For the first time, the King of Hell came down from the VIP area to mingle with the common mortals. Obviously, he was at the best table and with the best view, where he smoked his cigar even though it was an area where smoking was prohibited. A distant voice tried to warn him, but Dante ignored it, as he only had eyes for the stage while he waited for the show.

Ian had done his part, he really made the song come out and it sounded fantastic in Ivy's voice, just as Dante had imagined, that beautiful body moved in an almost hypnotic way, the man seemed to delight in every note, a flavor so delicious that he ran his tongue over his lower lip and bit it, his eyes shone and an excitement never felt before took over, he needed that girl and she would be his as he desired.

"I want her ! - he exclaimed, pointing to the stage."

When the show was over, Dante went to the makeshift dressing room, with a beautiful bouquet of roses that he had one of his men buy in a hurry, knocked on the door and heard the sweet and lovely voice answer.

"Come in."

He walked in and looked around, rolling his eyes at that dump until he spotted Ivy who was sitting on a bench placed in front of an old dresser and a foggy mirror removing the lipstick from her delicate lips. Dante looked at that movement, the cotton being lightly passed over her red mouth, leaving it messy and with a beautiful stain. He wanted to be the person to smudge her makeup, mess up her hair and tear her clothes. Such thoughts made his lower abdomen heat up, but this was not the time, not yet. 

"Good evening, miss" Dante said in a strangely gentle tone, as a good leader he knew how to be sweet and kind, he just didn't think it was necessary to act that way often, so this was one of his very rare sides to see. - I came to thank you for the beautiful show, the music was perfect in your voice. - He handed her the flowers, but didn't smile.

“Thank you,” she replied with a shy smile. “They’re beautiful.”

"I don't think flowers are enough to show my gratitude" Dante approached, his figure was imposing and threatening "How about dinner?"

"I'm afraid today won't be possible" Ivy said biting her lower lip hard.

"I'll wait for you outside, then…" Dante began, until he understood the real answer. "What?!"

"I already had dinner and I have to wake up early tomorrow…" Ivy looked at the floor and avoided the piercing gaze of the immense man in front of her "I will have to decline the invitation."

His ears must have been wrong, he hadn't heard properly, he had just been rejected so politely, him of all people? It had to be a very bad joke.

"I apologize for the inconvenience" Ivy added, raising her head and her trembling eyes showed the purest fear  "Next time then?"

Ah, she's scared…

"Next time, then."  agreed Dante looking down at that adorable creature while his tongue touched the inside of his cheek and left, slamming the door so loudly that he couldn't hear the sigh of relief behind it.

No one had ever rejected Dante, the king of hell, that man who always got what he wanted even if he had to take it by force, a little toy like that would be very easy to get and something deep inside him told him that he wouldn't get tired of her easily this time, she had a spark in her eyes that made her very interesting and if she was as tasty as she seemed he might even make her his queen.

However, the man who was feared and respected by all, the great and powerful mafioso who only had to snap his fingers for his wishes to be fulfilled, did not expect such a beautiful little thing to be so sneaky. It was simply impossible to find Ivy off stage, she seemed to disappear in the blink of an eye whenever Dante went after her.

He could have his men forcibly remove her from the stage and bring her to him, but for some reason he wanted to treat her differently. If she was really going to be his future wife, he had to start with a good impression.

Now his trips to the VIP wing no longer involved that boring sex with those boring women, he had already gotten sick of them all and needed his newest piece of appreciation to devour it without moderation, so all he did was drink while the young bartender tried to pretend not to tremble beside him as he served his drinks until it was time for Ivy's show, he was actually fun, he looked like a scared rabbit that had entered the lion's den.

Weeks passed and he still couldn't meet her again to invite her to dinner, she was like a ghost that only appeared on stage and this was already driving Dante crazy, however, at the same time, his curiosity and interest only increased.

After yet another failed attempt, he locked himself in his office. There was only a dim light from the lamp on his desk and a series of cigars were smoked compulsively as Dante tried to clear his mind and find a way to have a decent meeting with his muse, a macabre smile was born in the darkness of his office when he remembered the little boy who transmitted his request to Ivy.

"Mike!" Dante called.

Mike was a tall man, with dark skin, sharp eyes, always wearing an impeccable suit as well as his military-style haircut, he was Dante's right-hand man and entered the office quickly as soon as he was called, the boy always stayed outside until his boss went to sleep, in case he needed any assistance, like at that moment.

"How can I help you, sir?" Mike asked from the doorway.

"That guy that Mariano always sends to serve me in the VIP area, what's his name?" Dante asked extremely seriously.

"I believe you're talking about Ian, sir." Mike replied promptly, there was more than one reason why he was the Winter King's right-hand man and one of them was that he had a photographic memory and could gather all the important information in his mind, thus being a great foundation. 

"Bring him here!" Dante lit another cigar "And I hope to see that scared little face of his before my cigar runs out."

"Yes, sir." Mike closed the door, leaving his boss back in the darkness of his office.

His right arm was efficient, it didn't take long for the boy to be thrown onto the floor of his office wearing only an old pair of pajamas. 

"Ian, isn't it?" the cigar was put out in the ashtray, the half-lit office looked macabre with all that smoke.

"Y-yes" Ian replied, half stuttering, half coughing due to the smoke. 

"Come here!" Dante pointed his index finger at the boy on the floor and pulled him towards him. 

The frightened Ian had his legs tied together, he couldn't get up, but he also didn't dare to respond with disrespect, so he crawled until he reached the front of the large armchair of the scary man who was giving him a terrifying look, the large legs crossed in front of him seemed even taller seen from this angle.

“I’ll ask you nicely,” the Italian leather shoe nudged Ian’s chin, forcing the boy to look up, making his whole body tremble. “Have Ivy show up on a date with me tomorrow before the show.”

"B-but h-how I-I do this? I- I I- I can't force her."

Dante laughed loudly, grabbed Ian by the hair and pulled him so that he was at eye level, he could see the bright tears streaming from his eyes and hear the groan of pain that the boy let out desperately.

"I can make your life a living hell" Dante said through gritted teeth  "But I'd rather ask you nicely first, bring Ivy to me, or you'll prefer to never have been born, understand?"

"Y-yes" Ian whimpered.

The eyes shining in front of him were mesmerizing, before he could think Dante licked one of the tears that ran down that frightened face and said:

"Good boy, I 'll pick her up at 7pm at the club."

He didn't know yet the power of those eyes and how much he would regret meeting them.

Zugzwang , is a situation encountered in chess and other turn-based games in which a player is placed at a disadvantage because of his obligation to make a move; a player is said to be "in zugzwang " when any legal move would worsen his position. The expression comes from the German , Zug (move) and Zwang (force).