Demon's Finale

A massive mansion stood proud on the side of a mountain, overlooking the town below. Lilac double checked her magic was concealing her demonic features before she stepped through the silver gates into the garden court. Shrubs and flowers painted the courtyard in many colors. 

In the center, a middle aged man waited with an older maid that had her graying brunette hair in a bun.

“Welcome to our property,” the man said once Lilac stood before him. Gazing up at him, she could see Alan in his countenance. There was no doubting this was his father. The resemblance was uncanny. “Greetings,” she curtsied.

“I am Count Andrew Hulbane. This is our head maid, Eleanor,” he gestured to the maid, who bowed in return.

“I'm Lilac. A pleasure to meet you, sir.”

“Let's take this to my office. Eleanor will show you around afterward.” Alan's father turned and marched toward the mansion.

Lilac followed in silence behind them, admiring the decor on the way.

“We've been a little shorthanded since one of our maids quit on us about a month ago. It's not much, but the extra burden on each of our maids is quite taxing. Eleanor tends to take most of the extra work herself, so it's been especially hard on her,” he said as they walked.

Eleanor nodded to confirm the words of her employer. No change in her expression was noted.

They traversed the halls of the mansion until they reached an office room. A long L-shaped desk of dark stained wood was pulled out a little bit from the wall. Chairs were set up on either side of it in preparation for the interview.

“Take a seat,” he urged as he slipped into the chair behind his desk.

Eleanor stepped back to stand by the door as if to guard it.

Lilac sat down and clasped her hands in her lap. “This is a beautiful place you have.” She was impressed by the many paintings and the spotlessness of the hallways.

“Thank you. So,” he said, “do you have any particular talents in regards to housekeeping?”

“I do enjoy baking,” she replied. “It's more of a hobby than a talent, but I wouldn't say I'm bad.”

“Okay,” he stroked the scruff on his chin. “Anything else? Like cleaning, or gardening?”

“Not really. I can do them, but I don't have a particular talent for it,” Lilac said.

“Does that mean you'll want to focus more on working in the kitchen?”

“Yes,” she nodded.

“Very well. I'm certain you understand that you'll be living here while you work?”

Lilac gave him another nod. “I'm ready to move in whenever.”

Count Hulbane leaned back in his chair, studying her. “Last question. Suppose you knocked a vase over while you were cleaning and it shattered on the ground. What should you do?”

She thought for a minute. ‘Is this a trick question, or is it just to see what my response would be?’ Lilac took a deep breath. “I would stop what I was doing to clean it up, and then report what happened to a higher-up.”

“And then?” His eyebrow raised.

“And then… I would return to my original task.”

“Good, good,” his lips curled into a grin. “You're hired.”

—

A few months had passed without a trace of Alan. She understood, though. The academy was still in session when she had come to the Hulbane residence. But now it was the summer season, and Alan should be returning home.

Lilac added some white frosting in the shape of a star onto the cookies she had just baked. The dark-skinned girl next to her–Nira–glanced over her shoulder to see her work. “Those look really good!” Her nose expanded with the air she took in. “And it smells amazing!”

“Thanks,” Lilac smiled. “These will go perfectly with the tea you've prepared.”

A knock on the heavy kitchen door startled them. “The young master is home,” the voice of one of the older maids sounded from the other side.

Lilac's breath caught in her throat. She raced to the courtyard faster than a scared rabbit. It had been ages since she last saw Alan.

A squad of maids were lined up on opposite sides of the path, with Alan's parents standing in the center, behind the lines of maids that led to them.

Lilac got in line and leaned forward to get a good view.

The metal gates rolled apart. Down the way, a carriage pulled by two large light brown horses was drawing near. No later than it passed through the open gates did it stop to let its passenger out.

The door opened, and a foot planted itself on the ground. Lilac's heart pumped faster as she held her breath for the big reveal.

Fingers reached around the door of the carriage and swung it closed to reveal Alan. As he turned toward the welcome party, each of the maids bowed low to welcome him back.

He walked up to his parents and gave each of them a hug. “I'm back.”

“Welcome home, Alan,” his mom teared up.

“It's only been a few months, mother. Don't cry.”

“Your mother and I missed you so much while you were gone,” his father said. His hand fell upon Alan's shoulder. “Come on, tell us everything that happened the past few months.”

Count Hulbane led his son toward the entrance to their home. Alan glanced at Lilac and flashed her a smile.

A while later, Lilac was dusting the furnishings in the library. She admired the blue vase that rested on the shelf in front of her, her eyes following the white tree branches etched on the ceramic.

The door behind her creaked open, and footsteps echoed off of the wooden floor. “Lilac.”

She shot up and turned around. Alan stood in front of her, his eyes locked onto her with emotion.

“Alan!” She threw herself into his arms. “It's been so long…”

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” He pulled her in close. “I'm here now.”

Through his clothes, Lilac felt his warmth against her cheek. Tears of joy welled up in her eyes. “Welcome back.”

“I have something for you,” he said, breaking the embrace to reach for something behind him.

Lilac took a step back. “Oh, what is it?”

A bouquet of small, purple flowers followed his hand out from behind him.

“A lilac!” She accepted the gift from him with gladness and leaned in to take a whiff of the plant's sweet fragrance. “I'll treasure it.”

“One year later, and I haven't lost any of my love for you,” he said, brushing her hair out of her face.

“Neither have I,” she smiled, meeting his affectionate gaze with equal love that overflowed from her burning heart. Subconsciously, she inched closer.

Their hands moved together, and their fingers intertwined. As she stared up into Alan's eyes, her body moved on its own, raising her onto her toes to touch her lips to his in a tender kiss. Just like the first time, sparks zipped through her body.

When she ended the kiss and her heels returned to the floor, Alan was smiling. “Demon or not,” he stated, “you're still my Lilac.”

A blush rose to her cheeks. “And you're my hero.”

They leaned back in to share another kiss. It has been a year since Ella had exposed her and Alan had rescued her from death. A year since they parted ways. But now they were together, and nothing would get in their way. This was not the outcome she was expecting when she set off from the Darklands with Jharis, but she wouldn’t have it any other way.

The hero was hers, and she was his.