The weeks went by and Fuchsia and Catherine were both afraid they would have to have three separate parties in order to have everyone there. April came and the curse gave them the choice of a centaur, a minotaur, and the werewolf. Two out of three were not going to work at all and then they had to chase Kans down because he kept attacking sheep along the countryside as a minotaur. Usually Higgs would have to wrangle him as a centaur. After the exhausting month of April, Fuchsia was about to just give up when May came around.
****************************
"Ugh, where am I?" Kans said, sitting up.
"In the barn." Catherine said, looking at him from the corner of the stall. "Ya were a minotaur this month. Didn't realize ya were such a wonderer."
"Oh, Cat, I'm so sorry." Kans said, putting his hand to his head. "My head is fuzzy... Whose stables are these?"
"Higgs' I believe."
"Have you been out here this whole time?"
"Yes."
"You'll catch a cold."
"Ya were so lonely. I just stayed here while ya slept." She scooted closer to him. "Ya alright now?"
"I'm as good as I can be. Did I hurt you? Did I try to do anything to you?"
"No, ya did nothin' of the sort. Ya're fine, Kans." She said, touching his face.
He recoiled on instinct and then came back. "Don't do that, Cathy. What if it had been the Midas' touch?"
"Would have been worth it... Well, we've got one down. I hope the others are of better forms as well. Fuchsia and I ware gettin' a little impatient."
Kans laughed a little and touched his fiancee's chin. "I love you."
"And I ya."
She kissed him and then she helped him get out of the barn.
******************************
Merida turned over in the bed and gasped, surprised to find her employer also in her bed. She lifted the covers to see if he was a naga and also to see if she had done anything. To her relief, she didn't feel like anything had been done and Higgs was fully clothed, although the large fox tails laying all over the place told her exactly what he was. She looked back at him and saw the fox ears sticking from the top of his head. She couldn't resist, as per usual, and reached out to touch them. They wiggled and suddenly he started making a purring noise. She smiled as she continued to rub his ear and he flicked out of her fingers, making Higgs open his eyes.
"I've told you a million times not to do that." He said softly.
"And I told ye that I wouldnae stop playing with them because they're so fuzzy." He smiled at her and she stopped touching them. "Why are ye in my bed? Ye seem to end up here more often than usual."
"I apologize. Sometimes I swear my body is betraying me... but it is a nice feeling."
"Being betrayed?"
"No, to wake up with someone to look at each morning. Seeing you when I open my eyes makes me feel better and I can go about my day. I don't know what that means but, I personally like it."
"I dinnae mind it either but ye give me a fright because I dinnae an we did something."
"Not to sound crude, but I do believe that I would remember and you'd know."
"Not if we're drunk."
"Even then, physically you'd feel it and I would also feel it."
"Hmm... endowed are ye? Do I need to let everyone ken it?"
"That-" He rolled over to keep his face from hers. "That is irrelevant and I was just making a point."
Merida chuckled. "No shame in-"
"I'm up now. Thank you, Merida." He said, sliding out of the bed and onto the floor.
His tails billowed around him as he stretched and then scratched behind his ears. He then made a noise and all the tails and his ears seemed to poof away as his normal body shook off the strain. Merida watched him from the bed and he wiped himself down to straighten out his clothes.
"Those tails are so annoying..."
"I kind of like them."
"You like them because they're fluffy." He said with a grin.
"Fluffy is good. At least now ye could probably attend a ball of some sort?"
"I do believe my sister would be pleased. I wonder if everyone else is on a more human level. If we don't do something this month, we'll have another person to have to try and get in the mix and I don't think Fuchsia and Cat can wait that long."
"Aye, I ken ye."
"I do apologize about coming in here. I feel like I'm causing you problems."
"Not at all, Mr. Higgs. It's kind of become a normal thing now. I usually expect ye."
"Everyone thinks we're courting and if someone had walked in here they would have really thought something else."
"Maybe we should just oblige them so they'll stop messing with us." Merida said with a laugh as she leaned on her knee.
Higgs watched his maid for a moment, thinking he felt something in the sentence that was a hidden message. He turned his head at her but then dismissed it. She was known for her straightforward thinking. If she had something to say, she'd say it.
"If we do that then they'll just ask when we're getting married."
"They do that now."
"Well, even more so."
"Would that be so bad?"
"If we're just doing it for other people, then yes. I'd rather the woman I strut around to the ton be my woman of choice, not a woman of convenience."
Merida smiled a little. "Ah, I ken ye."
"That was not meant to be offensive at all... Merida, do you want me to court you?"
"Whatever makes ye think a thing like that?"
"It's just... ever since the end of that first year, I feel like you've been holding something back from me. You make comments that seem superficial and yet I still get the sense that you're being serious."
"An I was serious, what would ye do?"
"I'd ask why you never said anything..."
"Ye've made yerself quite clear that I am a maid and nothing more. An there was something there, why would I try to pursue it when ye dinnae feel the same? Seems like a crapshoot to me."
Higgs walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes.
"Merida. Answer me honestly: do you have feelings for me?"
"No. I don't." she said, looking him in the eyes.
Higgs sighed and went to the door. "Alright then... I'll go and see Fuchsia and see what is of Father. Perhaps we could have that engagement party now."
He closed the door and Merida just stared at her legs. She would lie until the end of time if it would keep her employer happy. Revealing herself would only cause problems and she didn't want to add anymore to him.
******************************
A few weeks later, Fuchsia and Catherine were finally able to have their joint engagement parties since everyone happened to have a human appearance for once. Higgs stood on the outskirts of the party, watching everyone dance and flirt and try their best to look presentable to other singles that were about. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned, finding Elizabeth Hinkley smiling at him.
"Hello..." he said.
"It's good to see you back at a party, Lord Northumberly. I thought that that issue with Lord Clarvins would have scared you off completely."
"Well, it's my sister's engagement party, I couldn't miss that. Clarvins isn't here, is he?" he asked, looking all around.
"No, he's still away at his summer home. I fancy he'll be there for a long time... I feel like I haven't seen you in so long. How fares your maid?"
"Merida is fine. She came out of the odd situation unscathed and so far things have been... smooth."
"I see." Elizabeth scanned the hall for a moment. "I never thought I'd see more than one Northumberly under one roof. Pray tell, who the large one is."
"That would be my uncle, Kannaset Northumberly. He doesn't travel much but he couldn't resist coming to tell us about Catherine."
"Is she a part of your family?"
"She is my father's friend's sister. They grew up together."
"I see... Would you care for a dance, Lord Northumberly? I promise there isn't anyone to cause a problem this time."
"I would love to."
He held out his arm to her and she took it as they walked to the dancing.
*************************
Merida wanted nothing but to get out of the dress she was in but Higgs insisted on her wearing it and she even had to put on the gaudy jewelry he had bought for her. Her earlobes were going to just pop right off with how heavy the jewelry was and her neck felt like she was being weighed down.
"You sometimes clean up nicely, Scot."
"Ah, Gretchen, the least sound I want to hear." She said, turning to the woman.
"Someone invited Lady Hinkley and as her helper, I am required to come."
"I ken ye're more like a governess."
"Don't get cheeky. Lady Hinkley is of old enough age to educate herself."
"I see. What's she educating on now?" Merida said, bobbing her head to Gretchen's mistress.
Gretchen looked over and made a face. "I don't see what she sees in him."
"Mr. Higgs? He's got everything ye need."
"Magic, curses, and true love's kiss?" Merida frowned. "Yeah, I know how to break the spell. He told me when he hired me so that I wouldn't try anything."
"He didnae trust ye then."
"He didn't trust me, so he told me... How does that work?"
"Well, ye ken it, an he really believed in ye, he would have feared telling ye would make ye want to do things yerself. Seeing as how ye are who ye are, he could tell ye didnae care for him in that fashion and so he told ye so that ye could maybe help him find someone filling to help him. Ye werenae anything but a tool to him."
"If you think you're so special then how come my mistress is dancing with your lord?" Merida gave her a look as Gretchen smiled. "Ah, I thought I'd hit a cord."
Merida made a face and then grabbed the bottom of Gretchen's wine cup and pushed it, dumping red wine all over her gold colored dress. She yelled out in protest as Merida folded her hands in front of her.
"By jove, I believe ye have had way too much, havenae ye?"
"I will kill you." Gretchen snarled, darting through the crowd to the powder room.
*******************************
Higgs made a face at Merida and she gave him a smile. He shook his head as Elizabeth looked at him.
"Are you alright?"
"My maid is terrorizing yours."
Elizabeth looked behind her and smiled. "Isn't that a usual thing?"
"Pretty much... I'm sorry I'm not much on talk. It's quite unusual for me to have a nice night..."
"I could imagine... Speaking of imagine, there has been something on my mind for a long, long time and I fear if I bring it up you'll think me oafish and a busybody."
"Well, if that were the case, I would tell you."
"That night, at that party, when we all went out into the rain... your legs were covered in scales. Patrick was yelling about magic and curses and such... so, is it true then? The curse upon the Northumberlys?"
Higgs looked away, afraid to even verify the truth, but he was getting tired of waiting for things to fall in his lap. There was sure to be other open minded people like Merida and Catherine and the like. He just had to take a chance.
"Unfortunately, yes, it's true."
"Unfortunately?" she asked, looking up in curiosity.
"It's not exactly the best of conditions. As from the last party I attended, we can end up precarious situations."
"So... what were you that night?"
"A merman."
"On land?"
"I only turn when I get wet."
"I see... and the others that are here? Do they turn as well?"
"As the curse was made, every male of the Northumberly line is cursed with this bloody disease. It progresses over time, taking in new mythologies every generation until one day a lucky lady will break the curse. But the curse is only broken for the continuation of that particular line. For instance, if I were to have the curse broken, I would be free and any children after me would be free, but it has no bearing on my father, and if he happened to have another son, he too would have the curse."
"That is tragic and yet, strangely fascinating."
"You... find it fascinating?"
"Well, of course it is an unpredictable livelihood but it does seem exciting. How would one break the curse?"
"I... won't give that information. It's quite sensitive."
"Do you have to have a romp with them all?" Elizabeth asked, making a face at Higgs.
Higgs shook his head furiously. "Nothing like that at all. It's quite simple, really."
"I see. Well, I won't press you for details. There is a reason you are keeping it secret... How many things can your family turn into?"
"It just depends on the generation and/or the circumstances around them. If everything is by default, whenever the next son is born, it just has one additional creature. If the curse had been tried to be broken but failed, then the next child gains two, one from the normal generation addition and one for messing up."
"I see... how many are there then?"
"Well, I have ten."
"Ten?! Bloody hell! Er- I mean... I'm so sorry!" Elizabeth said in embarrassment, letting her manners slip.
Higgs smiled. "Don't worry, I live with Merida. I've heard worse."
"And probably more colorful too."
"Definitely more colorful."
****************************
Merida walked over to Edgar, who was allowed to come back for the engagement party, as he stood in the corner looking like a frump.
"Oi, laddie, what gives ye?"
"Look at him... slobbering all over her like a hungry dog..."
"Ye got ye fancy on someone and a nice Sassenach lad took her?"
"I'm talking about Higgs and that other lady thing."
Merida looked over as Higgs and Elizabeth started walking away from the dancing and towards the balcony.
"Lad, ye best give up yer hopes of anything happening between me and Mr. Higgs. He's had his eye on the lass for a long while now. She's the reason he ended up with those scars."
"Exactly. She hurt him and he still wants to be with her?"
"She didnae hurt him, Laird Clarvins did."
"Because of her."
"And if not for her, ye'd still be working for the man." Merida said, grabbing Edgar's ear. "Stop ye moping and come have a dance with me."
"Me dancing with my mum? That'll attract ladies." He said with a roll of his eyes.
"Ye arenae attracting them now with yer face looking so sour. Oblige me, lad."
Edgar smiled and led Merida out onto the dance floor but he was still eyeing Higgs and Elizabeth out of the corner of his eye. He absolutely hated the fact that Merida and Higgs weren't together. They were meant to be! He knew it from the time he entered into their home that they belonged to one another but the stupid man just wouldn't see it!
"Edgar." He turned his attention back to Merida. "Listen to me, lad, and ye listen weel: unless Mr. Higgs tells me for himself that he wants to be with me, we will not be together. Even though it's been a few years since we rectified the issues of Higgs' loneliness and such, it's still verra fragile. I ken ye dinnae understand it, but it sits around us like a light fog, threatening to thicken an we stir up anything. I wish with all my heart that he would want to be with me, but I willnae mess up that curse just for my happiness. An he doesnae feel anything for me and he tries anyway, it will not go weel. It has to be natural. Until then, ye'll probably be seeing Lady Hinkley more often than not with Mr. Higgs, and most likely less of me. Unless things start going crooked, this is how it will be. Please just go along with it. It will make yer life better and it will keep me from stressing about it as weel. Do ye promise me, lad?"
Edgar didn't say anything and Merida moved his face to look at hers.
"Answer me."
"How can I agree to that?" he whispered.
"That's what I've agreed to. I've consented that unless the failsafe activates, I willnae do anything with him."
"Failsafe?"
"Aye... ye ken about it."
"Not exactly... what is the failsafe?"
"The curse makes sure it's passed on and so after a certain amount of time, it will make the bearer so horny that they want to have sex with anything with a hole, especially a woman. To keep a poor lass from having to go through the curse, I volunteered myself to take that up should it come to it. But as we can see, I probably willnae have to."
Edgar stepped back. "You are willing to bear his child out of wedlock in order to save the child from a horrible life or something else and yet you won't take a stand and tell him how you feel?!" he practically screeched.
"Keep yer voice down."
"I can't- I just... I can't be here."
Edgar left Merida to stand in the middle of the dancing, fuming with anger and hurt. Merida was willing to have sex with Higgs if this 'failsafe' came into play and bear his child so that the child nor some poor unsuspecting lady wouldn't have to go through the curse but this stuck up lord had the audacity to try and woo another woman? Edgar had heard of some interesting love tangles, but this one was the most confusing by far. She would have sex with Higgs but couldn't get the courage to declare her undying love?
"Fucking preposterous!" Edgar snarled, stomping back to Higgs' mansion from Margaret's.
++++++++++++++++++++
a/n: i mean, edgar's not wrong. she'd go and have sex with him to keep a baby okay but she can't also tell him she loves him and then have a baby in the traditional means? it would seem quite confusing