"Why are you taking care of me?"
Her question startled the group into stilling. The room then slowly darkened as each demon began to sense the reasons beneath the simple words. Alastor, having already gone through this with her, snapped the fingers of his right hand. The sharp sound snapped the group out of their individual thoughts. Husker leaned over next to the end table above her head and began softly purring while his arms rested on the couch armrest. Sir Pentious glanced at Alastor and made some motions with is hands, to which the Radio Demon shook his head silently. His response caused the snake demon – and his apparently living hat – to hiss and flare his hood. Angel slowly stepped away from a narrow-eyed Vaggie, who was silently stewing with her arms crossed. He then used one finger to pull the right eyelid down and stuck his tongue out at Aleu. The action brought a small chuckle from Aleu's throat. Hearing the sound, Vaggie immediately calmed down while Alastor's smile bloomed. Charlie sat on the other couch armrest adjacent to Husker's position before slowly scooting herself into the makeshift bed. She smiled warmly, though her black eyes glittered with sadness and a tinge of anger.
The princess spoke gently, "The world is a terrible, dark place. Everyone here has suffered in one way or another, both down here in Hell and above on Earth. However, just because the world causes us harm does not mean we can't lend a helping hand to those who need it." Her eyes darted up to Alastor, "Even the darkest of hearts can have morals, feel love for someone or something else, and be caring and kind. We all must make that choice in our lives – to love or to hate." Her left hand cupped Aleu's right cheek. Her thumb gingerly removed a small tear from the child's eye. Charlie continued, "Redemption is what founded this hotel, but it may not be achievable for some. However, we can all find that special place to call home. We here at the Happy Hotel will take care of you, because we choose to end the cycle of violence that you've suffered with. While you are here, no one will hurt you."
"Anyone who tries will regret it," Angel said with determined venom in his high-pitched voice.
"For once I'm with the striped-ed freak. Let someone come and try. My machines have laid dormant for far too long," Sir Pentious hissed.
"HEY! I'm not a freak. I'm distinguished," the spider demon growled at the snake demon. His higher left arm pointed at Sir Pentious over Vaggie's head, "You want to talk about freaks then go look in a mirror. You look like half-dead roadkill."
"Roadkill! Why you obnoxious, horny spider – take that back!"
"Only if you apologize for calling me a freak!"
"Freak was a nice term. I can think of so many more suitable ones, but I'm afraid they destroy your fragile little ego into tiny dust particles."
"You really want to go there, Sir 'Royal Pain in the Ass'? Because I bet you haven't heard a much of the new slang that has been entering Hell lately."
Charlie chuckled weakly as Vaggie desperately began pushing the two quarreling demons apart with her hands. However, the silver-haired demon was much smaller than the two, leading to her being successfully squashed between them. Husker rolled his yellow eyes with an annoyed frown on his face. His purr continued, blending perfectly with the melody that Alastor was humming softly as he watched the argument continue. Aleu wondered if the pair would turn the verbal argument into a physical one. It was then she started to notice how Angel Dust was fighting back a smile and Sir Pentious had to clear his throat a few times to keep from laughing. Her brown eyes widened as she realized that this whole "feud" was actually a game to the pair. No feelings were being hurt. No damage was being inflicted on their bodies. Whenever they decided to stop, the pair would probably walk away laughing and smiling rather than nursing wounds. A small smile appeared on her lips. The dark energy in the room was long gone as everyone enjoyed the show. Slowly Aleu's smile grew. Her tears dried without ever being shed.
"You want to sa-," Angel stopped talking as he heard it. It was quiet, slightly above a whisper in volume. However, it was more beautiful than a song. Everyone else was now attuned to the sound as the argument died. Smiles grew as each one understood what the sound meant. It was one thing they didn't think they would hear for a long time.
It was the soft, beautiful sound of Aleu laughing.
Her wounded body was not capable of producing a loud laugh without causing pain. Yet this group of demons managed to break past fear and emotional pain in the child's heart to produce enough joy that she could not help but laugh. They had promised her that no harm would befall her in this place. Despite each one being angered by her previous treatment; they chose to have fun and take her mind off the past. The joy pushed away the dark thoughts and brought light once more to her brown eyes. As her laughter continued, the demons began to exchange smiles and nods. Alastor's hum and Husker's purring never stopped. When her brown eyes opened to look at the group, Angel made the pretense of swatting Sir Pentious, who in turn swatted back.
Charlie gingerly lifted the child up into her lap. She shooed the males away as she spoke softly, "Let's get these dirty clothes off and check on your injuries. We have a bath prepared for you in the adjacent room. The pain medicine Sir Pentious gave you should be kicking in any second now."
Aleu smiled shyly up at the blond-haired woman as Vaggie came over, ready to help lift her up. She then looked over to the door, where the males were exiting one by one. Alastor was the last to leave. Sensing her gaze, the red-clad demon turned back to her. His smile brightened slightly as he gave a staticky chuckle. With a flourish of his right arm, he let his radio staff reappear in his hand and told Aleu to behave herself. He and the others would see her after her bath.
The bath was a short affair. Charlie and Vaggie were gentle with Aleu's battered body, cleaning all dirt and blood off of her skin and injuries. Vaggie used a note pad to make careful notes about the condition of each injury. While she said nothing about the scars found, Charlie's normally bright eyes had slowly darkened. At one point, Aleu could have sworn her eyes turned red while the black pupils had turned yellow, and horns had begun to sprout on her head. However, a quick blink had removed those new changes to the Princess of Hell. Charlie had been observant enough to notice how Aleu responded to Alastor's soft humming, leading to her humming a soft tune while bathing the girl. After she had been dried, Aleu's injuries had medicine placed on them then bandaged carefully. Her broken rib had turned her skin a dark, purple-ish hue while the skin slowly sunk inward with it. Charlie had Vaggie hold the child while she used her powers to slowly and gingerly return the bone to proper position. The pair had shared a worried look, knowing that healing this kind of injury was beyond both of them.
The girl felt her heart sink at their concerned expressions, knowing that she was causing them more problems, and whimpered, "I'm sorry for everything."
"You have nothing to be sorry for, Aleu," Vaggie replied instantly with her hand stroking Aleu's wet hair soothingly. She smiled, "The only people who should be apologizing are those who hurt you. Your injuries will heal with time."
Charlie nodded happily, "Indeed!" She playfully pinched the tip of Aleu's nose, "And we'll worry about you every step of the way."
At that moment, a knock rang on the bathroom door. Nifty slipped in with a set of new clothes. She smiled widely before starting a quick-spoken ramble. Aleu soon learned that there were no clothes her size in the entire hotel – as Nifty and the egg minions had thoroughly searched the place – so Nifty had taken a few of her own clothes and sewn modifications to them. The one-eyed demon handed them over to Charlie. She bounced excitedly on her heels as she waited for Aleu to try them on. The young girl was shocked to find that the clothes fit her almost perfectly. Her thin, starved frame only made the clothes look baggy on her. Had she been of a healthy weight, the clothes would have been perfect. Furthermore, the bright colors of red and pink were highlighted expertly by black and white.
With a smile on her lips and tears of gratitude in her eyes, Aleu looked up at Nifty, "I love these new clothes. Thank you, Nifty. And I'm sorry you had to destroy your own to make this. I hope I can repay you."
Nifty immediately hopped forward and took Aleu's hands. Her smile turned a little sad, but she spoke with conviction, "No need to be sorry. I chose clothes that I don't really wear much. Besides, you liking them is more than enough payment." She suddenly raced over to Aleu's dirtied and torn clothing that lay by the tub in a heap. Her head shook rapidly, "Oh no. no, no! We cannot keep Mrs. Magne! These are absolutely ruined." Her eye glanced to Aleu, "This is a terrible color on Ms. Aleu too. Do I have your permission to get rid of these?"
Charlie chuckled then looked to Aleu, "They belong to you. What do you want Nifty to do with them?"
Aleu looked into Nifty's eye and noted how the small demon wanted to burn them. She smiled at the thought. She nodded to Nifty, "Can you please get rid of them, Nifty? They got pretty torn by the other kids. Plus, I never liked the color either."
The one-eyed demon beamed with malicious joy, "Of course, I'll remove these from existence at once!" With that, she scurried away.
Aleu let out a soft groan as Vaggie gingerly lifted her up. Her small hands played with the new clothes that Nifty had sewn for her. Tears continued to sparkle in her eyes. It had been a long time since someone had given her anything new, let alone something this nice like new clothes. It seemed like such a stupid thing to get emotional over but Aleu couldn't help it. She had gotten used to people seeing her as a problem or a nuisance. She was used to people either ignoring her existence or beating her up. This amount of kindness was foreign to the child. However, in that moment, Aleu craved nothing more than for it to continue.
The pair of women had just finished putting her back into her makeshift bed when the door flew open. Nifty was on the heels of Angel Dust, who looked to be in great distress. The lanky spider demon immediately yanked the window curtains closed with two hands while his other two readied a gun. Vaggie, seeing the weapon as well, raced to a wall where a spear was leaning and seized it. Charlie rose from the makeshift bed. Nifty quickly replaced her next to Aleu's wounded left side. Husker appeared a moment later, huffing and puffing as he sought to get his breath back.
Charlie approached him with concern in her eyes, "Husker, what's going on? What's wrong?"
However, it was Alastor's staticky voice that replied, "We have an uninvited guest at our lovely hotel." The Radio Demon stepped into the room and indicated empty hallway. "My dear Charlie, your father is waiting to speak with us."