Beau became painfully aware of his shop's lack of business when he opened the draw he keeps the money in and found next to nothing. He looked again at the closed sign that still polluted the window, ensuring no one disturbed him in his hovel.

If he wanted to have any chance of maintaining this plot of land he would have to reopen the shop sometime soon. That fact was made obvious.

He, however, had no idea how to do such a thing. If what was said on the papers were true, he had drastically more important things to be doing than selling voice recorders to old perverts.

He also wanted an apprentice to teach the art of magic circles, but there was no time for such a thing and would have to wait for another day.

His quick decision made outside his house the night before was actually the best idea he'd had, he needed an extra pair of hands.

According to him, there was only one thing to do when getting in this sort of situation.

“Sheila!”

“Hello, my dear, what brings such a fine young specimen to my shop so early in the morning?”

“Sheila...”

“Sorry, my love.”

“It's alright, I have a problem. It would be great if you could lend me a hand.”

“By all means dear boy, what is it?

“My shop's always closed.”

...

Sheila stared blankly at the azure haired boy then giggled.

“You don't say...”

“Alright, alright, enough of that, I need a helping hand and I was wondering if you had anyone you knew to help me round the shop?”

“Ah, you mean someone like Marianne?”

“Yes, exactly, someone like Marianne.”

“Ah, I see, someone like Marianne, I can find you someone like her.”

“That would be great. It would mean I could keep my shop open for longer as well.”

“You mean they'll have to run the shop themselves?”

“Yes, so make sure they're not slow in the head... Or stuttery.”

He was suddenly reminded of a certain assistant that he knew he would not be able to put up with.

“Stuttery? Well, no matter. I'm just a tad worried about their safety.”

“Don't worry about that, I have quite a few devices built with that in mind. If anyone is stupid enough to try anything on one of Bath's biggest streets, they won't even know what's happened to them until they're locked away.”

“Beau, you got robbed just the other day...”

“Ah, you're right...

...

...

I should probably check the devices are working properly.”

“That might be a good idea. Hurry on home, I'll send someone just like Marianne over this afternoon.”

“Thank you for the help Sheila.”

“It's my pleasure, Beau.”

With his friendly banter finished he returned home to work on some magical items so that he actually had things to sell when he reopened.

------------------------------------

With the White Demon gone and a good night sleep under her belt, Watson finally decided to tackle the letters that made a messy stack on her small table where she'd thrown them down the night before.

When she had read them last night she had been so tired and delirious, the whole thing was sort of a blur. Partly due to the shock of the White Demon in her room, partly due to exhaustion and stress.

She shook her head as she recalled his chilling mask and icy voice piercing through her conscience.

Reading through the papers again, her eyebrows turned inward revealing a scowl that rivaled that of the angry lady at the mansion.

'Robertson,

Have the MCR out of Bournemouth by the end of the week. The ships will be arriving on Thursday. We can sort out the terms of the deal at the port.

Creed.

I'll be there, bring back-up.'

She noticed the writing beneath the letter and realised it had been written later, probably by the White Demon, which means he was heading to Bournemouth on Thursday. She was also intrigued by how they had signed the letter off. The word Creed she deduced, very accurately, to be the name of the organisation behind the dealings rather than a codename.

She was slightly revolted by the fact that she had to work with the very person she was trying to hunt down, however, her morals and opinions were clear on the matter.

There was such a thing as a necessary evil after all.

After getting over that moral dilemma, she rolled off the chair she had slept in and slipped into her usual attire.

Taking off down the streets, she headed straight for the MCR to scour through the rest of the papers the White Demon had so kindly left them. On the way, she glanced up one of the roads full of hope and immediately her expression brightened when she saw a blue haired boy walking out.

As she was already relatively late she had no time to chat, so she just went to work, hoping the day could end quicker.

--------------------------------------------

Beau's shop had been almost as busy as the opening week today. When people realise he had finally reopened, they lined the streets, he even ran out of stock on some items causing him to frantically try and produce more.

Just as his hands were about to fall off, a bright face poked their head round the shop's entrance.

Beau immediately acknowledged Marianne but paid no further attention. That was until she had walked right up next to him and looked at him expectantly.

“Afternoon Marianne.”

He finally said from behind the latest item he was working on.

“Hello Beau, nice to see you again.”

“Likewise.”

...

“Sheila told me you needed an assistant...”

After she said that his eyes grew wide. He suddenly remembered the woman's expression when she had mentioned Marianne, how could he have not noticed it!

“She is ever so cheeky.”

“Pardon?”

“Ah, nothing. You want to work here, young lady?”

“If you would allow me, I would be delighted!”

“Okay, I'll show you how I organise everything. It's incredibly easy so if you mess up, I'll kick you out. The MCR are always on my tail and I can't afford any errors.”

“Why are the MCR on your tail?”

“I have to adhere to certain rules when selling magic items. Listen and I'll tell you all of them."

Beau spent the next few hours multi-tasking. Serving customers and recording items so that Marianne could watch and learn, all the while trying to teach her the rules of business.

Luckily she was a quick girl and picked everything up in no time at all. By the end of her shift, she had completely replaced Beau, leaving him to take care of the now, empty, shelves.

-----------------------------------------------

Watson's day was finally over, the papers had been sent to the higher echelon's and she had sorted out her plan for Thursday. She walked far quicker than was sensible or safe to the entrance of the shop and saw that there were a few people inside.

Suddenly she remembered everything that had happened. She had been so excited she had forgotten all about him ditching her then ignoring her.

She very briefly thought about getting angry but decided there was absolutely no point. They were both adults and he must have had his reasons. She wasn't such a petty person to not listen to his explanation.

Taking a firm step into the shop her gaze first landed on the girl behind the desk, which she remembered was the girl she had first interviewed. She smiled and thought – 'what a coincidence.'

She then swept the shop with her deep blue eyes, looking for the boy. After not finding him anywhere she approached Marianne.

“Hello, my dear.”

Marianne looked up to see a beautiful blonde woman whom she'd had to be utterly mad to forget the face of.

“Ms. Watson, a pleasure to see you again. What brings you here?”

“You too Marianne. I'm here for the blue haired stray. Do you know where he is?”

“Beau's in the back, I can get him if you want, are you here on business?”

Marianne politely inquired. Watson flashed her a stunning but undoubtedly crafty smile.

“Pleasure...”

Marianne sat stunned for a second as Watson breezed past the desk and walking into the back room before firmly closing the door.

Marianne was bewildered and confused, but could only mull over potential scenarios in her head as business was booming and she was as busy as a bee.

“Took your sweet time.”

Watson looked at Beau who had looked up from his magical toy and been thoroughly struck by something a lot more pleasing to eye than lightning.

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder.”

“Or impatient.” She muttered.

“Sorry for not saying anything, I had some business to take care of.”

“It's quite alright, you're here now, which means you're coming with me tonight.”

“Tonight?”

“Tonight.”

Beau could only nod his head and accept the demands of the powerful figure before him.

“And I'll have you for another night this week as well, you must pay interest when you miss a deadline after all.”

“I understand, and when would be most suitable for the lovely lady?”

“Any day except Wednesday and Thursday.”

Beau suddenly had a brainwave.

“Where are you going on Wednesday?” He inquired, tentatively.

“I have business in Bournemouth, why do you ask?”

“Bournemouth! Oh, that's fantastic. I have business in Lymington.”

He looked at her hopefully which garnered a smirk from her as she realised what he was trying to hint.

“Yes, I have space. Come along if you must, I'll be going at midday, though, do you need to be there earlier?”

“Noon's fine, I'm just going to pick something up, it seems my debt to you just keeps on growing.”

“Ooo more dates for me then.” She giggled at him, making him beam a smile back. Experiencing something like this was alright once in a while.

After the shop closed Watson and Beau shared a whiskey while Marianne sipped some tea and after an hour of pleasant conversation the day ended with Watson walking Marianne home.

“So you're working for the boy now?”

“Somehow it's ended up that way... Why do you call him boy, if I'm not mistaken he should be the same age.”

“You are correct, but. Something about him just makes me want to call him boy, maybe it's the fluffy hair.”

They laughed for a bit.

“Do you love him?”

“Well, if that isn't a question and a half, Marianne...” She sighed. “I love spending time with him, I love his personality not to mention his looks. However, I always feel like I actually don't know him at all. Like there's something huge about him that I'm completely missing. So I won't know until I've found out what that is.”

“I know what you mean...”

“You do?”

“Yes, sometimes he has this faraway gaze that looks like his mind's completely wandered.”

“Well, I suppose that sounds like him, how did you get introduced to the job?”

“I was working for a lady that knows him well, she practically kicked me out today telling me that Beau needed an assistant.”

“Sounds like a strange woman.”

“You could say that.

...

Have there been any updates on the White Demon?”

“There's been a few, it's not something I can discuss with you about, though, I'm sorry.”

“No it's fine, I knew that...”

They continued to chat until they reached Marianne's house when they parted ways and Watson made her way back to her own house, happy with the way the day turned out.