Intertwined: love, fire and sacrifice

13. The Queen of Hell

Liv

I went to tell Laius the things that I wanted to change in Hell, like giving the Hell kitchen staff a free day once a week; lowing the bar to send souls to Elysium instead of Tartarus – where the other 5 Pits of Hell are. Even having some rehabilitation and progression programs in which bad souls and criminal demons could go progressively to less bad parts of Hell if they show any willingness to change.

I read a lot about Hell's structure, the punishment system, and souls’ allocation at the library before. I want to be a good Queen, and for that, I need to think and study about my decisions. No more impulsive autopilot.

Anyways, Laius accepted my suggestions much easier than I thought. I believed that he would be hell-bent on maintaining the state of things since they’ve been like this for pretty much forever.

“You are my Queen, Sugar. This Realm is as much yours to rule and to make decisions, as it’s mine. Besides that, I want you to feel at home here. We will change what you deem necessary for you to make Hell your home...”

I unintentionally gave him a look of longing and nostalgia.

“One of your homes,” he added.

I shook the feeling of uneasiness off and Laius took me in his arms, involving me in his warmth and sexiness.

~ * ~

Later in the day, I was reading even more about Hell stuff, rules, and whatnot. I also convinced Medeia to help me, she knew a lot about it. She’s working here as Laius' assistant for more than 2 centuries now.

It was a bit hard to convince her, she was grumbling about it. But after we started our research and work, she kind of got excited about it, in her Medeia way. I’m sure she likes it, but she wouldn’t ever admit it.

“Drink some tea, Livia,” Medeia said as she was about to hand me a cup of tea.

“No, I prefer having some coffee. I’ve kind of had enough of your tea, no offence. It’s not that’s bad or anything. But I’m more the coffee type.”

“Coffee makes you cranky.” She replied.

“It doesn’t! I’m not cranky... you are cranky.” I eyed Medeia, she looked down for a second. Is she hurt because I don’t like her tea? I didn’t know she could be that sensitive. Uff, I’ll do it for her.

“Okay, I’ll drink some tea.”

Medeia smiled as she gave me the cup with the dark-reddish drink, and I sipped it.

“Livia” I was surprised by hearing my father calling me through our mind-link.

It isn’t every day that we are linking each other, it’s more like almost never. I mean, we don’t have this mind channel for a long time, but it’s one of the first times that he calls me like this. He could have tried phoning me, but the telephone and internet signs here in Hell is so bad! I wonder if it’s some kind of extra punishment for bad souls or something like that.

“Father” I answered.

“You should come back home now. Elric is very distressed and Avalon must be feeling the same.”

Whoa.

How didn’t I see it coming? He definitely didn’t link me to ask about my day.

Anyways, sometimes I feel like I can’t think straight lately…maybe it's because I miss my mates too much.

“Is he?” I asked, worried. Oh! I seriously didn’t know that they would be in such a state and it made my heart sink. I thought that after I closed the bond, they were doing better.

“Of course, he is, Livia. Just come back! You can’t act like this with your mates.” 

“That is rich that YOU, among all people, is giving me a lecture on how to treat mates. Goodbye,” I snapped and closed the link.

I was quite worried about Elric. But my father is the last person in the 6 Realms that could apply for the job of mates’ counsellor, that is for sure. He has no right to say anything about mates and whatnot after all he did and still does to my mom.

Actually, I wonder if Avalon is really suffering, if he really needs me. If he’s also having a hard time fighting his inner darkness and death. No, he doesn’t need me. He doesn’t even like me. I sighed deeply at this thought, swallowing a lump that has just formed in my throat.

I sighed again, that’s something I’m doing quite often lately. Apparently, ‘sighing is my new moaning’. Medeia stared at me, noticing my messy state, my crazy emotional confusion. She was staring a lot as if I’ve just grown a second head. ‘Has she never seen a chick really confused and stressed because she has 3 mates before?’ Of course, she hasn’t. 

I feel so torn between my mates. I didn’t want to cause them pain, at all. But I couldn’t leave Laius. I also couldn’t let Elric, and maybe even Avalon, suffer. That is an impossible situation.

At the end that is all I am doing, hurting my mates and even myself. I always knew deep inside that I couldn’t be a good mate to any of them. Who am I kidding? I didn’t even know how to be a mate, how to do the mate thing, to start with.

I brought my hands to my face and rubbed it. Heck, I have to stay strong.

~ * ~

Laius

The day finally came. The day that I would finally make my Sugar a queen. My Queen. 

My Sugar and I went to the ancient Greek Amphitheatre located in the very core of Hell, where the Hellfire source is placed. All the people of Hell, even the goody-goodies who lived isolated at Elysium, came to watch my Queen’s Coronation.

The crowd sat on the stone benches that surrounded this huge Amphitheatre. It used to be an arena, a Colosseum, where Demons fought until the victor threw his opponent into the Hellfire fount and extinguished the loser’s existence. Since I’ve become the King, we just hold orgies and ceremonies here. Hell is about parties, pain-pleasure, not plain pain.

The 2 thrones, mine and Sugar’s, are situated on the left side of the arena. The Source of Hellfire was, of course, in the very middle of the auditorium.

I looked around and faced my, our, subjects, before I gave my female’s soft hand a gentle squeeze to reassure her. She flashed me a small smile, she was nervous, I could feel it through our bond. But she had no reason to be, the Hellfire can’t hurt her, I would never let her touch it if it was the least possibility that it would harm my Sugar. I led her to the middle of the Amphitheatre, and we stopped right in front of the source of the fire.

“Today, we will finally have a Queen. My mate Livia will be coronated Queen of Hell as it is her right to be. Today we will become stronger. The ones who oppose or doubt my Queen shall show themselves now, their carcasses will feed our fire.” I stated in a deep voice that reached the ears of each person in the crowd.

Filling them with fear and imposing a deep reverence, in the way that only the voice of the King of Hell could. No one moved or said a word. They were all paralysed in dread and obedience. No one would be mad enough to dare to challenge my will.

Liv scolded me through the bond, “Don’t scare our people, Laius!” making me chuckle internally. Our people. She already behaves like their queen, our queen. Of course, she wouldn’t stay quiet hearing my speech. I squeezed her hand in reassurance.

“Those are only words, formalities. I won’t kill anyone during your coronation ceremony, my Queen. It must be a great day for you, for us, and I wouldn’t ever ruin it for you. But besides that, they must respect you as their Queen, Sugar.” I replied through our bond.

“They should respect me because I’m a good Queen, not out of fear.” She muttered with resolution.

The crowd remained silent, I looked around with a satisfied grin. “As it should be.” I looked at my Liv and smiled at her. “Now, our Queen will lay her hand on the source of Hellfire and officially take her crown and her rightful place in Hell.”

I knew that many didn’t believe that Liv could be worthy to be their Queen. The Queen of Hell.

‘That she was only a witch’.

‘She was weak, too soft, a coward’.

‘She wasn’t forged on fire like the Demons’.

‘She was inadequate’.

‘She was the great King’s weakness and downfall.’ I heard all these comments.

I wanted to send all those who dared to speak and even think ill of my woman to the 6th Pit of Hell. But I didn’t. I knew that she wouldn’t approve of it. I did what Scarlet said and let Sugar face her own battles, she already made it clear that she can stand up for herself.

Not sending them to burn…How much I’m changing for her. And I don’t regret it the least.

‘What a girl can do besides prove to a bunch of old male demons that they are wrong?’ I caught my Sugar’s thought through our bond and chuckled at it.

She also heard the gossips. Hell is a gossip den, Gossip Hell. What does my sharp female have in mind?

“You can touch the fire, you are my mate, so it won’t burn you,” I whisper to her, reassuring my Liv once again.

Even Elite Demons are afraid of manipulating Hellfire, it could be very unpredictable. Many of them only use ordinary fire when attacking enemies or doing their deeds. But I know it won’t hurt her.

~ * ~

3rd Person POV

In spite of Laius’ many reassurances, she still could have felt insecure about it. Touching Hellfire is no game. Maybe another witch would be insecure, but not her. Liv knew she had to be their queen, the queen that the Realm and her mate needed.

She looks at the fire dancing in front of her. Hellfire is not like ordinary fire. It’s alive, it can act as an extension of Laius and his will. Hellfire brings the wrath and the sword to those punished in Hell. It purges and purifies Hell.

All the souls and Demons present gasp in shock at what they are witnessing.

Instead of putting a hand on the source of the Hellfire for a mere second as Laius told her to do, Liv squared her shoulders, lifted her head up, and walked into the source of the fire. The fire indeed didn’t harm her. However, all her clothes are reduced to auburn ashes in less than a heartbeat.

Laius conjures smoke to avoid that curious eyes catch a glint of his mate’s nude body. Nakedness was quite common and accepted in Hell. But not his mate’s nudity, he wouldn’t allow the Demons and souls to make a show out of his Queen’s act of boldness. Her nudity should be for his eyes only, now that her other mates were out of the picture.

Liv would soon get used to this situation. He would be enough for her. He would do anything for her, Hell is his witness.

She walks out of the veil of fire, holding her head up, looking proud and nonchalant as someone who just got out of the water.

“Liv, you didn’t have to do that.” Laius says. Although the look in his eyes said something different, it had a glimpse of admiration.

“They need to know that their Queen is no weakling, Laius. They need to know that I would do it for them.” Liv says fiercely.

She was a vision even covered by smoke and ashes.

He covers her nakedness with his robe and places the crown on the top of her head as he dissipates the smoke. Her crown was made of gold and forged in Hellfire, which made it have a shining-black colour. It was encircled by 6 blood-red diamonds, representing the 6 Pits of Hell, and in its centre, the stone of Persephone, a dark orange Onyx, stood proudly.

The crowd gazes at their new Queen and explodes in ovation.

Laius interlaces his fingers with hers and raises their joined hands up. “All hail to the Queen of Hell!” He yells. The audience repeats it with enthusiasm.

Laius leads her to their thrones and different groups of subjects approach them to pay their respects.

He couldn’t be prouder of his female.

She was indeed made to be a queen. His Queen and no Demon or vile soul could say otherwise after watching her act of bravery.

Now Laius subjects would for sure put more effort into protecting their Queen and not allowing Avalon, Elric, and their armies to get to her. This thought brought him contentment.

~ * ~

General Proctor

She came here, a useless and worthless witch, and changed our way, the Hell’s ways. And this horde of minions, that don’t deserve to call themselves Demons, accepted it lowing their heads as submissive hookers. 

A witch can’t be the Queen of Hell. Her place in this Realm is in one of the lousy and low-priced brothels, not in this amphitheatre. 

They all hailed for that wench. Accepting her, celebrating her as their queen.

Today is an ominous day for Hell, for our traditions and customs, for what makes us what we are and what we’ve been since forever, since the former King’s times.

Today is defeat, but tomorrow will be a reckoning.