My Little Devil Darling

The Animator's Daughter

"Come on Charlotte, it's time to go," Henry called up the stairs to his daughter.

Charlotte jumped up from her bedroom carpet and quickly gathered all her art supplies; shoving them into her bag. She was too into her drawings that she had completely lost track of time; hearing the sound of her father's voice made her aware. She put on her bag and rushed down the stairs as fast as she could and stood in front of Henry.

"I appreciate your arrival, Miss. Get your coat and shoes on, please; I'll be waiting for you in the car."

Charlotte nods and he leaves, her doing what she was told, then running out to the small, grey car. She hopped in and buckled herself in, Henry backing out of the driveway and driving off to work.

The car pulled into the parking lot and Henry found an empty spot to park; that ended up being right near the entrance of the building. Henry took the key out of the ignition and he opened the car door and got out, Charlotte following behind him to the tall, wooden door. He pulled it open and gestured his daughter to go in first. She gladly did and skipped inside, immediately going over to her father's work desk. She hung her bag on a smaller desk that was made just for her. When she turned back to where her father was, she found him standing and talking with his friend. Charlotte walked over to them and stood beside Henry.

"Hi Grandpa Joey," she said, smiling and hugging him.

Joey hugged back and she left to go back to her desk to draw.

"What are we working on today?" Henry asked Joey.

"I'm hoping on getting more of the 'Bendy and Friends' episode done today," he replied, "Sammy will be here soon and he'll start some more compositions for the band. Other than that it's about the same. Hopefully, I'll get the Ink Machine working by Wednesday at the most, that'll make things a lot easier."

Henry nervously rubbed the back of his neck and took a glance at his daughter, who was colouring one of her pictures.

"It won't be dangerous, will it?" The animator asked, looking back to his friend.

Joey put a hand on his shoulder, looking straight into his eyes.

"I know you're worried; having Linda pass away was a very traumatic experience for her. Charlotte being a part of the studio's family has been a delight. Everyone here loves her and she even calls us her family; she's happy here, especially having you next to her. You are safe, Charlotte is safe; everything will be okay. Promise."

The reassurance made Henry feel a lot better and he sighed, nodding.

"You're right," he said, smiling weakly, "She's lovely and I'm glad I have her. I'll do anything to keep her safe and happy. Well, I guess I better get to work; good luck with the machine Joey."

Joey nodded and thanked Henry, both men going their separate ways.

It was a few hours into the workday and Charlotte was spending it now in the music room with the music director. They were sitting together on the bench at the piano and she was watching him play a new song he wrote. Charlotte was very fascinated by the piano; she wanted to learn to play it one day.

"What's the song called, Uncle Sammy?" she asked when he finished playing.

Sammy picked up the note-covered music sheets and stared at them with a strange look.

"This doesn't have a name yet," he admitted, "To be honest, I don't think it needs one right now. This is just a draft; I'm not sure if I'll end up keeping it."

The music director put the sheets back where they were and Charlotte attempted to play one of the parts. Although, since she was not too familiar with the notes and keys, most of the chords she played were wrong. The man laughed at her failed attempt and moved in to help her. He grabs Charlotte's hand, which was much larger in comparison to her's, and positions each finger needed to the right keys and plays the first chord.

"It takes practice," he told her, "If you practice and put all your heart into it, you'll be good at the piano. Then you can play all kinds of songs."

The girl nods and moved her fingers to the same keys as before; playing the chord again.

It was nearing the end of the workday and Henry had been working hard with the frames for the new episode. From all the time spent drawing the little devil, he has grown to like him, putting his heart into the work and enjoying every bit of it. He looked over to his daughter to see her drawing in her sketchbook. Charlotte loved the cute devil as well; watching her first episode of the show made her instantly fall in love. She loved his design and his tricky ways, she was even drawing him right now. Henry put his inked frames away and packed everything in his satchel. Quietly, he walked over to Charlotte and peeked over her shoulder to see what she was making. He moved when he noticed her turn around. Charlotte showed her father the drawing she was working on and smiled.

"Do you like it?" she asked.

Charlotte had drawn her and the devil darling hugging while standing in what looked like an area in the animation studio.

"It's cute, I like it," the animator admitted.

His daughter closed her sketchbook and placed it on her desk.

"I bet he likes hugs," she said, "If I could, I would give him all the hugs."

Henry chuckled, "I'm sure you two would get into a lot of mischief, as well. Bendy has a very childish nature; I don't think Joey wants two children running around the studio causing trouble."

That's not true," Charlotte pouted, "Grandpa Joey loves me."

"Everybody here does, trust me. If Bendy were real he would be your friend, along with Boris, of course."

Charlotte and her father gathered all their things and said their goodbye's to all the staff members, then walked out the studio door to go home.

By the time the car pulled up to the white-panelled house, it was pitch-black; the shine from the lamp posts and headlights making the only light. Looking up at the dark sky when she got out, Charlotte was reminded of a pool of ink, only it was floating. She and her father walked into the house together and Henry instantly crashed onto the couch in exhaustion. Charlotte giggled at him, then went upstairs to her room. She hung her bag on her desk chair and went to her flower-covered dresser to pick out some pyjamas to wear tonight. Henry, on the other hand, was already passed out on the couch and when his daughter found him, she softly woke him. Still sleepy, he followed Charlotte to her room and tucked her into bed, kissing her forehead and saying 'goodnight'. Charlotte wished him goodnight as well and watched as her father turned off the light and closed the bedroom door. Henry ended up laying in bed, awake, thinking about his late wife and worrying a little for Charlotte.

He will keep her safe... no matter what happens.