Tuttle

I was violently shaken awake by Hetty. With a start, I jumped from my chair, momentarily having forgotten where I was. I quickly recalled that I must have dozed off while waiting for Vandel to return.

"Gods, couldn't you have gone about waking me in a slightly more civil manner—"

"Master Vandel is back!" Hetty blurted.

"Was he out on a midnight flight like we suspected?"

Hetty shook her head, appearing rather panicked. "I'm not exactly sure what happened. All I know is that the knight escaped with Princess Annette. Master Vandel came back to the castle exhausted. And worst of all..." Hetty grimaced, "he's pissed."

My eyes widened. "Oh no...then that means..."

"Yep."

"Vandel is in one of his moods?"

Hetty gave a stiff nod.

My heart leapt into my throat at the confirmation. "Shit, shit, shit. Are all valuable artifacts and magical items locked away?"

"We're trying our best. The castle is going into code red."

Code red meant one thing at the Demon Palace—one of Vandel's tantrums was about to occur.

I tore through the palace corridors. Everywhere I looked, I saw demon servants running about with armfuls of the castle's valuables, trying to get them to safety before Vandel arrived. Judging from the ashen looks on their faces and the yelling bellowing down the hallway, they only had a few precious seconds left.

"KIDNAPPED! I WAS JUST KIDNAPPED BY MY OWN FUCKING PRISONERS, IN MY OWN FUCKING CASTLE!"

Hetty and I exchanged a panicked glance. He was on the war path and every servant knew it. The only thing we could do was simply wait for it to blow over.

We caught sight of him at the end of the corridor. He looked terrible, face pale, and dark hair a mess. Someone had mercifully brought him a robe (he'd had tantrums with everything swinging about before, which made an already awful ordeal considerably worse). It was one of his favorites, made of a silky blue and silver fabric with little embroidered ravens curling up the sleeves. However, at the moment, his favorite robe was clearly not the most important thing on his mind.

"WHERE IS THE HEAD OF THIS SHITHOLE'S SECURITY? BECAUSE I WANT HIS HEAD ON A PLATTER!" He grabbed a servant by the collar of their shirt, yanking them up. "ON A PLATTER, YOU HEAR ME?!"

He released the servant from his iron grip so quickly that the demon stumbled back a few feet. Vandel's gaze latched onto a porcelain vase one of the servants hadn't managed to get to safety. He grabbed it, hurling it across the room where it slammed into a wall with a crash, shattering into a thousand little shards.

"DO ANY OF YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT WAS FOR ME TO PRETEND TO BE CALM AND SUAVE FOR HOURS AROUND THAT PIECE OF SHIT KNIGHT? UUUUUUGH, AND NOW I'M GOING TO HAVE TO TELL MOTHER WHAT HAPPENED! FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" He tore his long, black nails down a tapestry, ripping it to shreds. "AND....WORST....OF ALL," he shrieked, kicking over a decorative suit of armor which clattered to the floor in a series of metallic clangs. "I LOST MY FAVORITE OUTFIT IN THE WOODS!"

Vandel continued to storm down the halls, wreaking havoc on any inanimate object that came into his line of vision. Hetty and I trailed nervously behind him. Finally, he made it to his room, proceeding to collapse overdramatically onto his bed.

Hetty and I waited in tension-filled silence as the seconds ticked by. He didn't move. More servants popped their heads into the bedroom, their numbers growing as he continued to lie there. And then, at long last, Vandel let out a loud snore.

A silent cheer passed through the servants. He had fallen asleep! It was over! Everyone hugged each other, exchanging handshakes and pats on the back for a job well done.

We had made it through another one of Vandel's massive tantrums.