From far away, a demon watched as two of his companions fought fiercely. One was a demon like him. Selfish, carefree, and violent, and cruel. The other was an angel. One of the two that he knew and had gotten closer to. She wasn’t naive or bright or cheerful like the angel he first met. Instead, she was quieter, she observed more and spoke less. She was steady and caring and had a calming aura that attracted people, even a demon like him. With an elegant beauty that no angel or demon could compare to, she kept the peace among their small group of demons and angels.

Her green eyes would curve mischievously as she watched the antics of her angel friend, and she would turn her face to gently laugh to the side. She always smelled sweet, and her hair always blew elegantly in the wind causing her to tuck it away with a laugh.

He had found himself starting to care about the two angels. As he interacted more with the cheerful one, he found himself more and more attracted to her light. He wanted more of it. To own it. To possess it. To lock it up and stop others from looking at it.

He had known his demon companions' plan from the beginning. Seduce a naïve angel, turn her to their side, and get information that would help the great battle between heaven and earth.

He hadn’t expected to make a real friend. That wasn’t something that existed in the demon realm, but the two angels had provided that. One through her bright aura and cheerfulness. The other through her caring and steady demeanor. He was unsure of his feelings for either of them, but he knew this was the happiest he’d been. The war and everything else going on in the demon realm was in the back of his mind. He just looked forward to every day with his companions. He was fine with doing inane things as long as the present atmosphere was preserved.

He had known his friend was going to betray the angels and he had made the decision to confess to the bubbly cheerful angel. If she agreed, he would protect them and stop the other demon’s betrayal. He knew her friend would come with her.

She refused stating she loved the other demon. He didn’t care but ‘she’ comforted him anyway.

He distanced himself yet still kept watch ‘her’ from afar.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

He saw as ‘she’ became suspicious and kept investigating and got closer to the truth as to his companions’ actions.

He continued to watch from afar. He wasn’t sure what he wanted or what he was waiting for, he just continued to watch ‘her’. he watched as she got closer to the truth.

He saw the confrontation.

He saw the battle. He considered stepping in to protect ‘her’ if it got too dangerous.

He saw the demon’s death.

He saw the slap.

He saw the friendship ending.

And he saw the collapse and heard the scream. It sounded as if her soul was tearing from her body. As if she could not go on living another moment.

That was when he approached ‘her’. He couldn’t stay away even if he wanted to.

Somehow she heard him and dragged her body up. It had started raining at some point.

She gazed at him with eyes that had lost their luster through the hair that fell on her face. As the rain continued to fall and soak through her clothes, he just saw her fragility. It contrasted greatly with the vigor and strength she had when she was fighting or the usual energy she had daily.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was scratchy and low as she apologized to him.

“For what?” he replied staring at her. A feeling was worming its way through his heart at her broken look.

This wasn’t how she was supposed to be. She was supposed to smile mischievously, gemlike eyes shining as she softly laughed.

“For killing your friend. It’s not an excuse but he betrayed her and planned to use her. I- I would do anything to protect her.” she avoided his eyes as she picked up her sword and sheathed it.

“We demons don’t have friends. Our goals temporarily aligned so we were together. There’s no need to apologize.” He replied coolly.

“Of course.” She chuckled despondently before continuing, “Well she has joined your side. I know I have no right to ask but please watch over her if you can. You cared for her once and can be together with her now. I no longer have the right to do that.”

Saying that she pushed the hair out of her face and looked at him as if memorizing his face.

She looked broken. There was nothing remaining of the original person. Her eyes were filled with darkness and despair, her cheek was swollen, and blood leaked from her lips.

“Where will you be?” he asked. He couldn’t understand what made him want to reach out and hold her. So, he said nothing and did nothing.

“Around. Hunting demons. As it was meant to be” She smiled softly but it looked like a mask. It was nothing like the true smile she used to give.

“Ah before I leave, I never got your name. if you tell me yours I’ll tell you mine. We might never see each other again so it wouldn’t matter. Plus, even if it was short, I enjoyed our time as a group” As she asked him that, he almost saw a hint of who she used to be. Someone quietly playful who smiled a lot.

Angels and demons never shared names with each other. Names held power even if it wasn't the true name.

He stared at her in silence. One minute. Two minutes.

Three. As time passed, he saw her face close off and she turned away.

“It’s Lucifer.” He gave her his true name. After all, they would never see each other again.

She looked back and gave him a cheerful smile before replying, “I’m Lilith. Let’s not meet again.”

She turned back and walked away but seemed to be sinking into darkness. Her shoulders drooped and her head hung. It seemed that darkness closed in on her and soon she was gone, blending in with the night.

“CUT!”