(this is a background chapter on how Violette and Nora met. It's not entirely necessary to read to understand the rest of the story, but it does give you a better insight in their history and the concept of the Binding.)
"Hello Miss, can I help you?" The old Potion Master greeted Violette, who had come alone as Minty was backlogged on the laundry.
"I'm just browsing, thank you."
Behind the wooden counter the man went back to stirring the cauldron's contents, his nightblue robe making a swishing sound as he did so. The demon goddess had never liked the sound of polyester robes.
As she was browsing the shelves looking for a tea stain remover, the bell rang as the door of the store opened. The Potion Master turned back again to greet the new customers, but stopped halfway as he realized who they were. Humans.
"Are you Violette the Demon Goddess?" Violette turned around. In the doorway there stood four girls, all with an angry expression on their face. The girl who had spoken was strangely familiar, though Violette couldn't quite remember who she was.
"Yes?"
The group was now halfway across the store. Suddenly the tall blonde girl, who seemed like the leader of the group, charged forward toward the demon goddess. Her hand was balled into a fist, ready to hit.
"This is for stealing Sybil's soul!"
The punch knocked Violette out. Even though she had anticipated it, she wasn't aware of the power it packed. As the light went out around her, all she could think was that she should have taken those defense classes.
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She was back in her room. As her eyes adjusted to the light of the afternoon sun, she heard a voice.
"Thank Lucifer you're awake!" A handsome man in a black Victorian style suit was sitting in a chair next to her bed. His long strawberry blond hair was neatly tied into a ponytail, with deep blue eyes looking at her.
"Who are you?!"
The man chuckled. "I'm Nora, the Potion Master's assistent."
"Nora?"Isn't that a girl's name? And why haven't I seen you before?"
"Let me show you."
The Potion Master's assistent stood up, bowed and a puff of smoke filled the room. Suddenly the handsome man had changed into a girl with shoulder lenght hair and a pink sweaterdress. The only thing that didn't change was the color of her hair and eyes.
"My full title is Nora Shapeshifter Extraordinaire. Extraordinaire just because." She grinned and sat back down.
Violette's heart fluttered. She pulled the covers of her bed a bit higher to hide her steadily reddening face. Something was up with that shapeshifter girl.
"Anyway, what is your name?"
"Huh? Me?"
Nora leaned in and nodded. A curious smile appeared on her face.
"I'm Violette the Demon Goddess."
"You're a Demon Goddess? That's an odd title."
Violette let down the covers just a bit so she could explain better. She tried to keep her expression neutral.
"My mother was the Goddess of the moon, my father a lower ranking Demon. They fell in love on Halloween. I know it's a bit of a weird pairing, but I'm not questioning the Binding's reasoning."
Ah yes, the Binding, Nora thought. Unlike humans who took a while to find their ideal partner, creatures of the Underworld and Spiritual World would find theirs through the Binding. A sort of pheromone based match up, or so they were told. Nobody really knew the mechanics behind the phenomenon. Her parents had said that your eyes would flash red if you had found your bound partner.
After a few moments Violette asked another question that was lingering in her mind.
"So, how did I end up here?"
She fluffed up a few of her pillows and sat up. There were a few drops of blood on the silvery fabric of her bedding. She should have also bought a blood stain remover back at the store.
"I was just returning from running an errand and heard some ruckus going on in the store. Then suddenly four girls ran out. The Potion Master told me one of them hit you and you fell to the floor. He told me your adress from your home deliveries, so we figured it would be best to bring you home to rest."
So that's how it went.
"Did you know those girls? They seemed human."
Violette shook her head, causing a throbbing pain to surface. She quickly stopped moving her head after that.
"It feels like I've seen them before, but I can't remember where. Maybe it had something to do with the soul I recently stole?"
Nora chuckled, "You steal souls? Very demonlike of you!"
The demon goddess blushed. "It's not like I do that everyday! I usually just sign contracts."
All the shapeshifter girl did was smile and stare, and Violette couldn't help but blush. Again.
"Do you want something to drink?"
"Ah! Minty should be in the kitchen. Ask her to make some Ceylon tea."
"Minty?"
"My house imp. Short posture, red skin, black frilly dress."
"Ooh, fancy princess. Alright, I'll find her," Nora stood up from the chair and left through the doorway.
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Half an hour later a burly man was standing in the doorway of the bedroom, with a grumpy house imp grasped in his hands, dangling three feet from the ground.
"Mister, Mister! Please let me down!" Minty begged, "I didn't do it on purpose!"
"Nora?"
The man nodded. He walked to the nearest chair and let the house imp sit on it, without loosing his grip on the red creature.
"I believe this is Minty? She has something to explain."
A questioning expression appeared on Violette's pale face. The house imp started begging again, now targeting her mistress.
"Mistress! It's a misunderstanding! Please let Minty go!"
Violette's face turned sour. She did not like her servants to misbehave.
"What did you do, Minty?" She motioned to Nora to let go of the imp and close the bedroom door so she wouldn't dare to escape.
"I found her talking to one of your other servants in the kitchen. She was spreading the rumor that you had died."
"Minty?!" Violette crossed her arms, looking pissed.
"Mistress should have died," the house imp mumbled, then covered her mouth with her hands, realizing what she had said.
"What?!"
Panic covered the imp's black eyes.
"Minty... Minty was forced to tell Mistress' location! Some human girls were looking for Mistress and intended to kill Mistress!"
So that's how they found her.
"Minty, you're a disgrace!" the demon goddess almost yelled, "Not only did you tell where I was to some random strangers, but you also failed to warn me about them! Explain yourself!"
The imp's fearful facade fell, showing only bitter hatred.
"Minty hates Mistress. Minty never gets a day off and all Minty does is make tea. Minty is fed up with this life. Minty was happy someone wanted to kill Mistress. Mistress should have died."
Violette couldn't believe it. Someone from her own household. She sighed and then looked at Nora, who was still in his manly appearance. He nodded, agreeing with whatever decision she would make. Slowly she raised her right arm towards the disloyal servant and then extended a finger. Blue flames appeared out of nowhere, engulving the imp slowly but surely.
"I'll send you to Lucifer to decide on your fate. You're not welcome her anymore. Disappear out of my sight."
The blue flames turned into a black smoke and a hole emitting blue light materialized in the wooden floor. The cloud of black smoke with the imp inside vanished into the hole, the hole closed and then Minty was gone.
"I've to hire a new house imp," Violette sighed, being glad it was over. This was one Hell of a day.
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A few days later Violette felt good enough to leave the bedroom and spend most of her day in the living room. At night Nora would turn into a cute black cat and guarded the demon goddess at the end of the bed, just in case.
"Pips, can you get me some camomile tea?"
The new house imp bowed and then vanished into a silver cloud. Nora, in her female form and wearing a long black velvet dress, descended the stairs just as Violette walked over to her enchanted cupboard. It was where she kept her most magical items.
"Ooh, it's glowing!" the shapeshifter exclaimed as the inside of the cupboard was revealed.
Violette beckoned the girl to come closer. "It's my enchanted cupboard. It contains various magical items that are too powerful to be left out in the open."
"Are you looking for something particular?"
"Hm, I was looking for a protection talisman, seeing as someone is out to murder me," She rumaged through the bottom shelf, which was a mess, "Ah, there it is."
The demon goddess pulled out a wooden charm, no bigger than a small apple, carved into the shape of a head. The rough twine connected to it seemed worn. "I've to replace the twine first to wear it though," she mumbled. Then her eyes wandered to the top shelf.
"Ah crap!"
"What's wrong?" Nora stretched out an arm and with her fingertips lightly brushed up against Violette's shoulder. A jolt of electricity ran up through her extended limb, but she ignored it.
"The vial with the girl's soul is gone. Minty must have told them. That sly imp," She almost hissed the last bit. Without a warning, the stress caused her legs to give out and she slumped to the floor.
"Violette!" the girl cried out, helping the woman back up.
"I'm okay, Nora," The demon goddess smiled and cupped the shapeshifter's face in her hands. She let her gaze travel over that freckled face, when she noticed her eyes.
"Your pupils are red."
Nora cocked her head. "Your's too."
"Crap. It's the Binding, isn't it?"
A short nod confirmed Violette's suspicions.
"What do you want to do?" Nora asked, "Do... do you want to complete the Binding upstairs?"
The demon goddess blushed at the question. They would end up doing so eventually anyway. She nodded. That was all the shapeshifter needed to pick the woman up in her arms and carry her upstairs.
"Mistress?" Pips had appeared in the living room with the cup of tea ordered, with a questioning look on her face when she saw the two women disappear upstairs. She shrugged.
"Guess Pips gets to enjoy some camomile tea herself."
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