Loving Lucifer [COMPLETE]

Chapter 51

"Catherine, darling, come here."

I walked up towards the throne on which she sat so gracefully. Her aura was entirely different from the way it had been at the trial. She was calm, peaceful and gentle.

"Yes, Creator?"

"I would like to praise you for telling us what you believed to be true, no matter how hard it was, and to apologise for how he made you watch the person you love being punished in such a cruel way."

"I apologise, Creator, but Luke was already given a harsh sentence upon the fall...I don't doubt the sense in your judgement, and I am sure what he did warranted punishment, but it was not so difficult to believe that he was being given such harsh penance."

"I understand your meaning, Catherine...I regret all of the sentences I passed against my fallen angels, some more than others. I know that Paimon and Lucifer are among the least deserving of their punishments, but it was an example I had to make...lest others should fall."

"There was something else...I asked Bobby why there were no women angels...but I now know his reply did not come from you."

"Oh, child, there are no women angels because I simply did not wish for my angels to procreate - I wanted to have control over the number of angels and I wanted them to focus on their tasks. Of course, some of them procreated anyway..." she turned to look at Michael and back at me, "But I welcome their progeny with open arms."

"I understand..." I said.

"It does not reflect on my opinion of women. I admire both genders equally. It just so happened that my first angels, Michael and Raphael, were men."

"First angels?"

"Yes...now you can understand why your father's betrayal lies so heavily upon my heart."

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of multiple footsteps clicking and clacking on the marble floors outside the great hall. A warm hand took mine and I smiled at the Creator. Her eyes looked into mine and they were filled with reassurance. The doors swung open to reveal Gabriel and Raphael, who were leading behind them the three fallen angels that the Creator had summoned. They led them to the middle of the great hall. Raphael stepped aside, revealing a very angry-looking Bobby and a frustrated-looking Bee.

But my heart truly stopped when Gabriel moved to the side to reveal Luke - the man I now knew I had wrongly accused; wrongly banished from my life and wrongly hurt. His eyes met mine and they were warm upon contact, although broken. I turned my gaze to meet Bobby's, but he averted my eyes as did Bee. Their angry stares were fixed on Michael's face.

"Children..." the Creator said, standing up and leading me down the steps by the hand. I followed her lead and we walked over to where they stood. Luke immediately knelt before her, but the others remained standing.

"Rise, Lucifer."

Luke rose to his feet and nodded respectfully at the Creator.

"I would like to begin by apologising to you, Lucifer...on behalf of my impostor."

Luke looked at her with confusion in his eyes, "Sweet Creator...I do not understand. And how could you apologise to me?"

"Beelzebub," she said, turning to look at one of the brothers, "Maybe you would care to explain."

He grunted, but the Creator remained silent and expectant, and he knew he would have no choice but to comply. The entire story burst forth from his mouth, from the moment he had impersonated Luke to the moment he had locked the Creator in her tower and dished out Luke's horrible sentence. Luke's eyes were stricken with pain and betrayal as he looked at his supposed comrade and housemate, but there was no remorse in Bobby's eyes.

"Belial, what do you have to say for yourself?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"You gave false testimony before your Creator, Belial," she added, a little more sternly.

"I was only lying to Beelzebub's face," he replied, shrugging a little.

"Of course, you were in on it - aware of your Creator's kidnapping..."

"Of course I was in on it; it was my fault that all of this happened."

"Care to elaborate?"

He shook his head, his eyes darting to Michael's face and suddenly filled with fear.

"Michael threatened to decapitate Belial if I didn't listen to his request," Bobby said, "I'm not afraid of you now, Michael."

"I thought the deal was that if you did this for Michael he would let you capture me."

"I enjoyed capturing you, Creator, don't get me wrong...I'm not suddenly the force of all that is good, but capturing you was a part of the requirement."

The Creator's head turned sharply to look into Michael's face and so did mine. His eyes were a blend of anger, fear and guilt.

"Why, Michael?"

"You would never have sentenced him, Creator. Just like when I brought him to you over my son Gustave's death," he pleaded.

"He was innocent of your accusations, Michael..." she said, visibly angry but gentle in her frustration, "You should have trusted my judgement and accepted my decision with humility. But you are not humble."

"Forgive me, sweet Mother," he said, bowing his head in shame.

She turned to look back at the brothers.

"Why would you agree to betray your friend Lucifer when you could have reported this incident to Gabriel?" she asked.

"Because we were tired of Lucifer living the life; getting the girl, and the apartment, and getting to spend time with his unfallen brother."

"You had your brother with you all along..."

"By circumstance!" Bobby said.

"I forgive you..." Hearing his voice for the first time sent shivers up and down my spine. "I forgive you, Bobby, for impersonating me and Bee, for giving false testimony. I forgive you, Michael, for orchestrating everything..." He looked at the Creator. "But I cannot forgive them for the pain they caused my innocent friends, Matthew and Catherine. I am sorry, Creator, but I cannot bring myself..."

"It is alright, Lucifer..." she said, walking up to him and caressing his face, "I will not forgive them either. Catherine is one of our own and they had no right to touch her. And Matthew was an innocent in all of this. They should have never had him involved. The only angel in this room I will forgive today, is you, Lucifer."