Chapter Eight
Two plates of cookies and a whole pot of coffee later, a minor miracle had occurred. Both Dori’s mother and her Nana had to admit once they’d heard Viktor’s story, that he did indeed deserve a chance at a Happy Ever After. Although, when her mother asked her how Dori had known before she’d researched him, she didn’t have an answer to give.
Deep down inside of her, she just instinctually knew whether or not someone deserved a Happy Ending. Which was rather unheard of in the Fairy Godmother world. It may look all “bibbity, bobbity, boo”, but a shit-ton of hours went into the background checks and a full history of every applicant on the Grand Fairy’s master name list.
In fact, around seventy-five percent of all graduating Fairy Godmothers or -fathers were relegated to the research office, and only twenty-five percent ever made it to a coveted field position. Dori also speculated that it was those exact same statistics which were responsible for the reason that more time wasn’t taken to sort out the most complicated cases such as Viktor’s.
It took more than arranging a smokin’ hot dress, pair of glass slippers, and a ride to the ball to ensure that folks like Viktor and Halle would get the chance they deserved. Quite frankly, the run-of-the-mill Fairy Godmother simply just didn’t have the magical chops to pull off that kind of magic.
Dori liked to think of herself as a black rose within a field of weedy under-achievers.
By the end of the afternoon, Dori’s mother was bound and determined to help in any way she could. Her mom always was a sucker for a love story after all, but it wasn’t a huge surprise that her Nana was holding out, no doubt waiting to see if Dori would fall flat on her face.
“You can’t tell anyone about this. You know the council wouldn’t understand what I’m trying to do,” Dori warned as the little old lady looked slightly affronted that she’d even mention it. “Snitches get stitches, Nana.”
“Ha! Like I would knowingly spread around my own social demise. What am I, some kind of ninnyhammer?” Nana said once again throwing her hands up in the air. “I swear you two will be the end of me with your blatant disregard for our Fairy Godmother way of life. Our lineage comes from Fairy royalty you know!”
“We know,” Dori and her mom said in unison, Goddess help them if she went on that rant again.
Well, at least she had her mom’s support in all this. Who knows? If she could actually pull this first job off, maybe the old bat would change her tune?
Dori decided that it was high time to get back to her current clients and help her sweet little Halle-cat get the cream.
****
“Wow, this place is impressive!” Dori said as she popped into the lush, expensive bathroom behind Halle.
“Ah! What the hell, Dori? You scared the crap out of me!” Halle screamed and jumped about three feet straight up in the air in a very feline-like move.
“Huh, well that’s creepy,” Dori said after staring for a second. “Try not to do that jumping thing in front of Viktor until we lock this down, okay?”
“Whatever. Hey, can you ‘hocus pocus’ me in some clothes or something? I’m covered in blood spatter, and I’d rather not put these back on,” Halle said, as she leaned into the enormous stone shower and turned on the water.
“Hmm, I have just the thing!” Dori said, before she popped back out of the room in a wink of magic, then seconds later reappeared with a man’s shirt in her hands.
“Not that I’m not grateful or anything, but couldn’t you have grabbed me some yoga pants and a sweatshirt?” Halle eyed the way too large, men’s striped dress shirt—which just happened to smell deliciously like her host.
“Nope,” Dori said, shaking her head while she tapped her finger on an imaginary wristwatch. “We’re on a seduction timeline here, Halle, and I think you’ll find Viktor’s reaction to you wearing his shirt will be very favorable.”
“Fine,” Halle sighed in defeat. “At least my underwear is still clean so I’ll just put them back on.”
“Double nope,” Dori replied with an evil smirk before she vanished into thin air.
Halle squealed as she felt a weird tickling of magic under her clothes the same moment that Dori left.
What the hell was that? She undid her pants and slipped them off along with her shirt.
She was shocked when she realized that both her bra and panties had magically disappeared.
“Freakin’ fairies…” she grumbled as she stepped into the hot shower.
The water felt so amazing after the crap day that Halle had had so far. There was a rain shower head and six more nozzles on the walls of the stone monstrosity. She could have stayed inside for hours letting the hot water drown her stress.
Finally, once she was good and pruney, she reluctantly turned off the taps and stepped out to dry off and try to get dressed for seduction … whatever that meant. Halle wiped the steam off of the large vanity mirror with her hand and took a hard look at the woman staring back. The shirt Dori had given her was large enough that it went to mid-thigh, and she’d rolled the sleeves up. Her hair was towel dried and looking cute in a tousled kind of way.
I can totally do this. I can seduce a reportedly vicious vampire and convince him to keep me forever … right?
Ok, she was way out of her depth, but the fairy said this was her one chance to keep her mate and she was going to give it everything she had. That settled, she took a deep breath, undid the top three buttons on the shirt, turned and made her way downstairs to confront her future—and, she hoped, make out with it a little.