"Well, don't be an idiot next time a peasant acts funny around you."

Stella sighed while holding up the mirror. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Oh-ho-ho, no need to be so formal." King Paimon chuckled. "Call me 'Daddy'."

Stella's brow twitched while she forced herself to smile. "Whatever you say, Father."

"Hmm, quite so." He deadpanned. "Off with you."

Her father-in-law vanished from the mirror. Stella groaned at her reflection and set the mirror down. Why had she even bothered to report being kidnapped? Aside from Stolas and Octavia, no one seemed particularly bothered by the events. It was just another file to get lost in a shredding bin.

"Old Geezer sounded as cheerful as ever," commented the young lady leaning on the door frame.

Stella gasped. "Via! That's your grandfather!"

Octavia shrugged with her arms crossed. "He doesn't give a rat's ** about any of us."

"Okay, fair point." Stella scratched the back of her neck. When her fingers passed over her stitches, she flinched. "Ow!"

Octavia looked concerned. "Are you really okay, Mom?"

"I'll recover from this." Stella waved dismissively. "This isn't the first time a bottle knocked my lights out."

Octavia facepalmed. "Oh, my gawd."

"Sorry, couldn't help myself." Stella smiled.

"Yeah, whatever." Octavia walked out of the room. "I'm going to get some air."

Stella watched her go. As soon as the footsteps had grown distant, she sighed. She idly picked up a coffee mug and sipped its contents. She glanced over at the butler holding the silver platter.

(Earlier that morning…)

"He assaulted you and kidnapped you!" Stolas scoffed. "You don't owe him anything."

"The fact that he committed crimes doesn't change the fact that I made a promise." Stella held Stolas's hand. "What good is my word if I can't keep it?"

Stolas rubbed his temple with his free hand. He relented, "Alright. I'll see what I can do about that. He won't be in a state where he can appreciate what you're doing. If anything, this spell will make an extension of yourself that looks like him."

"I… yeah, that will do." Stella nodded. "Thank you."

With Grimoire in hand, Stolas pulled Gunter's blood through a portal. It sounded like water pouring into a glass, except it was pouring into Stella's shadow. After a minute, the essence stood nearby, a literal shadow of the imp it used to be.

(Current hour…)

"A necromancy familiar, huh?" Stella held her cup to her beak.

"That's right." Her voice was produced from the shadowy Gunter. "Now any time I perish, you'll have to wait seven days to summon me back. You can choose to control my actions directly or involuntarily serve you subconsciously."

Stella put her empty cup on the platter. "Yes, I listened to Stolas's explanation about you."

Familiar Gunter shrugged. "You wanted me to repeat it as proof that this is really happening."

"I suppose I did." Stella slowly nodded. "Do you have something closer to the original's voice?"

The familiar grinned. Without even flinching, Striker's voice asked, "Is this any better?"

Stella held her hand to the side. "Eh, close enough. Please bring me some skewers… and more coffee."

"Sure thing, ma'am." The familiar nodded and walked out of the bedroom.

It went briskly down the hall. Upon reaching the kitchen, it transferred the tray in its hands to balance on top of its tail. After a bit of clattering of dishes, it lifted a plate of dead rodents and a fresh cup of coffee over its head.

Stolas looked up from the newspaper. Although he still felt slightly perturbed by Gunter's face, he swallowed his pride for the friend in charge of the shade.

"How is the familiar treating you, Dear?" he asked.

"Oh, about as well as I treat myself," it said with Stella's voice.

Stolas snorted. "Okay, **. I should have expected that joke."

"Admittedly, I was a bit worried it would drive me dizzy," it said. "But now, it feels like I've always had this extra pair of eyes."

"Glad to hear it." Stolas smiled. "Please take it easy on yourself until you're better."

"I'll be fine." It smiled back. "Thank you, Stolas."

As the familiar slipped away, Stolas lifted the page in his hand. The printed headline said something about a subsidiary's quarter-end party being shut down by the parent company's lawyers.

(25 years ago…)

"Crap, crap, f**!" In the bathroom, little Stella clenched her feathers between her fingers. "How did I miss all the clues at once? My name is Stella and I live in Hell. It never occurred to me that I'd be engaged to the prince Stolas! What am I going to do?"

There was a knock on the door.

"Stella? If you're done in there, you need to come out. The bathroom is not a play area."

"Coming, Andre!" Stella called out. She quickly washed her hands to prove she was using the facility properly. After drying off, she stepped out.

The blue plumed peacock raised his brow. "What seems to be the problem, sister?"

"Problem?" Stella tensed up. "Who said anything about a problem?" Her eyes darted from side-to-side before rushing to look up again.

After a moment of painful silence, Andrealphus sighed. "At this rate, you'll develop wrinkles long before you hit puberty. Best find a way to at least pretend to find stress relief."

He pulled out a small hand bell and rang it. A young, freckled imp raced over and stood ready.

"Gruber, take Stella to a show or something to distract her," said Andre. "I've got other things I need to attend."

"Of course, sir." Gruber bowed. He gave a nervous glance at the peahen and walked toward the front of the manor.

Stella briefly scratched the back of her head. 'Maybe I should apologize for throwing those teacups at his shoulder.' She felt the gaze of her big brother urging her to get moving. She held her dress and briskly walked after her butler.

…

The red sky had slightly faded after midday. Stella moved the curtain aside and looked out the window of the carriage. She did a double-take. Why did one of the tents look like it was half-vaporized by hellfire?

Fortunately, the big performance tent was still completely intact. Stella and Gruber walked down the steps, into an empty section. The rest of the tent was filled with imps. Stella gripped her dress. How was a circus supposed to relieve her stress-filled, existential crisis?

When the tightrope act started, Stella squinted. Her eyes and beak opened when she was sure she was seeing clearly. The horns on the imp were smaller and the outfit was different. Yet, she silently identified Barbie Wire.

"She's kind of pretty," commented Stella.

"If you say so, Lady Stella," said Gruber.

The rest of the circus show was a blur. Stella vaguely recalled jugglers, stunt performers, and a cannon. There had even been a jester showing off Banana Pudding the Clown Horsey. But her mind had wandered back to Barbie Wire. How had such an energetic, agile girl like that ended up as an alcoholic trapped in rehab?

(25 years later… give or take a few months…)

Stella was loading up her crossbow for another target practice. Just as she was ready to take aim, a loud moan interrupted. She looked up from the sights and slowly walked toward the bushes. When she looked down, she lowered her practice weapon and stared in surprise.

It was a female imp in dirty, scratched up clothes. The long black fingernails and curved horns were unmistakable.

"Barbie Wire?" asked Stella.

Barbie Wire covered her eyes with the back of her hand. "Wha…? Who turned the **ing sun too bright?" Her words were slurred and tired.

Stella looked over her shoulder. "Walter, stay here and watch her for a minute."

"Very well, princess." Walter nodded.

Stella rushed into the palace. She was about to barge into the master bedroom when she heard talking.

"You know what happens when I get lonely, Blitzy?"

'Ew, what happened to Stolas's voice?' Stella thought to herself. 'Did he eat an expired frog or something?'

"I become hungry," continued the owl beyond the door. "And when I'm hungry, I want to choke on that red d** of yours. L** your salad with a ** fork until you **n ** p** and c** t** like a **ng baby!"

'Maybe, I can bother him another time.' Stella slowly backed away, then ran toward the back door.

…

"Anything happen?" she asked the butler on standby.

"Nothing of note in the last few minutes," replied Walter.

The imp on the ground grumbled. "Whoever's there, can you shut your **ing trap? Too loud for my headache."

"Uh, sorry for the rude awakening," said Stella. "But you're kind of in the middle of private property."

Barbie let out a low growl. "Okay, that's it!"

Two yellow sclera glowed with bloodshot lines. Fangs were bared as the hungover imp leapt into the air. Walter pulled out some steel threads between his fingers, but it was too late. The intruder had chomped down hard into the princess's neck. Something dripped onto the feather-covered shoulder.

Stella blinked twice. "Is that blood I feel?"

Walter stared up in shock. "No, Your Majesty. She appears to be crying."

Indeed, Barbie's face had lost some of its ferocity. Her eyes had squeezed shut and dripped salty water. There was a hiccup, followed by bursts of sobbing. Stella dropped her crossbow. It landed in the grasp of Walter's tail. With her hand now free, Stella lightly hugged the imp currently hung against her shoulder and chest.

"Hey, Walter?" Stella looked down. "Could you make some tea really quick?"

"Are you sure it's safe to be alone with her?" Walter raised his brow.

Stella nodded. "I'll yell if it turns into a problem."

"If you say so, Princess." Walter briskly walked into the palace.

(Now…)

A hole-in-the-wall café was rustling with activity. Customers were scampering in and out. One demon looked at another in disgust. The demon on the opposite side was drooling at the number of sugar packets she was pouring into a cup. At another table, someone poured scalding coffee on another demon's head before they stormed out.

One booth was blocked off by feather-patterned borders. Walter and Shadow Gunter were standing on either side. Meanwhile, Stella was standing in line. Next to her, a female imp stood in a patched-up leather jacket. The sleeves had a pattern that resembled sharp, prison fencing.

"What sounds good today?" asked Stella.

"I want something iced, b**." Barbie Wire's eyes opened wide. She held up her hands in front of herself. "Uh, I mean Your Highness!"

Stella deadpanned for a moment. Then, she lifted her beak. "Alright. Something iced b**, it is." She smiled wryly.

Barbie coughed into a laugh. She held her tail in her hands as she walked over to the guarded booth. Walter took one step to the side to let her get in.

A few minutes later, Stella walked by with two cups in her grasp. She set a transparent one with dark liquid and ice cubes down in front of Barbie. Stella sat down while holding the other cup, which was closed and steamy.

"So, how's rehabilitation going?" asked Stella.

"Ugh, can we not **ing talk about that right now?" Barbie punctuated her response with a loud slurp.

"Suit yourself." Stella blew on her cup before taking a small sip.

Wire's tail pointed in Stella's general direction. "You get in a bar fight recently?"

'Oh, so we can talk about my personal life, but not yours?' Stella shook her head. "No, it was an after-funeral refreshment. A while back, I killed someone that threatened my husband. Turns out, the would-be assassin had a brother that wanted revenge. Long story short, that brother is now my familiar."

Shadow Gunter looked over its shoulder and waved at Barbie.

"Huh." Barbie shook the ice in her drink. "The rich folks continue to surprise me. So, why didn't you do that to me all those months ago?"

"Well for one, you didn't have a gun to my head." Stella tapped her nails against her coffee cup. "And two, you were blindly attacking through your hangover. It didn't feel personal enough to make it a big deal." In the back of her mind, she thought, 'Third, I had no idea the familiar spell even existed back then.'

"Really?" Wire tilted her head. "A bite didn't feel like a personal attack?"

Stella shrugged. "Among the avian demons, pecking each other's necks is a form of affection."

Barbie stared in horrified thought.

"Oh, but I don't really swing that way." Stella took another sip.

Barbie held a hand over her chest and exhaled. "Hey-Zeus **ing c**, Stella. You're a real piece of work."

"Thank you." Stella smiled.

Wire looked down while crunching on an ice cube. "Could you clear something up for me?"

"Hmm?" Stella rested her cup on the table. "What is it?"

"Is your husband really **ing himself out on the side?"

Stella scoffed. "Name me a demon that doesn't seek out a dalliance every know and then."

"There's the Radio Demon." Barbie held up one claw. "There's also your daughter, if what you've told me is true."

"Give her time." Stella waved dismissively.

"Anyway, you're dodging the **ing question." Barbie deadpanned.

"If not knowing is really killing you, then I will answer." Stella nodded. "Yes, Stolas has slept with an imp."

"Wow! The balls on a prince to reach down like that." Wire shook her head. "Who's the lucky mistress?"

Stella blinked twice. "Wait, you don't know?"

"No, the papers get too blurry underneath the headlines right before I pass out."

Stella sharply inhaled. "Sorry to keep dodging questions, but have you spoken with your brother recently?"

"Blitzo?" Barbie asked. "No, he fell off the face of the Seven Circles after he left the circus. I have no idea where he could be."

"Oh." Stella chuckled nervously. "Well, he's currently doing pretty well. He owns his own hitman company."

"That makes sense." Wire shook the rest of her ice. "He always had a fascination for blood."

"And his main targets are revenge jobs in the living world."

Barbie tilted her head. "Wait, I thought only succu-b**es and demon royalty could go topside without help."

"Oh, he had help... from demon royalty." Stella twiddled her thumbs.

Barbie stared into space for a few seconds. "Oh, Satan... my brother is **ing Stolas."

"Uh-huh." Stella held her breath.

The rest of the café's chatter drowned out to white noise in the imp's head. After a moment of saying nothing, Barbie stood up.

"Where is his company?"

Stella slowly pulled out an I.M.P. business card. "F.y.i., he says the 'O' is silent now."

"Awh..." Barbie closed her eyes as she grabbed the card. "Um, thanks for the coffee."

"Don't mention it," said Stella. "Take care, Barb."

Barbie nodded and walked away. After heading out the door, she put her hands in her jacket pockets.

Stella waited and watched as Wire left her view. 'I hope everything works out.'