronnie’s face.

"Why did nobody tell me?!" Ronnie yelled.

"A transportation magic circle, I still can’t believe the humans have that magic" Lily inputted.

"Oh— um, hello there miss Lillian, your— your highness" Josh stuttered and tapped his feet on the tiles in an unrhythmic fashion.

"Joshua. how do you do you?" Lily asked.

"F— fine thank you" Josh responded.

"You needn’t be so uncomfortable around me, I don’t bite" Lily said.

"She actually does" Ronnie whispered.

"Would you like me to bite you, Ronnie?" Lily asked.

Watching two of them interact made Josh laugh and ease up.

"I’ll try to be more comfortable then" He muttered.

"Aren’t you guys gonna order anything?" A man asked, he was none other than Mr. C.

"Your habit of sneaking into places unnoticed is getting annoying" Ronnie said.

"I’m a man who doesn’t like the attention" he responded.

"I’d really love to sit and chat over horribly made coffee but can we go now? I have pressing matters to attend to" he added.

Lily struck an unfriendly gaze at him, to which he responded with an annoying grin.

Ronnie grabbed his heavy bags and headed to the counter with the rest of the bunch.

"Lily, can you get one of the bags? They’re super heavy" Ronnie said.

"No, I don’t think I can" Lily said, crossing her arms. A warm smile washed over Josh’s face as he looked at the two.

"Carla, I’d like tickets for four please" Mr. C said to the cashier at the counter.

"New recruites?" The cashier asked while sorting black coloured paper slips from a box she pulled from beneath the cash register.

"We’ll see. I have high hopes for these ones" Mr. C said, grabbing Ronnie and Josh by the shoulders.

"And her?" The cashier asked, looking at Lily.

"She’s special" Mr. C said.

The woman stared at Lily more closely now.

"Is that right? The last time we had one of those was almost—"

"That’s classified information, Carla. They aren’t members yet." He said, his expression shifting to a more serious one.

"You’re right. Well, here you go. Have a safe trip" Carla said, handing him the tickets.

Carla ushered them into a back room. In the room was an average looking elevator which they got in.

"I wish you all good luck" Carla said right before the elevator doors slid shut.

Mr. C inputted the destination they were heading to on the dial pad. They waited for a moment, nothing happened.

"Where does this elevator even lead? An underground facility? It’s not moving" Ronnie said.

Just then, a glowing magic circle came from the top of the elevator and went all the way down to their feet. The elevator pinged and the doors slid open.

"We’re here, look alive" Mr. C said, giving each one of them a ticket.

"What are these for?" Josh asked.

"Once we step out—" Just as Mr. C was about to speak, they found themselves surrounded by mages holding talismans as they stepped out of the elevator.

"raise the tickets" Mr. C whispered.

Ronnie, Lily and Josh followed his instructions. A man went around scanning the tickets with a strange looking device.

"They’re authentic" the man said, prompting the others to put down their talismans.

"I swear I don’t know the point of this strange exercise that’s always done upon entry" Mr. C said, letting out a disappointing sigh.

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Mr. C. We simply do this to avoid being compromised" the man with the strange device said.

"I know. It just gets tiring." Mr. C said, giving his coat to the man and walking forward.

"Follow closely behind me so you don’t get lost" Mr. C said.

They followed behind him till they got to a certain door. Mr. C put his thumb on the pad and the door slid open to reveal a blinding light. Ronnie and Josh shielded their eyes with the back of their hands.

"Come on now. We don’t want to keep the president waiting. He’s a bit of an impatient man" Mr. C said. Both him and Lily already went through the door.

As Ronnie and Josh went through the door, they gasped in amazement.

"This, just what is this place?" Josh asked.

"It’s like something straight out of a science fiction movie" Josh said.

They were amazed by the sight they saw. Vehicle like objects that flew through the air, humans levitating, stairways all over, some even being upside down. There were offices suspended in the air with nothing holding it place, thousands of people wearing the same uniform Mr. C and his men wore back then.The entire place was just as big as the small town they came from.

"What— just what is this place, Lily do you see this?!" Ronnie asked. His eyes glittered like that of an excited child.

"Welcome, to our global headquarters. Come along now, you’ll get to sightsee all you want later, or maybe not" Mr. C said.

He led them to another elevator which they all got in.

They arrived directly in front of a door. It looked grand, unlike all the other doors they had seen in

"Alright. You’re about to meet the president. I hope he’s still in" Mr. C said. He pressed his thumb into the fingerprint verification pad. The light turned green and the doors slid open.

Inside the gigantic office, they found a big screen, with multiple people tapping at computer keyboards. It was loud, and rowdy.

"This is your president’s office?" He asked.

"It’s the command center. The president’s office is just beyond this room." Mr. C said.

Just as he said, they found the President’s office.

Mr. C pushed open the office door and went in. The president in question appeared to be a matured man. He stood by the window with a big brown cigar between his fingers.

"You’re here. Finally, you took more time than expected" he said in a gruff tone.

"Apologies chief, I had to make a quick stop" Mr. C responded.

"That young man beside you must be the boy. I just finished reading the file." The president said.

"He is, Ronald Carpenter" Mr. C said.

The president gave a warm smile after scanning Ronnie with his eyes.

"He’s the spitting image of Harp. Although he has Kaela’s eyes" the president said.

"You knew my parents?!" Ronnie asked in surprise.

"Of course you do" Ronnie added in a subtle tone.

The president and Lily exchanged intimidating glances, then he looked away.

"Chief will lead you to your testing grounds immediately. We’ll talk in detail if you pass the test. I have somewhere else to be for now" the president said, walking to the door.

"Sir, I have a request" Mr. C said. The man halted.

"I’d like for the three of them to be under my squad. I’ll take full responsibility for them" Mr. C said. His eyes looked eager.

The president stood in silence for a moment

"I understand that you owe a debt to Harp. do what you like" he said, leaving the office.

Mr. C let out a relieved sigh and smiled.

They were taken to another facility, where they met hundreds of test candidates.