A/N- Okay, thanks for the reviews! I hope it's picking up for all of you! Here's chapter 2!

Chapter 2- A Deal with the Duck

If Gosalyn could have betted on her supposed feelings on the two weeks with her grandfather, she could've been a millionaire. It was going to be a long two weeks.

But it wasn't because she was bored. Far from it. The large, old castle had many rooms filled with many magical items in it. And almost every night, Moloculo had one or more of his extended relatives over for dinner--of which, Gosalyn was never allowed to attend the first few minutes of. Moloculo probably didn't want his new grandchild to see him feed himself on blood. Gosalyn didn't argue, even though she knew that it wouldn't have bothered her. A life full of horror films had saved her stomach any future queasiness at the sight of blood.

No, none of that was the reason that the weeks were going to seem especially extended. There was only one reason. Negaduck. It was too awkward for the duck she hated the most to be staying in the room right next to hers. But the it didn't end there. They couldn't even be in the same room as one another, though this was not her doing. Every time she would enter a room he just happened to be in, he would dash out. It was as if her very presence irritated him.

The thought of all of this was still with Gosalyn as she decided to explore the basement on her fourth evening of being at Castle MaCawber. She quietly descended the dank, dark stairs to the bottommost floor. Upon reaching the bottom step, a musky odor hit her. She flicked on the flashlight she had carried with her and looked around.

On first sight, there was nothing much to see. Doors leading to rooms she had never been into lined the walls. The floor was earthen. However, as she began to take her first step down the dark corridor, she heard the sound of a door--somewhere off in the dark--open slowly with a drawn out creak. But just as quickly as it opened, it slammed shut.

"Weird," Gosalyn muttered aloud.

…………………

"What's she doing down here?" Negaduck muttered as he leaned heavily upon the door.

He had come down here to pickle some particularly nasty little creatures for Grandmamma's--as they all called the old witch that was Moloculo's mother--potions. He had just finished when he had opened the door and caught sight of her flashlight. He had immediately closed himself back up in the room.

He had been running from her for as long as she been there. He couldn't stand to face her. Not her. But there she was, standing right at the end of Moloculo MaCawber's basement. There was no other way out this time. He had to confront her.

Never, not in his entire life, could Negaduck remember doing anything as remotely hard as what he was about to do. Well, the night he came to Morgana came close but still... not close enough. He took a deep breath, exhaled it, then opened the door.

…………………

The door opened again. Then, again, it shut, but not as hard as it had before. Gosalyn, who was not easily scared, held her flashlight high and began her trek down the dark corridor. Of course, just because she wasn't scared didn't mean that she wasn't cautious. Her walk was slow. Suddenly, she heard a squeak rise from the floor. She quickly directed the beam of her light toward the source of the sound. She found that she had stepped on a small mouse's tail. She sighed and redirected the light in front of her.

There was somebody standing a little more than an arm's length from her! She gave a small, short-lived scream of shock and dropped the light. When the light rose again, it was not Gosalyn that held it. It was Negaduck.

He wasn't as tall as she remembered him being. Of course, she had grown quite a bit since the last time she'd seen him. In her darkest memories, he had towered over her; however, he now was just an inch or two taller. He turned the handle of the light toward her and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you."

This shocked Gosalyn more than his unexpected appearance. She took the flashlight from him and lowed the beam slightly, so that it wouldn't shine in his eyes.

"What are you doing down here?" she asked.

"I was pickling some things for Grandmamma--you know, Moloculo's mother. What are you doing down here?" he replied.

"Exploring the castle… what I've been doing all week."

An awkward silence fell between the two. Gosalyn shuffled her feet a bit, which kicked some dirt up on her sneaker. Finally, Negaduck spoke.

"Well, I… I should go."

He pushed quickly pass her. We can't keep doing this, Gosalyn thought.

"Wait! Negaduck!" she called.

She caught up with him half-way up the stairs. He turned and said, rather gruffly, "What?"

"Look," Gosalyn said, "we can't keep avoiding one another, not if we want to live in peace for the rest of the time I'll be here. So, I propose a deal."

He raised an eyebrow. "A deal?"

"Yes. Now, you know why I don't like you, and I don't know why you don't like me. But I don't care. I say we act as though the past never happened. Grandfather is always saying that my exploration of his home is dangerous because he has a lot of dangerous things here. But you've been here for a while. I bet you know what will hurt me and what won't."

"And your deal is…?"

"My deal is that we act as though we were friends. You show me around the house, and in return, well… I don't know what I can do for you. But if we think of something, that'll be in return. Basically, we'll be civil to one another," Gosalyn held out her hand, ready to shake Negaduck's. "Deal?"

Negaduck stared at her hand. He seemed to be considering something. With a great effort, or so it seemed, he took Gosalyn's hand and shook it.

"Deal," he said.

End Notes: There! I'm very pleased with this. Thanks for the reviews and your patience. Oh, and a special thanks to Bride of Basil. She emailed me to ask for this update, which is the first time anything like that has ever happened. I encourage all my reviewers, if you really like a story and want an update, to email me. Please, put the title of my story in the subject section of the email like she did so I don't delete it. Thanks again to Bride of Basil. Please R & R! Thanks!