Charlie returned to her bedroom to finish fine-tuning a lesson plan, organizing what exactly she thinks would be actions worthy of redemption.
While working, she wasn't proud of herself. Avoiding Alastor and being untruthful to Vaggie. It worried her brow and she chewed anxiously on her lip. She couldn't focus this way and the guilt from either end ate at her.
She didn't even know why she was avoiding Alastor. Nothing happened between them, it was just business as usual. The Radio Demon looked at her all the time… but not quite like that. Like he was at war with himself in some way. Like he was looking at her and seeing something there that she couldn't see herself. His eyes were glossy, like he was greatly moved or greatly scared.
Charlie pressed her palms to her face. She needed to stop overanalyzing it! Nothing happened, nothing will. And she'd definitely have to get over herself right this second if she was going to deal with what had to happen tonight.
Oh gosh, and Vaggie. Their relationship was functioning but it felt rigid and tense. Like either couldn't fully relax for fear of what might be done or said next. She knew it had something to do with Al, it always did these days, but it somehow felt more than that. And spending lunch with Vaggie or working with her on the hotel wasn't easing the burden on her heart. In fact, it made her feel even worse about sneaking around even if it was for a noble reason.
Should she tell Vaggie the truth? That they were working to save Alastor's soul? Would Vaggie even care?
The hotelier fell back on her bed in a flutter of papers and groaned.
…
Later that evening, as the Radio Demon was awaiting his nightly visitor, his shadow appeared, looking wearisome.
"What's on your mind, ol' chap?" the deer demon asked, not looking up from his latest book: 'Infernal Insights: Unraveling the Mind-Body-Soul'. He flicked it aside as useless and looked up expectantly.
"You've been awfully relaxed, considering your soul is on the line. Both of our souls." His shadow emphasized.
"I'm doing all that I possibly can right now," Alastor huffed, picking up another random book from his assortment.
"Doesn't appear that way…" The shadow eyed his companion's state with disdain. The demon's shirt was ruffled, his ankles crossed on the bed, looking comfortably messy and none too concerned.
"Well, what do you propose? I'm not hearing any bright ideas from you!" He tossed another book aside.
"You haven't tried exchanging souls," the shade whispered.
Alastor eyed his shadow before answering. "That's because it can't be done. It would be foolish to even attempt in my current state. I'd be more likely to kill myself trying."
"If you acquired more souls, you'd increase your power."
"Yes, yes, fine, all information I already know!" Alastor hissed.
There came a knock at the door and he jumped to his feet, annoyed.
"Enough messing with the Heir, her plan will fail." The shadow faded into nothingness, the lingering echo of his words melting into the walls.
Brushing it off, Alastor glided to the door, looking forward to his usual nightly distraction. He thought she'd been avoiding him, considering last evening's little exchange. He had no excuse for it this time. Her words shot through him like a piercing arrow and he was pulled to her side as if stuck to its barbs. Seeing her open herself up to him, it brought out a side of himself that he didn't even know existed. To feel trusted, to be cared for… it tugged at his innermost self and tempted him to throw it all back to her.
But enough of that now. He's moved on from it, as had she.
….
Charlie knocked hesitantly, still reeling a bit from the constant chatter in her mind, amongst other things. But she knew Alastor, and her comfort in his presence trumped whatever weirdness she'd been holding onto. The door opened.
"Good evening, Al," she said, bashful but radiant.
"Ah, you're a sight for sore eyes, dear! Come in, come in!" the deer demon exclaimed, looking slightly beleaguered.
When the demon princess shuffled her feet but did not enter, Alastor looked at her questioning, bordering on alarmed.
"I need you to come with me tonight," she said, a strength to her tone. "To another room," she finished.
"A man entering a lady's abode in the middle of the night? What will the neighbors think!" Alastor responded in jest.
"Har har…" Charlie said, but she smiled regardless. "Come," she reached out, placing her hand in the crook of his elbow.
Alastor wanted to comment on her forward action but he thought saying something would spoil the moment. For once, he shut his mouth and let himself be led. He placed a hand over hers and was escorted.
…
"What room is this?" asked the deer demon once they reached their destination. It was a normal guest bedroom, unmade and empty. On a random floor in a random hallway. It held no significance to him that he was aware of.
"Be brave," Charlie murmured, though if she said it to him or to herself, neither was sure.
"Why does this somehow feel like a trap?" Alastor wondered aloud.
The door pushed open and sitting on the bed, looking bored, was none other than the King of Hell.
He stood on hurried feet the second the pair entered and zeroed in on their entwined arms. "What the Hell?" he greeted.
Charlie released her companion and came forward, giving her dad a big hug. He returned it but his eyes never left the smiling demon behind her.
"Okay Char-Char...What did you need to talk to me about that is oh-so secret and why is he here?" Lucifer crossed his arms, creating what little distance he could with the red demon.
"Daaaad," Charlie began singsongy, "thank you soooo much for coming. You know Alastor of course."
"Unfortunately," said Lucifer.
"Charmed," Alastor sneered.
"We have something to discuss, or rather, we need your help," she said, watching Alastor's face for any sign of resistance. His face was blank besides his twitching smile.
"We?" Lucifer raised an eyebrow.
"Alastor," she continued, "Are you okay with this?" Charlie checked in, returning to her friend's side. She placed a comforting hand against his arm and Alastor fought the urge to shrug it off, not wanting the glaring King across from him to bear witness to their interactions. But at the same time wanting to pull her closer to piss him off. It left him standing stock still instead.
"No need to coddle me, dear. We must do what we must," he grinned sharply, his red eyes glowing with reluctance.
He shouldered on and allowed Charlie to do most of the explaining, figuring her father would listen more intently than if he attempted to speak at all.
By the end of her harried explanation of the wound, the Mark, her notebook of data, Lucifer's expression became unreadable.
He spoke when his daughter finally inhaled. "He's been marked?"
"Al…show him," Charlie waved him forward and the deer demon acquiesced. He undressed quickly this time, not needing to waste precious time on the King who was absorbing all this information with a surprising seriousness.
Alastor got to the last button on his dress shirt and pulled it apart. He looked away, almost self-conscious. He never imagined Lucifer, the short King of Hell would have access to something so private in the Radio Demon's mind. He hated it beyond words but it must be done. He ground his teeth and waited.
Charlie's father stepped forward, getting a closer look at the morphing stain. It was rippling like a shallow puddle, gleaming in the dim golden light of the bedroom. It was beautiful in its own way, magnetic and powerful.
Lucifer let out a low whistle. "Woof, that's a big one. Well, it was nice knowing you pal!"
"Dad!"
Lucifer continued. "I've never seen it so… malodorous..." Alastor immediately covered himself.
"Dad, come on! You've seen it before?" Charlie asked, reaching towards Alastor's chest.
"Don't touch it!" Lucifer warned, tugging her back. "I don't know what happens if a hellborn gets near that thing."
"She's been within whispering distance before, sir," Alastor leered.
"What did you say you–" Lucifer wielded his glowing staff, pointing it directly at the deer demon's throat.
Charlie hopped in between them, arms spread in a calming gesture.
"Enough! What do we do, dad?" Charlie yelled, frantic.
Lucifer backed down and sighed. "I don't know, hun, I'm sorry." He addressed the Radio Demon. "You are under its scrutiny now."
"What is it looking for? Could redemption help save him?" she asked, hopeful now.
Not this redemption farce again… Alastor opened his mouth to interrupt when-
"Redemption?" The King of Hell pondered, as if recalling an old memory. "Well, now that you mention it…maybe it could?" He thought a bit longer, a finger tapping his chin in consideration. "Do you remember the poems?"
"Poems? You mean the nursery rhyme?" Charlie asked, confused.
"Yes! The one I read to you as a child. But there's not just one… there are actually hundreds!" Lucifer snapped his fingers and a worn book appeared in his hands. The cover was so tattered there was no visible title, its coloring faded by time.
"I thought… it couldn't be written about," Charlie said in mild awe.
"Well, it's not like it is mentioned by name… These poems are about a lot of things! Including marked souls! Look here," Lucifer flipped to a specific page, cleared his throat, and began to read aloud:
Sinner go to Hell!
You rung the hanging bell.
It rings and rings for all your souls,
But when it tolls again…
A mark upon your skin,
Beyond all normal sin.
And Hell is not where you'll be sent
But Darkness where you're meant!
"It's catchy, right?" Lucifer chuckled once he finished. "Oh that takes me back…" he wiped a tear from his eye.
"Dad, seriously! What's this nursery rhyme got to do with anything?" Charlie stomped her hoof, working herself into a frenzy. She was getting more frustrated than Alastor was! Who has been standing infuriatingly silent this whole time.
"I don't know, maybe it contains a hint? It's the only piece of literature I know of that mentions anything about the Mark of Judgment. But records are fallible and these pages are literally hanging by a thread."
"Who did you know who was marked before?"
Lucifer's expression turned grim. "I don't know what happened to them, I never saw him again. Was it the Mark that did him in? Who knows. But there's a blackness around it that affects everyone. An evil. Have you seen things that aren't there? Felt feelings you never have before? That's the Mark. It consumes your soul slowly from the inside out…"
Charlie watched him in silent fear.
"...or not!" The King of Hell shrugged again. "There's nothing out there to confirm or deny a thing."
"Why do you think redemption could help?" The Radio Demon finally spoke from his shadowy corner.
"Well… get a load of this!" Lucifer flashed his hand over the book and the pages spun as if by a strong gust of wind. The page it landed on was faded and torn beyond repair, but a verse was still visible in faint ink:
Saint beyond the sky!
The black all-knowing eye.
You rue'd and rue'd for all your sins,
And from the mark within…
A brand new bless'd might,
A soul bereft of night.
Tho Heaven's not the final call
But Light's eternal hall!
"Could it mean..?" said Charlie after she read it at least three times. "Rue'd your sins…" She scanned it again, a tearful smile breaking out on her face. "Alastor!"
"Now don't get your hopes up, darling," the red demon began, stepping forward to dangle the book with a pinch of claws. "This could all be complete nonsense! A merry-go-round of mummery!"
"Could be," said Lucifer.
"Oh thank you thank you thank you, Dad! This is just the information we needed!" Charlie bounced on the tips of her hooves, yanking the book back from Alastor. She began to flip through it, looking for more legible verses.
"What else would you recommend?" grit out the deer demon, his black gums peeking through his smile.
Lucifer appeared thoughtful. "Hmmm, go back to the black pit whence you came?"
Charlie interrupted again before things could escalate, pushing her dad back into the room and asking another question on her mind. "How does one become marked? Al was wounded by Adam's Angelic Axe but why…?"
"It could be that he's just SO evil that it took hold of him easily. The Mark chooses those in need of further judgment, a scourged soul is cleansed, yada yada yada."
"Cleansed? I thought scourged souls are sent to the dark."
"Listen Charlie, there's a lot that I do not know. This stuff… it goes beyond Heaven and Hell. Even I'm not privy to all Ancient Knowledge." He watched her sullen expression and pulled her aside in further confidence, despite the deer demon in the room easily able to hear. "What I do know is… and I'm sorry to say this but… your friend here is deader than dead."
…
On the way back to Alastor's room, Charlie was struggling between being optimistic and falling back into gloom. She kept trying to say something, raising a finger in determination and then having it wilt back to her side with a dejected sigh. Her fanged smile alternated emotions so quickly, Alastor had had enough and grabbed the demoness's cheeks with both hands, stretching her face into a lopsided grin.
"Darling," he began, somewhat impatiently. This evening did not go as planned for the deer demon either. His smile was taut. "Calm yourself or I'll be forced to tar and feather you."
"Do as you please," she whined, spiraling back into misery. She melted out of his grip and landed in a pile at his shoes.
He sat on his haunches, turning her forlorn face up with a gloved palm. He wiped a tear from her stained cheek with a deft thumb. "That's enough moping, dear. Don't you have some wretched plan of yours to concoct?" He sighed when she didn't immediately catch on. "One involving… redemption?" he said the word with contempt.
She nodded mournfully. "I do. But Al, what if it doesn't work?"
"Then we'll think of something else. But I can't have you falling apart every time you have a lick of doubt," he admonished, his strained smile gentling.
Her head bowed. "I'm sorry, I'd have more confidence but what my dad said–"
"Was a load of bull and I won't entertain another word about it. This was always your plan, remember? And I already agreed to go along with it, so don't sully my compliance with a frown." The deer demon helped Charlie to her feet and brushed off her shoulders.
She put on a sad smile, grateful that one of them could act as the steady bulwark in this situation. At some point, she imagined that she'll have to be the support system for Alastor, though she dreaded the day that might come. He was always the strong one supporting her, after all.
"You're right," she agreed, nodding. She gripped the ancient manuscript in her hand. This book was at least something they didn't have before and she would spend all the time required to decipher its meaning. "You're always right, Al!"
"That I am dear, and don't you forget it!" He booped her right on the nose and she giggled, the sound causing a shimmer across his chest.
"Now, will you join me the rest of the way?" Alastor asked, not ready to part with the troubling demoness.
"I thought that went without saying!" she replied, already cheered up. He presented his elbow and she linked her arm through his again, though this time entwined at the elbow, shoulder to shoulder. She started it of course, linking arms on their way to meet Lucifer, it was only natural they completed their circuit the same way.
As they walked, they only became closer in proximity, bumping sides and hips and arms. Neither made mention and neither moved away, finding comfort in the feel of the other after a revelatory evening.
Charlie placed her slender hand upon his forearm, looking straight ahead as they walked, as if the contact they had already still wasn't enough. She wanted more, to remember he was real and present and alive.
And Alastor would oblige. Despite just receiving the ominous message that he was more than likely going to die a horrid death, it didn't feel like such a possible fate when he was arm-in-arm with the Princess of Hell. Her bout of depression having passed and the way she marched onwards was enough for her to be a light in all this infernal darkness–
Charlie's fingers slipped beneath his sleeve and caressed the skin at his wrist.
And Alastor reacted, rather violently, jumping and turning a heated gaze at his companion in question.
She still looked blissfully ahead, either completely unaware of what she was doing, or was playing dumb so as to avoid the consequences.
Charlie turned at his stare and raised an eyebrow. "What'sa matter, Al?" she said with a playful smile. He still couldn't tell.
Alastor didn't think the demoness had it in her. But he just had to play along. After last night, he figured there were some lines they daren't cross or examine too closely. Hell, there were just some things that would never, should never, come up in conversation. But now…?
At his doorway, the pair released each other but did not move aside in any fashion. Alastor turned to his companion and stepped forward until he was looming over her.
"Will you come inside for a moment?" he asked, his voice betraying a hint of vulnerability.
"We should get to bed, it's a big day tomorrow," she said with some reluctance.
Alastor shrunk back at the mild rejection."...Tomorrow being?"
"Redemption Plan Day 1!"
Oh, how he had already forgotten, so lost in his world with the demoness. He mentally palmed his face, dreading what awaited him amongst those other sinners.
"What joy," he said, not hiding his emotions. He glanced back down at her enthusiastic expression and couldn't help the smile that reappeared on his face. She was more concerned for him than he was for himself and it was still such an intriguing but frightening prospect.
They stood, face to face, neither making the first move to leave. Both not fighting whatever desire it was that kept them there.
Charlie shuffled her feet, looking curiously up at her companion, as if waiting for him to do or say something first.
But he was doing the same, already missing the warmth of her body so near to his. There was a coolness that spread along his limbs and he remembered who he was. And what was in store.
"Goodnight, my darling demon belle," his voice drifted among the ambient din of the darkened hallway.
"Thank you," she said instead of the expected reply, the quietness of her response nearly being lost among the enveloping night air.
"Whatever for?" He wondered aloud, thinking that he ought to be the one thanking her this time.
She offered a look of genuine gratitude and then stood tall atop her pointed shoes to glance a peck upon the frozen cheek of one Radio Demon. "For trusting me."
He hardly had a second to react when Charlie was already sprinting down the hall, calling her 'goodnights' behind her.
Alastor's gloved hand drifted to rest upon his cheek. While he was busy contemplating how best to invade her space, she was the one actually doing it. His little jabs and teasing was one thing when he was acting them out towards her… but when she did it? The deer demon was at a loss for words. Even more so when a steady heat blossomed upon his face. The Radio Demon did not blush. Especially not for something as innocent as a peck on the cheek.
No, this wouldn't do, thought the demon. He would certainly have to pay her back for this.
...
AN: Hey! Not to toot my own horn but I LOVE this chapter! Finally the introduction of the poems! Lol so when I first started writing, I really wanted to capture the spirit of the show in some way, namely the musical numbers, so instead of music, I thought poetry! They were a ton of fun to write, I had a blast figuring them out and trying to tell a subtle little tale with them. Plus, who doesn't love rhyming? A little bit of a lore drop as well, some unreliable information... lots to unpack here.
Besides that, a little more build up between the two of them. I love mutual respect and trust and so building that between the two of them is paramount, especially over time. But also with a little bit extra lol.
Been really enjoying reading your comments! Thanks for sticking around this long! Enjoy ~~