The Radio Demon With A Heart of Gold

Chapter 9: I Object!

"Ugh, this fabric is very uncomfortable! I'm glad I won't have to wear this for long," Charlie whined as she spun around and examined her dress in the mirror. The white clashed with her skin and it upset her. She kept trying to adjust the dress but it would always itch against her skin. After almost an hour of struggle, she gave up.

"How did my mother manage to walk down an aisle wearing this," she thought out loud. This had been her mother's wedding dress, and Lilith had insisted that she wear it. Charlie sighed. "I guess beauty is pain," she laughed.

Suddenly, the door to her room opened. Alastor walked in. His face was full of resentment, but his eyes sparkled. "That dress is beautiful but it clashes with your skin. I think they were trying to be racist," he explained. Charlie laughed. "Don't worry. As soon as the groom is dead, we run to the end of hell where no one will find us. And I'll be able to take this off," Charlie added.

Charlie heard the bells ringing in the distance. She couldn't help but work up a sweat. What if this plan didn't work? What if she wasn't strong enough? 

She felt a peck on her cheek. Alastor smiled as if he read her thoughts. "You will be great," he whispered in encouragement. Charlie smiled crookedly and nodded. She finished adjusting the dress to her slight comfort. Then she stepped out to the hotel lobby, which was empty. Every demon wanted to be at her 'wedding' to witness the marriage of hell's heir to the throne.

Husk and Angel Dust eyed the dress in suspicion. "Were they trying to be racist? You can't even see where you end and the dress begins," Angel Dust said. Charlie laughed. Why had everyone said that so far? She noticed that one person was missing. And that was Vaggie. After what had happened with Alastor, Charlie had seen no sign of her friend. 

"That hot-headed chic said she would show up for the wedding," Husk muttered. Charlie smiled. At least she would be there. Although, Charlie honestly didn't want to speak with her anyway. She took a quick look at Alastor's arm as the thought crossed her mind. His arm was bent slightly towards the right, unnatural in any being's bone. 

Suddenly, a knock came to the door. Angel Dust sashayed over and opened the door. There, Lilith stood at the doorway with a wavy black gown. Her eyeshadow was a blood-red as well as her lipstick. She wore a black barrette to pull her hair up in a bun with flyaways on the sides of her head. Her eyes twinkled as she eyed her daughter standing in the room.

"Charlie, darling! You look absolutely stunning! Your groom will be completely blown away," Lilith rambled. Charlie laughed to herself. "Yeah, blown away by his expensive hair gel," she whispered sarcastically to herself. Just the thought of that bastard was making her angry. But she wouldn't want to transform in front of her mother. Especially today.

Lilith eyed Alastor suspiciously. "I hope you didn't touch this dress, Radio Demon. I would hate for my dress to be stained with the blood that forever stains your hands," Lilith said to him, though her eyes never looked away from the dress. She had Charlie turn around so she could fix the sash. Alastor rolled his eyes but put a gentleman smile on his face.

"Not one finger was laid on the dress, your majesty," Alastor assured her. Lilith didn't seem at all amused but she accepted his statement. She looked back to her daughter and took her hands in a tight grip. "Smile," she commanded, noticing Charlie's frown. Immediately, Charlie put on the fakest, saddest, smile ever. It hurt Alastor to see it. 

Lilith beamed in approval. "Come along, my daughter. The altar awaits," she said, dragging Charlie along with her. Lilith shut the door without a word to the witnesses in the room. Alastor's smile left his face as soon as the queen walked out. Angel Dust and Husk just stared at each other, trying to determine what they had seen.

"Come on, gentleman. We have a wedding to crash," Alastor said, walking towards the door and waiting for the other two to follow him.

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Charlie stared through the glass doors leading down the aisle. Helljem stood there, propping his hair up every few seconds. He kept pulling out a small mirror and making sure his smile was shiny and perfect. Charlie kept searching the audience, searching for Husk or Angel Dust. They were supposed to signal that Alastor was in place. Where were they?

"C-Charlie," a familiar voice said from behind her. She turned quickly. It was Vaggie! She looked tired and most of all, upset. There were dark circles under her eyes, but her black eyeshadow helped hide it. She had a black mermaid-cut dress on. Her hair was down as usual, but there was a long braid flowing against the rest of her hair. 

"I know I'm probably the last person you want to see but I wanted to help you," she said quickly. Charlie stared at her, wondering if it was a joke. She realized it wasn't.

"How," she asked shortly after a long silence.

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Alastor quickly teleported into the back of the altar. Helljem's dressing room. He stared through the window to see Angel and Husk in position. He looked to the other side of the altar. Charlie was on the other side of that door across the room. He wanted to go over there so bad and wish her good luck. But he knew he needed to stay. There was plenty more time for that later.

Suddenly, the bells rang louder than ever and the doors opened. Charlie, a fake smile and all, began walking down the red carpet with her father in tow. It took almost a minute for her to get to the altar. When she did, Helljem had a look of victory on his face. Charlie continued to smile, but Alastor could almost see how quickly her eyes glossed over.

Before the man between them began his speech, Charlie began to look dead. And if she didn't look dead, she looked almost like a zombie. The only movement she made was to look at the man every now and then. What is she doing? Alastor walked closer to the window to get a closer look. Charlie's eyes were gray and empty, almost like she was...hypnotized!?

Immediately, he knew what was happening. Helljem was hypnotizing her! That's why she wasn't fighting back. He knew he had to stop this, but how could he? If he did, he would be caught and Charlie would be in trouble. He was beginning to lose hope until..."Any objections against this marriage," the man asked.

Suddenly, three people rose from their seats in the audience. A lot of gasping followed. Angel Dust, Husk...

And Vaggie.

"I object!," they all said at once.