King of Hearts

Chapter One: The Cat, The Moth, The Snake

Cover art, idea, and $request$ by Precise_Space_Ace

Find more of their art at @precisespace on Tumblr

Written by ViktheViking

For details on how you could request a story, click the link in my Tumblr bio @viktheviking1

Chapter 1: The Cat, The Moth, The Snake

Trigger Warning: Consensual Violence . . .? But not sexual or BDSM

Spoiler warning: Major spoilers for Hazbin Hotel Season 1 Finale episode

Husk had made himself a promise the night before the battle against the exorcists. He had been having drinks with Angel Dust at his bar.

"Charlie said we should live however we want tonight, so pour me another drink!" Angel had said with a wide smile on his face.

It was nice to see him so relaxed for once, but it made him think about what awaited Angel if he survived this. Just more cocksucking for that sick bastard Valentino. And that was if he survived. There was every chance that he would die tomorrow, still under that bastard's thumb; having his last taste of freedom long since left his mouth. He couldn't stand it. There was no hope left for him, but Angel should have his freedom. And so he swore that if neither of them died by an exorcist's blade the next day, he would find a way to get Angel out of that damn contract. And he had finally worked out a way.

The chances of success were admittedly slim, but Husk didn't have much to lose. So he took a risk. It was surprisingly easy to sneak away from the hotel. He was sure Alastor would stop him before he had made it out the door, but he didn't notice. That or he had let him walk out, but fat chance of that ever happening.

At any rate he had made it to the vees tower with no problems. Inside was one giant retail store. A map showed at least 20 floors of pure capitalism. It was hard not to walk into a sign, clothing rack, or someone wearing thick makeup spraying perfume in people's faces. He made it to a door in the back that blended almost seamlessly into the wall.

There were some perks to having once been an overlord. It was maybe 3 months after the Vees first started attending the meetings that he had lost all his damned power. But he still remembered using this door way back when Valentino and Vox had invited a few of them up for drinks. It was before Velvette joined their team and he actually had made a bet with Zeezi that they wouldn't last a year without getting into trouble they couldn't handle. The irony that they would end up outlasting him was palpable.

He noticed the security camera pinging on the moment he entered the elevator, but hopefully he wouldn't be in there long enough for that Vox fella to notice. He hit the big V button and felt the metal box be lifted fast.

The doors opened to a short hallway leading to big double doors. Two girls who wore moth antennae headbands stood outside the door. They seemed surprised to see him, as they should. Before they could say anything, he said, "Here to talk to Val." and strode right to the door.

They put their hands in front of the handles. Husk looked up at them, but they stood there silently, looking to each other, conflicted.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, but still they remained silent.

"If you're not allowed to talk, it's okay, I won't rat on ya. Just tell me why you won't let me in and we can maybe come to an understanding." Husk offered.

They looked at each other, nodded, and looked back at him. To his horror, Husk watched as they opened their mouths to show a clean cut numb where their tongues were supposed to be.