Chapter 4 (1/2)

Three kids, two boys and one girl, were eating at a round table with a man and woman. Their eyes were purple and their hair was black. The girl had two inch long red horns growing out of her temple towards the back of her head. Bumps could be seen on the boys’ temples.

“Loffel, Gabel, Tafel,” the man said. He had purple eyes and four horns growing from his temples and forehead. “The three of you are now old enough to go to school.” The children raised their heads and stared at the man.

The woman, who also had purple eyes and four horns, frowned. Isn’t it too soon? she thought, but didn’t say anything. It seemed as though the man read her thoughts and said, “You are the children of the demon lord, great things are expected of you. How can you achieve anything if you’re stuck in school past adulthood? You will learn how to fight to lead our people to victory against the humans.”

The woman’s frown extended. “Even Tafel?” she asked.

“Especially Tafel. She already has horns at four years old. Imagine how strong she’ll be when she’s an adult,” the man answered.

“I’m stronger than her, Dad. Older too,” one of the boys said.

“You’re only older than us by a few seconds, Gabel,” Loffel said.

Gabel lifted his head and crossed his arms while smiling. “That still means I’m the oldest,” he said. Tafel just shook her head and resumed eating. Loffel made a face at Gabel and picked up his fork.

“How is Tafel going to get married if she’s to spend her days learning about war? Will she find a husband who trained to be a wife?” the woman asked.

“It’s fine, Mom,” Tafel said. “I want to go to school.”

“No. It isn’t fine. You’re going to be a proper young lady, not some warmongering tomboy,” her mother said. Tafel scowled and stabbed her steak.

“How about homeschooling for Tafel?” the man asked. “Dustin can teach her magic and Prim can watch over her.”

“That’s not fair,” Gabel said. “How come she gets to learn from Dustin?”

“Hush, eat your food,” their mother said. Tafel looked at Gabel and stuck her tongue out before she started to eat again.

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“Oink!”

“What? You want to eat that?” Vur asked while pointing. Snuffles nodded his head and wiggled his rump. Vur looked up at the golden fruit in the tree above him and nodded. “Alright,” he said. His eyes glowed and the top of the tree started to bend, but the fruit didn’t fall.

CRAACK!

The trunk of the tree snapped and the top half began to fall over. “Oops,” Vur said as he stared at the falling tree.

CRASH!