THE DEVIL'S DAUGHTER

1 -- Daddy's Little Girl

"But, Daaaddyyyyy !"  Melinda whined, a pout forming on her face as she stomped her foot hard, shaking the building's foundations and the walls of those that stood on the hilltop surrounding it.  She crossed her skinny arms across her ample bosom, going nowhere.  Standing her ground.  Glaring at her father until he gave in, which he invariably did. 

Daddy was the Devil, himself.

And she was the Devil's Daughter.

"Baby girl"  he started, walking towards her, his arms outstretched, ready to comfort her in the midst of her temper tantrum.  Daddy was the epitome of the "Handsome Devil".  When he incarnated into his human form, which he did often, he was absolutely, stunningly beautiful.  So why the Hell not ?  He could make his human form whatever the Hell he wanted.  He decided he would be tall, well over six feet, with dark caramel, flawless skin.  Chocolate brown eyes which glowed red when he was either angry, or aroused.  He seemed to be one or the other most of the time.  In equal measure.  His build was wiry, lean and muscular, with broad shoulders and a slim waist.  His wives thought him the most handsome devil they had ever had the pleasure.  And he gave himself the face, THAT face, that seemed to have been chiseled by the Gods, and not imagined by the devil.  Dressed all in black, of course, with heavy Gothic silver dripping from his neck, wrists and fingers, even in his ears.  His hair a mess of long black twists that he would carelessly throw back, to keep the curtain of hair from his face.  

"Come here, my precious girl"  he cooed at her, enveloping her in his arms.  She was the only one he spoke kindly to.  Ever.  He placed a kiss on top of her waterfall of raven black hair.

"What is it today ?"  he asked.  It was always something, there was always something she wanted.  Everyday.  And if it was in his power to give it to her, and most times it was, then he would.  

He looked at her with pure love in his eyes.  She reminded him so much of her mother, the same raven black hair, but hers was corkscrew curly, and her face was elfin like, whereas Melinda's features were more like his.  But they could be whatever they wanted to be.  He happened to like this version of her.  

He had lived in the overworld once, he had lived an entire human lifetime there.  He found his love there, too, her name was Jessalyn.  She was beautiful, and strong, and funny, and he loved her with the entirety of his black heart and his depraved soul.  She loved him in return, so much so, that she returned to the Underworld with him, to reign as his Queen.  But, being the trouble maker that he was apt to be, he made a few enemies along the way.  Starting wars with his neighbours, pillaging land and commandeering minions, shooting the neighbours dogs.  He upset quite a few people.  And so, his enemies, knowing of his absolute weakness in the form of his love for his Queen, abducted her.  And tortured her, and raped her, and left her, dead, on his doorstep, the horrific evidence of her fate clear for all to see.  Especially the Underworld King.  When you rule a dark kingdom of unimaginable pain and cruelty and suffering, there can be no room for weakness, especially in your enemies eyes.  No room for love.  He was so devastated, that centuries of devastation took place in the Overworld.  He had hated it now, it gave him his Queen, but she was gone.  His enemies lived there too, so the earth and it's humans would endure unimaginable suffering at his hand.  Pestilence, plague, famine, rivers of blood, frogs, locusts and the Black plague ?  His doing.  The Ottoman wars, the Anglo-French wars, The eighty years war ?  All him.  The crusades, all 300 years of them ?  That was a short one, a trifle.  All him. The King of the Underworld, mourning his Queen, in the form of thousands of years of hysterical grief.  

And so, Melinda was now requiring her father's attention.

"I want to visit the Overworld, daddy."  she stated, unequivocally, confidence and defiance in her voice.  There was to be no room for negotiation, she decided.