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

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.

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Her child? Did she...did that mean she...?

"Only if you didn't want it," he told her. "I'd understand if you didn't."

His leg was twinging from kneeling on the floor.

What did she want? The protest had come from her without any warning. Swallowing, she took Scrooge's hands, trying to get him up. The last thing they needed was to aggravate his leg.

"I don't know what I want..." She admitted. "But... I won't get rid of it. They shouldn't have to pay the price of me not checking my spellwork."

He stumbled to his feet, holding her hands tightly.

"Thank you. Thank you."

His child likely would suffer the same fate as him, but at least they would be allowed to live. Relief caused tears to pour down his face.

"Scrooge..." She slowly rose to her feet, and pulled him into her arms.

Had she ruined his life now? Chained him to a commitment he would regret?

He held her tightly but not too tightly. "Thank you. Thank you..."

The gratitude felt painful, and she closed her eyes. "I'm sorry... you have to know I didn't mean to do this to you."

"What are you talking about?" he asked. He squeezed her hands. "I'm going to be a father thanks to you. I never thought...never dreamed..."

She pulled her head back. "But... what about the bookstore, and your family's castle?" Hadn't he wanted to return to all that, to eventually leave her and this whole job just being a footnote in his life?

"The castle will still be there. I can always visit." He ran his fingers through her hair. "And the bookstore...I'll miss it but I like being here."

She didn't want to hope, but her chest felt warm. Her voice was quiet and shaky.

"You'd rather be here? ... Even if it means... for the rest of your life?"

He nodded his head. "I'd like to visit my family, of course, but..." He pressed his hand to her belly. "I like the idea of having a family here, too. One they could visit."

He's just saying that for the baby, the negative part of her mind whispered. None of this is real.

She tried to push it away, and held onto him again, tears welling up in her eyes.

Scrooge kissed the top of her head on impulse. To have a child with this amazing woman...Oh if only she wanted the image he had in his head, too...

Magica tried to wipe her face, her thoughts a little disjointed. Eventually, she managed to decide at least one thing she was sure about.

This child would already be disadvantaged in a few ways - half mortal and half magic, the possibility of Scrooge's deformation... but they could do at least one thing to prevent the child from having all of life's bad draws.

"... I don't want this child to be a bastard." To be the result of an unwed mother.

His heart pounded in his chest.

"Would you...would you have me as your husband?" he asked softly.

She took his hand and put it on her cheek.

"... If you would have me as your wife."

He kissed her, holding her close to him. "That's all I want."

She held onto him - clung was the better word. Maybe she had trapped him, and they were still deluding themselves... so be it. She wouldn't fight to change things now.

"Stay with me..."

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be," he told her, kissing her on the cheek before nuzzling her neck.

She allowed a few tears to roll down her cheeks, trying not to care about them. Would this child be their blessing or their curse? She pulled back only to kiss him deeply, unwilling to let him go.

He kissed her back and held her, moving them to sit on the edge of her bed so his blasted leg didn't ruin the moment.

When they came up for air, he said, "If you'd like, we can get married sooner rather than later. We could have it here or maybe at the castle."

"... The castle may be safer." It would be best to warn him now, as she lifted her head.

"I can do my best to make sure my family doesn't find out about this, but it can't last forever... in my world, a half-mortal is seen as a disappointment, because it will only have half the magic a regular sorcerer would. My family would see it as a blight on their name. I don't give a damn about what they think, but we will have to expect to see them and hear their... stupid opinions."

Edited 2019-12-13 01:17 (UTC)

And if the child couldn't walk, it'd be even worse.

However, he'd dealt with that kind of shunning for a good chunk of his life.

"All right. And what do we do if they do find out?"

"There's little we can do... but, on the plus side, there's little they can do either." She gestured to the mansion around them. "I made the Midas Amulet to get away from their claws, and I'm still rich enough that they hold no power over me. The worst they can do is pop in and verbally harass us."

"Well, that's not so bad." Scrooge was entirely nonplussed about that. "Though I feel sorry that the wee bairn's going to be going through this."

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