You had expected things to change between you and Alastor. The way everyone else spoke about giving him your soul, you'd thought he would pull away from the niceties. Yet he didn't. You still shared a bed and he would allow you to cuddle up to him on a night, he would often read to you or hum to you as you fell asleep. When he would read, you would find yourself fighting the sleep just enjoying the story being told as he was ever the showman and kept you captivated on the story at hand. When you would cook, he would sometimes join you. Other times he would invite you to join him on the radio, offering your singing talents. Things felt peaceful, you were happy in your afterlife. You couldn't help but feel you had also had a positive impact on his life as when you would play games with the rest of the residents, he now joined in. You did however learn that monopoly was off the table. Nobody wanted a repeat of that night.
Normally when you would go out for groceries, Alastor would accompany you. You'd grown to enjoy the little outings, sometimes grabbing a bite to eat or pop down to Cannibal Town to see Rosie. She would always give you a knowing wink when the two of you would arrive with arms linked. But today he had some other things to take care of so you had gone alone. You had become quite confident in your own strengths and no longer worried about being attacked on the streets. You had successfully learned how to slink into the shadows when needed. You could summon small skeletal hands and had even been able to sap a demon's life force. Much like you had done to the zombie creatures at Missy's shop. You did not like doing the latter and despite Alastor trying to push you to see how far you could take it, you had never taken a life that way.
"Hey! You there! Chanteuse!" You stop and look around to see an Imp running towards you. "Me?" You ask, not entirely sure if he was talking to you. As the imp approaches, he snaps his fingers. "Are you deaf or do you just like seeing a little guy run?" He yells at you. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was my attention you were after." Your response only seems to piss the imp off more. "Do you see anyone else around here called Chanteuse? No. Good, let us get to it then. My boss wants you on the TV and he ain't taking no for an answer so let us go already." At this, the imp grabs your hand and starts dragging you off. You pull away from him. "Okay for starters, my name is Belle, not Chanteuse." He looks you up and down and flicks through several sheets of paper. "So you're not the bird singing on the radio?" He asks. "Umm I mean yes but my name is not Chanteuse, that's just how Alastor introduces me. "Good enough for me, come one, let's go already, i'll be sure to pass it on to the boss."
Despite your better judgment, you follow the imp, more out of curiosity than anything else. You arrive at a large circular tower with 3 large V's in neon lights on the top floor. You are led into a waiting room and told to take a seat as the imp heads over to an elevator. You think about getting up and just leaving, you weren't exactly sure why you were even there. But just as you stand up to leave, the elevator dings and red smoke floods into the lobby. As the smoke fades you are greeted by another 4 armed demon in a long flowing red coat with a fur collar, heart-shaped glasses, and a feathered hat. You recognize him from the bubble bath that Angel had given you. You could only assume that this was Val. You sank down in your chair, from everything you had heard from Angel about this man, you wanted nothing to do with him. He walks past you and you breathe a sigh of relief. This however gets his attention.
"And who is this little Chiquita we have here?" He unlinks arms with the two girls he had come down the elevator with and swaggers his way over to you. "Umm, I'm Belle." You stammer out. Valentino grabs your hand and pulls you to your feet as he walks around you, much like a vulture would a corpse. "What a beautiful name. I can see it on the posters now." The way he looked at you as he said that, made your stomach turn. "I think I'm good. I live with Angel and you know what they say about working with people you live with and all that jazz." Val's flirtatious demeanor drops and he forcefully grabs your face. "YOU TELL THAT LITTLE SLUT TO RETURN MY MESSAGES BEFORE I RIP HIM SOME NEW HOLES TO GET FUCKED IN!" He bellows in your face. "Val!" You hear another voice call out and Val quickly releases your face, crossing both sets of arms. "Come now Val, does she look like one of your girls?" Val looks you up and down. "Put her in some leather and ropes and I think she could be a little bit of fun, no?" As he said this you could feel electricity charge in the air, the source of which you can see coming from the TV faced demon's balled fists. "Well voxy, when you're done with her. Be sure to send her my way." Val blew a puff of red smoke in your face as he sauntered out of the building.
"Vox here, I'm sure you've seen me on the TV before and wondering why you are here?" He didn't give you the opportunity to reply. "Well you've been taking hell by storm and I am here to offer you the chance to get off the radio and become a true star!" He extends a hand to you, a familiar glow around his hand although this was more a shade of blue than the green glow you had become accustomed to. "Now Mr Vox, I should hope you're not trying to trick me into a deal? Into selling my soul for stardom perhaps ?" Vox pulled at the collar of his shirt as he withdrew his hand. "Trick you, no. Wouldn't dream of it. I can see you're a woman with a good head on her shoulders. I'm simply here to offer you a chance at something better than the outdated crap you've been doing for that nobody." The way in which Vox spoke, he reminded you of a game show host, fast and to the point.
"Well, I wasn't really looking to rise to stardom. Plus I mean I sing, nothing that needs putting on the TV when it plays fine over the radio, right? " You could see Vox's eye twitch for a moment when you mentioned radio. "Well, we're not just wanting you to sing. Hell has been a-buzz about the newcomer who took down an overlord. We wanna know your secret, what's your game, who you plan to take down next?" He almost sang out the words to you. "Well, I'm just quite happy in service to Alastor at the moment, no plan or game." Vox's eye twitching became more apparent when you mentioned Alastor. "Well what do you want with that has-been, whats he offering you? I don't see any mark of ownership." Vox brought up a good point. Alastor had not marked you in any way. You had seen the symbol he had carved into Husk. "Look I really don't think I have anything to offer here. I'm alright thank you and thank you for your time but I really think I should be on my way now." You tried to excuse yourself but you once again felt the electricity in the air. "I don't think you realize what we have to offer here, not just fame but protection. Maîtresse des os had a loyal following and I'm sure you've rustled a few feathers so maybe..." You cut him off ."And I am fine not knowing what you're offering. Good day, and goodbye." With how he'd acted like a pushy car salesman you had expected to stop you but only offered a "we'll be in touch" as you swiftly made your exit.
...
"Alastor is back on the air, with his favorite chanteuse." The radio rang out. Vox had sworn he had gotten rid of the damned thing but they kept appearing as though to torment him. Admittedly it had been a while since he had heard a broadcast but none the less the voice of Alastor grated on his ears. He picked up the radio and launched it to the nearest wall, the radio smashed into little pieces with the force of impact. "What's wrong voxy?" Val purred out from the other side of the bed, wrapping his arms around Vox and trying to drag him back. Vox pulled away. "Oh come on now. I can make you forget all about him." Valentino continued but his offer fell on deaf ears. Alastor was back and he was taking on overlords. How long would it be before he came after him again? He had seen he had a new pet, however.
Vox sat at his desk and opened the footage of Alastor and some girl leaving bones and brickdust. He seemed to be injured but the girl was unscathed. Maîtresse des os was not only a powerful overlord but she and Alastor had been on good terms for a long time. What could have pushed him to get into a fight with her? News on the street was one of Missy's boys had got hands-on with the girl. Alastor was not reckless, she must have something that was worth burning that bridge for. If he could get her under his thumb, at the bare minimum she could feed him information. He needed her. Not to mention if he could slip that little thing out from under Alastor, he would relish in being able to rub it in his face.
...
As you were walking around the shop you couldn't help but notice the eyes that were on you. Hushed whispers but as you looked around to find the source, you noticed that demons and imps alike would avert their gaze. Even at the checkout, Sarah, the imp who you'd got to know over the last few months and normally met you with disinterest. Somehow seemed more standoffish with you. "Hey, have I done something?" You ask and Sarah flicks on the CCTV over to what appeared to be a news channel. Footage of you and Alastor leaving Missy's shop "So the mystery of Missy's disappearance has been cleared up" The voice of Vox rang out. "Thanks to you, I've not been able to go up to the living world for a week!" She barked at you. "I think you should shop elsewhere. BRUTUS!" Brutus came out of the back room and crossed his arms at you to emphasize her point. You took the hint and left. You had planned on looking for somewhere else to shop but as you walked down the main street, it seemed like every other set of eyes were looking at you.
A sharp pain shot through your body as it slammed into the ground followed by the pain of your hair being yanked up. You saw droplets of blood hitting the floor before your face was slammed into the ground again. This time you roll over and summon skeletal hands from the ground below your attacker, pulling them to the floor. "Don't you dare use her magic, you bitch!" The demon snarled out. "Oh! You don't like it when I use her magic? Let me show you some more!" You bellowed out with an unexpected ferocity. You clenched your fist, watching as the demon before you began to desiccate before you. Something you'd been working on but never using it to a fatal extent but from some dark corner of your mind you could hear his voice, telling you to keep going. Watching as the demon withered into little more than a husk of its former self. More than ever you felt the eyes of people on you. However, none of them made a move now.
You had fled back to the hotel as fast as your legs would carry you. You burst through the doors, now finally able to catch your breath. Well, this was just another issue to add to the stack. "I see you're struggling to keep up with your newfound fame." Husk remarks as you slide up to the bar. "Take it you've seen the news then." You huff. "So are we drinking by the glass or by the bottle today?" He said, already placing a bottle on the bar. "I always said a good bartender knows your drink off by heart." Husk chuckles. "I always said I know someone drinks too much when I can remember their order." He jibes back at you. "Well, I think under current circumstances. I have good reason to be drinking." you retort. "Are you ever gonna stop getting into trouble?" he asks with a genuine note of concern to his scorn. "Well tell me I don't make things exciting around here. The worst offense a person can commit is to be boring." You saw the look on his face. "Yep, don't worry. I heard it too. I really need to make some friends outside of this hotel." You couldn't deny how much you had sounded like Alastor at that moment.
You weren't sure how you would break the news to Alastor that you now had one more thing to worry about. The lingering thought that Maîtresse des os would come back to get payback had already been stressing you out but now it seemed she had quite an aggressive following who had just been told that their favorite overlord had been sent to some shadowy realm by yours and Alastors hand. You thought about not telling him, would that make things better or worse? You'd have to tell him eventually, the kitchen stock would only last for so long. Maybe you could ask Husk, Angel, or Nifty to go get supplies in? That would be a problem for another day however, you were always sure to keep a well-stocked kitchen. You had enough in to keep everyone going for at least a week or two.
You'd ended up making up a hearty bean casserole and brought Alastor his portion up to the room as per what had become the norm. When you place his plate down, you can see him staring at your lack of dinner. "Are you not eating tonight mon chéri?" He said, already tucking into his own plate. "I'm just not hungry, you know how sometimes when you're around food for some amount of time and then you don't feel like eating it." Your lie sounded convincing enough that you almost believed it. Alastor seemed to be trying to read you but eventually seemed happy enough with your answer. However, Alastor did offer to do the dishes that night, remarking on how you didn't look well.
At one point he took off his glove to feel your forehead and you had to focus your thoughts on anything but the events of the day. Your mind went to him, how he had taken you by surprise the other morning, how eager and even a little bit needy he'd been when he grabbed you. "Well, no wonder you're looking so flustered when that's where your mind is at." He clears his throat a little. "And here I was thinking you were just trying to take my temperature, not read my thoughts." You playfully scald him. "well if you have nothing to hide then why worry about it." You felt like he knew, he knew you were hiding something and just waiting to catch you out in it.
You struggled to settle that night. Alastor had decided to sleep next to you shirtless and just wearing a wine-red pair of loose-fitting pajama bottoms. He had said that perhaps some skin-to-skin tonight would lead to your carnal desires being sated, since the other morning seemed to be playing through your mind. You had to give him some credit, for as little as his desires were for such a thing, he seemed to be making the effort to feed your appetite. Although you did wonder if this was perhaps a pretense so when you dropped off, he could peer into your thoughts and memories once more.
But still, you lived for such moments. The warmth of his skin against yours felt like such a rare treat, one you treasured every second of. Between regular training and studying, your duties around the hotel, and just Alastor's natural way of being. These moments of peace, these moments of gentle intimacy were a much-appreciated reprieve. You both lay in the bed, your head rested upon his chest as he read to you. The current book he'd been reading with you was The Great Gatsby. Your finger gently tracing along the lines of his scars just breathing in the serenity of the moment as he gave you your own personal performance.
'Everyone suspects himself of at least one of the cardinal virtues and this is mine: I am one of the few honest people that I have ever known.' His words rang out and struck a chord with you. You knew he had just been reading from the page but yet the way in which he said, it as though he was somehow accusing you of being dishonest with him. You lift yourself up slightly, with one arm propping you up as the other reaches to lower the book so you can meet his gaze. "Is something wrong mon cœur?" He asked, running the backs of his knuckles along your jawline. You let out a sigh.
"So today I was invited to meet a man called Vox, he wanted to strike a deal of some form, and when I said no, he was reporting on why Missy was missing and now it feels like half of hell is pissed off." You just reel things off, trying to get the rough summary out. "Oh, I'm aware. Exciting, isn't it!? I'm sure it won't be long until they're lining up at the doors! Especially when Maîtresse des os makes a return. Oh, how they will be fighting among themselves for the opportunity to bring one of our heads to her. He spoke of such matters so gleefully. "Wait how did you know and why didn't you say something sooner?" Were the first questions that came to your mind? "Well my darling, I asked Husker, and as for why I didn't say anything sooner. I suppose I was interested to see how long you could keep these things to yourself. Apparently not long." You weren't sure if he was criticizing you or praising you for that fact.
"You seem very calm about this matter." Not that his calmness should take you by surprise. "Well why should I be worried, I have you by my side ma très chère." Alastor purred out with his usual confidence. "We barely escaped with our lives and that was only because we got a trick shot in. She knows what to expect next time and that's if some other demon doesn't get to us first." Despite Alastor's confidence, your voice was trembling. "Well let us hope she continues to underestimate you as much as you underestimate yourself. As for her followers. You gave me your soul with no expectations in return, however. |What I do offer you in return for it, is my protection. No one will harm you for as long as you are mine. Even before you willingly handed it over to me, did I give you any reason to doubt I would keep you safe?" You thought back. Alastor had indeed taken care of you, from hurting those who hurt you, ensuring you felt secure. Giving you comfort when you needed it. "So shall I continue reading or do you intend on ending this little moment with trivial worries?" You lay back down as he picks up reading once again.