Chapter Sixteen
MS. VILLA
Sewing books surrounded Eva as she attempted to draft a few patterns for a new villainous dress that would make great profit on the surface above. The papers on her desk had new and chichi designs and were meant to catch the eye of someone of good taste, but nothing was speaking to her begging to be made. Eva Villa had locked herself away in her sewing room to accomplish something, to create something majestic, and to avoid getting involved in something between her coworkers. As much as she tried to persuade herself to work, she could not stop her thoughts from drifting to Ashe Scatter and what she could possibly wear for the evening. She couldn't help but fret over what Ashe would decide to wear for the evening. Mr. V could say that it was a formal business matter all he wanted, but Ms. Villa knew better. She had seen the looks they shared and the ones they never saw each other giving the other. Eva understood why Mr. V was hesitant other than the obvious reason of Ashe being an employee and coworker, but she hadn't figured out why Ashe didn't act out on any notion.
Eva had managed to get the unrequited love story from Eito when he took Mr. V out for drinks, unknowingly on the anniversary of Princess Tiana's wedding. With Mr. V being Dr. Facilier's recruit ages ago, he grew up with Tiana and developed a crush that never saw the light of day again. After sealing Dr. Facilier away with his Friends on the Other Side and being the best man at Tiana's wedding he never looked back and devoted all his time and efforts into creating a program for other Recruits like himself. It was admirable what he was doing with the program, she would never deny that especially with the way it has already affected so many of the Recruits, however Eva saw that he used the Recruit Program as a way of avoiding emotional healing. He worked late, over-caffeinated, and even avoided sleeping, even though it added to his villainous dark circle look that it was hindering the healing process.
When it came to Ashe, though, she had no idea what to make of her. Scatter was her name, but organized was her game. She was scatterbrained occasionally, but that had to do with the massive workload that she took on and gave to herself. She purposely took on strange tasks outside of her field and was a wildcard as well as a jack-of-all trades, but she was far from scatterbrained. Interestingly enough, Ashe was perhaps even more secretive than Mr. V, especially as of late it seemed as though her secrets were bubbling out and she wasn't able to be as scatterbrained as she pretended to be. It only intrigued Eva more and made her want to dig into the seams of everything and discover those secrets. Although Eva has tried, and miserably failed, over the years to get to know Ashe and befriend her, Ashe always kept it as business professional as possible. It was only as of late that she had let her guard down and was slowly opening up to her. Not to mention there was Varuo to always act as a safety net as well as a barrier between them.
Eva pouted and clicked the end of her pen against her desk as she looked down hopelessly at her drafts that would not become anything today. She slapped her sketchbook closed and flopped over it with a groan. For all she knew she could be over eager in seeing something blossom between the two and it really was just a business night out; but she hated to think that way. "You just need to stop Eva." She scolded herself as she took her glasses off with one hand and ran her other hand through her hair. "You don't need to go making something out of nothing. . ."
As much as she tried to avoid it and be better, Eva always had a knack for blowing things out of proportion and making things worse. When it came to her designs and sewing and creating it was perfectly fine, some of her greatest works came from blowing things up as much as she could; however, it always cost her greatly when it came to things going on in her life. She lost one great lifelong friendship because of it and she hated the idea of repeating her mistake, especially when she didn't have a strong friendship with Ashe outside of work. Ashe always had a wall put up so there could never be a more intimate friendship between them outside of work and she was always quick to run away or have something to do that conveniently kept her from participating in anything with Eva.
With a groan she slapped her hands on the table and pushed herself to a stand. She couldn't just sit here and do nothing. It was doing nothing that allowed her mind to drift and wander and avoid focusing on her tasks at hand. She walked deeper into her sewing room to look for something, anything to do to keep her hands busy so her mind wouldn't be as busy. She had plenty of sewing projects she could do, anything from connecting sleeves to shirts and coats to embroidering – all of which she was not interested in doing or she had to wait on Eito to do his part before she could touch them. She had a whole pinboard of projects she could start, everything from winter capes to raincoats, to the popular minimalist wallets and large purses and handbags – all of which seemed a little too daunting to attempt with her severe lack of inspiration. She made two laps around the room, looked through her drawers for a pattern to cut out and sew, but nothing, positively absolutely nothing spoke to her or sparked an interest in her. Her mind was too strong for her own good and kept thinking about what Ashe would end up wearing for the evening. "God forbid she wear a pencil suit!" She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. It would be the very thing she would do because it was practical, and she would treat it like the special occasion that it was.
"I can't!" She screeched, nearly pulling her head out. "I can't do it. I can't let her wear a pencil suit for this evening! Especially not to the House of Mouse!"
Before she could reconsider anything, she burst from her office and bolted down the hall. She was sure that she ran into Eito, who more than likely had their luxurious dinner in hand for her, but she could not stop, she had to make sure that Ashe was at least appropriately dressed to go to the House of Mouse if she wasn't going to treat this like a date!
ASHE SCATTER
After a long day of cutting through paperwork and managing a few things until her tasks were done, Ashe was in her room sifting through her closet. A mountain of clothes had miraculously piled up in the chaos of picking out a dress or just an outfit for the evening with Mr. V. She turned and looked at the pile that was continuously growing and she wanted to go through and organize it. How is it that she had so many clothes and didn't have anything to wear for the night? "What am I doing?" Ashe shook her head as she bent down and picked up the clothing one piece at a time. "It is just a night out with Mr. V."
She huffed as she hung up the dresses again. No matter how much she tried to remind herself that it was for business purposes, there was something within her that couldn't help but be excited for a night out. Her cheeks felt warm and she chewed on the inside of her cheek. "It is not a date," She heaved a sigh as she closed her closet behind her and slid down the doors. "I shouldn't be this nervous. . ." She sighed as she pushed herself to stand. "But I also shouldn't be this excited. . ."
It had been more than a few months since she actually decided to just go out into town. Not for any particular reason other than she got tired of dealing with the lowly street rat villains and riffraff that had no class and skulked around each corner for a chance to jump her. With everything she ever needed or ever wanted was already here in the Anti-Castle; yet she was still so excited to be stealing an evening away with Mr. V. Ashe had to admit that once she got over his irritating teasing and flamboyant flirtations throughout their time working together, he was actually a charming man who would more than likely know how to provide for a very entertaining evening. From her own knowledge she had not known him to be a man who knew many women, but then again, she had no idea what his true history was. That thought was very intimidating for her and she could not help but judge every inch of her in the mirror.
Sighing in defeat at the pile of clothes before her, she looked in the mirror and hoped it would be adequate enough to go to the House of Mouse. Her nose wrinkled in a grimace as she looked at her current attire. She looked like an uptight businesswoman, which essentially just made her look twenty years older than her true age. She frowned as she turned her head from side to side, hoping that it didn't look so bad from a different angle. Her long black hair was spun up in a tight bun on the back of her head with no fly-aways or baby hairs out of place. She wore the red cat eyed glasses to make her look more sophisticated and proper, but now that she looked at herself, she felt overly firm and prude in them. Her bland and simple gray suit skirt and blazer gave her edges instead of curves, and the white button up underneath was buttoned up all the way to her neck. Even her black pumps, though practical for her profession, shouted boring and old. Feeling suddenly claustrophobic, she unbuttoned the first two buttons of her shirt and took a long slow breath.
For as much as she dressed like an old woman, she could at least smile at her flawless and wrinkle free skin. She drank plenty of water and took great care in her diet and bathing. She did not necessarily have a skin care treatment, she just used a bar of soap and water every morning when she woke up and every night before she went to bed. Still, to think she had gotten that complacent about her wardrobe.
"What's wrong, beautiful?" Varuo purred as he rubbed his back on her calves. Ashe froze and looked down at her feline companion. "I could feel your anxious tension all the way from the foyer."
"I didn't think it was that bad. . ." She sighed as she scooped him up and flopped onto her bed. She aligned him on her stomach and petted and rubbed him down to earn that kitten smile and loud purring. For as big and bad and tough as he always liked to act around others, it always brought a smile to her face that she could always make Varuo act like this.
"I know what you're trying to do," he purred as he loved the attention, "but it is not going to distract me, Ashe."
She chuckled as she scratched underneath his chin, "If I do this long enough, it will."
"Actually, you won't." He chuckled darkly and Ashe caught sight of that mischievous look in his eyes.
"What have you plotted?" Ashe frowned and looked at him.
"I have plotted nothing." His tail wagged happily. "However, one of your fellow Hosts has."
"Fellow Host?" She blinked in confusion at her cat only to whip her head around at the loud thundering footsteps running down the hall. The footsteps were quickly followed by demanding knocks at her door.
"Ashe Scatter!" It was Eva. "Ashe Scatter, let me in right now!"
"Eva?" Ashe's brow furrowed as she stood from her bed.
"Yes, now let me in woman!" Eva snapped and knocked even louder. "So help me I will break this door down if I have to!"
"I'm coming." Ashe scurried over to the door and unlocked it. Before Ashe could reconsider her choice to hide the pile of clothes she had on the floor, Eva threw open the door and burst through the room. Her hands latched hold of Ashe's shoulders and there was a crazed look in her eyes as she nearly tackled her to the ground.
"What are you wearing?" She demanded, her green framed glasses nearly falling off her face.
"What?" Ashe could hardly process this as she struggled to keep herself upright. Had Eva always been this strong?
"What are you wearing to the House of Mouse?" Eva took a step back and gave Ashe a disapproving look. "Don't tell me you were planning to wear this."
"No." Ashe pulled at the end of her suit coat as she frowned at Eva. "I was in the process of deciding on something for the evening." Eva raised an eyebrow at her before walking around her and going to the giant pile of clothes on the floor. Instant shame and embarrassment filled her as she realized that her room was not as clean and pristine as it normally was, and this made a terrible first impression for Eva's first visit in her room.
"So I can see." Eva mused as she pulled up a few articles of clothing, examined them with a frown before putting them back on a hanger and picking up the next one. "You certainly have more options than I thought."
"I beg your pardon?" She wasn't sure whether she should be offended or not.
"Please, Ashe," Eva snorted and looked at her over her classes. "You have more pencil suits than I have pencils at my desk. I assumed you only wore pencil suits."
Ashe's cheeks burned at the statement, but Eva turned and continued sifting through the closet. Varuo sat on the bed, his tail flicking and a smile of amusement on his face and looked back at Ashe. "She's got a few more options in the back of the closet." He called out and Eva jumped.
"Varuo?" Eva looked from the cat to the closet. "The closet you say?" Following the instruction, Eva went over to the closet and threw open the doors to be greeted by a sparkling black hole. "What in the –"
"I don't think you should go in there!" Ashe sprinted across the room and tried to quickly close the doors behind her. "If you go in there you won't come out by the end of the night."
Eva looked around her and tried to reach out and open the door again. "What is that?"
"My closet." Ashe said quickly with a guilty smile.
"That was not a closet." Eva shook her head and put her hands on her hips. "It was more like a black hole that would take me to space!"
"It's not that drastic." Ashe snorted a laugh. "It's just an enlargement spell I put on the closet so I had optimal space to put everything I own in here."
"An enlargement spell?" Eva's mouth gaped a little as she looked at Ashe. "How much do you own that you would need for such an elaborate enlargement spell?"
Trying to explain to Eva that after being employed by each of the ten Villains for long periods of time and how she had accumulated so much was not something Ashe really wanted to get into at the moment. If she did that would not only expose how long she worked with each Villain, but how old she was as well. Though time flowed differently in the Anti-Realm anyway, she didn't need to have more of her past and mentions of Fantasia being brought up again.
"We've been around the block a few times." Varuo stretched with a yawn and stood on his paws. "We've gained a bit of stuff over the years."
"Do tell." Eva turned and smirked at the cat. "It sounds like there is plenty of history to learn here."
Varuo's ear twitched but he didn't look at Ashe. He knew all to well how curious and persistent Eva could be and that there would be no end to her questions once she started. "It will have to wait for another time."
"You can't leave me hanging like that." Eva frowned and walked over to the cat. "You have to give me something."
"I will." Varuo hopped off the bed and walked right past her. "I will give you an outfit for Ashe here up to give you a peace of mind on what she'll wear for the evening."
Ashe's cheeks burned again. "Varuo!"
The cat merely stuck out his tongue before dissolving into the doors of the closet and disappearing. Now that the two female Hosts were alone, Eva put her hands on her hips and looked around the room. "I assume your room is not normally this chaotic." She smiled playfully at Ashe. "Or is our little organized Ashe Scatter really this messy?"
"Take that back!" Ashe threw a pillow at her. "I just got a little anxious about tonight and couldn't find anything to wear."
"You have plenty." Eva snorted as she bent down and picked up a collared shirt and placed it on the hanger. "You have enough here to where you wouldn't have to wear a pencil suit again."
"But most of that isn't business appropriate." Ashe snapped as she put clothes on their proper hangers.
"Oh please, we're more business casual than business formal." Eva rolled her eyes as she stacked a pile of shirts on the bed. As the two worked there were neat piles of skirts, suit coats, suit pants, shirts, and even dresses waiting to be returned to the closet. "I can't believe you have this many options and you still choose your pencil suits." Eva tutted as she moved some of the clothes over to sit on the bed. "I mean really, you should broaden your daily selection a little more."
"I'll leave the fashion designing and wearing to you." Ashe huffed as she sat in her vanity stool. "You leave all the organizing and paperwork to me."
"Does that mean I can design you from time to time?" A cheeky grin and a wiggle of her eyebrows meant that Eva was already plotting something.
"I'll think about it." Ashe laughed lightly. "We'll see how tonight goes."
"I'll hold you to that." She pointed a warning finger at Ashe. She was always good on her word and Eva would follow through with it whether tonight truly went well or not. Thinking about the evening out with Mr. V only brought the nerves back to Ashe and she gripped her knees to calm down. As Ashe's eyes turned down towards the carpeted floor, Eva tilted her head as she watched her. "Ashe, dear," Eva stood up and walked over to her. "What are you so anxious about?"
Ashe kept her eyes glued to the floor and gripped her knees tighter. Had she been that obvious? There was a tightness in her chest that made her wonder if she was too excited for this evening and was much more foolish than she realized. "You'll laugh." Her voice wobbled as she forced a laugh.
"Ashe, there is a chance that I will." Eva shrugged as she sat at the end of the bed and looked at her. "But I am your friend, though we're not particularly close. I can sense when something is wrong." Eva reached out her gloved hand and gave Ashe a reassuring squeeze. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Ashe slowly raised her head and met Eva's gaze. "But something tells me that if you don't tell me that this will eat at you."
Ashe chewed her lip and took the time to seriously debate whether or not to tell Eva anything. This was the sort of thing she would normally talk out with Varuo, they've been together for so long that there was little judgment passed between them. With Eva, she was a coworker, a fellow Host; it just didn't sit right with her to tell her. However, there was an earnest and sincere look on Eva's face that Ashe had never seen before and she felt as though she could tell her a little something. "What I have to say is highly unprofessional." Ashe gulped a nervous laugh down. "I worry how you shall look at me if I do say anything."
"Come now, dear." Eva cupped Ashe's face in her hand. "It's just us girls here, you won't have to worry about silly things like that."
Ashe studied Eva's face, looking for any trace or sign that this was all an elaborate ruse to get information out of her before giving a nod of her head. "I'm so nervous about this evening,"
Ashe chuckled and ran a hand through her hair, "I feel like a teenager again."
Eva tilted her head to the side, "You mean your date with Valentino?"
"D-D-Don't call it a d-d-d-d-d-ate!" She felt her face flush and wondered if she was steaming yet.
"Careful there, Ashe." Eva teased and pinched her cheek. "If you get any redder you might just burn a hole through the floor."
Ashe yelped as she quickly hopped off the chair, seriously worried if she had burned a hole through the floor. As of late she found that if she did not focus on being calm and her emotions got out of hand, whatever she touched would suddenly catch aflame. She's already burned through a few blankets and a few patches in the floor, which is why her room had to be moved around recently. "I'm just kidding, Ashe." Eva laughed at her and earned a glare from Ashe. "But seriously Ashe, you need to calm down, this really isn't anything to be so nervous over."
"Easy for you to say," she huffed and found another article of clothing on the floor. "You have Eito, you don't have a reason to be nervous."
"Perhaps." Eva gave a one shoulder shrug. "I still understand what it means to be nervous when you're excited for something." She looked at the small piles of clothes on the floor and a few articles of clothing just lying about the dresser and vanity. "You still haven't picked out your outfit it appears."
A nervous laugh escaped her as she grimaced, "A tad bit obvious, isn't it?" She snorted.
"Well, stop your whining." Eva smiled and clapped her hands to her hips. "We will clean this mess up and I'll pick out your outfit."
Ms. Scatter could only blink at her, she could not tell if she were being serious or not. Although Eva was the fashionista of the Anti-Castle and the number one designer in all of the Anti-Realm, her tastes were a bit more lavish than what Ms. Scatter would feel comfortable wearing. She gulped and tried to keep a polite smile on her face, "You can't be serious."
"Did I stutter?" She narrowed her eyes, and she straightened herself up. "Get this room cleaned and looking more like Ashe Scatter's room and not some child's room!"
Without hesitation this time Scatter jumped up and ran around the room picking up everything that she had dropped. Although Eva had said they would work on it together, Scatter ended up taking more things and putting them away while Eva sat on the bed watching. While she ran around the room trying to organize the mess she had made, she had not heard Varuo return from the depths of her closet until Eva let out a gasp. "What?" Scatter turned around so fast her glasses nearly fell from her face.
"I knew you were holding out on me!" Eva said indignantly as she held the dress up and looked over the fabric.
A sense of dread filled Scatter as she recognized that rich midnight blue satin dress. "The dress from runway night with Cruella?"
"Ashe, darling, why have you been hiding this?" Eva gawked at the fabric and murmured about how exquisite it was.
Ashe had earned it in a strange matter of events for being the model for the dress and Cruella could not be bothered to take it back as it did not fit her thin frame. Drawn like a moth to a flame, she joined Eva and touched the dress. It was cool and smooth to the touch. "You can't be serious."
Varuo proudly stuck his nose in the air, "I picked it out, didn't I?"
"You picked this out and you let her dress like that?" Eva raised a brow at the cat as she gestured to all of Ashe.
"She had her own free liberties in her dress." Varuo said with a shrug. "I make no claim to those."
Ignoring that comment, Ashe pursed her lips as Eva held the dress against her and turned her to look in the mirror. "You don't think it's too much?"
"Compared to what you're wearing now, it's stunning." Eva spoke bluntly, grinning over her green glasses.
"If Dalmatia heard you say that you know exactly how he would correct you on that." Varuo's tail flicked in agitation.
"Dalmatia?" Eva mused. "Ooooo~ Has someone made a new friend?"
"You really think I would befriend the Recruit of the woman who wanted a coat made out of Dalmatian puppies?" He stood and struck a pose. "If that woman ever saw my coat of fur, she would skin me alive because of how luxurious it is!"
A fit of giggles erupted from Ms. Scatter and Eva's eyes widened as she stared at Varuo who looked very pleased with himself.
"My, my," a smirk played about Eva's face and she pressed a finger to her cheek. "It would seem as though the little cat does have a personality after all."
"Oh, my Varuo," Ashe sighed and scratched him behind his ears. "I never would have made it this far without you."
There was a sparkle in Eva's eyes that made Ashe instantly regret saying that in front of her. "Whatever do you mean by that, Ashe?"
Between her and Mr. V, there have been too many questions about who she was in her past and she was not at liberty to speak about them. She needed to be better about keeping her guard up. Varuo let out a deep sigh "Good question, Eva" He stretched and took his usual spot in the window. "Let's not find out."
Yes, let's never relive that terrible nightmare of that miserable relationship. . . She shivered and rubbed her arm.
"Ashe." The cat peeked an eye open. "You know not to make any reference to things that need not be named. It invokes their presence; especially in such a peculiar Realm that we live in."
Ms. Scatter silently nodded her head in response and clutched at her arm. She knew all too well the power of names and places could be. If only her mind really were a little scatterbrained, perhaps she wouldn't have had to hop around so much or even have left her Realm in the first place. . .
"Well, you're no fun." Eva huffed and surprisingly let the topic go.
He closed his eyes and began to purr. "I know."
Ashe was ever so relieved that she did not ask any further questions, though it was evident on her face that she wanted to. Instead, she steered Ashe to the vanity. "Well, I suppose my talking will have to do," Eva hummed as she held Ashe's shoulders and pushed her onto her stool. "I've got quite the work ahead of me to get you ready for the night!" She laid the dress back down on the bed and turned to the vanity that contained the hair products and makeup and had too wide of a grin on her face to make Ashe feel comfortable. "Time to get started. . ."
MR. V
With a half cup of coffee in his system, upbeat fast jazz playing over his record player, and a nice hot shower to make him super fresh Mr. V was in a much better mood. He was especially hungry and wondered what restaurants were still open, which ones were closed, and what new ones replaced the old ones; they seemed to constantly change in the Anti-Realm. With the exception of the lavish and outrageously priced restaurants, the little cafes and privately owned places seemed to never remain in the same place long enough to be open for a century. He did not want to exclusively dine at the House of Mouse, though they had a wonderful selection of food it would not due for the satisfaction of his stomach.
He casually strode into his room and into his walk-in closet where a wide variety and array of suits in fabrics, patterns, and colors waited to be chosen. Although he and Facilier had not always gotten along, they did at least share a similar taste in fashion. Facilier's closet was probably the only thing redeemable that was bequeathed to Mr. V when he had to finish his debts with his Friends on the Other Side. He let his hand graze the fabrics and suits, whatever material felt the best would be the suit he would go with for the evening. His left hand casually fell on a charcoal suit and his right fell on a midnight blue vest with matching tie and pocket handkerchief.
"Well, well, well." He chuckled as he looked at his ensemble for the evening. "Color me impressed and dressed to dine with the queen."
He plucked out his attire for the evening and continued to the back of the closet to grab a nice white button up, a black belt, Matching midnight blue underwear and socks, and black Desmond Stacey Adams. Humming along to the jazz, he exited his closet and returned to the bathroom. He dressed in the underwear and socks first then the pants. While he was still shirtless, he carefully spritzed his cologne on his shirt, the collar, the cuffs, and the button line then shook out the shirt so that the cologne would not seep into the but just scent the shirt. With the shirt properly scented, he slid it on and buttoned up to the third to last button and tucked the rest into his pants. Looping the belt through, he cinched it to the third hole in. The vest came next, but he did not button it up yet.
Carefully running his fingers through his dreads, he separated the pieces into threes and braided back the top of his head and stopped once he could not reach any farther back. Tying back with an elastic he let it fall neatly down his back and could not help but smirk at himself. "Lookin' good, V."
He slipped on his shadowman necklace and tucked it inside his shirt before popping the collar, buttoning the next two buttons, buttoning the vest over it, and slipping the midnight blue tie around his neck. Spraying a light spritz of cologne on his wrists, he rubbed some in his hands and patted the sides of his neck and temples.
Starting the tie, he did it in a pretty little knot before setting the collar in place. He took his beard comb and brush and properly set the facial hairs in place so he would be looking extra sharp. With everything in its proper place and he was satisfied with the sharp looking fellow in the mirror, he strode out of the bathroom feeling like a new man; well at least looking like a new man. He returned to the room to pick out a pocket watch to go into his vest pocket to help complete the look. He slipped into his shoes as he slid his suit coat over his shoulders, picked up his cane, and picked up his wallet on the way out the door. Before the door closed behind him, he tapped his cane and the music stopped and the lights turned off behind him.
He whistled a jazzy song on his way to the stairs and was, for once, not bothered by the quiet and echoes that followed. The ghosts seemed to be haunting other Villains for the night, the Staff seemed to be enjoying the night out since the Recruits would more than likely be out late or not return until the following day, and even Varuo seemed to have found himself a nice little hidey hole to sleep in for the evening. When he reached the foot of the stairs, he pulled out his pocket watch to check the time as well as to see if the time was correct in accordance with the grandfather clock. Everything was lined up and he was early by a whole ten minutes. It would give Ms. Scatter plenty of time to make it by five. In fact, he hardly had to wait when he heard the click clacking of heels hustling their way on the second floor. With a smirk growing on his face he turned to see Ms. Scatter rushing her way to the stairs; however, that smirk quickly fell away as his mouth opened slightly.
She was a vision, an angel of the night plucked from the evening sky and placed here to catch him entirely off guard. Her silky black hair which she always kept coiled up in a tight bun was spooling out around her shoulders in gorgeous voluminous curls with a few jewel studded clips pinning the hair to the left side of her head. Her makeup was smoky with a soft and sexy winged eyeliner and garnet red painted lips. She had contacts, or at least he assumed since she was not wearing her glasses. She wore a simple silver necklace with a few small studs that rested just above the single strap that held up the midnight blue dress that hugged her curves and fell to her ankles. The satin was smooth and luxurious and had a high slit peeking out as it flourished with each step that she took as she descended the stairs. She wore simple, yet sexy silver peep toe heels that made those legs very slender.
Much to his dismay the stupid cat Varuo was smirking as he followed rather smugly behind Ms. Scatter. As soon as he saw the cat practically laughing at him, he was able to straighten himself up and close his mouth to keep from drooling. "Well, well, well." He smiled carefully so as not to seem too smug or proud that he had possibly the most beautiful woman in the entire Realm going out for an event with him. "A vision from the evening sky has just lost its most beautiful star."
"Is it too much?" She flushed and put a silver studded hand to her chest. "I can go change - "
"No," He carefully and gently spoke to her and held his hand out to her. "Your outfit is perfect, you look exquisite, and I don't think that I could come up with many more compliments that would properly justify your beauty."
Her face flushed such a deep crimson that she almost seemed to start steaming. Her small slender hand accepted Mr. V's outstretched hand and continued down the stairs. He carefully placed her hand on his arm so he would be a proper escort. "Are you ready for a lovely evening out on the town?"
"Well, I have been around the Realms, so to speak," she smiled nervously. "So, it could be a little hard to impress me, but I am genuinely looking forward to the evening."
"Well that is a challenge I shall happily accept." He chuckled. He twirled his cane and escorted Ms. Scatter out of the castle. "How hungry are you?"
"Rather famished, actually." She admitted as she walked in step with him. "I only ate breakfast this morning. I worked through lunch to get all of the papers filed so I would not have to worry about it this evening."
"I worked through my lunch too," he could feel his eye twitching. "Yzma would not shut up. She kept ranting and raving about her newest plots, how useless Kronk was, and how she is searching for another way to escape this Realm to return to her previous one."
"I take it that you weren't able to actually discuss the proper partnerships and Recruit program then?" She snickered. "Should I reschedule an appointment with her.
"Ms. Scatter, I have always respected you and admired you for your great work ethic." He looked down at her. "However, if you reschedule another appointment with Yzma, I may have to triple your work."
"Well, you're always questioning my evilness," she snickered again. "Whenever you underestimate me, I always feel that I need to flex my evil powers."
"There are so many more ways that you could do that," He grimaced while trying to keep his smile on his face, "giving me more work to do is not the way to do it though."
"If you say so." She giggled and turned those brown eyes up at him. The flutter of those lashes caused his own heart to flutter. "So where are we going this evening?"
"Ah, that is a surprise until we get there." He smiled down at her. "But I do assure you that it is very impressive, and there might even be a chance that you haven't been there yet."
"You're definitely livening up the expectations."
"Tell me," he cleared his throat, his tie suddenly felt too tight. "Have you ever been to Tiana's Palace?"
"Don't you mean Tiana's Place?" That devilish smirk in combination with that red lipstick would be the death of him.
"No." He chuckled. "Tiana's Palace."
"No," she conceded with a soft smile, "I have not."
He tapped his cane and a black and purple portal spiraled before them, "Then you're in for a real treat."
"A Realm Portal?" She gasped with a stop and stared at him.
"Yes, that is what it is." He blinked at her. "Have you used one before?"
"Well, yes." She flushed and bumbled. "But why - ?"
"Please, Ms. Scatter," he frowned. "Did you really think that I would take you to a restaurant here in the Anti-Realm? I have much more class than to force you to be around ruffians and Villains when you're dressed up this nicely."
"I see. . ." She pursed her lips and began to wring her fingers. Mr. V held his hand out to her.
"Are you ready for dinner, Ms. Scatter?" She stared at his hand and hesitated on taking his hand.
"Yes." She said confidently and grasped his hand, rather tightly.
He was rather taken aback by this but said nothing and merely placed her hand on his arm and held his hand over hers. He winked down at her before taking the lead and walking them through the portal. "Hang on tight, it'll be a quick ride."
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Thank you so much for reading! I hope that you are enjoying it!
I know it has taken me a while to edit and get to this point, but I assure you that things will get more interesting sooner rather than later! Please just be a little more patient with me. Please remember to leave a comment or review and tell me what you think of the story so far. If you like it enough, please share it!
Thanks for coming along the journey with me, stay tuned for more!
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