Love hasn't been here
Since you went away
Love hasn't been here
And without love, there's no reason to stay...

-Love Hasn't Been Here; by the Michael Stanley Band


I'm okay. . .I'm not scared; I'm fine. . .I've got this, I'm not scared. . .I'm okay. . .

Those thoughts flitted through Remi's mind as she double — even triple — checked her appearance in the bathroom mirror. She had to make sure she looked as appropriate as possible before leaving the compound. Having spent most of her life associating and interacting with demons, Remi had no real clue how humans interacted with each other. She honestly had no idea how they did anything, honestly. In her time in the supernatural world, speaking or even looking at humans was practically forbidden. Remi's father forbade it, not wanting to draw any kind of attention to his daughter or to his cause. The less people knew of Remi's existence, the easier everything would be.

But that damn mission. . .it was so sudden, so uncalled for. Never in Remi's life had her father ever mentioned her ever going out to do anything. Any business that needed handling was either done by her father himself, her siblings, or any of the other lesser demons under his control. It felt foreign — unnatural — to go out and actually do something for once.

It's an initiation, remember that, Remi thought.

Letting out a shaky breath, Remi looked at herself one last time in the mirror. She'd spent the last half hour in that goddamned bathroom trying to make herself look presentable, and the last thing she wanted was to screw up before she even started. Adjusting her bangs and straightening her shirt, Remi nodded, feeling a little more confident. Her latest caregiver had helped her out when it came to her appearance, which took a lot of stress off. In the end, the clothes — and shoes — provided were a black tiered peasant skirt; an over-sized white sweater; and some black flats. The sweater itself looked as though it had seen better days, having a stretched-out appearance. The bottom of the top went just below Remi's hips, with the sleeves ending just above her knuckles. The top of the sweater was a bit low, but not too revealing. Her father wanted her to have some attention, but not too much. He figured his only daughter should look modest yet appealing in some way.

As for Remi's hair, well, her caregiver had outdone herself. The cambion's dark hair had been brushed thoroughly and then straightened. Her bangs were long and a bit choppy, but framed her face rather well. The usual messiness that consumed Remi's hair was in no way noticeable, which was a surprise.

A sharp knock on the bathroom door snapped the young woman out of her thoughts.

"Girl, if you don't hurry up, you'll be late."

"I'll be out in a minute," Remi exclaimed. Taking a moment to gather herself, to just see herself for one last time, she hurried to the door and opened it. On the other side stood Scarlett, the caregiver. She'd been assigned to Remi just a couple months ago, and a decent relationship seemed to have developed between the two. It was a great improvement compared to the others, in all honesty.

Flicking her auburn hair over her shoulder, Scarlett crossed her arms over her chest. "We were supposed to have left already," she exclaimed. "I don't want to deal with your father's temper today, Remi."

"I know, I'm sorry." Fiddling with her fingers, the cambion tried to keep herself as composed as possible. It was a bit hard, considering the amount of pressure she was feeling. Remi's father had been so sudden in his decision; the feeling of shock was still fresh. "We should probably head out now," Remi said.

"No shit," Scarlett mumbled. "We should've been gone five minutes ago."

(¬_¬)

Like many of the demonic caregivers before her, Scarlett was a simple black eyed demon. Nothing special. In Hell, black eyed demons were the low on the demonic hierarchy, seen as nothing more than insects by some. For Scarlett, she hated being seen as lesser. She wanted to be treated as an equal; so maybe it was that motivation, that fire, that caught the attention of Remi's father. Who knows, really? In any case, he was just looking for any loyalist who'd go marching in his crusade. Most of Hell believed he was out of his mind, but his high status and sheer stubbornness made it impossible to get through to him. Then the cambion was born and his plans started working — other demons started to pay attention.

Scarlett followed along with the plans. She agreed with the plots and schemes. She paid attention to Remi and followed all her orders. One wrong move, one failure to comply in some way, and the cambion's father would lose his mind. It was predictable, but frightening nonetheless. Scarlett couldn't afford a beating — or worse — she had other things in mind, too. Ones Remi's father couldn't possibly understand.

"You know, you look nice," Scarlett said. Once Remi finally managed to get out of the bathroom, the duo made it outside and into a car they'd stolen. It was a requirement that they steal a car every once in a while, just to make it easier for them.

"Why don't we just teleport to Stanford?" Remi asked. "It'd be easier."

"We're trying not to draw too much attention to ourselves." Scarlett threw a dry look her ward's way. "Plus, being so low on the totem pole, I don't possess the ability to teleport."

Remi hummed in response. "Well. . .that doesn't mean I can't take you with me," she said.

"As nice as that sounds, driving is our best option. We can't go around drawing too much human attention."

Some silence fell between the two for a few minutes. At that point, they were on the road, leaving the compound and heading in the direction of California. It would be a long trip, one that would possibly test their patience, but it was one that was worth taking. Remi wanted to show herself that she could be trusted. She wanted to know her father's plans, she wanted to know what the big fuss was. There were so many things she didn't know, and it was annoying. At eighteen, Remi would've thought she'd know something.

But with this mission, Remi's loyalties were being tested. She would be given the opportunity to prove herself to her father, to Hell itself. No, she'd be able to prove that she could bring about something great. If watching over one of her father's "others" meant she'd be given the vital parts of the family operation, then she'd do whatever it took.

That was a definite promise.


(A/N):

I'd like to apologize for the wait on the chapter. I wanted to have it up sooner, but I got sidetracked. Hopefully you guys can forgive me on that.

Nothing in the SPN fandom belongs to me. All I own are my OCs, my subplots, and the bed I sleep on. If you've got ideas for OCs or subplots, be sure to PM me or leave a review. I'll add them in as soon as possible.

Be sure to leave constructive criticism! I know this chapter is short, probably shorter than the previous one, but I'm hoping it's at least decent. Now I know this one, and the other one(s), probably have mistakes, and I'd like to know what they are. I'm not super observant to any little things — or big things, it really depends — I've done wrong in my writing, so any help from you guys would be awesome.

Also, a question out of curiosity: What movies or TV shows — obviously personal favorites — did you hate or love growing up?

I know it may seem a bit odd, but I'm just curious by nature. For me, I used to love the Spongebob Squarepants Movie, the one from 2004. I actually still love that movie.

Be sure to leave a review if you want.

You guys are absolutely amazing!

Please be kind to one another, okay?

Until then, I'll see you guys on the flip side.

Harper Sy