Jonathan was up before dawn. Gently he had slipped out of bed and covered Elise again. This was the moment of the day he enjoyed the most. With a cup of his special coffee blend, he stood barefoot in the garden. The grass was still a little damp; it always gave him a feeling of being grounded. His connection to his grandmother, Mother Nature, the Goddess. He emptied his second cup and angrily put out his cigarette. He got a bitter look on his face and shot off a prayer:
"Zelo, I want to see you right away, we need to talk."
A few seconds later, one of the younger Demons he was particularly fond of appeared. The Demon immediately fell to his knees with his forehead pressed to the ground.
"What da fuck, Zelo? What do you think you're doing? Get the fuck up, sit your ass down, and have a cup of coffee."
The Demon did as he was told, as he was ordered. Jon was obviously not amused by Zelo's behavior.
"What do you think you're doing? You know damn well how much I hate that stupid submissive behavior when we're on Earth!"
Before the Demon could answer, Elise strolled into the garden in her sleeping shirt. She saw a bit strange young man clad in leather who was more or less shivering in his seat. Elise sat down on Jon's lap. She said:
"Jon, why don't you introduce me to your friend?"
"Elise, this is Zelo, a Demon by trade, and apparently he must have had an accident at work. He must have hit his head in Hell, very hard, on something with the density of granite, because he is completely confused. I fear a very serious concussion, maybe even brain damage because he thinks and acts as if he would be in the throne room in Hell."
She said kindly:
"Good morning, Zelo. Would you like a cup of coffee?"
He just nodded, and Elise poured him a cup. The Demon reacted startled:
"My Lady, you don't have to serve me. I am just a lowly Demon and you are a Princess of hell."
Elise left that last part alone for a moment, but she would definitely come back to it later in a conversation with Jon. Who was really irritated at this point and said:
"You see, honey, absolutely brain damaged!"
He looked into Zelo's eyes:
"I asked you a question, friend! What the hell is going on here? You react as if we were in Hell and the throne room! Didn't we agree years ago, when I was still a child, that we would leave this damned stuff behind us when we were on Earth or in private, that we would treat each other as friends? As the friends, the brothers, that we are! As far as I remember you never acting this way around my mom, so…"
"My Lord..."
Now Jonathan was starting to get pretty angry:
"Zelo, if you don't stop this right now and tell me in the name of Grandma what's going on, I'll kick you to the dark side of the moon!"
Zelo swallowed for a moment:
"Jon, this is confusing. The Demons in the circles are beside themselves. They think you have turned your back on Hell and are now an enemy."
For a moment, the hellfire ignited in his eyes, and he said steely:
"Until Father strips me of my authority and title, I am and will remain the Crown Prince Zelo! What's wrong with those idiots down there and those idiots up there? You have been my friend for years, and I have been your friend for years, your brother, period."
Zelo nodded quietly and asked:
"What can I do for you, Jon?"
He lit a cigarette and said:
"Four things, friend. First, spread the damn news as fast as you can to all our friends that nothing, absolutely nothing, has changed. That I am not their damn enemy, but Jon their friend, their brother! Second, I want you to do a little spying. Enter the throne room at least several times a day. I want you to pay very close attention to the facial expressions of B&B and Dad. I want to know how much tension is in their faces and what you can see in their eyes. Third, tell Dad I'll be by the throne room tonight. Four, I will bring an asshole in his original wrapping. He will have a marker that he is exclusive to you, and he will look a little tattered. I want you to take him out of his wrapping, slowly, very, very slowly! Then you put him in a cell in the ninth circle. You call the rest of our little group together, line them up, and one by one they go and pay him a visit. Clear?"
Zelo got a rather sly smile and said:
"Crystal clear, boss!"
"That's how I like you, my friend."
Elise fully understood what that last part meant and did not want to know any details. She knew that whoever Jon would drag to hell would regret his actions for an eternity and spend that eternity in total misery. The Crown Prince had made up his mind, and there would be nothing that could change it. The demon emptied his cup of coffee and poured more for Jon and himself:
"Jon, what is wrong with you? For years, you were convinced that you could never have a normal relationship. And now, all of a sudden, hell has five princesses."
While Jonathan almost choked on a sip of coffee, Elise giggled on his lap, and he replied with a deep sigh:
"Jeez, Zelo. Everything's happened so fast, like I'm on a runaway train, catching up with all the lost years at the speed of light. My head is spinning, and I'm still not sure if everything is real or if I suffered brain damage shortly after that cursed meeting!"
The demon laughed softly.
"If I have brain damage, as you just said, then we must both have the same delirium, brother. Because I can see very clearly that your beautiful lady is sitting on your lap."
He took another sip of his coffee:
"Okay Jon, what do you think we are dealing with?"
"A damn circus, Zelo, only this circus has nothing but clowns, and very bad ones at that. If I understand correctly, they are running around like headless chickens in Heaven and Hell, and I have absolutely no idea what this is all about. I am missing puzzle pieces and thus the whole picture.
Zelo nodded:
"Then you urgently need to pull yourself together, Jonathan, because if you lose the overview, then very, very bad shit can follow very quickly."
"I know, you are my first piece on the board, friend. I don't know what game is being played here; I like it like flying diarrhea, and it has to end as soon as possible!"
The demon stood up, ready to leave:
"I'll let the king know you're coming, Jon. But like I said, it's urgent that you get the fuck to work. No one in our little group wants to get caught up in this fucking slaughter!"
And with that, he disappeared. Now that they were alone, Elise kissed him passionately:
"Good morning, love."
"Hmmm, this is how I want to start every morning, darling."
She replied with an affectionate smile:
"That is kind of the idea, love, that we can wake up like this every morning."
He pulled her very close to him, and now it was he who kissed her deeply. Suddenly they heard two small voices behind them and again:
"Eewww..."
He turned slightly and said amusedly:
"Hellions, if you continue to interrupt us in a very important conversation, I will sell you to a cabinet of curiosities."
Jules and Samantha chuckled and sat down on a couch. Then Elise gave them each a cup of tea. Sam looked at it a little strangely at first, smelled it for a moment, and took a sip. From the look in her eyes, it was obvious that she liked the tea very much. It didn't take long for Fay and Hope to show up. He said:
"Good morning ladies, did you sleep well?"
Their eyes lit up, and Hope said:
"We haven't slept this well in a long time. Thank you, Dad and Mom, for giving us a good home."
Elise said:
"No thanks girls, you know we really want to have you with us. We love that we have four beautiful daughters now, and we love all four of you."
She also gave them a cup of tea, and the ritual they had seen with Samantha was repeated. Jon couldn't resist:
"Perfect, five ladies having tea, and then the coffee stays all to myself."
After the breakfast that Jon had enjoyed making for his girls, he went outside to smoke another cigarette while Elise and the girls disappeared upstairs to get ready for their appointment on campus. Elise was just getting out of the shower when the youngest twins, as Jon had named them, flew into the room in their underwear. Full of enthusiasm, Jules almost shouted:
"Mommy, Mommy, can I put on my uniform too? Maybe I can go with Sam and be in class with her today?"
Before Elise could say anything, the oldest twins flew in. Fay spoke so fast that her words seemed to stick together:
"Momwewantthattoo..."
Jon stepped into the bedroom and said with his typical smirk:
"Okay, there are way too many women in here. What do I hear, Hellions? You guys want to stay on campus already?"
The four of them stared at him with puppy dog eyes. His grin immediately disappeared:
"For fuck's sake... everything I heard about those puppy dog eyes is freaking true! Okay, girls, but your mom and I can't decide that. It depends on the principal."
Jules asked enthusiastically:
"But you're going to ask anyway, huh, Daddy?"
He snickered:
"Of course, Bwitch. Now go get dressed because you really can't go to school like this."
With that, the four of them disappeared from the bedroom. Elise looked at him quietly:
"Being a dad is going really well for you, Jon. The girls couldn't have wished for anyone better, and I couldn't have wished for a better man in my life."
He pulled out one of his suits, this time one that had been tailored for him on Saville Row in London and that Elise, still unaccustomed to Jon's wealth, thought must have cost a fortune. For a moment she forgot to dress herself and watched him hungrily as he put on the suit. Finally, he put on a pair of cufflinks with a devil emoji and said:
"Red, I could look at your delicious body all day in that little lace set you're wearing and worship you and that body in ways I'm sure Grandpa and Grandma would absolutely not want to know. But we have to go. He gave her a playful pat on the bottom and left the room. She looked after him and muttered:
"For fuck's sake... I'm going to devour him one of these days..."