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Alec stood at the gate, gripping his mom’s hand tightly as he peeked through the bars. He didn’t want to go to school. He wanted to stay with his mom.
“Go on, Alec. They won’t bite,” Maryse said, squeezing Alec’s hand when he refused to let go.
Alec gestured for his mother to kneel down next to him, his gaze flicking from her to the children he could see through the bars.
“I’m too big to get down there. I’ll never get up,” Maryse said, rubbing her hand over her bulging stomach.
“Some of them might have big teeth,” Alec said, his eyes wide at the possibility of one of the other warlock children biting him.
“Then if they bite, you tell me,” Maryse said, smiling a feral grin.
“They might not bite but what if the other kids are mean to me?” Alec asked.
“You are Prince Alexander of the demon realm, Idris. Nobody will be mean to you,” Maryse said, cupping Alec’s face.
Alec nodded. His mom was scary. And she was a Demon Queen. If the other kids bit him, she would give them the worst time-out they ever had.
“Go on. I’ll watch from here,” Maryse said, bending as much as she could in her very pregnant condition to press a kiss to Alec’s cheek before she let go of his face. She gave him a little push toward the gate, nodding her encouragement. Even if she wanted to scoop him up and portal him back to her realm.
Maryse didn’t particularly want to send her five-year-old to school in another realm but she was informed it was the best school for warlock children there was. Why it had to be in the mortal realm, she didn’t know.
Alec walked into the schoolyard, looking around. He didn’t know how school worked or how he was supposed to make friends but his mom had said that all warlocks have to go to school or they can’t learn magic. And he really wanted to learn magic.
When a loud bell rang, Alec followed all the other kids inside the building with one last look at his mom. She waved at him and nodded so he went inside too.
“Line up in pairs. Hold hands with your buddy and follow me.”
Alec looked to see who had spoken. Upon seeing a grown-up with green skin and horns, he did as he was told. There was only one kid who didn’t have a partner so Alec went and stood next to him but he didn’t hold the boy's... hand.
“It’s okay if you don’t hold my hand. I’m Raj. What’s your name?” Raj asked with a wave.
“Alec. Don’t you know how to do a glamour?” Alec asked, looking at the crab claws the boy waved with. The boy looked okay. He didn’t have big teeth but his hands were scary.
“Uh uh. That’s why we have to come to school,” Raj said, following the line of kids into a classroom.
Alec sat down at the desk next to Raj’s, trying not to stare when he looked around. Some of the other kids didn’t know how to do glamours either. He saw lots of different warlock marks. Some kids had whiskers, or bunny ears, some had hairy tails or long sticky tongues. One even had the prettiest cat’s eyes he had ever seen. That one was sitting two desks away in his row.
Lessons soon started and Alec decided straight away that school was boring. Mr. Fell was teaching them how to do glamours but he already knew how to do that so he watched the boy with pretty eyes instead, blushing when the boy caught him staring. The boy smiled though so maybe it was okay to look.
Alec looked for ages! Smiling when the pretty boy learned how to do the glamour. He couldn’t stop giggling when the boy looked over and started flashing his glamour on and off. Mr. Fell didn’t like that, grumping at them until they were quiet.
When a bell rang, Mr. fell told them that it was time for recess and they could go out and play. So Alec filed out of the room and walked out of the school building with Raj. They stood in the schoolyard, not really sure what they were supposed to do.
Alec looked up when a new boy and his friends came to talk to them. He didn’t like them before they even spoke.
“My name is Lorenzo. What’s yours?” Lorenzo said to the new boy.
“Alec. This is Raj,” Alec introduced them because his mom said it was rude not to introduce yourself when someone new comes to talk to you.
“This is Iris and Camille,” Lorenzo introduced his companions. “Cool claws,” he said to Raj.
“Yeah?” Raj asked. Nobody ever said they liked his claws before.
“Does it hurt people when you snap your claws at them?” Camille asked, staring at Raj’s claws.
“Yup. That’s why nobody wants to hold my hand,” Raj said, eyeing Lorenzo’s lizard scales, Iris’ cat whiskers, and Camille’s bat wings. “Can you fly with those?” he asked Camille.
Camille fluttered her wings and rose a couple of feet of the ground, smiling when Raj came to stand with them as she landed.
Alec didn’t follow. He felt a little bit left out but he didn’t like the others so he let Raj go. Raj obviously liked them. He could find a new friend.
“What’s your warlock mark? If it’s a cool one you can hang with us,” Lorenzo asked Alec.
Alec didn’t want to hang with them but they had all shown their marks so he dropped his glamour. Six long yellow tentacles poked out from under his sweater and waved at the other children, two of the braver ones snaking forward to meet them.
“Ugh! Get those things away from me!” Camille yelled when a tentacle tried to worm its way into her hand. She jumped back, batting the tentacle away.
Alec stepped back, clutching his tentacles to his body. Sadness welled up. Camille was looking at him like he had a disease.
“Ew! They are so gross! I bet they’re all slimy,” Lorenzo said, smiling when the others laughed. Even Raj.
Alec really wanted to punch Lorenzo in the nose. His tentacles weren’t slimy.
“Are you going to cry?” Iris asked, watching Alec’s chin wobble.
“Are you going to cry to your mommy?” Lorenzo asked, laughing when he saw a big fat tear in Alec’s eye.
Alec looked around for somewhere to go that wasn’t near these horrible kids. He didn’t want them to see him cry. That was when he saw the boy with the pretty eyes standing behind Lorenzo. He really didn’t want this boy to see him cry.
“Leave him alone!” Magnus said, glaring at the three schoolyard bullies when they turned around. The three kids had already made a name for themselves and it was only the first day of school. “Why are you so mean?” he asked Lorenzo.
“Why do you care?” Lorenzo asked, looking the newcomer up and down.
“He didn’t do anything to you. You should say sorry to him!” Magnus said to Lorenzo and his horrible sidekicks, moving to stand next to the new boy. “And you. Nobody would even line up with you except him,” he said to Raj.
“Who’s going to make us? You?” Lorenzo asked, stepping toward the newcomer.
Magnus let his magic spark out. His father had taught him a trick or two. The sparks of magic separated into four, each spark flying at one of the horrible kids.
Alec couldn’t help but giggle when the magic chased Lorenzo, Iris, Camille, and Raj across the schoolyard, the magic jumping up to bite their butts when they weren’t fast enough.
“I’m Prince Magnus of Edom,” Magnus said when the four bullies disappeared.
“Prince Alexander of Idris,” Alec said, smiling when the boy’s face lit up. He was even prettier up close.
“I like your tentacles,” Magnus said, holding his hand out when one of the yellow tentacles poked over Alec’s shoulder.
“Really?” Alec asked, watching wide-eyed when Magnus shook his tentacle. “I like your eyes!” he said.
Magnus flashed his warlock mark at Alec, still not able to fully control the glamour he had learned that morning. Alec didn’t seem to mind though. Keeping hold of Alec’s tentacle, he pulled Alec over to his friends.
“This is Maia, Catarina, Raphael, and Rosa,” Magnus said, introducing Alec to his best friends.
Alec nodded to them all. Maia wiggled her puppy ears in greeting, Catarina reached out one blue hand to shake his. He realized that Rosa was the one in their class who had the bunny ears when they wiggled in his direction. Raphael flashed a big pair of fangs at him. Hopefully, Raphael wouldn’t bite him. None of them said anything about his tentacles.
The rest of the day passed in a blur for Alec. He sat with his new friends in the cafeteria at lunchtime and sat next to Magnus during their afternoon classes. Everywhere they went, they had to go with a buddy and hold hands. Magnus offered to be his buddy but held one of his tentacles instead of his hand. He didn’t mind.
They got in trouble during their afternoon lesson for giggling when Magnus drew a picture of a cabbage with horns. Mr. Fell informed them that he didn’t care who their parents were and that if they misbehaved again, he would put them in something called detention.
Alec didn’t know what kind of torture detention was but he didn’t like the sound of it at all.
“That means we can go home,” Magnus said when the bell rang one final time. He felt a little bit sad. He didn’t want to go home, he wanted to hang out with his new friend who was very pretty and had beautiful eyes and a nice smile.
“Oh,” Alec said glumly, looking around the classroom. Everyone was walking out with their buddies. His face brightened after a moment. “Do you want to come to my realm for a sleepover?” he asked.
“Am I allowed?” Magnus asked, practically bouncing up and down with excitement.
“Come on, let’s ask my mom,” Alec said, turning for the door when Magnus took hold of his tentacle.
They raced out of the building and across the schoolyard to the gates. Alec didn’t notice the wide circle around his mom, all the other demon parents standing well back from her.
“Mommy! This is Prince Magnus. Can he come for a sleepover? Pleeeease?” Alec begged when they reached his mom.
“Prince Magnus,” Maryse said, bowing her head to the adorable little boy who had hold of her boy’s tentacle. “It’s up to his parent. If they say yes then it is fine by me,” she said, laughing when Alec and Magnus practically vibrated with excitement.
“That’s my dad, there,” Magnus said when his father approached them. The other demon parents steered clear of Asmodeus as well but the children didn’t notice. What they did notice was Lorenzo, Camille, Iris, and Raj lingering nearby while they waited for their parents.
“Queen Maryse, always an honor,” Asmodeus said, affecting a deep bow before taking Maryse’s hand in his own.
“Prince Asmodeus,” Maryse said, raising an eyebrow at Asmodeus when he pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. “Our children have become friends. They would like to know if Prince Magnus can come for a sleepover,” she said, yanking her hand back after a suitable period of time. She fought the urge to wipe her hand on her dress.
Alec stuck his tongue out when Lorenzo and Camille stared at his mom and Magnus’ dad with fear in their eyes. Iris and Raj disappeared quickly when Magnus wiggled his fingers in their direction.
“Of course,” Asmodeus said, eyeing Magnus’ new friend. An alliance with Idris could be very beneficial if he could get rid of Lilith and take Edom for his own. And it was always a good idea to get on Maryse’s good side. The other parents steered clear for good reason. “Be a good boy, Magnus,” he said.
Magnus shook his father’s hand off when Asmodeus ruffled his hair, gawping at his father. Asmodeus had never ruffled his hair before. When his father snapped his fingers and handed him a bag, he slung it over his shoulder and grabbed Alec’s tentacle once more.
Alec took his mom’s hand and led Magnus through Maryse’s portal to their realm, staring when Magnus complimented them on their sun and the roof on their palace, known as The Gard.
Magnus liked Idris very much. Instead of an orange sky like his own realm, Idris had a green sky and the grass was blue. And they had a sun. It was purple. He was very happy that he had made friends with Prince Alexander, very happy indeed when he followed them into their home. He hoped they would be best friends forever.
**
20 years later…
Maryse happily handed her realm over to her son and his new husband on their wedding day, knowing that King Alexander and King Magnus, of Idris, would take good care of the realm. It was even worth enduring having King Asmodeus of Edom as an in-law to see her boys happy.