The Bliss of the Darkness
Chapter 3
"So that girl he took with him was a friend of yours?" Ace asked, exhaling smoke from his nostrils with minimal force, "And your Village offered her up to him to get him to stop?"
"Yes." Jack confirmed all of them in a room at a table in the back of a Tavern. Ace pulled out his lit cigar and blew out more smoke. "You got to him first- can you maybe tell us more about what we're up against?" Ace rummaged around the inside of his vest,
"First off, y'all are out of your league. That's a High-class Demon who follows the Ancient Demon Code." Ace said, pulling out a small, worn, leather-covered note book, and sliding it to Jack. "He goes by several names and he's called several things- I like calling him Beelzebub. Now- he's higher up on the food chain than he says and you can hold an intellectual conversation with him, unlike some other Demons." He inhaled more from his Cigar, "Commandment #5: You will not be ungrateful for anything that is given to you.' A commandment from the Ancient Code he follows- it's followed by 'Every event upon you or others, is a reminder of what you are and that you are a discarded sheep by your Higher Power.'" Ace exhaled slowly, "Your Village made the 1st stupid move of offering someone to him. He probably was just circling around looking for some food, killed a sheep or two, and you just give him your friend. If you give a Demon a girl, they get full of themselves and think they're awesome, and make more villages give over more girls and pick the prettiest one. Beelzebub took your friend, following the foresaid Commandments, and left. You gave her to him, taking her back is stupid."
"Then what do we do!" Jack demanded and his brothers were calm,
"Well, you can try hunting him- but my Locater sphere just blew up in my face- for the 1st time in 30 years of following him. Yours did too, so we have to rough it on finding him. I only know one way to get him to give back anything." Ace said and Jack blinked in interest, "You have to offer something of equal value as a prize in a match against him." Ace leaned back in his chair, "I don't know if that will work this time though- you gave him a human."
"So- he'll kill Alza?"
"I'm not sure, but he seems to put her out of harms way 1st and take the damage, so he'll probably keep her alive as long as he's interested in her." Ace answered, and Derek glanced at Lionel, who glanced back, as Jack narrowed his eyes.
~O~O~O~
"You don't have to do this…" Alza said weakly, as he blew on her bare neck and she shivered, "Mm!"
"I won't have any of that now, Darling. I'm not hurting you, am I?" He asked and she blushed, as he ran his fingers through her hair, "Your hair is soft as well as your skin." He said, kissing the nape of her neck and she shivered once more, "Don't move- you'll ruin it." He tormented, blowing on her neck once more as he continued what he was doing and she put her hands over her mouth to not move or say anything, and he pulled his hands back, giving her a hand mirror, "I'm done. Here, tell me how I did." She looked in the mirror and blushed heavily, as the red wig he had given her, was put up in a 'Marie Antoinette' hair style. "Does it please you?" He asked, and she looked at him,
"It's very beautiful but…I like my own hair." She said and the grin he held, vanished into a discouraged frown, his hair over his eyes,
"You don't like it?" He asked once more and she took the wig off,
"I love it and you did an excellent job but I like my real hair better. Can you do something with my real hair?" she asked and he looked at her, then her short hair, and back at her, repeating this for a while as he opened and closed his mouth.
"I am unsure- I have not worked on short hair before." He admitted, and she smiled,
"That's ok. I'll do it tomorrow, it's already so late." She said, looking out a very small, round window, before yawning and Beelzebub pulled back the covers for her to slip in first. He tucked her in, and she looked at him questioningly,
"I must inform the other demons to make sure to go on patrol. It will take but a moment, and then I'll return. Try to go to sleep." Beelzebub suggested, and left the room, but by the time she opened her mouth to say something, the door had been quietly pulled shut. Alza lay in the bed, against the pillows. This was the first time she had actually been alone- without him being in the room somewhere in the shadows- since she had been taken from the village. She was cold in the covers that were supposed to provide her warmth…why did it seem like they were taking forever to do so? She curled up in a ball and tried to fall asleep- but couldn't. Eventually, Beelzebub returned and she looked up, "You're still awake? You need your rest, my dear." Alza looked down and he went over, removing his shirt and slipped in the bed, "I see. I'm here now, don't worry." He told her, kissing her forehead softly and lying down next to her on his side, pulling her over. She closed her eyes,
"Is there anything I can call you aside from 'Beelzebub'? It seems like such a harsh name." She said and he shrugged. "Husband?"
"Call me whatever you wish. If it's you then I don't mind." He answered, closing his eyes, his hand on her hip, as she used his left arm as a pillow, before she fell asleep.
~O~O~O~
"I'm out of tricks- I used my last one to find him in the last place." Ace admitted and Jack sighed,
"Us too. So…What's her going to do to her?"
"Who, Beelzebub and your friend?" Ace asked, and looked up in thought, "Hm…I'm not sure. We should try to head to the Valleys, though, he may be under ground. He likes the cold." Ace said, pulling on the reigns of his tall, black Clydesdale horse. "Come on, ol' gal, we're going down." The horse snorted and tossed its head before making its way to a fork in the rode, the others following. Claudia knew the way well from being the Hunter's faithful steed, and immediately took a right, towards the mountains. Jack and his brothers had a hard time convincing their steeds to follow Claudia, but fear hit them before the bravery could. Claudia looked back at them and snorted over the childishness and kept on going. The path became narrow and winded around the cliff edges of mountains, scaring the young horses, but Claudia went about them nimbly and with easy. "Steady, Claudia, we don't want to lose them." Claudia tossed her hair and snorted, stopping and looking back at the other horses and letting out a stern neigh, and continued on. "Claudia, you're such a sweet gal." Claudia neighed a sigh and continued on.
~O~O~O~
She came up behind Beelzebub, and looked over his shoulder as he gazed into a large, crystal ball, bigger than a globe. He seemed deep in thought as he looking into the crystal, wearing a simple, loose, long-sleeved shirt and pants. His brows were knitted with some concern, but he said nothing aside from mumbling a bit here and there. "Husband?" She asked quietly, and he looked at her. There were flowers in her hair and it was still damp from her bath, the smell of coconut and almond oils warmed him inside, and her eyes held some compassion. "What are you looking at?"
"I'm looking at how lovely you are." He answered, dismissing the crystal ball and reached for her as she blushed, and he lightly touched her cheek, the white dress he had given her fit her well. White was her 'color'. He stood, "You look so beautiful, Alza. You are, but let me add something to your apparel." He said and went over to his own wardrobe and pulled something out- a dark purple sash. Beelzebub went over to her and wrapped it around her waist and tucked it in, before withdrawing, "Like I thought. Purple is the color of Royalty and the Great Pharaohs in Egypt, you know." She blushed, and he went back to the crystal ball, and she sat on the edge of the bed.
"H…Beelzebub?" Alza called and he looked at her, "I…um…well…want to get to know you better…" He raised an eyebrow, "Physically." She added, and a dark blush burned his ash-colored cheeks, and he looked away for a moment.
"Are you sure? Now that you've said it you can't take it back, Alza." He warned her, and she nodded, as he looked at her, "Then disrobe." He ordered as he stood and threw a cloak over the crystal ball while she shakily untied the sash. He put a hand on her shaking hands and she looked up at him, "You are not ready, my darling. Another time, perhaps…sometime later." He suggested gently, as her legs were shaking,
"N…P-Please…" She looked down and he blinked in surprise, "I…I want to get to know you."
"The joining of flesh is nothing more and nothing less. We can converse with one another-" "N-No!" Beelzebub looked at her, frowning slightly, as she folded her clothes neatly to her left and covered herself with her arms- both covering her bare chest as she pushed her legs tightly together. "Please…" "Such a change in attitude. You will be with me for a long time, but this can always wait if you're not ready…" She looked at him and he sighed, "I will do this for you- not for myself." He told her before he kissed her gently, and she shivered. He picked her up and kissed her with affection, and carried her somewhere. She was too pulled into the sensation of his surprisingly soft lips, despite him being a demonic- fallen angel- thing. Suddenly, he let her go and she gasped in surprise before something warm engulfed her and sucked the air out of her lungs. She surfaced and gasped, looking at him, as he stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. "I will not force you into anything you don't want to do." He repeated, and got in the bath he had dropped her in, stripping himself of his clothes and she blushed from the steam. He let his hair completely down; it seems to grow longer and longer each day, as it now floated softly on the water. He took her hands and pressed them against his chest, "You may touch me as much as you want, and I will keep my hands to myself." He told her sincerely, and she blushed a little darker, looking at his chest, as he released her hands.
Her fingers roamed his chest with care, learning every rock-solid crease in his abs; etching every detail permanently in her brain, what was under her wandering fingers. There was a level of roughness- with a soft edge- to his sculpted chest. He worked out enough to probably just stay in shape, over the years; or he had been blessed with such a perfect anatomy. It said in the bible, that Lucifer was once an Angel, before he was exiled. Maybe Beelzebub had a likeness? His shoulders were broad and his arms were long enough to provide her shelter and strong enough to shield her from harm. His hands had long, devilish nails that were completely black in color; not because of dirt and grime, but because they were that way. The fingers were long and elegant, and his palms held calluses here and there from unknown sources. He had, what the villagers would call, 'Blacksmith's hands'. She scrubbed some soap on his hands and washed them in the warm water, and almost instantaneously, his callused hands became soft. She ran the tips of her fingers over his strong collar bone, noticing he had as many strengthened muscles as there were muscles to be strengthened. The obliques on his sides were tight and firm as were his biceps and deltoids. His skin had got then softer and she noticed he changed since they had 1st met. He one has ashen skin that was as cracked as it was dark, but it was now reddish-grey in color. His once twisted and spiraled horns were not straight- as if some godly force had uncurled them to their straight length now- and were shorter. There were the color of mother-of-pearl, and were ribbed, but even so, they shined like a pearl and were glossy as well as smooth.
Even something as little as a touch made her feel insignificant and out of place compared to him. Beelzebub looked at her silently, and she stood there, her hands on his horns, before she removed them. "Are you…going to touch me as well?"
"…There is more touching than actually touching someone, just like there's more to seeing than actually seeing." Beelzebub responded, "If it's a fair trade to you then I don't mind, my dear." She stared at him, and then flushed in embarrassment, as he chuckled deeply, "Oh, but you're too cute to just touch, my darling. I'm afraid I might just eat you up." Beelzebub smirked and playfully snapped his teeth together, making her giggle. She took his hand anyways and put it to the center of her chest, as a gesture for him to go ahead and do the same to her. He hesitated greatly, before he slid his hands across her shoulders, taking care that his claws didn't touch her skin as his fingers did. He brushed some of her hair behind her ear, and kisses her forehead. Shampoo was applied to her hair and he assisted in helping her get as clean as possible. "My pretty dear, you're much too young for me to indulge with. When you get a little older, then you can try again." Alza sighed in defeat and nodded, accepting this. She didn't want to be here- but she didn't want to leave him either. When they were done, He picked out a night gown for her to wear and she picked out something thin for him to wear to bed. Beelzebub, once again, requested that she go to sleep first, and vanished out the door. He arrived later and slipped in the bed beside her, turning on his side so that his back was to her. She snuggled up to him, her hands on his back, as she used his long hair for a blanket. "Are you awake, Little One?"
Alza opened her eyes slightly, "I had trouble sleeping." She admitted shyly, and he sat up, looking at her, and she now lay across his stomach.
"I see." He said at first, and looked somewhat uneasy. "Alza- Your Village gave you to me as an offering to stay away as I was just passing by. I have been hunted for thousands of years, and this is the 1st time I've had a companion." She looked at him innocently, and he sighed, "If you ever with to go home, I will take you back." She stared at him, "My keeping you here, to myself, is an act of my conceitedness and selfishness."
"Hey." She interrupted, "Let's just sleep…please." She said and laid down, and he kissed her cheek, whispering something in her ear that made her blush, before lying down beside her and she snuggled up to him for sleep. Beelzebub sighed and laid his head on hers, running his fingers through her short orangish-red hair.
~O~O~O~
"Lionel, Jack, and Derek, huh?" ace said and chewed on a piece of jerky. "None of you look alike- you must have foreign blood, huh?"
"Yes- our grandparents were foreign and it seems to have been passed down to us." Jack answered, "It seems I got the German brown hair and dark green eyes." Jack smiled and Derek grunted,
"I got the black-hair and ice blue eyes." Derek voiced and Lionel smiled charmingly, "I got the platinum hair and the blue eyes too. Our mother called us 'America, Japan, and Germany.' Like the actual Countries." Lionel smirked and Ace nodded.
"Good name-I think I'll call you guys that now." Ace smirked and they flinched, aside from Derek. "I see the resemblance. Derek is Japan, Jack is Germany, and Lionel should be dubbed 'Sweden' instead for his flirty actions." Ace suggested and they all nodded. Lionel glared at them all,
"I-It's not funny! All women are beautiful and should be treasured and appreciated." Lionel said dreamily, and Jack shoved him playfully, "At least my heart isn't that of a Killer- like Derek," Derek show him a yakuza-like-look, "Or focused on being righteous like Jack." Jack wrinkled his nose. "Fuck you, brother." Lionel's brothers said to him and they all laughed.