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

[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!"

[lifesa_witch]

"Who cares about them? No doubt I'm paying you three or four times more than any of them ever could, and I can have your things brought here!"

Because the whole world revolved around Magica, of course.

[richestduck]

"You might be paying me more, but I am still responsible for the products they'd already bought! A few extra days is not going to kill you, is it?!"

[lifesa_witch]

"A few days extra could be a few more days longer in this body!" She stomped one foot. "Look at me, I can't even feed myself like this!"

[richestduck]

"Will you die?" he asked sharply, pitiless.

She might be extremely wealthy, but she needed to be reminded that the world did not revolve around her.

[lifesa_witch]

Magica snarled, her foot digging into the floor... but she slumped onto the bed, unable to even cross her arms, cheeks puffed up as she pouted.

Hard to argue against that when she said no less than five minutes ago she was grateful he didn't pity her.

[richestduck]

He nodded.

"I promise you in seven days I will be all packed up and ready to begin immediately," he told her. "And I'll be all yours until the task is complete. I'll even sign a contract to that effect. If something isn't going to be delivered on time, I'll have made arrangements in that time for it to be sent to someone else's shop. Will that suffice?"

[lifesa_witch]

Grumble grumble grumble.

"Seven days." She replied with a mutter. "If you're even an hour late, I'll throw you back out into the streets, and have the whole bookstore demolished!"

She wouldn't, but she needed to regain some sense of power, even if it was delusional.

[richestduck]

"Seven days and not a moment more," he told her, bowing mockingly.

[lifesa_witch]

He'd best be careful. She had one defense and she was going to enjoy using it whenever the opportunity came up.

"I should hope not. It'd be a shame to disappoint your goddess."

[richestduck]

His eye twitched. "I said you looked like a goddess, not were one."

[lifesa_witch]

"Oh, so this is something you tell all the girls back at your little shop?" It had nothing to do with anything. Needling him was just too entertaining.