Chapter 22: To dance with my father
1225 Words
Arabella
The sight before me was from every nightmare I had ever had, kind of. Usually, Lucifer looked monstrous in my nightmares, here he looked like some beautiful fallen Angel in all his destruction and chaos, and somehow it was more terrifying. I ran out of the strange cavern looking area and back towards my room.
I had been looking for the private room he had said I could use and when I’d asked Dagon, after he had gotten over seeing me walking around, he directed me this way, but clearly I’d forgotten to take the second right he mentioned and ended up here instead.
Lucifer didn’t come after me, and I had to repeat to myself to relax that he wasn’t going to hurt me. My breathing eventually grew calmer and when he did come to my room he was cleaned up and wearing a new plain white shirt left unbuttoned.
My brain couldn’t decide whether to stare at him and his perfectly muscled chest longingly or to stay feeling horrified, it ended up being a mix of both.
“Why did you come to the t.orture area?”
“I uh, well I, I asked Dagon about the dance room, he gave me directions but, I suppose I uh, I forgot a turn.” I stumbled over my words and felt myself wanting to hyperventilate again with all his attention focused on me.
“I’d say sorry you saw that, but I think It’s probably a good thing.”
I stared wide-eyed at him and barely whispered, “good?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal, “yeah, you can stop all the nonsense of thinking I’m some poor broken fallen Angel.”
I knew what he was doing, he was trying to convince me he was nothing but a beast, but I knew he wasn’t, no matter what I’d witnessed, I’d seen he was more than that, I’d seen him laugh and joke and be playful, I’d had him show kindness and consideration and I remembered how sweet and gentle he had been when rejecting my embarrassingly drunk advances.
“So did you find it in the end?”
For a moment, I forgot what he was talking about so lost in my thoughts, I realized he was talking about the dance room and replied, “no.”
“Come with me.” He didn’t wait for an answer and walked back out of the room. I followed after him and he led me back the same way, panic crept up on me, but then he led me down the way I was supposed to have gone, and then he opened up a door and walked in.
I walked in behind him and looked to see a beautiful hall, the floor was silver marble with rose gold veins, pillars reached up high with gold leaved vines wrapped around them beautifully. I looked up at the ceiling but figured they must have used some kind of magic or spell because it looked like the night sky, with that beautiful lilac cosmic sky and the turquoise moon shining softly.
He turned some music on and a soft melody played. It was beautiful and slow, almost angelic, and I wanted to ask if it was but thought better of it after he had lost his temper earlier. “Where’s your dads photo, do you even have it with you?”
I shook my head, “no, but I can pretend I do.”
He looked at me thoughtfully, and then he came and stood in front of me. “Use me,” he said.
“I’m sorry?”
Sighing, he repeated, “use me, I’m not your father, but I can act on his behalf for you.”
“You are a very confusing king, Lucifer.”
“What do you mean?”
“One minute you say the cruelest things and the next you say and do the most incredibly sweetest.”
“I can always leave you to it,” he threatened.
I quickly took his hand, lacing it with mine and his other hand went on my hip while I placed my other hand on his shoulder. We moved slowly around the room and I got lost in the moment.
I closed my eyes to the sound of the music, and lay my head against his chest softly, this close to him really was divine. I could stay like this forever and I couldn’t help but wonder if this would be something beautiful or would it only ever be a beautiful disaster?
I don’t know when it happened but at some point his hand held my head softly, holding it against his chest while he stroked my hair, we seemed to dance for a long time when Hecate came bounding in and then Lucifer threw himself away from me like I was on fire or something.
“Hecate,” he choked, what are you doing here?”
“I came to see you about a client of mine, she wishes to know if you would be willing to work with her on one of my spells I gave her.
“Why couldn’t she ask me herself?”
“She’s from the earth realm and has been struggling to make contact, she has an easier connection with me, I think it may have something to do with having some fear about you.”
“Well I would like to know who she is first, let’s take this conversation somewhere more private, and you can help her make contact with me.”
Hecate looked to me and said, “it looked like you two were having a sweet moment, I don’t want to interrupt it, it’s rather adorable and strange seeing you behave so gentle, Lucifer.”
“Hecate you either want to do business and maybe f.uck or you can f.uck off.”
“Lucifer Morningstar!” I hissed into his ear.
He roughly pulled his arm out of my grip and snarled, “don’t f.ucking Lucifer Morningstar me b.itch.”
Ok, the cursing at me was new, but I didn’t let it falter me like I knew he wanted me to do. I whispered quietly enough, so Hecate wouldn’t hear. “I’m trying to help you, if you want her in your life for more than just s.ex, then you need to talk kindly to her and show her you care.”
He snorted at that, but he lost some of the anger and took a breath. “Fine.”
He turned to Hecate, who was busy touching the vines that ran along the pillars, taking in the beautiful details of them. “Hecate, shall we go.”
She smiled at him, and I think he surprised her when he gently held her hand and led her out.
I smiled until they left, and then I allowed the sadness to fill me. I couldn’t deny any more my feelings, it seemed I was falling in love with the beast that had haunted my nightmares for years.
My stepmother truly had made the perfect unbreakable curse, for the beast could not and would not ever fall in love with me, I was the opposite of everything he was, I wasn’t sure he even could love, and I certainly was no Goddess.
- Writer
