Work Text:
Reflections a story told in reactions
Kim Merrill
"Okay, that was not what was supposed to happen." Kim thought as she tried to be calm. The spot where her husband had been, where a frog was supposed to be and where a cat was. The cat was just looking curiously around and didn't seem to be scared or nervous and hopefully would change back to her husband once the spell broke. Remembering the stories she'd heard about magic that had gone wrong and how long it took some of them to be undone, but not wanting to bother her new mother-in-law, she composed herself and sent a message to Renee D'Auber.
Renee D'Auber
"Now this is not something I would have expected. I must say being a cat suits Monsieur Merrill quite well." Renee said as she watched Mairelon move purposefully around the library. "I have never used the frog spell and I don't know how much help I'll be in fixing this issue, but when fixing a magical problem there as certain steps you can try."
Andrew Merrill
"Of course he turns into a cat the one time I'm heading out of country and can't help. Try the Earl of Shoreham, it could be related to something that Richard got up to while helping him out."
Earl of Shoreham
Edward turned away from Kim with a snort, trying to hide his laughter after hearing the story. "Do not blame yourself for this. You performed the spell right. There's a good chance that the only reason that this happen the way it did is because of Richard sticking his nose into something he shouldn't have at some point. How's he handling being a cat?"
Kim didn't feel quite as comfortable with Merrill's change in status as Shoreham did. "He seems to be enjoying himself and he still remembers everyone and can understand us, but he's even more impossible to keep track of than usual. So far we've had two footmen trip over him and one scullery maid threaten to quit. It hasn't even been a week."
Looking worried she asked, "Do you know how long he'll be a cat for? The spell I used should have broken already, and I even tried a kiss because that's what all the tales say works."
Finally calm the Earl turned to face Kim. "Good thinking with the kiss. That works surprisingly well on a number of things and if he'd turned into a frog it would have worked. He turned into a cat though and that's going to need something different. Try talking with Lord Ketterling at the Library. He might be able to help you turn Richard back sooner than I can. I'll start looking into what Richard could have been involved in that would cause the spell to twist like this. Like your experience with the Saltash set, sometimes if a pre existing spell exists it won't let a new spell land and that might be what happened here. Actually, did Hunch have any ideas? He was with Richard in France"
Kim sighed looking even more tired and put out. "That's part of the problem, Hunch took a vacation. Apparently he has some nieces and nephews he's never seen and he went to go visit them last week. He should be back in a couple of days. I tried asking Renee, but she didn't know anything either and was the one who suggested asking you."
"Sorry I couldn't be of more help Kim," Shoreham said. "I know you aren't a member of the Royal Society yet, but if you've master the frog spell you're ready for it. Let me write you a pass to the library, Kerring should be able to pull something out of there. There's all sorts of things buried in those vaults"
Kerring
"Hmm, I think we might have something in the archive about a similar situation. Do you have him with you? I might be able to get a better idea if I could examine him." Kerring said as he headed back into the stacks that he'd come from. "Aha, I remembered correctly. Something like this happen to an old friend of mine, and here's his account of it." Kerring dropped a pile of books on the table for Kim to read. "Do remind Richard that he still owes me an account of the Les Griffonais event when you succeed in turning him back"
Hunch
Hunch looked shifty when he saw cat Mairelon and chewed on his mustache before admitting, "If he's a cat it's because he needs to be a cat right now. That spell is one he'd use all the time in France. No one is surprised to see a cat someplace unexpected and at worse they'd think it was some barn or stable cat who got into the house."
"Then why's he still a cat?" Kim asked. "It's been over two weeks and as nice as the cat is, I would like my husband back!"
"Well whenever he finds what he's looking for, after that he can change back." Hunch chewed his mustache a bit more. "Were you keeping any secrets from him that he could be trying to find out? Maybe that could do it when combined with your spell."
"The only secret I'd been keeping was that I was working on learning the frog maker spell, and he should have been able to figure that out right away. Everything's been fairly calm."
"Then maybe he's trying to find a puzzle to solve?" Hunch suggested with a shrug. "Then once he's solved it he can change back?"
Lady Wendell
"Oh Richard thanks you so much for finding my ring. You father gave it to me and I'm very fond of it. I don't know how it got back there or what I would have done if you hadn't found it"
Richard Merrill
"Mother, I saw you drop it there yesterday. It was not hard to find, but it seems to have worked to stop the spell at least and I guess I owe you all a story"
Everyone
"Yes, Yes you do."