Chapter Five
MS. SCATTER
After the little outbursts both Lady Hock and Ember Hades had, she was so sure they were going to gripe and complain or harass them with more questions. It was almost surprising how quiet the girls were as they were taken to the East wing. Ms. Scatter couldn't help but be on edge and a little jumpy ready to answer any questions that should fly from their mouths, but none came. Perhaps it was the way Mr. V had tried to explain everything that had set them off in such foul moods. Whatever the reason she was thankful they were more submissive and quieter now. Ms. Villa led the line of girls while Ms. Scatter followed behind to make sure no one tried to wander off or explore on their first night here. From what Ms. Scatter could tell, the girls looked extremely exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep. She could hardly blame them; the poor things probably hadn't had much of a chance to sleep upon arriving here since they all had to come to the Anti-Castle. They all lived in different corners of the Realm and more than likely traveled nonstop, not to mention the high amounts of tension from dinner more than likely zapped them of all their energy too.
"All right, darlings." Ms. Villa hummed as she stopped and turned on her heel as they finally reached the end of the hall. "This is your living area!"
She held her hands out with pride and a big smile, though none of the girls moved to any of the doors and merely looked from one another then back again to Ms. Villa. Her smile quickly turned down into a frown and her hands went to her hips as she looked at the girls. "Well don't just stand there, go check out the rooms!"
When none of the girls moved after being told to explore, Ms. Scatter cleared her throat. "L-Ladies." All eyes turned and looked at her. "Your names are on the doors with which room you are to stay in."
"So, go check out the rooms!" Ms. Villa insisted and crossed her arms. "I put a lot of time and effort into creating those rooms, so I expect good things!"
Ember let out a sigh and snapped her fan shut before walking past all the girls and went to the room with her name on it. The other girls soon followed her lead, though Jamilia seemed to wait behind everyone else before going to her own door. Puckering her lips into a pout Ms. Villa stood beside Ms. Scatter as they watched the girls individually enter their rooms and close the doors behind them. Jamilia was the last one to open her door and smiled broadly at the two female Hosts waiting expectantly. "Thank you so much!" She gave a wave. "And good night!"
She shut the door a little more loudly than she needed to, but it was just enough gratitude to appease Ms. Villa as her pout sprouted into a smile. "Well, at least one of them appreciates their room." She huffed through her nose.
"I'm sure they all like their rooms, Eva." Ashe smiled and nudged her arm. "It is just going to take them a little time getting used to having their own space. Most of them either had to live in a cell, a nunnery, or a shared space. At least give them a week to decide what they do or don't like."
"Fine." She huffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "I'll give them a week, then I expect results!"
She turned on her heel and began walking down the hall while Ms. Scatter made sure to cross off a few things off her list of to-dos. Now that their rather chaotic evening was finally coming to an end, all that was left to do now was meet up with Mr. V and Mr. Po and go over today's events in preparation for tomorrow.
"Ashe," Ms. Villa called over her shoulder as she stood waiting for her at the top of the stairs, "are you coming?"
Her head snapped up and she was surprised to see that Ms. Villa was waiting for her. They had pleasant conversations here and there, as they were the only female Hosts, though she wasn't sure if she could really say they were anything beyond coworkers or acquaintances. "Y-Yes!" She quickly hugged her clipboard to her chest before shuffling quickly along the floor to catch up with Ms. Villa.
"Did you forget something?" She asked casually as Ms. Scatter rejoined her.
"No." She shook her head and grabbed the railing as they made their descent down the stairs. "Just checking off a few things here and there."
"I see." She gave a nod. "Do you think this whole thing will work out in the end?"
"What do you mean?" Scatter frowned as she looked at Villa.
"This whole program that we've got going for these kids." Her hands moved and her bangles jangled as she spoke. "Do you think it will really work?"
"Why wouldn't it?" Ms. Scatter tilted her head to the side.
"Look, Eito and I haven't been given a second chance to go back and fix things from out story." She huffed as she stopped on a stair landing and hugged her arms around her stomach. "With how good we have it here in the Anti-Realm, I don't know if either of us would want to go back and fix our mistakes that brought us here. What makes us think that any of them want to change their lives?"
"If you look into any of their background, there's more to it than you know." Ms. Scatter sighed. "Besides, this is ultimately us just giving them the choice whether or not they want to actually do something with their lives. We won't force them to do anything they don't want to."
"Then what are we doing?" She scoffed and raised a magenta eyebrow over her glasses.
"Giving them a nudge in the right direction and helping them open their eyes to see that there is more to their lives than just doing their Villains' bidding." Ms. Scatter answered confidently. "Whether that is the path they want to walk is their choice in the end."
Ms. Villa studied Ms. Scatter's face for only a moment before humming and turning on her heel to continue their walk down the series of halls to rejoin the men. No more conversation is shared between them as they move forward to catch up with Mr. V and Mr. Po. As they got closer to the meeting point, Ms. Villa suddenly held up her hand to make Ms. Scatter pause and shushed her as they heard the men's hushed voices. Ms. Scatter frowned at this as she saw no need to eavesdrop on their fellow Hosts but decided to remain quiet as Ms. Villa stared at the men.
"They are not their Villains." Mr. V spoke in a hushed voice to Mr. Po. "They have a chance to be different and save their own lives as well as their Villains. It is a good thing that they were so wary and quiet, it means they are observant and are probably very clever."
"I suppose you're right." Mr. Po nodded his head in agreement. "Do you think that Ms. Villa or Ms. Scatter had any problems with the girls?"
Ms. Villa frowned at this and dropped her hand from Ms. Scatter and put it on the railing of the stairs as she went to descend. Ms. Scatter quietly followed her lead and descended the stairs yet again.
"Nothing that they couldn't take care of." Mr. V chuckled. "They are tougher than they look."
"Because we are, gentlemen." Ms. Villa snipped as she and Ms. Scatter stood waiting for them at the base of the stairs. "And it's a good thing to see that one of you recognizes it!"
"I always recognize it, my sweet Eva!" Mr. Po gasped dramatically as he went to her side. She looked like a pleased cat the way the corners of her mouth curled into a smile as Mr. Po wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled into her neck. Ms. Scatter felt her face heat up at the sudden public display of affection and even caught Mr. V grimacing and turning his head away from the sight.
"And don't you forget it." She chuckled and patted his head. "So, did we miss anything?"
MR.V
"Nothing exciting." Mr. V shook his head and rested his hands carefully on his cane. "The boys all went to their rooms calmly and almost excitedly and we came here."
"Pity." Ms. Villa's mouth puckered into a pout.
"But I just know they will all love their rooms, Eva." Mr. Po hummed as he detached himself from her grasp and kept a hand around her waist.
"But of course, they will." She smirked with pride and Mr. V rolled his eyes in response. Their never-ending closeness with one another obviously showed that the two of them were more than friends no matter how much they tried to deny it.
While the two lovebirds cooed and complimented the other, Mr. V turned his head to Ms. Scatter who stood staring out the large circle windows at the never-ending rain outside. She looked exhausted, of course of which Mr. V blamed himself for. He knew that today was going to be exhausting, but he had prepared for it better than she had. Even Ms. Villa and Mr. Po were more ready for today than she was, though she did have much more responsibility than they did. Not only had she been previously employed to them all at one point in time or another, but she also did a lot more groundwork to bring them all together. She was the one that had to get in touch with all of the Villains and cordially request their presence for the whole event to happen this evening. She had been working herself to the bone to arrange it all and make sure that everyone's schedule aligned as well as doing all her other duties here in the Castle. Mr. V wanted nothing more than to reward her with a few weeks of time off so she could recover, but now that all the Recruits were here there was much work to be done.
While Mr. Po and Ms. Villa spoke in hushed voices to one another, Mr. V quietly padded over to Ms. Scatter. "How'd things go on your end?" Mr. V spoke softly so as not to spook her. She still jumped when he spoke, but her glasses still sat straight on his face, so that was good.
"Oh, just fine." She smiled and leaned against the windows. "Lady Hock easily took her room at the end of the hall and the other girls made no complaints about the rooms. I suppose we'll find out more in the morning when they've decided what they do and or do not want. . ."
"Hopefully they'll go to you and not Villa on the matter of what they do or don't like in their rooms." Mr. V chuckled.
"For their sake I hope so." She huffed and threw a glance at Ms. Villa who spoke excitedly to Mr. Po. "I would hate to really have to put up with her should they get too outspoken with the arrangements. Though I do think that is pretty unlikely since Villa does have good taste."
"The only ones that I imagine changing their rooms styles would probably be Lady Hock, Adam, and possibly Dalmatia or Malfie." He gave a shrug and looked down at her. "From what I noticed tonight they'll want a change if things at home aren't necessarily a good situation."
"Yes, I believe you're right." She nodded and quickly scribbled something on her clipboard. "Lady Hock is the most distant of them all, and if our stats are correct, she won't smile until she has made her choice."
"All in good time, Scatter." He smiled down at her. She covered her mouth as a small yawn escaped her. "But for now, I believe that the four of us should also get some rest. The following weeks of giving these Recruits their own happy ending is going to be very tasking."
"Perhaps," Ms. Scatter murmured. "But doesn't that mean it will be all the more worth it?"
"I believe it does, Ms. Scatter." He chuckled. "Since the Original Villains signed the contracts, we can do whatever we need to do to ensure the Recruits will have their own happy endings; whether it works in favor for the Villains or not."
"You played a very dangerous game with the contracts this evening, Mr. V." Ms. Villa clapped her hands as she and Mr. Po walked over to rejoin them in a new conversation. Ms. Scatter being reminded of this endeavor frowned at him.
"Having changed the clause to the contract means that if the Recruits don't make good enough changes, they're stuck where they're at." Mr. Po followed up. "Which means that some of them could never get a true Happy Ending."
"More or less." Mr. V tried to shrug it off, but he had been nervous whenever he had made that agreement. He just needed a lot of them to actually sign the damn contract. "Where the Villains will do whatever necessary to get their own Happy Endings, we shall do whatever necessary to give the Recruits their Happy Endings."
Ms. Scatter merely stared up at him quietly with her head tilted, looking confused.
"Why are you so desperate to help them?" Scatter asked in a voice that was above a whisper. "What you're doing, it goes beyond entertainment. It is actually treacherous in this villainous world."
"Being screwed over by your superiors," Mr. V's grasp tightened on his cane, "is one of the worst things imaginable. Especially when they're a parent figure." He stopped looking at Ms. Scatter and turned his gaze to the giant moon sitting in the window. "I don't know all of their stories. I can compare their lousy sorry stories to mine out of sympathy, but no one wants pity. Especially not them when they've survived this long to build up their own pride. I was beaten, lied to, cheated, used as a pawn, everything imaginable in the book just for Facilier's advantage. I only got lucky because he made a bad deal and is permanently stuck on the Other Side. Even Hades knows better than to mess with certain forces of things."
"Are you trying to be a hero, sir?" Her question finally got him to look at her. Neither Ms. Villa nor Mr. Po said a word as they watched the two.
"A hero?" he chuckled at the thought. "No, not a hero. More like. . . An author, writing a story and seeing his characters through to the end. They've all got blank pages; blank slates. Although they were born into the life of a villain, they are more or less innocent. They've done things here where it doesn't really matter, because it is a world full of evil anyways. They've yet to do anything where they'll get their story written."
"For someone claiming to be an author, you don't get much of your paperwork done," Ms. Scatter pushed her glasses back onto her face. Both Ms. Villa and Mr. Po snorted and chuckled at this and earned a quick glare from Mr. V.
"And for an assistant I have to help you more than you me." He smirked and her cheeks burned red. He couldn't help but smirk at the cute face she was making.
"I always do my best!" She harped and clutched her clipboard. "If you thought I was too much work, why did you hire me?"
"Because you always do your best." He smirked at her and her face burned a deeper shade of red. "Also, you were cheap to hire since you would do anything to get a job."
She frowned at this and clenched her clipboard tighter. "And in the process, I promised a life of servitude to you," She sighed. "Though, I suppose it is better off this way since all of my previous employers that we're here this evening could tell you why they fired me. . ."
Mr. Po stood with wide eyes, "Wait, they all hired you at one point?"
"You can't be serious!" Ms. Villa scoffed. "Even Hades?"
"I let too many souls in at once when Chiron went on vacation and there was such an overflow that Hades fell into the pool of them by merely stepping out of his own room."
"Frollo?" Mr. Po blinked in disbelief.
"He wasn't too fond of competent women organizing his plans." Her cheeks puffed up in her agitation. "He also didn't want a woman being seen with him everywhere he went."
"His loss." Mr. V shrugged. He was a monk or something like that, it's not like he could particularly have a woman anyways.
"Scar?" Mr. Po continued.
"Ugh, the hyenas always made fun of me." Her cheeks flushed pink. "In bringing him his dinner I tripped, and it fell in one of the geysers he always takes a nap and . . . He was bald for a few weeks."
"Jafar?" Ms. Villa raised an eyebrow.
"I failed to get the magic lamp." Scatter sighed as she looked at the two ready to answer their questions as quickly as they came.
Ms. Villa scoffed, "Cruella?"
"I was not killing puppies just so she could have a new coat!" Ms. Scatter stomped her foot and looked between the two questioning her.
"Fair enough." She nodded easily enough. "Maleficent?"
"I got lost in the woods and led prince Philip to where Aurora was dancing." She heaved a heavy sigh.
"Hook." Mr. Po asked.
"I couldn't capture Peter Pan, and after Tiger Lily I had no qualms about being let go. . ."
"Queen of Hearts?" Ms. Villa spouted.
"Interestingly enough I was an intern for the role of the White Rabbit." Ms. Scatter rolled her eyes. "That stupid rabbit forgets everything! It is no wonder he's always late!"
"So not for the Queen of Hearts?" Mr. Po questioned.
"No, I still worked for the Queen of Hearts," she shook her head. "I was just interning under the White Rabbit. . ."
"Then what happened then?" Ms. Villa practically stood in her face to hear more.
Ms. Scatter quickly looked away with a deep red blush on her face. " . . . I dropped her plate of tarts."
"There is no way you actually worked for the Evil Queen." Ms. Villa shook her head in disbelief.
"Queen of jealous youth and beauty disliked me for my youth, and because I helped the huntsman find a way out of killing Snow White. . ." She sighed and turned her gaze to the floor.
Mr. Po let out a long and low whistle. "No wonder you were terrified this evening. You should have told us sooner."
"And have you handled the whole business proposition alone?" She gasped with a glare. Mr. V already did that most of the time to begin with, but for some reason she must not have seen it that way. "I would never abandon my position out of the fear I had for my previous employers!"
"All right friends, that is enough." Mr. V broke in and looked at the other two. "I think you've questioned her enough about her previous employment."
"You knew already?" Ms. Villa shook her head in disbelief at him. "And you still chose to put her up there with the rest of us and expose her?"
"It was my own choice." Ms. Scatter snapped and made Ms. Villa takes a step back in surprise.
"Well, that is very admirable of you, Ms. Scatter." Mr. V smiled down at her and patted her shoulder. "I look forward to keeping you on staff." A yawn escaped him. "Now, how about we go and get some sleep? Tomorrow is going to be a long day."
"Yes, I think we all need to get some rest." Ms. Scatter nodded her head with her own yawn. "I'll see you all in the morning."
"Beauty rest does sound good right about now." Ms. Villa fluffed up the ends of her hair before popping a quick kiss on Mr. Po's cheek. "See you in the morning, Eugene!"
She turned on her heel and quickly rejoined Ms. Scatter so that they could walk to the East Wing together. With a huge smile on his face, Mr. Po turned to leave to go to the West Wing when he stopped and looked to Mr. V. "Aren't you coming to bed, Mr. V?"
"I will in a little bit." He shrugged and waved his friend on. "I have some paperwork that I need to finish this evening or Scatter will kill me."
"You really shouldn't bog her down in so much work, Mr. V." Mr. Po lightly scolded. "She already has quite a lot on her plate before we ask her for help on things."
"It's why I'm going to work on things now, Mr. Po." He chuckled lightly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "I do try to take some of her workload off her shoulders."
"Well, don't be up too late, Mr. V." He let out a huge yawn before climbing the stairs.
Mr. V waved goodbye as his fellow Host walked off. He waited until he was completely gone before he returned to his elevator and returned to his office.
The foyer room had high ceilings and indigo and blood red swirling Flore de leaf designs. It was rather ominous but it had it's inviting qualities thanks to Ms. Scatter's desk. Her desk literally lit up the place with the most positive warm lamp light on her desk. It was white, six feet long with many series of drawers underneath it, and covered in an organized chaos of papers. Matching white filing cabinets surrounding her desk area with just as many files stacked on top of them. Ms. Scatter most definitely lived up to her name, scattered work, scatterbrained, even scatter organized. He merely sighed and shook his head. She left her light on again. He went over to turn the light off, but thought better of it and went to his own office instead.
The large double doors stood looming above him but opened nice and gently at the tapping of his cane. He strode into his dark office that came alight with a snap of his finger. The fire came alive in the fireplace, the lamps in the corners were gently alight to provide the perfect mood light. He crossed the long room humming a little tune and proceeded to go to his own filing cabinets. He went to the second drawer that was labeled: "RECRUITS".
Author's Note:
Thank you so much for reading, I hope you're enjoying the story so far!
Please remember to leave a comment or review to tell me what you think!
Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!
Ko-fi/SarahtheWriter.