Chapter Four: Christmas Arc: Finding a Gift Part II
"Hello, Alastor. I hear you've been looking for me." Rosie said, sitting down next to Alastor, who smiled at the Demon proprietress and Overlord.
"Hello, my Dear. It's been far too long!" Alastor said. Rosie nodded, holding out her hand. He kissed it lightly.
"I understand that you wish me to provide you a set of rare Beanie Babies… Not your usual request, but one does aim to please." Rosie said with a wry smile.
"Ahaha… Yes, I'm running with a new crowd these days. A far more optimistic and idealistic one to be sure." Alastor said. Rosie nodded. She'd heard that Alastor had thrown his lot in with the Happy Hotel.
"You are currently working with the Princess of Hell and her hopes that she can redeem Demons and send them to Heaven rather than being exterminated. It's… An interesting idea. One that I'm not sure I believe can work, but if she can provide proof of her success in her arguably laudable endeavor, she'll be praised by some and targeted by others. Either way, it's sure to stir up Hell's hierarchy.
"Overlords will start losing their employees, the streets will have fewer prostitutes, salesmen and women and drug dealers will have far less business, I estimate. I assume that you'll be far more popular with some Demons and far less popular with others." Rosie said.
"Well… I don't know if popular is the right word. I'm certainly feared and sought after for people looking to improve their lot in Hell, especially if they're not concerned with how much they have to give in return." Alastor said. Either way, he was happy to have his lot in with Charlie.
He wasn't sure that he exactly cared about her. But he at least was beginning to respect her.
"But more to the point, I hope that I can count on your help with Big Wallace and his Squad?" Alastor asked. Rosie nodded, looking on her Hell Phone, finding someone offering the entire set in mint condition.
"It's expensive, but I think we can work something out. I'm aiming to expand my business into all the rings of Hell. I know that you are one of the few created Demons who can access all the rings of Hell. I would like your aid in accessing the Lust, Wrath and Greed rings. I already have shops in Pride, Envy, Sloth and Gluttony Rings." She said. Alastor smiled.
"You drive a hard bargain. But I suppose that I can facilitate." Alastor said.
"I will help you get your foot in the door for each of those rings. However, you will need to eke out the territory in those rings yourself." Alastor said. He stroked his staff awake and asked for three coins from Rosie. Rosie pulled coins out of her pocket and handed them to him. He waved his staff over them, giving each coin the ability to transport her to one of the three rings and back. She had only to squeeze the coin and think about the ring she wanted and the coin would be connected to that Ring. It would be marked with the symbol of that ring and transport her there. She nodded to him, taking the coins.
She infused each of them with one of the three rings and then took him to the location of the owner of Big Wallace and his Squad. Alastor walked up to the owner.
"Hello! Milady… My name is Alastor. I wish to purchase Big Wallace and his Squad. What is it you are asking for it?" Alastor asked. The owner was quite poor in appearance. Alastor was sure that these Beanie Babies were one of her few possessions.
"What is your name, my dear?" Alastor asked politely. She looked like an Antelope Demon. She looked up at him, very little light in her eyes. No fear, no anger, no life. She looked young, like she wasn't even eighteen when she died. He felt a strange new sensation. Like he felt sympathy for her.
"My dear, would you like to have somewhere safe to stay? I can assure you that it's entirely free. All that is required of you is that you attempt to be on your best behavior while you stay there." Alastor said. She thought for a long moment.
"What's the catch?" She asked, a challenging tone in her voice.
"This is the Happy Hotel. Hell's princess is under the rather… Unpopular belief that Demons can redeem themselves. She believes that even Demons can be brought back to the light and sent to Heaven." Alastor said.
"What do you think?" She asked, sounding skeptical, but a little bit hopeful almost.
"I'm not sure. I've seen Demons become better people while in the Hotel. I don't know if I believe that they can go to Heaven. But I do know that regardless of the success or failure of the Hotel's premise, a room there is better than the street here." Alastor said. She sighed. He wasn't wrong. She had to fight off Demons with whatever she had on hand to keep herself safe. She had to kill to eat. This alley wasn't safe.
"Fine. And I take it you want my Beanie Babies in exchange for taking me there?" She asked.
"No, my dear. I will offer you a favor of your choice in exchange for them." Alastor said.
"I am the Radio Demon. And I'm willing to make a deal with you. In exchange for your Beanie Babies, I will give you what you want." Alastor said. She thought for a long moment.
"I had a hair clip when I got here. It was beautifully made. It was made of leather and had an exotic hardwood pin with it. The leather had spikes made of silver in it. My mom had given it to me before I died, and it's all I have to remember her by. It was stolen from me. Would you be able to get it back?" She asked.
"Ahaha! Nothing simpler, my dear! What did the thief look like? And what is your name?" Alastor asked.
"Pen." The girl said. "Short for Penelope." The Antelope Demon said. Alastor nodded, taking her hand and having her describe her assailant. He took her around the city, seeking out the man. They finally found a tall Elephant Demon. He was the leader of a small gang within the city that had done well dominating their small area, but were fairly insignificant by Alastor's measure.
"Pardon me, Young Man… May I borrow a few moments of your time?" Alastor asked, drawing a picture of the hair tie, showing it to him. The elephant looked at the girl, glaring at her, raising an eyebrow. She whimpered lightly, cowering from him.
"Never mind… It's not worth it… You can just have the Beanie Babies…" She whispered.
"Now, now… No use retreating now. Where is the restraint, my friend?" Alastor asked. The Demon stood to his full, considerable height. He looked to be around 9-10 feet tall.
"What is it to you?" The Elephant demanded, his goons moving in. Alastor smiled, waving his staff, shadow tendrils dragging all of them down to the ground at once.
"Now, where is the hair restraint?" Alastor asked.
"I-I sold it!" The elephant snarled.
"To whom?" Alastor asked.
"A Butterfly Demon named Peth." The elephant said. Alastor nodded and sought out Peth next, who had sold it to a Cat Demon. The two followed the trail, finally ending up back in Rosie's Emporium.
"Kade… I believe you may have this." Alastor said, showing her the picture of the hair restraint. Kade's eyes lit up.
"Yes! I do! I just bought it a few days ago! I figure it will fetch a good price in the shop. It's quite lovely." She said.
"No. You're going to return it to its owner. It was stolen from her and I promised her that I would help her get it back." Alastor said. This had been a long and tedious search for a small object that Alastor had to use his powers to probe the minds of some of its previous owners. It had been stolen, sold, traded and lost. It had taken time to find it. Almost a week and Alastor just wanted to get back to the hotel.
"And why would I care if it was stolen? I didn't steal it." She said calmly. Alastor looked down at her. He was tired. He'd used more of his power than he would have liked to.
He was hungry. He was cranky.
"You're going to give it to me because I'm giving you a choice, here and now. Give me the object or give me your life. You know who I am and what I can do." Alastor said. It was all he could do to keep the smile on his face. Of all the deals he'd made, this may not have been the most frustrating. But it was up there with the most tedious. The Rabbit Demon, Kade paled slightly, trembling as she went to the back and got the hair restraint out, handing it to Alastor.
Alastor smiled, bowing politely to her and handing the restraint to Pen, who immediately put it in her hair, thanking him. They then went back to the hotel.
"Princess! I have acquired a new client for you." Alastor said, excusing himself and driving right through his pound of deer meat and then going to bed to rest.
-0-
It turned out Charlie wasn't there. Niffty took care of Pen and took her up to her room while Charlie and Vaggie were out. Vaggie was sitting in a restaurant called Amici's with Charlie, eating a nice lunch together. Vaggie didn't know exactly what Angel Dust liked. But this was an Italian restaurant. She knew it might be a little insensitive to assume he liked Italian restaurants. But it was most of what she knew that he might like, other than drugs, alcohol, guns and sex toys. And she was not about to go into a sex shop for that. As far as she knew, Angel Dust didn't even have a boyfriend.
So she was going to get him a gift card to Amici's. She'd saved up money from her day job to get him the card that could easily buy him four full meals.
"So, Charlie… Who did you get for your Secret Santa?" Vaggie asked. Surprisingly, they hadn't talked about it yet. Charlie had been busy helping Tina get adjusted to the hotel and doing therapy with the clients and organizing video game night and movie night and so on.
"I got Alastor. I'm probably going to get him coffee. I know he likes fancy coffee." Charlie said. It seemed a simple, almost too obvious gift. But in nearly three years, she still felt like she hardly knew him. He'd stayed. He'd provided according to his promise. But he was still a mystery to her. But she knew he liked coffee. She'd found someone to sell her some coffee. It wasn't that hard. She'd found an unusual brand of coffee. She planned to go to the coffee seller after her date with Vaggie. But she wasn't in a rush.
"Who are you Secret Santa to?" Charlie asked.
"Angel Dust. I know he and I aren't close. But I'm getting him a gift card to Amici's." Vaggie said. She and Angel Dust had gotten closer since he was removed from Valentino's employ and they were even becoming friendly, especially since Angel Dust started taking his 'redemption' seriously. Although he still wasn't sure he believed that redemption was possible, he wanted to do right by Charlie if for no other reason than that he wanted her to be proud of him.
Charlie smiled, kissing Vaggie lightly on the lips and taking another sip of her tea. Charlie was a teetotaler. She hadn't drunk alcohol even before she started the hotel. Well, she did once. But it turned out she had no tolerance for alcohol. Even something as light as wine went right through her and got her drunk. And Charlie was apparently funny when she was drunk. But like funny in how belligerent she became. She'd challenged her own father to a Demon Duel when she was drunk at a party once. Apparently, she was also quite foulmouthed when she was drunk.
She was cursing up a storm at the party. She was definitely an angry drunk. Her father, her mother, her ex-boyfriend… She'd challenged them all to fights when she was drunk. Needless to say, her father ended the party before someone who was stupid enough actually accepted the challenge. He didn't have any doubt that she could handle herself in a duel. But he also had little doubt that as drunk as she was, she couldn't handle much of anything.
Vaggie on the other hand could drink like a fiend and feel little but a buzz. In life, she'd drunk pretty frequently. In fact, if she'd survived, she probably would have died of liver failure. She had turned into an alcoholic, needing at least a buzz to go out each night and prostitute herself. Vaggie had never seen Charlie drunk. And she was glad of that. But if she did get drunk, Vaggie would be there to make sure she didn't humiliate herself or get herself hurt or killed.
They finished their meal and went up to the counter. Vaggie put money down for the gift card and Charlie paid for the meal. The two went back to the hotel, seeing Pen looking around, seeming a bit lost. Charlie went over to her, smiling.
"Hey, my name is Charlie… What's your name?" The Demon princess asked.
"I'm Pen… Alastor brought me here." Penelope said.
"Pen… Great to meet you. Have you gotten settled in your room yet?" Charlie asked. Pen nodded, still seeming a bit numb.
"How long have you been in Hell before you came here?" Charlie asked, sitting with Pen and just trying to find out more about her. She had scruffy clothes, so Charlie had a feeling she was homeless before she came to the Hotel. Pen shrugged. She wasn't sure.
"I've gone through six exterminations." She said. That was how she measured time. Otherwise, it didn't matter much. She just went into an established building to keep herself relatively safe during extermination. She'd only seen the exterminators once. They were horrifying in appearance.
"I see… Did you have anywhere to live before you came here?"
"Just an alleyway. But I'm sure as princess, you wouldn't know anything about that." Pen said, sounding a bit bitter on that front. Charlie chuckled softly.
"I haven't lived in an alley. But you'll never need to live in one again. We're all here for you. It looks like most of the residents are out at the moment. But I can show you around or get you something to eat and drink if you'd like." Charlie said. Pen nodded nervously. She hadn't expected the princess of Hell of all people to be so nice. There must have been an angle. The daughter of Lucifer couldn't possibly be this kind. She was still tense, nervous. She was trembling lightly as Charlie went to the kitchen to prepare something for Pen to eat and drink.
"Do you like tea? Coffee? Do you prefer milk or juice?" Charlie asked.
"Just whatever you have. I'm not really a coffee person though." Pen said. Charlie poured some milk for her and heated up some leftovers that they had. She liked cooking, but she had the feeling that it was better to spend time with Pen at the moment. She wanted to help the young woman get comfortable at the Hotel. So she heated up some food that Alastor had made and brought it out to the girl. Pen immediately tore into it, eating ravenously like she hadn't had anything to eat in days, which in fact she hadn't.
She ate gratefully, thanking Charlie for taking her in.