Mona Rostova

Before her time as a demon, she was just a simple human living alongside her parents deep in the woods. Her family, the Rostovas, were known as the "Forest People" as they isolated themselves from most people preferring to live in the wilderness and take care of themselves. Mona had lived in the forest for most of her childhood till a giant snow storm suddenly took her home away, many mortals began migrating to new regions, her parents included. However, the storm brought along famine and death for many. Mona's father was lost to the snow after attempting to go out and look for any help, he never came back afterwards and his body couldn't be found. Mona and her mother left the house at some point due to the storm breaking down their wood cabin, they'd journey out in the cold for months after looking for any sort of shelter or village near by. Mona's mother had taken care of her for as long as she could till Mona turned 7, her mother only continued to live for her daughter but the death of her husband depressed her and only made it harder for her to move on. At some point, she took her own life, leaving Mona to fend for herself in the cold.

Mona wouldn't be kept alone for long though, a strange cat would find her out in the cold alone waiting for her to drop dead, he just wanted to find food but instead found a new friend. Although there was a language barrier for the two at first, Mona and her new friend became close and, he would soon be named 'Oscar'. Over time, Oscar took care of Mona out in the wilderness and Mona in return showed him the survival skills her parents had taught her before their passings. The snow storm lasted for years till finally, at age 12, Mona and Oscar had found a new home in a village populated by humans and beastfolk alike.

The two would stay in the village for years and help their community, Mona had become a common worker on a man's farm around the age of 15 and into her adulthood with Oscar as her helper. However, people of the village had always questioned the two and their strange arrival, especially Oscar. He was no ordinary cat and they knew that well, his fur was pure black and almost sticky to the touch, not only that but his body seemed to be made of a more inky substance and his eyes and nose were purely white, no pupils in sight. Oscar was no normal cat and everyone saw that except Mona. She wouldn't question his existence now though, not after he had done so much for her.

Rumors started to spread in the village about the two, they viewed Mona as some dangerous witch, someone who spoke to the devils hiding in the shadows and Oscar was one of them. Once these rumors got to the church of the village it seemed to be all over for Mona. On her 40th birthday, she was taken by the villagers and locked away in a cramped dungeon. She had no idea what she had done wrong, if there was anything wrong, in that moment she prayed. She prayed to gods who would not listen to her cries and Oscar wrapped his tail around her from the shadows comforting her.

The next night, Mona was taken from her dungeon, tying her to a stake under the statue of the goddess, Uni, she was too shocked and confused to even plead her innocence. All that rang through Mona's ears were the shouts of the villagers she once considered friends and family. "Devil woman!" "Malevolent witch! Burn her!" "She is the Devil's whore!" Mona could only scream in fear as she saw flames from below rise up and engulf her body. Yet she felt nothing. She couldn't feel the flames burn her skin. She only felt Oscar's tail wrap around her once more, and a low gruff voice speak to her, one she wasn't familiar with.

"Mona Rostova. The mortals of this realm torment you despite the kindness you've shared with them for all these years. This unforgivable act will not go unpunished."

Before she could react, the flames around her suddenly seemed to seep into her skin and she could taste iron on her tongue. The blood of a demon. Nova's blood. That night had become a blur to her but whatever had happened after she left the village in shambles and her dropping into hell with Oscar by her side forever.

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Her new life in hell was nowhere near the happiness and freedom she thought she'd recieve after her torment. In fact, she felt more trapped. The demon who had saved her was none other than Nova, God of Darkness, and she had just been given the role of being his wife and the Queen of Hell. Not only was she still wrapping her head around the fact Oscar had been a demon all along, but now she was one as well and had a duty to commit to life in Hell.

At first, she thought she could handle this task. She would get used to her new life as a demon and wanted to thank Nova for saving her in the first place, but she never had any feelings towards him. This frustrated him. He wanted her attention all on him after what he did for her, he wanted her to be in debt to him forever. How could this woman not fall for him after such a courageous act? Yet, Mona still continued to be her own demon, she would rather inspect the mysterious flora that grew in Hell rather than consume souls of mortals, she didn't enjoy the conflicts between angels and demons either and would refuse to fight alongside Nova. The more she denied him, the more angry and obsessed he became with her.

It wasn’t long till Nova’s behavior began to affect Mona. She wasn’t as outspoken anymore, she was less likely to think for herself. It was no secret she was being abused by him but no demon ever made an effort to help her, all except Nihasa, Nova's advisor and only demonic demigod. Of course, Oscar was always there to comfort Mona but as a fiend there was only so much he could do for her, Nihasa was familiar with Nova's tendencies and always gave Mona a shoulder to cry on. Without Nihasa's interactions, Mona felt as if she'd lose herself soon.

It wasn't long before Nihasa and Mona began forming a relationship in secret, Nihasa's love was soft towards Mona compared to Nova's roughness and brash attitude towards anything. Nova's behavior towards Mona only grew more aggressive, it was to a point Mona she could no longer sleep in the same room with him without fearing for her safety, her body felt like it was no longer her own. What seemed to be years would go by, Mona wasn't sure how timed passed in hell, and she was slowly becoming a husk of her former self. Her more chipper attitude was fading, she no longer visited the few flowers they grew on the outskirts and she complied with Nova's wishes even if deep down it hurt her. Nihasa saw this change in her, she did everything she could to help Mona but there was only so much she could do without Nova noticing. Mona was Nova's property now.

More time went by and during a simple cleaning routine Mona ended up finding something she never should've. A small black door in one of the many rooms of Hell, the door was small enough that just a child or small animal would be able to fit through but the most she could do was put her head and shoulders through. The sight inside was a nasty one and the smell was worse, the room was shrouded in darkness and by the tiny lights coming from the opened door showed dried blood and other bodily fluids all around the floor lead to one thing in the very corner, what looked to be a person. A human? Mona was shocked, she hadn't seen a human in years let alone a human trapped in hell of all places. They had strange eyes with one being brighter than the other, just staring at her with a dead stare. They were small and unreasonably skinny, she was able to see the bones of their back and arms sticking out. They were covered in dirt and it was obvious they hadn't bathed in days. Mona tried to reach her hand out but the person flinched back, her voice tried to soothe them.

"He's kept you trapped here forever too, hasn't he? Poor thing."

For another moment, Mona hesitated before resting her hand on their head, she smiled. Her old self was slowly coming back.