By the next week, it was agreed between the two most powerful male demons in existence that Pandora would get off the three o'clock train in London exactly a week after the agreement was made. She would be alone, with only a minor demon or familiar if at all, with everything she needed in no more than three standard-sized trunks. She would be wearing a pale blue dress with white ruffles and lace and a blue hat with a white veil that covered her face.

Sebastian Michaelis would pick her up at the station in his master's carriage and take her back to the mansion he was employed at, introducing her as a rich guest that would be staying in the Phantomhive manor for an indefinite amount of time, possibly as a French-Russian princess as a cover story.

As of the agreement, the two were engaged. Once they exchanged blood, they would be married, and neither could be secretly unfaithful. Blatantly, whatever; secretly, nuh-uh, that's a big no-no. Supposedly it helped the married couple in some way, something with trust, blah, blah.

It took Pandora forever to convince her mother to allow her one single masculine-esque outfit in case she had to disguise herself or participate in manual labor. The rest was fancy dresses, matching accessories, ruffly nightgowns, and even some brand-spanking-new lacy lingerie.

Pandora blushed furiously when she discovered her mother packing said lingerie. Her mother had calmly squished her daughter's cheeks with both hands and said, "If I know you, you'll find a way to make that demon fall in love with you. And when you do, I want plenty of grandchildren, understand? Males like these degrading... things, and it's easier to handle them if they're happy." Her mother had dangled a piece in her face, looking a bit amused at the simple tastes of males, and then resumed packing the embarrassing items. Devout feminist or not, she knew what she was doing.

Pandora spent the rest of the free time she had admiring the view from her window or playing chess with her father. There were many things she learned in the last week; she stayed up one whole night to research humans and their mannerisms and customs and cultures, and by the morning she could be considered an expert. She learned games, what courting was, how human politics worked, how precisely to speak, government, everything. By the end of the week, she felt her head would've exploded if she'd had to sit through one more mathematics cram session to catch her up with human studies.

"Mother, is the sky blue color really necessary?" Pandora asked on the day she was to be sent off. Her mother was helping her with her clothes instead of servants as a sort of parting gesture.

"It's what they agreed upon," her mother reminded her gently. "You don't want to stand out, and you certainly would in all black and red. After all, you're the human expert, you know that."

Pandora sighed. "Yes. Black is a sign of mourning and evil to humans. I suppose that makes us evil." She played with the hem of the white glove on her left hand, picturing the black fingernails hidden underneath. "I would stand out in that, and blue is said to complement blonde hair. Light or bright colors are traditionally worn by girls to symbolize purity, good taste, and innocence, as is white. Black means tainted or soiled in their minds." She scowled. "I'm perfectly pure."

"I should hope so." Her mother was trying to keep the atmosphere light for the sake of her daughter.

"Momma?" Another name she hadn't used in years.

"Yes, dear?"

"What's your first name?"

Her mother paused for a minute in pinning up Pandora's hair. "Helena."

"Helena," the younger blonde tried. "I like it. It suits you, Momma."

Helena pinned the blue hat on and the two ladies watched in the mirror as the white human wedding-esque veil covered Pandora's face. It had a sense of finality to it. "Thank you, Pandora."

"And Papa's name is Lucifer?"

"Yes, dear. Why the sudden interest?" The platinum blonde duo left Pandora's bedroom, the daughter taking in everything around her like she would never return. And she very well might not, too, so she wasn't without reason.

Pandora walked slowly, savoring the time she had. "I wanted to know your names before I left. I never really knew for sure."

It took all Helena had not to break down at that moment, at the thoughtfulness of her daughter even as she was about to leave behind everything she knew. "I love you," was all she could manage without choking or crying.

Pandora pulled her mother into a gentle hug, careful of her clothes. "I love you too, Momma." She patted her back soothingly.

They had arrived at the door to her father's study, where she would be transported into a compartment on the train and ride for half an hour; then she would be in Sebastian Michaelis' hands.

Lucifer stuck his head out the door. "Come in, come in," he ushered the two females in. "The circle is right over here. Once you step in, you'll be taken to a first-class train compartment. Your luggage will be there with you; as long as you can take it to the platform, Michaelis will be there to help." Once the details had been told, he gathered her into a cautious hug, as if she'd break if he held her too tightly. "I'll miss you, little devil."

"You haven't called me that in decades." Pandora echoed her father's words from two weeks ago. "Miss you too, Papa. Love you."

"Love you too," he told her. "I'm proud of you, Pandora, we both are."

She was at the edge of the circle, hiding her shaking hands in her skirt, but she half-turned with a cheeky smile. "What is there to be proud of? I'm just being myself." And she stepped into the circle, shouting a quick, "Goodbye!" and waving over her shoulder as she was whisked to another dimension, the portal closing behind her.

Her parents hugged each other. "We have a wonderful daughter," Helena whispered, allowing tears to fall.

"That we do, love, that we do," Lucifer replied in the same tone, squeezing his wife tighter.

***

Pandora blinked once and found herself looking at a window, where the landscape was whizzing by. She was in the train, in a closed prepaid first-class compartment, empty apart from her luggage. One was full of big dresses, the other of undergarments, nightgowns, and accessories, while the third was filled entirely with British money. It wasn't like she had easy access to a bank, after all, so she brought a great deal of wealth. Ladies need a fresh stream of new clothes so as not to wear the same outfit to a function twice.

She settled herself into the seat and occupied her time by studying everything around her, from the number of passengers she could sense on the train to the bright green trees that blurred together outside.

She had an uneventful ride, remaining undisturbed until she had to exit. She was posing as a human, and there was no way a human female could even carry two, let alone three, trunks of that size. Her magic was more powerful in the mortal realm than in Hell, and whereas in Hell she had to sleep, she could sleep once a century in the human world and be fine. She would have to ask for assistance from someone else or use her magic.

Magic it was. Her pride was much too big to allow her to ask for help. With a snap of her fingers and a whole lot of focus, she stopped time. Then, concentrating the whole while, she lifted all three of her suitcases and made her way off the train, setting herself up in a noticeable but not too noticeable place. Then she relaxed and everything went back to normal. The average human wouldn't have even noticed her sudden appearance.

Pandora waited for Sebastian Michaelis, looking up at the clock every so often. There was a minute to three-ten, and if he didn't show up she was going to turn right around and-

"Allow me to help you with your luggage, Miss Markov," a man said graciously, sweeping up to her and grasping one of her trunks in each gloved hand just as the minute hand on the clock ticked over to indicate three-ten.

Pandora studied the man. He was tall, taller than her, and was very good-looking in a human way. He had black hair with side fringe that was getting long in the front, perfectly chiseled features, and a black butler's uniform. What tipped her off, however, was his eyes. They were the deep red of a high-class demon. "Sebastian Michaelis, I presume?" She made sure to sound confident and slightly bored, as if she was married off to rivals to make peace every day.

"Yes, Miss Markov. I take it you are who you say you are then." He lifted her trunks with ease and led her away from the platform, leaving her to take her third one.

Pandora refrained from pointing out that he was the one who had assumed she was anyone and neatly pinned her veil back so it hid only her eyes instead of her face, though she made sure the butler saw the red color of her irises, a little deeper than his own. "Thank you."

"It is my duty as a butler to pick up a lady from the station when she is staying at my master's house." Of course, that was only the cover story, but it worked. Sebastian Michaelis opened the door to a prestigious-looking carriage and assisted her in before sitting on the coachman's bench and whipping the reins, making the horses jolt into action.

Pandora rested against the seats comfortably, noting that they were very lush and expensive-seeming. The Earl she would be staying with must've been very rich to afford such finery.

***

It took another half hour to reach the Phantomhive estate. Pandora was half lulled to sleep by the rhythmic bouncing, but woke up when she felt the carriage stop. She sat up straight and made sure her clothing was immaculate before Sebastian opened the door and offered his hand to help her down. She accepted his hand and noted rather indifferently that the pure white of their similar gloves made their hands seem to be attached.

She stepped out, not so much as sending up a puff of dust, and Sebastian retrieved her luggage from the back as she took in the extravagant mansion.

"Do you like the look of the manor?" Sebastian inquired politely, leading the way.

Pandora took her time answering, waiting until they were at the foot of the stairs before she finally replied. "To be frank, Sebastian, I prefer my home, but this is surely magnificent for a human."

"And how is your home better?"

"I'm sure you've seen it at some point. You can't miss it, anyway, but it seems more welcoming and homelike than this place. Phantomhive manor has an ominous feel to it, an aura of tragedy. This is the site of many horrors." She could sense it as clearly as she could sense the demon beside her and the five humans in the house.

"The palace of Satan, in the deepest depths of Hell, is more welcoming than a human manor," Sebastian stated with dry amusement, rather than asked.

One word echoed in both their minds as they stood stock still in thought:

Irony... irony... irony...

Then Pandora broke the silence, feeling it had gone on long enough. "Quite."

Sebastian opened the door for her, managing to hold all three suitcases at the same time, and shut the grand front door behind them. "I shall show you to your room and then introduce you to the master of the house. I trust you can find me once you're settled in?"

"I'd be able to find you from another dimension," she scoffed lightly. "You radiate power like no other of our kind in this realm."

He raised an eyebrow. "Our kind?"

"There are some rather strong angel and reaper presences nearby, but you're the strongest demonic one in England." She set off down the hall at a clipped pace behind him, absorbing everything around her. "I'll be able to locate you."

"Excellent. You'll be staying in a guest room the young master had me prepare specially for royalty." Sebastian opened another door and allowed Pandora to enter first.

"Royalty, yet you call me miss," she stated wryly, not without amusement. The room was beautiful and well-furnished, not as good as her own back home, but good enough. "Would you permit me to act unladylike for a moment, Sebastian?"

"Certainly, Miss Markov." Of course, he decided to continue calling her miss. Cheeky bastard.

She immediately kicked off her shoes and leapt onto the bed, bouncing up and down to test it. Unfortunately, she knew she couldn't rip off her hat and let her hair down, but the temptation remained. Once she had measured the bed's comfortableness, she hopped off with a cool expression on her face. "Kindly refrain from mentioning that lapse in proper behavior to anyone, Sebastian."

"Of course, Miss Markov."

Pandora made a face at her cover name and teased him a little, bored by his lack of expression and reaction. "You mustn't be so stiff, Mister Michaelis, I've been told it's rude to be too formal with your fiancée. You may simply call me by name when we're alone or out of hearing range." Making a joke out of her situation seemed to be the best way to handle it, since she didn't particularly fancy crying whenever she thought of everything she had left behind. She could either poke fun at herself or drown in self pity. Poking fun seemed more amusing, and the whole reason she had taken a shine to the human world was because it was different and unpredictable and entertaining.

"But that goes against my aesthetics, Pandora."

"Butler aesthetics, aesthetics I bet you don't truly care for." Pandora spun in a circle.

"I believe I should go fix the young master's afternoon tea, Pandora. I shall be off now; come get me when you're ready to meet the young master. You may want to change from your traveling clothes as well."

"Pah, I can make myself look presentable without changing clothes entirely, but thank you for the advice."

"Certainly. You are most welcome." Sebastian bowed and showed himself out, closing the door behind him.

Pandora was left to herself. With a sly glance to see if anyone could possibly be watching, she flicked her wrist; the curtains snapped shut. A slight twirl of her index finger locked the door, and a flourish of her hands in a vertical motion sent a ripple of magic over herself. Her dress shimmered, and then starting at the top changed color entirely from the sky blue that didn't suit her personality at all to a rich plum that complemented her eyes. A sweep of her finger lowered the neckline so it was modest but no longer at her chin. Another flick and the one-inch heels of her shoes raised themselves by three units as well as turned black and more boot-like. Her gloves, formerly white, darkened to black as her sleeves receded to her elbows with black lace once more spilling from the cuffs; it was popular and she rather fancied the style.

Pandora, who was otherwise referred to at home as just Monday, Monday Azriel, or Pandora Monday, depending on her parents' mood, tapped the brim of her hat with a fingertip; it turned a matching plum and the veil turned black. She looked rather in mourning but wasn't going to leave the house and so had no need to conform to common human dress expectations.

The female demon gestured again and all her clothes flew from her trunks into the closet and wardrobe, the trunk with money sliding neatly under the bed, which was previously determined to be comfortable enough to sleep upon if necessary. Then she opened the curtains again and exited the room with a small smirk on her face.

Being a demon with no restrictions on her magic was fun.

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a/n:
Edit 3/27/17: I changed the wording of the lingerie scene, because I realized that could be misconstrued-- the mom is not being disparaging or sexist, she's trying to advise her daughter on how to look the rose, but be the serpent beneath. Also, small diction changes were made.