Dominic Children (a charlastor au)

a strange new friend (part one)

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?"