Disclaimer:  No, I don't own Shadow Hearts or Beauty and the Beast.

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            The next day I found myself becoming more and more uncertain as it got closer to evening.  I had thought before I shouldn't do anything yet about Death Emperor, but how could I just ignore what Yuri was going through?  I thought of my bible; perhaps I could exorcise a demon?  No, Father hadn't been able to do anything against it.  That was foolish as well.  All I could do was be patient.  Being rash wouldn't help matters any, so I resolved to wait the dinner through and watch for a better opportunity.

            I spent much of the day in idleness, not quite sure what to do; where to go;  who to talk to.  It wasn't a good time to see Yuri.  That frustrated me to no end, despite my usual patience.  Mostly I laid on my bed and waited for the clock to read six o'clock.  Then I could go and get this ordeal over with.

            "Mademoiselle?  Perhaps you should get ready," Keith suggested finally.  I knew what he was implying.  I needed a more formal dress for a dinner with the master, a demon.  I had already taken a bath, so that was out of the way.

            I rose from the bed after he left and turned to Quihua.  The dresser opened both sides slowly.  Much less dust came out this time.  "You need an evening gown?"

            "Yes."  I pulled out some of the more elaborate dresses.  There was a yellow one, rather pretty, but yellow wasn't a color that agreed with me.  I set the dress on the bed and continued, pulling out all of the long dresses.  I became curious as I realized all the clothes Quihua held were my size.  How could they have anticipated that?  "Was this someone's room?" I asked as I compared two of the dresses side by side.  "Another girl's?"

            "Yes, it was," Quihua said, a bit reluctantly.  "This was Anne's room."

            Her voice was low and quiet.  Anne must have been someone important to her.  I didn't ask anymore as I searched for a suitable dress.

            After a few moments, I chose a burgundy one, simply out of curiosity.  How would a dark red suit blue eyes and white hair?  With only Quihua watching I took off the other dress and slipped into the silky fabric.  I needed some help with the back, and realized Quihua could not possibly help; opening the door a crack, I waited until Keith was passing by again and prayed the unfastened dress wasn't too revealing.

            "Monsieur," I said quietly, "Are there any girls who can fasten buttons?"

            If he saw anything, he didn't show it.  "That might be rather hard...perhaps the knives...no, they can't grasp...I'll ask the forks," he said, still sounding uncertain.  Apparently this problem hadn't occurred to him, but how was I supposed to get dressed with these stubborn buttons?  And all of the fancier dresses were the same way, so I couldn't just choose another one.  I sighed and sat back down on the bed, smoothing the red fabric out on my arms.  It was silly to get worked up about a dress, and yet...I wanted to at least see what I would look like in it.

            Ten minutes later, Keith returned with three forks he had rounded up.  Giggling amongst themselves, the trio buttoned the dress as I sat on the floor, working their way up a chair as they reached the higher buttons.  At times it was a bit awkward, but the girls were all good-natured, and only laughed when they made mistakes.  I soon found myself laughing with them.  In fifteen minutes, they had finished and left.  There were only five minutes left until six.  I placed my cross back around my neck and faced Quihua.

            "Do I look alright?"  I patted my hair uncertainly.  For the first time in quite a while, I had left it down instead of putting it in a braid.

            "You look wonderful," she said.

            I smiled at her and left, meeting with Keith outside.  He led me down the castle halls to where the monster and I would dine.  At first I was surprised when he led us past the kitchen doors; then I realized it would have been foolish to expect to have a fancy dinner in there.

            Keith led me into a large hall, already lit by dozens of other candelabras.  There was a table, long enough to seat fifty.  At one narrow end sat Death Emperor.  I tried to sit at the other end, but he stopped me.

            "Mademoiselle, he doesn't bite," Keith joked, trying to lighten the mood.  I wasn't too sure about that, but I followed him to the other end.  He placed me two chairs down from Death Emperor, which was about twenty chairs too close for comfort.

            Death Emperor was slumped down in his chair; I stiffened even more in mine when I noticed this.  Keith jogged his master's elbow and the devil corrected his posture, taking the hint.

            "Good evening Alice," he said, trying to sound courteous.

            "Good evening...Yuri," I said grudgingly.  Mustn't upset anyone, or else I'd never get the servants to trust me.  Still, it felt wrong to call him 'Yuri', if only because I knew he wasn't the real one.

            "How do you know my name?"

            "Koudelka told me."

            "Yes, since someone couldn't remember introductions," Koudelka's voice called.  I turned and saw her hopping towards us from the middle of the table.

            Death Emperor groaned.  "I meant to, but she fainted on me, if you'll recall."

            "Ah, well--I suppose you have a point," she said with a little laugh.

            "Who else is with us?" I asked curiously.  I had gotten the impression it was only to be Death Emperor and me.  But already both Koudelka and Keith were here, and I knew there were many enchanted pieces of silverware.

            "Hm, it's only us," Koudelka said.  "Master wished for some privacy, and we'll give you that as soon as you have your drinks.  Except--well..."

            "Margarete's here, isn't she?" Keith said.  He had such a dark expression that it surprised me.

            "I think I saw something down there, but I can't be sure."

            "It's her.  That woman," he muttered to himself as he jumped down.  "Margarete!"

            The candelabra's small flames flickered in agitation as he hopped around, searching underneath the table for the feather duster.  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement and turned to see Margarete sneaking out from behind a chair to exit the room.  She probably thought no one had seen her.  I sighed and bent down so I could see Keith.

            "She's gone."

            "Which way did she go?"

            I pointed and the candelabra stormed off, literally fuming.  Koudelka sighed.  "Love...isn't it wonderful?" she said sarcastically.  "Well, you two drink your tea.  I'll make sure he doesn't light something with those candles."

            Death Emperor and I watched as she hopped away.  A bit of tea spilled on the floor when she jumped down from the table.  Seeing the mess, she apologized and then continued hopping away.  As soon as the door closed behind her, I could hear her strong voice demanding the napkins' attention.

            I chuckled.  "She seems intimidating."

            "You should've seen her before she had Halley," Death Emperor said.  "Mad woman.  He toned her down a bit."

            "Her son...?"  I glanced at Death Emperor, wondering how he would know this; or was he simply making it up?

            "He's a teacup, like the other children she takes care of.  He's the only one who's actually related to her though," he explained.  The devil shifted in his chair, thinking.  "But I asked you to dinner to talk about something else."

            I waited for him to tell me what, knowing he'd answer soon.  It probably had to do with our meeting yesterday.

            "Why...did you call me 'Death Emperor' yesterday?"

            There was no way I could tell him the real reason, so I lied.  "I thought it suited you."

            "But why?"

            I shrugged, puzzled. Why did he keep asking?  Had it really hurt him that much?  "I was mad.  I wasn't really thinking."

            After my answer he sat back in his chair, visibly relaxed.  I wasn't sure quite why.  He seemed to have been more concerned about my reasons than the name.

            After tea, we started on the food.  For a formal dinner, it was a bit bare; but then, the servants must have trouble putting together a good dinner when they were enchanted.

            Death Emperor was obviously putting on a show.  Etiquette simply didn't come naturally to him, like it had to Yuri; he made slips quite often, showing his arrogance.

            Still...for what I had done yesterday, he gave no sign of anger or hatred.  Almost as if he comprehended why I had done it...

            'I still don't understand.  What's going on here?  What is this demon doing here in the first place?'

            I continued talking with Death Emperor, although it wasn't long until there was nothing more to say and nothing more to eat.  Then there was an awkward silence until the demon rose and wished me a good night.  I wished him the same and watched as he left.

            As Keith led me back to my room, I stopped for a moment when I spotted a full-length mirror and the unfamiliar girl standing inside.  The candelabra stopped, seeing my distraction.  I only kept him waiting for a few seconds as I scanned my appearance, the gold cross on top of the burgundy fabric, and the white hair cascading over my shoulders.  Then I continued walking with him, with one silly thought in my head: what would Yuri think of this dress?

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Reviewers:

MikoNoNyte:  Hm, I guess only you saw the last chapter.  ^^;;  Did you like the Disney movie?  I think it's cute; but then, I've always liked the princesses.

Margarete is simply jealous.  A jealous Margarete is a scary thing.