Bound.

She felt slightly guilty as Natalie brought the chain away from her neck. “Well, it’s okay. I stole it after all.” She rifled through a nearby stack and came out a small emerald on a loop. “Here.” Mei passed it over and tapped her own neck. “Put it on the chain, and it’ll be pretty but not too bad, if that isn’t your thing.”

Eager to please, Natalie took the emerald from her. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Thank you!” She slipped it on the chain and watched the light glint off of it, glad to have a memento from her new friend. “I’ll wear it all the time,” she promised. It would be a nice change from her usual routine. She clasped the necklace around her neck with a smile.

She snorted a little laughter at the other woman’s offer, trying to imagine herself actually stealing from the guests. She thought that she’d feel too bad doing it -- what if that jewel was something precious to them? She supposed they wouldn’t have forgotten it, if it was. “I’ll keep that in mind,” was all she said.

Isabella watched in silence as Mr. Mammon, grasped the ghost girl’s hand. The second that their hands touched, a cool light seemed to emanate from Natalie’s hand and slowly shift until it had all but consumed the demon’s. Isabella remembered this process very well, mostly because she had expected it to be painful, but she felt nothing at all in the end. She was sure that it was the same for Natalie. The light travelled from one hand to the other, lingered in Mammon’s gnarled, sinewy hands and then faded leaving only the light of the binding circle to illuminate the area. 

He then turned to Isabella. “Isabella, dear. You may release her now.” And like the obedient little employee she was, she obeyed. With a flick of her wrist, the intricate circle vanished, along with it’s anchor points. “Ms. Bartlet, welcome to the Spookshow Amusement Park.” he smiled at his newest employee before he turned his back on her and Isabella “Ms. Sandoval will take you the employee grounds. You can rest for the night in your new apartment and tomorrow you will receive further instructions on what you will be doing while working her at the park.” And with that, the demon suddenly vanished as abruptly as he came. Now that he was finally gone, Isabella found the strength to actually move and she took a few steps towards Natalie. 

“I… I’m sorry I had to do that…” she apologized quietly. 

Except she wasn’t really free. She still wasn’t allowed to leave the park, but she was so relieved to be out of the circle, to still be on Earth, that she couldn’t muster up the disappointment she was supposed to feel. She felt more here than she had in the year since she died, more solid, more present. It was a strange sort of feeling.

As the other woman approached her, she couldn’t help but shy away. Maybe her apology was genuine -- and Natalie was inclined to believe that it was, since she wasn’t the type to hold grudges. But she was powerful, and she was frightening. She could wipe Natalie off the face of the planet if she so chose.

“It’s okay,” she said quietly, through lips that felt numb. It didn’t feel okay between them at all, but she didn’t want to say so. “But I just want to rest, now.”

She raised her eyebrows when Natalie picked up the chain, surprised. “Um…sure, but don’t you want something nicer?” She didn’t even remember getting the chain, but it had probably once been connected to a jewel of some kind for her to bother picking it up.

Maybe Natalie had bad taste…obviously good taste was as sparkly as colourful as possible. Picking up a large ruby, she turned it over in her hands.

“I guess you like simple stuff…I like everything to be big and loud.” She grinned a bit to her self as she spoke and magically projected a pattern into the ruby, the jewel appearing to burn from within.

Natalie paused in putting the chain around her neck. “You don’t think this is nice?” She pulled it out and inspected it again. True, it didn’t glitter quite as brightly as some of the other things in Mei’s collection, but that didn’t make it bad.

But she wanted Mei to like her, so she wasn’t going to argue. She drifted over to where the other was, looking down at the ruby in admiration. “Well, what do you think I should take?” She smiled a bit shyly. “I don’t have a lot of experience with this. We didn’t have a lot of extra money for jewelry back when I was alive.”

Most of their extra money went to medications and doctor’s visits, unfortunately. And she probably wouldn’t have seen much of a point in spending it on jewelry, even if she could. When would she have had an occasion to wear it?

Isabella was hoping and praying that the girl would say “yes” because even though Isabella was capable of cold blooded murder, she didn’t want to end everything for this girl. So when the girl agreed to the deal, Isabella let out an audible sigh of relief. As she let out her breath, she heard Mr. Mammon chuckle.

“Excellent.” he grinned. That was when he finally took a step forward and inside the circle. Isabella’s shoulders tensed for a moment, half expecting him to react to the magic binding she had put in place, but Mr. Mammon remained unperturbed. Instead he moved with ease towards Natalie in the middle of the circle, his thin lips quirking upwards as he smiled at her. He extended a gaunt hand towards her, waiting for her to take it so the deal would be set in stone and her soul would be his. “It’s a deal then.”

She glanced over to the witch. Even her magic could not hold this man. Even she was afraid of him, and she was not afraid of Natalie at all. It was strange -- she did not know that Natalie would not be dangerous. Maybe she was simply too powerful for most things to frighten her. Considering how easily she had bound Natalie to this spot, she was not surprised at all.

She turned back to Mammon, trying and failing not to tremble. It felt like weights were tied to her wrists as she lifted her hand, stifled by the utter finality of what she was about to do. But it wasn’t half as final as what would happen to her if she didn’t. She grasped the man’s hand, trying not to wince at the feel of his skin. “It’s a deal.”

She watched slightly impressed as Natalie made her legs intangible. It was always kind of cool to see humans doing magic – it made them a little more special. She guessed being dead already made Natalie special, but there were a 

How long had she been working here? Mei paused and frowned for a moment, struggling to remember. “About…uh…10…years…maybe?” She tapped her finger to her chin, not sure anymore. It had all just turned into a blur of glitter and boredom. “I dunno. I only started collecting a couple years ago, though…What about you? How long have you been here?” 

She looked over her shoulder at Mei as they discussed how long she had been working here. “Around three years,” she said. She was curious how someone like Mei had gotten into the Spookshow, but she knew that a lot of people were sensitive about it. Mei didn’t seem like the type, but she still didn’t want to pry.

Her eyes were drawn to a simple golden chain (although she didn’t know enough about jewelry to be able to tell if it was real or fake). “How pretty,” she said. It wasn’t particularly flashy, but Natalie wasn’t the type for flashy things. “May I have this? Or is this one special?” She offered a small, shy smile. It felt a little weird to be asking for something, but the other had offered.

However, despite that, she didn’t want to get rid of the ghost girl. The poor girl was terrified by a shadow of a doubt. The moment that Isabella bound her to the circle, she could feel something about the ghost girl. The reason why most ghosts were trapped in this earthly realm was because they felt the had unfinished business of some traumatic experience bound them to the place. For the ghost Natalie… it was both. What’s more… she was bound the entire park. It had been an entire year and if she could leave, she probably would have (Isabella guessed). But she didn’t. Probably because she couldn’t. And Isabella didn’t want to get rid of her either.

However, there was one big problem. She was standing next to the demon that held her soul… She would probably have to. He would probably make her do it himself, or if she disobeyed him right to his face maybe there was a chance that he would just eliminate her right then and there along with Natalie. In all honesty, Isabella was scrambling as to what she should do before Mammon offered her an alternative.

Threaten them and appeal to them.

 It wasn’t the tactic he had used on her to convince her to come here, but Isabella had heard from plenty of employees that they didn’t really have much other choice. She turned her head and saw a smirk pull on the corner’s of Mammon’s mouth. “You’ll do anything? Now those are words I like to hear,” he chuckled. “You see Ms. Bartlet, I’m in a generous mood tonight so you’re in luck. Instead of killing you right here and now, you could work for me. Right here. In this very park. You’ll work one of the attractions during the day and you’ll have a place to call your own. It will be very similar to what you have been doing now only… you won’t have to hide from anyone and you’ll actually have a purpose beyond sneaking around. All you have to do is give me your soul.” As the words left his lips a cruel, cat like smile curled the sides of his mouth upward. “It’s either that or I could get rid of you right here and right now.” He paused as if to let the weight of his words truly sink in. “So, what will it be?”

And, yet, she hesitated. Natalie Bartlet did not not have a lot to her name. She did not have a home. She did not have money or food or anything like that. No companions, not even a pet. The clothes on her back were made from memory more than fabric. All she really had to her name was her soul. And that was the very thing she was being asked to sign away. This man (who was not truly a man, she knew) frightened her. What would he do with her very last possession?

And, yet, she knew the alternative. She didn’t have a choice. “I accept,” she said through numb lips. She gave a quick glance to the witch who had trapped her in this position. She would give anything to be out of this circle, away from the woman and man who frightened her so much.

Mei reached her door and opened it wide, revealing inside a room that may have once had pink walls, but so covered were the walls in beads and pictures and fabrics you couldn’t tell anymore. The floor, crowded with piles of trinkets, had a sort of makeshift corridor in it, leading from the front door to the bathroom and kitchen.

She floated in, holding out her arms. “Ta-da! This is everything.” An old looking stereo, covered haphazardly in some kind of glitter, played a pop song in the background.

Her thoughts were easily swept away as she entered the other girl’s room. “Whoa! You live here?” She looked around wildly, trying to imagine being constantly surrounded by all of this. Every time she thought she had her mind wrapped around it, a new thing grabbed her attention.

She couldn’t help but laugh. “How do you get anything done? I think all I’d ever want to do is look around.” Which was exactly what she did, stepping silently among the glittering jewels and trinkets. At the other’s offer, she smiled. “Thank you! I’ll keep my eye out for something I like ... And I won’t disturb anything, I promise.”

She turned intangible from the waist down to give herself a bit more freedom to walk around without messing up the piles of stuff. “How long have you been working here?” There was so much stuff, she could only imagine that Mei had been here for awhile.

“I looked at lots of faces and I just liked this one the best!” She smiled a bit. “But over the years I changed some of it. Like my eye colour and my hair and stuff.” For a while she’d been a blonde, but had decided it just didn’t suit her. Maybe in a few years she’d change her face completely, or grow a few inches taller, or get a new nose. For now, this form seemed to make people like her and she looked good with jewels, so it worked out.

As they reached her floor and she began to fly towards her room, Mei looked back at Natalie. “Okay, Ghost question! Can you fly through walls and stuff if you wanted to? ‘Cos I really wanna know what some peoples apartments look like. There’s some weird people here.”

“Well, I think it suits you!” She smiled, grasping lightly at the elevator railing as it began to move. Was this what it felt like for Mei to fly? Probably not even close, but it was something to think about. She didn’t think any ghosts had the power to fly, but there were other things. Besides, the Spookshow had plenty of roller coasters if you were into that kind of thing! Now that she could actually ride them, she liked to as often as she could.

She exited the elevator behind Mei, laughing nervously at her question. “I can go through walls! When I turn invisible, I also turn intangible, so, like, I can go through things and things go through me.” She looked awkwardly to her feet. “I’ve never used it to spy on people, though.”

There was a period of silence that felt like it stretched on for an eternity before the demon spoke again. “Natalie Bartlet…” he drawled. “Ah, you were that girl that Rowland, Liam, and Finn ran into about a year ago. You caused me quite a bit of trouble with all the covering up I had to do.” Isabella’s eyes widened because she had heard about what had happened that night and what happened to Rowland afterwards. “While I do regret what happened to you. You were trespassing on private property after hours.” he paused and stopped walking, but continued to look at the ghost girl before him. “It seems that not much has changed from that night…” his tone was quiet, but it was almost as if he was mocking her.

“Now the question remains… What on earth shall I do with you now? I suppose I could get rid of you or… better yet, since Isabella is the one that has you under her sway, I could ask her to get rid of you for me…”

Isabella’s eyes widened, in horror. She meant to only capture the ghost, not to get rid of her. “Sir.. I don’t-” Isabella spoke up suddenly, finally finding her voice again before she was cut off again.

“Or… perhaps I can show you some mercy and offer you a proposition… Are you interested in hearing it?”

Finally, he spoke. The relief from the tension was only momentary, given the nature of his words. “I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble,” she assured him. “And I don’t hold what happened against you. It was -- It was totally, completely my fault, I just ...” She trailed off. This man didn’t care about her desire to impress people, the near desperation that had driven her to the park in the first place. She had just wanted to seem worthy to her friends, she wanted to be asked out because they thought she was cool, and not just because they felt sorry for her. But what did any of that matter now?

It seems that not much has changed from that night ... The words stung dully. So much had changed. She was dead. She couldn’t see her friends or her parents ever again. But she also never had to worry about staying in or being sick again. She had faced the ultimate fear -- death -- and came out on the other side. But none of that mattered to the man in front of her, of course. As far as he was concerned, she was still just a trespasser. And like he had taken care of her then, he would take care of her now.

“N-No!” She stammered out, her terror unbearable. She stumbled to the back edge of the circle, slamming hard into the barrier, the weight of it feeling strange after a year of not being confined by walls.

But then there was a chance. A way out. She clung to it like a life preserver. “I’ll do anything!” She swore.

She posed jokingly at the comments about looks. “Mm. I can change how I look if I want, though, but this is alright for now. For a human form, anyway.” She had spent some years as a disguised forest nymph, some as a bird. They had all been gorgeous, of course.

As the other said she could change her appearance, Natalie’s eyes widened. “Really? That’s cool! I’m pretty much stuck like this.” She was even stuck in the clothes she died in, although it was one of her favorite outfits, since she wanted to impress her friends. “What made you choose that exact appearance? I mean, it’s really pretty, but you know. The specifics?”

She followed the other to the elevator as quickly as she could, wishing she could move that easily. “Well, if they left it, it’s pretty much fair game, right?” She assured the other quickly. “I mean, that’s how I see it.” She didn’t know if she did, really -- she always turned forgotten things over to lost and found, personally -- but she wasn’t going to judge. Friends didn’t judge friends.

“If you mean about mechanics, no. I know little to nothing. Or about the whereabouts of the mechanic? I don’t know.” Perhaps there was just an error in the transmission, maybe something hysterically wrong was going on otherwise, maybe for some god awful reason they were all on break at once. Whatever it was she didn’t really care, she was scoffing at the lack of professionalism in the situation. She would try to fix it herself if she had to. “Did it just stop working? Did you try resetting it? Maybe it’s just a small glitch in the system.”

As the other suggested resetting it, Natalie shifted her weight awkwardly. “I’m sort of afraid to try anything. It might mess it up worse.” She didn’t like to admit it -- she probably sounded like an incompetent child, and this woman seemed so sure of herself. “It’s just -- Liam usually fixes things so quickly. I’ve never had to worry about it before ...” It was a weak justification, and she forced herself to stop talking before she said something even more stupid.