Santi: The Devil's Pioneer

Chapter 2 - With A Fight It Starts

"Well, what is it, sweetie?" He masks his disappointment as he chuckles, standing straight back up.

Santi hesitates. In all her 300 years of living, she has never dared ask her father something this bold. She wasn't afraid of his anger nor acts of rage. She knew she had the same rage-full personality, as well. She knows she can meet whatever powers or abilities her father might choose to dish out on her. She was strong, she was the She-Devil.

No, she was afraid she'd hurt her father.

"I want to find my home."

"But, darling, this is your home?" Lucifer stood shocked and confused at her daughter's words. His tone changed straight cold. How dare she.

"It's not." She faces him with brave, sad eyes. "It's your home, dad."

And just like that, Lucifer finds the sparkle in her daughter's eyes that he once witnessed on a beautiful dame on Earth. The sparkle that echoed throughout his mind as he left Earth to forever rule Hell. But just as quickly as he took notice of those little details, his rage spun out of control.

"My home? My home?!" Lucifer begins to shriek, bewildered by her daughter's insinuations. Dead trees crumble to ashes at his words. Had he not given her a decent home? Those homes the Earthlings always seek for? "If it was my home alone, I wouldn't have sparkly good things such as those curtains you keep. My home would be dark and bloody. My home would not have you in it!"

Santi's lips were left ajar. Her eyes were teary and full of anger.

It seemed an eternity before either one spoke.

"This wasteland must not be good enough for you. I'll meet you in the drawing chamber of my home. I'll leave you be." Lucifer speaks after minutes passed. He turns around, mumbling, "Curse your Earthling mother for giving you these ludicrous ideas."

Santi was silenced. She had always known to stand her ground and fight back. She was strong and impenetrable. Words do not hurt her. She was a Queen. However, she was a queen raised without a mother.

She makes her way back into the kingdom after her father's figure diminished. After making her way to her room, she closes her eyes, seeing only darkness. No sleep was at the end of that darkness. This was her destiny. To forever be awake, and suffer the unbearable.

She looks around, caressing the curtains she chose, and scours the kingdom. Hell was a wasteland. How could anyone ever think to raise a child here? Granted Santi was not like most children. She was accustomed to darkness and evil.

But humans are inherently good. Santi knew and felt that however strongly she tries to suppress it.

Although, despite what many may think, Hell wasn't always an unbearable kingdom. In fact, it once was a part of Earth. A heavenly paradise, it was then. Thick, green leaves grew out of each tree. An abundance of fruits and vegetables could be found all around. Life flourished and thrived in every corner. Before Lucifer was banished from Heaven, this oasis was his escape. His man-cave, if you will. It was the single place that brought him peace.

Centuries have passed. No life could bloom on the same lands it once had flourished. No leaves could turn green, and every tree was dead. Fruits that hung were rotten and deadly. Lucifer's oasis had turned into his nightmare.

Santi awoke from a painfully long nap. As she was part-human and part-devil, her body was not accustomed to naps and sleeps. Her body was a mystery, even to Lucifer, for she was unique and one of her kind. She often forced her strange body to sleep, not to rest, but to escape her life in literal Hell. She walks around the room in a sleepy haze, drawing the curtains of each window that did nothing to help the darkness of the room. Hell was a great kingdom, and within that kingdom were greater halls and rooms. But Hell was still a kingdom built on anger and evil emotions, as every room inside it was.

Santi's room was a bleak dark black growing up. She had to convince her father countless years to allow her to change some of its components.

"You will be the Queen of Hell, not Princess Bubblegum. You don't need bright pink colors, darling." Lucifer always tried to deny these wishes. But somewhere along the 300 years, Santi did get her father to allow changes in his kingdom. As much change as Hell could take, without Heaven leaning over with jealousy.

Santi was able to get her hands on a matte black and red room, with matching decor and furniture, and a few touches of golden pieces, such as the crown that sat on her desk, awaiting her coronation. Yet even with the sparkly touch-ups, teenage Santi tried applying, Hell remained unchangeable. Closets full of skeletons, halls flooding with blood, and windows lined with teeth. Hell was a wasteland, and always would be one.

She ignores the loneliness that creeps through her every now and then, and makes her way down the hall, into the drawing chamber, where her father and most demons played casino games.

As she enters the room, Lucifer claps loudly, shouting proudly, "Yes! The King wins again!" He acknowledges Santi's presence and calls on her.

"Angel, look! Look, daddy won. Now, which prize do you want?" He screams excitedly.