Kathrine Ann stormed down the hall, grumbling under her breath.

"Forgive me, Kathrine Ann, but you seem a bit upset," Micheal observed as he matched pace with the fuming human.

"What was your first sign?" She huffed, not bothering to look at the angel.

"You really should be careful with this side of Lucifer." He warned, "His regular self is annoying, but this half is,"

"Is what, Micheal?" Kathrine Ann demanded as she came to a sudden halt and faced the daunting figure next to her, "Something tells me you haven't sacrificed much of your precious time to get to know Luce, much less his demon half?"

Micheal looked down at the small creature. Her arms crossed tight over her chest, fire in her green eyes and an expectant look on her face as she glared up at him, "You have only known him for a short time. I have known him for many millennia, so I believe my experience on the subject outweighs yours."

"The subject is a living being that happens to be your nephew." She spat, "I see how you look at him and talk to him. Like his mere existence is a thorn in your side." She accused.

"Because it is. Jr. is cocky and arrogant,"

"Seem's to run in the family." She mumbled.

"But most of all, disrespectful." Micheal finished with an annoyed glare.

"Respect should be earned, not given, and I find it hard to believe you've ever been anything but cold to him."

Micheal gasped loudly, "I'll have you know, Jr. is my favorite nephew."

A puzzled look crossed Kathrine Ann's face, but she quickly turned to scoff and rolled her eyes, "He's your only nephew, isn't he?"

"Semantics." Micheal laughed. There was something adorable about this girl. He had always thought so, "You care for him, don't you? You truly are a beautiful soul if you've found a place in your heart for him."

"Then start taking notes. Lucifer is a good man. Yes, he's a bit pompous and arrogant, and he doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, but he's good. He cares about his people and home and takes his job very seriously." She defended, "As for this side of him, I'm sure he's just—just misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?" Micheal said the word slowly before chuckling again, which only annoyed Kathrine Ann more, "You don't know the real him, Kathrine Ann,"

"Neither do you. Just because you've known Lucifer longer doesn't mean you know him better." She countered as calmly as possible, but her insides were boiling with anger.

Considering the day, this night had started so well, but now she was annoyed and livid. First, Lucifer had been a royal ass, and now Micheal? He was supposed to be the definition of good, yet he stood here belittling his own blood.

"Have you ever given him a chance, or have you despised him since he was born?" She asked.

"I didn't know him as a child." Micheal replied, "But that means nothing."

"What?" she gasped. You never knew him as a child? You didn't come to meet your only nephew after he was born?"

"No." Micheal replied emotionless, "Lucifer's birth was not something to celebrate."

"He was an innocent child." She snapped, "All birth is something to celebrate."

"Innocent!" He laughed again.

"Do you even know when his birthday is?" She interrupted.

"Do you?" He retorted.

"You've known him for sooooo long," Kathrine Ann sneered.

"Around the beginning of the winter solstice, the twelfth of Hell showers, or the twenty-fifth of December in Earth time."

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

"He was born on Christmas?" She gasped.

"Don't even, Jesus was not born,"

"Yeah, yeah, but seriously, that's a bit coincidental." She cut in.

"You're right. Maybe he's the antichrist," Micheal replied.

"That's fucked up." She glared, and he smiled.

"Lucifer does not celebrate his birth, nor does he appreciate anyone acknowledging it, and because of that, I make sure to send my regards every year."

There was a pause, "Well, that's kinda sweet,"

"Anything but. I merely drop in to remind him his entire existence is a perversion of nature, and his birthday is just a reminder of how depraved his father is."

There was a long pause as Kathrine Ann took a few deep breaths,

"Good night Micheal." She finally sighed, "I can walk the rest of the way alone."

"Very well," he smiled slightly. "Oh, when your Luce is back, the three of us need to chat. That business I mentioned involves you."

With a stiff nod, she turned her back to the angel and walked away, leaving the angel in the empty halls with a smirk on his face as he watched her turn the corner.

"She doesn't belong here," Micheal said in almost a whisper.

'Are you accusing me of making a mistake?' his father's voice replied in his head.

"She doesn't deserve this. He'll never,"

'Careful, Micheal.' His father warned, interrupting him, 'Doubting my plan is a dangerous game. Since you're there, ask your brothers.'

~~~

Kathrine Ann stormed into their empty room, slamming the door behind her before crossing the alcohol-soaked floor scattered with glass shards, but this time instead of fear, she was annoyed and a bit infuriated. She reached the liquor cabinet only to find that Lucifer had smashed every bottle,

"Of fucking, course." She moaned.

She dramatically dragged her feet all the way to Lucifer's bedside table and picked up the phone receiver. To her surprise, it began to ring and ring. She listened and waited for about a minute before realization sank in. All the servants were in Lucifer's office.

Kathrine Ann slammed the phone back onto its base as every curse she knew spilled from her lips. She threw herself onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, arms sprawled above her head as she took slow deep breaths,

"Okay, Kat, you were not born spoiled, so don't start acting it now," she told herself as she sat up on the bed.

A wave of guilt rushed over her, thinking about all those poor servants dealing with Lucifer. Any of them would be happy to come running to her aid right now. Pushing herself up and taking one more deep breath, she walked back across the room and out the door.

About two hours later, Kathrine Ann had picked up the broken glass, using extreme caution, mopped up the spilled spirits, cleaned away the puddle of blood, and replaced a couple of bottles on the bar. Afterward, she crawled out of her clothes and into a scalding shower. After the long hot shower, Kathrine Ann opened the bathroom door, allowing a cloud of steam to follow her into the empty, silent bedroom.

"Still not back, huh?" She mumbled, scanning the room, "Good."

She dropped the towel she had wrapped around herself and allowed the cool air of the quiet room to caress her flushed skin. Slowly she crossed the room to her dresser, where she put on some underclothes before turning her attention to the liquor cabinet. Kathrine Ann strolled over in only her underclothes and opened one of the bottles she had acquired. It was one of the bottles of wine she enjoyed so much, and as she poured a glass, her heart ached thinking about Lucifer. She knew he was just down the hall, no matter his mindset, but what he had dealt with tonight while she happily strolled. She quickly pushed the thought out of her head, reminding herself how he shooed her out the door. She would have done anything she could to help him, but he thought she was too weak like usual.

"When the Devil's away, huh?" Came a familiar voice from behind her, causing Kathrine Ann to pause, but after such a ridiculous day, she was too tired to be embarrassed, so with a loud sigh, Kathrine Ann took a long sip of her wine and quickly shuffled to the closet. She slipped on a simple cream-colored linen dress that stopped mid-calf. It had short sleeves that just covered the shoulder and shell buttons down the front. Not bothering with shoes, she re-entered the room while untwisting the towel from her hair.

"Good evening Milril." She greeted as she tossed the towel over her shoulder.

Milril stood in the doorway with a half-smile. He wore an oversized green shirt and tight black pants while his long brown hair hung loose and a bit disheveled.

"Lady Kathrine Ann." He replied as his amused brown eyes followed her across the room.

"Looking for Lucifer, I'm guessing?" she called as she slipped into the bathroom to dispose of her towel and grab her hair brush.

"Oh no. I've heard he's not in his right mind at the moment," Milril called back, and she could hear that he was moving around the room, "I imagine I'm supposed to be in his office, but I decided to test my luck."

Kathrine Ann stepped out of the bathroom to find Milril looking over the books on the bookshelf, "Yeah, Demon Prince Loulou is a bit intimidating."

Milril let out a burst of laughter, "You can say that. Prince Loulou and I don't get along, though I suppose he doesn't really get along with anyone, but he and I have bad blood." Milril explained as Kathrine Ann brushed through her damp hair.

"Luce told me he attacked you when you were kids." She replied carefully, "Did he hurt you badly?"

Milril walked to the liquor cabinet. "May I?" he asked, and Kathrine Ann nodded. Milril poured himself a glass from a whiskey bottle before turning to face her. "Yes. Lucifer's other half is stronger, faster, and more ruthless. He nearly killed me."

"I'm sorry." She replied earnestly.

"Don't be." He smiled, "I asked for it. I mean, he could have gone a bit easier on me anyway, but I believe it's partially my fault he's this way."