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Princess Charlotte Morningstar was born in the year of 1485, according to the earthly calendar of the Western World. The daughter of King Lucifer Morningstar, the Fallen Angel, and his wife Queen Lilith, the First Woman, Charlotte was recognized as the Heir to the throne of Hell. The people of Hell celebrated her birth for a full week; in all seven rings, wine was flowing and demons were dancing.
But all was not well within the royal family. A few months later, Queen Lilith returned to Heaven, leaving behind her child and her husband. The King wrote several letters during the first year of this separation; in them, he begs his Queen to return, proclaiming his love and devotion to her. If there were any letters where Queen Lilith responded to these pleas, they have been lost to time.
Eventually, the king must have realized that his wife did not intend to return to him. And so, Lucifer Morningstar, Devil and Fallen Angel, Sin of Pride and King of Hell sank into despair. The king locked himself up in the castle with his daughter, and was not seen in public for years.
from The Life and Reign of Lucifer Morningstar by William Revenant
A fog. That was the how Lucifer felt it; he was living in a fog. If one could call it living. Who was truly living down in the pit? Half the people of Hell had woken here after death, a punishment for the sins they had committed in their true life. And the demons born down here, what sort of life did they have?
Perhaps the fog was a blessing of sort; it dulled everything. Lucifer rolled over in bed. He barely slept at night, and during the day, he wandered in a daze. He felt so tired. A servant came in. The demon said something, but Lucifer couldn’t quite make it out. They left a tray of food on the table, and left. Lucifer’s body felt heavy, but there was no sleep to slip back into. Could he get out of bed today? What would be the point? Time passed slowly as he looked up at the canopy over the bed; there were stars embroidered on it, as if to mimic the sky. Someone had taken time to make that; a pointless endeavour. He was the only one seeing them, and he did not care.
Eventually, he managed to swing his foot out of bed. Someone seemed to hear the sound of his feet moving over the floor, because another servant appeared.
“What would you like to wear today, your Majesty?”
Lucifer shrugged, and the servant nodded, beginning to pull clothes out of the wardrobes. They were quiet as they helped him dress, pulling the night’s shift off his head and putting on a clean one, adding layers of clothes until he was fully dressed. The Master of the Wardrobe had repeatedly told him the importance of appearing presentable. Thankfully, the servants knew what to do now, and so Lucifer did not need to think much about it.
“There we are,” the servant said, bowing. “Your Majesty looks very fine this morning.”
Lucifer caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He did not look fine; his cheeks were hollow and his eyes were framed by dark rings. He was dressed in black and grey; fitting colours. Anything brighter would have seemed like a costume to be worn on stage, and Lucifer was no actor.
“Is there anything else you require, your Majesty?”
“... where’s Charlie?”
“The princess is with her tutors, she will be finishing her lessons at three o’clock, your Majesty.”
“... send her to me when she is done.”
“Of course, your Majesty.” The servant left.
Lucifer sat down to eat. The food had no taste, and he only managed to force one slice of bread down. He washed it down with ale, and stood up from the table. What time was it? He wasn’t sure; they did not bother him much nowadays; they left him to his own devices.
After a while, he left the bedroom, and began walking the down the long gallery. He kept to one side, out of the light coming in from the windows. Servants bowed to him as he passed; an endless parade of them going back and forth, hurrying to their tasks. The day slipped past, slowly, in the fog. Somewhere, in the castle, people were governing the kingdom for him. Sometimes, councillors appeared with documents he had to put his seal to. He had given up trying to read them; he couldn’t focus. The words didn’t matter anyway; nothing mattered much. Lucifer didn’t much care if the councillors did a good job or not; it was adequate enough that food was on the table, and no one had stormed the castle or tried to put a knife in his back.
At some point, three o’clock had happened, because Charlie appeared in the door. His daughter was like a sun; the fog lifted somewhat, or at least it pulled away enough to make room for the two of them. Lucifer listened to her talk excitedly about what she had learned today; he actually managed to listen, to think, because this was Charlie. For her, he could listen, he could care, he could manage to smile.
They ate dinner together, and Lucifer read another chapter of The World Above by Lark Thorne. It was a tale from a demon traveling through the mortal world. Charlie had picked it out, fascinated to learn about humans and what they were creating. She was able to believe people were good, that they would do right. Lucifer smiled along and skipped several passages of the more disturbing sights Thorne had witnessed. He could not bear the thought of making her cry.
When evening came, they retired to the solar, and sat by the fire place playing fox and geese. Time passed much quicker with Charlie near. Lucifer wished he could freeze this moment, when he was actually feeling something else than tiredness. Charlie won the first three games. They were in the middle of the fourth one when she looked away from the board, and asked:
“What’s that sound?”
“What do you mean, sweetling?”
“There’s a sound.” Charlie put the goose and rose from her seat. Lucifer followed her. He did not doubt her, even if he couldn’t quite understand what she heard. The fog around him could muffle things when he was so lost inside his own mind.
Charlie stopped by a window, standing on her tip-toes to try and look out. Lucifer lifted her up, but the elaborately decorated glass did not give much view. Still, he thought he could see something moving out in the courtyard. There was a sound, but it was quieting down.
Charlie pressed her nose to the glass. “Are they leaving?” Then she squirmed out of Lucifer’s arms, landed on the floor and ran down the long gallery.
As he hurried after his daughter, Lucifer could hear it. Music. Someone was singing. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard that in the castle. Servants got out of the way for Charlie as she ran, she almost collided with a young demon carrying linen, but kept running to keep up with the sound from outside. When they reached a room where the windows had shutters, she ran up and pushed them open, letting the wind rustle the tapestries. The same wind carried the music into the castle.
“♫♩ Winter awakens all my grief,
Now these leaves grow bare.
Often I sigh and sorely mourn,
When it enters my thoughts,
Regarding this world's joy,
how it all comes to nought. ♬”
Charlie gasped in delight, jumping up to stand on the bench beneath the window, leaning so far out Lucifer instinctively grabbed her shoulder to pull her back onto safer ground. She brushed this off, and stayed where she was, so he placed himself beside her, a hand on her back to keep her steady.
“Father, look!” Charlie said, pointing. There, walking through the courtyard, was the musician. Lucifer couldn’t see much; the demon was wrapped in a long cloak with a hood hiding their face. The fabric looked old and worn; a faded red that might have been a bright colour many years ago. A staff was fastened to their back with some cord, while their hands were occupied with an old gittern.
“♫♩ Now it is, and now it is not,
As if it had never been, indeed;
As many men say, so it is—
All goes away, except their will;
We all shall die, though we like it ill. ♬”
As the red demon passed by the stables, the stableboys stopped grooming the horses; instead, they turned to listen. Other servants out there also stopped in their tasks. Clearly, this was some traveling minstrel that had managed to sneak onto the castle grounds; probably to beg for coin. Lucifer shook his head; he doubted they had any permission to here. Perhaps a king ought to know these things for certain, this was his castle, after all. But there were others that could take care of such things.
“♫♩ All the grain, which I planted green,
Now it fallows altogether:
Oh! Help that this be known
And shield us all from hell!
For I know not whither I shall go,
Nor how long there I'll dwell. ♬”
A guard shouted and pointed, and then he and his comrades were hurrying after the red demon. The minstrel didn’t seem to notice, because they did not run. Lucifer pulled Charlie away from the window. If a fight broke out, she did not need to see such things.
“But, father-”
Lucifer closed the shutters. “Come here, sweetling, let us go back to the game.”
He held his hand out, and she took it. But as they walked back the fireplace, she kept looking at the window. There was no more music to be heard. Charlie didn’t talk much once they had sat down. She lost the next two games, even though Lucifer went easy on her; not taking advantage of her careless mistakes, and leaving himself open for attack.
“Are you tired, Charlie?” Lucifer asked. She blinked, like she was coming back from wherever her thoughts had taken her, and then nodded slowly. The king was loath to cut their time together short, but he knew how children needed their sleep. “Let get you to your bed, then.”
They left the room, and informed the first servant they saw that the princess wished to retire. The demon hurried off, and soon Charlie’s ladies were gathered around her to get her ready for bed. Lucifer hugged her and wished her good night. Then he took up his wandering.
He did not feel tired, at least not physically, and if he retired now, he’d just lay awake in the bed, alone with his thoughts. So, he walked through the rooms with no real destination. He reached the stairs that connected the royal apartments to the rest of the castle, and stopped there. Below, he heard raised voices. Lucifer wasn’t really curious; there were always voices in the castle, and whatever this was, there were people to take care of it. Still, he had nothing better to do.
When he walked out on the mezzanine overlooking one of the halls, he looked down to see four people; three of them were guards in their uniform, and the last one was dressed in a cloak of faded red fabric. That had to be the minstrel that had managed to sneak in earlier in the evening. Now, with the hood of his cloak thrown back, Lucifer could see the demon’s antlers and the ears poking out of the red hair. A deer demon.
One guard turned and looked up at Lucifer.
“Your Majesty.” He whispered, and bowed. His fellow guards followed suit, but their prisoner did not.
“Your Majesty ... you are the King?” His smile was mocking, as if he couldn’t quite believe that to be the case. “Hm. You are much shorter in real life.”
One of the guards grabbed hold of his cloak. “You insolent- apologies, your Majesty, these sinners have no respect-”
“Respect?” The demon actually laughed. “Respect is something you earn, and the King has yet to do anything to deserve that.”
Lucifer stared down at him. What was wrong with this strange creature? The demon did not look the least bit frightened; he was standing there, his hands chained, surrounded by guards, but the mocking smile did not leave his face.
“Father?”
Lucifer turned to see Charlie on at the far end of the mezzanine. He hurried over to her, everything else forgotten. “Sweetling, why are you not in bed?”
“Razzle was not in my room, Lady Wormwood and the others are out looking for him, but I-” peeking over the railing, she noticed the people below. Her face lit up. “The music demon!”
Before Lucifer could stop her, she had hurried past him, and down the stairs, landing in front of the demon clad in red. “I heard your song! It was so beautiful!”
The demon’s expression changed from the mocking smirk to what looked like an almost genuine smile. “At least someone around here has manners.”
He took a step towards Charlie, but a guard yanked him back, his grip tight on the demon’s neck. “Hold your tongue! You do not speak to her Highness!”
Charlie flinched and backed away. Her eyes were wide and worried. “Uh, I-”
Lucifer had followed her down the stairs, and now he pulled her into his arms. “Come with me, Charlie. I will help you find Razzle.”
The guard looked from him to Charlie, seemingly worried that he’s frightened the princess. When Lucifer made no move to chastise him, the demon hurriedly returned to his duties; right now, it was to get the trespasser out of the room. He grabbed the chain trapping the red demon’s hands together, and began dragging him along.
Lucifer was pulling Charlie away, much gentler. Still, Charlie resisted. “What are they doing?”
“Never mind that, sweetling, let us find your dragon.”
Lucifer pulled his daughter’s hand, moving up the stairs, but Charlie kept looking back at the demons leaving through a door towards the dungeons. “Where are they taking him?”
“It was just a demon that snuck in, Charlie. You do not need to be frightened.”
Despite the servants’ protests, Lucifer joined in the search for Razzle. They eventually found the little dragon sleeping underneath a chair by a fireplace, and he was brought back to Charlie’s bedchamber, joining Dazzle on the bed. Once again, Lucifer wished her goodnight.
“Father?” Charlie said once he released her from the hug.
“Yes, sweetling, do you want anything?”
“I want the music.”
Lucifer stared at her; he had expected her to ask for something familiar, like a glass of water.
“I- I want to hear the music again.” Charlie whispered. Her voice was hesitant; like she knew she was asking for something unreasonable. She swallowed, and her voice grew steadier. “Where did they take the music demon?”
“Eh ...” Lucifer didn’t know what to say. He was always trying to shield Charlie from all the darker sides of their world. He was fairly certain she did not know what a dungeon was, and he did not want to explain imprisonment and punishments to her.
“Father, I want to see the music demon, I want to hear him sing again.”
“Now, sweetling-”
“I want the music!” Charlie shouted. His sweet daughter rarely raised her voice; she would ask if she wanted anything, and as a princess, it would be provided. Tears formed in her eyes and began to run down her face. This was not the unreasonable tantrum of a spoiled child, but the desperate cries of someone aching in what seemed like pain. She did not want the music; she needed it.
“Charlie, please-” Lucifer took her in his arms; he felt her tears wet his doublet. She kept asking for the music, again and again. Lucifer swallowed. When a child asks for music, any parent would sing, would they not? Children were raised with lullabies. His throat felt dry, yet he opened his mouth, trying to remember some words ...
None came. No words, and no melody to put them to.
His daughter was crying, and he could not give her what he wanted. He was a failure; as a father, as a king, as an angel. Lady Wormwood stepped into the room, and put a hand on his shoulder.
“Your Majesty, we can take care of her Highness.”
Gently, he was pushed out of the room, to where other servants stood and waited for new orders. Lady Wormwood was one of many ladies that had been with Charlie for years, trying to fill the void Lilith left behind. Was that who Charlie cried for? Her mother? Lilith had filled the castle with music, and when she left, she took the music with her.
Through the door, Lucifer heard Charlie crying. Lady Wormwood made a better attempt at soothing her than Lucifer had, the demon could actually sing. Not well, because Lucifer had never appointed servants for their musical talents, but still. But despite the song, Charlie just kept crying.
The servants whispered amongst each other, sharing suggestions as to what could stop the princess’ tears. As he stood there, hearing the sobs through the door, Lucifer suddenly felt oddly certain that only one thing would make Charlie smile again. He turned on his heel and walked away.
Pentagram Castle was a grand palace, and it took a little while to get to the dungeons. When Lucifer entered the guard room, everyone on duty turned to stare at him. For a moment, it looked like they couldn’t quite believe what they were seeing.
“Your Majesty!” The captain of the guard got up from a bench and bowed. The others scrambled to do the same. They looked nervous; the king did not come down here, and such an unusual occurrence could spell trouble.
“The red demon you caught this evening, the trespasser; where is he?” Lucifer asked.
“In one of the cells, your Majesty,” the captain answered. “The Knight Marshall has retired for the night; he’ll see him and decide on a punishment in the morning.”
“I will see him now.”
“Y- you Majesty?”
It was only when Lucifer began walking down towards the cells that the guards seemed to understand what was happening. One of them hurried to get a lantern to light the way. It was dark down here; the castle did not bother much with candles for those spending their nights in the cells. A rat scurried past, not knowing nor caring that the king himself had lowered himself to come down here.
From one of the cells, Lucifer could hear singing, the same tune Charlie had been so captivated by earlier that evening. On the floor, the shadows moved away, disappearing into the cell as the light from the lantern touched them. The singing abruptly stopped. The guard opened the lock on the door, and swung it open, holding the lantern up to illuminate the cell and its occupant.
The light of the lantern did not banish all the shadows, instead they seemed to pool in the corners and make them even darker. The deer demon was standing in the middle of the floor, calm and unsurprised as if he had been waiting for them.
“I must say, the castle’s rooms leave much to be desired.” He said, trying to gesture to the roughcut stonewalls despite the chains still around his wrists.
“It’s a cell, you damned fool!” The guard snapped.
The deer demon did not deign to answer him, he didn’t even look at the guard, instead he was staring at Lucifer. “What do you want?”
“... who says I want anything from you?”
“Well, I hardly think the King himself comes down here every night to gawk at the prisoners?” The demon smiled, showing off some sharp teeth that looked very much at odds with his deerlike features. “So, what do you want?”
“The princess wishes to hear your music.” It was supposed to be a command, but the demon took at as a request, smiling even wider.
“Ah. Good to know that at least there’s someone here with good taste.”
Lucifer backed away from the door and let the demon step out of the cell. Neither of them looked at each other while they walked back to the guard room, but once there, the demon stopped and looked around. “I will require my instruments. Or does the princess prefer a cappella?”
The head guard looked to Lucifer, who nodded. “Bring his things.”
A gittern and a satchel with various smaller items were retrieved from a chest, but when a guard took the staff from where it had been leaning against the wall, Lucifer stopped him. “Not that, that staff stays here.”
The demon didn’t protest this, just smiled a seemingly innocent smile. The staff looked like a walking stick made of some old branch ending in a burl at the top that resembled an eye; Lucifer knew enough about magic to be vary of such items.
Two of the guards accompanied them back to the royal apartments. There was still a small crowd gathered outside Charlie’s bedchamber. Lady Wormwood was among them, whispering to the others. Apparently, she had not been able to soothe Charlie either, because through the door, the sound of sobs was still clear.
Lady Darke was the first to notice the king’s return, and curtsied. “Your Majesty, the princess is tired, all children get upset ...” She looked concerned that she and the others couldn’t fix such a simple problem, worried that it might have consequences. “We are trying to-” She stopped, staring at the guards and their prisoner.
Lucifer turned to the deer demon. “She wants your music; that is the only reason you are out of your cell.” He grasped the chain binding the demon’s hands together and pulled him close. “But remember, if you do anything to hurt her, you will wish you never set foot in the castle.” Then he tightened his grip on the iron chain; it broke, and the cuffs clicked open with no need for a key.
The demon just smiled, and flexed his fingers. “Understood, your Majesty.” He turned towards the guard carrying the gittern, and lifted it out of his hands.
Slowly, Lucifer opened the door to Charlie’s room. His daughter was still weeping, and yet another of the servants was by her side, stroking her back, trying to comfort. He was clearly not the first one to try. When he heard the door open and saw the king, he moved out of the way.
“Charlie, sweetling-” Lucifer began, but before he could anything more, the red demon pushed past him, throwing his arms wide open like he had stepped out onto a stage.
“Princess! I was told you wished to hear music!”
Charlie looked up at him. Wonder spread over her tearstained face. “The music demon!”
“My name is Alastor, your highness. It’s an honour to meet you.” He made a deep bow to the princess, a curtesy he had so far neglected with the king. Then he sat down at the edge of Charlie’s bed.
He was far too close to her for Lucifer’s liking, but the king stayed by the door, letting the servant pass by to join the others outside. If Alastor tried anything, Lucifer could tear him apart, but for now, he stayed silent, not interrupting the moment. Charlie was staring at the red demon with stars in her eyes.
“Now then, princess, lay down and rest your head. I’ll play you something.” Alastor plucked the strings for a moment, finding the right tune, and then he began to sing.
“♫This other night,
I saw a sight,
A star as bright as day;
And ever among
A maiden song,
'Lullay, by by, lullay. ♩♫♩”
The music was ... beautiful. It made Lucifer’s chest ache. There hadn’t been much music in their lives since Lilith left. He never sought it out; without his Queen, his wife, his love by his side, silence had been preferable. And it had seemed like the rest of the court had agreed; no musicians visited to entertain, no balls were held, Charlie did not even have a music tutor. They had all quietly agreed to never raise the subject around their king, mindful of his aching heart.
Charlie had never asked either, before tonight. But looking at her now, Lucifer saw that she had needed it. The look on her face as she listened to the music was like someone parched finally finding water. All these years ... had he hurt her, however unintentionally, by not letting her have music in her life?
The song ended, and Charlie clapped. “One more song?” She asked, eyes wide and pleading. Alastor nodded, and began another song. He played two more until Charlie’s eyes grew tired and and eventually closed. Alastor started to rise from the bed, but her little hand grabbed his cloak.
“Princess?”
“Don’t go.”
“I can stay until you’re sleeping.”
“Will you still be here when I wake?”
Alastor looked from her to Lucifer. He smiled. “I think I can stay a little while, yes, your highness.” He put his gittern down, and sat back onto the bed. Closer now, he reached for Charlie. Lucifer startled, ready to tear the demon away from daughter, but Alastor’s hand simply brushed the princess’ hair away from her face. He stayed close, stroking her cheek, humming a low tune. Charlie closed her eyes, and after a while, the sound of her breathing changed into the rhythm of sleep.
Alastor rose once again, slowly, as not to wake her. He picked up his gittern, and quietly left the room. Lucifer looked back at Charlie before following the red demon out. She looked peaceful, a smile on her lips. Outside, the crowd was still gathered; clearly, they had listened at the door. Lucifer dismissed the servants with a whisper, warning them not to wake Charlie, and they tip-toed away, some of them casting glances back at their king and the strange demon he had brought along.
Alastor looked from Lucifer to the guards he had yet to dismiss. “So, your Majesty, are you satisfied with my performance?” He whispered, smiling. “Will you send me back to the dungeon now?”
Lucifer shook his head. One of the guards was still holding Alastor’s satchel, and now he gestured for him to give the demon back his possessions. They moved away from the door, until they could speak without fear of waking Charlie. Lucifer bid the guards fetch the steward, and they hurried away.
For a long moment, Lucifer looked at Alastor. Since Charlie began to cry for this ‘music demon’, the usual fog that dampened most of Lucifer’s feelings had melted away like dew in the morning. It made him numb, but it had been preferable to the grief. Tonight, that grief had pierced through again, mingled with the guilt and sorrow that he might have caused Charlie pain ... and anger.
Anger at this strange red demon, that managed to do what Lucifer could not; soothed Charlie’s grief, turned her sorrow to wonder and joy. Just like a father should do. The demon had done exactly what Lucifer had bid him, and because of that, Lucifer wanted to rip that smug smile of his face. He wanted him gone, thrown out of the gates, or preferably from the highest tower of the castle. But that would be selfish, pretty and cruel.
Charlie wanted music. Lucifer could not give it to her, but Alastor could.
“The steward will find rooms for you.” Lucifer said.
“Ah! So, you can be a decent host, I must say I am surprised!”
“You will stay here for as long as Charlie wants. I will forgive your trespassing, if you entertain her.”
“Oh, I can do more than entertain her, your Majesty.” Alastor grinned. “I can teach her.