The large solid wood doors began to open as Kathrine Ann, and Lucifer approached. There were no windows on the doors themselves, and the ones on either side were placed high up the walls with cloth tapestries hanging below them. Kathrine Ann wondered how the guards stationed inside knew someone was on the outside as she and Lucifer entered the entrance hall.

A resonating slap echoed through the massive room, and her Devil was now on one knee next to her, a blood trail falling down his cheek from an already healed wound. Lord Lucifer stood over his son, looking down at him with anger and disdain in his eyes. Kathrine Ann dropped to her knees and tried to wipe away the blood, but Lucifer swatted her hand away,

"Leave it." He growled, his onyx eyes now aflame once again.

"Why did you do that?" she snapped, springing back to her feet and confronting the Lord of Hell. He didn't reply. In fact, he didn't even glance her way. It was as if she wasn't there.

"Get up," he ordered his son in a cold, heartless tone. Lucifer obeyed, but his father struck him again, causing him to stumble backward.

"Stop it!" Kathrine Ann cried out, and before she could think about her actions, she jumped in front of Lucifer, holding her arms out.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" He snapped from behind her, "Stay out of this, you stupid girl." He ordered, grabbing her shoulder to move her out of his father's path, but she fought back, trying to stay in front of him.

"Why are you doing this?" She demanded of Lord Lucifer as her own Devil was still trying to move her out from in front of him.

"Kathrine Ann, move now," Lucifer demanded, but she kept struggling. Lord Lucifer wouldn't hurt her, would he? Before she could find out, Lucifer gave up the gentle approach, and she was forcibly tossed to the side like a rag doll.

She was expecting to land sprawled out on the cold hard floor, but instead, she felt strong arms wrap around her, saving her from her fate, "Foolish boy." Thron sighed as he placed her carefully back on her feet while she wondered if Lucifer knew Thron had appeared and would catch her.

"I don't understand." She gasped, "Why is Lord Lucifer doing this?"

"Because he disobeyed him," Thron answered.

"No," Kathrine Ann defended, pushing away from Thron, "No!" She called loudly, "Lucifer didn't do anything,"

"Lucifer was supposed to go to the hospital, get a statement from Azazel, and return to the castle. That was the deal, those were my orders, but of course, that was too much to ask of this troublesome demon." Lord Lucifer spoke, "He had to go on a little city tour."

"The shop was practically right next door," she explained, stepping forward. "Besides, it was my idea, not his."

"So I should punish you then?" Lord Lucifer asked but still did not look at her. She knew it was an empty threat meant to anger Lucifer.

"If you're going to punish anyone, then it should—"

"Thron!" Lucifer interrupted. His eyes remained on his father.

Suddenly Thron grabbed Kathrine Ann's arm, and though she pulled hard against the guard, he didn't release her, "Princess, please. You will only cause more trouble."

"The man in the cafe, did you recognize him?" Lord Lucifer asked his son.

"Not really," Lucifer replied.

"Of course, you didn't, and that is exactly why you were supposed to return here after leaving the hospital!" He yelled, causing Kathrine Ann to cower back a little. Thron loosened his grip slightly but not entirely, "You don't know who you'll run into or how to treat them, making it obvious you're not yourself."

"You mean that I'm not Louie."

"Yes, I fucking mean that you're not Louie! Louie would have recognized the man as Fabel Raineir, one of the most well-know attorneys in all of Hell and son to the High Command of the royal guard. Which is the highest-ranked position in my personal guard! This man knows what those damned eyes mean, and I imagine his son does as well. Louie would have known this, and Louie wouldn't have fucking threatened and belittled him in front of a crowd of onlookers,"

"I didn't threaten him."

"He didn't threaten him!"

Lucifer and Kathrine Ann claimed simultaneously,

"And there was no crowd." Kathrine Ann added, trying her luck at freeing herself for Thon, which failed, "A couple of workers, maybe, but it was just them and us."

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

"Them?" Lord Lucifer questioned. His anger-riddled face cracked for a moment as he turned to Kathrine Ann for the first time, and his intense gaze made her want to run, but she held her ground,

"Yeah, this Fabel guy and his date."

"Tell me what happened, Kathrine Ann." He ordered.

"Leave her out of this. I can speak for myself." Lucifer protested, moving closer to her.

"I don't wish to hear you speak." Lord Lucifer snapped, "I want to hear it from her. I can tell if she's lying to me."

Kathrine Ann took a deep breath before recounting everything she remembered down to the smallest details.

~~~

"Lucifer, is her recollection accurate?" Lord Lucifer asked.

"What does it matter, Father?" Lucifer snapped. He was now sitting on the floor next to Kathrine Ann, both arms and legs crossed, "You didn't trust me before. Why now?"

"Answer me now." He demanded.

"Yes, it's true as far as I remember. Obviously, my Little Wife has an eye for detail." He grumbled, and she had the sudden urge to run her fingers through his hair, but she resisted.

"And the girl with Fabel, describe her again?" Lord Lucifer asked, turning his attention back to Kathrine Ann.

"Short black hair cut just below her ears, brown eyes, a few inches shorter than Fabel, and definitely a few years younger."

"And he claimed she was a client?"

"Yes, I suppose she could have been, but,"

"She was no client," Lucifer scoffed, getting to his feet. "At least she wasn't just a client. The two were having a lover's spat. I'd bet Louie's soul on it."

"How can you be so sure?" His father asked while Louie tugged at the bottom of his shirt.

"For one, he called her his girl, which seems extremely unprofessional if she was, in fact, just a client. Also, he was feeling angry, very angry, and she was hurt and betrayed, but after he saw me, it wasn't just embarrassment. He was scared, worried, and ashamed."

"Well, now that is interesting." Lord Lucifer hummed as a grin stretched across his face, "Tsk tsk, Fabel."

"What is it, Lord Lucifer?" Kathrine Ann quired, confused about how the man just turned off his raging anger like flicking off a switch.

"Fabel is married, and his wife is a tall, fierce woman who looks to be the same age as him, though a lot older. She has bluish-grey eyes and long, wavey blonde hair. She also happens to be one of my most trusted advisors. You've seen her, Frita. She's usually at breakfast and sits to my left across from Belial. The two of them are usually arguing over something trivial. How foolish of Fabel to be so open with his affair, especially in such a new marriage. Though I imagine this will benefit me, never cared for the man."

The woman Lord Lucifer was referring to pulled a fuzzy picture to her mind, but if Kathrine Ann was being honest, she really didn't pay a lot of attention to most of the occupants at the table since there were quite a few, and seemed to change depending on the meal. As far as she knew, breakfast and dinner were for the family.

"Is she your sister?" Kathrine Ann asked, and Lord Lucifer scoffed. Obviously, her assumption was wrong.

"No." He answered bluntly, "She's one of my most favored lovers."

"I see." She replied, trying to keep the shock off her face.

"Now you see where I learned it from," Lucifer added.

"Why didn't you marry her then?"

"Me and my siblings, and I mean all of them, not just the damned ones, do not marry."

There was a long awkward pause, "Are you not allowed?" She questioned cautiously.

"Oh, please. My father and his siblings believe that marrying anyone in this world would be beneath them," Lucifer said.

"Not just this world." Lord Lucifer clarified, "Mortals have no place among us."

The play! She remembered that one of Lucifer's issues was God allowing mortal souls to live among them in heaven when that was supposed to be their home. God's and his children's home, not his experiments.

"But you're okay with sleeping with them?" She scoffed.

"The only equals I have are my siblings. Do you suggest I sleep with them?" he laughed.

Kathrine Ann was stunned and silent. He had a point, a very strange one, but a point nonetheless.

"If you're too good for mortals, then why did you marry off your son to me?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. "I am all mortal."

"I don't have a place on the same pedestal as he and his siblings," Lucifer explained.

"True, though Louie's soul is that of an archangel, and he is my son, he's not the same. He's half demon and far closer to a mortal than an archangel. That also means he isn't gifted with the superiority complex my siblings and I share." Lord Lucifer admitted with a smile, "I'm sure you've noticed it in a few of us. Speaking of, as soon as Louie is back, make sure he handles whatever business he has with Mikey. I can't put up with him much longer."

"You could change." Kathrine Ann proclaimed.

"I cannot."

"Can't or won't," She rebutted.

He chuckled. The man who had backhanded his son in anger maybe twenty minutes ago was now chuckling. "A bit of both, I suppose," he replied.

"God damn it!" Kathrine Ann exclaimed while tossing her hands up.

"Already did," Lucifer informed.

"Oh, shut up before I slap you too!" She snapped at him.

"Already did that too." He added with the slightest of smirks.

"Why can't either of the two Devils in this room ever give me a straight answer?" She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring from Devil to Devil, "Why can't you change?"

"My sweet little, Kathrine Ann," Lord Lucifer began, "The simple answer is I'm too old to change. The honest one is I don't want to. There is no number in existence for how old I am. My siblings and I were God's only creation for years beyond fathom. Our souls were crafted from his own being, all of us literal pieces of him. We had lived through more than a few eternities before my father created heaven and unintentionally caused the creation of mortals and evolution. My siblings and I predate evolution. We don't evolve, we don't grow, and we don't change. I was born the man in front of you, and if I am ever to die, I will do it just as I am now. We are everlasting beings that can only be destroyed by our Father, so needless to say, that pedestal my son so elegantly described is far above any other, and we like it that way. As far as we are concerned, you mortals are a completely different species than us. A lesser one, and no matter how much you evolve, it will never hold a flame to what my siblings and I are."

There was another long silence as Kathrine Ann took in what was just said to her. She was insulted for sure, but somehow she understood what he was saying and knew it was the truth,

"Anyway," Lord Lucifer spoke, breaking the silence, "Thank you for the information on Fabel, and if you'll excuse me, I believe I have a marriage to ruin." He informed, turning and leaving a still quiet Kathrine Ann confused, "Do not leave the castle grounds, Lucifer. If you disobey me again, you'll end up on the wrong side of my torture chamber. Do we have an understanding, son?"

"Yes," Lucifer growled.

"Good. Enjoy the rest of your day."