Smitten : Series

"Now, my little angels, be sure to all stick together. We don't want anyone getting lost on this field trip, now do we?" the teacher exclaimed with a bright smile on his face as he detained one of the more troublesome little children that liked to wander.

"Master Mayo, has anyone ever really gotten lost?" piped up the pride and joy of the younger class—a.k.a. the most annoying of the little bastards.

The teacher let out a laugh, waving off the thought with his hand. "No, of course not. I've never heard of a student actually being lost down here," he said, continuing to smile brightly to reassure his students.

"Bullshit," I coughed behind my hand. The students seemed to have missed it, but the teacher shot me a look that showed he had caught that. Smirking behind my hand, I turned my eyes away, refusing to meet his gaze when he was being such a liar. Only after the teacher had turned his gaze away and his attention back to his younger students did the older kids around my age begin bugging me.

"Hey, hey, what was that about?" one of them asked in a hiss, jabbing me in the back to get my attention.

"What was what about?" I asked innocently, as though I wasn't fully aware of the knowledge they wanted me to share with them.

"That bullshit!" he hissed.

"Why was it bullshit?" another guy hissed.

"Do you know someone who got lost down here?" added in another.

I no longer hid my smirk now as I looked at my comrades. "I don't just know one such somebody. I am one such somebody," I said with just the slightest air of superiority.

"What?!" gasped several of them. Immediately the teacher slid a gaze our way. We all, of course, started looking around interestedly, faking like we really cared about being on this stupid tour. When they were sure the teacher was no longer paying attention to us after a few minutes, the older group focused their attention back on me. "You got lost in Hell?!" the one who had first questioned me hissed.

I pushed my hair behind my ear now, my smirk becoming a very superior smile. "Yeah. If you guys don't remember, I was in Mr. Mayo's class when I was younger. We went on this exact same fieldtrip to Hell, and I wandered away from the group. The damn teacher didn't even notice I was gone until after I was returned to Heaven, so it never got reported and therefore never was official. That's how these teachers can say with a straight face that no student ever has gotten lost down here," I said.

"How did you get returned to Heaven? If teacher didn't know you were gone, who found you and took you back up there?" one of the group asked curiously.

I now pulled my hair out from behind my ear, tugging on it thoughtfully. "Well, after I wandered around for a little on my own, I ended up bumping into this devil. I never got his name, but he was pretty pretty. Anyways, he took one look at me and knew I wasn't an angel that had come here on my own, so he took my for ice cream to make sure I wasn't upset and then took me back to Heaven," I said, recalling the memory for them.

"What?! A devil took you for ice cream? That's totally whack! There's no way!" was the basic summing up of what the group exclaimed. Again we were all forced to fake interest in the tour as the teacher shot us a look. If we kept this up, he was going to break us up. God, would it ever be embarrassing if he made me stand at the front with him or something gay like that. I didn't doubt he would, since I knew he didn't doubt I was the cause of all the ruckus.

Again, as soon as the teacher thought we were paying attention to him and turned his own attention away from us, the older students pounced all over me in their curiosity. "What did the devil look like?" one asked.

"What was his name?" a second asked.

"Did he do anything weird to you?" asked another.

"Um....he had pale blue and pale blond striped hair...and his eyes were all yellow with red pupils...and he was very pale…he had many small horns rimming his ears...and, like I said before, he was very pretty. I never caught his name, though. He told me to call him Dandelion, but there's no way that was his name. As for doing anything weird, the only weird thing he did aside from actually be nice to me and save me was to feel me all over under my clothes and kiss me," I said, working hard to remember the details for them.

“Holy shit! He kissed you?! You kissed a devil?! You got felt up by a devil?!” was the basic summing up of what the group screamed at the top of their damn lungs. I could only stand there and pray that Mayo didn’t break my wings and throw me off a cliff for causing such a ruckus.



“Run free!  Run, my furry little friends! Run like the hounds of Hell are on your heels!” I screamed. Grabbing up one of the rabbits as I herded them along, I hurled it like a football through the air, howling with joy when it spread furry white wings and took to the air. Seeing their companion fly, some half of the rabbits running away now sprang off the ground as their wings sprang out, flying off for a faster escape.

“What in Heaven’s holy name are you doing!?!” Mayo screamed at the top of his lungs, rushing over just a little too late to stop me or catch any of the runaway rabbits.

“I’m liberating those poor little bunnies,” I said matter-of-factly as I smiled brightly up at him.

“Those are debbits! Those are devil rabbits! They’re blood-sucking, flesh-eating, flying furry monsters! That’s the reason they were caged and being prepared to be destroyed! Weren’t you listening to me when I told the class that?!” he shouted, torn between fury and panic.

“It’s hard to hear what you say when you make me walk thirty feet behind everyone else,” I said innocently. Though that was true, I actually had heard him when he had told the class about those rabbits. It was because I had heard him that I decided to set free the little furry monsters. This was something of an act of revenge for him punishing me when it had been all the other kids of my age level that had disrupted the tour, not me. I had been an good, quiet little angel. It was unfair of him to single me out for punishment like that, so he deserved punishment like this.

The teacher turned away from me now, running his hands wildly through his hair as he thought aloud. “The tour is going to be delayed by at least an hour or two while those debbits are hunted back down. I certainly can’t risk any of the students spotting them and trying to catch them. Especially not the younger ones. They wouldn’t know the difference between a devil rabbit and a regular rabbit, even though I just explained it to them,” he muttered to himself. I watched with a very pleased smile on my face, not particularly caring if he really believed it was all an innocent mistake.

He whirled back around to me, holding up a finger purposefully and then pointing it at the ground. “You will wait here for me, Xevva. After I take all of the other students inside a shop to order lunch, I am going to come out here and have a serious talk with you. Misunderstanding or not, you are in big trouble for liberating those rabbits,” he said sternly. With that he whirled away once more, swiftly moving back to where he had left the other students and leading them off.

If he thought I was really going to wait around to be told off, he was nuts. I was going to take this fine opportunity to make my escape. The instant the teacher and the majority of the students were inside, I spun on my heel and made to run off. …However, I found standing not but a foot behind me was a group of devils that had not previously been there. Shit. I was going to get in real trouble for letting those rabbits go now.

“I didn’t know they were debbits when I let them out of their cages. I swear on the Bible,” I said swiftly, trying very hard to look more angelic and innocent than I truly was. Immediately all of the devils smiled in that devilish way that all devils seemed to. That’s when I actually stopped to take in their looks. They all were fair-haired, having hair striped pale blond and another random pale colour. And it just so happened that one of them sported pale blue as the second colour of stripes in their hair.

Before I could say another word, I was suddenly grabbed by the hair and forced to bow deeply. “Xevva, show proper respect to the current Court of Lucifers,” Mayo ordered, being the one to so rudely force me to bend over. At least he was bowing as well, not just forcing me to do so.

“You’re pulling my hair! Let go!” I exclaimed, swatting and pulling at his hand. He released me at my protests, but probably it was only because he’d already made me bow by now. I straightened up swiftly, swatting at him a few extra times for good measure before straightening my hair. “Who did you say they were?” I asked almost as an afterthought. I glanced at my teacher as I spoke and then at the devils afterwards—focusing on the familiar seeming one, naturally.

“Do you never pay attention to what I say? These are the current Court of Lucifers,” he said, narrowing his eyes at me.

“Like the Count of Draculas and the Cross of Christs?” I asked curiously, cocking my head to the side slightly.

“Precisely,” purred one of the devils in a silky voice. I couldn’t keep a small little squeak from escaping me, instinctively taking a step away from the devil group. It was a wholly natural reaction, for an angel unused to hearing the voice of a devil. They didn’t look offended by my reaction. Actually, they all chuckled softly, smiling that much more at me.

“I really must apologize for my student. He has limited experience with Hellians, devils, and nobles alike,” Mayo said weakly, bowing a second time as he apologized.

“But he does have experience with them, beyond just little trip into Hell,” the familiar devil said, stating more than asking.

“Dandelion?” I asked curiously, tugging my hair thoughtfully.

In the next instant I was again being unexpectedly forced to bow by Mayo. “That is “Court of Lucifer, Dandelion”! Address him properly!” he ordered.

I ignored him, now not merely swatting away his hand but shoving him in the stomach to get him away from me entirely. “Your name is really Dandelion?!” I blurted out, far too shocked to worry about being proper.

“Is that a problem for you?” Dandelion asked curiously, even while still smiling his devilish but brilliant smile.

“Wait, how do you even know him? You didn’t even recognize that he was a Court of Lucifer!” Mayo exclaimed.

“Didn’t Cross of Christ, Rachelle tell you it was Dandelion that brought me back to Heaven when I got lost on this fieldtrip before?” I asked curiously, looking at my teacher.

“No! And address him properly!” Mayo snapped.

I frowned, looking over at Dandelion now. “Do I have to call you Court of Lucifer, Dandelion?” I asked as cutely as I could manage.

“No,” he said simply. I swiftly turned my eyes back to my teacher, smiling with smug triumph. He looked quite the bit startled and possibly even disturbed. However, he didn’t say anything, perhaps being at a loss for words in such a bizarre situation.

Since he wasn’t going to speak, I looked back to Dandelion and the other devils, switching out my smug smile for my curious head cock. “What’re you and the other Court of Lucifers doing here, Dandelion? Am I really in that much trouble for letting loose all those debbits?” I asked, praying mentally that it wasn’t me that had brought them here.

Dandelion chuckled, shaking his head no as he now reached for me. I didn’t pull away from him, allowing him to pull me away and aside. “How are you, little angel?” he asked only once out of hearing range of my teacher and the other devils.

“I’m…not little anymore. I’m small for my age, but I’m not little. I’m fourteen going on fifteen,” I said, frowning softly.

There was a pause, and then he spoke. “You look like you‘re still six,” he stated simply.

“My growth got stunted, okay?! I badly burned one of my wings, and stunting an angel’s wing growth almost always results in the rest of their body’s growth halting!” I blurted out, red hot embarrassment rushing to my face.

There was a pause, and then he spoke again. “Your wings look normal for your age,” he stated.

“My wing growth resumed after a few years. The rest of my growth didn’t, though,” I grumbled hunching my shoulders and folding my wings tightly now.

There was a pause, and then he leaned down and pecked me on the cheek. “I’m glad your growth was stunted. It’s almost like there’s not been any time passed at all, since I first laid eyes on you,” he whispered softly, having pulled back just enough to let me see the intense look in his eyes.

“…Were you a Court of Lucifer when I met you?” I asked. I didn’t know why I asked it. It was just random curiosity.

“No. A Court of Lucifer only remains with that title for six years at a time. Then they must take at least a year’s break before they may become one again. I was on my break when we met,” he said, smiling softly at me.

“How old are you? You look like you’re hardly in your teens. I didn’t know you were an adult before,” I said, frowning softly.

“I’m sixty-five. Most devils growth naturally stunts in their late teens. My growth was stunted a tad early, though, by an unfortunate incident involving the loss of my tail,” he explained happily.

“Eh?! Really?!” I exclaimed, my jaw dropping and my eyes going wide.

“Indeed. Sadly, when a devil’s tail is harmed or removed, it cannot heal or grow back. We don’t possess the same extreme healing powers angels do. Our race, instead, gets a much higher durability,” he said, still smiling softly all the while.

“Not that! You’re fifty years older than me!” I exclaimed.

He lost his soft smile at my words, looked surprised for a moment, and then suddenly smiled in that devilish way again. “Is that a problem for you?” Dandelion asked curiously, even while still smiling his devilish but brilliant smile.

I suddenly snapped my dropped jaw closed and narrowed my eyes slightly, blushing hotly again as I looked away. “….No, it‘s not a problem,” I mumbled finally, peeking back at him from the corner of my eye.

“Good. Now then, why don’t we go for some ice cream, Xevva?” he asked, reached for my hand but not taking it up with his own.

“…Same place as before?” I asked curiously, looking back at him fully now.

“Same place as before,” he said, nodding his head curtly. I reached up to tug on my hair thoughtfully for a moment, then swiftly dropped my hand down from my hair to grab his in answer to his offer. Without a single moment more of thought, I allowed him to lead me off.



“I feel ill,” I mumbled, half-pressing my face into Dandelion’s chest as I tried to curl up even smaller so that I might fit better in his lap. He just continued to smile at me in the same way he had been for the last hour, thoughtlessly petting my hair, curling it around his fingers as he did so. “What’d you say those pretty pale purple and pink swirly drink things were again?” I asked, peering groggily up at him with the eye not closed and pressed into his chest.

“Smites,” he said simply, gazing down at me so very lovingly and contently.

I nodded my head sluggishly as I recalled him telling me the treat’s name before I had set off on my little binge. “Oh yeah… I never heard of those before, but those sure tasted good. Probably shouldn’t’ve had seven of them, though…” I mumbled, thinking aloud just as much as I was talking to him.

“They’re illegal to sell to anyone under one hundred in Heaven,” he stated.

“But not here?” I asked.

“Here it’s common for those as young as twelve to order them. That’s why they’re sold together with ice cream in a float form,” he said.

I was silent for a moment, thinking about that. Either Heaven was more stiff and stuffy that I had ever realized, or Hell was just really lax about age limits on things. There definitely had to be a helluva reason for there to be such a large age difference in the allowed age for a mere drink, though. “…I guess I better not mention the seven smites I had to Mr. Mayo. He’s a real stickler about rules and stuff. He gets really pissy over the least little rule-breaking. Even if it’s legal here in Hell, he’ll be mad if he knows I had something I would never be allowed to have in Heaven,” I said thoughtfully.

“…I’m sure you won’t have to worry about what Mayo will think about your drinking some smites,” Dandelion said softly, his voice suddenly sounding somewhat less than happy. I now pulled my face out of his chest and turned my head up, looking with both eyes up at him. He was no longer wearing that smile that had been on his face for the last hour.

I frowned just softly, suddenly feeling less than happy myself to see that he seemed less than happy now. “What do you mean?” I asked.

He didn’t answer right away, continuing to just stare down at me for a few moments. “……You don’t need to worry about what Mayo thinks anymore, because you are no longer under his care,” he answered finally.

“Whose care am I under, then?” I asked.

“…Mine. You’re under my care,” he said, not hesitating quite so long to answer this time.

Now I was the one who was silent for several moments, just staring up at him blankly as I tried to understand that. I was in his care? Since when? And why? I mean, not to complain, but I could not comprehend it. Who in their right mind randomly put an angel child in the care of a devil? That we knew each other from before made it no less crazy; and that he was a Court of Lucifer made it probably only that much more crazy “…I don’t understand, Dandelion,” I said softly, my soft frown resurfacing.

“Allow me to explain. It’s going to take a bit to explain everything fully so that you can understand. Just work with me and listen to me, okay?” he asked. I nodded my head slowly, feeling a slight bit uncertain but fully willing to work to understand. “Now, first of all, do you know what the job is for those chosen to be a Court of Lucifer, a Count of Dracula, or a Cross of Christ?” he asked.

“Um…those chosen….mediate the peace between Hell, Haven, and Heaven…making sure that no conflicts turn to war…and that no malicious intent is had between any of three races or within the races themselves,” I said, dragging through my memories of school lessons for the textbook answer to his question.

“Very good. That is exactly correct. Now, I told you before that a Court of Lucifer maintains their title for only six years at a time, then has a year break before they can claim that title again. What I did not tell you, however, is that nearly never does a devil become a Court of Lucifer after the age of fifty. The special energy within our soul that is required to be a Court of Lucifer, you see, does tend to waver and even extinguish outright after our first fifty years of life, as we become corrupted in the devils’ way,” he explained very slowly and carefully for me.

“But you’re sixty-five,” I stated matter-of-factly.

“And I was fifty-six when you first met me,” he said in the same matter-of-fact manner,

“Yeah. And you were on your one year break before starting another term and a Court of Lucifer,” I said.

“That is true, but it is not correct,” he said. I just stared stupidly, so he went ahead and explained further. “I was fully prepared to retire myself from being a Court of Lucifer at exactly the age of fifty. However, the residents and courts of Hell both pleaded with me to do one more term, as I had done such an excellent job in my terms before then. Because the plea for me to again become a Court of Lucifer was unanimous and unwavering, after a year’s break I agreed to go through one more term for the sake of Hell,” he explained.

“I served my term, doing just as excellent a job as I always had, despite my age. I then again tried to retire myself, despite the fact that the residents and courts of Hell were again pleading for another term from me. As almost a year was drawing upon me and all of Hell was eager to see what I would do, I stumbled upon you,” he said softly, the loving look suddenly returning to his face, “It might have just been that I drank a smite—a drink known for being something of a love potion—when I took you for ice cream, but I was smitten with you almost instantly.”

“After I eventually managed to talk myself into returning you from whence you came, I felt compelled to take you there in person. I took you to Cross of Christ, Rachelle, whom was a friend of mine through my many terms as a Court of Lucifer. She brought up the question of me again serving “one last term”. I have no idea what came over me—or, I had no idea at the time—but I told her I would only serve again if in doing so I could somehow have you for my own,” he said.

“Most surprisingly….she not only accepted on the spot, but immediately laid out a deal: I would serve “one last term” a second time, and see how I faired. If afterwards I thought I could stand it and still do a fine job, then you would be given to me under the premise of becoming a Cross of Christ. You would not be of age for becoming one yet, so I would go another “one last term” with you studying under me. There would be a one year break for me, after which you would finally be twenty-two—the age which is required for an angel to become a Cross of Christ—and then you yourself would decide what you wished to do,” he explained.

He paused now, allowing my mind a moment to catch up and then another moment for me to grow anxious as I awaited the end of his explanation. “…If you wanted to stay with me, you would become a Cross of Christ, and I would have to serve as a Court of Lucifer until the day you retired. If you didn’t want to stay with me, you could return to Heaven and I could finally retire forever from being a Court of Lucifer,” he finished finally.

There was again a pause, but this time it was a pause I caused. I stared at him, my brain scrambling and struggling to lay out the situation plain and simple. Problem was, the situation wasn’t plain and simple. Even though he had explained so thoroughly so as to help me be able to understand, it was still a very complex thing. “…So you….you are….you want…you like me?” I asked, my brow furrowing as I tried to figure this out.

“…No….” he said softly, his voice almost inaudible, “…I love you.”

There was no pause this time. I immediately leaned up, pressing my lips to his in a mimic of the kiss he had given me a little over eight years ago. The kiss didn’t last long, as I accidentally broke it off when letting out a soft sound of surprise when his fingers graced over a part of me that had not been touched by anyone else even once in the eight years since our last kiss. “I-I-I love you, too,” I stuttered out when he looked displeased by the abrupt end of the kiss.

The loving look swiftly returned to his face at that, accompanied by a devilish smile. “Do you now? Are you sure that isn’t merely the smites talking?” he asked, chuckling softly.

“Don’t be a cruel tease now, Dandelion,” came a voice out of the blue. Dandelion and I both looked over, catching sight swiftly of the other Court of Lucifers. The devil that had spoken was one who sported pink as the second colour of stripes in his hair. “It’s not pink, just pale red,” the man said suddenly, smiling devilishly only when I looked stunned by his words.

“He’s not psychic, just a mentalist,” another of the Court of Lucifers—this one with pale green as his second colour—said. I didn’t look any less stunned at his sudden words.

“They’re not reading your mind, just your body. Don’t pay them any mind at all. It only pleases their egos when you give them such strong reactions,” Dandelion said flatly. As he spoke he reached out and cupped my face in his hand, turning my head, eyes, and attention back to him.

“And we wouldn’t want his strong reactions to please anyone but you, now would we, Dandelion?” the one with pale red stripes purred. If I’d have to guess, judging by the way he said that and the glare Dandelion shot him, I would say he had meant that in a rather perverse way. Just thinking about the way he probably meant that made my face turn a shade that was most certainly pink and not just pale red. “Oh dear, did I perhaps say something to steal another strong reaction from your little angel?” he purred, obviously loving this.

“Willis, I may be old for a Court of Lucifer, but I am still very young and vital. Don’t think I can’t or won’t harm you if you antagonize me. Xevva is charged to me and only me. Therefore, by law, I have every right in both Heaven and Hell to maim and even kill you if you assault and/or harm him in any way physically, mentally, or emotionally,” Dandelion stated, his words very light but extremely sharp.

“I do believe that is Dandelion’s way of telling us that, even though he can tease the kid, we can’t tease him,” said the devil with pale green in his hair.

“Hmm…. I do believe I must agree. Fine, then, Dandelion, have it your way. However, before we go on our way, I must just say one more thing,” said Willis, “…You know very well that smites do not cause a person to feel a love they did not already possess. A smite merely makes one consciously aware of the fact that they are smitten and bold enough to act on it.” With that, he and the other Court of Lucifers retreated from the scene.

Though the other devils were now gone, Dandelion didn’t release my face on his own. So, as I reached up to tug my hair thoughtfully with one hand, my other hand reached up and tugged his hand away from my face. He relinquished his hold on my face easily enough, but only because he swiftly switched to holding my hand when it tugged on his. Watching me with the same thoughtfulness with which I was watching him, he pulled my hand up to his mouth and kissed it softly.

Finally, after a long pause of us just staring at each other in thought, I spoke. “…It was love at first sight?” I asked.

“Was it now?” he asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Well…you said that you drank a smite the day you met me, and that it made you smitten with me….but he just said smites only make love already felt more intense and noticeable…so for the smite to have made you feel smitten that day, you had to have fallen in love with me the moment you laid eyes on me,” I said somewhat uncertainly, wondering if my thinking was correct.

There was a pause, and then suddenly a smile of the likes I’d never seen before flooded onto his face. “It definitely was. It certainly was. It feels silly to say—an old devil like me falling so swiftly for an angel so young—but I was smitten right away. Even before I’d had the smite, honestly, I can say I felt smitten,” he said, his voice more heavenly than that of any angel I had ever heard. I couldn’t stop a blush and a look of awe from flooding to my own face as it settled on me that he would smile and sound such a way because of his memory of meeting me.

I looked swiftly away, the hot embarrassment on my face rushing to another part of me—the heart! I meant the heart! It was absolutely thundering in my chest, loudly swearing to me that the strength of this feeling had little to do with the seven smites I’d had. I knew then and there what my choice would be, some six or seven years down the road, when it came time for me to choose if I would stay in Hell with Dandelion or go back to Heaven on my own.

“Is that a problem for you?” Dandelion asked curiously, even while still smiling his brilliant and almost angelic smile.

My thoughts interrupted, I turned my attention and gaze back to him. “…It’s not a problem at all,” I mumbled softly. My thoughts resumed suddenly leading me to wonder if Dandelion was also a mentalist and could read my thoughts through my body language. That thought, of course, only made the embarrassment rush to return to my face in a brilliant blush.

“…There are those that know of this deal and think I got the short end of the stick; having to serve terms past my years without the deal even being sealed, and having to serve only more terms afterwards if you choose to stay with me,” he suddenly said softly, “…There is no doubt in my mind, though—especially as I gaze upon your face now—that I most certainly have the longer end of the stick in this situation. Even if I have to serve as a Court of Lucifer until I am a hundred, having you is far more than worth the work.”

Naturally, I only blushed even more, finally having to look away again as my embarrassment became strong enough to cover both my face and my heart simultaneously. “Ah, you really are being a cruel tease…” I mumbled embarrassedly, tugging at my hair softly.

“Oh? Am I now? And what makes you say that?” he asked, his eyebrows riding high on his face in surprise.

I tugged at my hair more fervently now, trying very hard to get the nerve to speak the words I desired to say next. “You…saying such things…makes me say that…” I said slowly, licking my lips anxiously.

“What’s so cruelly teasing about me saying such things, when they are completely true?” he asked, arching an eyebrow at me now.

I was going to either have a heart attack or rip my hair out if I didn’t hurry up and say the rest. “If they are so true…why do you say them…without seeming to wish to consummate your words and our deal…?” I mumbled almost inaudibly now, “That’s why you seem to be such a cruel tease to me.”

There was no pause this time. He had put his lips to mine in a kiss the very second my words had finished passing over my lips. I had no doubt in my mind that he was a mentalist the same as the other Court of Lucifers, that he had known where I was going with my thinking and words the entire time, and that he had, indeed, just been cruelly teasing me. I really didn’t mind any of that, though, because there was one other undoubted thought in my mind that made everything alright: he was smitten with me.

In the end, no matter what title he had or what abilities he had or what inclinations he had, he loved me very much. He had loved me for the past eight years, and he undoubtedly would love me in the future for at least eight times as long as that. And just as undoubted as that was that I would certainly love him for just as long as he loved me, no matter how much of a cruel tease he might be.