Upon exiting the basement and turning right, Harriett and Feron could see Mr. and Mrs. Carefree at the open front door with three other people directly in front of the two adults. The first person Harriett was able to clearly see was a Caucasian woman most likely in her early thirties. She had silky black hair of a medium length that hung over a well-fitting green dress. Mr. Carefree took the time to take a black coat from her and carefully hung it up on the coat rack in the opposing room to his left. The woman then descended into a bow towards Mr. Carefree, to which he responded with a low bow of his own.

The two other guests then stepped into view, with the larger of the two engaging Caroline Carefree in conversation. Harriett decided to look at the shorter of the other two guests next. From the looks of it, the shorter guest was a girl around Feron and Harriett’s age. Her skin was of a similar shade to her mother’s with a hint of gray to it almost close to the color of ash. She had powerful looking blue eyes and fiery blue hair held in a wild looking ponytail that almost seemed to reflect a blooming plant that had been struck by lightning. She had on dark jeans over black shoes, a gray, shimmering tank top that had a thin string that looped about her neck in order to keep the tank top itself situated about herself, and a dark, thin jacket, which currently had both of her hands tucked into its pockets. Though the girl was also staring at Mrs. Carefree as well, her eyes suddenly veered towards Harriett as if she had sensed Harriett’s ongoing analysis of her. Harriett felt a jolt of fear shoot down her spine and her body heated up with anxiety for a moment before she took two rapid breaths to calm herself.

As if satisfied with Harriett’s nervous reaction, the girl looked back at Mrs. Carefree, but said nothing. Deciding to move on to the final guest, much to her dismay, Harriett looked up at the six and a half foot tall, well-built titan standing before her mother. Harriett had no idea how her mother was not in the least bit intimidated by the beast before her, for although he had taken on a more human appearance, Harriett would never mistake the sight of Lord Aesir.

For one thing, while his daughter’s skin had only a slight gray tint to it, Lord Aesir’s skin was gray enough to be approaching black. His pupils and irises were like clouds almost to the point where they were lost within the rest of his eyes. His teeth were white, his smile was too nice, and his hair, like his daughter’s, was fire blue and even seemed to be lightly glowing, though Harriett couldn’t tell for sure. He wore a nice black suit with a black overcoat, which, when Mr. Carefree took it from him, actually appeared to cause Mr. Carefree to brace himself for a split second as if he hadn’t expected the coat’s weight to be quite so much. Lord Aesir, having noticed Mr. Carefree’s sudden brace from the coat’s weight, gave a heartfelt laugh before continuing to engage in a friendly conversation with Mrs. Carefree.

Harriett had seen her enemy, and she was… well… impressed. The Lord of one of the nine realms of the Underworld was indeed intimidating, not just for his power or for the fact that he was a demon, but for the sheer fact that he could perfectly mimic the mannerisms and greetings of a kindred human.

“Your analysis of myself and my family honors me,” Harriett heard in her head as Lord Aesir turned to look at her. The vigor Harriett had been holding on to moments ago started to leak out of her body from every orifice. “Do not fear, tiny lemon cake handler, I will make sure this night goes well. You have my word.” At the finishing of his mental words, Lord Aesir nodded at her. Deciding not to be rude, Harriett returned the nod despite a bead of sweat beginning to run down her back.

“Harriett, you alright?” Feron asked from her side, drawing her back out of her mind.

Harriett shook her head to re-collect herself before acknowledging her best friend. “Yeah,” she lied, “I’m alright. Let’s go say hi.”

“Right,” Feron replied.

Together, the two best friends approached the group of powerful beings, two currently on Harriett’s team, and three on the opposing team. And with everyone’s eyes now on Harriett, Harriett wasn’t sure if she would be able to perform well enough to contribute to her team’s victory. Luckily for her, Caroline Carefree was an excellent mediator.

“Ah, Harriett,” Mrs. Carefree began, her tone containing its usual amount of warmth and kindness, “You’re just in time to finally meet a very, most esteemed guest… as well as your mind mate.” Mrs. Carefree extended one of her hands out towards Harriett, wrapped her fingers around Harriett’s own left hand, and drew her currently, extremely timid daughter to her side. “Lord Aesir, may I present to you my daughter, Harriett Carefree.”

Harriett didn’t want to make eye contact with the Demon Lord. In fact, every ounce of her being desired to fade away into the air about her to avoid prolonging the current moment any longer. However, with her mother’s warm hand still kindling Harriett’s own, she felt a strength seeping into and through the pores of her own skin. Although Harriett was unsure as to how Harriett’s mother was performing the act, she knew that her mom was using her own spiritual energy to give Harriett’s mind a boost in its current courage and mental fortitude. And since Harriett’s current levels of both of those had only moments prior been reduced to a number well below 0%, Harriett had now started to feel a bit better about the situation. With that same vigor she had had before starting to fully overtake her persona once more, Harriett gathered all the renewed strength she could feel in herself and looked Lord Aesir square in his eyes. Then, surprisingly, even to herself, Harriett gave a small curtesy.

“It is a pleasure to finally meet you outside of my head, Lord Aesir,” Harriett calmly replied, surprising not just herself, but her mother at her side, her father near the hallway entrance by the front door, and Feron behind her.

Lord Aesir grinned before his facial features altered into that of an actually kindred looking smile. In a slow manner, Lord Aesir outstretched his right hand, took Harriett’s free hand into his own, and gave her hand a kiss that was warmer than any of the bonfires Harriett had ever stood next to in her lifetime. Yet strangely, the warmth was not… uncomfortable. Though she dared not show any type of “enjoyment” out of the Lord’s maneuver.

“Likewise, little human,” Lord Aesir stated, followed by his hand releasing Harriett’s own. Harriett quickly snatched her own hand back and made a mental note to wash the top of her hand at least several times after tonight’s events were over. Lord Aesir took his eyes off of Harriett and began to analyze the hallway where everyone was currently standing in. “Your home is as I expected it to be,” he said, his eyes stopping on a crystal chandelier hanging above their present position. “Human, but with hints of magic, and the faintest smell of…,” Lord Aesir’s smile grew a tad bit wider as his attention was drawn back to Mrs. Carefree, “Are those lemon cakes I smell, Lady Carefree?”

Mrs. Carefree returned his smile in kind and gave a nod as well. “I have been trying to tweak my recipe ever so slightly as to draw out even more flavor. After all, I never thought that such a simple delight of mine would bring such joy to the life of a demon lord of the underworld.”

“Please, Lady Carefree, you do yourself an injustice by not fully accepting just how wonderful your lemon cakes are. Truly, you have created a masterpiece that is wasted on the likes of human kind.”

Mrs. Carefree blushed ever so slightly. “Please, Lord Aesir, they are just lemon cakes. You should try my brownies. Now those have actually won some awards.”

Lord Aesir’s mouth nearly dropped off of his face. “I must have these… brownies. Do you have any on the premises now, Lady Carefree?”

Mrs. Carefree’s smile widened even further as she stepped to the side of the hallway and then outstretched one of her hands towards the end of the hallway where two doors were located on the side walls that ran parallel to the hallway’s path. To the left was Harriett’s room/lab and the entrance to the basement. To the right was Mrs. Carefree’s kitchen, or rather, her studio of food magic and wonder. In that particular part of the house, magic unbeknownst to the magical community, the underworld, and any other planes and dimensions was created every day. And now, for the first time ever, a demon lord was about to step into the throngs of its power.

“If you would be so kind as to follow me, I will gladly lead you to where we will be eating. And yes, on top of the food I have prepared, including lemon cakes, there are also brownies. Enough for a demon lord and his family.”

“I should hope that your calculations of a demon lord’s food consumption are quite advanced, Mrs. Carefree, or my husband will eat you out of house and home. Trust me, I’ve seen him eat a literal house before.” Lord Aesir’s wife stepped forward and into the conversation, her voice calm and filled with focused intent. Harriett could not sense any type of malice in her words, which felt quite odd to her since she was in fact married to a demon lord.

“That was one time, my love,” Lord Aesir interjected, “And we both know that that little devil of a demon was asking for it.”

“Honey, you ate his fireplace.”

“I’m a Lord of Fire,” Lord Aesir replied.

“You are a Lord of Homewrecking,” his wife returned.

Lord Aesir beamed a wicked smile at her, to which she returned with a kindred smile of her own. “If it wasn’t clear to everyone yet, this is my wonderful and adoring wife, Sandra Infern. Do not let her looks betray her. She is more of a demon than any of my kind.”

Mrs. Infern stepped forward and bowed again towards everyone. “My husband surely jests. The only demon in this family is him. Unless of course, he forgets to do his dishes. Then, well… Mrs. Carefree, surely you can understand that as well in relation to the actions of your own husband, correct?”

Mrs. Carefree let out a small chuckle as she took a second to briefly look at her husband. Unsurprisingly, Mr. Carefree’s cheeks puffed out widely in embarrassment, which caused Mrs. Carefree to chuckle once again before returning her attention back to Mrs. Infern. “Sandra, may I call you Sandra?”

Mrs. Infern nodded. “As long as you are alright with me referring to you as Caroline.”

“I’d be upset with you if you didn’t,” Mrs. Carefree replied. Harriett could see the literal threads of friendship starting to form between the two, which could go badly for Harriett in the long run. But as to how it could go wrong for her, Harriett decided not to think about it.

“Well, Sandra,” Mrs. Carefree continued, “Trust me, in the aspect of dishes not being done, I believe our husbands are quite alike.”

“Well, if our husbands are alike in that aspect, then I suppose our off-springs are not too far off from their old men as well, right, Kylia?” Mrs. Infern asked her daughter at her side. Not surprisingly, her daughter emitted a gruff sound from between her lips and looked away. “Attitude as always, huh? Just like your father to a tee. If it wasn’t already guessable, this here is our daughter, Kylia. Although her father is the only true and full demon in our little family, you can be sure that Kylia could give him a run for his money in terms of a demon’s temper… if she had to.”

“Mother!” Kylia suddenly barked back.

“She speaks!” Mrs. Infern bellowed. “For a second, I thought you were going to be grumpy all night.” Sandra Infern then looked at Mrs. Carefree before she spoke again, “Unfortunately for Kylia, and fortunately for we proud parents, we pulled Kylia away from one of her siblings’ gatherings where her and her fellow siblings…well… dear, how would you put it?”

Lord Aesir raised a finger into the air. “They beat the snot out of each other?” he questioned.

Mrs. Infern nodded at her husband before looking back at Mrs. Carefree and Harriett. “In a kind and completely PG way of saying it, yes… they beat the snot out of each other.”

“You don’t understand, mother,” Kylia rapidly interjected. “It’s all to test our current strengths in order to determine which faults we all may in fact have. I have to get stronger if I am to one day possibly rule a section of the underworld.”

Mrs. Infern let out a sigh at the end of her daughter’s words. “And as I’ve told you before, sweetie, your job isn’t to strive to be one of the next demon lords right now. Your mission is simply to be a normal, half-demon girl trying to live her life.”

“And this is how I want to live it!” Kylia crossed her arms before shooting a rather frightful looking glare at her mother. However, her mother seemed quite unphased by it.

“Quite the mother daughter pair, aren’t they?” Feron whispered to Harriett and Mrs. Carefree from behind.

“Are you one to talk, Vampire Prince?” Mrs. Carefree shot back over her shoulder. Expectedly, Feron drew back from her position, his words silent and his presence now filled with defeat.