Lucifer leaned against the wall. All his weight on the one hand, and he sighed loudly as the clicking of his wife's heels faded down the hall. That girl was driving him crazy, but he did promise to explain things. He just really didn't want to.
"Your Princess isn't the only one who wants answers, Louie." His father spoke, and Lucifer could hear the annoyance just as well as he could sense it, which made him smile a bit. His father loved to annoy him, so it was fun when the tables were turned. He pushed off the wall, straightening his jacket and cuffs as he turned to his father, "You weren't the only one with company this evening, son. Please explain why my night was interrupted by a screaming boy dragged across the castle, through my room, and thrown into my cell?"
"Simple, he poisoned my wife's wine." Lucifer answered, "Have a good evening, Father." He bowed and turned in the direction of his room.
"Lucifer!" His father snapped authoritatively.
"Alright, alright," Lucifer turned back with a chuckle, only deepening his father's anger, "She didn't drink the wine, of course. I already had my suspicions, and Thron was there. The boy slipped it into the bottle while nobody was looking, and I didn't order him to be put in your cell. I suppose Thron decided that. He knows how I prefer privacy for the more intimate sessions." His demon was half itching to get out, but he pushed him back.
"Is he the one?" His father inquired, stretching his neck to either side with a yawn.
"No," Lucifer grumbled, "Just a poor, stupid boy who listened to the threats of another." He informed, sliding his hands into his pocket, "Our hooded rascal allegedly threatened this boy's mentally disabled sister. Instead of using his brain and disclosing this information to us, he listened to threats and took a chance. A chance that will cost him his life."
"Should you be so harsh?" His father asked, "The boy was only protecting his family. Taking the only path that seemed reasonable."
"By serving a slow and painful death to, possibly, the purest being here? Consequences, father." Lucifer defended, and his father smirked, giving him a pat on the back,
"You will make a fine ruler, my son."
"I know," Lucifer smirked back, "Speaking of consequences...Funny thing actually, I just watched an entire play about them." This caused his father's smirk to turn into a glare. Lucifer started to walk backward, away from his father and towards his room, "'I do not judge for I am not God, but by his will, I punish those deserving.'" Lucifer quoted from the Devil's Vow, "May Grandpapa have mercy on the boy and spare his soul, but I will not spare his life." Lucifer turned on his heels, bid his father goodnight, and retreated to his room.
When he entered, his Baby Girl's dress was on the floor, the crown on the bed, heels kicked off, and the bathroom door shut. He undressed and put on some loose shorts and a shirt, figuring being fully clothed was a good peace offering to explain this most dreaded topic. He then walked out on the balcony and lit the small hearth, stoking it until its warmth surrounded the sitting area. Lucifer walked back inside and poured each of them a glass of their favorites. He had just corked her wine bottle when the bathroom door opened, and out walked his Baby Girl, a towel wrapped around her chest and one atop her head, making her look like a giant ice cream cone, and he couldn't help but chuckle. She gasped as soon as she heard him, a burst of fear, followed quickly by relief and ended with embarrassment.
"Lucifer!" She blushed even more as his eyes took advantage of the situation, causing him to laugh a bit more.
He walked outside and put down their drinks before taking a couple of steps back inside towards his dresser, where he plucked the hairbrush he knew she was going to need,
"Baby Girl," He began,
"Wait," She sighed, her back to him as she dug through her dresser, "Let me get dressed first, please."
He didn't reply. Instead, he watched his wife slip into one of his shirts, catching a glimpse of the scars on her back, a forever reminder of her fall. After that, she let down her wet hair and glanced around for the brush until her eye fell onto him and instantly rolled. He jerked his head to the balcony before walking out. Lucifer sat on the small couch, dropped a few pillows at his feet, and waited. His Baby Girl finally joined and sat wordlessly in front of him. She curled her legs next to her as he began the pleasurable task of brushing her hair. They sat silently as he tried to figure out his words,
"Well?" She finally asked, breaking the silence, "Why have you been avoiding me, Lucifer? If everything you said earlier is true, then I don't understand why?" She admitted, and he felt her hurt and worry.
Lucifer sighed, thinking about the fact that he had been doing a lot of sighing tonight, "Do you remember why I told you I visited Angelique?"
Her body tensed a bit, but she nodded, "You have to appease your demon side, and the catty bitch is your safest option because you can control her." She mumbled, crossing her arms and pouting, "But what's that have to do with you avoiding me?"
"Well, it seems the future duchess isn't enough anymore," Lucifer revealed, putting the brush down as her head turned up to look at him confused, "He wants you, and he's not nearly as patient as me,"
"Who wants me?" She gasps, "What do you…Oh my god!" She pushed back from him a bit, and he scowled. He knew she would run from him, but she stopped when she could see him properly, "Your eyes, when they turn red that's, that's 'him,' isn't it? Your demon side?"
He nodded, "Who would have thought that an archangel and a demon wouldn't mix properly."
"So you're like two separate people?" She asked as her curiosity grew, and she actually sat forward on her knees.
"More like two personalities sharing one mind and body." He explained, and then she did something that he would never have expected.
She crawled back between his legs and looked up at him with her bright green eyes, "Can I meet him?"
Lucifer was stunned, he didn't know what to say, and it didn't help that his demon was now trying to force himself to the surface,
'Come on, you heard our sweet little wife, Louie,' He hissed excitedly, 'She wants to meet me. I'm sure we'll get along great.' Lucifer fought against him, 'Let me through, asshole. I'll make her scream so loud,'
"No!" He growled loudly at his other half, but his Baby Girl jumped back, startled by the sudden outburst. Lucifer took a deep breath and calmed himself, forcing that nuisance back down, much to his anger, "No." He repeated calmly, holding out his hand for her. Surprising him again, she didn't hesitate as she put her small delicate hand into his. He pulled her back to her original position and picked up the brush. Slowly pulling it through her hair again helped him calm down a bit. "He can't be trusted, Baby Girl. He will only hurt you." Lucifer finally spoke, "When we were younger, we shared control, both living on the surface, but as we got older, he got reckless—defying father, doing as he pleased, and causing trouble. My father insisted I take control, and I did a bit, but I didn't want to. I hated it. He was, is me, my other half, so only when he would act up would I force him back, which caused a distance between us. He was angry with me and claimed I betrayed him. He refused to be around my friends because they treated him differently. Was it his own fault, kind of, yes, but regardless, he began spending most of his time in the back of our mind and shutting himself off, knowing it bothered and upset me. As time passed, I missed him. I was lonely, so I promised if he didn't cause trouble, I wouldn't force him back anymore, and we'd spend more time on our own, away from my friends. It worked; Lucifer behaved himself though he was still distant around other people, especially our father, but everything worked out. The hot springs and the woods surrounding it were our favorite place, and things were back to normal, but one day," He stopped, his jaw clenched tight, and he stopped brushing her hair. After a moment, she looked up at him, but he didn't notice as his eyes stared unfocused into the night sky, "I didn't want to go with our mother because my father told me to stay away from her, but he begged and fought me so finally, I gave in, what was the worst that could happen?" Lucifer let out a sad laugh, "He abandoned me when things went wrong, vanished into the darkness of our mind, and left me scared and alone. After that night, things were never the same, I couldn't forgive him for abandoning me, and he couldn't forgive our father for killing our mother despite what she had done. He pulled back again, but this time, I let him. I didn't try to fix things between us. In fact, I began to deny him control when he did want it and stopped doing things I knew he enjoyed. He began to resent me, and I didn't care, I was stronger than him, so what could he possibly do?"
"I'm guessing you underestimated him?" She asked cautiously.
"Oh yea. I won't get into all the details of that day, but basically, Lucifer stepped to the surface, pissed Milril off, and they fought verbally. I took Milril's side and forced him back, and that was that, or so I thought. Fast forward to the next day, I was napping in the garden under the trees. Lucifer took control, found Milril, and attacked him. By the time I realized what was going on and took back control, the damage was done. He had hurt Milril badly. After that day, I locked him away for good, and for the most part, he's willingly stayed, harboring hatred for my father and me until you came along. That sweet little kiss, the touch of your skin, the warmth of your body, and the taste of your soul. I'm stronger than him, but if he keeps fighting, I worry about what he would do if he gained control. That's why I've been a bit distant." He admitted, "But not to worry, we've reached an agreement."
'For now.' The voice echoed through Lucifer's mind, but he ignored it.
"The taste of my soul?" She asked, perplexed.
"It's in your blood." He answered, "We can taste it."
They stayed silent for a minute or two before he felt something press against his thigh. He looked down and saw his sweet doll looking up at him with sad eyes. He was about to speak, but she beat him to it,
"What did you do with the blue dress?" She asked. The odd question confused him. Why was she bringing that up?
Then he thought back to those not-so-long-ago days when she was so scared to fight him but did it anyway. Like a frightened little kitten determined to show the wolf it's strong. He smirked, "I gave it to Vassal and told her to find someone who could use it."
She clutched at her chest and sighed, "I died in a dress the same color."
"I know, you told me."
"I didn't tell you how I died." She took a deep breath, "Cold and alone in an alley right next to the restaurant William was waiting for me in. That's where we died."