The Crown's Obsession (WN)

Helena walked around and saw the Devil's servant step away from his master as if he was making space for her to come and stand very next to the Devil. Without showing much reaction on her face, she came to stand there while facing the painter, crossing her arms against her chest.

"To think that we ended up standing next to each other. Isn't this what destiny is about?" Vladimir smirked when he said this to Helena.

"Or it might be the beginning of my bad luck," replied Helena without bothering to turn and look at him. Calhoun couldn't help but clear his throat while not looking at his right side.

"How cold. But no worries. Me being the Devil and along with the bad luck, things will turn into good luck. You know what they say, two negatives equals one positive," responded Vladimir with a grin.

The painter made Lucy's dress proper, while positioning them in a way she wanted before going behind the canvas and said, "This looks great. I will start outlining everyone before I start to add colours."

Once the painter finished working on the outline, she had only Theodore and Lucy stand without the others so that she could capture the expression and every other detail of them.

Theodore didn't want a portrait where they were standing like the rest of the other portraits, and considering how it was their day, he put his arm around Lucy's waist and brought her closer to him. With a smile on his face, he noticed Lucy's smile that broke through her lips.

Lucy held the flower for the time being so that it would come in the portrait that Fad was working on. In a whisper, she asked, "Did you know about it? About them?" her eyes turned to the side where Vladimir and Helena were standing.

"I think it is a surprise for most of us," Theodore replied in a whisper. Maybe not to Calhoun as he seemed to be enjoying the little banter that was going on between the Devil and the head of the High House.

When a breeze came to pass near them, it ruffled Lucy's hair at the side, bringing it on her face. Using his hand, he pushed the piece of her hair behind before making sure her hair was alright.

Lucy's heart warmed at Theodore's action. He wasn't her brother's guard or the King's right-hand man anymore, but her husband. The thought itself made her giddy, and she felt like flying along with the wind that swept where they stood now. This was her most precious day, and she doubted she would be able to replace it with anything else.

Everything had been perfect, and it was thanks to her family and the others who had made it happen.

"Where did you go earlier?" asked Lucy as he had left her side for a while when she was speaking to her aunt.

"Gabriel dropped the veil for a few minutes," answered Theodore and Lucy's eyes widened. It did? Asked Lucy in her mind. "I met Madame Fraunces before she disappeared."

"No wonder Odin is in his younger form again," muttered Lucy. A bright smile appeared after it, happy knowing Theodore had met the woman today. "He's a kind angel, isn't he? Gabriel."

Theodore nodded his head, "He is," he returned her smile with his own.

Though Lucy couldn't take her eyes off of her husband, every time his eyes stayed longer on her, she lowered her eyes as she couldn't believe how handsome he looked.

He wore a white suit as his wedding dress, and his hair looked just like the usual. The polite gentleman and Lucy leaned towards him with a blush on her cheeks.

"Did I tell you how beautiful you look?" he asked her, his words music to Lucy's ears, and she nodded her head.

"You did, but I don't mind you telling it to me again," said Lucy with a grin and the painter who was working on capturing Theodore's facial expression stopped so that she could work on Lucy's expression as it was one that was filled with bliss.

"From now on, I will tell it to you every day," replied Theodore, "I ended up marrying the most beautiful girl I will ever get to lay my eyes on."

As the wedding couple were getting their painting done at first, it gave the opportunity for the angel and the devil to speak to each other.

"It is good to see you here with the rest of them," commented Gabriel, who was standing next to Vladimir. "Both you and Paschar broke rules and have you heirs in the living world."

"Exciting, isn't it. To have the devil's grandson marry an angel's daughter," one side of Vladimir's lips pulled up into a smug smile. "What are you doing here? Isn't mingling with the mortals this closely going to warrant you for a punishment? Or did they turn liberal?"

Gabriel smiled at his former brother's words, "You are too harsh for a person who came from that place that you initially belonged to."

"How about you people give me my daughter back then? I am sure with the erased memories, she will live happily in my company," stated Vladimir.

"Why did I know this was going to come up," hummed Gabriel. The war between the angel's and the demon's has simmered down since Vladimir's return to Hell. Gabriel still hoped for harmony and for people not to fight.

Gabriel had broken the rule when he had let Paschar off when the angel had let Madeline's memories return. He couldn't break another one like that by letting a soul out of Heaven where it was safer compared to other worlds.

"You seemed to have taken an interest to the woman in the living world," said Gabriel, shifting the conversation by looking at Helena, who was talking to her fellow High House member. "Did you know there were some rumours in this world where she and Michael were together."

Hearing this, Vladimir's eyes narrowed. "Rumours is it?"

Gabriel had an innocent smile on his lips, and he replied, "I don't know much about that. I never asked Michael about it as you know how his lips are often sealed."

Vladimir rolled his eyes, "Surely nothing happened," the competitive streak appeared in the Devil's blood on hearing Michael's name associated with the woman he had been eying in the mortal world. "If something like that had happened, he would have been punished."

Eons had passed since he had left the Heavenly realm, and there was no way an angel would have dared to break the rules again by getting into a relationship with a person in the living world because they had seen the punishment he and Paschar had gone through for going against the rules set by Heaven.

"You should come up with something much better if you are trying to rile me up, Gabriel," came the cool voice of the Devil. He watched Helena, her red painted lips moving quickly but quiet to one's ears, her gaze constant as if nothing could ever come to faze her.

The painter took the help of her assistant in mixing the colours to a proper shade, finishing one person's frame after another. As she was a vampire, it was easier for her to complete the work faster than the regular painters who were human.

"Thank you for your patience," bowed the painter, "We'll be finishing the rest of the details at my shop before it will be brought to the castle."