Ravenna tugged at the skirt of her emerald dress in discomfort. Her attacker was standing before her, although this time it was Peter bound and helpless. Lucifer stepped back from the Lost man, and offered Ravenna his arm for support.
"Edward, on her other side, please."
Edward stepped up to Ravenna's left, and offered the young woman his arm as well. She took both men's arms, standing upright between them, her arms linked with theirs. Ravenna felt more powerful, standing between the Ruler of the UnderKingdom and his favored right-hand demon.
"Ravenna, dear, anything you wish to do or say, you are in charge now. This is my realm, my UnderKingdom, and you are in charge of your recovery now. Anything you would like, say the word and it will happen." Lucifer spoke slowly and softly, encouraging Ravenna to get her peace.
Edward looked over at his master, who had a small smirk he was attempting to control. The demon knew this look. Lucifer was hoping for some entertainment. By providing a no-holds-barred environment, he was hoping Ravenna would have a hidden dark side that would be tempted to surface.
"I…I do not know what to…" Ravenna's words came out in a stutter, and she was suspicious of the fact that Peter Jones had yet to say anything. In his living days, Peter had spent so much time interrupting and cutting her off, and in death, he had yet to speak a word. –Can the Lost speak? Of course they can, I heard them mutter "hail" to Lucifer in the clearing. I've heard them speak. What did Lucifer whisper to him? –
"Go on, Miss. You have every right to be angry, to want him to feel the pain and humiliation you felt that day." Edward softly encouraged her, his snakelike voice attempting to calm.
Ravenna took her arm from Lucifer, and held out her hand. Taking her hint, he smiled, and passed her the cane with the hidden sword in it. Lucifer's smile grew wider; he was ecstatic to watch the entertainment he had planned for his afternoon.
Edward stepped back from Ravenna, both he and his master were a step behind the young woman, who stared her attacker in the face. He could smell her fear, her desperation for escape. Humans had so many delicious emotions, but he had restrained himself this far from tasting the fear in her blood, and continued to mind his manners. He absently traced some of the abstract red tattoos along his paper-white skin, trying to distract himself from the scent of Ravenna's fear.
Ravenna clenched her jaw, and thought of Michael. She desperately wished the Seraphim was beside her; Michael was such a comfort, and he would keep her safe. But Michael was in another realm, likely being punished for being her comfort, her guardian. –I must do this alone, and I must face Peter for the both of us. If Michael must be punished, I need to do this for both of us.–
Michael in her thoughts, her bravery swelled. Ravenna gripped the borrowed cane, and stepped forward to the bound Lost man, his pale yellow eyes slowly coming up to meet her gaze. The eye contact made her stomach twist, but with Michael on her mind, her resolve was unbreakable.
Ravenna took a deep breath, and spoke slowly, making sure that not a single quiver was audible in her words.
"You deserve to be here, Peter. You deserve everything that Lucifer and his demons do to you."
No reply came from Peter.
–He was definitely threatened. He always had an answer for everything.–
"What made you think you had the right to steal me from my home, take me across the country, and try to physically claim me as your own? Who did you think you were? Why did you ever think you had that right to me or my body?"
The bound Lost man hung his head low, not a single word falling from his scabbed lips.
As Ravenna started to get her feelings out, she became angrier. All the pent-up hurt and fear began to pour from her, and her calm composure was broken. She no longer spoke with conviction, instead, she began to shout at the Lost man bound to the spire that towered above her.
"WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO YOUR FIRST WIFE! I TREATED HER INJURIES THAT YOU CAUSED! AND THEN YOU HAVE THE AUDACITY TO STEAL ME FROM MY HOME, AND TRY TO DO THE SAME TO ME? I'M GLAD MICHAEL KILLED YOU! I WISH HE COULD DO IT AGAIN! YOU DESERVE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU IN THIS REALM AND MORE!"
Ravenna's chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. –What came over me? Was Lucifer really right? Did I truly have this kind of hate in my heart?– Her thoughts were interrupted by Lucifer and Edward, who placed their hands on her shoulders. Lucifer smirked, and his right hand brought a whip into view. Ravenna quickly turned her head to face Edward, who raised his left hand, bringing a dagger into her sight.
"Wha…why…why do you two have weapons? I have said everything I need to say! I feel much better! Peter knows how I feel, and I can move on with my life, knowing that I have told him everything. I can forget him now!"
Lucifer's voice purred in her ear. "You did tell him he deserves everything that happens to him in this realm, and more. Did he not beat you? Did he not threaten you with a dagger, similar to the one my dear Edward holds? He knows your feelings, yes, but should he not also know the physical pain of what he has done to you?"
Peter raised his head slowly, still bound to the spire. His dead gaze showed a sign of fear; he was deceased and had been punished in the UnderKingdom since his arrival, but this was a special torment being offered. There were days in the UnderKingdom where punishments were less severe, but Master Lucifer's words sounded like he was offering Ravenna to do everything that he had done to her before his sudden death in the meadow.
Ravenna hesitated. She clasped her hands together as she thought about what Lucifer told her. –Should I really hurt Peter the way he hurt me?– Lucifer carefully took Ravenna's hand, and placed the handle of the whip in her grasp, the leather strap trailing to the ground, coiling at her feet.
"Do it, dear. Do it. He deserves it. You know he deserves it." Lucifer's words were barely a whisper in her ear, soft and tempting.
Ravenna's fingers closed tightly around the handle of the whip, and Lucifer's eyes widened. Edward held his breath, thinking Ravenna was actually going to unleash a hidden dark side, expose her suppressed hate toward this man.
A deep sigh escaped Ravenna's lips. She dropped the whip to the ground, and turned her back on the greyed Peter. "I am a healer, Lucifer. I am sworn to do no harm. He hurt me. But hurting him will not make things better. It just makes me as bad as he is. Edward, please take me back to the palace."
Upon her request, Ravenna was escorted away from the twisted black spire, leaving behind Peter Jones, Lucifer, and the Fallen man's temptations of revenge.