Chapter Text
“Stolas!” A familiar voice echoed out, yelling and piercing its way down the hallways of the long, seemingly endless hallways. “Stolas, where are you?”
With a rub of his eyes, Stolas yawned and opened the door that enclosed his bedroom, peeking his head out to be met with one of the few Goetia that he actually got along with. “Vassago? Why are you here so early in the…”
His eyes gazed over to look at the clock that hung on the wall in front of him, clearly stating the time as 10:30AM.
Oh..
“Stolas! For the sake of Satan, why are you up so late, eh? ¿Necesitas volver a aprender a decir la hora?” Vassago cried, using his talons to pinch the space between his eyes and beak annoyingly. “Did you forget what your father has been telling you for like, the past week, or something?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, fucking hell- about teaching those fucking imps! Were you hit with a memory loss curse in your sleep?”
“Oh. I thought it was Saturday.”
Stolas could tell Vassago was pissed - a rare occurrence for him - and chuckled softly. “I’m sorry, Vassago. I did not mean to inconvenience you… I had a little too much to drink last night, I suppose.”
“Drink? Why were you drinking.. Ah, shit, was it Stella again?” Vassago asked, his annoyance quickly wearing off as his talons gripped the edge of Stolas’s shoulder gently. “I know she’s been a bit- well, overdramatic- since the engagement.”
“Ugh, don’t even get me started.” Stolas groaned, covering himself with a soft laugh as he took Vassago’s hand off of him. “I’ll get myself ready and head down to the school now, thank you Vassago.”
Vassago smiled at him warmly as Stolas turned around to walk into his bedroom again, closing the door shut with his magic as he looked at himself in the mirror. “Fucking 18 and having to get married already, what’s so good about being royalty?”
He thought to himself endlessly while he got himself ready, applying his black eyeliner above and below his eyes before getting dressed in one of his black comfy-yet-smart suits.
Ever since Stolas had found out about the poor living conditions in the village next over, he had taken it upon himself to nag his father and the other Goetia’s about letting their village set up a school and workplace for them. It didn’t go well for the first few times, evident by the amount of screaming and booing he had been receiving off of the others since he first brought it up. But, once his father realised he wasn’t going to back down, he allowed it to happen on the condition Stolas would take full responsibility of everything, hiring or working there and controlling the imp’s salaries. Stolas thought it was fair, he’d have something to do in the meantime which would distract him from the piling thoughts of marrying a woman he didn’t even love nor like.
Squeezing the last of the preening oil out, Stolas fixed the feathers on the top of his head before exiting his bedroom, where he saw Vassago, again, but dressed in smart attire.
“Hola, Stolas!”
“Vassago, why are you back… and dressed so neatly this time?” Stolas smiled as he looked at Vassago. “Special occasion?”
“No, not ever! Paimon had agreed to let me accompany you to the school, and help out, if that’s alright with you of course!”
“Oh,” Stolas sighed, looking at Vassago straightly. “I suppose some help would be appreciated…”
Vassago smiled widely and put his hands onto his hips. “I’m glad I can be helpful, Stolas!”
“Just be careful. The younger imps can be little shits sometimes.”
~
“Remember why you are doing this, son!” A voice boomed.
“Ugh, dad, I know! It’s for fucking money, what else would it be!?” Another voice yelled back.
“Blitzo, this is so we can afford your sister’s treatment, show some fucking respect!”
“Like you would use it for that anyways, you’d waste all of it on fucking booze! I’m not a naive 12 year old anymore, dad!”
The wooden door slammed shut and Blitzo turned around and stared blankly at his bedroom wall that was crumbling to bits before his eyes. He was dressed in some fucking tight, smartass uniform that he had supposedly gotten for free when his dad enrolled him to the ‘stupid fucking school next door’ so he’d be useful.
“Get an education, get a good job, help me and your sister, bla bla bla..” Blitzo rambled, attempting to fix the tie he truthfully did not know how to put on in the first place. “I mean, I’m fucking 18 and going to a school made for babies. Just say I’m a lost cause already.”
He kept mumbling to himself until he thought he looked presentable and stepped out, where he was met with his father in the living room, empathetically patting Blitzo’s sister on the head, who looked weak.
Blitzo hurried over to his sister, ignoring his dads yelling on how he couldn’t even put a fucking uniform on properly- and bent down to where his sister was sat.
“How are you feeling today, Barb?”
“Ugh- I’m okay, Dad won’t leave me alone… and it’s pissing me off- but- I’m happy for you, Blitz.” She said in between coughs, reaching out to hold Blitzo’s hand as she smiled weakly. “You’ll make mama proud by doing this, you know? However embarrassed you might feel… it’s… it’s gonna be good for you. Good for me, too, us...”
Blitzo forced a smile onto his face, wincing at the mention of their mother as he cupped Barbie’s hands. “I know, I know…”
He messed with the pendant on his neck and looked up at the barely functioning clock hung on the wall. The time was 11:00, many hours after school actually started. “I guess I gotta get going. I’ll tell you about it when I get back, ‘kay?”
Barbie smiled at Blitzo and dropped her grip on his hands, letting him get up and pat out his shirt and pants.
“Blitzo, you better make me fucking proud.” His dad sneered, folding his arms and looking down at his son, almost as if he were a disgrace. “Don’t disappoint your mother now.”
“Ugh.. bye, dad.”
~
Stolas set his chunk of paperwork down on the desk in front of him, slouching into his chair with a grimace as the echo of rowdy children all aged between 6-12 already started to knock into him. As much as they annoyed Stolas, he knew they needed it, so alas he continued.
“Ahem, students… Apologies for being late, I got caught up in… uh, a few things.” Stolas started, fixing his posture and smiling as most of the kids seemed to settle down and wriggle into their assigned seats. “But, on another note, I’ve brought my friend Vassago with me today – he’s going to be helping me, so make sure you’re all on your best behaviour.”
The kids gasped in amazement and smiled, waving excitedly over at the parrot who waved back, standing just to the right of the huge whiteboard nailed into the wall. He greeted them warmly, and seemed to get every single kid calm and focused, which Stolas was eternally grateful for. He fiddled with some of the paperwork on his desk as Vassago happily took the lead of the lesson, using his magic to write on the board as he explained how to write the alphabet. Strange, he thought, but these kids lacked so much education that they probably needed it. Plus, Vassago was more qualified than him anyways.
As the kids started to settle down and write the letters on the board, Vassago portalled a chair and spun it next to Stolas’s. “You feeling okay, buddy?”
“I’m fine…” Stolas sighed, letting his forehead rest in his palm.
“Just not fully awake, I guess,”
A hand cupped Stolas’s shoulder once again as Vassago smiled. “I’ll take care of this one today, okay? I mean, it is my first day, too. The kids seem to be fine, as well. You go take a break somewhere.”
Stolas sighed in relief and pushed his chair back, standing up and straightening himself out. “Thank you, Vassago.”
Once he exited the classroom, he wandered about for a little while, admiring all the artwork on the walls that he had painted and designed himself. He was more than overjoyed with how everything had been turning out lately, the school had finished being built recently and more and more kids were getting enrolled. Selectfully- of course, as his father still wanted control over who was and who weren’t eligible for a stable future. He thought it wasn’t fair, but whatever.
“Uh, excuse me?”
“Huh—” Stolas squeaked, almost launching himself up from the slouching position he was sitting in. Whoever just spoke startled him, and when he moved his eyes to be met with a… strangely… older, handsome imp he was left… even more worried than he was before.
“Oh, um, shit– oh!”
Stolas tried to make himself look presentable, ruffling his feathers and throwing the cigarette he had lit earlier into some random portal as he cursed at himself for accidentally making himself seem informal in front of someone – that probably wouldn’t have cared, but it mattered to Stolas.
“Uh, you good, birdie?” The imp spoke, scratching the back of his head nervously as Stolas stood up and ruffled his feathers some more.
“Oh, yes, I’m fine! What brings you here, little imp?” Stolas smiled, bending his knees so he was more level with the imp.
“Mkay- first of all, don’t address me by ‘little imp’ that’s fucking derogatory, second… um… My father enrolled me here, and I'm kinda lost.”
Stolas blinked, taking a step back as he was amazed by the imp’s straightforward personality. “Apologies, force of habit…”
“So being a bitch is like, a habit to you?”
“Oh, no! Never, it’s just some stupid rule we Goetia have to follow. Classism or some bullshit.”
“Goetia…?” Blitzo whispered, staring at Stolas with confusion until, “Oh my fucking god. You’re royalty. I can’t believe I just fucking said that shit to your face, I am so sorry. Please-”
“Please don’t worry about it. It’s a habit I wish to break. Although, I admire how straightforward you were about that.”
Blitzo choked on his own breath, looking up at the Goetia who was much friendlier than he’d ever imagined. His father had always told him how nasty and cruel they were, which he thought was rich coming from him, but he always imagined royalty to be stuck-up.
“Um, thanks. The names Blitz… now, about the whole ‘I’m fucking lost, please help me’ part? I assume you’re the one that runs this school. Cause- no other privileged asshole would be willing to help a load of lower class scums.”
Stolas laughed, “You have no idea, it took me months for my father to agree to setting up a school for others. I mean, how cold hearted do you have to be? But of course, I’ll show you to the–”
Stolas stopped, and Blitz stared at him confusingly.
“You look a little old to be here, don’t you think?”
Ouch.
Blitz grimaced as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. He must be the only older imp here. Fuck, what was he thinking? Of course he would be.
“Look- I don’t wanna be here either, can you just help me-”
“Although I do remember my father mentioning an older imp was going to be enrolling. He said purely because the parent was willing to sell off the child, which I think is disgusting on many levels. I know my father isn’t great, but wow. I’ve been wondering when I’d meet him, teaching a bunch of excited kids is soo tiring, it’d be good to have someone my age here, I think.”
Blitz stared at Stolas as he listened to him ramble. He thought to himself, “Damn this bitch can talk and get off topic easily. Hold on–”
“What did you say?”
“Huh? Oh… I’m truly sorry for rambling, what were we saying-”
“Fuck that, what did you say? The parent was willing to sell their kid off?”
“Oh… yes, my father said that they were willing to sell their kid off as a butler, for me, I assume, to earn a bit more extra money. Cruel, right?”
“Uh, yeah, your highness, I think that might have been my dad.”
Stolas gasped and straightened his back, his hands coming to cover his beak in surprise. “Oh my Satan! I am so terribly sorry- holy shit, I apologise profusely. I get ahead of myself when talking but– shit, I’m sorry Blitz-”
“Uh.. it’s okay, whatever.” Blitz sighed, looking down at the floor. He knew his father hated him but something about this stung a whole lot more. He was more than just some kid to be sold off for money. He had a purpose, although he didn’t quite know what it was yet. Definitely not catering to some snob’s needs, though.
But… At least Stolas didn’t seem so bad.
“I never got your name, your highness, if I may..?” Blitz asked, reaching his hand out.
“Oh, my name is Stolas! Please, don’t bother with such formalities. It really doesn’t matter to me.”
Stolas smiled as he crouched down to take Blitz’s hands. “Now… I believe I shall be showing you your classroom!”
“Fucking finally, you went off track like, a shit-ton of times. I’m certain that I’m later than I was before.” Blitz chuckled and kissed Stolas’s knuckles jokingly, which he could’ve sworn he got a blush out of before Stolas turned his head.
“Well, if I was any type of asshole, I’d give you a ‘detention’, as they call it.”
“Oh noo, please don’t isolate me away from a bunch of annoying ass kids. My worst nightmare.”
Stolas chuckled and led Blitz down the hallway to the classroom.
“Do ignore any bickering that may occur, I’m in no doubt some of the younger ones will be harsh about having an older classmate.” Stolas said, heading to open the door.
Blitz gritted his teeth nervously and stepped closer, preparing himself for whatever shit he was about to endure here.
“However, if it’s any comfort, I think I’ll enjoy having you here.”
