Underworld. The Ring of Pride. Morning star Mansion. 1945, a week after the Extermination.
...To other news! - The hoarsely gruff voice of the Blue Minion, the anchor of the Silence News Nau channel on the Ring of Pride channel, broadcasting from the Silence itself, continued to lead the newscast.
The image showed a small dispatcher's booth, with a beautiful landscape in the background, seen as if from the large window of some overly contrived studio or office that Sinners had rumored was taken from either Paradise or Eden itself... or just something Silence had invented and brought to life.
The henchman himself was a typical "servant" of the Silence, except for the white suit and blue tie, which looked comical on this creature, a parody of a demon, with a figure slightly larger than the standard individual. White-blue eyes that seemed to emanate energy of the same hue.
A leading henchman of the Rotten Witch, he broadcast to the Inhabitants of the entire Silence District, his permanent employee and honorable mouthpiece of half-truths, the best the Sinners in the Ring could get. The closest thing to the truth.
"Details on the events of the so-called 'Revolution of Fascism' from the much honored Spider Zestial in an exclusive interview with our channel! " - a square appeared in the top-left of the screen, depicting the profile of the Spider Lord himself, looking into the camera. - "A full description of events from our much honored, beautiful, powerful, strongest, most dangerous, generous, gracious, kind-hearted, and simply beautiful Lord of the Silence Region - ZEPHYR!" - Finished Rottenpawst with a teary voice. An image of Silence appeared on the screen in the corner, a white mask that occasionally turned black, with the appearance of black flames instead of hair.
"...Finally, the juiciest and meaty details of the battle itself with ADOLPH, who our most powerful Overlords have taken it upon themselves to kill! Spider, Radio Demon and SILENCE!" - like a jury in a match, Rottenpaw was broadcasting while images of the battle itself flashed on the left side of the screen.
The henchman regained his breath, tapped the folded paper he had been holding in his hands, and straightened up and continued in a calm tone.
"...Also, later in the program..." - The henchman sighed sharply. - "The new work of the Princess of Hell, Charlotte Morningstar, that shed light on the events of the past!" - Leaning closer to the camera, he spoke as if in confidence, covering his mouth. - "The work illuminates the mysteries of the past, examines the mistakes of former Overlords, and reveals juicy new details about the existence of those years..." the Rotten Thief said in a near whisper. - Our Princess did a great job, and what prose and history is there... UH! - As if having tasted a delicious drink, Hniloust rejoiced at the news, as if God himself had entrusted him with the plates with the new Commandments.
The program continued, and Gniloust began to explain the details about the new servants of Silence, the new church, the potential animals and expansion...
Charlie listened intently to the details of the new release from her favorite Ada news channel. As much as she didn't like Asmodeus or Beelzebub, their news broadcasts in their Channel Rings were as good as the Sins themselves. And they don't publish her work. Which she had all but given up writing, having switched to more... different methods of dealing with Sinners and how to rehabilitate them...
Even the one that the presenter was now discussing so vigorously she had written with the encouragement of 'Mr.', who had done most of the work, for she was... a bit out of the mood. She just wanted to do something else that brought at least some results.
Charlie, on the advice of her good friend "Good Mister", who had never told her his real name, decided to look at the psychology and point of view of the Sinners. It was working out...not so well? Charlie could not give an accurate assessment of her knowledge and achievements in this field, especially if both her parents, to put it censoriously, dislike the Sinners, and the demons around her (except for Mister, who never told her his...) simply could not be considered objective.
Books, articles, surveys (the same Mister, through whom she ordered the research, thus collecting her first data) and simply the stories of her mother, who was more willing to tell her about this area, that is, at least does not shut up, does not translate the topic and did not try to somehow soften the accents.
Mr. could even say his name by now, she'd said so many times...!
Charlie shook her head, turning on the radio.
She knew that the device was now dominated by a cruel sadistic Radio Demon. She didn't like the screaming, she didn't like all the cruelty that this horrible radio's irremovable host included and allowed. She was just curious about the fate of Silence and this "Adolf" that her mother had told her was behind this new movement of "revolution".
She tuned the frequencies on the toggle switch of their home radio that would not let through the influence of the Sinner, but the
The laughter of the people. People's laughter is so... unnaturally strange. As if, if you wanted to, you could hear a distant cry, a plea for help if the listener was attentive enough. The tone and intonation were masterfully calibrated, as if a cruel composer had spent hours and years arranging the notes in his ensemble.
"... Oh-ho-ho, my dear listeners! It's time for the juiciest and most meaty part of this morning!" - the listener could clearly feel all of the host's emotions. Anticipation, joy, bloodlust and barely concealed impatience. - "It's time to break the bones of the recent incident..." - the voice of the Demon Radio host grew deeper, more ominous and dangerous. - Including me, your beloved Alastor, my good friend Zestial, and good comrade Zephyr!" - Alastor immediately changed his tone with a chuckle.
Charlie grumbled at the sounds accompanying the transmission. She didn't understand this "phenomenon" as "Mister" had written, but it was very easy for her to hear all the misery this Alastor was turning on his radio all the time, constantly and unknowingly. She couldn't help herself, and her parents' advice on things like "closing your heart" didn't help. "Mister" made her some small amulet, which her father, when he noticed it around her neck, called 'a simple trinket from a crooked bungler,' which was high praise for the work, because otherwise her father would have thrown it away. The amulet had helped Charlie partially; she didn't have to listen to that radio wave so unpleasantly.
Instead of teeth grinding or the sound of iron on a board, those "screams" just felt like the annoying and unpleasant buzzing of gnats at her ear.
Charlie was very grateful to "Mister," but he was, as usual, very reluctant to return any gifts, even her mother's covert help.
Sometimes Charlie was annoyed by this strange trait of her friend's.
Anyway, Charlie moved closer to the radio, listening intently to the details of the battle, cringing at the particularly unpleasant shouts or "scrapes."
"...Oh, how it was...!" - Alastor sighed, like an excited man in love describing his rapture. - "A quiet night that threatened to turn into a meat grinder, empty ruined streets, the smell of corpses and fire - the romance of our beloved Pentagram City!" - small chuckles finished Alastor's words as the Radio Lord himself seemed to warm up.
The fan was playing light jazz, similar to what one might hear in any bar or drinking establishment of the early years of this century.
"Evening, was transitioning into night as your humble servant strolled through the surprisingly quiet Cannibal District, normally a very full and busy place, but then, a week and a half ago you could hear a fly from the opposite end of the District!" - Alastor began conspiratorially, judging by his voice, bringing the microphone closer to his mouth. - "As you know, six years ago, your humble servant, Zestial, and the Lord of Silence teamed up to clean up these... impurities..." - the last word was spoken in an ominous, even 'demonic' voice, heavily distorting the sound of the radio. - "Scum that don't even deserve this Hell, sent to a Second Hell, maybe even a Third!" - Alastor chuckled, pushing the microphone away.
"The red smoke, the smell of flames, the hideous sounds of distorted humans, it was all part of what came over me and the comrades that came up, hunting down this scum..." - Alastor spoke in his usual manner, but an attentive listener could catch the notes of irritation and displeasure in the Stag Cannibal's voice. - "I was at the ready, used all the power available to me, used the most extreme measures of torture that even your honorable servant finds repulsive, but this burnt corpse was not enough!" - a note of anger became more clearly audible in the radio host's voice. - "Silence used his servants and extraordinary spells of magic, Zestial naturally melted the air while the buildings nearby resembled melting butter!" - Alastor's breathing quickened, the audience could clearly feel his smirk, even through the sound of the radio.
"The bastard had truly extraordinary powers, allowing him to divide his soul and consciousness into an army of his own created charred corpses, foolishly called his 'soldiers'..." the announcer chuckled, though any viewer could pick up on the falseness or strain of the laughter.
"The fight stretched for a good third of the city, dear spectators!" - Alastor continued, and his voice resumed its normal host's tone. - "I'll be honest." - His voice became playful, and there were occasional chuckles in the background. - "I've been wounded," a whole rumble of surprised voices mixed with satisfied laughter. - "Wounded Zestial, damaged Zephyr's beautiful cylinder, and nearly soiled my clothes...!" - Alastor continued to broadcast revealing to the listener new details about the clash that had become the main topic of discussion in the Ring of Pride...
Charlie, on the other hand...
Charlie listened attentively to Alastor, she was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't even pay attention to the nasty sounds.
Alastor said that Adolphus, who was a burned silhouette of himself, with his head shot through, had the power to summon the corpses of the soldiers killed by his order....
"...As if on fire, contorted in their madness!" - Alastor sang merrily. - "Burnt skin, multiple burns, insane roaring and senseless aggression driven by Adolf himself! We'd kill one, two would appear. Cut them apart, they fused into monsters! But most importantly. They carried a piece of Adolf's own soul, preventing him from dying permanently!"
Charlie asked her father.
He said that a Sinner with powers that allowed for some kind of interaction with the soul was rare, but it appeared from time to time.
Dad explained to her that the Sinner's power, his "calling card" (Charlie's dad's words), his "one standout spot on the soul," that is, his power, is manifested from the soul's features, each one unlike the other. Power, variation, and more, from what Charlie could understand from Dad's explanation, depend on the strength of the soul itself on Earth. Dad didn't give details, but Charlie ...
Charlie realized that this Adolphus, despite what Alastor had said on his radio, was a serious opponent, difficult for even the strongest Ring Lords to kill.
Zestial, according to Alastor and her mother, possessed one of the strongest variations of acid or corroding, if not pure destruction of matter, perhaps even magic. Very arcane, according to her mother's words, familiar with the Overlord, for he occupied the market for building materials, aiding and supplying structures, he also rebuilt what had been destroyed during the battle.
Alastor. Radio Demon, as the Sinners in Pentagram City call him, "The Arrogant Kid" were her father's words when she asked about the demon who hosts radio programs. Possesses strange but very powerful powers, similar to voodoo magic. Charlie wasn't strong on the theory or variation of magic, but she knew that with this power, Alastor had been able to defeat some of the strongest Lords of the Ring, the "Past Generation" as her mother had said, overnight. From what "Mr." had said from her letters, Charlie knew that all of the participating Lords were injured or hurt, including Alastor, who was badly injured and almost broke his microphone.
Silence... Zephyr, as Charlie knew and really only got away with a nearly destroyed cylinder, burned hands, and a scorched white mask....
Charlie froze.
She slowly shifted her gaze to the television, frozen in a pause, on which Rottenstein was saying something about Zestial, in his interview.
Charlie knew that Silent News Nau had become one of the most popular channels on Pentagram City television precisely because of the quality, color, and cost. Each channel, or set of channels, cost money, which Sinners had to pay for one TV set, which was given access to the right channels, but Silence... Sound, picture and most importantly, color, which only the strongest Overlords had, her, thanks to her father and all those who watch the free and quality channel.
Disbelief turned to acceptance and approval and then became something normal. The channel showed entertainment programs, broadcast by the Senator himself, Silence's deputy and de facto district manager...
Charlie shook her head and rewound the broadcast back.
Spider Zestial's interview, something about the weather in Silence, some details about Silence's home, Silence's new laws... Silence's image... Zephyr.
Or rather... His usual... 'White' appearance...
"Good Mister..." whispered Charlie in amazement.
It all came together into one obvious picture. She...
"Those hints, those words, the constant busyness of a few years ago, abruptly dropped with the Senator's appearance... The unusual knowledge for a Sinner, the strange familiarity with the details of my parents' lives... Those demons... 'Minions' as 'Mist...' called them... Zephyr.", Charlie leaned back in the chair she was sitting in, working with the paper on which she had made simple graphs of logical chains. A practice prompted by "Dobr..."
Zephyr.
Charlie began to look at her entire interaction with Zephyr, all the details she had discarded and brushed off as insignificant... It was all coming together.
They had met, Charlie assumed, just as Silence had begun his ascent; he knew a lot about the Earth, about what could be found there, though the "Good Mister" had to be a simple Sinner, who couldn't possibly know what was happening on Earth now, because only Silence could interact with the Earth in any way.
...Her parents must have realized who she was texting! Charlie sighed indignantly, turning her head toward the living room, where her mother was sewing peacefully. Her mom was sewing a new sweater, white this time, in her dad's style, but ...
What should she do?
She turned off the TV, turned off the fucking radio, where Alastor went on to describe some meat and how to cook it....
"Ma-am!" - shouted Charlie, picking up the papers and heading for her mother.
She, with the armful of papers, went into the living room with two purple couches facing each other, on one of which, to Charlie's right, standing in the doorway from the kitchen, sat Lilith herself, her dear and beloved mother.
She was peacefully knitting with two needles, folding those threads into a strange pattern not familiar to Charlie, but she was just humming merrily some song in a strange language. "Primary" or 'Edenic' language. The one that all the angels, God, Adam, and her mom had spoken before. Now her mom was humming a song...
"...I'll see you on your favorite star... Where long ago they broke up a banquet... And gasping for breath in pain we - 'Tra-la-la-la-la-la!' Swinging here and there... Bodies long ago faded...! Take my hand and enjoy it! In a moment of Glasa upon us... With His face Sacred... Dive in and remember forever! I'll see you on a star..." - Charlie had always loved to listen to her mother sing. Her voice always soothed Charlie, always brought peace and warmth. Now...
Charlie could hear the sadness in her mother's voice. Barely perceptible, barely perceptible, but Charlie had picked up her mother's talent, developing a musical ear for such little things. They could both recognize from a single note, from a single sound, the feelings embedded in words or songs.
Her mother had never told such details of her past, and Charlie didn't want to hear them, but now she wanted to know what was behind that simple song.
When Charlie came closer, Lilith immediately stopped singing, smiling softly at her daughter and looking up at her, still knitting.
"Did you want something dear?" - She tilted her head gracefully toward Lilith, looking at the papers in her hands with understanding. Charlie shrugged, to which her mother, laughing, silently and quickly evaporated the paper from her daughter's hands. Both knew that they were now on Charlie's desk, in her room, and now...
"I've found out who 'Good Mister' is!" - Charlie began triumphantly, making her mother's smile grow bigger.
"Oh, really?" - Lilith replied mischievously, arching an eyebrow gracefully. Charlie didn't like this smile or this dialog anymore. Loudly, exhaling a breath of air that made her mother chuckle quietly, Charlie continued.
"Zephyr, Lord of the Neighborhood of Silence! My best friend and closest ally! " - Charlie arched her nose, jutting her increased chest forward, nearly hitting herself in it.
"Good job, Charlie. Good job..." - her mother even set aside the ligature that was left hanging in the air in the same position Lilith had left it in, patting her daughter, whose cheeks were beginning to rapidly merge with the birthmarks.
Charlie glared at her amused mother, asking her to stop. She didn't listen.
"You managed to guess... It only took twelve years of constant correspondence and communication." - Charlie hated these moments. Lilith never changed in voice, posture, or intonation, but Charlie always felt like a stupid or inattentive, delinquent girl at these moments.
"Ma-am..." - Charlie stretched out, causing her mother to laugh a shrill and beautiful laugh as Charlie blushed, looking indignantly at her mother.
"Mom!" - Charlie exclaimed, covering her face with her hands. Lilith's laughter grew stronger.
"No, I certainly understand that I can be inattentive sometimes... Yes, I directly asked the one about his activities and Zephyr replied that he was helping the Silence, who knew he was talking about the name of the area and not the Overlord!!!", Charlie resented as her mother, calmed down, wiping away small tears.
" Ohhh..." - Lilith was breathing heavily, this was a joke to her, you see, though Charlie had worried a lot about this moment in their friendship with Zephyr! - "I'm sorry dear, but you blush so sweetly when you're embarrassed. I just couldn't help myself." - Her mother's smile was mischievous, but there was a hint of guilt in it that made Charlie soften.
"I-I know, it's just..." - Charlie faltered, and Lilith, seeing her daughter's emotion, immediately lost her playful fervor, leaning toward her daughter as she approached the couch, drawing her to sit beside her. Lilith put her hand on her daughter's shoulder, waiting for her next words.
"I-I... What should I do mom?"-Lilith knew her daughter perfectly well and was aware of her... not problems, more like difficulties in dealing with other demons.
Of course, Charlie was perfectly capable of making acquaintances, of starting conversations... It was just that she might not fully understand others, her actions being annoying, hurtful, or simply uninteresting to demons.
Lilith was proud to have birthed and raised the pure Soul she had been long ago, she loved Charlie madly and wouldn't let anyone tell her daughter otherwise, showing it by example...
It made it hard for their daughter to step out of her and Lucifer's shadow. Both parents loved their daughter, seemingly more than themselves, wanting to instill the best from each other, they may have succeeded, but Charlie...
Charlie has little experience, as Lilith recognized. She is well aware of this, unlike her husband, that she still doesn't see it as a problem, protecting her in their home like a dragon over his gold, once created by the species, in the days of the Old World. At first Lilith hadn't minded this approach, but now she was seeing the consequences of their selfishness.
Their daughter was a poor judge of souls, seeing them only as stereotypes or overly naive to the outward image. She could sense a clear evil in a soul, a clear harm or intent, but if it was an equal to her...
Lilith thinks her daughter simply won't be able to fully fulfill her dreams, won't be able to become a future Queen of Hell, won't be able to have healthy relationships, without living examples she's experienced personally.
Lilith has learned the simple truth that a person's personality is forged from the mistakes she has made and overcome, only by making mistakes, correcting herself and becoming better can a soul reach its full potential. She and her husband had passed that a long time ago...never learning that lesson. Before Charlie was born.
Lilith sighed.
"Have the years of your friendship faded into oblivion?" - Lilith asked softly, gently stroking her daughter's head, causing her to lean against her shoulder. Lilith put her arm around Charlie's shoulder, speaking in a soothing voice. - "Have all your jokes and hardships been forgotten, and your desire to help the Sinners gone?"
" N-no, but..." - Charlie's voice was quiet and vulnerable. Something only Lilith and Lucifer had seen so far, as their daughter cuddled against her parent's side, talking. - "Zephyr is not a demon, not an aristocrat, but a simple Sinner from Earth... I know he did something terrible, that he was a psychopath or a murderer, that he may have been lying to me all along, but..." - Charlie sighed quietly, and Lilith squeezed her daughter's shoulders encouragingly.
"I-I want to believe that everything we had was real. I want to believe that Zephyr really is so much better than the average Sinner or Overlord." - Charlie covered her eyes, drifting off into thoughts and memories of her experiences and what she'd read.
"An ordinary Sinner certainly wouldn't listen to your ideas dear." - If someone else had said it, Charlie would have taken offense, but her mother's tone didn't want to poke at her failings, just tease. Charlie chuckled softly, barely smiling.
"Also won't make her neighborhood read my work..." - Charlie began, inhaling the scent of fresh tea that flew in along with the set and two cups of sweets: candy, small chocolates, wafers.
" He did what?" - Lilith's voice lost its caring tone, replaced by genuine surprise. Charlie giggled, staring into her mother's widened eyes.
"He started a whole program of sanctifying my work and ideas, which even made the Sinners believe in them!" - Now it was Charlie's turn to wag his nose at the sky. Lilith mockingly ruffled her hair, which made Charlie laugh and sit down on the couch.
"Did they really 'believe' you?" - Charlie's contentment faded to embarrassment, and the Queen of Hell straightened her back again, taking the hot tea from the cup holder. Charlie, gingerly peering out of her hair, immediately followed her mother's lead.
" Hurry up..." - Lilith genuinely enjoyed her daughter's awkwardness, to whose fierce displeasure, even though Charlie could do nothing about it, scratched her cheek in embarrassment, smiling crookedly. - "They tried my techniques, they didn't work, but they're still trying?" - Charlie raised one eyebrow, squinted her eyes, and squared her shoulders while trying to sound more confident. Lilith chuckled softly.
"Definitely loyal followers." - Lilith nodded as her daughter groaned indignantly and awkwardly.
"Also, Zephyr truly believes in me! Unlike some people!" - Charlie set the cup down, and put her hands under her breasts defiantly, looking straight into the eyes of her mother, the Queen of Hell, who smiled a wide, sinister smile that made Charlie's fervor fade a little.
"Really?" - Charlie didn't like that mother of hers, which made her want to start making excuses....
"Then why not invite such a distinguished person to visit us?" - Her mother's cheerful tone, with its notes of mischief and amusement, should have made Charlie wary, but she was too excited at the prospect.
"Really?!" - Charlie immediately jumped to her sighing mother, hugging her with all her might, which made Lilith have some difficulty breathing, since her daughter had gotten her strength from her father. - "Can Zephyr really come visit, meet you?" - Charlie pressed into Lilith's voluminous chest, whose smile grew strained and her breathing ragged. The embrace intensified.
"C-c-course, darling!" - replied Lilith to her over-excited daughter, the Queen of Hell's voice not wavering or interrupted. Never. Not even in her daughter's arms. - "Just let me write the invitation letter..."
" Sure!" - Charlie immediately let go of Lilith, who breathed a sigh of relief. - "We have So many things to prepare! Picking out clothes, getting the hall ready, lining up..." - Charlie nearly jumped, emitting energy, metaphysically, rushing immediately to rush to said actions, but was stopped by her mother's hand.
"Not now, dear." said Lilith softly but sternly, causing Charlie to immediately slump her shoulders. - "It can wait, after all we don't know when your Zephyr will be free, maybe with this invitation we'll disrupt his plans?" - Charlie's eyes widened in surprise at her mother's words, and she sighed.
"You're right! I'll write to him right away, I should..." - Charlie forgot all about the tea and goodies on the table next to the couch and rushed to her room, where she kept the "special" letter that could take the form of a strange owl. Lilith sighed.
She needed to talk it over with her husband. She didn't want Lucifer to immediately kill the Sinner who had set foot in their home for the first time in seven thousand years. All the more reason... She needed to prepare herself.
Zephyr or was it Silence was... a strange soul that from somewhere knew the recipe for soup from the Old World, for the ingredients and method of preparation were only there, they could not be obtained in the modern world, not without magic and transformation of substances.
"Soup of the First" or the very first dish of mankind, when Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden, and Eve was learning to cook. The result of her endeavors was this soup that all the first humans enjoyed. Adam, Abel, Cain, Sif, Enos, Azura... and Lilith.
She... would like to know such a strange Sinner that hid his face behind such a ridiculous mask, and his name...
Lilith finished her tea with a quiet chuckle, setting the cup on the cup holder that immediately vanished, along with the rest of the set.
If Zephyr really is what Charlie sees him as, she'll see what can come out of their interaction.
If not...
He'll be just another example that the daughter of the King and Queen can't be touched.
...
The neighborhood of Silence. Zephyr's mansion in the Forest of Mist. Three days later.
"
...That is why, I, Charlotte Morningstar, as Princess of Hell, daughter of Lucifer of the Morning Star, Bringer of Light and Lilith Morningstar, First of Women, Queen of the Demons of Hell, heir to the Nine Circles of Hell and simply your best friend named Charlie (!) ask you, Zephyr, Lord of Silence, to prepare for a future visit to my residence!
(-¬‿¬-)
Yes, Mr. "Good Mister", I know who you are, and everything before this is my trap!
(-¬‿¬-)
So no more turning away, you're coming to visit me. We'll have a great time, and then a new phase of our relationship will begin! (-ᵔᴥᵔ-)
So wait... (-' ㅅ'︠-)
THIS IS NOT *the rest of the text is crossed out, but the rest of the text is intact*.
Anyway, yes, this is a new phase of our friendship.
...I'm still offended (I'm really not) that you procrastinated on revealing your name for so long (12 fucking years! Sorry for the swearing, but when your mom makes fun of you, you start to wonder!). (-> ㅅ <-)
As far as I know, usually people only procrastinate like this with a wedding or the beginning of a relationship, but you and I outdid them all.. . (-¬_¬-)
...But I don't care because now I know who you are, where you live, what you do, and how to find you! (-ᵔᴥᵔ-)
...Sorry if that sounded awful or rude, it's just that I'm glad I can finally meet someone who has been supportive! And he wasn't put up to it by my parents, he doesn't want to get in my underpants, he doesn't want to get through me to my parents, he's not a pervert or some other degenerate!
I'm so glad!
(-◕‿‿◕-)
Anyway, if you do have an emergency - please unsubscribe, I'll tell my mom (she's the one who authorized it!).
...About the order - just kidding, just wanted to, write what I was taught in school (yes demons have schools, and I went to the most prestigious one, because I'm a Princessaaaaaah!), so I wanted to share this pain with you.
You are wonderful. Thanks for your support, I want to see you as soon as possible!
Charlie.
*At the end, written out in strange ink, more being energy, is a sketch of the Princess of Hell herself, with a strange expression on her face...*.
(-◕‿‿◕-)
"
It's a beautiful morning. Morning tea, the smell of post-rainy earth, wet wood, and the mingled scent of pine and fir filled the studio room while William was in the kitchen preparing breakfast at five o'clock in the morning, for these...
Then William heard the long-forgotten sound of the royal goat Crowley, that, as he learned from the goat himself through mind images, was helping the Queen and King with many questions.
William had no sooner had breakfast than he had immediately received an urgent report from the Queen herself and now....
William smoothly shifted his gaze from one strange and alarming paper to another clear and simple one.
"
Dear Zephyr, Lord of the Region of Silence, Sinner of the Ring of Pride.
You are invited to a reception at the Morning Star Mansion, at 10:00 a.m., December 7, 1945 from the birth of Christ.
The meeting will be attended by:
Lilith Morningstar, First of Women, Queen of the Demons of Hell, Lord of the Nine Circles, Commander of the Demonic Legions, General of the Army of Hell, Queen of Sin, Mother of Monsters.
Charlotte Morningstar, First Daughter of the Queen and King of the Demons of Hell, Heiress of the Nine Circles of Hell (and just your best friend).
This letter will serve as your passageway to the Morningstar Mansion. Just hold that one in your hands ten minutes before the appointed date. You should be ready for the reception by that time.
Lilith, Queen of Hell.
*A voluminous red seal depicting two rounded goat horns encircling half an apple, from which the seeds can be seen as the vines braid them.
"
William... William didn't know exactly how to react to... something like this.
No, he knew that such a moment would come sooner or later, he just... just put off that moment until... it turns out, until now.
Communion with Lilith, the First of Women, the first Sinner, the first cheater, the mother of Lust, the Mother of Disasters and the Defiler of Men... How much literature he had read about this person. The Angels of Paradise described this woman as a cruel, controlling and narcissistic woman who tolerated no one above her, not even God. He had heard Adam joke about the personal lives of the "Poisoners of the Universe," about Lilith's supposed preferences ...
And Charl-Charlotte had written that her mother was a caring woman, attentive to her feelings, who had taught her a great deal, helping her with her ideas to the best of her ability and faith in her particular idea. She was much closer to her growing daughter than her father... Details that William did not want to know, simply by virtue of keeping his soul from Lucifer....
That he wouldn't be attending the meeting... But if William recognized the Prince of Deception and the Devil himself in any way, he would definitely be keeping an eye on the meeting.
William swallowed down a nervous lump, drinking that tea with a flick, adding more herbs and goodies to the goat's bowl. Crowley had a sweet tooth, and the small bribe allowed for a delayed response, from the usually demanding and executive black goat with red eyes, dressed in a butler's suit... Another detail that Charlie had told him for some reason... Charlotte.
"It's getting harder and harder to distance myself from such a spirited girl... Especially with the threat of meeting at least that girl's mother... Just the Queen of Hell and Adam's equal. Maybe that one would be weaker than the First Man, but that one led legions of demons and...", William tried to occupy himself with his thoughts, calming down while the main stream of consciousness tried to come up with a plan of action.
"Refusing isn't an option, there's no way to cite busyness or any of that nonsense... I'll insult the Queen badly, which was still something to accept or start planning from that outcome, but Charlie... I'll be buried immediately...", William pondered gloomily, finishing his pancakes with chocolate.
The taste of the food was almost gone, replaced by the anxiety of meeting the most dangerous creatures in Hell.
William needs to go to this "reception" anyway, and he doesn't even know the basic etiquette of Hell's aristocracy! Charlie didn't write about such "boring stuff", preferring something more entertaining from her point of view, covering that one only from a negative point of view... That, by Earth's standards, young woman-child that should have worked somewhere on TV or in a kindergarten, but....
William sighed heavily, putting the letters away.
He was faced with a fact. Both women of the Morning Star family wished to meet him, wished... Charlie, William could tell, was sincere after all, she really just wants to finally meet and spend time as friends... Lilith on the other hand....
"If I were a loving mother that protects and defends her daughter to the point where she finds "a new best friend that will definitely never betray her, never cheat, never laugh and always support her...". In Sinner for just giving her constructive criticism, making casual conversation, just wanting to help that one with her case...", William rested his head back in his chair, wiggling his feet, rocking his pink slipper-like bunnies.
...Maybe even modify or glamorize those somehow...
William pondered Lilith's motives and purposes and was even more frightened. He was truly afraid of this woman, afraid of the image that had created Sera, created Adam and the books. He was well aware of the difference in attitude between his beloved and only daughter, and some passerby that "decided to pervert and steal the innocence" of their daughter...
His only trump cards - his Fallen Angel nature, his friendship with Adam, his acquaintance and help to Eve... His knowledge of the Aether? William wasn't sure Lilith herself would be interested in his knowledge, especially when she was married to the Aspect of Wonder, whose job was to change Creation according to God's Will...
Lucifer knew better than anyone else in the Universe the nature of the Aether, the nature of the Miracle, and according to Sera, before the creation of Metatron, the Last-First, God had communicated personally with Lucifer, which only added to Seraphim's Tower of Pride.
William again, for the first time in decades, felt like an ant in the path of a colossus. He... truly could do nothing about the King and Queen. He couldn't hide on Earth, for that one only had twenty-four hours, twenty-four hours and five minutes...
If he used the Soul Stones, the whole million-something, then... He could last on Earth for a week, maybe a month, if he didn't use the Aether, without getting hurt or getting into fights.
...After which William will be weakened, either by burning up or whatever happens to him, or by being sent back to Hell, right into the King's claws....
"Fucking hell..." - William's palm slowly dripped off William's face, sliding down completely, hanging down.
William's only option was to go to tomorrow's meeting and fuck up in a way that Lucifer himself would praise.
The meeting was the day after tomorrow, but that didn't beggar such a thing...
His job would be to cover for Charlotte, he'd need to play... act... need to show all his attitude towards the Princess. He needs to display his warmest feelings for Charlie, for only she and her words can help William survive a face-to-face meeting with Lilith.
...And also start really fixing his terrible character.
"...Listen, do you know how to dress for a royal reception?" - William turned in a tired tone to the still munching valuable and healing earth grass, eating some colored balls of sweets.
The goat looked up at him with red upright eyes, which showed no small amount of intelligence, supported by a lot of experience and even more fatigue.
"Bae." - nodded, returning to his meal. William nodded.
"Will this really do?" - William examined his white robe and naked gray body.
" Bae." - Crowley shook his head. - "Bae-bae... Bae-bae-ba!" - The goat's voice was surprisingly soft, yet strangely slender, as if it were speaking to some savage Sinner, though William knew for a fact that the goat had been created by Lucifer.
"Makes sense." - William agreed, and with a snap of his fingers changed into his best Lord of Silence outfit. - "So?" - William stood up, showing himself to the goat, irritatedly examining the nearly spinning William in front of him.
"Be-ba. Ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba-ba." - nearly spitting out the grass, Crowley replied, to which William nodded gratefully, gesturing to a jar of canned ingredients, with sauce and mushrooms. - "Uh-oh...! Bae-uh..." - Nodded the goat respectfully.
William sighed, looking at his reflection in the mirror created by the Incarnation. An ordinary Silence suit, you might say, the kind he preferred to wear when visiting Zestial, but....
"And how strict is etiquette and rules in your house?" - William asked in passing, adjusting his shawl and scarf, tucking it into his vest. Crowley's goat only raised an appraising gaze at William, as if looking through or into him.
" Ba-a-a-a..." - The goat pondered, stopping even chewing. - "Ba-a-a? Ba-a-a-a-a-a... Ba-bae-e-e-e-e!" - Crowley nodded affirmatively, returning to his trapeze.
"Is that so?" - William asked in surprise. - "Is it really that simple?" - Clarified William with disbelief, to which Crowley simply burped, nodding.
William sighed, moving his index finger to remove the flying mirror.
Soon, Crowley's goat finished his grass, refreshed, and raced back to the Morning Star Mansion, with William's answer, a positive answer, until William himself...
The time was six twenty-five, breakfast had long since been eaten, the letter with the favorable reply to the invitation - sent with a satisfied goad, and William...
Once more sat down to drawings, reports and calculations.
His favorite robe, pink slippers and a mug of tea in his hands helped him to bear these torments with ease, because it was about Sinners and... their peculiarities.
Here, for example, is Stephen's report, or Replicant of Truth:
...From which it can be safely stated that the productivity figures of the Inhabitants of the District have risen by as much as 6%, compared to the last quarter.
Sister Mary, who launched a more active propaganda (hereafter Faith) activity based on the initiative of the Reverend Mother herself - the "Triune God" or imitation of the True Faith, to prepare the Residents to accept faith in the Lord God.
Sister Mary's success is undeniable: the increase in the percentage of Residents sharing some form of the Faith has been between 10% and 17% since the last quarter, related more to recent interviews and news of our strength.
Elizabeth's report, Big Sister, goes as an appendix (see Appendix 12.1, 12.2, 12.3, 12.4, 12.5).
Brief summary: Sinners have become increasingly interested in the products of the Silent Neighborhood, willing to overpay for them by a factor of five. Residents are affluent and gainfully employed, with enough money to spend and live comfortably. It is recommended that this level be reduced due to the Residents' unpreparedness for this lifestyle, which may have negative consequences.
Big Sister recommends a medium level of activity, as well as more rumors about the fate of High Degree offenders.
Recommendations for ecomnom...
...At least twenty Junior Grade Lords are requesting your audience for the Protectorate, promising A1.2 or A1.5 type deals.
Seven Middle Tier Lords request (sometimes demand, but this type is immediately weeded out) your audience for treaties or protectorates (see Appendix 21) with deals like B1.1 and B1.3.
Sister Mary (see Appendix 22) suggests....
...Based on the above, I inform you that another closure of the borders of our neighborhood is necessary, due to a reason of type PP (Total Overflow).
There will be an SIG for Residents, Sister Mary has already been notified.
The neighborhood is currently vacant and the last census of souls (see Appendix 34) showed stats:
...
William rubbed his temples, finishing his cooled cup of tea.
He put aside the papers, which were not very many, because the rest were either on his Replicants or were done with the help of the Song of Parchment and Feather, which made the familiar and almost forgotten rustle of paper in his office, or any other room where William might want to do paperwork.
William was glad that over the last six years he had managed to get in shape somehow, gradually restoring his body and improving it, bringing it to the norm of the past shell.
But most importantly...
William looked at the clock showing twelve in the afternoon, which meant... It was time for him to go for a walk, for the expansion of the territory was not waiting for itself.
William finally got around to Weaving a space in which to create some sort of sanctuary. A test version of the "mini-dimensions" or "secret streets within the Silence", which should raise the level and status of his neighborhood considerably above other places in this Hole...
And afterward, William hopes Sera and Emily will have some free time to spare for the poor Sinner.