Chapter One: A Deal Is Struck

2 months, 1 week, 3 days, 5 hours, 9 minutes and 45 seconds after the prologue, give or take a few milliseconds.

Etna sighed; the prinnies were still in short supply, and she was still cleaning for Laharl. That, and the fact that she couldn't find one single person who matched the requirements made her a very unhappy demon.

"Owie..."

Pointed ears perked; childish feminine voice, innocent type, and from the look, gullible as Laharl himself... the perfect candidate? The red head raced to the scene, where a small blonde girl (species undetermined) sat rubbing a bruise on her knee. "Hi there," Etna greeted her pleasantly.

"Oh, hello..." the blonde nodded to her and shakily rose to her feet.

"I'm Etna," Etna added.

"... Flonne."

"Would you be willing to date Overlord Laharl?"

Flonne jumped, and backed away a little. "That's an odd way to start a conversation..."

Etna hadn't really thought about that. Was that why the mission had been so unsuccessful? "Hm, yeah you're right. Sorry about that. But really, wouldn't you? He's rich ya know!"

"Oh, but I wouldn't be interested in... money..." she trailed off, thinking. "Treasure on the other hand... no, no, no! Seraph Lamington said the demons were tricky..."

Etna's crimson eyes widened; the Seraph? Meaning that this girl was... from Celestia! 'She's absolutely perfect!'

"Aw, but you're perfect!" she said, pouting, and Flonne bowed.

"I'm so sorry, but I have orders from Seraph Lamington to carry out. Please excuse me."

Etna grabbed her arm, causing the girl to jump in surprise. "Whoa, whoa, hold on a second there. What business have you got in the Netherworld anyway, angel?"

"Actually, I'm an angel trainee."

"Uh… whatever. But what business have you got here? I'm the Overlord's vassal, so I have a right to know!" Not true in the slightest, and rather than concern for her 'friend', her reasons for wanting to know had more to do with betrayals and blackmail.

Flonne's eyes grew wide and she bowed again. "I'm so sorry! Of course; well, Seraph Lamington believes that for peace to occur between the Netherworld and Celestia, demons must learn about and acknowledge love. If demons could feel love, then they could begin to understand peace. The Seraph longs for peace, and so he selected me to spread the love here in the Netherworld… but it has been awfully difficult…" she mumbled, "People here – ah, I mean demons – don't seem to want to hear about love…"

'More than perfect… even though the prince'll freak out because she goes on about love too much… but that will just make it more fun for me! A little lie won't hurt me now.' Smirking evilly, she cleared the mischief from her expression and smiled winningly at Flonne. "Oh? I'm sorry to hear that. But you know… I have a plan that just might help."

"You… you do?" there was a hopeful light in her blue eyes. "Please, tell me!"

"Well…" she said, pretending to consider, "Normally I charge for this sort of thing, but seein' as I'm such a nice demon, I'll tell you free this time around. But I'm only going to say it once, so listen carefully." Seeing she had Flonne's full attention, she continued. "Well, I told you I work for the Overlord, right? See, if he were convinced that love was the best thing ever, then he could spread the word – or give you a means of spreading the word anyway. "

"So if I talk to him…?"

"Oh that's not enough Flonne!" Etna cut her off, "Because the Overlord is the most anti-love demon in the Netherworld… in existence. It's gonna take some convincing! But here's the thing; I made a deal with him just a short while ago that if I found someone who truly loved him, he'd fall for her. Even though, you know, he swears he would never. So far, I can't find anyone who cares about him, so here's my idea; if you pretend you adore him and all that, as part of the deal I made with him, he has no choice but to spend time with you for a length of time. While that's going on, you can show him love, and you can spread the news. You can accomplish your mission and give love to the most anti-love demon ever! So what do you say?" Etna grinned impishly; she'd never be able to resist. Even if it all failed and she still had to do hard labour, she'd have some great humiliating memories of Laharl to treasure and dangle above his blue haired head.

Flonne blinked and frowned. "I could spread love… and then there would be peace… but Etna, it's wrong to lie! I can't tell him I love him when I don't… and if I succeed, it'd all be a lie and he'd be so hurt." Etna stifled laughter as she thought of a 'heart-broken Laharl'. "I can't do that."

"Relax Flonne – think of the big picture. What it's all for in the end. Come on, what do you say? The Overlord of the Netherworld, with an acceptance of love. Picture it, Flonne." As she said this, Etna hooked an arm around Flonne's shoulders and stretched the other arm out before them, as if pointing to this (unattainable) future. Flonne's eyes grew wide.

"Well… I… guess I could… try…" she stammered, "After all… it's too sad for someone not to know about love. So, what do I need to do?"

Etna smirked. Victory.

OVERLORD

Laharl snarled. Standing right beside Etna, his supposedly 'loyal' vassal, was a bloody angel. This angel who claimed she was in love with him. "Etna!" he yelled.

"Have you forgotten our deal, Prince?" said the red-head smugly.

"This will ruin my reputation!" he spat, "Demons do not love."

"Who said anything about love on your part?" Etna said cheerfully, "I mean, you were certain you wouldn't fall for anyone. Besides, I thought it through; wouldn't it improve your reputation? After all, you've seduced an angel without even trying."

"Um, actually, I'm an angel trainee…" Flonne inserted, but was ignored.

"Seduction, sure, but a demon doesn't then proceed to…" he shuddered, "to date them."

Etna shrugged. "So you're doing things differently."

"No."

"So, you're a coward who backs out of a simple, easy little deal like this. What, are you afraid Prince? Well, are you? Wouldn't your subjects love to hear about that?" This was followed by a loud shriek and Etna clutched the tip of tail, patting at the newly formed flames licking it. "Hey!"

"Fine!" Laharl growled, "I'll do it. But I can't guarantee that angel won't run away soon." He smirked. "She'll regret coming here."

"An angel trainee," Flonne muttered, but was yet again ignored.

"Prince, if you're going to date her, you can't call her 'angel' all the time. Her name is Flonne – say it with me now, Flo-nne… AH!" Dodging another burst of fire, she bowed slightly and said, "I mean, her name is Flonne mighty Overlord Laharl, and so you should maybe call her that instead of angel."

"That's slightly better," he grumbled before assessing his 'girlfriend'. She was dressed in a white frock with a purple dress beneath and blue ribbons everywhere. "Ehhh…" he said, shrugging, "I'll just call her Love Freak."

Flonne frowned a little. "Uh… why?"

"Because, you look like one. And from everything you've said so far, you sound horribly like one as well." Laharl scowled, not used to having to explain himself. "Don't ask questions." With this, he stalked from the room, probably to throw a tantrum over Etna's success. Surely, surely it hadn't been so easy? And what was an angel doing in the Netherworld anyway? (Flonne: I'm an angel trainee! TRAINEE!)

Flonne sighed, releasing the tension and glanced at Etna who was absentmindedly flicking ash from her tail and cackling. "Oh this will be fun."

"Really? He seems like a terrible person… I mean demon."

"He is. That's why you're here, remember?" Etna smiled 'encouragingly'. "Come on Flonne, you've started already, you can't give up. Of course he isn't going to like you at first, but you can change that I'm sure."

"You think so? Okay! I'll give it all I've got!" The angel struck a determined pose and Etna clapped cheerily in the background.

"Go Flonne. Anyway, I'm gonna go grab a bite to eat – you hungry? There are still some prinnies to cook, even if the prince's got me cleaning non-stop now."

"Why do you call him prince if he's the Overlord? And what're prinnies?" Flonne asked, trailing behind her and taking in the impressive castle around her. Flonne liked things like this.

"Huh? Oh, old habits die hard you know? Besides it annoys him, so that's another plus. And how can you not know what prinnies are? Celestia's got them too, doesn't it? They're the souls of sinful humans, and they work to be able to reincarnate. I'm sure Celestia's got them too."

Flonne shrugged. "You could say I was always scatterbrained." She paused, then hesitantly asked. "Etna… do you think demons feel love? I've been here a while now, and everyone has been so sure that they don't, but I'm positive they must. Do you feel love, Etna?"

Etna stopped, surprised at the question and turned to face her. "Do I, you ask? Hm… I don't think I ever considered it before Flonne." She left it at that, preferring not to completely dash the Celestian's hopes. "So are you hungry?"

The blonde grinned. "Oh, yes thank you!" she cried and followed after the demoness eagerly, her stomach rumbling.

OVERLORD

Laharl glared at the wall opposite him; he had unfortunately blown a hole through it in his anger and only remembered afterwards that they were short on prinnies and Etna was unlikely to actually fix it.

'Stupid Etna, stupid deal and stupid Love Freak. Where did Etna even find her? I mean, she doesn't even know me, she seemed surprised by my attitude… is she seriously claiming to love me? Somehow, I doubt it. Somehow, Etna's got her in on some weird scheme… and I'm going to find out what it is!'

OVERLORD

Author's Note: This is probably ooc… I am sorry… uh, but anyway, please read and review?