Stolas grew up fast and soon became a fluffy, adorable owlet. He cuddled his red rabbit everywhere he went, posing on a red cushion for a picture. He even had it in his arms when a giant Venus Flytrap dribbled green slime onto the top of his head.

"You sure are a natural with plants, son," remarked his mother proudly as Stolas fed a small piece of meat to a baby flytrap. The plant nudged Stolas in thanks before basking in the hellish sun. Nebula taught Stolas all about healing plants as well as poisonous ones. Stolas got to gaze into beautiful crystals from far and wide. Some were tall and blue, others pulsed with red energy. A few were black and were specialized for dark energy spells.

"There are many kinds of crystals," Nebula explained as she hovered her hand around lined books, skulls, and gems in one of the libraries. "Luciferian crystals, those are the black ones, for advanced hexing and magic. Satan crystals, the red ones, are for power. The purple ones from the Sloth Ring induce calmness, and the green ones create a desire for greed and accomplishment."

She held up a couple teal-white crystals on necklaces, Stolas mesmerized by their glow. "These ones are special: the Asmodean Crystals. Mined by imps in the Ring of Lust, and infused with power by Asmodeus himself. Popular to use for jewelry, these crystals allow the person to project strong feelings of love and passion onto a chosen subject. In addition, it allows for succubi and incubi to access the Living World."

"The Living World?" Stolas asked in wonder.

"Indeed. Succubi and incubi are one of few demons other than the elite who have easy access to that world. Asmodeus sends them there to seduce humans, thus encouraging them to sin. Then when they die, they help increase Hell's population!"

"Cool," Stolas breathed.

"Of course, they are under strict lock and key," said Nebula, tucking them away. "Wouldn't want any royalty or imps or villains stealing them and causing more family problems in the future! Now let's review your demonic Latin and Enochian words."

0 0 0

Almost every night, he and his mother would stand on the balcony together and name the constellations. Nebula often wore gorgeous gowns of midnight blue that sparkled with stars that moved on the silky fabric surface. Stolas learned about the wonders of space from his mother, who provided him with endless books and stories. Some of Stolas' favorite bedtime stories were those about the bizarre world where mortals resided in.

"They have the same stars as we do, up on Earth," Nebula said one night. "But of course, there's no red sky there, it's always blue. And it's nowhere near as hot over there as it is here in Hell. Heaven kind of makes its own stars and rainbows and shit. I don't really know."

"That's pretty cool!" said Stolas. "Could we visit there someday?"

"Going there is forbidden, unfortunately," she explained. "Only mature experienced demons can access the Living World and that's under certain conditions. We must study their world in secret and not allow any terrified humans to see us."

"Well, I heard that there's a new Imp City that was built not too long ago. Perhaps we could go there and explore!"

"We'll see what your father thinks," she said. "You know how disdainful he is of the poor."

"Okay," Stolas said with a sigh. Then he brightened and held up a brown book with a many-eyed frog and toad on it. "I know the differences between frogs and toads! Wanna hear it?"

"I've heard it five times already but okay," Nebula giggled. She pat her son affectionately on the head and Stolas closed his eyes in happiness.

"Stars, plants, hell's citizens…you will be a powerful great prince of Hell," mused Nebula. She conjured glowing images of the constellations and Stolas reached out to touch them in wonder. The images burst into silver sparkles near his face that made Stolas giggle.

Looking back at the sky, Stolas' eyes widened as he spotted a shooting star near the red and black inverted pentagram moon. "Look, Mother! A shooting star!"

"Go ahead and make a wish," she said. "But don't say it out loud or it won't come true. Just think about it in your head."

Stolas closed his eyes. "I wish I had a friend to spend time with!" he thought.

"I wish I could always spend time with you, Mother," said Stolas. "We seem to be so busy a lot."

"I know. But no matter where life takes us or what happens to me, I'll never be far away from you, my little Starfire," said Nebula, kissing her son on the head.

There was something else that Stolas treasured from a young age…his bond with the imps. They helped make the family dinners, clean the chambers, make the beds, and made sure things ran smoothly. His favorite companion was his personal butler imp. Whenever his father was too busy with his own lavish pursuits, the white-mustached imp butler would be there to tend to his every need. In a way, the imp was more of a fatherly figure than his own dad. Aside from helping Stolas get dressed, he often just stood there as Stolas told him all the things he learned about in his books. Although the butler had duties of his own, he was happy to listen to his prince. Stolas and Nebula never treated him cruelly; in fact, for them, the butler was just another member of the family.

For the most part, Stolas' childhood was magical.