Sparkling, massive flowers hung from the ceiling of the remodeled hotel greenhouse. Charlie could see leafy vines from at least three rings in one glance. She inhaled the floral scent, trying to think.
"What is it, Charlie dear?" Vinny's curly stark white hair was pinned out of their face revealing the scar taking up nearly a quarter of the right side; it pulsed a deep purple and curled around their eyes. Charlie had noticed previously how they seemed to be covered in scars.
Charlie stirred her spoon in her tea repeatedly, not looking up. "You... you're friends with Al, right?"
With a quirk of their eyebrows, Vinny smiled. "Yes. Though he won't admit it, I think of him as one of the few I have."
Charlie thought, tapping her fingers against the table. "Okay. I... well..."
Their expression was warm, and they motioned for her to continue.
Charlie sighed. "Yesterday, while we were heading to Mimzy's- Al and I were talking, and... he did something weird."
"Al weird or "snowing in Hell" weird?" Vinny chuckled.
"...weird for him."
"So- very weird," she admitted.
Vinny looked positively intrigued. "Tell, tell!"
Charlie thought back. "We were reminiscing about the 1920s. And he's so focused on the '20s and '30s that... I got curious..."
Vinny brightened up. "Oh yes! The 20s! I loved them. Oh, I looked stunning in those wiggle dresses!" They summoned a picture of them in one of said outfits. "I should really put it back in my rotation."
Charlie gave a small smile. "That does look good."
Vinny seemed to remember the original topic and sent the picture away in a black puff of glitter. "Now, what is it?"
Charlie took a deep breath. "...I asked him about his life in the 1910s."
A long pause.Vinny said... nothing. Their eyes, however, said something she couldn't read. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably.
Vinny's voice lacked its pep. "...oh really."
Charlie wondered if this was information she should have definitely been told by now.
"Um. Yeah. And that's when he kind of... froze? Like, completely." Another sigh. "...and I don't know why??"
Vinny sat up straight. "Dear, look at me." They took her hands in theirs.
"Don't ask again. If you try to force that door open... the handle will break- and you'll never get through."
Charlie's eyes widened.
"Have you ever heard the saying "villains aren't born, they're made?""
She nodded.
"Those years made him."
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
The click of Alastor's shoes against the marble floor was the only thing that could be heard.
Rosie. You are a madwoman.
The Radio Demon sighed. His friend had been fairly unsubtle with her point.
Keep Charlie? Willingly? When she offered him no further power advantages?
He did have to admit that waking up without fluffy yellow hair in his face and random sleepy mumbles ("Five more minutes, Izzyyyyy...") would be... jarring.
The "ding" of a piano note stopped him in his tracks.
Alastor tilted his head.
The piano in the sitting room. Not many people used it other than him and Charlie.
Intriguing.
YOU ARE READING
Mine~ {2022} | 🛑
Fanfiction"Mine." Is all Charlie heard, the deep chuckle that followed giving her goosebumps, "All. Mine. Aren't you, doll?" The grin on his face made her gulp. She was. He had her wrapped around his finger. He knew it, too. "Yes", she managed to breathe...
