Liliana's dress was a dark purple piece that hung off her shoulders and tied in the back with lace straps. It was one of her favorite designs and the first one she had recommissioned after coming back, using money a lovestruck fool who believed they would get married had given her. She had leftover fabric from the same material and used it as a band to hold her hair up.
She looked exactly like how her card from the Decks of Destiny portrayed her, with a black ribbon around her neck and blood-red lips.
It seemed important to appear as otherworldly as she possibly could in the Narrow House when meeting the immortal who had borrowed her magic. Although he hadn't borrowed it as much as stole.
At least she had gotten to take several naps and even more baths with countless salts and scents before Daeshim, the Fate commonly known as the Assassin, forced her down and into the meeting.
Considering she was currently staying in his house - she had no intention of going back to any of her properties anytime soon - she felt as though she owed it to one of her oldest friends to at least hear him out.
She stood behind a few tufted red chairs filled with the thief's friends that encircled a shiny ebony table, set with a pewter tea service that no one touched, except a large tattooed man named Nigel. She had made an effort to learn all their names and uses - one never knew when it came in handy. Julian, a tall man with delicious golden-brown skin and light brown eyes the color of caramel, who was apparently, the thief's brother was there too with Jovan, a dark-skinned magnetic performer, and Aiko, a historiographer who captured the history of a series of games called Caraval.
All of the above people were trusted performers of the thief, Legend, née Dante Santos. Her sole impression of him was that he was full of himself. The name was hideous and pompous and arrogant and Liliana would have been embarrassed to call herself that in front of other people.
She'd said as much earlier and Maira, the Maiden Death with absolutely no sense of humor, told her to shut up. Liliana liked her well enough that she listened.
She turned toward the door when footsteps sounded and a man with a sharp jaw, full lips, and thick, dark brows led a petite woman with a cherub's face with a devil's grin.
Daeshim appeared directly behind Liliana and she smiled at him.
"Do not be afraid of us," said Maira, taking charge like usual. "We are here to help defeat the Fallen Star."
"And if we wanted to hurt you, I'd have shoved daggers through each of your hearts the moment I saw you outside." Daeshim's voice was like nails pounding through glass, harsh and discordant. She had to suppress a snicker.
"Is that really how you win people over?" muttered Julian.
She tensed up, ever so slightly and when he looked at her, she smiled, looking him straight in the eyes, extending just a smidgen of her power. He relaxed and a simple lovestruck smile grew on his face. His jaw slacked and he kept staring at her as she spoke, "We have a multitude of other ways to do so, but I doubt you would appreciate them."
"Daeshim, Liliana," Maira chided her, voice soft and smooth like sweet nectar, "remember what we talked about?"
"You said to be friendly. That was a joke."
"I didn't do anything." Liliana lied, turning to look at her. None of the Fates were immune to her powers and Maira's expression softened. Julian shook his head and his usual - she assumed it was his usual - frown graced his face.
No one laughed except for Jovan. "I think you need some work on your humor, mate.'
"If you don't kill us all, I'll help you out," added Caspar.
"Thank you," Dae answered. Not that his politeness appeared to relax anyone. If anything, more tension filled the room.
"I know you have little reason to trust us, but I come to warn of harm, not bring it."
Maira's mournful eyes met Legend's and the wind that made her shredded dress billow grew stronger. "I sense your entire world is in danger if you refuse to accept our help."
"Any danger to our world is because of your kind," Legend said as though any power, any worth he had was not because of the Fates.
"You're not that different from us," Liliana responded. "You're immortal and you have abilities like ours. But you do not know what it is like to be connected to the Fallen Star. We are his immortal abominations, and when we act out, he punishes us eternally."
"Your myths claim that Death imprisoned my head in pearls," Maira continued, "but it was really Gavriel. Once upon a time, he wanted me. I refused him. So, he had my head caged in this cursed globe, to keep anyone else from touching me. I have tried to remove it; I've even died and come back to life, but the cage will remain until Gavriel dies."
"And what are your tales of woe?" Tella asked Dae and Liliana.
"It's none of your business. You should trust us because we're not killing any of you right now."
"That's good enough for me," Caspar said with a laugh. It seemed he thought the Assassin was telling another joke, as though he had not earned his name.
Julian leaned forward with a stare that was on the verge of asking for a fight, elbows on the table.
Liliana wondered why Maira wasn't allowing her to just charm everyone in the room to do exactly what they wanted. Bloody morals.
"We all agree, everyone hates the Fallen Star. But I still find it hard to believe you'd want him dead, since killing him makes you two more vulnerable."
"Being vulnerable is not as bad as some believe," said the Maiden Death. "The Fallen Star's death would make us ageless. If we died, we wouldn't come back to life, it's true. But if we are ageless, we could still live almost as long as an immortal if we're careful. Although, not all of us want to even live that long. Some among our kind would like to have the option of finally dying. But they are not willing to openly oppose him. No one wants to spend an eternity in a cage."
"That I believe." Legend's tone was more diplomatic than his brother's, but it was clear from the heavyweight he put behind it that one wrong move from them would change his approach. Pompous prick. She didn't like him one bit. "Can we all have a minute alone? If you're really here to help us, I don't imagine that will be a problem."
The Maiden Death silently glided toward where Legend and the lady known as Donatella stood near the door. Once she left, the Assassin simply held his hand out to Liliana. She took it, and they both vanished.
The door to the bath swung open and Dae strolled in, a soft white towel in his outstretched hand.
"We have a plan and I need you."
Liliana rolled her eyes and stood, water sluicing off her, her hair plastered to her breasts.
Dae had no sense of personal space, and although she wouldn't have cared if he had interrupted her at any other point in the day, her baths were her time. Although, he had walked in instead of just appearing, so perhaps he did understand her need for privacy on some level.
His right foot tapped impatiently on the floor as she took the towel and ran it over her skin, letting it soak up all the water and bath salts.
She blew out the scented candles as he spoke, detailing the scheme and her part in it. "Scarlett and I would need clothes from about two decades ago, just accurate enough that we wouldn't look out of place when we steal Paradise's clothes. It would just help us avoid any uncertainties."
"Of course." One of the first things she did after coming back was to analyze the changes and progress in fashion. "I can finish yours and perhaps hers within the hour but I haven't seen Scarlett yet so I'll need her size and preferably a gown of hers to use as a base."
"She's pretty similar to you so one of yours should work for her."
Liliana nodded, "I'd rather you bring her here so I'd get better measurements." Not that Dae was a liar, but he tended to not pay much attention to anything that couldn't be used as a direct weapon.
Dae nodded, shifted as though he was about to fetch Scarlett, and then hesitated. "We're working with Jacks to get Donatella close enough to Gavriel to kill him."
She stilled and then relaxed, although her mind was anything but calm. "Then I'm glad you won't be needing me in the room when it happens. My role in this ends with the dresses."
He didn't reply and vanished. Liliana had barely enough time to pull her white silk robe shut - she found humans weren't as comfortable with nudity as other beings - when he reappeared with a rather lovely young woman. She was tall, although a bit shorter than Liliana and her hips were more rounded too.
She was glad she had told Dae to bring Scarlett. None of her own gowns would work as they had been tailor-made for her shape specially.
"I'll need you to take off your gown."
"What?"
Right, humans. "Hello, I'm Liliana, although you'd know me as the Seductress. I am great at fashion and will be giving you and Dae clothes for when you go back in time. Considering our time constraints, I'd work a lot faster simply altering an existing piece and since you don't have one with you, I'd like you to take off your gown." She walked around as she spoke, and pulled out a loose dress that she hadn't had the time to tighten yet from one of her closets. "You can wear this, if you'd like."
The introduction worked wonders and Scarlett was a lot more accepting of the new dress. However, she did not appear to be comfortable and did not look at Liliana except for when she had just appeared, when her eyes widened and a dark blush spread across her cheeks.
She insisted that both she and Dae leave her be to get undressed in privacy, and while she changed, Liliana began working on Dae's clothes - although men's clothing had barely changed.
It was simple work, and true to her word, well before an hour had passed, they were dressed in their relatively new clothes and vanished back in time to prepare to impersonate a dead mother.
It sounded messed up, even to Liliana, but who was she to judge?