She wasn't sure what woke her, but when her eyes opened, she saw a figure moving around the room. It took a second for her eyes to focus, but when they did, she realized it was Lucifer. He was packing a small bag on the dresser next to the only light source, a small lamp that released a soft glow. Curiosity swept over her as she propped herself up on her elbows. This must have gotten his attention because he stopped what he was doing and tilted his head to the side before turning his focus back to his bag. After adding a few things, he took the bag, walked over to his side of the bed, and dropped it with a light thud before opening his side table to fumble with the contents. His blue eyes scanned the drawer as he pulled out a couple of things and tossed them in the bag,

"Go back to sleep, Baby Girl. It's still very early." He said, not meeting her gaze.

"You're leaving again?" She asked, turning to her side and supporting herself on one arm while resting her head on the palm of her hand.

"Yes, just a day or two, hopefully." He answered, zipping up the bag and finally looking at her.

"Going kill another sibling?" She yawned, and he glared at her, "Sorry." She quickly replied, catching his unamused look.

"No, just have to check out a small situation."

She nodded in response, "Where are you going?"

"Curious little doll," he hummed, "Kelil, it's a rather small planet in the outer rings of the Hyberious galaxy. It is the largest galaxy in the universe." He explained.

"Why are you going?" She pressed, sitting up and giving her wrist a shake due to the stiffness caused by supporting her head.

"A half-demon soul has popped up there. Full-blooded demons are strictly forbidden from mating with mortals, and my father doesn't send demons to the mortal realms anymore, so I have to go and find out how this soul came to exist."

"Isn't a demon's involvement the only answer?" She asked.

"No, there a handful of halflings there, and if two of them had a child, it would be the same as a half-demon, but if that is not the situation and it is a mortal with the child, I'll have to take it back here."

"Take it away from its mother? Why?" She gasped; her heart ached at the thought of a mother losing her child.

"What are you hiding from me?" He looked at her suspiciously, but she didn't reply, and with a huff, he continued, "Yes, there is a chance that the child shows demonic features, and besides that, as the thing grows, it will begin to develop abilities, a mere mortal wouldn't know how to teach it control. Once it's grown and assuming it isn't a nuisance or danger, my father will allow it to return to its homeworld if it wants to."

"That's cruel." She mumbled.

"So you think I shouldn't?" He asked, tapping his chin quizzically, "I suppose I could just leave it to deal with the natural aggression and thirst for souls on its own. Who knows, maybe it won't kill its own mother, countless others, and then have to deal with the mortal emotions over what it had done before its inevitable death that would be delivered by yours truly." He smiled, leaving her to huff.

"And if it is two half-demons?" She asked.

"Then I'll leave the child to them after explaining that any misconduct on the child's part will be blamed on them. If they can't teach it control, I'll return to take the child away." He answered, pulling the bag onto his shoulder, "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. I know how bored you'll be without me, so I've spoken with my father and arranged some things to keep you busy." He smirked, walking for the door.

"Great," She replied, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh, don't be that way." He laughed, stopping and looking back at her, "Your tasks are essential, Baby Girl. You're the only person I trust handling it. Now go back to sleep. You have a long day tomorrow." He insisted, flicking his wrist as he turned around and vanished through the door.

She sighed, thinking about what her 'tasks' might be, especially after he said she was the only one he trusted with them. She knew him too well now, and his words only verified that she wasn't going to like what he left for her, she laid back down and tried to sleep, but after an hour of tossing, she got up. Checking the clock, she sighed. Lucifer was right. It was early, and there were still about three hours till breakfast. What was she going to do?

~~~

After a long, unnecessary bath, a bunch of reading, and a good bit of laying around fretting, she finally walked down to breakfast. She hoped to go to the garden after eating. She started filling a notebook with her observations of the different plants here. Jotting down what they looked like if you could eat them, what they tasted like, and what season they were harvested. It helped her pass the lonely days in the castle, and she was learning a lot about her new home. However, Lucifer's threat of busy work weighed on her mind,

"Good morning." Greeted Lord Lucifer from the head of the table.

"Good morning, my Lord." She returned with a short bow before seating herself.

"I'm sure you've noticed Lucifer's absence. I've sent him to handle a minor situation. He should return within a couple of days."

"Yes, Lord Lucifer, he informed me this morning before leaving." She explained as she began picking at the food in front of her.

"Oh? Good, then he's also filled you in on this weekend?"

She paused, unsure what he was referring to, "This weekend?"

He sighed, "I guess not. This weekend is the wedding. My father has been very impatient and will not wait any longer. So unless Lucifer gets held up on his current task by the week's end, you two will be wed, and Louie has informed me that you will be handling the arrangements." She couldn't stop the noticeable annoyance from reaching her face, "And, of course, he didn't tell you that either?"

"No, he just told me he arranged some busy work for me so I wouldn't be bored. I don't know how to arrange a wedding, my Lord. I don't even know where to begin." She sighed.

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Not to worry, dear, Vassal and Azazel will assist you, and as for what to do, your loving fiancee has made a list."

She forced a smile and nodded, not wanting to be rude, but how much help would Azazel truly be? She hadn't met the girl personally, but she knew what kind of relationship she and Lucifer had. Was this Lucifer's idea? It had to be. After finishing her breakfast, she retreated upstairs and no sooner had she closed the door than a knock echoed across the room. Having a pretty good idea of who was on the other side, she sighed before opening the door to see a smiling Vassal and a grinning Azazel. Azazel pushed past Vassal and into the room. She had a small binder under her arm,

"Good morning, Princess. I hear we have a wedding to plan and what a wedding it'll be. Lucifer paid me a visit last night, and after a little fun,"

"Azazel!" Vassal fussed.

"What? It's not like she doesn't know." Azazel defended.

"It's fine, Vassal, she's right. I'm very much aware of my fiancee's habits." She sighed, "And I'm guessing you being here is part of his own personal entertainment."

Azazel gave a wide grin as she wondered what happened to his promise of being less cruel, and if Azazel knew her thought, she dropped the binder on the table,

"Look, I'm not here to make you miserable. I know almost all of the local merchants in Central City, so I can help get everything done quickly. Now, let's call for some wine and get this party started, shall we, ladies?"

~~~

Two hours later, and halfway through the book, they were making decent progress,

"Okay, Princess, so I will run to town and set up these appointments while you two figure out the menu," Azazel informed, taking the piece of paper that had time slots for the next three days filled in with appointments to talk to florists, musicians, photographers, decorators, and many others.

"Right. When you return, we'll go to the throne room to get an idea of the venue." She replied, surprising herself at how quickly she fell into wedding mode.

Once Azazel left, she and Vassal turned the discussion to food for the evening. It was a little tricky since Vassal had to describe what most of the dishes tasted like. After narrowing the choices down to five entrees, Vassal decided she would make a small portion of those five so she could try them and then choose from there. The two women left the room for the kitchen, where Vassal promptly shooed her out to the garden while the dishes were prepared. Deciding to stay productive, she looked at the flowers in the garden and started getting an idea of what she wanted in the arrangements. Walking into the small gardening shed, she retrieved her notebook, which was always left there, and began walking around the garden, looking at the flowers while adding bits and pieces to her notes. She began to write down and sketching ideas on an empty page. Doodling concepts for table centerpieces, her bouquet, the arrangements that would run down the aisle and up to where they would stand and exchange forced vows, yet somehow a smile slipped through as she stared at the blossoms,

"What did you do with Vassal? Finally got tired of the old coot?" Azazel asked from right behind her, causing her to jump.

"Azazel, you scared me." She huffed, putting her hand over her heart, "And no, she's in the kitchen putting together a few small plates of possible entrees."

"Good, I'm starving! Running from business to business really took it out of me." She admitted reaching for the book in her hand.

"That was really quick. It couldn't have been more than an hour or two. How?" She questioned, pulling her hand away before Azazel could snatch the book.

"Told you I was useful. As I said, I know most of the merchants, and it also makes it easier that it's the young Lord's wedding. None of them would dare turn down an opportunity to be part of that. Oh, I'm also very fast. I can cross all three parts of Hell City in ten minutes."

"Wish I could have gone." She grumbled once again, wishing she wasn't trapped inside the castle.

"Hell City is no place for you, Princess. They would tear you apart. Literally, shall we walk?" She offered, holding out her hand, which was refused.

"If I walk with you alone, will I return unharmed?" She asked, only half-joking.

"Yes, I have strict orders not to hurt you. Come on then." The half-demon smiled, and reluctantly she followed, "There's something I want to show you."

They walked into the woods, deeper and deeper, till finally, she stopped,

"I'm not comfortable with this, Azazel." She admitted.

"Oh, worried I'm going to kill you? You should be. You've taken my Lord's interest. I was his favorite, but now I'm nothing." She backed away as her heart began to race, and Azazel burst out laughing, "I couldn't care less if he prefers you over me!"

"That was mean."

"No, that was fun, and if you want to hang out around me, get used to it. Now listen close. Louie and I go way back, we've been good friends for years. Sure we fool around, but this is a different world, sweetheart. You don't fall in love with everyone you screw around with. Louie is basically my boss. He's everyone's boss, and when I say boss, I mean if we get 'fired,' that means death, so being in his favor is ideal. I do what he says because that makes him happy, and a happy Devil is way better for everyone, so do us all a favor and keep him happy, huh?" She laughed, "Give me that notebook you carry around." She demanded.

"Why? It's just personal notes."

"Because I said so; hand it over, Princess."

She gave the notebook to Azazel, who opened it and began scribbling on each page, "Stupid girl, you want to be our queen, and you don't even know what the Kashiea flower is? 'A cute flower with the outer layers of petals the color of orange while they fade into yellow only to meet a center of bright red,'" Azazel laughed.

"If you only want to mock me,"

"This flower is not cute!" She hissed, "This flower is beautiful and powerful. In their early stages, the petals held close to the center are crimson red They can be used to cure many infections and illnesses, but once they bloom into the 'cute' flower you've recorded, the flower becomes extremely deadly. One leaf added to a teapot could kill anyone who took a sip. The only place it grows in Hell is here. Why don't you take a few petals to slip into Lucifer's nightcap."

"I'm not from here. I don't know; I'm just trying to find something to occupy my mind." She spat, "I just need something besides that fucking room."

"Whoa, kiddo." She laughed, "Look, I'll help with your plants, okay, don't have an aneurysm. The Young Lord would never forgive me if I broke his favorite toy."

Her heart sank, "That's all I am to him, aren't I?"

"Oh no, you poor thing, you thought you meant something to him?"

"No, of course not." She tried to play it off.

"An angel in love with the Devil, how cute. Too bad about the ending, though, Lucifer doesn't love anyone."

"You'll really help me with the plants? What do you want in return?" She asked, wanting to get off the subject of Lucifer.

"Nothing. To be honest, I'm bored. Lucifer doesn't come to play as much anymore and works been slow,"

"Don't you torture the souls?" She asked.

"Oh no, I'm not a full demon. Only full demons work in the chambers." Azazel explained, reaching up and pulling off a greenish fruit that reminded her of an apple, but when she bit into it, the inside was an orangish color, "I work at a watch shop my dad owns. My family has been in Hell since basically the beginning, so we have pull with Lord Lucifer. He allows me to visit the mortal realms to retrieve supplies for the watches my dad and brother make, whether it be precious medals, magic elements, different types of scales, or stone, and I drop off and bring back parcels for him." She explained, taking another bite.

"That's really cool! I would love to see some of the other realms." She admitted.

"Doubt that'll happen. Our young Lord would never allow it. He won't even allow you into the city." Knowing Azazel spoke the truth, she sighed, " Meh, maybe I'll help you break the rules one day." She laughed, "Now come, we're almost there." She instructed, throwing the core of the fruit and walking again.

"Where are we going?" She asked.

"Just a bit further, they grow close to the river under the trees." Azazel explained as she noticed the sound of flowing water, "Here!" Azazel called a few feet in front of her.

Once she caught up, she followed Azazel's eyes,

"Wow, it's so pretty." She gasped.

"Mmhm. Shy Gofeef, weird name, beautiful flower, figured you might want to consider it for the arrangements."

"Yes, thank you, Azazel." She smiled as she started writing the description of the delicate flower with lacy leaves lightly brushed with pinks, purples, and blues.

"Hurry up now before I starve." She insisted.