Lilith POV
I stand in the living room of Sabrina's aunts. I've been in this house many times of course, a few times when they didn't even see me, but it's never been my favorite place. I don't think it's possible to grow up sane in a house full of taxidermy. Or Zelda.
"The Dark Lord, demons, ghosts, and goblins, fine, but please save me from Satan's love sick teenage daughter!", Zelda screams.
I glare at her. I can't help but wonder if she's not part of the reason Sabrina rebels against everything. Good morning, with a side of the Inquisition.
"Zeldddddda", Hilde starts, "I think she loves this young man and we have to accept it."
"Hilde, I have never stood in the way of her being with Nicholas Scratch. He was certainly an upgrade from the mortal, regardless of his...personal demons, but he's dead, Hilde. Dead, dead, dead. I will not have our niece in love with a corpse, nor stuck in the Underworld the rest of her life. Life is for the living, and she's alive", Zelda insists.
I roll my eyes. "I think we can all agree Mr. Scratch is superfluous to requirements. He's the god of the Underworld now anyway, and could not be saved even if anyone had a mind to save him. But we have to get Sabrina back. Her father is... displeased to say the least. He's been furious with her, but now he's turned his rage on The Tribunal for not cooperating. He means to have her back as Queen of Hell."
"I'm not sure that's the best choice", Zelda pronounces, "She's a teenager, and if anything proves she's not ready for a leadership role, it's this. She needs to finish up at both schools, and pursue college. Perhaps in time she can return as Queen of Hell. As for us, we're witches, not Satanists. We worship the Goddess now."
This family never stops countermanding the Dark Lord. If they were anyone else, they'd have been burning in the pit ages ago, but they're not any of other family, they're the family that raised his daughter so he tolerates them.
"Lucifer wants her back now", I supply, but say no more. "Anyway, I saw her, and otherwise, she's fine. She looks strong and healthy."
"Of course she does, she's a Spellman", the red-head supplies.
"I beg to differ", I whisper aloud. "At any rate, I must return to the Dark Lord and keep him at peace."
"Thank you for letting us know; we were so scared", Hilde supplies right before I blink out.
"Don't tell her that", I hear Zelda say as I disappear.
I pop back into existence in the Throne Room in Hell.
Lucifer is pacing. "My daughter, MY daughter asks them for one favor—to return to me, to ME, the Dark Lord and her own father, and The Tribunal will not allow it?", he growls. "They'll be sorry they were ever born as their flesh melts in the pit."
"I hesitate to remind you, darling", I start, "But the Underworld, as well as the Tribunal, are outside of your jurisdiction."
"We'll see about that", he states, and goes up in flames. I've never seen him this angry. I actually feel sorry for them.
Lucifer POV
"Wake up, you bloody fools!"
I find myself standing in an old school room, looking up at 4 men on chairs. I raise my fist in the air and their chairs come crashing down so I'm looking down on them. Much better. The terror in their eyes warms my heart.
"This is NOT how you request an audience with The Tribunal", one of them barks.
"This is not how you speak to your Dark Lord", I supply and to their credit, they look frightened and unsure. "I understand my daughter came to you requesting her freedom. I know she ate a pear or something you people consider valuable, but she is MY daughter and Queen of Hell. Normal rules do not apply to the Queen of Hell. You will release her, immediately."
"We cannot", another one says. "We knew you would be furious, your wroth, terrible. We apologize for being unable to make you happy, Dark Lord. But your daughter ate the pomegranate of her own volition. You remember the power of that fruit. In the Bible, Eve ate of the Chinese Apple, the pomegranate, and gained wisdom from you. Just as Persephone could not resist and she became Hades' lover and in the fairy tale, Snow White fell into a deep sleep that transformed her from child to woman after she bit into an apple. And just the same, it was not the fruit itself that decided Sabrina's fate. It was the night she shared with our new Hades after it. They are in love, and we will not betray our own Hades nor our own oath. Sabrina is now a sexually active grown woman and our queen. We will not betray her either."
"She is not your queen", I spit, "She is mine." I have no idea what they're talking about. But the gist is that I don't get my daughter back and that is unacceptable. "One more chance?"
"We cannot", they state. I raise my hand and it bursts into flames. I'm pleased as they all jump.
"Then...Burn!", I hiss. Fire from my hands fills the room. Blinding orange flames engulf the room as do their shouts, but not for long. The fire burns out quickly and the four men are still sitting on their wooden chairs that should have become kindling.
"Wut?" I raise my hand again. "Burn!" Flame flashes around the room...and goes out like a wet match.
"You have no jurisdiction here, Sir. You have no control over the Underworld or the Tribunal", a third one comments. "We have to be free to make our own decisions about the destination of souls without the influence of deities."
"I have jurisdiction everywhere! I am the Dark Lord! I have total power in Hell and on Earth..."
"I think God would argue with you about...I'm so sorry, the False God, would argue with you about having total control over mortals on Earth. You have the right to influence them, but not make decisions for them. And that's but one deity, I understand you lost most of your followers to Wicca, to worship of the Mother Goddess, namely in the form of Hecate...", the first states.
"Shut up!", I boom. "Return my child to me!"
"She is a child no longer. Thank you for your visit, Dark Lord. It is at an end", they confirm together, and snap their fingers.
And instantly I'm back on my throne in Hell, Lilith staring at me, open-mouthed.
"They refused me", I gasp, "And banished me with a snap of their fingers! That's not possible!"
My treacherous, long-standing love is smirking at me.
Sabrina POV
"What I'm thinking is that the only person who stands a chance of freeing you is Hades himself", Alastair says.
"Nick has to ask them?", I wonder.
"Yes", he answers, "A direct request from him might change their minds. And I have to go pick him up. I suggest you think about what you want that direct request to be."
"I want out of here, Crowley, how many times do I have to say it?", I yell, he turns on his heel and leaves.
Twenty minutes later he's back with Nick.
When they come into the kitchen, Nick is looking at the floor with his armed crossed. The way he did after my father assaulted him, the way he did when he was burning with shame and loss.
"Alastair tells me you want me to speak to the Tribunal about letting you leave", he says.
"Yes. Nick...you know I can't stay. I..."
"You don't need to say anything else", he interrupts and walks into the living room.
"Nick, Nick...I didn't mean..."
"He'll give you whatever you want, Morningstar", Alastair says, "But you can't change your mind every 2 minutes. How long have you jerked him around? I think it's best you let him go."
"I didn't ask your opinion on anything", I bark, but he walks out too.
"Dammit", I hiss.
"You coming?", Alastair calls sarcastically.
Nick didn't take time to get a drink of water, take his jacket off, or kick his shoes off. He's instantly summoning the Tribunal.
"Don't you want a breather?", I ask him. "We could do this...tomorrow."
"The idea of you here tonight is just...I can't. I TOLD when we... never mind", he hisses.
"What? What Nick?", I ask and we're swirling in a cloud of dust and fall onto the floor of what looks like a room in an old filthy school. I'm getting sick and tired of seeing this place.
"Again, Miss Spellman?", I hear. "We haven't answered you and your father's questions sufficiently?"
"My father's?", I ask, bewildered.
"Don't pretend you don't know he came to see us, threatening us if we don't return you to him. Next time, if you don't accept our verdict, there will be...consequences. Think of that before you ask whatever you're here to ask", the first one says. Shit.
"I did not know Lucifer had come here. We're not exactly on the same team", I say.
"Yet you're his Queen. Queen of Hell, you sit beside him on a throne of bones and blood", one of them offers.
Whether they're calling up the memories, or I'm doing it myself, I see myself sitting on the throne. Cutting myself in half into two people just to stay in power. Being unable to drag an old man to Hell because he promised his soul over a chess match. Dealing with a child molester and murderer. Being influenced by my dad and Lilith every day. It's all part and parcel of being Queen of Hell.
"Why are you here?", the last one booms.
"To ask to leave the Underworld at will", I say.
"We warned you what would happen..."
"Can I speak?", Nick asks.
"We didn't see you there, My Lord", we hear 3 say at once.
"Forgive us. Please speak to us. We serve at your will", another adds.
"I would like to ask you to give Sabrina what she wants", he says.
"If you don't want her as your Persephone, we will banish her immediately, and you are free to choose again", they offer.
"I suppose that may be best", Nick says.
"No, no, that's not what I want at all!", I shout.
"We are confused, Miss Spellman, you are constantly demanding one thing, then want another", one of them accuses.
"I have to admit I'm pretty confused myself, Sabrina", Nick offers. Alastair smirks silently in the background.
"That's not what I want...I want...I never said I didn't want you, Nick...I..." And I fall silent.
"Do tell us, Miss Spellman, since you've come this far", they taunt, "What it is that YOU want the most?"
"A day pass."
"A what?!", I hear.
"Listen, I have a life to live. I'm a living person, I want to see the sunshine. I want to go to school, and college after that. I want to see my aunties. I want to see my friends Roz and Harvey. I shouldn't have to give that up. I'm alive. I wish Nick were too, but he's not. But I am, I'm alive. I want to spend my days living my life. There's nothing I can do for him during the day anyway, he's at work", I insist.
"And we're about let you leave, in fact, we're about to insist on it!", booms back at me.
"Settle down", I order and six eyes blink back at me, "While he's gone, I'm just sitting in that house all alone, everything taken care of by staff and cooks and... Why can't I be in school during that time? Why can't I return at night? When he comes home...I want to be here. I want to be...his Persephone", I say.
"You do?", Nick asks, a tear sliding down his face.
"Baby, of course, I do." I take his face in my hands. "I love you. I just don't want to be stuck here like a housewife with nothing to do. This isn't 1950, Tribunal", I insist.
"We don't fully understand", they say, and I roll my eyes. I didn't speak Greek. "You want to come and go as you please? No Persephone has ever had such rights before. It's not our tradition."
"Well, boys, it's not 5,000 BC either", I inform them. "Not to mention all those Persephones hated their Hadeses. They were trying to escape and you were abducting them by force. We'll talk about THAT later. But I don't want to escape from Nick. I want to be my own person."
"And you would promise to be here every night?", one asks.
"For the foreseeable future, yes", I say.
"We happen to foresee the future thousands of years in advance", they inform me.
"Sabrina, is this what you really want? You couldn't change your mind. You couldn't decide to have fun with Caliban or that you really love Harry because he's a better person than I could ever be..."
"Harvey", I sigh, rolling my eyes.
"You couldn't...change your mind, Sabrina. You'd be mine...forever. If you fell out of love with me...it wouldn't make any difference, you'd still be here. With me. Forever", Nick says.
"Promise?", I ask, pulling him into my arms. He seizes my lips and we forget anyone else is around. Those plump lips of his are like a vacuum. I can't get close enough. I want to become part of him.
"We will...erhm...contemplate your request and return", we hear, but nothing else matters.
"I love you, Sabrina Spellman", he says, cupping my face.
"I love you too, Nicholas Scratch", I add.
"I know I'm..." He looks down.
"The word you're going for better be 'perfect'", I inform him, tipping up his chin. "Because you are perfect to me." We kiss again.
They pop back into the room and we look up.
"We regret to inform you we cannot honor your request."
"What?!", we both yell at once.
"Why?", I ask.
"Why are you refusing the God of the Underworld?", Nick booms.
"We regret disappointing you the most of course, Sir, you are our King and you can call for our removal. But it's just not possible to be the queen of two lands of the dead at the same time", they pronounce.
All my memories flash back before my eyes. Everything that's part of being Queen of Hell. Including spending my time with the man who destroyed the man I love. The power was...delicious, I'm not going to lie, but...
"What if I gave one up?", I ask.
"Were we wrong in presuming that if you're going to be in his bed every night, you'd want to be his wife and queen?", the one on the left asks, crooking an eyebrow at me.
"I mean the other one", I say, rolling my eyes. "I'll give up being Queen of Hell. I'm no longer a Morningstar." I squeeze Nick's hand. "Will you agree to my request then?"
Lilith POV
Lucifer grabs his stomach and howls in pain. He droops over and falls off his throne.
"Lucifer! My dear, what's happening? I don't..."
"It's Sabrina!", he hisses, "She betrayed me! She betrayed us both, she betrayed Hell itself!"
"Just let her go!", I bellow as I always wanted to, "I told you so many times, her inner nature is light. There's no defeating it. You have another heir on the way. Forget about her."
"Forget about this? Or those creatures on the Tribunal? Never?", he shouts and disappears.
Sabrina POV
"Do you really mean it, Sabrina?", Nick asks. "I won't be the one to take your power away. I know you won't be happy just as my wife and queen, you're not the type."
"I mean really it. I want to explore my potential as a living breathing witch who can accomplish things that aren't attached to my father...it didn't suit me, being Queen of Hell. You're the one thing I can't live without."
Throats clear. "In that case, Miss Spellman, hopefully we'll be calling you your Ladyship next time we see you, we need not deliberate again—we agree." He pulls key out of his pocket and hands it to me.
"You'll use this key to get into and out of the Underworld. Just put the key in the air and turn it to find yourself back in Greendale, then do the same to find yourself on Hades' Island."
"Thank you." I take it from him.
"I'm not so sure about this", Crowley says, and we jump because I swear we both forget he was there. "But it's not my call to make. Can we go now?"
"You may go", the Tribunal tells us, and they snap their fingers. The air around us swirls and we're gone.
Lucifer POV
"Already in your judge's robes waiting for me?", I ask, seeing them all assembled. Nerves. I can smell them.
"Dark Lord, we informed you of our decision earlier, you really must leave", the one in the middle pronounces. They're all alike.
I sniff the air. "Where is my lying, betraying, wayward little girl? I smell her. I know she's here."
"You just missed her", I'm told. "Thank Hades she's escaped you. You cannot reach her in the Underworld."
"We'll see about that, but for now, you should worry about yourselves, gentlemen", I supply.
"You didn't learn your lesson, the first time?", I hear.
"I'm a slow learner", I say, closing my eyes. "I call fire! From the pit!"
"No!", I hear, then screams, begging, and as the room dissolves into white hot fire, I hear nothing at all.