NOTE: So, this chapter ended up being gigantic X_X. There is a sex scene at the end, promise, but followup chapters of this story probably won't be 14000 words. Probably. Enjoy!
And remember kids, Q makes a hard, short "kuh" sound. Her name isn't pronounced Lin "kwah" ;D
***
Lin'qa glowered at the city as their airship soared over the tops of the buildings on its way to the docks. She stared gloomily at what was to be her new home. Lek, the city of gateways, where species and empires from multiple different planes of existence congregated, and argued about politics and trade deals. Her mother had been assigned as a member of the Rakshasa embassy, and apparently she didn't have any staff she trusted more than her own daughter. Lin'qa was positive that her father just wanted her out of the manor.
She wrinkled her nose. The Astral Plane stank of soot, she hated it here. She'd much rather have stayed at their family's estate, or maybe even gone to the Prime Material plane. The PriMat had some beautiful scenery, and the last time she'd had some food from there, it had been superb.
"Bigger than you thought, huh?" her mother came up behind her and placed her hand on Lin'qa's shoulder, making her feline ears twitch in agitation. She hated that reactive tick of hers. Made it so obvious when she was mad.
"I'm going to like it or I'm going to hate it. Stop thinking you can convince me to be fond of this place, mother," she replied, squirming and twisting around until her mother's hand came free from her shoulder. She gave her mother a cross look that was just subtle enough to imply her mood without being openly mean.
"Stop being such a brat, son, we're in the public eye now," Her mother placed her hands on her hips. "This isn't home where people will overlook your eccentricities because you belong to a wealthy family."
"Son..." she muttered darkly, averting her gaze and looking out over the city. They weren't even on the same plane of existence anymore, it wouldn't have been hard for her mother to introduce her as her daughter, but no, she couldn't even do that. Most people thought that Rakshasa boys were girls at first glance, anyway.
"Lady Talvizsa, we're docking soon, looks like the welcoming committee is already here to see you," One of their attendants interrupted their conversation, oblivious to the tension in the air.
"This conversation is not over, Lin'qa," her mother warned her, as she headed into the interior of the ship, leaving Lin'qa to watch the approach. The city's airship docks were huge, and people from all walks of life scuttled around, moving cargo and fixing equipment. Their dock was more of an open patch of stone with some walls around it for privacy, and pieces of equipment for maintenance. The ship touched down with a thud. Lin'qa's grasp on the handrail tightened to keep herself upright at the jolt. She'd ridden on airships before, she knew how to keep her footing. She watched her mother and the staff go out and meet the delegation, mostly humans with a few orcs and astral elves. The humans were probably residents of Lek. Representatives from the two different human empires that had presence in Lek weren't likely to come greet a Rakshasa noblewoman. Lin'qa sighed and decided she'd better head on after her mother. She'd be in hotter water than normal if a staff member had to be sent after her.
She caught up to her mother and the staff as the welcoming party dispersed. Her gaze lingered briefly on the orc technicians. They were... big. Tall, and muscular, they were just so... PriMat. So indicative of the entire plane, at least to her. These humans and Astral elves reminded her of home. They were all attuned to magic, intellectual, aristocratic. The orcs were... quite the opposite. Her fleeting interest in them passed as soon as they passed out of sight, and she sighed and walked up beside her mother, who was chatting with an astral elf who looked terribly important.
"Your daughter is joining us at last, Lady Talvisza," The man gave her a warm smile.
"My son. This is Adjutant Hoss, he oversees Lek's security. Adjutant, this is my son, Lin'qa." She corrected the man before Lin'qa could speak up and agree with him, and instead she scowled at her.
"Oh! Please, forgive the mistake, young lord. We're about to head off to the palace. We have a temporary space for you there while your family acquires land for an office here. We're thrilled to finally have representatives from the Unified Rakshasa Families, so you're welcome to stay there indefinitely."
Lin'qa toned the politician's voice out as they started heading out through the streets of Lek towards the 'palace.' The astral elves that built Lek had called it the palace in an attempt to pretend they were more affluent than they really were. To pretend that their only influence didn't come from offering up the land the city was built on as a neutral ground for people and empires to meet. Pretending that they would actually matter if they lost the good will of the empires that congregated here.
Lek itself was... interesting. If Lin'qa had thought that the orcs at the docks were exotic, the streets were something else. She saw people of every species that she'd ever heard of here, and even some she couldn't possibly identify, although many of them were probably cross-breeds. As they turned a corner, she gave a bit of a start at the sight of a hulking Horned Devil leaning against a wall and drinking something that steamed softly out of a large mug. The massive, eight foot tall creature noticed her surprise, and chuckled softly at her, the laugh sending two small plumes of flame out of its nostrils.
"That's Zhrek'ahalle. He runs the bar down the street. There are several Devils here in the city, they're allowed to immigrate here, but there's a very strict vetting process, nobody loyal to Mephistophiles gets in here, I assure you." Hoss laughed softly at Lin'qa, and her mom said something about wanting to see more about the process.
The Palace itself was astral elven architecture, a three-story pyramid-shaped building that looked like it was made out of blocks of architecture stacked upon each other in a disorganized pile, so unlike the towering spires and archways that her people liked to utilize. The inside of the building made even less sense, with stairs and hallways in random nonsensical angles. They didn't go up any stairs, and instead went through the ground level and back outside into a walled yard with a small manor just across from it that looked like it was made by humans.
"Go on inside and get everything set up. I'm going to meet with the Adjutant in private. Lin'qa, go ahead with the staff. Someone make him some food so that he'll stop being so grumpy." Her mother addressed the staff and pointedly ignored her. Her ears twitched at her mother's condescending comment. She was not a child, not anymore, her seventh celestial cycle had already come and gone ages ago.
Admittedly, the inside of the little manor wasn't as squalid as she'd been dreading. She took the second biggest room, knowing her mother would throw a fit if she presumed to take the master bedroom for herself. But, even then, it was nice enough, well furnished with a little balcony that overlooked the city. She stepped out onto it and her gaze travelled across the city again. She spotted the little pub that Hoss had pointed out, the one that the Devil supposedly ran. It looked closed right now, but her gaze lingered on it anyway. She could certainly go for a drink, it was only afternoon here but it would be late evening back on her home plane. It was probably piss-cheap stuff, by the look of the place, but it would be exotic anyway so she probably wouldn't be able to tell the difference.
Almost as if on cue, the pubs magic lamps came on all over the storefront. She hesitated briefly. Her mom might be real mad if she went out drinking at a bar so soon. One ran by a fiend no less. That actually decided it for her. Pissing off her mom was a side benefit, not a deterrent.
She wasn't able to travel directly to the bar, rather she had to take a detour through the Palace, but her staff were too busy and none of the people in the Palace cared to stop her.
'The Tenth Hell' the sign read, as she neared. The building itself wasn't that big but the door was enormous and made out of a black iron. Probably to accommodate an eight foot tall proprietor. Despite the doors' imposing size, she pushed it open easily, some magic at work to allow smaller patrons like herself to enter without difficulty.
It was mostly empty inside, as to be expected of a drinking establishment in the early afternoon. Three humans and an orc sat at a table, talking quietly amongst themselves. The Horned Devil himself was behind the bar, and he gave her a curious look as she entered and approached the bar.
"Welcome to the Tenth Hell, young lady. When we passed in the street I'd thought I'd made a frightful impression upon you but I am pleasantly surprised to see that is not the case," the Devil spoke softly but his voice seemed to reverberate through the room. He gave her a warm disarming smile that belied his frightful countenance. She noticed that one of the Devil's wings was missing, and the other looked crippled somehow, it twitched weakly every few seconds.
She returned the smile. It was nice to be addressed as 'lady.' Even if it wasn't coming from where she'd have liked. "Lin'qa. House Talla. My mother is here representing the U.R.F." she extended her hand towards him.
"Zhrek'ahalle. Formerly of the Blood Legion... just so that you don't hear it from anybody else," he chuckled and offered her his hand, his pinky finger extended, the long curved talon pointing downward. She grabbed the talon carefully and shook, and then fished out her coin purse.
"Can I pay with these?" she asked, presenting a U.R.F. minted coin to him.
Zhrek'ahalle hmm'd softly to himself and took the coin from her. "I don't know what these are worth, little cat. I wouldn't want to overcharge a diplomat's daughter. Tell you what... for tonight I'll let you run a tab. You can get these exchanged and settle up another day." He handed the coin back to her and she blinked in surprise. She'd hardly expected a literal fiend to be so amicable.
"I can be sure to do that. You have anything from the PriMat?" she asked, taking a seat on an oversized stool that had her feet dangling off it at an odd angle, and her tail sticking up behind her back.
"Lots. Surprise you?" He asked.
Lin'qa paced herself because she spent the entire afternoon and early evening getting piss-drunk. For the most part, people just ignored her. At one point, this big burly orc came up and started hitting on her, trying to get her to go back to his house, but Zhrek'ahalle chased him off with a fiery snort, and then gave Lin'qa a wink and another 'vodka.'
"So you're gonna be running the cat delegation, then?" A surly looking dwarf woman asked her after she introduced herself.
"No... thash my mom... Talvizsa... I'm gonna be... sittin in on meetins... signing papers n stuff... It's sush a waste of my talenns, I should be runnin the family not... stuck here..." She rambled on a bit. It was mostly true and only a teensy bit overdramatic. She'd been sent here to get her to go away. To strip her of support - not that she had a lot of it back home anyway. Her dad was probably going to groom her little sister for her position, just in case she 'fucked it up like she always did'.
"Oy. Even lil Rakshasa kittens have their issues with their family I guess?" She chuckled, taking another swig of the dark bitter alcohol that Lin'qa had tried and hated.
