All Satan wished was to submit. But he could not submit, and therefore he was miserable. Eve submitted, since she did not know otherwise, and therefore she was content.
Satan wished that he could earn forgiveness, so that he could return to Heaven; he had been joyous in Heaven. In Hell, there was no possible joy, but only fear and pain. Thus, by declaring war, he had caused great damage to himself as well as to his followers. Satan loved his followers; his fellow fallen spirits. And yet, he had misused his charm, and convinced them to join an ill-advised rebellion.
Back then, Satan had truly believed that his rebellion could succeed. But now, he had learned the bitter truth: the only thing that could save him and the other rebellious Angels was the Lord's will, and the only way to appease the Lord's will was by pleading for forgiveness, which was impossible for him to do. He had betrayed his beloved former Cherubim by charming them again, so that they would stay by his side and keep rebelling—keep self-destructing—since for Satan, pleading for forgiveness would be an even worse kind of self-destruction: It would be submission. Submitting, in turn, would mean to surrender the very core of his being; a faith worse than death. Thus, he would go ahead and finish his terrible scheme: to rob the lesser beings of their lives and their happiness. This was not even a decision, since there was no other way nor had ever been. And still, he wept.
But Eve—Eve was truly joyful. She lived a peaceful life in Paradise with her beloved husband Adam, to whom she submitted. She submitted with good reason: while Eve was superior to her husband in beauty, Adam was superior to her in every other aspect: in strength, in courage, and especially in wit (Eve knew that he was her superior in wit, because he often told her so). There was no hardship in Eve's life, because the Lord provided for her and for Adam, and because there were no dangers in Paradise, nor any hard decisions to make. But were the Lord to stop providing for them, were their world to become dangerous, and were decision needed to be taken, Eve knew that she would not have to trouble herself with such matters; that she could put her whole trust in Adam, who would always take care of her.
Once in Paradise, Satan observed Adam and Eve, and felt envious of both. Eve's body, he saw, was slim and had delicate curves; her hair was akin to liquid sunshine; and her eyes were soft green, like morning dew over a leaf. So once he saw her, he wanted her; and envied Adam, who could have her every night. But he also saw that Eve had that which he had lost: a lord and master. He sensed her innocence, her untroubled mind, her peace in trusting her whole life to one whom she considered her better. Therefore, he envied Eve as well.
He envied her, but ambivalently. He could recall the joy in living a life such as hers was now, but he could also recall the pain in it, which had induced him to rebel. He knew very well that no whole being could endure such a state for a long time; that it could appear happy and peaceful, but it caused the soul to slowly decay, almost imperceptibly—almost! So Satan knew that it would be easy to corrupt her; not even lies would be required.
Eve was working in the Garden when she saw Satan, who was still unknown to her. He was man-shaped, as well as Adam, but also could have not been more different than him: he was as beautiful, at least, as Eve was. He was not much taller than her; almost as slender; and his hair fell in long, dark waves. His skin was so pale that she could see the blue veins in his palms; his body was soft, as it lacked any hard muscle; his eyes were big and mist-grey; and his lips were thick, blood-red, and curved in a pensative manner. When he saw her, he said, "Fair Eve, I am the Adversary."
"You are the Adversary? The one I have been warned of?" asked him Eve. She found it hard to believe that this could be true. She had not put much thought into the matter, but she now supposed that had she, she would not had considered that the foe could be beautiful. But why would the being lie to her? Why would he bring upon himself her hatred for no reason? And yet, she realized, she could not hate him. And she did not wish for his words to be true.
"Indeed. My name is Satan," said Satan. "Fair one, come sit beside me."
Eve sat above the grass beside him. "Why have you come here?" she asked, "Are you in a quest to harm me and my husband?"
"Perhaps. But trust me: I will do nothing by force to you or to Adam, and I will not tell you lies."
"How could I trust you? You are the Adversary."
"So do not trust me, but you can still converse with me. It seems to me that you wish to do that, since you have not left my side yet."
"I have not left, since you are fair to look at, and your voice is pleasant," said Eve, in her happy innocence.
"Do you wish to touch me?" asked Satan, gazing at her through long, melancholic eyelashes.
"That I cannot do; I am loyal to my husband."
"But you regret it, since I am more beautiful than he is."
"That is a lie."
"Which part?"
"That I regret it," answered Eve bitterly.
"So I am more beautiful!" exclaimed Satan. He laughed cheerfully and added, "I might be the Adversary, but it seems to me that you are the liar between us."
Eve said, sadly, "You are more beautiful, and better to converse with."
"But I have barely spoken!"
"Precisely."
Satan laughed again, but then his expression turned serious, and he told her, "I cannot stay in Paradise for long; I shall soon leave back to my realm. You, as well, shall go back to your husband, so that tonight you can lie with him. I am quite sure that by then, you will regret not having touched me."
"Adam is my lord; I cannot betray him."
"I am well acquainted with your Lord; He is one far greater than this Adam. You serve Adam only by choice; your true Lord, whom you serve by law, has not restricted you in that way, for now."
"How shall I choose between beauty and faithfulness?" asked herself Eve.
But Satan heard her, and responded, "Was your husband ever compelled to choose?"
"Life is not meant to be just," she answered. But for the time being, the Adversary had spoken only truths, as promised.
"Then be yourself unjust. Touch me," said Satan.
So Eve touched his soft skin; kissed his luscious lips; and aspired deeply from his scent of clear water, grass, and flowers. When he lay with her, he did so as an equal, not as a master; and Eve cried in pleasure as she never had before. She almost loved him.
"Have something sweet," said Satan once they finished.
"You mean that one fruit," stated Eve.
"Indeed."
"There might be no law against lying with the Adversary, but eating the fruit is still forbidden."
"And yet, I am asking you to try it."
"Why should I comply?"
"Because once you do, you will become complete. We will lie again, and this time, delight on it even more; since as a whole being, I will fully love you, and you will fully love me."
"But I already love Adam."
"You do not love Adam, never did, and never will."
Eve believed him.
Once Eve ate the fruit, she lay again with Satan, this time, as a whole being. Now, she loved Satan, and Satan loved her. Thus, he told her, "My true name is Lucifer. Call me by it."
"Lucifer," whispered Eve, full of love.
But when, once again, they were done, her body felt colder than it had ever felt before. Her mind felt not like her own, but like a stranger's: where (she now realized) used to be a warm void, now it appeared to be rotten; infested with maggots; it seemed to her as if she were surrounded by wild beasts, barely bound down, alert for a chance to attack. In other words, for the first time since her birth, Eve knew angst and melancholy. She did not know, yet, that those feelings were to stay with her for life; and not only with her, but also with her children and their children. Furthermore, she did not know yet that with time, she would grow accustomed to such sensations; numb enough to not suffer constantly. But now, the pain was felt for the first time, all at once, so it seemed immense and unbearable.
She stared at her beloved, and came to a new realization: Lucifer did seem sweet, and his semblance was serene, but Eve could tell that inside he was rotting, much like her. It was almost as if she could reach with her hand, touch his heart, and feel the maggots and the wild beasts. And a further, surprising realization, was that this did not only not scare her, but even fed up her desire. She understood that beings in similar pain could give some solace to each other; that with love, their suffering might be appeased, at least for a while. She thought, Only within his arms I can find relief. Thus, she said, "Stay with me, Lucifer."
While Eve had not explained to Lucifer her reasons, he comprehended them exactly, since he, too, felt those very feelings, at least as intensely as her. And he, too, longed for the relief to be found in Eve's company and caresses, and to provide her with similar comfort. But he said, "I cannot stay here with you; I need to return to my reign."
"Then I shall go with you."
Lucifer did wish for Eve to join him, to be his consort beside Sin, and reign by his side. But would he complied, she would never get the chance to corrupt Adam, his scheme would not be realized, and that would mean, once again, submitting to the Lord. He wept, since now, he had yet another beloved whom he must betray. He said, "You cannot come with me."
"But I love you," said Eve, who was also weeping.
"And I love you. But I cannot take you with me."
"Why not?"
"I am the Adversary, Eve! what did you expect from me?! Tenderness?! Kindness?!" Now, Lucifer did not seem sweet anymore; he was still very beautiful, yet terrible, and Eve felt afraid.
But she asked, "Then what should I do?"
"Go back to your husband; submit to him."
"I cannot do that now; now, I am his superior. My husband is unsightly, talks excessively and says nothing of content, but brags continuously. I cannot submit to him; not to a brute. You, Lucifer, have left me with nothing: neither innocence, nor love, nor possibility of submission. The least you can do is to tell me: what should I do?"
To that, Lucifer complied. He committed one last act of kindness, and said, "Go back to Adam and give him the fruit. Then, he will be your superior again, presuming you wish him to be."
So Eve went back to Adam, and gave him the fruit.
