I stared at the damages that the library endured with an obvious frown. This would take forever to fix whether I had help or not. I glanced at my reflection from the shattered window on the ground. My eyes were back to their usual hue of light blue. An obvious sign that my contract with Stolas was voided. I only assumed that any other contracts people made with me had also been torn up with my initial death. I growled in irritation. That took a century to accrue!
"What bothers you mi amor?" Carmilla murmured softly toward me.
"I am so much weaker now," I grumbled. "It will take forever to regain if I decide to do so. The library may be in even more danger now because my magic is practically powerless!"
"It doesn't have to be." The amused tone I knew for centuries took me by surprise. I turned back to Stolas. His beak turned up in a grin.
"What are you doing here?"
"Watching your contract try to disintegrate in my hands worried me. When I got here, God was holding your dead corpse. I should be asking you how you swindled your way back to the land of the undead." His feathery hand fell on my shoulder. Fondness cloaked his gaze. "I am so glad to see you still standing."
"You are not mad that my contract has been voided?"
"Who am I going to be mad at other than that moronic entity that killed you." Stolas shrugged my question off like it was nothing. "If anything, I would like to offer you a similar contract." With a snap of my finger, a new piece of parchment unrolled before my eyes. I slowly grabbed the contract and read it over.
"Astra, you don't have to do this. You don't need even a quarter of the power you used to have to rule. We could think of a different idea that allows you to keep your soul," Carmilla added as her hand fell to the one that held the paper. A small smile crossed my face as I stared at her.
"I appreciate you, my love," I whispered softly to her. "But this contract allows my soul to be intact."
"It's not?" Carmilla blinked her confusion.
"No," Stolas agreed. "Instead of her soul, Astra will be by my side by pure loyalty. As long as we are both benefitting from helping each other, Astra can keep the book of secrets and use the powers that I bestowed upon her initially. If she were to ever go to heaven, or if I have no use for her, the contract is voided." I could barely believe my ears.
"And it is a contract that I will gladly agree to Stolas," I stated boldly. Stolas encompassed my hand in his. Bright blue chains wrapped around our hands and sealed the deal. A brilliant grin cracked across my face. "It is always a pleasure doing business with you, Stolas." The owl nodded. "Did you still need me to take care of Valentino?"
"That will not be necessary," he said happily. "My Blitzy took care of it! After you weakened him, he was like my little imps punching bag! He enjoys this much more than what I had originally intended." He giggled at a memory only he knew. "I have nothing you need to do for me at the moment. Enjoy the book, Astra. I hope you will be able to bring the library up and running within the week. I want to enjoy a book sometime soon with Octavia! We have been trying to do more bonding time since I divorced that soul-sucking bitch."
"Glad to see things have worked out," I exclaimed. "I guess I will be seeing you soon, Stolas."
"Stay alive, Astra," Stolas responded with. "I would hate to worry so much over a human soul." With that, Stolas walked through his carefully curated portal. Carmilla and I were left to our own devices. I cracked my fingers and glanced around at all the angel carcasses that littered on the meadow.
"Well, this won't do," I tsked. "I guess we start with the corpses?"
"Oh, allow me!" Rosie chimed as she waved her way over. Velvet twirled by the other's side in glee. "I wanted to bring home some leftovers! Give some to the butcher so he can sell it to my people. I know they are going to be craving this for weeks to come." A smirk mirrored on Carmilla's and I's face.
"By all means," I offered. "Have what you would like. If anything, please discard the scraps you do not want."
"Oh, my stars, Astra! You really know how to make a woman happy!" Rosie sang much to Velvet's jealousy.
"I'll say," Carmilla murmured as she pecked my cheek. I pulled my lover along while the other two started to dismember carcasses. The brand-new skylight an angel made really brightened the place up as we stepped through the front door. A delightful hum escaped me. I think I would make good use of that. I hoped that it did not hurt the greenhouse upstairs though.
"So," I hummed as Carmilla looked at the damage alongside me. "The angel that jumped, huh? Has a nice ring to it? Does it have an equally entertaining story?" Carmilla's shoulders tensed at the questions I wanted to ask. I waited patiently and kept a few feet away from her. I figured the more space, the better. Instead, I paid attention to the books that huddled around the rafters. Their wings were tucked away and they trembled slightly.
"My daughters and I died around the same time," Carmilla's voice trembled with emotion. "I used to be a famous ballerina in life. I loved to dance. Loved to be on stage with the music and the beautiful masterpieces people made for the performances. Sadly, I was married to a drunken tonto. That bastardo owed the mafia so much money. So much more than I could pay for his mistakes.
In the end, I refused to pay for anymore of his mistakes."
A bitter chuckle escaped her lips.
"I guess that was my fatal mistake.
I remember the night as clear as if it just happened. I was going to the dressing room after one of my better performances. My daughters were there because they enjoyed coming and watching from the sidelines. Well, my husband owed to a very powerful mafia boss of the time. One that had drugged me and my children and tied us to props right before setting the building on fire. I do not know why my daughters had been sent to hell. To be honest, I blamed my idioto husband. I stool at heaven's pearly gates and waited for them. And waited, waited, waited. Reality hit me at some point that they were not coming up, so I chose to jump down. This world was not heaven without them. So, I jumped. I chose to go down there and protect my daughters.
Lucifer found me first. He was so shocked at a fallen angel that willingly chose this fate. He helped me find my daughters. Taught me how to make weapons out of angelic steel to sell to the local denizens. He helped me as much as he could, and I owe him everything for that. But, yes, I suppose that would be what angels would call me."
I stared at Carmilla for a long moment. She seemed at peace as she spoke. If she regretted any of it, it did not show on her face. As I walked over toward Carmilla, I started to hear something akin to music in my ears.
"He did it for us. The ultimate sacrifice."
I placed a hand gently on Carmilla's shoulder. The fallen angel turned to me. Tears brimmed her crimson eyes.
"He gave me his trust and look how he paid the price."
I pulled her into my arms and held her as tight as I could.
"This bloodshed could have been avoided if I convinced Heaven to work together."
We stood in the center of a demolished library together. Her tears slowly fell onto my shoulder as we stood there for a long moment.
"I took a hotel and I destroyed it."
I pulled away just enough to hold Carmilla's face. I used my thumb and wiped away each bulb of water that fell.
"I know I could have done better. Better than letting you down."
"Carmilla," I muttered quietly as I pressed our foreheads together. "I promise you, for as long as any breath goes through my soul, I will do everything in my power to treat you like the queen you should have always been treated. Treat the girls like they are my own. And if I ever find that bastard down here, I will make sure that even hell cannot save him from the wrath I feel by being allowed in your presence. You are my queen. One that I would bow to if only you asked." I slowly fell to a knee. "And one that I would stare at with blissful adoration for centuries to come." I placed a gentle kiss against her hand. "For as long as you want me." A musical laughter fell from her lips as the tears dried.
"Eternity is a long time querida," Carmilla replied. She slowly fell to her knees and held my face in her palm. "Are you sure you are ready for that?"
"I have never been more ready." I had never said words so true.
***************************************
The library took weeks to reconstruct but it was worth the hard work. Carmilla and the girls moved in permanently. The girls had already moved half of their lives into their rooms before we told them that we decided to make our relationship more permanent. In fact, they expected us to move in together a lot sooner than we did.
The girls took their cats on their morning walks while Carmilla and I entertained the princess of hell in our renovated study. I watched as she brought out a blueprint plan of what exactly she wanted. Excitement lit up her face as she spoke a mile a minute. It was hard to understand but I think I got the basics. Anytime I looked at Carmilla, the ballerina looked a mixture of bored and irritated that I was entertaining this so early in the morning. I brought the just brewed coffee up to my lips to suppress the grin that threatened to show on my lips.
"Charlie, please slow down. I can only process so much so early in the morning. Where is your girlfriend by the way? She is usually glued to your side," I said to sidetrack her thoughts. Charlie halted her next sentence and grinned at me.
"Vaggie is back at the hotel checking in new residents!"
"Wonderful to hear," I added.
"Yes! And in our blueprints, we want to add a little library," Charlie recommended. That got Carmilla and I's attention. I glanced down at the blueprint. It would be right next to the bar. "I can never fully describe how grateful I am that you fought for the ideas of my hotel. You have done so much and always have been. I would love to make you a part of this. And...we always need literature! To be able to read about different philosophies, about addiction, and you know...maybe even some books for entertainment."
"I would love to be a part of your idea," I agreed. "I could even monitor it part time."
"Exactly! Yes! It would be perfect!" Charlie squealed.
"I am glad to be of service to hell's princess," I said as I gently ushered her to the door. "I will talk this over more with Carmilla and stop by later with some materials and to see the size of the location." Charlie nodded before she turned and hugged me.
"Thank you so much, Astra. I really owe you one."
"You owe me nothing," I assured. "As always, I'm glad that I can help." Once the door closed behind Charlie, I released a breath I had no idea I held. Carmilla grabbed my arm and twirled me into her arms. Her head nuzzled into my neck as she released a loud sigh.
"I thought I would never get my morning cuddles by how chatty she was," Carmilla whined softly against the crook of my next. A small laugh fell from my lips as I kissed her forehead.
"Got to love the enthusiasm," I chuckled.
"Whatever," she grumbled.
"Oh, my darling heart," I kissed her forehead. "I love your enthusiasm as well."
"I will be there for you whenever you want me to be. I never said that I would be enthusiastic to waking up to that instead of morning coffee and your pancakes."
"You are spoiled," I scoffed playfully.
"And in love with how you spoil me," she added.
Her lips captured mine in a kiss.
I was in a fantasy. A happily ever after that I never thought could have been for me. As I held her tighter, I knew she was where I wanted to be. Right by her side. Holding her tight. Kissing her every waking moment.
Forever and a day.
Fini
Author's Note: Thank you all so much for reading! I am so happy that I was able to create an interesting story for everyone to read! If you would like to see any of my original romance stories, they will be posted very soon!
Again, thank you so much! I hope that you all enjoy these stories again and again.