Chapter 49: The Infinite Forest
Audrey was grumpy throughout most of the ride.
Carlos and Charles didn't exactly know how to start a conversation. Most of the teenagers didn't exactly share Amar's curiosity while he stared at the passing landscapes. The part they were in Hell, Pentagram City, seemed to be like a never-ending city of dark buildings with red windows and flashing neon signs that promoted every single sin imaginable. A black moon with a red pentagram stood out in the already red sky while the horizon was surrounded by a ring of clouds with six different colors. In the darkest part of the sky, a white sphere with a white halo stood out. Amar kept squinting at the passing buildings and demons moving about.
"So many auras…" Amar said quietly. "I'm picking up on them…"
"I still can't believe that you're Odalia and Alador's grandson…" Carlos popped open an ice box and pulled out bottles of water that he passed around to the others. "And I still can't believe that you guys are here."
"Yeah, that ship has sailed." Charles took a bottle. "I just hoped that Gothy doesn't murder Ozzy…"
"I still can't believe you and Gothy are siblings!" Carlos wrinkled his canine nose. "I mean, I picked up on the scent when you guys came, but still… And what the heck is your deal with… Who's Ozzy, anyway?
"Uh… she's kinda my girlfriend…" Charles struggled to say. "And we… kinda went home base last night…"
"Last night was like 8am in the mortal realm, so technically, in demon terms, you had sex last month." The others looked at him in confusion. "It's demon time now, guys. You learn to accept it… annoying."
"Right." Audrey took a large sip of water.
"So, Carlos…" Charles cleared his throat. "How the Hell did you end up as Lucifer's pet dog?"
"I heard that!" Lucifer called from the driver's seat despite the screen separating him from them.
"I'm the Royal Hellhound Captain, but, yeah…" Carlos took a deep breath. "I landed in Hell after my condition struck, or, as I later found, after a magic poison reinforced it. I landed in a demolished area and almost had a panic attack when I woke up as a hellhound hybrid of a wolf and a Dalmatian."
"I thought you were no longer afraid of dogs after you adopted Dude," Audrey was confused.
"Yeah, but some dogs are still scary, Audrey! Wolves can attack if you provoke them and Dalmatians aren't necessarily as friendly as the cartoons portray them!" Carlos' fur agitated. "I'm sorry, it's just… I didn't think I'd revive as something I used to fear… and it didn't help that when I landed, some demons tried to capture me to sell on the black market… and I ate them."
Audrey chocked on her water, Charles tried to avoid vomiting, and Amar pulled out an almond cookie from his backpack to eat while Carlos continued. "I then found that flyer for the Hazbin Hotel. I thought I had a ticket to get out of here, either to go to Heaven or be a human again. I wanted to see Jane and my friends again. Lucifer's car pulled in just when I arrived at the Hotel. Charlie did what she could, but Lucifer reminded him of his law."
"What law?" Amar asked.
"Because of the destruction that Auradon caused to create their world, any from Auradon or the Isle of the Lost who goes to Hell can't sign up for the redemption program," Audrey told him.
"He then took me to the palace where the royal hellhounds are trained. Their goal is to scout the entirety of Hell and intervene if something threatens the order of Hell's caste system. Hellborn members of the royal hellhounds scout the other rings while sinners like me scout the Pride ring. That's where all the sinners are."
"So how did you end up becoming captain?"
"The Rottweiler hellhound got fired by my master when the latter found out that he and the Hellhound scouts from the Lust Rings were followers of some underground blog that posted illegal pictures of her Highness." Carlos shuddered. "And when Lucifer fires people, I don't mean the pink slip. I mean the literal flames of Hell."
"That doesn't really answer Audrey's question." Charles threw away his bottle in a dispenser bin. "How did you become captain?"
"Lucifer just gave it to me." Carlos raised his hands in the air in defense. "I just don't ask when the Devil gives you a better job after a few weeks, followed by a higher wage and better residence. I mean, I live in a Hell replica of Hell Hall."
"That decrepit burial site your mother owned?" Charles was disgusted. "Didn't you sleep in her closet?"
"I'm just glad I'm not sleeping in my grandmother's closet. Turns out my maternal grandma, Baroness Von Hellman, is in Hell, also as a Dalmatian hellhound but working as a three-rated fashionista. Thank god I'm technically on a higher status than her. My mom was horrible, but she told me that my grandmother was a monster…" He turned to look at Audrey solemnly. "King Stephan is also in Hell."
That caught Audrey's attention. "My grandfather?"
"Yep… It's somewhere over there…" Carlos pointed on the limousine's right window. The kids looked out on the city: in the foreground, a clocktower with a spray-painted line over what looked like an old countdown. In the middle ground, more skyscrapers and what looked like a towering neon blue skyscraper glowing like a blue Christmas tree of death, and in the background, what looked like larger buildings in suburban settings shrouded by clouds of three different colors. Red and greyish blue clouds collided to create a sicker purple storm. "His castle is located in the outskirts of Pentagram City shrouded by the Pride and Envy territories with the forecasts of Ambitious Jealousy."
"Nice weather," Amar said sarcastically.
"Yep. Vox's favorite spot."
Before Audrey could ask what that meant, the limousine suddenly bumped. The kids almost threw up as strange, bright red lights flashed around the limousine before eventually disappearing.
"Everything alright, your Majesty?" Carlos, a bit woozy, tapped on the screen.
"Nothing to it!" Lucifer called out, his big smile visible on the mirror for Audrey to see.
"Uh, is it just me or is that clocktower further than us?" Amar's question caused them to look out the window. Sure enough, the clocktower was now seen from the left window and practically across town. What they saw on the right side now looked like an endless series of shameless strip clubs, XXX theaters, drug shops, and a giant neon pink tower with the blue sign "PORN STUDIOS" and a giant billboard demoness in a skimpy suit bearing the sigh 'Hot Girls'. In the distance, the outskirts were covered by red and bright pink clouds colliding to create an overly saturated plum-colored storm.
"Your Majesty, why did we just jump from Vox to Valentino's territory?" Carlos cautiously asked.
"I have my reasons," Lucifer shrugged.
Audrey felt the shivers go down her spine. She recalled how panicked Beatrice sounded back on the train. How panicked the ghost-human hybrid was at the idea of the Grand High Witch's daughter attempting to auction off Gothy's soul to Valentino as payback. Audrey stared at Charles, giving him the expression in her eyes that made it clear that she regretted leaving Gothy back at the hotel.
"Uh, Carlos? I heard Valentino was a monster…" Charles made an attempt to tell Carlos of his worries.
"Just stay where you are. If you go around Hell, do it at the hotel or with Alastor!" Carlos quickly said with a growl. "I'm serious. STAY AWAY FROM THE THREE Vs."
"The Three Vs…"
"A bunch of doofuses…" Amar's flat words almost caused the group to fall off their seats.
"Those doofuses make Alastor look like a saint and he's a cannibal!" Carlos exclaimed. "Scouting near their headquarters revolts me! No offense, your Majesty." He politely nodded to the driving Devil.
"None taken." He shrugged and kept driving.
"Amar, look at me." Carlos used his clawed hands to put on Amar's cheeks so he can look at him. "You stay away from the doofuses. Alright? They're DANGEROUS! If you see any of them get close to you, you run like Hell and don't attack! If one of them starts talking to you, pretend to speak Spanish!"
Amar glared at Carlos in distaste. "Tu cerebro inteligente no va más allá de tu bonito cabello, ¿verdad? ¿O realmente te estás burlando de mí?" (Your smart brain doesn't go past your pretty hair, does it? Or are you really making fun of me?) Carlos let go of Amar and blushed in embarrassment while Lucifer laughed his head off. "And take a chill pill. I'm eight, not stupid. My mommies trained me to avert my eyes related to any of the three doofuses. They won't even let Demo show any of the videos they took while humiliating the doofuses with their prank."
"Oh God…" Charles pinched his nose.
"What did they do?" Carlos exclaimed.
"Uhhhhhhh…" Amar leaned against his cushy seat and tapped his nose. "Let me think… Oh yeah! During our summer vacation before starting 1st grade, Demo hexed all of Velvet's leggings to explode whenever she laughed. Made her white dress all yellow as if she wet herself everywhere and Demo took pictures of all his messes! I don't know how they did it, but apparently Demo posted the pics on Pentstagram with a virus to keep her from deleting them… AND Demo's still humiliating her with the goods on Throwback Thursdays!"
The teenagers could hear the Devil laughing, uncontrollably honking his horn in entertainment. The honks caused all the nearby drivers to crash their cars in terror to make room for the King's limousine.
"Then there was 2nd grade," Amar continued. "Apparently, Valentino made fun of Demo's human daddy during their parents' wedding anniversary, so Demo came up with an idea to avenge their parents. They did it by switching one of the screenwriters' pitches with one of Demo's fanfics!"
"Wait, was that the scandal of The Dragons In The Iceberg?" Carlos was shocked. "I heard the flick was so popular of a blockbuster that Valentino risked bankruptcy when Bill Cipher threatened to destroy his studios for plagiarizing his kid's work until they gave the kid's share of revenue! Valentino lost millions; he was pissed! Jesus, your friend is that creepy that they wrote a Zutara fanfic that passed off as a blockbuster, conflicting temperatures hentai script that scored 666 million dollars?"
"Demo's very inspired by the stuff their daddies do…" To the surprise of Audrey and Charles, Amar's expression hinted genuine sadness. "Demo… tends to have breakfast at my house every morning before school. A lot. If the screams are bad, Demo actually comes to sleep over… except on weekends at the very least." Sensing his pain, Audrey pulled the boy close to her. He sighed and leaned against her. "I don't think Demo's daddies love each other the way my mommies do…"
"We don't need to talk about it," Audrey gently shushed him into a hug.
"So… what's the forecast here?" Charles dumbly asked Carlos.
"Clouds of Pride and Lust and a storm of Shameless Sex," Carlos answered in disgust.
Flashing lights came and the limousine bumped again.
"We're here! Everyone out!" Lucifer shouted.
The doors burst open and some unexpected forces pulled the group out of the car. For some reason, the car was no longer in the city but on top of a deserted cliff overlooking a landscape. Audrey, Charles, and Amar gasped at the sight of the massive world with cities spread out within in a giant circle of pitch black earth and bloody red rivers trapped within a ring of mountains. The mountains seemed so high, they were probably too sharp to climb. The cities all seemed to be circle-shaped and placed to form a pentagram, the sounds of traffic and people screaming echoing up in the air like a tragic orchestra. The rainbow clouds and colorful storms sounded like hurricanes from where they stood.
"The Pride Ring… We traveled all this way within 10 minutes? Wow." Amar rubbed his eyes.
"Your Majesty, why teleport us in zigzags when the M-66 Highway was cleared up today?" Carlos asked when Lucifer finally stepped out. "With that morning nuclear explosion, the kaiju demons would have eagerly cleared the way for your royal limo."
"True, but it's one of the special benefits Alastor gets as one of my favorites," Lucifer answered. "Besides me and a very exclusive few, NO ONE gets to know where Alastor's Chateau is. Not even my favorite hellhound." He mockingly ruffled Carlos' fur, earning a fearful whimper from the latter. "Our 'visitors' are going in the opposite direction."
Audrey, Charles, and Amar turned to look behind their backs. Sure enough, the mountains behind them were blocked by what looked like the biggest forest they had ever seen. The mere bald cypress trees at the very front of the forest were tall and thick in pitch black foliage, it was impossible to see anything behind it. Not a single bird could be seen flying through or over the trees. The loud thundering clouds shrouding the forest sounded like the tangled screams of Pride and Wrath mixed into a storm of Vengeful Agony. The only reassuring thing about the forest was that Beatrice Deetz stood in front of it, holding a very poorly drawn welcome sign in her hands.
Welcome to the Infinite Forest. Population numbers: find out after you die.
"Well, you kids have fun in Alastor's domain. Don't hesitate to visit your friends at my daughter's hotel, and…" Lucifer poked Audrey's nose, "don't forget what we discussed, little queen."
"You can keep dreaming," Audrey hissed.
Lucifer rolled his eyes in distaste and went back to the front of the car. "DeVil! We're going and you're driving this time!"
Carlos hesitated before finally giving Audrey and Charles a big hug. "I'm going to try to make weekly stops at the Hazbin Hotel to check on all of you. I know it doesn't mean much here, but good luck with Alastor…"
"We'll survive. Thanks, buddy," Charles smirked.
Carlos smiled at them and broke the hug. He gave a stern look at Amar. "Don't get into any trouble the way you smell like it. If I catch you at the hotel, I'll be keeping an eye on you."
"Keep your nostrils to yourself!" Amar freaked out and ran off to join Beatrice.
"Man, that kid is really as cranky as his grandparents…" Carlos mumbled.
"You have no idea…" Charles sighed.
Lucifer's impatient honk caused Carlos to dash back to the limousine. Unlike the previous teleportation joyride, Carlos drove the limousine down the hill at unusual speed no one had ever seen him do on Earth before the vehicle disappeared.
"Alright, let's get this over with…" Audrey mumbled. The boys followed her towards Beatrice, who gestured them all to stay in a single line behind her. Out of the blue, a black cypress ripped one of its roots from the ground, creating an arched entrance. Beatrice led the group into the pathway that opened up with more black cypress roots rising to form it. Blackgrass plants bended down to wipe away their footsteps on the suddenly wet ground while waterweeds emerged from the mud, twisting themselves into a waterweed wall that suddenly morphed into a small black cypress. Though there were still no signs of animals, vicious screeches echoed through the trees… like a thousand herons were being ripped apart by a bigger prey.
"Your godfather has… tastes," Charles told Beatrice.
"The Infinite Forest does that to whoever lives there." Beatrice had them take a right turn as the pathway made its own right turn. "Hell is as sentient as the souls who come down here. It changes what they knew alive into their new corrupted reality. This forest takes the cake since it changes based on local owners AND constantly controls the wildlife to shoo off wanderers by trapping them in an alternating labyrinth. And these sorts of environments are only found by the mountains forming the ring borders. For sinners, the demons condemned to the Pride Ring only, natural environments like this forest are a nasty way of saying 'Hey, we told you! You can never cross beyond the ring! You will die from trying such a dumb move in this here forest, so either go home or die!'"
"Or for those who value their crazy lives, the Infinite Forest is a great place to hide," Charles concluded. "Or at best, give prisoners a hopeless chance to escape. I can see why your godfather likes this place."
"He doesn't like the idea of living in the city… He never liked anything beyond his time… He also HATES modern technology, so be used to have zero access to phones or computers in his place!"
"Phones are bogus. Crystal balls are the most…" Beatrice didn't give Amar the chance to finish. She turned to glare at him, steam spitting from her ears in anger.
"Amar, you're a fun guy, but I need you to shut up for five seconds!" She hissed. "My dad and I got humiliated in front of Lucifer because of you!"
Amar looked at Beatrice in confusion. "I deviated his attention to help you…"
"By showing off?" Beatrice raised her hands in the air. "My dad and godfather spent all those years preparing me and helping me by getting the connections I'd need! Do you realize how challenging it is for a Hellborn bio-exorcist and a sinner Overlord to appeal to the king on their goal to make me an Overlord once I die? You just waltzed right in and marveled Lucifer! You might end up dying and becoming overlord the next day just because you're a sadistic sociopathic child!"
"Is overlord your dream job?" Amar's question caused Beatrice to freeze in her tracks.
"Excuse me?"
"Is it your dream job?" Amar insisted in honest curiosity. "Or are you just saying it is because your family told you so?"
Beatrice just glared at him and scoffed. "Let's just get going."
They walked silently until they reached a board dock by a blood-colored river. More black cypresses covered the pathway they had taken, placing them in what could be the heart of the forest. The trees were tall enough to hide away the red sky with their dark foliage and the vines hanging from their branches were tied up in nooses. The entire area reeked of swamp water, wood, and dead animals.
Charles looked up at the dangling vine nooses. "I'm getting déjà vu from my dad's garden."
"Your dad's garden was a swamp with nooses hanging from trees?" Amar clung on to Audrey. She looked down and noticed that Amar had a… fearful look in his face as his eyes confronted the swamp water. Audrey sighed and picked him up in her arms, comforting him.
A fog appeared out of nowhere, a foghorn pierced the silence, and when the dust cleared, a black-and-red steamboat was now waiting for them at the dock. As it rocked its way to steadiness, a demon whistled from the main deck, urging the group to come forward.
"Well, howdy!" The red-and-orange Bengal cat demon tilted his hat in greeting. His spotted tail wagged in excitement, dusting the deck floor of whatever toad tried jumping on it. He didn't seem to mind that he was wearing a nice black Edwardian sack suit despite being in a swamp. "Nice to see you, Miss Beatrice! Your folks doing well?"
"Same as ever, Armstrong," Beatrice chuckled. "I brought…"
"Lady Audrey, Mister Frollo, and… whoa, whose the little fella shaking like a tree in a hurricane?"
"That's Amar Blight-Noceda and…" Audrey got worried when the sight of the steamboat worsened Amar's fright. "Amar, are you afraid of boats?"
"Yeah, come to think of it, I've never seen you swim," Beatrice realized as well.
"I can handle a bathtub…" Amar quivered. "Just not… a whole body of water."
"Maybe it would be better if y'all got in. The faster we get you to the other side, the better," Armstrong said, his big smile revealing fangs. "And don't worry. If thing work out accordingly, this boat won't be your main source of travelling!"
Charles and Audrey followed him into the boat. Audrey did her best to climb up while still holding Amar in her arms, but Armstrong was kind enough to help her. He noticed that Beatrice wasn't getting on board.
"Miss Beatrice?"
"Lucifer forbid me from going to godfather's chateau until things are going accordingly between him and Audrey," Beatrice said quietly. "Or the radio tower."
"But we love having you here!" Armstrong protested. "Indigo and the twins were dying to see you again for employee game night! And you promised some of Wonka's sweet goods for Shreveport and Capone!" Armstrong let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, perhaps the master can bring those goods during his next outing to Macabretown…"
Beatrice turned her head to hide away the tears.
"Now don't tell me the head gator also banned the master from seeing you in the living world! That…"
"Armstrong…" Beatrice said bitterly. "Just take them."
Audrey was the first to jump out of the boat and run to give Beatrice a hug. "Hey… I forgive you. You know that, right?"
Beatrice smiled and gave Audrey a bigger hug. "Please be careful…"
"Best to be on our way! The little fella looks like he wants to throw up!" Armstrong looked worried.
Minutes later
Audrey lost track of how long she'd been in the boat's bathroom. Amar had been vomiting uncontrollably and she had to look away, slightly disturbed by how gooey and unusually purple his vomit was.
"Odio los barcos…" Amar groaned. (I hate boats.)
"You've been on numerous life-threatening joyrides and associating with creatures that could eat you alive. I can't believe you get seasickness… or that you don't like boats."
"I don't want to talk about it…" Amar pulled out a carton of almond milk from his bag. He regained his facial coloring the more he drank. "Much better…" He crunched the empty carton into dust. "Yep. Much better." Amar then sat down on the floor next to Audrey. "So. Wanna tell me what happened in Lucifer's office?"
"You couldn't read my mind?" Audrey asked sarcastically.
"I can't. Sometimes it happens when people REALLY don't want their nasty past or memories to be seen by the rest of the world, they unknowingly create a powerful forcefield."
Audrey looked at Amar. "What? I thought you could manipulate people! I thought that was the deal with Oracle magic!"
"No, the deal with Oracle magic is predicting the future, psychological manipulation, spirit manipulation, and basically putting your will within an artificial mind. I peaked in Oracle magic along with all other types…" He waved at the rainbow sleeves and leggings he wore in his 'uniform'. "I've mastered all the tracks. I just pass as a kid whose really good at wild magic and do my workbooks so others don't know I'm a prodigy."
"Let me guess. To appear as a harmless kid and gain everyone's sympathetic trust?" Audrey frowned.
"Well, yes…" Amar shrugged in amusement. "Look, I got my secrets, you got yours, and we'll share when we're more comfortable. I don't want to open my heart out when I have a big chance of throwing up again. As I said before you cut me off, just because I know all sorts of wild magic doesn't mean I don't come with limits! I'm eight, not the most powerful witch in Witchachusetts! Events lead to thoughts, thoughts lead to feelings, and bad past events lead to intense thoughts that cause some people's brains to summon psychic forces to keep Oracle witches from reading their minds. You can read their feelings, but not their thoughts. I can't read your thoughts, but I read that you felt proud, frustrated, selfish, determined, and very scared when you left from your chat with Lucifer." Amar looked at her in worry. "What happened?"
Audrey sighed and folded her legs close to her chest. "Lucifer really wants me to marry Alastor, but we don't want to. He said he can overturn Penna's curse, but that would mean resisting Alastor. And if any of us do anything sympathetic or kind to one another, he'll push the wedding date early."
Amar grunted. "That's the dumbest test I ever heard. Last time I checked, that sort of thing never happens!"
"It HAS to happen! I don't want to marry my demon and neither does…" Audrey got interrupted by Amar clamping his head over her mouth.
"What happened to Audrey who said she wasn't going to let people decide for her?" Amar asked, his two-colored eyes giving her demonic ones a death glare. "Last time I checked, she promised me that if we succeeded in this, she'd get me to see my grandparents. I want to talk to that Audrey, not the quitter in front of me."
Audrey sighed and nodded. Amar removed his hand from her mouth and wiped his fingers dry by rubbing them with his sleeve. "So, what do you suggest I do?" Audrey asked.
"I could try modifying it," Amar volunteered.
Audrey stared at him as if he just volunteered to jump off a building. "What?"
"Modify Lucifer's test."
"Amar, this is madness. You can't cancel out a test imposed by the Devil!"
"I said 'modify', not 'cancel'!" Amar knocked on Audrey's forehead. "Oy! You teens need to be told everything! Last time I checked, your mommy's fairy godmothers didn't cancel her curse, they just turned the funeral into a prolonged sleepover! That's what I'm talking about! Just tell me the specific details that Lucifer put in the test, and I will alter them!"
"'If you show him sympathy or any kind of care, I will remove a day from your waiting period. If you risk your life to save him, I will remove a week. A month if you fall in love and a year if you kiss him. Should he do any of the following to you, it will be double of your price. And if I found out you two mated before the trip comes to an end, your wedding will be on the same day as your Demonic Contract Ceremony, and I will expect a delivered package containing the bedsheets of your consummation. Understood?'" Audrey quoted. "Amar, are you sure you can do this? He's the Devil. His will is more powerful than yours!"
"Yes, but I'm above good and evil. I'm pure chaos and chaos overturns evil." Amar smugly stated and started stretching his arms. "Just stay still while I do ma thing and I'll try modifying it. I'm going to try to alter it so that the decreased time only happens if you two start falling in love?"
"Am I going to suffer any side effect?" Audrey felt herself sitting more stiffly as Amar stood up and cracked his knuckles.
"Let's hope not. Last time I did that kind of spell, I accidentally hexed Rosie's face into Mick's toes. OK." He took a deep breath and pointed at Audrey. His hair glowed in the rainbow hues like they did when he confronted Striker back in the Seussian lands. The bathroom darkened as Amar recited his spell.
"Imez, snaidraug fo ym oniaT srotsecna, dna natiT, ytied fo ym lacigam srotsecna, evig em eht gnilaeh sretaw fo yebatA ot hsaw yawa eht s'liveD tset no eht dlihc fo aroruA!" (Zemi, guardians of my Taino ancestors, and Titan, deity of my magical ancestors, give me the healing waters of Atabey to wash away the Devil's test on the child of Aurora!)
Amar opened his eyes, now pitch black with glowing rainbow irises. A beam of blue magic shot from his finger and at Audrey. The electric waves of magic went over her entire body…
And everything exploded.
Seconds later
Amar had underestimated how Hell could amplify his wild magic. The mere attempt of trying to modify Lucifer's test on Audrey had caused a massive shock wave that shook all of Hell. Windows shattered, cars ran into one another after they ran out of gas, the cities experienced major blackouts, one imp got angry when his murder company's portal to the human realm suddenly shut down, and three overlords got furious with the sudden blackout tampering with their schedule shootings while one was getting shivers of déjà vu.
Audrey and Amar, on the other hand, had retained the same position they had. The steamboat was destroyed, the river was now dried up, leaving the two standing at the muddy bottom with some gators and crabs running off for dear life, and Armstrong and Charles were hanging over some branches.
Amar blinked, digesting what just happened. "Wow… I think I went over the top."
Audrey rubbed her eyes, not noticing Amar hiding the hand he had used to cast his spell deeper up his sleeve, rubbing it with his spare hand. "Are you OK? Am I OK? Do I still have my face?"
Amar sniffed at her, checked her eyes, and forced her to stick her tongue out. "You'll live… though I think you're going to smell like roasted bird for a week."
"Did… you pull it off?"
Amar tapped Audrey's cheeks and put his ear on her forehead. He knocked on it three times before taking a step back. "I can't believe it!" He exclaimed. "I ripped off three-quarters of the test!"
"What, really?" A smile appeared on Audrey.
"I couldn't rip off the mating and bedsheet stuff, but everything else is gone!" Amar raised his arms in the air. "Lady, you owe me! I just did a massive modification on a test enforced by the forces of evil!"
"You're a genius!" Audrey picked up Amar in her arms and lifted him in the air. "The whole love thing is bound to never happen! I'm home free!"
Amar giggled as she spun him round. The branches above broke and Charles and Armstrong fell into the muddy ground, Charles landing Armstrong as if the latter were an airbag.
"What happened…" Charles winced in pain.
"No idea… But we're here!" Armstrong said cheerfully despite the pain he now bared in his spine. He pointed upward, where a dock stood above the river's empty muddy bottom with pillars shaped like alligator skeletons. As if this sort of emergency had been predicted, a ladder was attached to the dock. The group climbed up, getting covered by mud and some loose clams in the process.
When Audrey reached the dock first, she almost took a double-take at the large estate in the hidden valley that stood before her.
Three buildings stood out: a polished glass greenhouse in a fenced garden of harvested plants of all sorts of dark colors, a two-story building with a boat reparation station, and the crowning jewel, a six-stories-tall palace of blood red stones, death black wood, and sardonyx tiles. If the greenhouse and smaller building were fashioned with architecture of Art Nouveau and Colonial style respectively, the palace was a glorious piece of Creole architecture. Leading to the different buildings were thorned hedges and statues depicting either stag skeletons or Loa. Behind the palace could be spotted a blood-red lake, a gazebo, a maze of roses and Southern plants, and beyond all that, the rest of the Infinite Forest.
Audrey did her best and managed to hold back her tears. Despite knowing that this place might as well be her prison for the next 5 Hellish years (and overall 1.5 human month), she was starting to think back to her more pleasant childhood memories of going to Tiana's Palace. The content of Crystal's magic illusion. Heck, the mere design of Audrey's chateau back in Villainapolis. There was just something about the estate that screamed to Audrey that this was just her kind of setting.
Before any of them could make another step, a group of demons jumped from behind the statues screaming "WELCOME!" They all consisted of three cat demons, an indigo-colored butterfly demon, and an imp. Said imp was a female barely reaching Audrey's chest level, wore a working black dress with white trimmings, lack boots, and a white bowtie. Her entire skin was red but she did bear white patches: six aligned underneath her yellow eyes as if to match tear patterns, 8 white stripes on her tail, and a white tip at its arrowhead. Her black slitted horns were polished and her short black hair ended in curls at her chin level.
"Milady, we are so honored to… WHAT HAPPENED? WHY IS THE LADY DIRTY AND WHAT HAPPENED TO THE RIVER? ARMSTRONG!" She shrieked.
"No need to yap your heron beak, Bayou! I brought them untouched!" Armstrong snapped.
"Bayou?" Amar frowned at the imp. "What kind of…" Charles quickly covered Amar's mouth.
"What would the master think?" Bayou frantically tried scooping out the mud on Audrey. "You are lucky he's doing last minute errands and checkups at the tower! What would he think if The Lady was covered in mud?"
"I'm fine." Audrey raised her hand. Bayou politely stepped back.
"Forgive me, Milady. We're a bit frazzled due to your unexpected early arrival!" Bayou said. "But please, allow us to welcome you to your new home. I'm Bayou, the housekeeper of the estate." She then pointed at Armstrong, followed by the Ocicat demon, the indigo-colored owl butterfly demon, and the two identical purple cat demons with dark teal hair. "You've met Armstrong, one of the security heads of the master's estate and radio tower. His co-associate is Lou here. Then we have Indigo Caligo, our scullery maid…"
"Hi!" Indigo's mismatched blue-and-black eyes beamed with excited as she waved one of her icy blue hands at the group.
"Yes, she's new…" Bayou hesitated. "And then you have Bella and Levia T. Zeebub. They're bodyguards."
"Please tell me Alastor is not putting me in surveillance…" Audrey muttered.
"Your safety is a priority, I agree, but they won't be bodyguarding any of you. They're tasked for the only other guest we have. She's under house arrest."
"Hey! We told you to stay behind us!" Bella suddenly snapped as someone forced her way behind the two feline twins and put herself out in the open. Her maroon coat with subtle green voodoo patterns was covered by thorns and the skirt of her white dress and her maroon boots were coated with mud. Her maroon gloves had been cut, probably from moving in the hedges. Loose strands were falling from her braided hair tied up in a bun. What set her apart was that she looked like she had tried to make a run for it but failed.
What set her apart was that unlike the hosts, she was human.
And the worst part was that this was another person that Audrey and Charles knew from Auradon.
"CELIA?!"
