3 Here's the thing about hell...

Elowyn di Luce. That is my name.

By genetics, I am the Princess of Vriryn- the ruling kingdom of the Upper Realm. The reason why we are the ruling kingdom out of the many other kingdoms scattered across the world is for what we are: Heralded as the descendants of angels, born with the power to dispel darkness and create light.

We are the force that keeps the demons of hell at bay, we are what keeps the Devil twiddling his thumbs as he saunters around on the underside of the world- the Downside. There are only two reasons why a mortal would ever think about going there- if they were dead, or wanted to die. Or perhaps if they wanted to make a deal with the Devil, but there are few souls brave enough to do that.

Because here is the thing about hell, the one fact that the fairy tales always seem to miss out: once you are in, you can never get back out.

When I was little, at the time my mother still had some compassion for me left in her icy, pent up heart, she used to sit me by the fire and tell me stories about father, and of hell. The King of the downside- the Devil himself, used to be an angel before his falling. But for his promiscuity and glutton for all things depravedly violent, he was cast from the heavens to deep underground where another realm abides, one that the creatures from the Upper Realm like to call the Downside.

Sometimes, every few hundred years or so, he would come to wreck havoc among the mortals, seduce men and women into the pits of hell and trap them as his servants, or plant a curse upon a kingdom that would not be lifted for hundreds of years. Other times he would simply appear just to test the extent in which he can mess with mortal lives. To most of the people in the Upper World, the devil is the worst evil imaginable, a taboo word that causes even the sturdiest of men to quake in their boots at so much of a whispering. I myself never saw a problem with him- after all, I have seen far worse creatures dancing about the courts of my mothers palace to even consider him so much as a threat.

In fact, there was a time in my younger and more naïve years where I became obsessed with him- read every book I could find about his sightings, begged my mother to tell me every story, and when she ran out of tales to tell, Alastor and I would make our own. Many a time we had traipsed out into twilight under the pale influence of the stars looking for entrances to hell, but apparently the devil didn't want us there, because we never did find any. I had hoped to meet him one day, if only to find out if the legends about him were true- if he really was as depraved as they always said he was. But then the Queen found out about my plans and started locking my door at night. I wasn't allowed to go outside with Alastor after that.

But I think the real reason why I make my mother angry is because I remind her too much of my dad. I only really knew him from the tales she told of him- too young to ever formulate a proper picture of his face. But what I did understand was that he was kind, and beautiful, and everything my mother wasn't. I like to imagine if he were here, he wouldn't let this wedding go through, he'd tell me: 'Go find someone you love, follow your heart,' or some sappy shit like that, and I would love him for it. But no matter how hard I wish for it, I know that is never going to happen. If my mother wants a wedding, she will have it. And that is final.

You see, I am not entirely normal, but perhaps you have already guessed that from my name.

When my mother met my father, she didn't realise he was an angel. Most of the angels had disappeared hundreds of years ago, taking off to the heavens to be a part of the skies again, no longer content to toy with the odious grievances of the mortal world. But he had stayed, and perhaps a few others too, under the guise of a mortal man with wintry skin and snow white hair to watch over the world and all its kindred.

'True love at first sight' is what she claimed it to be- though I have a hard time anyone could love someone as cold as my mother. But there must have been something in the air because a few months after their first meeting they were married, and the Kingdom of Vriryn rejoiced at their two rulers that were blessed by the heavens. A year later, I was born- the golden child, the half angel, the albino baby born with the light of the heavens in her palms and the stars in her eyes. I was prophesied to become one of the most powerful rulers in all the Realms, but of course, that day has yet to come. The Queen always hoped I would one day grow wings like my father, become a symbol of peace and hope for our Kingdom. But I was never a symbol of peace, and I never did grow any wings.

As for my father, well, not long after my birth he got a calling he could not ignore. The demons of hell had been rising in the far East, his people needed him. He was off before the first crack of light could seep its way past the trees, leaving us just as the sun rose to wake up the world in its melancholy dawn. He never came back.

Alastor pats me on the back, drawing me back into focus with a sharp jolt.

"You're daydreaming, Princess," he sighs, giving a mocking roll of his eyes. I blink back into focus.

"Oh, sorry."

A moments silence passes between us, spiked only by the ushering of servants up and down the halls. Alastor frowns at the look of discontent plastered over my face. Gently, he brings a hand up to rub my arm in slow, soothing circles.

"Hey, don't worry, the Prince isn't that bad. Even if you are to be married, I am still here for you Princess," he says, offering up a slight grin in an effort to dampen my sorrows. He knocks me lightly on the arm.

"I still care about you, don't forget that."

I give him a strained but grateful smile, clamping my dress against my chest.

"Thanks Al,"

A knock comes from the door. Alastor nearly jumps out of his skin.

"Shit, that's Alicia. I better run. See you at the wedding Princess," he says hurriedly, pressing a light kiss on the top of my head, hovering for a second, deliberating, before pulling me into a hug. His warm breath plumes in invisible clouds next to my ear as he presses my cheek against his, his sturdy arms wrapped around me in a tight but comforting embrace.

"Don't do anything stupid, okay?"

I laugh quietly, pulling myself back to meet his fox red eyes.

"What, like running straight out of the throne room into the nearest hell hole I can find? That would certainly give the Queen a pleasant surprise."

"I'm serious," he warns sternly, but the slight smile playing in the corners of his lips tells me differently. Just as I am about to open my mouth to protest, another knock comes from the door.

"Elowyn, who are you talking to?" comes Alicia's voice from behind the door, straining over the natter and pit pattering of butlers' feet walking up and down the corridors in their masses in preparation for today's event. Irritably I purse my lips, annoyed that my time with Alastor is so shortly coming to a close. The next time I see him I will likely be a married woman.

"Absolutely no-one Alicia, just give me a second, I am getting changed," I lie, turning my attention back to the auburn haired kitsune in front of me with a cheeky wink. "In all honesty though, Al," I add, giving him a pointed look. "You better get out of here. I do need to get changed, and you know how Alicia is with having you in here."

He nods slowly, clearly disappointed, but gives me a brave face nonetheless.

"Alright, just-" he leans in, pressing his lips gently against mine, his mouth moving against my own. Tenderly, he pulls away from the kiss, leaving me shocked and muddled, my face reddening more and more by the second.

Did he just... kiss me?

On my own wedding day?

But before I even get a chance to blurt out any of the confused questions that are running around my head (first and foremost, why), he is already continuing on.

"Good luck."