tJfaJ: Chapter 9

"Ah, Mimi… welcome back…"

I flinched when I heard the spine-tingling voice behind me. No, no, no… I thought, trembling slightly. Dear Grambi, please no…

A slender hand rested on my shoulder, the fingers simply being three long, black claws. I heard the high-pitched female voice again, louder, as the figure stooped down to whisper in my ear. "It's been quite a while since I've seen you here, hasn't it?"

I whipped around to face the figure, stumbling away from her chilling grip. With a gasp of surprise, I found my worst fears to be correct—there she was: my demon, alive and well.

She stood up to her full height, towering over me, grinning that jack-o-lantern smile. "What is the matter, dear girl? Are you frightened of me?"

I hesitantly nodded my head, trembling a bit.

"Good…" She whispered, grinning madly. She suddenly stooped forward, and brushed her claws along my cheek. "You should be…" she hissed in my ear.

I shuddered, whimpering pitifully. "Wh-why… did you… come b-back?" I stammered.

I heard a light, musical chuckle escape her lips. "Silly, silly girl… I never left… you know I would never abandon you…" She was walking around me now, slithering on the flowing tentacles at the base of her long tail. She twirled her claws around my pigtails, making them pull at the back of my head.

"I wish you'd… j-just… leave me alone…" I whimpered.

"Ha!" She said, flipping her long hair over her shoulder. "You 'wish'… I thought I've told you there's no need for silly things like 'wishing'… only a waste of precious air…"

I felt tears in my eyes. I remembered how many countless times she had told me that. There's no good in wishing, wishes on stars wouldn't save my soul, and I was a stupid, idiotic, fool for thinking they would.

"N-nassy… s-said… you were… g-go-gone." I mumbled, staring hard at my feet. I was afraid to look up at her.

"Nassy, nassy…" The demon mused, tapping on her chin. "I haven't seen in a while—which one was that?"

I gulped nervously, almost afraid to reveal my friends to her. "Sh-she's the one… with blue skin… and the purple hair… she wears glasses, and she—"

"Oh, that's right…" I didn't like the tone in the demon's voice. She sounded displeased, as though someone had just assigned her a difficult task. "The little witch that cut off our connection, isn't she?"

I nodded. "Yeah… that's her."

Suddenly, much to my surprise, the demon was smiling again. She turned slightly to look at me over her shoulder, eyes narrowing mischievously. "Go on, then… how did she do it? A spell of some sort? What is she—a witch? A priestess? A magician?"

I shook my head. "I du…" I gulped nervously. "I dunno…"

The demon turned fully to face me. "You're a bad liar, girl…" She hissed.

I took a hesitant step back, shrinking away from her. "I-I'm not ly-lying…" I insisted.

"Oh? Is that so?" She didn't sound very convinced. She was right—I was a really crappy liar. "Are you sure about that?"

I nodded. "P-positive…"

Suddenly, her claws grabbed my jaw, yanking upwards so I was looking right into her eyes. They weren't red anymore; they were the usual glowing, eerie white. Her soulless eyes narrowed into slits, staring deep into my eyes. I had to wonder if the hypnotism was still working. If it wa—

Oops.

I hit the ground with a heavy thud as the demon dropped me, her smile growing wider to twist her features. "Hypnotism, was it? Why didn't you say so? Such an old trick can be easily worked around… I'll be back to manipulating you before—"

"No!!" I shrieked, pushing myself up. "You can't!! Please!! Everything's finally going right for me!! You can't just take it all away!"

"Oh, I can't, you say?" The demon waved me off, cackling mercilessly. "Nonsense… I've taken away everything you've ever had, and I can take this away just as easily… I'll destroy this home just like your others and your new pathetic little friends will fall right along with it!"

"NO!!!" I could feel the tears streaming down my face now. "Please, I'm begging you; I'll do anything you want!! Anything at all!!"

"…Or…" She mused, putting a claw to her chin again. "I could destroy everything… and you could do what I want anyway… I think I like that plan better!"</i>

"No, please…" I sobbed, trying to wipe away the tears. "I finally have a real home… and a family… they all love me… someone's finally accepted me… they've seen the monster, and they're helping me train it… they don't think I'm a freak, they think it's amazing…"

There was silence for a very long time. Finally, out of curiosity, I looked up to see the demon, staring at me, mouth agape.

"…what… did you say…?" She finally whispered, her voice hoarse and weak.

I gulped nervously. "They accepted me. They're my family now—I'm one of them…"

Instantly, the demon was in front of me again, her tail bending like she was sitting on her knees so she was face-to-face with me. She grabbed my face again and forced me close to her so she was staring deep into my eyes.

More silence. For hours, it seemed, neither of us moved or said anything.

Finally, the demon pulled back, looking very stunned. "I don't… I don't believe it… it's true… you're one of them…"

I nodded as she slowly released me. "I told you… they're my family now…"

The demon laughed at that, coming back to her senses. "Ah, dear girl… they aren't your family… they are only using you… believe me, child, I know their type… they'll do whatever they please, exhausting your talents for their little schemes, then simply throw you away like the pathetic piece of trash you are."

My heart dropped into my stomach. "That isn't true!" I snapped, against the little voice in the back of my mind, reminding me that it wasn't a good idea to argue with her. "They love me! Count Bleck's going to take good care of me!"

"Count Bleck, hm?" She mused, ignoring the rest of my ramblings.

"That's right! Count Bleck! He's the sweetest, nicest, most amazing guy in the world. Ever." I said clearly, stomping my foot for emphasis as I crossed my arms stubbornly over my chest. I loved my new life, and I wasn't about to let my demon convince me otherwise.

"We'll see about that…" The demon said, grinning evilly. "I'll poke around a bit on the outside, see what I can find on this 'Count Bleck', and we'll see just how loyal he is…"

"Fine. Go ahead." I challenged, already getting a sinking feeling that I was going to regret it. "And what about the others? They all love me too. Nassy's teaching me lots of neat things, and O'Chunks is my new best friend, and Dimentio…" I trailed off. "Dimentio is too." I decided, refusing to admit that he was any more than a friend.

The demon got her evil grin back. "If you say so… but, heed my warning, girl… if you throw all your trust to these people, you're in for a rude awakening…"

I glared at her. "I don't believe you… They're my family. They'll take care of me, so I'm going to take care of them—and I won't let you kill them off!"

The demon narrowed her eyes, looking for a moment as if she would like to rip my pigtails out by the roots. Then, she relaxed, grinning madly. "Alright, then, girl… I'll make you a deal… I'll refrain from any destruction, I won't even possess you, and you can keep your silly little 'family'… alright?"

"Yes, yes!" I said, nodding eagerly. Then, my face fell. I glared at her as I skeptically raised an eyebrow. "Wait… what's the catch?"

"All you must do for me… is obtain…" She thought for a moment, trying to select a good way to phrase it. "…information, shall we say?"

"…alright…" I said slowly. "How do I do that?"

The demon laughed under her breath. "You needn't worry—that's the easy part! You simply go on living your new life as normally as possible. Anything your little mind stores away, I'll be able to see…So, in short… you grant me access to your memories… and I'll grant you a new life of freedom…" She extended a long, clawed hand to me, grinning like mad. "Do we have a deal, girl?"

I thought for a while on what she was offering me. I tried to think of every horrible thing that could go wrong should I allow her into my memories. I tried to find some way she could be using this against me. I even found myself considering what would happen if she didn't hold up her end of the bargain, yet I would still be forced to hold mine.

However… no matter what the threats were, I needed this new life. And that was something I simply couldn't put a price on.

So, against my better judgment, I grabbed her hand in mine and gave it a firm shake. "Deal." I said clearly.

The demon's grin widened. "That's a good girl…" She hissed. With that, she turned and began to slither off, her long tentacles curling up and waving around her. "I'll leave you alone for now… but, I'll still be checking in for that information… I wouldn't be surprised if I ran into you again…"

I gulped nervously, looking down at my feet. "I was afraid you were going to say that…"

"Oh, and one last word of warning, girl…" The demon called over her shoulder. "I'd stay well away from Dimentio if I were you… that boy's nothing but bad news…"

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A dream… I kept reciting in my head as I dragged my sleepy self downstairs. It was just a bad dream… that's all…I recalled the empty, white room we had stood in for the conversation. I'd never been somewhere like that before—so I must have imagined it. I remembered Nastasia, earlier telling me, that my demon was gone forever. Perhaps she hadn't truly come back last night. Maybe it had all been just my imagination. That's possible… isn't it?

Oi… I needed a diary entry right about now. Unfortunately, just as I was about to write in it this morning, Dimentio had knocked on my door to call me down to breakfast. Afraid he would barge in and see it, I hastily threw my diary between the vanity and the wall it was pushed up on.

So, now, it was stuck back there. I couldn't quite reach it, not even when I turned into my monster. I'd have to get O'Chunks to come move the vanity for me or something later.

After a long trail of rambly, mismatched thoughts, much similar to these, I arrived at the dining room, where the rest of my little family was gathered for breakfast, already eating. I walked in, yawned, and tiredly greeted, "Mornin', guys…"

"Mimi, you're late this morning…" Count Bleck pointed out, not looking up from the book he was reading.

"Yeah, you're usually, um, one of the first down…" Nastasia said, eying me carefully as I walked around her to the Count's chair.

I had almost forgotten that Count Bleck needed a smile after yesterday's little fight with Dimentio. So I walked over to him, and without even catching his attention, threw my arms around his waist. The Count jumped slightly in surprise, looking down at me.

I smiled up at him, and whispered, "You looked like you needed a hug…"

Count Bleck stared at me a moment, then smiled warmly and slid his hands away from the book to hug me back. He whispered in my ear, "Count Bleck did need that… thank you very much, Mimi…"

I beamed. I loved making the Count happy. However, my own happiness was not to last as I realized what the seating arrangement had become this morning. Nastasia was sitting to the Count's right, and O'Chunks was right beside her, and finally, Dimentio was seated to the Count's left. That meant that the only seat left was on the far corner, where Dimentio would be between the Count and me.

Well, that certainly wasn't going to happen, so rather than taking the available chair beside Dimentio, I walked right up to the charming magician, looked up at him with sad, pleading eyes, and said, "I wanna sit by the Count…" just like I did on most mornings.

Dimentio didn't even pretend to be surprised. He just smiled down at me, with kind of a mean look in his eyes, and said, "Clearly, you are blind as an old beggar, because I am currently sitting here."

I pointed to the chair adjacent to his. "Move." I said.

Dimentio waved me off. "Go bother someone else, I'm eating."

I stomped my foot. "Diiiimmyyyyyy…" I whined. I knew he hated it when I whined. "I wanna sit by the Count…"

Dimentio ran a hand over his face. "No, Mimi. And you can whine all you want; it isn't going to get me to—"

"Dimentio, stop bothering Mimi and give her what she wants…" The Count said, not even looking at us.

Dimentio's jaw dropped. "What?!" He yelled as Nastasia and O'Chunks started snickering quietly between themselves. "Forgive me for saying so, Count, but she star—"

"Count Bleck believes you were given instructions just yesterday that childish behavior was not going to be tolerated… is this not so?" The Count asked, glaring at Dimentio over his monocle.

"I'm not being childish!" Dimentio insisted.

"Then, why are you arguing with a child, Count Bleck inquired?" I beamed up at Dimentio when the Count nodded in my direction.

Dimentio stared at the Count for a while, trying to decide whether or not he was joking. I guess he decided he wasn't, because the jester then proceed to snarl at me, casting me a cold glare, and scoot over into the other chair, allowing me to climb up and take my favorite spot beside the Count.

"Good. Now, Mimi, that you have what you wanted, do stop that whining…" Count Bleck told me, going back to the book.

"Yes, Count Bleck." I recited. Dimentio snarled at me again, mumbling something to the effect of "Suck up…" under his breath. I stuck my tongue out at him, then leaned over to get a better glimpse of the Count's book. "What's that, Count?" I asked sweetly. After all, who could resist the innocent curiosity of a child?

Apparently, Count Bleck can, because he instantly lifted up the front cover so it stood as a barrier between the pages and my line of vision. "That's none of your concern, Mimi. Eat your breakfast." He said, nodding towards the plate Nastasia set down in front of me.

"Okay…" I said, sitting back down. I looked over the cover of the book, hoping to find a title, author, anything. Unfortunately, it was nothing but a sleek, black book, with a red trim, snaking around the edge, and dipping around the white stone in each of the four corners. There was also a red diamond around the pinkish aura leaking out from beneath the dark blue gem placed in the center.

It was a rather beautiful book, I decided. I would love to have a dress that looked something like that. I looked over the back dress I was wearing. It already had white stones around the bottom, so I could just modify it. Maybe I could get a blue stone like that somewhere to sew on the chest… a red ribbon here and there would do nicely for the trims…

Yeah, I could do that… I decided absentmindedly, sticking a forkful of food in my mouth. As soon as I swallowed it, I leaned over and snatched a forkful off of Dimentio's plate, stuffing it in my mouth before he could protest.

"Hey! That was mine!" He hissed under his breath, for fear of upsetting the Count twice that morning.

I stuck my tongue out, showing the half-chewed food. "You want it back?"

He grimaced. "No thanks…" Then, he smirked, stuck his fork into my plate and stuffed the bite into his mouth. "Ha." He said, swallowing.

I blushed in rage, then whipped around to face the Count. "Count! Dimentio's stealing my food!!"

"Mimi, stop bothering Dimentio." The Count said, again, without looking up. Dimentio, meanwhile, burst out laughing.

Oh, so we're back to everything being my fault, huh, Dimentio? Fine. Just you wait…

"Oy, lass…" O'Chunks said, grabbing my attention. "Didja get enough sleep las' nigh'?"

"Yeah… you're a little, uh, cranky, today…" Nastasia put in.

I opened my mouth to say something clever, but I noticed Dimentio had stopped laughing. He was listening, waiting for me to say something stupid so he could make fun of me. So, I just sank down in my seat, picking at my food, and bluntly admitted, "No, not really… I had a bad dream…"

"A dream, huh?" Nastasia said. "What, um, about?"

I shrugged. "My demon."

The dining room suddenly seemed very quiet.

I looked up at Nastasia. "…What?" I asked, unsure of what to say.

"Uh… Mimi? Are you, um, sure it was the demon?" Nastasia questioned slowly, raising her eyebrow slightly.

"Yeah, I'm sure…" I said. "She was talking to me all night. She wouldn't go away."

Count Bleck looked up from his book to narrow his eyes at his secretary. "…Nastasia… you said that Mimi's demon would never be returning…"

Nastasia fumbled to grab the clipboard beside her, rapidly shuffling through her notes. "Um… i-it shouldn't, sir… It, uh, hasn't in the p-past month! I don't know what, uh, could p-possibly be happening, 'k-kay?"

Count Bleck rolled his eyes, then turned to me. "Mimi, Count Bleck does not suppose you have any idea why your demon would be suddenly returning?"

I shrugged. "I dunno… She's weird…"

"I can't find any, uh, reason she would come back…" Nastasia stammered, looking through the most recent notes. "Yeah, I'm totally lost on this one, 'k?"

"Of course you are…" Count Bleck mumbled. He then turned back to me, closing his book. Obviously, something was very wrong here, that required his full attention. "Mimi, what did your demon say to you in your dream last night?"

"Umm…" I shrank down in my seat. All I could think about was how she wanted to possess me again so she could kill them all and destroy the castle. "I don't… remember…"

"She's lying, Count." Dimentio said. "You can see it all over her face."

I jabbed my elbow into his gut, making him double over and start choking on the bite he had just swallowed. When he recovered, he simply said to me, "Well, if you don't want me to call you out on it, be a better liar!"

"Oh, yeah, Mimi… I'm sure Dimentio could, uh, give you lessons… 'k?" Nastasia said, casting a glare to Dimentio over her glasses.

Dimentio took on a similar expression, narrowing his cold, dark eyes at the secretary. "It is horribly rude to imply things, Nastasia… could you be suggesting that I am a liar?"

"I could…" Nastasia growled, eyes narrowing. "I'm simply saying that, if you were, you would make a very good one."

"Nastasia. Dimentio." Count Bleck snapped. "That is quite enough. Count Bleck has told you both before to stop that nonsense…"

"Yes, Count Bleck…" Nastasia and Dimentio both said, still glaring at each other. I had to make a mental note of that for later, and I found myself wondering what was going on between these two. After all, hadn't Nastasia and Dimentio both been with the Count long before I had arrived? Perhaps… perhaps there was a bit more to their relationship—or maybe each of them knew of some dark secret about the other.

I certainly hoped that wasn't the case. I learned a long time ago that secrets are a very bad thing to keep. They lead to nothing but trouble.

"Now, Mimi…"Count Bleck said gently, turning his attention back to me. "You are not in any trouble, if that is what you think… please, we need to understand what your demon is after if we are to protect you from her…"

I felt my heart flutter in my chest. They wanted to protect me. I had been right—my family wouldn't let my demon hurt me anymore.

"Well… um…" I mumbled, twirling my pigtails around. "She didn't say much… I remembered she was mad at Nastasia for hypnotizing her… and she said 'such an old trick can be easily worked around'…"

"Nastasia…" The Count began.

"Uh, yeah, I'm on it, Count…" Nastasia mumbled, scribbling something on her clipboard. "We'll have to find some other means to, uh, suppress the demon, 'k? Yeah, I'll handle that right after breakfast..."

"Good, said Count Bleck… Mimi, did your demon tell you anything else of interest?"

I shrugged. "Like I said, she didn't say much… she kept saying it was a mistake for me to stay here, but I didn't believe her…" I was hesitant to tell them anything about the deal I had made with her, so I thought saying that would be enough. However, something else she had said suddenly dawned on me.

"Oh yeah… and she said 'Stay away from Dimentio… he's bad news…'"