The light of the pyre was starting to illuminate the ceiling of hell when Lea and Noara arrived at the gate of hell. One of the many gates of hell. The same one that Noara used to go to the human world days ago. It was 16 feet tall and 10 feet wide, the outer walls decorated with inscriptions too damaged by time and graffiti to be discerned. The light greenish purple light coming from the portal illuminated Lea’s face. She was worried. Behind that light was her father. Probably with his gang of demons. She already thought that she could face him, but being steps away from him terrified her. She was shaking and her breath started to quicken. Then, she felt a soft touch on her shoulder. She looked at her right and saw Noara smiling at her.

- It’s going to be alright – Noara said, calmly – Your father won’t put a finger on you. And if he tries, I’ll kick his face so hard he’ll go back to the human world – Lea smiled back at her. Having her beside her made things less scary. She looked back at the portal and breathed deeply.

- Alright, I’m ready.

Both of them stepped forward, traversing the portal. Behind the dark purple light was a hallway of stone, but this was not deteriorated in any way. The different bricks of stone seemed new. The paint and the inscriptions in the wall were intact. In the middle of the hallway, standing tall, was the enforcer. She was facing her father. Her father seemed the most menacing of them both. Black polished shoes, followed by black straight jeans and a jacket half closed revealing behind it a white shirt and a red bow-tie. A perfectly clean somber Italian black suit. He had a short, white and black beard and moustache. His wrinkles and bags under his red eyes showed his age, already in his 50s. He had a small earring on his left ear with a green diamond shaped jewel inside. Behind him, at his right, is a demon in a not so polished suit with his shirt hanging out of his jeans. He has a green jewel in his forehead.

- Lea! – He exclaimed, sounding genuinely joyful to see his daughter, a big smile appears on his face that quickly turns into a look of anger as he sees Noara approaching as well. She had her hand behind Lea’s back, grabbing her by the clothes. Just like Lea told her to do.

-Hey! Did you bring what’s mine? – Noara asked in a very casual manner. A grin on her face, knowing she had control of the situation. Lea’s father moved his hand to one of his pockets and grabbed a small gem-like object. Blood red and with a faint light coming from it.

-Yes. Now let my little girl go.

-Wait, wait, what’s the rush? We brought a mesli after all. I just don’t want to get the gem and suddenly, well – She makes a pause and points at the portal behind her – Be attacked before I can even get back – Both the father and the demon behind him looked at the gargoyle-like demon, looking impassive at both groups and sighed.

-Alright. Then shall we state our terms? – He said, taking a step forward with his hands behind his back.

-Of course! Hey, lady! – She says, looking at the demon of pride – The terms are simple, that guy will give me that demon tear and I will release Lea. I will set her free.

The mesli looked to Noara while she was stating the terms, then slowly, deliberately, turned her head towards the men at her right.

-After the payment is given to Noara, she will release Lea and set her free. Are those terms acceptable?

-Yes – And with that, the warlock moved forward a bit and gently tossed the demon’s tear towards Noara, who gracefully caught it in the air, smiling. Lea was smiling as well. It was not the smile of someone who got out of a scary or dangerous situation, but the one that someone might get after beating their opponent at chess or at poker. A smug smile.

Lea walked forward a bit, looking at her father and the demon beside him. Remembering all the pain and problems they put her through. Everything that she had to stay silent about because she couldn’t complain and she didn’t have anyone to help her. All the tears she had to keep in. All the torture that was living under the same roof as them. Then she stopped. She looked at the mesli and back to her dad

-I choose to stay in hell with Noara. I’m never going back home – Just those few words let her feel an euphoria that she couldn’t have ever imagined. Her father’s face was one of confusion and the demon was just stunned, not knowing what to do at that moment. She turned around without even saying another to her dad, ready to leave. She knew that wasn’t going to be that easy as the warlock started screaming.

-What? You can’t be serious! – He turned his attention to Noara who was playing with the demon’s tear on her hand – What did you do to my daughter?

-Hey, calm it down. I didn’t fucking do anything. I just set her free, like you agreed to. And, apparently, she prefers it here to up there – She shrugged, then snickered a bit. The warlock looked at the demon of pride. Before he could even protest, she said.

-She is right – She said solemnly – The terms were to let her go free, not for her to return to you – The father, desperate, turned towards Lea and called for her

-Lea, don’t you dare take another step! That demon has corrupted your mind. You’re going to regret doing this!

-I don’t know if I will have a hard time here. But I will never regret getting away from you – She turned around – I hope I never have to see you again, dad.

The warlock was going to protest, but he couldn’t. He knew he wouldn’t be able to take his daughter by force back home, not with the demon of pride there and not without breaking the rules of the verbal contract he just formed. He was furious, his pupils were dilating. His teeth grinding and only one person to direct that anger towards. His hands were glowing darkly purple with magic. His earring was shining brightly, giving his demon underling a headache. The warlock pointed towards Noara.

-You will regret this! I will get you back for this and you will be sorry that you messed with me!

-Yeah, sure thing gramps – Noara said, completely dismissing him as she moved her arm around Lea’s back and placed her hand on her shoulder as they both went through the portal, back home.

After they went through the portal, the light of the Pyre seemed brighter. More cheerful. Lea was free. She was actually free for the first time in her life and she couldn’t believe it. She did it. She cried, looking at the ceiling of hell.

-Good job out there – Noara said – That took a lot of guts, I’m proud of ya – Then, she separated from her a second, wanting to talk to her face to face – So, ehm, where do you plan to stay? I’m sure Lys would love to have you over and there are some apartments in town. I can help you pay for rent if you want – She was nervous. Lea could clearly see where Noara wanted this conversation to go, and she obliged.

-I was hoping that I could stay at your place. If that would be ok with you – She moved her hands towards Noara’s and interlocked her fingers with hers.

-Yes, I would love that. 

So that's the end of this story and these characters, for now. I will return to them in the future and see how Lea and Noara are doing in hell! I hope you all liked this short story. It was the first one I write from start to finish so it's not... really polished. But with experience comes perfect! And I hope my next stories get better from here! Until next time everyone! <3