CUPID'S POV

"Are we just going to watch her pull the door that says push, or should we help her?"

The mortal behind the glass doors of hell relentlessly tried to pull the door handle. Surprising that it hadn't come off yet. Maybe it wasn't so bad to give in to Amoria's begging and come shopping. 

"Where's the fun in that?" Satan howled with laughter, and it echoed a hundred times louder, almost as if his voice could bounce off the bloodied walls and the lake of eternal fire that brightened up hell. 

Well, hell is always lit, after all.

We were sitting inside a largely lit Sangria room that reeked of charcoal and death. The glassy door in the front was our only view of how the lake of sin could tear you apart with a billion needles but still leave you alive enough to feel the pain of what you could have avoided. The only sound in the room was the flickering of fire that otherwise would plunge all of us into darkness.

She finally decided to pull the door, and Satan's face fell immediately. He looked fantastic as usual; his mahogany horns were sharp enough to split a strand of hair. His Obsidian rings with vintage diamonds covered his forearm and radiated a powerful aura, enough to destroy anybody who got close to him. 

Amoria and I sat on the throne he had gracefully offered, much to our surprise. I could hear Amoria taking in deep breaths, almost like she was having an orgasm by looking at Satan. 

"Welcome aboard to hell, my love. Care to give Satan a hug, darling?

His skin was attractively pale and his golden eyes could make you feel like he was examining every sin you had knowingly and unknowingly committed. The girl stood paralysed the minute her eyes met Satan's. Truthfully, I wouldn't move much either if I stood in front of him. It's easier being on his side or behind him.

He sighed as his shoulders slacked and I couldn't figure out if he was acting or being dramatic. 

"When you meet death-" he began and slowly made his way towards her, "You must always give a hug," he explained.  It's the only time he can feel special."

 I squinted my eyes and noticed that the logs of wood in the lake, weren't wood. After shielding my eyes, I noticed that the lake stretched beyond the walls.  Bodies, millions of them drowning in fire, getting burnt, being reborn from the ashes only to feel the pain of death by burning alive over and over again. I almost felt bad. Almost.

He moved towards a podium and picked up a scroll embroidered with the sacred texts for all arrivals to hell. The girl, still in the same dreamy expression as she froze in, seemed to be oblivious of my presence. Maybe Satan must be showing her an illusion. 

"Am I dead?" she asked after a few moments.

Satan groaned and held his head by his horns. 

"What's wrong, Satan?" Amoria fidgeted with her medallion gown and tapped her flaxen heels continuously.

WhAt's wRoNg, SaTaN?

"Her name is not on the list. She just came here by accident. She's supposed to be in the void. I hate when this happens."

 He summoned a few books out of thin air and slammed them on his dining table. I think I heard a knuckle pop. It was a little later when I realised that the table was made entirely of human bones. A skull lay in the middle of it, facing me. It looked a lot like Cruciux.

Satan pondered for a while. "You are in hell," he finally told her.

"But this is my bedroom."

Why was she so calm about this? What does she mean by that? 

Satan cursed at God and rubbed his eyes, almost as if he was trying to find a switch that would make him go blind.

"What was the last thing you remember?" he questioned her and rapidly flipped the pages of a torn book.

"I got into an accident. I was rushed to the hospital." It suddenly dawned upon her as she looked around in horror and began struggling to breathe. She wore a charm necklace with a diamond-shaped pendant and held on to it like it was the only thing that mattered.

As for Satan, he seemed to think of it as something completely normal and wasn't fazed by her behavior. I, on the other hand, was quite interested in how a little mortal brain could handle the information of being in another dimension.

"Please, I want to go home," she pleaded, panic and fear laced in her voice.

"Care to tell me why you think you must have slipped into hell?" His eerie smile didn't calm her down; not when his fangs looked so pearly white and stained with blood at the same time. 

She looked around and shut her eyes immediately. "Please, I am the only second child."

Satan looked at her like she was insane.

Personally, I thought that she should be in heaven.

"Would you like to explain your last-minute thoughts before you slipped into the unconscious?"

He pulled out a bottle of tranquillitas and poured a quarter of it into a glass. "Drink," he ordered.

Judging by the amount of sweat that made her clothes stick to her, she had to be thirsty. She drank it without hesitation.

"I was reading a book before my car crashed."

Oh.

"Name it."

She seemed a lot calmer after having finished her drink. I should ask Satan if I could also borrow a bottle of tranquillitas for Cruciux.

She fumbled with her words and I could almost hear Amoria and Satan stifling their laughter like they were sharing a joke that I wasn't a part of.

"Louder. I didn't catch that part."

She took in a breath and decided it was better to answer his question. Smart girl.

"Desiring the Mafia-

Satan burst into laughter and the girl's cheek almost turned scarlet red. For a minute, I thought she burst a blood vessel.

"What else have you been reading?" Satan ran his hand across a particular page and focused on being serious.

She looked down at her bare feet and mumbled in the lowest possible. 

"Sold to the gang leader."

Satan shut the book he was holding and the girl immediately burst into a kaleidoscope of Amethyst butterflies before fading into nothingness. 

Satan began laughing as soon as she completely disappeared; clapping his hands like a five-year-old, occasionally snorting in between. 

"That was the funniest mortal I came across today," he added, not restraining his joy in the slightest. 

Amoria looked at him while she laughed along and I couldn't help chuckle at how crazy mortals can be. Though I wished Amoria looked at me instead.

"Damn, that just made my whole day." He wiped his tears and finally noticed me. He gave a quick scan from top to bottom and grunted.

"Your Majesty." 

He glanced at Amoria who fished out a merlot sticky note out of her Dijon purse. I taped the note on her forehead while she was asleep, just in case she forgets.

"We would like to collect a few items."

Satan scanned over the list and raised his eyebrows; a smirk growing on his face. "You are creating a spell, love?"

Amoria blushed.

Is she mental?

"This is my last mission, your Highness. I will be alive once again."

Satan didn't seem to like anything about it. "You know, love," he began. 

This is going to take a long time. We should have an app too that lets other organisms deliver our items instead of traditional shopping.

Satan continued, "The first thing they told about you when you arrived was how you died. A powerful witch who had to ultimately arrive due to a continuum of terrible choices."

Amoria looked down at her gold rings; avoiding Satan's eyes. "Hell seems a lot more bearable to me when you are here," he confessed. 

Before he decided to give his background story a little more spotlight, I cleared my throat and dropped to my knees. Satan always loved a good show.

"We have to create a love potion, your Majesty. We would be eternally grateful for your generosity."

If there was any hint of annoyance or desire to chop my head, he didn't show it. He ordered me to rise and handed me his staff. Dark magic flowed inside me once again. It felt like I had a rush of the most powerful drug in the world. Shades of Violet wires tightened my wrists and a few managed to reach my head and formed a crown.

Satan brought the list a few inches toward my face. "Read your list," he commanded. "Remember to mention the exact thing you need. Nothing less, nothing more."

Taking in a deep breath, I mumbled a silent prayer that I won't choke on my saliva while I am reciting.

"Ostende mihi divino amore. Oro 9 Dulcissme vinium, 8 fresh Basil folia, 7 fresh Rose petala, 1 stilla of honey, 6 caryophyllenes, 5 Apple seminibus, 4 drops of Vanilla Extract, 3 fresh Strawberries, and 2 broken Cinnamon haeret. Meus sit amor."

I watched in fascination as the wires from the staff sparked in delight and the fires in the room blended to a lighter shade of purple. The staff took control of my arm that it was being held in and pointed towards the skull that was kept on the table. A lavender liquid oozed out of the staff and poured itself into the skull's mouth socket. 

The magic around quickly returned to normal as Satan pulled the staff away and carefully handed me the skull. Not the potion bottle I was thinking of, but it will do. 

"Dip your arrows into the skull's mouth before striking the mortals."

My crown vanished into thin air and my head felt a little lighter. 

"Your highness, we thank you," Amoria bowed, bending her knees a lot more than she normally did.

Satan looked at her like how a mortal looked at a mango seed before devouring it. "Anytime, love. Anytime." 

She blushed. Again. Disgusting.

I carefully handed her the skull I was holding and summoned a portal back to Eros Island. It was one of my favourite things to do; just watching shades of pink light rays radiating from my palm opening a new world.

She hopped in and I shut the portal before she had a chance to look back. Satan raised an eyebrow.

"I wish it was her instead of you," he grumped.

I sat back on his throne again and looked at the lake. "Is that a dead body?" 

All sense of formalities disappeared as it had flown out of my body. He didn't seem to mind it. Maybe he gave up on me centuries ago and was used to me.

He looked over to see what I had been staring at. "Maybe?"

"It is. I can see it, it is right in front of me."

"I'll clean it up before dinner," he answered casually. "Why are you waiting here anyway?"

"Thought I'd say bye. A proper one." I honestly wanted to.

"Is this about Amoria, Cupid?"

"Do you like her?"

"Do you like her?"

"Well, no. But-" I ran out of words. Centuries of speaking a million languages and I run out of vocabulary at this very moment.

"Well if you don't like her that way, it shouldn't bother you."

It shouldn't bother me. I didn't have feelings for Amoria. 

"We shall see each other again. Satan." 

He didn't chop off my head. 

I opened up a portal and waved a final goodbye at Satan. Distortions of Amoria sitting like a banana and reading a book crossed my view.

"Feelings are for the weak", I muttered to myself before entering Eros Island and closing the portal behind me.

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Out of curiosity, what part of the world are you in?

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