So stay away from me / the beast is ugly (scrooge x magica)

[lifesa_witch]

 The carriage ride was so long that by the time the horses stopped, night had already settled in. It was a full moon, allowing the stone pathway to be illuminated. The rider said nothing, simply taking Scrooge's bags and walking on ahead. With any luck, this wouldn't be a return trip - but luck had died long ago in this place.

In the distance, one could hear the caws of several ravens, far away in the dark forests. It was difficult to see the house in the darkness, but it was certainly large and grand. Definitely belonging to someone of high class and lots of money. After all, it was part of the reason Scrooge was here.

Another servant was at the door, waiting for them.

"Either look her in the eyes," he warned, "or have them stay on the floor. Never anywhere else. Just keep your introduction and qualifications short. it is..." He hesitated, glancing backwards. "Often too easy to stoke her anger. And lastly... never ask questions."

Some of these things had probably been told to Scrooge before - he'd been recommended the job, after all. Granted, the recommendation came with the mysterious woman buying up his shop like it was nothing. Still, it seemed at least the servants wanted this to go well.

Whatever "this" was... it was about to begin, if he was ready to enter.

Comments

[richestduck]

Scrooge followed her to the carriage but offered her a hand to help her into it first. She was, after all, a lady. It would be improper to make her go second.

Once they were away, Scrooge folded his hands on the crook of his cane, resting his chin atop them as he frowned in thought.

"What's been the state of the mansion since I left?"

[lifesa_witch]

"Well, outwardly, things have remained the same." Clara explained. "We're all still doing our jobs and obeying orders. The only change was in the mistress' behavior."

Since that sort of thing led to questions, she decided to jump ahead and let him know.

"She didn't eat or... really move, for three days."

[richestduck]

Scrooge felt a stab of remorse. It hadn't been healthy for her to do that, and likely she'd only done that due to his thoughtless curiosity.

"And after that?"

[lifesa_witch]

"She tried to do her reading on her own... it didn't go well." After all, she had no hands to grab books or turn pages. "But she refused to hear the idea of hiring anyone else to do it."

[richestduck]

Likely out of fear that someone else's curiosity wouldn't have the courtesy to obey closed doors. Once again, he felt a stab of shame.

"When did she read my letter?"

[lifesa_witch]

"A few days ago..."

Clara looked away innocently.

"... When I jammed it into one of her books."

[richestduck]

Scrooge snorted with amusement.

"And after that?"

[lifesa_witch]

"After that... well, here we are. After dinner, she gave me instructions to come and get you as soon as possible."

[richestduck]

"Thank you for catching me up. How have you and the rest of the staff been doing this whole time?"

The front gates of the De Spell manor grounds were in sight, but he might as well find out what precisely he was getting into. He hadn't had that luxury when Magica had first hired him.

[lifesa_witch]

"It's been like walking on eggshells," she admitted, reluctant to give him more guilt. "Nobody's sure what to do or say so they don't upset her further."

[richestduck]

Scrooge flinched a bit with regret but looked to the house as they pulled up to it.

"Well, let's see if I can't do something to ease that at least."

[lifesa_witch]

"As I've said before, sir... good luck."

It was almost like the first day of the mansion - a dark night, with glimmers of moonlight. But instead of leading him to that odd little throne room, this time they went to Magica's bedroom. Clara knocked twice. "I've brought him, mistress."

"Enter."

Inside, Magica was sitting on the bed, one of the servants brushing her hair silently.

[richestduck]

Scrooge walked in to her room, a bit surprised by being allowed into such a personal area.

He walked forward so he stood at the end of the bed, looked her square in the eye, and said, "Before you begin, I want you to understand that I meant what I said in my letter. It was oddly-phrased due to my lack of sleep but the sentiment is the same as I'm telling you now:

"I may have obeyed the letter of our agreement by deciding to peek into a room whose door was partially-open and not closed, but I violated the spirit of it. Even if you hadn't been present, I shouldn't have done that, and for that I am truly sorry."

[lifesa_witch]

Magica said nothing right away. She glanced at the servant, who got the message right away, placing the hand-brush aside and quickly leaving the room, closing the door behind them.

"Which of it was oddly phrased?" She asked with a hint of bite, huffily looking away, beak in the air. "The part where you compared to me to goddesses?"

[richestduck]

He blushed bright red before he grumbled, "I was half-asleep when I wrote that."

[lifesa_witch]

"So you didn't mean those parts?" She looked over at him, one "arm" slightly raised to cover her mouth, like a snooty princess. "Were there other parts you didn't mean? How can I accept a false apology?"

[richestduck]

He growled, knowing he wasn't going to win if he tried to talk around them. Instead, he snapped out the truth, figuring he might as well use that as a counterattack:

"I meant them but it wasn't proper for me to write them!"

[lifesa_witch]

"Hm." Music to her ears. She'd treasure that for a while. As such, he'd be rewarded with mercy.

"You are the only person under my employ who has never looked at or spoken to me with pity. I suppose that makes you more valuable."

[richestduck]

"You're welcome. I guess."

Scrooge gripped his cane hand's upper arm, his cheeks turning an even brighter red.

[lifesa_witch]

"So let's cut to the chase, shall we?" She turned toward him fully. "You can resume work right away, and we go on as if nothing happened."

[richestduck]

"It will have to wait a week," Scrooge told her. "I resumed my work in the bookshop and I need to properly close the shop. Particularly since a few customers had special orders coming in over the next few days. That and I haven't packed."

[lifesa_witch]

"You came all this way and you didn't pack?!" She barked, right back into her old ways. "You exist to frustrate me!"

[richestduck]

"I wasn't entirely sure that I would be coming back!" he snapped back, refusing to be cowed.

[lifesa_witch]

"What makes you so unsure now!" She pushed herself onto the floor, standing upright. Now that Scrooge knew what was underneath the dress, he could probably picture the awkward movements and slight wobble it took to stay up.

"What could have changed your mind between then and now?"

[richestduck]

"I said I wasn't sure! Have you got cotton in your ears?!"

He did feel bad about seeing what was hidden under the elaborate dresses, but he didn't pity her. He himself walked with a hobble and knew what it felt like to take extra time to get the simplest task done.

"However, after talking to you, I was going to agree once I had some time to properly close things up this time! At the very least I need to refund the money for those special orders! Some of them, however, have likely already been shipped and they're being sent to the shop!"