Hell's Princess {H. Potter}

Chapter 1

1994 | Los Angeles, California

In the foothills of the Santa Monica Mountains stood a great white mansion in a vast gated property that towered over all the rest of the houses it neighbored. This luxurious building, envied by all who laid their eyes upon it, was home to one of the richest families in the state, the Morningstars. They were a family many people loved and hated, coveted and desired, comprised of a couple and their seven young children. They kept to themselves mostly, but even that couldn't stop the rumor mill from circling about the patriarch, Lucifer, and his elder sons. Now, you might be wondering why it was just them. The reason for this was that everyone knew better than to drag his wife and two youngest into any kind of conspiracy. One journalist had tried and his name, along with his reputation and status, had been trashed only a day later. Nobody heard from him ever again. After that, some began speculating that Lucifer had made a deal with the Devil in order to have gained all his wealth and power. They certainly weren't far off from the truth, were they? Oh, the irony...

Currently, the manor was considerably quiet. It probably had something to do with the fact that the rowdy sons (namely Adrean, Cain, and Dorian) weren't around. Kier wasn't home either but he didn't make as much noise as his brothers did because usually, his mouth was stuffed to the brim with food. There were only five people in the manor, each one in different rooms, all except for two. These two happened to be Eleena and Salem, both lounging atop the former's bed in their shared bedroom.

"Ow!"

"Sit still, Sal!"

"You stabbed my eye!"

"I told you to keep it shut!"

Eleena rolled her eyes as Salem grumbled under his breath, one hand raising to cover his hurt eye. She quickly slapped it away, lest he ruin all the work she'd done on him. He went to complain but decided otherwise when he noticed her glare threatening to dismember him. Instead, he scowled and crossed his arms, begrudgingly letting his sister continue on with her mission.

"Don't start complaining now. You asked me to do this." She reminded.

"I know that, but I didn't think my life would be on the line." Salem sighed miserably.

"You are so dramatic." Eleena scoffed, "Close your eyes, and keep them shut this time."

Salem obliged as slowly as physically possible, much to his sister's visible irritation. She shook her head at him and lifted her brush towards his eyelid. Despite the strong urge she felt to hurt her brother just a little bit more than she already had, she worked gently and carefully. She made sure that the brush was light as it painted his skin with blood red powder. After about a few minutes or so, she finally allowed him to open his eyes. She did, however, shut down any of his attempts to glance at a mirror as she dug through her make-up case. She came up with a handful of lipsticks, individually eyeing and dismissing them until there were only two left. She then held one in each hand and presented it to Salem.

"Pick a shade." She ordered.

"This one." Salem said after a moment of consideration.

"Good choice." Eleena nodded approvingly.

She discarded the rejected lipstick and uncapped the one Salem chose. She got a firm grip on his chin and pressed him to drop his jaw, tracing his plump lips with the red tube. All the while, he was attempting to make her lose her concentration by doing whatever tricks with his eyes. Not one to rise to the bait, she bit back a smile and avoided his cross-eyed gaze. Narrowing her eyes, she blindly reached for tissue to replace the lipstick, wiping away any excess.

"And... There!" She exclaimed, "I'm done, you can look now."

She took Salem's hand and pulled him off the bed, leading him towards the full-length mirror attached to one side of the room. She stood behind him as he assessed himself, smiling to herself with her arms wrapped around his torso. His eyes ran over the color on his face, noting with deep satisfaction that his normally sharp features had been softened. A faint blush dusted his cheeks, contrasting with his pale skin and matching the light eyeshadow Eleena did. His lashes were curled and he had on a thin layer of black eyeliner, further bringing out the dark color of his eyes. He was glad that Eleena hadn't made his lips too red. Seductive, ready-to-break-hearts red was her signature look, after all, and he wouldn't dare to ever steal it from her. He was greedy, but never to his twin sister. She would always be an exception.