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Princess Iron Fan was quite disappointed in her child, but her initial anger had waned. His performance today was horrible. Undeniably and unequivocally, utterly terrible. And she has no idea why.
Red Son, her son, is a talented fighter and a powerful demon.
And yet for some reason, he completely dropped the ball.
This was supposed to be a big moment; Their big moment, as a family. Her husband got back, and he was going to reclaim his kingdom; Or at least a kingdom. No one owned Megapolis, so as far as she was concerned, it was up for grabs.
Then some little mortal brat manages to just stumble into their reunion, and for some reason, her son was far too slow to catch him. She had to clean up his mess.
On that, yes she will confess she failed. However at least his death was reasonable to assume; mortals cannot survive lava. So of course she had no thoughts to check.
Then he returned, somehow actually knowing how to use the staff.
At that point, failure was quite excusable.
But before?
Her son had failed, simple as that. And it needed to be discussed.
Red Son stayed in his room for the rest of the day. Likely out of shame. Iron Fan should have discussed matters that very night, as soon as they got home. However she was far too overjoyed to have her husband back in her arms.
And her bed.
But the night has passed, and the morning came. Red Son was still in his room, which Iron Fan found a little odd. Red Son had a temper, yes, but as violent as it could be it didn’t last very long. After a few mere hours, he calmed down.
Perhaps he went to bed after, but still. He should be out for breakfast.
Iron Fan didn’t miss her husband watching longingly in the direction of their son's bedroom.
Enough was enough.
The princess put her empty plate aside, and stands. “I will talk to our son, my love. We shall both be out in a few moments.” She promises, with a smile.
Her husband still seems nervous, and wrings his hands, but nods.
“I promise, this is not typical of him.” She smiles softly. “He is just nervous, that is all. Perhaps a bit overwhelmed, which happens occasionally.”
Her husband scoffs. “I wish one day to know him as well as you do.”
Iron Fan can sympathize. He has missed 500 years of their son’s life. As overjoyed as Red Son was to have his own father back, they just didn’t know each other. A tragedy that Iron Fan will never forgive.
“I will be back in a second, my love.” She promised, giving him a kiss on the cheek, before leaving to find their son.
The princess can see through the crack in his door. The lights are off.
Perhaps he is at his computer?
Iron Fan knocked, sharp and hard. “Red Son. May I come in?” It was more of a statement than a request, but she wasn’t exactly just going to barge in.
She hears a creaking, before her Son weakly says. “Come in, mother.”
Immediately she does a second take at his voice. It’s shaking, and there is the slightest stutter.
Her heart jolts. “Red Son, are you well?” She demands, grabbing the doorknob and shoving it open.
There Red Son was, under his blankets, shivering and flush.
Immediately Iron Fan rushes to his side to feel his forehead; It was hot.
That was worrying for many reasons. Red Son’s normal body temperature was so warm that normal illnesses tended to weaken his internal fire, making him feel cold to the touch.
If he was warm, as in even warmer than normal, then that means his internal fire was spiking out of control. Which could be dangerous.
Was this caused by touching the staff? A surge of magical power that made him ill?
Suddenly the princess feels quite terrible. She was so angry at Red Son yesterday, but was he fighting a magical surge the entire time?
Her poor child.
Red Son smiles. His expression is distant, eyes filled with a look of longing. Or something like that. It was hard to describe, but either way, it terrified her. “Hello mother.”
“I’m going to get you some water. Stay here.” She said softly, brushing a strand of hair away from his sweaty face, and rushing out of the room.
“My love?” Her husband shot up, immediately realizing something was wrong. “Is our son ok?”
“Some sort of magic overload; follow me. I’ll show you where the medical supplies are.” They might live in the same palace, but it has been 500 years; Even if he could remember where everything was before, most of it has been moved.
His eyes go wide. “Magic overload…” There's clear horror in his voice.
“He will be fine.” She reassures. “But he needs care. Follow me.”
Her husband goes pale, but obeys. She shows him the medical cabinet and hands him every potion they have to carry. Though his hands are shaking ever so slightly, he holds them better than she could.
“Red Son’s soul is strong and we have dealt with this before; he will be ok.” She promises, but in reality, she’s unsure herself. The gauntlet he made was something of genius, but no one thought to test it for potential side effects. Once they realized it would work they rushed to free her husband, not thinking of consequences.
Something she regrets now.
“His room is just this way; I’ll get the door.” She tells him, rushing to her child's bedroom, her husband right behind her.
There wasn’t a choice in using the gauntlet; her husband has been imprisoned far too long. But she shouldn’t have let her son use it. She should have thought ahead, realized how much magic energy would have been released.
Why wasn’t she thinking?
Red Son is exactly where he was before. In bed, face flush, eyes closed.
The princess approaches slowly, placing a cold washcloth on his forehead. In mere seconds it feels like it’s boiling. “I’m here, my child.” She reassures. “And so is your father.”
Weakly he smiles, before his eyes flutter open. “Mother? Father?”
Her husband gasps, and immediately drops all the potions to rush to Red Son’s side, cradling the boy's face with his paw.
“My love?” She questioned. Yes, seeing his ill would likely be stressful, but such a reaction seemed extreme.
“This isn’t magic overload.” He states plainly, sounding completely sure of himself, despite making absolutely no sense.
She pursed her lips. Is he also unwell? “Of course it is my love.”
He shakes his head fervently. “No, I recognize this look.”
“Father?” Red Son questions as well. The princess notices his lips are parched and cracking. She should have gotten some water with the potions.
“My son.” Her husband says gently. “Do you remember how me and your mother met? Do you remember that story at all?”
Both him and Iron Fan were deeply confused, but Red Son nods. “Yes, a little.”
“My love, I’m not sure this is the time…” She says. Yes, perhaps at some point it would be nice for Red Son to hear the story from his perspective, and without all the details Iron Fan left out at the time, but still. It was hardly urgent.
“It is my love.” He said, not looking away from their son, smiling softly. “I’m quite fortunate. I didn’t miss it. I missed so much, but I didn’t miss this.”
“What are you talking about?” She was trying to keep her cool, but still. This was getting frustrating. Her son was ill, and her husband was talking nonsense.
In response her husband just laughed. “Him being lovestruck, of course.”
As soon as she comprehended what her husband just said Iron Fan went pale, and her head spun.
“My love?”
“I need to sit down.” She stuttered, lowering herself to the ground before her legs truly did give out; something she was not unconvinced they would do.
Lovestruck.
Yes, she was well aware of this… Affliction that ran through her husband's family, but with everything that had happened, and how unlike his father Red Son was, it was easy to forget. To just assume that he wouldn’t be affected.
There were so many reasons. She was a celestial spirit, and such things would affect a bloodline curse. The removal of the Samadhi fire removed so much magical energy that it could have removed the affliction as well, if it was there at all. Red Son had never had much interest in romance or love, so it was logical to assume he would be completely immune on that front alone.
Seven Hells, he wasn’t even a fighter! His robots fought for him, but on the field of battle he stayed behind, and would never interact one on one with an enemy like his ancestors.
“It’s alright my love.” Her husband laughs. “You knew this was going to happen.”
“But he’s so young!” Barely out of childhood, at least for demon standards. “Surely you must be mistaken! This, this affliction didn’t strike you until you were over 3000 years! He is barely 500!” Her husband refused to call it a curse, but she did not share this sentiment.
“Mother? Father? What are you talking about?” Red Son asked weakly.
“Nothing son; your father is just confused.” He hardly needed the stress right now. No matter the cause, even if her husband was right, Red Son was ill.
Her husband ignored this comment, and continued his story. “Son, do you know anything about my side of the family? How we end up with our spouses?”
Spouse!
The word strikes Iron Fan right through her heart.
This cannot be right. Her child is much too young for such talk.
Besides, who could it be? They fought mortals, but no one in her husband's family has ever been lovestruck by mortals before.
How terrible would that be? For the magic to choose a mortal, who has perhaps 100 more years at best.
“My line, for as many generations as can be remembered, we’ve been enchanted to fall in love with our enemies.” He explains.
Iron Fan can feel her heart pounding.
“It happens to all of us. My brothers and sisters, my grandfather, they all met their partners on the battlefield. As soon as they see them a spell crosses over us, and we fall in love.” There’s a wistfulness to his voice.
He probably remembered meeting her on the battlefield, the sparks that flew, their sudden and magical courting, and the centuries of affection and devotion.
She, on the other hand, was remembering exactly what she had to do to keep her husband. Heaven and Hell alike didn’t want them together, and they damn well tried to keep them apart at every turn.
Key word tried. As determined as they were, Iron Fan was more tenacious by far. Red Son was living proof of that.
Would he have to do the same things she did? He was much too young, but fate had other plans it seems.
“Now tell me.” The Bull Demon King spoke softly. “Who is it that has caught your affections? The illness will wane once you confess.”
Only then was Iron Fan struck by a terrible thought.
What if her son was bound to Sun Wukong? From what she knows these things can be caused by either sight, or touch.
Would the staff count?
Were the fates really so cruel to force her son to love that simian? That creature who has done nothing but ruin the lives of his friends or family.
“The boy.” He mutters. “The one that picked up the staff.”
Iron Fan lets out a sigh of relief. Ok, they could work with that. The boy was just a boy, not the Monkey King.
“How wonderful.” Her husband mutters softly. He was always the romantic.
Even uttering the words seems to help their son’s state. As soon as he spoke, his shoulders relaxed slightly, and his magic seemed to calm down as well. It may have been her imagination, but Iron Fan swears his temperature lowered as well.
But he wasn’t done speaking. “He was so… Pretty. His voice, I can’t forget that voice. It was so sweet.” He sighs, then laughs, still a little delerious. “I don’t even know his name. He’s the Noodle Boy.”
“That’s ok dear.” Iron Fan brushes a strand of hair out of his face, grimacing at how sweaty he was. “We’ll find out for you.” She kept her expression and voice calm, but her mind was racing.
Mortality could be fixed, but there were other issues. What would the boy know about demons? What was he like? He didn’t seem to come from a magic lineage. For most demons that would be a dealbreaker, but for her son's situation it was actually rather ideal. Still, there were obstacles. Ones she would have to address with Red Son, and likely keep her husband out of.
“Thank you.” Red Son smiles softly, before frowning again. “Mother, father, I’m exhausted. Was that supposed to happen?”
Her husband laughed. “Yes, it’s perfectly normal.” He soothes, tucking their son in. “I’m impressed you even stayed aware of yourself for so long. When I first saw your mother I was delerious for days.”
Despite herself Iron Fan couldn’t help but smile at the memory. It was so long ago, they were both so young. When she first saw his face, saw his expression shift from determination to shock, she assumed that he was just regretting the attack. In pity she let him slip away during the commotion, warning him to stay away.
Of course he didn’t, but that was its own story.
Still, the memory of seeing her husband's face for the first time is etched into her brain. It’s something she’ll never forget.
Iron Fan wants her own son to have a love that strong, that perfect; but she knows it’s not going to be that easy. The curse on her husband's family isn’t as straightforward as he would make it seem, and it wasn’t a guarantee of happiness either.
One of them had to take matters into their own hands. For her own marriage Iron Fan had to ensure things went the way it did; Red Son was going to have a similar challenge. And Iron Fan seriously doubts that this Noodle Boy will be as obliging as she was.
“We’ll let you get some sleep, my son.” Iron Fan says, brushing her hand over his cheek. It was something they’d need to worry about, but not tonight.
Instead she takes her husband by the hand and leads him out, gently closing the door behind them, before turning to face him. “We need to talk.”
“Of course!” He nods, sparkles in his eyes. “Our son has been Lovestruck! Isn’t it wonderful.”
She bites her lip. “I’m glad this has happened, but we need to be cautious. Your family affliction… It doesn’t always work out.” For every story Iron Fan heard of her husbands cousins, or brothers, or ancestors, finding their true love on the battlefield there’s another where it didn’t work out. The worst involve deaths; a death on the battlefield despart to see their loves, a suicide when their love was unrequited, even one story where a member of their husbands family attempted to courtnap a celestial spirit, and the spirit, not understanding what was happening, murdered them in self defense.
Even the ones that didn’t end in death weren’t always happy tales. Her husband’s own brother, the Immortal Riyu, lost his mind after being rejected by his own beloved and spent a good few hundred years harassing the Kingdom of Women until the Monkey King forced him to stop.
Her husband didn’t at all seem deterred. “Yes, but have faith my love. Our son is a wonderful man. Who wouldn’t want him?”
It wasn’t that simple, but clearly her husband was blinded by his joy.
That was fine. “You are right; our son is wonderful.” She smiles. “However the world has changed a great deal since you were imprisoned.” Iron Fan places her second hand on his. “Why don’t you let me take care of all the details when it comes to our son's courtship?”
Her husband agreed easily. “You handled everything last time, so of course.” He teases. “I swear, you were more lovestruck than I.”
Iron Fan smiled at this. Over the years she let some parts of their courting, or the true story, slip to her husband, but even now he doesn’t know all the details.
It’s not like she was actively hiding things, the truth just… Never came up. He didn’t ask, and she didn’t tell. But he didn’t know everything that she actually had to do for his hand.
He didn’t know what their son might have to do to ensure his own happiness.
“I’ll go clean up breakfast.” Her husband smiled, gently squeezing her hand before letting go. “I know you probably didn’t get much rest for the past few days, and you didn’t exactly sleep much last night.” He blushes slightly and laughs. “Why don’t you take it easy this morning?”
“Yes I think I will.” She says softly, only dropping her smile when he walks down the hallways.
Iron Fan looks at her Son’s door and frowns, hoping he’s fallen back asleep already, as he needed the rest.
She brushes a hand over his wooden door, feeling the grains under her fingers. A mortal boy. Mortals were far more delicate than demons or spirits. They had different cultures, different ideas about love and marriage. However they were also more malleable, easier to manipulate and control. All in all unpredictable.
Red Son would have to worry about this, but not today; today he’d need to rest, recover his strength, and wrap his mind around the new state of things.
Tomorrow was a different story.
Tomorrow she could discuss the matter with him, make him aware of the truth of this situation.
Tomorrow she would let him know what he truly might have to ensure his own happiness. She’d tell him what she had to do, every detail of it, and teach him how to do the same.
But that was tomorrow.
Today he could be happy. Tomorrow she’d ensure he knew how to stay that way.