Nothing quite as centering as a walk through Hell. I never thought it would be, but the bleak, the darkness. It's weirdly soothing. Who would've guessed Hell would've been so peaceful? I mean, it's still in dire need of redecorating, but give it time. In my stroll past the cells, it made me curious. I wonder if there was anyone I knew down here.

I doubt it. Some of the people I knew on Earth have done some bad things, but never anything to warrant going to Hell. Maybe Mel. With the amount of cocaine that girl used to do, the number of guys she's banged behind a Pizza Hut dumpster before she met Brendon, and her mouth of a sailor, there could be a warm spot in Hell reserved for her. No. Cas told me she was in a better place at her funeral. I doubt he would ever call Hell the better place. But it's so under appreciated. We really need a better PR team.

Suddenly, I caught a familiar smell in my nose. Like warm apple pie. There was no whiskey or gunpowder with it, so that wiped out Dean, Uncle Bobby, and Aunt Karen. What can I say? Color me curious. However, I'm not stupid enough to go charging into something head first and hope for the best. And it had been a while since I had a good feeding. I sat down on the floor next to the door hiding the apple pie from me.

"Lena?" Xander got down next to me, "Are you alright?"

"I'm hungry, Xander," I reported, "And I'm not feeling like human food right now."

"Say no more..." he blushed, "My queen. It'd be an honor and a privilege to allow you to feed on me."

"Skip the formalities, sweetheart," I waived, "I don't need the ass kissing. Just tap your vein for me."

"Yes, ma'am," Xander ran his blade over the same scar for me and I started to get my fill. It's amazing what giving him iron pills did for his blood. It tasted richer, making me not want to drink very much at a time. Kind of like eating gelato. But that wasn't going to stop me from eating so much I get a stomachache.

Once I was all juiced up and at full power again, I was ready to see who was hiding behind door number God only knows. There are more souls in Hell than numbers can measure. I cracked the door open and peeked inside. Looked like the demon assigned to tortured this poor apple pie smelling sap was out to lunch. I guess the new queen in town had to come in and pick up the slack. I've never tortured anyone before. I hope I do a good job. Who knows? I might catch the bug.

Wait a minute...I knew him. This guy all huddled in the corner looked was covered in bruises and cuts and scars. Someone just kicked the absolute crap out of him. And it put a hole in my heart. Maybe Lucifer was right and I should've taken some of Gabriel's grace. That way, I'd be able to heal this poor guy and get him to stop his sobbing. I told you so. Oh, so now you're going to invade my inner monologues? Maybe... Awesome. I still couldn't figure out how I knew him, though.

I put my hand on his shoulder as gently as I could, "Hey..."

"Get away from me!" he jumped out of his skin. Oh my God, I know exactly how I knew him. He scurried off to the opposite corner.

"It's ok," I spoke softly, "I'm not here to hurt you. I promise."

He started to come back around, looking over at me, "Charlie?"

"Hi, Seth," I smiled, forcing back a biblical flood of tears. Without even thinking about it, he threw himself into my arms.

"I'm so glad to see you, Charlie," he bawled into my shoulder.

"Actually," I corrected him, "My name isn't Charlie. It's Lena. But I missed you, too."

"Can I still call you Charlie?" Seth requested, "It's more or less out of habit."

"If it helps you sleep at night," I allowed.

"If I ever get to sleep," he shivered, "They're brutal down here. Wait, what are you doing down here? Are you the replacement for the other guy?"

"No," I shook my head, "Like I said, I'm not here to hurt you. I don't do the torturing around here. That's below my paygrade."

"Good," Seth's tired, limp body melted into my chest, "I don't think I can take much more today."

"How are you here?" I wondered, "I thought you were a vampire."

"I was," he confirmed, "But I was turned. I used to be human. And at the Pearly Gates, they don't look too kindly on someone that would willingly damn their soul like that, so my human half got sent to Hell. My monster half is running loose in Purgatory somewhere."

"Sounds like fun."

"Must be," Seth thought, "Because he's never come back for me."

"Is there any way of you two reuniting?" I wondered, "Your human half and your vampire half?"

"I don't think so," he perked up a little, "Wait, you're over here giving me the third degree. What are you doing here?"

"Hey," I scolded lightly, "I'd watch that kind of tone around the new queen. I came down here to take over. Lo and behold, here I am. Is there anything I can get you that would make your stay in Hell a little less...Well, like Hell?"

"You can do that?" Seth's face lit up.

"Absolutely," I promised, "What do you want?"

"Well," he thought it over, "If you could get the big guy to ease up on the whips and the rack, that'd be pretty cool."

"Consider it done," I confirmed, "What's your demon's name?"

"Onoskelis."

"Ok," I made mental note. Onoskelis, huh? Later, "How are you feeling now?"

"Not too terribly bad," he took a quick assessment, "Sure, I feel like crap, but things are starting to come around. That's usually when Onoskelis comes back."

"Good enough to take a walk with the queen?" I offered him my hand.

"Always," Seth got up without hesitation.

"Wow," I teased, "For getting your ass beat by demons on the regular, that was pretty quick recovery."

"Yeah," he flexed his joints in total confusion, "That's weird. Not two seconds ago, I was miserable. Now, I'm perfectly fine."

"That's when you say thank you, kid," Lucifer chimed in.

"Really?" I smiled, "Aww...You do care."

"Told you," he reiterated, "I'm your favorite little devil on your shoulder. We can be buddies, Lena. I just healed your first love there."

"That's..." I blushed a bit.

"Charlie?" Seth gave me a look, "Who are you talking to?"

"I'm still waiting for my thank you..." Lucifer tapped his foot.

"You were healed, Seth," I explained, biting my tongue, "Lucifer healed you."

"Lucifer?" he stared in disbelief, "Like...The Lucifer? You know Lucifer?"

"Long story," I groaned, "But yes. I do know Lucifer. He's exasperating and likes to sing showtunes when I'm trying to sleep, but long story short, he did heal you. Now, come on. Something tells me if you're seen with the queen, the demons will ease up on you."

"Ok," Seth slipped his hand in mine.

I wonder what it's like to walk hand in hand with the new queen of Hell. Must be an ego trip and a half. Then again, I can speak from personal experience. It feels a whole hell of a lot better to be the queen instead. Honestly, I could stand another hit from my favorite incubus, but for right now and the sake of saving face, I think that's one of those things I'll do in private. Is it because you're ashamed of what you're doing, Lena? Don't want to do that in front of the ex? Did anybody ask you? Besides, I had some bridges to burn and apologies to make.

"So..." I bit my lip, "I'm sorry about that whole thing with Nikolai."

"Sorry I didn't tell you I was a vampire sooner," Seth apologized, "I'll accept yours if you'll accept mine?"

"Deal," I agreed, "What made you want to become one in the first place?"

"I was orphaned when I was thirteen in Little Rock," Seth told me, hitting closer to home than he thought, "My parents got shot. No one wanted to adopt a thirteen-year-old."

"Amen, sister," I sympathized, "Been there, done that. Only my parents made a deal with a demon and managed to get out of it. But I kind of got adopted at fourteen and rode with Sam and Dean ever since."

"Sam and Dean?" he gasped, his eyes growing wide, "You're not talking about Sam and Dean Winchester, are you?"

"Yeah."

"YOU'RE A WINCHE-"

"SHUT UP, SETH!" I covered his mouth, "I have a feeling my new minions wouldn't take too kindly to that fact, so we're going to keep that under wraps, if that's ok. If it's not, I can always tell Onoskelis to be even rougher on you."

"No, thank you," Seth mumbled, still in complete shock.

"Good boy," I took my hand away, "Now, we're going to forget that fact and move on, yeah?"

"Yeah," he shook it off, "Anyway, when I was still in Little Rock, a man came in and told me he wanted to adopt me and make me part of his family. In those days, I was so desperate to have a family that I was willing to say yes to anything. I didn't think he was going to bite me right then and there. After that, we made the move to Sioux Falls where no one would think to find us and it was that way until the day we died."

"I'm surprised Chuck let that slide," I thought out loud.

"Who's Chuck?" Seth wondered, "Let what slide?"

"You know him as God," I explained, "But I call him Chuck."

"You know God, too?!" I thought this poor boy was going to have a nosebleed.

"Yes," I rolled my eyes, "I know God, Lucifer, Lucifer's true vessel, Michael's true vessel, angels, archangels, demons, the whole damn creature gambit."

"No offense, Charlie," Seth teased, "But you get around, don't you?"

"Just call me a slut," I allowed, "It's easier."

"By the way," he wondered, "How did you take over Hell? Like, did Lucifer just up and give you Hell?"

"Oh, he's giving me hell alright," I assured. Tee hee. Guilty. Lucifer, again, no one asked for you, "But no. Crowley. You know about Crowley, right?"

"Crowley..." Seth thought for a minute or two, "He's the top of the food chain with the crossroads demons, isn't he?"

"Try again," I clarified, "He was, but then, Lucifer was put in a cage for a while. With the throne empty, Crowley decided to take over and become the King of Hell. Now, while Crowley's upstairs playing with my brothers and betraying me, I figured I'd keep his seat warm. Or just keep his seat."

"Neat," he applauded, "Easiest takeover ever. And you're not worried about if and/or when Crowley comes back?"

"Oh, hell no," I scoffed, "Please. Crowley's wrapped around my little finger. Besides, I have a little more power under my belt than he knows about. He wouldn't touch me."

"Oh, Charlie," Seth wrapped his arms around me, "I missed you."

"You know," I smiled, reveling in his embrace, "I missed you, too. Your being a vampire aside, we had some good times."

"Our first date," he remembered, "The bar in Sioux Falls."

"I knew the band playing that night," I admitted, "When the lead singer was talking about his friend Lena, that was me."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"You could've gone up to them and said hi," Seth pointed out, "I wouldn't have minded."

"And blow my cover?" I squeaked, "I don't think so."

"True," he nodded, "Hey, Charlie...Do you know about Christina? Is she ok? I mean, Nikolai did just feed off her before you woke up."

"She'll be fine," I promised, "I left her with Sam and Dean. They'll be able to take care of her. Cas will probably fix her up, no problem."

"Do you..." Seth stared down at his feet, "Do you think I could see her?"

"You're dead, dude," I reminded him, "I might be the new Queen of Hell, but I don't have that kind of power."

"It was worth a shot," he sighed out, "I miss her, too. There's no way of checking up on her?"

"Not that I know of," I couldn't stand to see such a sad face on Seth. It broke me inside. I needed something to cheer him up. And I knew just the thing, "Hey. You want to come with me to the throne room?"

"Sure," Seth wasn't sure what to make of my sudden kind gesture, "What would I need to be in the throne room for?"

"Well," I gave him a little smile, "The place could stand some cheering up and the Queen could us a bard. You're not getting torture anymore."

"Seriously?" There. Instant happy face, "No more torture?"

"You're getting an upgrade," I decided, "Effective immediately."

Out of nowhere, Seth hugged me tight. For a minute, I thought he was going to snap my spine, "Thank you, Charlie. I couldn't handle any more of that if I wanted to. Onoskelis was brutal."

"You're welcome," I kissed his cheek, "Come on. Throne room's this way."

I brought Seth to see my nice, big, new chair and kicked my feet up. Xander stood on the other side of it, waiting for me to come back. Oh, it is good to be queen. My incubus on one side, my vampiric bard on the other. No complaints anywhere. What more could a girl want?

"How was your walk through Hell, my queen?" Xander teased, knowing how formalities made me feel. His eyes drifted over my shoulder, "Lena, why did you take someone out of his cell?"

"Xander," I settled him, "This is Seth. Seth, this is Xander. Seth is getting upgraded to the throne room. He's gone from regularly scheduled torture to being my pet. No one gets to touch him except me. Is that understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," Xander dropped it immediately. Awesome. Power feels good, doesn't it? Oh, yeah. It is definitely good to be queen.

"Um, Charlie," Seth spoke softly, a little spooked by Xander, "I don't know about this."

"It's fine," I promised, "Xander's just a little cranky. New meds. We're working on it. Now, any instrument you'd care to play?"

"Guitar, personally," he requested, "Any requests, your highness?"

"Not calling me your highness for one," I insisted, "As far as what you should play, surprise me. Xander!"

"Yes, Lena?" Xander moved to my side.

"I need you to open up," I ordered, "And if you could find a way to get Seth a guitar in his hands, that'd be pretty cool, too."

"I got that taken care of, Lena," Lucifer took over, "Open the cabinet over by the door."

"Seth," I directed, "If you look in the cabinet, there's a little something, something in there for you."

"Can...I...?" Seth was still pretty shaken. Must be one of those side effects of torture.

"Yes," I assured, "You can go. It's ok. Seth, it's fine. Do what you want. Be my bard. Be my pet. Be my lover. It's fine. Go."

"Ok," he got up from the stairs and did exactly as I told him. That guitar Lucifer left for him was pretty damn beautiful, too. A nice, rich oak acoustic. Strange, given that we're in Hell, that he'd pick an acoustic, but I approve. And I think Seth did, too, "This isn't half bad."

"Half bad?" Lucifer scoffed, "Do you know whose guitar that used to be? That guitar was worth a whole soul!"

"Alright," I hushed him, "Settle down up there. Xander, open up."

"Yes, ma'am," Xander assumed the regular feeding position, giving me exactly what I want.

"Charlie," Seth started playing softly while I got my fix, "You're drinking demon blood?"

"Yep," I came up for air, "That's why I told you that you couldn't turn me. I already was one in a way. Just for a different kind of blood. I was drinking Crowley's for a while, but once he stopped giving me what I wanted, I had to summon Xander. Go on, song and dance man. Serenade me."

"Our song?" he winked.

"I wouldn't call Blackbird our song," I went back to Xander's arm. Swallow after swallow only made me that much stronger. Then, a stroke of sheer brilliance popped into my head, "Hey, Xander, how are you feeling?"

"A little dizzy," Xander came to, "But I'm ok. The iron pills work like a charm."

"Good," I beamed, "Because I want you to scour the four corners of Hell and find Onoskelis for me."

"Charlie, are you high?!" Seth freaked.

"A little bit, yeah," I nodded, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Xander, go."

"Ok," Xander got up and stumbled a few steps. For just losing a bit of blood, he's not doing too bad.

"Uh..." Seth was still a bit leery, "What the hell are you doing, Charlie? Why are you bringing my demon here?"

"You'll see," I waited patiently for Xander to come back. In the meantime, "Hey, Morena!"

"You call for me, Lena?" my favorite succubus popped up.

"I think we need to redecorate in here," I ran through design plans in my head, "I'm torn between industrial and French colonial."

"You know," Morena thought it over, "We could play around with it for a while until we get the best of both worlds."

"Hell of an idea," I praised, "You could do that, couldn't you? You really do have an eye."

"Thank you," she bowed, "I like Hell's new management. Crowley never would've done anything like this. He hardly looks at a succubus unless it's for sex and we all have to draw straws for that."

"I like Hell's new management, too," I kicked my feet up on the arm of the throne, "So, French industrial, huh?"

"Lena," Xander came back with a woman behind him, "As promised."

"Who are you?" This bitch...Now, I could see why Seth hated her, "Ooh...Lookie here. My favorite little plaything."

"I'm Lena," I smiled, "I see word hasn't reached you that Hell is under new management."

"Where's Crowley?" Onoskelis looked over at Seth, licking her lips like she was about to eat him alive.

"He's gone," I explained, "I've got control of the throne now."

"Please," she scoffed, "You're just a human, aren't you?"

"A naysayer, huh?" I grinned even bigger, "Hey, Morena, we were just discussing how to redecorate, right?"

"That's right," Morena nodded, "Why? Did you pick something?"

"Yeah, I did," I snapped my fingers, watching Onoskelis's blood paint the walls, "I like it even better. Seth, you doing ok?"

"Yeah," Seth wiped his face off, "I think I'm good."

"Good."

Such a shame to see good blood go to waste. Not that I'd be drinking that anyway. She's not a succubus. She's not an incubus. She's not Crowley. Just a doubter. And what do we do to the nonbelievers? Blow them up from the inside, of course.

A/N: Lena's in need of a Snickers. Actually, I could use a Snickers, too. Sorry. I just got back from seeing Infinity War a little while ago and I'm kind of depressed. Regardless, we have Seth back in the fold. I loved him. He was sweet. And he's still sweet. Always Lena's bard. Also, if you can tell me who the previous owner of Seth's new guitar was, you get a high five. Now, I'm going to go lay down because I ate too much earlier from eating my feelings and my doggie needs to go outside. See you next chapter! xx