Douxie x Fem!Reader

Episode 1 - "Spellbound" - Part 1

Nine Centuries Later

"Thank you, have a good night!" I call after the last customer for the evening. They wave over their shoulder and give me a smile, which I return. When they close the door I sigh and slowly walk over the the broom leaning against the counter. I start sweeping, letting my face fall into a frown.

"'Master living' he said 'I vow your days of pushing brooms will be over' he said" I mumble bitterly to myself. "It's been 900 bloody years and that git hasn't even had the moral decency to send a raven! Unless, of course, he thinks I'm dead, then that would be completely justifiable—but he's supposed to be the "all-knowing Merlin"! Surely he's connected the dots and knows I—"

"Y/n?" I freeze mid-ramble as I hear Carlos call from the kitchen doorway. "Who're you talking to?"

"Oh—er—just myself!" I stutter—how long has he been there? Carlos simply laughs and teases me, "I swear you get weirder by the day."

"Thanks" I laugh, too, and go back to sweeping.

"Hey, are you sure that you wanna stay and clean up?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course! You go home and relax—I'll be fine here."

My manager smiles and pats me on the shoulder before walking out the front door, "Muchas gracias, mija! ("Thanks so much, girl!")"

"De nada, señor! (You're welcome, sir!)," I call back, still smiling. Carlos is pretty much the best boss a barista could ask for. He pays well, he's always kind and patient with the newbies, and gives employees huge discounts on drinks. He doesn't even get mad when someone spills a drink or screws up an order.

Tonight, however, I wouldn't let him stay a minute past closing time, because he had a movie night with his husband to not be late for. I give a hopeless glance around the shop and sigh, "Blast it."

I look down longingly at my dark silver bracelet with all of its simple, yet beautiful, engravings. It's just waiting to be used. But then I remember Merlin's words of wisdom and get back to sweeping the old-fashioned way.

"Magic isn't a permissible shortcut to hard work" I mumble. As much as I hate to admit it, the old coot did have a point; I've got to appreciate normal things as they are before I can appreciate magic properly.

~A Teensy Time Skip~

I quickly lock up the coffee shop, turn around, and greet the bramble-colored tabby cat sitting on a park bench.

"Hey, Hornbeam, ready some for some real work?" I ask with an excited grin. The cat returns the smile, jumps off of the bench and rubs up against my leg with a small purr.

"Alright then, let's get to it" and I begin walking down the sidewalk.

After about thirty minutes, and an entire block of walking, Hornbeam and I finally start seeing signs of the potential pest. At first I had been expecting an umber imp, what with all of the missing pets, but then I started noticing a few shadows move.

"Looks like we've got a new suspect, Beam" I tell the cat trotting next to me. He follows my gaze and whips his head around to me, widening his dark emerald eyes and raising his eyebrows as if to say, "Really?!"

I nod my head and slow down, allowing my familiar to casually slip around a corner into an alleyway. I stop at the opening and peak around the corner, readying my bracelet. I watch intently and see shadows melting down the brick walls. I scroll through the glowing y/f/c runes and find the proper spell.

"Come on, come on...show yourself already" I say, in barely a whisper. Hornbeam innocently jumps around on the garbage bins, pretending to search for food. Just then a black cat appears from the other entrance of the alleyway. My breath hitches in my throat as I realize who it is.