CHARLIE'S POV
Charlie Morningstar and Vaggie's Room…
Charlie groaned, clutching her face as it was still bruised from the harsh punch Lute had given her from that skirmish from earlier.
The Princess of Hell was happy that Lute had woken up; she really was, despite everything she did. After seeing the Exorcist in such a horrible state, her waking up was a sign that she was improving healthwise at least.
But did she really have to wake up and choose violence the moment she saw them?
I swear, I need to talk to Vaggie when she was still working with Lute, Charlie thought to herself as she entered the bathroom of her personal room. The more information on dealing with her, the better…
Taking off her pajamas, Charlie helped herself to a quick shower before changing to her formal attire. She quickly put on a white long-sleeved dress shirt and a pair of red fitted pants held up by black suspenders. Charlie then sat on her bed to wear black-and-white saddle shoes before putting on her fitted red tuxedo jacket with daring red lapels. Once she had put all those clothes on, Charlie sealed her look with a black bow tie by her neck.
Once she had finished dressing, Charlie looked at herself in the mirror and smiled, satisfied at her professional, well-kept appearance. She certainly needed it, considering what would happen today of all days…
"Charlie?" Vaggie said, having already dressed in her hotel manager uniform, as she had changed earlier. "The new guests are here, waiting in the lobby. Are you ready to greet them?"
"O-oh, yeah!" Charlie said, perking up at that. "Didn't expect them to be here this early!"
"You canceling the Extermination did give a good impression," Vaggie responded with a smirk. Charlie couldn't help but smile even more from that.
"We all did that together," Charlie said. "Well, if they're here early, I shouldn't leave them waiting!"
"You need me to come along?" Vaggie asked, to which Charlie shook her head.
"No, I can handle it," Charlie assured her. "Right now, I need you to keep watch on Lute."
Charlie noticed Vaggie frowning at that request. However, Vaggie expected that she'd be asked to do that.
After all, she knew about Lute the most, so keeping an eye on her made sense. Besides, keeping Lute around was her idea, after all.
"Got it," Vaggie said with a nod.
"Great!" Charlie said with a smile. "Just ensure she stays in her room for now and gets her breakfast. I know we want her to get acquainted with the hotel, but letting her heal is the first thing we need to do for it."
Plus, it'd keep her from scaring off the new guests, Vaggie thought, but opted not to say it in front of Charlie. With a nod, Vaggie left the room to do as Charlie requested.
With Vaggie gone, Charlie turned to check herself in the mirror again. She grinned satisfactorily at how professional and well-kept she was, save for the small bruise Lute had left from their skirmish.
But with a small snap of her fingers, her body quickly covered it up as if it was never there.
With her look complete, Charlie then headed out to the lobby. After all, she has guests to meet.
Actual guests.
People interested in her cause.
And that thought made Charlie's smile more genuine than ever before.
Today will be a happy day in Hell, Charlie thought, humming that very song as she practically skipped to the lobby.
. . .
LUTE'S POV
In contrast to Charlie's thoughts, today was not a happy day in Hell.
Well, at least not for Lute.
The (potentially former) Exorcist sat on her bed in a fetal position, muttering incoherently to herself as she thought long and hard about the situation she now found herself in.
This whole thing felt like a nightmare to Lute.
Stuck in Hell, at the mercy of the Princess of Hell and the traitor…
It still boggled her mind as to why they were nursing her back to health in the first place. Why did they put her in the Hotel?
Why did they even bother trying to save her?
Surely, it was all a ploy. To use Lute in some grand sinister plan against Heaven! Surely, that must be it. Why else would demons go out of their way to help Angels?
It's not like this whole "redemption" spiel the Hell Princess was spouting would work. Hell was forever, after all.
Souls only lived once, and now that they've passed, all they were was all they should be.
If the Princess had the gall to suggest redemption was possible, even to the point she had to ruin the Extermination for it, then she was more naive and foolish than Lute thought.
And now, being that mercy and care of said Princess? That frustrated Lute to her core, causing her to scratch the shoulder of where her amputated arm was located.
"Stupid…naive…troublesome…demon scum…!" Lute muttered to herself, seething in barely-contained rage, her scratching becoming harder as her nails dug deep into her flesh. "Damn them…damn the Princess, the Radio Demon, the Porn Demon, that traitor…I swear I'll get out of here, I'll—!"
"You'll what?" a voice suddenly said, causing Lute to jump. "Kill me? I'd like to see you try, bitch…"
Turning around, Lute's eyes narrowed into a hateful glare as Vaggie stepped inside her hotel room, holding a tray.
Lute pressed herself to the back of the bed, still glaring at Vaggie as she readied herself for an incoming attack…
Only for that to not happen as Vaggie put the tray on Lute's bed, revealing a plate of food that consisted of oatmeal, pancakes, bacon, a pink-colored egg omelet, and what seemed to be a glass of strawberry juice.
"What is this…?!" Lute demanded in a hoarse voice.
"Um…breakfast?" Vaggie responded in a deadpan manner. "Isn't that obvious?"
Lute didn't respond, now glaring at the food as if expecting it to come to life and attack her when she looked away.
Vaggie rolled her eyes like this. "Look, you don't like me, and you know I don't like you. But nothing's going to happen to you if you so much as nibble on this, that's for sure."
Lute didn't respond with anything but a suspicious glance at Vaggie before staring long and hard at the plate of food in front of her.
Vaggie rolled her eyes once more at this before grabbing the spoon beside the plate and scooping a spoonful of the oatmeal. She then ate that spoonful right in front of Lute, making big and loud chewing sounds before swallowing it.
"See? Not poisoned," Vaggie said sarcastically before turning to the door. "Bon appetit…bitch."
Vaggie let the last word permeate the air in Lute's room before leaving, almost slamming the door shut. Now that Vaggie was gone, Lute took another good luck at the food right in front of her.
Lute had to admit that the food looked appetizing as if it were something that had been made in Hell itself. Taking a light sniff of it, she realized that it even smelled pleasant, too.
For that, Lute slowly reached forward, held the plate…and then tossed it aside, spilling the food all over the floor.
Good, she thought with a huff. If that Princess thinks I'm going to play along with this charade, then she has another thing coming…!
It was then Lute returned to the fetal position, hunching to the back of the bed, ignoring the growls of her stomach as she maintained her defiance.
However, as Lute continued to sulk in the corners of her bed, she failed to notice the sharp-toothed grin and red radio-dial eyes staring at her in morbid amusement.
. . .
CHARLIE'S POV
While Lute struggled in her room, Charlie was ecstatic in the lobby.
"As you can see here, we have an extensive list of activities and lessons that we'd simply love for you to do during your stay!" Charlie said as she handed a key and a calendar of scheduled activities to the Sinner she was talking with.
The Sinner, a pink-skinned, horned woman wearing a long-sleeved red shirt and black dress, stared at the schedule with a raised brow.
"Huh, sounds like a lot," the Sinner said. "Not sure if I'll be able to attend all of these."
"Oh, you don't need to attend all of them," Charlie assured her. "All you need to do is attend when you're able. We want to make sure you're able to make progress during your stay here, but we won't force you or the like. We provide meals and shelter; all you need is to give redemption a chance."
Charlie then flashed a reassuring smile, remembering Alastor's words as it let the Sinner consider her thoughts.
To her relief and delight, the Sinner smiled back and said, "Thanks. Honestly, I still have doubts about this…but you canceled that Extermination a week ago, so I'm willing to give these a shot."
"Excellent!" Charlie shouted, almost jumping in joy had she not stopped herself. "I hope you enjoy your stay."
The Sinner then nodded thankfully before proceeding to her room. Once she was gone, Charlie couldn't help but giggle to herself.
Another satisfied guest, she thought to herself, practically patting herself on the back. That Sinner had been the fourth, not second, not third, fourth person she had gotten booked in her hotel today.
Since starting the Hotel, Charlie had been optimistic that her project would reach and help others. Katie Killjoy's mocking news report, Adam's crude dismissals, and Heaven itself being against her idea had initially made her doubt her conviction.
It felt easy to lose hope and give up on those moments, and she nearly did a few times.
But after stopping the Extermination and actually getting people interested in her cause?
The hope she felt waned for the last six months reignited all at once. Her ideas were finally being vindicated!
If Charlie had been any younger, she would've squeed in public at this. But she was an adult, and as an adult, she had work to do.
After a moment of engaging in her delight, Charlie turned around to go help the other Sinners waiting to check into the Hotel. However, as she walked past a humming Alastor, she perked upon noticing something he was holding.
From the looks of it, the Radio Demon was holding a food tray in his hands. It was a messy tray, with it and the plate having been stained. The food looked messy, too, with traces of dust, hair, and dirt on them.
And from the look of it, while parts of the food looked missing, Charlie could tell they weren't because they had been eaten.
Weird, there haven't been any guests 'till now, so no one could've asked for breakfast yet, Charlie thought before her eyes widened with realization.
"Hey, can you two just wait here?" she kindly asked the two Sinner guests, who nodded. Giving them a thankful smile, she turned and went to Alastor. "Hey, Alastor."
"Ah, Charlie, what a surprise!" Alastor said in his usual jovial tone. "What can I do for you, my dear~?"
"Oh, nothing," Charlie assured him. "It's just I noticed the tray you're holding. Is that the one from Lute's room?"
"Indeed it was my dear~" Alastor answered, chuckling. "The Exorcist threw a hissy fit after Vaggie gave her breakfast. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was having a hunger strike…"
A hunger strike? Charlie thought, her eyes widening in worry. That wouldn't be good for Lute, especially with the limb she's lost and the other injuries she sustained. Angels had a similar, if not greater, regeneration ability as Sinners where they could regrow limbs…
So what would a hunger strike do to that regeneration? Charlie shivered at the thought.
I should do something about it, Charlie thought to herself. But I have other guests to tend to, and for all I know, Alastor's probably playing another trip or something…I'll leave it be for now. She probably just freaked out because Vaggie gave her breakfast…in hindsight, I probably should've sent Angel or Niiii—not Nifty. I'll just think of it later…
"Something the matter, dear~?" Alastor asked, raising a brow.
"Oh, it's nothing," Charlie said. "Just…make sure to keep an eye on Lute for me while I tend to the other guests, okay?"
"Fret not, my dear~," Alastor said. "I have my eyes on her as we speak~"
. . .
LUTE'S POV
The next two days later, in the morning…
It had already been a considerable amount of time since Lute woke up from her coma. Her stomach was grumbling louder than it had been yesterday, which caused her to growl more as she scratched the shoulder of her missing arm in irritation.
"Just keep it together, Lute…" she mumbled to herself, ignoring her stomach's hungry growls. "Just keep it together…you are strong…you are STRONG…you will not let these demon filth break you…!"
"Oh, we wouldn't DARE break you, darling~!" Alastor's voice echoed throughout the room, causing Lute to dart her head around before the Radio Demon stepped out from the shadows. "After all…"
Lute backed herself even farther from the bed, grabbing a lamp at the small table nearby and pointing it at him as if it were her old sword.
Alastor chuckled at the pathetic display before him. "You're already doing a good job with that yourself~."
"What. Do you. Want…?!" Lute spat, hiding her fear through her gritted teeth. It was then she noticed Alastor holding a food tray. Once he set it down on her bed, Lute saw that the tray had a plate of food on top of it, which consisted of a bowl of oatmeal, bacon, and a small loaf of bread.
"Breakfast, dear. What? Is breakfast too sinful to exist in Heaven?" Alastor said, almost mockingly, as he shrugged and stared at Lute. "Or are you really foolish enough to think this tantrum of yours is going to benefit you~?"
"Shut up…!" Lute shouted hoarsely, jumping from the bed and raising the lamp high to hit Alastor with it. However, all it took was a simple slap to the face for Lute to fall down, landing on the bed and causing the food tray to fly into the air.
Before Lute could react, there was an audible splat as she felt the bowl of oatmeal land on her face, hurting her nose and coating her face with hot, sticky oatmeal.
If Alastor had been chuckling before, he would have been laughing now as he munched on the bacon he had managed to catch from the fall.
"If you think this little hunger strike of yours is going to do anything, you're sorely mistaken," Alastor said.
"You…won't…break me…!" Lute snarled out, wiping the oatmeal from her face.
"You can't break what's already broken, dear~" Alastor retorted. "If anything, this just makes you all the more perfect as a guest of this hotel~."
"Shut up…!" Lute demanded hoarsely, coughing once more.
"The whole intent of this Hotel was to rehabilitate Sinners, but it can also apply to…has been don't you see?" Alastor asked rhetorically, his smile noticeably growing. "It's why I renamed this fine establishment to the Hazbin Hotel. Has a catchier ring to it than the Happy Hotel, don't you agree~?"
"What's your point…?!" Lute tried to shout out, only to cough profusely again. To add insult to injury, her stomach growled once more.
"My point being that you're an ex-Exorcist who's lost everything and is now stuck under the care of Hell's dear Princess," Alastor explained. "You know what that sounds like to me…?"
It took a moment for Lute's mind to register before it clicked.
"No…" Lute whispered, her already hoarse voice now trembling. "I…I'm not…you're wrong, I'm not…!"
"But you are, dear~!" Alastor chuckled evilly, pausing before his eyes morphed to resemble blood-red radio dials as his mouth froze into a menacing grin. "You're a has been. An ex-Exorcist now stuck in Hell because of her own actions…just. Like. Vaggie."
"No…nonononoNO!" Lute shrieks out, practically seething in rage as she tried to lunge and attack Alastor, only to be swatted away by him once more.
There was an audible thud as Lute hit the wall, causing her to grunt before landing face-first onto her room's floor.
"Deny it all you want, my dear, but you know it's true~," Alastor said before turning to the door. "Who knows? Maybe you might end up wearing the same uniform as Vaggie sooner or later~."
"GRRRAAAGH!" Lute roared out, only to cough before chucking the lamp at Alastor. Unfortunately for Lute, Alastor had already left, leading to the lamp hitting the door instead.
Once he was gone, Lute was once again left alone, scratching the shoulder of her missing arm once more as she grumbled incoherent, venomous ramblings to herself, all while trying to ignore the ever-constant growlings of her stomach.
. . .
CHARLIE'S POV
The next day…
Holding a tray of food in her hands, Charlie hummed a giddy tune of her Happy Day In Hell song as she walked through the halls of the Hazbin Hotel.
In her hand was a tray of food, which consisted of oatmeal, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausages, all kept warm underneath a stainless steel food cover.
After hearing what happened yesterday between Lute and Alastor, it was probably not the best idea to send him or Vaggie to give the ex-Exorcist her food.
In hindsight, Charlie should've realized that Lute's beef with Vaggie was too personal for either of them to deal with.
And that Alastor was…well, Alastor.
With the incidents with Lute that happened in the last few days, Charlie had opted to let Vaggie and Angel Dust take care of the guests while she delivered Lute's meal herself.
Hopefully with herself delivering the food, Charlie can ease Lute out of this hunger strike she's doing.
Upon reaching Lute's room, Charlie knocked on the door.
"Lute?" Charlie called out, making her voice loud so Lute could hear from the other side.
There wasn't a response.
"I'm just here to give you breakfast," Charlie said, a twinge of uncertainty as Lute still didn't respond. She reached the doorknob, only to be caught off guard by a strange, foul-smelling odor emanating from underneath the door.
Charlie's face wrinkled in disgust from the stench.
Ugh, that stinks…what's going on in there?! Charlie thought to herself, now more concerned than ever for Lute. Pushing politeness aside, she took out the master key for the entire hotel and unlocked the door.
Charlie quickly rushed inside the room, only to regret it as she was met with a ferociously pungent stench that practically lunged into her nostrils.
"UGH!" Charlie gagged, sticking her tongue out in disgust before pinching her nose to keep herself from smelling that foul odor.
It was an agonizing mix of unwashed clothes and rotten meat, with a strength so powerful that Charlie was surprised she hadn't fainted in response.
"Why does it smell…?!" Charlie was about to shout, only for her voice to trail off, her eyes widening in shock and horror at the sight before her.
Lute's entire room was a complete mess. Food stains of varying sizes littered throughout the floor, the same with the feathers from the pillows of the bed. About three of the bed's four pillowcases were torn up and scattered around the floor.
The furniture was also in disarray. The small table that had been in the room was flipped upside down, the paper and flower vase that was on it also lying on the floor. The curtains were ripped up and stained in sparkling yellow handprints, with one of them having been torn off and thrown across the room by the looks of it.
And last but certainly not lost in this massive mess was the bed. From the looks of it, the bed stood out as the dirtiest thing in the room. As mentioned prior, the pillowcases were gone, torn apart, and scattered about, with one dangling by the end of the bed. The bed sheets and the mattress themselves looked even worse, disarranged and soaking wet with what looked like a mix of food stains, sweat, and…shining, yellow blood?
Angel blood…! Charlie realized, her eyes widening in shock as she remembered how the Exterminators bled during the canceled Extermination.
"You won't break me…you won't break me…you won't break me…!" a voice muttered, repeating the mantra like it was a deranged war chant as it caught Charlie's attention.
Turning her head, she saw…a pair of wings hiding behind the side of the bed. With great hesitation, Charlie stepped forward, fighting through the disgusting stickiness of the floor, and peered at the bed's side.
She stifled a gasp as she saw Lute in an even darker state than she was before. For instance, the poor woman's clothes were absolutely soaked, drenched in nervous sweat and angelic blood, the most prominent of it being from the shoulder where Lute's missing arm once was.
"You won't break me, you won't break me, you won't break me, you won't break me…!" Lute mumbled madly, repeating the phrase over and over. She didn't even notice Charlie as she continued her mantra whilst intensely scratching at the shoulder where her arm once had, now strong enough to draw blood.
Charlie paled at Lute's haggard state. The ex-Exorcist looked ragged, sweaty, bloody, and dirty, with Charlie realizing most of the awful stenches she noticed coming from Lute herself.
Charlie also noticed how alarmingly gaunt Lute was now. The woman was practically a skeleton with skin, looking dead as she continued to mutter to herself whilst scratching her armless shoulder.
It had only been four days since Lute had woken up from her coma…
How have I not noticed this 'till now?! Charlie thought to herself, feeling both shocked and ashamed of the state she had left Lute in.
As the owner and manager of the Hazbin Hotel, Charlie had a responsibility to tend and care for its guests. And while she had started succeeding with her new guests here, she now saw she didn't take time to truly tend to Lute's needs.
Now, it's time for her to truly step up. And hopefully, remedy this situation.
"Lute?" Charlie said, but she didn't get a response. "Lute? LUTE!"
Lute then snapped out of her maddened mantra, her wings fluttering slightly as she turned. The ex-Exorcist turned to glare at Charlie, snarling defiantly at the Princess of Hell despite being clearly the weaker of the two.
"What do you want, demon filth…?!" Lute demanded, her hoarse, sickly voice failing her attempt to be intimidating.
Charlie paused for a moment, trying her best not to cringe from the foul odor emanating from Lute.
"I…uh…" Charlie began, but stifled a gag upon smelling Lute by accident. She then forced a smile before presenting the food tray to Lute. "I'm just here to give you breakfast—?"
Charlie's words were interrupted with a yelp as Lute suddenly swatted the food tray out of her hands, sending its contents to splat onto the floor.
"I don't want your slop, Princess…!" Lute tried to shout, only for her to cough profusely.
"Lute, you're clearly not feeling well!" Charlie shouted. "Not bathing, not eating, this…!"
Charlie gestured at the messy state of Lute's room to make her point.
"Why are you doing this?!" Charlie shouted, only to be met with a sneer from Lute.
"I'm not weak…!" Lute shouted hoarsely. "You won't…break me—!"
Lute suddenly coughed profusely before vomiting a sickly mix of digestive juice and small traces of angelic blood, causing Charlie to jump back.
Upon seeing another disgusting mess lying on her floor, it was Charlie's turn to glare at Lute.
"Me break you…?!" Charlie said, her horns sprouting from her head as her eyes turned bloody red. "Lute, you're breaking yourself! This hunger strike, this mess, it's all on you, and you're too prideful to see that!"
Lute opened her mouth to retort, only for her to cough and wheeze once more, furthering Charlie's point.
"If you want to keep at it like this…fine!" Charlie said, forcing herself to be…well, forceful in this situation. "But if you, then you're forcing my hand."
Normally, Lute would've been defiant at this remark. Dismissive of it even. But the way Charlie said it, plus her own weakened state, made Lute nervous.
"W-What do you mean…?!" Lute aid.
"Oh, because if you're so keen on not taking care of yourself, then I will," Charlie said. "I'm going to make sure you're fed, cleaned, and well done, like if you were a baby…"
If being in Hell didn't threaten Lute, the way Charlie hissed those words certainly did. The mental image of being coddled and cared for by the Hell Princess…
Being put into a rough, forceful bath, being sprayed with high-pressure water by Charlie…
And being chained into a chair while being force-fed hellspawn gunk…
…two scenarios where she would lose any sense of freedom and autonomy…
It made Lute shiver to her very core.
"What do you want…?!" was all Lute could say, an evident strain in her voice as Charlie stared down at her.
"Currently, to make sure you don't torture yourself anymore," Charlie said firmly before softening her expression. "But overall? I just want to help you."
Part of Lute's mind told her to retort or spit back at that in response. However, the ex-Exorcist was far too exhausted, sick, and disorientated to do so. Instead, she found herself listening and taking in Charlie's words.
"We're going to have lunch in the dining hall at 12," Charlie said. "We're going to take you to another room while the staff cleans this place up. You'll clean yourself up, and when it's 12, you're going to join us for lunch."
"That's…it…?" Lute asked, raising a brow.
"That's it," Charlie responded with a shrug before flashing a soft smile. "Sounds simple enough, right?"
Lute could only stare back at Charlie, reluctantly nodding in response.
Charlie's smile brightened from that. "Great! Now, let's get you cleaned up!"
With a snap of her fingers, Charlie summoned various shadowy demons that immediately went to work cleaning Lute's room. Part of Lute wondered if these shadows belonged to Alastor or were some other power that the Hell Princess had, but she didn't bother to ask.
Instead, Lute followed Charlie when she guided her to her temporary room. Stepping outside from her dimly lit, dirty room for the first time, Lute's eyes squinted as the hotel's ceiling lights shone down on her.
God, have I really been in there for that long? Lute thought to herself, annoyed that something tiny like ceiling lights was bothering her.
As soon as her eyes adjusted to the light, Lute noticed the eyes staring at her as she followed Charlie.
They were demons. Other Sinners of varying shapes and sizes stared at her with surprise and suspicion, a few skittering off in fear while others whispered to themselves.
"Isn't that an angel?!"
"I thought the Princess drove all of them off!"
"Maybe she's like Morningstar's girlfriend? Ran off cuz she felt bad about the Exterminations?"
"Her? No way, that's Adam's right-hand bitch!"
Lute flinched upon hearing those last few words. But she was more confused.
"Um, Princess…?" Lute asked Charlie meekly, slightly tugging at her sleeve. "Why are there so many…Sinners here?"
"Oh!" Charlie turned to learn, perking up from the question. "Ever since the Extermination and the Hotel being rebuilt, we managed to get a lot of Sinners interested in our hotel!"
Lute's eyes widened at that. "Really now…?"
"Yeah! I guess stopping the Extermination really gave them a sense of hope—!" Charlie said before stopping herself, realizing who she was talking to. She turned to Lute, chuckling and flashing a nervous smile. "No offense…"
"None taken…" Lute muttered, her eyes glancing away from Charlie as she felt a sense of embarrassment and humiliation for her and Adam's defeat contributing to the Hotel's success.
She felt even more embarrassed and humiliated as the Hotel's patrons continued to look at her, some glaring at her judgmentally.
Thankfully, when Charlie took her to her temporary room, Lute managed to hide from the judgmental stares thrown at her and finally get a moment of peace.
Lute wasted no time removing her sweaty, stained clothes and stepping into the room's bathroom for a shower. Doing so, Lute felt the most comfort she had ever felt since she fell as warm droplets sped down and cleansed the dirt and grim in her body.
After a considerable amount of time showering, Lute stepped out of the shower and saw a pair of fresh clothes lying on the bed.
She cringed at the sight of the bra and undergarments with dozens of cartoonish smiley faces and hearts pasted onto them, but she felt the buttoned white shirt and red black pants acceptable.
So all I need to do is play nice while I eat lunch at the dining hall, right? Lute thought to herself, the sound of her grumbling stomach evident as she thought of food. I suppose that doesn't sound too bad. What could possibly happen there…?
. . .
LUTE'S POV
A few hours later, at the Hazbin Hotel's dining hall…
Lute stood uncomfortably, unable to say or do anything as she tried to ignore the many, many eyes staring down at her.
When Charlie told Lute she would eat lunch at the dining hall, she expected it to be a standard dining experience. One with just her and Charlie, the Radio Demon, and the other Sinners in the Princess' little crew.
She DID NOT expect to be sitting in a larger dining hall, more resembling a mess hall, surrounded by numerous Sinners.
Though, in hindsight, Lute should have seen this coming. With how large the hotel was now and the fact it had guests now (Lute couldn't help but groan from this fact), Lute felt stupid for not expecting to get into this kind of situation.
Most Sinners were just minding their own business, just getting their food from the buffet table managed by Charlie and Vaggie before sitting by the various tables around the dining hall.
However, a few of them eyed Lute, their stares ranging from cautious to judgmental.
"Ugh, what is an angel doing here?!"
"She's not going to hurt is, isn't she?!"
"With the Princess and her crew around? No way!"
"She's kinda hot…"
Lute paused to glare at the one Sinner who said the last line, causing them to run off. The other Sinners, however, proved difficult to intimidate as they continued to glare at her with suspicion.
"Can't believe the Princess let someone like her in."
"I know this place is about redemption, but this is fuckin' ridiculous…!"
"Hope she doesn't make a mess of this place! After everything these bitches did to us…"
Lute clenched her remaining fist, narrowing her eyes as she glanced away from those Sinners' glares, raising her wings slightly to cover the upper part of her body.
Her stomach grumbled again.
Just get your food, eat lunch, and get out of here, Lute thought, gritting her teeth. Just get your food, eat lunch, and get out of here…!
Vaggie passed a tray of food to a random Sinner when she noticed Lute approaching.
"Well, well, well, didn't expect you to come out, like…at all," Vaggie said, deadpanned before looking at Lute's current appearance. "You certainly look…better."
Lute rolled her eyes. "Just give me my lunch, you bitch…!"
Vaggie raised a brow, crossing her arms. "And…?"
"What? What did I say?!" Lute demanded, already losing her patience.
"You're not saying the magic words, Lute~?" Vaggie said, almost playfully.
"What magic—?!" Lute's eyes widened upon realizing what Vaggie meant. "No…"
"Come on, Lute~" Vaggie said.
"No!"
"Then I guess you won't get your lunch then," Vaggie said, eyeing Lute teasingly, infuriating her fellow ex-Exorcist even more.
Lute opened her mouth to retort, only to be stopped by another loud grumbling from her stomach.
Vaggie flashed a smug grin upon hearing that as Lute sighed in defeat.
"Just give me my lunch…" Lute requested humbly, glancing away from the traitor.
"…" Vaggie didn't say anything, still grinning smugly, before Lute sighed.
"Please…"
"Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Vaggie said in a joking tone before handing Lute a tray of food. It consisted of a large double-meat burger with toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, onions, ketchup, mustard, and cheese that melted below the sesame seed-coated bun.
Beside the burger was a garden salad with perfectly cut lettuce, tomatoes, and crotons sprinkled over it. Additionally, there was a small porcelain of creamy mushroom soup. To end the presentation of this meal, Vaggie added a cup of juice for Lute to drink it all down with.
With the scrumptious-looking meal in front of her, Lute's mouth couldn't help but water from the sight and scent of the meal before her.
"You're lucky Charlie decided to give you double rations for now," Vaggie remarked before shoving the tray into Lute's hands. "Enjoy your meal."
Lute didn't even respond to the sarcastic and rude way Vaggie gave her the meal. Instead, her eyes were transfixed on her meal. Finding a vacant seat, she sat down and gently placed her meal on the clean, free table before her. After that, there was a moment of awkward silence as her eyes were transfixed on the burger she was given.
If her mouth hadn't been watering from hunger before, it would have been like a waterfall now. Gripping at the burger, she could feel the tempting softness and greasiness of the meal wet her hands as she inched it closer to her mouth.
Part of her was hesitant to munch on it, fearing she might be poisoned as a result, but hunger overweighed her caution as she took one big bite from her burger…
And delighted at the explosion of flavor inside her mouth.
Then she took another bite. And another. And another.
Almost as if she was in a trance, Lute was voraciously eating the burger as if she hadn't eaten in days…which was accurate since she hadn't.
As such, she wolfed down all the food that was given to her, from munching on her burger to slurping the bowl of creamy mushroom soup in one gulp.
She was so transfixed with her eating that she couldn't notice the shocked and amused stares of the people around her until she started chugging down the juice, which…
"BUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRP!"
The entire dining hall went silent as Lute let out a massive belch that echoed around everyone. Lute sat still as a result, her face flushing red as she finally realized that many people were looking at her.
"Ugh, disgustin'…" an old cannibal Sinner (Susan) muttered from behind.
"Aren't angels supposed to be better?" another Sinner said.
"Guess she really does belong here, eh?" another joked.
Feeling immensely embarrassed from the judgmental and amused stares, Lute stood up and turned to flee…only to immediately trip and fall flat on her face.
Glancing upward to see people still staring at her, Lute practically began to crawl with her legs and remaining arm before sprinting off, using her wings to fly away from the scene.
A few Sinners giggling at Lute's display made the former Exorcist feel all the worse.
Lute could hear Charlie calling for her from a distance, but she was too overwhelmed by embarrassment and shame.
She flew throughout the hotel halls until she reached her temporary room. She wasted no time rushing inside and slamming the door shut, locking it to ensure no one could enter.
Now alone in the room, Lute hunched back into the darkest corner in the room and sat down in a fetal position, beginning to wallow in shame and self-pity.
There were a lot of things that made Lute run from that dining hall. The belch, the embarrassing antics, how unheavenly she acted at that time…but the most damning thing that she couldn't stand the most was the stares the Sinners gave her.
Lute couldn't fathom why she was feeling so nervous about them. Those Sinners were vile. Blasphemous!
The scum of the Earth that lost their shot and deserved the damnation they were suffering from!
…so why did she feel so…wrong from their stares? She was an Exorcist angel, for God's sake; this shouldn't be affecting her!
A large part of Lute wanted just to hide away right now. To wallow in the darkest part of this Hotel and never climb out to save herself from any more humiliation.
But she suddenly perked up when she noticed a tingling sensation from the stump where her arm once was. Turning to it, she was astounded to see her arm growing back, the stump being coated in light as it began to repair and replace the missing appendage.
Lute's eyes widened in awe, her mouth agape as she saw this regeneration happen before her. Was this because she finally stopped her hunger strike and actually ate…?
Lute stared at the arm for a while, still stunned from the regeneration, before her expression shifted and steeled to a look of determination.
No matter what happens to me here, I'll get through it, Lute thought, standing up before heading to the door. No matter what!
TO BE CONTINUED