Even though Higgs had suggested that they all stay in his room for the night, Merida didn't really think it necessary. If Euros was looking for someone in town then she figured the mansion was safe. Although, now that she thought about it, what could Euros really do to someone? If he was just the god of the east wind then the only thing he could do would be to maybe cause a cyclone, but that would be rare.

"Probably getting help from Brother Zeus an my knowledge of Greek mythology is correct." She said to no one in particular in the bed. "Then again, why would Euros and Zeus be all the way over here in England? Dinnae they have mortals in Greece to worry about? That had to have been Lugh and Borrum..." She shook her head. "Too much for me..."

A thunder clap sounded and made her jump, Merida putting her hand over her chest.

"Laird, they are loud..."

She saw her door open and Edgar stuck his head in.

"M-M-Merida?"

"Aye, lad?"

"Can... can I sleep with you tonight?"

"Ye afeart of the storm?" He nodded and she smiled, pulling her covers up for an invitation. "Alright then, lad, hop in."

Edgar ran quickly and jumped into bed. Merida put the covers down as he emerged from them on the other side of the bed. He rolled over to be next to her and settled under her arm.

"What do you think Mr. Higgs will be in the morning?"

"That's a good question. I dinnae ken all of his transformations yet, so I cannae tell ye what to expect. So far everything's been alright but I've heard him and his father talk about certain transformations that werenae easy to control. Guess we'll have to see what happens on the morrow, eh, lad?"

She turned but Edgar had already fallen asleep and she smiled, turning over to blow out her candle.

*****************************

In the morning, Merida stretched and was at first surprised to see Edgar but remembered it had rained last night and shook him a little to wake him up.

"Edgar? Edgar, wake up..."

Edgar moaned and turned over onto his side, pulling the covers over him more.

"An ye dinnae get up I'll have to tickle ye awake." Edgar made no answer. "Alright..."

Merida set to tickling Edgar awake. He squirmed and laughed and finally woke up, pushing Merida's hands away.

"Merida!"

"I told ye to get up."

"Can't I sleep for a few more minutes?"

"Ye get up and help me. There's much to do..."

Edgar moaned but he rolled out of bed as Merida changed into her dress for the day and he ran out to go to his room. No sooner had he left than he came running back in and slammed into Merida's legs, making her almost buckle to the ground.

"Oi, what the bloody hell?!"

"Th-th-th-there was a monster coming down the hall!"

"A monster? Let go, lad..." She pried his arms from around her legs. "What kind of monster?"

"There was no head!"

Merida made a face when the door opened and a piece of paper held by a hand slithered around the corner, shaking.

PLEASE DON'T SCREAM. it said in large letters and Merida just waited. The door opened more and the shivering hand was accompanied by an arm, a shoulder, a neck and...

"Ooooh, I see what happened." Merida said. "It's alright, lad, it's just Higgs."

"But-but-but where's his head?!"

Higgs' body came fully inside, his head being held in the other arm neatly nestled under his armpit. Poor Edgar was so scared he wet himself, shaking next to Merida's legs like a leaf on the wind. Realizing that he was truly afraid, Merida turned to her employer.

"Can ye go someplace else for a wee moment? Let me get Edgar out of here."

Higgs gave a small bow and left the room as Merida turned and knelt down in front of Edgar, who was still shaking.

"Alright now, laddie, there's no sense in ye bleatin'. Havenae ye ever heard of a Dullahan?"

"Of course I have!" Edgar yelled in an uncharacteristic way. "The older boys at the orphanage used to tell me stories of the Dullahan all the time and how it rides on either a black steed that shoots fire and flames from its nostrils or it rides in a carriage that has six black horses with wheels made of bones and wagon tarp made of skin. It can see for miles if it holds up its disgusting head and then it calls out the name of the person who will die, coming to take his soul away!"

"Aye, that about sums it up." Merida said with a nod. "Ye ken that's just Mr. Higgs, right?"

"I don't want to stay here with him that way! Please don't make me stay here, Merida! Please! Please! I want to be brave like Doughall and Fearghas and Coinnach but I can't! I'm scared! I'm scared!"

Merida pulled him into a hug as he shook in her arms, truly frightened by Higgs' new form.

"It's alright, lad, I willnae make ye stay. Come and change ye britches and I'll take ye down to the low mansion. Ye can stay there for the month until Mr. Higgs puts his head about his shoulders again. Will that suffice for ye?" Edgar nodded, sniffling on her shoulder. "Alright now... Like I said, go and change ye britches and I'll take ye down."

He nodded and left as Merida looked at her dress, where a wet stain was when Edgar pressed against her. She changed into a new dress and went down the hall.

**************************

"W, V, P, O... A, D... I ken D for 'dullahan'?"

She knocked on the door and waited for a moment. The door opened slightly and Higgs' head came out, his odd small black eyes darting their sights on Merida. She crossed her arms and the head popped back into the room, where the door opened more and Higgs' body stood in the doorway.

"I'm taking Edgar to ye mother's mansion to spend the month there. Apparently he's terrified of dullahans."

Higgs stumbled and after a moment he handed her a piece of paper.

I'M SO SORRY THAT THIS HAPPENED.

"Oh, it's not ye fault Mr. Higgs. Lad's just afeart of a legend that happens to be true. All monsters arenae real until ye see them."

Higgs crossed his arms at her and she smirked.

"My, what an attitude."

He scribbled something again. YOU JUST CALLED ME A MONSTER. I TAKE OFFENSE TO THAT!

"I'm not calling ye a monster, I'm calling a Dullahan a monster. Ye turn into myth, lad, and myth is made of monsters as well as heroes. Cannae help that ye curse chose a pretty unsightly one... weesht, even I'd be afeart of ye on the night of the streets."

YOU ARE NOT HELPING MATTERS AT ALL!

Merida laughed a little and pat his shoulder. "Dinnae lose yer head now."

Higgs slammed the door in her face and she tried to stifle her laughter over her own joke. She knew it wasn't that funny but his reaction was priceless.

"Is he gone?" Edgar asked, sticking his head out of his room.

"He's mad at me right now so yes, for the time being." Edgar smiled and ran to her. "I ken ye cannae fake that kind of fear but dinnae ken that this will dismiss ye from chores next month. An ye're going to live here, ye're going to see Mr. Higgs turn into a lot of things. Cannae let ye fear get the best of ye."

"I don't mind all the other ones, it's just that one. The older boys used to terrify me with his stories every time I went to get the laundry from the line or have to go to town by myself. I hope Mr. Higgs understands..."

"Of course he does, laddie. An he didnae then he's a fool. Although, what if Larid Northumberly is a Dullahan as well?"

"I will hide under a rock."

*******************************

Merida knocked on the door of the lower mansion and Fuchsia opened it, smiling.

"Hello, Ms. Dunbrough. I feel like it's been ages since we've last seen each other."

They hugged and Merida smiled. "Well, last month was quite hectic with me getting back and all."

"I'm so sorry that we took so long. I fear that even I doubted your return."

"I have no grudges against anyone regarding that. The way it happened would lead anyone to suspect that... I dinnae ken ye met Edgar though, the laddie who helped save me."

Fuchsia smiled and bent down to Edgar's level.

"Hello, Edgar. I'm Fuchsia Northumberly, Higgs' sister."

"Do you turn creatures like Mr. Higgs does?" he asked bluntly.

Merida kicked him with her foot. "Oi."

"It's alright, Merida, it's a perfectly valid question." She turned back to Edgar. "No, I don't transform. Only the men of our line do. Father is here though-"

"Is he a Dullahan?" Edgar asked in fear.

"No, not this time around. I believe he's... oh, up there." She said, pointing on the ceiling.

Merida and Edgar looked up as a large spider looking creature looked down. It crawled across the ceiling and then descended in front of them. Edgar turned his head as Merida made a face.

"Ah, Ms. Dunbrough..." He looked at Edgar with his eight eyes and licked his lips. "You brought me a snack?"

"Uh, no. What in bullocks name are you?"

"You are a rude thing aren't you?"

"Well I've seen a lot of things but nothing like ye."

"We call it The Arachne, a variation of the curse put upon Arachne by Athena for her haughtiness in Ancient Greece."

"It's a curse within a curse?" Edgar asked, turning his head to the other side.

Jamison looked at him, blinking all eight of his eyes. "Slightly. More of a tweak."

"So ye're an insect centaur? Instead of the ass of a horse ye've got the ass of a spider?"

Jamison opened his mouth a little with a small hiss. "I'm also quite poisonous."

"Jamison." Margaret growled, coming from the other room. "I told you that you could roost in the landing if you didn't mess with visitors. Not that I don't love you, but I thought you were heading back to your own manor soon?"

"Is it a crime to stay with my wife?"

"You're the one who wanted different estates, dearest. Now, stop messing with visitation and go back up to your web. Go on..." she shooed.

Jamie grumbled but climbed his way back to the large spider web above them and Merida turned to Margaret.

"How is it that a curse is within a curse?"

"Oh, The Arachne? It's really the only possible thing we can come up with regarding the transformation. It's something my husband gained when he was born and when they looked into it, it was the closest thing they could find. Usually he's in his own manor hunting the staff for the month but for some reason he's hanging around here."

"I just think he misses you, Mother." Fuchsia said with a smile.

"I told him that we didn't have to live separately but he insisted we did due to the curse and so now it just gets bothersome when he's about and being obstinate... I'm sorry; what brings you by, Ms. Dunbrough?"

Merida put her hand on Edgar's shoulder. "This is Edgar, the boy who helped save me from Laird Clarvins. He informed Mr. Higgs of my whereabouts while I was detained from him... It seems Mr. Higgs' current transformation has Edgar a wee bit afeart and I was wondering an it wouldnae be too much trouble for him to stay with ye until the month is over."

"Oh, I see..." Margaret looked at Edgar. "You're afraid of my son?"

"Just this one change, ma'am... I like Mr. Higgs a lot but... But the boys at the orphanage used to terrify me with what he is and I just get so scared. I'm not brave at all..." he said with a hang of his head.

Margaret smiled and rustled his hair. "I understand the fear, love." She looked at Merida. "Is it the vampire?"

"No, the Dullahan."

"Ah, well, no wonder the poor dear is frightened past his wits. The Dullahan is probably the most frightful looking out of all the transformations. Of course he can stay here."

"Grand. I'll come and check up on him periodically. Um... although... how abouts do I deal with Mr. Higgs?"

Fuchsia gave a skeptical look to her mother as Margaret sighed.

"In all honesty, there's really nothing you can do. He's a Dullahan and has a duty as a Dullahan. Usually he's fine during the day but when night comes..."

"A black carriage appears in the drive and you'll hear him walking about. A whip made of a spine will appear in his hand and he'll usually go out for his 'ride'."

"It's... an interesting feeling." Margaret said.

"A feeling?"

"I know you asked me not to intrude but I don't think you'll be able to describe it that well." Jamison said from his web.

"Fine."

Jamison slide down beside them and landed gracefully on the floor.

"In the day time we're fine, just headless. When the night comes, the duties of the Dullahan take over and we go to do what our purpose entails: we ride until we stop and when we stop, we say a name. When we say a name, someone dies and that's all we do. If we're lucky, we don't say a name the whole night and everything is fine but what Margaret is talking about is that sometimes those very close to us can feel the death of the person's name we call out."

"It's like you hear the name in a whisper, coming through the cracks in the walls and the windows and then this shudder just goes through you. It's not a soul or anything but it's just a strange feeling that you know someone is now dead..."

"I see... well, Higgs and I arenae that close, I'm sure, so I dinnae ken I'll be having that sort of luck." Merida bent down to Edgar. "Ye be good for Mrs. Northumberly and Fuchsia, alright?"

"I love you, Merida." He said, hugging her.

"Oh, I love ye too, laddie. Dinnae ye worry; hopefully Mr. Higgs will be something less scary next month."

He nodded and Merida left the mansion to go back to Higgs'.

*********************************

Edgar looked up and saw that Margaret, Fuchsia and Jamison looking at each other, although a pair of Jamison's eyes were looking at Edgar.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Her ignorance is either heartwarming or idiotic." Jami said, rolling all eight of his eyes.

"What do you mean? Hey! Mr. Spider! Is Merida gonna get hurt?" Edgar asked, jumping up and down to get someone's attention.

Margaret looked at him and smiled. "No, love, nothing like that."

"It's just that Merida thinks that she and Higgs aren't close enough for her to feel the passing of someone when it's pretty clear that she's his everything." Fuchsia said with a small smile. "Like Father said, she's either delightfully ignorant or just stupid... and we all know she's not the latter."

"But is that a bad thing?"

"Not at all." Margaret said with an even bigger smile. "It will help her understand just how much she really means to him. Come along, son, I have some tarts in the kitchen."

Edgar lit up and followed her immediately to the kitchen.