Visit One
When I thawed from being a statue I spend the first week or so just spending as much time with Diavolo and Lucifer as possible. They may visited me over the centuries, but it still felt like lost time. Diavolo even threw a whole festival celebrating my return. However, we couldn’t continue to just spend all of our time together, as they had work to do. But I didn’t have anything to do during the day, apart from drawing and helping Barbatos around the castle.
Then one day Barbatos sighed that he was going to have to check on Ensharra, Diavolo’s father, to check if he was still asleep. He obviously didn’t want to do it, but I was surprised that he was in the castle. Barbatos told me that Diavolo had him thrown in the dungeon to pay for his crimes against a civilian of the Devildom and violating human rights.
“I can check on him,” I offered.
His eyes widened in surprise, “Why? I wouldn’t imagine you want to talk to a demon that tried to kill you.”
“Because I’m curious about him,” I shrugged, “And I branded him with my pact mark. I’m really curious to see it.”
He sighed, debating for a second, “Are you sure?”
“Barbatos.”
“Alright,” he conceded, leading me to the dungeon and leaving me at the door to Ensharra’s cell block. He nodded, excusing himself and I opened the door.
Ensharra’s cell was the second cell in for some reason. He was hanging upside down like a bat, sleeping. His back was facing the bars so he could be faking for all I know.
“Ensharra,” I called to him. I was leaning against the far wall, arms crossed.
No answer.
I called again, but louder.
No answer.
Alrighty.
I summoned a snowball and threw it at his back, making it stick and freezing it colder. Suddenly he jolted awake, shaking his body to try and dislodge the snow. I made it dissipate and he slipped down from the ceiling, glaring at whoever was so rude as to wake him in such a way.
I smirked at him, “Morning, sleepyhead.”
He growled at me in response and huffed before standing and crossing his arms like me. Something about him seemed different. Not just the lack of red, I noticed that when I froze his powers. But something else seemed different.
“Are you shorter,” I questioned, squinting at him as I thought.
His eyes became slits as he couldn’t possibly glare at me harder.
“Wow, you really are. Were you inflating your height? Talk about self-esteem issues. It’s like owning an overly large truck.”
“Are you just here to mock me, human,” he finally retorted.
“He speaks! What a miracle,” I mocked, “You could have answered me instead of attempting to stonewall me.”
“I have nothing to say to you, human.”
“What’s your problem?”
“Excuse you?”
“You make Lucifer look humble. Do you have unresolved trauma too? Or are you just naturally an ass?”
He scoffed at me, rolling his eyes, “As if the Demon King would have trauma, human.”
“So you weren’t affected by your wife dying,” I genuinely asked.
“No, it was arranged by me for political purposes,” he explained coldly, “I should have known that with a mother that died during childbirth Diavolo would have grown up weak.”
I glared at him, “I’ll have you know that he’s stronger than you could ever be. You abandoned your son and kingdom to sleep for centuries. Which left Diavolo to pick up the pieces and go through hell and high water to secure his place as defacto ruler. That’s more strength than I think you even understand.”
He looked taken aback before glaring again, “Yet he fell for something as lowly as a human.”
“Don’t forget you have this human’s pact mark branded on you.”
“How could I forget,” he seethed, looking down at it.
“Not very weak, now am I?”
He scoffed again, not answering me.
“Actually, do you mind if I take a look at it?”
He eyed me before coming up to the bars. I approached him and when I did he grabbed me by the throat. I looked boredly at him. I used magic to form words in front of me by freezing water molecules in the air.
REALLY?
I swiped my hand to dissipate the letters.
I DON’T NEED TO BREATHE ANYMORE
Swipe.
CAN YOU LET GO PLEASE?
He scoffed yet again and roughly pushed me away, “What do you mean to don’t need to breathe, human?”
“My life candle is frozen,” I explained, rubbing my sore neck, “I don’t breathe or have a pulse anymore.”
“Intriguing," he deadpaned.
“That’s for sure. So, will you please stop trying to kill me? You won’t get very far.”
“Then leave me alone. I want nothing else from you, human.”
His stomach growled.
“Seems like you could use some food,” I smiled, amused, “How long have you been asleep?”
“I don’t have a way to keep track of time down here.”
“Well I’ve been frozen for 240 years.”
“I told you, human, I do not have a way to keep track of time.”
“Alright, well I’ll just go get you some food.”
He didn’t answer me as I left him to get some food from Barbatos. His attitude was annoying, but considering how he acted when he woke up the first time, I wasn’t really surprised. I was serious when I said he makes Lucifer look humble. I wonder if we can change who the Avatar of Pride is or if that’s like, an inherent thing to Lucifer?
“Hey, Barbatos,” I found him in the kitchen, “Ensharra’s awake and I wanna take him some food.”
“He’s awake,” Barbatos did not seem particularly happy about it, “He didn’t try anything?”
“Oh yeah he choked me out. But I can’t die so joke’s on him.”
“That does not inspire confidence.”
“I’m fine Barbatos, he’s harmless the way he is.”
He didn’t look convinced but he knows he can’t change my mind so just focused on helping me put together a meal for Ensharra. Because he was so big, there was quite a bit of food. I magically carried the food downstairs after thanking Barbatos for his help.
“Ensharra,” I called to him, opening the door to his block, “I’m back with food.”
“I can smell it, human” he replied, waiting for me at the bars of his cell.
I chuckled and slid the food through the hole for it on the bottom of the cell door, “I hope you enjoy it. I had Barbatos help.”
“You made it?”
“I didn’t poison it don’t worry. Though, Barbatos doesn’t seem particularly fond of you so he might have.”
“He wouldn’t dare.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” I leaned against the wall and gestured to his food, “Well? It’ll get cold.”
“You’re going to watch me, human” he seemed put off with his question.
“I was gonna talk to you. Or are you one of those people that don’t talk when they eat?”
He sighed, “You don’t give up do you, human?”
“Nope. I’m notoriously stubborn.”
“Fine.”
I summoned a chair made of ice and sat, smiling at him.
He scoffed but sat at his table with his tray of food, facing me. He took a bite of food and paused. I raised my eyebrows.
“Is there something wrong?”
“No.”
There was no further explanation as he continued eating. Honestly sorta ravenous. The poor guy must have been more hungry than he thought. He finished his first plate within minutes before realizing what he probably looks like and calmly putting the plate on the tray, gently wiping his face with the napkin.
“Apologies, that was unbecoming of me,” he said with trained calmness before reaching for his next plate and eating much more normally, “You said you wanted to speak, human.”
“Now I see where Sunshine gets it from,” I mused.
“Pardon?”
“Diavolo. When he’s in ‘King Mode’ or trying to be guarded in how he speaks. It’s very formal and distancing. Which is fine for political situations, but I’m just some human. No need to keep some front going on.”
He just glared at me. I guess that’s to be expected.
“You know. You caused a lot of pain to Diavolo. He holds guilt over his mother dying and he thinks you resent him for her death. And the sheltered, strict upbringing means he has a hard time really connecting with those he rules. He just doesn’t understand their culture.”
He paused before taking his next bite of food, “Human, do you plan on berating me for things Diavolo has already spoken to me about?”
“As far as I know, there wasn’t a discussion about it. You’ve stonewalled him since the incident and that’s damaging as well. Your son wants a relationship with you and you just make him feel like shit. You’re a bad father.”
“I had to raise him to be the King of the Devildom, human. You wouldn’t know what it takes to be king.”
“Except you forget that’s literally my husband? Before I froze I actively helped him in his duties.”
“You helped him,” his eyes widened, “But you’re a human?”
“And your son is trying to increase relations with the three realms. So a human perspective in many things is accounted for. I used to also go to the Celestial Realm with him for meetings. I was the ambassador for the Human World.”
“Why aren’t you doing anything now?”
“I just thawed a month ago. We’re still testing the waters on what my capabilities are with a frozen life candle. We’re also cautiously watching my candle because we don’t know what’ll happen when it thaws. Will it burn like normal? Will the flame even relight? Do I die at that point? There’s a lot of questions and we want to take things cautiously.”
“Sounds like you have quite the conundrum, human,” he grabbed his last plate of food.
“Right now the answer is doing nothing but having Thirteen keep an eye on my candle.”
“Who?”
“She a reaper I’m friends with.”
“Human, you sound like you have stories like that other immortal mage.”
“Minus being persecuted but yeah probably. But I wonder if my life candle does thaw and I die. What happens to my brand on your chest? Does the seal go away?”
He raised an eyebrow, “Now that’s an interesting question.”
“It’s only interesting because it pertains to you.”
He glared at me.
“What? Don’t be mad because I know how to cut the bullshit.”
“You’ve got quite the attitude, human.”
“Probably, but at least you know what I’m thinking and how I’m feeling.”
“Bad choices.”
I shrugged. He set his last plate down and I whisked them from his cell, “I’m gonna take these upstairs.”
“You don’t need to narrate your thoughts to me, human” he dismissed.
“I was gonna come back but with that reaction I don’t know if I will,” I half-joked. He waved his hand boredly as he stood to go to the closed door in his cell that I assumed was a bathroom. This must be the VIP cells. I trusted there were spells in place to keep anyone from breaking out without at least some magical assistance.
Barbatos was elsewhere in the castle so I washed the dishes and decided I was indeed done speaking with Ensharra for the day. He can wait till tomorrow. I spent the time until Sunshine and Starlight came back drawing. The rest of the evening was spent with dinner and hanging out with my two lights.
“I spoke with your father,” I told Diavolo.
“He woke up,” Lucifer questioned.
“No, I woke him up with a snowball,” I explained as Lucifer chuckled.
“Why,” Diavolo pensively asked.
“Because I wanted to talk to him. I’m also started to go a little stir crazy without much to do during the day.”
“He actually spoke to you?”
“Yeah, probably because he hates me so much. He lured me to him in an obvious trap and choked me. But, y’know, that doesn’t really work anymore.”
“Starshine,” Diavolo worriedly inspected my neck but there were no marks.
“Sunshine, I’m fine. Besides, that got him to sorta start talking. I didn’t really get to anything that could help you connect of course,” I didn’t have the heart to tell Diavolo how Ensharra spoke about his mother.
He sighed and I cupped his cheek, “Don’t worry, I’ll figure why he’s been such an ass to you.”
“You don’t need to do that for me Starshine.”
“Sure I do. This hurts you and if I can help, I’m going to. You know that.”
He sighed, smiling sorta sadly but lovingly at me, “If anyone can get to my father, I feel it’s you Starshine.”