"Lucifer," A voice said, coming from the dark corner of my room. I recognized it instantly, and immediately wished there was such a thing as death for angels.

"Father." I replied, sitting up from the very comfortable position I was in. Suppressing a groan, I looked in the general direction He was in.

He was… magnificent to say the least. A bright light seemed to surround him everywhere He went. How irritating.

"Nice to see you're making the most of your time in this… place." He walked towards me and stood at the foot of the bed. Was he always this bright?

"You cast me out of heaven, father. I'm obviously grieving." I said, motioning towards the mess of liquor bottles and trash can filled with used condoms.

I knew he had the urge to roll his eyes (or did he) but he just stared at me.

"It's been several millenia, I think it's time."

"Time for me to join the secret brotherhood again? Oh goody." He smirked, although I don't think he enjoyed that comment very much.

"No, dear son, it's time for something a little more drastic." My eyebrows shot up.

"Drastic? More drastic than casting your most perfect creation out of heaven and down to this… this…"

"Earth, that's the word you're looking for."

"Listen," I started, getting up from the bed. "I'm sure this is drastic enough. I'm already sorry for what I-"

"You wanted to be me. Your pride got the best of you. A mortal sin, Lucifer. You thought yourself God of the People on Earth when you know I am the one true Lord of all."

Here we go.

"Father, these apes… They're not worth the love and respect you give them." I said, grabbing a bottle of liquor and taking a swig.

Oh, how I hated Earth.

"Oh, my son. My dear morning star. You'll learn to love one soul, and that will be far more painful than your fall."

"What? What does that even mean?" I said, raising my voice slightly. He raised his hand and I felt his power. It shut me up.

"In time, you will see what it is to really grieve."

And with that, he was gone.

"Damnit!" I yelled, throwing the bottle I had in my hand towards a wall.

Running my hands through my hair, I thought about the exchange that just occurred.

What could he have meant? Was he being literal? Was he expecting me to crack some code?

"Me, fall in love with an ape. Oh, please, Mighty Creator anything but that." I rolled my eyes.

I grabbed my coat from the chair next to my bed and opened my bedroom door. I had to go out. Maybe sin a bit.

Take that, dad.

Stepping out into the hallway, the smell of cigarettes overwhelmed my sense of smell. When will these apes learn that they're killing themselves with that crap?

"Lucy!" A voice screeched, a body colliding with my own. I looked down to see a blonde wig and smiled.

"Well, hello there darling." I said, wrapping my arm around Margaret's tiny waste.

Her overly painted face smiled up at me and I couldn't help but feel a little nauseous. These women - their clothes, teeth, hair… all of it was so dirty.

She put her hands on my chest.

"Lucy… when ya gonna let me in'o that bedroom of yers?" She batted her three eyelashes at me and I grimaced.

"Soon enough, darling. Soon enough." I swatted her ass, and winked at her. She practically fainted.

Pathetic.

I walked down the hallway, down the stairs and through the bar that was connected to the brothel.

Ugh.

Littered around the small bar were the usual customers: self proclaimed cowboys, headed west to… what was that stupid little phrase they used again?

Ah, yes. Manifest Destiny. How idiotic. There's no such thing as manifesting your destiny. Everything was set in stone by dear old dad.

The smothering stench of liquor hit me like a wall, and I felt the urge to throw up. Sure, I loved whiskey and I loved the numbing feeling I got after drinking it even more. What I hated was getting a whiff of spirit soaked blood. The apes reeked of it. They never knew when enough was enough and kept indulging themselves in the heat of the moment. Father would be so proud.

I could smell their organs begging for relief. I could smell their insides dying slowly. They were drinking poison and while my beautifully preserved vessel could handle the abuse, their lowly ape selves couldn't.

Pity.

"Luke. How ya doin' son?" the bar owner said, clapping a hand on my shoulder from behind. I grimaced, turning towards him and offering a handshake.

I could smell him from several miles away: a mixture of burnt wood, iron, terrible body odor and sex. How can one person smell so bad, so often? Does he not bathe?

"Hello Mr. Myer. I'm doing well, and how are you?" He smiled to reveal an almost toothless mouth. Disgusting.

"Always so formal, Luke! Loosen up! That hoity toity accent of yer might get ya the ladies, but it sure won't earn ya respect 'round here! We won the war, lad. I reckon it's time you ack-lay-mate." He tipped his hat and proceeded to whistle at some broad across the way.

I fought the urge to roll my eyes and continued my way through the bar, earning a few envious looks from way-past-their-prime customers who only visited the brothel because their wives had grown tired of performing their… duties. I smiled at them and nodded, my pace effortlessly changing from quick to casual and confident.

Let them ogle. Let them envy. I was a force to be reckoned with. I am Lucifer, after all.

The bloody Devil.

Walking out of the bar allowed me to breathe in some well-needed fresh air. It smelled of winter, and cow manure. The smell strangely comforted me, and I relaxed a bit.

The road was oddly empty, and I allowed myself to relax completely. There were very few times I allowed myself this simple luxury, and the times I did I felt the weight of my burden land on my shoulders. My wings itched to be released and I soon broke into a run.

I allowed myself the release of my wings once every few months, the feeling indescribable to mortals. It was as if I was free, as if I had never fallen in the first place.

Immediately after my fall had been the worst. I had been too proud, too… too much myself and I allowed the apes to marvel at me. To make me their King.

But that soon turned into a disaster. They persecuted me and while they couldn't really do harm, they prayed to the high heavens and my brothers soon came down and ganged up against me.

Michael, Raphael, Gabriel, Uriel, Saraqael, Raguel, and Remiel. Those bastards.

I just wanted to be their King, what was so wrong with that.

Idiots.

I quieted my thoughts and quickened my pace. My wings had a mind of their own and knowing they were so close to their release, they persisted harder on coming out.

Within 20 minutes I was far enough to not be seen by the apes, but nonetheless I hid behind a boulder. It was nearing midnight, no one would see me.

I took off my coat hurriedly, my shirt following behind.

On the count of three, I would release them.

One.

Two.

"What are you doing?" I turned around, startled, looking for the voice that came seemingly out of nowhere.

Why hadn't I smelled an ape coming my way?

I couldn't see who the voice belonged to, but I stuck my nose in the air and tried to identify their smell.

Vanilla, sunflowers, bread, lemons, salt…

"I asked, what are you doing?" The voice insisted. I raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"Did I stutter? Do you need me to speak slower?" The voice continued. Where the hell is that voice coming from?

"Reveal yourself." I said in the most powerful voice I could muster, and puffing my chest.

"After you tell me what you were doing." The voice quipped, snickering lightly.

"Absolutely not."

"Why? It's only fair, I asked first."

"You were spying!"

"You allowed yourself to be spied on, to be fair."

I let out an exasperated sigh and slumped my shoulders.

My head snapped up instantly as an idea flooded my mind and I began to slowly circle the boulder. The voice must be coming from someone on the other side! Of course!

"Now you're circling the rock? Is this some sort of ritual? Are you a native?" The voice asked. I stopped dead in my tracks. How did they know?

"A- No! I'm not a native. I have pale skin. Obviously. Where are you? I demand to know!" I boomed, crossing my arms, feeling exposed all of a sudden.

"What are those scars on your back? Were you injured in the war?" It asked. I furrowed my brow. This was so irritating. I was going to smite this person, so help them God.

"I'll answer all of your questions, if you reveal yourself to me." I said through the grit of my teeth.

The voice sighed softly, a sign of defeat. Why did I feel so nervous?

"Alright, help me down."

"Dow-"

Snapping fingers brought my attention towards the top of the boulder and mere inches from my face, was the dirty bottom of a foot.

"Are you going to help me down, or not?" The voice said, bringing its foot closer to my face. I instinctively grabbed the foot by the ankle and held up my other hand, which the voice grabbed onto with their own two hands.

After some maneuvering, and some foul words from the voice, a young woman landed in front of me. Wiping her hands on her skirt, the voice looked up and I couldn't breathe.

Emerald eyes looked up at me, framed by full lashes. Freckles decorated the nose and cheekbones, and dark hair spilled around her face.

She was the most beautiful creature I had ever laid eyes on.

Time stopped and I saw the beauty of her soul. Pure light emanated from her, not a dark spot present.

In the back of my mind, the angel chatter quieted but a few phrases slipped through.

"It's her…" "He finally found her…" "I wonder if he's realized…"

"So what were you doing?" She asked, her voice wafting over to me and making my head spin. She smelled of pure happiness. Her voice was music.

"I- uh- I was having a few moments to myself." I stammered, coming up with a half assed excuse to being in the middle of nowhere with my coat and shirt off.

I noticed she saw right through the attempt when she asked, skeptically, "With your shirt off?" She raised a delicate eyebrow and smirked. My mouth fell open and I closed it immediately.

Who was this woman?

"Never mind me, what about you? A young woman, sitting on the top of a boulder? Sounds a bit barbaric. Maybe you're the native." She snorted.

I wanted to hear that sound for the rest of my existence.

"I'm not a native. My parents were born in Spain, I in New York." That explains the dark hair and green eyes.

"Well, then we're both wrong about the other." I said.

I was well above a foot taller than her. My vessel measured in at 6 foot 5 inches, and while she was physically smaller than I was she was very intimidating. Her gaze never faltered, unlike all the women I had ever had an interaction with.

"You still haven't answered my question, as to what you were doing." She said, placing a delicate hand on her hip.

My goodness.

"I told you, I was having a moment to myself. And yes, before you ask, with my shirt off. It helps clear my head." I found myself telling her the truth, as much of it as she could handle anyway. I felt no urge to lie to her.

She seemed to notice that I was being genuine, and nodded.

"Well, I was on the boulder because it helps clear MY head." She said, taking in a deep breath.

I watched as she filled her lungs with fresh air. She let her lids close softly, slowly drawing in a breath. Her nostrils flared slightly as the stench of cow manure hit her, the smell stronger as the night drew to a close. Her mouth inching its way to a full blown smile, she let out a soft laugh.

It was the most beautiful, fragile, and wondrous breath any human or creature had ever taken. Ever.

Her laugh was pure music, the angels in heaven couldn't produce a sound this beautiful.

"What is your name?" I asked, suddenly wanting to know every detail about this precious creatures life.

She smiled up at me.

"Sofia, my name is Sofia."