There has been little on my mind for the past ten months. I have been through thousands of books searching for any clue about how to heal Helia. I have read hundreds of reports, and nothing has changed. I, however, have figured out a way to slow the progression of his mark. It has been very effective in keeping his soul intact; in fact, I have extended his deadline far past whenever he was supposed to die, and he hasn't been doing much worse. The treatment can sometimes leave him drained, and he often stays the night in my little apartment above the hospital, sometimes I find him sleeping in the most random places; he enjoys snoozing in my closet, under my desk, and sometimes on the couch, he's like a damn house cat. I have spent much time getting to know Helia; when I read late through the night, he is always by my side, making me snacks and ensuring I drink enough water.
He also insists that I will go cross-eyed unless I have the proper light to read besides. I have watched this man spend HOURS trying to figure out what angle is optimal to get total usage of my lamps. He is also quite a handyman; he has fixed the small things around my apartment that never bothered me but bothered him enough to fix it. My bottom drawer had a slight snag, ripped it apart and fixed whatever the problem was. When I fall asleep, he always ensures I make it to bed, and this dude is even curious enough to bookmark whatever page I am on. If I leave food out, he ensures it gets to the fridge in an orderly fashion and even locks the door for me. The search for Helia's cure drove me so crazy that one random afternoon, I tried to concoct a potion that would work as a human-size bug repellent to give to Anthony. It didn't work, which is a massive bummer because Valentino is, as always, being a dick to Anthony; I have indirectly spared him a little since I can no longer heal him with a flash of purple.

I would have loved to exterminate that asshole, Valentino. I also learned that Helia has four adorable little sisters who absolutely love coming over, and I try out different hairstyles on them. We have quite a time as they giggle away in their chairs; some of the hairstyles I try end up looking quite wild on them. Harper, Isabella, Mia and Kolene remind me of when Charlie was much younger; they are only six, seven, ten and eleven. They are playful little girls who think Meko wants to participate in the makeover playdates. Frazzle lets them do whatever they please, but Meko will only sit still in Helia's lap—a blood traitor on countless occasions. I once walked into quite a particular scene. Frazzle had all sorts of bows and ribbons in his fur with a fresh face of makeup and his hooves painted to perfection.
I learned that Helia and his family lived in a shady part of Pride and offered them an apartment attached to the hospital. I built it so the nurses and doctors could live there if they wanted. It's just down the hall from my office that doubles as my apartment, making it easy for me to keep updates on Helia and ensure all of the girls are cared for as well.
It is easier to have him close by so I can continue to slow down the progression of the curse. His little sisters are little bundles of joy who like to help me bake sweets for the doctors or play hide and seek with some of the sicker sinners. Even Nurse Toppan has grown a soft spot for the two youngest sisters. I also helped Anthony move into the Hotel as the first official guest under Charlie's redemption plan. He was hesitant about the entire situation, and it took a lot of pep talks to get him to see the place. It was not the most glamorous Hotel I have ever seen, but you can tell that Charlie and Vaggie tried their hardest to get the place up and running by themselves.
Honestly, I had to guilt trip Anthony to give the Hotel a spot by reminding him of the incident from quite a while ago. I still have some scarring that never will go away. I reminded him that until I figure out why I'm mirroring injuries, I can no longer heal him from the wrath of Valentino and suggested that the Hotel could be a bit of an escape from his work, and he finally got on board. Helia helped us move all his boxes into his new room at the Hotel, which looked much better than any other room in the Happy Hotel.
I also set up a room there where I would treat sinners or spend the night occasionally. I have an attachment to my room as it is and like living independently with my own space. And my room is less run-down, fortunately, again. Charlie put her entire soul into that place, but she should have hired someone who had built a hotel. That wraps up what has been going on for the last ten months; today is a pivotal day for me and Charlie.

Vaggie has informed me that Charlie finally managed to get a spot on channel 666, and they will be live here in a bit. Helia is bringing the girls over to watch the news together. It's weird how a complete stranger who I almost crushed in an alleyway on a random weekday became someone who means so much more now. I know him more than a random stripper; he is kind beyond anything else and would sell his soul for his family. He is smart.
The way he looks at problems and comes to solutions is astounding; he is also very resourceful and keen. He can watch you perform a task once and replicate it entirely. It freaks me out sometimes, but it explains how he knows how to do my hair and the girl's hair so well; he told me he sat outside a salon one day and just observed them. His little sisters wanted cooler hairstyles, and he was determined to figure it out for them. I admire his dedication to his little sisters and how much he cares for them.
The girls adore Charlie and want to be princesses of Hell one day and often ask me to give them the same ponytail that Charlie wears around all the time; Helia even helped me make them all custom tiaras that they like to wear around most of the day. Spending time with them made me reminisce about when Charlie was much younger and I did her hair the same way. I have grown fond of them, and they have become more than the family I took in. Sometimes, I catch myself staring at Helia in the middle of the night as he reads his book or plays a video game on the console I got for him.
When he gets flustered, I notice he plays with his hair often, and I have never really seen him angry. Never like that one night, I tried to take his curse off of him. He also developed a habit of making fun of my height, and I have noticed that when he eats a meal he was intensely craving, he does a tiny victory dance. Whenever I visit Rosie, he is always with me and joins our tea time, adding humour to our conversations and going along with us. I'm not sure when Helia started to take up so much space in my brain, but now it would be weird if his soul were to vanish. If Helia were to disappear, Hell would return to being a lot less interesting.

Mia and Kolene burst through my door with joyous laughter, filling my silent office as I exited my chair to greet the two giggly girls.
"Vesper Vesper, when can we watch Charlie?" they asked me excitedly as I pulled a couch from the side wall in front of the TV for them to sit on.
"She will be on very soon; we can all watch her together," Helia steps in with Harper asleep on his shoulder and Isabelle being led in with his free hand. I offer my bed for Harper as we all settle down in front of the TV as the broadcast starts.
"And welcome back to channel 666. I'm Katie Killjoy, and we have a special guest on our show to talk about her short stack, missing, probably definitely dead older sister and her newest passion project! As we have all become painfully aware, the eldest spawn of Lucifer has now been missing for like a hundred years; the chances of that bitch coming back are lower than Tom getting laid; please welcome Princess Charlotte," I feel my eye twitch, for the record I took after my dad's unfortunate height and its not my fault. Charlie was the one who hogged Mom's good jeans.
"For the record, Vera has been confirmed alive by Vesper, one of Hell's greatest overlords. My sister is out there, and I will find her one of these days. All I am asking is that she is safe with people who love her. And it's Charlie, not Charlotte," Charlie continues on. I am listening to what she is saying while also reading a book I found buried in one of Hell's oldest libraries.
Charlie goes on about her redemption plan as the girls listen on eagerly; I hold back a laugh when Charlie bursts out into a whole musical number on live television, causing quite an uproar in the streets. To be fair, it is rather unusual to witness a musical number on a news broadcast, but this is Hell. Many rules don't apply.
I get distracted by an interesting sentence in the book I picked up. "When dealing with an angelic curse marked placed upon your body, the curse can be removed with a Winter Dratarde flower. This type of flower is rare and can only be grown in the gardens of Heaven by an experienced herbalist. Once this flower is obtained, it must be infused with the blood of the angel who placed the curse." I read the same sentence repeatedly as I searched for the author's name, only for no name to be listed.
Could this be legit? I didn't have time to think about it further when I took notice that Charlie was now brawling with Katie Killjoy on live television, and Anthony was involved in the middle of a turf war with Cherry by his side against some weird snake dude who had an army of talking eggs; Helia was sitting there stunned and not saying anything as the girls cheered on my sister. Charlie was straight up having a bitch fight on live television for all of Hell to witness. My jaw drops to the floor in disbelief; this could not be happening right now! The reputation of the Hotel was going to start off rocky, but this will tank it into oblivion. I quickly grab my hoodie and run out the door. Helia tries to tag along as I remind him that he has the girls to watch over. I take Frazzle with me, and he swiftly takes off from the roof of the Hotel.
In the air, my phone starts buzzing against my leg as I answer it while still holding on for dear life, and Frazzle heads toward the Happy Hotel. I also brought the unauthored book with me by accident.
"Hey Blitz! Have you finally figured out who placed that massive bounty on my head?" I ask my old friend as he sighs.
"This mission has been harder than getting Loona in for her Hellbies shot! I have had M and M working on this case for months, and they cannot figure out what head honcho wants you dead or why. We did go to the hospitals you requested for the extra security, and I'm happy to report that none of them were burned down during the extermination.
There were lots of angels at each location; however, one of those sluts was demanding to know where Vesper was. I am not sure what you have done to fuck with Heaven, but I am all for it, fuck those guys!" Blitz tells me. I knew this year was going to be a challenging year to keep all the doctors safe, but with Carmilla backing me up as well, we are okay for another extermination. I'm not sure if we will be as fortunate next year; the attacks on the hospitals have steadily increased over the past few years.
"Thanks, Blitz. Tell Loona I said hi; I'll send Soran over with the payment for helping us out sometime next week; bye!" As soon as I hang up the phone, Frazzle lands us in front of the Hotel; Charlie and Vaggie are already back because the limo is in the driveway. I hope Vaggie hasn't sliced Anthony's head off for his stunt with Cherry. I am a damn good doctor, but there is no cure for decapitation. I hurriedly open the front door and step inside when a familiar little pink lady scurries over to me and jumps around excitedly while emitting a high-pitched squeal and waving around a dead roach that she had on the tip of her needle.
"Niffty? Why are you here-" I feel the air squeeze around me as my mind races; he can't be, can he? The book I was holding slipped from my hand; Alastor has returned.
"Vesper! My dear! Oh, it has been far too long; you are looking exquisite today," the static rings through my head as the grin of Alastor stares me dead in the face. Everyone is now staring at me and looking back and forth between Alastor and myself. I can feel the anger boiling in my chest, the years, the fucking years of silence for him to greet me like nothing has changed casually.
"Vesper? You know the radio demon?" Charlie asks, astonished, as Vaggie crosses her arms, displeased. Anthony is sitting back, confused; I don't think he knows who Alastor is. I notice Husker at the bar already downing a bottle of cheap booze behind a bar that was not there previously.
"Why yes! Vesper and I go way way back! A most reliable doctor and a dear friend. She makes a killer jambalaya if you politely ask, and don't get me started on her cookies," Alastor appears behind me and wraps an arm around my shoulder. I remove his arm and step away from him; a brief look of confusion crosses his expression.
"Take my name out of your mouth. You don't get to leave for seven years and return like nothing happened, Alastor. Things are different now; things have changed. If we are as good of friends as you claim, you could have at least said goodbye before evaporating off the face of Hell," I can feel myself losing control of my appearance slightly as my horns start to peak their way out of my head. I snatch the book off the ground as the room falls into deafening silence. I look at Charlie to see an expression of horror; I suppose I have never been this pissed off in front of her. I calm myself down as Alastor stands before me.
"There were complicated circumstances. I assure you, it was not my intention to leave without bidding everyone a proper farewell-"
"I'm part of the Vees now. Vox and I get along just swimmingly," I cut him off as disdain radiates off his body; I must have the biggest shit-eating grin on my face right now.
"Say what now?" The room gets glitchy as the lights flicker, and Alastor's eyes briefly shift to dials, his ears slant backwards. I ended up storming out of the hotel without another word. It serves him right! I know deep down I was waiting for this day, but when I finally saw him, all the loneliness and anger boiled over.

Dear Charlie,
Alastor is quite a character; I mean this from the bottom of my soul. Never enter into a contract with Alastor. He is one of Hell's greatest overlords for a reason. He is actually a big sweetheart, but right now, I am not impressed with him. I know Rosie will be delighted he is back in town, and I know Vox will be irate. But enough about them, I'm sorry I stormed out before I could ask if you were doing okay because that interview went as bad as it could have. I know you were down about the results but I am confident that Vaggie was able to revive your spirit. I know Dad doesn't pay attention too much in Hell and probably missed your interview, but I assure you he probably would have been proud. You can do this, Charlie; I know that if anyone can change the fate of Hell, it will be you, Charlotte Morningstar, the youngest daughter of Lilith and Lucifer. Today might have been a setback, but your positivity could get anyone anywhere. Keep your head up; things will fall into place; just you wait! I will always support you, even if it is from the shadows for now.

Love, Vera