It was a week and a half after the whole almost-petrification incident, and lots had changed already.
Lilith was living in the house now, Luz is teaching her and Eda her glyph magic, and Navalia was taken more seriously.
People respected her like they would Eda when she had power, and she was practically an urban legend now. Sure, it was a lot of responsibility, since now her family mostly relied on her to get money for all their needs, but she didn't mind.
This was the life she was after. And she was happy with it.
But some of her jobs were a little harder to do now. The Emperor had moved more into Bonesborough for some reason, so there were more coven scouts and officers running about.
But Navalia didn't mind that much either. She loved a challenge.
She went into town bright and early and went to her favorite pawnshop to sell some loot.
"Morning, Jeremy!"
She plopped her sack on the counter. Jeremy came over with a cup of coffee.
"You're cheery today, Maverick."
"Nah, I'm just in a rush. I need to cash in so I can get some groceries."
"Well then, let's see what you have. You wanna browse through some job listings while you wait?"
"Yes please!"
He handed her a leather checking book. Navalia flipped through, in the mood for something fun that could get her some big money.
"Hey Jeremy, is there anything cool that pays a lot?"
"Check the stuff towards the end. Oh wow, a ruby cufflink."
She looked at the jobs near the end of the book. There were lots of interesting jobs there, like bodyguard duties, espionage, and heists.
"Jeremy, when's this museum heist thing?"
"Hmm? Oh, that's tonight. With the Emperor taking up more of Bonesborough, he's put down a museum showing the history of his reign with a treasures wing. That's where all the stuff you'd be stealing would be."
"But isn't there some grand opening thing for that tonight?"
"Yeah. It's expected to sneak and blend in till the time is right. You wanna take it?"
"Well... it's the highest paying job right now... ok! I'll do it!"
"Nice. Here's the information."
Jeremy handed Navalia some papers.
"And your total for everything is 20,000 snails."
He gave her a bag with the money.
"Thanks Jeremy, you're the best!"
She ran off back home. Navalia had to find a dress for such a fancy grand opening.
"Edaaa! Liliiiiith!"
They were both hanging out in the living room.
"I have a job tonight! I need a fancy dress! You guys got any I can borrow?"
Eda jumped up.
"I have no idea, but let's go search my closet!"
They went up to her room and went through Eda's supply of formalwear.
It was all horrid.
The dresses were all either partially ripped or sewn together sloppily with colors and patterns that didn't match. The suits were all either unwashed or just not fit to wear to an event like the museum's grand opening.
"Come on! This one is so pretty! And look at the tasteful slit!"
"Eda, it's bright orange with pink patches! And that isn't a slit, it's a missing piece."
"Oh yeah. Never mind, don't wear this, I wore it to a school dance after losing a bet. Only I made it work."
Lilith poked her head in.
"If it's a dress you're looking for, I may have one."
"Really? Can I see it?"
Lilith went to get the dress she came back with a whole ball gown with half the poof and an endless amount of sparkle.
"Holy shit, Lily."
"Don't get me wrong, that's a really nice shade of purple, but I don't think I'll be able to move my feet in that."
King and Luz posed in the doorway.
"Not a problem for us!"
"We can fix up that gown into a gala dress in no time!"
"With my steady little demon hands-"
"And my human-realm inspired ideas-"
"You'll be the belle of the ball!"
"But I'm not trying to stand out. I need to blend in."
"You'll be the Average Joe of the ball!"
For the majority of the day, everyone in the house worked on the dress. Hooty threw up some sewing supplies, Luz was a great reference, Lilith had a steady hand for sewing, Eda would make some bold but helpful suggestions, and King was an all around genius at this.
Which was ironic since he doesn't wear clothes.
The day dragged on for Navalia. She was forced to stand still for hours with her arms out until they numbed.
But still. It was nice. Despite how uncomfortable she was during the dress making process, Navalia thought it was worth it to see the family bond.
All grudges were forgotten, everyone had only good vibes, and Lilith was clearly getting more comfortable at home.
"Alright! Take a look at the finished product!"
They spun her around towards the mirror. Navalia was in awe. It was one of the prettiest things she's ever worn.
The dress was sleeveless/strapless, the bodice hugging her body perfectly. King said this choice was a must because he wanted to highlight Navalia's "flawless collarbone."
The skirt was flowing down like a deep purple river, laced with sparkling mesh over it that resembled stars. All of this was topped with long matching purple gloves.
"Now that we have that down, shoes and makeup! Let's go!"
Navalia was finally able to sit down. Lilith and Eda did the makeup as Luz decided on the hair. King picked out some decent black heels for her and looked for some jewelry to go with the dress.
"And now for the completely finished product!"
Navalia looked in the mirror once again, only to be even more impressed. Her eyeliner and shadow were similar shades of purple as the dress, and that made her green eyes pop.
The blush was subtle, the dark circles under her eyes and the scar on her nose were hidden by concealer, and she wore clear lip gloss. King picked out some small gold teardrop earrings for her to wear as well.
"I still don't know what to do for a necklace."
"I actually have an idea. Cthulhu!"
The little octopus slithered into Navalias hands.
"Let's try something, yeah?"
She put on a gold chain. Cthulhu started getting smaller and smaller. Navalia put him on the chain, where he hung upside down and formed into the shape of a spherical charm.
Once attached, Cthulhu used octopus camouflage to turn purple.
"Now I have somewhere to hide him while I get in."
"How is it you do that with Cthulhu so easily?" Luz asked her.
"I'll explain when I get back. It's time I go. Thanks so much for the help, guys!"
She kissed Kings forehead and gave Luz, Eda, and Lilith a hug before rushing out.
"Look at my little Navi... going on her first covert job while looking so pretty! I'm so proud!"
Eda blew her nose in a random tissue. Luz pat her back in comfort.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?"
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On her way to the museum, Navalia skimmed over the instructions for the job once more. She just had to get in, get to the treasure wing, take the things on the added list, and get out.
When she got near the entrance, she spotted a crowd of civilians and guards. At the shiny, decorated entrance, there was a guard taking invitations.
Luckily, one was provided to her. Tonight, her name was Jacqueline Harrow, and she was attending in the stead of her sick father.
She made it through the crowd and went up to the entrance. She handed her invitation to the guard.
"Jacqueline? Daughter of Luxor Harrow?"
"Call me Jackie."
"Where's your dad?"
"He fell ill. Didn't he send a heads-up?"
"Hmm. Alright. Go down the hall to the right, that's where the party is."
"Thank you!"
She walked into the museum. That was much easier than she thought. Navalia followed the guards instructions and went down the right hall.
She passed a bunch of tapestries with plaques as she walked, all depicting Belos as some godly figure. It made Navalia get the ick.
The party was in the first room she saw.
It looked like an average ballroom, only that there were some things in glass cases in places that weren't the dance floor/center of the room.
And in a back corner, there he was. The Emperor himself. He had a couple guards around him as he wandered the exhibits by himself.
If he was here, Navalia wondered if the Golden Guard was in attendance as well. She didn't see him when she scanned the room.
Upon looking at this place, Navalia felt bored. Why didn't she just break into the treasure's wing from the roof instead of this?
She felt a rumble in her stomach. She noticed that there was staff mingling about holding plates of snacks and beverages. Plus, there was a buffet.
"Ok... food first."
Navalia was never the social event type. She only ever went to them for 3 main reasons. One, to look good. Two, because she knew one or more person there. And three, the most important of all; free food.
And there were lots of that here tonight.
The buffet had hearty meats and salads, the beverages were fruity and bubbly, and the little snacks were so good.
The music in the party could use some fixing, though. And since Navalia started feeling bold, she decided to hex the playlist to be more fun.
It worked, surprisingly. A lot of people started looking more cheery and head to the dance floor. Navalia was going to get more snacks when she felt a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, you."
She turned to see the head of the Abomination Coven, Darius.
"I saw you hex the music."
"Oh! I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking, I'll change it back if you want-"
"You kidding? I was going to do it myself if I heard no improvement. This definitely helped the mood in here. You're not in trouble. I just wanted to say thanks. But don't mess with anything else, alright?"
"Of course."
Darius left for the dance floor. Navalia sighed and went to find more snacks.
As she looked at what the waiters were holding, she caught a wonderful, savory scent. A couple feet away, someone was passing by with these small little biscuit-tart looking things that had a red fromáge on top.
Navalia had to try one.
She moved through the room, trailing after that tray of tasties. She practically chased it through the entire room for who knows how long when she was about to snatch one and-
"Oof!"
"Gh!"
She bumped right into someone.
"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry, I should watch where I'm going-!"
Navalia didn't bump into just anyone. She bumped into the Golden Guard.