Realm of Token

“I want to get into the infirmary,” Lenix said as firmly as he could. The guard wasn’t all too intimidating, but he wasn’t about to start a fight. Especially when the Queen was around.

"Well, too bad." The guard said with a shake of his head. "Only wounded fighters are allowed inside, and they're not released until the Queen says so." 

Lenix huffed, looking from the infirmary doors to the doors he had just barged through. While Jester was annoying and easily got on his nerves, he couldn't let her die. It was injustice, really. He wasn't big on politics or saving lives or being a hero. Far from it, actually. But something inside of him was pushing him to do the right thing. And doing the right thing meant saving the Demi-Demon.

The infirmary doors loomed in his eyesight, as if taunting him. He growled quietly and turned back to the guard, crossing his arms. It was clear that the only way to get to Jester would be to come up with a quick lie. He wasn't the best at lying, however. No matter how hard he tried, Zadak was always able to tell when he wasn't being truthful. Most Demons were experts at lying right from their birth, but Lenix had never mastered that skill. But it never hurt to try.

"I...uh...the Queen sent me. To...check on the injured Demons." Lenix slowly muttered, forcing his poker face to remain glued to his face without faltering.

The guard raised an eyebrow, but didn't seem to fully believe him. He glanced from the door to Lenix, his fingers twitching against the handle of the ax in his hand. "Why would the queen need to check on them? She said she'd come herself to make sure everything was in order."

"She...is busy watching the fights...obviously." Lenix said, straightening his posture. "Do you question the queen's word?"

"Well, no, but..."

"Then open the doors and let me through. I need to make sure everyone is still breathing. They've been out for a while, and the Queen would like to know that they are okay." Lenix added an edge of authority to his voice, and it actually made him smile to see the nervous look on the guard's face. No one wanted to go against what the Queen said, after all.

"O-okay. Let me unlock these for you." The guard pulled out a ring of keys and fumbled with it for a moment before finding the correct key moving around the counter, nervously unlocking the door.

Lenix walked inside, making sure to look around carefully. He didn't want to seem too eager, after all. That would make him suspicious.

The infirmary was a large room with multiple beds lined up in rows, a few with occupants that had either lost the fights or suffered severe wounds. The familiar stench of blood made him wheezy, and he quickly shooed the guard away and shut the door with a clang.

Jester perked up from where she sat on one of the rock hard beds, her eyes widening. "Lenix? Hi!" She bounded over to him, her tail wagging like a dog. "How'd you get in here?"

"Don't get all excited, I have something to tell you." Lenix looked around to make sure no one was looking at them, then pulled her to a corner of the infirmary, lowering his voice. "I overheard the Queen speaking with one of her little lackeys. She's gonna kill all the Demons that lose the arena, which includes you."

Jester blinked, then narrowed her eyes, a confused look on her face. "But...why would she do that? They're all from her own village. Doesn't she care about them?"

"I don't think so. She only wants the strongest ones. She's gonna get rid of the ones that aren't strong enough for her army." Lenix whispered, occasionally looking behind him as if someone would be eavesdropping. "It's crazy. I've never seen her act like this before. She must really want to build up her army, I guess."

Jester stared at him, her mind racing. "That...is really bad." She said, a feeling of dread washing over her. "We can't let her do that. What if she does something really bad? Like, really bad?"

Lenix shrugged. "Who knows? She's not even allowed to leave her village, so it's not like she has any real power. The most she can do is give orders. Nothing more than that. The best we can do is warn the Demons that have lost their matches.

"Why can't she leave?"

"It's part of the peace treaty she signed with the Elven King. She's not allowed to enter Elven territory, and Elves aren't allowed to enter Demon territory."

"But what about her army? Why would she need one if she's not even allowed to leave?" Jester asked, looking wildly confused. "It makes no sense."

"It's politics, Jester. Things don't have to make sense, as long as they're logical enough." Lenix said, tapping her forehead. "Which is why you'll never understand it."

"Don't be rude!" Jester tapped his forehead in return. "What about Kurja?"

"I don't think the queen will kill her. She won, so she's in the clear." Lenix crossed his arms, releasing a breath as he looked around at the other injured Demons. "I can't say the same for these sad sacks."

"She'll kill them? But why? They fought just as hard as we did." She protested, looking around wildly.

"They lost, Jester. They're useless to the Queen. She has no need for them."

"That's terrible! How could she do such a thing?" Jester gasped.

"Because she's the Demon Queen, and she does what she wants." Lenix shrugged.

"No, we can't let her do that! We have to help them!" Jester said.

"I know, but what could we possibly do to stop the inevitable?" He asked, looking at her with a frown. "Nothing can be done to change the Queen's mind once it's made up."

Jester stared down at the cracked floor, thinking hard about how to fix this situation. She didn't even pay attention to the thought of her engaging the Queen in combat. That would end miserably. She knew she was nowhere near as strong as the Queen, so she tossed that thought aside. Her mind raced, and she felt panicked. She had no idea who she could fix what was going on. It seemed far out of her control. She couldn’t understand why the Queen would want to kill her own kind for such a selfish reason. Jester had grown up believing that the Queen loved and cherished each of her children. Her own mother had read her stories before bed about the great deeds that the Queen had done for Bellcrest. Not once had anything been mentioned about her killing those that didn’t live up to her impossibly high standards. What confused her even more was that most of the Demons in the infirmary weren't even injured or harmed in any way, they had just been bested in battle. And what irked her was that she had won the fight she had participated in with Kurja, but the win was snatched right out from under her.

Jester turned to Lenix. "We have to stop her! We can't let her do this! These people did nothing wrong. Maybe...maybe we can get to Kurja and tell her what the Queen plans to do."

"That's impossible. Kurja's under the Queen's gaze, there's no way we'd get to her without the Queen seeing." Lenix stuffed his hands into his pockets, blowing out a pressed breath. "Face it, kid. There's nothing we can really do."

"Well, I'm not a quitter like you!" Jester huffed. "I'm going to find her by myself."

"You'll get yourself killed." Lenix said with a heavy eye roll.

"I can take care of myself. You can go back to working on that stupid workshop if you want." She brushed past him and stomped up to the infirmary doors, her steps heavy and her stride determined.

Lenix sighed, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. "I wish I could have that type of confidence." He mumbled, shaking his head. "Maybe then, I'd actually make something of myself."

The guard blocking the infirmary doors stiffened when Jester approached, folding his board arms over his chest. His firm gaze looked her up and down as if to guess what she was after. She stood on her tiptoes and looked past him, scanning the door for any sign of a weakness, then she settled back on her heels and looked at the guard. "I'd like to get through, please."

The guard laughed in a rather unattractive manner, sounding more like a snort than an actual laugh. "Like I already told you, no one leaves until the Queen comes in. Go have a seat and wait like everyone else."

Jester huffed, then took a large step back. She knew what she was doing was risky, and she knew that Kurja would kill her for even thinking what she was thinking. But at the moment, she didn't have another choice. She needed to find a way to get to her sister, and the only way to do that would be to get through the infirmary. As risky as it was, she didn't have much of a choice in the matter.

She glanced up at the ceiling, watching the lights flicker and sway in their place. The entire stadium was made out of stone and cement, so it wouldn't be hard to break or crack. With just enough force, the whole thing could collapse if she so wished it to.

Looking back at the guard, she drew on her biggest smile. "Sorry, but now I'm kinda in a hurry."

"What?" The guard tilted his head, confusion visible on his face. But it didn't last long, as that confusion was immediately replaced by fear and shock. His pupils nearly shrank to the size of an ant as Jester charged, leaping into the air feet-first towards the doors. The guard shrieked and ducked down, and her foot smashed into the wooden double doors with a loud crack. The wood splintered and snapped, and the doors swung open with a thundering crash. Jester landed gracefully on her feet and turned on her heel, rushing back inside without so much as a second thought. Her wide smile seemed deeply out of place, considering the circumstances.

"Come on, Lenix! Let's get to Kurja!" She shouted, waving her arms above her head like a flag flapping in the air.

His eyes were wide as he surveyed the scene before him. "Did she just..."

The guard stood up slowly, shaking. He turned to Lenix, who was looking back and forth between Jester and the guard like a confused puppy. He gave a shrug, his smile still wide as ever, then quickly followed after her. The other Demons seemed to catch on and darted for the exit, leaving the guard and the nurses standing utterly confused by what had just happened in the span of a few seconds. The door lay a splintered and broken mess at their feet, and they simply stared at it, unsure of what to do or say.

Jester and Lenix darted down the corridor, their feet hitting the hard cement ground like a thundering horse. They could hear the shouts of the nurses and the guard behind them, but they weren't worried. All Jester could think about was getting to Kurja before it was too late. If they didn't make it in time, it would all be over for both of them. If the Queen wanted something done, it always got done, no matter what it was. Jester had never actually been afraid before, and right now, she felt extremely afraid, but more for Kurja than herself. Kurja had worked so hard to get to where she was, and Jester wouldn't let it be taken away from her.

"How far away is the arena?" Jester asked breathlessly. "I could have sworn it was close by. Did it get moved?"

"Of course not, that's ridiculous. Why would they-" Lenix slammed to a halt, his boots skidding along the ground. Jester slammed into his back, causing him to stumble forward several steps, swinging his arms frantically at his sides in order to prevent himself from actually falling to the ground.

"What the hell was that for?" Jester cried, rubbing her nose where it had collided with his back. "We have to keep going!"

Lenix was staring at something in front of him, his eyes wide in shock. When Jester failed to follow his gaze, he grabbed her face and jerked her face forward, towards the end of the corridor where it split into two different hallways, one leading directly into the arena where the clashing of metal on metal and roars of victory or loss rang sharply through the air. There, at the end of the corridor, stood the Queen, as tall and regal as ever, speaking with a Demon much shorter than her.

Jester gasped much louder than necessary, causing Lenix to tense. "The Queen?!"

"Shut up!" Lenix rammed into her side, hiding the two of them behind a pillar against the wall. 

Jester was silent for once in her life, which was truly a surprise to Lenix, because he had expected her to scream like a little child at the sight of her new enemy, who had been in the presence for mere seconds. Peeking around the pillar, Lenix double checked to make sure that the tall woman he was seeing was in fact the Queen. And from the long silk dress, copper hair, amber eyes, and elegant posture, he knew his original guess was correct.

The Demon Queen, Reese, stood with her hands folded in front of her, her dark red lips pulled up into a smile that looked more like a scowl than anything else. Her hair fell down past her shoulders in a sea of copper, her eyes glowing darkly in the brightness of the corridor. She was speaking with someone, and the conversation seemed to be fairly engaging, as Reese kept moving her hands or nodding her head. Their voices weren't shushes as if they were speaking in secrets, but from their distance, Jester and Lenix heard very little of their conversation.

Lenix, keeping a tight hold on Jester's arm, leaned forward slightly to hear what was being said. He had to strain his ears to hear what the two Demons were saying, and he felt his eyebrows furrow in concentration.

"...and it's far better for this economic system, anyway." Reese was saying, her voice graceful and smooth like fresh honey straight from a beehive. "The people are so much happier now that they aren't spending all their gold on pointless weapons or armor that won't even save their lives on the battlefield."

The shorter Demon, a skinny Demi-Demon, from the looks of her, shook her head in disbelief. "It's a wonder. Truly amazing, in fact."

"Wait, that voice sounds familiar," Jester whispered, her brows furrowing. "Lemme get a better look."

"What? No-" Lenix protested, but Jester was already shoving her way over him to peer around the pillar. Her eyes traced the Reese's figure, then shifted towards the shorter Demi-Demon. She had red hair, a slim frame, and the type of posture that would put the most elite soldiers to shame. But what stood out the most was the long staff held on a slim sheath along her back.

Jester nearly choked on air and pressed her back against the wall, her eyes wide as she turned to Lenix. "That's Kurja!"

"Who?"

"Kurja! My sister! She's talking with the Demon Queen! She must have a meeting with her or something, which is rare. I've never seen her have a meeting with anyone except Zadak, maybe...and a few professors and stuff. Is the arena over?"

"I think so, they never usually last very long." Lenix shrugged, looking back towards the two women. "Maybe your sister has been accepted into the army."

Jester grinned widely and nodded excitedly, bouncing on the tips of her toes. "Yeah, that's gotta be it!" Then her smile faltered, and she pressed herself back against the wall. "But...if she got accepted...that means I really didn't do very well...and the Queen is still going to try and kill us."

"Us? Oh, no, no, no. YOU. Not me. I have nothing to do with this." Lenix said quickly, shaking his head.

"Shut up, you're my partner! That means we're in this together!" Jester slapped his arm, frowning.

Lenix winced and rubbed his arm, glaring down at her. "Partner? When did that come into your head?"

"When you came to the infirmary to warn me. It was so sweet." Jester grinned, then leaned over and planted a sloppy kiss to his nose. "Thanks for helping me out, by the way."

"Hey, hey, no need to get all lovey-dovey just because I helped you. And no kisses! I don't want to catch any diseases!" Lenix sputtered, immediately rubbing his nose as if she had infested it with germs.

"I want to commend you on your performance in the arena, Miss Kere." Reese's voice broke through their argument, making them both freeze in place like statues. They both, while shoving each other, poked their heads around the pillar to see her better, their ears pricked for eavesdropping.

"It was nothing, your Majesty," Kurja responded with a small smile, bowing her head slightly. "I only did what I could to win."

"Well, you did very well. I'm surprised, actually. Most Demi-Demons can't even handle a Deity or Havoc Demon without assistance. You were able to defeat one on your own, which is very impressive."

"Thank you, your Majesty. It means a lot to hear that." Kurja said, smiling wider.

Reese chuckled, reaching out to lightly touch the tips of Kurja's horns, a rather intimate gesture that caused the female Demi-Demon to tense slightly, but she relaxed after a moment. Jester and Lenix tilted their heads to the side, confusion the only readable expression on their faces. "I look forward to seeing you fight in the future. Now, please excuse me. I have some...business to attend to." She turned away and began walking, her heels clicking loudly.

"I hope she doesn't mean us..." Jester whispered, tightening her grip on the pillar.

"Wait, your Majesty!" Kurja spoke loudly, raising her hand and hesitantly taking a step forward. "If it's not too much of a problem, may I ask a question?"

Reese paused in her stride, turning to glance over her shoulder. She raised a thin brow, her red lips curved up into a smirk. "Yes?"

Kurja's confidence faltered, and she lowered her hand. Her tail swished nervously behind her, and she fumbled with her hands, twisting her fingers together. She gulped, and with a small sigh, she looked up at the queen. "Well...I was wondering about my sister. The one I fought with? She resembles me, in a way. I...I hope it's not too much to request, but I was wondering if I could remove her from the infirmary and bring her home with me? I know my mother and father are expecting us home, no doubt for a celebration of some sort."

Jester beamed, slapping Lenix on the arm in excitement. "She's gonna bail me out!"

Lenix rolled his eyes. "Just because she's bailing you out doesn't mean we're gonna spend any more time together.

Jester grumbled and turned back to her sister and the Queen.

Reese seemed hesitant, but her composure never faltered from a complete professional. "I'm sorry, but the infirmary is not in the position for removing its patients. They are not permitted to leave until their injuries have been properly healed. That is a rule that is not to be broken."

"I know that, but-"

"No buts, Miss Kere."

Kurja opened her mouth, but closed it, sighing softly. "Yes, your Majesty."

Reese nodded once before turning away. Her footsteps clicked loudly as she disappeared into the darkness of another hallway, leaving Kurja standing in silence.

Jester gaped, her eyes wide. "What?! That's stupid!" She whirled around and faced Lenix. "I thought you said she was going to help me!"

He stared at her. "I never said that!"

"I did," Jester snapped, pouting. "I just pretended that you said it."

"Don't be stupid. Come on, we need to get out of here before-"

The shouts of a very familiar guard echoed towards them, and they both turned down the way they'd come to see the infirmary guard, along with the guard that had been posing as a receptionist, barreling towards them with murderous looks on their faces.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Jester shouted, throwing her hands in the air.

"Run!" Lenix grabbed Jester's arm and sprinted forward, pulling her behind him.

Kurja jerked and snapped her head towards the sounds that had erupted from the hallway, her eyes narrowing. Her sister's voice echoed off the stone walls, bouncing back to her, and she was quick to identify the voice as Jester's. Her eyes landed on her sister and Lenix, and her face morphed into strong confusion. She saw the guards chasing them, and she understood what was going on. Jester had used her powers. That was the only explanation. And now, they were running for their lives.

"Jester?" She called, but her voice bridged on hesitation, like she wasn't sure if it really was Jester.

Jester tried to stop by digging her heels into the ground, but Lenix dragged her past Kurja as they ran, his boots slamming on the cement ground, sending a booming echo throughout the hallway. He looked over his shoulder, eyes widening as he saw the guards quickly gaining on them. He didn't bother stopping as he pulled Jester through a door leading to the outside, and she stumbled as she nearly tripped over her own feet.

"Make a portal to anywhere but here." He demanded without wasting a second. He was tense, his eyes scanning the environment around them.

"Uh, I didn't hear a 'please' with that request." Jester placed her hands on her hips like a mother scolding her children.

"I don't give a damn, make a frickin' portal!" Lenix shouted, startling a few Demons walking by on the sidewalk. "We're basically wanted now, and I don't want to stay here any longer to find out what happens to us."

"So bossy! I wanted to talk to Kurja!" Jester snapped back at him, but she huffed regardless and held her open palms towards the ground, a red glow bubbling to life and forming a perfect circle underneath their feet.

Lenix sighed. "We'll just have to wait until another time."

"If there ever is one." Jester muttered under her breath. Just before the guards could burst through the double doors, they fell through the portal, the feeling of weightlessness taking over them.

When Kurja finally did catch up, the only thing she found was an open door and a perfect circle of red in the center of the gravel walkway that slowly seeped into the ground. Panting, she stepped forward, her mouth open in shock and confusion.

What just happened here? What is going on?

***

Jester fell out of the portal onto her back with a thud, and Lenix landed directly on top of her. Leaves puffed out around them, and the sudden chirps of birds and the squeak of field mice filled the air. He let out a groan and rolled over to his side, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head. His eyes were blinded momentarily, and he winced.

"Where the hell are we?" He grumbled to himself. "Jester?" He looked around, blinking rapidly as the colors around him began to blend together. "Where'd you go?"

A muffled voice responded, and he jumped and looked down, realizing that Jester was underneath him like a carpet. He quickly stood up, brushing off his pants. She sat up slowly, her hair messy and sticking out in various places, and she looked up at him with a confused expression.

"Why were you lying on me?" She asked, brushing dirt off her face.

"Don't act like I did it on purpose." Lenix huffed, pulling a twig from his hair. "Next time, tell me where you plan to take us before you drop us off somewhere random."

"Well, excuse me for trying to escape a group of angry Demon soldiers." She stood up and dusted off her backside. She then let her arms fall to her sides as she looked around them. "Whoa."

Trees nearly as tall as mountains surrounded them like a great wall, sunlight just barely filtering through, creating little spotlights on the fresh green grass and short, stubby mushrooms. The forest was dense and full of life, as many creatures called it their home. Birds chirped and squirrels chattered, and insects crawled along the ground with their busy lives. The sun was high in the sky, which meant it was about noon or later, which struck Jester as strange, since she remembered that it had been dark in Bellcrest during the arena. Her ears pricked as she caught wind of hundreds of different sounds, and her body tensed up from all the stimulation.

"This is amazing! Where are we? Is this Bellcrest? It's so pretty!" Jester smiled widely as she began walking down a small path that had been cut through the trees by the passing of time.

"No, it's not Bellcrest. We're somewhere else." Lenix muttered, watching as she ran towards the small pond nearby and sat down beside it, her eyes wide as she looked at the water. Her reflection bubbled and warped, making her giggle. "You mean you have no idea where you transported us to? I thought you were good at teleporting!"

She turned and stared at him. "Well, not really. But this isn't my fault."

"How is this not your fault? You opened the portal and made it bring us here!"

"Well, I didn't mean to! You rushed me!" She whined, pouting her lips.

Lenix threw his arms up in defeat. "Unbelievable." He then looked around at the surrounding area.

Then the feeling struck him. At first, he wasn't sure what it was. It was a strange, obscure feeling that he had never felt before, but in the deepest corners of his mind, he felt as if he had craved this feeling all his life. He felt the urge to just walk around and explore, to be one with nature and enjoy the fresh air. But he knew it was impossible to achieve, especially when they were stuck in a foreign place without any means of contacting anyone, and on top of that, they were Demons and possibly in Elven territory. But aside from all the negatives, one thought rang in his head like a church bell, jerking him into reality.

"I'm free," he said quietly, staring straight ahead with wide eyes. "I'm actually free."

"Huh? What do you mean, free?" Jester asked, looking up from the pond.

"I mean, I'm outside of Bellcrest. This is what I've been trying to do my whole life." Lenix explained in a quick voice, excitement in his tone. "I've always wanted to see what was outside of that damn town, but I never had the opportunity to go. So, for all intents and purposes, I am free."

"Well, that's great and all, but how do we get home?" Jester asked.

"Why would we want to go home?" Lenix answered honestly. He began to walk forward, stepping over large tree roots and dodging the thick bushes. "Screw Bellcrest. I'm never going back."

"What about Kurja?" Jester asked, jumping away from the pond. "We can't leave without her!"

"We're not leaving without her. We're just leaving Bellcrest." Lenix explained.

Jester blinked in confusion. "But...that's the same thing!"

"Look, you can go back if you want, but I'm not. She's not my sister." Lenix said with a simple shrug.

"Ugh, that's so selfish!" Jester cried, stomping her foot. "I can't believe you!"

"Hey, don't blame me for wanting to get out of that place. It's a prison, for God's sake!" Lenix retorted.

"Well, I'm not leaving without Kurja!" Jester firmly nodded her head, then turned and stomped along the old dirt path, her tail swishing back and forth furiously behind her.

"You'll never find your way home without me!" Lenix called after her, shaking his head.

She stopped in her tracks, realizing the truth in his words. She glanced back at him, then continued down the path with a huff. I don't need him, she told herself with a scoff. He's a jerk. I'll find my way home on my own. I know how to take care of myself.

She didn't have a clue where she was going or what she was doing. She had no idea how to get home, how to survive on her own, or even how to get out of the forest. It was her worst nightmare come true, and she was about to wake up in a cold sweat.

She tried to ignore the voice in her head telling her she would fail. She knew it would only hold her back, and that was the last thing she needed right now. She was already lost, confused, and angry at Lenix, and she couldn't afford to be weak. She had to prove herself, and that meant going off on her own. She had to be strong, brave, and capable. Just like her sister.

"Fine, then. I'll just go get some food all by myself." Lenix said. He was speaking to himself, but had raised his voice loud enough for Jester to hear. "And you'll just stay here, hungry and cold."

Jester paused, her foot hovering just above the dirt. She could almost feel his eyes burning holes into her back. She was tempted to turn around and go back with him, but her pride told her not to. But just as she started walking again, her stomach grumbled loudly, making her abruptly halt.

"Okay, fine." She finally said, turning around and stomping back towards him. "I'll go with you. But only because I'm hungry, not because of you."

He smirked. "Yeah, sure."

"Then we should totally get a cool crew together and march back to Bellcrest and demand to speak with the Queen." Jester said with a smile, walking with her head held high.

Lenix stared at her for a moment, his expression blank. "...What?"

"Oh, don't act like you haven't heard me talk about this before! I always say I want to do stuff like that!"

"Not to me! We barely know each other!"

"Don't be rude!"

"How am I being rude?"

"You're always rude!"

"And you're always stupid!"

"How dare you!"

How dare YOU!"

The two argued back and forth as they walked into the forest, their voices bouncing off of the trees and echoing throughout the entire area. The sound of their arguing carried through the air, causing annoyed birds to squawk and fly away in search of silence. Their argument would last for a long while, and when it finally ceased, only a deafening silence remained. But due to their arguing and bickering, they failed to notice an old, withered sign, chipped and worn from weather, nestled gently in a bed of dying grass.

On the sign was a map, one of a small town with some lamp posts and horse-drawn carriages. The wood of the sign was cracked, and the words were barely legible, but the sign read "Welcome to Edgerest."