Chapter 3:
The following day, Millie got up, did her usual morning routine, and grabbed her notebook and pen. She made her way out the door and made sure to lock up her precious and cozy bookshop/home.
It was quite a walk from her shop to the hotel and it gave Millie time to think. She hated meeting new people. Well, maybe hate was too strong of a word.
She strongly disliked meeting new people. Just thinking about talking to new people made her heart beat too fast, her throat close up, and her hands would always get a bit... damp.
And that was when she was alive! It became a whole lot worse after her fall into Hell. Millie learned very quickly to interact with the other sinners if she didn't have to and just keep to herself.
Millie understood just how intimidating other sinners could be. Despite her fears, Millie was determined to do her job and provide them with books they would hopefully enjoy. She had always been obsessed with books, so what better way to serve them than to give them the one thing she was passionate about?
When she was alive, books were her escape from the loneliness she felt and it helped her to pass the time. But it was nearly impossible to get her hands on her beloved books in Hell! No bookstores, no public libraries, no anything! She thought she would go crazy, spending an eternity without anything to read.
But that was until she discovered that she had the ability to conjure up any book she wanted. She didn't even need to know the title! She didn't quite understand how that worked, but Millie was not about to question it. Millie had heard that demons had powers and could sometimes manifest an extension of themselves. It was usually an item that had something to do with the previous life or how they died.
Her's was a beautiful quill and ink. The ink bottle and the base of the quill were gold. The top half of the quill was a deep forest green feather. The design of both the quill and ink were simple but beautiful nonetheless.
With a dip and a stroke she could conjure up any book she wanted. Not only that, her new found powers made it possible for her to be able to read books in other languages! She couldn't speak them, but could understand the words.
In any case, Millie saw this as an opportunity to feed her book habit and finally live her dream of owning a small, cozy bookshop. She loved going to cozy bookshops when she was alive. The atmosphere was pleasant and calm. The smell of ink and paper. It all soothed her and she wanted to bring that same feeling to others... even if they were demented, murderous, demons.
As she finally reached the new and improved Hazbin Hotel, Millie could stop and stare at the dazzling building. All the lights, the giant statue of some type of beast, and all the different motifs that decorated the exterior left her speechless.
" I can do this. I can do this. I can do this!" Millie chanted to herself, as she walked toward the front doors. " Oh, I hope I can do this." she groaned.
With her notebook in one hand, she raised her other one to knock on the door...But she never got the chance to, as the doors were shoved open by a very eager Charlie.
"YOU'RE FINALLY HERE!" Charlie shouted, as she wrapped her arms around Millie in a strong hug, earning a very shocked squeak out of her. Not used to having so much physical inactions, Millie stood stiff as a board until Charlie released her.
" Oh my Satan, did you just squeak?! That is too cute!" Charlie squealed, pulling Millie in for another hug. Millie could feel her face getting warmer, as she blushed in embarrassment. Squeaking was one of the mouse characteristics she now had as a mousy looking demon. And to make it worse, she couldn't control the squeaks or some of the other traits.
It was down right humiliating at times.
As Charlie guided Millie inside, she was practically hyperventilating in anticipation of talking with her some more about introducing her to the residents. Charlie slowed in her speech, as she finally noticed Millie's stiff posture and the light sheen of sweat on her brow. She turned to fully face Millie and placed her hands on Millie's shoulders.
"Don't be nervous," Charlie said, her voice gentle and comforting. "I know this is a big task, but I believe in you and I know you'll do an excellent job." Millie wasn't able to say anything and simply stayed silent and nodded.
"If you need any help or have any questions, don't hesitate to ask," Charlie said, still maintaining her gentle tone. Millie managed to finally find her voice. "T-thank you, your highness," she replied, stuttering a bit. Charlie nodded and smiled. "Anytime" she said, continuing to hold a warm and welcoming demeanor. Then she turned around and walked Millie into the lobby.
"Now that you're here, I need to introduce you to everyone!" Charlie told Millie as they stood in the lobby area.
"COME ON OUT GUYS, WE HAVE A NEW FRIEND TO MEET!" She practically screams to anyone within earshot.
If there were crickets in Hell, they'd be chirping pretty loud right now. It seemed like the only resident that was present at the moment was a little cyclops woman with a concerning large needle. She was chasing a roach chanting " Kill, Kill, I'll kill you in front of your children!" with a maniacal laugh. The other resident was a cat demon with wings? That was a new combination Millie hadn't seen before.
" Sorry to tell ya princess, but ain't nobody here, except me, Vaggie, and the loon over there." the cat said, pointing to the cyclops. Said cyclops finally noticed that there was someone new in the building and speedily made her way over.
" I'm Nifty, I clean and kill the nasty bugs!" Nifty had scaled Millie's front until she was right in her face, hanging off of her shirt. Charlie grabbed Nifty and sat her down on the ground. This seemed to be a common occurrence.
" Uh, nice to meet you Nifty. I'm Millie and I um read." Millie introduced herself to the manic woman.
" Why do we keep getting girls! I want a bad boy!" Nifty cackled.
" Uh Nif, I think I saw a bug headed down the hall," the cat said. Nifty turned her head so fast Millie heard a crack. With another cackle, Nifty was off. " Well, she's very um, energetic?" Millie said, though it came out as a question. " I told everyone that we would be having a special guest today!" Charlie deflated, " I really wanted you to meet everyone, but I guess that'll have to wait," she said with a frown.
" It's really alright Charlie, I don't do well with crowds. And besides I met one of the residents and you still have to introduce me to the guy at the bar," Millie said with an awkward smile. She was trying to be comforting to the dejected princess. She hadn't known her for long, but it seemed unnatural for Charlie to not have a smile on her face.
" And I don't think I'll need to have a one on one with Nifty. I think books on pest control and different clean techniques would be something she'd like," Millie gave a nervous laugh. ' I might just throw in some romance books with bad boys for her too,' she thought as she made a note of it in her notebook.
" You're right Millie, some introductions are better than none. Since we got Nifty out of the way, I'll introduce you to our bartender, Husk!" Charlie dragged Millie over to the bar. She seemed to bounce back pretty quickly from her previous disappointment. " Um h-hi, I'm Millie. It's n-nice to meet you," Millie gave a small wave to Husk. She could feel her tail wrap around her leg. It was a habit she couldn't shake when she was nervous.
" Yeah yeah, like she said, the names' Husk. I ain't really interested in this library thing kid," he was still cleaning shot glasses as he spoke, not even looking at you or Charlie. " Come on Husk, this could be a great way to learn more and it might be another step closer to redemption!" Charlie had her hands tucked underneath her chin and gave Husk the biggest puppy eyes Millie had ever seen. Husk sighed and dragged his hand down his face in exasperation," Fine, I ain't interested in that redemption shit but I'll give you five minutes kid," he said, finally looking at the mouse. Millie nodded and frantically readied her pen and notebook to write down any notes.
" That's great! I'll leave you to it, Millie. I'll be back with Vaggie so she can meet you too!" Charlie yelled as she made her way up the stairs and out of sight.
" S-so, what are some things you like? Uh besides alcohol, unless you don't really like alcohol. I just assumed because you're a bartender. Ah, that sounds bad doesn't it? I'm sorry, I-" Millie's anxious rambling was cut short by a deep chuckle.
" Slow down there kid. I ain't offended and you're right, I do like booze. Booze and money, you got any books about that?" Husk questioned. Millie took a deep breath to calm her frazzled nerves," Y-yes I do actually," she wrote down some notes about what books she thought Husk would like. " I have some books on gambling too. Since you like money, I just thought that you'd like that too. And I saw some playing cards at the end of the bar...Am I right?," she looked at Husk with a mixture of fear and excitement. She thought she was pretty good at recommending book suggestions to her customers and was somewhat confident she had guessed correctly with Husk too.
" Yeah kid, you guessed right. I don't think the princess would be too happy with you recommending books on gambling and booze to me though," Husk chuckled. Millie shifted on her feet as her tail twisted around her other leg. " Well, you said it yourself, that you weren't a part of the redemption program. So, it should be alright for you to read those types of books," she reasoned.
" Hmph, I guess you're right, kid. Way to find a loophole. Say you want a drink while you wait for Charlie and Vaggie to come back? It also might be a while before anyone else shows up," Husk offered.
" I-I'm not that much of a drinker. Maybe a glass of water though?" she asked him shyly. She was often teased because of her refusal to drink when she was alive. She didn't really have a profound or special reason. She just didn't like the taste, but for whatever reason other people just didn't understand that. Shaking off the memories, she looked down at the bar just as Husk slid a glass of water her way.
" Here ya go kid," Husk grumbled and turned his attention back to cleaning the glasses.
Millie gave a slight smile," Thank you, Husk," He just nodded and gave a small smile.
Just as she was about to take a sip, the front doors of the hotel swung open.