** just an edit about her appearance, instead of her hair constantly being ice it'll be simply long and white whenever she's calm. It only freezes if she's angry or feels a sudden unexpected emotion.

PART II
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Juliette

I woke up to the sound of little feet running into my room, the only warning before I was jumped on.

"Mama mama! Get up!"

I grumbled and put a pillow over my face.

Every morning, this little ball of energy is always here to remind me how old I really am.

After about 30 more seconds of violently jumping on my bed, accompanied with the sound of shrill toddler screeching, I was up.

My groggy eyes focused on the little beast sitting next to me and smiling.

"It's morning, mommy."

She said it matter of factly, and I couldn't help but smile.

Oh, how could I stay annoyed at her. My adorable little imp.

She's the only joy I have down in this eternal hell hole.

"I'm aware, Ava. After all, why else would you be up causing chaos?"

I asked her and gave her cheek a gentle pinch before throwing my legs over the edge of the bed, standing up.

My arms stretched over my head and a few pops released from my back, causing me to sigh as I lowered my arms.

Then I was off. My day would be nonstop until the night falls and I put my little girl to bed.

Today is school work and then grocery shopping.

I thought through my plans while I effortlessly avoided kicking Ava as she wove around my legs.

Despite being four years old, she was still very small. Imps are naturally small, so I wasn't concerned about her size. She probably wouldn't get very big.

I let her up onto the counter while I made breakfast so she could watch, and then we sat down and did her daily school lessons.

There was no way I was letting my sweet girl go to school in hell. I'm perfectly capable of teaching her without the risk of her getting murdered at her desk.

Once that was finished, I got myself ready for the day.

My hair, like the rest of me, was frozen in place. With a few flicks of my wrist the ends of the icicles that make up my hair were properly placed, looking more natural and less jagged.

After that, I slipped into my usual attire.

Some may call me insane for wearing a sweater in a place like hell, but my curse is the cold. I swear, you'd think I was laid to rest eternally in the snow with how my skin refuses to ever warm.

My sweater was accompanied by light blue leather pants, and lastly I conjured myself a pair of boots from ice.

Next, I dressed Ava in something much more appropriate for the warm atmosphere of hell.

Once I got her fixed up, I beamed with pride, adoring my little princess.

"Look at you, who's mommy's pretty girl?"

"Me!"

"You!"

She giggled and I picked her up and spun her around, then held her on my hip as I left our tiny one bedroom apartment.

**

It smelled like sulfur and ash, as to be expected. There was also a stench in the air that I just couldn't quite place, just the special scent of hell.

No matter how long you're down here, you'll never get used to it. Not even after 91 years.

I held Ava close to me and wove around the carnage on the streets, heading towards the market.

Briefly, I glimpsed cannibal town and tried to stop the scowl from forming on my face, looking away and keeping my eyes set forward.

He's not there anymore.

I don't need to worry.

But my chest still tightens every single time I pass it, worry prickling every single nerve in my body as if putting me into fight or flight.

Somehow I managed to avoid him for all this time. Of course he had to come down here and make a name for himself, I expected nothing less of him, but now he's gone.

Alastor...

A pit of sadness formed in my heart as I thought about how long it's been.

Almost a century... and not once did he even try to find me and explain himself.

I could have easily gone to him, but what would be the point? It's not like I owe him anything, let alone my presence.

Sighing, I glanced down at my engagement ring.

I kept it mostly because it belonged to mother... but it's still a constant reminder of his absence.

His betrayal.

My teeth grit and I shook my head.

He's gone. Erased.

It's been seven years, and no sign of him at all. That's nothing like him, so he has to be dead.

He couldn't ever keep his mouth shut for two seconds, let alone seven fucking years.

The bell jingled as I entered the grocery store, smiling tiredly at the sheep demon behind the counter. She gave me a friendly wave in return.

I come to this place because of her. She's so sweet, it's hard to believe she's a cannibal.

There was a loud bang outside and I jumped slightly, turning to look out the large windows.

My brow furrowed.

Things have been a lot more chaotic than usual today... I haven't looked at the news, I wonder if something happened.

Sighing, I made my way around the store and grabbed food items that I needed, trying not to let frost creep along everything I touch.

Eggs, flour, meat, milk...

"Mommy, I want Vootfloops!"

Ava pointed to the cereal in a white and bright teal box, the face of Vox, the tv demon, plastered on the front.

Television personally wasn't my favorite, but I could enjoy some of Vox's content when it wasn't so fast paced.

Though, his cereal was grossly overpriced, and I gave Ava an apologetic smile.

"Not this week, sweetie... maybe next week?"

She gave me big, sad eyes, and I felt defeated.

I don't have enough money...

"How about this... mommy will make pancakes tomorrow morning, does that sound good?"

I was relieved when that made her smile, and she wiggled happily in my arms.

"Yay! Pancakes!"

Such a simple food, I'm glad it's her favorite.

I headed to the front of the store and paid for my items, wanting to get home quickly. Things were starting to look really bad out on the streets.

After thanking the cashier and gathering my bags, I left the store and headed back towards my apartments, keeping my head forward and minding my own business.

Everyone was screaming and some were frantically running to and fro, making me wonder what was happening, seriously, to make everyone so—

I gasped when suddenly something bumped into me, sending me stumbling forward.

I prioritized Ava, holding her tightly and watched as all our groceries spilled onto the sidewalk. A lump formed in my throat immediately.

Fuck...

Even though I wanted to burst into tears, I just silently started trying to salvage what I could, Ava watching quietly with her head laid on my shoulder.

Fucking assholes... if she had gotten hurt, they'd have so much more to worry about than whatever has everyone's panties twisted.

My mood was now sour, and the only thing I could really manage to save was the flour.

When I felt a tap on my shoulder, I spun around and bared my teeth at whoever it was, shielding Ava.

The blonde woman backed off, her red eyes wide as she clutched a piece of paper to her chest. There was another woman at her side, holding a spear and looking around as if she were guarding the blonde.

I relaxed slightly, but still glared at her.

"What do you want? I don't have any money, I'm sorry."

The woman perked up when I spoke to her, and stepped towards me, smiling wide.

"Oh! No, that's not why I got your attention... I was actually just wanting to offer you a place at my rehabilitation hotel! Residents stay free, and now that the extermination has been moved up—"

"What?"

I cut her off, my expression dropping.

She froze and glanced at the other woman who shrugged.

She looked back at me and tilted her head.

"You haven't seen the news...?"

I remained silent, a feeling of dread setting in my chest.

The extermination is hard enough to deal with once a year... why would a self proclaiming "loving and accepting" place send down twice the amount of genocide than usual?

"Miss...?"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I focused back on the woman.

"Yea, no sorry. I didn't see the news, um... did you say a hotel?"

I took a step forward and looked at the flyer she was holding.

She lit up like a star and got really close to me, happily letting me see her seemingly hand drawn poster.

It had rainbows and stick figures of demons and angels holding hands outside a messy drawing of a building.

Huh...

"Look mommy! There's angels in the picture! I wanna go mommy, I wanna see the angels, please please pleaseeee!"

Ava whined in my ear and I looked at her sternly. She quieted down, but I did genuinely give it thought.

"Rehabilitation..."

I mumbled and thought to myself that it seemed silly and far fetched, however the promise of free housing was what caught my attention the most.

"Where exactly is your hotel? Why should I trust you?"

The woman simply seemed thrilled I was even considering, while the other one was giving me a steely glare.

"Don't you know who she is? She's the princess of hell."

I looked at the purple skinned woman and narrowed my eyes.

"That doesn't mean a thing to me. There's so much that can hide behind a pretty face and a smile, you know."

She rolled her eye, but the supposed princess of hell simply held her hand out to me.

"Hi, I'm Charlie! It's really nice to meet you..."

I shook her hand.

"Juliette."

"Juliette! I'd be absolutely delighted to show you around the hotel! Come on, it's not too long of a walk from here!"

Hiking Ava up a bit more on my hip, I sighed and dropped the bag I was holding back onto the ground. It's not like it was worth saving anyway.

The walk to this "hotel" wasn't long, like she said, and I saw it long before we actually reached it.

It was a massive building with several strange accessories.

The entrance was clad with a cast iron gate, and then a cobblestone path lead up to the actual hotel. Looking up, I saw the flickering sign read "Hazbin Hotel".

Wow, quite the name.

Though, so far it did seem rather nice. Nicer than my apartment, that's for sure.

Ava lightly tugged at my collar and I looked at her.

"Mommy...where's the angels?"

She whispered at me and I chuckled lightly.

"Dear, I don't believe any angels are actually here. Miss Charlie wants to make it so demons and angels can be, um... friends?... someday..."

Ava's eyes lit up and she gasped.

"I want an angel friend!"

I hummed fondly and brushed her fringe away from her eyes.

"Maybe some day, flower..."

We reached the entrance, and Charlie opened the door, revealing a hotel lobby.

It was... definitely a place.

The moment I walked in, I could tell they didn't have much support for this establishment.

There was a slender spider demon lounging in a chair, and he looked up from his phone when he heard the door.

Then his eyes widened when he spotted me, his gaze shifting briefly to Ava before he looked at the girls.

"Whoa, you fuckin got somebody?! Did you tell her we got drugs here or something?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"No, they did not. I was told this is a rehabilitation hotel, correct?"

The spider blinked and then he shrugged.

"Sure, but it ain't like shits working."

I figured as much. I'm just here for the free boarding.

I could hear the purple skinned girl growl before suddenly I was snatched and dragged around the hotel, getting a personal tour from Charlie herself.

She showed me any and everything, and introduced me to everyone.

"—my girlfriend Vaggie, and then Angel is the one you met when we walked in! And Husk is the bartender, he's soberrrrrr...some of the time? Oh, and then there's Niffty, she cleans."

I watched as a small one eyed demon chased a bug around, trying to stab it with a large needle.

I shifted a bit closer to Charlie.

"Right...um, could I see the rooms, please?"

"Oh! Of course, we can head that way right now!"

She turned to lead me towards the room, but we stopped dead in our tracks when someone was blocking the way.

The moment my eyes landed on him, my stomach dropped and the blood froze in my veins.

Suddenly, the air was too thick to breathe.

No...

"Oh! And this is Alastor! He helps run the hotel!"

No, no no...

Our eyes locked, and we just stared at one another. His smile remained while my expression fell into one of shock.

What the fuck.

What the fuck!

Without thinking, my feet took me backwards a few steps, not breaking eye contact with him. I could see him processing the situation in his mind, his eyes intense and analytic just like I remember them being.

Charlie noticed the tension between us and was silent for a second before speaking up.

"Um... I- I know he's an overlord and all, but you don't need to worry, I promise—"

"We're leaving. Now."

I said firmly and turned my back on them, heading towards the door quickly.