There was a long silence between Melody and Asmodeus, finally broken by the sound of Asmo’s bell-like laughter. Melody’s eyes teared up as the charm shattered. With what she had seen of Asmo so far, she could only guess he was laughing at her, mocking her for her simplistic desire. But the sight of her tears cut the laughter short. Gently, Asmo reached forward with a delicate finger and caught one of the tears on the tip of it. Peering at it, he gave her a smile that was oddly out of place.

“Ah, you’re a true romantic, aren’t you?” he said, his tone somewhat subdued. “I’m not laughing at you, Melody; I’m just delighted with your answer.” He giggled then, the sound a little more like his usual laugh. “You see, most people are so good at hiding what they want, they convince themselves they actually don’t want the thing they desire. Sometimes it’s because they’re not sure they can get what they want, and sometimes it’s because stuffy people tell them they shouldn’t want it.” Deliberately he sucked the little tear off his finger. “But you, even under the weight of my charm, want something so completely heartfelt. That hungry part of you is obviously still sleeping.”

“Sleeping?” Melody asked, slowly finding her voice, speaking free of the charm again.

“Do you know what a soul looks like to us? It’s sort of like a bright bauble that we can see. The purest of souls, ones we rarely see, are just white light. Dazzling, but ultimately boring. You see, a little bit of sin, here and there, adds a splash of color.” Asmo thought for a moment. “You’ve seen stained glass windows, right? Beautiful, aren’t they? A soul with just the right amount of sin looks like one of those. When a soul becomes too tarnished, too broken, it’s not strong enough to light up the window. Such a pity.”

“Is… that what you all see when you look at me?” Melody’s voice trembled as she asked. She remembered Lucifer talking about it when she first arrived. Shining up her soul.

“Not usually. It does require a choice to look at your soul, a tiny bit of effort and concentration,” Asmodeus said, shaking his head, not really interested in talking about that part. That sort of discussion was more up Satan’s alley. Asmo didn’t care much for knowledge; he preferred practical experiences to teach and inform him. Not that he blamed Satan, given his sin. “So, don’t fret about that; we need to keep that face of yours wrinkle-free, remember?” He made a soft tutting sound towards her, and she tried to smile. It would be a lie if Melody said she wasn’t relieved that her soul wasn’t perpetually on display for them all to gawk at.

“I’m glad to hear that,” she said quietly. Asmo largely ignored her statement, though his eyebrows did twitch upwards slightly.

“Don’t think this is the end of this little discussion, though. One day, you will feel a shift, and that delicate, sleepy little spout will wake up inside you. And, when that happens, I’ll be right there, ready to let it grow into a full flower,” he said, his tone a hushed whisper of intent. “If you had been like most humans, I would have already had my fun and walked away; but you’re actually giving me a challenge.” Causally, he pushed himself away from the wall, giving Melody some space. “I’m so excited, I just can’t contain it!” He clasped his hands together. “I’ll see you later, Melody. After all, we still have the formal dinner and dance to get you ready for.” Laughing, he waved to Melody and left her in the room. Melody did not follow. Instead, she slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh or cry.

Simeon found her there a little while later. His expression immediately showed alarm, and he extended a gloved hand for Melody to take. Looking a bit bemused, she accepted the hand and felt the angel assist her to her feet. Like the demons, Simeon was stronger than he looked, but without the sense of building power behind him. She tried to force a smile, but somehow she couldn’t quite manage it.

“Are you okay, Melody?” The question was gentle, not pushing. Simeon wasn’t demanding an answer.

“I think I will be; I just need a bit of a rest.”

“You seem to spend a lot of time resting. Has this exchange been too hard on you?”

“Is it wrong to lie to an angel?” Melody asked, a bit wryly.

“Well, in this case, I wouldn’t advise it, not because of any punishment, but because I want what is best for you,” Simeon said, shaking his head. He spoke cautiously, but his voice was as gentle as ever.

“I think it’s been hard on me, but since I’m still alive, I wouldn’t say it’s too hard,” Melody hedged. “Sometimes, I think it might be though. I feel so weak,” she said, her tears coming back, but only just a few squeezing from beneath her eyelids. If Asmo had actually meant her harm, he could have easily done something irrevocable while they were alone, and she would have just stood there and let it happen, and that terrified her more than Lucifer’s anger, or Beel’s loss of control.

“Physically, and magically, you are the weakest person here. But, that just might mean you have the strongest character. A lot of other humans would have broken already,” Simeon said. “Still, it’s better for you to be cautious, or even afraid, than to think you can handle everything on your own. You can ask any of us for help that you trust enough to do so. No one will think less of you for it.”

“You’re right, Simeon,” Melody agreed, though something still held her back. “Asmo, he… he scared me for a while. But, he didn’t actually do anything other than ask me a lot of questions.”

“That does sound a lot like him. He’s the least likely to actually attack someone. But you could feel it, that you weren’t quite safe? That just means you have good instincts. They are demons, after all.”

“Simeon… are demons evil?” Melody asked, barely able to squeeze the question out of her throat. Simeon gave her a long look, not saying anything for quite some time. Melody regretted asking the question and held up her hand. “Never mind…” But Simeon shook his head, actually reaching to take her hands in both of his.

“Melody, good and evil are far more complicated than most humans realize. If I could answer the question you think you are asking, I would,” he told her, his tone serious. “But, I will tell you, if they were completely evil in the way you’re thinking, this exchange never would have been allowed to go forward. I hope that is enough to give you some comfort.”

“It is; thank you Simeon.” Simeon let go of Melody’s hands, leaving behind a soothing warmth. Melody felt like a burden had been lifted, and by the time they made it back to their room, she was smiling. Feeling somewhat refreshed in mind, though still somewhat weary physically, the idea of a nap still sounded good.

“You just rest here for a bit; I’ll go see if I can find out how the scavenger hunt is going, and maybe find Asmo,” Simeon said kindly to Melody. When she sleepily nodded and slid under her covers, he left her to her nap. Melody dozed off quickly, wondering if Simeon just had a soothing personality, or if he had used some subtle angel magic to help her feel better. By the time she drifted off completely, she hadn’t come to a conclusion.

Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.

“Oi! Melody, wake up!” Mammon’s voice intruded into whatever dream Melody had been having, and slowly she opened her eyes. It took her a few moments to question why Mammon was in her room… again. Rubbing away the sleepiness, she sat up.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everythin’s fine. Just, we don’t want ya to sleep too much, or you’ll miss getting ready for the dinner and dance is all,” Mammon said, shrugging.

“Oh no!” Melody exclaimed, almost falling out of bed. Mammon put out a hand to steady her.

“Calm down; you get in enough trouble as it is without fallin’ out of bed like that,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t think Lucifer realized how much effort it is ta keep ya in one piece,” he added. Then, seeing how her shoulders were drooping, he softened his tone a bit. “Now, now, don’t look at me like that. I know you don’t mean to get into all this trouble; it just seems to follow ya. Good thing you have The Great Mammon lookin’ out for ya,” he said, grinning, the expression widening even more when he saw Melody relax again.

“Thank you, Mammon,” she said, letting out a breath she had been holding in.

“Now, the dinner was said to be a formal dinner, but that’s mostly about the setup; we gave up tryin’ ta dress for the dinners a long time ago. Beel makes it difficult. So, just get yourself presentable, and we can head into the hall to eat. You’ll be given time ta get ready for the dance after.” Mammon paused for a moment. “Asmo said he’d help ya out, right? Are ya still okay with that, after everythin’? Because if you’re not, it’s my job ta make sure you’re all safe.”

“I… I think I’ll be fine. I don’t want to get in the way of anything you have to do to get ready,” Melody said. For a moment Mammon looked as though he was going to object, but then he just laughed. “Don’t you worry about The Great Mammon for even a minute; I’ve got this down to an art,” he said, still chuckling through his words. “I’m actually surprised Asmo offered ta help you at all. He’s always the last ta get ready for these things; takes him forever.” He rolled his arms. “Anyway, I’ll be just outside the door. Step out when you’re ready, and we’ll go to dinner.”

It didn’t take long for Melody to get up and get ready. While Mammon was often seen as unreliable, she couldn’t see a reason for him to lie about the dinner. So, she just made herself look decent enough and stepped out into the corridor. As Mammon said, he was standing there waiting, and when he saw her step out, he rubbed his hands together in anticipation. He seemed pretty eager to get to the dinner, so Melody didn’t ask any further questions; she just followed him to the dining hall.

As Mammon had stated, the table was completely decked out in formal splendor, but everyone was wearing their casual clothes. It clashed a bit, but she didn’t care too much; it wasn’t as if she spent a lot of time at formal dinners or anything. And, in a way, it made sense. Who would want to spill food on their nice, fancy clothes? Especially just before a dance, when most people would want to look their best. Napkins would just cover up a lot of the finery anyhow. Still, it puzzled her why they bothered with the fancy dishes as well. But, as the saying went: when in Rome, do as the Romans.

The seating had been arranged in a way that Melody ended up somewhere in the middle, across the way from Lucifer. To her relief, she wasn’t next to, or even close, to Solomon. The spread on the table, now that Melody could look at it, was mostly made of very light-colored dishes. Soft and fluffy textures were common, and she could have sworn some of them actually glowed, just a little. Curious to try Celestial Realm food, she dished herself up a little of this and that, just enough to try everything. If she was still hungry, she could have more… assuming Beel left enough food by the time that happened.

“It’s been so long since I’ve had food from the Celestial Realm,” said Levi with excitement. “This is so special that it almost feels wrong to eat it.” It was yet another reminder of where the brothers came from. Still, she guessed that they must have had some good memories still of that part of their life, or Levi wouldn’t have seemed quite so enthusiastic.

“Huh… the flavors are a lot different from what you’ll find in the Devildom. And the ingredients, too. But it’s really good, in its own way.” Satan’s observations were a bit more clinical sounding, yet he still had a little chuckle to add to his assessment. Melody remembered how Luke had told her that Satan was never an angel, yet he was clearly seen as family to the others. Now wasn’t the time to ask about it, and Melody had to make sure she didn’t stare too much at Satan. Usually, she had avoided him, for the most part, perhaps unfairly, due to both his name and the sin he stood for. Plus the fact he had made no effort to reach out to her.

“More please.” Beel, of course, was happy to be eating, and his request for more came as no surprise to Melody. Not only was it normal for Beel, but the food itself was quite delicious when she tasted it for herself. There was just something light and euphoric about the dishes. Eating them made her feel satisfied without the sense of being bloated or weighed down. Some of it was sweet, or tangy, but there weren’t any hot spices.

“You’re still not full?” Solomon asked with a sigh. “… Okay. Here, you can have mine.” Melody didn’t look directly at Solomon, and tried not to wonder too much if he was just full, didn’t like the food, or perhaps wanted to keep Beel from rampaging.

“Would you like mine as well, Beelzebub?” offered Diavolo. That one surprised Melody. No matter how pleasant the Prince seemed to be, the fact that Diavolo was royalty and a demon always made Melody a bit wary of him. She suspected, however, it was the royalty more than the demon part that was the reason for this. Still, it seemed a nice gesture or at least one that showed he knew his Avatars well.

“I know you’re trying to be nice, but if you keep giving him food like that, he’ll never stop eating,” protested Lucifer, giving Diavolo an uneasy glance, eyebrows lifted up in a pensive manner. “He’d even eat your arm if you let him.” While Melody believed that was true, she also believed that the ‘let’ part was a key distinction to make. She couldn’t actually imagine Beel eating someone while in his right mind. The only question she had was, how much warning did Beel give before he wasn’t in his right mind anymore?

“I didn’t realize you were so good at cooking, Luke,” Melody said when she was about halfway done. The little angel beamed brightly with the compliment. It was nice to see him happy about something. Overall it seemed to be a success, with Simeon and Mammon both complimenting the food. Unfortunately, Mammon had to tack on a dog reference to the end of his compliment, which certainly didn’t go over well with Luke, who went from happy, to angry, in seconds flat, denying being named ‘Fido.’ But before Melody could kindly ask Mammon to stop, Asmo stepped in and did the same thing. Mostly.

“You know they keep teasing you because you always get upset like that. …Or do you do it on purpose? Is that it?” asked Asmo. And though he was talking to Luke, as he asked the last question, his eyes locked onto Melody’s. She felt her cheeks blushing before she even processed his words. It didn’t feel quite like earlier when he had charmed her, yet, she felt somewhat dazed. Finally, she was able to lower her eyes and ended up staring blankly at her plate for quite some time, the rest of the conversation around her blending together in her ears.

“…Melody. …Hey, Melody!”

The world of sound suddenly snapped back to its normal clarity as she heard her name spoken with a sharp tone. Looking up, she saw Lucifer peering at her expectantly, but, she couldn’t seem to think of a context for why. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but the words wouldn’t come out. Lucifer sighed and shook his head, folding his arms across his chest.

“Didn’t you hear me? I asked you to pass me the dipping sauce,” he said, looking halfway between annoyed and worried. “You really seem to be off in space today, don’t you? It’s still only day two, you know?”

“I’m so sorry… here’s the sauce,” Melody said, very carefully picking up the desired bowl and handing it over to the Avatar of Pride. “I guess I got a little bit lost inside my own thoughts,” she said, not wanting to leave the impression that she was trying to ignore him, or didn’t care about his request. Lucifer simply nodded and accepted her explanation, not going deeper into it. Melody very quietly finished what was on her plate. Almost the second it was cleared, she heard Asmo speak up again.

“Are you done, Melody? We still need to get you ready,” he prompted.