Lucifer's Little Angel

4

Arella started running, although not knowing where. She hated how she felt, it was a strange feeling of dizziness from time to time, when she would act childish or not being conscious of her actions. Of course it was scary, too. She spotted some other 'demons' but didn't pay any attention and surely didn't stop to look at them.

The place seemed to get bigger at every step she made, and the screams coming from somewhere outside were terrifying. But Ari didn't stop despite all of that. She had imagined how Hell would look like when she was younger, and even though she didn't have time for dreaming, there was certain interest on it, and it was nothing like she had imagined.

The place, as far as she had seen, could easily be a rich man's mansion or something. Well, except for things like the frightening screams and fire in some areas.

Ari was running out of breath, but in fact, she only stopped when she basically crashed into a big, muscular chest.

Falling on one's butt so abruptly would make anyone feel surprised... and Ari wasn't an exception. She rubbed her head from the shock, and hissed at the sudden pain from the fall. Whoever had stood in her way didn't seem affected by it at all, though. Arella's eyes met the other demon's as soon as she lifted her head.

It wasn't a monster-looking creature like the ones she had seen before, this one almost looked like a human... key word: almost. He had some horns on his head, but of course it was nothing compared to other creatures.

"What... Are you stupid or something? Watch where you're going, how did you even get here?

"I-I..."

"Get up, I'm going to take you myself since you're apparently being a nuisance"

"No, let me go!"

"I am already tired, should I torture you myself?"

Despite her screaming, tears were falling down her face freely this time. Said man didn't care, he easily picked her up on his shoulder and started walking, ready to throw the girl on the first cage he could find. Truth be told, he was feeling too tired to even torture her himself.

"Cleon, Cleon!"

"Huh? What is it?" He asked at the voice.

"What the fuck? She's a little girl, Cleon. Can't you see how scared she is?"

The girl, even though a crying mess, still looked at the new man. He kind of looked like Cleon, except for his cat-like face. But it was really handsome to her eyes, not really someone to be scared of... at least those were her first thoughts.

He snatched her from his hands, because Cleon didn't mind. They were both on the same category, so it didn't matter.

"I see it, Gareth. She's still here for a reason"

"Yes, you idiot. She's Lucifer's"

"What do you mean?" Cleon asked, looking at the girl holding onto the other man and burying her face in his chest.

"He told you not so long ago, Cleon. For Hell's sake. She's just got here"

"W-well. How was I supposed to know?"

"How many little girls like her have you seen down here? You know what, forget it"

With that, Gareth started walking in the opposite direction, from where she apparently had come from. He thought how far she was from Lucifer's room, and wondered how had she got there, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he tried to focus on the little girl in his arms.

"Hey bug, can you tell me your name?"

"Arella" was all she managed to say between sobs.

"Good job, Ari. Cleon is a big meanie, isn't he? I will make sure he doesn't scare you ever again. For now, let's take you back. Lucifer must be worried about you"

The girl simply nodded. She wasn't sure about what to do or say, but maybe staying by the King's side wasn't a bad idea right then. After all, she now knew better than to escape in Hell.

"I wonder how you got the bravery to escape him"

"I-I wanna go home"

"Well, he must had brought you here for a reason. Even the devil himself has feelings" or maybe he thought it would be bothersome if his little was constantly thinking about going back to her perfect life, he thought. "Why don't you give this a chance?"

"Scary. Let me go"

"Shh, don't cry like that. It's okay, I'm here. If it makes you feel better, I'll talk to him myself so that he understands you were just overwhelmed, yeah?"

She accepted there was nothing she could do. After a few minutes of walking, Arella slightly got out of her hiding in his neck and found a liking in touching Gareth's soft fur. She absentmindedly started playing with it as she slowly calmed down, and he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he barely even noticed, glad that the little girl wasn't crying anymore. He took a mental note to beat Cleon after that, because even if he didn't know her, Gareth still found her somewhat adorable and, of course, was only Lucifer's. And the king would surely be mad if anything happened to her, especially since she had just arrived.

The steady walking and the demon's fur made her slowly fall asleep on his arms (and he thought she barely weighed anything, because he was too used to dealing with hard work that required much more strength).

All the girl could feel some time later was how she was separated from the comfortable body that was carrying her. She sleepily whined but another pair of muscular arms shushed her, repositioning her head on his shoulder.

...

"She's going to kill me. If I could die"

"Don't be so dramatic Lucifer, of course this would happen. She's too fragile and scared, it's all new for her"

Lucifer poured some whiskey on his glass and handed it to Gareth, then did the same for himself and took a seat next to him.

"I know, I guess I didn't really think about it. But I don't care, she's finally here and I will make sure Ari gets used to this place, and me"

"May I ask how you came up with this idea, again?" Gareth asked, taking a sip of his drink.

"That again? I don't know, Gareth. I've already told you what I think"

"Yes, you did" he smirked, finishing his whiskey "But tell me again, I've never seen you this stressed before. It's quite interesting to watch"

"What else do you want me to say? I was- am kind of tired of just torturing people here, of being the cruel king they know I am. Pain, to others, is the only thing I know since that damn man sent us here with the other angels, and I wanted the opposite for a moment"

"Oh, how sweet. Who could say Lucifer himself would care for someone that much? But I get you, humans are indeed interesting creatures. Even God himself found a liking to them" the other made a face at the mention of his name. "Alright, have fun with your toy. I'm sure it'll be fun"

"My 'toy'... yeah, sure, if she doesn't kill me first"

Some squirming in the room next to them interrupted their talking, and they didn't even need to share looks to figure what it was. Lucifer stood up before he could answer and entered the room, where Arella was once again waking up.

She stirred and sat up on bed, flinching when she saw him standing by the door. This time though, Ari didn't try to move away from him or anything. She had learned the lesson from before.

"We need to have a talk" Lucifer sternly said.