On the third day of Ravenna hardly speaking, Lucifer entered the foyer of the protected bedchamber with a tray of fine cakes, a pair of glasses, and a bottle of wine.
"Ravenna? May I come in?"
"If you must."
Lucifer stepped further into Ravenna's room, where she sat reading a book on the large bed, not looking up at the man who came to stand next to her. He placed the tray on the bed next to her, and poured two glasses of wine. She turned the page of her book, still not paying any attention to the Fallen man who carefully sat on the edge of the bed.
"Something has upset you in my care."
"Thanks for noticing." Ravenna turned another page, not sparing Lucifer a glance.
Lucifer reached over and tilted Ravenna's chin up, making her look at him. "You are not yourself. What has upset you? It was my promise to Michael to keep you safe. It was also important to him that you were happy. Michael would not want to see you this way. Talk to me, my dear." Lucifer smiled, and withdrew his fingers from Ravenna's chin.
Ravenna frowned, and grabbed one of the wine glasses that Lucifer had filled. She quickly drank the red wine, using the alcohol to summon up her bravery against the Ruler of the UnderKingdom. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She looked angrily at Lucifer's concerned face.
"I'm sure you know exactly what has upset me! I heard you talking to Edward. You're only keeping me here to gain Michael's favor - you're using me to get the upper hand with Michael so he has no choice but to join your little vendetta against the Ruler! How do you think that feels, to be me, to hear that? You don't care about my safety one way or the other! You care about Michael's willingness to fight against the Ruler with you! I'm just convenient to you!"
Lucifer pressed his lips together into a thin line. He was caught, and he knew it. Ravenna was smart, and he knew that as well.
"I apologize, my sweet. You were not meant to hear those words. It is true, I initially only brought you here as a way to convince Michael to join me. But once you were here, you brightened up my UnderKingdom with your presence. My Realm has never had such brilliance, such elegance, such life. Certainly, you were brought here with personal gain in mind, but you have done so much more here than I could have ever imagined. Edward has spoken much more than he has in centuries. Hellena is squabbling less with the other demons than she ever has. I believe it is due to the grace you exude. Please, accept my apologies. I will never mention my original reason for bringing you here to Michael, and it will simply be a gesture between friends."
–He sounds so sincere, but I can't trust that he's genuine,– Ravenna helped herself to the second glass of wine on the tray as she stared at the Fallen man.
"Ravenna? Please, say something."
Ravenna drank from the glass, and took a deep breath. "Will you tell me more about what Michael is facing?"
"If it will get you to your normal, bubbly self, I will answer as many questions as I can."
"Can we at least go back to the Hall, get out of this room for a little while? I'm sure Edward is ready for a break."
"Of course." Lucifer offered Ravenna his hand, and she reluctantly took it. She stood from her little nest she had made for herself on the bed, leaving behind her book and the pile of blankets that she had wrapped herself in.
Lucifer picked up the tray with the desserts, and gestured for Ravenna to lead the way through the bedchamber door. She passed the armored demon outside the door, and Lucifer passed the tray to him. "Edward, join us, won't you?" Lucifer's words were less of an invitation and more of a polite command to his demon.
Edward moved from his command post outside of Ravenna's bedchamber, and pulled a pair of benches from the walls of the Great Hall, placing them next to the throne. Lucifer sat on one of the benches, and Edward sat on the other, leaving Ravenna the throne. Lucifer passed Ravenna a small cake, which she took. Edward started stripping the armor from his body, happy to be free of the excess weight; he had only worn his leather shirt, pants, and boots for centuries, other than the times that Lucifer wished to spar.
"Ravenna, what did you want to know?" Lucifer took a small pastry from the tray, taking a bite as he looked at the small woman on his throne.
"I guess, a couple things. Why are the Archangels coming to bring Michael back to the Kingdom? It's obvious he doesn't want to go back. Why not just let him stay where he was? What happens during a Fall?"
Lucifer licked his fingers. "I guess the Archangels are the Ruler's little guard dogs. They do his dirty work. They are being sent to fetch Michael so the Ruler can punish him for breaking the rules of the Kingdom. Michael can't just stay here and be happy with you. That would send the wrong signal to the other angels. He needs to show He is in charge. So by having the Archangels drag back what the Ruler views as a "rogue" Seraphim, he shows that He is still in command."
"How did we, I mean, how did humans come to praise such a Ruler?" Ravenna refilled one of the wine glasses as she watched Edward toss aside the last of his armor.
"He was not always so…He was not always this way. When He first made Creation, He had good intentions. As the Creation became larger, it became harder to manage, and the power became overwhelming. The more humans that became Unbelievers, the more apathetic the Ruler became. He chose to revel in His power; to no longer care about Creation. We had many fights about that. I was not ready to give up on Creation, on the Human Realm."
"Why did the Ruler cast you out?" Ravenna leaned forward, wanting to know more. She had forgotten her original anger at the Fallen man, and was interested in his story.
Lucifer took another pastry, eating it while looking at his feet. He brushed the crumbs from his hands, and looked over at Ravenna sadly. He noticed Edward looking over at him; he had never told Edward the story in detail.
"I was proud. I felt like, and still do, that I knew what was best for the Mortal Plane. So I continued to help the humans with their prayers. The Ruler saw me as a threat to His power, and threw me in a prison. He cast me from the Kingdom a week or so later."
Ravenna saw the sadness in Lucifer's eyes.
"...so what was it like to Fall? You seem so sure that is what Michael is facing."
Lucifer's green eyes looked dull as they looked into Ravenna's.
"Agony."