After purgatory

III

Assembly's at that St. Claire's made Pandora wish she'd been blessed with her fathers flames. A thought only the daughter of Lucifer would think.
The leaders would just preach about how they were so lucky to have parents who were good, how they didn't have darkness running through their veins.
A personal insult, considering her father was the birth of darkness itself.
So, when the rush of people leading to the grand hall began to slow, Pandora slipped out, jumping out of one of the archways leading to the gardens.
But before she began to carefully jump away from the stone building, Gabriel's now-familiar eyes caught her own.
He knew nothing of who she really was.
The gardens were created like a maze, the only area shared by the angels and 'dark ones'. That's what they were called here, people born to a resident to the Underworld. Maybe that was why she loved the gardens, because it was like her, a medium between good and bad. The roses varied from pink and white, the white growing the closer you came to St. Claire's angelic side, a deep red rose becoming frequent as one neared the Darker side. No one was ever in the gardens, maybe they feared each other or were disgusted by each other... she wasn't sure. But Pandora still meandered around the green, white and red maze. A small clearing arrived and she realised, she'd reached the dark side for the first time. Did she have something to fear? No. Then why did she feel a reminisce of fear? She was the daughter of Lucifer and Aphrodite. She was the balance, the balance does not fear. The building was about a mile off, identical to the one opposite. Her thoughts, however, were disrupted by a melodic whistling.
Pandora looked to her left to see a broken looking tree with red leaves and black bark, a long being lounged in the branches. She looked up to find ethereality wrapped in a body.
His hair was pitch black, the colour of midnight and his skin was golden. A leather jacket clung to his lean form and a blood red rose between his fingers. He clearly knew she was there but continued to sing his taunting tune.
His sheer beauty was enough to almost have her running in the other direction. "Do you always hang out in trees?" She asked, looking up at him.
"No," he replied, his voice like pure silk, English but with a twinge of somewhere else, "Only when new angels wander over to the dark side."
"How'd you know I was new?" The boy lifted his eyes from the rose, playfulness and seriousness all present in his blue eyes, "Your angelic friends didn't tell you to stay away yet?"
She almost moved back a step.
"No. Not yet." She replied.
He jumped down from the branch, with far too much ease, his strangely long body carrying him far. "Well, then, you must have no common sense."
"That's been previously found." She chuckled, despite the situation. Though, she knew nothing of this boy and though no one ever made her uncomfortable... he made her nervous. Could you blame her? Danger practically dripped from him.
His eyes narrowed and his head cocked as he stared at her.
"Something's not right." He said, tapping a finger on a thorn.
"What do you mean?" She asked, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable.
The rose quickly dropped and almost too fast for her to notice he cornered her against the tree, enraged curiosity quickly forming at the core of his expression. His face was less that a metre from hers and his breath was even against her unsteady one.
"What are you?" He snapped, his smooth tone gone and replaced with ice. "I-I don't--"
"What are you?" He barked, again.
"I don't know--"
"How do you not know? Who are your parents?" He scrutinised, a sneer on his lips. Pandora released a ragged breath and his head tilted back, now intrigued by her answer.
He leaned in more, his breath warming her neck, "Answer me, angel."
Her jaw clenched and released again, a long inhale helping her immensely.
"My mother is Aphrodite..." she started, too slow for his liking.
"Your father?" He prompted, his left brow arching. She grinned, enjoying his curiosity. "Lucifer."
His facade fell. His arms falling to his side and even going so far as to faltering back a step. The grin that Angelique told her to hide proving her the true spawn of Lucifer.
"Pandora..." he breathed, breathless.
She stepped away from the tree.
"In the flesh. Now, who the hell are you?" She asked, ignoring the irony.
The still taken aback boy, chewed his cheek, eyes narrowing again.
"Come on. Too scared to tell Satan's daughter your name?"
He smirked, a frightening laugh escaping him, "Do you forget that I, too, am a son of a devil? Though it may frighten the lights out of those angels, you can't scare me, angel. "
"Oh, yeah? Then why're you standing five feet away from me?" She chuckled, crossing her arms. He grinned, slowly stepping closer and closer to her.
"You want me to get closer?" He smirked, dark playfulness radiating.
As he said it his blue eyes flashed red if only for a second, apparently a casual action to him. Still, she did not let it show. Pandoras brows raised at his suggestion, "Just answer the question."
His arm rested against the tree and she stood opposite him. "Unlike you, I'm a thorough demon, Hades and Persephone got together and created this handsome devil."
She could hear the sounds of the assembly ending, meaning she'd have to leave this 'handsome devil' and annoyingly accurate description.
"Seth, named after another demon, of course." Pandora extended her hand, and he just glanced at it, smirking. So, instead of shaking it like a normal, polite person would, he wrapped his fingers around her own and planted a kiss on her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, half-cast."
With that, he picked up the discarded rose and planted it in her hands before disappearing in a blink of her eyes. A smile that she wouldn't see the last of.