The song here is "Bar Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

Bad Moon Rising

Nikolai could hear that classical music from the end of the hallway. He hesitated, knowing that Keara would welcome him with an accent like that of her father while holing up a little tea cup. She'd invite him to sit down in a ridiculously small chair and suggest he wear a tiara and a pink feathery boa.

She'll offer him some plastic cupcakes and, hopefully, she won't ask to paint his nails pink like the last time. She's always seeing what she can get away with. If he said no to nail polish, she'll see what he says about fake nails and so on. She was crafty like her parents.

And speaking of pink, for a Princess of Hell, she sure likes the damned color… probably just to annoy everyone.

Nikolai sighed and walked forward to her door and pushed it open.

Little Keara, wearing her tiara and her pink gloves, lifted up a little cup and smiled.

"Do come in, Sir." She said in that accent. Beside her, in another chair, was the stuffed animal he got for her in New York and on the floor, was Ginger wearing the pink boa. Better the Hellhound than him. "What a pleasant evening." She said and Nikolai smirked, but it had no charm, just boredom. "Smile Niki." She said, almost like the growl of a Hellhound.

"Cookie." He said as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. She narrowed her eyes and scrunched up her face, as if to make him think she was angry.

"It's Princess." She corrected, but he knew, deep down, she liked him calling her Cookie.

"Alright, Princess Cookie." He said as he tried to sit in that freakishly small chair, catching a glimpse of her grin. She handed him a cup on a little saucer and he looked at it with a slight frown. "For once, can we actually have some sort of liquid in these cups?" he asked and she smirked.

"I'm not old enough for the drinks you like." She said and he raised an eyebrow at her.

"So we drink air?" he asked and she frowned at him, as if annoyed that he wouldn't let this go. "How about Pepsi or Red Bull?" he asked her and she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Mommy said not after supper." She said and watched as he sighed, rubbing his face.

"Fine." He said as if defeated. He looked up as she pushed back her chair and walked with a bounce in her step, getting something out of her trunk of toys.

Her room really was fit for a princess. A big canopy bed with toys, big and small, everywhere. She had pink sparkling pillows and rugs with posters of unicorns and cats. To show just how much she liked unicorns, she had a big unicorn, the size of a miniature pony, in the corner to rock back and forth. The walls were white with glow in the dark stickers of stars and the Moon on the wall behind the rocking unicorn. Then, she had a walk-in closet filled with clothes and jewelry to wear and for dress-up. All the women in New York would be jealous.

Looking around, one would think she was a spoiled rotten child, but she wasn't at all. She was very much loved by her parents, by Nerilla and by Nikolai. They gave her everything they thought she could want, but all she wanted was her family to always be close to her. Everything else was just a bonus package.

Clara once asked Keara what was her favorite toy and she replied Nikolai with a slight giggle. It was sort of insensitive, but it revealed that material things were just that to her.

"How's your schooling going?" he asked her as he looked at the plastic cupcakes, not understanding why she couldn't have real ones.

"Fine." She said, nearly tossing everything out of her trunk, whispering about stupid little plastic shoes that always fall to the bottom. "Yesterday Mom was teaching me Multiplications after reviewing additions and substractions." She added.

Besides good manners, Clara watched to teach important subjects and skills to Keara that she would learn at school like other kids. One thing everyone had noticed is that she's way ahead of children her age and not just in the physical department.

"It was funny." She added, apparently finding those stupid little plastic shoes and now sticking them on something. "Mom said if I have thrity-seven souls and she takes away nine, how many do I have? I said 'a problem'." She added and giggled. "I said 'why should Mommy take the souls that I earned? Mommy should get her own'." She concluded and Nikolai grinned.

"Bet your Dad was proud." He added and she turned to see him over her shoulder with a grin.

"Daddy gave me a lollipop." She said and then returned to the table with a couple of dolls; one was a groom with the fake lush of hair and the classic California smile and the other was a bride with the fake bleach blonde hair, the fake luscious lips and the plastic chest. And they say that's appropriate for children?

"What is that?" Nikolai asked her and she smiled as she held them up.

"Ken and Barbie, genius." She replied and he knit his eyebrows together.

"I see that, but what's with the whole wedding attire?" he asked her with a slight disgusted look on his face. She smiled and even giggled a little.

"They're getting married!" she screeched with excitement and that disgusted look on his face deepened. She giggled as if she didn't notice Nikolai's expression.

"I give them two months at best." He said as she sat down with her dolls, making them sit on the table. "And I two seconds before I lose my mind." He whispered as he pretended to sip his tea cup of air, considering snapping his fingers and conjuring a little whiskey.

She began talking about their wedding, how she can be Barbie and he can be Ken. But Nikolai couldn't bring himself to listen; the subject bored him. Obviously, he loved the kid, but all of this was driving him nuts. He was going to need a stiff drink once she's tucked into bed.