Problem? The only problem I could forsee is this girl, this demon, was obviously involved with some bad people and here she was standing in my living room. Not only that but she's accusing me of stealing something of hers?
"Look, I don't know anything about this necklace you have stole-"
"I didn't steal it," she growled.
"Ok... The jewelry you have misplaced."
"Well let me tell you, sir," she started, walking towards me like a mother chastising her son.
"When those people down there realize it, and myself are gone, hell is gonna break loose." Her finger pointed at the ground.
I raked my fingers through my messy hair, taking a deep breath and composing my thoughts.
"Alright, let's just calm down and think this through. I will help you find this necklace, but only if you relax slightly," I encouraged her.
Why would I say that? I don't want to help this raging demon. I want her to stop yelling and find the problematic necklace herself.
She inhaled sharply and examined my expression before holding her hand out. I took it carefully, her hot but smooth hand gripped mine tightly and shook.
"I'm Eisheth, but you should call me Elle."
I nodded and let go, returning my attention to the remains of my living area. I initiated the cleanup, turning the couch back to its original state, picking up thrown books. Eisheth, well, Elle, stepped in and joined.
"Sorry bout the mess, kinda get a little out of hand when I'm upset.." She apologized, setting the shattered pieces of my vase on the end table between us.
She turned the lamp sitting next to it on and looked up from the light at me, I stared back.
Her gaze broke first, she walked away from me and began looking around the house. Not in a frantic, ruining your belongings way, but seemingly more out of curiosity.
She scaled the walls, I had always liked paintings, my homes, no matter how many I've had, were always covered with them. There's something intriguing about the way artists thought back in the renaissance era. Somehow I managed to hold onto a few of the older ones through all this time.
"These look authentic, huh?" Elle inquired.
I pursed my lips and simply nodded.
"You were around for that time period?" I asked as she rounded the corner, finger still trailing along the wall, her elongated nail lightlymscraping the paint, scanning for more artwork.
I heard her giggle echo through the room, she smiled widely, obviously amused by my question.
"Oh love, I've been around much longer."
She looked away, as if she was thinking deeply about something, but her head snapped back up and she addressed me,
"Now, about my necklace..." The woman stopped abruptly in the doorway of my kitchen, her arms resting on the wooden frame.
"To clear this up, only for my mental comfort of course, is the necklace your of Hades?"
She eyed me, as if the answer was blantant.
"Technically, it's mine..." her voice trailed off on that last word. "Like I said hun, it's a long story."
"I'd like to hear it, if you wouldn't mind telling it to me. If I'm going to be helping you search for it, it would be comforting to know why it is of such importance to you," I explained carefully.
She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it quickly and her big red eyes found the tile floor.
"I'm tired. Is it possible I could sleep awhile before telling any story. It is 4am anyways."
I took note of the clock. It was the middle of the night. She must have taken my expression the wrong way.
"I get it. It's cool, I'll go if ya don't want me here. I'm sure-"she began to say.
"No, you can sleep here of course. Please, take the bed."
Damn my hospitality. Well, demon or not, my morals would never allow myself to throw someone out wounded, let alone at a time like this. Speaking of wounded...
"Are you experiencing any pain, where you were stabbed?" I know, what a stupid question to ask. But I have never seen the aftermath of Aceso's healing powers, so for all I know she could be in terrible pain.
I led Elle to the room where she originally awoke.
"Nah, I'll be fine." she shrugged, taking a glance at the faint pink line under her ribs.
"How'd it heal so quick? Have I been out that long?" I noticed the panic rise on her face.
"No, no. You've been unconscious for only a few hours. As for how, I can explain that tomorrow," I barely managed to get out the last word when a yawn escaped me.
She nodded, and sat on the mess of tangled sheets and tossed pillows, or what used to be the guest bed.
After making sure she would be as comfortable as a person could be in a strangers home, I let her be and retreated back to my own bed.
It was dark again, and I had forgotten this room wasn't set up the way mine was, so I found myself tripping over the dresser, the small desk, and finally the end table. I plopped down onto the soft bed and just laid on my back.
The sight of the ceiling kept me awake, along with my thoughts.
Was I really going to help this woman find her jewelry? Could it be that important? I could just get her another one to replace the missing one. Obviously she was in trouble with angels, from my view it seemed the council wanted her head. Am I honestly willing to risk being tied in with this demon? This criminal? Especially one who's being attacked by both good and evil? It probably wasn't worth it, just another reason for my alleged allies to be upset with me. I was already faltering with the patience of the council.
News travels fast, especially when you kill angels, soon everyone would be looking for this girl, and if they found her even near me I would be punished too.
Death?
Permanent incarceration?
Banishment?
Helping a stranger, is it worth the risk?
Probably not, but I already gave this girl my word and I plan to keep true to it, even if it may cause a slight disturbance in my scheduled life.
First things first, I had to learn more about this girl.
My head spun with thoughts and sleep seemed to elude me, but eventually I dozed off, only to be awoken by the sound of laughter.
