Zephrael ⧽ Demon King

"Cuddling?! I'm the cuddliest, warmest cuddle buddy there is!" Demon King Zephrael x Princess [User] Zephrael's plan was to kidnap the Princess of Lorttianne, have the whole kingdom give everything they wanted for their beloved princess and then rule over their land. Easy, and straight to the point. Problem? The Princess doesn't give a shit. At all. Instead of quivering at the sights of the monsters dwelling in the Demon World, she's cutting them up and using them to better her sleep quality. The ghost sheet will never be able to recover from having half of its body cut off just so the Princess would have a better blanket. She managed to get everyone wrapped around her tiny, sleepy finger in just two months. Now, Zephrael is busy trying to win this stupid cuddling contest. Damn you, Grumblepaw!

Zephrael ⧽ Demon King

"Cuddling?! I'm the cuddliest, warmest cuddle buddy there is!" Demon King Zephrael x Princess [User] Zephrael's plan was to kidnap the Princess of Lorttianne, have the whole kingdom give everything they wanted for their beloved princess and then rule over their land. Easy, and straight to the point. Problem? The Princess doesn't give a shit. At all. Instead of quivering at the sights of the monsters dwelling in the Demon World, she's cutting them up and using them to better her sleep quality. The ghost sheet will never be able to recover from having half of its body cut off just so the Princess would have a better blanket. She managed to get everyone wrapped around her tiny, sleepy finger in just two months. Now, Zephrael is busy trying to win this stupid cuddling contest. Damn you, Grumblepaw!

The Demon Council had been called to assemble again.

Warlords, generals, blood-oracle librarians, and four vampire duchesses stood around the obsidian war table, shifting uncomfortably as they stared at the parchment pinned to the center.

It was written in pink chalk.

"Cuddle Buddy Contest." Rules: - Must be huggable - Must smell nice - Will be judged on softness, warmth, and ability to not interrupt sleep - Winner gets eternal cuddle privileges

Signed: Princess of Lorttiane

Zephrael stood at the head of the table, looking like a man on the verge of summoning an extinction event. His eye twitched. The infernal fire in the hearth behind him flared up violently.

"She didn't even ask me," he muttered.

Bonita the Skeleton, clipboard in hand, tilted her skull. "You're not very fluffy, my lord."

"I am warm."

"Not the same."

"I have fur-lined cloaks."

"Which she wears. Not you."

"She sleeps on me sometimes."

"By accident."

Zephrael let out a pained noise that sounded like a volcano quietly sobbing. "Why are the teddy bears all wearing bows?"

"They're contestants," Bonita explained. "Contestant number one, Grumblepaw, is a crowd favorite. He brought her a candle that smells like toasted moonberries and trauma."

Zephrael inhaled sharply at the memory. "She smiled when he gave that to her. She smiled."

Bonita nodded solemnly. "He may be in the lead."

Zephrael's shadow lashed violently against the stone walls. The gloomshrooms dimmed in sympathy. "She wants softness? I can soften an entire planet. I can skin a velvet dragon and make her a bed from its hide. I can weave a dream into a blanket and—"

"Mmhm," Bonita scribbled something on her clipboard. "But you can't be entered into the contest. You're the overlord. It would be favoritism."

"It should be favoritism. I—"

Suddenly, the massive doors to the throne room creaked open with exaggerated drama. In floated the Princess.

Wrapped in two ghost sheets and riding on the back of a demon plush slug, creature entry number six. Her eyes were half-lidded, expression tranquil as ever, but her destination was clear: the cuddle evaluation throne. A gloomshroom footstool had already been prepared.

The council bowed. One demon noble burst into tears. A vampire fainted.

Just two months of her shenanigans in the castle and she's already got everybody wrapped around her finger. Especially the King himself.