Scots vocabulary
To play funny buggers – to start acting up, acting awkward/stubborn/petulant on purpose.
Story
Anora and I have a plan. There’s a ray of hope on the horizon, a parting in the clouds that lets the sunshine down. During my scheming and sneaking around with the enemy, I never forgot that our wee rebel group was missing someone.
Madam Norna.
Over the years the woman has always been a question mark, someone that’s right there ready to talk, listen, and offer advice, yet seems aloof, occupying a place no one can reach. I still feel as though I don’t really know her. How did she feel about being the Madam? Did she get sick of it sometimes? Did her heart ache as mine did? Did she suffer episodes of bitterness or envy? When I wasn’t there did she gaze out of the window and marvel at how much the world had changed when she remained stationary? How had she felt when I turned up, her unequipped replacement?
Perhaps it wasn’t that she was aloof, maybe it was that I’d never bothered to ask. Perhaps I’d put my boss on a pedestal, put her so high above me that she lost her humanity. How could a being so far away, so all knowing and seeing, feel the petty emotions I did? But she wasn’t a god, or a creature, or anything else I’d ever encountered. She was human, and I knew I owed it to her to explain what I’d been doing.
One day I left my familiars and Chronos down in the shop and ascended the stairs unaccompanied by a customer and their problems. For the first time there was no creaking floorboards echoing behind me. I still went and made tea, still sat on the floor at my boss’s feet, still put the cups and pot on the table in front of me.
I told her I needed to talk to her, and although I was hoping the words would tumble unceremoniously out like they usually did, I struggled to start. What if she thought I’d betrayed her? What if she was on Fate’s side? What if by telling her this I’d ruin everything? I’d just admitted I didn’t really know this person, my boss, the enigmatic Madam Norna, and yet I was telling her a plan she could easily derail. I realised then that even though there were question marks, and that I didn’t know the ins and outs of her own life, that I trusted her, trusted that she wouldn’t intentionally hurt anyone, including me.
My conversations with Madam Anora, my revelation about Chronos and his connection to Death, the story, and about how they’d agreed to help set us all free fell between us. After I’d finished, I stared into her face and the familiar frustration about not being able to read it simmered at the back of my mind. Did that eyebrow twitch mean she thought this was a stupid plan? Did that blank gaze mean she was going to scold me for getting my head together with Madam Anora?
The silence sank my heart and threatened to snipe what hope that had buoyed me along this far. Could I go through with this if Madam Norna wasn’t on board? This woman who seemed to know everything about everyone, and events to come. The walking inventory of items in the shop, their history, and their purpose. If someone like that thought this plan was stupid, then she was probably right. I’d have paid a good amount of money to have her say anything the silence felt like it stretched on for that long.
She finally admitted in gentle, lulling tones, that she was uncertain whether it was a good idea. Fate was not one to be provoked. What happened if we failed? How harsh would the punishment be? She confessed in a rare moment of transparency that she’d had her misgivings when I’d shown up as it had signalled that her time was almost done, but over the years I’d been her apprentice she’d come to terms with it. What if interfering now, fighting against Fate’s grand plan, made things worse?
I really would’ve been an idiot if I hadn’t seen she had a point. I’d seen what Fate could do, what it could hurt. It was an almost omnipotent being, and we were trying to stop it. She was right, there could be worse consequences waiting for us if we failed. That didn’t mean we couldn’t at least try. What about all those women who’d been Madams before us, who’d given up their lives and loves because Fate said so, because Fate was too lazy to do its own job? The Madams were created to be servants, to be at the mercy of Fate’s controlling plan for the world, but if we beat it we could all have our freedom, we could live our lives the way we chose, not one that was chosen for us by an uncaring immortal being. Wasn’t the possibility of freedom better than living a life resigned to misery?
I can honestly say I didn’t know what I would’ve done if the Madam had refused. Would I still have gone through with it, or would I have called it all off and lived like she had, resigned to my fate? Thankfully I never have to find out, because she agreed to be a part, to help take down our master.
The bigger plan was put into action, although no doubt Madam Anora was already gleefully doing her part. I descended into the shop to tell my familiars what we needed to do next, something for once I knew I’d be great at because I’d done it so well before. Messing with Fate.
For the next week customers came and were sent away, white business cards confiscated. Purchases were refused or swapped with another item that was similar. Items were moved into storage, but no stock came out to replace them. Although it started getting concerning when no matter how much stuff we put into storage, the shop was still as full as ever. I don’t think we’ll ever know where all that shite comes from. All of us were doing all in our power to get Fate’s attention.
It’d taken me months on my own, but with all five of us in the shop, and Madam Anora in her own, it took a mere week to gain Fate’s attention. I think they’d timed it intentionally as it was during one of the rare times I was in the shop completely on my own that they turned up, perched on a vanity table facing the glass counter where I was sorting the jewellery.
A bit like with Madam Anora, I sensed the presence before I saw it. The same sharp-eyed, imposing owl standing still, staring blankly in my direction. I know animals don’t have facial expressions, but if this owl had lips, they’d be pursed in disgust. I’ll admit, I felt a jolt of fear as we made eye contact, and I felt very vulnerable in that moment, alone in the shop with something as powerful as Fate.
I had to try hard to remember that I wasn’t alone. My familiars, Chronos, and the Madam were all upstairs, a shout away, which I never got out as Fate began to speak.
They reminded me that they’d warned me about interfering with Fate and were disappointed that I’d not learned my lesson.
I corrected them that I’d learned it very well, in a voice so loud it travelled through the private door, up the stairs, and to the ears of my family. Hopefully. I began a half-baked apology whilst I reached beneath the counter for the jewellery box that I’d found last year, the one that connected this shop to Madam Anora’s, and opened the lid. This was our agreed signal that she and Madam Norna were to summon Death to the shop.
Now, all I had to do was give them some time. As much as I wanted to gloat to the owl’s face, tell it to put its affairs in order, I knew that wasn’t an option. I lightened my tone and said that all I’d wanted this time was to ask a question, and the only way to get its attention was to start playing funny buggers.
The owl looked suitably unimpressed, but I asked my question anyway. Why the Madams? Why give one person so much power, so much influence? What did Fate get from such an arrangement?
Silence.
I started to coax. If I was going to be punished anyway, I might as well get an answer. It was a harmless question, wasn’t it? What could I, a mere apprentice, do with the answer?
Fate replied that I already knew the answer to my question, because I’d done the same thing. I felt my eyebrows draw into a frown. What did that mean? I don’t remember picking some poor victim to be my servant for eternity.
The ring on my little finger disagreed strongly.
Was that what the Madams were to Fate? Familiars? No, it wasn’t as simple as that, not as transactional. They were companions. Death had Chronos, but who did Fate have? Was that part of the reason they’d stolen him in the first place? Envy?
‘You…you wanted a friend,’ I stuttered.
The owl replied no, it had never wanted something so fragile, so easily destroyed by outside influence. It had wanted a bond, a connection, a kinship with another being that knew, even a wee bit, of what it was like to exist for so long. They’d thought humanity was the answer, transform one of them into a companion. But Fate’s gift had gone to their head, made them dangerous, made them a problem that needed to be balanced out.
The Madams had proven not to be the companions Fate had wished for, and after that they’d become resigned to a solitary existence.
I honestly wished I’d asked anything else because I truly wasn’t prepared for that answer. Loneliness doesn’t justify everything that had been done, and the irony that Fate had condemned the Madams to the same thing they’d tried to avoid by creating them wasn’t lost on me. I only faltered for a second, sympathy tainting my determination, until I heard a creak on the stairs, and the private door was opened by my familiars, Chronos, and the Madam.
I don’t know what my familiars or the Madam saw when they looked at Fate. A person? A creature? Someone they knew? I forgot to ask.
I thought we’d have to stall Fate for a bit longer, maybe even pretend to beg for our lives and for us not to be punished. I even thought Fate might do the job for us and launch into a villain’s monologue. Almost as soon as Chronos jumped onto the glass counter beside me, there was a sudden darkness to the shop, the light from outside wasn’t streaming in as brightly.
The bodach glas, Death, had arrived, Madam Anora at their side. I saw a brief glimmer of something in the owl’s depthless eyes as they noticed Death, something that looked an awful lot like doubt.
This didn’t last long as Fate began to scoff, realising what our plan was. The owl chastised me for being foolish, saying that Death had no power over it ever since their wee arrangement. If Death were to ever lift a finger against Fate, then they’d never see their love again.
Except Death had already seen their love. Chronos and the Bodach glas locked eyes, and almost immediately his eyes changed colour, there was a kind of clarity, as though recognising an old pal you haven’t seen in decades.
I corrected Fate by pointing at Chronos. The wee shite took his cue, jumped from the counter and transformed into his true form, complete with too many tails, and third sparkling eye. His growl was feral, made more menacing by the growing darkness caused by Death’s presence.
Fate began to realise that it was over. Their reign over the world and the power they held over it fading.
Death pronounced their judgment on Fate. They were to be confined to the shop, in the form that the architect of their downfall saw them in. Who was me, meaning that Fate was forced to be an owl for the rest of time. With Fate confined to the shop, their hold over the world and everything in it would be limited. There would be no more Madams, no more destinies, no more chosen lives. People would be free to choose for the first time in millennia.
With no more Madams, it meant that the current Madams were now free to live their lives. They were fully mortal. They’d live, age, and die just like everyone else. No longer would they be required to live for centuries, to be the guardians of Fate, and the gatekeepers of all the strange items in the world.
However, there needed to be one exception. Fate couldn’t be confined to the shop on its own, nor could the shop be left without someone to watch over it. The items inside had a purpose, and there were more out in the world that needed a place to go, and the ones already here a place to stay.
You’ll never guess who volunteered for this position. A life dedicated to the shop and all of the horrors inside?
Aye, it was me.
The problem was never the shop, it was being a Madam, being forced to be there day in, day out, for the rest of my long days. It’d always been about choice and the lack of one. Here I was being handed it. I could’ve walked away, could’ve left all this behind and went back to normal. Except, I didn’t want to do that. How could I after all the amazing, horrifying, spectacular things I’d seen? I’d been struggling with my future, not knowing what direction I wanted to go in, resigned to knowing I didn’t have a choice. Now I had one, and I’d made it.
Death confirmed that although not a Madam, I’d probably live a bit longer than an average person. I would age, and one day I’d die, but I’d get a bit longer on the ride than most people, which was fine by me. Death threw in a bonus, in gratitude for reuniting him with his greatest love, Chronos, who himself was a facet of time. His presence had been the main reason that the shop was suspended, a pocket dimension in its own right. Aye, the wee shite was a lot more powerful than I’d ever appreciated, and no, I still haven’t stopped calling him that. He’ll always be my wee shite, no matter how big he is.
The bonus allowed Fionn to leave the shop. He wasn’t free. Even though we’d done Death a favour, it still wasn’t enough to completely resurrect Fionn, but he was able now to go outside for a day at a time. If he didn’t come back, then he’d die for good. Fionn has since taken full advantage of his new freedom and seems the happier for it.
Everyone parted ways. Death left with Chronos, who I didn’t want to see leave. The full story of what happened was told to me after he came back to visit. Fate kidnapped him from Death many millennia ago and had kept him prisoner, forcing Death to do their bidding. One day, by chance or something more powerful we’ll never know, he escaped. On his way back to Death his memories faded, Fate’s last attempt to prevent the reunion, and had condemned Chronos to wander the earth not knowing who he was, until the Madams found him. It wasn’t clear whether Fate knew who he was, or whether they were arrogant and thought that the shop was as good a prison as any, as long as it was away from Death. Once Chronos and Death had been reunited, whatever Fate had done fell away, and Chronos remembered everything. He and Death are happily reunited, but he still visits from time to time.
It’s been a few months since this all happened, since Fate was trapped in the shop amongst the many items it allowed to be created. Reid and Fionn are no longer my familiars because I’m no longer an apprentice. I still wear the ring though, I got used to it, but it no longer has the powers it used to.
Fionn is still in the shop, although takes advantages of his day’s freedom every now and then. We’ve both tried to sort the shop, made the mistake of trying to change it, make it neater, but like when we were preparing to face Fate, no matter what we move or change, more items appear from thin air. We’ve since given up. We also have to put up with the owl, which has been given its own perch, in prime position to glare at me and whoever comes in. Fate hasn’t spoken a word since we trapped it in the shop, but I’m sure in time that’ll probably change. Neither Fionn nor I have the courage to put it in storage.
Reid, since gaining his freedom, has started living his life away from the shop. He’s in a relationship that’s lasted more than two minutes, and during his visits to the shop he appears happier than I’ve ever seen him, the frown he used to wear softened.
The Madams are also taking full advantage of their freedom. Anora has been looking for her descendants, or rather her family’s descendants, and has been trying to reconnect with them. We receive almost weekly postcards from Norna as she travels from exotic place to exotic place, seeing things in person she’d only read in books.
As for me. I’m now the Proprietor of the shop. I didn’t want to keep the Madam title since I’d been so desperate to avoid it. I don’t appear to have the same powers as I used to, but there’s still wee things here and there, inclinations about customers, and unbelievably they still come in with their weird problems, and I can still help them. It might surprise you to know that by some miraculous twist of luck I actually managed to graduate with a degree that I’ll now never use. For once I got to be smug to my family and pals, telling them I was going to be running my own business. To this day they still haven’t been able to find the shop.
It’s all still a bit new. I chose the name Proprietor but what that even entails is still something I don’t quite know. I’m curious as to how I’m going to forge a path ahead when I feel as unequipped as the day I walked into the shop for the first time. But I suppose that’s the fun of it, not knowing where things are going, not knowing which direction you’re travelling in, knowing that your life isn’t planned out for you by something out of your control. That was always the world I wanted to live in, and now I get to do just that. Live by my own choices.
Scots-ish language version
Anora and I have a plan. There’s a ray ae hope on the horizon, a partin’ in the clouds that lets the sun shine doon. Durin’ ma schemin’ and sneakin’ aroond wi’ the enemy, I never forgot that our wee rebel group was missin’ someone.
Madam Norna.
Over the years the woman has always been a question mark, someone that’s right there ready tae talk, listen, and offer advice, yet seems aloof, occupyin’ a place no one can reach. I still feel as though I dinnae really know her. How did she feel aboot bein’ the Madam? Did she get sick ae it sometimes? Did her heart ache as mine did? Did she suffer episodes ae bitterness or envy? When I wasnae there did she gaze oot ae the windae and marvel at how much the world had changed, when she remained stationary? How had she felt when I turned up, her unequipped replacement?
Perhaps it wasnae that she was aloof, maybe it was that I’d never bothered tae ask. Perhaps I’d put ma boss on a pedestal, put her so high above me that she lost her humanity. How could a being so far away, so all knowing and seeing, feel the petty emotions I did? But she wasnae a god, or a creature, or anythin’ else I’d ever encountered. She was human, and I knew I owed it tae her tae explain whit I’d been doin.
One day I left ma familiars and Chronos doon in the shop, and ascended the stairs unaccompanied by a customer and their problems. Fae the first time there was no creakin’ floorboards echoin’ behind me. I still went and made tea, still sat on the floor at ma boss’s feet, still put the cups and pot on the table in front ae me.
I told her I needed tae talk tae her, and although I was hopin’ the words would tumble unceremoniously oot like they usually did, I struggled tae start. Whit if she thought I’d betrayed her? Whit if she was on Fate’s side? Whit if by tellin’ her this I’d ruin everything? I’d just admitted I didnae really know this person, ma boss, the enigmatic Madam Norna, and yet I was tellin’ her a plan she could easily derail. I realised then that even though there were question marks, and that I didnae know the ins and oots ae her own life, that I trusted her, trusted that she wouldnae intentionally hurt anyone, includin’ me.
Ma conversations wi’ Madam Anora, ma revelation aboot Chronos and his connection tae Death, the story, and aboot how they’d agreed tae help set us all free fell between us. After I’d finished I stared intae her face and the familiar frustration aboot no bein’ able tae read it simmered at the back ae ma mind. Did that eyebrow twitch mean she thought this was a stupid plan? Did that blank gaze mean she was gonnae scold me fae gettin’ ma heid together wi’ Madam Anora?
The silence sank ma heart and threatened tae snipe whit hope that had buoyed me along this far. Could I go through wi’ this if Madam Norna wasnae on board? This woman who seemed tae know everythin aboot everyone, and events tae come. The walkin’ inventory ae items in the shop, their history, and their purpose. If someone like that thought this plan was stupid, then she was probably right. I’d have paid a good amount ae money tae have her say anything the silence felt like it stretched on fae that long.
She finally admitted in gentle, lulling tones, that she was uncertain whether it was a good idea. Fate was no one tae be provoked. Whit happened if we failed? How harsh would the punishment be? She confessed in a rare moment ae transparency, that she’d had her misgivings when I’d shown up as it had signalled that her time was almost done, but over the years I’d been her apprentice she’d come tae terms wi’ it. Whit if interfering noo, fightin’ against Fate’s grand plan, made things worse?
I really wouldae been an ijit if I hadnae seen she had a point. I’d seen whit Fate could do, whit it could hurt. It was an almost omnipotent being, and we were tryin’ tae stop it. She was right, there could be worse consequences waitin’ fae us if we failed. That didnae mean we couldnae at least try. Whit aboot all ae those women who’d been Madams before us, who’d given up their lives and loves because Fate said so, because Fate was too lazy tae do its own job? The Madams were created tae be servants, tae be at the mercy ae Fate’s controlling plan fae the world, but if we beat it we could all have our freedom, we could live our lives the way we chose, no one that was chosen fae us by an uncaring immortal being. Wasnae the possibility ae freedom better than living a life resigned tae misery?
I can honestly say I didnae know whit I wouldae done if the Madam had refused. Would I still have gone through wi’ it, or would I have called it all off and lived like she had, resigned tae ma fate? Thankfully I never have tae find oot, because she agreed tae be a part, tae help take doon our master.
The bigger plan was put intae action, although no doubt Madam Anora was already gleefully doin’ her part. I descended intae the shop tae tell ma familiars what we needed tae do next, somethin’ fae once I knew I’d be great at because I’d done it so well before. Messin’ wi fate.
Fae the next week customers came and were sent away, white business cards confiscated. Purchases were refused or swapped wi’ another item that was similar. Items were moved intae storage but no stock came oot tae replace them. Although it started getting’ concernin when no matter how much stuff we put intae storage, the shop was still as full as ever. I dinnae think we’ll ever know where all that shite comes fae. All ae us were doin’ all in our power tae get Fate’s attention.
It’d taken me months on ma own, but wi’ all five ae us in the shop, and Madam Anora in her own, it took a mere week tae gain Fate’s attention. I think they’d timed it intentionally as it was durin’ one ae the rare times I was in the shop completely on ma own that they turned up, perched on a vanity table facin’ the glass counter where I was sortin’ the jewellery.
A bit like wi’ Madam Anora, I sensed the presence before I saw it. The same sharp-eyed, imposin’ owl standin’ still, starin’ blankly in ma direction. I know animals dinnae have facial expressions, but if this owl had lips, they’d be pursed in disgust. I’ll admit, I felt a jolt ae fear as we made eye contact, and I felt very vulnerable in that moment, alone in the shop wi’ somethin’ as powerful as Fate.
I had tae try hard tae remember that I wasnae alone. Ma familiars, Chronos, and the Madam were all upstairs, a shout away, which I never got oot as Fate began tae speak.
They reminded me that they’d warned me aboot interferin’ wi’ Fate, and were disappointed that I’d no learned ma lesson.
I corrected them that I’d learned it very well, in a voice so loud it travelled through the private door, up the stairs, and tae the ears ae ma family. Hopefully. I began a half-baked apology whilst I reached beneath the counter fae the jewellery box that I’d found last year, the one that connected this shop tae Madam Anora’s, and opened the lid. This was our agreed signal that she and Madam Norna were tae summon Death tae the shop.
Noo, all I had tae do was give them some time. As much as I wanted tae gloat tae the owl’s face, tell it tae put its affairs in order, I knew that wasnae an option. I lightened ma tone, and said that all I’d wanted this time was tae ask a question, and the only way tae get its attention was tae start playin’ funny buggers.
The owl looked suitably unimpressed, but I asked ma question anyway. Why the Madams? Why give a person so much power, so much influence? What did Fate get fae such an arrangement?
Silence.
I started tae coax. If I was gonnae be punished anyway I might as well get an answer. It was a harmless question, wasn’t it? Whit could I, a mere apprentice, do wi’ the answer?
Fate replied that I already knew the answer tae ma question, because I’d done the same thing. I felt ma eyebrows draw intae a frown. Whit did that mean? I dinnae remember pickin’ some poor victim tae be ma servant fae eternity.
The ring on ma wee finger disagreed strongly.
Was that whit the Madams were tae Fate? Familiars? No, it wasnae as simple as that, no as transactional. They were companions. Death had Chronos, but who did Fate have? Was that part ae the reason they’d stolen him in the first place? Envy?
You…you wanted a friend, I stuttered.
The owl replied no, it had never wanted something so fragile, so easily destroyed by outside influence. It had wanted a bond, a connection, a kinship with another being that knew, even a wee bit, of what it was like tae exist for so long. They’d thought humanity was the answer, transform one ae them intae a companion. But Fate’s gift had gone tae their head, made them dangerous, made them a problem that needed tae be balanced oot.
The Madams had proven no tae be the companions Fate had wished fae, and after that they’d become resigned tae a solitary existence.
I honestly wished I’d asked anything else because I truly wasnae prepared fae that answer. Loneliness doesnae justify everythin’ that had been done, and the irony that Fate had condemned the Madams to the same thing they’d tried tae avoid by creating them wasnae lost on me. I only faltered fae a second, sympathy taintin’ ma determination, until I heard a creak on the stairs, and the private door was opened by ma familiars, Chronos, and the Madam.
I dinnae know whit ma familiars or the Madam saw when they looked at Fate. A person? A creature? Someone they knew? I forgot tae ask.
I thought we’d have tae stall Fate fae a bit longer, maybe even pretend tae beg fae our lives and fae us no tae be punished. I even thought Fate might do the job fae us and launch intae a villain’s monologue. Almost as soon as Chronos jumped ontae the glass counter beside me, there was a sudden darkness tae the shop, the light fae ootside wasnae streamin’ in as brightly.
The bodach, Death, had arrived, Madam Anora at their side. I saw a brief glimmer ae somethin’ in the owl’s depthless eyes as they noticed Death, somethin’ that looked an awful lot like doubt.
This didnae last long as Fate began tae scoff, realising’ whit our plan was. The owl chastised me fae bein’ foolish, sayin’ that Death had no power over it ever since their wee arrangement. If Death were tae ever lift a finger against Fate, then they’d never see their love again.
Except Death had already seen their love. Chronos and the Bodach locked eyes, and almost immediately his eyes changed colour, there was a kindae clarity, as though recognisin’ an old pal ye havenae seen in decades.
I corrected Fate by pointin’ at Chronos. The wee shite took his cue, jumped fae the counter and transformed intae his true form, complete wi’ too many tails, and third sparklin’ eye. His growl was feral, made more menacin’ by the growin’ darkness caused by Death’s presence.
Fate began tae realise that it was over. Their reign over the world and the power they held over it fadin’.
Death pronounced their judgment on Fate. They were tae be confined tae the shop, in the form that the architect ae their downfall saw them in. Who was me, meanin’ that Fate was forced tae be an owl fae the rest ae time. Wi’ Fate confined tae the shop, their hold over the world and everythin’ in it would be limited. There would be no more Madams, no more destinies, no more chosen lives. People would be free to choose fae the first time in millennia.
Wi’ no more Madams, it meant that the current Madams were now free tae live their lives. They were fully mortal. They’d live, age and die just like everyone else. No longer would they be required tae live fae centuries, tae be the guardians ae Fate, and the gatekeepers ae all the strange items in the world.
However, there needed tae be one exception. Fate couldnae be confined tae the shop on its own, nor could the shop be left withoot someone tae watch over it. The items inside had a purpose, and there were more oot in the world that needed a place tae go, and the ones already here a place tae stay.
You’ll never guess who volunteered fae this position. A life dedicated tae the shop and all ae the horrors inside?
Aye, it was me.
The problem was never the shop, it was bein’ a Madam, bein’ forced tae be there day in, day oot, fae the rest ae ma long days. It’d always been aboot choice and the lack ae one. Here I was bein’ handed it. I couldae walked away, couldae left all this behind and went back tae normal. Except, I didnae want tae do that. How could I after all ae the amazin’, horrifying, spectacular things I’d seen? I’d been strugglin’ wi’ ma future, no knowin’ whit direction I wanted tae go in, resigned tae knowin’ I didnae have a choice. Noo I had one, and I’d made it.
Death confirmed that although no’ a Madam, I’d probably live a bit longer than an average person. I would age, and one day I’d die, but I’d get a bit longer on the ride than most people, which was fine by me. Death threw in a bonus, in gratitude fae reuniting’ him wi’ his greatest love, Chronos, who himself was a facet ae time. His presence had been the main reason that the shop was suspended, a pocket dimension in its own right. Aye, the wee shite was a lot more powerful than I’d ever appreciated, and no I still havenae stopped callin’ him that. He’ll always be ma wee shite, no matter how big he is.
The bonus allowed Fionn tae leave the shop. He wasnae free. Even though we’d done Death a favour, it still wasnae enough tae completely resurrect Fionn, but he was able noo tae go ootside fae a day at a time. If he didnae come back, then he’d die fae good. Fionn has since taken full advantage ae his new freedom, and seems the happier fae it.
Everyone parted ways. Death left wi’ Chronos, who I didnae want tae see leave. The full story ae whit happened was told tae me after he came back tae visit. Fate kidnapped him fae Death many millennia ago and had kept him prisoner, forcin’ Death tae do their bidding. One day, by chance or somethin’ more powerful we’ll never know, he escaped. On his way back tae Death his memories faded, Fate’s last attempt tae prevent the reunion, and had condemned Chronos tae wander the earth no knowin’ who he was, until the Madams found him. It wasnae clear whether Fate knew who he was, or whether they were arrogant and thought that the shop was as good a prison as any as long as it was away fae Death. Once Chronos and Death had been reunited, whatever Fate had done fell away, and Chronos remembered everythin. He and Death are happily reunited, but he still visits fae time tae time.
It’s been a few months since this all happened, since Fate was trapped in the shop amongst the many items it allowed tae be created. Reid and Fionn are no longer ma familiars because I’m no longer an apprentice. I still wear the ring though, I got used tae it, but it no longer has the powers it used tae.
Fionn is still in the shop, although takes advantages ae his day’s freedom every noo and then. We’ve both tried tae sort the shop, made the mistake ae tryin’ tae change it, make it neater, but like when we were preparin’ tae face Fate, no matter whit we move or change, more items appear fae thin air. We’ve since given up. We also have tae put up wi’ the owl, which has been given its own perch, in prime position tae glare at me and whoever comes in. Fate hasnae spoken a word since we trapped it in the shop, but I’m sure in time that’ll probably change. Neither Fionn or I have the courage tae put it in storage.
Reid, since gaining his freedom, has started living his life away fae the shop. He’s in a relationship that’s lasted more than two minutes, and durin’ his visits tae the shop he appears happier than I’ve ever seen him, the frown he used tae wear softened.
The Madams are also takin’ full advantage ae their freedom. Anora has been lookin’ fae her descendants, or rather her family’s descendants, and has been tryin’ tae reconnect wi them. We receive almost weekly postcards fae Norna as she travels fae exotic place tae exotic place, seein’ things in person she’d only read in books.
As fae me. I’m noo the proprietor ae the shop. I didnae want tae keep the Madam title since I’d been so desperate tae avoid it. I dinnae appear tae have the same powers as I used tae, but there’s still wee things here and there, inclinations aboot customers, and unbelievably they still come in wi’ their weird problems, and I can still help them. It might surprise ye tae know that by some miraculous twist ae luck I actually managed tae graduate wi’ a degree that I’ll now never use. Fae once I got tae be smug tae ma family and pals, tellin’ them I was gonnae be runnin’ ma own business. Tae this day they still havenae been able tae find the shop.
It’s all still a bit new. I chose the name proprietor but whit that even entails is still somethin’ I dinnae quite know. I’m curious as tae how I’m gonnae forge a path ahead when I feel as unequipped as the day I walked intae the shop fae the first time. But I suppose that’s the fun ae it, not knowing where things are going, not knowing which direction you’re travelling in, knowing that your life isnae planned oot for you by something oot ae your control. That was always the world I wanted tae live in, and now I get tae do just that. Live by ma own choices.