Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“So are you sure it’s going to be a boy?” a woman asked. She was beautiful in her own way, with short white hair and a long rag around her as a dress. As if the white hair didn’t sound strange enough, she also had scales on certain parts of her body and blood red eyes. It was how most of her clan, the demon clan to be exact, looked.

“Of course I am. Everywhere where I’ve been they’ve, said the exact same thing: drink the blood of your greatest enemies and cover your house in runes made out of that blood and it will be a boy,” her husband replied. “I still don’t fully understand why you are so set on getting a boy, Nora.”

“Are you an idiot?” Nora exclaimed. “We are the last of our clan. If our child isn’t a boy then who can then take revenge against the Mind Lions for us? You know that the girls of our clan, any clan really, don’t fight. They’re just too weak.”

“I know, sweetie. But we don’t know for sure that it was the Mind Lions’ fault that our species went to near extinction. There has always been internal conflict between the Fire Lizards and a little push from any species could have meant our end, but it’s not like we helped. We hid when they needed us and afterwards took down the remaining ones.”

“I know, Joshua! I know!” Nora looked furious. “But you know that they would just try to stop us from getting the true rule over the Demon Realm that we deserve.”

“Maybe so, but do you really think that we can rule a world where two clans could be nearing extinction? Killing off your subordinates, future subordinates, isn’t a good thing!”

“How is that a bad thing?” Joshua could see that his wife was losing it. He couldn’t blame her, though. Long ago, the Fire Lizards had been the most feared demons in all of history. But then came the battle for the leader of the Fire Lizards and, in turn, also maybe one day the whole Demon Realm. The thing was, unlike with most clans, where there was actually a designated leader, the Fire Lizards had never thought of naming one since there was no one with exceptional powers. But as time passed by, individual Fire Lizards started to notice that every clan had a leader and that maybe they could be their clan’s leader. And thus the internal conflict began. Nora was one of the smarter Fire Lizards and had actually planned the whole ordeal. She had gone up to the Mind Lions without Joshua and told them that once she became ruler of all demons, she would give them a place in her court. It was an outright lie of course, but she did what needed to be done to guarantee power.

You might be wondering: If she is so smart and manipulative, why the hell would she need a son? The simple fact of the matter was that she was getting old. Sure, demons live for a long time, but they most certainly weren’t immortal, and you could see it in her face.

Then you might also ask: Why didn’t she have a baby earlier? This fact also had to do with the insane power that the Fire Lizards have. When the Fire Lizards first came into existence, all demons had feared them, and they had been afraid that they would take over the Demon Realm and kill them all. So they had all come together and thought of a plan: put a curse on each and every female Fire Lizard so that she could only have one child. That way the other demons could live safely, relatively, since it’s still the Demon Realm, without the fear of loads of Fire Lizards coming after them. This situation could be described as a hit or miss situation, since the demons could never tell what they were going to have: a boy or a girl. Nora hadn’t thought of having a child before because she was too consumed with greed. But now, the time seemed right to pass her torch on to her child. Her plan was to have her child do all of the heavy lifting, while she ruled from the background. She just hoped that she could live long enough for her dream to come true.

Chapter Text

It was finally the day of the birth. Nora and Joshua had been waiting for what felt like centuries, and considering they knew what a century felt like that was saying something. The birth took a few hours and when the baby finally arrived, Joshua was lost for words at how beautiful his little baby looked.

“So what is it? A boy or a girl?” Nora sighed.

“It’s a girl, dear. A beautiful baby girl.”

“Don’t talk to me about that nonsense of beauty. We have a girl! You said we would get a boy! Honestly, is there nothing that you can do right?!”

The baby girl giggled a cute baby giggle, which freaked out both of her parents. Normally, you would expect a baby’s first noise to be a cry or something, not a giggle like she was having the time of her life.

Nora was the first to react “What is this creature? I’ll burn it!” she shrieked.

“This so-called creature is your daughter and it would do you well to treat her as such. Maybe, just maybe you’re wrong and she could be very powerful, and I doubt it would be good to get on her bad side then. You know we can’t be burned.”

“Yeah, right. Like this little pipsqueak could do anything to harm me. But I guess there is no harm in looking after her for now. Maybe you’re right and then I could use her powers for my own end. I would presume that manipulating my own daughter would be much easier than anyone else.”

Joshua stared at his wife in horror. He always had known that there was something wrong with her, some deep-seated hatred for other demons or something. But this was getting out of hand. He had half a mind to just get up and leave, but then he looked at his little ray of sunshine and thought that he couldn’t possibly leave her behind with this crazy lady and it would be too dangerous to look after a baby outside his home. He had just fallen in love with Nora on a whim and before he even knew it, they were married, or the demon equivalent of it. He still loved her dearly and wanted to stay with her for the rest of his life, but he couldn’t help but doubt his wife’s intentions. It’s not that she had kept the ruler of all demons a secret or anything, he just hadn’t thought that she would go this far.

“If you think so,” he said. “Don’t worry baby girl, I’ll protect you,” he whispered to his newborn. “So have you actually thought of a name? Or is your head just full of boys’ names?”

“Now that you mention it, it is. As I said before, my favourite name was Christopher. So something with a C would be nice.”

“Okay, let me think.” Joshua thought for a few minutes and just when Nora was starting to lose her patience he shouted, “I’ve got it: Catarina!”

“Not half bad,” his wife said with a half smile. “Catarina it is then. I’m sorry about calling her a creature before. Is it alright if I hold her now?” she said looking genuinely sorry.

“All right, just be careful.” While Nora was rocking her child back and forth like a loving mother, Joshua asked the really important question, “So are we going to wait for her magic to surface or start training her physically before as well?”

“Good physical strength is also important if you want to beat your enemy. If she’s going to be powerful, then it better be on all levels.”

“Of course, dear.”

And so the intensive training began.

Chapter Text

Thirty years seemed to have passed in no time. Nora’s health was really starting to deteriorate, and Joshua would do anything to keep his wife alive. Their daughter was starting to look like a much younger version of her mother, apart from the constant smile. The training had indeed proven useful, since now she could control her powers with ease and even do tricks with them. It’s not like it had been easy on her — her mother had pushed and pushed her, never satisfied. The hatred could still be seen in her eyes to this very day. But Catarina wasn’t worried. She knew that her mother was likely to pass away soon and if not, Catarina would drive a knife right through her chest. It’s not that she wasn’t satisfied with the training that she had received; just how she had received it. And she absolutely refused to be her mother’s pawn in taking over the demon realm. She liked it just the way it was. Demons killing other demons, feeding off the fear and despair of each other. Why would she want to change that? One day she would also be a part of that, and she didn’t want all of her prey to be obedient and go down without a fight.

She was so lost in thoughts that she almost didn’t hear the footsteps. She was so excited that there was an enemy nearby that she went to tell her parents, but they said they couldn’t hear anything.

“Are you sure? I swear; just a few hundred metres from here.”

“A few hundred metres!” her father exclaimed “Catarina, how the hell can you hear that?”

“What, can’t you? But I thought we pretty much had the same powers.”

Her mother sat up from her moss bed and explained to her daughter, “Fire Lizards from long ago, the most powerful of them; also had amazing hearing, but through time I guess it just vanished. It appears you really are special, Catarina.” Her mother smiled at her, a loving, caring smile. Catarina almost believed that her mother truly loved her, almost. “That could mean that you also have the Sight,” her mother added.

“The Sight, as in seeing the future,” Catarina said sceptically.

“No, my dear. It is being able to see things that are really far away. If you also have that, you would be able to see this enemy that is too far for us to hear or see.”

“Sounds good. I’ll go check outside,” Catarina said, a little too pleased. With this extra power, she could do so much more than she ever thought possible. Not ruling the demon realm, for sure. That was her mother’s ambition, not hers. She just wanted to live an easy life, without anyone getting in her way. Killing and eating as she saw fit.

She stepped outside her house, which is quite a kind description for the lump that she lived in with her family, and looked around. Her parents were right; she could see the demons metres away, without even having to strain her eyes. She was so excited that she just wanted to run over and start a fight but thought better of it. As long as she lived in her parents’ house, she had to abide by their rules. Which resulted in her pretty much telling them exactly everything she heard and saw. She couldn’t really see the harm in it since every day could be their last. She went inside and reported what she had seen, “There are a bunch of big lion-like creatures roaming around. I think that they are probably scavenging for food.”

“Perfect,” Nora said with glee. “Now’s your chance to prove yourself, Catarina. Kill all these Mind Lions and then we can finally go to the next step of my plan.” The next stage was to make Catarina the ruler, and Catarina knew that all too well. Then Nora could finally forgive herself for lying to her family for all those years. If she was even capable of forgiveness, that is.

“So those are the great Mind Lions that you keep talking about, huh?” Catarina said, looking intrigued.

“Yes. So? Are you going to kill them?” Nora said at the edge of her seat.

“Patience, my dear mother,” Catarina said with a smile that could only be described as pure demonic. Then suddenly, she grabbed a sharp knife near to her and threw it at her mother. Being frail, her parents had hardly any time to react. The knife hit Nora straight in the heart. She made a slight grunt and collapsed in her bed.

“Catarina!” her father exclaimed “What is the meaning of this?”
“Come now, dear father. Did you really expect me to wait until my dear mother dropped dead? Honestly, I have better things to do than just wait here by her deathbed and listen to her babbling about taking over the demon realm. And you’re actually surprised. Hah. Priceless.” In the time that it took Catarina to give her little speech she had reached her mother’s bed and was now removing the knife from her mother’s chest.
“But … but this is murder. Cold-blooded murder,” her father said, a terror look on his face.

“It’s not like this woman is any better than the Mind Lions. Why do you think that she has such an obsession with me killing them? Before you answer that question, just think. Okay? They were merely pawns in her plan for taking over the demon realm, nothing more. And once she was done with them, she needed a way of disposing of them. And what better way than have her child do the dirty work? How exactly were they pawns, you may ask. She went to them and offered them a deal they couldn’t refuse.” Catarina chuckled, waving her knife at her father. “They would help her get rid of anyone in her way and she would give them a nice position at her court once she became ruler of all the demons. Guess Mind Lions aren’t really all that smart if they believed that crazy old hag. Which is ironic; since they have the word ‘mind’ in their names and can make any creature do what they want, as long as they know your face. Perfect plan. Which all went to shambles because someone was more powerful than they let on. That someone being me, of course.”

“What do you mean more powerful?” her father stuttered.

“I was getting there. So relax. Or this knife might also pierce you. Notice how I said 'pierce' and not kill? I can hear all of your veins and arteries flowing with blood and know the anatomy of your body perfectly, which means that I can hurt you with this knife, without killing you. Back to the story then? I was talking about my powers, yes?” Her father nodded and whimpered. “Good, now we’re getting it. So, apparently, I also have this awesome power through which I can see what happened in a person’s past by touching them. It can be for just a second, and I can see their whole life. I saw her conversation with the Mind Lions. She was so convincing, I guess I couldn’t blame them, but still it was really stupid. They nearly killed our whole clan and now they’re wanted dead by the person who promised she would be on their side.” Catarina could see that her father was desperate to say something, so she let him.

“I … I just can’t believe … that she would lie to me like that,” he said, shaking so badly that it seemed his bones would give in.

“I know. It’s the horrible truth but what you gonna do? My mother had many enemies, but none that took the top place — because of that the runes also didn’t work. So now that you know the truth the choice is yours: have me kill you, quickly I promise, or just let me leave and live my own life.”

“Kill me,” Joshua said those words without a single bit of hesitation.

“You sure? I'd hate for my second kill to be something I might regret doing.”

“Yes. Then I can be with her forever. Till death do us part is such a silly thing to say. I want to be with her wherever she goes.”

“But why? After everything she’s done?”

“Sure she went on the wrong path a couple of times, but I know that in her heart she wanted what was best for this family. And I can’t help but still love her,” Joshua said with a sigh.

“Love? Cute. It’s quite something that demons can also feel that considering all of the hatred that’s going around,” Catarina scoffed.

“You may think that now, but I’m sure that one day you’ll find a guy who can make you smile at the simplest of things, maybe even being in the same room as them.”

“Guess we’ll see, won’t we. Farewell, father, it was nice knowing you.” And with that Catarina stabbed her father through the chest and he collapsed on the floor.

Chapter Text

The thing about Fire Lizards is that they’ve made a failsafe against necromancers for when they die. They spontaneously combust after about an hour, so that loved ones still have a chance to say goodbye. Catarina knew this and knew that even though she was fireproof, it wouldn’t be such a good idea to stay with her parents too long. She just placed them nicely together, holding hands, since apparently people who love each other do that. Then she left them, knife in hand, to take on the Mind Lions. She knew that she would have to really think this through, considering their mind-controlling abilities.

Suddenly it hit her. Catarina knew that there was no way the Mind Lions would know about her, since her mother had pretty much raised her to kill them. With that they couldn’t attack her from afar. She would have to use her fire powers and if really necessary her knife.

Catarina sized up her enemy. There were four really big and hairy lions, bigger than any lion in the human world, with antennae sticking out, probably for the mind control business. So if she managed to sever the antenna, then she could easily take them down. And she could easily manage four, no problem.

She thought that the best plan of action would be to take down the legs so that they would fall and then cut off the antenna. Catarina remembered her training; how hard it had first been to release a single fireball from the palm of her hand. Now it was just as easy as breathing. She lit up her palm, carefully calculating the trajectory that the ball would have to go to hit the legs just right, and threw. It hit the first Mind Lion’s knee perfectly. He roared and roared and tried to make the fire go out, but he only made it worse.

Or that’s what his fellow Mind Lions thought at least. Catarina could control all fire that she creates at will; any Fire Lizard could easily do that. She thought, since she was feeling charitable, that she would end the poor demon’s pain and put out the fire. He collapsed on the ground, burnt patches everywhere and his friends looking like they’d just seen something impossible. This of course made sense from their point of view, since they had been promised a place at court, not a live burning.

They started cowering and retreating to their lair, but it was too late. Catarina had already marked them as her prey, and she was not letting them get away. She jumped up and attacked them head on, making sure to cover her face with a cloth that she had taken from her home. In her opinion, the best thing about big creatures is how slow they moved, which was definitely an advantage for her petite body. She zigzagged through the stomping paws and stabbed at just the right places to make them fall. Then she jumped on their heads, one after the other, and cut off their antenna. She was quite pleased with herself at defeating these lions, but there was still something that she wanted to know, “Let’s just say that I’m asking this out of pure curiosity. Why did you help Nora the Fire Lizard? And please don’t say it’s just because of the place at court, because that would be a load of bull.”

“We wanted them dead,” the last one Catarina had taken down croaked.

“Yeah,” Catarina chuckled, “but why agree with her and not do it earlier. Now she wants you dead or more specifically wanted, since she’s dead.”

“We didn’t know where the Fire Lizards were hiding, and she led us straight to them. We could tell that she was double-crossing us, but it was our only option.”

“Fair enough. And why exactly did you want my clan dead? I know they were probably not the best people to have at a party, but to want a whole clan dead is quite extreme.”

“You’re still young, so you probably don’t know about the pain the power struggles caused. Everywhere fire, everywhere death. Just for the sake of finding a clan leader. It’s just pathetic.”

“Pathetic indeed. Thank you for sharing this with me. I guess I could say that you’ve enlightened me. But there will always be death in the demon realm and now there will also be fire. You probably won’t see too much of me since I have decided to keep to the shadows. And because you gave me this valuable information, I have decided to let you live. So long.” And with that she was gone.

Chapter Text

Catarina spent the next hundred years killing demons that got in her way and sometimes even eating them. Cooked in her own special way. She had also managed to hone new powers, which were hiding her magic, teleportation and apparently when she spit on something, she could ignite that spit. But she wasn’t satisfied. She liked the knife that she had taken from her old home, but it just wasn’t as effective as a sword or any other weapon. So she decided to go scouting for a new weapon.

Eventually she found what she was looking for: a lone member of the Dorudolf clan working on a sword. The sword was long and elegant, which meant that she could easily move around with it, so Catarina was all for it. She approached the demon. “Hi there, mister Dorudolf.”

“My name is Zalfur,” he responded, not even giving Catarina a glance.

“Zalfur, of course.” This is going to be difficult , Catarina thought. “What you working on there, Zalfur?”

This time, he did look at her, but with a look asking whether she was an idiot. “A sword as you can obviously see.”

“Of course, of course. Just trying to make a little small talk here. But what I really want to know, is there anything special about your sword? Apart from the perfect shininess of course.”

This got a smile from Zalfur, she was in. “Well it’s just an experiment, so I have absolutely no idea whether this really is going to work or not.”

“Ooh really? An experiment? I like experiments,” Catarina said, looking a bit too excited.

“Yes. The point is, if the worthy wielder of this sword presses exactly here,” he said, pointing at the centre of the hilt, “then it will turn into something they can wear the whole time. Then the wielder has to take it off just right to turn it back into sword form.”

“Wow. That sounds really awesome.” Which it actually did. Catarina knew that it was unlikely that she would be allowed to wield such an impressive sword, but she just wanted to know more about this sword of myths. “So is it almost ready, Zalfur?”

“Yes, just a few more adjustments and it will be ready to go. I plan on taking it to the base of the mountains, a few kilometres from here, and then I’ll have a contest to see who’s worthy.”

“Sounds exciting. Mind if I try it out before you go? Just to be sure if it’s not me,” she said with a wink.

Zalfur blushed lightly and said, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I just can’t. You can enter the contest if you want, but I can’t give you a head start or anything like that. Just meet me at the base of the mountains tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” Catarina said with a sigh. “See you tomorrow. Just in case you were wondering what my name was, it’s Catarina.”

***

Catarina knew that she could easily teleport to the base and wait there, but she had a feeling that there would already be a bunch of demons, so she decided to take a short walk to a homey cave and spend the night there.

Morning couldn’t have come sooner for Catarina. Even though she was usually quite a lazy person, when there was a chance to win a badass sword, she was going to take it. She quickly burnt off all of the dirt and made sure she looked presentable enough, then she teleported to the mountain base.

As she had expected, it was swarming with demons. Some had even decided to spend the night there. She used her Sight to find the place where the contest would probably be held and spotted Zalfur running through the crowd, trying to get his things at the right place. Catarina teleported over and pretty much scared the living daylight out of him.

“Hi,” she said in a cheery and upbeat manner.

“Catarina, hi,” Zalfur said, regaining his composure. “You’re already here?”

“Well yeah, obviously. You said it would be in the morning, so I’m here in the morning. As are a load of other demons.”

“Yes, it seems like it’s going to be quite a contest,” Zalfur said nervously.

“You scared that they’re going to try and steal it?”

“What? No. Well actually, maybe a little. It is a very powerful sword after all.”

“Well that settles it then. I’m going to be you and your sword’s bodyguard. Even after my turn, if it appears that I am not the true wielder, I will continue to protect the two of you.”

“But why?” Zalfur asked, amazed.

“Because you seem like a fun guy and you have an awesome, badass sword. I wouldn’t want any of you two to end up in the wrong hands.”

“Th-thank you,” Zalfur said, stammering. He wasn’t used to speaking to girls, pretty ones least of all. Her long white hair, in a ponytail, and red eyes made a beautiful contrast. Her handmade red dress, to match her eyes, hung off her in the most graceful way he could imagine.

“You’re welcome,” Catarina said smiling, a genuine, beautiful smile. “Now let’s get going to your stand before we’re too late.”

“Of course.”

“Where does this all have to be set up? The fastest way there would be to teleport us both.”

“In the centre of the base, just over there” Zalfur said, pointing.

“Okay, got it,” she said and then disappeared along with Zalfur.

***

They reappeared at the exact place to where Zalfur had pointed. “Wow,” he exclaimed. “You’ve got some amazing powers.”

“Thanks.”

“Is it all right if I ask you something?”

“Sure. Go ahead.”

“Why do you want this sword? I know to which clan you belong and what kind of powers they have, and you seem to be the exception of exceptions with even greater powers than some of your predecessors. So I’ll ask you again: why exactly do you want this sword?” Zalfur said, all serious.

“Simple. Because I want to make life easier for myself. Sure, having fire powers and teleportation is great and all, but with a sword I could do so much more, and the kill would be quicker. Wouldn’t you say?” Catarina said, eyebrows arched.

“Guess that does make sense. Well, may the best man or woman win.”

***

And thus the contest began. Catarina and Zalfur stood behind a table where the sword had been placed. Demons from all around the demon realm came to try and turn it into a wearable object, but none succeeded. Some even tried to steal it, but were promptly stopped by Catarina, who threatened to break their arm if they didn’t let go.

Finally, it was her turn. The moment she had been waiting for, for so long. She could feel the heat inside her and the eyes on her as she reached for it and touched the middle of the sword. A bright light shone and instead of a sword there now was a serpent shaped ring.

Chapter Text

“Wow, it actually worked,” Zalfur whispered. He couldn’t believe that this woman was the worthy wielder of his sword.

All Catarina could do was stare at her new ring-weapon in awe. She was so excited to finally be able to wield something so badass.

“A vagrant demon?” someone whispered.

“Not just any vagrant demon, a Fire Lizard. As if those kind weren’t a pain in the ass already,” another one said.

“I heard that she killed her parents. Why would we entrust this sword to her?” another one loudly scoffed.

“Calm down, please,” Zalfur said, slightly panicking. He never thought that his friendly contest for a sword would turn out like this. “She managed to transform it when no one else could, so it now belongs to her. Those were the rules of this contest.”

“Rules my left foot!” somebody shouted. “As if we would let some vagrant demon roam around with a sword like that.”

“Would you all just please shut up,” Catarina hissed, having regained her composure. “The sword belongs to me now. End of story. If any of you want to have it for yourselves, then come and get it.”

The demons roared and charged, Catarina ready to fight. What she had forgotten in all of this chaos was that her sword was still a serpent shape, which Zalfur kindly reminded her of.

“Catarina,” Zalfur said softly, “you still have to change your sword back to normal.”

“Of course. Silly me,” she said with an innocent smile, even though innocent would be the last word to describe her. “So how do I do it?”

“Put it on your finger and pull it off holding the serpent part firmly, it should work like that,” Zalfur explained.

“Okay. Got it,” she said as she did as instructed. The ring grew back into an almighty sword once again and the demons knew they were screwed. “I really like the balance, Zalfur. Nice work there,” she complimented before going to the battlefield. After the fighting no one was left unharmed, some were even dead. Apart from Catarina, who had a few scratches here and there but nothing serious. She was grinning broadly and twirling her new sword in hand as she approached Zalfur.

“That was amazing,” Zalfur exclaimed in awe. “Usually I would be against such bloodshed, but it was just so beautiful to watch that I couldn’t keep my eyes off it.” He wanted to say 'you' but couldn’t bring himself to do so. What if she outright rejected him or just laughed? He wouldn’t be able to bear that.

“Thank you. Well, it was a lot of fun. I guess I should be leaving now. Goodbye, Zalfur. Until we meet again.”

“Wait!” he shouted. He couldn’t let her go away just yet. There must be something that he could say or do, just to make her stay for a bit longer. Then he managed to think of just the right question. “What are you going to name your new sword?” he asked with anticipation.

“Name my sword, huh? Never really thought about that. Is that something demons do?” Catarina asked intrigued.

“Not to my knowledge, no. I just thought that since it’s such a powerful sword, it should have a name.”

“You’ve got a point there. Then even my sword’s name could instil fear upon my enemies. Mmm, let’s think.” She pondered what could only be seen as a few seconds and then snapped her fingers loudly. “Got it! I’m going to name this beauty Predator.”

“Predator?” Zalfur asked, confused “Why Predator?”

“Because predators always catch their prey and that is a motto I go by. What kind of demon would I be if I let my prey escape? And a sword named after my personal motto, is a great sword indeed.”
“Guess you’re right. He, he,” Zalfur said nervously. “This probably really is goodbye then. Goodbye, Catarina. Hope to see you again one day.”

“Goodbye, Zalfur. Maybe one day we will meet again,” Catarina said with a sweet smile as she waved and walked away.

Chapter Text

Catarina spent the next few decades honing her swordsmanship skills. She found out that she could use her sword as a conductor for her fire. She just had to concentrate on making the fire in her hand go into the sword, and then it would burn the victim. The great thing about this was that she could also choose how hot to make the fire, so she could start at a low temperature and turn it up. It was also a handy way to keep her meat hot if she used Predator as a means of eating. She also went to visit Zalfur a few times, much to his surprise and glee, to have the sword tweaked a bit. Now, not only could it change into a sword, but if she thought about it, she could change Predator into a dagger or twin daggers instead.

Life was going well for her, with nothing to complain about. Least of all now that she saw her next victim. “Target acquired,” she whispered. It was a bulky, muscular creature. The kind that you would call all brawn and no brains. It was an easy kill no matter how you sliced it, and she could keep the meat for days. She teleported right in front of him and stabbed him through the head, the shock still on his face as he touched the ground.

“Hey!” a voice shouted. “What do you think you’re doing? That was my kill.” Along with the voice came purple orbs, surrounding Catarina.

Crap, this isn’t good. I can’t defend myself against this kind of magic. She tried to get a glance at her assailant and couldn’t help but think how cute he looked. He was even smaller than her for crying out loud. And she thought that she was small. Sure, five centimetres give or take, but she was still bigger. Guess you could say that the smaller you are the more powerful you are. Another distinguishing feature was his purple hair and eyes, or eye, since his right one was covered by his hair. Another thing that she couldn’t miss were the big black wings behind him, keeping him afloat. Big was definitely an appropriate description, since the length of one wing was about the same size as his body.

“Hey. I asked you a question. Answer it or I’ll burn you alive.”

“Relax, okay,” Catarina said, raising her arms in surrender. “I just saw this demon, nothing else. So that’s why I decided to kill it. If I knew that such a powerful demon as you wanted to kill it, I wouldn’t have laid a hand on it. Promise.” It really was a promise, she knew all about the hierarchy of the demon realm and how this purple haired youth pretty much had the top spot. “Also, you can’t really burn me.”

“I know. Fire can’t affect Fire Lizards and since you’re the last one alive, it would be a shame to be killed by something hot. But my heat orbs are much hotter than anything you could ever imagine. Here, have a feel,” he said, and he made one of the orbs at Catarina’s arms go nearer. He was right, it felt hotter than anything Catarina had ever felt, probably even created.

“Ow! Okay, I get it. Jeez. You don’t have to be such a baby about it.”

“You really have some nerve talking to me like that, Fire Lizard. Or don’t you know who I am?”

“Of course I know who you are. You’re the most famous vagrant demon of all: Lucifer.”

Chapter Text

“So the Fire Lizard has knowledge about vagrant demons, huh,” Lucifer scoffed.

“Yes, and what about you, oh great Lucifer. Do you have knowledge of them? Do you know who I am?” Catarina responded, with arched eyebrows.

“Yes, I’m not stupid, parent killer. Your name’s Catarina.” Lucifer growled.

“Okay, now that we know each other’s names. Are you going to let me live? Believe me, you won’t regret it,” Catarina promised.

“Sure. And why exactly would I let you live?”

“Maybe I could make your life more interesting. We could have fun killing demons together.”

“He, really? That’s your great idea to stay alive? I have absolutely no reason to share my demon spoils with anyone else, least of all someone like you, who already decided to steal from me.”

“I didn’t steal anything. The body’s still nicely there,” Catarina said, nudging her head in the direction of the body. “Look. I don’t know. Okay? I just like living in this world where it’s a free-for-all. I guess you could kill me, but then you would also have to spend the rest of eternity alone. Or you could spend some of your eternity with me.” That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to Lucifer and considering that he had already spent a few thousand years alone, it moved something in him.

“Guess I could give you a shot. You don’t seem all too bad. But I’m not going to call you Catarina, it’s far too long. I like to go with something simpler, like Cat.” And with that he released the heat orbs and Catarina was free.

***

And with that they became frenemies. They ate quite a decent part of the demon that Catarina had killed. Of course, Catarina had to cook the meat chunks first. Not that it was really necessary, powerful demons could live for centuries without food, and they wouldn’t get an infection from some raw meat, but she liked it that way. As did Lucifer.

“Dude, this is some good stuff. How’d you get it so tasty?”

“Um, thanks. Guess it comes from years of experience from killing and eating other demons. That way I know where the good parts are.”

“Noticed. Guess it wasn’t such a bad idea to let you live. You make some mean food.”

“So what am I now? Your personal chef?” she asked with a hint of ire.

“Amongst others. This is going to be a pain, Lucifer could tell. She gets defensive over the smallest of things. “Also maybe one day an actual friend, if that’s even possible. We’re just here together so time doesn’t seem all that slow anymore.”

“You’ve got a point. Friends does sound quite intriguing though. I’ve never really had a friend. There was this one Dorudolf, Zalfur, who made this beautiful sword for me, but he died a couple of years ago. Not that it matters really, it’s not like I was attached to him or anything.”

Lucifer chuckled. “It appears you truly are heartless. Aren’t you, Cat?”

Catarina blushed. It was weird having someone speaking to her in that way and she still had to get used to that nickname. “Well, it’s not like I needed a heart or anything in the past. Feelings only get in the way and jeopardise your judgement. Being cold-blooded and heartless is the best way to survive this demon realm.”

“Whatever you say, dude. Just make sure that you’re prepared if you ever get a heart.”

And with that they continued their meal in silence.

***

Then nightfall came and they decided it would be good to sleep, considering they both loved to. They both found their own patch of moss and fell sound asleep. Catarina, as always, kept her ears on high alert in case there were any enemies approaching, but the only thing that she could hear were Lucifer’s soft breaths, as he breathed in and out. She didn’t know why, but his breathing calmed her. Enough to let her fall fully asleep.

Chapter Text

As the years went by Catarina and Lucifer grew closer and closer. The most binding traits that the two shared were their love for sleeping, eating, and killing. Since the two now trusted each other enough, they also sparred more than once. Lucifer always ended up being the victor in the end, but Catarina was getting closer and closer to winning each day. Lucifer, of course, had started noticing that and didn’t know whether to feel proud or irritated that this Fire Lizard might one day defeat him.

“Hey, earth to Lucifer,” Catarina said, trying to get his attention. “Hey, Lucifer!” With that shout, she finally managed to get his attention.

“Yeah, I’m here, dude. What d’you want?” he said, looking irritated.

“Well excuse me for calling out to you. You were just looking off into space, and I was wondering what could possibly be so interesting about that vast space of nothingness.”

This comment got a smile from Lucifer. He couldn’t help but love the way she acted, her sarcasm, her undying curiosity, everything really. Guess that meant that he was more proud than irritated. But this wouldn’t stop him from becoming stronger. He couldn’t have her, no matter how great she was, beat him at killing demons.

“Nothing really,” he said in his lazy voice, “just thinking.”

“Thinking? Really? You still do that? About what?” Catarina said teasingly.

“Yes, I do. And if you haven’t noticed it’s because of that thinking that we managed to escape a few demons in the past. And that’s none of your business,” Lucifer retorted.

“Come, now, Luci. Please?” Luci had been a nickname Catarina had created for Lucifer, since he wouldn’t stop calling her Cat. Not that he minded of course. It just showed how close they had become over the past few decades.

“No, Cat, I won’t. And begging me or making puppy dog eyes won’t change my mind,” Lucifer said firmly.

“Okay. What if I guess?” Catarina said, eyebrow arched. She wasn’t letting this go, and she absolutely loved teasing Lucifer. But he wasn’t going to let her get to him this time. If she found out about this, she would never let this go.

“You could try, but you won’t get anywhere.” Lucifer knew of her ability to go into a person’s past when she touched them, so he flapped his wings to get a clear distance.

“Where you going, Luci? Scared that I will use my abilities?”

“Well I never know with you, Cat. You’ve always got some trick up your sleeve,” Lucifer said while grinning at his friend.

“You’ve got a point there. How about twenty questions?” Catarina asked, wanting it to be kept to conversation alone.

“What? So you’ll ask me twenty yes or no questions and if you haven’t guessed it by then you’ll let it go?”

“Promise.”

“You better keep to that promise, demoness. There is a saying, after all, that curiosity killed the cat,” Lucifer said and landed back on the ground.

***

And so the game began.

“Is it something embarrassing?”

“Really, Cat. That’s your first question. At moments like this, I really regret letting you live.”

“Just answer the question, Lucifer. Or I will use my magic,” Catarina said half-threatening, half-jokingly.

“Got it. Depends.”

“Depends. Depends on what? The person?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, then. So maybe if a person, maybe me found out, it would be embarrassing. Does it have something to do with me?”

“Yes,” the fallen angel grunted. He cursed the brains of this demoness. She was probably going to find out sooner or later. Hopefully, later.

“Me, huh? Why would something be embarrassing if I found out something you thought about me?” Catarina said, pondering. “Oh, lord. You didn’t think anything weird right?” Catarina said in a horrified way.

“What?! No way, dude. You know I don’t feel about you that way!” Lucifer shouted, hurriedly. It was true, even though he loved her dearly as a friend. It was difficult to imagine them as something more.

“Oh, okay then,” Catarina said, slightly dejected. Even though she had no idea why. It’s not like she felt anything for that idiot, either. Maybe it was just the thought of someone having feelings for her, even though she didn’t really believe in having them herself.

You might be wondering: Hang on a second. What about that Zalfur guy? He had feelings for her right? That’s true, but she had never noticed, too obsessed with her blade and trying to make it better. The poor guy died without the demon he cared most about knowing about his feelings.

“Okay, now that we’ve got that sorted out. Onto the next question.” Catarina said, wanting to get away from that awkwardness. This was one of the few bad things about having such a great friend. “It’s got to do with me and it’s embarrassing. Could you honestly be any more vague?”

“Yes. And before you say something that counts as a question, it’s not my fault that you can’t figure out what’s going on up here,” Lucifer said, smiling demonically.

“It’s not like it will make so much difference, I’ve still got 15 questions left. And I know that it’s about me, which really is a bonus point. Since there aren’t many things that you are embarrassed about when it comes down to me. Do you want me to find out?” Catarina asked seriously. Even though it was loads of fun teasing her friend, she didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. Especially not when it came down to the both of them.

“Not really, no. But you’re still allowed to guess it. I agreed to it after all.” A decision he was starting to regret more and more.

“Got it,” Catarina said, back to her cheerful old self. Suddenly, she heard footsteps, making her turn rigid. Footsteps that she would never forget no matter what: the footsteps of Mind Lions.

“Hey, Cat. What’s up?” Lucifer asked, frightened by his friend’s sudden seriousness.

“Quiet, Lucifer. And get down,” Catarina hissed at him.

“Okay, okay. But why? What’s going on?” He was starting to freak out a little. His friend had never been this serious before, no matter which enemy they faced.

“There are a bunch of Mind Lions over there,” Catarina said as she pointed at what seemed like a bunch of fur huddled together.

“Those demons that helped your crazy ass mother kill most of your clan, huh? So why are we hiding and not just killing?” Lucifer asked, itching to get out of his position and take the enemy down.

“Because they probably know who you are, and can therefore mind control you. And it’s not like you’re hard to miss with that purple hair of yours.”

“Fine, I get it. I stick out. And what about you? You attacked some before after you left home, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I did. But they didn’t get to see my face because it was covered in cloth. I can take them on.”

“What? Dude, you crazy?! I know you’ve become a lot stronger over the past few years but taking on a herd is still reckless. And if one of them gets a glimpse of your face, it’s game over,” Lucifer exclaimed, worried about his friend’s reckless thinking.

“Fine. I get it, okay? But they started all of this. If it hadn’t been for them, that woman would have never been able to kill most of my clan and force me to kill them.”

“I never pegged you as one to hold a grudge,” Lucifer said, intrigued by this new side of his friend. “But the fact remains that that woman started it all, not them. And you managed to kill her no problem, so maybe if you let go of your past and start concentrating on your future, things will be better.”

“You’ve got a point. Thank you, Lucifer,” Catarina said.

“Good. ‘Cause that whole speech took a lot out of me. Mind if I take a nap?”

“Sure. Go ahead. I’ll keep watch,” Catarina said.

“Okay, thanks. Just don’t do anything stupid, Cat. I couldn’t bear to lose my only friend.”

And she didn’t. For the rest of the time she just kept watch, eventually also falling asleep when she started feeling tired.

***

The next morning, or more specifically afternoon, they both got up. Well rested from the little surprise of yesterday. Catarina grabbed some of the leftover meat and heated it up for breakfast, while Lucifer was still getting up from his sleeping position.

Once the breakfast had been prepared and Lucifer had risen, they started eating.

“So about the questions...,” Catarina began.

“Huh?” Lucifer asked, too consumed by breakfast. “You wanna ask more now?” he asked with a full mouth.

“No, that’s not it,” Catarina said quickly, hoping that there wouldn’t be another awkward moment. “I was just thinking that it’s not really such a good idea. You said it yourself that you don’t really feel comfortable with me knowing it. So who am I to pry? It’s not like we have to tell each other everything.”

“You sure, Cat? You seemed pretty enthusiastic about it yesterday,” Lucifer asked, confused by this sudden change in his friend’s behaviour.

“Yes, I’m sure. I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. Cross my heart.”

That got Lucifer’s attention. They were always joking about how heartless Catarina was, and saying something like that just didn’t make sense. “Sounds good,” he said carefully, while putting down his meat, not taking his eyes off Catarina. “So, wanna tell me what happened to my friend?” he said, making purple heat orbs surround her.

“Wow, you’re a fast one, aren’t we? What gave it away? The heart part, I guess. It’s not that I don’t like talking to you Lucifer but having you dead would be so much easier. And what better way to do it; than having you die by the hand of your best friend? And put those heat orbs away, we wouldn’t want to hurt her, would we? Such a beautiful young body. When I’m done killing you, I’ll go find a nice mate and have beautiful babies.”

“Don’t you dare!” Lucifer shouted. “You’ll be dead before you get anywhere near anyone else.” He was furious. How could he have let something like this happen to his dear friend? There must be something that he could do to save her.

“Dead. Really? You do realise that I’m in your friend’s body, right?” the assailant asked sceptically.

“Yes. I do. But there are ways of hurting someone enough without killing them. A valuable lesson I learnt from Catarina. And you may be some kind of spirit demon, but I’m sure that even you feel pain.”

Crap, ‘Catarina’ thought, this guy is serious. They told me that he was some idiot who would kill anyone and that needed to be killed this way. I’m not prepared to die, or even suffer here for this. I’m out of here. And with that the spirit left Catarina’s body. She started collapsing towards the ground, but Lucifer managed to catch her just in time. “Don’t worry, Cat. I’ve got you now.” Then he laid her on his lap, and waited for her to wake up, while softly stroking her hair.

A few minutes later, she woke up and mumbled.

“Catarina!” Lucifer exclaimed. “You okay?”

“What? No ‘Cat’? Have I done something wrong?” she groaned, as she slowly got up.

“I don’t know. You tell me,” Lucifer said, relieved that his friend was back to her sarcastic self.

“I don’t know. It’s all a blur,” Catarina said, genuinely confused as she rubbed her head.

“Okay. Then let’s work back from what happened yesterday. I went to sleep, and you stayed up keeping watch. Did you go anywhere? Is your head all right?”

“No,” Catarina said, defensively. “You said not to do anything stupid, so I didn’t. I stayed up for a while and then went to sleep. I guess that demon must have possessed me while I was sleeping. My head just hurts a little, so don’t get all concerned. Guess they’re after-effects of the possession.”

“Could be. So to wrap it all up: a spirit possessed you, set on killing me and fled because I threatened to hurt your body. That’s really weird, dude. I mean, why would anyone, a spirit or spirit clan, want to kill me. It’s not like I hurt them or anything.”

“Don’t know. It seems we have enemies everywhere. Some wanting to go to extreme lengths to kill us. It’s not like that’s a surprise, considering how many demons we’ve killed,” Catarina said, stating the obvious. After a short pause she said, “Would you really have hurt me with your heat orbs like you said?”

“I dunno, dude. I think so if it meant freeing you from her possession. I would’ve been extra careful not to kill you. We’ll have to better our detection skills,” Lucifer said, looking at the ground.
“Hey, it’s not like I’m mad at you or anything. I would’ve done the same for you: anything to get my best friend back. And any injury would’ve easily healed over time.”

“If you say so, dude. I’m just glad that I didn’t have to do it.”

Chapter Text

As the decades went by Catarina and Lucifer grew closer and closer. She’d taught him how to hide his magical presence and sense others coming near without trying too hard, since he didn’t have the Sight or Hearing like her. Catarina hated this closeness, since it was unfamiliar territory, but she couldn’t deny that something was growing deep, deep inside her heart, which she always claimed not to have. Lucifer, of course, was unaware of this. Who would think that someone would actually have feelings for him? He was just an idiot, as Catarina kept reminding him.

One day, they were just walking and talking about nothing serious. That had become their daily routine, along with killing demons, and neither of them seemed to mind. Suddenly, Lucifer felt a presence. A presence he wished he would never feel again, since the last time he had felt it, he had been forced to almost hurt his best friend. He looked at Catarina and saw that she hadn’t noticed it, just like the last time. He grabbed her hand and started to run, which was a rarity, since he hardly did anything physical.

“Lucifer!” Catarina shouted. “What’s wrong?”

“Quiet, Cat!” he hissed back. “I don’t have time to explain.” He could sense the spirit coming closer and with nothing else to do, he grabbed her and put her facing him on the ground, with his wing covering them. Sure he could’ve asked Catarina to teleport them somewhere else, but he was panicking and conveniently forgot about that.

“Lucifer,” Catarina whispered, feeling her face reddening, “what are you doing?”

“Quite, Cat. I can sense them approaching,” Lucifer whispered back.

“Who? I can’t hear anyone and least of all sense them,” Catarina asked, really confused about what was happening.

“Really, Cat? They’re so close now,” Lucifer whispered in an ‘are you stupid’ tone.

“No, I can’t. Tell me who’s coming, or I’ll shove you off and teleport away,” Catarina hissed, frustrated by this closeness and the rapid beating of her heart.

“It’s that spirit that possessed you. They’re closing in on us. Wait, dude, you said teleport, right?”

“Yes, I said teleport, you idiot. Or have you maybe forgotten that I can do that?”

“Crap. Yes, I forgot. Okay. I was just freaking out about these demons, okay? Could you maybe teleport us away? Please,” Lucifer asked politely, knowing he had screwed up.

“Fine,” Catarina said with a half dejected, half amused sigh and teleported the two of them away from the spirits, just in time.

Chapter Text

“Mind telling me what that was about?” Catarina said in an irritated voice, still recovering from the ordeal of earlier.

“It was an accident. Okay? I told you. I’m really sorry,” Lucifer said, pouting.

“An accident? That’s what you call it? Who knows what that spirit would have done if they’d found us? I have an idea: they would have killed us.”

“I know. I know. But they didn’t and I’m sure it’s thanks to my wings and cloaking abilities. And yours as well of course,” Lucifer said hastily.

“It’s not like I asked to be saved like that,” Catarina said near tears. Lucifer was starting to lose his belief in ever being forgiven for this and prepared himself for the worst. Because of that the next words from Catarina’s mouth were a big surprise, “It was confusing.”

“Confusing? Cat, what the hell could be confusing about me wanting to save your life?” Lucifer, the more confused one, asked.

“Not that you saved my life, which I am of course grateful for, just the part where we were so close. We’ve never done that before. It was just so weird,” Catarina explained with embarrassment written all over her face.

“Oh that,” Lucifer said, relieved that he wasn’t as bad as he feared. “Yeah, guess that kind of closeness can be weird. But there’s nothing to worry about, I’ll stay away from you in that way in future crises.”

“Sounds good,” Catarina said, relieved that this weird fight with her friend was finally over. “I just need to spend some more time alone. Okay? Don’t bother following me; it’ll take too long to find me. I just need to think about some things.”

“Think? Cat, what are you talking about? I thought this was resolved.”

“This is about something else, Lucifer. Something you can’t help me with. Don’t worry, I still see you as my best friend and will return after a bit of self-reflection,” Catarina said calmly.

“Fine. Just don’t take too long in your whole self-reflecting nonsense; otherwise I’ll go off without you.” This was of course a lie; Lucifer would never go off without her. He just didn’t want her to spend too much time away from him. Maybe if Catarina knew this, she wouldn’t be leaving her best friend all alone. But he didn’t say and so she didn’t know. After a soft hug, Catarina teleported to her place of self-reflection.

Chapter Text

Catarina landed exactly where she wanted to be — the base of the mountain where she had won Predator. It had become a very special place to her, since this is where she had won her almighty sword and made her first friend. Friend? Could she really say that? Sure, she had enjoyed his company, but she never really cared for him all that much. You could say that she kept him around for maintenance. And now he was dead, 50 years to be exact. But she still thought that he deserved respect for everything he had done for her, so every so often she would come by and draw flowers with Predator where she had made his grave.

After she had drawn the flowers, she started talking, “So what’s up, Zalfur. Still dead, I can see. Not that it really matters; I just need someone, something to talk to. Be it your gravestone, anything really. The thing is; I made this new friend. Even though new is all relative, considering we’ve been friends for decades now. But he’s still my only friend, which I like. He’s stupid in all kinds of ways and smart in others. I guess you could say that he’s pretty amazing, huh. And the worst part is that I think I’m actually starting to fall in love with him. Me of all people!” At that she sighed. “I looked down on my parents because they loved each other, because love would get in the way of proper judgement. Sure, my father said that I would find someone someday, but I didn’t believe that it would actually happen. And now here he is, the great Lucifer trying to steal my heart. I don’t want to give it to him, really. But then something inside me keeps saying: what if he feels the same way? What if he really wants to be with you? I just don’t know what to do anymore, Zalfur, I just don’t.” With that Catarina stopped talking and she had tears in her eyes. “There, I said it. I am falling for that idiot.”

“Cat.” Catarina heard softly. She couldn’t believe that he was here and least of all at a time like this. Maybe he just arrived and hadn’t heard anything. But the more important question was, “Lucifer, what are you doing here?” Catarina asked in a shrill voice.

“I was just wondering where you were, dude. You were taking so long, and I was scared that something might have happened,” Lucifer replied, looking almost as embarrassed as Catarina.

“That’s sweet, Lucifer, really. But I’m fine. I just needed to talk to an acquaintance about something important,” Catarina said, trying to hide the blush that was starting to grow.

“Zalfur, right? So this is the place where you won Predator? Doesn’t look all that impressive to me,” he said, while coming closer to Catarina.

“You don’t have to have an impressive-looking place to have fun.”

“Heh, that’s right,” he chuckled. “If you look at where we spend most of our nights.” This statement got a crimson blush from both of them. “So,” Lucifer stated, having regained most of his composure. “Is what you said to that dead dude true? You falling for me?”

Catarina squeaked; she was not prepared for this conversation. Definitely not, since he’d probably heard most of what she had said. She had been right; feelings like love did get in the way. But it was better to get this over and done with. Quick, like pulling off a plaster. “Yes, I do. It’s all right if you don’t, Luci. I never thought that you would anyway. That’s why I came here, to get it off my chest and hopefully get rid of these feelings,” Catarina said, staring at the ground.

“Who said I don’t have those feelings?” Lucifer said, eyebrows arched. “Have I ever given you any indication that I don’t like you that way?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe the fact that you were so cool about what happened earlier?”

“Guess I’m just better at keeping my composure. Believe me, if you had used your special hearing earlier, you would’ve heard my heart trying to escape my chest,” Lucifer said.

“Okay, fine. So is there something you want to say?” Catarina said, staring straight into his eyes.

“Well yeah, Cat. That I think I’m falling for you too.” And with that he softly tipped her chin downwards and kissed her.

Chapter Text

Catarina and Lucifer spent the rest of their years happily together, doing what they always did. They found out, through torture and maiming, that the reason Catarina couldn’t sense the demon spirit the second time was because it had possessed her earlier on. Lucifer also defeated a powerful demon from the Pahalo Denino clan called Camio. He had decided to let him live because Catarina had convinced him to be merciful and so that Camio could tell his people of the great power that Lucifer held.

“So, do you really believe that there are other living beings out there?” Lucifer asked his girlfriend, looking up at the clouded sky.

“Probably. It would be a far stretch to say that we are the only species living in this whole world, and we know that there are humans out there, not even mentioning the amount of so-called uninhabited planets with loads of bacteria,” she replied with a sly smile.

Lucifer chuckled. “You know that you could’ve left that last part out of there, right?”

“Oh, I know. But where would be the fun in that, sweetie?” Catarina said, leaning in for a kiss.

“This shows just how different our definitions of fun are,” Lucifer replied with a smile, kissing her.

She looked at him, a small smile remaining on her face. So this is what it’s like to love someone? It’s actually not all that bad, she thought. She was much happier than she had ever been doing things on her own and it wasn’t like he made her weak in any way like she had actually thought, in fact it was the exact opposite: he made her stronger.

“Hey, Catarina. There’s something I want to say,” Lucifer said, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Full name, huh. Must be really important,” Catarina said, confused by her boyfriend’s sudden seriousness.

“Yes, it really is. I just wanted to say that I love you,” Lucifer said with a big smile.

“Huh. Really? Well okay, then,” Catarina said, surprised by the sudden confession, especially since that was the reason she had been out of it a few seconds ago.

“Really, that’s your answer?” Lucifer said, starting to pout.

“What? No,” Catarina said, hurriedly. “I love you too, Lucifer. I was just surprised, that's all.” Catarina said, rubbing her head in embarrassment.

“That’s good then,” he said, smiling at his girlfriend’s sudden embarrassment, which made her look extremely cute.

“Yeah,” Catarina said, softly.

***

Suddenly a demon appeared in front of them. They had sensed his presence just a second before he appeared which meant that he also must be able to teleport. He was a tall serpentine demon and looked really intimidating, or at least he would to any other demon. But since he was standing in front of the two most powerful vagrant demons in the demon realm, they weren’t all that frightened. They put up their battle stances, Catarina bringing up Predator, in case things had to get bloody.

“Calm down. I come in peace,” the stranger said.

“I don’t think you even know what peace means, demon,” Catarina retorted.

“I mean that I mean you no harm,” the demon said, cursing that he had been picked to discuss things with these demons.

“Fine. Start talking. Before we harm you,” Lucifer said, irritated that his moment with Catarina had been interrupted like this.

“Okay, got it. No small talk. The point is: my clan leader wants to talk to the demoness Catarina about something,” the stranger replied, pointing at Catarina.

“What?! What for?”

“No way, dude! Not happening!”

“This is non-negotiable. It’s just a small conversation. If not, you’ll make enemies of us all.”

“We’ve got plenty of enemies. It’s not like a few more would make a difference. I could start taking down the numbers by killing you,” Lucifer threatened.

“Lucifer, honey, please calm down,” Catarina said, putting her arm in front of her boyfriend, preventing him from moving forward. “Let’s just see what this demon has to say. Why does your clan leader want to speak to me? Have I done something wrong?” Catarina said, all serious.

“My lord didn’t say anything about that. He just wanted to talk to you. The way he was talking didn’t make it seem like he wished you any harm,” the demon said quickly, scared that the smaller demon would attack him.

“Okay. I guess a little conversation won’t hurt, right, Lucifer?”

“Guess not. But if you lay a single finger on her I will kill you all without mercy,” he said, glaring at the demon.

“Yes, got it,” the demon said, backing away slightly. “I will be picking her up in a few hours. Make sure she looks presentable.” And with those parting words, he disappeared.

Chapter Text

“Catarina, please don’t say you’re considering this,” Lucifer said, an extremely worried look on his face.

“Yes, I am and I’m going to go. What could possibly go wrong?” Catarina replied in a defiant way.

“Really, Cat. I thought that we had gotten past this. It could be a trap or worse. You’ll be surrounded by all these big demons that we know hardly anything about; and we have absolutely no idea what that dude wants with you.”

“He wants to talk, that’s all. I wiped some of my spit from Predator on to him when he first arrived, so if it turns out that he was lying, then I’ll burn him alive and I’m sure his pathetic scream will be loud enough to warn you. I’ll also try to get a fireball in the air so you can see where it’s located,” Catarina said confidently, but there was still a little bit of doubt in her. Who knew what these demons were capable of? But she couldn’t let Lucifer know. She needed to know what this demon clan leader wanted from her. Her curiosity was really getting the better of her this time.

“I’m glad that you thought this far ahead, Cat,” Lucifer said, relieved that his girlfriend was using her brains.

“So you’re alright with this?” Catarina asked, making sure that she had her boyfriend’s approval before she went through with this.

“Yeah.”

“Good. Guess I’ll have to make myself look presentable.” Her smile returned to her face.

“Guess so. Still don’t get why they want that though. I mean, you look great just the way you are,” Lucifer said nonchalantly.

Catarina blushed at that nonchalant compliment, but went on to say, “I guess clan leaders have higher standards of presentation than us vagrant demons.”

“Could be. So what you gonna do? Something with your hair?”

“Probably best, he might not like this loose ponytail.”

“So what? You going to win him over with your looks?”

“Well… I mean it couldn’t hurt, maybe he won’t kill me then, and it really will just be a conversation. Maybe they’ll even turn over to our side,” Catarina said with a menacing smile.

“Maybe. So what do you want?”

“A braid maybe. Then it’s all out of the way.”

“Sounds good. Sit over here.”

“What? For what?”

“What do you think for, you idiot? I’m going to do your hair.”

“Of course. It would be quite difficult to do it by myself,” Catarina said in a small voice and sat down. Even though they had already been together for years and friends for longer, she still wasn’t used to this open show of affection. But of course she had nothing against it.

And so Lucifer started braiding her hair.

***

“There, it’s all done,” Lucifer finally said.

“Thanks, honey,” Catarina said, turning to face Lucifer. “So, how do I look?”

“Um,” he said as he started to blush. “Really good. Dunno why, but a braid really suits you, Cat.”

“Thank you,” Catarina said, glad to hear the genuine compliment. “Maybe I can keep it like this then.”

“Yeah and then kill the demons because of your great looks, not your great skills,” Lucifer said jokingly.

“Who knows? Maybe I can even do both? Guess I’ll see when I go meet with that serpentine demon.”

“They’re called Ice Serpents, Cat. Guess they’re not that well known, if you don’t know about them.”

“Ice Serpents, huh? Don’t sound like too much of a threat. I could easily defeat them with my fire.”

“I hope. But just like your fire can increase in strength, so can their ice.”

“Wow. That sounds pretty impressive. I’m glad that at least I know my foe’s power. Thanks, Luci.”

“No problem, dude. As long as you’re all right,” Lucifer said.

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by the arrival of the Ice Serpent. “The time has arrived for you to come with me, Catarina,” he stated.

“Okay. Do I at least get the time to say goodbye?” Catarina asked.

“You’ve had your time. Now come with me,” the Ice Serpent said crossly.

“Wow, rude,” Catarina said under her breath. “I guess they don’t treat you too well back home?”

“They treat me just fine. I just have no patience for kids, especially if they’re making my job more difficult.”

“Fine,” Catarina said in a long drawn out manner. “Just get on with it then. Bye, Lucifer. See you later,” she said waving to her boyfriend.

***

The Ice Serpent and Catarina arrived at a huge building carved out of the rock.

“So, since we’re probably going to spend quite some time together, I was wondering: what’s your name?”

“Now she asks. I have no reason to tell you, Fire Lizard.”

“Come now. I can see that you want to. Just tell me. I won’t tell anyone. Promise,” Catarina said with her biggest puppy dog eyes.

“Not even that fallen angel?” the Ice Serpent asked her sceptically.

“No, I won’t. I have no reason to. It’s not like he cares,” Catarina said confidently.

“Indeed, he wouldn’t. Okay. My name is Frederick,” he grumbled.

“Frederick, huh? I like it,” Catarina said happily.

“Whatever. Let’s just get moving. I don’t want to keep my master waiting for longer than necessary.” Frederick said, shoving her forward.

***

Finally they reached two big doors, which obviously lead to the throne room. Fredrick knocked politely on the door and it swung open.

“My lord,” he said, bowing deeply. “I have brought you the Fire Lizard Catarina, as requested.”

“Good work, Frederick,” said a voice from the other side of the chamber. “Now, let me have a look at her,” he said, his voice nearing as he slithered closer. When he had finally reached Catarina and had a good look at her, he said, “Perfect, she’ll make a wonderful wife.”

Chapter Text

“What? No, you can’t be serious!” Catarina screamed, freaking out.

“Oh, but, my dear Catarina, I am,” the clan leader said calmly.

Catarina was so shocked by this proclamation that she forgot everything, even the fact that she could use magic, but there was one thing that she could remember: Lucifer, she had to stay loyal to Lucifer. “But why? Why would you want to marry me? I’m sure there are plenty of pretty Ice Serpents that you could marry.”

“I know, but I want you. Or more specifically, that beautiful weapon on your finger,” he said pointing at her ring finger.

“So what? You want me for Predator? Oh no, please don’t say that you want it because the ring’s serpent shaped?” Catarina groaned.

“That’s indeed part of the reason. Another is how truly powerful you are, Catarina. Having such a powerful and beautiful wife would be absolutely amazing. With this, we could become the most powerful couple in the demon realm. Having a clan leader by your side would be much better than a fallen angel.”

“So you know about me and Lucifer and you still want to go through with this bull? You know I won’t say yes, I’ll never betray him,” Catarina said confidently, hating how she had gotten into this situation.

“Of course I know about the two of you. But that won’t stop me from getting what I want.”

“You sound just like that woman who raised me, set on taking over the demon realm and having me help her fulfil her dreams. But guess what? I killed her and I’ll also do that to you if you think for a single second that you can get me to marry you.”

“I know. You’re known for all kinds of great things, Catarina, killing your parents without a second thought being one of them. But the great difference between the two of us is that she was old and frail, and I am much younger and fit. I also have a bunch of guards if you haven’t noticed,” he said, gesturing at his men.

“Over the years I have become much more powerful. I could easily take down you and your men,” Catarina said.

“Oh, really?” the clan leader said with an amused smile. With that the floor at Catarina’s feet was covered in ice, which started rising up her legs. She tried to heat up her legs with her fire powers, but it just wouldn’t melt. Lucifer had been right, this most definitely was a trap, and she had totally fallen for it.

Chapter Text

“Okay, I get it! Just stop freezing me before I become a popsicle! Then there really won’t be a chance of me becoming your wife,” Catarina shouted, freaking out because of the intense coldness of the ice that was now covering most of her legs.

“Now we’re getting somewhere. So are you going to consider it? I promise that I won’t hurt you or let anyone else hurt you if you become my wife,” the clan leader said, happy that he was getting somewhere with his hopeful future wife. “You can even have your dear Lucifer at your side for when you don’t have to rule alongside me.”

“Like hell I would ever do something like that to him,” she spat at the demon.

“Because you love him? That is quite sad. You could have any man you wanted in the whole demon realm and yet you went for him. An idiot,” the clan leader said with pity in his eyes.

“Don’t you dare call him an idiot,” Catarina hissed at him. Sure she called him an idiot quite often, but it was in an affectionate way. She couldn’t have anyone insulting her beloved. “And yeah, it’s because I love him. Got a problem with that? It’s actually quite fun, you should try it sometime.”

“Maybe I could learn to love you one day,” he said, playing with a strand of hair that had fallen out of her braid.

This time her hiss was much more dangerous, with fire appearing from between her teeth. “That would be a shame since I’d never love you back. You should find someone who loves you for who you are and that you love back. Not because of some forced marriage nonsense. Or don’t you believe in love?” Catarina asked, eyebrows arched.

“That’s beside the point. I do what I deem is best for the clan and myself, nothing more.”

“Ah, yet another selfish demon. I’ve really had enough of you all. Guess this is the end of our discussion.”

“So you refuse? That’s it? What if I told you that I would kill Lucifer if you refused?” the Ice Serpent asked, running out of options. She was beautiful, true, but that mouth of hers was a problem. Once this conversation was over, he’d have to find someone to make her into an obedient wife.

“Well, you could try, but I don’t think that it will go down all that well,” Catarina said, a smile appearing on her face.

“What the hell are you talking about? And why are you smiling like that?” Suddenly, he heard loud bangs and shouts in the distance. He told Frederick to see what was going on and he quickly slithered back to the doors, to assess the problem. When he opened it, all he could see was a bright purple light before he was knocked out by it.

“So this was your plan with my Cat,” said a voice from the doorway.

“Guards, seize him.”

“Lame. That you even think that you can take me on,” he said in a condescending voice. The new arrival was of course Lucifer, who had come to save his precious Catarina. You could see in his eyes that he meant business and that no one was getting out alive. He managed to take out the remaining guard with ease, firing off heat rays all at once.

“Lucifer,” Catarina said in a small voice.

The clan leader was beside himself; he couldn’t believe that all of his guards had been taken down so easily. But he wouldn’t go down that easily; he was a clan leader after all.

Chapter Text

“So,” Lucifer said as he neared the pair, “mind telling me what this is all about?”

“Well, you see. I was planning on having Catarina as my wife,” the clan leader said, still confident about his plan.

“Your wife?!” Lucifer shrieked. “There is no way in hell that I’m going to let that happen.”

“Yes. Of course, I understand. How about a one-on-one battle then? The winner gets Catarina,” the clan leader said, foolishly confident in his abilities even though he had just witnessed his men getting taken down by this demon.

“Catarina’s not just some prize you can win at a fair,” Lucifer scoffed. “But all right, I accept this challenge. Since I know that I’m going to win.”

“We’ll see about that,” the clan leader said. And they battled it out.

***

Lucifer was the winner, with the clan leader writhing on the ground in agony. “So,” Lucifer said, “since I’m the winner, you’re going to let Catarina go as agreed.”

“I guess I don’t really have much of a choice, do I? You were a worthy opponent to lose to,” the clan leader conceded.

“Oh, but I’m not done with you yet. I just need you conscious so that you can free Catarina.”

“Okay,” the clan leader squeaked. He then went on to free Catarina’s legs, who collapsed onto the floor, shivering. Lucifer flew over to her to check she was alright and held her up.

“Cat, are you all right?” Lucifer asked, concern written all over his face.

“Yeah, fine. Just a bit cold,” Catarina replied in a small voice. “Thanks for coming to save me, Luci. I owe you my life.”

“You don’t have to thank me. I just did what any man would do for the woman he loves. I should get a blanket or something to warm you up.”

“No, it’s all right. Now that the ice is off my legs, I can heat them up with my fire powers,” Catarina said, as she started heating them up.

“That’s good. Now, where was I?” Lucifer said as he glared at the clan leader.

***

After the clan leader had died because of pain, Lucifer picked up Catarina, who wasn’t capable of walking yet and flew them outside the palace. When they finally reached a safe distance, he put her down.

“So that happened.”

“Yeah. Listen, Lucifer. I’m really, really sorry about everything. I should have listened to you and not gone. If you hadn’t appeared…” Suddenly her words were broken off by Lucifer’s lips on hers. After what could only be described as the best kiss so far and maybe even of their lives, Catarina, totally confused about what just happened, asked in a small voice, “So, you’re not mad at me?”

“No, dude. I was a bit at first but realised that there was no point in being mad since we had agreed to it and it could get in the way. Of course I am mad at those bastards who tried to take you away from me,” he said, looking straight into her eyes. He also added, “I’m just glad that you’re okay, apart from the partially cold legs. I wouldn’t know what to do with myself if I let anything bad happen to you.”

“Lucifer, that’s so sweet,” Catarina said, looking at her boyfriend lovingly. How did she ever get to be so lucky? It’s not like she especially deserved it or anything, considering what she had done in the past. And yet here he was. She also promised herself that she would never let anything happen to him. That the only way that she would ever die, would be protecting him.

“Well, it’s the truth. So don’t go thinking that I’m getting all mushy all of a sudden,” Lucifer said, looking away.

“Really? What about your cheeks? They’re nice and mushy, or is it squishy?” she said, leaning for his cheeks to pinch them. That was the great part about their relationship, no matter how serious things got, they always found a way to lighten the mood.

“I think the right answer is squishy, Cat,” Lucifer said with a smile as he slowly got his face out of the way, seeing her reach for his face was just too cute.

“The only way I can find out is if you give that beautiful face to me, so I can feel it,” Catarina said, determination in her eyes.

“Are you sure, Fire Lizard?”

“Oh, I’m absolutely sure, fallen angel. Now come here or I’ll be forced to come over.”

Lucifer looked at Catarina’s legs and saw that they weren’t fully back to normal yet and that moving would mean putting strain on them, so he decided to come closer to Catarina.

“I noticed that you made the right choice, fallen angel. It’s much nicer by my side anyway,” Catarina said as she started softly rubbing his cheeks and then pinching them slightly.

“You know, dude, as much as I love you, this is really weird.”

“But they’re so soft. My skin’s all hard because of the scales over my body, but you have nothing but pure soft skin.”

“If you say so, dude. Just don’t hate your skin. Okay? I like it just the way it is,” Lucifer stated, amused by the fact that his girlfriend thought that soft skin was so important, considering that she’s beautiful just the way she is.

“I won’t. Hey, honey. Do you think all humans have skin as soft as yours?” Catarina asked suddenly.

“No idea. I’d say that my great skin is probably thanks to me being a former angel. Humans are weak beings compared to us and can die because of all different causes. I doubt they have the luck of having perfect skin and if they could, it would probably be a pain.” Lucifer sighed.

“Well, in that case it’s good that you’re not human, or your skin could look all kinds of weird. Not that I’d love you any less of course, it’s what’s on the inside that counts. Because of that demons can find love, if they want to, all over the demon realm,” Catarina said, wondering whether she really should have said that last part.

“Indeed. They also have a much shorter lifespan, which is stupid since they can’t have that much fun for a long time.”

“Agreed. They have to have a serious life and job. I don’t envy them in any way. It’s no wonder that they’re at the bottom of the food chain, and that angels are higher.” After that, Catarina yawned. “Hm, it appears that I’m getting tired. Wanna sleep?”

“Sounds good,” Lucifer said happily, finally being allowed to do something else that he loved.

“Right, stupid question.” With that they both fell asleep, nicely wrapped in each other’s arms.

Chapter Text

The next day Lucifer got up earlier than Catarina, which didn’t surprise him, since the demoness had been through a lot the previous day. So he decided to let her sleep and thought about them, and everything they’d been through so far. It had been a difficult journey, but they had survived through it all. Not unscathed of course. They had been tested both mentally and emotionally, and had always found a way to get through. Which he was really glad for, but his love for her and the proposal of their foe of yesterday made him think of something.

“Hm, Lucifer, you up already?” Catarina asked groggily as she got up.

“Yeah, but not for long. How you feeling?” Lucifer asked, getting to the important stuff.

“All right, I guess. My legs still feel a bit weird but I’m sure they’ll be fine. What about you?”

“Fine. I’m just happy that there was no permanent damage,” he said, looking distracted.

“You’ve got that distracted look on your face again,” Catarina said with a smile. “Something you wanna share?”

“Not just yet, no. Don’t worry about it, Cat. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“That’s quite a bold statement. I hope you’re right about this,” Catarina said, intrigued about what her boyfriend was planning.

***

A few days later, Lucifer arrived at Catarina’s side with the haul of the day. It was quite a small demon, but it would suffice. He had been thinking about his idea for ages, but just couldn’t wrap his head around it. How was he supposed to do this? It’s not like there was a manual or anything and it was more a human thing than a demon thing. But he just wanted to prove a point: that Catarina was his and that he wouldn’t let anyone come near her, much less try to propose to her. He knew that he had to do it soon. It wasn’t like she was getting really old or anything, but a demon life was fleeting, no matter how strong you were. And he didn’t know how old Fire Lizards became. They had been by each other’s side for hundreds of years, and he wanted to make sure it lasted, by making her his wife.

“Guess who’s back,” Lucifer called from afar.

“Lucifer,” Catarina said, pleased, finally seeing him return. “That’s quite a small haul today,” she said, looking disappointed at how small the demon was that he had brought over.

“Really, Cat? It’s enough to fill us,” Lucifer simply said.

“You’ve got a point. I’ll start making a fire. You mind skinning it?”

“Sure, no problem. Can I use Predator for that, since you usually do it?” Lucifer asked.

“Of course. Everything I have is yours,” Catarina happily said as she passed over her sword in dagger form. “You know how to skin a demon?” Catarina asked curiously.

“Yeah, just stab the skin and take it off,” Lucifer said. “I’ve watched you do it many times before, Cat.”

“Yes, of course. Just making sure,” Catarina said with a giggle.

They had become quite domestic over the years, knowing each other’s flaws and strengths. Of course that didn’t mean they had become weaker; they were still the strongest demons in the demon realm.

Eventually Lucifer finished his skinning and gave the meat to Catarina. “Here you go. You’re the expert at cooking, so I don’t want to screw this up.” Especially not on a day like this, he thought. Everything had to go perfectly. Even though he still didn’t have the words, he knew that he would be able to do it.

“If you insist, Luci,” Catarina said with a smile. “I am the expert cook, after all.”

“Now, don’t get too cocky,” Lucifer said, sliding closer. “You’re a good cook, that's all,” he whispered in her ear.

“Oh, you think so? I don’t see you cooking, so out of the two of us I’m the expert,” Catarina said, pecking her boyfriend on the cheek.

“Between us, yeah. But who knows, maybe there’s this big cook dude somewhere that can make all kinds of delicious foods.”

“Oh, yeah. That would be great. Maybe one day we could meet this dude and he could make all kinds of cool stuff.”

“Maybe. So how’s the meat doing?” Lucifer asked, wanting breakfast to be over for as soon as possible.

“The meat seems to be almost done. Is there maybe something that you want to do?”

“Guess you’ll just have to find out,” Lucifer said with a sly smile.

“Fine. So any unnatural behaviour, I’ll put on the surprise list. I really hope that it’s worth it, Lucifer.”

“Believe me, Cat. It will be,” Lucifer said promptly.

***

After the meal, Lucifer was really starting to get nervous. He knew that it was unlikely that Catarina would say 'no', but there was still a tiny shred of doubt inside him. The same kind of doubt that had made Catarina so scared of telling him in the first place how she felt. Which made it really obvious that his nervousness was just ridiculous. Any guy would probably be nervous proposing to his girlfriend. But he wasn’t just any guy; he was Lucifer, the strongest demon alive. He could do this.

“Hey, Cat. You enjoy the meal?” Lucifer asked nonchalantly. Begin small, he told himself, and then build up.

“Yes, thank you. You too?” Catarina asked. Noticing her boyfriend’s nervousness, she let him lead the conversation.

“Yeah. It was thanks to your great cooking as always. You really know how to please a dude,” Lucifer said shyly.

“Oh really? In what ways, then?” Catarina asked, she knew that it was a bad idea, but couldn’t help wanting to tease him a little.

“Um... That’s beside the point. I was just giving you a compliment, dude, so don’t get any funny ideas.” This might be more difficult then I had originally hoped, Lucifer thought, remembering who he was talking to.

“If you say so,” Catarina said, starting to pout. “So what do you want to talk about?”

“Us, really. How we’ve been friends for so long, and then a couple and everything’s that been going on.”

“Wait, Lucifer?! You’re not...” Catarina started asking, with a horrified face.

“What, dude, no. I would never. You know that, right? It’s actually the opposite.”

“The opposite? What’s that supposed to mean?” Catarina asked, relieved that it wasn’t what she had feared, but still clueless as to what was about to be asked.

“Heh, guess even the smartest can be dumb sometimes.” Lucifer chuckled, relieved that things were going the right way again. “I know humans usually do it with a ring and stuff, but since I don’t have that and your ring finger’s already been taken up by Predator, I’ll just ask it,” Lucifer said as he got down on one knee, wanting to do it properly in some way. “Catarina, will you marry me?”

“Oh my lord, Lucifer. You really had me scared there for a second,” Catarina said and laughed, relieving all of the stress that had been building up inside her. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you, you idiot.”

Chapter Text

Catarina and Lucifer decided not to go for the general ring, but for necklaces instead. They went to the Demonic Black Market, where you could look around and find all kinds of jewellery.

“Lucifer, look at these,” Catarina said excitedly, pointing at a bunch of teardrop-shaped necklaces. It was a few days after the proposal. She and her legs had mostly recovered from the ordeal at the Ice Serpent palace. Her legs were still a bit discoloured and she couldn’t walk as fast as she used to, but it was still faster than her fiancé’s slow trudge.

“Wow. They really are pretty,” Lucifer said, looking at the necklaces in awe. “You want these to be our jewellery to represent our marriage?

“Yes, but I wonder which colour. They all seem so pretty,” Catarina said, looking at them thoughtfully.

“Maybe, I can help you,” said the sales demon with a broad smile.

“You really think you can help me and my fiancée?” Lucifer asked sceptically. What could this man possibly know about their tastes?

“I do this for a living, sir. And I’ve seen many young lovers come here to make their love eternal through marriage,” the salesman said confidently. Not letting this small demon look down on him.

“Fine. What do you suggest then?”

“Maybe this necklace for the lady,” the sales demon suggested, holding up a deep purple necklace.

“Really? What kind of necklace is that?”

“Come on, Lucifer. I love it,” Catarina said excitedly.

“Really? Why?”
“Well, because it represents you or at least the colour of your hair and eyes.”

“If that’s the case, then I’ll need a white and red one,” Lucifer said, doubting that this salesman had anything like that.

“Here you go, sir,” the demon said, holding up a pure white necklace, with a dark red centre.

“Dude, how’d you even have that?” Lucifer asked, shocked.

“Well, I did say that I could help you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, whatever. So what do you want in return?” Since demons didn’t have money, you had to give something you owned in return.

“Let’s see. How about your fiancée’s hair band?”

“Her hair band? Why would you want that?” Lucifer asked, surprised that this request was so simple.

“Because I can see that it’s been part of her life for a long time. I guess you could say that I love antiques,” the sales demon said.

“Okay. Cat?”

“Yes. I’ve got it,” she said as she pulled the band out of her hair. Her hair was still in a braid, so she also loosened it, letting her now wavy hair flow behind her back. “Here you go,” she said.

“Thank you,” the demon said. Surprised at how good she looked with wavy hair. “So how do you two plan on getting married?”

“How?” Catarina asked, curiously.

“Well if you intend on getting married, you’ll need someone to do the ceremony. I could do that if you wish.”

“Sounds good. So how do we begin?”

“First the man begins. Can I have both of your names, so it can go smoothly?

“Name’s Lucifer,” Lucifer said, not believing that this was actually happening.

“I’m Catarina,” feeling the same, but much more visibly excited.

“Okay. Lucifer, repeat after me: I, Lucifer, take you, Catarina, to be my wife, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.”

Lucifer repeated the words, looking really happy that he was finally making Catarina his wife.

“Now it’s Catarina’s turn. It’s the same words, just with the names swapped.”

“Obviously,” she smiled and repeated the words. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes but fought them back. She didn’t want to cry in front of this stranger.

“Now it is time for the necklaces.”

They each reached for the necklaces and put them around each other’s necks.

“You’re looking really good on our wedding day, husband,” Catarina whispered in her new husband’s ear.

“You don’t look too bad yourself, wife,” Lucifer responded, liking the sound of that.

“By the power invested within me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss.”

“Happily,” Catarina said and kissed her husband. After the ceremony they decided to leave.

The sales demon caught Catarina’s arm for a second, “You know, if things don’t work out, you know where to find me,” he said, his confident smile still on his face.

Catarina leaned close to his ear and said softly, “Oh, believe me they will. And in the extremely unlikely case that they don’t, there is no way in hell that I would go out with you, even if you were the last demon alive. I would more likely kill you than marry you.” She took her head away from the gobsmacked sales demon’s ear and said loudly “Thank you for marrying us. Really appreciate it.”

With that the newlyweds teleported out of the Black Market, to their next adventure.