Chapter Text
Eight-year-old Charlie tried not to giggle as she descended the makeshift rope ladder that hung off her balcony and hovered over the well-kept grass of the palace lawn. Any loud or sudden noise could very well awaken Razzle or Dazzle and that would be counterproductive to what she was trying to achieve. Namely her weekly escape from the palace walls to venture into the city beyond it. As far as her parents knew, she had retreated to her room for her daily afternoon nap, and wouldn't be disturbed at least for a few hours.
There was a large apple tree that was situated near the wall that Charlie had learned was a great means to escaping, namely using one of the thick branches that had grown too close to the barrier to her freedom. She had become quite skilled at climbing that large bit of foliage over the past year that it took her only a minute or two for her to scale now. She kept a rather impressive length of rope hidden within a hole near the top of the tree. She would tie one end to the rather impressive branch before flinging the other end over the wall and descending. The thought that anyone could come by and use her means of escape as a means of entry never crossed her mind. Though, even if someone decided to brave the wall of the palace, they would have the Hell Hounds to deal with so maybe it wasn't that big of a deal anyhow.
Once she was on the other side of the wall, she finally let loose the giggle of excitement that was threatening to claw it's way out of her throat and briskly made her way down to Pentagram City. No matter how many times she did this, it was like the first time. The city was always changing it seemed, so who knows what she would see today.
Only a block or so away, a little deer demon, about the same age as the Princess, was hungrily picking at a dead corpse he'd luckily found. While eating other demons was not his preference, he did what he had to do not to go hungry.
The boy's clothing was tattered and torn, barely fitting anyway, with blood stains some from the current meal others from previous ones. The little clothing he had revealed exactly how malnourished he was, showing off his skinny frame. His red and black hair was ruffled, clearly haven't been combed in a very long time. He smelled, not having bathed in a very long time either.
His ears perked up and he became very alert, hearing a sound and, despite the corpse in front of him, smelling someone else nearby. His face was quite bloody from his meal and his large eyes looked around slowly, trying to find the other demon that was nearby while remaining as still as possible.
Charlie was leisurely making her way down the many streets of Pentagram City. There were some demons who were giving her very curious or odd looks as she passed, she was an eight-year-old wandering around unsupervised after all. Most demons though kept to themselves, seemingly unconcerned with the innocent looking creature that was practically passing under their feet. Honestly, Charlie wasn't phased by either of these reactions. If a demon made eye contact she would merely smile, wave and wish them a good afternoon. These were her people! As their princess, it would be rude for her to not treat them with respect!
Passing by an entryway into a side street, Charlie was momentarily distracted from her journey by the presence of a rather rough looking wild kitten. She cooed at the poor little thing and immediately made her way over to it. Surprisingly, the small animal wasn't scared and allowed Charlie to pick it up and coddle it close to her chest. For Charlie, this wasn't surprising. Her mother had once called her a "pure soul", something that was rare in Hell. Her mother had then proceeded to warn her that such an attribute would lure many close to her, though certain individuals that that crowd would use her innocence and purity and attempt to use that to their advantage. Charlie didn't quite understand what she meant, but she figured that this kitten was one of the individuals who could sense what her mother had been talking about.
She gently ran her fingers through the matted fur of her new companion, smiling and gently letting her sweet voice drift over them both.
"Hello, there little one! How are you today? Are you lost? Did you lose your mommy?" Charlie thought for a moment before coming to a sad realization, "Maybe you don't have a mommy...that's okay though! Maybe I can be your mommy?"
She was completely unaware of the demonic corpse and the child that was currently eating it.
The boy watched her, his eyes following her but otherwise staying very still. She didn't look like a threat. She was well dressed and her hair was clean and she was little like him. She must have someone taking care of her. Some of the children had that; someone to give them food and clothes and bathe them. Someone had taken care of him once, a very long time ago, but he could hardly remember them anymore.
She was probably unaware that some of the cats were mean.
"It might bite you," he warned her, calling out softly. He didn't move away from his food. She seemed unlikely to take it and even if she tried, it wasn't as if he could eat it all anyway.
Charlie glanced over at the sound of a small yet almost commanding sounding voice. A boy, no older than her, was situated a bit further down the street. She couldn't quite make him out, as there were a lot more shadows down toward him, but from what she could make out he was a bit worse for wear. There was also a rather large mass laying next to him. Another demon maybe? Where they both hurt? Maybe just his friend was and he had been waiting for someone to come along and help.
Charlie looked back down at the kitty in her arms, her smile returning as she continued to pet it, "Oh this little thing won't hurt me. They only bite when they feel threatened or scared. Since I'm not going to hurt it, it has no reason to be any of those things!" Charlie turned her attention back to the young boy and his companion, "Are you okay? Your friend looks like he's hurt. Do you need me to go get someone?"
Well that made sense. Maybe the cats knew he was trying to eat them and that's why they were mean. He'd be mean, too, if someone was trying to eat him.
He looked down at the body he'd been holding on to protectively. She must not be able to see he was dead and that he'd been eating him. He was still quite hungry but this little girl intrigued him. He didn't get to talk to many others, most didn't want anything to do with him.
The boy wiped his bloody mouth off with what was left of his sleeve and let the body go. Nobody would grab it while he talked to her, right? He hoped not anyway.
"No, he's not my friend. He's dead," he said simply. He headed towards her, coming more into the light so he could get a better look at her thus giving her a better look at him, too.
"Are you lost?" he asked, tilting his head, one of his little deer ears twitching. "Where's the demon that takes care of you?"
When the young demon came closer and more into the light, Charlie was able to get a better look at him. She tilted her head as she looked him over. He had matted hair that looked like it hadn't seen a good wash in weeks. It was so bad that he had two sections of it sticking straight up in the air! Wait, did one of the twitch? Maybe those were ears then? That or something was living in them.
His clothes also looked like they had seen better days or what was left of what used to be clothing. The majority of his body was still covered but the material was obviously extremely worn and very thin. Even though they were in Hell, the night were still rather cool. The poor boy had to be uncomfortable.
"Oh no! You're hurt!" Charlie quickly grabbed the boy's hand without thinking and tried to tug him onto the main street, "Come on, let's get you some help!"
The kitten that Charlie had dropped unceremoniously acted as if it hadn't just been practically flung to the ground. It trotted over to the two children, standing and watching the scene play out with interest.
"It's- It's not my blood, I'm not hurt," he told her, trying to keep from being dragged into the main street but she was stronger due to his weakness from lack of food.
He glanced back down the alley, really not wanting to give up his meal. As if on cue his stomach rumbled audibly and then he had a thought.
"Do you have any food?" he asked, sniffing around her.
She was well taken care of and sometimes children that were taken care of had snacks with them. Maybe she had some food she could give him. He had a very good sense of smell, he'd know if she was holding out.
Charlie stopped tugging on her new friend when she heard him exclaim that the blood on his body was not his own and that he was not hurt. She turned with a rather curious and confused look on her face. If the blood was not his, then why was he covered in it? Was it the other demons? Had he been trying to help whoever it was and gotten covered in their blood in the process? The young Princess was about to ask when a loud grumble interrupted her.
The blonde demon almost lost it when she heard the young boy's stomach give an audible announcement of its hunger. Granted she knew there was nothing funny about being hungry, she got rather grumpy herself when she got too hungry; her father affectionately called it being hangry.
The Princess smiled at the thought. She silently wondered if she could get her mother to make her those special sandwich crackers when she herself got home.
He was disappointed with her answer. He knew it was true though, he couldn't smell any food on her.
"Oh," he said, the disappointment clear in his radio quality voice. "I don't have those things. A mom. Or a dad. Or a home." His statement didn't sound sad just very matter of fact.
His free hand went up, wanting to touch Charlie's blonde hair. It was so pretty and soft looking. She was so pretty and soft looking. He stopped right before touching it though, not wanting to get it dirty like him.
"You should go home now," he decided. "This is... not a nice place and you look like a nice girl. Nice girls should be in nice places."
Charlie's eyes widened slightly when the little boy told her that he didn't have a mom, a dad or a place to go home to. How could he not have a mom or a dad? Didn't there need to be a mom and a dad for there to be a child? That was what her parents had told her. Her dad had tried to tell her that some big demon bird had brought her to them as a gift, but Charlie had seen right through that. Honestly, a bird bringing her out of the sky as a gift...how silly! If that had been the case then where did the bird get her then? Why couldn't she fly like the bird if she was made by him? Was there a mama bird? Would that make the demon bird her real parents then?
Yeah, she had gotten the truth after those questions had been thrown out.
That still didn't explain why this boy was without a mom or dad though. Maybe he didn't have them because they were killed? That thought alone made her tear up exponentially. She couldn't imagine not having a family to love and care for her. How long had this boy been without his parents? Days? Weeks? Had he just been wandering the streets alone this whole time? Had no one helped him at all?!
The little boy looked alarmed noticing she was tearing up.
"Don't cry! I wasn't mean to you!" the boy defended, taking his hand back from her. He was nice, she shouldn't be crying!
He should just leave her. Run away, find something to eat, he was so hungry and she didn't have any food. But a part of him was worried about her. He hadn't been lying when he said this was a bad place and she shouldn't be here. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her.
And so he stayed. For now.
Charlie quickly rubbed at her face, doing her best to rid herself of the tears that had formed. No, crying wouldn't do this boy any good! She had to do something that would, something productive! Glancing around, Charlie noticed a few eating establishments nearby. She could always go and see if the people that worked there would give her something, but she didn't have any money on her. She also wouldn't go in and demand that they give her something just because she was the Princess. Such a thing wasn't right. Her people worked hard for a living and she should support them no matter what! Also, one meal wouldn't fix anything. What about tomorrow? Or the next day?
Swiveling her head around again, Charlie noticed the kitten that was sitting by her feet still. It meowed affectionately at her and Charlie liked to think it was also smiling. She would most definitely be taking this little thing home with her. Hopefully, her mommy would let her keep it. If she said no, she could always go to her dad and beg him. That usually seemed to work.
Wait.
It was like a lightbulb lit up over Charlie's head. That was it! That was the solution to this boy's problems! Oh, it was so easy! Why didn't she think of it sooner? Bending down, Charlie scooped up the kitten into her arms before reaching out and grasping one of the boy's hands once again. She then began leading him back down the streets as one would who was on a mission to get somewhere...and Charlie was most certainly on a mission.
The little boy looked down as she grabbed his hand again and began leading him off without a word. He had to wonder where she was taking him. But he didn't ask, since the little girl seemed not to want to talk much suddenly. And that was fine, he was pretty used to not talking.
So he let her lead him around and he looked at their surroundings, trying to silently figure out where they were going and to make sure there weren't any mean demons around that were going to hurt them. His ears would twitch occasionally, being very alert to sounds right now since he was watching their surroundings for them.
Considering the brisk pace Charlie was having them walk at, both her and the younger boy covered the distance back to the palace much faster than Charlie had done when she left. Standing at the base of the cobblestone wall, Charlie looked up and contemplated what her next move should be. The end goal was to get herself and her two new friends into her bedroom, however, there were a few barricades that needed to be traversed before they could get there.
Nodding to herself, Charlie turned around, releasing the hand of the boy she had been dragging along behind her. She then securely tucked the baby kitten within the collar of her dress, hoping against all that it wouldn't decide to try and scamper away or be startled by her father's Hell Hounds. Thankfully, the little ball of fluff seemed quite content to curl itself up against her warmth and seemingly fell asleep. Charlie then brought her attention to her other friend and told him to wait there before skillfully climbing up the makeshift rope "ladder" she left hanging.
Sitting astride the tree within the boundaries of the palace grounds, Charlie reached up and picked a delicious apple from one of the nearby branches. Using all of her strength, she chucked the apple across the palace grounds, in the opposite direction of her bedroom balcony, creating an audible collision noise that alerted the Hounds in that direction. Once the area was clear, Charlie called out for her friend to quickly follow as she knew they didn't have much time before the Hounds would be back patrolling.
When they found themselves at the palace wall, the boy looked up at it. There should certainly be food in there! It was well guarded on the outside though. The girl must know a good way inside. He gave her a nod when she told him to wait there.
He looked around, noticing this part of the wall didn't seem well guarded at the moment. His ears twitched, hearing the sound of something smashing into something else over the side of the wall, drawing his attention back to the wall where the girl had disappeared.
When she called out, he quickly made his way up the ladder and joined her on the apple tree. His eyes went wide; there were so many apples! He immediately reached out to pick the nearest one.
Considering the brisk pace Charlie was having them walk at, both her and the younger boy covered the distance back to the palace much faster than Charlie had done when she left. Standing at the base of the cobblestone wall, Charlie looked up and contemplated what her next move should be. The end goal was to get herself and her two new friends into her bedroom, however, there were a few barricades that needed to be traversed before they could get there.
Nodding to herself, Charlie turned around, releasing the hand of the boy she had been dragging along behind her. She then securely tucked the baby kitten within the collar of her dress, hoping against all that it wouldn't decide to try and scamper away or be startled by her father's Hell Hounds. Thankfully, the little ball of fluff seemed quite content to curl itself up against her warmth and seemingly fell asleep. Charlie then brought her attention to her other friend and told him to wait there before skillfully climbing up the makeshift rope "ladder" she left hanging.
Sitting astride the tree within the boundaries of the palace grounds, Charlie reached up and picked a delicious apple from one of the nearby branches. Using all of her strength, she chucked the apple across the palace grounds, in the opposite direction of her bedroom balcony, creating an audible collision noise that alerted the Hounds in that direction. Once the area was clear, Charlie called out for her friend to quickly follow as she knew they didn't have much time before the Hounds would be back patrolling.
When they found themselves at the palace wall, the boy looked up at it. There should certainly be food in there! It was well guarded on the outside though. The girl must know a good way inside. He gave her a nod when she told him to wait there.
He looked around, noticing this part of the wall didn't seem well guarded at the moment. His ears twitched, hearing the sound of something smashing into something else over the side of the wall, drawing his attention back to the wall where the girl had disappeared.
When she called out, he quickly made his way up the ladder and joined her on the apple tree. His eyes went wide; there were so many apples! He immediately reached out to pick the nearest one.
Once the smaller boy was situated with her on the thickest branch of the tree, Charlie quickly gathered her makeshift rope ladder, before stashing it back within the naturally hollowed out portion. It was moments like this that nature truly astounded Charlie. It was almost as if the powers that made up her families garden wanted her to venture out and learn everything there was to know about her kingdom, despite what her parents deemed was appropriate. Maybe she was even supposed to find and bring this mysterious boy home with her! Maybe something magical and fantastic would soon happen, like in one of those novels that her mother would sometimes read to her!
Preparing to maneuver her way down the trunk of the tree, Charlie noticed the hunger in the boy's eyes and the way he was reaching out for one of the apples. Before he could snatch one however, Charlie picked one herself before thrusting it into the boy's mouth. She then proceeded to loudly whisper so as to not alert her father's hounds.
"You'll need your hands to climb down and then to climb up into my bedroom. Don't worry though, you can properly eat it once we get inside. I'll even get you something better once we get to safety, come on!"
With that, Charlie slithered down the trunk and landed in the soft grass at the base, hopping from one foot to the other as she slowly backpedaled toward the palace, arms waving wildly for her friend to hurry up.