Shattered Innocence Ch. 03

"I need you to cancel all appointments today," Carmilla says into a phone. The Carmine is sitting at her desk in her home office. "And send a message to the others that the Overlord's Meeting is on hold until tomorrow. I'm taking a personal day… That is of no one's concerned but my own… I don't care what Tankston has to say! Tell him if he questions me again he can find a job elsewhere." The woman was about to hang up when a thought occurred. "And if Zestial comes in for an unscheduled… appointment, please inform him that everything is fine. I just have something important to do. Thank you, Tooth," and she sets the phone down.

Carmilla closes her eyes for a moment as she knows this would just cause a headache given how many of the clients she meets up with tend to be. But even in Hell there are more things important than business.

The Overlord then eyes a piece of fabric with stains of both red and gold blood. The remainder of what's left of Emily's dress. The woman then gets up to walk over to a white board and sticks the cloth to it.

.oOo.

Emily groggily wakes up. The angel is surprised to have slept so well. She hasn't had a night like that since arriving here. Her eyes then started to well up as that's a memory she'd rather not revisit. The seraphim then jumped at the sound of knocking. But she calms as the voice is recognized as belonging to Clara.

"Emily? Are you up yet?"

"Yeah!" the angel quickly wipes the tears away.

The puffy haired Carmine walks in. "Hey! would you like something to eat? Mom made breakfast."

Emily shakes her head. "Not really," but she is betrayed by her own stomach releasing an audible growl and her face then turns red.

Clara stifles a giggle. "You may not want something, but your stomach obviously does," she then offers out a hand. "Come on! Don't want you to starve yourself."

The angel nervously looks up at the girl before hesitantly accepting the hand.

Clara leads the angel into the kitchen where her nose meets aroma that the seraphim has never known before.

Carmilla was in the middle of setting plates when noticing her daughter and guest. "I was not sure that you'd come down. I wanted to prepare a plate regardless."

Emily bows. "You didn't have to go through the trouble just for me."

The woman smiles. "It was no trouble."

The angel takes her seat in the empty chair and briefly eyes the plate of simple bacon and eggs. She then looks up to see her hosts already eating. "Do you not say grace?"

The three Sinners stopped mid chew, the sisters glanced at the angel, then at one another, before facing their mother who wears a stoic mask.

"Emily," Carmilla sets her silverware down. "We are Sinning Demons. When we first arrived here, the three of us indulged in the idea that we could still be saved. We accepted a long time ago that we have been abandoned by Heaven and see no need for prayer." The Arms Dealer was about to start eating again but noticed how her guest was just poking at the food. "But do not let us stop you. If you wish to thank someone for this food. Then please do what makes you comfortable."

The seraphim look down at the meal prepped for her and then looks up at Carmilla. "I want to thank you for putting the effort into making this meal for me and for letting me stay here," she then turns to the Carmine sisters. "And I especially want to thank the two of you for finding me. I-I-I honestly don't want to think what would have happened if you hadn't."

The family eyes one another in worry before turning to their guest with a small smile.

Carmilla then tells the young angel. "Thank you, Emily," the woman then brightens as the child returns the smile before starting to eat herself. But soon became worried when after three bites, the angel started tearing up. "Is everything all right?"

Noticing that she's crying once again, Emily wipes the tears away. "Sorry! It's just that this is the first actual meal I've had since I arrived here."

Clara then asks. "How long have you been in Hell?"

"Clara!" her mother snaps.

"I, I'm honestly not sure," the seraphim clutched her head. "It's all blurred together with what happened. I Fell a week ago, maybe two?"

The Carmine's turned to one another as two words went enter their minds.

Extermination Day!

The group finished up their meals and as everyone starts gathering their plates. "Allow me!" Emily was quick to get up to take everyone's platter and silverware.

"Please do not bother yourself, Emily," Carmilla insisted while standing with her own plate in hand.

"It won't be a bother, Ms. Carmine," the angel takes the woman's plate. "It's the least I could do for what you've done for me," she then walks over to the kitchen and starts washing everything by hand.

While this was going on, Odette and Clara started chatting as Carmilla watched the seraphim's every move. Especially involving her wings. How they are constantly drooped and how they are being dragged behind her.

With one glance at her daughters, the sisters knew that was code to leave the room while their mother has a private conversation.

Once the two were gone, the Arms Dealer walks over to her guest and softly speaks. "Emily…" and the girl turns to the woman who graciously took her in. "May I see your wings?"

Emily glances behind herself before hesitantly turning her back towards the woman.

Carmilla can tell that they used to be quite elegant despite their ruffled state. But looking is not enough. "Would it be too much if I asked to feel them?"

The Seraphim tensed up at the question shakes her head.

The Sinner lightly runs her hand over the feathers but quickly jerks away as her guest flinches at the tough. "I did not mean to hurt you."

Emily shakes her head. "They quit hurting a while ago. That or I'm just used to the pain."

Carmilla feels her blood boiling at what she suspects but knows that she needed to remain calm for the angel's sake. "Are you able to lift them up?"

With a sigh, the young woman manages to outstretch her wings the best she could. With the exception of the upper left wing, each one was hanging at different points of the limb.

The Carmine walks around to look the poor girl in the face. "Emily. Please be honest with me. Did this happen when you fell, or after?"

Emily starts tearing up again. "They, they, they were his favorite part," she starts calming when a pair of arms wrap around her.

"It's alright, Child," Carmilla tries comforting her. "Everything is alright. You're safe now. You're safe."