God's Reign

Wake Up, Charlie

Two days ago, Charlie had presented her idea to redeem demons. In her eyes, it was the best and most humane way to reduce the population of Hell. However, she knew it was far from efficient. After all, rehabilitation wasn't something that could be done in a week or even a month in some cases. It took time and patience. Demons had time. But they didn't have patience. At least not for redeeming themselves. By default, those sent to Hell were lost causes. There was no point in redeeming them. Mass murder was much faster, though messier. But Charlie hated the thought of her fellow demons being treated as sheep for the slaughter. She always believed there was always a better way to handle situations. Mindless and senseless murder was a last resort.

Today, the decision was made. Lucifer called his ambitious daughter to the throne room. As his father, he had a duty to support her. But as the King of Hell, he was responsible for raising her to take the throne and bear the crown. And that came first. Lucifer looked into Charlie's hopeful eyes. With a deep breath, he made his decree. He would not be backing up her plan to redeem demons. It was a waste of time, money, and other resources. He believed her time would be much better spent preparing to rule Hell as the next queen. And finding herself a future king in the meantime. Her idea made him laugh. But he didn't. At least not in front of her. However, he had to admit one thing. Charlie had made an impressive presentation. Lucifer could tell that she had worked very hard. He admired it. If only her ambitions had lied with raising Hell. He wasn't changing his mind. The future of Hell couldn't rest on wishful thinking and mindless dreaming. He couldn't have someone so naive and childish ruling Hell after him. It was time for her to wake up and take her duties as Princess of Hell seriously. With this, Lucifer dismissed his daughter's hopes and dreams.

Lucifer watched as the bright smile faded from his daughter's face. Charlie couldn't believe it. She had always done as she was told. Since childhood, she had followed the rules (most of the time). She had been a good daughter. Charlie had hardly asked for anything like this. Now, when she needed help and wanted her father to support her, he refused. Too stunned to say anything, she left. She knew Lucifer wasn't the best father. But she had expected him to be on her side at the very least.

That night Charlie heard arguing from her parent's bedroom as she passed by. While it was rude to eavesdrop, she heard her name and stopped. It was her mother. Lilith didn't always yell. But she was now. And for the first time, Charlie heard her father stuttering over his words. She quickly hid as she heard thundering footsteps approach the door. A moment later, Lucifer was on the ground, and the door slammed shut.

The next day, Lilith called her daughter forward. Of course, she knew she had overheard the commotion from last night. She promised to help her daughter. She couldn't do anything right away, but soon. She instructed her daughter to lie low and pretend to give up after rightfully fighting for a few days. While confused, Charlie did as her mother told. Lilith then sent her on her way. There was work to be done if her scheme was going to be successful.