Epilogue – Soul Retrieval

Misty savored her last weeks until spring's arrival with Miss Robicheaux's Academy to their fullest. The student body was only told that Misty had a friend who needed her help. Some of them were skeptical, others paid it no mind. Mallory and Coco, however, were the only ones who knew that were not part of the council or teaching body, as Mallory was witness and Coco had promised to keep Misty safe along with the rest that fateful evening. They were sworn to secrecy as special cases.

In preparation for Halloween, they all lent a hand in decorating the main hall, the ancestry room, dining room, and the kitchen with hang-up ghost props, pumpkin garland, and jack-o-lanterns were carved with candles placed inside them. Myrtle and Misty worked together to make special floral arrangements appropriate for the season – orange roses, bright yellow sunflowers, white lilies, and foliage gathered from outside that day as an added touch. When working with the floral arrangements, Myrtle had narcissuses brought in, and they caught Misty's gaze like a fly to honey. My wedding flowers, she thought.

"Narcissus," Myrtle said, inhaling the scent. "The flower of new life. A narcotic."

"They are beautiful," Misty replied with a smile, thinking of Michael. "T-They were my weddin' flowers."

"It's a wonder flowers are in hell at all."

"They are," she said, "if you know where to look. It seems like he can conjure a rabbit from a hat down there."

"Do you have a costume planned for our Halloween soiree?" Myrtle asked.

"I… will think of somethin'. It shouldn't be too hard," Misty said affirmatively.

The Halloween soiree was something held at Miss Robicheaux's every year since Cordelia went public with the coven in 2013, when the school also started accepting students on a massive scale. It was a chance for some select invited guests from the public to interact with the students at the academy. For Cordelia, it meant integrating into society and being accepted instead of stigmatized. All of the students, council and teachers dressed in costume.

The day of Halloween, Misty was extremely nervous and slightly overwhelmed at the inevitable – at midnight, she was set to return to the underworld with Michael, and not return to the mortal coil again until May 1. She was in the greenhouse, watering the plants when she got an idea. Seeing some of the flowers were in full bloom, she found them appropriate to add to a costume. She kept it a secret until that night and brought one of her white maxi dresses down to the greenhouse with some twine. She plucked some daisies, small rose buds, violets, and snapdragon stalks and strung them on long pieces of twine to make a belt sash and a headband that tied in the back. That evening, she put it on and styled her golden curls around the headband to hide the twine and emphasize the flowers. She was barefoot, which added to her fairy-like ensemble.

She entered the party by exiting the greenhouse's back door and going around to the front, where a few people were still coming into the festivities. She walked slowly, as to not cut anyone off rudely, and people just looked at her in awe. Kyle, who was wearing a top hat and some zombie makeup, was ushering the guests in, and smiled at Misty when she came to the front door.

"Now I know you live here," he joked. "Nice costume."

"Thank you, I made it," Misty smiled, fleeing in quickly to meet with Cordelia or one of her sister witches. She first saw Mallory, who met her with a smile and a warm gaze with her chocolate-colored eyes. She was dressed as an angel with a white kerchief dress, her trademark celestial jewelry, and a halo headband complete with a pair of faux feather wings with gold tinsel detailing. On her feet were winged gold sandals, and she was wearing gold-tone body glitter.

"Misty, your costume!" she smiled, reaching to touch one of the snapdragons tied to her waist.

"Thank you, I made it myself. Kinda last minute," she said.

"Let me guess?" Mallory began. "Fairy queen? Flower child? Nymph?"

"I… guess any of those," the swamp witch replied.

"It's so pretty! Hey, have you seen Cordelia at all?"

"I ain't seen her anywhere," Misty said, starting to walk with her past the guests. "You need somethin'?"

"Well," Mallory leaned in to talk a little lower over the music playing in the background. "I know this event is for the public, but, after all you went through, I just hope he doesn't plan to show up and take you again. I'd hate for that to happen. I know you're together and all but-"

"If he comes, I don't think Cordelia is gonna kick him out," Misty said. "Please, don't worry about me. I'll be fine."

"I… just was horrified," the girl in the angel costume replied. "Seeing you like that, as…black ash whirling about."

"Don't be silly," Misty smiled casually. "It's fine. When I do have to go, you may not even be awake to see me go."

The two witches suddenly came upon Zoe, dressed in all black with cat ears and drawn-on whiskers, and Madison, dressed in a sexy devil costume with a prop pitchfork and red sparkly horns on her headband. The latter of the girls was the first to speak.

"Misty, Cordelia needs to see you. She's in the office," she said.

"W-Why?"

"Nothing bad," Zoe said. "I can assure you." She looked around and said, walking away with Madison; "what a great turnout for this party."

Misty and Mallory shrugged at each other and pressed on, making their way through guests dancing and mingling to make it to where Madison said Cordelia was expecting her. Mallory stopped outside the door when Misty was about to open it.

"I have to see her, too," she said, "but you go first."

Misty nodded, stepping into the office and seeing Cordelia stand there looking outside the window. When the Supreme felt her presence there, she turned around and looked at her. Misty was smiling at her, admiring Cordelia's costume – she looked to be dressed for the occasion as a Greek goddess, and her long tunic was an emerald green shade. Her sleek blonde hair was in a bun that hid under a wreath of leaves and small pretend fruits, and around her neck was a gold costume necklace. Her eye makeup was also green, and her blush was a light pink.

"Aw, Misty," she said, approaching her. "Just who I needed to see. I love your costume!"

It was bland in comparison to the regality of Cordelia's get-up, but it still caught a lot of attention. She had on one of her plain white maxi dresses that laced up on the top front, and she had the string of fresh flowers she made tied around her waist like a sash. Her golden curls were accented by the same kind of fresh flowers from the greenhouse as around her waist. She was bare-faced, without any makeup, and she was barefoot. She still retained her signature bohemian jewelry, however.

"I made it," she said. "It's so simple."

"Misty…" Cordelia began, stifling a cry, "you know what tonight means."

"I know," she said, "there ain't a need to remind me."

"This event is open to the public, but there is no prohibition on him being here, or showing up," the Supreme said, putting her hands on Misty's shoulders. "I… see he could be here."

"Right now? To… take me?"

"That is at midnight you go," Cordelia said. "God, I don't even want to think about it."

"Miss Cordelia," Misty said softly, looking into her dark-colored eyes. "I am fine. I am a grown woman. A deal is a deal, and I have to go and be with him until May. You can see me through your crystal ball, and I can see you through the black mirror down there. We won't be out of touch." She paused for a moment. "He… has taken care of me and won't hurt me at all. You don't have to worry about me."

Cordelia stiffed upper lip and sighed; "one of my worries is… what if you get pregnant?"

"I… I don't know," Misty said, in thought. "S-Should I ask him? He'd know better than I."

"Misty… this may be the last time I see you not just for the night, but… the entire season," the Supreme said, closing her eyes and holding her hands together as if to concentrate. Misty could feel a familiar white light of protection around her, and also around Cordelia, and when she opened her eyes, she lifted her chin and smiled.

"Have fun at the party," Cordelia said.

When Misty left the office, the Supreme noticed Mallory standing around and approached her. The angel-clad witch smiled at her cordially.

"Hello, Miss Cordelia," she said. "Is everything okay? I actually wanted to see you."

"I know, I'm sorry but I cannot meet with you right now. I do have a task for you, however," she said.

"Yes?"

"Watch Misty," Cordelia said. "Watch who she talks to. If anyone looks suspicious, trust your gut. I know Michael is coming for her tonight, but I saw earlier that he could be here sooner for the party."

"Sure thing," she said. "In fact, that's what I wanted to come to you about. H-He's not going to make her dissolve into black ash in front of everyone, will he?"

Cordelia chuckled darkly – "if he has common sense, he won't."

The party pressed on, and after a little bit of punch, Misty was up dancing with the rest of the guests in the grand hall near the staircase. All kinds of music with danceable beats were played, and some alcohol was available. Misty was not a drinking type, so she avoided it. Madison, however, was hitting on a bunch of guys, having had a bit too much. As she was dancing, she felt like she was being watched. She looked around her a few times and saw nothing. Then, a remix of Fleetwood Mac's Gypsy came on, and it was like the floor belonged to Misty; that was, until Mallory joined and danced along with her sister witch and friend. Misty smiled as the end of the song came on, when she began to spin with wild abandon. The guests who were dancing formed a circle around the dancing witch and cheered her on.

To keep from getting too dizzy from spinning, she had to find a point of focus to fixate on with each revolution, and while doing so, she caught sight of what looked to be a man in a very unique, but visceral, frightening costume. He was in all black, seemingly from head to toe from her perspective, and he wore a hood over his head with a black mask. On the top toward the top hem of the hood were natural-colored horns on the side of his head, and the eyes of the man were pitch black through the mask slits. She spun a few more times but stopped because she was unsettled. Mallory, taking notice of this from the circle of cheering people, walked up to her sister witch and tapped her shoulder and tried to look in the direction Misty was facing. Meanwhile, the crowd dispersed so that it went back to filling up the hall once more.

"What is it, Misty? What are you looking at?" she asked.

The swamp witch shook her head and then glanced at Mallory: "I…uh…"

"Is someone here?" Mallory repeated.

Misty looked back at where she saw the man in the frightening black garb and mask; "h-he's gone."

"Gone?"

"Yeah… d-don't worry," Misty said, turning to her entirely and smiling. "I'm fine."

"You look like you could use a little something to drink," Mallory said. "How about punch?"

"Not spiked, I hope," Misty replied, "I don't drink."

"No, there's the non-alcoholic kind," the young witch smiled, walking over with her friend following her.

When they got to the table with refreshments, Misty got herself a plate and filled it with two finger sandwiches, a large chocolate chip cookie, some grapes and strawberries, and a fair mix of croquettes and blinis prepared especially by Myrtle. She had a free hand to collect the cup of punch Mallory scooped for her, and when she got her own, they took to the ancestry room to sit down and eat on the sofa. With Misty's stack of food, both of them were sufficiently fed; Mallory took a particular liking to the blinis. Mallory asked one more time before heading off to dance if she was alright.

"Will you be okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Misty said.

"Good." Mallory was off with her dance partner, who held her hand and led her back.

By this point at the party, the majority of the people were out in the main hall near the grand staircase, dancing to the music. Misty looked at the great grandfather clock that stood near the piano; it read 10:30pm. Resting her back near the end arm of the sofa, she lifted her legs up on the seats and brought her knees to her chest, sighing pensively about the inevitable.

Less than two hours, she thought, I'll be back down in the underworld.

Then she felt tender hands caressing her shoulders. Before she could gasp or react, she looked and saw they were gloved in black velvet. One of the hands moved up slowly to the curve of her neck. She shivered uncomfortably and looked back and up at who it was – it was the man in all black and the devilish mask she spotted while dancing.

"Ah," she let out with a reactive gasp, getting her feet off the couch and sitting upright.

"I didn't mean to scare you," the man said. There was a certain youthfulness to his voice. Sounds familiar, she thought as she felt him take a seat next to her on the sofa.

"T-Take off your mask… p-please?" she asked politely. "You're scarin' me."

"Why are you scared of me, my love?" he asked. "You know I can't remove my mask… yet."

Upon feeling his velvet-covered hand caress her face, she knew exactly who this was. How did he manage to get into the party? Then again, given his demonic heritage, it really didn't need much more contemplation. Misty braved it and looked into the eyes of the mask, her body shaking. They were no longer pitch black, but instead the same piercing, bright blue-green she learned to love so well. She relaxed a little at how his gaze seemed comforting despite all appearances.

"Michael…"

"It's me, my dear," he said.

"Y-You're takin' me now?" Misty asked sadly, looking at the people having fun in the main hall from the ancestry room. "I…I want to enjoy the party… please don't."

"I want to enjoy it as well," Michael said with a chuckle. He held her hand; she loved the texture of the fine velvet that made up his gloves; "with you."

Misty felt her heart fluttering in her chest like a bird wanting to be set free from its cage. She sighed and looked at Michael, focusing just on his eyes rather than the frightening mask that covered his visage.

"Please," she heard him say, still in a trance from his gaze. "Dance with me."

Another Stevie Nicks song came on; yes, she thought, of course.

"Yes… yes, please," she said rapidly, but still afraid of his mask.

He stood up, and like a gentleman, he held his hand out to her. She took it and he led her to the great hall, where Misty nearly jumped at a few sudden screams from the guests. Zoe was one of those who screamed at the sight of the visceral, fearsome mask with natural-looking ram horns on either side of the forehead, and the cloak that shrouded the man wearing it like a shadow. Michael could hear the expressive phrases from all over the room regarding his get-up.

"What the hell is that thing?!"

"What's he doin' with flower maiden over here? How is she not scared of him?!"

Stupid mortals, he thought to himself, laughing on the inside as he looked down right into Misty's bright blue eyes and got in a position to dance. Leading the dance, he used concilium to make her dance in perfect unison to him because he knew full well she was not ever taught formal dancing. Misty was enchanted at her perceived capability in dancing, but it was all him. She hummed along to the lyrics:

"Well maybe I'm just thinking

that the rooms are all on fire
Every time that you walk in the room
Well there is magic all around you,

if I do say so myself
I have known this much longer than I've known you…"

The entire room, who had stopped and cleared the way to watch the Michael, dressed as a lord of the underworld and Misty as the flower maiden dance to the song, suddenly started clapping and cheering at how perfectly in unison the dancing was. Cordelia, who was watching from a distance, sighed and looked at Myrtle and Queenie, who stood at her sides – Myrtle was dressed in a stereotypical witch costume with a black hat and tiny broom on her belt, while Queenie donned skeleton-styled white makeup and a coordinating body suit with an anatomical skeleton printed on the front.

"It's him," she said.

"I know, dear bird," Myrtle said. "Try not to fuss. If you can, maybe be the last person she sees before he takes her."

"This is a public party," Queenie said, reminding her Supreme. "Maybe he wants to have a little fun, too."

"His dancing is impeccable," Myrtle said, her voice dancing. "And he moves her just the right way."

The three watched as the dance ended along with the music, and they all clapped. People still parted like the Red Sea when Michael escorted Misty out of the house. Without thinking twice, she went with him with a huge smile on her face, giggling as he held her arm in his. Cordelia did not waste any time, leaving the two fellow witches to follow not far behind Michael and Misty to where he seemed to be taking her. She picked up the front of her costume, so she wouldn't trip, and walked ahead, struggling to catch up.

Within a few minutes, Misty was out in the night air with Michael, who caught the fearful eyes of parents taking their kids trick-or-treating on the block. He smiled under his mask, and Misty followed him toward the back of the house to go into the greenhouse. She checked around and realized they were completely alone, just the two of them.

"It's… still early," she said, stammering.

"I know," he said. "I won't take you yet."

Zzzzziiiipp…

Misty turned around to see him unzipping the back of the frightening mask, taking it off to reveal his handsome face, which ironically looked angelic. Her heart fluttered even more, and she even felt herself blushing in his presence. His eyes pierced her like daggers, but were so full of love, paired along with an upright closed smile. His golden locks were a little messy from being contained in the mask, and it even looked to be growing out. He reached and clipped a part of the mask to what looked to be his belt and approached Misty, whose hands reached to touch his face, tearing up with a mix of joy and anticipation.

"Much better," she muttered.

"I don't think you realize how much my heart has ached for you these past two weeks," he admitted. "I sit around in that fucking school twiddling my thumbs until I can go into Descensum and see you there waiting for me." He pulled her close to him, clutching her waist firmly; "but now… I have you."

He leaned in slowly as if to kiss her, and her heart only grew fonder with anticipation as he brushed his lips against hers before working his passion into it. He felt her body trembling, and he himself began to feel his bulge start to grow in his pants. She felt her knees turn to jelly as he moved down her neck, kissing softly but rapidly, setting her skin on fire. When he felt like she was almost about to fall on the floor, he picked her up and sat her on the workbench. Misty was breathing heavily, feeling the same heat between her legs as she felt when Michael was handling her facing the black mirror in the underworld. She wanted to let him seduce her right then and there… but she heard footsteps.

"Misty? Are you here?"

Michael took that as a signal to step away from his bride, and Misty closed her legs and adjusted the skirt of her maxi dress to make it look like he did not try to manhandle her in his passionate way just then. She saw Cordelia in her Greek harvest goddess costume, who instantly noticed her fair, flushed skin from what just happened.

"Oh, I t-thought you'd left with him," the Supreme said.

"No," Misty said.

"Midnight," Michael cut in. "We made a deal. I'm honoring that. I just wanted to see my love, that's all."

"I… have no objection to that," Cordelia said.

"Miss Cordelia," Misty said, stepping down off her seat on the workbench and approaching her Supreme, holding her cold, nervous hands in hers, "you don't have to worry. I promise I'll be back in May. Just you wait and see, the time will pass."

Michael concurred, taking her under his cloak halfway as he spread it over her back; "speaking of the passage of time," he said, holding a gold pocket watch, "we have an hour left. It is a nice night. Perhaps you'd like to walk with me, Misty?"

She nodded and smiled; "yes."

Before she left, however, she got out from under his cloak and hugged Cordelia tightly. The Supreme felt the flowers woven into her golden curls as he touched her hair in their farewell embrace. She could smell the strong scent of the fresh flowers, but her signature patchouli scent also lingered about. Cordelia teared up and let her beloved swamp witch go. When she did, Michael took her under his arm and looked into her eyes. Cordelia watched them walk toward the entrance of the greenhouse, where she saw Misty glancing back at her with tranquility before Michael covered her completely with his cloak.

They were gone.

A/N:

That's a wrap, folks! We've come to the end of the story. Thanks for all of the reviews, you know who you are; also, thanks for reading my first story on here in 2 years. It feels good to write once again, I'll also be putting it up on Wattpad, hopefully on there, there will be a more interactive, immersive version with music, pictures and GIFs to bring the story to life. I wish FF had that, too. But alas.

If you enjoy my writing, give me a Follow and a Favorite! If you liked the story, let me know in the Reviews what you thought! I love hearing feedback. See you on the flipside!