As the days turned into weeks, Octavia's studies showed no chance of letting up. In fact, one could very well say that her workload had increased after the second week. Between the background studies of the confirmed guests, the etiquette lessons she had to take with her mother and her schoolwork, she barely had any time for a breather. What's more, her mother insisted on daily tests on how many background checks she had been able to memorise every evening after dinner. Needless to say, Octavia found the whole situation quite a strenuous chore.
Of course, there was ONE thing that still made her smile over the last couple of weeks. Despite not being able to talk to each other directly, like they usually did every Sunday, now that Octavia and Mick had each other's Hellphone numbers, the pair of them were able to stay in contact with each other daily. While most of the time, the two of them would simply send each other texts to avoid being overheard, there was the occasional phone call during the late evening just before the pair of them went to sleep for the night. Granted, sending texts was good, but Octavia always looked forward to actually speaking to Mick since hearing his voice always felt more comforting… especially whenever she overhears her parents fighting again.
It was Saturday now, and at this moment in time, while Snowflake was curled up and snoozing on her bed like a spoiled kitten, Octavia sat at her desk continuing her studies of the files she was given. With the banquet only one week away, she had to cram in as much information as possible so she could get her mother off her back. As the banquet drew closer, Stella's persistence grew larger with each passing day. By the time the clock on her Hellphone struck 11:05, a small alarm rang from it, signalling her 15-minute break before she had to continue.
Tearing her eyes away from the documents on her desk for the first time in ages, the Owl Princess leaned back into her chair and rubbed a tired hand over her face. What she wouldn't give for this whole nightmare to be over and done with already. Stepping away from the desk, she then laid herself down in her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling as she wondered what she could do now. Normally, she would try to find a nice book to read but reading was all she had been doing for hours, perhaps she could listen to her music instead? Suddenly, those thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone vibrating on the desk. Knowing exactly what that meant, she then smiled and made her way back over to her phone, gleefully reading Mick's latest text.
-Knock! Knock!
"Hmm?" Octavia muttered, raising a confused eyebrow as she wondered what Mick meant by this.
Suddenly, she was caught off guard by a faint sound of someone tapping against her bedroom door. Instinctively reacting, Octavia then walked over and opened it, only to find herself gasping in surprise upon seeing a familiar masked face standing on the other side.
"Knock! Knock!" he playfully announced, showing the screen on his Hellphone before pocketing it.
The moment the Cat Demon came into view, Octavia was left almost completely speechless.
"Mick?" she eventually uttered. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Reginald said you requested some coffee," the Cat Demon replied, gesturing to the tray in his hands, one which was filled with a small mug and a plate of cookies. "And since I just so happened to be serving with HIM today, I volunteered to take it up for you."
At those words, Octavia couldn't help but try to stifle her laughter. Even after many weeks of hearing the Cat Demon speak like a gent in front of her parents, she STILL couldn't get over how silly he sounded to her, knowing his true mannerisms. Still, she knew she had to play along in case anyone was listening nearby.
"Is that so?" she inquired, clearing her throat and regaining her composure. "Well, don't just stand in the doorway, bring it in here, if you please."
"As you wish, Your Grace," Mick replied, nodding his head.
As the Cat Demon followed her instructions and gracefully strolled inside the room, Octavia could have sworn that she heard a small amused snort as he brushed past her.
"The beans were freshly ground this morning, Your Highness," Mick continued as he placed the tray onto Octavia's desk. "So I do hope the beverage is to your-"
"Door's closed, Mick," Octavia interrupted, pushing the door shut behind her with a small smirk on her face.
The moment those words left Octavia's beak, Mick's entire gentleman act melted away like ice on a hot day.
"Oh, thank Lucifer!" he exclaimed, slumping his shoulders and allowing himself to actually relax. "I swear, I still can't keep a straight face from talking like that all day."
"You talk to my parents like that easily enough," Octavia pointed out as she took a sip from her brought-up coffee mug.
"Yeah, well, that's the job isn't it?" Mick retorted, stretching out his back. "It's all about image when dealing with the upper crust."
"Oh, and I suppose I'M the exception then?" Octavia joked.
Mick couldn't help but awkwardly scratch the back of his head at that.
"Yes, well, it's different with you," he admitted. "To be honest, you're the only one in this house I feel comfortable enough to actually be myself around. You know what I mean?"
She may not have realised at first, but Octavia was softly blushing after hearing that.
"Yeah… I know," she replied.
His curiosity once again getting the better of him, Mick couldn't help but scan the bedroom of his friend and employer. Having not been allowed in here as per the instructions and/or death threats of the rest of the staff and both of Octavia's parents when he first started working here, Mick never got the chance to see what his friend's personal living space looked like. As such, he wanted to make sure he caught every detail while he still had the opportunity.
"So… this is your room, huh?" he said, admiring the star-themed decor. "Love the look. I can see why Snowflake likes it up here."
At the mention of her name, the sleeping Kitsune pup perked up her ears and let out a tiny sneeze, something that Octavia couldn't help but smile at.
"Thank you," she said, taking another sip of coffee. "I know it's a little much, but it's comfortable at least."
"Well, that's one way of putting it," Mick commented, feeling that such a word didn't do a room such as this justice as he poked his finger into Octavia's mattress. "What's this, goose down?"
"Memory foam and bamboo sheeting," Octavia corrected him. "Much easier on the back."
Glad to finally be speaking to each other again, both Octavia and Mick felt that it was time to end the small talk and move on to a different subject. Luckily, Mick seemed to know a good place to start.
"I see you've been keeping busy over these last couple of weeks," he said, pointing out the documents on Octavia's desk.
The Goetia Demon couldn't help but roll her eyes at that.
"Not as busy as you I imagine," she retorted, not wanting to even think about her work right now.
"Well, you wouldn't be wrong in saying we haven't had our hands full," Mick admitted with a sigh. "With all the extra temp staff, I can barely move about in that kitchen anymore."
At those words, Octavia nodded her head with understanding. It was no secret that there have been a fair amount of new hires in the Goetia household during this last week. However, most, if not all of them, would undoubtedly be gone by the time the banquet was over and done with. It's basically the same thing her parents do every time there is a large event happening in the house, hire more staff to pick up the slack during preparations and then fire the lot when they are no longer needed. At best they usually last a single week after the event was over.
"Sorry about that," Octavia apologised, feeling a little guilty about Mick being so overworked.
"Hey, not your fault, Octi," Mick replied reassuringly. "Besides I've dealt with worse… a LOT worse."
Seeing the Cat Demon grimace like that, it didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant by "worse". Obviously, she saw both the Crazy Cat videos on Voxtube. How could she miss them? After all, they've gotten so popular on social media that they're basically click-bait at this point. However, out of respect for her friend, Octavia refused to bring it up into their conversations. In fact, she practically pretended that she had never even heard of them, something which Mick undoubtedly appreciated. With that in mind, the Goetia Princess thought it best to change the subject.
"I know what you mean," she said. "Though if it makes you feel any better, I'm not really looking forward to this entire banquet situation either. Hell, you should see the dress I have to wear for this thing."
Following Octavia's finger towards a different corner of the room, Mick suddenly found himself gasping in horror upon seeing the ugly monstrosity that was on display on a wooden mannequin.
"Oh!" He uttered, trying desperately to hide his disgust as he tried coming up with a decent way he could describe the garment that lay before his eyes. "It's so… so…"
"It's hideous,"
"Yeah, it is, I'm sorry," Mick exclaimed, deeply thankful that Octavia cut him off with her honest opinion since he couldn't figure out any possible description that wouldn't sound like a bald-faced lie.
"Don't be," Octavia sighed, pinching the bridge of her beak with annoyance. "I can't imagine why, but my mother's the one making me wear this god awful rag."
"But it's so… frilly!" Mick exclaimed, his tone riddled with bafflement.
Octavia couldn't help but shudder at that.
"I know," she grimaced, eyeing the garment with utter disdain.
In all honesty, frilly was the nicest way this dress COULD be described. Another word, of course, would have to be ancient! It was an old multilayered sack dress made from a maroon fabric, with elbow-length sleeves that ended with cream coloured frills, a feature that Octavia positively LOATHED, especially when both the neckline and the base of the dress were drowning in them. The only thing that could possibly make this thing even worse would be a matching bonnet and parasol!
"It's not one of Mad Munn's is it?" Mick thought aloud, hoping the swinging tailor had nothing to do with this fashion disaster.
Hearing that question, Octavia almost choked on her coffee from laughter.
"Are you kidding? If he saw this, I think he'd kill himself all over again," she replied with a scoff. "Apparently, it's a traditional ensemble made for Goetia women for grand events. At least that's what my mother said when she dumped this on me."
"Who told her that?" Mick scoffed "Henry VIII?"
Once again, Octavia couldn't help but laugh at Mick's joke, this time one that the pair of them shared.
"I suppose telling her to get with the times wouldn't do shit, huh?" Mick continued, earning himself a small nod.
"You got it," Octavia replied, begrudgingly turning back towards the papers on her desk. "And if the dress wasn't bad enough, I still have all THIS shit to deal with until the day of the banquet."
His curiosity once more taking hold, Mick walked up to the desk and took a closer look at the documents laid out on it.
"So these are all the guests coming to this thing?" he asked, staring intently at the many names and pictures on each piece of paper.
"Not including any guests they decide to bring, yeah," Octavia replied. "I'm telling you, Mick, I can't wait for this shit to be over."
"Can't say that I blame you," Mick admitted, looking at each picture with disgust as if each were a mugshot. "Hell, half these guys look like they'd sooner EAT you than socialise with you."
All things considered, Octavia couldn't really deny a description like that. Given the reputation of certain members of Hellish Nobility, it wasn't all that surprising that their photos would show off the uglier side of them. However, there was one document that did provide her with a counter-argument.
"Well, not ALL of them are that bad," she said, picking up said document and handing it over to Mick.
Looking at the attached photo, Mick found himself surprised upon seeing a somewhat decent looking example of a Demon. To be more specific, a large, burly demon with bulging muscles hidden behind a well-tailored suit, and the head of a raven with burning red eyes.
"Who's this handsome fellow?" Mick asked, once again causing Octavia to smile.
"That's my uncle Malphas, my dad's brother," she answered. "AKA one of THE most eligible bachelors in all of Hell."
At those words, a small smirk spread underneath Mick's mask.
"Can't say I'm shocked," he commented. "I mean, I'm neither gay, nor a woman, but even I have to admit this is one tasty dish."
"Yeah, you're not wrong," Octavia replied, trying desperately to hold back a laugh at that.
However, as Mick began to sift through each piece of paper, it became more and more difficult to hide her amusement.
"Now, THIS guy on the other hand," he said, picking up a document depicting a literal Peacock Demon with multiple eyes on his neck. "You can tell he spends more time at the spa than necessary."
Despite knowing she shouldn't laugh at the Cat Demon's joke, but damn it! Since neither the employees nor her fellow Demon Royals would ever dare make fun of each other in public without risking their own security, it was almost relieving to witness such mockery for once.
"What about this one?" she asked, sliding over a different document, this one earning a baffled raised eyebrow from the Cat Demon.
"Wow!" he exclaimed, unable to take his eyes off the insanely long moustache growing a foot past either side of his head. "Give this guy a razor and tell him to lose the nose horns!"
After that came a document depicting a pale woman with swollen lips and an unnaturally thin waist.
"Her?" Octavia asked,
"Plastic with a Capital P!" Mick declared, clearly seeing the excessive amount of cheap surgeries this Demon went through.
After that came a small montage of Octavia showing Mick the pictures of the guests, with him giving comments funnier than the last. First, there was a picture showing a pair of creepy looking twins.
"He is clearly boinking her,"
Then came a Demon with a huge, beak-like nose and what could only be described as a "porn-stache".
"Bags his own shit,"
Next, a Demon with disgusting yellow and brown teeth.
"EATS his own shit!"
And finally a Mantis Demon with large mandibles and a shifty expression.
"Possibly ate his mom!"
Unable to bear it anymore, Octavia eventually found herself clutching her stomach and collapsing on her bed from laughing so hard. Never in her life did she ever think she would ever meet someone who actually had the balls to go all out with such insults, even behind the Noble Demon's back. Of course, that wasn't to say that the stuck-up bastards didn't deserve each and every one.
Seeing Octavia laugh so hard, Mick couldn't help but smile from beneath his mask. Suddenly, at that moment, he caught sight of something shimmering at the corner of his eye. Taking a closer look he saw that there was one small pile of papers that had backgrounds on a few more Demon Nobles, except for some reason these ones had little golden star-shaped stickers stuck to the corner of their photos.
"Hey, what's with the gold stars on these ones?" Mick asked, quickly regaining Octavia's attention.
"Hmm?" she uttered, looking back over to the desk to see what he was talking about. "Oh, those are the ones my mother wants me to take a special look into."
Quickly noticing the sudden shift from amused to the irritated expression on Octavia's face, Mick knew in an instant that this was a touchy subject for her. At first, he was more than willing to just put the papers down and talk about something else… However, that was when he noticed something about the documents with the gold stars, something unnervingly odd.
"Uh… Octi?" he said, once again grabbing the Goetia's attention. "Did your mother tell you WHY she wanted you to look into these Demons especially?"
Octavia couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at that.
"Not really," she answered honestly. "I did ask at one point, but she told me not to fret over something so trivial, so I didn't bother looking into it any further. Why?"
"Well… have you noticed anything they all have in common?" Mick replied, causing an instant wave of concern to wash over the Goetia Princess.
Unable to ignore the Cat Demon's words, Octavia quickly rushed back over to the desk as Mick started laying out all the papers with the gold stars side by side. Numbering at a total of ten documents, Octavia scanned each one and compared it to its neighbour to see what Mick was talking about.
"They're all guys?" she asked, quickly noticing the most obvious connection between the documents.
However, while Mick nodded his head at that answer, it wasn't entirely accurate.
"That's not all, though," he elaborated, pointing out every detail on all ten pieces of paper. "All guys, all first-born in their families, all incredibly wealthy with huge connections, all around the same age…"
"All around MY age!" Octavia exclaimed, swiftly snatching up a couple of the papers to make sure she wasn't mistaken. Sure enough, aside from a one or two year difference, every Demon on each piece of paper was roughly the same age she was.
"And all coming here on the same night," Mick concluded, looking back at Octavia with concern. "You don't think…?"
Unfortunately Mick would never get to finish that sentence due to his own words freezing in his throat. Upon seeing Octavia's livid snarl and red eyes glowing to the point of burning over her irises, he knew better than to say anything that might set her off.
"That manipulative BITCH!" Octavia screamed, scrunching up the papers in her hand into a ball and throwing them across the room. "She's using this banquet to try to fix me up with some rich douchebag!"
Obviously, it didn't take a genius to realise that Octavia was speaking about her mother. However, Mick still felt a little baffled after hearing the Owl Demon confirm his own suspicions.
"She'd actually do that?" he uttered, hoping that he was misinterpreting the situation.
"You've seen what my mother's like, Mick," Octavia retorted, her anger continuously growing by the second. "All that classist crap she spouts out all the time. She's probably trying to arrange my future marriage."
As baffling as the Goetia's statement was, it was the last part of her sentence that got Mick completely flabbergasted.
"Your what-now!?" he exclaimed, cleaning out his ear with his finger to make sure he heard right.
"I'm almost 18, Mick," Octavia elaborated, trying her best to resolve her friend's confusion. "As far as my mother's concerned, that's the perfect age to begin marriage talks. The wedding date, the prenuptial agreements, the whole enchilada."
Mick just couldn't believe it. Granted, he had heard that some families both alive and here in Hell still believe in arranged marriages, but to hear that his friend was being forced into one felt so incomprehensible.
"Bloody hell," he muttered, having no other words to say.
Octavia, on the other hand, had a lot to say to a certain someone, given how angry she was feeling.
"Well if she thinks I'm going to just stand here and take this, she has another thing coming!" she snapped, stomping over towards the door and kicking it open.
Quickly sensing that things were about to get ugly, Mick had no choice but to run after Octavia as she stormed down the hall, a nervous look in his eyes that grew with every step they both took.
"Don't do anything rash, Octi!" he called out, his voice falling on deaf ears as Octavia continued to storm off.
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the two young Demons upstairs, another member of the Goetia family was feeling livid.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"
SMASH!
It was only by pure luck that Reginald had managed to duck out of the way before Stella threw one of the house telephones through the window, missing the Butler's head by mere inches.
"Stella, please calm down!" Stolas pleaded. Being the only other Demon in the living room at the time, he felt it was his duty to try and ease the situation before it gets worse.
Stella, however, wasn't having it.
"Calm down!?" She snapped. "Stolas, do you not realise how much shit we're in!? The banquet is next week and our organiser is now dead! Now everything is going to shit!"
Stolas's face twisted into an unamused frown at that. He certainly didn't need reminding of what his wife was just told only two minutes ago. When Stella had rung up their usual Event Organiser to confirm a few things regarding next week's banquet, she had no idea of the shock and fury she would be experiencing after finding out he had been gunned down by one of his other clients several days ago. Needless to say, Stella did NOT take the news well.
"Look, maybe we can sort everything ourselves, huh?" he said, once again trying in vain to diffuse the intense situation.
"Stolas, we have over 90 guests coming to this banquet and without our organiser, we can't arrange all the necessary preparations in time!" Stella furiously argued. "Thanks to his little date with death, now we have no food deliveries coming, the musicians haven't been booked, not to mention the hassle of arranging accommodations for half the guests! Some of them are even coming up from the other Rings, for fuck's sake!"
"Well, maybe they can stay here?" Stolas suggested.
"ALL OF THEM!? Of all the idiotic-"
"-bullshit to say!"
As Octavia listened in on the argument from the other side of the door, she let out a solemn sigh that was riddled with irritation. While she originally came downstairs to chew her mother out for her disgusting deception regarding her marital future, after overhearing the fight, she couldn't even bring herself to knock on the door.
"Well, this is a disaster," she commented, leaning back against the nearby wall with a heavy groan until she eventually slid down to the floor.
However, Mick, while glad Octavia didn't get into a heated fight with her parents, was left somewhat confused by the Goetia Princess's words.
"Weren't you JUST coming down here to tell your mother how you felt about what she's up to with this banquet?" he pointed out. "Besides, I thought you didn't want to go to this thing anyway."
Octavia couldn't help but sigh at that.
"I don't," she admitted. "But you heard them. If the banquet gets cancelled then we'd have a shit ton of pissed-off members of Hellish Nobility on our hands."
"Oh… that bad, huh?" Mick commented, sensing the utter dread in Octavia's tone as she nodded her head.
"A good chunk of the guests have probably already booked into local hotels by now, or are staying with relatives," the Goetia Demon further elaborated. "As much as I don't like what my mother's up to, having all that shit those Demons will bring to our doorstep will be a lot worse. Trust me on that."
Of course, despite what Octavia was trying to suggest, Mick could tell that she was feeling like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. And quite frankly, he hated seeing her like this.
"Alright, but what about those suitors?" he asked, earning himself another one of Octavia's signature sighs.
"I guess I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it," she answered solemnly, burying her face behind her knees.
Mick felt so horrible. Between the stress of preparing for a banquet that now may or may not happen, seeing his friend furious over being manipulated by her own mother, and now watching said friend sat down on the floor, completely overwhelmed with anxiety, the Cat Demon just couldn't stand here and leave things as they were. As far as Mick was concerned, now is the time to step in.
"Okay… if that's how you feel," he said, regaining Octavia's attention. "I think I have a way to fix this."
Lifting up her head to look at him, Octavia couldn't help but stare at Mick with confusion.
"What… what are you talking about?" she asked.
"Well, I might know someone who can help with this whole banquet situation," Mick explained, adding to Octavia's curiosity.
"Really?" she uttered, slowly getting back to her feet. "Who?"
Seeing that Octavia's interests were piqued, Mick couldn't help but smirk beneath his mask.
"Well, she isn't that well known," he elaborated. "But she's one of the best event organisers in Hell. So she should be able to sort out all those problems your parents mentioned."
That explanation, however, didn't seem to satisfy the Goetia Demon.
"If she's that good then why isn't she well known?" she asked, pointing out the contradiction.
"Because she's so loaded, it's more of a hobby than an actual job for her," Mick answered, letting out a small sigh. "Plus she has this… weird way of contacting her."
At the mention of the word "weird", Octavia's eyebrow was once again raised.
"What do you mean?" she inquired.
"You're about to find out," Mick replied, holding out his hand to her. "Come with me."
Though still somewhat hesitant about going along with whatever was going on inside the Cat Demon's head, Mick had earned more than enough trust at this point for Octavia to comply with his request. Before she knew it, she had taken Mick's hand in her own and was being led down the corridor.
Before long, the two of them found themselves back inside the library. There, Mick led Octavia to one of the empty tables, before starting to rummage through his pockets.
"Why are we in here?" Octavia asked, curious about the reason Mick had brought them to their usual rendezvous room.
"It's better if we do this privately," Mick answered. "I don't want your mother having a go at me, in case we leave a mess outside the living room door."
Octavia didn't know whether or not Mick was actually aware that he worded his sentence in such a way that it sounded like it had a double meaning, but either way the innuendo made the Goetia Demon blush.
"Okay, where did I put that… aha!" Mick eventually declared, pulling out a tattered white business card from his wallet, before flipping it over in his hand and reading the details on the back.
It may have been considered rude to look over someone else's shoulder, but even so, Octavia's curiosity quickly won over as she snuck a glance at the card. She may not have been able to read the words, but she did manage to catch a glimpse of the strange symbol on the front of it, which consisted of a red drop in front of a cracked mirror. She may not have understood the meaning of such a symbol at the time, but nonetheless, she was deeply invested in finding out.
"Okay, now I just need a mirror," Mick continued, searching around the room before gasping with a sudden thought and looking in Octavia's direction. "Uh, could I borrow your compact for a moment?"
Octavia could only give Mick a deadpan stare at that question.
"What makes you automatically assume that I have one?" she asked with a small hint of sass.
"The fact that you're a goth girl who clearly wears a great deal of eyeshadow?"
…
"Smartass," Octavia eventually chuckled, unable to hold back her playful grin as she pulled out the compact she did in fact have in her pocket and tossed it in the air for Mick to catch.
With the tiny mirror in hand, Mick then opened it up and placed it on the table in front of him, making sure he angled the glass to the point where he could still see his reflection as he took a few steps back.
"You might want to keep your distance," he warned. "What happens next is gonna be a little unnerving."
While she may not have known what Mick was referring to, Octavia nonetheless heeded the Cat Demon's warning and followed his example, stepping behind him as he proceeded to move on to the next step of whatever he was doing. Moments later, Mick suddenly began to chant an odd incantation:
From the flames of Hellborns past,
I summon thee, oh Queen of Glass,
From the pits, so dark and scary,
Bloody Mary!
Bloody Mary!
Bloody Mary!
BOOM!
The moment the Cat Demon called out the name for the third time, all of a sudden, a loud rumble of thunder followed by a loud flash of lightning erupted from outside the window and the room around the two Demons was suddenly enveloped in darkness, shrouding them in a deep black void. Instinctively startled by the sudden change in atmosphere, Octavia clutched onto Mick's arm in shock, quickly retracting it with a small blush of embarrassment, before her attention was suddenly drawn to the only source of light in the room, that being the compact mirror on the table. As the outer shell of the compact shook like a shivering animal, the glass within was suddenly emanating an eerie red light for some reason. Not only that, but for some reason, Octavia felt like she could hear haunting organ music followed by horrific screaming coming from inside it.
CRACK!
Suddenly, the very surface of the mirror cracked as if something were smashing against it from the other side. Mere moments later… something dark and unnerving began to trickle from the cracks, which soon enough began to ooze and flow more and more with each passing second. Staring at the dark substance spilling out onto the table before pouring onto the floor, as soon as Octavia caught the foul, yet familiar scent, she knew instantly what it was. How could she not? After all, she and Mick were unfortunate enough to go for a swim in an entire river of it… the mirror was gushing blood!
As the blood began to pool onto the floor, Octavia felt a horrible shiver running up her spine as the screams seemed to get louder and louder. Suddenly something BURST out of the blood on the floor before scratching at the floor like a zombie rising from the grave! A gnarled, boney hand with burning claws as red as the blood itself. Mere seconds after that, an entire body began to pull itself from the blood... no! The body WAS the blood! Shaping itself into a skeletal female, with long, greasy, blood-stained hair that drooped over a face that had dead black eyes and a mouth filled with teeth made up of shards of broken mirror fragments, the new figure towered over the two Demons with a loud, soul-crushing scream. However, while Octavia was practically terrified out of her wits, Mick, on the other hand, didn't seem to be phased by everything that was happening… actually from what Octavia could tell, he seemed to be annoyed.
"Oh, knock it off with the theatrics, Mary!" he snapped, much to Octavia's shock and horror.
The moment Mick yelled out those words, everything fell into silence, even the screams came to an abrupt halt, almost as if the record playing them was suddenly scratched. Around the same time, the figure of blood halted its unnerving display, slumping its shoulders and tilting its head as if it were confused. Mere moments later, much to Octavia's further surprise, it spoke.
"Huh?" it uttered, its voice feminine yet raspy as it suddenly leaned in a little closer to the two young Demons. Seeing who was in front of it, its black eyes widened with surprise and a wide grin quickly spread across its face. "MICKEY!"
Before Octavia could even begin to comprehend what was happening, the figure suddenly started to spin like a tornado, sucking up every drop of excess blood in the process. Even the darkness surrounding them all was being pulled towards it like water flowing down the drain of a sink. After the room returned to normal, the tornado shrank into a smaller size before slowing down and reshaping itself into a brand new form, with the blood dissolving away to reveal the true face of the new arrival. She was a tall, beautiful looking Demon with skin as flawless and reflective as a polished mirror, long black hair with red streaks flowing from her temples, and a pair of yellow eyes that had two dark red markings that ran down her cheeks, almost as if she was crying tears of blood. Not even a second after the transformation, the figure gave Mick a cheerful smile and tackled him into a fierce hug.
"Hey! How's it going, kid!?" she exclaimed, surprising Octavia by how strong she was by literally lifting Mick off the ground with her embrace. "Come here, give me some love!"
"Hey, Mary... good to see you too," Mick gasped, his breath quickly leaving him as his bones felt like they were going to shatter. "Uh… Mary! Can't breathe! CAN'T BREATHE!"
"Oop!" Mary yelped, quickly realising her mistake and putting Mick down with a sheepish smile. "Sorry."
Thankfully, Mick, even though still feeling a slight pain against his rib cage, didn't seem too bothered with the sudden hug tackle.
"It's no problem, Mary," he replied, rubbing his side before giving the newcomer a happy look in his eyes. "Have to say, you're looking well. How's the wife?"
"Oh, she's great," Mary replied, regaining her excited smile. "We're actually parents now!"
"Really?"
"Yeah, we adopted this little cutie last year."
Before Mick could even get the chance to blink, all of a sudden the screen of Mary's Hellphone was shoved into his face, allowing him to see a photo of Mary wearing a red turtleneck sweater while kissing another woman, AKA her wife on the cheek, A pale, Doll Demon with white hair and purple eyes. Sitting between them in the photo, was a black-furred Hellhound pup who looked no more than two years old and was clearly enjoying herself while sitting on her new parents' laps. Seeing this, Mick couldn't help but fawn over the photo.
"Aww!"
Unable to hold back her giggles, Mary eventually put her phone away and tried to regain some composure.
"Anyways how've YOU been?" she asked, trying to turn the conversation around. "I haven't seen you since my bachelorette party."
Being reminded of such an event, Mick scratched the back of his head with a small smile under his mask.
"Yeah, I'm good," he replied, before gesturing to his clothes. "As you can probably tell, I got myself a new job recently."
"Oh, nice," Mary commented, feeling a little impressed after seeing the high quality of Mick's work uniform.
"In fact, it's the reason why I summoned you," Mick continued, letting out a small breath as he tried to word his next sentence appropriately. "Would you be free for a job this week?"
The moment that particular question left Mick's mouth, Mary couldn't help feeling a little intrigued. However, that wasn't to say she was the type of Demon to jump into things blindly.
"Depends on the job," she said, tapping her chin with curiosity.
"How does a ROYAL banquet sound?"
As soon as Mary heard that, it was practically hook, line and sinker. Snapping her eyes wide with a mix of shock and awe, the Mirror Demon found herself to be completely speechless… that is until she finally took notice of the other Demon in the room, who had been watching the exchange with a mix of curiosity and bafflement.
"P-Princess Octavia?" She eventually sputtered, pointing a shaking finger at the Owl Demon standing a short distance from her. "Of the Ars Goetia!?"
Realising that this was the moment to introduce herself to this newcomer, Octavia took a cautious step forward and offered her hand in an awkward attempt at a greeting.
"Uh… hi?" she said, not knowing what else she could possibly say in this situation.
Before she realised it, Mary was suddenly down on her knees and kissing her hand with a large amount of reverence.
"Your Highness!" she exclaimed. "I'm so honoured to finally meet you! I've admired your family for centuries!"
"Oh?" Octavia replied awkwardly. "Glad to know we've made such a good impression."
Mary would have gladly replied to that, however it was at that moment her yellow eyes snapped wide with realisation. Quick as a flash, the Mirror Demon then gripped the front of Mick's shirt and pulled him so close to her face that they were practically nose to nose.
"Do you mean to tell me that you're working for the Goetias… and you're asking ME to help with a banquet?!" she asked, her voice completely frantic as she listened very carefully to Mick's reply, making sure she understood the situation entirely.
"That's what I'm saying," Mick answered, almost breaking into a fit of laughter when he saw the largest smile he had ever seen growing on Mary's reflective face.
"Could you give me just one moment please?" said, straightening herself up before walking back over towards the table.
Moments later, her entire body suddenly melted back into a pool of blood, which then proceeded to fly straight back into the mirror before disappearing entirely and leaving Mick and Octavia alone in the library. A few seconds after that…
"WOOHOOHOOHOOHOOHOO! MINE SHIP HATH ARRIVED! OH YEAH! OH YEAH! UH HUH! OH YEAH! YEAH!"
As if she were suddenly screaming through the speaker of a phonograph, Mary's voice rang out through the glass and all of a sudden the entire compact started bouncing around the table like a dancing clam. As the Mirror Demon continued her little celebration from inside her mirror, Octavia couldn't help but stare at the table with deep intrigue.
"Quite enthusiastic, isn't she?" she commented, earning herself a small chuckle from Mick.
"Well, Mary's quite a hardcore fan of anything related to royalty," he explained. "Hell, she WAS royalty back when she was alive."
At those words, Octavia's eyes snapped wide open with a mix of shock and realisation. Now that she had a chance to absorb what had just happened, she was now able to rack her brain, remembering that she had actually heard the name "Bloody Mary" before Mick even summoned her.
"Oh yeah, I think I've read about her in some of my books on Human history. Queen Mary I of England, right?" she asked, earning herself a small nod as flashes of memory about her former readings began to fill her head. However, with that confirmation, all of a sudden a new series of questions began to form. "Wait, how the hell did she become an Event Organiser then? And what's with the whole creepy summoning bullshit?"
In all honesty, Mick had somewhat expected Octavia to ask something like that, so of course, he tried his best to answer.
"Well, I don't really know the exact details," he replied honestly. "But from what I heard, after she died back in the 1500s, he tried everything she could to get back to the Living World. During those many attempts, she developed the ability to travel through mirrors and eventually ended up using it to start up that whole urban legend. I don't know what happened after that, but after a while, I guess it just became her calling card."
It wasn't much, but at least it was something. However, there was still something that still tickled the back of Octavia's mind. If she remembered right, Queen Mary I was a bloodthirsty psycho who beheaded her predecessor after she had deposed her. Not only that but she also burnt over 280 people at the stake for disagreeing with her own religious beliefs. Was this REALLY the same person from the history books? She just seems too… perky. Perhaps something happened to her during the 500 years she's been in Hell? After all, it wouldn't be impossible for a change in attitude in someone if they had managed to survive down here for THAT long. Racking her brain, Octavia just couldn't comprehend it though.
"I take it she never actually made it to the Living World?" she asked, hoping to learn more.
"Never made it past the reflection of the glass," Mick replied, giving the Goetia a small shrug. "Apparently, while she can appear in reflections on Earth, she can only actually travel through mirrors that are based here in Hell."
That made sense. After all, if it were that easy to get to the Human World, many if not all Sinners would have jumped at the chance. Alas, that power resides only with those who are Hellish Nobility… and that one group of Imps that Octavia knows. Still, a lot of questions remain unanswered, namely how Mick even knew such a Demon to begin with. However, those questions would need to wait, for at that moment, Octavia's compact suddenly started gushing blood again, only this time even faster. Mere seconds later, Bloody Mary reappeared, however now she looked a little more tidied up and appeared to be wearing a professional-looking grey dress suit with a light blue button shirt. Clearly, this was the attire she would wear when on the job.
"Now then," she said, her face never once dropping her excited smile. "Where are my clients!?"
It didn't take much convincing for her parents to hire Mary when Octavia introduced her to them. Not only because she knew how to address royalty properly, but also because they were pretty desperate anyway… though the fact that she said she would work for HALF the amount of money they were originally paying the last Organiser had to have been the biggest selling point.
When asked about how Bloody Mary knew of the Goetias' troubles and why she came to their house in the first place, Octavia told her parents that SHE summoned her after discovering her business card while she and Stolas were in the Peppermint Puss. She would have gladly told them the truth, however, Mick insisted on keeping his involvement a secret from her parents because he wanted to avoid any unwanted attention… plus Stella was more likely to accept the offer as long as she didn't know that the Cat Demon she tried to kill had nothing to do with it.
At this moment in time, while the three Goetias were busy discussing the details of the upcoming banquet with Mary downstairs, said Cat Demon was currently sneaking back into Octavia's room. He may have known he'd get into trouble if he was caught in here without Octavia, however, while the situation with the Event Planner may be resolved, there was still one issue that Mick couldn't let slide.
Looking over at Octavia's frilly dress in disgust, Mick quickly began to rifle through his pockets again, pulling out his wallet and Hellphone. Rummaging through the wallet, he then pulled out yet another business card, this time one he got much more recently… namely the very same day he started working here. After dialling the number and putting the phone to his ear, the Cat Demon was greeted with yet another familiar voice.
"Hello?" it said. "Mad Munn's Tailoring & Fashion Design! For the ginchiest gear in all the Nine Circles!"
Smiling at the fact he had dialled the right number, Mick quickly went straight to business.
"Oh hi, Mr Munn, this is Mick Nikos," he greeted back. "I work for Stolas Goetia?"
The moment Mick's voice rang through the phone, he could have sworn he heard Mad Munn chuckle in delight.
"Ah yes, the young Cat-boy!" he exclaimed. "What can I do for you, ducky?"
"Well, I was wondering if you'd be free at any point on Monday?" Mick asked, his eyes glaring hard at the hideous garment in front of him. "I think I have a job for you."