ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ᴏꜰ ɪɴᴋ || ʜᴀᴢʙɪɴ ʜᴏᴛᴇʟ

SO, IT'S A DEAL THEN?

Alastor's house wasn't exactly what Mel had been expecting.

In fact, his house was very confusing.

Half of it was what Mel had imagined him having, a very fancy, townhouse-like space with expensive furniture, tasteful wallpaper, and beautifully polished wooden floors. Mel could imagine the richest people sitting around in the plush, blood-red chairs and drinking brandy while chatting about political views and how the stock market was fairing.

The other half of the room was drastically different.

It was a dark swamp filled with tall, mossy trees stretching up out of murky water, swaying cattails, and marshy ground.

Mel thought she could even see the light glow of fireflies in the distance, which made her wonder how large the swamp was? How did he even fit a swamp like this into his house? Why would he even want a swamp in his house?

Though she did have to admit that it was pretty, with the moss hanging down from the tall tree limbs and the distant glow of fireflies, and although she'd heard tales about the retched rotten smell that came from swamps, this swamp smelt terrific, like freshly cut wood and grass, with a bit of saltiness and a flowery scent that Mel just couldn't recognize. . . it was honestly almost. . . romantic?

But Mel quickly shook that thought out of her mind.

Nope, no, just no.

As handsome, charming, and kind as this man – uh, demon, seemed to be, there was still something. . . off about him.

Maybe it was the cannibalism. . .

But she did appreciate him saving her and letting her have a quiet, private place to clean herself up.

But the Radio Demon hadn't been lying about the red because as soon as she and her clothes were clean and fresh from all the blood and gore, he had snapped his clawed fingers, and suddenly, she was dressed in a brand-new outfit.

It wasn't unlike her old outfit, with a black tailcoat, a short black skirt, black leggings, and white gloves. But her vest and bowtie were now a bright shade of blood red.

Very much the same shade of red that Alastor wore.

Mel wasn't sure how to feel about him dressing her up to match him, especially without her permission.

But she was happy about new, clean, fresh clothes, and she felt a bit better now that she was free of filth.

She was even happier with the smell of the Jambalaya he had presented to her.

She'd never had Jambalaya before, but it smelled warm and spicy, and it was just heaven.

Normally, Mel didn't like eating in front of other people. Having someone watch her while she was trying to enjoy a meal wasn't great, especially since she was self-conscious about the way she ate.