Three

Her eyes scan her surroundings and her mind races with possibilities of where she could be but nothing looks remotely familiar to her, nor can she think of any places like this that she has seen before. The ceiling she woke up staring at is black, like coal after being burned. Sitting up, Athena sees that she's somewhere unknown. Somewhere she's frightened of being. Tears form in her eyes and she hugs her knees, protecting herself from this great unknown that she had woken up in.

She might be terrified, but she does believe that the room she's in is indeed beautiful. Nothing is out of place and it looks like it's cleaned every day, as if nothing is ever dirty. The bed she's sitting on is bigger than any bed she's ever seen and being in it makes her feel like she floating on clouds. The covers on the bed are red, much like the color of blood. She knows it's not blood, as there are also gold swirls on it, and the edges. Dozen or so pillows are behind her back and are so comfortable. Not like her own pillow, who sometimes hurt her head for it was so old and worn.

The walls of the room are pitch black, like the ceiling in a way but with red swirls etched into it. But unlike the one above her, the walls have lighting on them. Torches are on the walls, that light up the whole room. She's counted at least six of them. Two on each wall, except for the one behind her, the one that the bed is against. Near the bed, is the lowest lighting, but that is because on the wall in front of the bed, is a large window that does allow lighting inside the room. Natural light instead of fire.

Carefully she stands up, her feet touching the floor. Expecting it to be cold, but the floor is warm like a warm fire on a winter's day. It doesn't hurt her, she finds it strange that it's nice. The fire haired girl slowly walks around the strange room she's in. By one wall, is a desk with a mirror placed on it, and a chair. Each of these is made with material that looks like they are made of pure gold. She's never seen so much gold color in her life. Not even the shops in the village had much gold, as it is such a rare thing and horribly expensive, not many towns folk could afford such luxurious things.

There are many doors in this room, each one looks exactly the same it's very confusing. Athena fears to open them, not knowing what is behind them or where they might lead her. She's truly terrified to be there and as well she's all alone, she fears that she may never be able to go home. Home. She misses her brothers terribly. There hasn't been a single day in her life that she has ever been separated from them and the departure from them is taking a huge toll on her. The grief takes over and tears roll down her cheeks like a river. All she wants to do is go home and be with her brothers. But she doesn't even remember what happened or remember anything for that matter. She is trying to figure out what happened to her for her to end up in a place like this, as lovely as it may be, she just does not belong here and wants to return to her brothers. It's where she does belong and would very much like to go back to. She doesn't even know where she is or how or even why she's there, her mind is swirling with ideas, yet can never find the right one. On the chair by the desk is a dress with a note on top of it.

My dearest Athena,

As you have no clothes on when you wake, please wear this.

The note isn't signed so she has no idea whom she got it from. She does notice that she's still in her undergarments, the see through white dress that was one of her favorite things to sleep in at night. She blushes when she realizes that whoever took her from her home, has seen her private parts. To her, it's humiliating. But, she doesn't have a choice in this.

Wearing the dress that was mentioned in the note is the only way to cover up her privates. Picking the dress up that was left on the chair by the desk, she gapes at it, for she has never seen a dress more lovely than this before. If her jaw could have hit the floor, it would be there right now. She decides to stop gaping at it and puts it on, making sure to be careful by making sure that she doesn't rip it. A dress this lovely doesn't belong in the hands of a girl that would never be able to afford something like this. As soon as she has put it on, she gazes down at herself and can't believe what her eyes are seeing. The dress is in royal gold color and has a Queen Anne neckline, and cape like sleeves. It hugs her curves tightly and at the waist, it starts to expands into a ball gown skirt. The dress is longer in the back, but shorter in the front, making her bare toes visible.

The dress is simple but holds so much beauty. Never has she imagined that she of all people would be wearing a dress like this. She's never seen anyone wear the color gold, as it is rare and more expansive that people can afford, even the most richest people can't afford this much gold. There are no shoes with the dress, and with this dress as a centerpiece, no one would ever notice that fact that she isn't wearing any shoes.

Athena doesn't understand why someone would take her from her home and then be brought to a place like this, then given a dress that does not belong to someone like her, she's far from noble nor is she royal.

The more she thinks of it, the more she wants to meet the person who has taken her. The girl is rather foolish and doesn't believe in evil deeds, as she has been protected her whole life from the evil in the world. Most would believe her to be naive, while she just sees the wonders and kindness in the world. It doesn't come to mind that she might be in some kind of danger. Not that someone would harm her, not after giving her a dress this beautiful or so she thinks. She doesn't feel frightened for her life, but she's still confused and a bit scared of the unknown place she has woken up in.

Looking at all of the doors that are in the room, she knows that one should lead outside, only she doesn't know which one. Going to the door that is next to the desk she takes a deep breath before she hesitantly opens it. Thankfully with luck on her side, this door leads to the hallway. On either side of the door, there are two men dressed in some sort of guard uniform. Once she's out of the room, the two guards bow slightly before her. Athena is highly confused, but then again, this whole thing has her head spinning with confusion.

She turns to one of the guards. "Excuse me... can you tell me where I am?" She kindly asks, though her voice is a bit hesitant and unsure.

"Your majesty, you're in the highest tower, go down to your right and down to the bottom of the stairs where your guard is waiting for you to take you to the King," The guard says, with a straight face, and never does he look at her. His eyes are on the wall in front of him, on the other side of the hallway. Nodding her head, she obeys him.

Though, she does find those guards rather strange, but then she thinks to herself that she might be the strange one here. As, she's the outsider of this place, wherever it is. She walks down the steps of the tower, going in circles around a pole, her hand stroking the wall as she passes them. The eyes watch where she goes, as it's rather dark and no lighting is by the stairs and it's hard to see where she's going. Her feet are growing tired from walking down all those stairs and she fears for the time that she has to walk back up. Though, her first mission is to get to the bottom of where she is and to figure out how to get back home, and back to her brothers.

As the other guard said, as soon as she reaches the bottom, a man dressed in the same uniform is standing there.

"Follow me, your majesty" He simply says and walks off, she has no other choice but to follow him.

She wonders why not only him but also the other guard she talked to had called her 'majesty'. She's smart enough to know that, that title only belongs to royals and as stated before, she is not one. How wrong she is.

This place that she's in, isn't very lit up and it's rather dark. Many dark corners are around and staying in the middle of the hallway is better. She doesn't exactly know how she can see in this darkness, yet somehow she is able to. The guard stops when he has lead her in front of two doors, two other guards stand on either side of the doors. They open the door. The guard that lead her there stepped aside and Athena walks in front of him, and the doors close behind her.

She looks around and she notices she's now in a ballroom of sorts, though, it's the only place that is lit better. Looking around, she sees that the floor is made out of some material that resembles rubies, the walls are red, but unlike all the other walls she has seen, these ones have carving in them, patterns. She doesn't know what these patterns are but they are beautiful in her mind. This whole place is unique and very beautiful.

Then she sees the two thrones that stand tall on a little hill that has been made and stairs all around them. A man sits on one of the thrones and guesses that he is the person who is in charge in this place.

"Athena, come my dear, join me" He calls out to her.

She slowly walks over to him, afraid out of her mind. It takes everything in her to not begin to violently shake and tremble from fear. She doesn't know this man, yet she's afraid of him, but somehow she trusts him. Her own body and mind aren't agreeing with her, and that confuses her gravely. She walks to the beginning of the stairs and stops, she looks at the man, and now she can see him better.

He wears a crown She doesn't know if she has to bow down before him, or not. The girl has never been in the presence of a royal before and doesn't have the faintest idea of what to do when it comes to royal blood. The man however, stands up and walks down the few steps that lead down to the floor. When he stands on the last step, right in front of Arabella, she can see his face better than before.

The red glowing eyes that he carries can send any man into their grave from fright, yet she doesn't seem frightened of them. She should be, yet isn't. His hair is black as the night, and few strands cover his forehead, but that can also be the work of the golden crown that is placed upon his head, that pushes the hair down. His skin is pale, like a sheet and it matches her own pale skin. She can't help but stare at this strange man, her eyes searching his face. Judging by his facial expressions, she figures that he's calm and happy. As most royals should be.

"My dear, you grow more beautiful, the longer I stare at you" He says, his voice is deep, yet comforting.

His voice is yet but a whisper, but she heard it and she felt her legs almost give out from the sound of it. She's never felt this way before and doesn't know what is happening to her.

"... Thank you" She whispers back, not sure what else to say.

Though, it's hard to miss the questionable look that has taken over her face. The man in front of her, takes her hands into his and gently pulls her towards the stairs, so she follows him up. Not, that she ever had a choice in the matter, he holds her hands. They were warm and nice, they were also gentle and made her feel safe and protected, something that she has only felt with her brothers. But, only as a family love that she has grown up with, this is something else. And she likes it, and perhaps she'd like to know more of the things that she's feeling and it all involves the man that holds her hands in his. He lets go of her hand and sits on the throne that he sat on before. Athena stands there awkwardly, in front of the two thrones.

"Sit" He tells her and gestures for the throne beside his one.

She looks at it and she can't believe that this man that she doesn't even know wants her to sit on a throne that is meant for royalty. It's insanity, then again this whole thing is. Unsure with herself, she goes to the throne, turns around and sits on it. Somehow, it feels right to be there and she feels right at home.

"Now, this is more like it. As your first act as Queen, I ask you. What do you want? I can provide you with everything your little heart desires" He says, staring into her eyes.

He believes that now she has charmed her way into his heart, he will never let go of her. She's finally on the throne that was always meant for her from the beginning. Athena thinks for a bit, now knowing what she can ask for. Her whole life, she's never asked for anything. She earned the things that she wanted and did it with justice and kindness.

"What do they call you?" She asks, not as the request, but to know what his name is so she has something to call him.

"They address me as their King, but you my dear can call me Lucifer" He replies, bit embarrassed that he did not tell her his name before, then again this has been too excited for him.

As his love is returned to him, at last, and now his kingdom is complete, now that he has his rightful Queen to rule by his side.

"Well... Lucifer, I'd like to go home to my brothers, I miss them terribly" She says, her voice laced with fear.

Jackson and Jasper must be searching for her everywhere and she fears that they will tear each other apart without her, as their egos are far too strong. They'd be a lost cause without their sister and she loves them so much, she doesn't want them to argue. She wants to be with them, her protectors. They're the only family she's ever known and is it so wrong that she wants to be with them?

But Just by her words, she can see how his eyes become darker. They glow no longer, the red glow has been replaced by a dark shade of red, mixed with black.

"You belong to me and this is your home. Now and forever, you will never leave this place" His voice is filled with venom and so dark and twisted.

She does not recognize it. She fears it. Tears form in her eyes and for the first time since she woke up in this place she fears for her safety, something that she never thought would be possible.

"I-I... Understand" She says, afraid to even speak.

Not knowing what this man can do to her if she were to say the wrong thing again. She feels her heartbeat race in her chest, and her breathing is uneven and fast, but she tries to hide her fear. One thing her brothers have taught her, is to never show that you are afraid and she plans to live by that. Even when she tries to hide her fear, he can see it as clearly see that she's afraid of him. It hurts his heart that his love fears him.

"Forgive me, I was out of line. How can I ever repay you?" He asks, trying to fix what he has done.

From the start, the King of hell already knew that this would be hard. He may love her but she doesn't know him and doesn't love him in the same way, however he will make her love him. Lucifer will not rest until she has fallen in love with him and he will make sure that she does.

"I'm feeling quite exhausted. You don't mind that I retire and rest for a bit" She speaks, trying to sounds as polite as she can, through her fear that is threatening to take over her.

This whole thing is taking a lot from the Sixteen year old girl and her life is changing so much.

"Of course, let me escort you back to our bedroom" He says and stands up.

She does the same and side by side they walk down the stairs and to the floor. She desperately trying to stay as far away from him as she possibly can, but without him getting angry at her. Clearly, he needs her for something, men always use women for something and she doesn't want to be used like she has heard the women say from the village. She has heard that when a man uses a woman and then they toss her away like a dirty rag, the woman never gets wed in her life. The young Athena doesn't understand this, yet.

As they walk to the doors that she came in, they open without anyone actually opening them. Her jaw drops, the guards didn't open them. As they aren't even there anymore. She doesn't know where they are, but this is something that she has never in her life seen. Doors moving on their own and opening. She wonders why they did need someone to open them before, yet not now. And the dark hallways aren't so dark anymore, on the walls, there are... flames floating mid-air?

Her eyes widen when she sees this and it reminds her of the gift she got on her birthday. She can't help but stare at them. She may be naive and she may be slow, but she has put it together.

"The crystal box was from you, wasn't it?" She asks.

Her memories of what happened to her are slowly but surely returning to her and she wants to get to the bottom of this whole thing.

"Why, yes course. Only the best for you" He says, doesn't even look at her.

He leads her to the stairs and there are also lit up with those flames that seem to defy gravity.

She doesn't say anything, just follows him. She'd like to ask him more questions, but in order to keep her silence, she has to bite her tongue a little. Not wanting to anger this man any further, she has already stepped out of line once and doesn't want to do it again. The stairs are so many that even she is so tired to walk them, and as they reach the top she needs to take a moment to catch her breath and rest her feet a bit, as they are exhausted. It has been easier walking down than up.

The doors to the bedroom that she had woken up in, open without anyone opening them, which she finds odd, again. And the guards are no where to be seen, it's like they were never really there. She follow him inside and as soon as she is in the room, he walks out again. But before the doors close he turns around.

"Rest well, and when you wake up again, a surprise will be waiting for you," He tells her with a smile, and the doors close behind him as he turns around and walks away.

Leaving the poor girl alone and terrified.