A/N: Enjoy!
16
DRINKS ALL AROUND
Jo sat at her vanity in her new dress. Jeannie was twisting her hair into a simple design that still allowed her golden curls to flow loosely. "You look beautiful Miss," Jeannie said, dressed in her own simple outfit that was acceptable for a servant.
"Thank you," Jo responded with a small smile. Staring at her reflection in the fancy mirror, she didn't look like herself. Back on Earth, she'd never gone to prom or any formal dance before. That rendered no reason for purchasing an expensive dress. It was a nice change, but she was slightly shocked to see how different she looked.
"Are you ready?" Jeannie asked, knowing that Jo was nervous.
"Yes," the Queen finally answered after a few more glances at her reflection. Standing up, Jeannie helped her into the high heels picked especially for that night.
"I've barely seen anyone since Dean 'announced' me," Jo trailed on to her servant. Her hands were a little shaky from her nerves.
"I'm sure everyone will be so happy to see you," Jeannie tried to be encouraging. "Marlie will be there," both women couldn't help the smirks from appearing on their faces. Marlie was still quite a strange character in Jo's opinion. Stifling a laugh, Jo took the lead to enter what Harvey called 'The Show Room'. Upon her entrance, countless pairs of black eyes, and regular ones, focused in on her. The large room was much bigger than the Great Hall, and obviously had been prepared for the party.
Dean quickly made his way over to her, kissing her on the cheek to not mess up her makeup. "You look beautiful," he whispered, bringing her with him to a circle of demons he was conversing with. Many eyes were still on her as the King led his Queen through the crowds of people. Standing in a circle, Jo's anxiety lessened when she saw John there. He was dressed in a suit, and Jo had to hold back her sarcastic comment about formal wear. Dean's hand went to the small of her back and she noticed that he was also wearing a suit. It definitely was not a casual Friday down in Hell, everyone was dressed up. John looked uncomfortable, but gave Jo an assuring smile. "Jo, you know Arirca," Dean said gesturing to one of her lesser favorite demons. Respectfully, Arirca nodded. "This is Mark, Edith, and Caleb," he added. Jo stiffened as she recognized Mark and Edith from the Rack. They were common torturers of the Rack, and she knew that they remembered her. Stiffly, Mark and Edith nodded. Caleb, however, smiled and held his hand over his chest.
"It's an honor to meet you my Queen. I'm Caleb, the King's organizer you could say," he kept his eyes normal for her benefit.
"It's nice to meet you too," she said in what she hoped was a confident voice.
"We should start," Dean suggested, looking to Jo with pride in his eyes. They started moving towards the head dining table. It reminded Jo of a wedding, and they were going to sit where the wedding party would. However, it was far from anything like a celebration of love. It was Hell, which meant the complete opposite. To Jo's surprise, it didn't feel like Hell to her anymore. She'd come to enjoy seeing Dean, being off the rack, and being able to experience somewhat 'normal' things like dinner, parties, and of course pleasurable sex.
Dean's movement towards the table resulted in everyone taking their seat at various spots around the room. Standing at the middle of the table, Dean held up his glass of whiskey. Jo noticed that her wine was already waiting for her in a spot next to Dean. She spotted Harvey standing off to the side by Jeannie. He motioned for her to pick up her glass, so she did. She also tried to not let the blush creep up her face from nervous embarrassment. She was completely out of her element.
"Tonight, we feast. We celebrate a new era," Dean's loud voice rang throughout the room. "With Joanna as your Queen, and me as your King, Hell is changing. The old ages are gone, and we bring in a new rule!" Dean's words caused an eruption of applause. Lifting his glass, he toasted to the crowd. Everyone else drank in return, including Jo. Demons dressed similar to Jeannie brought out plates of food and trays of drinks.
"What's with all the formality?" John asked from Dean's other side.
"There's a lot of rules about the way things work in Hell, and I've been trying to find every loophole I can without upsetting Death," Dean started to explain.
"These demons have worked hard, and with Jo accepting her place as the Queen, I figured we were in need of a celebration. The formal wear and fanciness was Harvey and Arirca's idea. Old fashioned and whatnot, 1922 is pretty much what they consider modern sometimes," Dean tried to joke. He was in a great mood, and Jo liked it. He seemed…normal.
"I see," John responded, looking around to make eye contact with Jo. She smiled at him, taking a sip of her wine.
"How's upstairs?" she asked. The wine was giving her a little bit of liquid courage.
"Different, but much better than down here," John answered honestly. As they feasted, multiple demons came up to greet Dean and Jo. Marlie was of course one of the first eager demons to say hello. Jo gave her a smile, but Dean appeared to be bored. John stayed relatively quiet throughout the entire ordeal. He would occasionally speak with Dean, but no more than a few words. It was quite clear that the father and son had some issues to sort out. Dean accepted different demon's greetings and thanks for the celebration, and eventually the crowd had finished their food. Servants continued to bring out drinks, and Jo was beginning to feel a little dizzy with everyone staring at her. She wished she had powers like Dean to know what they were saying.
"You're really getting worked up over nothing," Dean's smooth voice commented on her right side. He was sensing her thoughts again, and Jo rolled her eyes.
"Don't roll your eyes at me. You're in front of every important demon in Hell, I suggest you behave," he warned. With her eyebrows shooting up in surprise, she sat back in the plush chair. He was so hot and cold, she didn't know how to handle him sometimes. Remembering her place, she drained the glass of wine and tried her best to play the 'good wife'. It was difficult. Jo was used to freedom up on Earth at the Roadhouse. Yes, she was bound to the property by her mother's overbearing instincts of the supernatural, but she was still given freedom to do whatever she pleased within reason. She couldn't even begin to count how many times she'd rolled her eyes at her mother, but apparently that sort of behavior wasn't allowed as Dean's Queen.
"I think I need some air," she whispered, tapping Dean on the arm. He looked at her with a confused expression, but nodded his head anyways.
"Are you okay?" he asked, genuine concern leaking through his features.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" he pressed.
"Yes Dean, it's just a little much. I'm not used to this," she explained. He seemed to understand and pulled her in for a kiss before she stood to leave.
"Do you want me to come with you?"
"No I'll be fine," she assured him and tried to put on her best smile. The wine was making her slightly dizzy, and she couldn't take all the stares from the demons. She knew Dean had tried to reassure her, probably able to hear what they were talking about, but it didn't make her feel better. She felt like she was up on a pedestal for all the demons to criticize. What made it worse was that she'd been tortured by some of them, Mark and Edith especially. It was a new way of life and adjusting to the role of a Queen was harder than she originally thought. Not one to back down or give up easily, she kept her head held high and allowed herself ten minutes of air. Then she planned to stride back in with more confidence to face the remainder of the evening.
In the 'Event Room' there were a set of glass doors that opened up to Hell's scenery. Molded from Dean's mind, Jo stared out at the dusky red skies as she stood on the balcony. Screams were heard in the distance, and she assumed souls were being tortured during their celebration. It still unnerved her, but she continued to remind herself that it was Dean's new rule. A new era. Taking a deep breath, she felt a little better having had a few minutes to herself.
"Well hello your majesty," a sly voice seethed from a dark corner on her right.
