They left that evening.
Despite his reluctance and desire to simply use the wheelchair, Nick had grabbed the chair and squeezed it into a scrap of metal before throwing it aside and smiling at him.
"I give really good piggy rides"
".... You're crazy"
Even with his annoyance with Nick, he was right about the piggy ride. His back was broad and soft; his steps fast yet steady and he smelled like Jasmine body wash, which happened to be his favorite flower.
When they reached a particular point; Nick turned back and looked at the mortal realm.
This realm although filled with troubles and wars of its own had protected them for years, It was where he got his son and found the person he was looking for; he would forever be grateful.
"I'll be back in 10 years "
Bei Shang's breath was warm and close to his ear; Nick's ears twitched as the sensation spread through every part of his body.
Maybe when everything has calmed down; he will come back here with his family.
Kate mumbled a spell and touched a huge tree; the tree vibrated before a small crack opened. It widened with each vibration frequency and soon there was a crack big enough for a grown man to slip through.
Bei Shang looked back one last time before Nick pulled him into the void.
💕💕💕💕
"Mitch mom ...."
Bei Shang pretended to be deaf and turned to the other side; he felt someone shake him.
"Mitch mom ..."
Bei Shang sighed and slowly opened his eyes.
The high ceiling was white and dotted with decorations of tiny foxes; they shine beautifully in the dark room, making it look like they were floating.
Bei Shang watched the foxes for a while before turning to the side.
Iran was sitting on the bed; her bright brown eyes were focused on him. She had changed her gown to a long white robe that loosely hinted at her growing body; She was no longer wearing her sling, and her hair was in a bun bringing out her cute face.
Bei Shang stretched his left hand and pinched her cheek.
"Mitch mom ahhhhhhhhhh " Iran blinked back tears "It hurts"
"You and Mitch find it in your favor to trouble me during my sleep " Bei Shang mumbled but still kept pinching "If your arm could heal this fast, Why didn't you carry me?!"
"Mitch mom, has anyone told you that you hold grudges?!"
If he not Mitch came inside to greet his mom; Iran's face would have been disfigured.
Iran rubbed her cheeks and looked at Bei Shang resentfully. What has she ever done to this woman? First, it was hitting her with a lamp, then tricking her, then pinching her cheeks...
Mitch gave Iran an apologetic pat on the head then faced him " Good morning mom "
"Good morning" Bei Shang patted his hair and then pull him close to hug; Mitch giggled in his arms and enjoy the warmth before pulling away gently "Aiyaa too grown up for hugs now?"
"It's not that " he giggled when he hugged him again and gave him a kiss on the cheek " It's just that it's almost time for court "
"Court ?"
Mitch nodded " Dad told me that everyone in the royal cabinet has to attend morning court every day; so I wanted to wake you up so we won't be late "
I can't even walk there if I tried.
As if Iran could hear what he was thinking; She cautiously moved closer and pulled him from the bed. " I'll be in charge of bathing you today but as from tomorrow general will take care of it "
"How will I get into the bathroom? Nick already broke the wheelchair "
Iran flexed her arm, her smile was proud " leave it to me"
The water system in the demon realm was the same as the mortal realm; if not advanced. They had sinks, large bathtubs, a Shower, and even a water closet toilet. On the shelf were cupboards filled with different types of shampoos and body wash.
Iran placed him in the bathtub, then she grabbed a banana body wash and squeezed some into her hands she started to bathe him.
She might be rough at feeding people but she was quite gentle yet fast with his bath. In 15 minutes, she managed to get him clean.
The clothes were already on the bed the moment they stepped out of the bathroom.
But the style of dressing was mostly ancient because most of the clothes were robes... white robes.
"It's the dressing of the royal cabinet... like a uniform" Iran turned the back of the clothes and showed him the crest of a nine-tailed fox " See, it even has a badge..."
Bei Shang can't complain since he has nothing to wear; he put on a robe that seems to fit him almost perfectly.
Iran gathered his hair into her hands and started to comb it "Everyone's hair must be in a bun except for the Queen; ceremonial buns, messy buns, half buns, must be in buns all the time…we have to find a way to make your hair bun like"
Mitch showed his bun " Iran helped me pack it this morning"
Bei Shang gently pushed her fingers and shook his head" I don't like growing my hair out, it makes me feel uncomfortable "
"But it's a rule "
"I'll ask Nick for permission"
Bei Shang can cope with not wearing boy clothes or being called female pronouns but he can't grow his hair; his hair is the closest thing to making him feel like his masculine gender.
The palace was so large; Bei Shang felt they can build two subways in it. There were also antiques placed on every side of the hall and the scent of jasmine was all over the place. The only thing different was that the palace was dark and the only illumination was shiny stones and shiny paintings.
A particular painting caught his attention. There was a man who looked like the older version of Nick, there was a warm smile on his face as he looked at the woman who was sitting on his lap and laughing; on his left, there was a young man with long white hair, his eyes were fully concentrated on the woman and there was a smile on his face.
At first instance, people will assume that the other man was also intoxicated with the woman but Bei Shang was familiar with this kind of insidious smile...
The smile wasn't kind at all; it was almost poisonous. Also, the Men in the painting look very familiar; where did he meet them?
He wanted to look at it closer but Iran carried him away; he put it on his mental list to check the painting later.
They met Nick midway with a group of people; like the others, he was in a white robe and his hair was packed into a bun; there was a small smile on his face as soon as his eyes locked in his.
" Bei Shang, it suits you "
Bei Shang rolled his eyes, if it was up to him; he would try to walk away but he was limited to Iran's arms. He had no other choice but to pretend to be engaged in looking at other demons.
Nick moved closer to him and started to stare at his face "Who are you looking at ?"
"None of your business"
"Look at me " Nick whispered and stubbornly cling to his arm "Bei Shang, look at me "
The attendants watching couldn't help the shudder that ran through their spines.
So the famous merciless General Autumn was a hen-pecked husband?!! And since when did the general start to whine ?!
Nick didn't know that his image of 517 years had been destroyed already in a single moment. Seeing Bei Shang refusing to look at him, he pushed him harshly from Iran's arms.
Bei Shang feeling his body move towards the ground, grabbed any nearby object to steady himself and that object turned out to be Nick's robe; Nick grabbed the neck part of his robe like he was holding the cuff of a cat; then he pulled Bei Shang into his arms and rubbed his face against his own.
He looked satisfied as Bei Shang glared at him, nearly trembling in anger.
"See? Don't I look better than any of them here ?"
"At least try to be a good example for Mitch!"
"Mitch doesn't have a problem with how I act at all " He stretched his free hand and pat Mitch's hair " Mitch good morning "
Mitch moved closer to hug his dad; his voice was milky "Daddy …"
"Do you think I'm treating your mom badly?"
Mitch shook his head, his eyes were bright "What part is bad? Mom didn't want to go, you made her go "
Bei Shang froze and looked at Nick "You told him?"
"He heard everything you and Iran discussed last time so he asked me some questions privately…and I gave him answers"
" Don't you think you're turning him into a monster? What if he hurts someone because you did and justified it?!"
Nick looked at the attendants and signaled them to go ahead; he smiled at Mitch and Iran " You two should be ahead; Iran, watch him for me okay?"
"Nick storm park!"
Iran nodded and took Mitch's arm, Mitch hesitated but seeing his dad smile, he relaxed and allow Iran to pull him.
Nick seeing it was only them finally looked at Bei Shang, his tone was cold.
"I didn't justify what I did to you, I know what I did was right"
Bei Shang laughed in expiration " You broke my ankles and made me likely unable to do anything on my own for a month all because I wanted to leave; how is that right?! …Tell me the truth, you're the one who lured the child spirit into the hotel room that day right?!"
Bei Shang could swear Nick trembled slightly.
"I…I …who told you?"
"F*ck! You are one?! But why ?! Were you trying to kill me?!"
"I know I sound out of place but apart from that day and also yesterday…"
"Bullshit! You're also the stray fox that scratched Nayima!"
"Apart from.."
"You also put your aura on me that's why the blood demon mistook me for you right?! and, the aura wasn't just light but so heavy like you're trying to mark me …so if I try to leave, you will track me down "
Nick didn't bother trying to find excuses again, instead, he tightened his lips and started to walk to the courtroom.
"We will talk about this after the meeting…"
"Who are you?! Why did you do all this to me?!"
Nick stopped, he opened and closed his mouth like a fish before sighing softly.
"I did meet you because I wanted you to help me with my son's problem but…the truth is that you owe me"
"How do I owe you?!"
"I don't know too but you owe me, you owe me so much that I can only feel relieved if you're right in my eyesight "
Bei Shang's lips twitched "I didn't meet you until 5 days ago, how do I owe you anything? "
Nick stared at him before squishing him in his arms like a teddy bear; his voice was soft but determined.
"I won't let you go …even if I die, you're going with me "
"I don't owe you anything!!!"
"Am I interrupting something?"
Bei Shang and Nick looked towards the voice at the same time; Kate was resting on a door, her face filled with curiosity.
She was in a robe but her robe was short and very loose slipping off once in a while to show off her shoulders, her hair was still in a bun but there was something majestic about her; Giving the bearing of a ruler.
Nick bowed his head slightly " Queen Spring "
Kate laughed and then lifted her hand "You only treat me like royalty in the demon realm"
She looked at Bei Shang who was staring blankly at Nick; She could see that he was still fuming from the discussion they were having earlier but was conflicted on if they should continue to discuss it; Autumn looked way too uncomfortable to go back to discuss it.
"Let's go to court; I'm sure everyone is waiting for us"
She took the lead from there. At the door, she let out a deep breath.
This was her palace, this was her inheritance, this was her home.
She was truly back home.
She grabbed her hair tie and pulled it off; her hair tumbled down and fell to her waist. Purple electricity crackled through it and her blue eyes turned into a deep purple.
Bei Shang felt a kind of awe and fear run through his body; he suddenly felt like going down on his knees and just staying like that. Was this the power of a demon queen?
Nick touched him lightly, shaking him out of his stupor.
Yes, that was the true power of a demon Queen...
She raised her leg and kicked open the door.