To Love A Myth - Book 1: Mr. Higgs and the Maid🎩✔️

25

Merida coughed harshly and Lucus put the thermometer in her mouth. He waited a few moments and then pulled it out, looking at the temperature. He shook his head and touched Merida's warm and clammy face. She opened her hazel eyes, heavy and tired.
"Well?" she asked in a hushed voice.
Lucus looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "It doesn't look good."
She smiled sadly. "Oh... Do ye ken how long I've got?"
Lucus sighed and crossed his arms. "Not very long. You took a turn for the worst so quickly..."
A small tear escaped her eyes and she sniffled.
"Do ye... do ye ken Mr. Higgs will have to call my name?"
Lucus tried not to look as pained as he was.
"I hope not... I'll got let everyone know what's going on. You just rest and sleep. I'll think of something."
Merida nodded and Lucus walked out.
When he opened the door, everyone was there, including Higgs but far off from the door. Everyone looked at him expectantly and he shook his head. Edgar began to cry and turned into Fuchsia's stomach as she put her hand on his back for comfort. Margaret looked at her husband on the ceiling as he crossed his arms. Higgs looked like he was going to fall down the stairs at any minute.
"The sickness turned so quickly that it was just impossible to catch in time..." Lucus looked at Higgs. "She's worried you'll have to call her name."
Higgs tromped up the rest of the stairs angrily, making Edgar press into Fuchsia as he swung his arms tightly in a crossed motion, vehemently telling them that he would not call out her name. He kept doing it but Lucus put his hand on his shoulder and looked to where his head should have been.
"Higgs... I can't say for sure that that will happen but you... you may have to think about the possibility."
Higgs pushed the doctor back and pointed at him. He then let his arm fall and crossed them lightly. Lucus looked at everyone.
"Listen, she doesn't have that much longer. I don't know how long, but... it might be best to say goodbyes."
Edgar turned swiftly to Higgs and then got out of Fuchsia's grasp. He pointed at him.
"It's all your fault, Mr. Higgs! You killed Merida! If you hadn't scared her and made her sleep in the mud all night then she's still be alright! It's your fault! It's your fault..."

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"No... no, Merida..." Edgar mumbled, his head tossing and turning on the small couch.
Merida touched his face softly, the warmth causing her concern. She looked at Lucus, who was digging in his bag.
"Isnae there anything ye can do?"
"I have a tincture that will be more palatable for him to contend with to at least bring down the fever. That seems to be the part that's causing a lot of problems."
"No! Don't take Merida away!" he cried, grabbing the sofa material.
Merida made a face at him. "I wonder what the devil he's dreaming about that has me in it."
Lucus came over with a small dropper. He opened Edgar's mouth and moved his tongue to have the dropper be under it. He squeezed down and emptied the dropper.
"You're a very important person to him."
"Only known the lad for a few months."
"You only knew Higgs for a few moments for him to be very important to you."
"Aye, that's true."
"Besides, the boy is an orphan, so you and Higgs are practically like his parents. It's not uncommon for this to happen, dreaming of happiness being taken away from you. You were probably the first person to treat him like he was wanted. You have a way of doing that, if you haven't noticed."
Merida laughed a little as Edgar began to cry in his sleep. She touched his face softly, rubbing it gently.
"Alright now, lad, ye'll be alright. I'm right here..."
"How did he get sick in the first place?"
"I dinnae ken really. He went out with me to the market to get some things for dinner and then a few days later he told me he dinnae feel well and now here we are."
"I'm surprised that you aren't in bad shape. You were out all night at the beginning of the month in the mud before Higgs told you to come down here."
Merida held up her arm and flexed her bicep. "An ye havenae noticed, I'm strong in a lot of ways."
"That's true."
The door opened and Jamison scuttled through the door with Davros behind him. Davros smiled as Jamison took to the wall and climbed to his web above the parlor, nestling in the center of it. Merida turned her head at that, still comprehending the creature. Davros held out an envelope.
"We went to check on Higgs and he gave me this to give to ye. Something about writing letters?"
"Aye, we've been communicating with letters since... that night."
"I'm actually quite surprised at you, Merida. To be scared that badly..." Lucus mumbled.
"To be honest, as was I. I didnae even think I'd be that scared. I kenned I'd be alright and that Edgar was overreacting due to being scared when he was a wee boy but... I've never come in contact with something as powerful as that. I've been threatened and hurt and almost killed plenty of times but Mr. Higgs as that Dullahan was a presence I'd never felt in my life. I kenned deep in my soul that he could have me killed and I had no way to persuade that. I guess it was the fact that it was Mr. Higgs but not at the same time... I dinnae ken exactly what it was..."
"All that matters is that you're still here and ready to wait for Higgs. Whether you're scared or not has nothing to do with it." Jamison said, descending on his web. "Being brave means that you face things even when you're scared."
"But that's what troubles me. I actually wanted to run away from him and leave him. I... I wanted to flee."
"But ye didn't and that's all that counts." Davros said with a smile. "Do ye know how many times me and Catherine wanted to run away when we were given to Jami as personal servants of his? I will agree with ye that that Dullahan is no joke but in this family, no one really cares if ye're afraid, just how ye handle that fear. Anyway, it's almost the end of the month and Higgs really misses the both of ye. Jami, I'm going to go ahead and get yer stuff ready to head back to the manor."
Jamison nodded and climbed back up the thread as Lucus handed a small bottle to Merida.
"When Edgar wakes up, give him a teaspoon of this in some hot tea. It will help to keep the fever at bay as well as warm his throat. I'll come and check on him in a couple of days to see how he's doing. In the mean time, he needs to be put in a nice warm bed with a good pass of the bed warmer. If nothing else, we can try to sweat the fever out of him."
"Aye then. I'll ask Lady Margaret to have someone help me with that. Where is Boston? I havenae seen him for a while."
"Despite his adversity to the medical sciences, he came to grips with his destiny and is in London taking the doctor's exam to get his license. Once he returns home, he will be a licensed doctor and will take over for Higgs as his personal doctor. He will be gone for a while though, since he also thought it well to take training with animal care. I told him he wouldn't need it but he thought it might come in handy for times when Higgs might get hurt en transformation."
"Ah. Weel, I guess that's better than denying what he should be doing."
"Daft boy."
The two laughed and Lucus said he'd go get Margaret for Merida. Merida would have carried Edgar up the stairs herself but he was a growing boy and was now also dead weight. She was strong, but not that strong. She sat in the chair next to the couch and opened up Higgs' letter.

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Merida,

The mansion has been lonely without the two of you here. I even miss Edgar's constant badgering about tarts and sweets. I'm hoping for this month to end soon so that you both can return to the mansion. I feel like I did when we thought you had run away from me and was never coming back. I was so alone and feared that it was true. I know that's not the case now but for me the empty house brings back memories of before I met you.
I know I mention it in every letter, but I'm so sorry that I scared you. To know that I made the bravest woman that I know cower in fear like a child irks me to my bones. If I had the ability, I would take the Dullahan on himself for making someone like you act that way. And for it to even give you the thought of leaving? If I could rip it out of me I could... I mean, you have every right to leave or not but... well...

Father mentioned that Edgar was still feeling unwell. I hope nothing serious happens to him. Not to cause anymore strangeness between us, but I have noticed in the past few days that a lot of the names I have been calling out have been for children. There is a sickness going around that is affected the children and I hope Edgar doesn't have it. I pray to God and any others that may exist that I don't have to call out Edgar's. Keep him safe and well. I hope to see you again and apologize properly about what happened. It is quite annoying to have to write everything I want to say all the time.

Sincerely yours,
Higgs Northumberly.

PS: My father said that my uncles would be arriving in town at the beginning of the month. Usually they stay with him but they've heard so much about you that they wanted to come and stay with me. I hope you won't mind. I can give you more details once August ends and you return to the mansion.

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"Uncles? I didnae ken he had any other relatives."
"Will it be too imposing to have them stay with you at Higgs' mansion?"
Merida looked up at Jamison as he stared down at her from the ceiling.
"It shouldnae be an issue. I just didnae even think he had other relatives what with the curse and everything."
"There are more of us than there should be, that's for sure. Up until my father, the rest of the Northumberlys really didn't take the curse seriously and so they went out and sowed their royal oats around wherever they wanted. As long as it wasn't during the time of the mermaid, whatever child they had with another woman would be a girl and have no issues with the curse. When the mermaid comes around, that's when the male children are created and that's when the curse is passed on. I'm sure there are a lot of people out there with questions and fears that have no idea how they got into the situation they are in. I wish I could find them all and help them..."
Merida smiled. "An ye could I know ye would... What are they like? They are yer brothers, I assume."
"Yes, my half brothers. My father wasn't exactly a kind man and he definitely didn't take the curse very seriously... well, he did, but I guess the way to say it would be that he didn't care about the consequences on any children he could have, just what it did for him. I have half sisters out there too somewhere in the world."
"That's a shame..."
"Like I said, me and my brothers are the only ones who take this curse very seriously... for more reasons than one. I can't disclose too much information to you since Higgs won't tell you certain things about the curse. Until he tells you that, then I really can't say anything more. It's his right to tell you, not me."
"Aye, I ken it." Merida looked around. "Where the bloody hell is a butler around here to get this lad up the stairs?"
"I can take him if you like."
"Can ye do it without suffocating him in yer webbing?"
Jamison grinned but descended from the ceiling and landed gracefully on the floor. He bent down and picked up Edgar, who was sleeping soundly, and walked up the stairs, his pointed spider legs ticking on the hard floor. Merida wondered if Higgs would have the same type of spider-ass as his father. Until then, she had about a week to figure out how she was going to face Higgs again and hope that Edgar's ailment was short-lived and didn't get that horrid Dullahan involved.