Chapter Text
Tonight was supposed to be the night Stolas would find out whether or not Blitzø wanted to stay or go. It was the full moon so he guaranteed that Blitzø would show up. He had it all planned out. Get the book back, give the crystal, and tell him how he feels—give the imp a choice. Simple right? What Stolas didn’t expect was for Blitzø to think it was a roleplay, that the owl wasn’t being serious. How could this have happened?
Stolas tried to make it clear to Blitzø but the pain of being rejected like that cut too deep. Stolas saw their relationship for what it was. It was only ever about sex. Blitzø didn’t feel anything for him.
Stolas was prepared for Blitzø to leave with the crystal and for him to be gone from his life forever. He could accept that. Except everything spiralled out of control when Blitzø chased after him through the palace halls, and that’s when the night went horribly wrong. Blitzø shouted at him, saying terrible things and that he was angry with Stolas. Some of the words stuck in the prince’s mind.
You royal fucks think you can do this every time!
Ouch. That stung badly. No, it stabbed Stolas right in the heart because that’s how Blitzø saw him. Just another royal who didn’t care about anyone else other than themself. For as much pain as it brought him, it was genuinely eye-opening for him.
You pompous, rich asshole!
So that’s all Stolas was to Blitzø, just another rich person who’s so above him that treats everyone else poorly. He couldn’t stand that Stolas is a prince. That being raised all prim and proper was enough for the imp to despise him. Stolas can’t help where he was born or how he grew up. He was born a Goetia, a prince of hell, for fuck sake, and here he was getting hung up on what Blitzø had said.
Hoping to make the pain go away, he quickly drank an entire bottle of absinthe without thinking, hoping the taste would be enough to distract his thoughts. Unfortunately, he had gotten too used to the drink and grabbed a second one to take the edge off. When that didn’t calm his thoughts, somehow, a third drink was in his hands, and soon he was drunk enough not to care what was going on with him.
Then a thought materialized. If Blitzø can’t love him for being a prince, then perhaps he should become someone else? An imp, perhaps? A nobody that blends in with the crowd. Maybe Blitzø could love him if he weren’t rich.
Stolas started looking for a spell that could work in his bedroom library. He remembered reading a spell, something along those lines that could transform a person into another species. He found the spellbook he was looking for, and he read the spell.
“Change ones i hiccup identity. Looks like the right spell.” he slurred his words and began casting it.
“I w-want to be someone elsse.”
He didn’t bother further reading what the spell does. He was too drunk to care what it was as long as it made him into someone else because Prince Stolas of the Ars Goetia wasn’t good enough to be loved by his darling imp.
With another bottle emptied, Stolas started work on the spell. Casting it without a second thought. What he probably should have realised was that it would cause him to go unconscious while it transformed him. Or maybe it was the amount of alcohol that he drank, and casting a powerful spell on him had caused it. As he fell, the last thing he thought of was Blitzø, hoping that he could meet him again in this new life.
Artwork by Nicolillies
Ugh, the pain of waking up hungover was not something he ever enjoyed. Which part of this torture was worse? The aching headache, the inability to recall last night, or the fact that he can’t open his eyes without the fear of purging the contents in his stomach? It could be worse; the cold marble floor of wherever it is he is lying on was nice for soothing the headache.
With a groan, Stolas attempted to get up and slowly open his eyes, blinking a few times in an attempt to focus them. Taking in his surroundings, he found himself in some fancy place. On one side, there was a grand four-poster bed, and on the other was a bookshelf and a regal couch. The room was massive, and the bed looked like it could fit a dozen of him on it. Was he in some rich person’s bedroom? He raised an eyebrow and took a deep breath, placing his claws over his temples. Stolas attempted to remember what happened…
Nothing.
There was nothing in his memories.
He couldn’t remember anything from the previous night.
Or any night.
He couldn’t remember anything that happened from yesterday or any day in fact.
His memories were gone!
Panic seeped through as Stolas' breathing grew hard. Frozen in place, he tried to breathe deeply. Okay, let’s take it slow. First, my name is… he can’t recall. His mind is blank. No big deal, right? I might be able to recall if it was in a better frame of mind. I’m from… Nope, nothing comes to mind. This is really not helping to calm me down.
Stolas took a glance at his hands, noting that they were red with black tips and sharp. Huh, what am I? He patted his face, feeling smooth skin. He made his way up his face, feeling hair. He plucked a strand and inspected it. White hair, that seems familiar? He continued to feel around his head until he felt something hard, like keratin? Two of these things were protruding from his head. What is this? It’s like I should know. He felt something move behind and when he turned around, he found nothing there. Then it happened again, but it was like it was a part of him, and he could feel the marble floor. He looked behind himself and saw a red tail, with a black-tipped, arrow-shaped spade. Then the realisation hit him. Oh, I’m an imp, how very silly.
The pit in his stomach drew all of his attention as Stolas felt like he was gonna vomit. He quickly ran to the bathroom, climbed the toilet, and violently emptied his stomach. Letting out a groan, he flushed the toilet, then went over to the quite frankly overlarge vanity. As he approached it, he froze.
Wait, what am I doing? This isn’t my place, and I can’t even reach it! Why am I automatically going here? It’s like muscle memory or something.
After a brief moment of thinking, the imp decided to check the cabinets for something to help clean himself up and perhaps clean the vomit breath. He found some fancy mouthwash and rushed to the sink to freshen up a little. Once he was done, he left the bathroom and searched his surroundings, taking in the sheer size of the room. It was massive for his size, and he couldn’t quite figure out who could need a room of such size!
He saw a painting next to the bed that caught his eye. Upon closer inspection, it was a painting of two adult demons and a younger one who bore a striking resemblance to them. Thinking about it, Stolas realises that these are Goetic demons. Something in his mind is telling him that, but he can’t quite figure out how he knows this. It was the strangest thing, how he’s drawn to the young demon. It’s like his heart is telling him that this is someone really important, but his brain is incapable of working it out. Who is this young woman, and why can't he keep his eyes off her? Stolas placed a claw over her; there’s a word he’s trying to remember. It starts with O? Maybe? Was it a name? It’s infuriating the imp because he can’t fucking work out what the hell is happening! The word is right there on the tip of his… what was she called?
Knock Knock. “Your highness? Is everything alright?”
Shit, someone’s here! The imp started to panic; he knew he had to get out of here fast! With a quick scan, there was only the door between Stolas and whoever was on the other side, the bathroom door, and there was another door that led to what the imp presumed was outside, judging by the rays of light coming through the windows. He sprinted over and opened the door, finding it led outside… except it was a balcony. When Stolas approached the railings and looked down, he saw there was quite a distance between him and the ground. There were some vines growing up the walls; perhaps he could use them to climb down.
“Your highness! There’s an intruder!” Stolas didn’t hear the door open and was startled at the sound of the servant. He glanced behind to find a small imp looking at someone in the bed. The owl from the portrait rose first, looking at the servant with confusion, then at Stolas. His blue grey feathers were untidy and he blinked his eyes out of sync before he processed what was happening.
“Don’t just stand there! Seize him!” The owl commanded, and the butler ran to get security. In a panic, Stolas jumped from the balcony and grabbed hold of the vines. They were strong enough to support his weight, and quickly he scaled down the palace walls. Oh dear, this is quite the height.
In a rush, he ran in whatever direction he could go, hoping he could get out, but he heard the sounds of the palace security from inside, so he bolted towards the front gate only to find it was locked. He attempted to climb the gate but couldn't get a grip, so he bailed on that escape route. Stolas frantically dashed around the palace grounds, hoping to find somewhere else to escape. The imp sprinted around the pool, checking to make sure no one had seen him until—
Smack!
“Hey! Watch where you’re going fuckface!”
Stolas had collided with another imp who he didn’t see. He looked at who he accidentally ran into and saw a familiar but not so familiar looking imp. He was around the same height as Stolas but had big horns and half of his face was covered in scars, a jacket that looked tacky, black pants, and boots with red tips. Obviously, they weren’t the palace security from their choice of clothes alone. Stolas was going to apologise, but when he took in the sight of the imp before him, a sudden anger took root.
“Maybe you should have looked at where you’re going as well then.” He snarked back, rubbing his forehead. His headache was getting worse from the collision, and Stolas was regretting getting hungover.
“Me? You were not looking where you’re going, asshole!” The imp argued back, and Stolas wasn’t in the mood for this shit.
“Whatever I need to go.” He tried to budge past the imp, but he was grabbed by him.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” The imp spat, infuriating Stolas further.
“I’m trying to leave, so if you don’t mind—” He was cut off by the noise from the palace. Security was searching the place for him, so he needed to get the fuck out of there now.
“Did you break into the palace and try to steal shit?” the imp asked with suspicion.
“No, I wasn’t! Now, if you will unhand me, please, I would like to get going.”
“So what the fuck were you doing in there! Were you trying to hurt Stolas?” That name. It was ringing some bells in his head, but he couldn’t quite figure it out.
“No, who the fuck is Stolas? Let me go so I can leave!”
“Seems like Stolas’ staff thinks differently. What if I just handed you to them?” Stolas’ eyes widened in panic. Was he really going to get caught because he didn’t pay attention to where he was going? He needed to somehow get this imp off him, but the imp had a tight grip on him. Without much thinking, Stolas shoved the imp away from him with such force that he didn’t know he possessed.
“Oh shittt!” The imp went flying towards the plants and caught him with its mouth. Stolas was surprised by the amount of strength he possessed and was amused that the plants were trying to devour the rude imp. Stolas ran and climbed the fence and escaped from the palace. He sprinted as fast as he possibly could to get away, not sparing another thought about possibly killing that imp. He didn’t know where he was going, but all he knew was to put distance between himself and the palace.
Artwork by Aima
It felt like he ran forever, but when he was out of breath, Stolas stopped to catch his breath. Once he did, he took in his surroundings, finding that he had no idea where he was. He had no memories of this city, and he didn’t know where to go. Looking up, he saw the sky was red and remembered a few details about where he was. A red sky meant that he was in the Pride Ring. As for which city he was in, well, he had no idea still, but at least he could maybe ask someone?
He walked through the streets, imps passing him. He wanted to ask, but couldn’t pluck up the courage because what could he say? Hey, I have no idea where I am. I have no memories of anything. Can you help me? That sounded ridiculous, and none of the imps he saw passing by looked friendly. What if they were as horrible as the one he encountered? So he kept his head down and just kept walking, crossing the streets without looking. He didn’t notice the speeding car. He was suddenly knocked off his hooves, slamming into the car and hitting him. Stolas fell on his back, aching in immense pain as he slowly lost consciousness. The last thing he heard was “Oh crumbs!”