Chapter 10: Get Yourself a Tub of Ice Cream and Cry about it

After Gallen left Ruby didn't miss the sad look on Leanna's face as she watched him leave. She soon noticed tears pouring out of her eyes. The witch couldn't think of an insult to throw at her because she herself knew what it was like to see the man that you love happy with someone else. How he seemed happier with her more than he ever did with you and it makes you feel inadequate and pathetic. The feeling is crushing and it makes you feel hollow and empty like a pretty shell abandoned by the beach, being repeatedly hit by the harsh waves that slowly break you down and bury you under the rough sand deeper and deeper and deeper unless you pull yourself together and be just like the waves trying to destroy you. Waves are relentless and resilient regardless of how much the jagged rocks try to shatter them. They come back again and strike harder to continue moving along the currents of life.

Ruby was snapped from her thoughts when she saw Phoebus about to go to the fuchsia-haired to comfort her but Ruby instantly grabbed his arm to stop him.

"She's upset. She needs someone." he said trying to shake her away.

"And that someone is you? She needs someone who's been through the same situation and not someone who likes her and keeps bothering her. I'll handle this. Trust me." Ruby had a soft yet determined look like that of a mother's and Phoebus didn't argue any further before backing off to his friends. Ruby went over to Leanna and handed her a handkerchief. Leanna's sobbing briefly stopped as she looked up at her.

"Thanks." she mumbled before accepting the fabric.

"The pain will be duller if you only think about the terrible things about him and do yourself a favor and get yourself a nice tub of ice cream and cry about it until you no longer have any more tears to shed." Ruby advised before walking away, leaving the whole thing behind and returning back to where Aleister is.

"Took you long enough. I was beginning to consider flinging your panties at everyone to pass the time but I guess you're lacies are safe for now." Aleister joked before accepting the ice cream and stuffing it into his mouth.

Ruby laughed before turning deadly serious. "You know that if you really did that I would strangle you with them, right?" Aleister chuckled before replying.

"Well, at least that's the number two on my list on how to die happy. My number one is asphyxiation because you sat on my face. I want to feel your soft butt with my face as I draw my last breath against your vag-" Ruby shoved a spoonful of her strawberry ice cream into his mouth to shut him up.

"Can we not talk about my lady parts or my panties? Please. Geeze, if you're so horny just use your hand and don't narrate your awful daydreams to me."

"Fine, I guess. I can always look at your laces back at home when you're asleep."

"Do you really do that?" Ruby asked with a weird out face.

"No. Not yet at least."

"Please don't."

"By the way, I noticed that you have a number of other witch friends whose names also end with '-sviel'. Rubisveil, Gretasviel, Irisviel, and Serrasviel. You mentioned those other names when you send messages using those talking birds that can mimic your voice. Is that a common witch trend?" Aleister asked to change the subject.

"Well, '- sviel' is derived from Sybil, the strongest witch to ever exist. Outstanding powerful witches who reached even 75% of her talent and achievements may choose to add the -sviel to their name."

"So why did you add her name to yours? Don't you want to be original?"

"Well... Ruby alone sounds like a princess type of name so adding - sviel might make it sound more mage-like. Plus, I've always admired Sybil Bane and her works. Talent seems to be brimming from every fiber of her being and she does things with absolute precision, elegance, and imagination. She doesn't play by the standard rules plus they say that she's a classic badass bitch like me so it was an honor when the Coven gave me the title." There was a brief pause from the witch as she debated whether or not she should share more. When she finally decided that there's barely any harm telling a few things about herself to someone she's going to banish later on in hell, she decided to let him in a bit since there's barely anyone she can share her past with.

"To tell you the truth, I never thought that I would ever be a witch. Originally, I was a huntress of sorts and although magic runs deeply in my blood, we don't usually practice magic. We are mostly warriors but somewhere in my family tree, someone decided to fuck a dragon or something. That's why I have phantasmal blood which is very handy since dragon blood is an excellent potion ingredient."

"What happened? Isn't being a huntress a more respectable and high paying job than being a witch?"

"It's not about the money. I'm pretty loaded and I can survive for millenia without working a single day but it gives me a sense of purpose in my endless life. I became a witch to find a way to break a curse someone inflicted on me because it was another more powerful witch who put this curse on me in the first place. She came from Pandora's Chasm and she's a demon. A high ranking demon queen. I've killed her already but the curse far exceeds her existence. Her curse was a very potent one."

"And what might this curse be?" interrogated the demon further.

"Maybe I'll tell you one day."

"Giving me such a boring story and not telling me the interesting bit is kind of cruel you know."

"The curse is boring too in general but the element of mystery might keep it interesting."

"You're really a manipulative bitch, aren't you? So have you found the slightest hint to break your curse?"

"No. The ritual I summoned you with is supposed to give me a chance to reclaim my freedom but I found out a week ago that it was only a hoax. It was corrupted by Lucius who summoned the 7 Demon Princes you know of. Now the War of the 7 Chalices is just a way to end the world in the most gruesome way there is."

"Your life is so macabre. I like those shit but yours is just the boring kind. Anyways, why are they hanging those wires with triangles in them? Is that some sort of mage craft to repel demons or corrupt politicians?" the demon asked pointing to the men hanging banderitas across the houses in a zigzag formation.

"No. Those are decorations for the lantern festival dedicated to the prince of Macedonia who disappeared 400 years ago. The people kept the tradition even though the empire had fallen long ago." Ruby explained taking a bite of her ice cream.

"They must really love their prince to keep his memory alive for so long. Hey, let me have more of yours. I didn't know that strawberries are delicious."

"Fine, but I want to taste yours too. Cookies n cream is one of my favorite flavors."

"Sure." Aleister scoped a huge chunk of ice cream and waited for Ruby to do the same.

"Here." Ruby fed Aliester her spoon filled with her pink dessert while the demon did the same for her.

"Your strawberries have a unique edge. Is that cheese I taste?" Aleister commented with intrigue.

"Well, it's a strawberry cream cheese after all."

"Ohh, that's nice too."

"Look at those two young couple being so sweet. I still remember back then when we used to eat ice cream together you would "accidentally" drop some on my shirt so that you can lick my breasts, you old perv. That young lad seems to be taking really good care of his wife, look at her she's a glowing goddess." they heard an old lady say from a balcony a few meters to their left.

"How did you know that they're married?" asked her husband who obviously has a difficult time seeing properly.

"Because of that shiny ring on her finger as bright as the Northern Star. He even got her a nice golden wedding ring unlike you cheaps cake only giving me silver." Ruby looked at her finger and saw her pretty diamond-studded purple butterfly ring. The old lady must have mistaken it for a wedding ring but it was a family heirloom.

"Do you think she's pregnant? I have that certain attractive glow when I was pregnant."

"If she is, at least she didn't get instantly fat like you. Once I squirted our son into your womb you inflated like a hippopotamus in less than two months." teased the old man laughing proudly at his own joke. The two joined in on the laughter although muffling their sounds a little to avoid being caught eavesdropping.

"I take really good care of my wife alright." Aleister wiped the ice cream on the side of Ruby's lips with his thumb and licked it making the witch blush a deep shade of red.

"God, you're so annoying." Ruby breathed out turning away from him and eating her ice cream fast to vent out her frustration on the dessert.

"But you still like me because I'm your partner in crime." Aleister retorted smiling at her.

A smile bloomed on the witch's lips hidden from the demon's sight.

"My partner, huh? That would be nice for a change."