Note: Forgot to upload this last week. Oops. ^^;
"She's not going anywhere," Gladstone snapped at his uncle. Mrs. Beakley was in the room too and her eyes narrowed. She could speak, albeit sparingly, and she disapproved. As far as she was concerned, Magica was a flight risk. Not literally-the woman wouldn't be able to shift into a dragon and take off. Without part of her tail, she'd be rudderless.
"She shouldn't be outside, regardless," Scrooge retorted. "She's an attempted murderer, not to mention her other crimes. I don't want her to Bond with you until she's healthy enough to do so and she's not doing anything other than Bonding with you until she's healed. She can stay in the dungeon."
"You're being cruel."
"You seem to forget that she intended to give her niece a grand mal seizure," Scrooge growled. "Let me refresh your memory. She wanted both Lena and Webby dead, as well as plotting against your second cousins, Donald's nephews and my great-nephews. She is a liability at best, Gladstone. At best."
"So she has problems with priorities. I can talk to her."
"We're far beyond the talking phase, lad. I cannot trust her outside of the dungeon without her magic dampened and weak."
"What do you think she'd do if she got free? I'm her last hope!"
"Finish what she started. She has a mental connection to Lena. She wants to be rid of the lass."
He fixed his nephew a stern look. "Would you defend her so virulently if she had successfully killed her niece? Are you that addled?"
"She wouldn't have killed her," Gladstone said and Scrooge scoffed.
"You are that deluded," he said and waved his hand dismissively. "She may make an exception for you, but Magica de Spell has a dark heart and darker ambitions. You cannae trust her as far as you can throw her. She would have killed Lena and then kept on until she achieved her goals."
"She's not a murderer."
"Just because she hasn't killed anyone that you know of doesn't mean she is not a murderer!" he retorted.
"She was desperate," he said, switching tactics. "She didn't have a choice. She wouldn't have-"
"She didnae have a choice?" Scrooge repeated. "I don't care if it was between her falling to her death or killing Lena-anyone who cares at all about children would have rather died than murder a child!"
Gladstone's back was against the proverbial wall and Mrs. Beakley could see he was having a hard time suppressing his anger. His eyes flashed draconic gold and his tail materialized to whip through the air. His hands had elongated into dragon footpads and talons. Perhaps he was so defensive because he realized Magica was indefensible. Or because he feared what Scrooge was saying was true and the woman he loved was a monster.
"You don't understand her the way I do," he persisted.
"Aye, lad, I don't, and I'm glad for it," he said, cold and disdainful. "I am not letting her out of the dungeon. That's final. You want to Bond with her, you have my gratitude. But I cannae countenance her freely moving about the manor."
"What if I can prove she won't hurt anyone?" he begged.
"You cannae prove it to my satisfaction. This conversation is finished."
Gladstone hissed, his tongue flicking out of his mouth forked. Mrs. Beakley snorted and he glowered at her. Say what you want about her romantic proclivities, at least she hadn't fallen for a psychopath. And she never would have tolerated Bonding with someone who was clearly insane. True, she hadn't Bonded at all, because she'd never met anyone compatible with her, though that hadn't stopped her from having Wren. Bonding was such a commitment that she had a difficult time understanding why someone so impudent, pompous, vainglorious, and frivolous would enter into a Bond willingly. Moreover, why someone would choose to mate with him. Then again, Magica was mad.
"Then I'll stay in the dungeon near her," he proposed and Scrooge snorted.
"It's your funeral."
Gladstone growled, leaving the room. Mrs. Beakley half expected him to stomp his feet like a petulant child. As he left, Scrooge glanced at her. She had her arms folded across her chest and shook her head at the foolish, brazen young man. Once he had gone, she shut the door behind him and then locked it for good measure.
"Why would anyone in their right mind Bond with that lunatic?" Scrooge demanded.
"I'd say she cast a spell on him, but that's clearly not it," she whispered. She massaged her throat. Cal had ordered her to speak as little as possible; it seemed to defy medical orders ran in the family. She'd been furious to discover Webby's mouth full of blood after she'd exacerbated her injury. Of course, she understood why she'd done it-she needed to have a talk with Lena herself. They were too stubborn for their own good.
"No, that's not it. Damn, it'd be so much easier to rid ourselves of Magica if no one had any defense for her. I still dinnae know why he has one."
"We could cast a spell ourselves," she suggested and he scoffed.
"I dinnae want to use more magic than I have to. You know how I feel about magic, all kinds of it. I had no choice when I fought Magica, but that's different."
She nodded, although she thought spying on Magica and discerning her true relationship with Gladstone had merit. Perhaps there was a way to accomplish it behind Scrooge's back. After all, he didn't always know what was best for the situation. And she needed all the information she could get about Magica. She remained incensed over her behavior, though she kept a civil tongue around Scrooge.
"How is Webbigail?" he asked, shifting gears and startling her.
"She had to have another magical surgery." She shook her head. "She was being reckless."
"I wonder where that comes from," he smirked.
Rolling her eyes at him, she glanced back at the door.
"If you want to go check on her, go ahead," he said.
"She's been sticking to Lena," Mrs. Beakley said, shaking her head.
"I need to have a chat with that lass. She may not want to stay in McDragon Manor and we cannae let her leave. If she leaves, Magica's power over her will return."
Mrs. Beakley scowled. That sounded like something he shouldn't be keeping to himself. Then again, if he intended to confront Lena himself, she supposed he had better tell her. Perhaps something of this showed in her face because he shrank back. Despite being her employer, he feared her and rightfully so.
"I'll go find the lass," he said. "We might as well go together; they're bound to be in the same place."
While she had Webby, she might as well give her a lecture about not agitating open wounds, not to mention attacking someone much more powerful than her and biting down on their tail. Webby could have taken Magica, Mrs. Beakley had no doubt about that, but she shouldn't have attacked what was obviously a well-fortified part of her body.
Still, she wouldn't have been part of the family if she hadn't been stubborn, especially about protecting what she perceived as hers.
Half awake, Webby nuzzled Lena. She refused to let her out of her sight, except when absolutely necessary. Dewey was on Webby's other side with his arm slung over her waist. She could feel his heartbeat against her back, though that might've been her imagination. Even half-awake, she wanted to Bond with Lena so badly that her heart ached with desire. If Magica dared to attack Lena again, Webby would know as soon as it happened and put a stop to it.
"I love you…" she whispered to Lena. She shouldn't be talking at all, truth be told. Cal would be unhappy if he found out, but she had to tell her. She squeezed Dewey's hand and then nuzzled Lena again.
Lena shushed her. "You shouldn't be talking and you know it, Webs."
After a moment, she relented. "I love you too."
She pulled Webby in closer to her, which forced Dewey to either relinquish his grasp on her or shift closer himself. He chose the latter and she was sandwiched perfectly between them. Shutting her eyes, she intertwined her fingers with Dewey and Lena. Lena nuzzled her back and their lips brushed.
The door creaked open and Webby was too tired to lift her head.
"Maybe we should let them rest," Scrooge said. "They've had a trying day."
"We'll come back later," Mrs. Beakley agreed, her voice raspy. It was enough to jolt Webby awake completely and she glanced around her. She sat upright.
"Granny?" she called.
"Go to sleep," she replied. Lena and Dewey shifted, although Dewey looked disinclined to move anywhere. And Louie was the lazy one? Hmph.
"But you can talk! And you're out of bed!" Webby exclaimed.
"And you shouldn't be talking. Nor should you be leaving bed."
Abashed, Webby lay back down. Perhaps to help take the sting out of her grandmother's words, Lena caressed Webby's cheek. She could almost feel Lena's regard for her, even if she couldn't share in it through the Bond. It could've been a reflection for how deeply Webby felt for her. Although, if Lena had endured all that for her, she must love her a great deal.
"We'll talk with you in the morning," Scrooge promised. "Sleep well, sweet dreams, lassies. And lad."
Dewey huffed and then stroked Webby's hair. Webby's eyelids fluttered shut again and this time, she felt herself slipping into sleep. She was too warm and felt too safe to fight it any longer.
"I love you too," Dewey whispered in her ear.
Webby smiled. She was loved and that was all that mattered right now. She was loved and the two people she loved most in the world were never leaving her side. All was right with the world.