The Devil's Beloved, a Steamy MM Fantasy Romance (part five)
Hear ye, my dearest readers! I shall recount Agatha's current attempts to overthrow my monarchical position within the apartment:
The scaly one watches my every move, hissing incessantly if I get too close. Stinksnort has finally left the safety of the cupboards. He's concluded that if Agatha had the ability to breathe fire, she would have set me ablaze by now.
Blarg has taken to calling her "my queen" and keeps feeding her those ghastly cricket smoothies.
***
Satan awoke in Tzyeriel's arms. He’d just had the strangest dream, of what, he couldn't be sure, but he knew it had something to do with his... friend? He looked over at his lover, and thought, Tzyeriel's so beautiful, so perfect. He wanted to do something special for him. After thinking long and hard about it, he settled on an idea.
He nudged his companion awake. The Seraph smiled lazily and yawned. He gazed happily at Satan and asked,
"Mmm, what is it?" Satan smiled and said,
"I shall be taking you to a very special part of Hell, one that has never been seen by an angel of Heaven." Tzyeriel's eyes widened. He said,
"Y-you mean...?" Satan continued,
"We’re going down to Tartarus." Tzyeriel replied,
“You mean, the halls of the wickedest souls.” Satan nodded and said,
"I will show you my collection of humans more wicked than any fallen one." The horned angel got up and beckoned for him to follow. Tzyeriel, taken by a strange curiosity, joined him.
Satan led them down a stone path until they came upon the side of a mountain. He made a gesture in the air, and the outlines of a hidden door broke through the rock, slowly opening wide.
They traveled down several flights of stairs. At the bottom, they were greeted by Cerberus, a giant three-headed dog. It bounded up to Satan happily and began licking his face. Satan scratched the dog behind its many ears, laughing merrily.
One of the dog's heads suddenly took note of Tzyeriel. The other heads stopped licking their master, turning their full focus on the newcomer. Cerberus was prone to attack anyone it didn't recognize, and Tzyeriel carried the scent of Heaven. Satan braced himself, preparing to intervene.
But the dog began licking the Seraph affectionately. Tzyeriel grinned and laughed,
"Well, aren't YOU a friendly bunch?" He gave each of the heads a warm hug, then noticed Satan staring at him in disbelief. Tzyeriel shrugged and said,
"They probably smell you on me."
As they walked through the enormous doors of Tartarus, Satan took Tzyeriel by the hand. The angel welcomed this, intertwining his fingers with Satan's hand in turn.
The halls of Tartarus echoed with the sounds of lamentation. The doors to the cells were closed off, save for a small area of grating one could look through if they so wished. As the angels ventured deeper into the desolate prison, Satan shared stories of the unspeakable atrocities committed by each of the inhabitants; acts so brutal, they caused the angel of Heaven to shrink back in horror time and time again.
Along the way, Tzyeriel asked questions about the various dictators and other human monsters on display.
Satan knew all the details of every captive: their secret shames, their insecurities, and of the twisted ways in which they’d somehow convinced themselves that their crimes against humanity were justified.
After a while, Tzyeriel murmured,
“How could they have done all those things in life and still have thought they were righteous?” Satan replied,
“They lied to themselves so often they came to believe their lies to be truth. I’ve found the best approach in dealing with these souls is to leave them alone, locked up forever with their own illusions. After a time, even the most stubborn of them have no choice but to see the truth of who they are. For sinners such as these, that is the very worst form of torment.”
Tzyeriel paused, and asked,
“Why did you follow Lucifer during the war?” Satan stopped, looking down in shame. After a moment, he replied,
“Because I lied to myself. I told myself I wanted to bring freedom to the angels of Heaven, but all I really wanted was to indulge my own desires.”
Memories of his life before Hell flashed through his mind. He’s been an angel of the Earth, who’d helped breathe new life into the soil every spring. In that time, he’d been innocent, but Lucifer had approached him one day, offering to share the knowledge of flesh that was forbidden amongst the angels.
Tzyeriel felt Satan’s discomfort. He cradled the horned angel’s cheek, guiding him to meet his gaze, and whispered,
“But you admit the truth now. Are you still so sinful?” Satan’s face fell as he felt the weight of his many years spent in darkness. He pressed himself up against Tzyeriel, who held him in turn.
“I have… I have been so very wicked. Please forgive me, son of Heaven.”
Tzyeriel kissed him, drawing him close. Satan’s shoulders started shaking. All the horror of what he’d become fell out of him in one long, mournful cry. The Seraph comforted him, saying,
“It’s alright to cry, you’ve been alone for so long.”
They stood together in silence. It had been thousands of years since Satan had allowed himself to feel, but Tzyeriel’s light felt like the rays of the sun shining down upon his soul.
When he’d shed enough tears, Tzyeriel gave him one more gentle kiss, and they made their way back. The angels exited the metal gates, giving Cerebus a final goodbye pat on each head as they went.
Satan wondered whether the emotion he was now experiencing for Tzyeriel was love. After some consideration, he decided it was true, that in spite of himself, he had fallen for the Seraph. But then, a sudden fear crept into his mind. He wondered,
What if he doesn't love me back?
They returned to the surface. Satan's concerns burned at the back of his mind. He thought, If Tzyeriel leaves me, or is taken away by Heaven, how will I ever hope to rule Hell, now that I’ve regained my heart?
Tzyeriel sensed something was bothering Satan, so he said,
"I've heard there's a beautiful ocean down here. Perhaps you could take me there?" Satan knew he had to get back to his post. The lords of Hell would start fighting amongst themselves if he didn't maintain order, but he simply couldn't tear himself away from his angel.
So much was at stake, but when he looked into Tzyeriel’s eyes, he could think of nothing save the love that had been awaken within him. He smiled, and walked on with his beloved, leaving his throne behind him forever.
***
An hour ago, I was down in the basement, negotiating with the laundry spirits who keep gobbling up my socks, when I ran into Rad Zazzy, the eccentric fellow who lives down the hall. He was standing in the doorway, smelling strongly of incense, when he overheard me discussing my Agatha issues with the unseen sock eaters.
Rad Zazzy called out to me, and after we engaged in a light smattering of congenial banter, said something to the effect of,
“Leave the lady alone; she's got issues, man. Maybe someone who looks like you gave her a hard time when she was a kid. Just let it go." I would have pointed out that the chances of her being mistreated by another goblin king were astronomically low, but decided to let it be, returning to the matter of my missing socks.