"What do you mean that Lady Hinkley is in the drive?" Higgs asked.

"The usual way, by horse drawn carriage?"

"We should clean up." Merida said, looking around the room.

"We don't have time for that!" Higgs yelled, standing up in a flurry. "Edgar, you'll have to stall her for a moment while I change my clothes into something more English and more human. Merida, come help me."

"Why? Ye look nice as ye are."

"I can't let her see me like this." He said, narrowed pupils and eyes wide.

"An ye want her to fancy ye and maybe break this curse, then she'll have to see what ye look like at some point, ye ken it."

Higgs sighed, but she was right, as usual. He smoothed out his robe and moved his long hair so that it was laying over his shoulder.

"Well?"

"Here, let me braid it."

Merida walked over and grabbed his silky soft hair and she began to braid it. Higgs watched her sadly.

"I'm sorry."

"Stop that now. An ye want to get this curse broken, ye cannae get hung up on things ye cannae change. As it is, we cannae be together so ye take this time to get to ken Lady Hinkley. Ye only have two choices, Mr. Higgs: push forward or make up yer mind now. Trying to have both is what got us in this muckle bit in the first place, aye?" she said, poking him in the forehead. He smiled and she patted the end of his braid. "Go and make a good impression on her. This will be the first formal beastie that she will meet."

He nodded and walked off as Merida stared after him, her own hangover still throbbing in her head as well as the wound he never tended to. She sighed and tried to make herself look as presentable as possible.

***************************

"And then, there was this one time where-"

"Young man, where is Lord Northumberly? We've been listening to you babble on for the past fifteen minutes. It's obvious you're stalling." Gretchen growled.

"Gretchen, no need to patronize the boy. We did decide to come unannounced and I'm sure it's just taking Lord Northumberly some time to prepare himself. It's also quite early in the morning."

"Knowing him, he's trying to hide some sort of transformation- ow!"

"Oh, pardon me." Edgar said, moving his leg from where he had 'accidentally' kicked her.

"Lady Hinkley, Ms. Weebles; what a surprise." Higgs said as he walked into the room.

Edgar looked up as relief washed over his face and then curiosity. Elizabeth and Gretchen turned in the chaise, Gretchen making a face as Elizabeth just blinked.

"You look... quite different, Lord Northumberly." Elizabeth said, trying to keep her disposition.

"Yes. This is what I look like at rest with the kitsune. The um... Oriental creature I spoke of at the party?"

"Ah, yes, I remember now. You look very regal."

"Thank you very much." He said, sitting down across from the ladies. "May I ask what brings you by?" He elbowed Edgar. "Get out." He growled from the side of his mouth.

"Don't have to tell me twice." He said under his breath. "It was nice talking with you both."

"You did most of the talking." Gretchen mentioned.

"Lovely chatting with you, love. What was your name again?"

"Um, Edgar, ma'am."

"Edgar. It was a pleasure." Edgar left and Elizabeth giggled a little. "He's a charming lad. I have noticed him about lately. Is he a relative of yours?"

"After the issue regarding Lord Clarvins, he had employed Edgar as his errand boy. He met Merida while she was captured by him and she told Edgar to get me to rescue her. After that he came to live with us and he's practically like a son to usme! A son to me."

"That so?" Gretchen said with a lift of her eyebrow.

"Nobody asked ye, Gretchen." Merida said, coming in with a tea cart. "Be a good lass and let the grown ups talk."

"Ah, Ms. Dunbrough, lovely to see you again. Oh my, your arm... Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked.

"Perfectly fine. It stings but a little." She said with a smile.

Higgs gave her apologetic smile at forgetting to tend the wound. Merida set the tea on the table and handed out the cups for everyone save Gretchen.

"Where's mine?" she asked.

"Ye hands broke?" Merida said, motioning to the extra teacup.

"Merida."

She looked over and could see Higgs pleading with her to be civil to his former maid. She winked and then set her cup and saucer down in front of her.

"There ye go, lassie. Do ye need me to pour it, mix it, and drink it for ye too?"

"Ungrateful wretch. I'll just do it myself." She growled, snatching the saucer from the tray.

Merida smiled and went back to the other room. She put her hands on her hips and looked at the mess she and Higgs had made.

"Aye, this is a right muckle mess." Merida grabbed Edgar's arm before he could sneak off. "Ye helped make it happen, ye can help make it right."

"Damn..."

"Ye tongue, lad. Get the broom and start to sweeping."

*****************************

"I feel bad leaving Merida out." Elizabeth said.

"Well, she is a maid, and we had a bit of an um, issue in the adjacent room so she's cleaning that up with Edgar I'm sure." He said with a nervous chuckle.

"Gretchen, why don't you go and help them?" Elizabeth said with smile.

"But that would leave you alone with Lord Northumberly."

"Precisely. You were in his employ before me: do I have anything to worry about?"

"No..."

"Then I would like to speak with him without your ears picking up everything. I'm sure Merida wouldn't mind your help and if anything happened, you'd be in the next room."

"And I'm sure Merida would murder me if I even thought about trying to anything untowards to Lady Hinkley." Higgs said.

Gretchen looked skeptical but left so that the two could speak privately.

******************************

"Put that over there." Merida told Edgar as he moved one of the chairs to the other side of the room.

Gretchen walked in and made a face.

"What the devil happened here?" she said loud enough for Merida to hear.

"Bit of a fight. What are ye about?" Merida asked, not looking at her.

"I was booted from the room so that Lord Northumberly and Lady Hinkley could talk privately." She said, glancing back at the room.

"Ah, getting the maid's treatment, yah?" Merida said with a grin over her shoulder.

"I am not a maid. I am her consort."

"Consort is a fancy word for 'adult governess'. Ye do about the same thing it's just that ye dinnae have to keep such a close eye on the lass and ye dinnae have to deal with lads either. Ye mind lending a hand or are ye hands too delicate?"

"Why are you so insufferable? Do you ever have a kind word?"

"I'll be honest with ye: I dinnae much care for ye. After what ye did to Mr. Higgs, do ye really expect me to be civil with ye?"

"You mean leaving the mansion because of his transformations? That was three years ago, Merida. And I'm not the only one who has done it."

"An I kenned who they were, I wouldnae treat them civil either. And regarding length of time, wounds of the heart dinnae have a time limit to heal."

"I didn't do anything to his heart. We were never in that sort of relationship."

"Ye were part of a culmination of a lot of things. Dinnae ye worry about it..."

"Well clearly my departure was for the best. I mean, if I had stayed then he'd have never hired you. Me leaving seems like a blessing in disguise."

"Aye, I ken ye maybe right."

"You are a very brave woman, Merida."

Merida turned to her and was surprised to find Gretchen with a soft expression on her usually annoyed face.

"My, Ms. Weebles, I've never seen ye soft-like."

"Don't get the wrong idea; you're definitely still an annoying thorn in my side, but I've seen Lord Northumberly grow every time we come in contact. Sometimes he even looks like a proper, normal lord and very grown up. His eyes have life in them and he doesn't look like he's lost the world. He's very lucky to have someone like you. To be honest, I thought that he was going to marry you in secret and come to a party with you on his arm as his wife."

"Ah, weel, there are still things that I cannae change and the curse is one of them as weel as what the curse causes on the inside. The outside is fine but I cannae change the deep scars it's caused..." Merida said sadly as Edgar pushed the couch over to the window.

"I see. He has a lot of that, inside issues."

"Aye, he does. I wish he didnae..."

Realizing the mood, Gretchen cleared her throat a little. "So how do you do it? How do you deal with his transformations?"

"They're not hard. It's not like they can hurt you." Edgar piped in.

"Some of them can, but once ye realize which ones are which, ye learn to steer clear of the bad ones and ignore the others ones. They're not anything to be afraid of since most of the time Mr. Higgs is still there. There are very few where he is like a completely different person but it's not a lot."

"I could only get through about two or three and I was just creeped out."

"That is the difference between ye and I. Scotland has a lot of fair folk and talks of beast-shifters. There is a fine line between the fairy folk and humans and I mean that literally."

"Scottish people are more superstitious."

"Aye, that be true, which may account for a lot. An ye wee hands can handle it, would ye mind helping us a bit?"

Gretchen sighed but walked in farther to help Merida and Edgar.

*****************************

"How very interesting..." Elizabeth said, eating a small sandwich. "So, you are able to keep your human form most of the time through your transformations?"

"There are some that I have no way of controlling. Centaur, arachne, and naga... they are literally half of me. The transformations are kind of of their own volition on what exactly they extract from the creature or not. The kitsune, for example, is what I call a 'fragmented' transformation. I can usually hold my human form but there are little bits of the creature that can't be hidden, such as my shadow, the tails and ears at times, and my starballs. I can turn into the kitsune itself, but it's actually quite a feat to do it. Then there are 'whole' transformations such as the Dullahan, werewolf, vampire, and ogre; half-transformations such as the three I mentioned before, and then 'situational' ones like the phoenix and mermaid where outside forces cause the transformations."

"My, that is a lot to keep up with. And your schedule is sporadic?"

"Yes. I am completely human only two months out of the year. For me, the creatures reset after January but are different months. So, even though I'm a kitsune in May of this year, that's not to say I will be a kitsune in May next year."

"I see..."

"I'm sorry to just spill all of this out to you. I know this wasn't what you came for... what exactly did you come for?"

"Just to talk... I find all of this very interesting... I have been meaning to ask how... how would someone break this curse upon you?"

Higgs fidgeted. "Uh... well... that's a little too much information to share. Someone would have to be completely dedicated to wanting to be with me before I could reveal such a thing."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, that is part of the process."

"Completely dedicated... as in courting?"

"More than that."

Elizabeth smiled and put her tea down, standing up. Higgs watched her as she rounded the table and put her knee on the chaise he was sitting on, leaning over him. His tails flared out in confusion, ready to defend himself.

"Would you allow that of me? Would you allow someone like me to be completely dedicated to you?"

"Um..."

"I will be frank with you, Lord Northumberly: I quite fancy you. I always have. I was stuck in that horrid marriage arrangement with Lord Clarvins and although I had no intention of getting you involved with him, because of you I was able to get out of it. Even before that horrible incident, I had always wanted to be with you. I do apologize about that though. I know it must have been traumatic."

"It um... it's in the past." He said, still confused.

"Wonderful. So, if you would allow me to, I'd love to publicly court you and maybe try to break this curse upon you."

"Why?"

"Hmm?"

Higgs sat up and pushed her back, looking at her with a narrowed expression.

"Why would you want to do that? You saw how I was and these transformations are nothing to be blasé about. This is a serious thing, Lady Hinkley."

"Yes, it is. I understand that it's very serious and I want to be the one to help you. I've been wanting to try and be with you for so long and now finally, I feel that I can be of some use to you, milord. If you'll allow me that pleasure, I will do everything in my power to try and break this horrible curse you're in."

Higgs was skeptical but this is what he had wanted. He had always had a crush on Lady Hinkley and if he couldn't have Merida, she was the closest thing to breaking the curse as he was going to get.

"Would you allow me to think about it? It's a serious decision."

"Of course. Take all the time you need." She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "I can tell you how you can answer me."

"Alright...?"

"The next party that is announced, no matter what you are, come to it. Seek me out and give me the first dance. Then, I will know you have accepted my proposal."

"Are you sure you want to do that? What if I'm not something I can easily hide?"

"It's time to stop hiding, Mr. Higgs. I'll be waiting."

She left to go get Gretchen and Higgs wrung his hands in agitation. He had never had someone like her be so bold about his transformations. Not even Merida had ever suggested he go to a crowded place...

Was she worth it?