The Tears of Time

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“Aah…” Lucifer sighed in pleasure, leaning back in his chair. Elanor rested, limp and unconscious, across from him, separated by a varnished oak table, unbound, but still not much more than a prisoner. Lucifer looked up as he heard her heartbeat rise, her eyelids fluttering slightly as she stirred. She groaned as she came around, obviously dazed and unable to understand her surroundings.

“Elanor, how are you feeling?” he inquired as she seemed to gain a little more perception.

“Eh?” she asked, still confused, then realisation dawned on her and she snapped, “Well, you don’t care, so don’t ask.”

“I don’t care? Oh, Elanor, I’m hurt!” Lucifer cried, mock innocence plastered across his face, “Your welfare is very dear to me.”

And I’m the Queen of New Zealand, Elanor thought to herself, afraid to speak aloud. She rubbed her temples, a loose feeling of detachment still hanging around from being unconscious. She took in her surroundings whilst she did so, trying to do unseen, but highly doubting Lucifer wouldn’t notice. The room was spacious, with a high ceiling and 2 tall windows framed with dark blue curtains along one wall. She was sat in a dining-room-style wooden chair, the wood a dark rich brown to match the varnished oak table which separated her from her captor. Lucifer sat opposite in an identical chair, his legs crossed and leaning on the tabletop.

Behind him the bare wall was ornamented only with a single gilt-framed mirror, large enough to reflect most of the room in front of it. From the reflection she could see oak doors behind her, doubled to open outwards together, closed for the moment. Her observation was interrupted by Lucifer’s soft voice.

“You really don’t understand yourself, do you?” he asked rhetorically, his gaze centred on her pale face. Her usually olive complexion was still drained from fainting.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elanor said, narrowing her eyes and looking away deliberately.

“No, you don’t,” Lucifer consented, “How did you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Your party trick earlier, with the guards.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Elanor repeated, concentrating on the tiny pattern of stitches in the curtain.

“Don’t play with me, Elanor. You should have already learnt that lesson,” Lucifer warned her softly, standing up and moving round to her chair. He shoved her chair to facing him with his foot, crouching so that he was eye-level.

“I concentrated,” Elanor muttered, still unsure of her new found ability.

“Can you do it now?”

“Maybe.”

“Try,” Lucifer requested, dragging his chair round so that he could sit opposite her. Elanor looked at him nervously, then closed her eyes. Uncomfortable under the intense gaze she knew Lucifer was submitting her too; she found it difficult to concentrate on the calm that had been there each time she had disappeared. She struggled, frowning slightly. Lucifer watched her intently, listening closely to her heartbeat, its strict rhythm beating a little higher than normal.

“I can’t,” Elanor gave up, raising a hand to shield herself. Lucifer watched the motion with a raised eyebrow.

“Try again,” he said, leaning back from his hunched over position, spreading his legs in the ultimately clichéd ‘guy’ look. Elanor frowned, closing her eyes again for a minute, then giving up with a shrug.

“I can’t, not with you staring at me,” she repeated, fear crossing her face momentarily. Lucifer listened as her heart rate went up dramatically, and she cringed in her seat.

“You have to be calm right?” He asked.

“Yes…” Ella nodded.

“And I… I frighten you?” he asked, his voice low. Elanor tensed.

“Y-yes.”

Lucifer leant forward till he was inches away from her face, the corner of his mouth turning up in a smirk.

“I frighten you,” he repeated, the smirk lingering.

“No,” Elanor changed her answer, “What you can do frightens me.”

“Oh,” he said, leaning back only slightly, “What if I did this?”

He leant forward again, pressing his lips against hers, a hand circling her back to pull her towards him. Elanor stayed limp for a second, too shocked to do anything, then pulled back, a look of confusion and partial horror on her face. Lucifer arched an eyebrow, his smirk returning with alarming fastness. He leant in to kiss her again, but she moved away quickly, making him frown in annoyance.

“Elanor…” he warned, his voice low as she stood up with a dazed look.

“You must be thirty, and you’re trying to kiss me?!” she exclaimed. Lucifer stood up, his movements blurring. He caught Elanor’s hand in a flash, shoving her backwards against the wall, pinning her against his body.

“This better?” he asked, and his face blurred for a minute, growing younger. His skin lost its weathered look, becoming softer, gaining the freshness of youth. Elanor couldn’t help it, he looked beautiful. He had been handsome before, but this image of a young man could trick her. Lucifer forced his lips onto hers, and despite herself, she didn’t struggle. Her heartbeat rose as his body moulded towards hers, his chest solid against her own. Warmth spread through her limbs, and she unconsciously found herself kissing him back with a passionate fury.

Suddenly she realised what she was doing. She pulled back momentarily, looking dazed at Lucifer. Then a plan formed in her mind and she quickly threw herself back at him, pulling his head down towards her lips. But her mind was completely clear now, and as he kissed her, her thoughts travelled in on themselves. She found that level of calm that had been there before, and she disappeared into herself.

Lucifer stepped back, shocked as his hands slipped through her and into thin air. His face contorted in anger, as he listened for a heartbeat that was only a whisper now. He could see her figure, a faint ghostly mist in the air, just like before. She smiled at him sadly, not wavering although she was still afraid of what he might do. She knew he couldn’t touch her now.

“Bitch,” he stated, his face flushed from kissing her.

“Bastard,” she shot back, blinking furiously as the tears overflowed from her brimming eyes.

“I should have known,” Lucifer said, watching her face.

“Known what?” Elanor asked, the deep calm now rooted deeply throughout her limbs.

“You’re her daughter, you would be like her,” Lucifer whispered, his purring tone replaced with a harsher, gravely note.

“What do you know about me?” Elanor asked desperately.

“Oh, I know everything,” Lucifer smirked, the annoyance still clear on his face.

“What do you know?” Elanor repeated, righteous anger flooding her veins.

“You’ll be neutral, just like your mother. Neither side will win, except the bastards who have always believed in the balance!” He shouted, swiping the air which would have been Ella’s stomach.

“Who was my mother?” Elanor asked, calm and anger mixing in an odd sense of passion.

“Was? Past tense, almost appropriate. Your mother is, and was, and always will be the Daughter of the Ages. The Eternal Keeper… otherwise known as Time,” Lucifer stopped, his face still twisted in annoyance and rage at the full realisation of Elanor’s role. The damn girl didn’t even realise her own potential yet. Let Gabriel have her, she would never be of any use to either of them.