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 Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2008 8:04 pm
It had been a long day for all involved. Odessa, having recently lost both her mother and her baby set of fangs, was fussy and irritable. Even for a demon, her torments inflicted upon the shop's other inhabitants had been quite... inventive. Lucifuge had only just got the girl to settle down, and that was by removing her from the shop entirely. So what if Astaroth couldn't find the girl? A lot could be said for having the Queen of Hell under your proverbial thumb, especially when some other, older demon was shadowing the girl like a heroin addict would follow his drug dealer.
The girl lay across his lap, breathing evenly now that she was asleep. He wouldn't lie and say she'd gotten that way by herself; running fingers through her curls, the Prime Minister smirked. Too easy.
Well, keeping the girl would add too much to his plate. Something had been off about Lust lately, and now he had to deal with Gluttony's burgeoning ego, and then there was the whole Asmodeus-out-of-Hell and keeping-Astaroth-from-discovering-Legion's-part-in-the-murder-of-Lilith deal. He sighed. Astaroth could have the girl, then- as a distraction, and as a reminder.
Odessa, Queen of Hell, slept on, and Lucifuge plotted.
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Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2008 9:18 pm
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned; such a term was coined for women like Astaroth.
The demon stalked down the walkway to the house, the grass and flowers near by wilting in her passage; the door outright flew off the hinges as she allowed herself in without askance. If she had to leave the place in embers, it would burn to reaches of Hell that no one could reach. The idiots in the store were lucky she was more interested in Odessa than exacting her wrath upon them, although she had left a lovely little parting gift of burned bookshelves (books included) and a secondary fire upstairs. Let them scramble like the rats that they were. She would deal with Edward later if he proved to be unsavory.
"Lucifuge," the voice of snapping icicles and shattering mirrors reverberated through the house, her colorless eyes burning. There were no titles now, not in the ultimate upset, only the last will of the only being keeping her in check, a will she would see to no matter the cost. Her presence burned the paper on the walls, shattering frames and rotting the carpet with each step, burning the foundation beneath. The building was of no consequence, especially if it housed her prey.
Unfortunately, it did.
Slitted eyes of wrath turned onto the Prime Minister, her emerald tattoo over half her body burning brightly, seeming to writhe with a life of its own. "Lucifuge," that terrible voice filled the room, burning every paper in the vicinity, "I trust there is a very good and logical reason that you've disobeyed our Lady's orders. One you will share with me." Astaroth could literally feel the house creaking around her as her demonic presence leaked copiously from her body; there was only one thing in any plane of existance that could soothe her unbridled rage, and she was sleeping within the Prime Minister's lap.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 3:54 am
Ignoring a muffled curse from the floor above (surely Lamia) Lucifuge gathered the little girl into his arms in a manner that almost could be called protective. "Prince," he said smoothly, almost a croon. "Hush, you're going to wake Her Majesty." With a vague frown that barely creased his forehead, he countered at least the foundation of the store, fixing it as best he knew how- wouldn't do to have the place completely trashed like that. The mistress did enjoy a certain amount of... comfort in her dwelling places.
"Of course," he said, thinking of her demand casually, as if she had asked a question. "The late Queen left the little beast with me, since she didn't want to disturb you while you were dealing with your summoner." Perhaps, he thought after saying it, it was a bad idea to refer to Odessa as a beast, but after she had chewed on his favorite shirt he wasn't much inclined to be nice.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:19 pm
"Lies." The word was a hiss of steam, a crash of waterfalls and shrieks all in one. "The Lady designated a place to meet should anything happen..." her eyes narrowed thinly, darkened sclera making her orbs look little more than silver slits, "...and you moved her."
Accusations? Possibly. Astaroth trusted no one, least of all the supposed Prime Minister and his lack of concern that a demon-slaying sword had pierced the heart of the Queen. The arrival of Legion and her toy, the Sins, now this, it was rubbing her the very wrong way. The Prince knew well that Lilith had asked her specifically to take care of Odessa, to be the godmother. The demon before her was simply embroiling himself in something she needed to get her charge - her child - away from.
"Relinquish her to me, Lucifuge," she continued to ignore his title, his demeanor undeserving of her consideration, "as per our Queen's orders." There would be no refuting those words, lest Lucifuge wanted to contest loyalties. She wanted Odessa to awaken, to come to her, and to leave the house; she had no desire to fight with the Minister again, not when she had to secure Odessa's safety first.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:44 pm
He smiled again, looking quite benign. "As you wish," said the Prime Minister, shaking the child's shoulder oh-so-gently. "Time to wake up, Your Majesty. Aunt Astaroth has come to get you." The child yawned, hands automatically coming up to rub her golden eyes.
"Auntie Roth?" She smiled a little and darted immediately away from Lucifuge, happily grabbing the older demon's hand. The contact would be quite a shock, because the demonic presence the Prime Minister had failed to recognize would be as familiar to Astaroth as a lie. "I knew you'd come," she said.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 12:52 pm
Astaroth may have had a few more choice words for Lucifuge. She might have glowered and called him all manner of things, but as soon as Odessa touched her hand, everything changed.
Her power sucked back into her body so fast that the ground she was standing on smoldered in the aftermath. Colorless eyes became a touch wider, looking down at the child. The Prince was minutely overwhelmed; it was the first time she had seen Odessa since hearing of her from Lilith herself, feeling a quiet satisfaction at meeting her godchild, but more than that was the power that rippled over her skin. It was familiar, warm, and extremely strong. The dark presence, the very taste...
Astaroth knew exactly what it was.
Kneeling down, she drew Odessa into her arms in an uncharacteristic show of affection for the girl, purring in her human voice like slick velvet. "I have you now, my little one. All will be well." The Prince stood, the demon Queen in her arms, looking over to Lucifuge. There was triumph in that horrible face, knowledge creasing the lines of her malicious grin. Everything would, in fact, be well. She knew. She could feel it.
"Farewell, Lucifuge," came that sweet purr, turning on heel and walking away from the room. She afforded him one last glance before exiting the damaged building. Astaroth had a feeling she might not see him again.
She was fine with that.
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Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2008 1:40 pm
"Farewell," said the Prime Minister, a little floored. That had gone better than expected.
Odessa wrapped her arms around her godmother's neck, smiling quite widely herself. "I knew you'd come," she repeated, but this time the tone was different, as if it weren't the girl speaking, but the strange shell of presence around her skin. "Not even Legion could stop you."
She was quiet for several long heartbeats, then she mumbled, "Auntie Roth, my teeth hurt," in a very pitiful voice.
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Posted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 1:16 pm
Eyes devoid of color slid sideways to observe the child close to her face, her smile widening at the words that curled against her ear. "I'd never fail you," she replied firmly, adjusting the Queen more closely in her arms as she made her way back towards her home. Their home. Astaroth was fine with the silence that followed, a feeling of satisfaction welling in her chest; everything was going to be more than fine. She just had to be patient.
The next words made her smile fade back into the polite and stoic expression she often wore, lifting one hand to draw through the child's curls. "The greater the pain, the greater the triumph that will follow. I will supply you with something to numb the worst of it, my little one."
Her human was going to possibly have a heart attack when she brought home a child. Not just any child, but her child, at least for now. Astaroth looked a bit smug, anticipating the weeks that would follow; it had been anything but dull since she'd emerged from the Veil, and it promised to continue upon that popular trend.
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