She stood in front of the mirror, wearing only the lingerie that Azazel insisted she wears. She tilted her head to each side, wondering if this was necessary. She really wasn't a prude. She had lingerie and a few other 'toys' when she was alive, but this was different. She was getting married today, married to the Devil, and she stood there wearing blood-red lingerie. It looked good on her, but the thought of Lucifer seeing her in just this made her uncomfortable.
"Okay, Princess, let's let that hair down," Azazel said, walking behind her.
"Okay, but I would like my robe, please." She asked sternly.
"Of course, though, I don't see why," Azazel admitted handing her the robe as she quickly pulled it on, "You're hot, and I imagine that body is driving Lucifer crazy." She laughed as her fingers ran through her hair, unbraiding it.
"Yeah, well, he can continue to suffer." She huffed, crossing her arms, "Besides, he obviously, has many other options to relieve that tension."
"Do I sense a bit of jealousy? Want the young Prince all to yourself, do you?" She laughed.
"No! I don't want anything from him!" She snapped.
"I don't need to be Lucifer to tell you're lying." Azazel smiled, finally releasing her strawberry mane, "Every woman wants the Prince, Princess, whether for power or pleasure depends on the person." She walked over to the table and retrieved the brush, "Tonight, you'll be meeting one who expected to get both. I suggest steering clear of her." Azazel warned, returning and running the brush through her hair, "Though I don't imagine you'll be able to avoid her for long."
Her eye's snapped up, looking at Azazel through the mirror, "Oh? Who is she?" She asked.
"Angelique Cazimir. She's the daughter of Duke Cazimir and has been involved, on and off, with Lucifer for many years. She, uh, lets him do anything he wants and was convinced that eventually, he would marry her in return. But you came falling from the heavens," Azazel explained, causing her to feel flooded with guilt. Had she ruined the relationship between Lucifer and this girl?
"Did I..." She whispered.
"No!" Azazel quickly interrupted with a laugh, "Lucifer never shared Angelique's desires and didn't hide that fact. On many occasions, he told her he had no intentions of marrying anyone, especially her, but she never gave up, and I doubt she's planning on now." Azazel reassured, "She's fucking crazy, and because of that, more than once, Louie distanced himself from her, but she always finds a way back. She's also half-vampire, which makes her dangerous, so be cautious."
"Wonderful, I have to marry the Devil, whose mistress is a vampire. I feel like I'm living a fantasy novel." She groaned.
"Lucifer will keep you safe, and so will I. However, this won't stop her from trying to destroy you socially."
"Jokes on her. I don't care about being popular."
"That's gotta change. Look, you're about to be the crowned Princess of Hell, and your social presence is not only necessary but will be meticulously scrutinized." She informed, "You are about to marry the Devil. You must be the Devil's wife, the Queen of Hell. Strong, confident, and tough but loved, looked up to and unreplaceable."
"Oh good, no pressure." She groaned, "I told Lucifer that's what I wanted. Respect and power, but I don't know if I can do it,"
"Look, don't worry about it; I got you. For now, let's worry about getting you married. Ahh! There we are, what did I say, beautiful." Azazel said, backing up from the mirror, fluffing out her hair, and she was right. Her hair flowed beautifully down her back and sides, filled with gorgeous silky waves.
"It's beautiful, Azazel. I need to know where you get those oils." She gasped, touching the long soft strands.
"No problem, Princess. Now for makeup, you said you wanted to do it yourself, right?" She asked, walking back over to the bed and digging through her bag, pulling out a few things, "Here you go. Foundation, highlighter, powder and these shades that will match your dress." Azazel said, handing her a small box, and when she opened it, she was a little shocked,
"Reds and oranges." She questioned.
Azazel nodded, "Now I'm going to go have a quick shower and start getting myself ready. Do you mind if I use yours? It'll take even me a while to get home and back, and I need to help you with your dress."
"No, that's fine, Azazel. Go ahead." She replied, and Azazel quickly vanished into the bathroom.
She took the makeup over to the dresser, which had a small mirror above it and a light next to it. Putting down the strange color pallet and other items, she walked over to the bag and dug through it, looking for brushes. After finding them, she returned to the mirror and started her work as her mind drifted from one frustration to another. Forcibly married, people wanting to hurt her, Lucifer's shamelessness, and now this Angelique girl? She growled at the thought of whoever she was, but why? She was admittedly jealous, but why, if allowed to run, she would be halfway across Hell by now, yet she couldn't run. She had to marry Lucifer, and if she had to have him, she didn't want anyone else to have him too. He'd never agree to that. She shook her head and brought her focus back to her face. Keeping her thoughts at bay, she had just finished applying a dark red tint to her lips when Azazel returned to the room wearing her own robe. Walking straight over, she looked over her shoulder into the mirror,
"You weren't kidding. If it weren't your wedding day, I'd ask you to do mine too." Azazel complimented, turning to where the bag lay.
"I'll do your makeup if you want. I don't mind." She offered, turning.
"Sure, if you don't mind." Azazel smiled, retrieving another makeup palette, "Use these colors."
She took the pallet and noticed the colors were significantly less dramatic. She went to work on Azazel's face and couldn't help smiling. She almost felt normal,
"Lucifer's not that bad." Azazel spoke as she worked, "He puts up this hard front, but deep inside, he wants what everyone else does, but he doesn't trust anyone enough to let them in. Don't blame him after what his mom did, then Olreth left him. I wouldn't trust anyone either."
"What did his mom do?" She asked, focusing on blending.
"Not my place. I don't even know if the story I know is completely true. I just heard rumors. Lucifer doesn't talk about it."
"Right, never thought to ask about his mom. Though I doubt he'd tell me if he won't tell you." She replied as she began to work on Azazel's eyes.
"All of eternity is a long time. Maybe you'll win the heart of our Young Prince."
"Yeah, right. I'm just his 'doll,' no more than a plaything. A fact he's made very clear, if I'm lucky, he'll allow me the respect of being his queen, but I imagine that's it. I can't even leave the castle, Azazel." She chuckled a sad note, "I mean no more to him than a cute little pet."
"You don't see it?" She asked, "Well, I guess you wouldn't. You didn't know Lucifer before you came here."
"See what?" She asked.
"You make him happy. Not that he was miserable or anything, but more like he's found something new that he didn't know existed."
She scoffed, "He tolerates me,"
"Trust me, Princess," She interrupted, "I know Louie better than most, and no one has ever caught his interest like you. He enjoys sex, but he never connected emotionally with anyone and never wanted to," Azazel explained as she added the final details, "That is until you arrived. The more time he spends with you, the more obvious it becomes."
"If that's true, then he should learn to show it better." She replied calmly, stepping back with a smile, "Done."
"Try to be patient. He may be old, but this is all new to him." Azazel explained as she got up and looked in the mirror, "Nicely done, Princess. May need to steal a few pointers later on." She smiled, looking her face over, "Now we only have about an hour left, so it's dress time!"
Azazel quickly pulled her dress on before moving to the other garment bag, she unzipped it, and her heart stopped as Azazel pulled the dress out. Crimson red, her wedding dress was the color of blood, and she took a deep breath before looking again and capturing the details. The torso was a sweetheart cut of deep red; a sheer black and delicate lace came up to make the neck and sleeves but left the chest open. There was a beautifully embroidered black belt full of stones colored red, orange, and every color in between. The bottom, the dress's skirt, layered with black and crimson lace, gave off a breathtaking effect as both laces trailed behind, creating a small train.
"Come on, Princess, in you go!" Fussed Azazel holding the dress up as she finally snapped out of it and crawled under, holding her arms up as the materials slipped over her body. Azazel buttoned up the back. The buttons stopped just short of her waist and created an opening that showcased almost all of her back up until her neck, which had three buttons that closed a short collar,
"It's beautiful. Not what I would call a wedding dress, but this is Hell." She shrugged, "Maybe things are different. Oh, Lord Lucifer said something odd. He said there had never been a wedding in the castle."
"Uhh, nope. Not that I've ever known." Azazel verified, messing with her hair.
"Lucifer's parents didn't get married in the castle?" She asked.
"Oh no," Azazel replied, "Lord Lucifer has never taken a wife, and I doubt he ever will."
"Ah." She replied, "Bit odd. He'll force his son to marry but not marry himself."
"Nothing for him to gain by getting married." Azazel shrugged. "Just about perfect; just one more thing!" She said as she ran off, only to return with a nice wooden box, "It arrived while you were in the tub. Louie delivered it herself. It's essential."
She opened the box to see a velvet hump the size of a head holding a golden ring. She lifted it from the box only to find that it was webbed with golden chains and jewels just like the ones on her belt,
"A crown for our future Queen and, for now, our Princess." Smiled Azazel, taking the headpiece and carefully placing it upon her head. The gold band settled around her forehead, and Azazel moved around her, ensuring the jewels and chains draped perfectly over her silky hair before fiddling with her front strands till everything was perfect.
"Why are you helping me, Azazel?" She asked as the half-demon adjusted and straightened her dress, "I know you say that you have no feelings for Lucifer, but assuming that's true, being around me has to be painfully boring, to say the least."
"For the last time, I have no romantic feelings for Lucifer." She groaned, annoyed, "Yes, I care for him, I've known him my whole life, and we're good friends, and we like to fool around, but he is also my Prince, so when Lucifer approached me asking me to be your friend, I couldn't refuse. Yes, I thought you would be annoying and boring, but I didn't have much of a choice." Azazel answered honestly. Though she wasn't shocked, it still stung a bit, "I was wrong, you're fun and sweet, and I like spending time with you. Also, I like what you do to him. I can tell when he spends time with you and when he doesn't because he's calmer and a little happy. I like you. You're my friend. Strange and weird friend but a friend." She smiled.
"Strange and weird, for sure. Thank you, Azazel. I need friends here." She smiled.
"Oh, I guess, since we're friends and all, what's your name? Something tells me it's not Baby Girl."
"You don't know?" She asked as Azazel gave the headpieces a final adjustment. "No, Lord Lucifer and Louie didn't really explain anything about you to anyone really,"
"Of course not. Why would they." She rolled her eyes, but before she could answer, Azazel, there was a knock on the door.
"It's time. Azazel, you may go join the rest in the throne room." Belial informed, entering the room. With a slight mocking bow to her, Azazel left. "Well, you've certainly dressed the part." He smiled, looking her over.
"Let's get this over with." She sighed.