CHAPTER 63: THE CRIMSON GIFT

Maribelle slides deeper into the steaming water with a long, guttural groan of pleasure. The bathhouse’s marbled walls echo softly with her sigh as the scalding bath melts the ache from every joint and bruised muscle. Her skin glistens, flushed red from heat, but she doesn’t care. After the morning’s brawl with a battalion of berserking minotaurs, this felt like a return to the womb.

Across the large circular tub sits Vexena, her slender frame nestled into the bubbling surface with serene poise. The water boils gently around her. Steam curling off her pale skin like ribbons of incense. Her power radiates even now, heating the entire bathhouse without effort.

"Too hot?" Vexena asks, lifting one graceful brow.

Maribelle only moans in delight, slumping deeper until only her nose and eyes peeked above the surface.

The demon queen chuckles, a rare musical sound. "I’ll take that as a compliment."

"You’d be right," Maribelle sighs, pulling her arms over the tub’s lip. "You know... I don’t think I’ve ever hurt this good."

Vexena nods, her expression thoughtful. "You held your own beautifully. I haven’t seen a mortal move like that in a very long time."

Maribelle smirks, eyes gleaming with a bit of mischief. "Think I could scratch Eris?"

The queen barks a laugh. "Perhaps in a few centuries."

Maribelle chuckles too, her exhaustion momentarily forgotten. They lounge there in a companionable silence, broken only by the crackle of scented candles and the gentle hiss of steam.

After a while, conversation returns. Vexena asks about life in the Kingdom of Elthrea, about the capital, about Maribelle’s childhood. In turn, Maribelle pries about the Queen’s conquests, curious about the battles that had earned her the title of the Crimson Woe.

For the first time, they laugh together. Not as prisoner and captor, but as two mothers, two women from wildly different worlds, finding common ground in shared strength and buried pain.

But that delicate balance swiftly shatters when the bathhouse doors explode open with a bang and Virelle soars into the room, shrieking with joy.

"CANNONBAAALLLL!"

She hits the water with a geyser of steam and splashes that soaks both older women.

Maribelle, almost delirious from the heat, instinctively leaps toward Virelle, scooping the little demon-kin into her arms and dunking her repeatedly as the princess shrieks and laughs.

But then Maribelle freezes in place, realising she wasn’t playing with Vuvi.

She blinks, realization hitting her like cold water. She turns to see Vexena’s amused gaze, her lips curled into a knowing smile.

"I’m sorry," Maribelle says sheepishly, setting the giggling Virelle down.

Virelle pouts. "Why’d you stop?! Do it again!"

Maribelle lifts a brow to Vexena who answers with a soft smile and nod.

With a shrug, Maribelle grins and dives after Virelle, and the two resume their roughhousing. Laughter fills the room. For a moment, the world’s worries evaporates with the steam.

"You were SO COOL!" Virelle exclaims suddenly, floating next to Maribelle. "The way you punched that last minotaur’s teeth into orbit? AWESOME!"

Maribelle gives a sheepish grin. "That one did have it coming."

"What are you fighting next time?" Virelle asks eagerly.

Maribelle leans in close, brushing a pink curl from the girl’s forehead, and whispers, "Hydras."

Virelle gasped, then screamed, "HYDRAS?!"

Maribelle holds up three fingers.

"THREE HYDRAS?!" Virelle flipS backward in the water, shrieking with delight.

The next morning...

Maribelle stands once more in the arena, her muscles pulsing beneath her enchanted armor. She rotates her shoulders and rolls her neck, eyes locked forward. Heat shimmering from the sandy floor as an ominous hum filled the air.

Across the platform stands Eris, her sleek black armor gleaming in the sunlight. Her voice rings out like a blade unsheathed.

"State your equipment."

"Tower shield. Broad sword," Maribelle replies, her voice calm.

With a flick of Eris’ wrist, the desired weapons manifest mid-air and drops into Maribelle’s grasp. The moment she touched them, raw magical energy surges through her limbs. The shield pulses like a second heart while the sword vibrates in her hand.

High above, Vexena and Virelle watch from their podium. The little girl bounces with excitement, fists clenched at her chest.

"Ready?" Vexena calls down.

Maribelle smirks. "Always."

The queen snaps her fingers.

Three portals burst open above the arena, crackling with magical energy. With guttural screeches, three monstrous hydras drop from the skies, landing with bone-shaking weight.

Each beast stands more than thirty feet tall, all gnashing teeth, snapping necks, and steaming scales.

The battle begins.

Maribelle charges the first beast. Her shield deflects a triple-headed bite as she ducks beneath their jaws and slammed her sword into one thick neck. Scales crack.

She rolls aside, launches a stream of lightning bolts then parries a tail swipe, and counters with a flurry of strikes. The second hydra lunges, Maribelle turns just in time to brace with her shield. The force sends her skidding across the arena.

She snarls and launches back.

As the battle wore on, each head she severed regrew slower than before. She adapts quickly, cleaving necks near the root, burning wounds with intense fire magic, staggering the beasts with her shield.

One hydra falls.

Then the second.

The third charges her full-force.

Maribelle, breath ragged, body bruised, fought like a storm. But as she cut down the final head, two more appeared. Her shield arm falters. Her leg buckles. She crashes into the cratered earth.

The hydra’s remaining heads surge upward.

It opens all three jaws.

A glowing orb of fire forms .

And then—

"Hey!" Virelle’s voice rings out.

She appears in a flash, floating between Maribelle and the hydra. Her little wand raised.

The hydra fires.

Virelle slaps the fireball aside like a buzzing insect.

The entire arena goes silent.

She narrows her glowing crimson eyes at the hydra, aura igniting like wildfire.

"I SAID... back off!"

Her presence explodes outward. Even the monster flinches and takes a step back.

Virelle marches up to the beast, taps it once with her wand... and it vanishes.

In its place sits a large, three-headed teddy bear, blinking dumbly.

With a laugh, she kicks it across the arena like a football, then sprints to Maribelle’s side.

"You okay?! That was SO COOL!"

Maribelle coughs a laugh. "I... might have broken a few things."

Virelle pouts and taps her with the wand.

With a shiver of light, every injury vanishes in an instant.

Vexena appears in a puff of crimson smoke, Eris beside her.

Virelle runs into her mother’s arms. "Auntie Maribelle is SO COOL! You have to give her one!"

Maribelle blinks. "One what?"

Vexena smirks. "She’s not ready."

"Ready for what?"

The queen’s smirk deepens. "Let me show you."

She reaches out and gently touches Maribelle’s forehead.

The world blinks.

----------------------------

They stand in a realm of black and red. A crimson haze shimmering all around them, and the air buzzes with unnatural energy. Maribelle gasps and drops to her knees as the sheer magical weight presses down on her body.

"Where...?"

"My heart-core," Vexena says.

Above them floats a massive, glowing crystal pulsing with living crimson light. Pure magic essence weeps from it like tears.

"This is where I store my true power," Vexena says softly. "Pieces of it fuel my generals. And my daughters."

She raises her hand.

The crystal descends with a hum.

With the tip of an outstretched fingernail, she carves off a nearly invisible speck.

She kneels before Maribelle and holds it out.

"Want a taste?"

Maribelle stares at it, then nods.

Vexena places it gently on her tongue.

In an instant, magic explodes in Maribelle’s veins.

She stands upright with a gasp, her skin glowing, sparks dancing across her limbs. Her body trembles... but not in pain.

In power.