Magica's Fortune
By: Phoenix Ride
Ch.1: Lucky For Love
Far off from the west coast of Duckburg, an angry mountain sat, shaped like the head of the nasty sorceress that lived inside its walls. Magica De Spell, a most persistent foe of one of DuckBurg's most respected billionaires, Scrooge McDuck.
For many years now, Scrooge had lost count over how many times that evil witch had tried to steal his Number One Dime. Magica wasn't like every other criminal who went after the old miser's money. The Beagles certainly had no qualms about trying to steal the whole lot, but all Magica went after was the dime, claiming it was the key to conquering the world.
"Can one piece of metal really do all that?" Scrooge thought amongst himself.
The billionaire didn't know, and it was unlikely he ever would know, unless he ever let Magica really steal the dime.
"Pfft, right!" gruffed Scrooge " Like that's going to happen!"
And then he went back to work.
Meanwhile, inside of her volcanic home, Magica was frowning over the stress of her failures. Poe, her brother turned raven, stared down at her from below, a bit of worry flashing through his eyes.
"Eh" he sighed in his thoughts " this is what happens when you choose your fate."
The raven's mind flashed back to a happier time, back when he was still a duck and his sister wasn't so power crazy to take over the world. Back in those times, things were happier. He and Magica were just two kids with magical gifts, having fun and laughs.
"Haha!"laughed out a young Magica, her black dress blowing as she ran " You can't catch me Poe."
"Oh yes I can" called her brother, running behind her " just watch!"
"Then things got bad when we were older," thought Poe.
"Marriage?!" called out Poe and Magica in shock when their parents brought them into the house to talk.
"Yes" said Mrs. De Spell " it's an ancient tradition in the De Spell family that the eldest daughter of the De Spell clan, is to marry the eldest brother of the Durmon Clan to make our powers one. As the eldest Magica, this falls as your duty."
"But mother I don't want to marry yet!" complained Magica.
"This is not up for discussion Magica!" demanded Mr. De Spell "You will marry a brother from Durmon, you hear me?"
"Yes father," said Magica dejectedly.
"For a while, she actually seemed to go along with it" thought Poe " until her explosive anger fit destroyed Dad's chemicals and transformed me into a raven, then I knew just how serious her rage was. She needed a loop-hole so I told her how mom and dad really met."
"When Mom was born, she had the fortune of not being the eldest daughter in the De Spell line, and could marry whoever she chose when she came of age. The only catch was, to claim the man she wanted to marry, she must capture what is most valuable to him and have the approval after to make the contract bind."
Magica accepted those terms, and ran away from home to find a mate. Poe, in hopes of getting turned back into a duck again, decided to tag along for the ride.
Years passed, until Magica finally settled down in DuckBurg and set up her volcanic home. She immediately went to town, scouring for men she would like to be with for the rest of her life. None of the candidates around interested her, until one day she got lucky, and bumped into someone who caught her eye. DuckBurg's wealthy, semi-old billionaire Scrooge McDuck.
The attraction was instant, and Magica knew that he was the one she was destined to be with and not a brother from Durmon. All that was left to do was to claim his most valued prize.
"But that's where she failed" thought Poe, turning back to reality " and every time her failure crushes her, she goes stir crazy and tries to take over the world. I'll never be normal again at this rate. If only I could help her steal the dime, but it's forbidden for family to interfere."
Meanwhile, not caring if her brother could notice her brooding mood from his perch, Magica finally stomped out of the lab and entered her room, sighing with defeat.
"I try and try, and what do I get?! Nothing!" she said, taking a seat hard at her bedroom desk.
Carved out of the fine molten rock, this misshapen furniture made a fine desk, and laid out across its surface was a stack of unfinished papers and a pen. The top of the stack of papers clearly read; Blade of McDuck-First Draft.
"Let's see" said Magica, picking up the pen " where did I leave off?"
"Keep screaming my dear!" mocked the villain as he held the wailing Magica by the arms " You know he'll never love you. You're not even worth ten cents to him! Like he would ever spare ten cents to save your miserable life anyway."
"You're wrong!" cried Magica, glaring at the bearded duck " Scrooge cares about me! I know he does! Nothing can change that!"
"The power of money can my dear" claimed Blackgold "already it has his heart trapped. No force on this planet can break it, not even you."
As she wrote in that last sentence, Magica stopped and cried, her eyes welling up with tears. It was true, she could never be lucky enough for love. No matter what she tried, Scrooge would love his money more, and like her less and less.