The Double Blind-Effect
Chapter 9
Will you dance with me?
"Trust me; she knew who she was dancing with the entire time. She just chose to see the good in everybody. I personally don't think she should change that about herself. It's possible her energy could even bring the best out of the devil."— The minds journal.
Quick note: Mara is the Siri for Hell that I made up!
(Day 7 early morning before grand opening)
Alastor paced back and forth around his office before taking a seat at his desk. He placed a few calls on an antique telephone with a rotating dial and wrote on a calendar the dates and times for the caterers and designers to come in for the big jamboree. The unfortunate power out from yesterday caused a day or two of delay for the hotel grand opening. A portion of the hotel's middle floors suffered a power loss, and they had to call in for some workers to repair the electrical issues.
The overlord's deadly claw tapped on the desk, his mind meandering around the past few days ago about his plaything and their date. He didn't foresee the complications of her impulsive side deterring his plans, and this compelled him to kick it up a notch to allure her into a corner, and this time, there will be no hiccups in his mad game. 'Come to think about it. I should pay a visit to my plaything.' Alastor sent out his shadow to pursue ahead. It slithered through the empty hallways and into Charlie's room, where there was no soul in sight and likewise for her office. The shadow returned to him, whispering in an inaudible voice.
"Hmm." The Radio Demon left his office. If memory severed him correctly, one of the heiress's suggestion box ideas was participating in a talent show. 'Now, this should be entertaining.' He silently approached the frowning dame's room, motioning his hand for the shadow to investigate inside the room. The shadow's wide, eerie smile matched Alastor's, and it ventured inside to see that the moth was sleeping soundlessly, then reported back to him. With a snap of his fingers, green voodoo magic materialized around the alarm clock to disable it. The clock continuously flashed 12:00 a.m.
What a kind thing he bestowed upon her, he allowed Vaggie to get plenty of rest after working tirelessly day in and day out managing the hotel. Perhaps giving her proper slumber will improve her irritable, foul mood. To seduce his plaything, he needed the Hispanic demon out of the picture. It would be easier to send the frowning demon off to sleep the big sleep, but that would cause Charlie to have unwelcome emotions, and he didn't need that yet. Alastor didn't anticipate the spider to interfere and had the suspicion that Angel was catching on quicker than the naïve princess. Not that he had any real trepidations, it was just an observation from yesterday.
He moseyed to the grand stairway, walking downstairs, his deer ear twitched to the low, hasty tapping sounds. It was coming from the theater, and like a curious cat, he strode towards the sound. Stealthily, he entered the theater, where he observed the princess dancing upon the stage, her back faced him. Without the screen, the stage was a decent size to perform. The tapping sound came from her shoes. 'Is she learning how to tap dance?'
Charlie wore a pair of sky-blue wireless headphones over her head, and her phone rested on a black square platform on the stage. She failed to notice that she was no longer alone. The music distracted her as the princess danced to the rhythm. She tapped, using the heel and toe of the shoes, and generated hypnotic clicking and clacking sounds that followed the song's beat. Her dance moves were charismatic with a hint of ludicrous, and she twirled around on stage with a subtle display of her hips rocking to the rhythm. She sang enthusiastically along to the song.
They say, oh my God, I see the way you shine.
Take your hand, my dear, and place them both in mine.
You know you stopped me dead while I was passing by.
And now I beg to see you dance just one more time.
Ooh, I see you, see you, see you every time.
And oh, my, I, I, I like your style.
You, make me, make me, make me wanna cry.
And now I beg to see you dance just one more time.
So, they say. Dance for me, dance for me, dance for me, oh, oh, oh.
I've never seen anybody do the things you do before.
They say move for me, move for me, move for me, ay, ay, ay.
And when you're done. I'll make you do it all again.
The sounds of static only played through his closed mouth; an arrogant smile molded. Alastor promenaded closer to the stage. 'I think it's time I join, my plaything. After all, I offered to be her dance partner, and I have my suspicion that her frowning dame can't keep up.' This course of action would provide him with loads of entertainment instead of waiting for her to notice his presence. It was enormously thrilling watching her stammer around fretfully, and he deliberated if those rosy cheeks of hers would invent a new color today. The Radio Demon walked up a short staircase to the stage.
Dancing was like second nature to the heiress; she was free to cut loose and not follow any boring dance patterns. She created a simple two-stepped dance tempo as she pranced back and forth on stage and her fingers snapping to the song's beat. The steel of her shoes harmonized along. Her head lightly bobbed along to the hypnotic melody, and her pale blonde hair swung about, obstructing her perspective. Like a free spirit, she twisted and twirled around and around on stage until a pair of deadly claws catch her nimble hands.
Charlie's doe eyes lit up in dismay, and she gazed to Alastor. His mysterious ruby eyes captured hers like a huntsman's stalking their prey. His eyes gravitated towards her, enticing her to traverse the unexplored.
"Aah, A—Al!" She blushed a light raspberry color out of embarrassment as if she got caught with her hands in the cookie jar. If she were to look at herself in a mirror, she would think that the colors clashed horribly with her rosy cheeks.
The Radio Demon took advantage of the situation, leading her to dance with a genuine devil. He whirled the princess around with one hand while the other clamped to her waist. He emitted a slow four-step rhythm before he dipped her down.
"Hehe—wait, Alastor! I can't hear you with my headphones on." Their dance abruptly cut short through her sputters of giggles. She placed her hands on his shoulders as he pulled her up, and she took a few steps back. Lowering the headphones down on her shoulders, she pushed away some locks of hair that hindered her sight. "We really have to stop meeting like this. You keep scaring the bejeebers out of me!"
"Ma chérie, you looked to be having a hotsy-totsy time. I couldn't help to be drawn in." He throaty purred.
The Hell Princess's heart pounded against her chest; her palms became so sweaty that she wiped them against her pants. Taking the headphones off her shoulders, she closed them. It disconnected the Bluetooth and transmitted the song to play on her phone, and she cleared her suddenly dry throat. "Mara stopped playing the music."
"Okay, calling Dad." Mara, the phone inaccurately responded. The phone screen flashed to the call screen to automatically called her father's number.
"What?!" She shrieked so high that if there were a glass cup nearby, it would have ruptured, and she franticly bee-lined it past the Radio Demon. "No, no, hang up, hang up!" Stepping over an extra waxy part of the stage, she slipped and fell flat on her butt. The phone wobbled off the prop and landed a few inches away from her. 'Why am I so worried? What are the chances of him picking up? We haven't spoken in months since that day!' She tried to rationalize her frantic thoughts.
After a few seconds of hesitation, which felt more like eons to Lucifer, he answered the call and spoke through the speakerphone. "…Charlie?"
The odds weren't in her favor. 'Goodie gumdrops!' Charlie sucked in the air; her face turned blistering red with ire. She snagged the phone from the ground, but it slipped through her sweaty palms and slide across the stage. 'Shit, butterfingers!' She crawled over to the phone.
"Charlie?" The fallen angel puzzlingly called out again, and he restlessly twirled the phone cord in his office.
'I don't get it! Now, he wants to talk?! Well, I have nothing to say to him.' The princess grabbed the phone, pressing the end call screen. It failed, for the phone froze. She fumingly tapped against the touchscreen to end the call, but several useless apps appeared in its place. 'Stupid, phone!'
"Sweetheart, I can hear you breathing." He amusingly leaned back against the computer chair. Propping his legs on the desk, he pressed the phone closer to his ear, carefully eavesdropping. Peculiarly he heard some static through the call and speculated if they had a faulty connection, yet his gut told him a different story. 'Perhaps, she isn't alone.' A mischievous grin formed.
"Chaaarlieee." Lucifer expressed through a sing-song tone. "If you don't answer me now, I'm just going to talk about all sorts of embarrassing stories about you because I love you so much." He dotingly included.
'Dad, don't you dare do it!' A new source of embarrassment had arisen with the heiress, feeling a pair of attentive radio dials cement to her. Her tentative eyes glimpsed in Alastor's direction; he flashed a fascinated yellow-fanged smile. 'Now would be a great time to end my misery, oh great universe!' Her pride refused to play her father's game.
"Ahh, well, let's see. When you were a small girl, you insisted on taking baths with your dear father."
'Nooo!' Her mind bellowed; she made the impulsive decision that the phone must perish. She got up and repetitively stomped her foot against the phone yet didn't falter. She wasn't sure if the phone's durability should impress her or not. 'Why won't you die, phone?!'
"Well, I couldn't help to notice a particular star shape rosy mark—" Luci's sentence was cut short by his daughter grabbing the phone off the ground and ignited it in a swell of flames. With significant force, she hurled it across the room, and it smashed against a wall into a million unrecognizable pieces of molted metal.
The call abruptly terminated; the fallen angel stared at the phone perplexedly. "Hmm." He rubbed his chin, pondering on what occurred. That was his daughter on the other end, and it was unmistakably clear she didn't want to talk to him. 'That's not entirely true. I didn't want to speak to her either after what happened.' How could he blame her? He unrestrainedly allowed his fury to get the better of him and verbally attacked his daughter. For months, Lucifer regretted what he said to Charlie, not about his opinion that didn't alter, but his wife made it abundantly clear it was how he said it. The irk feeling in the pit of his gut didn't wavier about that specific static sound. "How preposterous, that couldn't possibly be him."
Charlie breathed through her mouth, gasping for each breath. The emotional outburst altered her appearance; her eyes fluttered gold and red iris for a moment. She used every fiber of her being to compose herself. Rotating around, she faced the overlord and sweetly smiled at him. "So, Al, what can I do for you? I didn't wake you up by chance, did I?" For her sanity, she pretended the last few minutes didn't exist. Everything she wore was moderately the same, except today's shirt is lilac-colored, and the sleeves rolled up to her elbows.
The Radio Demon stared down at her with half-lidded eyes, his expression smug and a tad perplexed. He found her little comical performance thrilling, especially since she obliterated that repugnant thingamajig new technology called a smartphone. He chuckled insincerity at her cute façade, reckoning he would indulge to her whims, although the enticing thought struck him. 'Where is this hypothetical mark?'
"You slay me, my dear!" He answered energetically. "And applesauce, to begin with, I don't sleep very much with insomnia and all. Truly, I was on my way to the kitchen to cook us up some grub when I heard some peculiar sounds coming from the theater." He half lied.
"Haha—right. I guess curiosity would get the better of me too." The princess sheepishly retorted. It was funny how they kept coincidentally bumping into one another; then again, they lived under the same roof. It'd be uncanny if they didn't. Suppose she avoided him like she wanted to. In that case, he'd surely catch on, and the last thing the heiress needed was to elaborator the reason why she repelled away from him like two magnets pointed at the same poles anytime they were in proximity.
"May I ask you a question, Charlie?"
"Sure, let me have it."
Alastor's malevolently grinned further widened to her word choice; however, he suppressed his sinister demeanor and didn't question the idiom. "Why are you up this early in the morning, pray tell?"
"Oh well, that's easy. I wanted to practice my dance routine for tonight's talent show!" She gleefully stated, believing the idea for the suggestion box was flourishing and thought that everyone was bonding, almost like a family, this past week. She felt optimistic that once the hotel established an influx of patients, more suggestions will arise.
"Ho—ho! What an ab-so-lute-ly grand idea! However, may I suggest something, my demon belle?"
"Erm, what's that?"
"Instead of doing a solo performance, why not a duet for the talent show?" Gradually, the radio wave left his voice. "I distinctly recall my mentioning to you, if you require a dance partner, I'm here for you."
Charlie offered him a humorist half-smile; her finger gingerly scratched her cheek. "Umm encase, you didn't see me annihilate my phone the past five minutes ago. I—I don't have any source of music to play." Razzle and Dazzle were too frightened by Alastor and vanished anytime his presence neared them.
So much for bodyguards.
He flashed a notorious yellow-fanged smile at her adorable forgetfulness, and he couldn't abstain from the impulse to reach over and pinch a generous amount of her rosy cheeks, teasingly. She giggled in retaliation, and once he was satisfied, the overlord retracted his gloved claws. Within his palm, fire discharged, and eldritch ciphers adjoin. The fire set loose and exploded in a colorful ray of awe. Many of his shadowy minions transpired through the explosion, peeling themselves off the walls and readied themselves with musical instruments, then generating a leisurely melody.
She marvelously gawked at his showman proficiencies; sometimes, she felt a tad jealous at their polarities in power. "Haha—silly me, I neglected that you can do that." Puffing out her rosy cheeks sheepishly, she glimpsed over at him and saw he jokingly batted his eyes in suspense, awaiting her answer. Warning bells set off in her mind telling her to escape, but her body remained stagnant.
His bewitching eyes illuminated. "Now, may I have this dance?" He bent inward to his plaything; a deadly claw extended out in anticipation for her hand.
There were a million reasons why she should decline the offer, yet she tossed aside all cautious to the wind because this was just a harmless dance. To have the opportunity to dance with him again enthralled her to the very core. It was true that her moth couldn't come close to their dance proficiency whenever they danced, no matter how much aficionado effort Charlie muster out. With nothing left hindering her path to rejecting the offer, she placed her hand upon his. She stared at him; a docile smile formed on her lips.
Alastor reeled the heiress closer to him, and his other claw grasped the small of her back as she places her hand on his shoulder. He swept her gracefully into a dance by generating a slow waltz. The lights in the theater went down and settled on a dimly lit, courtesy of his shadow. Slow dancing should be something anticipated, not dreaded.
The music in the background fabricated a smooth and surreal ambiance that harmonized to their tempo. The Hell Princess impeccably followed his guide, and he spun her barely out of his clasp only to reel her towards him again. They wordlessly stared into each other's eyes and let the music speak for them.
He graciously twirled their bodies around and around on stage. Dipping the princess down, he bent in, and the tip of his nose virtually touched hers. A long claw stretched out to grasp her thigh, slowly moving it up to meet her hip.
Charlie patiently waited for the tempo to derive into something… more. When they first met, the way he danced was full of charisma that magnetized her, and she imagined nothing of the sort before! This deliberate dance was methodical, and the princess negated to concede that he enjoyed this rhythm.
Growing up in a castle, she's accustomed to the waltz, and when she attended Hell High proms with her ex-boyfriend, there was an excessive amount of grinding, much to her dismay. 'Grinding is not dancing.' It wasn't until later on; she stumbled into tap dancing and self-taught herself. After that, she developed her whimsical technique.
"Al?" She suddenly spoke up.
"Hmm—what's eating you, sweetheart?" Alastor pulled her back up and continued their simple four-step tempo.
"You don't expect me to believe that you enjoy the waltz." She erratically declared.
"Heavens to Betsy, no. The waltz isn't my first go-to dance choice." He shook his head at the notion. "Well, back in my days, we would dance from dusk to dawn doing the Charleston to the Jitterbug and many, many more!" Reminiscing back to the good old days, when he was alive, and the nights filled with endless parties.
"Show me." Charlie stopped moving.
The Radio Demon remained silent. He stared perplexedly into her moonbeam eyes, which held a spontaneous twinkle to them, and the longer he stared, the more questions stockpiled. It was like she owned the galaxy within those eyes, and he could see speckles of the constellation.
"I mean, unless you can't keep up with me, I totally understand. We can just keep dancing to the same old boring tempo." The princess impulsively challenged him. Stepping out of his grasp, she demonstrated a whimsical twirl and skipped across the stage, adding flair to her quick tapping capabilities. The steel on her shoes clicked and clacked to the beat, whirling around to face him. She mimicked his playful traditional smile with her sharp white fangs; a wink followed after.
This game wasn't what the overlord predicted. Was he allowing himself to be held captive by his own dangerous game? The thought alone enticed him; how far will he venture into the uncharted territories before she succumbs? He's immeasurably captivated by where she was going with this, and his predator's heart lunged in anticipation to show her his illustrious showman skills. 'So, my plaything wants a show? Well, as a gentleman, I'll simply have to concede to her whims, but I'll be taking it up a notch and see if she truly can keep up with me. What's a show without some entertaining singing, and what's a stage without an audience?'
He chuckled arrogantly, and within his claws, ignited another similar flame that discharged and exploded mesmerizing shades of color inside the theater. Numerous shadows transpired from the darkest corners of the room; they took their seats. Green vapor swirled around his feet when Alastor snapped his fingers, and it produced a pair of tap-dancing shoes. Two-stage lights illuminated, swerving in their direction, the music altered. One of the minor shadows played an energetic tune on the piano as the others clapped and beat the drums.
"Follow my lead, ma chérie! We call this Jumpin Jive dance back in my days before Cab Collway aired it on the picture-show! And a one, a two, a three." Summoning his long-staffed microphone, the Radio Demon jumped, then slid jaunty across the stage and quickly generated a spirited tapping rhythm. His arms moved adroitly. Spinning around, he glided backward and tapped on the microphone to awaken it. It blinked open its eye. He enthusiastically sang, and his staff would act as backup.
Alright, gentleman.
I want you to repeat after me.
Just how I do it.
Ready?
Ra-da da da dada dada da da.
Your turn!
(La-da da da dada dada da da.)
Very good!
La-da da dada da ah.
Go ahead now!
Charlie's eyes lit up like the evening star. Observing Alastor's vibrant dance, she analyzed his footwork, and no sooner she'd mirrored him by dancing parallel to his side. She tapped hastily with flare and slid backward just as he exhibited. When he sharply turned, so did she, and when he spun, she did too.
The heiress glimpsed over to a line of elevated black square stage platforms; her lips curved into a mischievous smile. To take his game up a level, she twirled her way towards it, leaping gracefully onto it. She harmonized to his tapping tempo, right behind and diagonally from him. She skipped on the following few platforms to keep up.
Lightly bobbing her head to the bubbly music, she spun around and gliding her shoes just as the Radio Demon displayed. Both of their metal shoes resonated throughout the room in synchrony.
(La-da da dada da dum)
Good golly!
La-da dada da da ah
Bring it around now!
(La-da da da dada dada da ah)
Yes!
La da da dada da ah.
La da da dada da ah.
La-da da dada da ahhh.
Bring the beat back!
The stage lights that followed them alternated with radiant popping colors, and the jingle reverberated swankier than before. As one of the many dwellers in hell, Alastor never met someone that can keep up with his jig, nevertheless adding some pizazz to it! His pride stated there wasn't a soul in all hell that could dance like him until this day. She exceeded well beyond his expectations, and this thoroughly entertained him.
'Time to change the groove!' At the end of the last platform, Alastor moseyed over as the princess leaped off, and he caught her in his arms. He flipped her sideways, and she landed with poise. "This popular dance is the Charleston. Now, do as I do!" He blissfully declared and fantastically paraded his legs from one side to the other as his arms whimsically swayed diagonally.
"Like this?" After a few milliseconds, Charlie imitated the comical dance faultlessness.
"Fantastique!"
Ladies and gentlemen.
I present to you.
Ms. Charlie Magne!
Take it away, my dear!
Oh, oh oh oh oh ohhh.
Aw aww aw aww aw aww.
The shadowy audience enthusiastically applauded for the heiress; the hypnotic melody invigorated her. 'So, he wants me to take the lead, awesome possum!' Charlie generated a magical tap rhythm and temporarily ceased only to gesture her hands outward to him to mirror her pattern.
In response, he obliged.
She pranced across the stage, producing a quick tapping tempo as her hip subtly swayed to the beat and her arms nimbly shadowed. Right behind her, Alastor trailed along, reproducing her dance. Gliding to the side, she twirled and posed her arms graciously high into the air.
The Hell Princess sensed; he would be parallel to her. She sunnily smiled as she spun around, and they faced each other. Crossing her arms behind her back and without directing him, their charismatic minds linked.
They tap-danced in harmony as Alastor stretched his deadly claw out for her hand, and she courteously accepted the invitation. He twirled in her closer and reeled the microphone towards them.
Charlie ruminated the day that the Radio Demon danced his way into the hotel, and particularly how he riffed off her lyrics. 'Come on, Al. You don't think I forgot, did you? Inside of every demon is a lost cause?' A bit of playful vengeance ignited in her that day, but she hadn't the slightest clue on how to use it until today. Her doe eyes spontaneously lit up to the audacious joke, for two can play that game! She veered up equal to the staff's height. "Alright, listen up, shadowy… guys! We're gonna twist the beat around, so try to keep up!"
Numerous musical shadows gyrated their perplexed stare at the princess, and the radio wave continued to play in Alastor's voice. A grin intensified its way across his face, his was dazzled by her unanticipated manner, and he basked in it. Subsequently, he did not intervene; the shadows awaited her cue.
There weren't many lyrics for her riff off since he used the musical sounds solfège to be his guide, so she'd have to improvise. Soon after, she exhaled, staring at the shadowy audience she serenaded lightheartedly to a new rhythm.
La da dee.
La da dee doo.
La da dee me.
La da dee you.
La da dee.
La da dee doo.
There's only me.
There's only you.
After the first line, the shadow minions generated a light melody by using a ukulele, piano, and clapping to the beat. The overlord didn't need to instruct her any further, and his staff vanished, twirling her barely out of arm's length.
"The Lindy Hop." His feet flippantly promenade on stage with twists and turns as he led the dance. She delicately swayed her hips to the tempo in retaliation, and her feet fabricated a light swirl and prance.
Alastor's free claw grasped the small of her back, letting go of her hand; they danced parallel in synchrony. Grabbing her petite hand to reel her in, the heel of her shoe fastened to the floor, and her opposite leg elevated up, outward in an upside-down 'L' shape. Rotating her slowly around, he followed alongside.
The two-stage lights merged into one entity. Charlie didn't need the microphone anymore, and instead of looking at the shadow audience, she longingly gazed into the overlord's mesmerizing eyes.
La da dee.
La da dee doo.
La da dee me.
La da dee you.
La da dee.
La da dee doo.
When you are gone, I think of you.
The longer they danced, the less apparent reality existed. In this fantasy world, Alastor and Charlie only lived, and everything else was inconsequential. The song reached the finale. They held each other's hands and lightly paraded across the stage, spinning in circles.
Twirling her closely within his range, he snapped his claws to the beat. Their feet adroitly bounced barely off the ground to the buoyant rhythm, following by twists and turns. He spun her out of his arms towards the center stage, and she whirled around. Moseying over to her, Alastor captured Charlie's waist with one arm, dipping her parallel to his side, she coiled an arm around his back. Both their opposite arms zealously stretched outwards in a 'ta-da' pose.
The surreal dance left their mind and body both dizzy with passion. With the last key ending several seconds ago, the Radio Demon reeled the princess up. They forgot the dance and stood transfixed in each other's arms, lost in emotion. Sweat trickled down their temples, and in exhaustion, they profoundly breathed. The shadow audience energetically clapped and cheered.
Several long minutes passed by before the overlord spoke. "La da dee?" He raised a brow, ruby eyes twinkling in humor.
"La da dee doo," Charlie added, smiling with sweet mischief. "I couldn't help to notice, you took a spin on my lyrics before, so I thought it'd be fun to do the same thing!" After all, she also had some pride to protect.
"Haha! Magnifier, darling. I tip my hat to you!" Alastor laughed at that, his laugh full of mirth and frank. The radio audience laughed and clapped along, snapping his claws a top hat manifested, which he humbly tipped to her.
Color raced to her cheeks; her heart skipped a beat. "Haha—I don't know about you, but my legs are Jell-O. I'm ready for—"
"Charlie?" At the entrance of the theater, Vaggie announced her presence.
Suddenly, the heiress's smile faded, a faint shadow passed over her face as reality came crashing into her la-la land. In a fraction of a second, the shadows vanished, and she retreated out of his arms. Her attention shifted over to the moth, and she nervously smiled.
The Hispanic demon stared at them, her expression sour with hints of malice towards Alastor. Forcing her attention to the princess, she was acutely aware of the fact the overlord was watching her with a mocking grin. "Charlie, can I talk to you… in private?"
The heiress opened her mouth almost in objection but said nothing, and instead, she wordlessly nodded. Glancing over to Alastor, she silently lipped 'gotta go' and skipped off the stage stairway, following her moth out of the theater.
They walked a few paces down the hallway, where Vags abruptly stopped and spun around to face her princess. "What was that about?" She interrogated; she firmly placed her hands on her hips.
"Erm—we were just dancing for the talent show tonight." The Hell Princess innocently countered.
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it's just once harmless dance, nothing more."
"Maybe you're right, but I don't like it." Strolling over to her princess, she reached over to hold her hands. "I don't like the way he looks at you, hun. I'm afraid for you."
Charlie's heart sank with those words, and the look of confusion clouded her face. 'She's chastising me again.' She interlocked their fingers and let out a strenuous sigh. "I'm begging you to drop this subject. We've been down this road again and again. Please, just give me a chance to make my own choices, and I will handle the 'what-if' scenario consequences."
"No, Charlie, please wake up from this la-la land enchantment he put you in! The guy is nothing more than a deceitful deal maker."
Withdrawing her hands, she shoved them into her pockets. "My decision is final, Vags. Is there anything else you needed to discuss with me?" She mustered out a professional voice to camouflage the dejection, and she faked a half-smile.
Gazing off into the distance, Vaggie let out an unfortunate sigh and looked at Charlie. "There is."
"What's up?"
"It's about Angel… he's gone." The Hispanic sinner unnervingly bit the inside of her cheeks.
"What do you mean? Gone to get some fast-food or gone gone?" The heiress asked, confused like a mouse in a maze.
"Gone gone."
"Wh—what happened?!"
"We disagreed on what he should do for the talent show, hun. He was going to do something revolting, and I told him no, so he left." Vaggie illustrated her version of the story.
'So, instead of trying to negotiate, you let your anger get the better of Vags and drove him away.' Correcting her girlfriend's statement, she contemptibly shook her head. If only genies were a real thing, she'd wish to travel back in time and make a compromise with Angel. Something in her gut told her he'd listen to her. She believed therapy was working for him and thought they were on the road to friendship. "How long ago did this happen?"
"A couple of hours… I think."
'A couple of hours?! Just how long was Alastor and I dancing? It only felt like a few minutes!'
"Don't worry. Angel will be back." The moth reassuringly added.
"And what if he isn't, Vaggie?" A pair of sad eyes flickered to her girlfriend.
"He left behind, Fat Nuggets."
"I just wish you'd come to me about this. I'm Angel's therapist. We need him as much as he needs us, even if he doesn't show it. How can we call ourselves a rehabilitation hotel if we can't maintain one patient?"
"I think I can handle a few patient questions, sweetie." Vags defensively said.
"Really? Because from what I'm understanding, you got so aggravated you unnecessarily provoked him and gave him no choices or came to me about it. Now, he's gone to satan knows where!"
"I didn't get that angry!" The look of sheer vexation on Vaggie face replaced Charlie's distress with sadness.
"Look, I really don't want to do this. I need to be alone right now…."
"Charlie…" The Hispanic moth dolefully replied, attempting to reach for her princess, but she stepped away. "We can still do the talent show." She tenderly smiled.
"Not without, Angel." The princess grimly added, tucking behind her ear several astray tresses of pale blonde hair, and in a matter of seconds, the hair fell forward again. "Please… go."
With a defeated sigh, Vags left.
'I was hoping she would try to convince me more and say that she'd offered Angel choices… but she didn't.' Pressing her back against the hallway's wall with closed eyes, she downheartedly slumped down to the floor. It's hard to imagine that just a few minutes ago, she was having a marvelous time, but then reality woke her up.
Alastor's body pressed against the wall within the theater. His pupils converted into luminous radio dial slits; eldritch symbols manifested around him, and his appearance became distorted. 'What a dumb Dora that frowning dame is!' To think that the demise of his plaything's relationship to the moth would be in the hands of the moth herself was hysterical! He barely intervened, and now to make sure his scheme flourish was to keep Charlie away from her, then nothing would stand in his path to claim his demon belle. He camouflaged his narcissistic demeanor with an energetic smile and strolled out of the theater towards the heiress.
Charlie detected the overlord's presence a few paces away, and she vacantly stared at the ceiling, counting the tiles to get her mind off on what transpired. "So, how much of that did you hear?"
Silent.
"Sorry, I'm not accusing you of eavesdropping… we were kinda loud." She frowned, troubled by her thoughts and lowering her gaze to the floor.
His mouth constrained into a tiny smile, he stared at her sulking face. Unconsciously his deadly claw reached for her, and she looked up at him, confounded. Her petite hand cautiously rested upon his, and he plucked her off the ground. "Smile, my dear." His other claw brushed away locks of her astray hair that shielded her face, gazing into her doe eyes. "You'll never find a rainbow if you're looking down."
'Is he trying to comfort me? He has a peculiar way of expressing it.' She lightheartedly giggled at the thought; however, she cherished the words because she needed to hear them. "Haha—thanks, Al!" She brightly beamed at him.
Alastor chuckled, a low menacing sound, hungering to toy with his plaything again. 'I wonder how long she intends to keep me chasing her? My dear, I fear you don't comprehend that you're running into a dead-end.' His thumb gently caressed the back of her hand in a hypnotic circle motion, watching the way her joyous manner fade and, in substitute, glimmered desire within her eyes.
Tugging her instantly closer, he stooped his torso to her level. His mouth hovered inches away from her cheek; a warm breath coated her skin with goosebumps. The Radio Demon lightly kissed the princess's rosy cheek, not demanding but more playful. "Your most welcome, Charlie." The static left his voice.
The Hell Princess catatonic body allowed her to walk a few paces in reverse, and automatically she puffed out her rosy cheeks. Three shades of bright red tints suffused her face, and her heart attempted a painful escape through her throat, but she swallowed hard.
The overlord titled his head to the side, a knowing grin plastered over him.
"I s-should g-get going, I-I got people to do, and places—I-I mean, places to go and people to meet!" Still blushing, she hysterically laughed at the incapability to complete a sentence. She wordlessly waved goodbye to him, bee-lining it through the hallway she practically stumbled up the grand stairway. 'I don't know what's up and down anymore!'
'My, my, my. She's too charmingly entertaining. I can't wait to see the s̵͕͛̇́ḩ̵̪̄e̸̟̼̍̇̕e̶̡͊r̸̖̯̕̚̕ ̵̬̮̍͊͠d̵̼̞̊͋͂ȩ̷̛͙͔̇͝s̵̝̉͋͌p̸̯͉̅̌a̶̢̳̝̋́͝i̴͉̓͘r̶̨̢̛ ̸̗̅͌͠ on her face when everything she believes turns into ashes.' His mind dauntingly oozed out.