Ahsid was nervous. Quite jittery, she spent most of the morning with the book that Ibrahim had lent her. Both her parents had gone out somewhere, considering it was a Sunday and she took the opportunity to research about demons and Lucifer himself. She wondered how the Demon King would react to meeting a mortal.

"Have fun,"waved back Mrs. Ejrehkum.

She had wanted her darling daughter to wear something special but she had curtly told her that she would be lending something from Kaya.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Ejrehkum for the sandwich," called out Kaya.

Ahsid had to literally drag Kaya or Kayla out, considering how much she was chatting with her mother.

"Your mom's cool, Ahsid," said Kayla, munching the sandwich contently.

Ahsid rolled her eyes. No! She should not be thinking depressing thoughts...

Walking through the portal and finally into the mansion, she found it to be in chaos.
Dumos was running about, his arms laden with several coats and vests and suits.

"Get these to the second room on the third floor," he ordered Zion.

"Dumos, where is my hairbrush? Dumos..."

"Oi, get the gifts ready. Master wants it to be the best among all the other Coetus,"said Noah to someone.

Ahsid's jaws dropped. She would have been rooted to the spot had Kayla not grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the confusion.

"Kayla, your stuff is in the first room on the second floor. Tell Ahsid..." Dumos could never complete.

"Is it always like this," asked Ahsid, subdued by the noise.

Laughing, Kayla explained how Dumos always started doing things late and then worried himself and others sick if everything wasn't perfect.

"Why am I not surprised," muttered Ahsid.

It seemed exactly like the thing Dumos would do. She could still hear muffled shouts and screams and could not help but giggle, her hesitation gone like the whiff of a wind.

"So, finally apart from you demons and Dane and me, whose going?"

"Zion and Noah."

"Noah? I didn't know he was a fan of Hell."

"Not exactly. I think he likes it as it is the purest form of democracy that you will ever find unlike some places."

Ahsid was surprised! Hell and Democracy were two concepts that did not really blend well.

"But you address Lucifer as King?"

"A true king is one who is accepted by his people. Once in every century, we demons vote to select our leader. There are divisions yes, but it's based on your capacity and merit, not birth."

"Do you mean the angels?"

"Stupid winged creatures! No regard for beings. They think they are so high and mighty. They still follow a policy of ranking by birth. Even if you are incapable and do not perform as expected, you are still designated that rank. Tell me, how is that fair to the others?"

"But hasn't Lucifer been the King for centuries? How then is the system transparent?"

Kayla sighed. She was partially irritated at the fact that Ahsid did not believe her completely, asking her contradictory questions, which went beyond her capacity of analysis.

"That's because he has been a good leader. If we don't have problems with a leader, then why should we change him?"

Ahsid understood what Kayla meant.

A good leader-who knew what was the proper definition of those words?

"The point is that we are still treated like we are the evil ones, even though we quietly do our own tasks, interfering only when necessary. Yet, the angels are revered by the mortals, in spite of their sloppy routines."

Ahsid wondered if she was secretly referring to Moloch's baby spirit.

"I am sorry, Ahsid. I get really pumped up about these matters."

"No need to apologize. You are always welcome to tell me about your opinions on issues like these. I am still new to this world so I have a lot to know and learn."

Kayla nodded. "Now, the most important thing-what do we wear?"

Ahsid groaned internally, as she turned to face the scores of gowns hanging neatly in the racks, by the side of the wooden walls.

A/N: The next chapter has too many images.