And I’ll face all the evils that our love will surely bring [scrooge x magica]

[blackmagicduck]

 Experimental spells were called that for good reason - they weren't things one did without fully knowing and understand its powers. But Magica was many things when she had screamed that incantation - narcissistic and desperate, to start with. It turned out being all-powerful meant nothing when you weren't all-knowing, and the spell had backfired spectacularly. It was a sheer miracle she'd come out of unharmed... for the most part.

The injuries to her body looked worse than they really were, and given her magic, they'd heal quickly. The real issue was her head, as she hadn't woken up in days. Finally, mercifully, she began to wake up, though that in of itself felt like a long, painful process. It hurt just to open her eyes, and thus took her several attempts, the light in the room giving her a headache. She struggled, keeping at it, moaning quietly, her vision initially blurry.

When she could finally make her surroundings - or at least the ceiling, as she still didn't have the strength to move her head just yet - she didn't recognize it. This wasn't where she was supposed to be. She was supposed to be...

... Ah. Hm. Uh.

"Where... am I?"

Comments

[blackmagicduck]

Forward? She wasn't even sure which direction that meant.

"How do I know I won't fall back on my old ways?" Gods, there he went with his faith again, trying to do the best and believe in the best despite common sense. "Especially since I can't even remember my old ways... I could wind up making the same mistakes, and hurting the same people."

Loathe as she was to admit it... she was scared.

[richestduck]

"I'm willing to help you on that part. I can't say my suggestions won't lead to new mistakes, but at least I can help you avoid repeating the old ones," Scrooge said.

[blackmagicduck]

Magica paused, and then flicked a finger at him. "A-ha. I knew you couldn't be that stupid! That's why you're helping me out, so you can 'get rid' of your enemy!"

Oh thank goodness, he wasn't entirely hopeless. This was being practical!

[richestduck]

"Well, I will admit that that'd be a handy side effect," Scrooge said unrepentantly. "Helping you definitely solves two problems at the same time."

[blackmagicduck]

Magica raised an eyebrow. "What's the second problem?"

[richestduck]

"Oh I don't know." He reached up to poke her forehead. "An amnesiac witch with no idea where precisely she lives or if there's anyone waiting for her."

[blackmagicduck]

Careful with poking a hornet's nest, Scrooge. They tend to sting.

Magica's face was irked at the teasing, but quickly switched to a smirk. "I think I would have been all right. Perhaps someone else would have found me and taken me in. After all, who could resist helping a fainted beauty?"

With that, she was quickly in his face. "Maybe you weren't thinking with your head when you picked me up, and were thinking with something else."

Yeah, she wasn't going to let him forget his fluster at the dress shop anytime soon.

[richestduck]

"Oi!" His cheeks turned red in embarrassment as he scowled in irritation. "I'll have you know that that would've been the absolute last thing on my mind if it had crossed it at all!"

[blackmagicduck]

Magica knew he was telling the truth - after all, he'd been honest the whole time. Buuut he did let her keep the dress... and they weren't foes anymore.

"Of course. Because we were enemies." She began to trace a little circle on his chest. "But I haven't been your enemy this entire day. So has there been anything else on your mind?"

She couldn't help but wonder if she ever teased him like this "before".

[richestduck]

"Stop doing that," he groused even as he continued turning red.

She'd always teased him and given him nicknames, but they'd been clear taunts. Nothing like...this.

[blackmagicduck]

"I thought you said you wanted to help me." It was his own fault for being so enjoyably adorable. Magica lightly stroked the underside of his beak once before mercifully turning away, somewhat getting back to the topic at hand.

"But I do plan to pull my own weight... if only because I'll be bored to tears without anything to do. I don't even remember having any hobbies or favorite TV shows."

[richestduck]

Honestly, her putting her hand under his beak was so normal that it didn't get a reaction out of him. Even if the context was different, he was used to her doing that.

"Good. Because I'm sure I can find a use for you that'll let you earn a living." His company was rather massive, after all. There was always a niche waiting for someone with the ambition to find it and skills to fill it. "In the meantime, you need to focus on making sure you're all healed up while I focus on dealing with the mayor."

He rubbed his temples, a migraine threatening to form.

[blackmagicduck]

"What, and leave me out of the fun?" Magica turned right back around, hands on her hips. "Right now I don't know any of my skills or what I'm good at... so maybe the best thing would be for me to follow you around and learn."

Part of her wanted to learn, and part of him wanted to continue making his life hell. Maybe she didn't quite hate him, but the need to drive him nuts was something even magic couldn't erase.

[richestduck]

"Trust me: You'll be bored out of your skull by it. I do."

But that wasn't a no. More of a fair warning.

[blackmagicduck]

Since when did Magica ever listen to warnings?

"Then for now, instead of enemies... consider us partners." She held out of her hand for him to shake. "Last chance for you to back out and actually have some regrets."

[richestduck]

Scrooge smirked. "Just remember that I warned you."

He took her hand in his, giving it a firm shake. She'd likely be able to feel over a century's worth of callouses hiding just beneath the feathers of his palm.

[blackmagicduck]

Magica gripped it back, shaking it once... and then pulled him in to kiss his cheek.

"Consider that my warning." Whatever that meant.

[richestduck]

"To warn me about what exactly?" Scrooge asked, turning slightly red. Honestly, this was a much different form of Magica behavior than he was used to. Her "flirting" before was more like a cat playing with a mouse than actual flirting. What was this?

[blackmagicduck]

"Hm... I'll let you decide that for yourself." Magica smirked, enjoying his perplexed expression. Whatever they were then didn't mean they couldn't be something new now. This was going to be a long and difficult road for her, finding her strengths and weaknesses and defining her new self... so having some fun along the way was a must.

"So what's the next step for your big venture and this villa?"

[richestduck]

"Basically figuring out what if anything can be done with it," Scrooge admitted. "Because at the moment, I'm drawing a blank."

He had three weeks to come up with something potentially workable, but that wasn't necessarily going to be easy.

"Given the luxury accommodations of this hotel, the tourism route would be the expedient thing to do, but one villa isn't going to attract a crowd. Competing directly with Pompeii is only going to send this place into financial hell."

[blackmagicduck]

Magica flopped back into her seat, although not quite like a proper lady, sitting sideways so her legs were propped up on the armrest. "Why do people go anywhere? To do something they can't do at home. The whole point of tourism is to make memories."

Yes, she was aware of the irony of saying that while having amnesia.

"If your family was here with you, what would you do with them?"

[richestduck]

"Well, that depends," Scrooge said, crossing his arms in thought as he tilted his head back to look up at the ceiling. He crossed one leg over the other and tapped that raised foot against nothing but air. "Usually we'd be on some sort of treasure hunt or searching for a lost temple or something. Otherwise, there'd be something here that one of the kids would likely want to go to."

He hummed to himself for a moment.

"This place actually does have an interesting history. The main trouble is that most of it was torn down over the centuries."

[blackmagicduck]

Magica glanced over, curious. He took the kids adventuring with him? What an odd fellow... what an odd family, really.

"What sort of 'interesting' history?"

[richestduck]

"Well, not really so interesting unless you consider how time seems so cyclical. During the Roman Empire, Somma Vesuviana was a vacation destination for the wealthy. They'd purchase villas--like the one still around--to get away in the countryside, away from the hustle and bustle of the major cities. Some tourists would do nominal work on farms as a way to relax by sampling the 'simple' life," Scrooge explained. "You'd have the public baths and--"

Scrooge stopped, the gears in his head starting to whir. He tilted his head back forward, staring into nothing at all as his brain started mapping out the pieces.

Yes...yes, that could be doable. It'd require significant investment, but the hotel itself was already here...

[blackmagicduck]

Magica raised an eyebrow, perhaps the same gears beginning to turn in her mind. "And sampling the cheap but traditional cooking in small restaurants," like the one they just went to, "and indulge themselves in spending less in little clothing stores while stocking up on a lot." Again, as they had done earlier. "They still got the satisfaction of feeling rich without spending too much coin."

She chuckled, amused at how she had, accidentally, helped him out. This partnership was already showing some advantages. "And if someone as rich as yourself enjoyed themselves here... wouldn't that tell the rest of the world's billionaires that this is the place to be? It'd be like the McDuck seal of approval."