"That's not how it went, is it?" came the question.

"I don't know. That looks about right," was the response.

The angel looked up from the scene before her to stare at her counterpart with narrowed eyes. The demon blinked innocently.

"I'm almost positive something else was supposed to happen," the angel insisted, turning her gaze briefly back down to the world below.

"Are you unhappy with the result?"

"What? Oh, heavens no. It's just..." the angel trailed off. "It doesn't sit right. I can't quite put my finger on it..." as she spoke, she stood and wandered away from the parlor table towards the Library, where the demon had left her writing things. Her counterpart sat for several minutes, quietly finishing the last of her cream soda, before following.

Kiwi was shuffling loose papers around, reading a sentence here, a paragraph there. When she noticed Apple she looked up and shoved the papers in her face. "Here, look, see? I was right. It's because you didn't finish it all the way. You know it's dangerous to leave stories unfinished!"

Apple blinked calmly at the papers presented to her, glanced over the last few paragraphs, and shrugged. "But it all turned out alright, and that's what matters, isn't it? The princess and the queen get to live Happily Ever After."

Kiwi frowned. "Yes, and I'm happy for them both, but still..."

"Angel, angel," the demon smiled softly. "You worry too much!" she gently took the papers from Kiwi's hands, straightened them lovingly, and moved towards her desk, where she kept her Book. She picked it up and carefully tucked the papers in at the end, nestling them between the last page and the back cover. Closing the Book and setting it reverently aside, she turned back to Kiwi, who was watching her with an expression not unlike a pout.

"Now, didn't you tell me you've been working on something? Is it finished? May I see it?" the demon batted her eyelashes flirtatiously at the angel, whose disapproving frown eased somewhat as she allowed herself to be distracted. After rummaging briefly in her own pile of books and papers, she came up with a sheaf and presented it quietly to the demon, who smiled her thanks.

The two sat quietly for some time while Apple read and Kiwi wrote. Eventually, the demon finished reading the last page, and couldn't restrain herself from laughing out loud.

"Angel, this is brilliant! I can't wait!" she said, shuffling the papers about in order to re-read a paragraph or two near the beginning.

Kiwi smiled a smile that would have been called mischievous had it not been for the fact that she was an angel; it wasn't in her nature to be mischevious, after all. That was the demon's job.

[To be continued in Book 3~]