Tuttle
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I was violently shaken awake by Hetty. With a start, I jumped from my chair, momentarily having forgotten where I was. I quickly recalled that I must have dozed off while waiting for Vandel to return.
"Gods, couldn't you have gone about waking me in perhaps a slightly more civil manner-"
"Master Vandel is back," Hetty stated quickly.
"Was he out on a midnight flight like we thought?"
Hetty shook her head, looking rather panicked. "I don't know much of what happened. All I know is that the knight escaped with Princess Annette. Master Vandel came back to the castle exhausted and worst of all..." Hetty grimaced, "he's pissed."
My eyes widened. "Oh no...then that means..."
"Yep."
"Vandel's in one of his moods?" Hetty gave me a stiff nod. "Shit, shit, shit, are all valuable artifacts and magical items locked away?"
"We're trying our best. The castle is going into code red."
Code red meant one simple thing in the demon palace—one of Vandel's tantrums was about to occur.
I tore through the palace hall, trying to find him. Everywhere I looked I could see demon servants running about with armfuls of the castle's valuables, trying to get them to safety before Vandel arrived. Judging from the ashen looks on their faces at the sound of yelling down the hallway, they only had a few seconds left.
"KIDNAPED!!! I WAS JUST KIDNAPED BY MY OWN FUCKING PRISONERS IN MY OWN FUCKING CASTLE!!!!"
Hetty and I exchanged a panicked glance.
He was on the war path and every servant knew it. The only thing we could do was simply wait for it to blow over.
We caught sight of him at the end of the hallway now. He looked terrible, his face was deathly pale and his dark hair was a mess. Someone must have brought him a robe once he arrived. It was one of his favorites, made of a silky blue and silver fabric with little embroidered ravens curling up the sleeves. However, at this moment his favorite robe was clearly not the most important thing on his mind.
"WHERE THE FUCK IS THE HEAD OF THIS SHIT HOLE'S SECURITY BECAUSE I WANT HIS HEAD ON A PLATTER!" He grabbed a servant by the collar of their shirt. "ON A PLATTER YOU HEAR ME?!"
He released the servant from his iron grip so quickly that the small demon stumbled back a few feet. Vandel's gaze latched onto a porcelain vase one of the servants didn't have time to get to safety. He grabbed it, hurling it across the room where it slammed into a wall , immediately shattering into a hundred little shards.
"DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS FOR ME TO PRETEND TO BE CALM AND SUAVE FOR HOURS AROUND THAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT KNIGHT? UUUUUUG, AND NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TELL MOTHER WHAT HAPPENED! FUUUUUUUUUUCK!!!!!" He tore his long, black nails down a tapestry, ripping it to shreds. "AND....WORST....OF ALL," he shrieked kicking over a decorative suit of armor which clattered to the floor with a metallic crash. "I LOST MY FAVORITE OUTFIT IN THE WOODS!"
Vandel continued to storm down the halls, wreaking havoc on almost any inanimate object that came into his line of vision. Hetty and I followed nervously behind him. Finally he made it to his room and almost immediately collapsed over-dramatically onto his bed.
Hetty and I waited in a tension filled silence and as time passed, he didn't move. More servants popped their heads into the bedroom. Finally Vandel let out a loud snore and a silent cheer passed through the servants.
He had fallen asleep! It was over!
Everyone hugged each other and exchanged handshakes and pats on the back for a job well done. We had made it through another one of Vandel's massive tantrums.