"Mmmm...Hmmmm..."
Chris appeared immediately at seventeen year old Amaris's bedside. She often made noise in her sleep when she had nightmares, so Chris always did his best to comfort her when he could.
"Oohhmmm...Mmm...Hmm, mmm..."
Chris sits down on the edge of Amaris's bed. Her entire body seems to jerk, and he places a hand on her back.
"Chris..."
"I'm here."
Amaris's eyes open suddenly and abruptly, wide as if to be in a state of shock.
"Chris?"
"I'm here, my love. It was just a nightmare."
Amaris blinks, "Right," She states, "A nightmare."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Amaris sits up, "What time is it?"
"Eight."
"We have to be at our meeting with the council in a couple hours?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, well, I guess I'll start getting ready for the day."
Amaris gets out of bed and makes a b-line for the washroom. A million human thoughts were running through her head right now that Chris would surely be unable to answer. Not that she'd even want to ask him though.
Her first thought: did cold showers work for girls too?
X
Chris and Amaris apparate into the study where their meetings always took place.
"Hello, everyone," Chris greets.
The rest of the demons great them, but Asmodeus in particular had his eyes on Amaris, more so than usual.
"Good morning, Miss Delphi," Asmodeus greets.
"Hello, Asmodeus."
"You look lovely today."
Amaris gives a small smile, "Thank you, I -"
"So lovely that you're glowing, practically."
Amaris's stomach dips and her face falls.
"I...I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
Asmodeus gives a small smirk, "If you insist, my dear." He walks off.
Asmodeus makes his way to Merihem and snickers, "Merihem, you may need to inspect our dearest Amaris. She appears to have a...fever."
Merihem grins, "Hmmm..." He muses, "I can see it from here. Should we inform Balam?"
"Surely he knows too."
"But is it time for 'Chris' to know his possible next steps?"
Asmodeus nods, "Perhaps a separate meeting with Allocer is in order."
"I couldn't agree more."
As Amaris had gotten older, the council of demons would ask her and Chris questions together, then individually. They'd already asked Amaris their routine questions, now they were chatting with Chris.
"When does she turn eighteen?" Asmodeus asks.
"In three months."
All of the demons in the room look to each other, then back to Chris.
"As she nears adulthood, have the two of you experienced any...complications?" Merihem asks.
Chris furrows his eyebrows in confusion, "Um...no? If anything, we're closer now than ever. We get closer and closer every day."
The demons again all glance to each other, none of them speaking.
"What am I missing?" Chris asks.
Balam returns his attention to Chris, "Should complications arise...You know where to find us."
X
"Hey, how'd your date go last night?" Amaris asks Josh at school a few days later.
Josh shrugs, "Eh. He's cute, and he was nice to me, but he had a little bit of an attitude towards the waiter. That's a 'no no' for me."
"Ew. Yeah, you can do better."
Tayla runs over to her friends, squealing with delight, "Guess what?"
"What?" Josh asks.
"I got my surgery date! I'll be getting my facial feminization done a month after graduation!"
Amaris gasps, "That's so great!" She hugs Tayla, "Oh, I'm so happy for you!"
Josh hugs Tayla as well, and the three of them all grin to each other.
"I'm so excited. I just can't wait for senior year to be over and go to college with a brand new face."
"You're definitely right about this year not going fast enough," Amaris says.
"Since it is our last year though..." Josh slings an arm around Amaris's shoulders, "We were hoping you'd go to Prom with us."
Amaris sighs, "You guys - "
"We know, we know," Tayla says, suspecting that Amaris was going to try and give some kind of excuse as to why she couldn't go, "But it's our last chance, and you haven't gone to a dance with us since Homecoming freshmen year."
"We were hoping that if we asked you a few months in advance, maybe you'd be able to figure something out."
Amaris chews the side of her cheek, deep in thought.
"I'll see what I can do."
X
Later that day.
Amaris walks out of her bedroom into the lounge. There were red leather chairs and a couch to match. They stood in front of a large fire place, and below an elegant chandelier. It looked old and dark, just like everything else in Chris's quarters, but Amaris liked it. She liked anything that reminded her of Chris.
Chris lay on the couch, eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping, obviously. Demons often rested for pleasure though, which was what Chris was doing now. He lay on his back, his right hand on his chest, his left hand draped out over the side of the couch.
Amaris slowly makes her way into the lounge upon finding Chris at rest, not wanting to disturb him. While he wasn't sleeping, he was likely in a deep, meditative state.
Amaris makes her way to stand in front of Chris. He lay still as death. With his left arm draped off the side of the couch, Amaris took a minute to observe the tattoos she'd seen so many times, constantly mesmerized by their beauty; by his beauty. Inevitably though, Amaris casts her gaze to the circular scar outlining Chris's palm, matching hers.
Amaris looks at her own palm, the bright white light beginning to seep through the lines of the scar. The same thing begins happening with Chris's hand as well.
The energy that flowed between them each time their hands lit up like this was addicting. Chris didn't let them engage in this energy working very often though, for some reason.
Maybe it was because every time they did, Amaris could hardly resist the urge to press their scars together, to feel their light energy fully become one. Chris never allowed this though; he said it was dangerous, that Amaris was not ready for the kind of power would come to them.
Despite the many times Chris had told her not to, Amaris slowly reached down, wanting to connect their powers. Chris's body was here, but his mind was elsewhere. Amaris didn't want to take advantage of him, or go against him...but this could be her only chance.
Amaris held her breath; it was now or never. She leans down to press her glowing circle against that of her demon, feeling the power between them growing stronger and stronger. It pulled her in. It lured her. Mere centimeters away, Amaris smiles. This was finally about to happen...
A strong hand grasps her wrist, stopping her.
"Nice try," Chris says.
Amaris sighs in defeat. This was the first time she'd ever directly gone against him. Chris sits up on the couch and motions for Amaris to sit next to him, which she does.
"I'm sorry," Amaris says first.
"Why can't you just let it go, Amaris?" Chris asks, frustrated.
"Don't you feel it too?" Amaris asks.
"Feel what?"
"The pull. Whatever force it is that makes our hands glow. It's like a magnet; like it wants us to come together."
Chris sighs, "Of course I feel it, Amaris. That's one of the biggest things that makes it so dangerous."
"But don't you ever wonder what would happen if - "
"I know what would happen, Amaris," Chris says, "You can't keep doing this. Our light centers must never touch."
"Can you at least tell me why -"
"NO!"
Amaris stiffens, eyes wide. In nearly eighteen years, this was the first time Chris had ever snapped at her.
Chris exhales. He'd never seen Amaris look at him this way, almost as if she were afraid of him. He rubs his eyes with the heels of his hands, tiredly, then returns his attention to Amaris.
"I'm sorry -"
"No," Amaris quickly interjects, "I'm sorry. I won't bring it up anymore."
Chris pauses, unsure of what to say. Despite how much he wanted to tell her sometimes, what would happen if their lights became one...he couldn't. It wouldn't be fair to her.
Finally, Chris just nods, "Good."
Amaris nods. There's an awkward pause as Amaris shifts on the couch, uncomfortably. She brushes some of her black hair behind her ear, then clears her throat, then speaks.
"Um..." She starts, "I-I know it's a ways away, but...Josh and Tayla really want me to go to Prom with them in May, and I think I'm gonna go."
"Oh," Chris says, "I thought you didn't like school dances."
Amaris shrugs, "They're not my favorite, but it'll be my last chance to do something like that with my friends before they go off to college."
Chris nods, "Well, I think that'll be good for you," He says, "Are you sure you don't want to go to college right now?"
Amaris shakes her head, "I wanna take a year off to figure out what I wanna do."
Chris again just nods. There's a long, awkward pause as Amaris seemed to be deep in thought.
"I'm gonna go do my homework in my room."
With that, Amaris stands and walks off.
Chris leans back on the couch and puts both of his hands over his face.
"Fuck."
X
"Have a good day," Chris says as he brings Amaris into the mortal realm the next day.
"Thanks," Amaris states blankly before turning and walking off. Normally she'd give Chris a hug or kiss his cheek, but today she barely glanced at him.
When she's gone, Chris just sighs, equally as upset with how tense things with him and Amaris were at the moment. Chris walks back through the portal, his head hanging low.
As soon as he steps through, someone forcefully apparates him into their throne room.
Balam.
"My Lord." Chris kneels in front of the throne, "I was unaware you requested my presence."
"Forcefully apparating you here was easier," Balam states, "Complications with the girl?"
Chris stands, "No use in lying to you I suppose," He says, "You're able to see what happened yesterday?"
"I am," Balam states.
"Are you here to give me advice, or berate me?"
"Neither," Balam states, "I could tell you what I think, but there are others whom I believe would benefit you more than I; those who have been in situations similar to yours."
Chris furrows his eyebrows in confusion, "What do you mean?"
"Guardian demons have not been assigned for thousands of years prior to you, but surely you know who the last demon to be assigned mortal guardianship before you was?"
Chris nods, "Lord Lucifer."
"Of course, he agreed to his role in guardianship," Balam says, "But he is...one of the demons I feel you should chat with."
"I would have spoken to him about Amaris eighteen years ago when I was first assigned to her, but he's almost impossible to reach. I haven't spoken to him or even seen him since I was granted eldership."
"He's definitely the most popular among the mortals out of us all," Balam says, "But after I explained your situation to him, he agreed to grant you an audience."
Chris raises his eyebrows in surprise, "Really?"
"Yes. You'd best be going though; you're running late."
"What?"
Chris then feels himself being pulled, forcefully apparated elsewhere.
Chris stumbles to a stand in the next throne room; one he'd never been in, but recognized immediately.
Since Lucifer translated to "light-bringer" or "the Morningstar," his throne room was the lightest and brightest of all of the rulers of the demon realm. White and blue marble floors led to white stone steps. Atop the steps was a glorious throne, surrounded by gorgeous floor-to-ceiling windows and tapestries.
Sitting on the throne, appearing to have expected Chris, sat the infamous demon himself.
Chris stumbles into a kneeling position and bows his head.
"My Lord," He says, "Forgive me. I was unaware that I'd be speaking with you today. Thank you for taking the time to see me."
"Stand."
Chris stands and looks to Lucifer. His skin, hair, and eyes were all completely white. His robes and crown were lined with gold, but his wings were the classic demonic black.
"I've been wanting to discuss your situation with you ever since I received the news that a mortal child was residing in our realm," Lucifer says, "But as you know, I had many matters to attend to in the mortal realm."
Chris nods, very aware.
"However, Lord Balam has informed me that you've run into some...trouble with the girl?"
"You could say that."
"What would you like to know?"
Chris swallows, "Well," He starts, "Would you mind telling me a bit about your experiences with guardianship?"
Lucifer nods, "The last human I worked with was a young man named Edmund. He summoned me and asked me to be his guardian; I agreed."
"What was your relationship like?"
"Every mortal-demon partnership is different. However, Edmund and myself did not have the relationship that you and Miss Delphi have. We were working partners, acquaintances; nothing more."
"Did you care for him?"
"Of course. I encouraged him when he was feeling low, and I was proud of his accomplishments."
"W-When he died," Chris starts, hating to think about Amaris dying someday, "How did you handle it? Did you grieve?"
Lucifer considers this a moment, "I was somber for a time," He admits, "But eventually, I had to move on. There was work to be done."
Chris sighs, "I just...can't bear to think about Amaris dying."
"Your relationship with the Delphi girl is very unusual."
"She grew up in the demon realm; everything about our situation is unusual."
"This is true," Lucifer says, "However, Amaris does not see you as a parent. She never has."
"Isn't that a good thing?"
"It should be, but in your case it may not," Lucifer says, "You see, Amaris sees you as a friend, as a companion. You may think this is a good thing, but it becomes dangerous when Amaris begins to see you as an equal. She does not see you as her superior, therefore she feels she can defy you."
Chris didn't want Amaris to fear him in any way. He actually quite liked the idea of her seeing him as an equal. Chris knew he could not tell Lucifer this though, so he bit his tongue.
"You mustn't be afraid to put your foot down around the girl," Lucifer continues.
Chris nods, "Rest assured, I've been very firm with her. I told her that the light centers in our hands must never touch, and she promised to never ask about it again."
Lucifer furrows his brow, "Light centers?"
Chris blinks, then holds up his scarred palm, "Didn't you have something like this with Edmund?"
"I did," Lucifer says, "As a symbol to my allegiance to my human. Edmund, however, had no such marking." Lucifer appeared to be coming to an incredible realization.
Chris's eyes widen. Before he can ask anymore questions though, he is forcefully apparated elsewhere.