The Floral Demon

Chapter 7

It was the next day when she would be visiting the living world. She had to take care of other things beforehand so she wouldn't have to do them later.

The first thing she needed to do was preserve the midnight supremes that were beginning to wilt. At Least the ones that didn't have the special spell.

Hertzo rummaged through her closet, looking for a free hanger that she could tie the stems to. Once she found one, she found rope and tied about five different parts to the stems. The beautiful blue and black color still took her by awe.

She placed the hanger on top of her dresser top, letting the roses hang down elegantly. This is when she first noticed that blue glitters would fall from the petals. They shimmered in the light, catching her eye and making her stare temporarily.

She took her eyes off of it, going back to what she needed to originally. Now, she needed to bless the rest of her souls, so this was going to take a moment.

She sat in front of her altar, lighting a stick of incense. Taking a deep breath before she heard a knock at the door. Her smile crackled before she stood, wiping dust off of her skirt and approached the door, opening it. She expected to see Charlie, but she was far off.

"Hello my dear Hertzo!" Alastor greeted enthusiastically, "Oh hello Alastor, how may I help you?" She asked, placing her hands on her skirt as she smiled.

"As you kno-" He cut himself off, sniffing the hair slightly. "-Are you burning incense?" He asked, peeking into her room.

"Oh-" She opened her figure, letting Alastor look into her room. "-Yes, I am. I was just about to do one of my weekly rituals for my dear souls that I own!" She said passionately. "Would you like to join me?"

Alastor looked a bit skeptical, "Sure why not!"

The female overlord invited him into her room, shortly closing it after he stepped in. She walked to her altar, sitting down on the cushion, "It works better if you sit on the floor, I promise it's clean." She informed him, "Yes, of course."

She pulled a cushion, placing it under his knees so he wouldn't hurt his own. "Take my hands." She placed her gloved hands out, and Alastor placed his own on top of hers. This was the first time he noticed he wore two rings.

"Those are some beautiful rings there. Very familiar." She pointed out, he looked at his rings as well, "They were my lovers."

She nodded, taking a deep breath. "Take a deep breath with me, and calm your body and mind."

He did the same, letting himself relax. A red light emitted from the two of them, before a dream-like reality state formed around them. Like space, and rows of different flower boxes.

She opened his eyes, gently removing her hands from Alastors. "You can stand up." She spoke, wiping dust off of her skirt as she walked down a row. Finding a wilted flower, "Oh.. poor Denice..." She spoke softly, taking the petals into her hands before she took off her glove.

She twiddled her fingers, a green dust fell from her fingers and into the dirt that the flower stood. Shortly after the dust disappeared, some color returned to the flower.

She smiled, placing her glove back on as she noticed Alastor looking at the different rows, finding himself in front of Remi's. "Why is this one different?" He asked, his voice wasn't his radio one, it was.. almost normal.

"That one is my dear Remi's. She's very special, I bless her twice a week." She spoke, walking to Alastor and standing by his side.

He nodded, "May I.. touch it?" He asked, "Yes, very gently."

He put a hand forward, gently caressing the petals as white dust fell. Hertzo smiled, "You're the first person to be here with me."

The female overlord turned around, checking the flowers to make sure they're not wilting, or, another word is; The soul is dying.

Any that began to wilt, she sprinkled the green dust. Once she made it back to the front of the spot, she summoned her parasol with a swipe of her hand.

It appeared in her hand, she opened it. "Stand close to me, Alastor." She spoke, causing him to snap out of the trance with reality. He walked over to her, standing close to her.

She held it over heart, before tossing it up. It spun in the air, before marigold petals rained out of the inside. Healing and blessing each and every soul.

Hertzo smiled, cupping her hands together. "I truly cherish each and every soul. I make sure everyone is happy, and taken care of."

Her parasol began to come back down, she reached to take it from the air, but Alastor took it first, gently lending it to her. "As I can see. It's admirable." He spoke, looking down to the girl with a sweet smile.

His gaze softened looking at her features, causing him to freeze, before snapping himself out of his staring session.

"We are finished. Thank you for joining me." She lent out of her gloved hands again, Alastor laying his atop of Hertzo's. She took a deep breath, before the reality around them began to dissolve.

They found themselves sitting on her floor, hand in hand. "Thank you for joining me! It was nice to bring someone along to my ritual."

"Why of course! It was nice to attend, after all I don't have many occurrences as such." He spoke, taking his hands from Hertzo's before his eyes landed on Stolas' grimoire.

"What's this?" He asked, grabbing it and flipping through. "A grimoire I'm borrowing from Prince Stolas. I wanted to visit the living world for a couple of hours, and perhaps you could accompany me." She answered, placing her hands on her knees.

"That would be amazing! Afterall, I haven't seen the world of New Orleans in such a long time!" He placed the grimoire back on the altar, before noticing the photo of her and her lover.

His eyes slightly widened, "May I ask-" He gestured to the photograph, "-Is that you?" Pointing directly at your figure.

"Why yes! I was so beautiful, don't you think? And my dearest lover, I miss him dearly." She spoke, gently grabbing the photograph. Looking over every detail, before Alastor spoke.

"My love...."

The very voice Hertzo had fallen in love with, finally clicked in her head. Her eyes widened and her smile dropped for the first time. "You're not saying.." She looked to Alastor..

"Oh my goodness.. Al?"