Chapter Text
Owen was pulling longer and longer work-days, which didn't really mean much more than Helka going to bed before the blonde even made it back to the apartment and her being awake before him. Thankfully he also seemed to start his day later unless something urgent came up.
Honestly, Helka was more surprised at how long it actually took for her to actually find out what the actual hell Owen's job was. It wasn't like he'd avoided ever mentioning it, and she hadn't asked either, so the subject had never come up.
It was just ridiculous to realize they'd known each other for so long, been living in the same apartment for so long, moved together, yet the subject had never come up.
Four months of co-habitation and not even a mention of where he got his pay from. Helka, meanwhile, had been painting more and more for no discernable reason... and it was scaring her. Honestly, not all of the works were anything that could be even considered sinister, like the painting of a coyote and fox in a pile together, and yet...
Not to mention the ripped canvas. The image upon it, a half-monster woman with glowing red eyes.
She could recall neither painting it nor destroying it, but she still kept it.
She'd never been able to get rid of her odd ones and she didn't know why.
She still had the graveyard painting as well. It was morbid, but she just...
She didn't know what to think or do about it.
But back to Owen's work. She found out in the strangest way, though perhaps, looking back on it, it was the only way it could have happened.
David Xanatos was getting married. Helka had known that, on a level that anyone knew of the man's engagement, but the reason she was made aware of the specific date and time of the wedding was due to Owen.
Apparently, the man wanted live music and someone who could be paid off not to gossip about the surprisingly private affair. Why her? Well, Owen vouched for her, as he knew her personally. Apparently, the rather serious man with a tiny mischief streak was Mr. Xanatos' Personal Assistant.
That explained a lot, in hindsight. He'd been much busier during the man's trip to the slammer, and working for a CEO meant there were emergencies with the company that needed attention quickly. Not to mention that whole stolen guns debacle...
Honestly, all in all, it wasn't as surprising as it may have been did she not live with this man.
So when the gig, if she should call it that, was explained to her, she'd only stared at him for a moment before asking “Vocals or not? What kind of music? Am I the only one playing? If so, do I need to play the wedding march?”
She could tell she had surprised him. Honestly, maybe she would have been freaking out more if she actually gave a flying fuck about the billionaire, but the man wasn't really important to her day-to-day life, and she didn't read celebrity gossip. It didn't affect her, so she didn't care.
What she did care about was getting paid, and oh man was this gonna be a big-ass paycheck. It wasn't like she was poor, but it was never bad to have something extra saved up in case something like- well...
Like an apartment building burning down, or a funeral, or moving to a different country to run away from metaphorical ghosts.
So, yes. She cared about getting her next paycheck more than about other people and what they did, so long as they weren't actively and personally hurting people. And while Xanatos seemed very morally corrupt, he wasn't nearly the worst sort of person out there, nor did she know him personally.
What she did know, or rather, who she did know, was Owen. And Owen had decided to work for this man. So he couldn't be inherently evil. Probably just evil enough to not be a paragon, but most people were. No one was all good, all the time.
Honestly, it was cute that a man who was always in the limelight wanted to have a private ceremony.
Getting a dress for the occasion was a hassle. After going from place to place and realizing that getting a dress that looked good enough was going to cost a ridiculous amount, she instead went drastically in the opposite direction...
She went and bought a monochrome green set of drapery and a roll of elastic, plus some thick silver ribbon.
She only needed a dress for a single night, it only needed to look good enough to pass muster for that long and hold together until the end of the night. She had never been more grateful for 9th-grade textile handicraft classes.
It was good that she had a few days to prepare otherwise she would have been in trouble. It wasn't that difficult to sew a rudimentary dress, so long as you didn't need it to look perfect. She made bell sleeves and an a-line skirt, with silver ribbon at the hem to give it some more details. She also hot-glued some ribbon and a bow at the waist to hide the imperfections there. The neckline ended up square-shaped and she realized it looked a little more medieval than she had intended, but it looked good enough, she supposed. And it hadn't cost her a fortune. Honestly, thank god for the invention of the sewing machine.
She really needed to practice her sewing more, if this was going to become a trend. She didn't want to waste over 100 dollars on a dress for a single occasion, but doing it herself didn't produce as good a result as a bought version. Well, aesthetically, it was beautiful enough, but she had her doubts about whether it could be worn a second time.
Her hair she did up in a french braid with a butterfly clip at each end, the only green hair-accessories she owned. Jewelry wasn't practical in this instance, so she tried to compensate a little with her make-up. She refused to wear heels since the ceremony would be held in the castle Mr. Xanatos had raised above the clouds. It was going to be uneven enough wearing flats, she wasn't going to embarrass herself by falling on her face for braving uneven ground in heels. Her skirt was long enough that no one would notice, anyway.
Mr. Xanatos had left much of the decision making about what she would play up to her. He didn't wish for her to play the traditional wedding march, which, fair enough. The man was unusual, anyway. Why would he wish to be mainstream in this sense. She'd chosen her trusty violin as her instrument and as for what she'd play... she had decided upon one of the pieces she wouldn't ever record. She figured that was special enough considering the amount she was getting paid and the personality of her client.
~
The video explained everything and nothing. In fact, it raised questions she was very much uncomfortable even thinking of.
Like why she had painted this creature in such detail without ever seeing it before. Even the pose was the same. Owen had seen that painting, she was sure, and yet-
The blond had a lot of explaining to do, but first-
She'd just hope these... gargoyles... didn't have hearing that would object to her violin. Suddenly she was feeling much less confident about the entire night. Then again-
Helka grabbed Owen's arm “You have a lot of explaining to do, mister. But first, is my violin going to be an issue because I have no idea how sensitive those two's ears are going to be.”
She could tell that she had once again taken her roommate by surprise “As far as I know, though they have keener senses, they are not so keen as to be damaged by something like a violin being played. At least in the hands of one of your talent.” he answered, adjusting his glasses.
She nodded, but didn't react to his compliment and let go, righting her own posture to look less like she was losing her mind “Well, your job just got a lot more interesting. Makes me wonder what else you're not telling me.”
She didn't notice his reaction to that throwaway comment/joke as she made her way to the room where the ceremony would be held as soon as the best man and maid of honour arrived.
The two were not on good terms, that was for sure. Seeing as the gargoyles had arrived, Helka started to play her violin. The entire ceremony would be one of a kind, that she was sure of. She didn't pay much attention, instead getting lost in the music, though she did keep an ear out for the ceremony to be over. Fox looked beautiful and Helka admired her strong persona, something all women should aspire for in this sexist world. It spoke well of Xanatos' that he wanted a woman such as her, she figured, even if she had to hold off judgment due to not herself having nearly enough data on the man.