It's Mermaid Monday!

Waffels and Darling spider: Thank you both so much! You guys are rocking my world right now.

Actually, all of my readers are rocking my world. ;) You guys are the best!

- K. Chandler


The Phantom Lord was alerted to a disturbance at the edge of his domain.

"Somebody else here to seek my services. What a bother," he sighed.

Rising from the inky water, Jose surfaced. Years ago, he had been a Sea-Person, though, these days, he had dealings with both Surface-Dwellers and Sea-People alike. There was no sense in discriminating, provided that the client could pay the price, of course.

With as highly sought after as his services were, such a philosophy had served him well. Dealing in Shade Magic meant that there were few repeat customers. Despite this, Blue Skull Bayou was always a busy place, between new customers and old ones who still lingered. Waving away the shades of former clients, Jose set out to greet his latest guest.

Jose was surprised to see the sniveling little man who had encroached on his privacy today. He smiled. This would be quite the show.

"If it isn't my favorite client," said Jose. "Come in, come in! What can I do for you today? Is the charm I made for you still working as expected?"

"Yes, it's working just fine. Beautifully, actually. I've been able to help all the merchants in the Love and Lucky Merchant Association pay off their outstanding debts."

"Good, good. I guarantee all of my work, so I wanted to make sure you were satisfied," said Jose pleasantly. "I wouldn't charge you for something that wasn't working."

"That's what I'm here about, actually. I need more time. I'm here to ask for an extension."

Jose bit back his irritation at the man's audacity, smiling instead. "You know, we were very clear about the terms when you signed the contract," said Jose.

"I'm here to renegotiate," he said.

Jose's lips twisted into a cruel smile. "Renegotiate?"

This little human weasel was nearly as conniving as he was. No matter.

"I don't usually allow revisions to the contract, but… just this once, we can revisit the terms."

This was sure to prove entertaining.

The man nodded. "I had until the next full moon buy up all the businesses within the association, at which point, the contract would be considered complete. Otherwise, I'd relinquish my soul to you."

Jose nodded. "Sounds about right. What seems to be the problem?"

"The next full moon is four days away. I won't be able to finish this before then. I don't really want to relinquish my soul either."

Jose pretended to look pensive. "If you want, I could substitute your soul for someone else's. Your daughter's perhaps?"

The man's eyes grew fearful. "No, absolutely not!"

"What can I do to help then?"

"I need more time. A couple of weeks should do it."

"See, I don't know if I can do that," said Jose. "I'm not sure it's fair to give you two extra weeks."

"But—"

"You know, it's unprecedented, but maybe we could just negotiate a new set of penalties," suggested Jose.

"What do you have in mind?" the man asked.

"I'm glad you asked, Heartfilia," purred Jose. He reached into his robes, pulling out his latest acquisition: a ring containing that naïve Sea-Girl's Water Magic. "Listen closely…"


Looks like Juvia's not the only one making deals with the devil...

Next time, in Silence, two more familiar faces: "What's the hold-up, man?" Natsu rounded the corner, stopping short. "Not these two!" he groaned. Can you guess who Natsu's run into? Hint: our favorite power-couple is joining the party!

Stop back next Monday for the next installment, or just follow me, Karine of R011ingThunder.