Kathrine Ann clung to Lucifer's back tightly as he climbed higher and higher, but surprisingly, she felt safe. Safe enough that she decided to pull her head out of his back and open her eyes. She looked around at first before looking down. The ground was far below, she squeezed a bit tighter, but the height didn't bother her too much as she scanned the distant ground. Suddenly she saw something far away in the tree line. Some rustling, she searched, trying to find it again, and then a strange glint, but before she could focus, her vision blurred, and a cold chill rushed over her body.
"Oh, God!" She gasped as her vision turned spotty. Her head began to spin, and her heart was racing.
"What's wrong?" Lucifer asked her, but she couldn't respond as panic took over. She snapped her eyes shut, but it didn't help. It felt like dark walls were closing in around her. Her head throbbed. 'Just let go.' She heard herself say in her head. Let go?
"Baby Girl! Hold on. We're almost there." Lucifer reassured. His voice was muffled, and she felt like she was slipping into darkness. She was losing grip both figuratively and literally as her arms slipped. 'Yes, let go, end it all now.' End it all? She didn't know this voice in her head, it may have sounded like hers, but it wasn't. It wasn't right.
"Kathrine Ann!" She heard the distant call. Feeling her arms slipping from his neck, all she could think was that she was going to fall. Fuck she was going to fall! Like a bucket of cold water had been thrown on her, she snapped back, tightening her arms around his neck, choking him. "Say something, Baby Girl." He gasped.
"Something." She replied, panicked.
"Alright, are you okay now?" He asked as she realized Luce had stopped climbing.
"I think so," She mumbled, "I mean, yes, I'm good now."
"Good, now calm down. Your panic is making me anxious. Besides, I already told you if you happened to fall, I would catch you." He reminded, resuming the climb, "Though, you did worry me for a second. What happened?"
"I looked down?" She blushed, "I don't know, I uh, I just got scared, I guess," She admitted, leaving out the weird thing she saw. She didn't know what had happened to her, but it was probably nothing.
Lucifer didn't say anything else, and a few moments later, he climbed up onto level ground and let her off his back, but before she could do anything, he was in front of her, one hand cupping her chin and forcing her to meet his narrowed eyes,
"Hum? What are you not telling me?" He demanded.
"I, I don't know what it was, Luce. I looked down and freaked out. I think I maybe saw something, but it was probably nothing, and if it was something, I don't know what." She admitted blushing.
"Explain it the best you can." He instructed.
"It wasn't much of anything. I looked down and thought I saw something move, but when I tried to see what it was," She sighed, "I'm sure it was nothing. I'm just not used to being carried piggyback up a mountain wall, is all." She justified.
"Sure," He mumbled, looking over the edge, "Let's eat." He instructed, walking by her and grabbing the bag still attached to her back, effectively pulling her along with it.
Was he mad at her? She didn't mean to freak out.
"I'm not upset with you, Baby Girl." He reassured, slipping the bag off her shoulder and opening it.
"I hate that you know how I feel." She huffed as he dug through the contents pulling out one thing after another, "Especially when I don't want you to know."
"Doesn't it make things easier? I know when you're upset, and I can fix it." He replied, gathering the things he had removed.
"I guess," She mumbled, "But you also use how I'm feeling to your advantage sometimes."
"That is true. I can't help myself. Picking on you makes me quite happy." He teased and seemed like he was about to continue but suddenly stopped. His eyes shot to the edge they climbed up on with a suspicious glare. After a moment, he shook his head before walking over and handing her something wrapped in thick paper, "Come, I'm starving." He instructed, and the two of them found a spot to sit. Once settled, Kathrine Ann turned her focus to the small package. She unwrapped it and saw what looked like a roll.
Lifting the bread-like food to her mouth, she took a cautious bite. Inside was a sweet buttery mixture that reminded her of peanut butter and some sweet and tangy puree, "Peanut butter and Jelly." She smiled.
"What, what, and what?" Lucifer asked, chewing a mouthful from his roll.
"That's what this reminds me of. I guess you could call it a different version." She shrugged before taking another bite, "I always had it in sandwich form. Like two slices of bread with the stuff in the middle." She explained, using her hands to help her demonstrate how one would hold a sandwich.
"I see." He replied, "We just call them stuffers." He twisted off the top of a water bottle and handed it to her, "Vassel makes a perfect hot meat stuffer, but those don't taste as good once they get cold." She could only reply with a nod since she had just taken a big gulp of water before handing the bottle back to him. "They're one of my favorites. She made them a lot for me when I was a kid." He continued, pausing to take a quick sip out of the same bottle, "Still find a plate of them on my desk every once in a while, usually when I'm too busy to take lunch."
"Sounds like she takes good care of you." Kathrine Ann smiled, thinking about the sweet lady back at the castle and speaking of the castle. She just noticed that she could see it from where they were sitting.
"Umhum," He mumbled, chewing on another bite of his lunch, "Always has, the closest thing to a parent I've ever actually had."
"I'm sure your dad would love to hear that." She chuckled, popping the last little piece in her mouth before reaching for the water bottle again.
"My dad knows his shortcomings, and being a father is one of them. I have no doubt he cares for me in his own strange way, but he's not the loving parent kinda man."
Silence fell between them. As Lucifer finished eating, Kathrine Ann took in the scene before her. They had climbed high enough to be over the treetops, so she had a clear view of the surroundings. Kathrine Ann could finally see the walls surrounding the castle grounds that cut through trees, causing cut lines in the massive forest. She could see where the trees grew thinner and thinner till they stopped, and the castle gardens bloomed. The vast open area, once filled with people celebrating their marriage, now looked so small and distant, but the castle was nothing like anything she had ever seen. It was the first time she'd seen it as a whole, and it was indeed a sight. Unlike traditional castles she had read about, there were no tall towers or spiked walls to keep out intruders. Instead, it looked like what she imagined a medieval mansion would be, but massive. The walls were built out of a dark gray stone that looked worn but sturdy. The roof was black and had multiple peaks with scattered chimney stacks reaching for the sky. Thick glass windows dotted the exterior, and she could barely make out a few balconies,
"Impressive, isn't it?" His calm voice startled her a bit. She had drifted off, taking in the view, and somehow forgot she wasn't alone.
"It is truly a beautiful castle. How many people can live in it?" She asked curiously.
"Oh, I don't know, a few hundred at least. Before Hell City was built, all the half-demons lived in the castle. Needless to say, my father was more than willing to do whatever it took to build a city." He smiled.
"I bet it was nice having the company." She quired.
"I wouldn't know. That was well before my time. I was born right after West City was established." He explained.
"Oh." She hummed as he stood up and walked to the edge. She got up and joined him, slowly and carefully walking up next to him.
"I used to come up here a lot as a child." He admitted.
"I can see why. It's beautiful, Luce."
"Beautiful?" He asked, "I'll show you beautiful."
Before she could reply, he let out a loud roar, which shook her to the bones. Squeaks, screeches, and chirps erupted as the tree line exploded. So many different colored feathers filled the air in desperation to escape what most definitely sounded like a threat. The colors swirled together, and she gasped as the fluid rainbow danced before her in the afternoon sky,
"Wow." She gasped. She looked at him to find his eyes on her, but his naturally blue eyes had an orangy red glow around the pupil, "Luce?" She asked cautiously.
"Yes, my Sweet Doll?" He hummed.
"Your eyes." She mumbled.
"Oh, sorry." He smiled, and after a blink, they returned to normal.
"That was very beautiful." She smiled.
"I thought you would like it. Come on, let's head back to the campsite." He said, crouching for her to climb on. She felt the ping of fear, but what other choice did she have? She climbed on, "Hold on tight." He instructed, and with a quick jolt, cold air hit her face, and she gasped as everything blurred around her. Unsure of what was going on, she did as he instructed and held tight to her Devil. It couldn't have been more than a minute before they suddenly stopped, and the world returned to focus. In front of her was their tent. Somehow they were already back at the campsite.
"How?" She gasped.
"What? I'm not just a pretty face, you know." He smirked. "Go, nap. I can tell you're tired."
"Is it that obvious?" She yawned.
"Go on, my sleepy doll." He chuckled, "I'll wake you in a bit if you don't wake on your own."
She shrugged and retreated into the tent to lie down. Almost as soon as she closed her eyes, she was sound asleep.
~~~
Kathrine Ann woke with a start. She was cold and pulled the blanket close as she looked around and collected herself. Finally, sitting upon the cot, she yawned but still held the blanket tight around her. She looked around to find an empty tent. The smell of dinner floated on the air, and her stomach growled. Slowly, she got up, wrapped herself in the blanket, and walked out into the chilly air.