The first time the party arrived in Shevadale, they'd all wondered about the mansion at the outskirts. It was very out of place, a massive, opulent building that towered above the simple, rustic houses. Why would a small village have such a rich landmark? They asked around a bit, but didn't learn much. Not that it really mattered. They were there for a quick bounty, maybe a stop by the annual festival if they had time, and then they'd move on. But a month and a half later, Clara was knocking on the door. She knew exactly what the deal with the mansion was now.

As Clara weakly knocked on the massive door, she shuddered. The cold wind only served to make her bruised, bloody, battered body more uncomfortable. She hardly knew how she'd managed to get back without fainting from her injuries. As she waited, she yet again considered leaving, hiding the Gem where nothing else could ever find it again, and being done with this horrible ordeal. She couldn't bear to think what the Demoness would do with the Gem after what she'd just seen... She instinctively lifted a hand to stroke her horns, to calm herself down... And yet again brushed against the aching stump that used to be her left horn, sending another surge of searing pain through her head. She just wanted all of this to be over... But she couldn't leave her friends behind. She had done all of this to save them, gone through all of this stress and pain and damage to earn their freedom. To make up for getting them all into this mess...

The doors opened, revealing an orange-eyed man in a fine, orange-lined suit. Clara recognized the scar on his cheek as belonging to a fellow rogue she met in the tavern before going to the church. This must have been the "big score" he had bragged about finding. He spoke in an almost comically polite manner in contrast to his previous drawl. "And what doth you appear before our mansion for, fine lady?" His complete personality shift might have unnerved Clara normally, but she couldn't muster up the energy to care now. "...I have something for your Mistress... That she asked me to get..." The enslaved thief bowed. "Please, by all means, enter our fine mansion in that happenstance. Relax yourself in our hall of entrance while I fetch Our Lovely and Merciful Mistress." He led Clara inside and seated her upon a comfortable bench. "And whom shall I inform her wishes to see her?" Clara, adjusting a bandage around her arm, responded in a melancholy murmur. "...the little mouse..."

The enslaved thief left to fetch the demoness, leaving Clara to sit in the entrance hall. As she involuntarily relaxed into the wonderfully soft orange cushion, she was reminded of the fact that she hadn't had a good sleep in... well, quite a while. The last time she truly fell asleep was back under the church, when they encountered that pollen. She remembered breathing something in, and then beginning to grow fuzzy... And sleepy... and kneeling down in a soft, comfortable bed of flowers... And drifting off to sleep... A blissful, relaxing sleep, filled with calm, wonderful dreams... Dreams that she would never wish to wake from... And if it hadn't been for Pyotr managing to keep himself awake long enough to drag them away, she might have stayed in that lovely sleep til she died... 

They had talked about the dreams the pollen gave them afterwards. Maia dreamed of kneeling in a great cathedral, surrounded by all the lore they could ever wish to read, basking in their Goddess's light. Drossie dreamt of a neverending festival, a realm of constant joy and noise and whimsy, something that others might find torturous but which she found perfect. And they all joked that they knew exactly what Pyotr's dream would be like, even him. But Clara... She didn’t want to say. Not because it was anything bad, but… It was embarrassing, and she worried the others would think she was hiding her true dream. It was simple… Relaxing… Comforting… As she thought back on it now, sitting on this comfortable bench, she began to relax again, a moment of respite before… everything else. She didn't even realize her eyes had closed until she had to open them to see what was looming above her. A giant, muscular demon wearing a maid's headdress and apron smiled cutely down at her. They gently nudged her to the side to clean up a bloodstain on the cushion before happily returning to their work. Clara faintly recognized them from a previous adventure, and wondered if they recognized her too. Not that she really cared. She was too emotionally exhausted to care about much anymore...

Eventually the doorman returned and led Clara through the opulent halls and up a swirling, spiraling staircase to a set of massive doors, engraved with spiraling patterns and adorned with orange jewels. The doorman knocked. "M-" A familiar melodious voice immediately echoed from behind the door. "Ahh, the little mouse has finally arrived~! Do show them in, toy~" The doors opened by themselves, and the doorman led Clara into a wide, beautiful room, filled with fine furniture, lovely paintings, and, of course, a massive bed, upon which The Demoness lay. 

The Demoness was showing her true, majestic form, her beautiful orange hair lighting the entire room all by itself. She was lounging casually on her bed, holding a bunch of grapes from her tail, from which she delicately plucked a particularly juicy fruit with her glimmering garnet claws. And with her, their eyes pure swirling orange, were Clara's friends. They had all been dressed in gaudy, embarrassing costumes, and evidently hypnotized to act accordingly. Maia was dressed in a frilly ballerina's outfit, and was performing ridiculous, dainty dances. Pyotr was outfitted with 'armor' made from wood and paper, and was sloppily fighting an invisible opponent. Drossie, dressed as a mermaid, or perhaps just a fish, was lying facedown next to the bed, evidently having fallen off, and was humming happily. The Demoness grinned at Clara as she entered. "Ahh, the little mouse finally returns~! I was beginning to worry you would never come back~" As her blazing eyes scanned Clara's face, landing upon her broken horn, she mockingly covered her mouth with her claws. "Oh dear, and you are so hurt~! Toy," She gestured to Maia, who instantly snapped to attention, " heal your friend please~ And be sure to show her how well you can dance~!" Maia obediently pirouetted over and daintily tapped Clara with their mace, painted to look like a wand. Clara felt her superficial wounds close up, and Maia danced away, completely mindless.

The Demoness laughed. "Ahh, so adorable, are they not~? Do you not love what I have done with your friends, little mouse~?" Clara just shrugged weakly. "...I guess..." The Demoness looked taken aback, almost offended at Clara's lack of reaction. "...Hmph. Well, anyway, you retrieved my Gem, I assume~?" Clara nodded and reached into her bag. This was her last chance to fight back... But it was pointless. Even if she still had Drossie's lucky firebead, it wouldn't do anything to the Demoness. She held out the Gem, and the Demoness smiled happily. "Ahh, finally~! I was getting quite tired of being without this~!" She happily plucked it from Clara's hand, caressing it possessively. "Ah, so nice to feel this again~! ...Mmm, a bit scuffed though... Just like you, little mouse~ I must say, I expected you to fare far better against all those traps from what my toys told me~!" She happily stepped over to her dresser and was taking out something when Clara murmured a response. "...It wasn't the traps... They were mostly sprung anyway..." The Demoness paused and looked over at her curiously.  "Hm? What do you mean, the traps were already sprung?"

Clara didn't want to continue talking, she just wanted to go... But... the demoness seemed curious, and she likely wouldn't let her leave without elaboration... And maybe talking about it would make her feel a bit better... So she took a deep breath, and began to explain. "...Someone got to the temple before me... They sprung most of the traps... And stole the Gem before I got there..." The Demoness seemed quite shocked. "Someone else stole it? Who?" Clara sat down on a footstool, her body still aching, and continued. "They retrieved most of the dead bodies... I think so they couldn't be tracked... But they weren't prepared for the storm either... And I found where one of them slipped... Figured out where they were heading... Heading to Palkinell... Nearby city... So I followed what little trail I could find... It was... So exhausting... So painful..." She could feel the bruise on her shoulder throbbing, and regretted making fun of Pyotr after he got his bruise... But what was one more regret on the pile...?

Clara elected not to describe all of the difficulties and injuries she suffered tracking the thieves. The Demoness wouldn't care, and she really wanted to just forget all if it. "...When I arrived at the city, nobody was willing to talk... I almost lost the trail... And I... I almost snapped... I almost... I threatened to kill a man out of desperation when he wouldn't answer me... And I might have followed through..." She was tearing up, and the Demoness lightly commented, "I admire the limits you would push for your friends, little mouse~" Clara felt sick having a demon compliment her for almost killing a man... "I... I didn't kill him... He told me eventually... Told me they were a cult... Told me where they were meeting, beneath a warehouse... I went down there... And... and they were doing a ritual... With the gem.. It was almost done... A portal was opening... I... I almost froze up again... I was to scared to move... But I... I remembered my friends... And I snuck down there... I switched out the gem for Drossie's firebead... But it was too late... The firebead exploded, but the... The demon still came through... The firebead damaged him a bit, I think... I think it broke his horn... And he saw me before I could get away... The demon grabbed me, and then... He... He..." Clara shuddered, "...He crushed my horn in revenge... It hurt so bad... I thought I was going to die... And all my friends would die too! And I panicked! So I... I stabbed him." 

Clara was beginning to cry. "I don't like hurting people... Even demons... I didn't even think it would do anything, but I just had to do something! But... It did hurt him. All the blessings Maia gave my dagger... All the magic Drossie put into it... All to save Pyotr... It hurt him a lot... I don't think he expected it either, and I kept stabbing, and stabbing, and stabbing... And he kept screaming, and it felt like my head would split open... And then he stopped screaming, and I think I passed out from the pain, and when I woke up... Everything was gone. All the cultists had left... And the demon was... It was so disgusting... A-Anyway, I had the Gem... So... So I came back here... And that's why the Gem was scuffed... Sorry..." As Clara finished, she looked up at the Demoness, expecting her to have stopped paying attention by now. But instead, she looked to be deep in thought about it, a strange expression on her face. Clara dropped her head back down, but then heard the Demoness murmur something to her. "...You killed my brother..."

It felt like a knife had been thrust between her ribs. A deathly chill ran through her body, and she found herself unable to breathe. She had made everything so much worse. Everything would have been okay if she didn't offer to help, they would have all just been mindless toys but at least they would be happy, but now she had done something to truly anger the Demoness and they were all going to be tortured for eternity and it was all her fault! She looked back up to try and plead in vain, expecting to see a look of pure rage on the Demoness's face... But she was smiling. A gentle... Compassionate... Smile... "I'm sorry you got wrapped up in our family drama, little mouse~" Seeing Clara's stunned, shaking face, she laughed softly. "In fact, I believe you deserve a Special Reward~" Her eyes began to glow and swirl a deep, hypnotizing orange.

The second Clara saw the Demoness's eyes, she couldn't look away. Even from across the room, the swirling light filled her vision, pulling her gaze deeper and deeper. Her head was held in place, as if by a soft embrace. Her pain melted away, replaced by an alluring, relaxing comfort. Despite everything, a smile appeared on her face. The Demoness gently gestured up. "Stand up, little mouse~" Her voice was soft and gentle, yet rang in Clara's head like a church bell. Clara stood up, her body swaying slightly. The Demoness beckoned. "Come Closer, Little Mouse~" The enchanting suggestion only strengthened the command, and Clara's body began walking forward as if pulled along by a friend. She only fell deeper into the swirling orange bliss with every step, her mind and movements growing ever softer and more relaxed. The Demoness laughed beautifully. "Ahh, you truly deserve this reward, little mouse~! I haven't consumed a soul for far too long~!" Deep under the orange bliss, a pang of terror emerged. She was going to... Eat Clara's soul...? No... No... This wasn't the deal, was it...? "...mmmngh... no... wanakeebmysoll..." The Demoness giggled musically and put a claw over her mouth. "Shhhhh... No need to speak, little mouse~... Just keep approaching me, approaching your Special Reward~" The shushes pulsed through Clara's body, almost sending her to sleep as she walked. She was helpless to resist the blissful commands, the comforting orange glow. Her soul was fated to be eaten... What kind of reward was that...? Though... She had heard that the kiss of a Succubus was one of unfathomable bliss. And if this Demoness was so powerful, hers must be even better... Perhaps that was why she considered it a reward... One moment of unattainable bliss, before becoming her pet for eternity... And deep down, she wasn't even sure she didn't want that...

As Clara stumbled sleepily into the Demoness's arms, she was embraced gently and picked up like a little animal... A little mouse... The Demoness carried her over to the bed and sat down, Clara comfortably in her lap, staring happily up into her mind-melting eyes. "Are you ready for your Special Reward, little mouse~?" She puckered up, and Clara knew this was it. All of this, all this pain, for her soul to be eaten. But as everything flashed before her eyes in the hypnotic vortex, she realized... She was fine with this. She had done all she could. And if the Demoness was true to her word, then her friends were finally safe. And if her friends were safe, then... Clara was happy to sacrifice her soul for that. They would understand... They would be safe now... So she readied herself for the kiss that would take her soul... The Demoness leaned closer... Closer... Closer... And her lips

Touched

Clara's 

Forehead. 

Immediately, relaxation like nothing she had felt before flooded Clara's body and soul. Everything dissolved into soft, dark comfort, as if she were floating in a sea of warm silk. But it didn't feel like her soul was gone... Just... Sleepy... She was so sleepy... A soft giggle flowed through the dark silken sea, followed by a motherly whisper. "Shhhh... You've had such a long month, little mouse~... You deserve to Sleep~" And everything faded into a soft, dreamy darkness...

It was like her dream in the flower field... It was nothing but comfort... Nothing to cause her worry, nothing to hurt her or her friends... And no choices to make. No decisions to regret, no options to become paralyzed over, no problems to worry about... Just simple, straightforward, relaxation. And now, in the arms of this terrifying Demoness... She was finally free from it all... No thoughts, no worries, no choices... Just comfort... Truly the best Reward for her...