Chương 53: Chapter 29 The pizza was delicious

Charlie was excited.

It seemed to be just another "official-unofficial" meeting of two friendly families at Christmas, held annually by each of them in one form or another. Either her family invites the Von Eldritch's over, or they invite theirs, but somehow it all comes with almost the same elements.

The same meetings, the same... "conversations" between her dad and Uncle Frederick, with his jokes about the stupidity of people that he himself seems to be bored with, but her dad somehow keeps insisting....

Her mom, as usual, decided to dress them up in the most "flamboyant" outfits just for the sake of a simple family party, where everyone knows each other for more than a century, but still...!

Charlie exhaled slowly, fixing the golden strands that had fallen into her face.

Her mother stood beside her, and in her "semi-official-semi-parental" way, looked at every little thing about her, once or twice adjusting the makeup that had come with her dress by her father's will, and changing her hair a little. It was all quick, precise, and virtually invisible, in keeping with the tone of... This family meeting, where there shouldn't be any of the officialism she was so tired of.

Her mother was to her right, her father a little farther away, which was a little comical, because Charlie was already a few centimeters taller than her father, which might have made them look a little comical, especially if you forgot her father's power and influence. Her mother was not a shy person, but even she recognized her husband's superiority in the field of power.

To her left, half a step behind her, stood Zephyr, her best friend, the Sinner, who, to her and her mother's surprise, was strangely welcomed by the soul that hated and despised Sinners more than anyone else in the Universe.

Charlie and her mother were justifiably worried, fearing for her father's reaction to Zephyr's arrival, for Charlie had planned to invite him to Christmas, seeing how lonely he was in his mansion, but what was her and her mother's surprise when Lucifer himself insisted on Zephyr's presence.

Lilith had feared to the very end Lucifer's reaction, that it would all be a big joke. Her mother had even prepared something in case their father decided to do something about Sinner "deciding to do something to her" again. Charlie didn't know why her MOTHER was so protective of Zephyr from her father, after all she herself had dealt with a couple of souls who had decided to write to her somehow, sending her their dickheads....

As her mom used to say - "she's just glad her daughter finally found a good soul that will support her by being a good friend". That had been enough for Charlie then, but now she was overcome with some doubts.

They had been quieted when her father, in his characteristic manner, had declared Zephyr 'his' and slightly elevated at this meeting, simply by his attitude and behavior marking new boundaries for her friend.

And now, when it was almost seven o'clock in the evening before Von Eldritch arrived, the entire Morningstar family and one Sinner-her best friend-were standing in a spacious room that had been slightly "edited" by her father to create a more cozy atmosphere.

There were several soft gray carpets, one of which the family and Sinner stood on, and one of two gray sofas, with soft padding and cushions that felt nice to the touch.

A spacious room, with a fireplace in the center, above which was a picture of one of the landscapes of her father's garden, illuminating the colorful garlands she and Zephyr had hung earlier, with the help of the latter's magic.

The arched shape of the high ceiling, adorned with a large stained glass window in the shape of an apple, presented as an opening flower, letting in the last rays of daylight into the red sunset of evening.

Charlie's eyes raced around the dark brown room, hastily double-checking what he and Zephyr had done.

"Garlands this way, that way, and here... Christmas tree, decorated or 'dressed up'? I've never understood the difference," Charlie shook her head sharply, shedding the unnecessary thoughts, immediately feeling her mother's palm. Charlie only smiled faintly, nodding, receiving a nod in return.

In front of the fireplace was a small wooden table with gifts for both guests and return guests, traditionally given at these gatherings. A gift from the head of the house, from the wife, from the de-.

"I FORGOT IT!", Charlie thought panic-strickenly, trying to keep her face straight, not letting her emotions out.

Charlie... Charlie had simply forgotten to prepare her gift for the Eldritches, forgotten... didn't even remember, completely caught up in her and Zephyr's 'gorging' when she could finally realize any of the things she had thought of! Now, she had to think up, make, and package in a couple minutes what should have been done a month before this moment!

Charlie's breathing quickened and her thoughts began frantically running through her options.

"It's okay, Princess, it's nothing the Eldritchs won't do, I'll do my best." - Her father smiled reassuringly, as he thought, receiving confirmation from her mother, who nodded in agreement.

"But that's not what I mean...!" - another thought born of stress and nervousness.

She needed to somehow stealthily create something out of nothing, make a miracle and realize...

"Zephyr!" - a thought that brought calm and confidence. She knew her friend definitely had a plan for this, for she...

"Did I mention that earlier...?" - The early rise was offset by the unpleasant fact. Charlie couldn't remember what she'd said earlier. She'd said so much, emphasized so many things, that she'd forgotten about....

A bell rang outside the door, softly announcing the arrival of the guests who would be entering the room any minute now.

"FUCK!", Charlie was no longer sure that her dad and mom couldn't hear the pounding of her heart, which seemed like it should have sounded no worse than gunshots in the silence of the forest. All Charlie could do was try to make some sign to Zephyr, under the gaze of her mother, who was so reluctant for her to follow her father's example....

For now, Charlie wanted to spoil the encounter just so she wouldn't have to experience...

"Frederick!" - Her father opened his arms, greeting his longtime friend with a wide smile.

"Lord Lucifer." - Uncle Fred nodded, his smile revealing sharp green fangs that practically glinted in time with his green eyes.

Dark gray skin, resembling more of an octopus skin, diluted by dark spots and green sharp fangs emerging from his body, seen more as a piece of clothing than demonic in nature.

Strange little black tendrils, which Uncle Fred did not like to tell us about, but white hair-tentacles, strangely pulsing and wriggling, covered by a cylinder with green eyes and teeth that seemed to have a mind of its own. A black surtoute and apron tied over a green shirt was complemented by a dark cane coiled with white tentacle-lines, with a sphere at the top.

The head of the Eldritch family, the demon octopus, the Terror of the Abyss, Frederick Von Eldritch stood proudly before the Devil, resting his left hand on the cane, one arm slung behind his back, smiling lightly at his longtime acquaintance.

"My dear Old Friend, what brings you here, at this late hour?" - Lucifer exclaimed, shaking the outstretched hand firmly. - "Does the darkness on the sea abyss call for action again?" - At Lucifer's words, Frederick only grinned meekly.

"It's much simpler and more prosaic than that." - A smirk appeared on Frederick's face while his wife sighed faintly. - "Hearing the call of the Devil, master of temptation, it was hard to resist his lies." - Frederick covered his eyes at Lucifer's chuckle and Lilith's almost imperceptible sigh.

"Not again..." - whispered her mother, covering her eyes for a moment and exchanging glances with Bethesda. Charlie, Helsa, and Seviaphan only had to look at each other.

He and the bitch Helsa were "on knives," as one Sinner of Silence had said, but with Seviafan... A complicated relationship, despite which the three children of powerful beings had an unspoken pact to put down and forget all grudges for the time being....

" ...But what a pleasure it is to see such a familiar eight-headed face, how many eyes have you decided to take for this dinner this time? Five, ten, maybe seven?" - Lucifer continued the skirmish, looking at Frederick through his index finger and thumb folded into an eye.

"Oh-ho-ho, this time it's simpler and more modest, it's not right for a simple Deep Monster to try to equal Pride..." - Frederick immediately picked up on the word, leaning over to Lucifer in the same way, making both of them practically rest their noseless faces against each other.

"Darling, I think it's time..." - Lilith tried to return the meeting to some semblance of a formal manner, but was ignored by the two ancient men, who continued their word game. Bethesda, on the other hand, just smirked lightly, occasionally casting piercing glances at her husband, who flinched each time.

The figure of the demoness was similar to Lilith's, with the slight exception of the presence of a "maw" of green teeth in the belly part. Dark gray skin adorned with what looked like a Queen's dress, a material of dark, deep color, Bethesda's tightly wide hips, with a white hemline adorned with black "suckers". Her long white tentacle hair floated in the air as if it were underwater, developing slightly with each movement of the Matriarch of the family.

Bethesda's green eyes glittered with the green light of the abyss while a dainty palm in a dark long glove with green claw nails covered her dark lips.

" Dear Frederick, I too find our greeting somewhat overlong, as much as I hate to admit it." - Bethesda said in a drawn-out voice that echoed lightly, as if from the depths of the water.

Charlie agreed and disagreed with Aunt Bethesda at the same time. Her father had apparently read her mind, filibustering her mother's attention from the Von Eldritches to his "friendly massacre" with Uncle Frederick. Charlie didn't know if her dad had purposely decided to drag out the greeting, since her mom and Aunt Bethesda had definitely asked him not to do such a thing this year, but Charlie took the opportunity.

Just as Zephyr had taught her, she used small flashes of her magic, mentally reaching out to their bond of minds, transmitting images and emotions, which was much easier and faster, because Zephyr, again proving his right to the title of her "best friend", immediately understood everything, immediately offered their "common" gift...

" ...After all, sweet Charlie must be tired of standing around by now, isn't she?" - Aunt Bethesda turned her attention to her, apparently seeing something in her small smile, which she had not "taken off" since the arrival of the guests. It's just as mamma taught her, but what about....

"That's right, dear Auntie." - Charlie nodded easily, quickly glancing at her father, staring intently into hers. He nodded his eyes somehow, immediately shaking Frederick's hand once more.

Outside the arched windows of the room, the stars were already shining, in multiple streams in the "sky," adding their light to the soft illumination of the voluminous hall.

Charlie's gaze went back to Aunt Bethesda and her two... friends-enemies-familiar friends? Helsa's sneering gaze, which, without even breaking off her sharp-toothed and crooked mouth, managed to say something like that. Seviaphan's attentive gaze, directed not at her, but over her shoulder, at her friend....

" ...So let me present this from Lilith and I!" - He held out a rectangular, thin box wrapped in a dark green wrapper in the colors of Von Eldritch's parents.

"Oh, taki pardon our modesty, but this one..." - Frederick tried to start a new "wave" of his and Lucifer's banter as....

"Just take the fucking box." - Lilith snarled through her teeth, glaring at Frederick with closed eyes, still trying to maintain a semblance of 'officiousness'. Bethesda chuckled softly, covering her mouth with her palm, walking over to her husband and pulling out... from her belly a square red and gold wrapper adorned with a white bow.

Aunt Charlie's words passed her by, hurriedly sending images to Zephyr in time for him to prepare...

"Please, Charlotte, accept this welcome from my dear sister and I." - Seviafan said with a duty smile, beginning to fluff his "aristocratic" tail again, holding out a small red wrapper with a green bow.

"I hope her majesty has enough extra time to familiarize herself..." - Helsa stretched out with a small smirk, placing her right hand on her broad - "but definitely smaller than hers!" - thigh, adorned with a long, similar outfit to her mother's dress.

"Hesla..." - Bethesda hissed softly, looking reproachfully at her daughter. The whisper was inaudible, but Charlie noticed the twitch in that grin.

This time, Hesla had no teeth in her left forearm, and she had decided to come as "human" as possible this time, except that the goat had decided to paint her face and eyes with more mascara, covering her stale green eyes with a faint attempt to braid her white tentacles, which on the inside of her "hair" were disfiguring the image with their suction cups.

Charlie wasn't being picky at all, just indicating to herself, and to Zephyr as well, by sending images, that this arrogant octopus sheep had terrible taste in clothes and fashion. She "felt" Zephyr's energy, which didn't let it on the mask, but definitely smirked underneath it, causing a similar one in Charlie that only got bigger when she saw Helsa's frowning eyebrows.

"Thank you, Aunt Bethesda, Uncle Frederick. Helsa and Seviathan." - Charlie bowed briefly, handing the small, book-sized wrapping to Dazzle, who took the gift to the table in front of the fireplace. - "As for your gift..." - Charlie covered her eyes, extending her hand toward Zephyr, who immediately held it out to a scowling Seviafan and an intrigued - what a goat! - Helsa, "their" gift.

The same cabinet magazine that Charlie had liked so much earlier was wrapped in a black wrapper, with white ropes binding the magazine-artifact like a sunken stone.

"Thank you..." - stretched out Seviathan, eyeing the gift suspiciously, immediately returning his green eyes, slightly glowing in the red whites, to Charlie.

"What's an interesting monkey?" - Helsa stretched out, folding her arms, dressed in gold bracelets, under her semblance of a chest. - "A new servant of the House of Star?" - Helsa's eyes flashed green, but Zephyr didn't react in any way, continuing to rest both hands on the top of his cane, with his mouth set in a straight line.

"Interesting question, my dear..." - Frederick stretched out, stepping closer to Zephyr, peering with his green abyss into Zephyr's blue stars. He continued to stand with a straight posture, enduring the stare of the grinning Frederick, the demon of the Abyss. - "An obscenely interesting specimen..."

"My Char Char's best friend! One of the strongest Lords of my Ring!" - Lucifer appeared as if from nowhere, stepped out from behind Zephyr's back, embracing him by the shoulders, jumping up and hanging on the back of the staunch Zephyr.

"Best friend...?" - Seviathan stretched out slowly, shifting his gaze from Charlie to Zephyr.

"Charlotte is currently hanging out with the Doomed?" - Helsa stretched out her words, looking at Charlie's turned back. She stepped around the Princess of Hell, eyeing the silent Zephyr as if she were an interesting animal rather than a living soul and her friend. Charlie clenched her right fist tightly, tightening her lips.

"Oh, and also present here..." - Bethesda pulled a small smile onto her face, her eyes flashing up to Lilith's lower lip, looking warily at Frederick, carefully hiding it behind an emotionless mask. Charlie swallowed a viscous spit.

"It's like he's..." - Frederick continued after his wife, except not with his cane, staring straight into Zephyr's face, which never moved, his blue eyes darting between the demon of the Depths, the Scream of the Abyss, and the Eldritch children.

"Been helping and supporting my Charlie with all her ideas, and aspirations, for years now!" - Wrapped his arm around Zephyr's neck, raising his black eyebrows high, grinning widely. Lucifer didn't seem to care one bit about the atmosphere of the room. - "Great mind, great speech, and just great humor, even if one can't quite understand mine!" - nodded her father, naturally hanging on to Zephyr's neck with his feet off the floor, making Uncle Frederick and Aunt Bethesda laugh. Seviathan continued to glare at her friend with a scrutinizing gaze, and Helsa occasionally cast mocking glances at the silent Charlie, palming her ugly face.

"I'm just not in a position to appreciate such... High humor." - Zephyr said his first word, immediately drowning out all the noise of the room. Frederick's eyes widened, his eyebrows arched in amazement, and her father's smile faded somewhat.

Lilith sighed sharply, quietly walking over to Bethesda, lifting her palm to her shoulder.

Helsa smirked predatorily, as if preparing to pounce on her best friend as soon as he made an unnecessary move.

Seviaphan narrowed his eyes dangerously.

Charlie could have sworn that the whole room could hear her heart pounding, and the sound of droplets of sweat dripping could be heard throughout the Morning Dawn Mansion....

But Frederick simply grinned, looking mockingly at Lucifer, tilting his head slightly.

"Indeed... Such monumental art is no match for such lowly souls..." - placed his palm on Frederick's cheek as Lucifer abruptly turned his head in his direction, widening his eyes, holding his mouth slightly open in an 'o' shape, immediately....

Shrinking by half, barely reaching Zephyr's waist, becoming a comical parody of himself. Lucifer doubled the top of his cylinder, squatting slightly on his shrunken legs, arms spread wide, face contorted in a comical scowl.

"Do you have something against Lucifer, the Most Ancient Seraphim and Chief Creation Aspect of Paradise?" - His voice, too low and rough for his current appearance, immediately caught everyone's attention. Helsa looked at her father somewhat lost, Seviaphan looking incomprehensible, only Lilith and Bethesda glanced over and shared a single sigh.

" Then why aren't you in Paradise, oh Lord Lucifer? Do they let you in by height?" - Zephyr uttered, eliciting a...

Frederick's loud laugh, Bethesda's quiet one, a barely perceptible one from Lilith, and Seviathan's eyes widened in amazement as Helsa burst into laughter. Charlie sighed, imperceptibly recovering her hitherto held breath, smiling softly.

"I don't get it." - Lucifer frowned even more, turning on stiff legs to Zephyr, looking down at him with a small smirk, amusing the laughing Frederick even more.

"Where did you lose your Nimbus and Sanctity, Lord Lucifer?" - Zephyr continued as Frederick held back his laughter, watching. Before her father could answer, Zephyr immediately took the floor.

"I suggest we split up and watch." - Lucifer's eyes stared intently at Zephyr who spoke, leaning slightly towards the Devil. - "I'll look left and right while you go over the top and bottom." - With each new direction, Lucifer's eyes darted to the designated direction. Having looked up, the Devil, as if making the most complicated calculations, lowered his gaze downward, without changing his amusing stance, until...

"I've already looked upstairs, nothing, but downstairs I've already combed through everything." - answered Lucifer, drawing the others' attention to the... turned floor, a strange mixture of marble and plasticine, which had straight marks on it, as if from a comb or a tool....

"Lucifer!" - exclaimed Lilith to Bethesda's chuckle. Frederick only laughed harder.

" You..." - Zephyr, who had lost his mask of calm, stretched out.

"So, where is my sanctity, Zephyr?" - Lucifer regained his former size, putting his arm around Zephyr's shoulder again, looking nervously at the King of Hell. This time he didn't hang on his shoulder, just turned back to Frederica trying to calm down.

"Where there is, there isn't anymore?" - Zephyr answered uncertainly, glancing warily at her father. Frederick's hushed laughter resumed, but with much less force.

"That's right!" - Lucifer nodded, looking at Frederick with amusement, watching his every move expectantly.

A moment and Frederick, exhaling heavily, immediately regained his composure, looking at Zephyr with a slight smile, leaning on his cane.

"So little Charlie has some new friends." - Frederick stretched out his right palm. - "It's good to know that she continues her...aspirations and finds genuine support." - Charlie was not unaware of Uncle Frederick's pause, spoken in such a mocking tone! - "Zephyr, the Sinner of the Ring of Pride, I presume?"

"Zephyr, Lord of Pentagram City's Silence District and a good friend of Charlie's." - Zephyr nodded, keeping the emotion out of his voice, taking the outstretched palm in his own and shaking it firmly, giving Frederick a small smile.

"The closest soul, helping me with everything!" - Charlie exclaimed, catching her mother's hard look and Aunt Bethesda's interested one.

"Frederick Von Eldritch, demon of the Depths and Sea Abyss, Terror of the Sea." - Frederick grinned, exposing green teeth as the green maw on his neck opened and closed like a heart. - "It's nice to meet our Charlie's... 'Best Friend'." - Frederick's voice echoed for the first time during the meeting, a strange echo that Charlie had heard so rarely and then when....

"So much for getting acquainted!" - He put his arm around the shoulders of both of them, who still had their palms together, and continued to shake them, looking into each other's eyes. "- So how about we discuss this at the holiday table, what-" - pulling the words, naturally dragging the two men behind him, Lucifer spoke, while the Matriarchs followed measuredly behind and only the children of the two families could afford a little more freedom.

"Making friends amongst the scum of Hell, eh Charlotte?" - Khelsa grinned, receiving Charlie's frown in return.

"Better to befriend a soul that would be a hundred times better than the heiress of a demonic family?" - Charlie replied in her tone, glaring at her. - "Cooks beautifully and isn't afraid to come face to face with Ada..." - With each word, Helsa's face contorted in irritation, and her eyes exuded an otherworldly glow.

Only Seviafan, who stood between the two demonesses, in his usual cold-cock-aristo manner, with his hands behind his back, stopped the two girls from their 'traditional' altercation.

"I think we shouldn't keep dear Mama and Papa waiting." - Seviathan said, glaring first at Helsa, who snorted in annoyance, and then at Charlie, who puffed up her cheeks indignantly. - "Especially your... friend, leaving him to be torn apart by Father wouldn't be your best idea, Charlotte." - Seviathan's eyes flashed with red energy, causing Charlie to press her lips together. - "Not the first and not the last, by the way." - Pompous Turkey lifted the corners of his lips.

Greenish skin, unlike the rest of the Von Eldritchs, set the tone for the rest of the formal wear. A greenish tailcoat, with long hems and gold inserts on the chest, revealing a gold-green, almost swampy, tie that concealed a light green shirt. Dark green pants with a poisonous greenish stripe, the same color shoes with a small heel, black gloves and some light green "spots" imitating eyes.

Green hair, with a small bright green spot at the back of his bangs, a predatory cylinder with many eyes, teeth showing beneath the hat.

Seviathan held himself sternly, straightening his back, his hands behind his back, looking at her with feigned indifference, pathetically trying to hide his interest.

In response, Charlie silently walked past her childhood friend, moving further into the hall, behind the curtain, where her parents and uncle and aunt were waiting for them, and....

" ...Holop!" - her father snapped his fingers, seating his wife in the chair to his left at the long black marble table, so clean that it reflected the beige tablecloth, on which plates and utensils were already arranged according to all the rules of etiquette.

Hot dishes. The first in the form of some kind of stew or soup, with the second, meat, salad or fried fish, complemented by roast turkey with spices, in the center of the table. All sorts of drinks, from wines, champagne, and just tea, prepared on a table just off the main one, were ready to be served.

Charlie looked apprehensively at Uncle Frederick, who was seating his wife, also to her left, and sitting at the end of the table, exactly opposite to her mother and father, who also sat at the head of the table.

Zephyr himself, standing without cylinder and cane, in a white shirt and black vest, rolled up his sleeves, letting the dark smoke emanating from his body escape.

"Serve us." - Lucifer waved his hand, resting his face on the palm of his hand.

"But is...?" - Aunt Bethesda wondered, looking at Zephyr with a strange look. Charlie, and also approached Seviafan and Helsa, also wanted to ask about the reason for such a choice, after all, they have their own servants, and by tradition...

"Just watch!" - Lucifer once again snapped meekly bowing to Zephyr, who also removed his tailcoat and cylinder, remaining in a red and white striped vest and black shirt with rolled up sleeves.

Instead of words, Zephyr simply waved his hand gracefully, as if to represent... Woven from blue lines emerged....

Two tall female figures with gray skin. The effeminate figures seemed to be naked, for nothing covered their wide hips, medium-sized breasts, and golden hair.

"Uh-oh, what kind of lewdness is this in the house of the Rulers of Hell! No, demons practice such things, but not in a royal house, right in front of the masters!", Charlie as well as her childhood friends opened their eyes in surprise, stunned to see this.

"Oh-ho-ho-ho-ho...!" - While Frederick only laughed, supported by his wife's laughing gaze, while Lucifer and Lilith ...

"Now that's what I mean, service and maintenance!" - He threw his hands behind his head, leaning back in his chair, while Lilith only hid her face in her palms, only momentarily losing her composure.

Charlie was caught missing a chuckling Helsa with Seviaphan, eyeing these first with interest... then Zephyr, who had summoned two nudes as a servant...!

...Though, as Charlie looked a little closer, having subdued his initial emotions, the "features" of the two summoned "women" became immediately apparent.

Tall, as tall as Lilith herself, standing flat on her toes, moving her long, muscular, if you could call it that, legs elegantly, with strange "stocking" marks just below her thighs.... covering the gray skin, in the area of the chest, from the groin to the beginning of the neck, slightly darkened, performing a semblance of "clothing" of the body, on which there were no visible sexual signs, obvious... only expressive breasts, wide hips and a folded back, because this "top suit" revealed the gray back...

Charlie looked at the faceless faces of Zephyr's Constructs, whose ears were replaced by some kind of recessed circles....

"And the right one has clothes...", Charlie noted in passing, looking at the small yellow jacket, which was rather necessary to distinguish between the two 'maids', whose golden braids were folded into the semblance of a 'crown' or whatever she called something decent in this ugliness....

"I'll talk to him!" thought Charley, with an anger she did not understand herself, as she sat down quickly at the chair to Uncle Frederick's right, her nose held up proudly, her eyes closed so as not to look at Helsa's wide shark's grin against her, beside which sat Seviathan, to her father's right.

She didn't let Zephyr push her chair back, nor did she let him pull it over, studiously ignoring this... Still her best friend sitting between her and her mother, waiting for those... Constructs to serve them drinks and for her father to start the celebratory dinner.

...

A voluminous room with a large, full-wall window that opens to a view of the night sky with the "northern lights", golden-purple energy dancing across the sky and the winter landscape that adorns the night garden of the owner of the Mansion. A large crystal chandelier, falling drops illuminate the large dining room with its soft golden light, complemented by monolithic marble wall lights.

Black marble columns flowing to the gold trim on the ceiling and flat sturdy floor, covered with a black luxurious carpet with a golden fence.

Two large figures, equal to that of the hostess of the evening, sharing with her husband the supremacy of the table, that now set an example of perfect manners: posture, elegant and efficient movements of the hands, a face without a single emotion. A paragon of etiquette, Queen Lilith of Hell was wielding the cutlery with the dignity of her title, quickly and carefully devouring her food, drinking her wine.

The twins were busily circling the table with the top of Hell, as if circling in a dance between themselves and the sitters. No matter how or what the strange servants served, one of them was always near the guests, circling the table and serving the dignitaries, while the second of the Twins gracefully, almost imperceptibly to the distracted eye, practically floated between the main table and the rest of the room.

The First poured more wine for Bethesda Von Eldritch, almost silently picking up and setting down the bottle of wine, strangely out of sight of Matriarch Von Eldritch, while the Second was changing the dishes on the table, long strides, like a ballerina in a theater, circling the room, merging with the First in a kind of dance. Frederick glanced blankly, as he thought to his wife, at the almost naked figures of the servants of the Lord of Silence, combining his brief but intense glances with the observance of all manners.

The children of the Von Eldritch family, Helsa and Seviaphan, seemed to pay no attention at all to the "unusualness" of the servant-servants, silently devouring their food with all the grace and elegance proper to the heirs of a powerful family. They did not communicate with each other with words, using instead looks, the kinds and tones of which were no longer understandable to anyone, not even Charlie, who had known them since childhood.

Only Lucifer seemed oblivious to the whole atmosphere, leaning back carelessly in his chair, lazily working with fork and spoon, sometimes involving a knife, drinking the wine that William already knew.

William himself...

"Well, now that the first course and the servants are finished," Lucifer said, looking at William, who humbly folded his hands under the table, looking expectantly at the host of the evening. - "Then I propose we raise the first toast in honor of the passing year, dear guests and lovely ladies!" - Setting an example, Lucifer raised his glass with red wine, smiling meekly, but still revealing sharp teeth.

Frederick Von Eldritch was already laughing away, still looking at William's new maids with interest that he had practically embodied his old formulas with blueprints on the fly, with... some help from Lucifer himself that somehow made the task easier.

William couldn't say exactly why, couldn't even tell if he felt it at all, but he definitely noticed the ease and simplicity with which he had embodied the Replicant Prototypes, needed more for running-in bodies and soul matrices than...

William shook his head slightly, assessing the elegant work, without a single mistake or hitch of his Prototypes, not with his eyes, but with his soul. They didn't have names, they didn't even have a purpose, William simply caught the excitement, the playfulness and the message from Lucifer himself, somehow picking that apart with the utmost precision and... just did what was asked.

William had seen the work of the Seraphim, seen Sera work with the Aether, even though it wasn't her specialty, she was still an Elder Seraphim, the one who had taken over Eden... But even she didn't do what Lucifer had done, seemingly without even straining or putting in any effort at all.

"And something tells me it wasn't the Aether...", William thought absentmindedly, while on his left, Charlie was pouting demonstratively, ignoring but definitely glancing at him when she thought he couldn't see. Lilith on his right, still serving as a paragon of an aristocratic woman of his time, that without a single mistake, performed all her movements with surgical precision, smiling softly with a barely perceptible smile.

Frederick, Bethesda, Seviafan, and this Helsa raised their glasses. The same red wine in the glasses of the older ones, something gold-translucent in the glasses of the younger ones, while he himself had... his apple juice.

Though William was flattered by the invitation, the attention, pleased to make such an acquaintance, with the entire Goetia family, but... he wasn't ready to trust Lucifer, or even Lilith, whom he'd known personally for almost a year now.

The Von Eldritches, on the other hand... William could feel the 'hospitality' of that family, probably one of the closest to the royal family, which meant that by definition they couldn't be simple demons, since they allowed themselves such behavior in the presence of their daughter's 'friend.

"Or they're just conveniently harmless aristocrats that don't annoy the King and Queen as much, so...", William immediately corrected his musings, quickly glancing around at the demons of the sea, maybe even the octopuses.

William was not so good at demonic nature, having only seen the "bird" part of Goetia, the children of Paimon and other High Goetia families, their vassals and such, even if it was only a dozen times, but it was enough for William to learn to distinguish between the "human" demon and the Hell-born, the "native" inhabitants of this place.

William didn't know their nature, how they became what they were, their history behind the titles of the elder Eldritches, but...

William wasn't interested.

No, raising his glass, half an ear listening to Lucifer's words, he drank the toast, immediately beginning to savor the food slowly, taking advantage of the slowness of etiquette to alter this meal slightly, discreetly dissolving or replacing some parts with those hastily prepared by the Constructs in his home until... Twins? Twins? Shield Maidens? Stars? The twins, refilling emptied glasses, passed out new food, which was strangely quickly devoured by the demons.

William could see the changes in the Twins' matrices, could see what he hadn't laid down, what was perfectly in them, what was... wrong. William couldn't figure out if Lucifer was joking with him like this, albeit helping, but still leaving his 'signature', in his child, or... No, William remembered the creature that Lucifer had created when he came, but...

"Why, Lucifer can't do the same thing twice on purpose...", William thought, hurriedly, using all the enchantments for the mind, all the streams of consciousness, to hastily analyze the Twins.

"The devil that gives the strongest and hardest temptations," William's eyes widened, seeing the complexity and... literally a map ofhow to do things the way they should be done, from Lucifer himself. The one, out of some confusion, just... took it and shared it! As if to say, 'Just take it and do it again!

"After all, the last time it didn't end with me being disappointed in my project, Pal, being impaled by Michael's spear...", William thought melancholically, slowly chewing on the earthly chicken whose meat was replacing what was served on this table. It may have been a bit disrespectful to Morningstar hospitality, but William still didn't want to....

"By the way, my dear Frederick..." - Lucifer stretched out, gently slicing some kind of steak, it was red, with a distinctly good rare. Patriarch Von Eldritch immediately tore his gaze away from the passing Twin, looking at the host of the evening with a small smile. - "How are you doing, how's the Abyss, how's the family?" - Lucifer sounded as if he were mouthing memorized words, even the tone of voice became more strained.

At Lilith's nod of approval, Bethesda's quiet, almost imperceptible even in this silence, chuckle, and the stares of the children and William, Frederick silently finished his meat, pushing his plate slightly aside, allowing one of the Twins to take the plate and immediately place a new one. Frederick leaned forward slightly, his smile becoming more prominent, barely exposing his green fangs.

"Oh, all is well, Lord Lucifer!" - nodded Frederick, raising his wine glass, splashing the purple liquid. - "The lovely Bethesda has surprised once again, providing a new, almost revolutionary method for amassing new Algae!" - Frederick almost genuinely admired, looking at his wife, who answered him in the same way, with a smile. Both smiled at Frederick's words. - "Truly, we live in the most interesting age since the Renaissance, sir, so many inspiring souls and endeavors..." - Frederick began to elaborate, glancing faintly at William, who didn't even look in the demon's direction. He didn't need to.

Looking at this, Lucifer grinned, Lilith nodded faintly, and Helsa's pupils dilated predatorily. Her smile became like a crooked grin, more polite so as not to take away from the atmosphere of the evening.

Charlie cast a wary glance at the unresponsive Lord of Silence, trying, despite the "offense", to "calm" William with subtle gestures and sighs....

William himself listened to the stories of the demon of the Depths with half an ear. He was not interested in what the words "Algae", "Coral", "Stars" meant, obviously something to do with the souls of people, or the jargon of the Goethean circles in which this family was "brewing". No...

Now William wanted to solve another mystery.

Today, Lilith had revealed herself to William from a new side, more strict, controlling and demanding, recalling to William the stories of Adam, Sera and the other Archangels who had "caught" Lilith. This was exactly what was written in the books of Paradise, this was the pattern of behavior Adam spoke of and Sera mentioned... and William couldn't tell if it was a mask or if Lilith was so good at pretending and lying.

He knows the First Changer as a caring mother, loving her daughter with a genuine affection for her daughter, allowing her a lot for her Princess status, but also keeping Charlie within certain boundaries, not allowing herself to adopt the attitude of Lucifer, who would grant Charlie any wish she wanted, as long as it was worded in such a way that no one else was hurt.

Now... The one on his right was a cold, predatory and dangerous Queen of Hell, who did not tolerate any bickering or disobedience. One look was enough for Lucifer himself to immediately forget the jokes and stand up straight, awaiting the arrival of Von Eldritch. One word from her was enough for Charlie to put all worries and cares out of her mind, immediately becoming "Princess Charlotte of Hell."

That being said, even while in that "mode", Lilith... managed to take care of each of them. She allowed Lucifer to be "naughty", she allowed Charlie to take liberties with him, she took one look at Bethesda and Frederick to "say" something about William himself.

And this ...

"...And how is little Charlie? How's our favorite Sunny?" - Frederick grinned warmly, leaning slightly toward Charlie, whose cheeks were slightly flushed and an awkward smile crept over her face.

"Uncle Frederick, I asked you to..." - Charlie whispered, immediately drowned out by Lucifer's louder tone.

"Oh, my Char-Char is just gorgeous!" - Lucifer pounded on the table, grinning widely, looking at Frederick with open eyes, answering with the same "smile". - "She finally got to try out all her ideas, some of which even worked!" - Lucifer's words, filled with sincere admiration, elicited mixed reactions.

"Not again..." - Charlie stretched out quietly, picking at her portion of some purple soup.

"What?" - Helsa exclaimed quietly, immediately receiving a hard stare from her mother.

"Really!" - There was genuine interest in Frederick's voice. His eyes immediately fixed on Charlie's clenched shoulders. - "Has such a strange seed already borne fruit, Charlie dear?" - Frederick rubbed his chin, looking at Charlie in a new way.

"Oh, you have no idea....". - Lucifer shook his head, folding his hands and resting his head on them. - "Those degenerates really can learn something..." - Lucifer stretched out, looking up at the large chandelier of the room. - "Some have taken my Char Char's ideas seriously, takin' a shot at..."-Lucifer's face creased in disgust. - "Make amends." - Lucifer almost spat out, but still looking at Frederick with... superiority?

"Are they really...?" - A strange thought arose in William's mind. After all, couldn't two powerful beings, who had clearly turned more than one millennium old....

One look at Lilith's quietly sighing, nodding eyes was enough to convince William otherwise.

"But what is the concern I hear in your voice, Master?" - Frederick tilted his head slightly, grinning. - "Little Charlie's accomplishments are considerable, there is no need to downplay or be ashamed of that." - Frederick shook his head as Lucifer narrowed his eyes dangerously. - "After all, I'm proud that my Helsa," the designated daughter of Von Eldritch immediately looked up, smiling softly at her parent. - "Gathered record numbers of tickets at her last concert in Greed, and the way they spoke of her..." - Frederick stretched out, chowing down on some spaghetti brought by one of the Twins. Lucifer was silent for a moment, staring longingly at Frederick.

" Just wonderful." - Lucifer nodded, with a somewhat... "faded" tone. - "And when this concert..." - Lucifer tilted his head, trying to look at Helsa and Frederick at the same time.

"Two months ago." - nodded Frederick, and Lucifer continued after a moment of silence.

"Impressive, what about...?" - Lucifer began, looking at Seviathan, who only straightened his back, not looking at the Devil.

"He was able to defeat the two heirs of the Aralis and Azazotres family by winning two relics, an artifact and a Triton Tom." - Under Lucifer's quiet surprised sigh, Frederick gently pointed at Seviathan with his palm, which was accepting the praise with a small smirk.

"Oh...! Just how many rounds was this duel?" - Lucifer inquired, shoveling a portion of meat into his mouth with his fork.

" One." - said Frederick, "nailing" Lucifer again. - "I'm even wondering how many 'rounds' it took Charlie for something like that..." - Frederick said affectionately and predatory at the same time, casting an interested glance at Charlie, who was trying to hide behind a bowl of purple soup, actively working the false one.

" Oh, she only met with the Head of the Exorcists on this year's Day of Extermination." - Lucifer nodded, in a tone as if talking about the weather.

"...Really?" - Frederica was confused now, shifting his gaze from Lucifer to Charlie after a moment. - "Was the First Man really able to let the Queen's daughter go so easily?" - Frederick asked interestedly, with a faint note of admiration in his tone.

"The right words, the right tone, and the right tactics, and Adam almost personally delivers her back to our home." - Lucifer stretched out contentedly, catching a glimpse of the silent Bethesda's eyes wide open in surprise. Lilith silently covered her eyes while William, Helsa, and Seviaphan listened to the argument with interest. - "Especially since Charlie talked Adam into canceling the Slaying next year..." - Lucifer's smile, breaking all the written rules of the evening, turned into a real predator's grin, almost tearing the Devil's cheeks.

"WHAT?" - exclaimed Helsa, Seviathan, Frederick, and... Lilith. Only Bethesda was able to restrain herself, staring with interest at Charlie's eyes open in surprise.

"I've already been notified by the Embassy." - Lucifer nodded contentedly, enjoying the cascade of emotions as if tasting an elegant drink. - The words of Charlie and her close companion Zephyr had managed to penetrate Adam's soul, so he decided to cancel the next Extermination.

" But..." - Charlie stretched out, immediately interrupted by a loud hiss from her father.

" That's right dear, you did it." - Lucifer smiled at his daughter, enjoying Charlie's surprised look and the rhythm of the evening. - "He was brief, simple, but so... Thorough in his desire to mull over your ideas and thoughts that he set aside an entire year to test your..." - Lucifer's cheek twitched and his smile grew strained. - "A project about... souls." - Lucifer stretched out, averting his gaze to the wall. - "By the way,"-a moment and Lucifer resumes his previous tone of voice, looking at the silent Frederick with a slight superiority. - "That was my Charlie's first meeting with the Head of the Exorcists."

William could have sworn he noticed the twitching of Frederick's eyelids as his eyes darted between his children, Helsa, who now looked at him in a new way, if the new gleam in her green abyss could be called that, and Seviathan, whose facial expression, though not emotionless, had a multitude of emotions raging inside his soul.

"Oh, there is so much to tell, so much my beloved ones have done, it is hard to begin..." - stretched out Frederick avoiding Lucifer's squinting eyes.

Out of the corner of his eye, William noticed that Lilith, and Bethesda, were just continuing their meal, slowly working their tools. Like a strange reflection of each other, their movements seemed identical, even their head turns, even their breathing...

At the same time, they also "looked" at each other, somehow making their children try to follow their examples. Only noticing some detail, triumph and superiority would appear in the eyes of the "accuser" for a moment... and then everything would repeat.

"...My Seviathan outsmarted that underachiever who thought himself worthy of mental games with Von Eldritch." - Frederick, meanwhile, shook his head, smiling at Lucifer, who had lowered his head onto his locked hands. - "And yet he was the first of ten..."-a grin through all his teeth, a twitch of the Devil's white eyelids, whose eyes darted sharply in the direction of William, who was simply eating his favorite chicken.

"Just try." - William's eyes spoke, staring into the red lights of the Hyena with a fortitude worthy of the best Powers of Heaven.

But there was no understanding or agreement in the Devil's eyes. Only a desire to amuse himself at the expense of the foolish Archangel's suffering.

An inaudible sigh escaped William's lips.

Bethesda's eyes flashed with triumph, and for a moment William felt the piercing gaze of white flame. He felt as if he were surrounded on all sides. His body assumed a long-learned angle, his head tilted back two degrees, and his shoulders seemed to straighten.

"I wish I'd agreed to come to Christmas again..." came the thought to William, who only realized his body's actions after twenty long seconds. -"And the music for this evening was Lilith's..."

"...Funny, because to send Zephyr here, Rai had to send Michael." - Lucifer spoke slowly, savoring every moment of Frederick's change of expression with the others.

"Michael, Lord Commander of the Army of Paradise?" - Lilith said, in a perfectly calibrated voice, not too loud and not too quiet. Lucifer grinned loudly.

"Easily fending off the flames of the Athanim, only Michael's spear could calm the temper of the Lord of Silence..." - Lucifer grinned again, squinted his eyes again, and Frederick, as if scripted, looked around at his children again, "communicating" with each other with his eyes.

William covered his eyes, crumpling the silver fork into a ball of metal.

"Do they always do this...?" - William turned to Charlie over their shared train of thought.

"Every fucking year... " - distinctly heard the heavy 'sigh' of Charlie's mind, William.

That's how William was able to sit for another hour and a half....

At the end of the feast, William was glad that he was able to get some pizza through the Twins, having warned Lucifer in advance.

The pizza was delicious.