Charlie forgave Vaggie and Alastor for their mean questions. In turn, they forgave her for almost burning down their second residence. The smile easily came back to Charlie; they understood now how important her mom was to her. They knew now how much her mom loved her! Now they were getting ready for a date night.
Alastor and Vaggie had convinced her to take them somewhere in the other Rings. Which one? Charlie wasn't sure.
Greed Ring was out. All the restaurants charged exorbitant amounts that she was sure Alastor wouldn't accept. Wrath Ring didn't feel 'nice' enough for their first 'real' date night. The first dinner where they could truly call each other partners.
The soft smile stayed through the rest of her musings. Finally, she settled on the Gluttony Ring. It had good food, if an overabundance of everything. The idea on what was 'gluttony' was interesting. The last time she'd debated it with Beelzebub, the Sin had tried to convince her to partake of some cotton candy. Charlie knew better than to eat it. The Sin's power was woven through it. It would drive anyone that ate it to want more.
The Lust Ring had the best of what they'd want, but that was a 'little too soon' thing. And imagining Alastor standing stoic in the middle of Ozzie's was too… wrong . He'd be too uncomfortable for that. His comfort was more important. Now, other places in the Lust Ring she couldn't rule out. There was a restaurant that catered specifically to the Ars Goetia they could try out after all. Alastor would probably like that.
"Got it?" Vaggie asked as they all made their way for the elevator that would take them to the Gluttony Ring. She was wearing a nice undershirt with a set of high-class suspenders. Something one step up from normal but not black tie.
"Got it," Charlie confirmed.
"This will be quite the trip! Will we be able to see into the Pit from it?" Alastor asked, adjusting the tie of his suit. As if he hadn't looked over the edge of the Pride Ring to see the depths! Some demons said they could see all the way down to the current home of Sera and Adam. That still made Charlie nervous.
The trip down was uneventful. Alastor wasn't able to get his view; they were surrounded by flames as Charlie used her powers to grant the two access to the other Rings. When the elevator stopped, Charlie let herself change back to normal. It barely ruffled the maxi dress she was wearing for the cooler temperatures in the Gluttony Ring.
She looked to Vaggie, giving her an urgent stare. Vaggie winked back, patting the pocket of her shirt. Charlie smiled.
They'd planned this for weeks, ever since they almost broke through to Alastor's inner self. It would've taken months or even years if Charlie hadn't been the Princess of Hell. She used her clout and endless cash to push it through. Vaggie and Charlie had worked hard to design it.
This and the penthouse should prove beyond a shadow of a doubt their feelings on the matter.
They stepped out of the elevator to a busy street. All around them were all types of businesses: food, BDSM, gyms, bars… Anything that could be done to excess. That was one thing that most misunderstood about gluttony. It was about overconsumption, not simply eating.
"Oh! This all looks rather interesting!" Alastor said, looking about like the tourist he was.
"Are we eating around here?" Vaggie asked.
"These are all tourist traps. The good stuff is in the holes in the walls!" Charlie exclaimed. She began leading them down the streets, pointing out various monuments and talking about trivia for the Ring. Queen Bee somehow caught Vaggie's interest.
"So she throws these parties where everyone eats and drinks however much they want? For free?" she confirmed.
"Yes!" Charlie answered.
"In that case, maybe there will be enough food left over for myself and Charlie!" Alastor said, giving their partner an eyebrow-tilted look.
Vaggie, with a straight face, stuck her tongue out at Alastor briefly before she asked, "Where are we going?"
"You'll see~" Charlie giggled.
Eventually they came to the restaurant that Charlie had picked out. Vaggie tilted her head and said, "Charlie, this is an all-you-can-eat sushi buffet ."
"Yes!" She stood in front of it and gave spirit fingers. "It's an exclusive experience that only the most influential of Hell get to have!"
"It's a sushi buffet," Vaggie repeated like she had some sort of point.
"Come come, Vaggie! Charlie knows far more about the Rings than we do. I'm certain she's not lying! The real issue is…" his eyes turned black in fake intimidation "...will Charlie stuff herself on sushi until she pukes again?"
"Don't hold that against me!" Charlie complained. "I just got too excited!"
Vaggie eyebrow rose slowly in obvious disbelief. "Uh-huh." She turned to Alastor. "Make sure to have an umbrella ready."
"Of course I will! We don't need a repeat of circumstances."
Charlie grumbled. "Stop mocking me and come in!"
"My lovely Charlie, that wasn't mocking. That was teasing ," Alastor clarified. "Would you prefer us to mock you?"
"Hnnnnnn." Charlie pouted as she dragged the two into the restaurant.
"Welcome to-" the front Imp greeter started until she saw who they were. Then she straightened up and obviously pushed a button under her podium. Her smile was bright and rictus. "Hello Princess Charlotte and her beaus!"
She bowed away as someone who Charlie recognized as the owner, one of the lowest of the Ars Goetia, Ta'bak, came from the back to greet them.
"Ah! The dear Princess of Hell!" The strangely short Ars Goetia, still with the same accent all of them had, kissed her hand and bowed to the three of them. "When I heard you were coming, I prepared all of our best items and alerted some very special patrons that you may wish to have discussions with."
Charlie cringed. She knew what that meant. He told his family who invited themselves to the private dining experience. Would it be rude to pull rank and simply kick them all out?
"This ought to be quite a bit of fun!" Alastor laughed.
"That's you guys' realms. I don't do politics," Vaggie said.
Oh good. They both understood exactly what this was. Alastor looked like he was dying to play. …why not indulge him? He was the new Head of Hell for the Ars Goetia.
"Okay! Let's go then!" Charlie was instantly chipper; it wouldn't be her job to manage the circus and monkeys!
Ta'bak led them through the restaurant, up some stairs to an area with its own private conveyor of food. As Charlie thought, there were three Ars Goetia waiting for them. She thought their names were…Consta, Andrealphus, and Tirandel? They were the branch with the bright blue feathers and political cunning.
Hopefully Alastor was up for the game.
"Ah, there she is," said the female Ars Goetia, Tirandel, like they were good friends.
"How good to see you again, Princess," Andrealphus, one of the males, said with a smile smoothe as silk.
Consta got out of his seat to pull a chair out for Charlie. She said, "Uhm, thanks."
"Ah ah ah! Charlie should sit with her partners, in the middle of our section." Alastor made a show of pulling out a chair farther away from the Ars Goetia. Staring Consta down, he said, "Come, my dear, sit down."
"You shouldn't let some lowly Sinner demon command you around like that!" Tirandel said, scandalized.
"He's my groom," Charlie said evenly. She'd found the best approach was to keep her emotions in check when they started their political shenanigans. She made a show of sitting down. Alastor helped Vaggie sit down on Charlie's left, leaving Alastor to sit on her right. It kept her out of direct access of the Ars Goetia.
"M'lady, we have business we simply must discuss," Andrealphus started, pointedly ignoring Alastor. "As the Head of Hell-"
"Ah, but she isn't the Head of Hell for the Ars Goetia anymore," Alastor said. The conveyor started at that point. All sorts of gourmet dishes, from both Earth and Hell, poured in through the conveyor. As she knew, all the Ars Goetia were well-practiced with eating and doing business at the same time. They gathered several of the dishes. Vaggie also gathered her own while Alastor and Charlie kept their eyes on the other three.
"Oh?" Tirandel finally said. "Then who is?"
"I am." Alastor's wide, toothy smile made Charlie feel like he really did have this.
The reactions from the other three were priceless. Conta was mid-swallow and started choking on his whole octopus. Tirandel dropped the spoon for her egg drop soup onto the table. Andrealphus was barely able to keep a straight face with a small twitch of his beak being the giveaway.
"We have to deal with a filthy Sinner ?" Tirandel snorted. She clearly had more to say but was cut off by a look from Andrealphus.
"Interesting move, Princess," Andrealphus said, now staring Alastor down. "Do you really have that much faith in this…man?"
"Yes," Charlie said simply. "Now, go on with your dealings. Myself and the Supreme Magistrate shall observe and cut in as appropriate."
Andrealphus's gaze briefly flashed to Vaggie before resuming watching Alastor. He finally answered, "Very well."
It was as if a switch had flipped. The other two Ars Goetia excused themselves and left the room. Charlie knew why; no so-called self-respecting Ars Goetia would work with those beneath them as equals or, worse, superiors. It was more a surprise that Andrealphus stayed. Her eyes narrowed minutely. What was he up to?
"As you have no background on the dealings this, ahem, below you, I will simply say the basics: one of our own is tarnishing our reputations with the common folk by marrying an Imp . The filthy thing even moved into his residence! This must be against the Charters of Hell!"
Alastor thought for a moment. "I see. So the problem is someone in a higher class is planning on marrying someone from a lower caste and you want to know if that sort of thing is legal." The cheeky grin was a good serve.
Andrealphus frowned, likely catching Alastor's angle. "These laws apply to Ars Goetia only . We have reputations to maintain!"
"Ah yes, glorious 'reputation' used as a farce of an excuse to discriminate against those you hate simply for finding joy in their life. Normally I'd be thrilled with that kind of logic. Very ruthless! However…" Alastor's eyes flashed black. "I sense you're a little more interested in the fact that he's your ex-brother-in-law with an acrimonious divorce from your sister under his belt!"
Andrealphus's eyes popped open in surprise. "How did you know that?!"
Alastor chuckled. "It would have been rather foolish of me to assume a position and learn nothing about it! Tell me…" his voice grew more staticy " where does attempted assassination sit on the Charters? "
"That was my sister, not me," Andrealphus sniffed.
"Ah yes, a technicality." Alastor turned to Vaggie who was just finishing off a seaweed salad. "Tell me, Supreme Magistrate. What are your thoughts on this matter?"
"Spell it out," Vaggie directed. "I want to phrase this right."
"Certainly! Ahem." Alastor explained, "His ex-brother-in-law cheated on his sister with an Imp. His sister hired an assassin who failed in their task of murdering the ex. With this fellow's encouragement, she instead targeted her daughter to open the way to inherit all of the ex's estate. The ex and the Imp saved her and managed to make his sister a pariah in Ars Goetia circles, specifically meaning societal death. Now the Imp and the ex are marrying and the pretty little birds are having a tiff about the scandal ." He brightened up. "Isn't it delightful ?"
Andrealphus was completely out of words. "How did you… From the Pride Ring … A Sinner…!"
"Seems open and shut to me," Vaggie said through a mouthful of nigiri.
"What do you think? Shall we go through the 'courts'?" Alastor asked him.
Andrealphus seemed to think better of everything as he said, mildly sweating, "I don't think that's necessary. I'm certain that… something …can be figured out with Stolas and the Imp. Now…" he stood, bowing towards the three of them. "I must be going. Please, consider this meal on myself and my cousins." He then made a very well-executed attempt to walk out confidently.
Once they were sure he was gone, Alastor let out a solid, long laugh. "Oh goodness! That was fun . As I expected, it's something that will entertain me for eons ."
"Good!" Charlie cheered. And it WAS good! She hated ever running into the Ars Goetia; they always had inane politics and cloak-and-dagger approaches that she simply wasn't adept at.
"Excellent! Now, to eat…" Alastor and Charlie both turned to the belt. An empty belt. They both then turned to Vaggie. Alastor deadpanned, "Eating as much as you do is not healthy."
"I didn't eat all of it," Vaggie defended. "Just the good stuff."
Charlie sighed as she stood up. "I guess you did manage to keep me from puking."
"Which was my true aim all along," Vaggie said.
"This is supposed to be never-ending!" Charlie complained.
"Let me flag someone down. I'll be back in a minute, my loves!" Alastor hopped up from his chair and made his way downstairs.
"Vaggie!" Charlie hissed once Alastor was out of sight. "How are we going to propose now?! The Ars Goetia ruined it!"
"It's okay, Charlie. Calm down." Vaggie reached over and took Charlie's hand. "This may not have been the right moment. We'll know it when it comes."
"That's what got us into everything in the first pla-" Charlie paused mid-word, then said, "Actually, that led to a lot of good things. Let's go with the right moment."
"-can explain to my dears as to why you've cut us off." Alastor sounded displeased, with a bit more static in his voice than normal.
"Yeah, you're right," Charlie confirmed. She looked to the stairs where Alastor and Ta'bak were coming up. "The right moment will come."