When Edgar got back to the mansion from going to the market to get the requested liquor, he found Merida sitting on the ground with Higgs laying on top of her in what looked like a very uncomfortable position. Looking around at the scene of what looked like a terrible altercation, Edgar stepped tentatively into the room, but ended up stepping a broken piece of something. Upon hearing the noise, Merida turned slowly.
"What the hell happened?" Edgar asked softly.
"I'll have to tell ye about it later." She whispered. "Help me get him up."
Edgar put the sake on the table and grabbed Higgs off of his mother. He mumbled something but Merida took the other half of her employer's body and they carefully crab-walked him up the stairs. It took longer than they intended but they eventually got him into his room. Merida maneuvered him into the bed and then tucked him in, closing the door behind her.
"What happened?" Edgar asked again, looking at Merida's wound on her arm.
"What did I tell ye about voicing yer opinions about me and Mr. Higgs?"
"I just... I didn't..."
"Because ye were so obvious in yer frustration, I couldnae make up excuses for yer sour attitude anymore. I was trying to save us this heartache and ye... ye just couldnae listen for one wee moment." She growled, trying to keep her composure.
Edgar went to touch her arm but she pulled away. He looked down.
"I'm sorry, Ma... I don't know exactly what I did but..."
"It was fairly obvious that he loved me. Any daft fool could tell... He was trying to keep himself from seeing the truth so that he wouldnae have to face the cruel reality of the fact that he loves me but he ken he cannae trust me enough to break the curse. Or rather, he cannae trust himself. I'm too good to be true and his past just willnae let him believe it."
"So you were fine living in a delusion of platonic love?"
"We werenae in a delusion. We were perfectly happy the way we were. Sure there was a lot of opportunities that we could have made, but I was letting him do them on his own. An he wanted to be with me, he'd do what he could. But yer pouting and carrying on made him face the issue in a much darker way than I ever wanted him realize." She sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "It's neither here nor there now... He's broken to bits now and I swore that I would ne'er be the one to do it."
Edgar crossed his arms and looked away, angry and ashamed. "How the hell could anyone have ever known that all that was brewing under the surface? That's almost impossible even for Cupid himself to have noticed."
"Dinnae ye get cross with me, boy, I'm not angry at what happened, I'm angry at ye not listening to me. Everyone kens they know Higgs and I when no one knows Higgs and I. I say things for a reason and do them for the same. I dinnae just blow air out of my mouth."
"So then... what now?"
"I dinnae. I truly dinnae ken what to do. I guess taking a drink to that socky will do."
"I thought-"
"Weel, I willnae let a good liquor go to waste. Orient or not, it does the same for times like this: helps me forget for a wee bit. Can ye give me that? A little liquid forgetting?" Edgar nodded. "Good lad. An Higgs wakes up, ye dinnae bother him but to ask if he's thirsty, alright right? Ye ken it?"
"Aye, Ma, I do." He said in a sad voice.
Merida left and Edgar clenched his fists. He wasn't angry at her or at Higgs, he was more angry at himself and hurt that he had hurt them. There was no way he could have ever known the tumultuous emotions that was hiding beneath the skin of the man he had always considered a father. But Merida knew... she always knew. She had always been able to detect Higgs' emotional state with almost fantastical ease and she was rarely wrong. He should have known that and he should have listened.
"I will never judge ye again, Ma. I'll listen to ye from here on." He said to himself.
He'd figure out a way to make it right.
+***************************************
Higgs woke up with an excruciating headache and a feeling of deep dread within his heart. In his drunken frenzy, he remembered revealing his true feelings to Merida. He also remembered her true words about his own self: even if he wanted to, he could never let that one important part of his heart belong to her. He was so enraged! He growled angrily and pounded the sheets, setting them on fire with his foxfire. He let them burn for a moment until he realized they were the sheets and he quickly put the fire out, but he was still angry. His anger over his true inability to go after the one he loved is what led to the drinking the first time, so he tried to calm down as best he could. It was his own damned fault for not manning up and getting over his childhood traumas... but it wasn't easy. If he calmed down anymore, he would end up sobbing. Neither were good for his hangover and he tried to figure out which would be better.
There was a light knock on the door and it opened before Higgs could say anything. It was Ailers. The young man came in and set something down on the bedside table.
"Cake." He said, motioning for Higgs to eat it.
He left abruptly and Higgs chuckled at the young man's abruptness. He got up slowly, trying not to jar his body and walked heavily to the large piece of cake that was on the tray. It was a cream cake, simple and delicious.
"Be nice if I had a spot of milk."
The door opened again and Ailers leaned in, holding out a bottle of milk. Higgs took it in surprise as Ailers gave a weird bow and shut the door.
"How does he do that?" Higgs asked, shaking his head at the boy's ability to determine his needs.
He took the bottle of milk with him to the balcony, opening the doors. The wind was blowing pretty fiercely and he lifted his nose to the sky, smelling rain coming. He sat on the edge of the balcony and sighed as he dug into his cake. It was a gloomy day that matched his gloomy mood.
"What a day." He said with a sigh as he dug into his breakfast.
**************************************
Edgar covered Merida as she slept off her drunken state in the destroyed living room. He took the sake cup from her hand and sniffed the inside of it. It smelled strange and he wanted to taste it, but Merida had drank the whole thing in the night. He didn't know what it consisted of, but when Higgs was a kitsune, he would get into moods and want to have the drink. They could only get it from the Oriental man at the market and it cost a pretty penny. Merida would drink it with Higgs since she wasn't afraid to try any type of alcohol but Higgs said it was too strong for Edgar to try.
As he began to sweep up some of the mess, Ailers walked by.
"Ailers." He stopped. "Did you do what I asked?"
"Yes."
"How was he?"
"Up."
They stared at each other for a moment and Ailers just walked away. Edgar sighed, knowing he should have just gone and checked on Higgs himself. He continued sweeping up the broken vase and then took the sake container and cup to the kitchen to have Marlow clean them. He threw the trash away and decided to head upstairs.
Higgs finished the cake and drank the last of the milk, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. There was a tentative knock at the door and Higgs froze. I can't speak to her... not this soon...
"Mr. Higgs?" he heard Edgar say.
Higgs sighed in relief. "Edgar..."
"May I come in?"
"Yes."
The door opened and Edgar walked in, closing it behind him. Higgs nimbly got off of the balcony and met him halfway in the room. He startled Edgar because of his silence but he cleared his throat.
"Are you alright?"
"As I can be. I still have a bad headache..."
"I'm so sorry about everything. If I had just listened to Ma-"
"It's not even close to your fault, Edgar." He said, putting the stuff on the tray.
"But if-"
Higgs held his hand up. "Merida and I are grown adults, Edgar. We (especially me) act like children at times, but we are adults nonetheless. Things should have never have been handled how they were. Merida, most of the time, goes off of my reactions and if I'm being an idiot -which I was- then she replies accordingly. I shouldn't have been angry about the truth that I've been suppressing for so long... She always knows... in the end, I'm the ass and the one to blame."
"But will you be alright with this?"
"I have to be... The only good thing about it is that if something doesn't work out, I know that I have Merida."
"So she's just a backup plan?" Edgar said with a face.
"Not at all. It may sound convoluted to you, but right now I can't be with her because of my own self. I will ruin everything because of my own doubts. I would rather the curse be messed up because I tried and not because I knew. I will do everything thin my power to make it work with whomever I choose to pursue, but if it gets messed up and I end up alone, well... my doubts don't really matter, do they?"
"I guess not..."
"Merida will be by my side and I'll make sure she finds someone as well to be with."
"I highly doubt you could give enough warnings about her." Edgar said.
"Yes, the poor sap that ends up with her..." Higgs said with a small laugh.
They thought about it for a moment and then Edgar got serious again.
"So... what now?"
"It would be best to apologize to Merida and then... I'm not really sure."
"Can I ask you to do one thing? It might help..."
"What is it?"
*****************************
Merida woke up and yawned, stretching her arms out over the couch. Her scratches from the night before caught on taut skin and she hissed as the blanket fell from her. She frowned at it. I dinnae remember that...
"I see you're doing well this morning, Ms. Dunbrough." A young woman's voice said.
Merida turned and looked down to see a young woman no older than her on her knees, dipping a rag into some water. She looked up and Merida made a face.
"Mr. Higgs?"
"Hmm?"
"Why are ye a lass?"
He cleared his throat. "Edgar thought it would make things a little easier between us. This form makes you laugh and I felt it would help me to do this a little more properly." Higgs moved and put his hands in front of him, prostrating himself low on the floor. "I humbly request you to forgive me for what I have said and done in these past days. You have been everything to me these past few years; more than anyone could be in a lifetime. You are so much more to me than a maid; you're my friend, my confidant, and my rock. You take my good, my bad, and most importantly the ugliness this curse has put upon me." He sat up and looked her in the eyes. "You deserve more and better than a freak like me. I love you but I cannot have you, I want you but I cannot keep you... my heart craves for you but my brain says you will not stay, even when I know for a fact that you won't go.
"That being said, I don't want you to leave me, but I won't force you to stay with me any longer if you don't want to. Knowing that you feel the same way about me as I do you may make it harder for me to pursue others-"
Merida stopped him with her finger.
"Could ye turn back to a man for me?"
Higgs closed his eyes as a small wind blew around him and he was back to his normal self. Merida took his face in her hands and pulled him to her. She gave him a small kiss on the forehead and then put her forehead to his.
"Ye willnae get rid of me that easily. I had already prepared myself for ye to have someone else in yer life. Just as long as she is good and right for ye, I willnae step out of line."
She pulled away from him and he reached up into the air and cupped his hands, holding them out to her.
"You will always be my most trusted friend. Promise me that if things go well with whomever I choose that you will also find someone. Please don't stay by yourself."
"I ken the question is who the sad bloke will be."
They smiled at her joke when Higgs opened up hands, revealing what looked like four large pearls.
"These are my starballs. I have four of them."
"I ken ye had two?"
"The kitsune has grown more powerful since the last time, but I am doing a taboo and putting all of my eggs in one basket. Or in this case, all of my starballs on you. I gave you one before but this is a little different. This isn't about control, but trust. Please accept them, my dearest friend."
Merida smiled as he flicked his fingers and they floated into a bracelet around her wrist. He smirked and she touched his face again.
"Ye would make any lass proud to have ye. I'll root for ye all the way... and I'm sorry to."
"Don't be. Ever. You only respond to my action and you always tell me the truth. Never be sorry to me."
"So... are you guys back to normal?"
The two looked behind the couch Edgar leaned on the entryway.
"Aye, I ken it so."
"Aye, we are."
"Good cuz um... Lady Hinkley is in the drive."
"WHAT?!"