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]

"Right away, sir." Which came with a simple smile as she fetched them.

[richestduck]

Meanwhile, Scrooge happily went to the bathroom to climb into the water. He sighed in with relief, leaning his head back as he closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth. His leg's aching eased.

This was heaven.

[lifesa_witch]

Clara returned, tucking the bricks into the bed. "Don't forget, 6 in the morning, you start all over!"

With that chirp, she left for the night.

[richestduck]

He remembered.

He stayed there in the tub for some time before he finally got out and emptied the tub. It was near ten when he climbed into bed, the bricks still blissfully warm, as he settled in. Gods, he'd almost forgotten how sinfully soft everything was.

'I could definitely get used to this.'

He closed his eyes, dropping off into a deep sleep almost immediately, and he'd sleep soundly until it was time to get back into the old routine.

[lifesa_witch]

And indeed, it seemed like the same old routine in the morning - woken up at the same time by the same servant, with the same meal at the ready.

When it was time to get to the task at hand, Magica was once more in the library, as dignified and prim as usual. As he entered, she stuck her beak up, snooty as ever.

"I trust you remember where you left things?"

[richestduck]

"Refresh my memory?" he asked with dry sarcasm.

Even as he said that, he climbed the ladder to pull down the appropriate book along with the next two on the shelf. He didn't expect to get through that many in a day, but he didn't want to have to climb up and down the ladder more than necessary. Besides, she might tell him to skip the rest of a book and move on.

[lifesa_witch]

"Bah, what do I even pay you for?" She replied with a dismissive wave of her "arm" - this was a bit new. Before, during these reading sessions, she often stayed as still as possible. Probably an attempt to hide any hint of her body.

Now though... no point in hiding what he knew, it seemed.

"Let's get started. Start from the beginning, and don't skip anything."

[richestduck]

Scrooge nodded and took his place. The book was in Olde English. Not particularly fun but at least it wasn't totally impossible to read. For him at least.

Just like before, he made sure to keep awkward phrasing in tact just in case it had something contained within that he didn't understand but a witch would.

[lifesa_witch]

The day passed as it had before - he would leave to eat, return after an hour, and they would continue until night.

But as Scrooge fell into the daily routine, he'd notice a few things had changed, perhaps thanks to his accidental peeking - she no longer inspected his letters before he sent them, and the servants found it easier to talk in his presence. (Save for Clara, who always seemed to be a chatterbox.)

[richestduck]

It seemed her iron grip on things had finally eased. Thank goodness.

However, he never mentioned it. The last thing he wanted to do was call attention to it and prompt her to make her grip on things tighter than ever before.

They'd managed to finish an entire bookcase in a month before he'd finally asked, "Would it be all right if I visited my family one Saturday evening?"

[lifesa_witch]

This seemed to startle her, if her rapid blinking was any indication. "Whatever for? Aren't your letters enough for them?"

[richestduck]

"They want to make sure I'm doing well. And they miss me, believe it or not."

[lifesa_witch]

She didn't believe it, and scoffed. "They don't trust your letters? I suppose it does me some good, to know my presence still strikes fear in others."

She straightened up. "But why should I allow it? It could be a day closer to getting my body back. What's in it for me, if I allow you to go?"

[richestduck]

"It's not that they don't trust the letters. They miss seeing me face-to-face."

He decided to ignore the comment about them being afraid of her. Quite frankly, Hortense was more likely to make Magica terrified of her.

"One advantage is they won't come knocking on your door, thinking you've brainwashed me and locked me in a closet somewhere."

[lifesa_witch]

She tilted her head, giving this some thought. The last thing any powerful, rich person needed was peasants banging on her door for some ridiculous reason.

"... Very well. One day, but that is all. I'll have my servants drag you back kicking and screaming if you stay any longer."

[richestduck]

He'd only been asking for the evening, but a whole day sounded great. He wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"Thank you. To make up for the time, I'll work a little extra on the days leading up to it."

[lifesa_witch]

Hm! Not a bad exchange. "In that case... on those days, you'll stay here after dinner. Once you've finished eating, you can return to work."

She still wouldn't eat with him - the way her body was, she had to be fed by her servants, and that was far too humiliating to be seen.

[richestduck]

"Very well," he said. "We have a bargain."

It made him a bit giddy with pleasure. True, he'd have to put in a little extra time, but she'd be more willing in the future to let him do it again if she saw he was willing to make up for lost time.

[lifesa_witch]

"Family," she muttered, shaking her head. She couldn't understand that kind of connection. "I know you're smart enough not to speak of what happens here."

[richestduck]

"I didn't say a word before and I certainly won't now."

[lifesa_witch]

"Then we will speak of it no more." Another wave of her arm. "It bores me. Such connections just turn out to be burdens."

[richestduck]

"Oh I wouldn't say that. If it weren't for them, you wouldn't have me around to do this job for you. And not simply because Mummy laid my egg."

He picked up the next book in the stack, opening it up to the appropriate page.

[lifesa_witch]

... Damn. He knew how to leave a good opening.

With a huff and roll of her eyes... "Fine, why do I 'owe' them?"

[richestduck]

"Because they had the good sense to know that if I couldn't make my living in the mills like Daddy, making sure I was educated enough to get an apprenticeship with Mr. Swanson was the next best thing to make ends meet. Turned out after the fact that access to all those books meant I could start learning the languages you'd need most."

[lifesa_witch]

"Hmph. I would have found someone eventually." It was easy to think of 'ifs' when you didn't need them.