"I WANT THE SHIP READY AS SOON AS DEMONLY POSSIBLE. I want that body of water searched thoroughly and I want any secrets those soft-flesh has attempted to hide from us for decades discovered! Do it now or kill yourselves!" a woman's cruel voice barked harshly across the grand throne room of bone, blood, and decay.
The men her orders were directly to bowed stiffly and hurried out of the room.
"H-Honored C-C-Concubine, w-why do you w-want t-t-that b-b-bod-b-b-body of w-w-w-wa-water e-e-explored f-f-for? Th-there is n-n-n-no l-l-land f-f-for us t-to c-conquer and n-no s-s-soft fl-flesh f-f-f-f-for us to d-d-devour!" a short, dumpy and lumpy sort of man asked, stuttering. His short body was bowed in her direction, bald head touching the floor and disproportionate frame shaking and trembling with fright.
The woman stood from the throne, beautiful and graceful with long flowing black hair and red eyes. Protruding from her forehead were two angular and thick horns. The woman wore a flowing black hanfu that swayed as she began to stalk towards the man. Although the man couldn't see from his position kneeling, he trembled even more and started to bang his head against the floor, harshly.
"Ah, excellent." she purred, "I was about to do that myself. I don't believe I have any obligations of explaining my plans with the likes of you. How about you do that a few hundred times and reflect upon your stupidity of challenging your mistress! Oh, wait! I almost forgot." she crouched down and forced the man to look at her by using her long painted nails to dig deeply into his throat," The Empress is dead, fool. I am no longer the Honored Concubine. I am the Empress and the Emperor is my husband. You'll refer to me as Empress or Mistress. Do you understand, maggot?"
"Y-yes, m-m-mistress. I u-u-understand. I s-s-shall co-continue b-b-bashing m-m-my he-head in f-f-for y-y-y-your pl-pl-pleasure."
The man continued to hit his head against the ground. Each thump became almost like a steady heartbeat, before the sounds turned mushy and wet as flesh slammed hard against the hard floors. Where his head met the ground, a puddle of blood began to form, steadily becoming larger and larger as the banging became more hasty and harsh, until finally the man pitched over sideways, dead.
"Idiot. Did I say kill yourself? I'd pity your foolish life but I won't for how stupid you were, maggot."
She waved a hand and two maids came in. Both donned in crimson hanfus with their hair braided down their backs and much smaller horns protruding from their foreheads. One of the maids carried a bucket of water. They bowed respectfully towards the woman before walking towards the man. One reached down and began to drag the man from the throne room while the other began cleaning the floor with clean cloths and the water from the bucket before bowing again and leaving the room.
The woman glanced over her shoulder taking notice of a man who was partially hidden in the shadows, a smirk crossing his face as he leaned against a pillar behind the throne.
"Ah, did you enjoy the show, you handsome demon?" she asked.
"Of course I did, beautiful succubus. Though his blood looked too thick and nasty for my liking. By any chance will human be on the dinner menu tonight?" the man asked, his voice silky. His red eyes gazed into hers with a mixture of lust and hunger.
"You always want human, darling. I don't remember a time nor day that you longed for anything else." she said, giggling to which the man raised an eyebrow before pushing himself off the pillar and walking towards her.
"I see that you are enjoying my throne and referring yourself as my Empress." he said, gesturing to the seat of ebon and bones with an elegant nod of his head.
"Isn't the throne ours, my dearest husband?" she purred.
"If I decide to take you as something more than a concubine, then you'll have a throne all to yourself. Enough with taking mine, silly woman." the man stated, eyebrow raised.
"It's been years since she died, My Emperor. When do you plan to move on and marry one of your concubines? We are plentiful and more than willing to grace you with a child. And speaking of which... "
She undid the hanfu ribbons and allowed the fabric to fall to the ground. Her pale nude body glistened with oils and sparkled eerily. But what was more noticeable than the perky lumps on her chest or the groomed hair from between her legs was the steady roundness of her stomach.
The man tore his gaze from her breasts and stared intently at her stomach before slowly turning cold eyes upon her flawless face. She was beaming and a blush graced her delicate features.
"You are with child," he stated," How long?"
"A few months, My Emperor." she replied.
"I see." the coldness in his eyes died and he offered her a genuine smile before crouching directly in front of her. His face a mere few inches of her womanhood. But he ignored it and instead craned his head upwards and kissing her stomach, right above her belly button. A smile graced her lips as she helped pull him to his feet and allowed him to wrap the hanfu around her and pulling the ribbons together to hide the nudeness underneath.
γβγ
THE DEMONIC EMPEROR AND HIS CONCUBINE stood on the aft of the ship, gazing out with wonder and excitement in their eyes of what could possibly be ahead. The waters were steady and the skies were clear but the sun beat down on them without mercy.
After deciding standing was too taxing, the concubine took a seat and watched with a mixture of amusement and dismay as the Emperor started to walk to-and-fro, hand gripping the grip of his sword with eyes not paying attention to her which instead stared out at the sea.
"My Emperor, please relax with me. All your walking is making my head ache." she finally said, pouting before patting the seat next to her with a sad smile.
He returned the smile, but his didn't look genuine as he walked towards her and gratefully sunk into it's silken embrace. She reached around and pulled him towards her, allowing his graceful head to caress her shoulder. Using her hand, she gently ran her fingers through his hair. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh of relief.
But the relief and relaxation ended when the ship suddenly collided with something unseen.
She was thrown forward and fell to the ground, letting out a gasp of pain while the Emperor let of a gleeful laugh as he flipped elegantly in the air before landing gracefully on his feet next to the groveling concubine.
"Not as graceful as you used to be, my treasure." he said, smirking down at her before helping her to her feet and looking at the endless sea in front of him," Whatever the humans are hiding, it's behind this invisible wall. I trust you'll use your abilities to crack it open, correct?"
"Of course, My Emperor. Right away." With that, the air suddenly grew even warmer as flames shot from her fingers. The horns protruding from her forehead became alit as well and her eyes burned with embers. She hovered momentarily, staring out as well and taking in deep breaths before beginning her aggressive assault on the invisible wall.