Chapter Eleven: Mimzy "Mockingbird" Hanigan
Sweat soaked their bodies as they twist and twirled around one another. Alastor occasionally picked Charlie up to flip her around his body in his favorite around the world move. A wide joyous smile on her face at the confidence and ease the male demon had as he brought her up into his arms, just to roll her down them so she could land on her feet with her back to him. Once again the crowd gave them space and stood in utter awe at the intense energy they had, shuffling and v stepping to the beat of the music blasting through the speaker in perfect rhythm with one another. Alastor felt drunk on the fun and excitement, for once having a dance partner he could comfortably dance with or who could keep up. The height difference between he and Mimzy prevented certain moved and the others either lacked the stamina or couldn't dance at all. One of his other favorite things to do was hold Charlie's hands up, both of them spinning under their arms until they were back to back then locking arms at the elbow and hoisting her over his back, over his shoulders, and finally his head to stand in front of him again with that lovely infectious smile that lit up her face.
Mimzy watched them from her private balcony and frowned, brows knitted in anger. She wished she could dance with Alastor like so. From her vantage point she could see the looks they gave one another and the strong attraction between them. Alastor fancied this one a great deal with the way he had spoke about working with the princess at her stupidly ambitious hotel, and judging by the way the princess seemed to respond to him meant she was already ensnared in his trap. Damn her. Damn that tramp for taking him away from the only person who ever loved him.
She was so pure though, Mimzy noted, and so open. Like a shining star in the dark. Mimzy could see why Alastor was drawn to her. Her flame would be hard to smother, and not without lighting up some dark corners within the Radio Demon.
She snarled as Alastor once again hoisted the blonde bimbo up, swinging her to one side of his body, then the other, swinging her up higher away from him so she could spread her whore legs to briefly wrap around his waist, each staring intently into one another eyes. He once more rocked her back so high that her entire body was almost completely above him, her hands gripped his shoulders for support until he brought her down again and spun her until her back was against his chest. He whispered something in her ear and she laughed, a blush spreading across her cheek. His usual, devilish smile was relaxed, happy, and reached his eyes. The club owner felt her eye twitch as her hands balled into fists.
Mimzy was jealous they looked so good together. The crowd was buzzing with gossip, but everyone knew better than to take pictures. While hell phone usage was permitted, photographs were not to preserve the anonymity of certain clients that frequented the rooms down below and to prevent the drab from coming in. Mimzy had high standards. Break her simple rules and you could expect a barrel down your throat.
"Come away from there dear, and let those two be." Rosie said, sitting on the couch with a long, thin cigarette stick in her hand. She patted the seat next to her on the sofa, "It's impolite to stare."
Mimzy sighed exasperatedly, "It should be me dancing with him! It's my club." She crossed her arms and pouted. Rosie shook her head at her friend's childishness. "I didn't think she'd be able to keep up. I almost had her! The nerve!"
Rosie laughed, "It was amusing. She's interesting, and I can see why our Alastor wants to play with her. Such rare purity for being the spawn of the House of Magne. You make yourself too easy, dearest. Alastor doesn't like easy. If he did, he'd be the biggest man whore in all of Hell." Mimzy flopped on the seat next to her tall friend. Rosie patted her head. "There, there love."
"He's mine." She whined.
"He's no ones." Rosie scolded. Jacque came by the table and sat down two martini glasses. "We've been over this before, Mimi. If he had wanted you, he'd have taken you already. Stop being such a child. Now then... Drink up, deary."
—-
Alastor and Charlie bowed at their audience as they decided to finally leave the dance floor. They didn't know if they were there for ten minutes or ten hours, but Charlie was incredibly tired and it had been a long time since she danced that much. Alastor was a real beast on the dance floor. She knew he could dance, but holy hell could he DANCE. Her weary feet began to hurt and while she was exhausted, Alastor looked as if he could keep on going, perhaps until morning.
"Jeez, Al... I had no idea you were that good. I had a hard time keeping up." She was panting a little.
"Nonsense, sweetheart, you were splendid. Look, I even broke a sweat!" He ran a hand through his damp bangs, "Not even dear Mimi could do that and we've literally sang and danced until day break. Why, I must be getting old!"' He wrapped an arm around her shoulders to guide her back to Mimzy's private quarters. "I hope we can do this again." The radio audience cheered.
Charlie nodded and smiled up at him, "I hope so too. Thank you. This was the most fun I've had."
"No need to thank me, but it was my pleasure. Anything for you, sweetheart." He gave her a lopsided grin, snickering as she giggled.
As they ascended the stairs, they hadn't noticed a familiar face at the bar, or at least a particular masked face. Tom Trench gawked as he saw the two now arm in arm, clearly flirting with one another. Was that really the Princess with the Radio Demon? Together? At the Birds of Paradise Lounge? Where there's a sex club? Where was his date anyway for said club?
A conversation next to him caught his attention. He looked over and saw several women; an insect type with a cat and blue skinned imp, giggling.
"Those two were amazing!" Said the insect. Her mouth resembled that of a millipede.
The calico cat nodded, "Think they're fucking each other? I've never seen that girl here, but I used to see him from time to time. I thought he was with Ms. Hanigan."
The imp giggled, "They've got to be. They were all over one another!"
"Uh, hello ladies." Tom interjected as he cleared his throat, "Tom Trench from the 666 News. Mind if I ask a couple of questions? Seems I missed quite the performance."
The cat purred as she looked down at him, her blue eyes lidded, "Ooh, my favorite news reporter. Mmm, I like watching you on the screen little man." Tom giggled and nearly lost his train of thought as the cat pulled at the hem of her skin tight red mini dress, the front of her dress threatening to spill her bosoms on to him. She must have been a DDD, Tom figured. Oh what he wouldn't give to get smothered half to death in those mamas. "What do you want to know, hmm?" She reached out and scratched under his chin.
"Heh, heh... oh!" He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and pulled out a pen and note pad, "What did you say you saw on the dance floor?" His eyes widen as the trio recounted the events. Katie was going to love this. She wanted a reason to drag that snob through the mud some more after kicking her on the head on live TV and she detested Alastor for some off hand insult he directed at her at a supermarket. This was perfect.
—
The four laughed as a charcuterie board was placed on the table to hold them over until their meal arrived. Charlie's stomach rumbled and she was grateful for the music still playing loudly down below that masked it. She had to stop herself from drooling as she spotted the assortment of cheeses, nuts, honey, fruits, small bread slices, crackers, and various types of meat. Jacque came to take their drink order.
Alastor leaned into her ear, "Darlin', I do recommend staying away from the three bits of meat in this corner. Trust me, you won't enjoy the taste. Try the cured meat on this corner, I think you'll enjoy them." Charlie nodded and grabbed a few choice pieces of cheeses and scraped a bit of honey comb off with a toasted piece of bread. As the glass of red wine was sat down beside her, Charlie couldn't help but feel sophisticated. Her parents never had her partake in the feasts they had at their palace while she was growing up. She was pretty sheltered most of her young life so when she was old enough to be on her own, the two of them pushed her rather than gave her training wheels until she could be on her own. Thankfully she had her inheritance to cover the financial means, but everything else she had to learn on the fly.
"I hear you like to sing, Charlie." Mimzy began as she speared a bloody piece of meat on the board with a toothpick, staring at the King's daughter across from her, "Tell me, have you ever performed on stage?"
Charlie blushed, "No... I've had recitals before but nothing like what you do. I only know how to play the piano and a little bit of the harp. My dad put me through singing classes when I was younger, and it's just stuck." She took a tooth pick and stabbed a piece of dried apricot.
Mimzy bobbed her head, mulling over the information, "I see. Alright... I'll admit you're... decent... at dancing, and I saw your musical number on the news so I know you can sing."
"Was there anyone who didn't watch it? It was breaking news!" Rosie cackled. Charlie groaned.
Alastor laughed lightly, "Settle down Rosie, you're embarrassing her."
Mimzy scoffed, "I don't know Al, I feel like I'm getting the short end of the stick here. You want my financial backing for this odd sounding project, but for what? Care to run that by me again?"
Charlie stared at Alastor as he sat straight in his seat and cleared his throat, "Well, I hadn't quite asked yet, but Charlie here can sing and dance, yes? Your fundraising event is toward the end of the year, and I'm sure you'll have a big turn out if her name is on the bill, not as a sponsor, but performer." The background audience "ooh"Ed and "aww"ed.
"Huh?" Charlie gasped, wide eye as she stared at him as if he sprung a second head. He smiled at her and shrugged.
Mimzy looked at her over the rim of her wine glass and hummed, arching a delicate brow. She set the glass down slowly and took a deep breath. "Ally-bear... that's crazy talk. You also asked if I'd help recruit sinners for your hotel and, and, record a song for you? Surely you can sweeten the deal if I'm not going to get any lovin'."
"I... I could perhaps get the royals to come." All eyes were on her, Charlie blushed and rubbed the back of her neck, "You have a sex club below, don't you? Many could use a new venue for their... orgies..."
Mimzy crosses her arms, "Go on."
"Many of the places I know they go to are mediocre in comparison to here." Mimzy felt her ego grow as she straightened herself up and puffed up her chest in pride, "This place is beautiful, and I can only imagine below." She glanced at Alastor for a second, "If I preform, I'm sure some would come out of respect for my family name." She took a small bite from a piece of prosciutto. "I can guarantee at least one would become an on going patron, and they will gladly pay anything if it's worth it."
Mimzy rubbed her chin, "Hmm. How do I know you're not lying? Getting one of them to attend anything sex related out of the seventh or eighth circle is rare."
"But not unheard of. I'll admit, it's a bit of a gamble, however you'd at least get bragging rights that not many have. Porn Studio is the only one on this level who holds that claim." Charlie felt herself getting nervous, but held her ground.
Alastor chuckled, "You surprise me, dearest. How do you plan on getting them to come? This whole time I've been at the hotel, you haven't mentioned your connections and I didn't think you had any. If so, I'd probably be figuring out how to get them to assist us instead."
The princess shook her head, "I've already tried, they wouldn't help. Most only care about sex and violence and my cause is opposed to that. I don't want blood money either. I know someone who would for sure come and it'll attract the other, lesser royals."
"Who could that possibly be?" Rosie interjected.
"My parents. If they come, others will. Everyone wants to be part of their entourage."
Mimzy was quiet for a moment as she processed the offer. A royal in the club would bring in more customers who would want to socialize with them. If that were the case, some rules would have to be modified or added to guarantee the continued support. Plus, having the king and queen would draw in a lot of patrons in general.
"I suppose I can take that gamble. Alastor's told me you're quite reliable. Know this though, if you fail to give me one royal patron, not only will I withdraw my support of the hotel, I'll expect compensation, ten fold." She turned to Alastor, "What of you, honey? What do you offer me?"
"Aside from visiting a little more often? I suppose I could sing and dance a bit. I've nothing more to offer." Alastor sipped his wine glass.
The club owner giggled and placed a hand on his arm, "Oh baby, you know we wouldn't have to go through all this if you'd just stay with me."
"I'd rather not spoil our friendship Mimzy, you know this." Alastor rolled his eyes, his smile falling just a fraction.
Mimzy sighed exasperatedly, "Fine. I'll do it then. I'll come by the hotel sometime next week so we can discuss the details. I also have been meaning to see Niffty. I miss her and I've been a bad friend." She snapped her fingers. The board of food disappeared in a blue puff of smoke as an imp walked in with a tray that held their dinner. "Well, time to dig in!"
—-
Charlie and Alastor waited at the curb for their car. It was close to three in the morning by the time they decided to leave. Rosie and Mimzy had invited the duo downstairs for a few hits in the hookah, but Charlie had kindly declined to Alastor's relief. Mimzy had a knack for causing trouble when she was impaired and the amount of wine she had a dinner meant a fight could have been brewing. He could tell she wanted to like Charlie, especially when they began to talk about their favorite musicals and dances, but she was reluctant to admit defeat.
"You did very well tonight, better than I expected." Alastor said as he fixed his hat. The car pulled up and Alastor helped Charlie in despite the valet there to assist them. He carefully closed the door and chuckled as she slumped to the side, fatigue written all over her face as she heaved a heavy sigh.
The car ride was silent as Charlie had instantly fell asleep. Alastor had placed his coat over her to keep her warm as he rolled down his window to let the cooler night air in. He hummed a merry tune to himself as he mindlessly drove them back home.
Tonight was definitely more successful than he had imagined. He thought it would take another trip or two to get Mimzy to cave but as was expected, Charlie's charming ways opened up the little song bird usually threatening demeanor when it came to other females he associated with. Charlie was gifted, that was certain, and he was intrigued what other doors she could open when she has more confidence in herself or at least a little more forceful in letting her voice be heard. She had a terrible habit of shying away after temper flairs or allowing others to talk over her. He didn't mind her willingly subservient, however, it should only be to him. Everyone else should bow to her, or at least respect her family name.
Charlie was undoubtedly a wildcard in comparison to his other pets. His previous pets had either some kind of established influence or had something to offer such as monetary gain or adding to his power, but Charlie... she had a great deal of potential for anything and everything, though wealth nowadays meant very little to the Radio Demon. The question was if she was capable of adapting and utilizing whatever it was he could unlock. He had noticed the difference in her when Mimzy had upset her, and it sent a wonderful shiver up his spine.
Alastor's grip on the steering wheel tightened and his eyes glowed red. His smile stretched, a wicked thing that threatened to split his face in half as a thought popped into his head. If she could bring out the higher ups for things like Mimzy's club, maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't need to rely on information from outside sources and reduce the chances of having loose ends as he continued his quest for power. It was a long shot as he knew she wasn't well liked by her peers, but her name and title did command a fair amount of respect if she just learned how to work the angles. The next question was, could he do it without Lucifer getting a whiff and becoming suspicious? They had a very fragile relationship, built on respect that both were immensely power and unpredictable. Alastor also had to tread lightly that his plan to toy with Charlie in the bed room wasn't revealed either. Who knew what the king or queen would do or how they'd react.
Alastor pulled up to the parking garage located near the pool of the hotel and settled for the first available spot near Charlie's limo. He turned off the engine and turned to Charlie who had a small content smile on her lips. She looked quite angelic, which was ironic as she was basically the AntiChrist. Such a terrible fate for such a wholesome person. The irony was amusing.
He reached over and gently tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, his fingers lingering a bit longer than they should have as she inhaled deeply, sighing happily from whatever dream she was in. Alastor couldn't help but smile lovingly at her as he traced his thumb along her jawline to her chin. Charlie involuntarily leaned into him. He would enjoy tainting her and making her his.
Moving forward, he knew he'd had to up his charm. Her jealous flare ups has been an indicator she did have some kind of feelings for him that evolved since he first noticed. It tickled him on the inside in a funny way.
"Charlie, dearest," He said softly to not startle her, moving his hand to hers on her lap. He held it tenderly, stroking her knuckles with his thumb, "We're home. Time to wake up, love."
Charlie's eyes squeezed shut in displeasure as she groaned. She reached up to rub her eyes and yawned, freeing her hand to stretch. Alastor's ears twitched as she arched her back and let out a moan that sounded very sensual to him. He felt something stir in him.
"Already?" She said sleepily, eyes fluttering open. Alastor loved how big and innocent they were.
"You fell asleep, sweetheart. Knocked out as soon as the seatbelt was on."
She blushed, "Thats embarrassing. I hope I didn't snore." She lifted his jacket that had bunched on her lap to cover the lower part of her face.
He chuckled, "Barely, dear. Shall we head up?"
She sunk into his coat then and looked away, blushing a little harder, "To be honest... I don't want this night this end. I had a lot of fun. Thank you, Al. Despite the rocky start with Mimzy and Rosie, I can kinda see why you're friends with them."
He grinned, "I'm glad you like them. We can go back anytime you want. How are your feet by the way? I couldn't help but notice you were limping by the time the car came around." Alastor placed his hand on her lap and rubbed the area down to her knee.
"I'm... I'm fine." Her heart skipped a beat. Were they still going to...?
"Very well. Let me at least help you out. Wait there." Alastor got out the car and walked toward Charlie's side. He opened the door for her and held his hand out for her to take. Carefully he pulled her out and caught her as she hissed in sudden pain from the blisters forming on her feet. Guess she really did dance too much.
Before she could think or say anything, Alastor hoisted her up and shut the door with the bump of his hip. She let out a small yelp and threw her arms around his neck, his jacket crumpling on her abdomen. He cradled her gently and rested his cheek on top of her head.
"No! You don't have to carry me, I just need to take off my shoes. I... I can walk! Or just teleport us upstairs."
"Nonsense. It'll take you the rest of the night to get inside. Besides, I want to hold you, dear. It was quite nice having you in my arms and I suppose I too don't want this night to end just yet. Who knows if we'll have another like it once the patients arrive." He kissed the top of her head.
"O-oh." She leaned into him more. Alastor made his way to the back entrance and with great ease, managed to hold Charlie up with one arm as he reached for the keys to open the door which opened up to the main kitchen. He carefully maneuvered them around the appliances and eventually the dining room.
Husk was fast asleep at the front desk as they exited the mess hall, the smell of booze permeated the air. Charlie was about to say something to wake him but the Radio Demon shushed her. She didn't argue. He quietly ascended the stairs, carrying Charlie bridal style with great ease. As soon as they got into the elevator, he carefully set her down to his left. Charlie placed his coat over her shoulders.
A peaceful silence enveloped them as they headed to the top floor, the only noise being a small ding for every floor they passed. Charlie bent down to remove her shoes and frowned as she noticed the cut on the back of her right foot. Yup, it definitely had been a while since she danced that much, let alone that intensely. She stood up again and held her shoes in her left hand.
"Do you want me to wrap that up for you?" Alastor asked as he knelt down to look at it, "Does it hurt much?" He tenderly caressed her leg and brought it up to rest her foot in his knee. He began to massage her calf.
Charlie groaned and slumped against the wall. "I'm... I'm fine. I have a bandage in the room." She sighed and looked up, peering at the reflection from the mirrored ceiling. Alastor looked up at her and gave her a toothy smile. Her breath hitched in her throat.
He kissed her knee, "Charlie, did you still want your treat? You were a very good girl tonight." Alastor's gaze bore into her soul and the sound of his voice was laden with desire.
"I... I..." she cleared her throat to stop her stuttering, "I do... but... I should um... freshen up... and ch-check on Vaggie. I feel icky."
He tsked, "If she knows you're home, I doubt you'd join me tonight, but if you must..." he set her foot down as the elevator stopped and the doors opened, "I'll leave my door open if you do decide to join me."
The princess shuffled away from him as quickly as she could, a bright blush on her face. She scolded herself mentally for being a chicken shit and tried to convince herself to just go with him. She reached the door to her suite and looked at him as he followed her close behind.
"I... I'll be out in fifteen. D-don't fall asleep."
Alastor chuckled, "My dear, I rarely do."
Next chapter has me very excited. Close... so close! Until next week!
