CH 17: Breathtaking

The next morning, Esme hesitates to show her face to the others. She prolongs going downstairs for as long as she can, until she can not ration with her hunger anymore and decides to head to the kitchen for some sustenance. Shame built up within her stomach, preventing her from wanting to make contact with the rest of the patrons. She hadn't met to bring such chaos to the night, but still battled with her mind of what could have been done instead of what ensued. 

Last night left her roughed up, she was more tired than usual but was presentable nonetheless. No one could ever tell that her dress had been torn, considering the fact that she repaired it with her magic during the evening. Her scratches were minor, and mostly covered. Esme made a note to leave her coat upstairs as this was just a quick run to the fridge. As she's coming down the stairs, she sees Charlie on the phone with the others surrounding her appearing a bit on edge. Based on the faces of those around her, this conversation must not be going in the right direction. She pauses at the end of the steps - did this have anything to do with her previous behavior? 

"Please, just come see what I'm trying to do...You'll see why it's a really good idea and heaven is bound to agree if I get the chance to talk to them." She takes a deep breath, "Please...Dad."

Dad? Lucifer himself?

Well, this plan surely is becoming damned if the little princess has to reach out to Daddy for help. To my understanding, the two didn't have a strong relationship. They were never seen with one another. It had been several years since the Morningstar Family made a united appearance in Hell. 

Esme is shaken out of her thoughts as Vaggie shouts, "Okay, people Lucifer is on his way, so we are going to make this place presentable and we are going to make an amazing impression - vámonos!" Esme watches as everyone scatters to the wind, determination showcased in their movements.

She slowly approaches Charlie, "Pardon me, Princess, but I just wanted to apologize for my involvement with the altercation from last evening..."

Charlie turns to her, her eyes widening in being caught by surprise, "Oh, uh, yeah..." She gives a saddened smile, "That's alright, we all lose ourselves sometimes."

The overlord smiles softly at her words, turning her head slightly. It was refreshing to converse with someone so lovely, such irony that she was the princess of Hell. 

"Oh, and Esme?" She looks back, "Charlie is just fine."

"I promise, I'll do whatever it takes to help your mission. You're a good kid." Esme reaches for her hand, squeezing it tightly, "Your father will be very proud, I know I would." She walks off to help the others get ready.

Charlie's eyes follow her as she fades into the hall. Within her words, she can imagine her younger self sitting outside of her father's office. She was so desperate for his attention, but whenever the two shared a moment - she was taken away. In an instant, someone believed in her and showed her warmth that her younger self craved. 

A moment passes and she looks down at her hand, running her fingers over where she had touched. 

Meanwhile, Esme uses her magic to help clean up the area, adding some decorations and a beautiful green bouquet of flowers for a table centerpiece. If the King of Hell was to visit, this place had to be sparkling. Niffty was too busy preparing some desserts for him, while Angel was preparing himself to look his very best. The others can only do but so much, so it's time for the overlord to step up and pull her weight. As she's preparing, Esme notices Alastor descending down the stairs and smiles at him, but notes his displeasure.

He didn't say a word, simply entering the parlor and holding his tongue as he observed everyone. Something was clearly bothering him. Could it be the intensity of their moment together? Perhaps she read his energy incorrect and he felt uncomfortable around her. 

If she allowed herself to consider all the options, she would spiral out of control. 

They had bigger fish to fry at this time. 

Soon, the time has come and the group gathers around the door for Lucifer's arrival. There was an unspoken tension in the air. Most sinners had seen Lucifer from his appearances, but very few were able to meet him in the flesh. Esme stands next to Angel, her hands clasped in front of her. "Okay, everyone, it's showtime~" Charlie sings as she opens the door, already revealing Lucifer waiting outside.

How long was he standing there?

"Charlie!" He exclaims, immediately rushing in and giving her a tight squeeze. Well, that behavior was unexpected. He reflected the same energy as an excitable child, beaming with joy at the sight of her. It was touching to say the least. 

Esme chuckles softly and looks to Angel during this interaction. Charlie pulls back and clears her throat.

"Welcome to the Hazbin Hotel!" She smiles proudly. A small cat approaches The King as well as Charlie's two dragons, and he begins gushing over all of them. He appears very excited to be reunited with Charlie and her animals, which is sweet to watch (at least for Esme).

He twirls with an animated grin displayed on his face as he relishes in the moment. As he relaxes in the space, Esme notices Alastor's tense figure standing close behind him. His gaze never leaves him, following him across the lobby. 

She wondered if anyone else noticed.

He turns to the lobby, looking around with a displeased expression, "Wowww this place sure looks..." He begins with an unsure tone of voice, "Uh huh, yeah, well it's got a lot of character.." He turns to see the bar, "AH! What in the unholy hell is that?" He asks in disgust.

Alastor moves across the floor in a cloud of black smoke, manifesting across from him, "Just some of the renovations we had done, adds a bit of color, don't you think?"

Lucifer points his cane at him, raising a brow, "And you are?"

Suddenly, Alastor is standing right next to him, "Alastor!" He grabs a hold of his cane, forcibly moving it up and down, "Pleasure to be meeting you sir, quite a pleasure!" He wipes his hand on his jacket, "It's nice to finally put a face to the name! You are much shorter in real life~" He teases, measuring The King's height with his fingers.

Esme widens her eyes at the clear disrespect. She wasn't shocked, this was Alastor after all, but she was taken a little bit by surprise of his boldness so soon. He could at least let the man spend more than ten minutes in the building.

"Who is this- who is this man?" Lucifer glances at Charlie, "Are you the bellhop?"

"AHA, NOO~" Alastor laughs obnoxiously, his radio overlay causing Esme to wince with how screechy it sounded. "I am the host of the hotel! You may have heard of me from my radio broadcast~" He smiles smugly, leaning on his cane.

"Hmmm, NOPE! Guess that's why Charlie calls it the Hazbin Hotel." He laughs, nudging Charlie's arm.

Oh shit...

"HA.HA.HA." Alastor smirks, looking away at his nails. "It was actually my idea~"

"AHAHA, well it's not very clever~"

"AHAAA, f̸̤͠ṵ̵͂c̶̕͜k̸̝͂ y̷̓ͅȍ̷̟ǔ̴͕."

Esme's jaw drops at the intensity between these two. She lets out a low whistle and hops on the table next to Angel, "This just got interesting..." She whispers.

"Okay!" Charlie separates the two and drags her father to the lounge area where she goes on and on about her vision for the space. Perhaps it would have been more effective if there weren't roaches fornicating on the carpet.

"Without Alastor, we wouldn't have been able to pretty it up this much." She says with a genuine smile.

"Charlie has a very unique vision..." He begins, walking up to her. "I am happy to fulfill her bizarre requests.." He says, placing a hand on her shoulder.

A low growl can be heard throughout the space and Alastor's eyes gleam mischievously in response, "Quite an impressive young lady.." He places a finger underneath her chin, "We're all very proud of her~"

Lucifer clears his throat, "Ahem, Charlie, dear..." He separates the two, "Why don't you introduce me to your other friends?" He is right to have a suspicion about Alastor, Esme herself was trying to wrap her head around what The Radio Demon would get out of this alliance. He was always quite the gentleman, but in this moment he was the equivalent to a court jester - hopping back and forth with false amusement.

"Oh, of course!" Charlie reaches for Vaggie, "This is Vaggie, she's my girlfriend."

"Oho my golly! You like girls? So do I! We have so much in common!" He exclaims, "You put her there, Maggie!" He pulls her in for a quick hug.

He's eccentric..

"And this is Sir Pentious and Angel Dust, our guests!" Charlie beams.

"Your Majesty!" Pen shouts nervously, falling to the floor.

"Heya, short king~"

"Husk is our bartender and Nifty is our housekeeper!"

Within a second, Nifty is crawling on top of Lucifer, "Hellooo, hehe I clean~"

Vaggie pulls Nifty off of him and Esme clears her throat from the table, causing Charlie to snap her head back.

"Oh, yes, and this is Esme! She's agreed to be our entertainment." The princess motions her arm toward The Siren. She's calm and collected until he turns to face her. Esme can feel a lump form in her throat, trying her best to prevent her eyes from glowing instantaneously. In his eyes, she definitely looked more presentable than the others, her navy blue curls resting elegantly against her sides, her scales shimmering.

Up close he was....quite a vision.

He was...breathtaking, even...

She clears her throat once more and walks over to him, bowing her head, "Esme Rose, sir, an honor to make your acquaintance." When she lifts her head, she makes eye contact with Alastor standing behind him, his eyes burning deep into hers with resentment. The sight was enough to make her skin crawl, sending a shock wave through her. This, of course, goes unnoticed by the fallen angel.

Lucifer smiles at her, "Likewise, Miss Esme." He shakes her hand, holding it with a gentle touch, "My, what a pretty name that is. How did Charlie recruit such a respectable demon?"

Esme smiles at his kindness, "I'm a siren sir, I work alongside Alastor and I found out about the hotel through Angel here."

"A siren?? Well, that's something I have yet to see in this ring!" He laughs, "And I've been here a very long time."

Esme chuckles nervously, "I guess that's true, I've only seen myself in the pride ring since I manifested decades ago."

"Decades you say? How old are you if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well...I died in 1932 in my early 30s, but that was more than 80 years ago.."

"Well, you don't look a day over 25!" Lucifer exclaims. The group begins to notice the change in his attitude and the sudden taken to Esme, "If you don't mind me asking, how did you die?"

Esme chuckles nervously, "That is for me to know my good sir," She fluffs her hair up, turning slightly from him, "but, please, do guess I'd love to know the theories~" She says playfully.

"Oh, playing mystery now are we?" He laughed and stepped closer, taking in a better look of her. "Hmm, you're definitely giving me some...drowned kinda vibe."

The group, with the exception of Alastor, turned to her intrigued, not knowing anything about Esme's past.

Esme's body tenses up and she turns back to him, "H-How did you know that so quickly?"

He chuckled again as her reaction confirmed his suspicions, he stepped closer again.

"Well, I'm pretty good at deducting things like that. Plus you did just say you're a siren..I -"

He's cut off by the sound of the chandelier crashing from the ceiling, producing a cloud of smoke and sending several of them coughing.

"Hahaha, alright then...."

🖤Words: 2040🖤

~ Artemis💗🦌