Begrudgingly, Lucifer did acknowledge she made a somewhat fair point. Though he was full of disdain for humanity as a whole, including this human as well, this one happened to be queen of Hell. That made her, unfortunately, as close to an equal as she could be. And while he was many things, he was not a hypocrite. "Very well. But if my generals do not take you seriously, I would advise you not to vent to me about it. I won't be able to help," he said, gesturing for her to follow him. If she wanted to cook he would show her the way to the kitchen, which had been fully stocked prior to her arrival. Much like the bedroom, it was full of anything she could want or need.
"I'll take my chances with it," Arianna mused. If she needed to give a display of her power to show that she was not to be taken lightly, well, then she probably would, even if it spilled her secret to Lucifer.
He just rolled his eyes and sighed. Hell was going to chew her up and spit her out, he was sure of it. She would not last long here if she didn't listen to him. While he didn't think any general would speak out against her in his presence, he wasn't sure what they would resort to when he wasn't around if they felt disrespected by her language.
A few minutes of silence later, they were in the kitchen. He showed her where everything was, pointing out primarily the pots and pans and other dishes. "Have at it."
"Well what do you want to eat?" she asked, leaning up against the granite countertop. He'd probably implied that he was leaving her to her own devices to do what she wanted, but just in case she was wrong, she didn't want to assume and cook something he hated.
Lucifer frowned. He was going to just walk off and leave her alone, and go back to paperwork. He hadn't expected her to ask him what he wanted, in a way inviting him to stay for lunch. He supposed a small break couldn't hurt. "I typically don't. I have no need for it, and I rarely have the time. I do have a fondness for italian though."
"Okay, so italian it is," she smiled, pulling a pot out to boil water, she wasn't quite sure yet what she was going to cook but it would probably be pasta. "You may have to help me with this. I'm a terrible cook and tend to burn a lot of what I try to make, ironically enough."
"Why ironic?" he asked, furrowing his brows in confusion. He didn't understand why that would be ironic.
Arianna panicked, slightly, her face paling in nervousness. In truth, she had referred to her abilities being the cause of the irony, but she couldn't very well say that. "Well because I'm in Hell now, and Hell is all fiery and... stuff," she mumbled. It was a lie, but maybe she would believe her.
She was hiding something, he could tell. Lucifer knew that his wife was not telling the truth, the question was why. The other question was whether or not he should confront her on it. He decided that he would acknowledge her fib, but not argue about it. "I'm the father of lies, darling. I know you aren't being honest when you say that. However, I will not press for an answer you clearly are not comfortable with giving."
She sighed, starting to boil the water on the stove. It would probably take about ten minutes, which was the perfect amount of time for a highly upsetting conversation she wasn't even sure she was going to have. He did say he wouldn't press, but, perhaps he deserved to know. Though she had desperately wanted to keep it a secret, in case of consequences she wasn't sure of, he probably would've found out eventually and been even more pissed off she hid it.
"Look, Lucifer, it's a long story. If you want to know, I'll tell you. But I don't really want this getting out to anybody who doesn't explicitly need to know about it."
Now he was just even more confused. What could Arianna possibly be about to tell him? Was it going to be what he thought it was? Now was not the time for snide remarks, so he just nodded and waited patiently. She trusted him, however terrible an idea that may have been. If he wanted her on his side, and out of trouble, he would not break that trust. "Very well. You have my word."
She sighed again, heavily, sitting down at the small table and gesturing for him to do the same. Once he joined her, she leaned her elbows on the table and kept her gaze firmly on the deep colored oak. "I have these... well... abilities, I guess. That runs in my family on my mother's side, kind of like magic. I don't actually fully know what they are or where they came from, I just know they go back centuries, generations. They vary, they're not always the same. In my case they happen to be ice based. Like Elsa? Minus the living snowmen aspect? Though I doubt you've ever seen a Disney movie in your life so you probably have no idea who that is."
He nearly breathed a sigh of relief. So it was indeed what he thought it was. He was almost worried Ari was about to spill something obscenely terrible from the way she'd been trying to avoid telling him. Now the joke about ironically burning things made sense to him. "Oh, darling, I already know. I knew a very, very long time ago."
"You- You know? Wait, you've known for awhile? How did you know? What, did my father say something to you when he made the deal?" she frowned. That was, after all, why her father was trying to get rid of her in the first place. Then Lucifer was the one to change the deal, taking her hand in marriage when she was an adult, rather than taking her soul right then and there as a teenager. Why did he change the deal? Maybe he was about to tell her?
"Yes of course I've known, for ages. Much much longer ago than your father made the deal, though I didn't know exactly what abilities you had until your father did indeed say something to me. Make no mistake, he is down here somewhere. But I have known since your first ancestors were bestowed them by my father, God. I was there when he gave them to your family. A deal was made, in exchange for being my father's messengers and warriors in battles between angels and demons, they and their descendants would be gifted with magic. Why do you think you are here, Arianna?" he grinned. He was very proud of himself, for being able to bring one of God's precious human soldiers down to Hell, to side with him. That was why he needed her, specifically, and not a random demon for a queen.
Everything Lucifer was telling her was just sort of overwhelming, so when the water was boiling, she stood up to put the noodles in the pot along with a splash of oil so they didn't stick together, and a dash of salt. She used that opportunity to take a few deep breaths, try not to freak out, and gather her thoughts. "I didn't know why I was here. I mean I knew about the deal my father made, obviously. I didn't know why you agreed to marriage. That part had always confused me. I suppose it all makes sense now. You need me here on your side."
This was part of why she didn't want to tell him. Ari didn't know if he would be angry for some reason, or would find her a freak, or any other number of negative reactions. The problem with the positive reaction he gave, was that he was pleased he could use her for his own gain. She would not let him do that. Silence hung in the air, while she cooked the noodles and pulled out ingredients for an alfredo sauce, along with broccoli to steam.
Eventually, he spoke up. He knew what she must think of him, and it didn't bother him so much. He knew the truth about everything, and soon, so would she. She would understand, and if she didn't, then he would not lose any sleep over her anger. "Yes. I do need you. You are powerful, Arianna Morningstar. You think I'm using you as a pawn for revenge against Heaven, and that could not be further from the truth. It is an added bonus though," he smirked. Why not lighten the mood a bit? He wasn't all serious all the time.
She groaned, rolling her eyes and finishing off the food. There was definitely plenty for the both of them, which had been the whole point of course. She plated her own food, and left her husband to fend for himself because she wasn't sure how much he wanted. "And, pray tell, what is the truth? Why am I here?"
"It is... a painfully long story that I'm not sure you will understand without having seen Hell. All of Hell. But you are a powerful ally, and though I greatly dislike humans, you are useful to me. You are useful to Hell. I know you likely will not believe me, but I am a well liked and well respected ruler here. I take care of and protect this realm. That is what I need your help with. What with, well... that is what you may not understand without seeing your new home in its entirety."
That was more of an answer than Arianna had expected him to give. She figured it would be obnoxiously vague. While it was still semi cryptic, it wasn't annoyingly so, and he did make it seem like after her tour she would get more information. It just meant the tour would include more than she had originally wanted to see. She sat down at the table with her food, Lucifer joining with his, which was twice as much as she had grabbed. "You, an all powerful angel who is immortal and basically invincible, need my help defending your realm?"
Lucifer scowled. He didn't like it being put that way, her framing it as though he was incapable of doing so. Whether she meant it that way or was merely expressing doubts around her own abilities to do so didn't matter, it was still a rather unpleasant thing to be implied. "You are a descendant of my father's finest human warriors. That makes you one of those warriors. However, instead of fighting against demons as he had intended, you will be fighting alongside them. And alongside me."
"So, you want me to stand at your side, and... go up against all of Heaven. Gotcha. And why am I being involved in this fight at all?"
"You misunderstand. I do not mean for you to go up against all of Heaven, or even any angels at all unless they find their way here looking for a fight. Then, yes, I would expect for you to defend yourself. I would offer to do it for you, but I quite think that you would have my head for even suggesting I protect you as if you couldn't fight your own battles," he chuckled, shaking his head.
Well, he did have a very good point. Arianna would absolutely be pissed if Lucifer babied her and tried to hide her away, when she could very well defend herself. Against an angel, though, she'd have to admit she'd never fought one before and wasn't sure how that would go. "Uh huh. So, then, just to be clear we are not at war with Heaven?"
"Oh no we absolutely are, we always have been since the original fall and always will be until the end of time itself. I just will not involve you in a war that is not yours to fight. I do have morals and a conscience, you know."