◖𓈈﹗ ﹙ forthy-one ﹚
❛ ▬▬ QUEEN OF HELL. . . ❜
She hadn't returned to Dorian's mansion, disregarding the time as it passed on Earth, meaning hours of silence for a worried and accustomed boyfriend. Lilith would like to defend that she thought about something other than heaven and hell, but she would be lying. That was all she talked about with her cat -brought by Judas through pleas- while waiting for the queen's order to attend the meeting.
Lilith Arduenn had been fascinated by learning about human history, not only prehistoric times with beasts the size of a house, but also about Lucifer and the archangels. She couldn't wait to learn about the emergence of hell and demons; the queen of hell had left her with a lot of intrigue and she had to focus on practicing chronokinesis power to avoid being anxious. Lilith was completely fed up with not getting it. Every day she sat her ass on the chair and spent hours destroying and rebuilding a black rose. She didn't understand why she couldn't complete it. There was a problem with her feelings towards time; the mere idea of possessing it scared her instead of respecting it, but she firmly believed in her intentions. Was it true? What if time scared her? How could something scare her when she played among many times?
"Could that be the problem?" she asked her cat, who was purring on her lap. They were alone in the study room; guards guarded the door from the outside, and occasionally, they heard the screams from hell. "Maybe I don't show respect for it if I'm playing between earthly and hellish time; I don't commit to either one."
What if she had to choose one? Which one would Lilith choose?
"The time in hell is interesting, isn't it? My God! Imagine bringing a scientist here to explain what happens with time in hell, just like it happens in space... You know who would love to talk about this, Prayer? Sam. He would go crazy and surely spend a whole night searching for information just to satisfy his curiosity. Let me tell you something else, time passes more slowly here than on Earth, and I don't see many changes. Uh! Do you know what Sam would like to talk about? The concept of time that the inhabitants of hell have. What are thirty years to them? In thirty years, things change on Earth, but Dean has been thirty years in hell and nothing revolutionary has happened. And in heaven? Will it be the same? I bet it must be much faster, like one hour in heaven, a hundred years on Earth. Right? But... How am I going to talk to my mom in heaven without a decade passing here? Would I care? Well, yes... I go back, and Dorian will be old," Lilith started laughing uncontrollably. She served herself a line of cocaine and snorted it while still laughing. "Wow, you know Prayer... No! You come with me, Prayer, you know, that's it, we can't separate, we have to always live in the same time... I think I'm scared of time: it's very powerful. Is that why it's so hard for me, right? I don't deserve time."
For the rest of the hours, she continued like a machine, destroying and piecing together the damn flower without completing it. The only change was a deep pain in the pearl area that gave her a clue that there was improvement... about time. She had been with the same shit for months; the power of healing turned out to be easier and a good example. She had been devising a situation that would push her emotions to the limit and she would have no choice but to develop it; yes, it was a bit perverse, and wasn't drug abuse also perverse? The damage to her body was already done, and what her mind suffered was much worse. The idea of being a witch whose magic was so linked to her emotions left a reflection that made Lilith remain motionless for a whole hour, smoking a cigarette. What would have happened if her mother hadn't disappeared and had told her when she turned twenty-one that she was a witch?
She would still want to be a powerful witch... she would probably finish her studies and continue on the path to the presidency. She would use witchcraft to her advantage, not politically, but, she thought, to have more study and free hours: she liked to sleep, but it took away many hours, and with healing, she wouldn't need to sleep. If her mind were always in the best faculties -and not drowned in drugs- it would be much easier to cope with the apocalyptic shit and the study of time. And if she went on that plan: if her mother were with her, she definitely wouldn't be sitting on the edge between hell and earth. What would she be doing? Surely her mother would tell her how happy she was with her relationship with Dorian, she would praise what a beautiful couple they were, and they would definitely plan a second trip through Europe. The last one had been so much fun; they could include Dorian and have him give them a more personal tour of Italy. She had had such a great time on that trip! She remembered laughing as on a train from Amsterdam to France they couldn't find the exit. They had asked like thirty people, and they gave them directions that ended in dead ends, they went through the whole train until a service person helped them. It had been very stressful... God, she missed her mom so much.
She wished the day of their meeting would come, whether mortal or in heaven. After six months, she eagerly awaited the chance to talk to her. She didn't care what she had to do: if she had to die, she would, and if she had to fight against heaven, she would be very happy. They killed her by orders. She felt connected to Lilith, the first woman, much beyond the name and the influence that her story had had throughout her life. She was a woman who was not afraid and just wanted to be free, to love and be loved. It was so sweet. She wanted that too: to be free from the pain she felt. The only way that occurred to her was the one that came in front of her eyes, and she was okay with the deal she had with the queen of hell. Revenge against heaven, Uriel, was imminent, she would do it out of spite and rage. For injustice and pain. They had to pay for their actions, and the fact that they were angels caused a terrifying irrationality that shook the witch's heart. Those damned ones thought they were the whole world! She hated them. She hated them. She hated them. They thought they were untouchable, the most powerful, and they were. That was the worst part of it all.
If only she were that powerful...
"Lilith," she heard her name being pronounced by the queen. The young witch was startled and almost fell off the chair. "It's time. I need you to engrave some symbols on your body and put on something safer."
The queen had started wearing dresses that reminded her of women's uniforms in the second war, hooked to a long skirt and light enough to move freely. Golden buttons and white dominated. When the queen approached, a metallic sound came from her. Judas wore a tight, dark suit that covered her from head to toe, and her hand held a large briefcase.
"And what do I wear?"
From the briefcase, they took out a white dress similar to the queen's and a chainmail. Oh shit. The queen lifted her skirt and revealed the chainmail underneath her dress and, beneath it, a series of symbols engraved on her skin.
"These symbols will protect us from Enochian magic and provide extra protection in case they try to harm you physically. Judas, proceed."
"These symbols will protect us from Enochian magic. Lucifer taught me them many years ago, and a little extra protection for physical wounds never hurts. The angels know my tricks and have seen greater odds trying to kill me conventionally."
They undressed her. With a spear-tipped scalpel, Judas began to make the symbols all over her body, from her ankles to her chest. She stretched out her arms for her to make some more and noticed that she had skipped her stomach. She left it free.
"Listen to me," said the queen approaching with a paper on which she had been drawing something. "This sigil is used to banish angels. It's a blood seal." Judas began to draw it on her stomach. "Judas marked it for you so that, in case it's necessary, you hurt yourself with your magic and bleed, and when you feel the blood, you press with your hand and the angels will disappear from your reach. Understand?"
"Yes," she responded somewhat embarrassed. Judas finished her work and handed her the dress. Blood was dripping all over her body, and the scars from the symbols would remain for several days. The demon raised her head, and when their lips met, she kissed her briefly. "How do I put on the chainmail?"
"I'll help you," said Judas.
She dressed her with great tenderness and patience. She was ready to attend the meeting. Lilith Arduenn discreetly observed her reflection in the transparency of some potion bottles on the shelf. She looked like light, like a piece of heaven. Completely white and pure. With her whitish hair falling like a cascade splashing the edge of her waist, Lilith's skin was sickly pale, and the white fabric dress absorbed the rays of light. The only color she had was in the necklace that her mom had given her, which had a lilac stone heart.
They had teleported to an esplanade between mountains that cast even more shadows, hiding the moonlight. It had become night, although it was true, she had no idea how many days had passed on Earth. On the part of hell, the queen claimed her place at the front, with her right-hand, Judas, and behind them were demons that Lilith Arduenn met for the first time. All she knew was that hell had a council formed by powerful and ancient demons; one of them was called Asura, the chief of crossroads demons. The young witch stayed behind the queen, and near Judas, the only ones she knew. The rest of the demons emanated an evil aura that scared her enough to think that she shouldn't be there or maybe she was wrong: hell and heaven didn't have many differences; only one was false and the other real.
"I see we arrived first," commented the queen, her fingers palpating the angel sword held at her waist by a support.
"My queen, we shouldn't give them the chance to listen to them," spoke a demon in a white suit and straight mustache... well, the human he was possessing had it. Thinking about that made her uncomfortable.
"I have heard you, Mania," she responded without losing her patience and didn't give a more elaborate answer; neither did the queen. She was a queen; she could do whatever she wanted. For a moment, the queen looked at the young witch, who soon lowered her gaze. "They need to claim they are the owners of the world," she murmured, and the rest of her demons agreed.
Finally, after waiting for several minutes, the angels appeared. Lilith Arduenn couldn't hide how bad she felt. She maintained her composure, acting silently as they shed the shadows of wings in the clearing, along with the rumble of thunder and lightning. They didn't have those beautiful and physical wings that Lilith had shown her in her memories. What had happened to them? The angels who had descended were three: a woman with short, reddish hair dressed as a nun; she assumed she was the leader because of her prominence and being guarded by two angels of haughty appearance.
"Hello," the queen of hell was the first to speak. "I see you're not Micheal or one of his archangels. Who are you?"
"I am Haniel; I was sent by Heaven to demand your obedience," the angel barely moved his features, only opening his lips enough to utter the words in a robotic and uncharismatic tone.
The demons laughed and stopped when the queen raised her hand.
"My demons did not enter heaven and kill angels," she declared, "but you can. No one will say anything. I'm sorry if everything I do for my kingdom and my demons still hurts you."
"Give your obedience to heaven for the good of humanity."
"For the good of humanity?" The queen of hell let out a laugh different from what Lilith had expected, and it seemed to her that it was the first time she had heard her laugh genuinely. "Is that what they sent you to tell me? Michael is so busy he can't look me in the eye? Do the angels want the best for humanity? Perfect. I have a proposal: I release my love, and you stay up there, and we stay down here. No fights, we are all free."
She wanted to release Lucifer, Lilith repeated in her head until the sentence grew along with the beats of her heart, interrupting the external sounds. Anxiety had projected itself onto her middle finger tapping against her leg. She didn't want to show herself like that in front of the angels, so she hid her hands behind her back. What did releasing Lucifer mean? Her first thought had been chaos, obviously, based on historical construct assumptions: Lucifer was not associated with kind and merciful deeds, common good, and the hope of a prosperous future; however, the angels, if they were associated with those virtues, disappointed by being very different from what was expected. And what could she expect from Lucifer? The queen had shown her such an intimate side in her relationship with Lucifer.
"Heaven will not accept any deal other than the one we have offered you."
The angel only repeated words; he was not someone to negotiate with.
"Then you don't care about humanity? Are these the orders you accept, Haniel? The least merciful ones? Michael locked Lucifer in a cage for millions of years, drowned me at the bottom of hell, breathing smoke, my skin burning for all eternity. I couldn't die, and I couldn't live. How do you think I felt? Of course, you don't know about feelings."
"Your mouth is full of blasphemies, dirty whore, you repeat what your master taught you," one of the angels from the back stepped forward spitting out the insults. "You're trying to instill rebellion ideas in us; stop being a slut and kneel to Heaven."
"I'm tired of them thinking they're righteous, the ultimate law. You are no better than anyone, you are worse, in fact. Soulless beings, ruling a kingdom of humans without even knowing what it feels
like to be one."
"I will convey your words to our brother and leader, Michael," said the angel. The queen resumed her usual posture. "You are making a big mistake by not obeying Heaven."
The angels disappeared to the rhythm of lightning.
The demons didn't utter a word, not even Judas dared to move a muscle before the queen turned around, forming a smile with her thin lips arching like the crescent moon. Everyone was happy with the result. The eyes of the two women wanted to meet for the second time, and, like the previous one, she lowered her head.
"Let's proceed as planned," she ordered her demons. "Now." Everyone left except Judas and the young witch. "Have you seen how the demons are?" she asked approaching. Lilith Arduenn nodded, barely moving her head. "Are you afraid... of us? Don't you like demons?"
"The actions," she confessed.
A great silence arose between the mountains, which further activated her anxiety. The drug had left her, and its absence caused problems in her body, begging to calm her dark and painful thoughts. The queen took her by the arm, and they teleported to the study room.
"Can you leave us alone, Judas?" Lilith Arduenn looked at Judas, asking her not to do it, but she wasn't her queen. "What are you afraid of?"
"It's not fear; I don't see possessions as right, and I would like to avoid millions of deaths. And releasing Lucifer, what would happen?" She spoke almost in a whisper that moved away from the presence of the queen. She bumped into the table and had no more escape.
"I understand you; you are a witch and a human, I am also all that and have been turned into a demon. Lilith, I wanted you to see that I offered an alternative and planned to respect it if they did. They didn't accept it; they insulted me and asked me to kneel without offering anything in return, not even my freedom. Is that fair? If millions of people die, it will be their fault. Not ours."
"And then what? What would happen if you win?" she exclaimed, digging her nails into the edge of the table.
"A new world order, ruled by Lucifer and Lilith. Every creature will live with its kind in the fairest and freest way possible: hell for demons, heaven for angels, earth for humans, and we'll remodel purgatory for monsters to live there. Does that sound bad to you?"
"No, it sounds good."
📬！▬ author's note
team demons or angels?
i swear i'm really excited about what's going on. and also, lilith with the demons and dean with the angels isn't that so romeo and juliet? it wasn't intentional hahahahaha
xoxo vote and comment!