Chapter Text
Earth may not remember many things, such as who her mother was or when Mr. Creator became her father figure. She doesn’t even remember what she had for breakfast most days or how many times she’s seen her favorite movies. But she’d argue that those things were never important. It doesn’t matter when Mr. Creator was her father figure because as far as she believes, he is her loving dad forever and always. He loved her so much that she didn’t recognize a need for anyone else. And due to her status, meals were made for her three times a day and were all suited for her best health and satisfaction. And Barbie movies are worth rewatching every time!
But if there was one day she remembered well, it was that of her eleventh birthday, the day she learned of her Royal duties.
Of course, only fitting of every young Ars Goetia Heir.
Since she had a half-brother that was born on the same day but earlier, she had a good half-day to prepare for Father’s arrival. Well, her biological father that is. She spent that morning bouncing around her room and palace in only her best attire. Her lady-in-waiting tied back her poufy white hair into a nice, braided bun and tied together with a purple ribbon. Her dress was a nice cream shade accented in purple trimmings, and so were her Mary Jane shoes. Her Waiting Lady did try to put makeup on the girl to cover the green patches on her face, but Earth kept rubbing it off. She rather liked the green with the blue that gave her her namesake.
After lunch, she waited in her room until Mr. Creator came to invite her in the throne room. Mr. Creator was one of Father’s servants, currently in charge in her mother’s place until Earth became grown enough and therefore would become her teacher in how to manage her domain. He is a floating octopus that happens to look like a brain, with how the head is three times as big as her whole body, with shorter tentacles, and wrinkles on his head that mimics the sulci and gyri of a brain. Once, when she asked him some time ago why he was called Creator, he merely laughed and rambled on about the merits of a name. It felt nerve-wracking as she was brought by her un-official father to meet her true father. And there he stood, shape shifting in a energy mass, before he solidified into a tall, water-based demon not unlike her. His hair became like her’s, but very short and a deep grey. His face and body was colored into precise halves, his left blue and the right white. His red eyes looked down at her and a sharp smile was formed. She couldn't help but notice the beak that hinted to his bird-features, which she somehow inherited none of.
“Hello young one!” he said in a cheerful tone.
“Good afternoon father!” Earth exclaimed back, clasping her hands together in front of her skirt. She then sees her father lean over, to what could only be his personal assistant, and whispers a question. The servant answers back in a similar hushed whisper and before Earth can question what Father asked, he just bellows out, “Earth! My latest heir to come to be in the Goetia family! Are you ready to learn your responsibilities and duties to fulfill for the betterment of Hell?
She smiled proudly and straightens her posture as she declared, “Yes I am Father!”
“Wonderful!” Father says. He then raises his hand to suddenly summon a wave of water around them. She suddenly feels an intense warmth as the water steams out around her, creating a bit of a foggy atmosphere. It’s a good thing she didn’t wear makeup after all: she’d have sweat it off and made a mess! She sees tree branches above her that release leaves that fall around her and swirls within the boiling water, turning it into a warm, light-brown color. She let a leaf flutter down on her hand as her father declares, “Earth Ars Goetia, you will be entrusted with the study of Tasseography, ever watching the leaves as they spell out the future and prophesies in tea. You will also come to know the various different plants used to make concoctions with special properties. All of which you will study with your Grimoire.”
He claps once and the imagery fades away before he holds out a book to her.
“Basically, you get to read tea leaves. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
Earth takes the book and looks it over in awe. The vision may be gone, but she can still smell the fragrance of the herbs this book must have been around. It is a deep purple book decorated with green vines grasping around the corners and edges of the book’s case. Opening it, she sees many recipes and prophetic symbols to interpret. She closes it and holds it close to her chest as she looks out to her father with a determined smile.
“It does! I’m more than ready to learn, Father!”
“Wonderful!” Father remarks before he goes to Mr. Creator. “I believe we have much to discuss.”
Both of her fathers then leave her alone in the throne room. Huh. This was now awkward.
After waiting for a bit, the nearby clock ticking 300 times, she then takes the cue to head back to her room to start studying. But not before asking her Waiting Lady to set up her new study with a kettle, an oven, a pot, and a sink. And to bring lots of tea supplies. She even asked for her own cup of tea to get started with application learning.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Earth looks over herself many times in the mirror, making sure she’s dressed all right. She’s wearing a dress with a magenta top and a dark purple skirt, which she’s not sure looks good on her. Since she’s long past the days of childhood, she was told to wear darker colors as a respective princess of Hell. And her Waiting Lady also insisted she wear purple to symbolize her royal status. She’s not sure if it clashes with her dark green and blue skin, but her maids say it looks rather complimentary. On the advice of Mr. Creator, she wears minimal jewelry: a silver necklace with three pearl beads (the center one being bigger), her silver vine-like bracelet, and some rings that she’s acquired from past admirers.
Today is her 21st birthday, and she’s ready for the next step in her life. She’s studied and worked at her craft so hard the past ten years, and she hopes it will be enough to finally start taking an active role in ruling her kingdom. So she makes her way to Mr. Creator’s study. Even though he’s not an official royal, he’s been managing the kingdom ruling along with the other advisors. Meanwhile, she had just been maintaining the gardens and tea manufacturing, letting her father be the public figure and deciding head in official affairs of business. So she’s drafted up some new ideas in a notebook to expand the empire she’s to inherit and brings it along, with her grimoire of course, to show her father.
Knocking on the door, she steadies her resolve.
“Come in.”
Taking the cue, she enters the study to see him working at a mild pace, which he drops upon seeing her.
“Earth, my girl! Please, come on in!”
Earth closes the door and elegantly sits down with Mr. Creator at a tea table as he hovers lower to match her eye level. A moment is made to disperse finger foods as Earth prepares a flavored blend of a fruitier flavoring paired with vanilla.
“I hear you have something for me, don’t you?”
Earth perks up and takes out her notebook. “Yes I have! I believe I’m now ready for my full responsibilities!”
“Ready? What makes you say that?”
Oh boy, he’s already not convinced, she thinks to herself. Earth shuffles a little in her seat, but maintains a pleasant smile.
“Well, remember when you told me three years ago that I needed to know how to expand and plan out our empire’s future before I can take over?” Mr. Creator nods. “Well, I’ve gone ahead and done it! I’ve studied and have come up with several plans and fail safes! Along with the risks and potential benefits of each!”
She hands her notebook over to Mr. Creator and awaits with an eager attention to see if he’ll finally deem her work perfect. He’s always praised her efforts, but it was ultimately never quite enough fer him to feel confident enough to pass down the role. But now, she’s done it… right? She must have!
She hears him sigh as he looks through her notebook. Finally, his eyes smile and he whistles for an attendant. He summons an attendant and tells them to take the notebook to his office before turning to Earth with a proud look.
“Good work Earth! You’ve truly outdone yourself! I’ll implement some of those ventures as soon as I can.”
“So I can take over now?!” She excitingly blurts out as she jumps up out of her chair.
He raises a tentacle to her. “Sweetheart, calm yourself…”
“Of course, pardon me!” She sits back down as she tries to still herself, barely able to keep in her excitement.
“Your plans are quite impressive, but don’t you want someone experienced to oversee it all?”
Oh no, she thinks before shoving her thoughts down. Maybe this won’t be what she thinks this is.
“Oh, well of course! As I execute it, you can lead me through the process and assist where needed. We can discuss changes and strategies on how to implement the arrangements.”
He softly smiles and reaches out to hold her hands, which she accepts.
“Dear… I think it’s best that you take things one at a time. You can continue making these plans and you can let me worry about doing it. Maybe I can even set you up with your own office so can have your fortune-telling gig.”
Earth almost wants to pull her hands away as her gut twists. It’s as clear as day: he doesn’t think she’s able to do this.
“…Father, but I DO already run that gig. I’ve worked hard to prepare to run the whole industry!” She stands back up with her hold on the tentacles becoming a bit tighter, “What else must I do to prove that I’m ready?!”
She can feel his disapproval before he rises up and gives her a disappointing look.
“Earth. One cannot just proclaim they are ready and expect to be given the throne so soon! There is a time and place!”
“But I’m 21 as of this morning! Law indicated that I could take over as soon as 16 if I felt like I was ready!”
“But you didn’t! You trusted me to ease your burden and help you transition smoothly, just as I do right now!
“Then why won’t you transition anything?! I’ve had to push for you to give me any chances to prove myself!”
“Would you rather I force you to take over completely?! To let you figure it out on your own?!”
As much as the statement shouldn't have surprised her, having it repeated for years, she still felt her shoulders lower in defeat, pausing in the hesitation to say anything back. As much as she wanted to take up her role, it was always scary to think of ruling with no direction. What if it really was too hard and she became the unthinkable: a failure?
Mr. Creator continues in a gentler tone. “Earth, you must know that there is more to ruling than just saying you want something. You need fight, effort, and determination. That is something I can only hope you’ll gain, as I cannot help you without casting you to be defenseless in your rulership.”
Earth’s gaze is pointed downwards as her body slackens. After all, Mr. Creator never lied about what he saw. What if she’s missing something?
And yet, those thoughts wouldn't lead to any progress progressing.
“But father…” she takes a breath and looks Mr. Creator in the eye, “I wish you’d trust me to learn all that. I’ve studied my grimoire! Why can’t I know how ruling works?”
“Dear…” Mr. Creator speaks in such a gentle tone, “Even the sinners and Hellborn know how business is done. I’ve watched you grow. You are a wonder to behold with a power to rival most others. But I don’t see your ability to understand such things about how to rule. Not now.”
Her heart twists as a burning settles in her heard, twisting in indignance. How would the lower ranks know more about such things than her?
Suddenly, a foreign thought pops up.
“Then… why don’t I join them?”
Mr. Creator's body jerks slightly in surprise as she starts on a rant.
“After all, if I spend the time to get to know my subjects, who know something about the whole ruling thing, then maybe I’ll learn more from them than studying in my room all day!”
“Earth-“
“And you’ve mentioned the value of respecting those lower in status than us, this could be a chance to do that too!”
“Earth!”
She freezes. He’s never yelled at her like this before. His tentacles move to hold both her hands in one grip. He moves as if to say something harsh, but he seems conflicted.
Like he’s… heavily thinking about it.
“Earth… my dear daughter. Is this what you truly want?”
Words fail to form in her head, not expecting him to actually take the idea. At least, not this fast. “Uh-I-?”
“Because this will be final. If you leave this palace with nothing but a small satchel of tools and peasant clothes, you will not return until four exterminations have passed.”
Three years?! And four rounds of heavenly killings?! The next one is this month! And only a small satchel? Old clothing? She didn’t think he would declare such things, especially off of a suggestion of hers! But his determined look and firm grasp on her hands means this is far from being any sort of jest.
“I-”
“And I would still expect you to keep up with your studies. After all, you’ll need that knowledge once you rule.”
Earth felt her heart stop a beat. She barely could keep up with the sudden realization.
“Wait! You don’t mean-?!”
“Yes. If you come back well and alive after the forth extermination, I will step down and merely be your advisor. I will give you the title and all the power and responsibilities that come with it. After all, if you have the will to make it through, I will know you have the resolve and pride to take over your rightful spot.”
Earth couldn’t help but look steadily into Mr. Creators’ eyes. Since he didn’t have a visible mouth, his eyes truly were the windows to his soul. One part of his proposal did stick out to her.
“Wait… if?”
“Yes. My dear, I won’t just banish you. You may come back before the time is up, but you must let me teach you at the pace I see fit. No more complaining or begging. You WILL listen to me and never question me again.”
Too many thought swarmed her mind. A final test? A solid declaration that she can rule? She even has an option to withdraw if she really wasn’t strong enough. But this whole deal, while too good to be true in theory, was a very dangerous expedition. She’d have to survive living amongst the sinners and Hellborn, who’d likely not be too kind or respectful to her as a higher rank. She was in Hell after all. She felt her heart struggle to beat at a steady pace as her mind soured with all the risks and rewards of this deal.
“I...”
“Make your decision now. After all, you came here to prove something to me. So do it.”
He pulls away his tentacles, but keeps one outstretched.
Ready to make a deal.
She felt herself hesitate. This was a big deal! She was very uncertain of what may come if she accepted.
But a thought bubbled up to disrupt her panic.
When she accepted. After all, this is her chance. The very thing she’s been wanting for so long. If there was something she didn’t want to do,
it was to go back to her room and do nothing, pining for something more.
“…Fine. I’ll go. And I’ll come back wiser and stronger than ever! I WILL be ready for the throne!”
She barely saw his energy overtake his limb as she thrusted her hand to hold his outstretched arm, producing her own energy, making an official Celestial Promise to finally reclaim what was rightfully hers.
They both smile, sealing the deal.