A/N- About Whole Section/Story-

Explanation time. This is pretty much where I'll stick the beginnings to Fanfictions I might possibly write in the future.

It's all pretty much stuff I got super motivated to write at a moment- but can't really continue right away because of other things going on.

I'll probably continue most of these eventually, it'll just take a while. And I want to get feedback on them anyway- that way they don't sit around on my computer collecting digital dust.

Each chapter will be labeled individually, and if I do continue a piece from here, I'll pull it out and make it its own story, but for now they share a home here.

Thank you for your interest- ^_^

A/N- About Chapter-

Yeah, so remember how I said I wasn't gonna do angsty Sweet-Devil? I kind of did angsty Sweet-Devil. But Iz okay, cuz it's not like... okay yeah whatever. XD

Enjoy-

Rating- T

Hell wasn't such a bad place. Alfred didn't know where all the bad hype came from, he was perfectly happy. Sure, maybe it was kind of hot and the people there were kind of confrontational and judgmental, but really when it came down to it, it was just a place to live.

Of course, he was also a Prince of Hell, so maybe that affected his judgment.

Alfred yawned as he walked out of his room, tail stretching out lazily behind him. He rubbed his eyes and tottered down the halls of his palace.

He passed by numerous maids on his way, and they all scrambled to bow while balancing various objects in their arms. Alfred laughed as one servant dropped the contents of her arms all over the floor when she tried to curtsy quickly; she apologized profusely and bowed her head. Stepping over the clothes that had spilled, he gave her a smile that could freeze blood as he scooped up a shirt with his tail and flung it at her head. He didn't pause in his stride the whole way. The maid let out a sigh of relief as she began picking up the cloths again. She was simply happy she hadn't been smitten on the spot.

Alfred reached the kitchen and hopped over the threshold, walking over to the center of the room where an annoyed looking man stood.

"Sup?" He asked, leaning back on his heels. His wings opened widely behind him to keep his balance. As he stood there, he blew up at his black bangs- just long enough to fall into his eyes- which had fallen into his face.

"Sup? Sup? Please remind me why I report to you?" The man said, turning to face his prince. "What are you here for?"

Alfred pouted. "Why Matt that's no way to talk to me is it?" He waved a finger teasingly at his brother. "I am in charge after all."

Matthew snorted. "You will be in charge you mean. And you better not be threatening me or I'll give you one good."

"Yeah, yeah." Alfred said, lashing out his tail. "Can I have breakfast or what?"

"You do know I'm a prince too right? Just because I'm your younger brother doesn't mean I should be serving your every whim," Matthew said, bristling. "Get a servant to make you something."

Alfred grinned as he walked behind Matthew and tossed his arms around the other's shoulders. "But I like your food best- plus I trust you not to poison me."

Matthew turned his head and raised an eyebrow. "And why exactly wouldn't I poison you? You're loud, obnoxious, rude... In fact, I would probably be doing everyone a favor. I'd even become the oldest son- I think I have the most motivation to off you Alfred."

"Yeah, but you won't," Alfred said, snickering. "We're brothers, what would you do without me? What would I do without you for that matter? Plus you don't want to be heir- I think you proved that when you stopped about three different assassination attempts personally."

Matthew shrugged off Alfred's arms. "Maybe. It would just be too much of a hassle is all." He grinned fondly at Alfred's face. "You really are a pain though."

Alfred laughed as he sat down in a nearby chair sitting rather quaintly at a dining table.

Matthew rolled his eyes as he finished what he had been cooking. He placed a plate in front of Alfred, snagging a piece of food off it for himself first. "Here you go. I made sure to add extra Holy Water just for you. Hope you choke."

Alfred giggled as he dug in. As expected it was Holy Water free and delicious. He laughed at the face Matt gave him at his ravenous appetite. "Maybe you should chew." He scoffed, turning to walk away and chomping on his own slice of food.

"Oh, and since you decided to sleep in, it's my duty to inform you that there was another riot. As prince, you're responsible for sentencing the offenders they caught." He looked back at Alfred over his shoulder, giving him a firm glare. "They even got into the courtyard."

Alfred raised an eyebrow. "How'd I miss that? How late did I sleep in again?" He asked incredulously.

"One hour," Matthew said, smirking as he left the room.

Alfred whistled as he walked down to the dungeon. He didn't really know why he had to go down there in person. If it had been up to him then he would have just sentenced them all to death as soon as he heard the news, but Matthew had insisted he at least see the prisoners- even if the other demon had agreed on the sentiment.

He reached the entrance and waved jauntily at the guards. They nodded and stepped aside to allow him entrance to the cells.

He skipped through the door, deciding to have some fun. If these people wanted him dead so much, then he had the right to toy with them right?

"SO!" He yelled, causing the demons scattered throughout the numerous cells to jump and tremble. He grinned evilly. They may have had the courage to act up before, but now they were all spineless- it was shameful.

"You're the rebels right?" He asked happily. It was a fact that if they were going to try to kill him, or advocate for his death for that matter, they had better finish the job. Of course they hadn't, meaning now they were all done for. They knew it too. Alfred, Prince of Hell, did not accept rebellion- especially not against him.

Of course no answers came, they were all too busy thinking over their short lives and wondering what they could have done differently. There were twelve of them in all, the rest of the rioters had managed to evade capture. However, these people weren't resentful of their luckier partners- they were just happy that their comrades had escaped.

"Really? You don't want to talk?" Alfred asked, pouting. "If you don't want to talk I'm afraid I'll just have to sentence you without your side of the story. I'm sure it's very interesting."

The demons had calmed down now, accepting their fate. Most of them still shook, but they all were resigned at this point and no desperate bargaining was being made.

"Nobody's even going to claim this? I mean if I were about to die, I'd at least brag that I got far enough to break in to the palace grounds. That's just me though." Alfred leaned back, these people were boring. Usually he got at least some form of pleading.

"Oh shut it. Just kill us and get it over with so we can stop hearing your annoying voice. There's a reason we did this after all," a voice called from his right. Alfred raised an eyebrow as he looked over to the source of the sound. A small demon leaned against the wall of his cell. Unlike the others, he wasn't trembling or even looking frightened. No desperation graced his eyes, at most a look of disgust.

"Oh really?" Alfred asked, walking over to the cell. "That's not very nice." He looked in at the demon. His black cloths were torn and bloodied and a few scrapes could be seen on his face. His one wing hung limply at his side while his other curled up around his shoulder. His tail flicked around aggressively, and green eyes shot daggers at Alfred. "After all, I can still pardon you."

"Like you will," he scoffed. "We all know your policies, so just get on with it." The demon seemed unbothered by Alfred's appraising glare, which sent most people running.

"I don't know... I could always make a exception." Alfred said, producing a key seemingly out of thin air and twisting the lock open. It clicked open, and the cell door inched ominously inward. He felt a thrill of exhilaration run through his blood as he saw the demon flinch away from the opening door. Maybe not so fearless as he seems, hmm?

"Bollocks," he said, standing his ground as Alfred stepped closer. "Even now you're just playing with us."

"I don't know about you, but I'm wasn't talking about them." Alfred said, suddenly leaning in and trapping the smaller demon against the wall. His heart sped up as he felt the demon shy away from him. His uninjured wing was now spread downward against the wall to allow him to get as far away from Alfred as possible.

"What even makes you think I want to be pardoned?" He spat back, suddenly more afraid than he had been letting on before- Alfred could tell. Death wasn't nearly as terrifying as the man trapping him now.

"Oh, I don't know. Death doesn't sound all that fun. I'm pretty fun." Alfred smirked, pleased by the reactions he was receiving. The man had been stoic and fearless when first confronted with Alfred, but as Alfred grew closer and loomed over him, he could feel his fear growing.

"Death sounds much more fun than you, thank you very much," the demon responded. In fact, whatever execution he faced would probably be quicker and more painless than whatever this man had apparently suddenly planned for him.

Alfred glared, he did not appreciate being rejected. But then, if the man had just given in what fun would that be? His face now hovered to the right of the man's head as he pinned him to the wall. "Really? What makes you think you have a choice? I could do anything to you right now and you'd have no say." He licked his lips at the sudden flare of fear he felt rather than saw. Oh he had been wrong about this batch, this was fun.

"Well since I'm sentenced to death anyway, I wouldn't need to worry about any treason I might face from ripping your wings off." The man snarled back, still all tooth and claw- but Alfred could sense the way the demon was trying to shy away.

Alfred winced before pulling back slightly, looking into the other's eyes. "Ouch." He said, tilting his head slightly and taking in the anger on the smaller man's face. "You said you'd prefer death over me? Well what about your people, huh? I'm sure they don't find death nearly as thrilling as you seem to."

This got the wanted reaction, the demon's eyes widened and darted around the room to his comrades before leveling on Alfred. "You're lying."

Alfred shrugged, stepping back and releasing the man from his hold. He grinned as he saw him slump slightly against the wall in relief. "Maybe, maybe not. I certainly think I'm telling the truth. I give the pardons after all. You might not be so pleased with my blessings, but I'm sure they would be thrilled."

The green-eyed demon looked at the faces of the other people strewn about the cells. Some averted their eyes guiltily, some turned their heads as to not influence him. Some even shook their heads 'no' furiously- not caring about their sentence as they had expected it, and not wanting to send their comrade straight into what was most certainly a fate worse than death. He dropped his gaze to the floor, he didn't care about what happened to him, but if there was any chance...

"You've got to the count of five. Five..." Alfred said, backing away from him.

"Four..." The demon searched frantically one more time, hoping to find an answer somewhere in the room.

"Three..." Alfred said, slamming the cell door shut with a satisfying click as the lock snapped into place. Glancing around the room at the other prisoners, he really didn't care one way or the other what happened to them. They were boring. He would, however, actually be willing to let them go if it meant he got to play with the fiery one more.

"Two..." He trailed off, pouting as he reached the doorway. It didn't seem like it would end that way though. Alfred sighed, it really would be a pity to see that one's head roll.

"O-" He began.

"Fine!" The man snapped, stopping Alfred with one foot out the door. "Fine," he repeated more quietly. "Let them go."

Alfred smirked as he let the door close in front of him and walked causally over to the door of the cell.

"And what do I get for it? The ability to pardon you without you maiming me? I don't really think that's a fair trade." He said, leering at the small man trapped in the cell.

"Well what the fuck do you want!" The demon snapped, a slight waver to his voice. However he had already agreed to his end of the bargain, and he was cold with fear. He had said those fateful words and agreed to the man's deal- words were as binding as magic in Hell, and right now he could feel both. He could already feel a spell slowly forming around him like a boa constrictor, and he knew whatever came out of the man's mouth next would lock into place.

"Why I want you of course!" The man replied chipperly.

The spell tightened painfully over the small demon, but he let out a sigh of relief. It was at this moment that the demon wondered if his 'Prince' even knew he had been casting a spell. If he had, certainly he would have been more specific in his side. 'You' was a very vague term that he could twist anyway he wanted to keep out of the prince's grasp.

He simply nodded and the prince jumped up and down giddily. "Wonderful!" he called, "Stay here!" This received a scoff from the smaller demon as Alfred ran out of the room and up the stairs out of the dungeon.

The demon left in the cell slumped to the dirty floor in exhaustion. A faint yelp escaped his lips as his injured wing scraped against the ground, but he simply grit his teeth and leaned his head back against the wall.

He heard a few faint 'thank you's as he closed his eyes. He could hear the guilt in his comrades' voices, but he had chosen this himself.

He jumped as he felt a hand brush against his uninjured wing which was now sprawled over the ground. He looked at the small blonde girl who had reached out. Her eyes were filled with tears as she strained to stroke his wing. Her pretty white dress had been covered in mud and a large bruise was forming on her cheek. A ragged ribbon hung, coming loose, from her hair.

"I- I'm so sorry." She said, her voice hitching. "Y-y-you didn't..."

"Yes I did." He said soothingly as he shifted over to the girl, gritting his teeth at the pain in his wing. "After all, I couldn't let you all die now could I?"

"But- but Arthur I felt it." She said finally and his eyes widened. He had been sure that the spell had only been meant for him.

"It didn't!" He asked, lunging forward and holding onto the smaller girl's hand.

"No." She replied pacifically, though this conflicted with the way her small gray wings wrapped around her shoulders in a helpless looking manner. "But I felt it, I can feel things like that."

Arthur sighed in relief as he went limp again. This girl, Lili, hadn't even been part of their failed riot. She had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and had not been fast enough to escape when the guards had come.

"Don't worry about it poppet," he said reassuringly. "Besides, Vash would kill me if I let anything happen to you." He laughed, trying to lighten the situation. "And none of us are dying! So it's okay. I'll be fine!"

Lili was not fooled by the fake smile Arthur had put on. She glared. "I'm little, but I'm not stupid. I know what happens to people who go into the castle. They either end up in The Square or they never come out. I'm not so innocent that I don't know what happens when they don't come out."

Arthur winced. "Come on Lili, I have to stay here now- you could at least pretend that I'm not a goner."

Lili suddenly looked very guilty. Her eyes started watering anew. "I'm sorry. I'm just used to people pretending I don't understand. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm-"

"Shh," Arthur said, stroking her hair. He realized at this point that some of the other people in the room began tearing up. Elizabeta was crying quietly curled up in a corner while even Emil looked down guiltily as a tear fell down his cheek.

He frowned and began untying the ribbon in her hair. "What are you-?" She asked before he began tying it in again, tighter and back in place.

"Don't worry about me. What's important is that you guys will be okay," he finally stated again, more firmly this time. However even this was a half-truth. He had felt the agreement bind him, but he knew from telltale that such words and spells wouldn't actually bind the Prince of Hell. Right now, all Arthur could hope for was that the prince would actually keep his word and let the others go.

Lili shook her head and began undoing the ribbon. Arthur looked on, concerned as she pulled it out of her hair. She then grasped Arthur's wrist and began tying the purple ribbon around it.

"Keep it," she whispered as Arthur tried to protest. "I want to feel like I at least did something."

"They'll probably just throw it away," Arthur argued, trying to give the ribbon back- but it was tightly tied around his wrist. He regretted the words as Lili teared up.

"I know. But please, maybe you'll keep it. Then I can feel like I gave you something to help." A small ribbon could hardly help him now, but Arthur knew what she meant. If he had something from his home, maybe it would make everything somewhat less bleak.

"Thank you-" He began, but jerked as the the door opened loudly.

"O-KAY," Alfred said as he walked in, hands in his pockets. He gave Arthur and Lili's clasped hands a pointed look before continuing. "You will be escorted to The Square momentarily."

Arthur jumped up, releasing Lili. "You swore!" He cried as he stormed (more like stumbled) over to the bars. His eyes filled with rage.

"Calm down." The man said, amused smile pricking at his lips. "They'll be released at The Square." He grinned at the look of defiance on Arthur's face.

"Released?" Arthur asked, strength fading from his limbs. He was more clinging to the bars now as apposed to gripping them.

"Yeah, I'm not a liar." Alfred said, waving a hand dismissively at him. His eyes glinted as Arthur slowly grew smaller and smaller looking, truly unable to keep up his tough-guy routine.

"Good." Arthur said, dropping his gaze. He looked over to Lili, who had luckily stopped her crying. Who knew how the evil bastard would have reacted at seeing the small girl cry. He stiffened as he felt a hand pull his chin up, forcing him to look at the prince.

"I never believe I caught your name," Alfred said, "though I believe you know mine."

The cells erupted into sound as suddenly guards came in behind Alfred. They started to unlock the other cells. Arthur caught sight of a very annoyed looking demon in the doorway muttering something along the lines of 'just let him sentence them right away' before he finally met the prince's ice-blue gaze again.

"Arthur," he replied reluctantly. When the hand released him abruptly he almost fell- he hadn't realized that the other man had been holding him up so much.

He felt his knees give way and he finally slumped back to the ground in a heap as Alfred chuckled. He didn't care any longer, the pain in his wing was unbearable and he couldn't keep himself awake anymore. His vision slowly constricted, and the last thing he saw was Lili giving him one last meaningful look before being dragged away.

Thank you for reading- :D I hope you liked it.

What do you think? Feedback is highly appreciated.