Lucifer's hand lightly brushed Kathrine Ann's cheek, causing something deep inside to flutter as she stared into his dark blue eyes. As usual, mischief housed itself in them, but that was part of who he was, part of the man she had just married. He held her close as they stared into each other's eyes. The photographer circled, snapping picture after picture; she had no idea how long they were standing in this intimate position,
"Okay, all done." The photographer called, and Kathrine Ann quickly snapped out of his trance and quickly pulled away, embarrassed about the strange feeling that came over her.
"Are you all right, Baby Girl?" Lucifer questioned.
"Yes, I'm fine. Shouldn't we get to the reception?" She asked, pretending to straighten her dress.
"We should." He smirked, grabbing her hand and looping her arm through his, "Shall we?"
Kathrine Ann nodded, allowing him to lead her to the back entrance. Holding open the door for her, she walked out into the guest-filled garden. There seemed to be quite a bit fewer guests than were at the wedding. Not a single angel could be found, but that didn't surprise her. Still, overall, the number of people that began to fill in in front of them we're less than half of what was seated in the throne room.
"Seems many people decided not to stay, including your heavenly family." She commented.
"Our family, Baby Girl." Lucifer corrected, "And those who aren't here weren't invited." He informed, standing by her side as a servant walked up with two glasses on his tray; wine was handed to her and whiskey to him. Lord Lucifer stepped forward and lifted his glass,
"To your eternal union, may the two of you treasure and respect each other for all time." His father toasted.
Lucifer held up his glass and then turned to her, "To eternity."
"To eternity." She replied, bringing up her glass to meet his with a clink, and they drank, causing the rest of the crowd to drink as well.
Lucifer took the glass from her hand and gave both his and hers to a waiting servant before offering his arm. Kathrine Ann lightly placed her hand on his arm, and he led her towards an open space, obviously being reserved as a dance floor.
"You do know how to dance, don't you?" He asked as the crowd circled the newlyweds.
"Yes, I know how to dance." She huffed back.
"Good. I wouldn't want you to embarrass me." He replied smugly as they stopped, and Lucifer turned her towards him, still holding onto her right hand. She placed her left hand on his arm, keeping about a foot or two between them. With a raise of his eyebrow, the right side of his lips twisted up, "Come now, Baby Girl, we're adults, not two children sharing their first dance." He criticized placing his hand on her waist and pulling her body into his, so he could hold her close.
As the music began, he led her elegantly around the floor as the light breeze lifted the delicate lace train causing it to float around them as they danced. She kept pace with him well enough. Still, he seemed to be a better dancer than her, and she waited for the inevitable insult to roll out of those smirking lips.
"You look very beautiful this evening, Baby Girl." The sweet compliment took her by surprise.
"Oh, uh, thank you, Lucifer." She stammered, "You look very handsome yourself." She added, returning the compliment that she wholeheartedly meant. The only thing she didn't like was how he had slicked back his hair. It didn't look bad, but she preferred it loose and wavy like he usually wore it.
"I know, can't seem to keep your eyes off me." He smirked as she rolled her eyes, "You were shocked by my compliment. Why?" He asked.
"Because you don't usually compliment me, at least not without criticism to follow it." She admitted feeling the warmth rise in her cheeks.
"Well, you are a little stiff." He teased, and she sighed, "Hopefully, this isn't a foreshadowing of your performance later this evening." He added, and her heart skipped causing her to misstep, "Oh, do you not want to? And here I thought we were really connecting."
"I'm not ready, Lucifer." She replied in almost a whisper, "We barely know each other,"
"I barely know most of the women I've slept with." He justified.
"I'm not just any woman. I'm your wife." She protested.
"That fact does not help your argument, Baby Girl." He laughed.
"Look, I just need some time."
"The question is, how much? I believe I have already explained what I expect from you," He began.
"Yes, you have, and I'll get there, please, Lucifer." She replied as her heart thumped loudly in her chest.
"Very well, besides, I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to punish men who have taken advantage of women and then turn around and do the same. But listen carefully, Baby Girl, I won't wait for long. You're mine now, and I want you. Plus, you'll forget about every other man you've ever been with when I'm done with you." He stated, and she turned almost as red as her dress, but relief flooded over her as well, "There we go, much better. Can't have the bride upset on her wedding day, now can we?"
"Thank you, my Prince, you are too kind." She replied, shaking her head.
They finished their dance and left the clearing as other couples took the opportunity to share a dance. As they cleared the crowd, they were quickly given their drinks back, and Lucifer led her toward a group of men talking off to the side. One of those men was his father, "Father." He greeted them as they approached. All the men but Lord Lucifer bowed to the couple.
"Louie. Not too terrible, I'm hoping." He greeted.
"Could be worse." Lucifer shrugged.
"Kathrine Ann, you look quite breathtaking." Lord Lucifer smiled as a servant approached, handed his father a fresh drink, and took his empty glass.
"Thank you, my Lord." She replied with a curtsey, "Tell me, my Prince, who are we addressing?" She asked, looking at the two other men standing with Lord Lucifer.
One of the men had a reddish tent to his skin and a shiny bold head. He was on the shorter side, and by shorter, she knew that if she took off her heels, she would still be a bit taller than him, but he made up for it with muscle. He had a scowl on his face and his arms crossed over his chest as his dull grey eyes looked her over. The other man was only an inch or two shorter than Lucifer, lean and very human-looking, with clean-cut brown hair and brown eyes. She wondered if he was half-human as he offered her a smile.
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"This grumpy-looking man is Duke Prangarth. He is in charge of,"
"East City." She interrupted to see a slight look of surprise on Lucifer's face, "Pleasure to meet you, Duke Prangarth."
He bowed his head but looked at her as if her presence annoyed him, and she wondered if she had said something wrong, "Don't worry, he looks at everyone like that, even me." Lord Lucifer laughed.
"And this man is Ambassador Higar from Bulbra, a world similar to Earth, just a bit bigger and a lot older." Lucifer introduced, receiving a bow from the man, who still had a pleasant smile.
"Pleasure to meet you, Milady. You're even more beautiful up close. The young Lord is a fortunate man." He greeted, holding out his hand for hers, which she gave only to be snatched back by Lucifer as he looked at the man, annoyed. "No need to be jealous. We were just exchanging pleasantries, my Prince."
"Keep that vile mouth of yours to yourself, Higar. She's mine, only mine. I know your little game and will not tolerate it. She is not for sharing." Lucifer snapped.
"Oh, come on, Louie, since when do you not share?" He pouted.
"Excuse me?" Kathrine Ann interrupted politely despite her annoyance and borderline anger, "You'll have to forgive me. I am not yet familiar with all the cultural norms for Hell, less of every other world, but I will straighten up one thing. I'm not a piece of property that can be passed around to whomever the Prince wishes, and though I don't fully understand the hierarchy of Hell yet, I think I can confidently say I'm well above you, Ambassador Higar, so in the future, please remember that I am your Princess."
Kathrine Ann stared at the stunned man, "I believe you owe my daughter-in-law an apology, Higar." Lord Lucifer informed with a smile.
"Yes. Of course," Higar snapped out of it, "My deepest apology, Princess Kathrine Ann. I merely meant to poke fun at the Prince, and I sincerely apologize for the insult."
"You're forgiven, but a bit of advice, maybe don't go to weddings and joke about the bride sexually, especially when she's present. It's creepy and extremely inappropriate." She suggested.
"I take back what I said earlier, Lucifer." Said the gruff voice of Duke Prangarth. She waited for him to continue, but he didn't.
"Well, as much as I would love to see you make an even bigger fool of yourself, Higar, my wife and I have others to greet. Enjoy the rest of the evening." Lucifer stated with an amused smile, and they received another round of bows before he pulled her away from the group.
"You know, you might just make a decent Queen." Lucifer chuckled as they walked.
"Thanks," She smiled, "I might have to put up with you insulting me, but I won't have it from anyone else." She added, "So, you said Bulbra was like Earth?"
"Similar. The landscape and how its people evolved mimic Earth, but the ethics are quite different. Bulbra is a world of polyamory. They don't believe in the idea of loving only one person forever. In fact, they don't believe in marriage or anything similar. Also, they believe in an eye for an eye justice. Oh, and they have a vicious bite that can cause a deadly infection, especially for those not from their world. It's something in their saliva." He explained.
"Was he going to try and bite me?" She gasped, remembering his warning from last night.
"Higar? No, but he was undoubtedly going to try and fuck you. You're his type."
"Am I?" She hummed.
"Interested all of a sudden?" He grumbled.
"Oh? Is that a bit of jealousy, Hubby?" She questioned, taking the rare opportunity to pick on him.
"What do I have to be jealous over?" He snipped, "My prude of a wife won't even sleep with me, so I doubt she'll go for a stranger who would willingly pass her to all his friends." He sneered, leading her toward the small pop-up bar.
Kathrine Ann just flashed a cheesy smile in response and sipped her wine, enjoying his jealousy, "You said he likes my type. What does that mean?"
"Alive." He answered, finishing the rest of his glass and putting it down on the bar only to be quickly replaced with another.
"Sounds like you two have a lot in common." She accused, taking her last sip before repeating Lucifer's actions, which ended in the same result.
"I'm insulted." He responded, but there was a smile on his face.
"Really? How many women have you slept with, Jr.?" She asked, and he hummed, sipping his drink, then mumbled a bit in concentration.
"Altogether, or just in Hell?" He finally answered with a smirk causing an unexpected flare of jealousy that she quickly pushed away, but the look on his face told her it was enough for him to notice. "Now, who's jealous? And as for your answer, you don't want to know." He finished, and she didn't push the subject because she was sure he was right. Not only did she marry the Devil but apparently, Hell's biggest man whore also, not that it mattered, she reminded herself, sipping the fresh glass of wine. They weren't married out of love. It was more like a partnership, yea, a partnership with Hell's biggest man whore who will eventually demand to have her too.
"You make it too easy, Baby Girl." He smirked.
"Yea, yea, like a baby's picture book." She huffed, flicking her wrist, "Don't you have more people to introduce me to?" She asked, but as they rose, a familiar plain but sweet-looking woman walked up with a small girl whose right arm was wrapped elbow down, gripping her mother's dress. She was puzzled because she didn't remember inviting the mother-daughter duo, not that Kathrine Ann didn't want them there. She just figured it would be inappropriate since she was given a list.
"Milord, Milady." The woman greeted with a curtsy while the girl stared at Lucifer until the mother gave her a light pinch. Suddenly remembering, she repeated the motions awkwardly, making Kathrine Ann chuckle, "Thank you for the invitation. We are both very honored."
"It was the least we could do, and I assure you I have one of our best men taking care of the creature that hurt you, young lady." He reassured. So it had been Lucifer who invited them, but how had he even found out? She had been annoyed with him over the whole Azazel thing, then they took the trip to Kelil and all the wedding stuff. She had forgotten to mention the girl she had been helping. "Tell me, sweet girl, what is your name?" He asked, crouching so he was at eye level with the child who clung to her mother's dress tightly,
"Ballana, sir." She answered in a whisper.
"Lord, Balla, you address the Prince as Lord or Prince." Her mother quickly corrected.
"Oh, that's okay. Tell me, Ballana, how are you feeling? Your arm, was it?"
"Better, si…uh Lord, a lot better. Kathrine Ann took good care of it." The girl replied a little more confidently.
"Lady Kathrine Ann." The mother replied, noticeably embarrassed.
"It's okay, Jamorn. She's a child she doesn't know any better; fortunately, the Young Lord seems to have a soft spot for children." She reassured as he glared at her but turned back to Balla.
"Are you enjoying my wedding?" He asked her.
"Kinda, it's really pretty, and I like dancing with my mom, but I'm really hungry, and Mom says no one can eat till you and Kat…Lady Kathrine Ann, eat." She replied honestly and genuinely didn't understand why her mother gasped and looked at her like she was in trouble.
"That is, unfortunately, a tradition Ballana." He replied, and she scrunched up her little face causing Lucifer to sport his rare genuine smile. "Fortunately for you, it's my wedding, and I can change the rules however I please. Come give me your hand." He said, standing up and reaching for the child's hand, who looked warily at him, and then her mom smiled and nodded.
Lucifer led the small girl over to where the untouched food was set out, "I'm not particularly hungry right now, and I don't believe Kathrine Ann is either, so you go ahead and eat." He told her, looking at Vassal, who smiled and nodded, "That goes for all the children here." He called loudly, catching most people's attention, "If you have small children here who are hungry, allow them to eat. As for the adults, you can wait."
"Thank you, Young Lord." Jamorn thanked, and with a nod, he turned, grabbing Kathrine Ann's hand, pulling and tugging her along with him,
"That was sweet." She smiled as he looped her arm through his guiding her to another group of important-looking people.
"Not sweet, responsible. I won't let a child go hungry because I'm not ready to eat. I always thought that was a silly tradition." He objected.
"And crouching down to converse with her, was that responsibility?"
"Absolutely, as the future ruler of Hell, it is my responsibility to maintain the protection of all citizens, which I failed to do, so the least I can do in return is check on the girl personally and try to make up for the incident." He justified.
"Sure, sure," She replied, still smiling, "You would make a great father." She added, not thinking.
Lucifer looked over at her with a raised brow, and her eyes widened as realization set in, "Well, that wasn't very nice, Baby Girl."
"Lucifer, I'm sorry I didn't mean,"
"That's okay," He interrupted, but she could tell he was annoyed about the comment, "I may never have a child, but neither will you."