"Still as graceful as ever," he said, pushing off the door and offering her a hand.
Her face went bright red as she took it. "I—I was just—uh—cleaning!"
"Yeah," he said dryly, brushing the rag off her head. "Looks like you're doing a great job."
She crossed her arms, cheeks puffing slightly. "You, Mister. You disappeared! I thought something happened to you!"
Prince chuckled, strolling past her and sitting down on the edge of her canopy bed. "Relax, Princess. Just had some loose ends to tie up."
Charlie blinked, still flustered. "Loose ends?"
He nodded. "Turns out people forgot who I was. Some of those 'Calavero' idiots had connections all over the city. Took a little time to remind them not to mess with me again."
Her expression relaxed, though she didn't ask for details. "Well... I'm just glad you're okay."
He tilted his head, amused. "You were worried?"
"I, well of course I was!" she said quickly. "After everything that happened!"
That earned another her another soft chuckle.
"So," he said after a moment, "looks like you've been busy."
Charlie's face lit, immediately perking up. "I have! The lobby's almost finished, and I even got the heating to work—mostly! Oh, and I haven't even got to introduce you to KeeKee and—"
Prince held up a hand. "Alright, alright. Sounds like the royal handwoman's been working overtime."
She nodded. "I'm one step closer now," she said, sitting beside him. "To helping my people," she said simply. "To proving that redemption's possible, that any soul can change."
He studied her for a moment, quiet. "Good for you. So, found anyone besides me to sign up yet?"
"Nope," she said. "Not yet, but soon. So what about you? What's next for you, Mister Mysterious?"
Prince leaned back slightly, with one hand in his pocket. "I was actually thinking of doing some traveling. Haven't seen much of the Pride Ring outside Pentagram city. Figured it's time I did."
Charlie's expression faltered a bit. "Oh… so you're leaving?"
"Eventually, yeah," he said. "After dealing with a few things and seeing you go all in on this crazy dream of yours… made me think maybe I should stop sitting still for once too."
Charlie smiled again, though there was a touch of sadness in it. "What brought you back here then?"
She tilted her head playfully. "Did you miss me?"
For a moment, he didn't answer, then his mask tilted, and he gave her a bone-chilling smile.
"Well," he said slowly, "someone forgot to pay me."
Her eyes widened. "Wh—what?"
He gestured lazily. "We did sign a contract, remember? I find your friend, you pay the price. Simple business." To reiterate that point, he summoned the contract they signed.
Charlie laughed nervously, sweat forming at her temple. "Haha—about that…"
Prince smirked behind the mask, clearly enjoying every second of her panic.
Prince chuckled and glanced around before finally saying, "It hasn't been that long since we met, but…" He looked straight at her. "Before I go, there's something I wanted to tell you."
Charlie blinked. He sounded so serious...
"You believed in me, to find your friend," Prince said. "And... that's the first time in a long time anyone's ever done that. So I wanted to tell you myself, that I believe. No matter how impossible it might seem to me or anyone else, I just wanted you to know that you had at least one person who believed in you."
"P-prince..."
Tears welled up in Charlie's eyes and streamed down her cheeks. Prince, the socially clueless guy who never quite knew what to do around a crying girl, panicked. So, he did the only thing he'd seen done on TV, he gently reached up and wiped away her tears.
"There, there… don't… don't cry," he mumbled, awkwardly patting her cheek. "By the way, I still haven't forgotten about the money you owe me."
Charlie choked mid-sob and scratched her cheek, flustered. "Ahaha… yeah, about that. I… might've sorta kinda… spent almost my entire monthly allowance."
Prince squinted. "On what, exactly?"
"Cleaning supplies. And some new stuff for my room." She gave him a sheepish smile. "So technically, I'm, uh… hell-broke. I might not be able to pay you back for a few weeks."
As she nervously debated whether to call her dad for a loan, Prince sighed. He gently tilted her chin up to face him. His mask slowly slid open, revealing the lower half of his face. He brushed away one last tear with his thumb.
Charlie's already pink cheeks deepened to crimson.
Prince coughed and muttered, "Y'know… about the other week, when we kissed but got interrupted..."
Charlie's eyes widened, watching him fumble over his words.
"If you… finish what you started…" he murmured, struggling to maintain eye contact, "consider the debt... forgi—."
He didn't even get to finish his sentence before Charlie grabbed him by the collar and yanked him into a kiss.
Her eyes burned red, her horns pushing through her bangs, and with a wave of her hand, the open door slammed shut and locked itself with a click.
Breaking off the kiss just long enough to grin devilishly, Charlie whispered against his lips, "I'll make sure you're fully compensated before you leave."
Prince didn't need to hear the rest. Her eyes said everything he needed to know.
The two dove back into their kiss, and a moment later, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
That night was a long one, one filled with the fiery passion of a budding love that would even make Asmodeus blush.
But more importantly, it was just the beginning of their story.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A day later...
At the peak of a winding mountain road overlooking Pentagram City, Prince pulled Baby to a gentle stop. The engine hummed softly beneath him, and for a while, he just sat there, looking down at the city he'd spent so long in.
The city where everything had changed.
His eyes lingered on the skyline, and somewhere in that chaos, the stubborn, naive, and absolutely stunning princess he'd left behind was resting.
He slowly reached up and unlatched his mask.
For the first time in centuries, he took it off.
He wanted to see the city one last time, with his own eyes.
The wind caught his hair as he stepped off the bike, the cool air biting at the scars etched across his skin. He blinked, getting used to the light, and let out a breathless laugh.
"Good luck, Charlie," he murmured. "I can't wait to see you pull off the impossible…"
Then he looked down at the mask in his hand and said to no one in particular, "You were right. I did get to meet her. I guess I should've expected that."
He turned his gaze to the heavens, those electric blue eyes full of old memories.
"Well then… since you're a man of your word…" he said resolutely, "…time to hold up my end too."
A faint golden glow pulsed across his skin as the wind shifted, revealing what had been hidden for centuries.
An ancient golden mark burned across his face. It traced from his forehead, through his eye, and down his cheek, shimmering with divine radiance—
The mark of God!
A holy symbol cut into the flesh of a demon.
If any archangel had seen him in that moment, they would've frozen in awe and horror...
How an Overlord of Hell came to bear such a sacred symbol?
Prince let the mask slide back into place, sealing away his face once more. He revved Baby's engine one last time, the roar echoing across the cliffs.
Then, without another word, he rode off.
His silhouette slowly disappearing over the horizon...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
The End
--------
Total word count: 20,130
And that's a wrap, folks! 🐦
Thanks for sticking around till the end, seriously, you could've been doing literally anything else, but you chose to read my story. Whether you laughed, blushed, or questioned your life choices somewhere along the way, I appreciate you being here.
If you liked it, drop a comment, toss a stone, or drop a meme I can steal — every bit helps keep the creative fire burning (and maybe convinces me to make that next one-shot 👀).
Until next time — stay weird, stay wicked, and don't make deals with masked strangers.
Hummingbird out. 🐦