Fandom The Gathering of Death Eater Children

[Hikari Chan]

Aislinn opened her eyes, staring at the white ceiling above her. First, she did not know where she was. Her throat was dry, and her body was stiff as she suddenly tried to move. She clutched her hands into fists, crumbling and wrinkling the thin bed cover. A healer quickly approached and helped her when she tried to sit up.

Aislinn looked confused at the healer and opened her mouth to speak, but all that came out was barely a whisper. Aislinn noticed she was still wearing the black bridesmaid gown, which she had worn to Luna's wedding, but at first, she did not recognize her surroundings. There was a single black rose on her bedside table. Aislinn looked frantically around, her eyes widening in surprise when she noticed August Dolohov, who had sent a Patronus message to alert the Minister of Magic. But what nearly took her breath away was seeing the person she never had expected to see.

Sherwood was still unconscious, lying on the second bed just beside hers. The bed curtains were pulled so the morning sun would shine across his peacefully looking face.

Aislinn frowned, slightly remembering that she had not seen him at the wedding. Her head hurt as she tried to remember what exactly had happened after she had left with Alastair. The last thing she slowly remembered was Alastair's confession, and then her mind went blank. She could not remember how she had met Sherwood or ended up in St. Mungos. Recalling Alastair's confession, Aislinn felt sick all of a sudden and had the urge to throw up, but her stomach was empty, which made
the nauseous feeling much worse. The healer noticed Aislinn was not feeling well and gave her a goblet of potion for nausea and another for a calming effect.

A while later, Aislinn was escorted home in the Ministry of Magic's fleet of cars. When she saw the manor in front of her, she started to cry and refused to go home. The minister was confused. He had told her about the accident she had been through, that she had been unconscious for about two weeks since his son's wedding, that her family had been very worried about her and hence he would escort her home in the first place. However, she had not been listening since she could not focus on the present. Her mind was still processing the last conversation she had with Alastair. But when she saw the manor, she was brought back to reality.

"Oh please," Aislinn begged, her voice trembling. "I can't..." Her voice choked in the tears that were streaming down her face. Then she whispered: "I am not ready to face anyone after what happened..." I am not ready to face anyone in my family after Alastair ended our relationship. I do not care about what they think, but I do not have the energy to argue with them about Alastair, and I need time to process everything...She thought for herself. "I need some time alone...and I know a place where I can stay..." She added with a steadier voice after a couple of minutes.

"Fine. You do as you wish," Alexander spoke quietly. He sighed inwardly, wondering how he would help Edward, who had asked him to arrange something so that he could meet his daughter. It turned out to be much more complicated than Alexander had thought.

"May you escort me to a place further away, please? So I can apparate in peace..." ...it is still too early, so everyone is probably still asleep...but I prefer to be as far away from the manor as possible.

The fleet of cars turned around, drove back to the main road and drove until they pulled into an almost empty parking near a churchyard.

"It would be great if you could visit your family for Christmas..." Alexander spoke again just when Aislinn was about to leave. She froze, wondering if he had guessed that she already had plans to leave the country to get somewhere far away. But he had not read her mind. He was still thinking about the promise to her father but did not know how to break the news to her. An awkward silence filled the atmosphere inside the car. Alexander debated if the current moment was right to tell her about her father, while Aislinn was not in the right mood to meet her family. She was thinking about her grandmother and her second cousin Vincent. Vincent would probably taunt her for choosing Alastair over him and end up with a broken engagement. Her grandmother would probably berate her for not being a proper lady enough for Mr Divilliers. I would rather not deal with family drama on Christmas.

"There is something I need to tell you. Perhaps it is not the right time or place to tell you this. However, I should not postpone such important news for you," Alexander was the one who broke the silence. He had decided to tell since he could not stand Edward nagging him and asking him every once a day if his daughter had finally woken up. Aislinn was half listening. ”After we all managed to take over the wizarding world, defeating the Phoenix of Order and Dumbledore's Army, a lot of past death eaters who had fled and gone into hiding after the second wizarding war, finally left their hiding places and came back to us."

Aislinn rolled her eyes and wondered why on earth the minister was telling this to her now. It had been long since she, along with Luna and everyone else in their team, had stormed the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. Aislinn did not care who had left their hiding places after those events. She just wanted to be left alone and process everything about the recent events she had been through after the wedding, and also have some good food to fill her empty stomach and a goblet of firewhiskey to comfort herself. Just as she climbed out of the car, she heard the minister telling her that someone related to her had just returned after hiding for years after the second wizarding war. She slammed the car door and wondered what she would do first. To have a hot bath and change her clothes at a muggle hotel or eat some food at a nearby restaurant? She thought Alastair might be at Luna's residence, and Aislinn wanted to avoid him at all costs. She was not ready to deal with the aftermath of their last conversation. But what if I bump into that relative of mine in the muggle area of London? She thought but suddenly froze, wondering who this long-lost relative could be. She recalled what the minister had told her a minute ago. So someone related to me has been hiding for years to avoid getting caught by the authorities and has returned after we defeated the P.O and D.A.? Who on earth could it be...? She jumped at the noise of her wand hitting the ground when she accidentally dropped it. She bent down and picked up her wand. That old hag McGonnagal told me my parents had died during the second wizarding war, and she never mentioned anything about my vampire relatives. If she hid the fact about my vampire relatives, then she could have lied about my parents for all I know. Could it be what I really suspect? Aislinn closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the ice-cold winter air, trying to calm down as her heart started beating faster. Plans changed! I will go straight to the Ministry of Magic and try to meet up with the minister and ask him more questions about this relative of mine.

Aislinn arrived in the atrium hall of the Ministry of Magic. Some wizards and witches who walked past stared at her. She just glared back at them until they looked away. She suddenly saw a familiar figure walking towards the golden gates at the far end of the atrium hall. She hid behind a statue out of habit and wondered at the same time why she was hiding. He had not even noticed her. A good old friend of my parents? That is what he said when he introduced himself to me at the wedding. Could he possibly have been close to them, like a relative? But my parents were the only ones from my family who joined the late Dark Lord, and none of my parents did have a sister or brother. Did one of them have a human cousin...? Ugh, I am not getting any smart on this. Aislinn nearly pulled her hair in frustration, feeling that just trying to figure things out herself would not give her any straight answers. Plans changed again. I will ask this so-called old friend of my parents instead of trying to find the minister to find out the truth.

"Hey!" Aislinn called out as she left her hiding place and rushed towards the golden gates. "Hey, mister!"

It was a bit crowded in the Atrium Hall, and she could have called on anyone all in vain, not because he was too far away to hear her, but because he was not the only mister among the wizards in the Atrium Hall. The wizards and witches closest to Aislinn turned around and looked at her, wondering who she was calling on. She tried to run in her long bridesmaid dress towards the golden gates. As soon she had reached the gates, Aislinn entered the smaller hall, where there were at least twenty lifts behind wrought golden grilles. But the masked wizard was nowhere to be seen.

"Uh...," Aislinn looked around her and asked aloud among the chatty wizards and witches: ”Has anyone seen the gentleman wearing a mask?" She was trying to catch her breath, looking wild with her messy hair, hair strands plastered all over her sweaty face and cheeks red as a tomato. It suddenly got quiet, and they glanced oddly at her. "Do any of you know at which department I can find him?" She clarified and combed her messy hair with her fingers to make herself look neat.

"Gentleman?" One middle-aged witch exclaimed rudely, wrinkling her nose. "I would not call someone who smells of firewhiskey around the clock a gentleman..." She snorted.

Another witch muttered loud enough for Aislinn to hear her calling the masked man crazy because she had heard him talking to himself behind the door to his office.

Aislinn lost her patience. She set off a jinx by mistake when she flicked with her wand angrily. It was colourless, yet it gave off a crackling sound against the golden metal bars of the wrought grilles as the jinx went in a zigzag around her and randomly hit any inanimate object in the hall. She stood still, but it caused a great commotion. Some crouched down in fear to avoid getting hit by the jinx. Some were quicker and drew out their wands and cast protego around themselves and counterspells to ward off the jinx. Other wizards and witches, who were entering the hall and leaving the lifts, were caught up in a surprise, stopped abruptly, and literary tripped on their steps.

"I demand to know at which department the masked gentleman works!" Aislinn spoke with a superior tone, stressing every syllable of the word gentleman. She looked at everyone around her with a threatening look that told them if none answered her at this instant, she would probably burn down the place.

"...the...the......dragons...," one of the wizards, still crouching, stammered.

"What?" Aislinn looked dumbfounded. So, this old friend of my parents works with dragons? Is there a department specializing in dragons?...
Such as an office for dragonologists, just like there used to be an office for Aurors? She scratched her head in confusion. The employees of the Ministry of Magic started to move carefully, either entering or leaving through the golden gates and the lifts. She entered one of the lifts with everyone else and stared at the list with numbered floors. "...oh, of course, it should be this one..." She chuckled, not realizing that she was talking out loud and that some were staring oddly at her. She pressed the button for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.

So, he must be a dragonologist since he works with dragons. And apparently, he loves firewhiskey and talks to himself. Aislinn realized that this mysterious friend of her parents was strangely similar to her. For a mere second, she thought he might be her older brother, but she dismissed the thought immediately. She remembered when she was down among the archives in the Ministry of Magic, looking for clues about her family on her father's side. It was after she had met her grandmother for the first time. There was no information about a possible brother in the listed archives. Besides, Aislinn's grandmother would have told her if she had had any brother or sister. She knew she was the only child of her parents. But I have not looked in the archived list of the Gaunt family, Aislinn realized just as she arrived at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. She walked and looked around for a while, debating if she should return to the lift and go to the archives. She noticed all the doors, but one had name plates. She did not recognize any of the names at the doors to the offices, but she was more curious about the one without a nameplate and decided to try that one first. She knocked softly. There was no answer. She knocked at the door again, harder this time. Still, there was no answer. She felt the door handle. It was, of course, locked, which was not surprising. Suddenly, a door at the far end of the corridor opened. Aislinn unlocked the one in front of her with a quick and silent alohomora and hurried inside without thinking. Aislinn closed the door, hoping that one employee leaving the office had not seen her. She looked around in the moderately small office room with its simple furniture and a small window. Her eyes fell on the three small cactus plants on the window sill. She wrinkled her nose, wondering who this crazy person was who liked to have stingy plants as decorations. A squeaking sound made her almost jump out of her place. Behind the wooden desk was something covered with a silky black cloth. It seemed to have the shape of a birdcage. Aislinn looked suspiciously at it for a mere second. She had a gut feeling that the sound was from that spot. Another squicky sound confirmed her gut feeling. She raised her wand and waved it towards the direction of the cloth. It fell to the floor, revealing a hatchling of the Peruvian Vipertooth breed in a cage. It squeaked.

"Oh.." Aislinn laughed. "Merlin's beard, you are so cute," She said to the hatchling, momentarily forgetting why she was at the Ministry of Magic. She walked over to the cage, and when she picked up a pair of dragon gloves from the desk, her eyes fell on some paperwork. She was curious and could not help but skim through a large piece of parchment at the top of the messy paperwork on the desk. She dropped the dragon gloves on the floor. The time suddenly stood still, and she was not hearing the squeaking hatchling. She picked up one piece of paperwork after another with shaking hands, staring at the signature of Edward Monroe at the bottom of every parchment. His handwriting was clear and steady with evenly shaped letters.

My eyes are not deceiving me, are they? Aislinn felt dizzy. She drew out the chair and sat down to calm down a bit. Let me think rationally. I need to get down to the archives and check the files of my family name to confirm one thing. She took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling, before standing up. She put the chair back and picked up the gloves from the floor. She tried to place everything as it was at the desk. That was when she came across a small leather-bound journal with worn edges. She thought it was a diary containing some secrets, though it turned out to be a photo album with animated pictures and a couple of love letters. Aislinn's eyes widened in shock when she saw how strikingly alike she was to a young woman in the photos. The difference between the young woman and Aislinn was the woman's partly scarred face and long hair. Even if Aislinn knew she should not poke anymore, she could not help but give the love letters a quick look. She also noticed the same signature at the bottom of some letters. She dropped everything, the journal with the photos and all at the desk. A stir of emotions emerged inside her. She looked at the cute squeaking hatchling. Without hesitation, she opened the cage and grabbed the hatchling gently with her bare hands. She held it close to her chest, caressing it with such affection. Everything that had been happening from her last conversation with Alastair until now had become too much of a burden. She was unaware of the hot stream of tears running down her cheeks, and she had forgotten that she should not touch a dragon, even a hatchling, without dragon gloves. At the same time, she had no idea that she was immune to dragon pox.

All of a sudden, Aislinn heard footsteps nearing, and before she could react, the door to the office opened. She looked up in panic. She had forgotten to lock the door behind her. But even if she had remembered to do that, it would have been in all vain. The one she was half unexpecting and expecting to see would have unlocked the door anyway. Aislinn was quick enough to apparate away, far enough to run inside a lift. However, she had taken the hatchling with her, unaware it was wearing a tracking charm on its left leg. Still clutching the squeaking hatchling, she looked for the floor of archives among the listed floors. She pressed the button to floor FC4½.

He appeared just before me, but I could not bring myself to ask him the questions I had in mind. I need to check the registry of witches and wizards in Great Britain first.

"Seriously, did that old fool Shadowwalker tell her to find me in my office? Why did he not alert me beforehand? And she took the hatchling!" Edward was feeling aghast, astonished and shocked. The last thing he would expect was finding his daughter poking about in his office. Edward snatched a bottle of antidote for dragon pox, the cage and his dragon gloves. Then he hurried after her, following the tracking charm attached to the hatchling. "Merlin's hairy beard! First, she gets herself into an accident that nearly kills her, and now she has to touch that hatchling without the gloves. Does she have a death wish?!"

This time, it was easier to enter the archives. There were no guards. However, little did Aislinn know that the entrance was charmed with a trapping charm. Anyone who was not allowed inside would be trapped. Aislinn only had her mind on checking her family name, and she had no idea that the Ministry of Magic restricted the entrance to the archives because of the findings of five non-registered sorceresses in their community. However, she was lucky since she was one of the few allowed inside the archives. This time, Aislinn ran among the shelves. She did not care about the mess she made when scrolls fell to the floor from the shelves while picking out the scroll she was looking for. She let go of the hatchling that started to run around inside the archives like a lost little chick looking for its mummy.

Aislinn could not take her eyes from the parchment she was holding. She tried to process the fact that her father was very much alive. She tried to remember how she could have missed such a crucial detail when she had checked the list of her paternal family tree the first time.

"Looking for something, young lady?"

Aislinn nearly jumped as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She dropped the parchment she had been holding.

"Tsk...making a mess in my office, and now a mess in the archives. You know, you are not exactly being stealthy," Edward remarked, wondering who his daughter had taken after since he was not clumsy. But he regretted the moment he had uttered his words when he saw the heavy tears rolling down her cheeks. Feeling deeply ashamed for making her cry, Edward began apologizing. Noticing that she was unresponsive and did not stop crying, he fell silent and embraced her instead.

To his relief and surprise, she stopped crying. He was worried that she would push him away, but she did not. There was a feeling of a familiar nostalgic comfort in his embrace. She could not put a finger on it, but she could vaguely remember it from her childhood. And he does not smell like firewhiskey at all. There is this familiar and nostalgic earthy smell of a crisp frosty winter forest...

”So, how did you find my office?” Edward asked carefully, closing the door to his office. He gestured towards an armchair, inviting Aislinn to sit.

When she did not answer, he changed his question: ”Did someone tell you where to find me?”

She shook her head, looking down at her feet. A long silence filled in as he observed her closely while preparing a large cup of hot chocolate. He had noticed the hollow look in her eyes for a moment. It was so clear on her face that she was heartbroken.

"Did I upset you?" He asked quietly after what felt like ten minutes had passed. He handed her the cup.

She shook her head again. He sighed with relief yet he could not relax until he knew why she had gotten into the horrible accident that had sent her unconscious to St. Mungos.

"Did someone else upset you?"

She did not reply, neither with a headshake or head nod. However, he noticed how she clutched her cup and the sudden twitch in her eyes.

…So, someone did upset her, He thought, but ceased to ask more questions even if he was dying inside to know who had upset her. I will wait until she is ready to speak…
“Listen, I have a lot of work to do. You are welcome to stay here today if you wish. I will be in and out of the office, though, of course, I will be here if you need anything,” He took off his cloak and put it around her so she would feel more comfortable in the armchair. He could have conjured up a duvet. However, giving his cloak as a comforter instead would give her more comfort and the feeling that he was always close by whenever she needed him. “But, please, for the love of the late Dark Lord, do not touch the hatchling without dragon gloves, let alone let it out from its cage. The hatchling is not mine. I only borrowed it for the time being for a little mission, and I need to return it after the holidays."

Seeing the serious look she gave him, he hoped she had taken his words with all seriousness.

As soon as Aislinn was left alone, she put the cup with hot chocolate on the floor and stood up. She looked at the cloak that fell off her shoulders. She picked it up and took a deep smell, the familiar smell of an earthy and crisp winter day. She brushed away the tears that suddenly started to emerge. She put on the cloak and finished the hot chocolate to comfort herself. But somehow, she felt fidgety in the office and could not relax in the armchair. But as soon she stepped out into the corridor, she returned to the office. She walked around the office, examining mundane details of the interior until she got bored. She found a thick book that listed every breed of dragon with detailed descriptions. She sat down by the desk and started to read. It helped her to take her mind off Alastair for a while, and she was soon so engulfed by the book that she lost track of the time.

”…Aislinn…Aislinn…”

Aislinn woke up with a start when she heard a familiar voice calling out to her. She noticed that she had fallen asleep while reading. It had turned dark, and she looked around, wondering where she was. She almost got scared when she saw a masked man seated in a chair on the other side of the desk. It took her a while to recognize her surroundings and remember everything that had happened before she fell asleep. She felt groggy and thought her father was telling her she should leave, but he was actually telling her that he had finished his work. She returned the book she had been reading and hurried to leave the office but turned back to return his cloak. She abruptly bumped into him.

”You can keep my cloak,” Edward laughed, catching Aislinn in his arms as she nearly lost her balance and stumbled on his feet, and then he added: ”And you can have this one as well,” He gave her the book she had been reading. Before she could react, he put his left arm around her shoulder and led the way until they were both outside the Ministry of Magic. As Aislinn was thinking of a way to excuse herself for tonight, she looked confused at her father when he handed her a helmet after duplicating his into two.

”We are going home,” Edward explained, gesturing at his motorcycle.
Aislinn shook her head and stepped away from him, hugging the book about the dragon species tighter.
"Oh...would you prefer a different travelling method?"
When she just avoided eye contact and did not answer, he asked:
”Don’t you want to go home to grandmother?”
She shook her head.
”Did she upset you?” He asked, remembering that someone had upset his daughter.
Aislinn shook her head again.
”Did Vincent upset you?”
She shook her head again.
”Did anyone else in the family upset you,” Edward tried to keep his calm and patient composure. Inside, he was starting to feel furious because Aislinn was being quiet. He wished she would speak to him, to tell him everything. However, she shook her head once again. ...Perhaps if I took off my mask, it would make her speak...I have not taken off my mask all day...and perhaps seeing my face would make her more comfortable I hope...

”Fine, what about we have dinner at a nice restaurant first?" He suggested tentatively. "I bet you are hungry, aren't you? And your grandmother isn’t the best cook, I know,” He laughed.

Aislinn wanted to protest, but before she had time to react, she found herself at a table for two with her father in a restaurant just across the street in front of the Ministry of Magic. I am hungry, but I don’t have any appetite. She stared down at the menu. I will only have some soup... she thought, but after she had placed her order, she got not only tomato soup but also two pieces of buttered toast to have with the soup, a large slice of chocolate cake as dessert and a goblet of pumpkin juice.

Aislinn was caught off guard by this gesture of her father. She slowly picked up her spoon and started to stir the soup. She tried not to stare at him when she noticed him taking off his mask and placing it on the table. Then, her eyes wandered to the human meal he had ordered for himself. While she tried remembering what Vincent had told about dhampirs' nourishment during the guest lecture at Hogwarts, her eyes fell on the crystal bottle containing firewhiskey.

Aislinn opened her eyes, looking at a white high ceiling above her. Her head hurt, and she wondered if the meeting with her father had been an odd dream. ...of course, it must have been a dream...hot tears started to roll down her cheeks. ...but his embrace felt so real...She forced herself to sit up. To her dismay, she discovered she was not wearing the black bridesmaid gown but wearing her white nightgown.

Aislinn looked around in panic, wondering what was going on with her. She panicked even more to the extent that she started hyperventilating when she discovered that she was in her bedroom at her grandmother's place.

However, Aislinn managed to calm down when she saw the book her father had given her yesterday. The book was on her bedside table, and his cloak neatly folded on a chair in her bedroom. She breathed out in relief. ...so yesterday was not a dream...he is real...my father is real... She thought, but suddenly, her happy mood went downhill. She clearly remembered that she had refused his offer of taking her home. What scared her was that she could not remember anything after what happened after she drank fire whiskey at the dinner last night. ...did he lace my food with the sleep draught, or did he tamper with my memories...? She thought, feeling hurt and angry.

Aislinn hurried out of her bed, groaning because of her headache. She quickly splashed some ice-cold water on her face and brushed her teeth. Then she changed her nightgown to the attire she had worn to her last meeting with the others at Hogwarts: dress pants and shirt with a frilled collar, a short black wool jacket with decorative silver hook buttons, a pair of high-heeled boots that reached above her knees, a rounded cloak, a pair of leather gloves, and a hat, everything in black. She did not put on any make-up and grabbed her wand, avoiding glancing at her hollow and thin face in the floor-length mirror.

...I need to see both Crystal and Luna...I never responded to the message Crystal sent me through the emerald...and Raven...Aislinn left her room as quietly as she could. It was eleven o'clock, according to the clock on her bedroom wall, and hence she hurried to get out of the manor while her family were still asleep. Aislinn tried not to run down the stairs as she descended them. She was thankful for the carpets that covered the floor and the steps, or her heels would have caused a loud clicking sound against the bare floor.

"Aislinn...?" A familiar voice called out to Aislinn just when she reached the front doors at the end of the hall. She turned around and stared in horror.
"Morning, pumpkin." Edward grinned, flashing his fangs. He was wearing a pink apron which made a weird contrast to his black dress pants and white shirt, dark eyes and slick-back hair. "I made some lovely breakfast for you," He said as he walked closer and stopped just three feet from her. He had folded up his sleeves, so that faint scar of the death-eater mark was noticeable. He was holding a greasy spatula with his right hand and there was a faint smell of fried eggs and bacon.

Aislinn could not find her voice and shook her head in panic. She was holding her wand with one shaky hand, pointing it at him, while trying to find the door handle with her other hand.

"What's the matter, dear?" Edward frowned. ...Did she have a nightmare last night?

"You...you made me d-drink sleep d-draught and...and...and b-brought me home against my will last night..." She stammered. "The aud-audacity you have...waltzing into my life...as if...as if...now...acting...like...like...you care..." She tried to speak her mind but got lost in her words, and tears started to flow down her cheeks.

"I think we have a huge misunderstanding," He spoke slowly and held up his hands when he saw the panicked look in her eyes. "But, please, for the love of the late Dark Lord, do not point your wand at me." He pushed away her hand gently. "The only potion I gave you yesterday was an antidote because you touched the hatchling without dragon gloves. Besides, you were free to leave yesterday, but you chose to stay and read a book in my office." And I still don't know how you found my office and why you were poking around there.

Aislinn got silent and could not argue. She realized that she was the one in the wrong in this situation since she had gone straight to his office without his knowledge or permission, entering by force, poking among his office work and choosing to stay there instead of leaving.

"And you hardly spoke," He continued. "You either remained silent or shook your head. When we had dinner, you drank so much fire whiskey until you knocked yourself out. I actually ordered pumpkin juice for you, but you refused to drink it..." He explained, still speaking slowly. The crystal bottle of fire whiskey had been a bet to see what his daughter would do, but he never told her that. "And I could not just leave you dead drunk at the restaurant. So I had no other choice than to take you home."

He maintained eye contact until she averted her eyes and looked down at her feet. She felt guilty and ashamed.

"Tsk tsk...the audacity you have, young lady, falsely accusing your father and pointing your wand at him..." Edward commented dryly and then brushed off some dust from her coat, patted and caressed her hair with his left hand because he thought her hair looked like a mess and then adjusted her hat.

Aislinn stood still for a moment, watching speechlessly as he left her and vanished into the kitchen at the opposite end of the corridor. She could not tell if he had been passive-aggressive or just sarcastic. ...should I just go to the Cobweb in Knockturn Alley where Luna, Crystal or Raven would probably be waiting for me and deal with him later...or should I try to resolve the misunderstanding with him first and then meet the others?

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Earlier That Day

As the castle doors creaked to a shut behind her, Malice walked through the entrance hall, eager to tinker more with the castle. She came to stand on a particular tile at the hall's end, where she'd carved an opalescent white skull into the black marble. She clapped twice, "Let's see what you two can do!" Her clothes glowed white, transforming from a simple black handkerchief dress to an opulent ensemble scattered with tiny skull buttons. After admiring the outfit for a bit, she pressed the central skull button on the left wrist.

A human skull poofed into existence, groaning in pain.

Malice grinned, snatching it out of the air. "Hold still."

"What is...my purpose here?" The skull squirmed futilely.

Malice reached for the back of her had, twisting off a small, black clock with skull arms pointing to silver roman numerals. She admired it for a moment before shoving it through the skull's mouth.

"Aaaaaaah!" The skull shrieked.

"You're my assistant." Malice replied, letting the skull roll out of her grasp with a satisfied smirk.

"Oh Satan..." The skull sobbed, tumbling through the hall.

"I'll name you...Skellington? Skully? No...Bonesy? Not quite. Mmm, Skullsworth!" Malice invented. "Sir...Clarus...Reaper Skullsworth!"

"This is agony..." Skullsworth groaned before a gigantic mirror. It resented the way the clock forced its jaw open uncomfortably.

"No, really?" Malice laughed. "Now, let's see..." She pressed a few more random buttons on her outfit, giggling, "Forgot to make all of them work!" until she found one that did.

Meanwhile, the skull zoomed about, gradually growing accustomed to its ability to fly.

BWERRRRRRRRRRP

With a resounding hum, the castle turned half transparent, shifting into the most generic structure in existence.

"Mostly how I see it." Malice half shrugged as she began gesturing in random ways, transforming portions of the castle at a time into something more suitable. "Hmm...more towers...lots more towers.."

Meanwhile

"...Here we are a little ways away from the castle, and bit by bit, it's finally happening! Transforming before our very eyes from a plain structure to a gothic masterpiece!" The news broadcaster demon reported.

"Castle transformation's on tv!" Soren called to Claudia, sitting cross-legged on the couch as he ate an omelet.

"Is sunshine awake, yet?" Claudia rushed in with half a head of perfectly styled hair.

"She's still asleep." Soren replied.

Claudia took a seat beside Soren on the couch, snagging a slice of toast to nibble as she watched the castle change behind the news caster. "I can see improvements already."

Still images popped up beside the changing castle, comparing its previous design, "Note the presence of merely four towers in the old design. Even older, the seven tower design sporting one tower for each sin. This is Demonic Positive News, bringing you the most exciting Castle Transformation in history! We'll be back after these commercials."

"Was it Lucifer or Alastair who booted everyone else from the castle?" Claudia wondered aloud. "Do you remember?"

"Lucifer, but Alastair stated he agreed the castle should only be occupied by the king." Soren replied.

One Hour and Forty-Eight Minutes Later

"I think that's enough for today." Malice nodded at the redecorated exterior. "I'll work on the rest some other time, but for now," she pressed a button on her shoulder, poofing her throne just behind her, "It's time for tea." she fell backwards, sinking into her throne. "Skullsworth, lavender tea."

"It'll be a joy without HANDS!" Skullsworth complained, zooming for the kitchens.

"Yet you're managing to talk without a larynx or tongue just fine. It must be a miracle." Malice smiled, setting her sights on the entrance. She gestured in a whip-like motion, "Onward!" The throne zoomed towards the front doors, slowing to hover before them. "Hmm, turbulent movement patterns." Malice mentally noted.

When Skullsworth returned with a cup gingerly balanced on his head, she noted the time. "Almost there." Malice watched ripples form as she blew on the lavender surface, then took a few small sips. "Why don't you practice countdowns, and give me three seconds?"

"THREEEEEEEEEE!" Skullsworth shrieked.

"Silently." Malice sipped.

The skull froze for three seconds, before groaning, "Three seconds."

"Now let's see about ten minutes." Malice blew on her tea. "With...a midway reminder."

Eleven Minutes Later

Malice stood, vanished her cup, and ordered her throne back to its place in the meeting room. "Put on your best welcoming smile!" She jested.

"...How cruel! I could smile so much better if you'd just take this clock out of my mouth!" Skullsworth begged.

"Hmm, let me think..." Malice teased. "Ah, I know! I'll shove another clock down your throat if you don't do your best! How does that sound?"

"Welcome, welcome!" Skullsworth practiced jovially.

Malice smirked, posing elegantly as the doors opened.

"Welcome everyone!" Skullsworth greeted the demonic princes. "I'm King Malice's new assistant, Sir Clarus Reaper Skullsworth! I hope the new renovations are to your liking! It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Rosaleya breathed a sigh of relief before leaping to embrace Malice.

This is...sudden. Malice thought.

"Oh Malice, I heard you've been so busy, and all this time I had no idea! Do you need help with anything?" Rosaleya asked.

"I do plan to get plenty of help." Malice wrapped her arms around Rosaleya. "I'll keep you in mind for that time. You are shaking though, do you need any help?"

"Nah," Rosaleya took a step back, awkwardly hugging herself before an invisible force abruptly straightened out her posture. "I'm just a bit nervous. First meeting and all that..."

"You'll do great." Nova whacked Rosaleya on the back as he passed by. "Hmm, so the inside looks the same, huh? Just a little redecoration on the outside?"

He sounds slightly disappointed. Malice noted as she walked past him, leading the onwards before Nova got lost on a tangent. "I've been tinkering around with some things through the week, I'll do more later when I feel like it. I didn't think I would for a while, but inspiration hit me one afternoon in the garden, so I ravaged a few graveyards for the perfect skull assistant. Skullsworth should tide me over until I get more help around here."

Skullsworth sighed in relief at the thought of being fired, soon.

"Whose skull is this?" Celeste caressed Skullsworth's jaw line.

"Mmmm..." Skullsworth hummed serenely.

"It's not my skull, is it?" Diana asked worriedly.

Who in their right mind would want any part of you as an assistant? Malice thought. "Who knows?"

"The mouth isn't nearly big enough." Dante snickered.

"It's not, is it, Reign?" Diana aimed pleading eyes at Reign.

"...No." Reign responded.

Diana signed in relief, then glared at Dante, "And no one needs to hear that from you."

"It suits you well, Malice." Asmodeus smiled, rapping a tune on the skull.

"...you'd like a holidayyy." Skullsworth sang along to the rhythm.

"Ohoho, you know this song?" Asmodeus blinked, impressed. "You've done quite well with this one." He laughed heartily.

"I've been thinking of how long it's been since we've all gotten together and played a game," Malice began as she led the group past the throne room.

"Do you plan to keep it this way?" Asmodeus nodded towards the rubble Alastair had left behind.

"I plan to enchant it for field trips, actually," Malice smiled, "so visitors can observe the king's pathetic last moments firsthand."

Rosaleya noticed Eric fidgeting uncomfortably, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"So, will you get a new throne room?" Nova smirked at Malice's plan.

"I'll explain more when we reach the meeting room." Malice began their trip up a large spiral staircase, located at the base of the central tower.

"Did you make that dress, Malice?" Rosaleya asked curiously.

"I did." Malice stopped at the landing, twirling once before posing with both hands on her hips. "I still feel it's missing something, but I'm quite excited at what I've created so far! Each skull button," she pointed to a few, "does something different! I plan to control the whole castle this way one day."

"That's so cool!" Rosaleya exclaimed. "How many buttons are there?"

Malice spun to continue on up the next flight of stairs, "Can you guess? As I was saying before," she jokingly flashed Asmodeus a sideways glance for interrupting earlier, "it's been a while, so I was thinking we'd all play a game together." And you seem so nervous, giving you something else to focus on during the meeting should help. "Since you're only a stand-in, you wouldn't be invited normally." She waited for Rosaleya's nerves to grow before continuing, "But, I suppose if you can spot all the skulls on my ensemble by the meeting's end, I'll give you a pass. I'll give you an error margin of two, since there are so many skulls that blend in. So, what do you say?"

"Deal!" Rosaleya clenched her fists in determination.

"Very well, then. Oh," Malice spoke as if she'd just considered the idea, "you don't think it'll be too much of a distraction during the meeting, do you?"

"If it ends up that way, I would rather skip the party. This is more important." Rosaleya assured.

They entered the meeting room, and Malice pretended not to notice Rosaleya lagging behind the rest as they took their seats. You'll find your chair soon enough. She took her own seat, and picked up a stack of papers. Shuffling to the lists of topics, she noticed some demons had left personal notes in the margins. Celeste's had arrows directing to neat lists at the edges, Nova's was an explosion of chaotic scribbles in every available space, and Diana's had hearts at the corners surrounding Reign's name. Then there was Asmodeus, who had crossed off ones he disliked, although Malice wondered if he disliked the topic itself, or the idea of discussing it.

Nova elbowed Rosaleya in the stomach as she took her seat.

"Eh..." Rosaleya tried to hold in her pained noises as she clutched her stomach, "...why?-"

"Ooops!" Nova turned to her in surprise. "Sorry, force of habit! I forgot you weren't Satan."

"Oh..." Rosaleya looked to her left, seeing herself situated between Diana and Nova. "...did you and Wrath fight a lot at this table?"

"Fighting is an understatement." Nova chuckled mischievously.

"It was exhausting." Diana groaned. "I'm happy to get a nice break from it."

"Alright then." Malice levitated everyone their lists, "Skullsworth, begin the recording."

"Right away!" Skullsworth zoomed to the corner to headbutt a skull-shaped button. "Record the meeting, little brother!"

Slide

Malice's gaze flitted to Nova sliding Rosaleya a note, then back to her papers, the edges of her lips twitching upwards.

Nova flashed Rosaleya a wink, head still innocently turned in Malice's direction as he stuffed crayons back into his sleeve.

On a small black paper square, 'You've got this!' was scribbled in purple, surrounded by subtly twinkling gold stars. Rosaleya swiped the note into her lap, took a deep breath, and focused on Malice.

"Welcome to our first official meeting - and the fourth in total. We'll begin by discussing whichever topic we believe is most pressing." Malice explained. "After a ten minute debate period, during which any means or language may be utilized, we'll put it to vote."

Nova's grinned.
Asmodeus's expression grew serious.
Diana sighed in relief.

Rosaleya looked from Dante blankly staring at his paper to Celeste, who met her gaze.

Celeste teasingly mouthed the words, 'Caught you', then turned towards Malice.

"To commemorate, Skullsworth will call attendance." Malice announced.

"It's time for a sinful roll call..." Skullsworth sighed. "Alright then!" He turned to the twins, "Envy?"

"Present." Celeste smiled.
"Present." Dante deadpanned.

"Gluttony?" Skullsworth called.

Meanwhile, Malice ticked their names off a list of sins.

"Greed?"

"Tneserp." Nova grinned.

"Lust?"

"Here." Asmodeus replied.

"Pride." Malice ticked herself off the list.

"Sloth?" Skullsworth turned to Reign.

"Present." Reign replied serenely. I knew you'd do well... He looked over to Rosaleya, who was taking a deep breath in preparation. However, I also knew telling you would cause the self-fulfilling prophecy of becoming too complacent to try hard at all, so for now, I'll continue to support you whenever you truly need it.

"Wrath?" Skullsworth zoomed over to Rosaleya.

Malice held her quill over the last spot.

Rosaleya summoned her confidence to state, "Present!"

"Very well." Malice ticked the final sin, levitating the list to the wall behind her to hang with a skull-shaped pin. "With full attendance...the debate shall begin. Skullsworth, it's time for a ten minute countdown!"

"You've all got ten minutes! My battery life has truly gone to hell, so get on with it!" Skullsworth barked.

"Rude." Malice mentally noted.

After a round of light laughter, Celeste began. "I believe undoing Alastair's 'contradictory, illegal, and secret laws' is the ideal first step, allowing us to proceed with our work free of hindrances."

It looks like I won't have to change that aspect of Skullsworth any time soon. Malice thought.

"'Reallocation of certain properties owned by Lust'?" Asmodeus read with a raised eyebrow. "I'd like to know what the reason for such a move is." He looked to Malice.

I thought you'd go for that one first. Malice maintained a blank expression, ignoring him as she prepared her next stack of papers to read off. You'll learn more if you can get everyone else to vote for you.

"Who else thinks this sounds ridiculous?" Asmodeus turned back to the others.

Diana glanced at Reign.

"My chosen topic of debate is the seventh from the bottom." Reign replied.

"-So is mine!" Diana replied without hesitation, only searching for what topic that was after she'd spoken. 'Removal of The Five'. Okay, then.

"Asmodeus?!" Nova put on a dramatic voice, throwing himself back in his chair as if he'd been shoved by some invisible force. "Do you care more about the state of your properties than the terrible laws the last king implemented against the people's will?! Are you having..." He gasped, putting a hand to his heart, "money problems?"

Asmodeus glared. You know that's not what I meant, you fool!

Rosaleya pressed a hand to her mouth, trying to smother her laughter.

"I-" Asmodeus had to stop himself from taking Nova seriously. He continued in a calmer tone. "-you're well aware my intentions were only to address how ridiculous this topic sounds. I simply asked if anyone thought the same."

"Of course it sounds ridiculous." Nova switched to a rational tone, shrugging to the others at the table, "Right?"

An unenthusiastic mutter of agreement followed.

Celeste...this was you. Asmodeus leaned back in his chair, knowing he couldn't suggest it as a topic, now. In the end, you won what you wanted... Their eyes met, and his grimace melted into a beaming smile. ...You did so wonderfully, I should've noticed my tactics being used against me sooner. So, I'll vote for your topic.

Malice looked up when a long silence followed, following Nova's gaze to Rosaleya pondering with furrowed brows. So cautious. She's really overthinking this. She glanced to Celeste and Dante, who used gestures to converse so it didn't affect the recording, then back to Nova, shaking more and more crayons out of his sleeve to doodle on his list.

"Nova," Rosaleya began after a few minutes, "what are you thinking of voting on?"

"Tick tock..." Skullsworth groaned.

"...suck my clock." Nova sang softly.

"...Five minutes remain, this existence is such a pain..." Skullsworth finished.

Surpassing my expectations with the poetic rhyming function when in pain. Malice smiled, pleased.

"My vote is to the people." Nova chuckled to Rosaleya. You didn't just spent all of that time to ask me what I'm voting for, did you?

"Seriously?" Rosaleya asked.

"Why, what's your vote?" Nova smiled knowingly.

Rosaleya looked to Reign. "Reign, can you give me a reason for debating that topic?"

"Trouble brewing is worst than trouble brewed." Reign said.

Rosaleya nodded. "Okay, good point. And since you can see the future, you probably know which one is best anyways. Wait, so then why doesn't everyone just vote on Reign's choice?" She turned to Celeste.

"Removing harmful laws won't only make things easier on all of us, but make things far more pleasant for the denizens of Hell in the meantime." Celeste explained. "There's also the likelihood of Reign choosing that topic to prompt some other reaction from the demons here, ending in my topic being the eventual winner. There's no guarantee that his explanation is the truth if he sees a lie that leads to a better future for all of us."

"That makes a lot more sense." Rosaleya replied gratefully. "Thank you for the explanation."

Celeste nodded as if to say, 'You're welcome.'

How strange...thanking someone for explaining their side in a debate. Malice thought.

Rosaleya thought for a moment before addressing Nova. "Nova...you don't believe in destiny, right?"

"Can anyone truly believe in destiny?" Nova jested, dramatically placing his hands to his heart.

"You don't," Rosaleya affirmed, trying to stay serious, "that's why you'll probably avoid voting for Reign's. It's why you moved Asmodeus over to Celeste's side, too."

"Are there really sides in something like this? There are really just topics, votes, and debates." Nova denied with a shrug.

Rosaleya pondered in silence for another minute before turning to Reign, "Reign, I've almost made my decision. Is there anything you want to tell me first?"

"No." Reign replied simply.

Rosaleya considered everything for the remaining time, deep in thought.

Eventually, Skullsworth announced, "Your time is up! And when your time truly comes to an end, you'll all look like me!"

"That's preposterous!" Nova folded his arms with a pout. "Mayyybe I'd like to die by falling from a crazy height and ruining the landing, and look like tomato-scrambled eggs. Or burn alive, and end up as a pile of ashes! Then you're forgetting the people who want to bathe in acid or get their heads impaled, so there are tons of ways our skulls could look."

Malice giggled before proceeding formally, "Onto the votes! All those in favor of Sloth's topic?"

Reign and Diana raised their hands, followed by Nova.

Nova gazed proudly at Rosaleya's bewildered expression before bursting into laughter.

"What..." Rosaleya reminded herself to close her gaping mouth, "...But I thought you wanted to go with Envy's-but then why did you make Lust change sides-why did you-I thought you hated fate and destiny and-"

"-and when people try to predict my actions?" Nova offered.

"Yeah! But-" Rosaleya realized her mistake. Her face fell with a twinge of embarrassment.

"Aaaw, did you try to figure me out?" Nova winked playfully. "You've got to remember, I love playing Devil's Advocate, and I love messing with people just as much. Sloth thought he had me all figured out, too, thinking I'd vote for Envy. But let me tell you both something. Boop!" He booped Rosaleya on the nose, then gave Reign a second one in the air.

"So you didn't partner with Envy?" Rosaleya asked.

"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't." Nova chuckled.

Rosaleya looked to Reign, but Malice cut her off.

"-Those in favor of Envy's topic?"

Celeste, Dante, Asmodeus, and Rosaleya raised their hands.

"I concur with Envy." Malice raised her hand, "I believe the most pressing matter is returning things to normal before experimenting with things that haven't been touched in centuries." She picked up three papers from the top of her stack, and began to read, "I've compiled a list of contradictory, illegal, or secret laws approved by the former king of Hell. I'll read one aloud, we'll vote for its abolition, and a majority vote will trigger a discussion. Does anyone have any questions?"

Diana raised her hand.

Malice pointed to it, "Yes?"

"How long will this go on for?" Diana asked.

"The entire meeting shouldn't take more than an hour." Malice replied.

"Thank you." Diana lowered her hand with a sigh of relief.

Malice read the first law on her list, "'It is prohibited by law to inform Alastair's sister that he is the sovereign of Hell.' As the wording could be changed to stay up to date, the debate is whether or not it should be updated, or removed altogether."

"I think it's ridiculous that he didn't include a law that prohibits informing her followers and others close to her that he's the king." Diana shrugged. "Did he think his girlfriend wouldn't ever tell her boss? Did he make her take an Unbreakable Vow not to?" She looked to Reign.

Reign closed his eyes for a moment before replying, "...No."

"So it doesn't really need to be there at all." Diana concluded, raising her hand. "I vote to abolish it."

"You're still her cousin," Asmodeus pointed out, "would you not want it kept a secret?"

"The possibilities of endless conversations as we discuss our different stances, realms, and styles of leadership excite me far more than any consequences." Malice grinned widely.

Asmodeus raised his hand.

Nova grinned, raising his hand as well, "That's the best attitude to have about it!"

"What is your plan for her inevitable requests for assistance from the King of Hell?" Celeste asked.

"I'll ensure the price is high enough that she doesn't get carried away." Malice replied without hesitation, then turned to Nova. "I'd also like you to make bigger requests in return. Ask for her home, her castle, her heart - make it so ridiculous she cannot agree. Doubts mean you haven't gone far enough." She smiled innocently.

Wonderful, she's thought this through. Celeste raised her hand, followed by Dante and Reign.

Nova laughed mischievously, "I like your style! No problem."

Rosaleya thought for another minute before scribbling a question on Eric's notepad, and raising her hand.

Malice raised hers to complete the vote. "All in favor of abolishing the law." She crossed the law off her list, then read the next, "'The denizens of Hell are required by law to bow to the sovereign when observing him for the first time in any setting, or after a period of five minutes during which they have not seen him.'"

Rosaleya seemed surprised to see her hand shoot up with Celeste's and Dante's.

"What are your reasons, Wrath?" Diana asked.

Rosaleya glared, "I just don't think it's necessary."

"You're just not talking much, I was wondering if you had more to say you weren't necessarily showing." Diana replied, raising her hand.

Rosaleya seemed to catch herself making the rude expression, and relaxed her countenance with a deep breath.

"Even I think bowing would be a drag after a while." Nova jested, raising his hand.

"I wouldn't mind it so much. It's only natural for the denizens to bow to a king." Asmodeus's hands remained steepled on the table.

"Every five minutes?" Celeste challenged.

"We're voting to abolish it, not adjust it." Asmodeus replied.

"There are other ways to show respect." Celeste retorted.

"Why not a cool handshake or a hand sign?" Nova flipped everyone off with both hands, speaking in a low class British accent, "Ayy, there goes the king!" He laughed. "Or a song they play whenever I'm walking in for a dramatic entrance?" He hummed a quirky tune.

Malice chuckled, raising her own hand. "A majority vote in favor of abolishing the law." She crossed it off, and moved on. "'The denizens of Hell are prohibited by law from informing any non-magical humans that he is the sovereign without his permission.' Once again, I see no problem." She faced the table. "If anyone seeks to abuse my help or time, I'll just make it difficult on them."

A unanimous show of hands followed.

Malice crossed it off, "All in favor of abolishing the law...next we have, 'The denizens of Hell are prohibited by law from informing anyone of the contents of the sovereign's castle.' Even after it's renovated, I've decided to use the castle as a place to hold meetings, or spend leisurely time with the other royals, while any personal affects remain at my old home. I believe it would be a better alternative than to treat a passing possession as my own and allow the secrecy surrounding it to grow into a mess."

"Do you plan to allow the other demons to enter your castle?" Diana asked.

"Other than the princes and my personal cabinet? Not unless I'm holding an event here, where certain areas will still be restricted." Malice replied. As she continued, Diana, Celeste, and Dante raised their hands. "Once everything's settled, I'm considering events like field trips, parties, or question-and-answer sessions for any concerned parties or interested news channels. Everything will also be distributed to the libraries afterwards for public review."

"I've already got tons of ideas for all those things!" Nova exclaimed, raising his hand.

"I could make some suggestions for the decorations." Asmodeus smiled, raising his hand as well.

"I thought it would be your realm of expertise." Malice smiled.

Rosaleya raised her hand with a soft smile, followed by Reign.

Malice conjured a glass of water for herself, "'All denizens of Hell are prohibited by law to question the ruler's orders when asked to cease.'"

Nova raised his hand, "Questioning things is a pillar of free thought. How are demons supposed to do that if they can't even speak freely? I still remember how much I wanted to blow up this castle when I found this law on the scroll."

"As long as no ulterior motives are hidden behind the questions," Celeste raised her hand, "they should be allowed to question anything they doubt, and freely discuss uncertainties in their own realm."

Dante raised his hand as well.

"The king's will should remain absolute." Asmodeus disagreed. "The law states you can question the ruler's orders, just that you are obligated to stop if asked to cease."

"Oh really?" Nova smirked. "Let's try this, then." In an instant, he'd shaken a mountain of crayons from his sleeves, and doodled a king's crown, crossed arms, and a frown on one index finger. He positioned both hands opposite each other, as if his index fingers were having a conversation. "It's now against the law to use blackmail against demons, no matter the circumstance!" He used a dignified British accent as he waved the king finger around. "But why?" The plain finger asked as he poorly imitated Asmodeus's voice. "Stop asking about it!" The 'king finger' demanded. "And now," He bent the normal finger forward, as if hunched over in sadness, "I cannot ever bring it up again, lest I be killed!" Nova swept the crayons into a pile, casually stuffing them back into his sleeves as he spoke to Asmodeus, "Is that what you want to happen? Because I don't. I hated it, and it should never happen. Maybe instead, a king's will could be established through other means?"

"Other means?" Asmodeus challenged. "I can give advice all day, but it doesn't guarantee people will listen. Very few have refused when their own personal stakes are holding them back."

"Yeah, because they don't have a choice." Nova slid the last crayon back into its place.

"Respect," Celeste pointed out, "trust, admiration, beneficial incentives, justice-"

"-Honesty-" Dante volunteered.

"-transparency, and tradition. I'll expand on any you feel are too vague." Celeste finished.

"No matter, none of those things are absolute." Asmodeus argued.

"And that's why you're not in charge!" Nova crooned, patting the king finger. "Who's an adorable little tyrant? That's right, you are!"

Celeste and Dante shared a laugh.

Asmodeus remained undeterred.

"Why do they need to be absolute?" Malice asked. "In the end, most beings prefer to have the broader facets sorted out for them, so they're left free to pursue the smaller, more personal details of their own lives unbothered. The last king was problematic, yet until he became entirely illogical, there was no whisper of rebellion. These are demons who want good lives, with good intentions. They will listen to someone who not only rewards them for being themselves, but shares their values, remains transparent, and works toward solutions for the finer details. I will be better than any ruler who came before me, so when I am questioned, so be it...I have an endless supply of answers."

Asmodeus beamed. "Oh Pride, my concern was that after the last king's deposition, the same thing may happen to you if you removed the laws that made it so difficult. But you're far more prepared than I could've imagined." He raised his hand, and Reign, Diana, and Rosaleya followed suite.

Malice smiled, savoring the moment before continuing to read, "'It is prohibited by law to request a law be changed unless backed by at least half the demonic population.', yet we also have, 'It is prohibited by law to request a law be changed unless backed by at least one hundred demons.'...Now I recall Asmodeus speaking of voting on the second, as it seemed reasonable. However, my conclusion is that since the king was unable to remove laws in secret, he added the first later on."

"An understandable conclusion." Asmodeus agreed.

"I propose we remove the law requiring half the demonic population to back it, and keep the one-hundred-demon law." Malice looked to the others for their debate.

"Why not remove both?" Diana asked.

Rosaleya crossed something off her notepad.

"The issue then would not be that it was too hard, but too easy." Malice explained. "If even a quarter of the denizens were to make a request to change a law right now, it would take one hundred and twenty years to properly address them all if I did not sleep. Twenty, with a cabinet working without respite. The most efficient is to rely on a system that filters requests to satisfy groups of demons, and address as many of those before my term ends."

"Why not hire a larger personal cabinet?" Diana asked.

"I believe a cabinet of four will be efficient to manage," Malice began, "and present fewer difficulties in acquiring members. The bigger the group, the harder it will be to fill the seats with trustworthy demons, as the requirements will be strict and may change over time. I'll rely on them to filter, summarize, and organize information that is meant for me, as well as personally handle things that don't require my attention. All of that and more must be handled as well as, or better than I would."

"Rather than require one hundred demons to back the request, why not assemble a tribunal with the sole purpose of settling smaller disputes?" Celeste suggested. "They could address written and verbal concerns during meetings, and vote on what requests reach your ears."

"Hmm, the meetings could be broadcast live for transparency, and I could task my cabinet with reviewing them to ensure everything remains fair..." Malice put a finger to her chin. "...which would also allow the cabinet to inform me of any dismissed requests that still hold potential." She nodded, pulling a paper from the middle of her stack to write the idea down. "That's a brilliant idea, Envy!"

"Of course." Celeste smiled elegantly.

"I'll officially remove the laws once I've hired the tribunal members, and we'll vote on implementing a tribunal in future meetings." Malice circled the laws to be changed later, added a note to add the tribunal vote to everyone's topic list, and moved to the next. "'The denizens of Hell are prohibited by law to refuse the sovereign when asked to bow.'..."

Everyone but Asmodeus raised their hand.

"Lust, we just talked about thiiiis!" Nova pouted, wagging his winger at Asmodeus like he was a misbehaving pet.

"Refusing any order by the king is completely different than not questioning them." Asmodeus argued. "An order is an order."

"Yes," Malice smiled calmly, "an order. But if you note the wording here..." She pointed to the word 'asked' for Asmodeus, "Nowhere in the laws does it state that an order can be ignored or defied. It's this law that states this specific request must be treated as an order. My theory is, it was paired with the law requiring everyone to bow, in the event the king was dissatisfied yet refused when asking for more. To not add another ridiculous law amending the frequency of bows required, he added this instead."

"Tell me...orders will continue to remain absolute?" Asmodeus searched Malice's eyes with furrowed brows.

"Now, what would a king be without their orders?" Malice put a hand on Asmodeus's shoulder with a soft smile.

"Then I see...no problem." Asmodeus sighed, raising his hand.

Through the remaining time, they voted unanimously to remove three more laws: 'The denizens of Hell are prohibited by law to refuse the sovereign when reminded to bow.', 'The denizens of hell are prohibited by law to complain of the inflation rates of Hell's demonic currency.', and 'The Demonic Princes are prohibited by law to enter the King of Hell's castle if not for meetings.'

"As our meeting concludes, I'll remind everyone to clear their schedules. This meeting is hereby adjourned for tomorrow, at the same time." Malice gestured to Skullsworth, who headbutted the skull button to end the recording. "Eric, please ensure this recording is distributed to all libraries."

"Right away!" Eric looked as if he was about to bow, but stopped himself, bolting over to the skull button instead. He cupped his hands beneath its tiny mouth just as it began noisily regurgitating capsules.

"Did it always make that noise?" Diana grimaced.

"No." Malice giggled.

Nova chuckled, walking over to the skull button to pat its head. "There there. Someone needs to get you an ice pack and a bucket, huh?"

"Oh brother...hopefully you won't have to go through this for long..." Skullsworth told the button. "...I can't imagine the agony you must be in!" He shot Malice a sideways glance.

"It must be quite painful." Malice giggled in delight.

"So what game were you imagining?" Celeste asked.

At the mention of the game, Rosaleya's face fell.

Ah, she forgot to count the skulls, didn't she. Malice noticed, replying to Celeste, "Stones."

Rosaleya approached Eric, her back facing the table of demons to hide her expression while she asked if she was needed for anything else.

"No, you should be able to leave now." Eric assured, holding the capsules to his chest. "Just be sure you're ready for tomorrow's meeting! Err, could you help me with these?"

Rosaleya nodded, relieving him of half the capsules on their way out.

"In the next meetings, we'll be undoing the laws limiting free speech, so it should lead to some interesting games." Malice smiled. "I'd like to play some designed by demons who can speak their minds."

Nova laughed, "Picture a huge version of Alastair as some shriveled old demon, hunched over the castle while he craps out the dumbest rules. Under a cloak, a big diaper-"

"-that's gross!" Diana waved her hands to get him to stop.

Nova laughed even harder.



Dear Crystal,

I'm doing really well at the McCunnen's house. They're very nice, and I'm having a great time learning more about the demon realm. Claudia's taken me to some fun demon places, and she's been kind about explaining basic things to me. Soren's been a bit distant, and we've fought a few times, but we've made up so I think this is normal. My favorite part of all has to be the feeling of living in a normal house. Claudia bakes and cooks all the time, we watch things all together and talk peacefully, and she reads me bedtime stories when I go to sleep...I can't seem to get enough.

I hope this never ends, because right now, my greatest fear is that it's all some kind of dream or illusion, and that one day everyone will hate me and start acting like dad. I've been having nightmares about it, but I just can't seem to fully get comfortable with everything. It's all so perfect, why am I having this problem at all? Why can't I just enjoy it?

I can't even call Claudia 'mom', when she's literally being the nicest person in the world to me. Am I ungrateful? I also have this huge fear that everyone's just being nice to me for...some reason, and they don't really mean it. I never seem to get that feeling with you, though. Do you know why? Is it because we've known each other for a while? If that's it, it makes sense since I've only known the McCunnens for a little while.

There's also this thing going on in the demon realm, where I'm standing in for a prince! I've spent all week preparing for it, and I just hope I don't mess it up! Your Summary Box was absolutely perfect for remembering everything I had to keep track of, and it really helped me save a lot of time! Since you're always amazing at public speaking, do you have any tips for me? I'm so nervous, I feel like I'm half as prepared and half as smart as everyone else!

What about you? How is everything on your end?

~ Rosaleya

Crystal smiled, flipping the page over and summoning a quill. "Thanks for delivering this letter. I'll have to bug Rosaleya about getting an owl someday." She joked.

"No problem. I'm happy to help you two keep in touch." Claudia smiled, leaning up against a pillar. "You know, if you ever need a break around here, I could gather some demons interested in teaching. Are you doing alright in terms of staff?"

"We've got the perfect amount of staff, and if we need more, Luna usually has no problem handling stuff like that." Crystal assured.

Rosaleya,

Some dark lord stuff's been a pain in the butt! I'm most worried about a friend of mine in the hospital. Can't share any details about it, but it's all I've been able to think about. Since I've gotten used to Hogwarts professor-ng that's not a great distraction, but luckily when I'm in the shop all my thoughts focus on those beautiful fabrics. I'm glad I've got that to just take me out of everything.

Have you asked Soren why he's been distant? If you've noticed something, you should talk about it with him and try to solve the problem together. But if he's being a jerk about it, kick his @$$ or I will, I swear. Overall, couples argue all the time, it's totally normal as long as you're not especially trying to hurt each other in the moment. From my experience, people who specifically go for sensitive topics or get physically violent belong in the trash.

As for your discomfort, you might not be able to settle into it so easily since most of your life has been an existence in a stressful place. Don't be surprised if it takes years to get over what Leigh did to you, these things take time. Until then, don't hesitate to reach out to people you like and feel comfortable with to talk - and that includes me! Believe me, if I seem busy I'm most likely pretending to get less work (and in rare cases otherwise, I'll just tell you I'm busy!). Most important here, don't force yourself into anything. Your thoughts and feelings are all knotted up, but one thing's for sure: if something feels wrong, it usually is. Don't ignore those feelings, okay?

I've got that affect on some people - must be because I'm not so uptight all the time. I simultaneously help people relax, and give them the impression they don't have to impress me...most of the time. And yeah, we've known each other for a while so there's that, too.

For public speaking, I just go with whatever I feel is the best answer. Try to think less of the wording, and more of the outcome you want, and work towards that. Wanna be chosen as president? Start talking up all the changes you want to make, and really let your enthusiasm show! Odds are some people will agree, and they'll be your voters since they also feel strongly about it. If you think of it like that, in the right mindset - and one drink later - people will pay more attention to your intentions than your wording, so it won't matter at all! And with that pressure off, you'll do great.

~Crystal

Crystal handed her reply to Claudia. "Thanks again, Claudia!"

"My pleasure, Crystal." Claudia gently folded the letter into the shape of a shamrock.

"I'm sure she'll love that." Crystal admired the shape for a moment before turning back towards the castle.



She's just busy. Stephan told himself. "M...miss...no, I can't stutter. I have to be confident when I say it." He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and faced the tree again, pretending it was Lily. "Miss...no. Lily, I hope you've been alright. It's alright if you were too busy to even read my letter, it was only expressing concern for what happened with the Quibbler. You look alright now, so if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. If you need to, I'm here, though. What I wanted to say was..."

As Stephan mumbled on, Athena crept behind him, half listening to his words until the name, 'Lily' caught her attention.

"...I wondered if you'd like to go to...no, attend sounds more elegant. I...was wondering if you'd like to attend the Yule Ball with me. It's alright if you need time to think about it, and it's alright if you say no. But if you do, I have a surprise for you...I'll give it to you early since I planned to give it to you at the Yule Ball." Stephan timidly held up the finished drawing, heart beating fast at the idea that she'd turn it down in disinterest. I still think that's just too wordy...

"Hey, Stephan!" Athena greeted cheerfully, pretending she hadn't heard anything. I can't ask him now...he's too focused on Lily! Even after she's ignored his letter...why is it he only seems to go after the girls that ignore him? Should I start doing that, too? Ugh, but that's so not my style...and I'd miss him way too much!

"Hey, Athena..." Stephan replied solemnly.

"What's up, Stephan?"

"I can't...nothing." Stephan shook his head, hugging his drawing to his chest to hide it. I know if I tell you, you'll just try to convince me out of it. "Is there something you needed?"

"Wanna have lunch together? They're serving a delicious looking roast chickennn." Athena smiled.

"No thank you. I'd like to think about something alone for a while." Stephan insisted.

"Okay. Let me know if I can help you at all." Athena took two slow steps back in case he changed his mind. "By the way, the Yule Ball's coming up. If you wanna ask someone, probably keep it short and sweet, and don't think too hard about getting all the little details in." She smiled, then turned to speed back to the castle. I'm going to have to find another date for this thing...Maybe I'll ask out some random guy that looks lonely.

Stephan turned back to the tree to continue practicing asking Lily to the Yule Ball. Less details...I think she heard me practicing. He thought in embarrassment. "Lily, would you like to go with me to the Yule Ball?...Lily, go with me to the Yule Ball?...Lily..."



"Not here..." Rosaleya sighed deeply outside the sixth-nearest library. "...and he's still not answering his messages." I'm going to beat the crap out of him. "Is there some other way to contact him that only demons know or something?"

"No." Eric shook his head. "Do you want me to help you get back home?"

"Hmm...no thank you. I'm going to go read up on some things." Rosaleya gestured to the library entrance. "Would you mind if I summoned you when I'm ready to go home?"

"Not at all. Good luck. Oh, and I saw you making notes on the pad, did you want those answered now or later?" Eric asked, gesturing to the notepad under her arm.

"If I can't find the answers myself, I'll ask you on our way back." Rosaleya replied.

"See you then!" Eric sped off, holding the remaining capsules to his chest.

Rosaleya watched him leave, staring at the spot where is form became so distant she couldn't see it anymore for a few minutes before turning to the library. To her surprise, a crowd of eight demons, three holding glowing microphones of different colors up to her, stood behind her. "Oh...hi!" She smiled, pleasantly recalling she was now temporarily royalty. "What's up?"

"Rosaleya Macabre Fairbrook, Lady Rose, Rose, Sunshine, and Rosie! So many options. How would you prefer to be referred to?" The news reporter with the glowing white microphone asked.

"Hmm, I like Lady Rose a lot, please!" Rosaleya replied.

"Well then!" All three reporters began in sync.

"I'm Anonymous Negative Reporter, also known as Red. I work for DNN - Demonic Negative News! I'll be reporting the worst sides of this interview for the general public, as I represent the demons who disapprove of, dislike, or despise you!" The demon holding the red microphone smiled. Her hair, ruffled chiffon gown, and eyes burnt like a raging flame surrounding her, parting the crowd when she moved. Rosaleya wondered if she hallucinated the sound of cracking fire as she pronounced vowels.

"I'm Anonymous Positive Reporter, but you can call me Green! I report live on Demonic Positive News for our amazing viewers who look up to you and want you to succeed!"The demon holding the green microphone tipped his hat. He donned a green bowler hat, a green and purple suit, and brown loafers. Rainbow paint splatters livened his short white gloves, hat ribbon, and tie.

"And I'll be reporting everything you say from an unbiased perspective for anyone who wants to read everything over on DNR - Demonic Neutral Reporting." The demon holding the white microphone finished gently. He wore a gold laurel crown, gold slippers, and a beige toga of layered maps of demonic locations in both realms. Upon closer inspection, one would find the smallest map details moved in subtle ways. Beneath short brown hair, his glowing eyes resembled both worlds: a blue globe splotched with green for Earth, and a circular city covered in a million rainbow lights for Hell. "Do you consent to this interview?"

I've read about you guys in the magazine! 'Green' is the one who reports the news in the magazine, summarizing it before writing more details articles in the newspaper! I remember going back and reading more about them all...so then, this shouldn't be too bad. I think I know enough to go through with this...after all, the other princes have done interviews with them, too...In that case, I just have one more question... "Why are you all so transparent on your stances? I thought negative news outlets always ask sneakily loaded questions then twist them in edited interviews." Rosaleya wondered.

"It's better this way, since the result is the same, and none of us want to lie." White replied.

"But if you two-" Rosaleya gestured to Green and Red "-are only discussing one viewpoint, isn't that kind of a lie?"

"Not at all. If you think of viewpoints as a subjective perspective, we're just conveying what we, and all our readers and viewers think." Red replied. "Isn't it only natural to focus on certain aspects when considering something you think strongly about?"

"Besides, that's why I'm here." White assured. "Just don't forget you can refuse or end the interview whenever you feel like it!"

"Okay then, I don't see why not!" Rosaleya replied, feeling nervous and excited.

"Did you know you would become Prince Wrath's replacement since before the overthrow?" Red prompted.

"Oh, no, it was actually really sudden." Rosaleya admitted.

"How are you finding the meetings so far?" Green asked.

"I think...I'm still getting used to things," Rosaleya thought for a moment, "but everyone's so nice, I think it shouldn't take long to become a bit more comfortable during the...proceedings."

"What experience do you have with proceedings like this?" Red asked.

Rosaleya briefly debated lying and telling the truth, but ultimately decided she'd prefer to be honest with them, "...I have no experience with royal proceedings."

"Do you have any idea why you were selected as Prince Wrath's stand-in?" White asked.

"No, I have no idea." Rosaleya replied.

"Do you plan to eventually replace Prince Wrath?" Red asked.

"No." Rosaleya replied.

"Will you be staying at Prince Wrath's home through the duration of your appointment?" Green asked.

"Nope!"

"Is it true you can't jump?" Red asked.

"My extension can help me jump, but no, I can't." Rosaleya replied, feeling a twinge of embarrassment.

"Do you plan to take Jumping Courses for Young Demons in the future?" Green asked.

"Well I do now, I assumed it was some sort of instinctual thing between demons, I had no idea you could be taught how to jump." Rosaleya replied in surprise.

"Did you grow up thinking you were a human?" Green asked.

"Yeah...but I'm learning so much about everything here, it's beginning to feel more and more like home!" Rosaleya smiled.

"Is it true you've been hiding connections with The Five?" Red asked.

"Nope. I don't know anyone from The Five." Rosaleya replied.

"Are you related to King Malice in any way?" White asked.

"No, but Prince Lust did offer to adopt me once." Rosaleya replied.

"Name something you dislike about working in the castle." Red prompted.

"It's only been one meeting, I can't name anything I dislike yet besides my own nerves." Rosaleya replied.

"Well thank you for wasting my time!" Red rolled her eyes, her flames rising a foot higher in irritation. "Nothing personal, but I hate your guts!" She jumped away.

Rosaleya giggled.

"Are you feeling alright?" Green asked.

"Yeah," Rosaleya laughed, "her honesty really made me laugh, that's all."

"Could you choose one word to describe yourself right now?" Green asked.

"Inexperienced." Rosaleya decided. "In fact, on my way out of the meeting I was actually feeling a bit sad, but you've all cheered me up a lot."

"Why were you feeling sad?" Green asked.

"Even though my expectations weren't high for the meeting," Rosaleya tried to find the right words, "I still felt like I didn't bring much to the table. Nothing really new or outstanding, you know? I know I'll probably do better eventually, but that time feels so far away."

"I hope you have a wonderful day, Lady Rose!" Green said. "Good luck in your next meeting!"

"Thank you. I hope you have a wonderful day too, Green." Rosaleya returned his warm smile.

As Green jumped away, White stepped forth, "I personally believe you're quite brave for going through with this impromptu interview."

"I don't think it's that big of a deal." Rosaleya replied.

"Do you have any closing statements?" White asked.

"You guys all look really cool! Red's flames are amazing, green looks like he'd be waiting under a rainbow somewhere with a pot of gold, and you're like an amazing scribe representing the realms! Do you cover Earth's news, too?"

"Mhm." White smiled. "Goodbye, Lady Rose. We'll see you soon." He jumped away.

The five demons standing behind the reporters stepped up, all speaking at once.

"Guys guys, I can't understand anything. One at a time, starting with-Penelope?" Rosaleya didn't know how she hadn't noticed her before, staring at her in surprise now.

"You can guess which side I'm on." Penelope giggled. "I told the reporters where you'd be so you could do this interview."

"Penelope, what did I ever do to make you so mad at me?" Rosaleya sighed.

"The fact that you don't even know shows how stupid you are." Penelope looked away with a pout. "Enjoy the spotlight for now, but know it won't last for long." She walked off.

A demon boy glared at her before jumping away.

Rosaleya turned to a girl she'd seen in passing in a cosplay shop once. "Haven't I see you around somewhere?"

"Yup! I just wanted to wish you luck. Don't worry if there's a lot of stuff to learn, I think you'll do great, eventually. You must've been chosen for a reason." She smiled, then jumped off.

"Thank you for the kind words!" Rosaleya called after her, hoping she'd heard them.

A young demon boy ran forward, punching her in the gut before jumping away.

Once the initial shock passed, Rosaleya looked down in surprise, "Oh, I really thought that would hurt more."

Finally, only a little demon girl was left. She shyly held up a seashell necklace with a lion's paw scallop as the centerpiece. "I made this during the live broadcast...it'll help you feel less nervous next time!"

Rosaleya gave her a warm hug, then admired the necklace. "It's really-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the girl had jumped away.

"...pretty." Rosaleya admired the opalescent seashells, the centerpiece's inside reflective. When she looked in its reflection, she saw Crystal grinning at her, then Claudia's warm smile as her words echoed in her head, 'Your first response is usually the correct one. You can handle this.' "...My first response?" She looked from the library, to the sky. "Eric, I summon you."



"Soren, where the HECK are you?!" Rosaleya banged on his bedroom door, receiving no answer from inside.

"What's wrong, dear?" Claudia approached her gently. "You were so angry you ran right past me."

"Soren said he'd be at the nearest library after the meeting, and he wasn't!" Rosaleya flailed her arms in exasperation. "He said he hates lies, but he won't even tell me what's wrong, and I'm so tired of it! He just keeps doing this!"

"Keeps doing what?" Claudia took Rosaleya's hands, caressing them soothingly.

"He keeps...keeping things from me! I thought it was fine if we didn't talk about everything, but he insisted we shouldn't keep things from each other or tell lies! He's trying to demand things from me that he isn't even giving himself, and I've tried so hard to be patient with him! I know I haven't been perfect, but he's been worse! And before you ask, I sent him a couple of texts and maybe spammed him middle finger emojis later on, but still no answer." Rosaleya blurted.

"Hmm, I haven't heard from him since he left this morning with you, and everything seemed alright." Claudia put a finger to her chin. "Well, he has to come home sometime. Why don't you try to relax in the meantime? I've made some delicious chicken cream soup."

Rosaleya threw herself into Claudia's arms, breathing heavily. "Yeah...yes please. That sounds great."

Claudia patted Rosaleya on the back, speaking in a soothing voice, "Picture you're in a lush meadow, surrounded by the most beautiful flowers you've ever seen. The weather's just right, and clouds cover the sun so you don't have to squint. And in this field, nothing in the world can hurt or worry you, and time doesn't exist so you can spend as much time as you want there." She smiled, feeling Rosaleya's breathing steady.

"...Can you be there, too?" Rosaleya pleaded.

"Yes, darling." Claudia assured.

"Thank you." Rosaleya whispered.

"For what, sunshine?"

"For letting me talk to you without blaming me for everything? For being here for me...and for having the perfect response when I felt so mad! There are so many things..." Rosaleya teared up.

"Of course, dear. But you don't have to thank me for doing that, it's what any good mother would do."

"...Even though I thought you'd say that...I'm afraid if I don't thank you, you'll stop." Rosaleya tried to hide how her throat tightened up.

"Why would I stop?"

"You'll think I'm ungrateful for all the wonderful things you do."

"Oh Rosaleya...I promise I'll never, ever think that."

"...Really?"

"Yes, sunshine. And I've got more good news; Crystal's sent you a reply."

"Thank you for helping us communicate through all of this." I'll eat up here, read the letter, and hole myself up in a demonic library to get some questions answered. I won't waste this time...moping about Soren.



"Good evening, mistress. It's about time for you to retire for the night." Raven said, putting a hand on Luna's shoulder.

Luna looked up the moment she felt Raven's touch, absent-mindedly asking, "What was that?"

"It's quite late, mistress." Raven reminded.

"Oh," Luna realized, "that time already." I'm glad I asked you to remind me to rest. She slid a parchment from beneath a messy pile, and handed it to Raven. "Very well. Here are the plans for the Yule Ball. Follow the decoration instructions to the letter, and only add onto them if you believe those details could improve on the event's charm. We need things to go well for everyone to lighten the mood, and bring a bit of good news; hopefully this holiday season can calm their hearts." Especially after all this terrible news. "Ensure everything goes smoothly, and prohibit any students from volunteering assistance - they may use that as an excuse to use magic without direct permission - it's an unnecessary risk. As for the prefects and teacher's assistants," she debated putting it to a rigged vote, or making it a straightforward order one last time, "assure them it's nothing personal, but that we cannot risk any unforeseen incidents, as they will not be permitted to assist."

"I understand." Raven nodded, rolling up the parchment to place in her bag. "I'll begin preparations after organizing your notes."

"Perfect. Good night, Raven."

Once Luna made her way out of the labyrinth, she disappeared in a puff of smoke, appearing a moment later in her bedroom. She prepared for bed, eventually falling asleep reading a book about caring for ashwinders.

The Next Day

"Good morning, Yin!" Soren smiled sweetly, reaching to pat Rosaleya's head.

Rosaleya smacked it away, mumbling, "Jerkface."

"Oh come on, wake up or you're going to miss the meeting!" Soren urged, nudging her shoulder.

"You jerk! Where were you all night?! First I was worried, then mad, then sad, then I just gave up and-you couldn't just answer your pager or leave a note?! You said you'd be at the nearest library!" Rosaleya smacked him with her pillow.

"Wh-I was!" Soren shielded his face with his arms. "I was waiting so long I fell asleep!"

"Sure you were!" Rosaleya drew her pillow back, "Claudia was home, she didn't see anything! You could've just come home at the last second!"

"Come on, I'll show you!" Soren ran over to her door with a beckoning gesture.

"I don't need to go with you I had Jade look for you the entire afternoon!" Rosaleya glared. "You had to come home to get here before falling asleep again, and that place was made for naps so you knew what was going down when you went in!"

"Why are you so mad about this anyways? It was a simple mistake." Soren shrugged. "Even you've fallen asleep in weird places before. And so what if I have a sleepwalking problem?"

"Oh? Maybe because I'm at the end of my rope with you, Soren!" Rosaleya got out of bed, crossing her arms to avoid doing anything rash. "You keep lying about things and holding things back and being WEIRD!"

"You're weird!" Soren argued. "You know, that would make a cute couple's shirt. 'Pot' and 'kettle'." He smirked, returning her glare. "You talked to Claudia yesterday, didn't you? You yelled out all your little worries and fears and she calmed you down, just like I did that night, riiight?"

Rosaleya's snoozed alarm clock went off, and she just barely stopped herself from smacking it out the open window. "UGH! We're talking about this later, I can't be late! And if you love napping so much, why don't you crawl under my bed and have a nice long nap there until I get back?" She picked up the outfit she'd worn yesterday, and sped past him, elbowing him in the ribs on the way out.

"I'm already packing breakfast!" Jade called from the kitchen.

"PERFECT!" Rosaleya yelled, simultaneously angry at Soren and grateful at Jade.



"Mistress," Raven landed beside Luna in the labyrinth, "Aislynn has awakened!"

"She has?" Luna replied, quill freezing in place over her notes. She pondered the matter for a moment, then replied, "Show me."

Raven conjured a spy cloud, projecting a confused Aislynn wandering about St. Mungo's.

Luna furrowed her brows, reluctantly ordering, "Return to Hogwarts."

"But mistress-" Raven protested.

"-she has your feather, she has a wand heavy with everyone's messages, and she knows the location of my manor. I would only burden her with more questions she's not in the mental state to answer." Luna insisted. "You may approach her tomorrow to offer assistance, but no earlier. I'll inform Crystal similarly."

"...Yes, mistress." Raven bowed. As she flew away, she secretly wished she'd approached Aislynn first, or been at the hospital at the time of her awakening.


Crystal debated pretending she hadn't heard her emerald's message. Her heart wanted to spam emerald messages of comfort and assurance while racing to track Aislynn down on foot, ignoring her duties as a Hogwarts professor on a Friday afternoon. Screw it, I can grade those papers any time! I've got the whole weekend to do it! But her mind told her Aislynn had ignored her message for a reason. She's been through a lot. If I were in her place, I'd be pissed as all hell! I'm not in her place and I'm still pissed as hell! "Damnit!" She smacked a stack of books off her desk, doing a double take when they landed perfectly atop each other on the floor. With a deep sigh, she forced herself to focus on grading yesterday's papers. I'll finish the papers...I'll work in Darkest Creatures...but the moment I can, I'll talk to her. She pictured giving Aislynn the biggest hug she ever had, and showing her the beautiful Yule Ball gown. I also have to remember she'd used to fixing her problems on her own...what she needs most right now is space. I won't be doing much smothering her...but I'm relieved she's awake. Oh Aislynn...Alastair will frickin' pay for everything! "Better clear my schedule for the weekend, then." She groaned.

Rosaleya let go of Eric's hand, running up to Nova. "Oh Nova, I'm so relieved you're the only one out here right now!" She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why? Got some spicy secret to share with me?" Nova jested. "If it's a crush, you'll have to get in line."

Rosaleya couldn't help but laugh at the thought, before explaining her quarry as quickly as possible. "...And I can't have it affect the meeting! So, I wish I felt calm right now!"

"Any other...details?" Nova gave her an uncertain expression.

"I literally can't think right now and I don't want anyone else to see me like this! That's my wish!" Rosaleya insisted.

"Okay okay," Nova jammed his hands in his pockets, hastily searching around, "make...Asmodeus..." He shoved something large into her arms, "wear this during the meeting!"

Rosaleya looked down at the huge hat that looked like a giant orange squid, with squirming, slimy tentacles stretching down to where the face would be. "What?! I can't make him wear this!"

"I just mess with people, Rose! It's gotta be the first thing that comes to my mind or I don't want it!" Nova shrugged helplessly.

Celeste and Dante appeared in the distance, starting up the path to the castle.

"Fine! Deal!" Rosaleya shut her eyes, mind racing to think of how she could pull something so ridiculous off. A moment later, the wish's effects kicked in. "Duplicate this hat, right now!"

Nova pulled an yellow one from his pocket, and Rosaleya immediately put the one in her arms on before snatching the spare from Nova. "Thanks, Nova!"

"I wouldn't thank me, yeeet." Nova whistled innocently as Asmodeus landed beside them.

"What've you got there?" Asmodeus pointed with a chuckle.

Rosaleya looked from the squid hat to Asmodeus, tossing a few tentacles off her face to reveal a determined expression, "I wanted to stand in solitude with you during this meeting, Lust! I saw how everyone indirectly mocked you yesterday with their expressions, ignoring you when you needed them most! But you know what? With these hats, we can't be ignored!" She leaned in, speaking secretively, "They're so strange, I bet we can get them to vote in our favor just to restore the sanctity of their squidless meeting room!" When he hesitated, she pressed on, "And since the meeting's only audibly recorded, the only people who'll be disturbed are the ones in that meeting room! So what do you say to finally making them discuss the real future of your properties?"

Asmodeus puffed out his chest, and mounted the second hat on his head with a proud nod, "Wonderful strategy, Wrath! We'll have them voting in our favor in no time!"

Nova stifled his laugh at Rosaleya's elbow.

On the way inside, they lagged behind the crowd.

"Where did you even get these from?" Rosaleya whispered.

"I can't keep my hands off limited edition items! Do return them when you're done!" Nova whispered back, stifling more laughter.

"What are you guys wearing? They smell like a human fish market!" Diana cringed.

"Oh they don't smell at all, actually. It's an illusion since your mind's used to associating that smell with this slimy aesthetic." Asmodeus stated proudly. "I bet you're just dying to see the end of them, hmm?"

"Hah hah." Diana deadpanned. "You know one of my sisters died to pufferfish poisoning? Who could've ever guessed such a stupid thing could kill a demon."



"Welcome to our second official meeting!" Malice greeted as Skullsworth distributed the papers. "We'll continue where we left off, voting to undo various laws the previous king unlawfully approved."

Through the next hour, they debated several variations of laws that prohibited: questioning the king's interactions with angelic beings, charging the king any form of payment for transactions in hell, negatively portraying the king in any form of media or public speech, publicly disputing positive representations of the king, publicly sharing, reporting, or negatively discussing demonic meeting proceedings, entering the king's castle, or calling a demonic meeting as anyone but the king. The latter evoked the most passion in Celeste, as it had been the last straw that pushed her to take control of their revolution. Rosaleya mimicked Asmodeus's votes as a show of solidarity while he clashed with Malice. Ultimately, the majority voted to undo the laws, and the meeting ended peacefully.

"Tomorrow's meeting will be postponed for two days, since we'll be focusing on the last of the bad laws, and discussing the details of the tribunal, I'll need time to prepare, and a break." Malice informed.

While Eric stood beneath the skull to collect the recording capsules, Asmodeus beckoned to speak with Rosaleya outside.

"I'll see you in a moment!" Rosaleya turned from Asmodeus's retreating figure to Malice. "I counted your buttons today! You've got sixty-six, I think!" Her eyes held hope while she awaited the answer.

"You noticed the small ones inside my sleeves?" Malice raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Congratulations, you're invited to our parties going forward."

"Woah, I thought this would be a one-time-only kind of thing!" Rosaleya's eyes shone with excitement. "Oh, and I didn't really, I just spotted sixty-something...sixty-two, I think! And I guessed there must be a few I was missing, so I added a few more and ended up at sixty-six." She smiled in satisfaction. "I know it's a small accomplishment compared to everything you've been up to, but for me it still feels really nice, especially after failing yesterday."

"Oh rose," Nova ruffled her hair, "you don't have to compare yourself to other people just to justify anything. After all, someone doesn't have to be wrong for you to be right, someone doesn't have to suffer less for your problems to count."

Rosaleya nodded slowly, taking this advice to heart. "Thank you, Nova!" This really is...an amazing place.

"I wanted to invite you from the beginning, but yesterday's skull-challenge was meant to distract you from your worries." Malice smiled.

"I've got some things to handle today that will probably put me in a weird mood," Rosaleya confessed, "so to hear that...it'll give me something wonderful to look forward to tomorrow."

"Good luck, Wrath." Malice smiled.

"Here, take this!" Nova slapped a four-leaf-clover talisman on Rosaleya's back.

"It's a clover." Reign informed when Rosaleya looked around for a mirror.

"Before you go," Celeste spoke, "I want you to know your honesty is one of the reasons I suggested you."

"You suggested me?" Rosaleya tried to shake off her surprise before adding, "To who?"

Celeste smiled knowingly, ignoring her question, "I know you don't always tell the truth, but when it counts, you do. Try to hang onto that."

"Thank you." Rosaleya mentally noted the advice, and waved goodbye to everyone. But sometimes being honest isn't the best path...is it?

"We did quite well in there." Asmodeus smacked a tentacle away from his face. "As we both have things to attend to this afternoon, I'd like you to keep your schedule clear for tomorrow evening. I'd like a word with you in my office after the meeting."

"Oh...okay." Rosaleya wondered if she'd imagined the foreboding tone in his voice. "What...do you wanna talk about?"

"Oh, nothing too serious. Goodbye." Asmodeus jumped all the way up to the meeting tower balcony to rejoin the others.

Rosaleya sighed deeply, looking from the castle to the road leading there. I've got to go talk to Soren...but before that, I need to pull out the big guns. "Eric, I summon you."



"See ya!" Crystal waved, shutting the door behind Leigh. She rolled her eyes as she made her way to the register, prepared to tidy the mess Leigh usually left behind. As she began sorting out the coins carelessly shoved in their compartments, her mind wandered back to Aislynn. She contemplated sneaking out, and all the ways she could get caught, weighing them against giving Aislynn the biggest hugs and letting her finally vent to her about everything that'd went down. She was leaning towards doing it and damning the consequences when the shop's over-door bell drew her gaze. Did Rosaleya write me a reply already?

"A little mouse wanted a particular variety of cheese this evening." Claudia smiled. "Do you sell any here?"

"Oh, Leigh's out with some lady half his age again." Crystal rolled her eyes. "He won't be back for at least a few hours. She can come right in."

"Hear that, dear?" Claudia slid her purse off her shoulder, and overturned its contents onto the floor. "It's fine."

Amongst the red and neutral lipsticks, notebook, and red plume pens, Rosaleya tumbled onto the ground.

"There was a gigantic slide in there!" Rosaleya countered against Crystal's little smirk.

"Alright, what's the bad news this time?" Crystal shook her head teasingly, picking Rosaleya up beneath her arms to stand.

"Okay, so I read your letter earlier, but I still have so many questions! How do I know what the difference is between 'respecting myself' and asking for too much? What about knowing when I'm right or wrong in an argument? 'All couples fight', but what is a normal fight like? I have no idea..." Rosaleya looked down in guilt. "And I feel so stupid about it. I mean, shouldn't I be able to instinctually figure out all this stuff already? I read housecats lose their instincts since they're domesticated, and could die if they're released in the wild. I know I won't die...but even if I can go on relying on you and Claudia for advice forever, what if I never get my instincts back...?"

Claudia waved her hand, and everything from the ground flew back into her purse. She caught a beige lipstick before it joined the rest, and tossed it to Crystal.

Crystal caught it, smoothly sliding it into her coat pocket.

"I'll be back to take you home later, darling!" Claudia called on her way out.

"See you then!" Rosaleya waved.

"First thing, let's get you upstairs!" Crystal took Rosaleya's hand, and started up the steps, "We'll talk, and I'll make you something so cute for those demonic meetings! I'll do your hair, and after everything's settled, we should totally go out and party tonight! I need a distraction from some dark-lord stuff that's been going on, and you need to loosen up! You've been cooped up studying and preparing, haven't you?"

"Well yeah, I wanted to be as ready as I could be! This is the most serious thing I've ever done!" Rosaleya countered.

"Yeah you need to learn to slip outta being super serious and chilling out. Works perfect for whenever the world isn't about to burn." Crystal laughed. "So, pick something out!" She flicked on the lights, and gestured to her array of fabrics.

Rosaleya browsed the fabrics, "I guess my biggest worry is...What if I have to rely on your guys forever?"

"Eh, you won't." Crystal assured, clearing a work table.

"How are you so sure?" Rosaleya felt a shimmery purple fabric, finding the material itchy.

"You'll get experience eventually - that's how we got our knowledge. But until you do, there's nothing wrong with asking the people with more experience-" Crystal gestured to herself as she looked around for some scissors, "-for advice! That's why it's advice! You're not taking orders from us or blindly following everything we say, right?"

"Nope." Rosaleya examined a white frilly fabric at different angles.

"Then there's no problem!" Crystal victoriously held up her favorite pair of tailor's scissors, then tossed them onto the work table. "Now get over there and stop getting lost!"

"Why didn't you just summon them?" Rosaleya wondered.

"Oh yeah, lemme just summon these scissors and have them tear through all my beautiful fabrics." Crystal laughed, making a loud tearing noise with her mouth.

They shared a laugh as they pictured the chaos.

"Another itchy one..." Rosaleya dropped a green sparkly fabric.

"That's usually layered on top of the stuff that'll be touching your skin. You'll never feel it, and it looks pretty." Crystal informed. "I'm thinking we should go with a cute double piece style, kind of like the Hogwarts boys' uniform minus the cloak."

"That was sooo comfy." Rosaleya agreed.

"Yeah I remember you told me so. A cute sweater would be amazing on you. What's the weather like in Hell?"

"It's...kind of neutral. Even at night, it doesn't get cold, it just stays the same like the beginning of autumn." Rosaleya tried to describe it.

"So a sweater wouldn't make you overheat." Crystal nodded thoughtfully. She offered Rosaleya a smooth, black fabric. "Feel this."

"Woah...I want to sleep in this." Rosaleya hugged the swatch.

"Good taste." Crystal smiled, gently tugging it away and laying it on the table. "But don't lemme catch you sleeping in class." She winked.

"I won't...let you catch me." Rosaleya giggled.

"That's the spirit." Crystal chuckled. "Now, for some accents! Sit over here on this stool, and relax. Talk to me." She gestured to a stool before a dressing room mirror.

Rosaleya loosened her shoulders, and stared at Crystal through the mirror. "You sure I'm not bothering you?"

"Pfft, nah, believe me before you showed up I was about to do something preeeeeeetty stupid." Crystal chuckled, gently tilting Rosaleya's head to the side. She tried layering different swatches on her shoulder to picture how it matched her skin.

"Okay then. So how do I know if I'm asking for too much from Soren? He's been kind of stressed out lately...it just feels like we're fighting a lot more than before...and I'm worried next time we talk, we'll fight, to."

"How much did you fight before?"

"We didn't fight at all."

"Now, there's a difference between fighting all the time, and debating. Are you picking the word 'fight' because you want to, or because it feels like that?" Crystal finally decided on the accents, and laid them down to search for some chalk.

"Usually I worry our relationship is ending, or he says something that makes me really sad. In the end, he comes back with apologies and promises, and the most of issues he says won't happen again don't...but it just feels like new ones keep coming up and I can't tell if I'm over reacting." Rosaleya sighed deeply.

"What were things like in the beginning?"

"I was more upfront about things that bothered me, and he didn't seem to mind. He was a bit pushy about things he wanted, and he seemed to want me to trust him more than I did, but...he never pressured me after I said no, he'd pretty much bug off. He seemed okay with it."

"Has he lied to you about anything?"

"Well...one time at Hogwarts he gifted me this amazing list of spells he'd invented, but when I asked him about it, he acted like he'd totally forgotten about it. I've got a $h!t memory, but even I couldn't forget about something like that. Then there's the fact that he completely hid the fact that he played Quidditch as the Ravenclaw Captain. I asked him about sports before and he said he felt neutral about them - but when I saw him playing, he was determined, and he gathers his team mates for intense planning and training sessions before games! That's not 'neutral'!" Rosaleya shrugged in annoyance. "But when I asked him about it, he just said he didn't want to pressure me into watching his games. Then there was this latest incident, where he said he'd meet me at the library after a meeting, but he totally disappeared afterwards! He says he just fell asleep for a really long time, but who the heck sleeps for the rest of one day starting in the afternoon? So much feels like a lie, but I've got no proof!"

Rosaleya slowly intertwined and untwined her fingers as she continued, "But, I don't want to spend this entire time badmouthing him. There've been plenty of times where he's done wonderful things for me, and I just feel terrible doubting him like this. I don't want to lose him because I'm seeing something that isn't there. He's been there for me so many times...helping me clean up the mess at home when I almost killed Leigh...comforting me when I got bullied by some jealous students...and he's even letting me stay at his house during the holidays...which makes me feel even worse-

"-Hey, you don't owe anyone crap!" Crystal asserted. "If someone does you a favor, it's on them for expecting something in return. It's a fa-vor." She stressed the syllables. "In the end, it's their feelings getting hurt for wanting something they're not getting. What you have to keep in mind is: when you first met, what was it about him that you couldn't get enough of?"

"I loved how sweet he was. I loved how it seemed like our values aligned, and we liked a lot of the same things...we liked the honesty and spending time together was a breath of fresh air." Rosaleya described.

"What promises did he make to you in the letters that kept you wanting more?" Crystal summoned Rosaleya's notebook, pushing it into her arms. "Pick any poem, and read it out loud."

Rosaleya skimmed through them until she found her second favorite, reading aloud in a dreamy voice...

Dearest Princess,

It's my dream to meet you one day, and start our wonderful life together. This reunion will mark the end of my arduous quest, in which I journeyed through countless kingdoms without rest. My desire? A perfect maiden to set my heart aflame with integrity and candor. Our souls could fit together like a delicate puzzle; beautiful together, but fragile apart. Strengthening each other at every turn, intertwining as we grow like neighboring plants who love absorbing the sun's nutrients in the same way.

May this wish bring us to our own personal sanctuary of harmony,
your prince.

"See? This is super romantic, and so beautiful...but it's still poetically vague. That's why this next one's my top favorite." Rosaleya found the page, and chose a dignified, elegant voice...

Dearest Princess,

I dream endlessly of a princess who pursues her goals with the same fervor as I. She shares my hobbies, and yearns not for the praise of others. She allows me to gaze in awe at her dreams and inner machinations, and desires to know mine in turn. For this princess, I would give my heart, my soul, my waking hours, and care for her until we pass away. Yet even then, I would wish upon her the greatest happiness, and remain by her side even in the afterlife.

May this wish bring us everlasting joy,
your prince.

"See, he tells me what he wants here, which makes it my ultimate favorite." Rosaleya sighed. "You know what, you're right. A lot of the things he says he wants here kinda go against the stuff he's been arguing with me about."

"Yeah?" Crystal prompted, carefully cutting through fabric. "Like what?"

"Well one argument we had, he was all like, "Blah blah you don't tell me what you're doing so I had to talk to Claudia about it because you left me no choice and I thought you were gonna make a decision without meee!" Rosaleya mimicked in a whiny voice.

Crystal giggled.

"And that goes against the 'endlessly pursues her own goals' part." Rosaleya rolled her eyes. "And in another poem, he mentions 'treating our disagreements with understanding', but that's looking doubtful, too."

"Heh, I bet he thought he had it easy with your poor memory and those disappearing letters, huh?" Crystal grinned. "I'd use these as evidence of what I wanted from him. There's noting wrong with asking for something someone promised, right?"

Rosaleya smiled mischievously, getting excited. "Right!"
"And in these letters, most of the stuff you want's described too, somewhere. Must be why you were so taken by them." Crystal shrugged.

"Yeah, tons of stuff I want's in there!" Rosaleya agreed.

"So," Crystal cut the final piece of cloth, smiling to Rosaleya, "like what we've got here?" She gestured to the pieces.

"These are all so pretty, I can't wait to see how they work together!" Rosaleya gazed at them in anticipation.

"And, what do you think of our plan?" Crystal grinned.

"I think it's amazing! I'm so happy I came to you with this, you gave the perfect advice!" Rosaleya stood and hugged Crystal.

"Make sure to make copies of those, of course, and hide them someplace he'll never find them."

"Yeah! I know a good place."

"Mmm, good luck. And don't forget the most important part." Crystal gently pushed Rosaleya back into her seat, then crouched to be on her level, "If a guy doesn't make you happy, there are always other guys. Always. Even if you think 'oh he's so perfect, he's gotta be the one, I won't be able to find anyone like him!', trust me, you can always find a better guy if he's not making you happy. Now happiness with a guy isn't some stupid lovey-dovey feeling that's constantly giving you a thrill, or a relaxing druglike feeling. No, it's knowing that no matter what sh!t he tries to pull, you'll be okay together and have fun. Think of it like your favorite outfit: you might not wanna wear it every day, but every single time you do, it's just yes yes yes it's perfect. You'll catch each other, you're loyal, and you prioritize each other, not because you're supposed to, but because you feel like it. Mkay?" She gave her a serious expression.

Rosaleya nodded.

"Now if you have any questions, lemme hear 'em."

"Nope!"

"Alright. I'm always here if you need to talk."



"...So first," Crystal downed her entire cauldron goblet of butterbeer, slamming it on the counter, "gimme two more and a Witch's Nose!"

"Mmm." The bartender nodded, turning towards the wall of colorful bottles of different shapes and sizes.

Crystal wore a black dress shirt with extra ruffled sleeves, a sequined crimson vest, bell bottoms with one crimson and one black leg, and shiny black pointy boots. Rosaleya wore a similar outfit, with the colors reversed, and flats. After a smooth apparition lead by Crystal, they'd descended a hidden flight of mossy steps to enter 'The Chocolate Frog'.

High above, a glass ceiling resembled a green pond's surface. Thick 'roots' wound down walls ornamented by leaf-framed, enlarged frog versions of chocolate frog cards. Disco, hip hop, or rock music blared from gigantic chocolate frogs bordering the neon dance floor, flashing in rhythm with the music. A massive lotus chandelier, and gigantic glowing leaves scattered about the place provided dim lighting. The curved glass bar housed multicolored frogs, pairing well with the floating lilypad barstools.

Crystal slipped a few of the foxtail straws into her purse, which had cute, tiny blinking frogs hanging off them. "Alright, let's dance! Come on, Rosie!" She slid off her barstool, and pulled Rosaleya by the wrist to the dance floor. She started dancing in a simple disco-like style, shooting Rosaleya a confident thumbs-up at her nerves.

Rosaleya shrugged, and imitated Crystal's movements, pleasantly surprised with the result. "I'm going it!"

"Yeah, that's how you know you're doing it, you frickin' KNOW IT!" Crystal laughed, switching to a different move. "Now try this!"

"Is this disco?" Rosaleya felt satisfied on the third try.

"Oh you're about to find out what it is!" Crystal laughed, showing her a new move, "Now this is the third one! Try to remember the order we're doing these in because in a minute we'll be doing them all in that order, one at a time!"

Once Rosaleya had mastered the next few moves, they wiggled over to the center of the dance floor.

"DJ!" Crystal pointed to the man behind the music, "Take us back to disco music! My baby girl wants to dance!"

"Mind if I cut in?" A suave man with slicked back hair asked Crystal.

"Fff!ck off." Crystal slurred her words slightly as the liquor kicked in.

The man put his hands up in surrender, ducking out of the spotlight.

"Okay Rosie, hit it!" Crystal began on the first move just as the disco music blared.

"This is so cool!" Rosaleya matched her, almost effortlessly recalling the moves as Crystal moved between them.

"Now we're gonna do that again, but repeat each move twice!" Crystal spun thrice, bowing to the crowd.

The onlookers cheered as Crystal and Rosaleya danced the first verse away, clapping to the song's beat.

During the solo, Crystal pulled out a few new moves, shooting puffs of multicolored fire from her fingertips. Meanwhile, Rosaleya watched in awe, swinging her hips as she sang the color of Crystal's fire to the melody, "Orange, purple, blue, pink, reeeeed! White, green, beige, turquoiiiise!"

As the song arrived at its third verse, Crystal shouted, "All together now!"

The whole dancefloor joined in, dancing in sync as the music reached its highest point.

I knew Crystal was amazing, but this is a whole other level! Rosaleya thought.

Heheh, I can't even remember what I was trying to forget! Crystal smiled blissfully as she spun around.

She directed the whole dancefloor through two more songs, then bowed out when they begged for more.

"I would never do more than three dances...unless someone here wants to pay for our drinks?" Crystal grinned.

"Drinks for the ladies!" A man with sweat dripping off his forehead exclaimed.

"So, you'll be having a few, too?" Crystal jested.

"Hah hah." The man deadpanned, then approached the bartender to order some drinks for himself.

Crystal took Rosaleya's hand, and danced over to the washroom. "So, how's this doin' for you?"

"It's amazing! I knew you were totally awesome but this is just too cool!" Rosaleya exclaimed. "How did you get everyone to dance like you, and then you're getting free drinks, too?!"

"Heh, free drinks is just the way you ask for free everything." Crystal winked. She reached into her pocket to pull out some makeup, positioning herself between both sinks. Meanwhile, Rosaleya went into a stall. "Now this guy out there, he's gonna be expecting something in return. He thinks I'm the kind of lady who's going to physically repay him for something like this. Little does he know...we won't be dancing any more tonight."

Rosaleya laughed, envisaging ditching the party after a few more drinks and snacks as she flushed. She studied the green toilet for a moment before moving to the sinks.

"And that moron in the beginning? He thinks he can get whateeever he wants, but nope! Telling him off let the other guys know I'm not that easy." Crystal laughed, touching up her sparkly red eyeshadow. "It also made our dance something to be envied, so suddenly everyone wanted what they couldn't have. The regulars will be talking about this for a while, so now I'm set for whenever I come back. The trick is to not hit the same place twice in one month." She reapplied her black lipstick, then made little pop pop pop noises with her lips. "It's not limited edition if you can remember it so clearly."

Rosaleya dried her hands with a handful of 'drying powder'. "This stuff smells like chocolate mousse!"

"Mhmmm." Crystal nodded her head to the music.

Another lady entered the bathroom, looked from Crystal taking up the entire mirror's counter, and walked out as she shook her head.

"So that's why you're standing there..." Rosaleya realized.

"Mmmmhm. They can f!ck off and hold it until I'm done. This is as much of a break room as it is a bathroom." Crystal closed up her makeup and slid it back into her magically expanded pocket. "I forgot to ask, do you want any?" She took out Claudia's beige lipstick. "Oh, not this..." She shoved it into a different pocket, then pulled out her palette of sparkly dark-colored eyeshadow, "This stuff!"

"Hmm...you know what, why not?" Rosaleya shrugged, sitting up on the counter.

"Oh my gosh you're gonna look so cuuute!" Crystal giggled, pulling out a spare brush. "Close your eyes, I'll let you know when you can open them."

Rosaleya did as she said, and thought about what snacks she wanted to order from the bar.

"So my first boyfriend, he was as sweet as sugar. Not a thing wrong with him, buuut, I was so nervous around him I couldn't even talk." Crystal giggled. "I'd freeze up a lot, and I'd go blank, it was so boring. My hands would get clammy around him, too."

"Clammy?"

"One time, we were holding hands at lunch, and I could tell he was trying to be polite about it and discreet, but I saw it! When he pulled away, he wiped his hand on his jeans. Eventually, I broke up with him because that was going nowhere. Onto boyfriend number two, this guy was a d!ckwad, but I was so shy I didn't really say anything against the dumb sh!t he was doing." Crystal blew a lock of hair out of her way. "I got overlooked and stepped on, and eventually I blew up at him and ended it. Boyfriend number three, I was more upfront with. We talked about things, and he said I demanded too much from him. I said he could demand he wasn't single all he wanted but that wouldn't be changing anytime soon."

Crystal put the eyeshadow back in her pocket, and pulled out a can of magical hairspray. "Your top is black with red accents, so your hair will be...red." She shook up the can, spraying as she continued, "Number four was...cute and chill, but a bit too pushy. We clashed on too many things, and in the end he dumped me because I overshadowed him. The last straw for him was when I accidentally took over his birthday party and got everyone to dance to his favorite song. It was a surprise to get him in a better mood since he'd been failing at getting a successful singing career, but he was so frustrated I sounded better than him it was all he could think about until he just stopped talking to me altogether. It hurt to get cut out like that, least he could've done is say, 'I'm a little girl that's gotten my pride hurt by a woman half my height and I'd rather break up with her than live in her shadow'."

Crystal shook her head as she smirked, "Check out tonight's look!"

"Woooah!" Rosaleya admired the way her hair went from brown at the base to dark, sparkly red at the tips, and how her eyes looked like a movie star's.

"I'll tell you about five through eight next time." Crystal winked as they made their way back to the bar. "So the most important takeaway from this is: it's okay if you make tons of mistakes and ruin some people's lives." She joked. "In the end, you'll learn you're the best, and that's when you'll be able to trust yourself and make the best decisions. You won't rely on anyone else to tell you crap, and you'll have the best time ever!"

One Hour Later

Crystal took out Claudia's beige lipstick, and held it in her palm as it melted in red flames.

Claudia poofed onto a bar stool beside them, "Ready to go home?"

"Yes, take me back to the shop, and take Rosie home." Crystal nodded to the music. "Ah it's so great to not have to be the sober driver for a change!"

"It looks like you two enjoyed yourselves." Claudia smiled warmly.

"We did! And I learned so many things!" Rosaleya exclaimed, trying to cover up a yawn.

"Time to head home and get some rest for tomorrow." Claudia slid off her seat.

They made their way to the exit just as the man who had paid for everything searched the crowd for Crystal. By the time he'd made it over to the bar, the ladies had already disappeared outside.



"Rosaleya what in heaven is wrong with you?!" Soren yanked the front door open. His brows furrowed deeper as he noticed her outfit and makeup, "And where've you been all day?"

"The same thing that was 'wrong with me' this morning." Rosaleya shrugged, stepping inside. "Hello to you, too."

"You're all over the news!" Soren shook the television remote, "Cepharella. Cephalopod, and Cinderella...now you look like some weird disco queen."

"You're not going to distract me with whatever's going on, we're talking about what happened yesterday." Rosaleya focused on her goal.

"What about what happened today? You've been out partying and ignoring my messages! I was worried about you..." Soren took a deep breath, "And why would you talk to the news reporters?"

"Was I not supposed to? They were pretty transparent with me on what was going to happen, and no one told me not to, so I thought it was fine." Rosaleya shrugged. "And you didn't answer my messages yesterday."

"I was asleep, that's completely different!" Soren grabbed Rosaleya's hand and darted down the hallway.

"We're talking about-" Rosaleya tried to maintain her balance as she nearly tripped over a stair, "-yesterday first!" I'm being firm about this, but he's just not listening!

"Here." Soren let go of her hand to unmute the television. "Listen."

"This is DNN, here to give you the the news on the latest demon everyone hates! Rosaleya Macabre Fairbrook," a slideshow of Rosaleya and Asmodeus wearing matching squid hats outside the castle flashed on screen, "the temporary representative of Wrath! She's definitely incurred all our wrath by trivializing the position, exemplifying how the honor is being lost on an irresponsible, unprepared, nervous wreck of a demon! It's difficult to decide which was worse during the interview: her words, or her inner thoughts!"

The images changed to a clip of Rosaleya nervously confessing, "...I have no experience with royal proceedings." Then, her thoughts at the time echoed on screen: I wonder why Wrath gave me the position...I wonder who Wrath really is...Why is Soren being such a jerk, lately?

"It's clear she can't even keep her mind on one topic, much less prepare for what's to come!" 'Red' shook her head in disapproval, her stone armchair split-screening with more footage of Rosaleya's interview.

"Do you plan to eventually replace Prince Wrath?" Red held the microphone to Rosaleya's mouth.

"No." Rosaleya replied, her thoughts appearing in subtitles on screen: I might one day, I don't know. Maybe I'll enjoy it here so much I won't want to leave, or maybe people will like me more than Wrath. Although that's not really an achievement, he's got a pretty bad reputation as it is. Heheh, Soren would look hilarious dressed up as a clown right about now, with a big red nose and a hat made of swiss cheese. Would it look like it was made out of swiss cheese, or actually be swiss cheese? A little rat, or maybe a bunch of mice, would peep out of the holes and call him names every time he pissed me off...Prince Cheeseming.

Rosaleya burst into laughter, panting through her words, "Oh my gosh I forgot all about that! I can't...I can't stand..." She gasped, giving into the laughter. "Why are you mad?" She laughed so hard her body went limp, so she leaned on the couch to avoid slumping to the ground. "It's hilarious!"

Soren shook his head, threw the remote on the couch, and stomped off to the kitchen muttering, "Prince Cheeseming and Cepharella."

"Soren," Rosaleya pulled herself to her feet to pursue him, "it's called negative news, they're just doing their jobs! Just flip to a different channel! Flip to the positive one, they're probably saying great things about me." When Soren clenched his fists, Rosaleya hastily added, "Or the neutral one! They don't edit anything so-"

"-You hurt me, Rosaleya. You really do." Soren walked faster as Rosaleya neared, "Is that really what you think of me?"

"Uh, yeah. You were being a jerk-" Rosaleya finally caught up to him, grabbing onto his hands.

"-I made an innocent mistake! Is this what happens when I make mistakes? But with you, I'm supposed to be kind and forgiving, huh?" Soren's eyebrows furrowed.

"Supposed to be?" Rosaleya questioned.

"Did you know about the microphones?" Soren shot her an accusatory glance.

"Oooh, that's why Celeste warned me about being honest..." Rosaleya realized.

Soren tried to pull away.

"Wait!" Rosaleya held on tighter. "Close your eyes."

"This is ridiculous..." Soren squeezed his eyes shut all the same, holding his breath.

"Relax your face, and take deep breaths." Rosaleya hugged Soren. "Imagine you're in a peaceful green field full of flowers! It's overcast so the sun's not in your face..." She tried to remember more of what Claudia had said, "...and it's a magic field so you can just stay there forever!"

"Why would I want to stay there?" Soren gritted his teeth. "Even if time doesn't exist in the field, it does everywhere else. Besides, I thought you were mad that I relaxed and forgot about time, huh?"

"Just...try to picture it." Rosaleya clung to the fading image in her mind, envisaging herself there, comforting Soren instead of getting angry. "There's special time magic in the field so no matter how long you spend there, it won't matter anywhere else. It really is your perfect place. So you rest your head on the grass, just enjoying the peace. Then I come along so you can rest your head on my legs instead, like a nice pillow, and-"

"-If it's my perfect peaceful place, why are you there?" Soren asked.

The vibrant image plunged the into void, leaving cold darkness. Rosaleya's hands fell to her sides, and she opened her eyes, at a loss for words. Taking a few steps back, her thoughts spun. Was it a joke? Did he mean it? Why is he so mad? His voice sounded like he was asking an innocent question, but with this context...I don't know... Then, Crystal's words echoed in her mind: "You'll catch each other, you're loyal, and you prioritize each other, not because you're supposed to, but because you feel like it." Hmm... "There's noting wrong with asking for something someone promised, right?" Crystal grinned. Rosaleya grinned, drawing her arm back to punch Soren.

"Wait-I didn't mean it like that!" Regret shone in Soren's eyes.

"That's regret in your eyes!" Rosaleya hit him with all her force. To her surprise, he shot to the end of the hallway, and tumbled on the floor. "You wouldn't have that look if you didn't mean it that way! But it took me getting angry to see that. I was doubting you so hard despite everything! I wanted to believe you really didn't mean any of it."

"Yin, please! I fell asleep in the library, and by the time I woke up, it was already the next morning! I don't know why I slept so heavily and for so long, or why time passed so quickly in this world when normally, it would only be a few minutes out here! I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you after the meeting, but has all this fame has gone to your head that you don't even see what's wrong with ruining our reputation?" Soren grew more nervous as Rosaleya marched nearer.

"I said I don't care about that stuff! If you do, it's your problem." Rosaleya offered Soren her hand. "I tried to calm you down first, but that's not how things ended up going. Now you'll have to cool down the hard way!"

Jade winked, innocently sliding one of the windows open.

Rosaleya tossed Soren out of it, aiming for the pool below.

"ROSALEYA IT IS THE MIDDLE OF WINTEEEEER!" Soren shrieked as he fell.

SPLASH

"And the end of what could've been a peaceful day." Rosaleya giggled, jumping in after him. "But we're about to fix thaaaaaaaaat!"

SPLASH

"Holy cr@p this is cold! Heheh." Rosaleya swam up to the surface, taking a deep breath of air.

"I'M COOLED DOWN NOW!" Soren shouted, splashing Rosaleya in the face.

"Mission accomplished, I know." Rosaleya giggled, swimming to the edge, "So, remember when you wrote me all those beautiful letters?"

"...Yeah..." Soren climbed over the edge, shivering as the wind blew.

"I reread them last night, and a lot of the cr@p you said you were gonna do isn't happening right now. And, I think deep down, since those letters mentioned being together a lot, you're secretly still p!ssed I took that job. Think about it, back at Hogwarts, our main problem was I didn't trust you enough, but you were okay with it then because you knew the winter holidays were coming. You mentioned coming here a lot, and totally hyped up spending Christmas and New Year's with you. But now that that's not going too well, you're furious and getting frustrated over tiny things. You talked your mom up so much, but you wanna guilt me for asking her for advice and venting? I didn't care that you did that, I cared that you were yelling at the top of your lungs about stuff that sounded like you wanted to get in the way of one of my first big decisions, instead of coming to me about it, but when we talked, you just lied."

"...Yes." Soren relented. "I'm still mad about that. I'm mad about tons of other things too, but that one the most. But can you really blame me?"

"Yeah, I can." Rosaleya stood beside him, teeth chattering. "Especially since you were the one who was all like, 'Oh we shouldn't keep secrets or tell lies, blah blah blah'."

"That's how you hear me?" Soren looked hurt.

"No, that's my deep guy voice." Rosaleya laughed. "And nice try. Address the thing I said. Because I need to know if it's me telling the truth and you lying all you want, or us working as a team, 'Strengthening each other at every turn, intertwining as we grow like neighboring plants who love absorbing the sun's nutrients in the same way'. Heheh I memorized that line earlier just for this."

"...You're right, I'll try to be more honest going forth. Now can we go inside now?" Soren turned to walk away.

Rosaleya caught up and tripped him. "I heard 'try'."

Soren just barely avoided falling, catching his balance at the last second. "That's all I can promise."

"It doesn't take a lot to not lie repeatedly to me, Soren. I'm not saying you have to tell me everything, just don't lie to my face." Rosaleya reasoned.

Soren gave her a long look, then relented. "Fine, I promise I won't lie to you going forward."

"Oooh that was so hard. What a nice game that was, fighting my boyfriend to promise not to lie to me." Rosaleya facepalmed. "I hope you catch a cold. Let me know when you're ready to talk, Soren. I'm going sleep after a nice long shower. In the meantime, why don't you reflect on the stuff you wrote in those letters?"




The Next Day

"Finally!" Crystal spun around with the parcel in her arms, excited to dance with Aislynn at the Yule Ball. "Mmmm, in that beautiful dress, she'll steal the whole show!" She proudly envisaged Aislynn in the gown as she turned the corner, entering the labyrinth's center. "Take me with you!"

Raven turned from Luna to Crystal, surprised to see her in the labyrinth so early.

"Pristine timing, Raven just acquired my permission." Luna nodded.

"You won't be coming?" Raven turned back to Luna with disappointed eyes.

"I'm afraid I need to write several ideas down before I forget, and seeing as you cannot read my mind and remember for me, I must stay." Luna turned back to her papers. "I must ask you to report her physical condition back to me as soon as possible, Crystal."

"I will." Crystal nodded. "So?" She looked to Raven.

Ten Minutes Later

"Hey, Aislynn!" Crystal greeted cheerfully, "Come drink with us! We're outside the Black Cobweb right now!" She sent her patronus off, praying it reached Aislynn as soon as possible.

"What would you like to do when she ignores it?" Raven asked.

"If she ignores it," Crystal corrected while pointing her index finger, "we'll go meet up with her wherever she's at! She needs to cheer up and forget about that moron!"

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Hey, Aislynn!" Crystal cheerful patronus swirled around Aislinn. "Come drink with us! We're outside the Black Cobweb right now!"

"No...no...no..." Aislinn moaned. ...I am not in the right mood to drink...besides I had too much yesterday...Crystal can drink all she wants...but why is she asking me to drink first thing in the noon...and who is with her...? Is Rosaleya accompanying her...Aislinn pondered, already knowing that Luna was not the kind who would go to the Cobweb and drink. ...besides, why hasn't Luna sought me as soon as I left St. Mungos...? Aislinn did not know how to respond to Crystal's patronus. She could not even decide if she should respond to Crystal or send Luna a message, whether with a patronus, the green emerald or an owl. All of a sudden, Aislinn heard the faint sound of familiar footsteps on the second floor. She rushed outdoors and slammed the front door behind her. ...not now...later...I will deal with my family later...

A couple of minutes earlier, Aislinn entered Knockturn Alley. She had forgotten that she had cried earlier and that the tears had dried on her face. She did not care about the hollow look she had with the black shadows under her eyes. She was surprised to see Raven as she had no idea who would have been accompanying Crystal to the Cobweb. Aislinn raised her hand, greeting them from afar.

"I just want some ice cream," Aislinn spoke first, not caring if it was winter or almost minus degrees. "I don't feel like drinking. I had too much firewhiskey yesterday," She explained, walking past Cobweb and making her way to the Ice Cream parlour. She bought one pint of chocolate ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce and chocolate sprinkles. She smiled happily as soon as the taste of chocolate spread throughout her mouth and the cold dessert went down her throat.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"So, does he wear the hats, or store seeds in them-" Crystal's expression changed from inquisitive to relieved the moment she saw Aislynn appear in the distance. She smiled as she waved back, quickly whispering into her emerald as Aislynn neared, "She's got heartbreak and weariness on her features like a bad hangover." She shoved her wand back into her pocket. "Hey, Aislynn." She gave quickest, gentlest hug she could manage before walking by her side.

"Hello, mistress Aislynn." Raven bowed as deeply as she could manage in the crowd.

"I just want some ice cream. I don't feel like drinking. I had too much firewhiskey yesterday."

"Drinking stage is over, time to move onto the chocolates." Crystal smiled.

As they walked, Raven fought herself between saying something and keeping quiet.

Crystal covered the cost of the ice cream, taking a huge bite off the moment the cashier handed it over.

When Raven saw Aislynn's smile, she felt her heart relax a little. No, I shouldn't say anything, yet. She hasn't forgotten what I can do, she'll request my magic if she requires it...won't she?

"Luna wanted to come, but she's been sequestered in her new office." Crystal informed, before poorly imitating Luna's voice, "But send my regards." After a light giggle, she continued in her normal voice, "I've been working on something wonderful, in my own sort of office." She nodded to the parcel under her arm. "I'll carry it around until you're ready to take it back with you." And since I figure you might be half-listening right now at best judging by how tired you look, I've attached a small note on the inside. "Since the Yule Ball's coming up I thought it would suit the occasion."

Crystal went quiet for a bit to finish off her ice cream, only continuing when Aislynn finished hers, "Wanna do anything else? If not, no worries, we won't keep you." She assured gently. Now that I've seen you awake in person, I'm feeling a bit calmer. I still wanna murder that @$$hole but hey, that's not gonna happen, yet. The most important thing is seeing you're okay.



Rosaleya clicked her tupperware of Claudia's breakfast muffins shut, held it under her arm, and headed for the door.

"Yin!" Soren breathed a sigh of relief, catching up to her, "I worried you'd left already!"

Rosaleya turned around, noticing he'd just woken up. Oh yeah, I messed with his alarm. Heheh. "What's up?" She raised an eyebrow.

Jade put his hand around her shoulders, "One wrong move, and we'll turn around. No exceptions, remember?"

Yeah...I remember. Rosaleya smiled.

"I reflected on everything last night." Soren's eyes pleaded for her to listen. "Can we talk...for real?"

"For real?" Rosaleya questioned. "Like we haven't been talking for real, or like last time wasn't real?"

"Last time wasn't, I was completely out of line, and I'm so sorry." Soren apologized, holding out a hand for her to take.

"Hmm, this seems...familiar." Jade rolled his eyes.

"I love your strength," Soren began, "your laughter, determination...I love-"

"-Soren..." Rosaleya took a deep breath, and continued, "I would love it if you could tell me the truth. It's hard to trust...any of this, when you lied. Do you understand that?"

"Yes, I understand." Soren reached for her hand, surprised when she pulled it away. "I swear, I won't lie about anything from now on. I wish I could take it all back...but instead, please let me prove to you that I want to make things better. You don't have a meeting today, right? That's why you haven't left, yet?"

"Yeah I slept in." Rosaleya replied.

"Alright...just let me get ready, and I'll go with you today!" Soren pleaded.

"I don't know, I've got a lot of stuff to do." Rosaleya giggled, "It might take all day, and it's going to be very boring. It might even be embarrassing for you, Prince Cheeseming."

"I don't mind at all." Soren assured.

Hmm, no reaction to that. Alright then, this will be fun. Rosaleya thought. "Think you can be ready to leave in five?"

"Five?!" Soren exclaimed. "I mean, sure, five!" He hastily sped back to his tower.

The moment he was out of earshot, Rosaleya and Jade burst into laughter.

"Yeah, let's see how Prince Cheeseming likes being lied to." Jade laughed.

"Mhm." Rosaleya giggled.

Through the next two minutes, Rosaleya tried different ways of jumping, yet none resulted in jumping any higher than she normally did. She'd tried most before, but saw no reason not to retry one last time to double check there was nothing she'd missed.

"Just one of those things that's easier than it looks." Jade sighed. "But don't give up! We'll figure this out!"

"Yeah, at least this way we get to try out all the obvious methods before the class." Rosaleya agreed. "Alright, it's been three minutes total, let's go."

Before she reached Soren's tower, he jumped from the highest window, landing perfectly beside her. "Before we go, would you mind running your fingers through my hair? I didn't get a chance to fix it before I jumped out."

"Of course." Rosaleya smiled, parting it the way he normally did. "Your hair looks great. But, is it really okay for you to leave with wet hair like this in the winter?"

"Oh, it's fine, I've got this." Soren pulled a spray can out of his pocket, flashing the label to Rosaleya as he walked: Blow-Dry in a Can

"Neat." Rosaleya grinned. "So, first stop today is a jump class. I've been trying to jump on my own for a while, and I'm pretty sure I've tried everything. There's got to be something I'm missing."

"I can teach you that, you know, you don't have to go to a class." Soren offered, spraying the last of the can's compressed hot air.

"I figured, but I'd like to try a professional's advice." Rosaleya replied. "I'm sure you can see where I'm coming from, being tired of home lessons?" She reminded him, switching to walk on his other side as they walked past the pool.

"Thinking you'll trip and push me in again?" Soren joked, returning the can to his pocket as he ran his fingers through his hair again.

"Something like that." Rosaleya smiled. "So, still wanna come to the class? There are gonna be lots of little demon kids there."

"I'm sure we'll be great together." Soren assured warmly.

"Prince Cheeseming, Prince Cheeseming," Jade sang, skipping as they walked, "does your castle melt in summer? Prince Cheeseming, Prince Cheeseming, does your cheese hat make you dumber? Cheddar beds and swiss cheese heads, mozzarella clocks and parmesan socks! Everything you own is made of cheese, real estate must be a breeze..."

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Hmm..." Aislinn mumbled, enjoying her ice cream and not hearing what Crystal said. ...they probably know...all of them...that I have been at St. Mungos...Aislinn thought but did not care about asking Crystal how much she or anyone else knew. She ate her ice cream slowly in silence, indulging in every spoonful of the cold dessert as if tasting some new dessert every time she ate a spoon. Aislinn could hear Crystal talking in the background, but she did not register what Crystal was saying. It was as if Aislinn was walking in a dream where her surroundings felt distant. She was brought back to reality when she had finished her ice cream and suddenly started to feel cold. Aislinn had thought she would talk a lot with Crystal and Raven, but Aislinn had remained quiet, feeling impotent to speak. She excused herself and mumbled something incoherent about how she needed to go home.

Aislinn opened the door, her hands shaking slightly. It felt so good to enter her home, but she was still freezing. She tried to close it quietly, as quietly as possible. Her heart pounded loudly with each creaking sound the door made. She hoped that none would notice that she had entered from the backdoor of the manor. She tried to sneak through the kitchen and then upstairs to her bedroom, but she got caught off guard as soon as she stepped out in the dark hallway. Aislinn was so surprised to see her grandmother that she became speechless and could not say a single word. She just stopped in her tracks and stood motionless.

"Well, good afternoon..." Lady Monroe spoke slowly as if she tasted every word before pronouncing them. She eyed her granddaughter from head to toe and sighed audibly when she did not receive a response. "I'd like an explanation," Lady Monroe demanded. Her tone said she would not accept a no for an answer. She gestured with her hand and walked towards the parlour. "I saw you at the wedding, but not long after that-"

"Pumpkin!"

Aislinn suddenly found herself in her father's embrace.

"Merlin's beard, you are so cold. Did you not have anything for breakfast?"

"I had ice cream," Aislinn finally spoke without thinking and then realized what she had said. But it was too late to take back her words. She could hear her grandmother's loud sigh of disappointment behind her.

Soon, Aislinn was seated in an armchair in the parlour. Natalia had brought her a cup of bland Earl Grey tea, much to Aislinn's horror, but she was too tired and cold to complain. Vincent was nowhere to be seen, so Aislinn guessed that he probably was seeing Adela or working at Markus Scarr's Indelible Tattoos in Knockturn Alley.

"Well, where was I before I got interrupted..." Lady Monroe half spoke with herself and with her son as she cast an annoying look at him. "Ah...I remember now...Aislinn!"

Aislinn forced herself to look up from the surface of the dark and hot tea in her teacup and meet her grandmother's calm yet questioning eyes.

"I don't quite understand. One moment, I saw you at the wedding weeks ago and then all of a sudden, I heard you were unconscious at St. Mungos. Are you sick, my dear? Is there something that is hurting you?" Lady Monroe had a perplexed and worried look all over her face. "I saw you leaving the wedding with Mr. Divilliers-"

Aislinn choked on her tea when her grandmother suddenly mentioned Alastair. The cup of tea slipped from her shaking hand and fell on her lap. The burning feeling of hot tea on her thighs made it even worse. She wanted to scream, but all she could do was cough.

Edward was the quickest in the room to react.
"Oh my, my sweet pumpkin!" He rushed to her side and helped her up from the armchair. While walking her out from the parlour, he turned his head around and gestured to his mother not to follow them. Lady Monroe was furious because she had been interrupted again instead of receiving any explanation from her granddaughter. Natalia cleaned up the mess Aislinn had left behind as quietly and quickly as possible.

Aislinn was still coughing but felt relief that she did not have to finish the tea or talk to her grandmother at that moment.
...I have mixed feelings about my father...but I feel such relief that he is here...She thought, hugging her father.
Edward was surprised by his daughter's sudden gesture, but he did not say a single word. Instead, he hugged her in return while thinking about how to return the favour to Mr Divilliers.

...how complicated...the brother of the dark lady...he must have done something disgraceful...tsk...but I cannot do anything...first, I need to know the details and then...then I will think of how to return the favour to him without provoking the dark lady...Edward thought darkly.

The days passed by, neither slowly nor too quickly. Aislinn hardly left her home. She would take strolls or sit motionless in the swing in the garden behind the manor. She was quiet and never showed any expression, neither cried nor smiled. She only ate with her father whenever he was home. Most of the time, she avoided her grandmother, who ignored her to her relief, stayed away from Vincent, whom she never saw anyway, and ignored the rest of the family members. That, until the twenty-second of December.

It was eight o'clock in the morning, when Aislinn heard a knock on her bedroom door. She was already up, dressed and was reading. She would not eat anything until later. It had become her morning routine ever since she had met her father. She recognized the knock on her door, knowing it was him. He always knocked to tell her that breakfast, lunch or dinner was ready. She whisked her wand towards the door and opened it without leaving her armchair.

"Happy birthday, pumpkin!" Edward grinned. Before Aislinn reacted, a small coffee table was conjured in the middle of her room. A round chocolate cake, with exactly twenty-four burning candles, was placed on the table. She was too speechless to speak. Never in her life had anyone wished her a happy birthday. ...because I never told anyone about my birthday anyway, yet that foolish Sherwood would always buy me a present whenever he left Hogwarts for the summer holidays. He had no idea. I threw his silly gifts anyway...

"I have something for you...well..." Edward gestured at a brown coffer that he had brought with him. She remained seated in her armchair, watching him fiddling with the rusty lock, trying to unlock it. After a couple of tries, he finally managed to open the coffer, revealing neatly wrapped gifts. Each gift was labelled with a number. But to Aislinn's surprise, it did not start with the first number but with the fourth number.

"Since the wizarding war ended, I went into hiding. I could not send an owl or a Patronus because I feared getting discovered by the Aurors. I bought a gift for your birthday every year that passed by with the single pitiful hope of one day coming back home. So I collected gifts for you, thinking about what you would like to have for your birthday if had I been able to give them to you. Would you like to eat cake or open your gifts first?"

Aislinn was astonished seeing so many gifts that she just mumbled an oh in response.

Edward laughed heartily. He cut her a slice of the chocolate cake and placed a cup of Earl Gray in front of her before conjuring a chair for himself. Edward noticed that Aislinn did not taste anything until he had a piece of cake and a sip of the tea.
...just like whenever we eat together...she always waits for me to taste the food first...is it out of respect, or does she not trust me yet?
He guessed that she would not touch any of the gifts. The other day, he had seen the small package that contained the mask he had gifted her.
Every time he entered her room, he always saw that package on her bedside table. Hence, he reached out for the first gift he had bought for her for turning four and placed it in her hands. Soon, there were wrapping papers crumbled all over the floor. Aislinn's bed was full of plushies, porcelain dolls, colouring books, inkwells in every colour she could imagine and a quill. A broom for a seven-year-old was leaning against the wall. Edward had gotten it in the hope he would return home sooner than he had expected to teach his daughter to fly. Perfumes, jewellery, clothes, make-up and accessories took up the rest of the space of her bed.

First, Aislinn was staring at all the odd items on her bed. Then she burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears filled her eyes. When she ceased to laugh, she began to cry. After several weeks, she finally cried out to her heart's content, all the feelings she had been keeping inside. Edward just held her without a word and tried to understand her muffled words through her sobbing.