Queen of The Castle part 4
Hazbin Hotel au
Guilt 7 Sins +1
Charlotte doesn't really remember a time when she wasn't either preparing to rule or actually ruling Hell.
There are fragments of memories from before her parents deaths where she thinks she was happy and carefree but most of the time it's hard to tell whether they're real or just dreams.
Each of the Sins and even Adam later on feels guilt over this. Though it varies from person to person.
Satan feels the least, not because he doesn't care but because he knows they didn't have any other choice.
War was at their doorstep and Charlie couldn't afford to be a child or she'd die. He feels guilt but not regret brcause he knows if there was another way they would have found it.
Mammon regrets not stepping in when things went to far.
Asmodeus asked him to help talk to Satan over reducing Charlies work load but he prioritised proffiting on the market instability caused by Lucifer and Liliths deaths over caring for his niece.
It wasn't until Belphagor called him because she had run out of the neccessary ingredients to heal Charlie with how often she now needed medical attention that he realised he fucked up.
By that point Charlie had picked up Satans mentality and wouldn't have stopped even if they had voted Satan out of the regent position.
Mammon spoils her rotten or tries to in order to sooth his guilt. He knows Lucifer and Lilith would be enraged by what they've put their baby through.
Half of Leviathon feels guilty, the other half refuses to feel anything but pride in the Infernal queen they helped craft.
The side that cares varies from moment to moment. Their training and tutorledge has made Charlie the Envy of Hell. Adored and Feared she is everything you could wish for in a ruler.
One voice claims their is nothing to feel guilty over given Charlie sits in a position that is Envied by all, the other voice whispers that they stole her childhood and ignored the signs that they were going too far.
On bad days Levi wonders when they let their Envy over Charlies ability to control Hell and the clear favouritism the realm showed her blind them to the harm they were doing to their niece.
Beezlebub drowns the guilt out with drugs and booze. When she isnt partying she finds herself stumbling into pride to try and get Charlie to relax.
She used to just grab which ever duplicate she first saw and drag them to one of her parties but she eventually caught on that this wasn't helping Charlie and that she was only gping along with this to try and soothe Bee guilt.
Nowadays she goes to Pride and makes Charlie Hot Chocolate Gluttony ring style and helps with paperwork. She hates it, theres a reason she doesnt handle that side of the gluttonly ring and leaves it to her second in command, but this is what she needs to do if she wants to help Charlie.
The blinding smile that Charlie has started to give her whenever she pops in makes it all worth it.
Belphagor used to sleep just for the the fun of it, now she sleeps to forget. Like Satan she knows that this was the only path available to them but that doesn't stop the guilt over what they're putting a child through from consuming her.
Medical advancements are at record highs within Hell as Bell leads the charge in revolutionising any aspect that might be of support in the ongoimg war with purgatory or Charlies health in general.
She hopes that if she can find a way to undo the damage done to Charlie from over exerting herself it might ease some of the guilt that continues to build each time she's forced to treat the girl as her injuries were too sever or complex for even Hell to fix.
The golden cracks in Charlies physical form are a beautiful reminder of the girls unending perseverance in the face of suffering to most, but to Bel they are an ugly reminder of her failures as a healer.
Asmodeus did his best and continues to try and gice Charlie a childhood. He succeeds in little moments and big ways yet at times all ge can tgink of is all the ways he failed his niece.
Satan was the obvious choice for regent in terms of ruling but when it came to raising Baby Char? Asmodeus has never regretted anything more.
After the first time he walked in on Satan training the baby to spar, both bloody and Charlie barely able to stand he had tried to force Satan to stop.
When that failed, he tried to get the other sins to vote on having someone else handle raising Charlie. Beezlebub agreed to support him but none of the others would listen. Mammon eventually came round but it was too little too late as Charlie refused to let Satan step down.
Asmodeus can begrudgingly admit that the training was neccessary but he stands by the belief that if they had just worked together a better solution might have been found.
He also believes Charlie was crowned too soon. She may have reached Demonic maturity but she's half angel and she definitely doesn't look like an adult.
Again noone listens.
Adams confirmation that Charlie is still a child is a bitter and hollow victory, they are at war and Charlie's position on the battlefield is something they can't loose.
Asmodeus drowns in more guilt than the others, his empathy and care for the youngest of his family slowly eating away at him.
+1
"The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father" ezekiel 18:20
Adam has always believed that your sins are your own so witnessing a child suffer for her parents crimes eats at him.
Charlie is a sweet kid. Noble, Virtuous, Diligent, Caring... the kind of kid that wouldn't stand out in heaven.
Yet, because of who her parents were she was born and bound to Hell.
Charlie can never leave the Infernal realm, not for long. Hell has wound itself too tightly into her being for her to ever escape it. This innocent child that has managed to grow on him like a fungus will suffer for eternity, carrying the weight of her parents sins, fulfiling their punishment, and there is nothing anyone can do.
Whats worse is that in order to prevent purgatory from consuming Heavem amd Hell Adam has to actively and repeatly endanger the kid by bringing her onto a live Battlefield.
Guilt is something Adam tries not to dwell on but Charlie reminds him of all his regrets every time he looks at her
Part 3 << >> Part 5