The Reed Legacy
Chapter 5
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Disclaimer-I
own Millicent, that’s all
A/N-Wow,
this story is really just writing itself.
Thanks for all the support for this fic. It’s going to take at least 2 more chapters to get more into things
that will seem more familiar, card creation and Clow weirdness.
past reflection and having the CCS crew asking a few questions.
of CCS pairings. And for the people
that e-mailed and asked if Millicent was a shameless self insertion, nope, not
in the least. I think characters are
better when they’re modeled after someone else; in this case Millicent is
modeled after my best friend.
The next
few weeks saw a drastic change in the Reed household. Rousing arguments and joyous laughter rang through the halls, as
Millicent became part of the daily life.
With so
many years spent by himself, Clow had forgotten the trouble of having a woman
around the house.
Millicent
cleaned, everything. The destruction
that was the inner sanctum of his workroom was now tidy and sparkling.
paper were now meticulously copied into a notebook. It was a wonder it had made any sense to Millicent, when Clow
could barely read his hasty scrawl.
Everything
that had a place was in it, and if it didn’t have a place or one couldn’t be
found or used, it was discarded.
The house
in all had never been so clean, and with the rearrangement of various items,
Clow became lost on more than one occasion.
This more often than not resulted in a long and loud argument, which
Millicent won.
On the
other hand, Millicent was a godsend in the kitchen. Clow employed a local elderly village woman, the wife of his
gardener, to cook for him, at a rather hefty monthly salary, because the man
himself couldn’t cook. For all the
mystical powers at his command, he scorched pots of boiling water, blew up
eggs, and burned things beyond recognition let alone consumption.
Mrs.
O’Leary was downhearted when Millicent informed her that she would be relieved
of her cooking duties. For all Clow’s
bluster and temper, he really was a sweet man, and she genuinely liked him,
often treating him more like a son than an employer. Her sadness was short lived, because moments later Millicent
informed her that her salary would continued to be paid in full with a bonus
for having to put up with years of Clow’s rather unique temperament, with the
stipulation that thedensdens would continue to be cared for.
The
matronly woman chuckled as she watched the vibrant woman take Clow to task for
not only being cheap, but being difficult.
All the man
could do was nod and agree.
Mrs.
O’Leary cheerfully informed the village that Clow was like any other man, and
could be taken down a few pegs by his ladylove.
Clow whined
for days after he heard that. “I wanted
them to fear me. This just takes all
the fun out of being one of the most powerful magician’s in the world.”
“Yes
dear.” Was the reply.
One wintry
evening, while Clow sat in his favorite red velvet chair, Millicent beside him
on the divan before the fire, the fiery haired girl brought a painfully touchy
subject.
“Clow, I’ve
arranged for us to go to London. I
think you should go to see your mother’s grave, to pay your respects.”
Ocean blue
eyes turned midnight black in anger.
“How dare you!”
Amber held “I don’t “I know, I Clow thread Smiling “Is that Millicent Sighing “Good, then “Millie!” “What?” “Fine, I “Oh, don’t “Yes yes “Goodnight At first The Reed Clow Clow tapped “I need “Ah the “Card Magic Bubbles
midnight coolly, “I dare because I love you.
I dare because you won’t stop being plagued with nightmares until you’ve
gone to say your good-byes.” Millicent
went and knelt before his chair, hands placed gently on his knees.
portrait in the hall. Hear it every
time you call for her in your dreams.
No matter how deep you try to push the pain, it won’t lessen until you
go say gooe.”
want it to lessen Millie. If I go see
mother’s grave, it really means I’ll never see her a on on this earth.
back to China.”
know exactly how you feel, but you can’t put it off forever.
his fingers through the silky hair.
“I’m sorry Millie. I forgot you
lost your parents.”
softly, Millicent took his other hand and held it. “They never truly leave you, you just can’t see them
anymore. That doesn’t mean they aren’t
watching you.”
how you manage to go on? And why you
talk out loud when you think no one is listening?”
mock glared at Clow. “Yes Clow, that’s
why I talk out loud. I know mother and
father are listening to me. You can
feel it in the air, feel their spirits.”
heavily, the regal man nodded. “As you
will Millicent. We will leave for
London as soon as the coach arrives.”
you’ll be ready at first light.”
will be ready at first light. Keroberos
will not be happy in the least.”
forget to tell Kero that his wings have to go before we arrive.”
Millie. Goodnight to you, Firefly.”
Clow.”
light, the occupants of the Reed house grumbled and were generally displeased
with being awake. Well the males were
anyway. Clow was silently cursing
Millicent’s bubbly air.
family coach arrived just after they had finished breakfast.
driver, and to supervise the loading of the luggage, leaving Clow to do the
dishes. Yet another thing that sim
im
to cursing like a sailor. Keroberos
chided him that he was justky Mky Millicent hadn’t heard him, or he would be
sitting outside with the driver for the entire trip.
glowered at his creation and informed the beast that it would be spending the
entirety of the trip outside with the driver if he made one more remark.
carriage, taking an entire seat for himself.
his fingers on the counter and stared at the quantity of dishes that needed to
be washed and put away.
soap. Where does she keep the
soap?” couldn’t find anything that resembled the container of soapy stuff.
hell with it.” Was the muttered
response to the lack of soap. The
magician was rather incensed that he was reduced to washing dishes, so like any
brilliant magician and inventor, he pulled out a blank card that he carried in
case inspiration struck him, fumbled in his robes for his enchanted quill, then
began drawing up a card, and upon it’s completion spoke his incantation.
created by Clow, I command you to lose this form and be born as I have
drawn. Bubbles!
The magic platform appd und under Clow and the card, and when the words
were spoken, Clow tapped the card with his staff and watched his newest
creation being born.
swirled around the card and it slowly shimmered and stretched according to the
shape and design it was given.
floated in front of Clow, head bowed low in supplication.
“I need to
do the dishes, but I don’t have any blasted soap. I can’t get them clean without soap, so if you would be so kind
as to get the water and dishes soapy I’d appreciate it.”
dishes in the washing tub.
Bubbles
floated over to the washing tub and swirled her hands in the water, creating a
foamy froth of bubbles.
“Is that
all the Master requires?”
“Uh…yes,
for the moment. You know, that gives me
an idea for bathing Keroberos.” Clow
pondered as he stared at the mound of soap bubbles.
Nodding her
head, Bubbles quietly went back to her card form and lay on the counter top
near the washing tub.
Clow had
the dishes done in record time and was outside just as the driver was loading
the last of the bags into the luggage rack.
“All
done? So soon?”
the front stairs.
“All
done.” Clow narrowed his eyes behind
his spectacles. “Why?
to see?”
“Nothing.
very well leave with a lot, now can I?”
“You’re hiding
something Firefly, and I want to know what it is.” Clow demanded.
“You’re
imagining things Clow. I’m not hiding
anything.”
“Mmhhmmm.”
the carriage and everything in it.
A half hour
later, Clow was stumped, nothing out of the ordinary at all.
shouldn’t have been there.
“Are you
satisfied now?” Millicent demanded with
snapping eyes.
“You
weren’t hiding anything.” Came the
surprised reply.
“I told you
that in the first place, but you didn’t believe me. Instead you searched through everything, including my bag of
undergarments.” The satin slippered
foot tapped angrily on the ground.
“But you
were surprised to see me finished so soon, it aroused suspicions.”
wrong.
“Of course
I was surprised, you finished your chores in record time.
chores. I expected you to be at least
another half of an hour before you were finished.”
“Not
quite. I had some help.
soapy card.” He said as he brushed his
hair off his shoulder.
“Card?
Instead of asking where the soap is, you waste magic on creating a soap
card. And how does this card work?
bubbles?”
“Far from
it. You need the incantation and staff
to release the magic in the card.” The
Reed heir stated as he pulled out his small number of cards and miniaturized
staff.
“Incantation?
the cards from Clow and examined them.
“You put mag magic into these?
It seems rather like a waste.
Especially when you can do the work manually.”
“Why do all
the work when you can have help?” Clow
shrugged his shoulders.
“And yet
you wonder why your family scolded you on your use of magic.
“Really?
“Yes, I
want to see what exactly they do.”
Clow smiled
happily, he believed that the cards he was inventing were to be the pinnacle of
his magic. Taking the twelve cards from
her, tossed them out in front of him where they spread out and glowed.
this form and reveal yourselves!
Bubbles! Fly! Thunder!
Mist! Float!
Little! Maze!
Dash! Big!
The
platform appeared under his feet, Clow held his staff under the line of cards,
and once the incantation was spoken, all the cards grew according to their
shape. The human and animal forms bowed
low to Clow.
Good day
Master, what would you have of us?” The
humanoids chorused.
“Nothing
really, but Millie wanted to see you.”
Millicent
stood next to Clow in shock. These
cards had other forms, had their own powers, they were…cute.
“Well, what
do you think of them?” Clow asked,
Millicent’s approval or disapproval carried a lot of weight, and her rejection
would deal a huge blow to his confidence.
“Kawaii!!!!”
thoroughly look over the card forms.
“Do you think for yourselves, or did Clow just give you a set of things
to say?”
“We think
for ourselves, soon to be Mistress.”
clasclass=MsoNormal> “Soon to be
Mistress? What makes you say
that?” Clow demanded.
“That we
can not say Master, all will be revealed in time.”
“Interesting.”
“If that is
all you would have of us Master, we will return to our card forms.”
“Good go as as you were.”
With t
th
the cards returned to their card forms and stacked themselves in Clow’s palm.
“Soon to be
Mistress. What are you planning Clow
Reed.” Millie asked herself softly.
Clow
meanwhile tucked the cards into an inside pocket of his robe, and shrunk his
wand. “Are we ready to go now?”
“Not so fast.
“Excuse me?
Was the incredulous cry.
“Why not? I want to see how it works, so hand over a card and a pen.”
waiting. “You can’t deny me, not when I
waited nearly a half of an hour for you to finish scrutinizing every little
thing I packed, just to make sure that none of it actually belonged to
you. I swear I felt like I was being
treated as a common thief.”
Clow couldn’t help but wince.
play around with his magic cards, he had created a situation that the only
appeasement would be to allow her to create a card of her own.
jumped into the carriage and closed the door.
“Ye got yerself into a fine mess young Master.”
“What is it about woman, Biggs?
would have refused outright, but her, I can’t seem to say no to her.
I ever will either, but why do I always feel like I’m wrong?”
His mother had never acted like this, and the Millicent of his childhood
certainly never acted like this.
“Master Clow, she’s a woman, a fine woman at that,
but a woman all the same. They all act
like this when they want something from ye.”
The coachman stated knowledgably.
“What do you suppose she wants from me?”
waiting for the wisdom of the ages to be imparted to him, even if it was from
the family coachman.
“Why what every woman wants.
“Wed her! Not
no way, not no how. I’m not even thirty
yet. I’m not contemplating marriage for
years yet.” The startled Reed heir
waved his hands frantically, shaking his head no.
This made the coachman laugh outright, “Laddie, ye
willne have a choice when the time comes.”
Clow scowled darkly and began pacing and muttering
while Millicent was doing only God knows what with his card.
Some minutes later the triumphant girl emerged,
waving the card around.
“Here, now make it appear.”
Clow dubiously took the card from her and repeated
the incantation, “Release! Flower?”
The magical entity began to take shape, and Clow
could only shake his head.
The flower girl began dancing, and immediately it
began raining cherry blossoms.
Smiling, Millicent bowed to Clow and held out her
hand. Clow dipped a small curtsy and
put his hand in hers with a cheeky grin.
Millicent returned the smile and they began dancing in the petals.
Keroberos poked his head out of the carriage and
watched them. “She’s leading him.”
Biggs laughed quietly so as not to break the
moment. “She always has.
floor, but Mistress Millie floats, that’s why she’ll lead him.
she’ll lead him either my friend, a merry chase it’ll be.”
Biggs, the coachman, had been with the Reed family
his entire life. He watched the former Master
and Mistress Reed raise their son as normally as possible in a rather eccentric
family. After all, not everyone could
claim to be the most powerful magic family in the Western practice.
was as normal as teatime.
The now elderly man had watched the budding romance
between the two childhood friends, everyone had actually.
declared her interest on marrying the gangly youth. The Reeds had despaired that the years Clow was away would drive
Millicent away and into marriage with a man who didn’t possess wanderlust.
girl never wavered in her love or devotion to Clow.
Mistress Millie was tough as nails, once she got an
idea in her mind, come hell or high water, she would see it through.
searching for the illusive man.
It warmed the old man’s heart to see them picking up
where they had left off a decade earlier.
The pair was a striking contrast, from looks to personality and
magic. Clow’s dark hair and eyes were
sharp against the stark paleness of his skin.
No matter how much time he spent in the sun it never darkened.
easy to soften. Though it could be
unforgiving and cruel at times, nothing held his temper long.
Millicent however was fire.
a temper like a wildfire. Everything
she did was passionate.
Like their personalities, their magic complimented
and balanced them. Clow claimed the
power of the sun, Millicent that of the moon. Perfect balance and harmony, Ying and Yang Clow’s Easter master
would say.
The couple danced and twirled obliviously in the
shower of petals, laughing and generally enjoying themselves.
the mood.
“Come on already, can we leave now?”
Giggling, Millicent ended the dance and thanked
Flower, who went back to her card form and slid easily into the pocket of Clow’s
robe.
“Your impatient beastie bellows, and we must obey
its call.”
“Indeed, but now the beastie gave up his comfortable
seat inside the carriage, and will now spend the journey as a tom cat and sit
outside with Biggs.”
“What? No,
you can…. rrrrrrrowww.” The exclamation
was cut off as Clow turned his leonine familiar into a fat tomcat.
The amber-eyed girl picked up the hissing cat and
pet it lovingly. “You need to work on
timing and tact, then you won’t end up like this.”
“Either way, it really is time to go now, since you
were so insistent about leaving in the morning. Give Kero over to Biggs and we can be off.”
older man to take the cat.
“It’s alright Clow.
I think this is sufficient punishment.
He can sit with us inside, otherwise I’d worry about him.”
Clow picked Kero-cat up by the scruff of the neck
and held him at eye level. “You’re infinitely
luck she’s on your side, and I can’t say no to her.”
Kero, unable to speak out, cast an “I’m sorry” look
at his master. A look that Clow sighed at
put the cat in the carriage before holding his hand out to help Millicent in.
She eagerly accepted the helping hand in.
at the cat sprawled out in every direction over the width of one side of the
carriage. This left only one seat o
th
the seat next to Millie.
The magician held a momentary debate on whether to
kiss or kill his familiar.
A scowl won out briefly, before it evaporated under
the searing smile Millicent Supinel was casting at him.
the world, and that he could do anything if he put his mind to it.
Sometimes it was good to be a magician.
A/N-I decided that Chapter 7 will be a pause and
allow the characters we all know a chance to put their 2 cents in.
<:p>