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It was a sunny afternoon when the King of Blackmail, Charles Augustus Milverton and his secretary, Ruskin, decided to entertain themselves and make their evil bond stronger by going out to blackmail someone. Ruskin, like always, held the door in front of his employer who confidently walked out to the garden... just to freeze in his place for a moment after taking a few steps and quickly rush back to the manor, closing the door again.
"Is there a problem, Mr. Milverton?" Ruskin asked, heavily concerned by his employer's behaviour. Milverton looked around in the hall to see if there were any household servants around, then leaning closer to him, he murmured in a quiet voice.
"Ruskin... there is a goose out there."
Ruskin blinked. He first thought that he misheard the word. Mr. Milverton cannot mean a...
"A goose, sir? You mean, the bird?" He asked in the same quiet voice, but at the same time, he could hardly believe what the other man said. Mr. Milverton vehemently nodded - twice - just to make his secretary sure that he was serious.
"Indeed the bird. In fact, a violent one. A really violent goose."
It was still... too much to comprehend for Ruskin, but he was able to read Mr. Milverton's soul perfectly due to the soul bond they shared and he knew that his employer was definitely not lying.
"And... what is that goose doing?" He felt weird when the question slipped out of his mouth. He never expected that he would ever need to ask this. No one could have expected.
"It doesn't let me go out!" Milverton lashed out with annoyance and his golden eyes were glowing. "I have the strange feeling that it thinks that I want to leave you behind. Is this one of your soul bonding rituals? You made us tied together by a goose?"
Ruskin tilted his head with surprise. Yes, he was indeed fond of completing rituals to make their evil bond stronger - but what ritual would contain a living goose that is not letting Mr. Milverton go out of the door alone? He only made rituals before where he sacrificed a goose and cut its throat away. He couldn't guess how this goose even got there - but it was better to be careful.
"No, sir, I assure you that it was not me." He stated. "I know that you cannot leave me, our souls are one and the same. Why would I enchant a goose to attack you? I would never let anyone hurt you!" He swore to his employer who let out a sigh and closed his eyes for a second.
"Then do something about the goose." Milverton ordered him frustratedly and Ruskin was immediately ready to obey.
"Of course, sir." He replied and he opened the door again, strengthening himself for the fight. He will protect Mr. Milverton from the goose. He would protect Mr. Milverton from everything.
Then he stepped out to face his enemy.
Milverton, when he heard the painful cry and the curses from the garden, started to worry for his secretary. Ruskin could do a lot of things, he defeated assassins before... but what was out there seemed to be a form of real evil. Milverton didn't want Ruskin to get hurt. He hoped that the goose didn't injure him.
A moment later, the door opened and Ruskin came back. His face was blushing from the fury and Milverton could see a red line on one of his hands.
"Ruskin, what happened to you?" He clenched his fist angrily. "The goose..."
"The goose attacked me!" Ruskin cut into his speech. "It must have thought that I wanted to leave you as well. It seems that we are stuck here." He shook his head with resignation and he looked ashamed for not being able to help his employer.
But Milverton didn't want to give in. He was an evil incarnation, after all - no matter if heaven or hell sent that terrifying goose, he couldn't let it defeat them. However, even Ruskin couldn't get rid of the goose and his bodyguards were already waiting in the carriage on the street, so he couldn't count on them either. They needed to find another way to deal with their enemy.
"We can't be late from the blackmail negotiation..." He furrowed his brows then he got a sudden idea. "What if we leave together, folding arms? Then the goose can be sure that we will not leave each other." He suggested and he speculated that this can work. After all, the goose didn't want them to separate. To defeat it, they needed to play by the cursed goose's rules.
"It is a very wise idea, sir!" A smile appeared on Ruskin's face which was not only due to Milverton's advice, but because of what it meant. Holding onto each other on the road. Milverton reached out and folded his arm into his secretary's arm with a wink and gaining strength from their bond, they tried to leave the manor again. Both of them watched the goose with visible suspicion, but it didn't make a sound, neither moved. The plan truly worked out, Milverton grinned as they walked towards the gate of the garden.
"We successfully tricked it." He said with relieved pride. "We are safe now."
Ruskin turned around to check and his eyes widened.
"No, sir. Don't look back... but the goose is now following us." He whispered, making sure that only his employer can hear it and the goose doesn't.
"Following us?!" Milverton unfortunately forgot to stay silent. He was too bewildered and irritated for that. How dare that goose think that it is smarter than them? How dare it target, soul bond here or there, the King of Blackmail?
"It is really determined to keep us together." Ruskin told him and leaned closer to his employer, ready to protect him with his own body if it was needed, despite his previous failure. Milverton folded his arm into Ruskin's even more.
"Don't let me go then. We better not make it angry." He ordered. It was still a long way to go until they could sit in the carriage in relative safety. Milverton didn't want to risk that. Neither that he or Ruskin would become the victim of the soul bond goose.
"Don't worry, sir. I didn't want to let you go anyway." Ruskin promised and Milverton felt calmer that he was there.
The afternoon was not so sunny anymore under the threat of the goose. But walking arm in arm was actually not against their liking.