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"This child!", Zelda angrily muttered, stepping into the house.
"What is it Zelds?"
"It's Sabrina. We had an argument, because she wants to fight the demon that has been tormenting her friend Suzie and I don't want her meddling in mortal affairs!", she tells Hilda exasperatedly.When Sabrina had been old enough to actually use her powers, Zelda quickly established the rule that she shall not get caught up in mortal situations, for she was talking from experience.
The eldest Spellman had been in quite a predicament herself when her former girlfriend had died and she resurrected her. Suddenly, everyone started asking questions and whispering when she wasn't looking. Try explaining how you brought back a dead person - one who had been declared dead by the family mind you. But people do foolish things when they're in love.
Although she had just wanted to make her girlfriend's family happy again, it had been the reason for their break-up.
In an attempt to spare Sabrina from consequences like this she told her right away that it is a bad idea to get involved in mortal problems.Little does she know meddling is exactly what Sabrina is doing in this very moment...----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sabrina burst into Miss Wardwell's office, not even bothering to knock."Would you mind if I borrowed your spell book, Miss Wardwell?", Sabrina asked, already rushing to the book shelf, the book basically already in her hands."Sure-" "Thanks a lot!", she called, closing the door behind her."Oh Stolas, her helper syndrome just makes everything so much easier for me. Soon, I'll make her sign the Book of Beasts and the Dark Lord will be absolutely delighted , Lilith mused.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Hic lapsus est Agramon chartam
et actiones contra me
ecce ego te rigescunt indutae
quod ita fiat semper voluntatem meam!",
Sabrina shouted, holding out a snow globe. She was in the mines casting a spell she found in her teacher's spell book to banish the demon that was harassing her friend.The demon froze and Sabrina made her way back home, not knowing what else she caused to happen, having casted that spell..----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Zelda was in her car on her way to Miss Wardwell's cottage when she saw the first snowflakes fall from the sky.'How strange', she thought, but not following that thought any further, it was December after all and she had to think of what exactly to tell the teacher.
The snow fall had got heavier by the time she arrived at the cottage. She trudged through the snow and knocked on the wooden door, nervous - only in the slightest, but enough to make her wonder.
Sure, Zelda found the other witch attractive, very much so with her perfect, voluminous, chocolate-brown curls and those icy-blue eyes.
And that flaming red lipstick that never seemed to leave the excommunicate's lips and contrasted her eyes.
However, that was no reason to be nervous, she told herself.
Her train of thought was interrupted by Lilith opening the door, surprised at the unexpected visitor.
"Miss Spellman. To what do I owe this... pleasure?", she asked, sarcastic as usual, stepping aside to let her in.
"I have to talk to you about Sabrina and the influence you have on her."
She entered, not noticing the eye-roll she earned from Sabrina's teacher.
"Can I offer you a cup of tea?"
"No, thank you, it's not going to take long. I just wanted to make a few things clear."
"So? What is it you want to inform me of?", Lilith asked as politely as possible, giving Zelda her rehearsed smile.
"Sabrina has been in quite a few precarious situations and somehow they can always be traced back to you. Where did you get that spell from? Miss Wardwell. How were you able to perform that spell? Miss Wardwell helped me. Miss Wardwell this Miss Wardwell that -", Zelda started."I have merely been trying to help out Sabrina where I knew she would not get any help from you or your sister. Or should I have let her do all of these things alone, possibly jeopardizing her?", Lilith answered calmly, but with a certain edge to her voice.
Zelda, on the other hand, was getting fired up now, having to endure such preposterous accusations from a teacher, who doesn't even know anything about her or Sabrina.
"From now on, I want you to stay away from my niece! If she has problems or is in trouble, she can come to me at all times, she surely is not in need of your help and neither am I!", Zelda stormed off.
However, she didn't get far, because when she opened the door she was facing an enormous pile of snow.They were snowed in.
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Her words lost most of the effect they were supposed to have, for now she didn't have the benefit of the storming-off that emphasized her words.
"Great."
"So, would you like to take me up on my offer now and have a cup of tea?, Miss Wardwell smiled, quirking an eyebrow and inclining her head inquisitively.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"It might be December, but I am fairly certain that it is impossible to snow to this extent. Therefore it /must/ be of magical nature", she turned her head to Zelda, leaning back in her chair.
"This stubborn child!"
Lilith studied the woman before her. The ginger hair falling down to her decollete like a waterfall of flames, perfectly framing her face and making it seem like she was on fire. She could see the slight indication of exhaustion in her jade green eyes, but the Spellman sister would never admit to that, for exhaustion was weakness and weak was the last thing she wanted to be perceived as.
Zelda wore a heavy necklace, bringing the focus up to her delicate neck. Her beauty was breathtaking.
"What are you implying?", the demoness asked, knowing all too well what Zelda was talking about.
"What I'm saying is that I might know who the reason for this show storm is..", she sighed, "Sabrina."
"Oh, now that you've mentioned it, I remember Sabrina rushing into my office this afternoon, borrowing one of my spellbooks."
"You /gave/ her a spellbook?! Not even mentioning it to me, especially now that I'm here talking to you about that very matter?? Have you not thought of asking her what she needs it for? And you have the audacity to act like an absolute saint, telling me you don't want Sabrina to be in danger?!", Zelda was enraged. She was about to continue letting out her anger, but was interrupted by Lilith's slightly annoyed voice: "Actually, she just took my book and ran off, so I didn't even get the chance to ask her. And I told you now, didn't I?"
"Oh.", the eldest Spellman replied, now lighting a cigarette in her fancy cigarette holder with her even fancier lighter.
"No need to apologize for you outbreak, Miss Spellman", the mother of demons said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
Zelda glared at her.
"So, I guess we'll just have to wait until the spell wears off."
"We'll be stuck in here for quite some time then. The spell wears off in about ten hours."
"Great."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Ambrose?", Sabrina carefully called her cousin, running to his room.
He was standing in front of the window, aghastly looking at the huge masses of snow getting bigger by the hour.
"What in Satan's name is this, Sabrina?", he asked, turning around to face his cousin.
"Okay, let me explain!
There was this demon... Agramon and he was messing with Suzie!
Suzie was so upset I couldn't just watch her be so distraught, Ambrose!", Sabrina desperately tried to make sense of why she did what she did.
"Oh cous...", he hugged her, "why haven't you told us, we could've helped?"
"I did, I asked Auntie Zee, but she told me 'never to meddle in mortal affairs'."
"And I'm pretty sure she has her reasons for telling you that, but instead of just doing these things alone, you could've come to me and we would've solved this problem together."
"I'm sorry, Ambrose.. What do we do now?", she asked tentatively.
"Honestly, I don't think there's much we can do. We'll have to wait until the spell wears off."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Why is it that you take so much interest in helping my niece anyway?", Zelda inquired, tapping her cigarette on the ashtray on the small round table in front of her, in order to remove the little stomp of ash that had been piling up.The question didn't surprise Lilith, for Zelda was bound to wonder at some point. She had felt the redhead's confusion bubbling up when she had confronted her earlier that day.
"Well, I presume it is time to tell you.
Edward asked me to keep an eye on Sabrina, to keep her safe. We knew each other through our covens and became pretty close.", the demoness confessed."I see", Zelda huffed turning her head to the fire in the chimney, "it sounds a lot like something Edward would do. Asking Hilda and I to take care of Sabrina and then going behind our backs seeking someone else's help, like some back-up plan in case we fail."
Lilith could see the ginger's composure falter, only in the slightest, but it was enough to let the mask slip a bit and see the sadness in her eyes.
The Spellman usually annoyed her, but in this moment she felt something else. There was a feeling in her chest she couldn't quite define.
"I'm sure he knew you would do a great job raising and taking care of Sabrina and he didn't ask me expecting you to fail. Surely he asked me just in case.. something happened, since you can never be sure of the future.", she tried to comfort Zelda as best as she could, putting a hand on her arm.
Zelda looked at the hand and then turned to face Lilith and for a moment they just looked at each other.
The first one to avert her gaze was Zelda.
"Um it's... its getting late", she said putting her tea cup back on the saucer on the table.
"Right... I have a guest room you can stay in tonight", Lilith motioned Zelda to follow her upstairs, "and in the dresser to the right of the bed I have a spare robe you can wear."
They were standing in front of the door to the guest room now.
"Thank you, that is... very kind of you, Miss Wardwell."
"Good night", the mother of demons nodded once, smiling and left.
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The next morning Zelda put on Lilith's robe and made her way to the bathroom. On her way there she ran into Lilith, who was wearing a black silk negligée with lace details on the hem covering her chest.
"Good morning", Miss Wardwell greeted her with a small smile and a quirked eyebrow, looking her up and down.
"Morning", Zelda replied, making her way to the bathroom to get ready.
"My robe suits you", Lilith remarked smiling sarcastically, winking and disappearing downstairs.
Zelda wanted to wipe that smug smile right off her face.
After getting ready she made her way downstairs and walked toward the door.
"It seems like the majority of the snow has finally melted, so the spell must have worn off. Thank you for letting me stay here, Miss Wardwell.. I'm going to resume home now to deal with the mess Sabrina left us in. "
"Well, good luck then", Mary smiled courteously, opening the door and Zelda left.-------------------------------------------------------------------------When the door to the Spellman house opened Sabrina rushed toward it, immediately apologizing - leaving Hilda and Ambrose in the living room, watching the scene before them.
"I'm so so sorry Auntie Zee, I didn't mean to cover all of Greendale in snow. The only thing I wanted to do was help Suzie!"
"Lets just deal with that demon and get it over with. We'll talk later. So, what was the spell you used?"
"It was a freezing spell. I tried to bind the demon using a snow globe, which also worked. The demon was frozen, but I didn't expect the whole town to be covered with snow!"
"But Sabrina, by freezing a demon you don't bind it permanently. To really banish a demon efficiently you have to bind it to a vessel. Now, what kind of demon was it?"
"He said his name was Agramon", Sabrina replied.
"The demon of fear it is. What do you think his favorite place in Greendale might be then?
This question needn't be answered, for everyone knew what Zelda was implying: a place in Greendale harbouring so much fear that it would be utopian for a demon like Agramon.-------------------------------------------------------------------------Kids were screaming, pale when they exited it. The Murder House. It wasn't actually a murder house, but rather an attraction at Greendale's local fun park.
Despite not being real it did the job. The kids were scared to their bones and the smell of utter fear surely attracted demons, one in particular.
"He must be inside the house, probably scaring off some of the children as well", Sabrina suggested.
They went inside, Zelda determinedly walking through the house trying to find the demon without even batting an eyelash at the meak attempts of scaring her. Sabrina on the other hand was not as calm and walked closely to her aunt.
"You can't possibly tell me this is scaring you, Sabrina", her aunt said dryly when she felt a hand grip her arm tightly.
"Hey, not everyone is as fearless as you, Auntie Zee", Sabrina replied, earning a small smile from her aunt.
Their moment was interrupted when Zelda finally spotted Agramon.
"Sabrina, give me the urn, please."
She took the urn and they started reciting the spell. Fortunately the demon was so busy scaring a few of the young little visitors that he didn't pay attention to what was going on in the other part of the room until it was too late for him to do anything about the witches and he was trapped inside the urn.
"What do we do with the urn now?", the young witch wanted to know.
"I'll put it somewhere safe so no one can find and free him again." -------------------------------------------------------------------------Back home, Sabrina started apologizing again. "Auntie, I am so so sorry for messing this up-"
"Sabrina-"
"No, please let me apologize properly. I should have listened to you when you told me not to use my powers when it comes to mortal problems. It's just... I didn't know what else to do. When you wouldn't help me I saw no other alternative than to try to handle this on my own."
"I also think I probably should have given you a reason not to get involved in affairs of that matter.", she conceded, putting a hand on Sabrina's arm.
"You see, I once got involved in such a situation and it brought nothing but pain not only to me, but also to the mortals I tried to help. I've learned from that mistake and because of that, I think, I wanted to protect you from making the same mistake I did", Zelda sighed."Thank you for being so honest with me, Auntie Zee.""However, I hope you understand that you're going to be grounded for some time", Sabrina's aunt told her."Grounded?", she asked disbelievingly, "but why?""Mortal punishments for meddling with mortal affairs", she answered plainly.
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The next day, Sabrina knocked on the door to Miss Wardwell's office at Baxter High."Miss Wardwell?" "Oh, hello Sabrina", her teacher smiled nicely, "What brings you to my office today?"Sitting down in the chair on the opposite side of Miss Wardwell's desk, Sabrina took her teacher's spell book out of her school bag and put it on the desk."I wanted to give you back your book... and also apologize. When I came into your office that day, I didn't even ask properly and just took the book and left, which was rude of me. Besides, I didn't even bother to tell you what I needed it for: I wanted to banish a demon using a freezing spell.""So I've heard", Miss Wardwell said, leaning back in her chair."Your aunt paid me a visit telling me that you wanted to fight a demon when we found that we had been snowed in, we put two and two together", she offered as an explanation after seeing the confused look on Sabrina's face."Oh. Well, to make up for my rudeness and the trouble I've caused, as well as to thank you, I would like to invite you over to our house for dinner tonight. You have to come, I insist.""Well, if you insist, I presume there is little I can say against that, is there?"Sabrina nodded, "exactly", and retreated from the office, a self-sufficient smile on her face. "Not much longer and she will voluntarily sign the Book of Beasts...", the mother of demons muttered, clearly pleased with how things were evolving.-------------------------------------------------------------------------When Sabrina came home she made her way into the kitchen, where Hilda was preparing a cake."Hello, love!", her aunt Hilda greeted her, "how was your day at school?""Good! I just wanted to inform you that Miss Wardwell will join us for dinner tonight. I invited her to thank her for helping me." "Oh, how nice! Sounds like a great occasion to finally make use of my new cake recipe. I have been perfecting it for weeks now", Hilda said, delighted about having another person she could feed.A few hours later Miss Wardwell was knocking on the door of the big Spellman house.Zelda opened the door, a mixture of surprise and confusion on her face."What are you doing here?", Zelda asked, neutralizing her facial expression. Placing her arm around her waist to support her other arm while taking a drag of her cigarette, she quickly swept a glance over the other woman's body. The teacher was wearing a dark green dress and over that a black trench coat. Her already long legs looking even longer in those pointed black heels she was wearing."Good evening to you, too, Miss Spellman", Mary retorted sarcastically, not at all missing the not too subtle look Zelda gave her. She wasn't surprised at the distant manner the eldest Spellman acted toward her, for she was the only one Lilith couldn't convince of herself."Your niece invited me over for dinner tonight, I thought you were aware of that." "Apparently no one in this family deems it necessary to tell me anything!", Zelda huffed angrily, stepping aside for Mary to enter and made her way to the dining room, where Sabrina, Hilda and Ambrose were already taking their seats at the dining table."Would you like something to drink?", Zelda asked, pouring herself a glass of Whiskey."Yes, a cup of tea would be nice, thank you", she replied, sitting down at the table. Placing the cup of tea in front of Sabrina's teacher, Zelda sat down opposite her."Thank you for inviting me, that is very nice of you", the demoness smiled, looking around the table and noticing Zelda's eye-roll at her words from the corner of her eyes."Sabrina invited you."They started eating and a pleasant chatter filled the room.Once in a while Lilith could feel the ginger's eyes on her. The fact that Zelda had checked her out when letting her inside the house didn't go unnoticed. She smirked, propping her head up on her hand and looking straight at Zelda, who had been eyeing her up once again.Realizing the brunette's eyes on her, she quickly turned her head toward the kitchen - from which Hilda was emerging in that very moment - feeling caught and quietly scolding herself for it.Hilda was now serving her cake, proudly telling them that she'd finally perfected her recipe. "I hope you enjoy eating the cake as much as I did making it", she smiled gleefully. "Oh don't be so cheesy, Hilda", Zelda mocked her sister, happy about the distraction."The cake looks divine, Miss Spellman", Mary complimented the blonde witch."Oh, please call me Hilda, love. I feel ancient being called Miss Spellman.""Well it's not like you aren't", Zelda retorted."Must you be so mean all the time and always say what you're thinking, Zelds?", Hilda asked, only earning an eye-roll in response.While Hilda and Zelda had been bantering, the others were just calmly eating their slices of cake and watching the scene before them, clearly amused. Sabrina loved seeing her aunt's act like sisters. Mocking each other as if they were teenagers again. She wished she could go back in time to see what aunt Zelda and aunt Hilda were like back then and how they acted around each other."Well, Hilda, your cake is delicious and you may call me Mary", she smiled politely.While eating the cake, they were having small talk and the time passed quickly."It is getting late, I think I should leave now", the demoness said, getting up from her seat. Getting up with her was Zelda."I'm going to see you out" Mary bid her farewells to everyone and made her way to the door, followed by Zelda."Like what you see?", Lilith grinned smugly, "You seemed unable to take your eyes off my dress.""Don't flatter yourself", Zelda countered haughtily, taking a drag from her cigarette and receiving a complacent smirk from the teacher."Good night, Miss Spellman", she said after a few seconds. Mary left and Zelda let her eyes linger on the other woman walking away before closing the door.
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Walking down the halls of Baxter High on her way to her office, Mary Wardwell was already planning the next step of her grand project, which was making Sabrina sign the Book of Beasts, since she had refused to do so on her 16th birthday. She sat down behind her desk, propping up her legs on the table and going through her mental archive of ways to cause trouble. "How do I make Sabrina sign the Book now? She has already explored her powers being confronted with some of my... troublemakers", she recalled, a wicked grin on her face, "I just need to give her a little.. push", she motioned a small gesture with her hand."Maybe it is time to meet up with my 13 sisters again... for old time's sake?"-------------------------------------------------------------------------In order to summon the Greendale 13 Lilith needed two things: young blood and.. a knifeShe didn't have to try hard to find someone for the ritual. The only thing she had to do was change up her appearance a little and the Baxter High students were willing to do anything for her, jaws dropping every time she passed one. The chosen one was one of the football players and convincing him to come with her could not have been easier. Horny boys are so weak-minded. After luring that dense football player to the Oak Tree, she quickly slit his throat and proceeded to do the incantation that brought back the Greendale 13."Witches! You will have an hour, from 11 until the witching hour, to get your revenge on the town's people and their descendants, who wronged you all those years ago. Now go, go!"-------------------------------------------------------------------------"It doesn't fit, Hilda. And forcing them together won't change that." Zelda was slowly losing her patience. She and Hilda were doing a jigsaw puzzle, which has always been their favorite pastime. "Well, you go and do it then. At least I'm getting us somewhere near solving this puzzle!" Hilda earned an annoyed look from her older sister.It was storming outside. The wind was blowing and the thunder rumbled loudly. Once every few minutes a flash illuminated the living room of the Spellman house."Aunties?""Yes, Ambrose?", Zelda asked facing him, while Hilda was focusing intently on the puzzle. "There's a woman on the phone, who would like to make arrangements for her grandmother's burial."After finishing the call, Zelda checked up on Sabrina, who was sitting on her bed contemplatingly.Sabrina heard a soft knock coming from her door before it opened and her aunt entered the room.Leaning against the door frame she asked: "What are you pondering, dear?", for Sabrina looked a little absent-minded."Oh I was just thinking about my dark baptism and how I saw my parents standing there, telling me to run... What does that mean, aunt Zelda? I mean, if they had wanted me to sign the Book of Beasts, why would I see something like that then?""Sometimes, I presume, our mind plays tricks on us. Since you were so repulsed by the idea of signing the Book of Beasts, your mind might've conjured up something that gave you a reason not to sign it. I wouldn't interpret too much into this, Sabrina." The young witch nodded, still wondering."Now tell me, how are things at the academy?""Um it's actu-", they were interrupted by Hilda calling them downstairs."What is it, sister?", Zelda asked and noticed the visitor in that very moment."Miss Wardwell. What are you doing here so late?". Sabrina asked, surprised and also a bit suspicious, since the teacher never paid them a visit this late in the evening and if so, then only after being invited over for dinner."I'm afraid I need your help, Sabrina. The Greendale 13 are currently making their way through our town to get their revenge on all the witches and mortals for their for what was done to them all those years ago. We need to act quickly, I already have a plan."She explained that she needed Sabrina and that Ambrose, Hilda and Zelda had to ward off the Greendale 13. In order to do that they had to form a circle and say an incantation without ever breaking the circle. Of course Zelda protested at first."Miss Spellman, this is the only way to stop these witches. I am not going to wait for the red angel of death to end us all.""Alright", Zelda relented reluctantly and Mary Wardwell and Sabrina left.-------------------------------------------------------------------------"But Miss Wardwell, I don't even know how to stop these witches!""Oh you know. The Dark Lord showed you", she told a very confused Sabrina. The young witch now recalled the vision she had even she had gone apple picking with Harvey."How would I even do that? I'm not powerful enough to defeat 13 witches at once." She was desperate now."There is one way...", she looked at Sabrina firmly, trying to make her understand and she did, nodding in determined agreement.So they made their way into the forest, to the place of Sabrina's discontinued dark baptism. Drawing closer to the altar holding the Book of Beasts, that uneasy feeling she had had the last time she was here came over her again, but she ignored it. 'It's for a good deed and the only way to protect Greendale from the witches' wrath', she kept telling herself.She was standing directly in front of the altar now, looking down at the Book of Beasts, still reluctant about whether she should really sign the Book."I know you're scared, Sabrina, because all women are taught to fear power. Own your power. Don't accept it from the Dark Lord, take it, wield it. Save your friends. What's more important: the pissing contest with the Dark Lord or the salvation of your friends?""I'll sign."Suddenly, Miss Wardwell was gone and when she turned around, she saw the Dark Lord stalking up to her. He looked exactly like in her vision at the hanging tree. His head looked like the one of a big billy goat and even his legs were those of a goat. Unlike that his hairy torso and his arms were human. The only piece of clothing he wore was a grey-ish loincloth. Apart from that, a few long necklaces adorned his neck. Standing behind her, he was waiting for her to finalize her decision. Hesitantly, she picked up the pen and placed her blood-red signature on the dashed line. When she looked up again, Miss Wardwell was back and the goat-man nowhere to be seen."It was the right decision", she heard Mary Wardwell's voice behind her after Sabrina had just been looking down at the altar, in disbelief of the fact that she'd really just signed the Book of Beasts."But we have to go now and finish what we started.""Wait, where do we go now?", Sabrina asked."To the place where it all began."-------------------------------------------------------------------------They arrived at the hanging tree, where the 13 witches had been killed."You're too late!", one of the witches said smiling maniacally, "The red angel of death is already on his way!"Sabrina started calling upon other witches for help and strength and ordered the Greendale 13 to stop their revenge on the residents. But nothing happened."Foolish child! You're not even powerful enough! Only the strongest witch can give us orders and that hasn't happened in centuries", another one of the witches remarked, laughing scornfully.Sabrina turned around to Miss Wardwell, seeking for help."It is not only power, but especially rage that fuels you when casting a powerful spell. You have to feel the power and fury surging through your body", Miss Wardwell said solemnly.The blonde witch took a deep breath and thought of all the times she was hurt and filled with anger. She felt a strange sensation arising from within her.'You fight fire with Hellfire', she recalled her teacher telling her."I, Sabrina Spellman, Daughter of Edward Spellman, Child of Night, call forth the fire from the pit!", she fulminated and an enormous cold blue flame erupted out of nowhere, burning the Greendale 13 alive (more or less). Their screams were piercing through the cold night air.This was the night Sabrina proved that she was one of the most powerful witches in the history of the witches, for only they would be able to call upon Hellfire.-------------------------------------------------------------------------"Sabrina!", her aunt's hugged her, relieved and not giving her the chance to arrive first."How did you do it? How did you stop the witches?", Hilda asked breathlessly."Miss Wardwell helped me.""Oh, don't be modest, I merely guided you. The main part was done by you, Sabrina" she clarified, slowly coming up behind her."I signed the Book of Beasts...""How marvelous! But what made you do that, dear? You were so opposed to the mere thought of signing it", the sisters were wondering.Sabrina and Miss Wardwell exchanged a look. "This can wait until later", Zelda interrupted, "Now, we celebrate." Her lips twisted upwards."I'd better leave then and let you celebrate", Mary said."Don't leave, you're also the reason we're celebrating!"The demoness spun around again and everyone was looking at Zelda expectantly."Stay."-------------------------------------------------------------------------For some reason she wasn't opposed to their company, in fact she had a weird, but strangely pleasant feeling in her stomach area. It was warm and spread out in her chest and it dumbfounded her, because she wasn't used to feeling anything but anger, annoyance and indifference, which is why she couldn't pin down what it was exactly she was feeling. The only thing she knew was that she felt neither rage nor annoyance nor indifference. 'Maybe I've gone soft', she thought, 'spending all this time on this strange planet with the family sitting around her.Being the first woman, she'd never had a family or anything close to a family. Sure, the Dark Lord had taken her in and she'd become the Mother of Demons, but their relationship was only about dominance and submission, following his orders, and never like anything she's witnessed in Sabrina's family in all the months she's been here.However, the thing that confused her the most was the tingling sensation she felt in her belly when seeing the redheaded witch, who was sitting next to her at the dining table.Her train of thoughts was interrupted when she noticed Zelda looking at her with furrowed brows and she realized she had been staring at the witch.Lilith's eyes slightly widened at the realization. "May I use your bathroom?", she asked politely and got out of her seat.Inside the bathroom she tried to regain her calm composure and lay off her confusion, wondering why she even was so flustered in the first place.A moment later she came out of the bathroom, having neutralized her face, and bumped into Sabrina."Are you alright? You seemed a little perturbed back at the table", the young witch asked.Lilith assured her that everything was fine and was already on her way back to the table, when Sabrina called her."Since I'm usually the one asking for your help and advice and always telling you what's on my mind, I just wanted to let you know that you can do the same", the teenager offered, going to the bathroom and leaving a stunned Miss Wardwell standing in the hallway.This, too - the trust coming from Sabrina - surprised her again and again.Lilith never trusted anyone, except herself, the only reliable person in her life.Again, she was feeling something unexplainable and decided that she really had gone soft, for usually she was cold and manipulative. And it had been fun, since manipulating humans was OH so easy. With all their emotions, passions and dreams they were easily corrupted. Toying with humans was her favorite pastime when it got too boring on this planet, which was not too seldom, regarding the fact that demons don't need sleep. How else would you pass over 10 hours filled with boredom and nothingness.But now that Sabrina has signed the Book of Beasts, what was she still doing here? Technically she has fulfilled the Dark Lord's wish, so what was it that kept her?She joined the others, who were currently talking about the Academy of Unseen Arts and Zelda's newly acquired teaching spot.Zelda was now teaching the school's choir instead of Mrs. Blackwood and she thoroughly enjoyed it. Having something to do other than taking phone calls of people, who lost a family member and organizing their funerals somehow fulfilled her."I didn't know you could sing", Lilith remarked."I am a woman of many talents", Zelda replied, a suggestive tone to her voice. At that Lilith just raised a single eyebrow not having expected that from the redhead.Ambrose and Hilda tried to suppress a grin, which went unnoticed, since the two women were busy flirting with each other.Their flirtatious behavior was put to a halt when Sabrina rejoined the group, asking Miss Wardwell if she could help her with one of her assignments the next afternoon.-------------------------------------------------------------------------"She finally, finally signed the Book, Stolas, and it was I who got her to do it. Not Faustus, not the Dark Lord, but I", she savored the taste of those words. The high priest, Faustus Blackwood, had been trying to make a competition out of guiding Sabrina to sign the Book of Beasts and it just gets tiring seeing men feel threatened by women. Men always want to prove that they're better - when they obviously aren't. Pathetic. However, being the one to 'win' his competition was satisfying and made her gloat. "But what if the Dark Lord wants Sabrina by his side and not you?""He doesn't", she hissed, slowly walking up to her familiar and quickly snapping his neck. "And even if so, it wouldn't get to that point, for I have a bigger plan. A future that doesn't include the Dark Lord".
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Sabrina and Miss Wardwell were sitting in Miss Wardwell's office, talking about Sabrina's assignment when Sabrina changed the subject all of a sudden.The young witch had seen the way her aunt and her teacher were looking at each other and decided that she must do something or they would just continue playing this game of to and fro without actually acting on their feelings."I'm sorry we had to meet at school, but my aunt Zelda grounded me when I snowed in the town and now the only places I can spend time at are my house and Baxter High. You know what my aunt is like... Speaking of, how are the two of you coming along? My aunt did not make it too easy for you, I'm sure", Sabrina asked, hoping for an answer that might give her somewhat of an insight on what Miss Wardwell was thinking of her aunt.But of course Lilith grew suspicious at the sudden interest, for it seemed to come out of nowhere. Yes, they did like going to Dr. Cerberus's café to have a nice chat about school or whatever mischief Sabrina was up to at that time, but they also met up at school or its library for Sabrina's assignments. So why would the teenager apologize for meeting up at school? If anything being here was (more) appropriate."Your aunt is very polite. Why are you asking?", she replied, cautious not to give away too much."Oh um I was just wondering, I um want my aunt's to get along with the people I like", Sabrina stammered, her eyes slightly widened, not having expected a query."Anyway, this was off topic, I'm sorry, let's get back to the assignment."----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Back at home, Sabrina called for Ambrose and Hilda to talk about her teacher and her aunt. Luckily, Zelda was still at the academy, so they had enough time to assess the situation and what to do about the two of them."As you may have, and as aunt Zee may not have, noticed, there is something going on between Auntie Zee and Miss Wardwell. Actually, I think neither of them knows that they are quite interested in each other?", Ambrose and Hilda wildly agreed."So what I'm thinking is: we should help them realize that they are interested in each other. What do you think?", Sabrina proposed conspirationally."Well, it's Yule soon and naturally I will be hanging up some good ol' mistletoe", Hilda said, winking."Enchanted mistletoe would make this even better, don't you think? I could help with that...", Ambrose wiggled his eyebrows.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A week later, Ambrose had enchanted the mistletoe and Hilda was hanging it on the door frames around the house, especially focusing on the entrance area downstairs."Are you hanging up mistletoe again, Hilda? What is it with you and mortal traditions?"It was the day after Yule, the 24th, or how the mortals call it: "Christmas Eve", and Sabrina had invited her teacher over for the annual Yule/Christmas dinner. Every year the day after Yule the Spellmans would spend the day together, preparing the food for the dinner and decorating the house. Even Zelda would take part in that tradition. Making gingerbread cookies with Sabrina, because she's loved them ever since she was little, and decorating their tree with her family were moments she thoroughly enjoyed.This year, though, Zelda felt like something was slightly different. The other three witches wouldn't stop giggling and secretly giving each other looks like mischievous little children plotting something and when she asked them what was going on they just kept giggling and dismissing her.Although being slightly suspicious of their behavior, she brushed it off and didn't give it another thought, she didn't want to deal with whatever they were laughing about when it was Yule time. The moment they finished, the doorbell rang. It was Mary Wardwell. "You're early." They hadn't expected her for another half hour."I thought early was on time?" "Not in this house."Zelda stepped away from the door, heading toward the living room, not giving Lilith the chance to explain herself.Lilith just rolled her eyes at Zelda's comportment and followed her inside.She greeted everyone else and took a seat next to Hilda and Zelda on the couch.Sabrina and Ambrose were sitting across each other in armchairs. They started talking about school, the academy and whatever news there was. "Oh will you look at that, it's already time for dinner!", Hilda said taking a look at the clock. So they made their way to the dining table, but before Lilith took a seat she excused herself and went to the bathroom.On her way back to the table, she bumped into Zelda."Are you afraid I might steal something or why are you following me?", the demoness asked mockingly."Aren't we quaint", Zelda replied sarcastically, "I definitely was not following you, I merely had to use the restroom."Lilith rolled her eyes, amused, when she noticed something hanging from the door frame."What is that little twig doing up there?", the mother of demons asked, a confused look on her face."You have been living amongst mortals for years, have you never heard of the tradition of hanging up mistletoe on door frames or the ceiling on Christmas?"Not seeing a change in the other woman's mien she continued: "People put up mistletoe on Christmas, because then everyone standing underneath a mistletoe with someone else has to kiss the other person", she explained."And what happens if you do not kiss?", the excommunicate inquired."Usually, nothing happens, but today you might not be able to leave the spot you're standing on", Sabrina, who had secretly followed her aunt a while later to 'check up on them since they had to eat', replied."This year we decided to spice it up a bit and enchanted the mistletoe. No particular reason", the teenager said smiling innocently."So, either you kiss or you'll be glued to the spot for quite some time. Your choice."Putting an immobility spell on the mistletoes was Ambrose's idea and ever since he enchanted the mistletoe the three of them were carefully avoiding standing underneath it, but they surely liked the idea of Zelda and Miss Wardwell standing underneath it.The two women were looking at each other, less confident than usual.After a moment of consideration Zelda slowly moved forward, but stopping only a few inches from Lilith's lips. She looked up to her questioningly, apprehensive about taking the next step, because by initiating the first step Zelda made herself vulnerable. Being the initiator meant she could get rejected, which is the reason why she normally doesn't take the first step, afraid of being hurt. She also liked being courted. Lilith closed the gap between them and softly kissed the eldest Spellman.Zelda's lips were the softest she's ever kissed and she got completely lost in their kiss.Cupping the ginger's cheek, she deepened the kiss, making the redhead's head spin. 'There it was again', Lilith thought, 'that weird tingling sensation in my belly.' She liked it, though.Zelda placed her hands on Lilith's elbows and parenthetically drew circles over them with her thumbs. This caused Lilith to give a slight shiver.Before she could melt on the spot, Zelda slowly pulled away, sighing contently and biting her lip, opening her eyes again.Realizing where they were and who was standing only a few feet away from them, they quickly let go of each other, blushing. "I mean, a kiss on the cheek would've also been an option...", Sabrina said, not being able to stifle a grin.When the three of them entered the dining room again, Ambrose and Hilda were looking up at Sabrina expectantly and hiding their grins when seeing the excited expression on Sabrina's face.Zelda sat down next to Hilda on the couch and so did Lilith so that Hilda was the one sitting in the middle now.Turning to look at Zelda she gestured at her mouth grinningly: "Uh Zelds, you've got a little... lipstick.."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The following weeks everything had gone back to normal again. This also meant that Zelda and Lilith hadn't seen each other in quite a while and maybe they were avoiding each other; or at least Zelda was. Ever since their kiss, their minds came back circling around it, no matter how hard they tried not to think about it. Especially Zelda had a hard time thinking about something else.
But why couldn't she stop thinking about it? Well, for one, Ambrose, Hilda and Sabrina wouldn't let Zelda forget about it and kept smiling at her like that.
Another reason was, she kind of enjoyed it. It is difficult for Zelda to open up to someone and she hadn't had any interest in anyone, so she didn't pursue the idea of dating to begin with. But that kiss evoked feelings in her she hadn't had in a long time. Suddenly, she noticed that she was quite attracted to the teacher.
Honestly, the thing she'd love to do the most now was to bury her feelings just like she buries her sister: Deep in the ground, where they won't bother her again (until they come back to annoy her once again, but that's a different topic). Now the parent teacher conference at Baxter High was nearing, where she'd have to talk to Miss Wardwell and she just hoped it wouldn't be awkward.-------------------------------------------------------------------------It was the day of the parent teacher conference and Zelda was in her car on her way to Baxter High. She wasn't quite sure why she had to attend the conference, since Sabrina was one of the best students and never troubled other students.Pulling up in the school's parking lot, she encountered Miss Wardwell.
"Maybe try not to run me over next time?", the teacher said mockingly.
"I wasn't even close to running you over. I am an excellent driver.", Zelda replied defensively.
"If you say so. Well, I'll be seeing you in my office in a moment then"
Zelda hadn't heard that in a long time. She used to be called to the principal's office quite often for making her sister cry. Hilda could be such a wuss at times. Somehow, though, Zelda always found a way around being disciplined for it. Inside, she greeted everyone including Principal Hawthorne, who probably was the most obnoxious person she's ever met, although never having exchanged as much as two sentences with him. He just keeps ogling her as if she were prey.Zelda knocked on the door to Miss Wardwell's office and entered. "Miss Spellman, take a seat", Mary greeted her."Hello Miss Wardwell", Zelda said, crossing her legs, "What exactly is it that you would like to talk to me about? I thought Sabrina was doing well? Sure she gets into a few predicaments once in a while, but they do not correlate with anything regarding the school, do they?"
Lilith just smiled in response, confusing Zelda."What are you so amused by? Did you not want to talk about Sabrina?", Zelda grew impatient."I asked you to come here today, because I would like to talk about the dinner."At first Zelda stared at her questioningly, but then it dawned on her. The dinner. She swallowed hard, trying to compose herself."I wasn't aware that there was something we need to talk about.""Well I thought you were there that evening?", the brunette mocked, "At least that's what it felt like when we kissed."Zelda fell silent, blinking in surprise and shifting uncomfortably.
For the first time in her life, Zelda was actually at a loss for words, which Lilith noticed immediately."Swallowed your tongue, hm?", Lilith remarked smugly, pursing her scarlet lips."No, of course not. We can talk about it," Zelda said trying to be casual. "I just don't think there's much to talk about. We were trapped under a mistletoe and had to kiss to get out of that situation, nothing more and nothing less", Zelda got out of her chair. "Sure." Lilith knew the witch was lying to herself, but decided to let it go this time.
Propping her head up on her hands, she watched Zelda leave her office and pondered.------------------------------------------------------------------------Zelda quickly left Miss Wardwell's office and went straight to her car.
Once inside, she exhaled all the air she'd been holding in and noticed how tense she was.
The entire way back to the mortuary she kept replaying the short conversation in her head.
'What did the excommunicate want to achieve with that?', Zelda thought, 'was it possible that she... was she maybe interested in her, too?'
She quickly dismissed that thought, Mary Wardwell probably just wanted to mock her once again by bringing up the kiss. Still, neither the kiss nor the meeting would leave Zelda's head and no matter how hard she tried to think of something else, her thoughts were circling back to what she wanted to avoid. Back at the mortuary, Zelda was welcomed by her sister: "So.... How was the meeting?", Hilda asked with a grin on her face totally expecting her sister and the teacher to have had yet another makeout session. "Why are you grinning like that, Hilda?""Well... weren't you talking to Miss Wardwell?""What's it to you?", the ginger bit back."Can't I have anything nice in my life?", Hilda muttered exhaustedly under her breath."Stop getting on my last nerve or you can greet the Cain Pit from me", Zelda snapped. She was a bit irritated, because Mary Wardwell basically made her feelings go crazy and she liked being in control of everything, including her emotions.Hilda wanted to give a smart retort but thought better of it than to provoke her sister even more, because Zelda surely was one to stay true to her threats. Instead she just went into the kitchen to make some food. Great anger management. No surprise she finds so much joy in cooking and baking, you need something that keeps you sane and calm when you're living with certain witches under the same roof.Zelda went into the living room, since she just wanted to end the evening with a nice cup of Whiskey when Sabrina ran up behind her excitedly. "Auntie Zee! Would you like to go to the cinema with me? There's a new movie about witches, which I thought you might enjoy watching!"
Sabrina, Hilda and Zelda liked watching movies about witches, for the way mortals imagined witches was so different from their reality.
At first Zelda wanted to say no because she wasn't feeling like socializing, but when she looked at Sabrina's hopeful face, she decided to go. She could never say no to Sabrina."What about your aunt Hilda? Is she coming, too?" Since it was a tradition of the three of them, they had to be complete."No worries, Zelda, I'm not going to annoy you any further", Hilda said, rolling her eyes annoyedly. Zelda only rolled her eyes in reply, getting her coat to leave. "Are you coming now or what?"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------Inside the movie theater, Zelda went to queue for the snack bar. The person in front of her caught her attention by ordering a bag of popcorn and a drink. Why? Because she knew that voice. It belonged to a certain brunette witch, whom she had been talking to earlier that evening.
Next in line was Zelda and apparently Mary Wardwell had the same moment of recognition and turned around to her, while she still handled her purchase. "Miss Spellman. I didn't expect to see you here. You never struck me as the person who's go to the movies", Lilith teased in hopes of starting a conversation with the beautiful redhead. "Well, I am. Besides, Sabrina asked me to go and watch that new movie with her, what's it called... 'Rosemary's baby'. What about you? You certainly don't look like someone who likes this leisure activity either", Zelda retorted.
"Hm, seems like we're not as different as one might presume", Lilith said, winking, "I'm here to watch the same movie, mortals are so clueless.""Miss Wardwell! What are you doing here?", Sabrina said, delighted to see her teacher, especially since she was at the same place as her aunt Zelda. "Actually, that's exactly what your aunt and I have been talking about and it seems like we're going to watch the same movie!"Hilda, Sabrina, Lilith and Zelda ended up sitting next to each other with Zelda and Lilith each on the outer seats of their seating constellation.About an hour into the movie, Lilith excused herself and went to the bathroom. Seeing a chance to talk to her about whatever Sabrina was planning, Zelda followed."I don't want to know what they're doing in there together, but I am so going to tell Ambrose when we're back home", Sabrina whispered to her other aunt excitedly.------------------------------------------------------------------------When Lilith came out of the bathroom stall to wash her hands, Zelda was already waiting for her."So... do you just enjoy following me around or what is up with you stalking me every time we see each other?", Lilith inquired sarcastically."I'm not stalking you! I merely wanted to ask you whether you're here out of your own volition or...", Zelda hesitated, because she knew how strange and silly this sounded.
Lilith raised a questioning eyebrow."Did Sabrina ask you to come?" Judging by Lilith's expression, nothing of such sorts had happened and Zelda, slightly embarrassed, felt the need to explain:
"I mean the day of the Yule dinner she was all.. giggly around me and later when.. when we were standing under the mistletoe she was acting like she had been planning for us to.. to..""To kiss?", Lilith suggested with a small grin on her face."Yes. And I wouldn't put it past Sabrina to push it further.""Well, I can definitely say that I had not been invited by Sabrina and I came here because I wanted to watch the movie", Lilith answered her question, finishing washing her hands, "But I can also definitely say that I would have said yes had I been asked", she went on, taking a step forward and leaned in.
This made Zelda's breath quicken slightly. The brunette witch was now so close to her that she could smell her strong perfume. Zelda glanced down at the red lips. But all Lilith wanted was to get paper towels to dry her hands and Zelda blushed out of embarrassment. For Satan's sake, why did she have that effect on her?
Before resorting to her previous position and with the paper towels still in her hand, she brought her crimson lips close to Zelda's ear and whispered: "Maybe another time."
She then turned on her heel and went back to watch the movie.
Zelda swallowed hard, leaning against the marble sink. 'Wow', she thought, sighing.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Mary had basically made clear that she was interested in Zelda when they were talking in the bathroom, but for some reason Zelda was still insecure about what the next step should be. Should she just wait for the teacher to take the next step or should she initiate it this time? The last thing the ginger wanted was to be rejected, but she also wanted to explore this thing that seemed to be developing between her and Mary. Having composed herself she made her way back to the others, this time sitting next to Sabrina's teacher. This was enough for a start. If the others ask, she'd just say she was still avoiding Hilda and as Mary was sitting next to Sabrina she'd naturally have to sit next to Miss Wardwell.The eyes of the other three witches were following Zelda as she was making her way to the seat next to Lilith. Throughout the rest of the movie, Zelda kept glancing at Lilith, who just smiled smugly in return, being aware of Zelda continuously sneaking a glance. On their way outside they were discussing the movie, Sabrina being the most excited about it. "But Rosemary carrying Satan's child is a bit unrealistic, isn't it?", Sabrina said, huffing."Well, mortals do tend to have quite a lively imagination", Zelda said, taking a bored drag from her cigarette, her hands finding their habitual position on her waist. "To be frank, the thing that I couldn't look past and what made me absolutely furious were the patriarchal notions about female bodily autonomy that Guy represents", Lilith chimed in."Oh don't even get me started on that!", Sabrina replied with an angry edge to her voice.Hilda didn't share her thoughts on the movie, since it did get a bit too creepy at times, hence why she hid behind her hands for the majority of the movie."So..", Hilda interrupted the conversation, "would you care to join us for a cup of tea, Miss Wardwell?"Zelda shot her a surprised look, frowning so intensely, it was a miracle that her eyebrows didn't stay that way."Oh I don't want to impose myself on you", Lilith said, slightly shaking her head and smiling."Imposing yourself on us is the last thing you're doing! Please join us, I even made cake!", Hilda tried to convince her.Hilda's pleading voice and especially the unamused look on Zelda's face persuaded her.So she agreed and they made their way to the cars."Actually, auntie Zee, you and Miss Wardwell can leave without us, because aunt Hilda and I need to run an errand. We'll follow up later with our car!" Zelda and Lilith just looked at her bemusedly."It's important", Sabrina said emphatically."Knock yourselves out", Zelda replied annoyedly.She didn't have the patience for whatever Sabrina was cooking up again and she just turned around, walking toward Mary's car.As soon as Zelda and Mary were out of ear shot Hilda asked: "we have an errand to run?""Of course not, I just wanted them to be alone for a while", Sabrina said, smiling wickedly.-------------------------------------------------------------------------The first few minutes in the car were quiet. Lilith was driving and Zelda, sitting in the passenger's seat, was looking at the landscape through the window, thinking. Thinking that she wanted Mary to strike up a conversation, because sitting in the car so quietly made her slightly uncomfortable, but she knew better than to start rambling just to fill the wordless atmosphere. Thinking about how this could be the moment to take the first step and thinking about the possible consequences.Finally, Mary started talking."So... what was that all about?", Mary asked, a small smile playing around her lips."Honestly, I have no idea. At this point, Sabrina is constantly conjuring up trouble and me warning her wouldn't change her mind in the slightest", Zelda replied, eyes rolling."She is a very determined young witch.""Indeed, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it tends to be quite... exhausting", Zelda sighed quietly. "I understand that. It is quite admirable that you have so much patience with her, not many parents can say that about themselves", Mary said to Zelda, fascinated by it, for the teacher herself often found herself on the verge of sending them to the depth of hell for a few hours.For the first time during this car ride Zelda turned her head toward the brunette, considering her. This was a really big compliment for Zelda, since she loved being a mother, especially to Sabrina, and Mary said it so matter-of-factly that it perplexed her for a moment. Lilith took her eyes off the street to briefly face Zelda only to watch the ginger blinking at her in astonishment."Thank you", Zelda breathed out after what felt like an eternity of the two witches just staring at each other.Lilith smiled in return, "Why do you sound so surprised?", she asked."I have never been complimented on how I raise Sabrina and it's quite... special", she admitted. Admitting that made her feel strange somehow, like a brick from the wall she'd built over the time was being removed. They fell silent again.Suddenly, Zelda felt bold."Could you maybe pull over for a moment?", she asked.Now seemed to be the perfect time to talk to Mary...Lilith was confused, but complied.As soon as the tires came to a halt, the ginger started talking, fearing that her courage might leave her as fast as it had come about."I can't believe I'm doing this", Zelda muttered under her breath, earning a confused look from Mary, but she merely ignored that and continued: "Talk to me about the kiss."Lilith was glad she wasn't drinking anything, for she would have choked, because that came out of nowhere."What would you like to hear me say about it?", she asked, having regained control over her facial expression."You were the one starting the conversation back at the parent teacher conference, so I'd like to know what it was that you wanted to say about it." Lilith pursed her lips. "Well, I might not be an expert in mortal traditions, so correct me if I'm wrong, but when two people are standing under a mistletoe they usually kiss, right? So, what I thought it meant was that the two people give each other a quick peck on the lips. Now what happened between us under that mistletoe surely wasn't a quick peck, was it?", the last two words the brunette emphasized by raising one of her perfectly shaped eyebrows and her mouth slightly twitching upwards. "What are you implying?", the ginger asked, "that I arranged that enchanted mistletoe just to kiss you?" She was a bit irritated by what the teacher just said."No, that was clearly one of Sabrina's ideas. What I was implying is that you enjoyed the kiss." Lilith was looking directly at her and accentuating those three words especially.The bluntness of that statement perplexed Zelda. It was true, but hearing it from someone else was different.Lilith leaned in closer, determined to tease the beautiful ginger even more and maybe get her to open up a bit more. She has taken quite a liking to her."What if I said I didn't enjoy it?", Zelda replied stubbornly, glancing down at Mary's lips."Then I'd say that that's not true.""It is!""I don't believe you""Well but it's true""That you liked it?""Yes. I mean no! This is one of your stupid games isn't it""Maybe", Lilith said pursing her lips, "but I got you to tell me the truth didn't I?""Technically you didn't, since I thought I was answering a different question", Zelda said smugly, thinking she was about to win the argument."And what if we weren't talking about technicalities?", Mary asked, now even closer to Zelda's face.She leaned closer, not thinking at all in this moment and just doing it, and so did Mary.Suddenly they heard a knock on the window of the driver's seat and they jumped apart, completely startled by what just happened."Are you okay? I saw you standing here with your car for quite some time now and just wanted to make sure. I'm sorry if I... interrupted anything", a man said after Lilith had rolled down the window."We are fine, thank you." Lilith gave the stranger her best fake-friendly smile, indicating that he should leave.As quickly as he appeared he was gone again, leaving Zelda and Mary with their uncomfortable, sexual tension.Zelda propped up her arm on the part of the door that connects to the window, biting her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling and not noticing how Mary did the exact same thing.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
It was quiet in the Spellman house when Zelda and Lilith entered, for Hilda and Sabrina weren't back yet and Ambrose was at a meeting with other men from the academy, which meant that the two witches were still alone together."Would you like something to drink?", Zelda asked.This was the first time she's spoken since the almost-kiss in the car."I would like a cup of tea, thank you.", Lilith replied, "Let me help you."Lilith followed the ginger witch to the kitchen and Zelda put the kettle on the stove. Suddenly, she felt Lilith's presence behind her and her hands softly gripping her shoulders. They now were so close she could feel the brunette's breath tickling her ear and she let out a shaky sigh.
Slowly, the redhead turned around, locking eyes with the teacher. "I would like to kiss you. May I?", Lilith asked, her hands casually hanging at the side of her hips, to keep a certain distance, since she didn't want to push the Spellman sister into doing something she might not be ready to do yet.
To her surprise, though, Zelda didn't hesitate much longer and just pulled Lilith in for a kiss.
One hand on Lilith's neck and one hand on the small of her back, pulling her even closer, Zelda kissed Lilith and she kissed her so softly yet so needily.
This kiss was even better than the one underneath the mistletoe, for Zelda had been yearning for it ever since and to finally feel the witch's lips on hers again was... breathtaking (quite literally).
After getting over the instant of surprise, Lilith eased into the kiss. Her hands found their place on Zelda's hips and she started travelling up her body, rubbing small circles with her hands over her back.
Zelda dug her hand in Lilith's hair and let her other hand roam her body until she just rested it on the spot between her chest and shoulder.
They kissed each other so tenderly yet with so much desire.
Zelda couldn't get enough of the feeling she had when kissing the witch.
The two of them hadn't even noticed how the kettle had started whistling or that Hilda and Sabrina had come back home until they heard Hilda shouting "Zelds" from the entrance door."Zelds can't you hear the kettle?" Hilda was walking toward the kitchen and when she entered the only thing she saw was Zelda and Lilith turning away from each other and pretending to be busy doing something else. Lilith for instance seemed to be very interested in the range of herbs standing on the kitchen island and Zelda took care of the boiling water.
Hilda had to bite her tongue to stop herself from smiling."I guess I'll be cutting the cake then", Hilda said uncomfortably.Lilith excused herself and went into the living room, joining Sabrina.
Smiling awkwardly she sat down in a chair and waited for the others to come, too.
Sabrina, who was still oblivious to what had happened in the kitchen, was striking up a conversation with Lilith. It was the usual small talk about school, WICCA and other rather irrelevant topics. Lilith wasn't really up for talking, hence why the conversation wasn't as profound as it could have been and usually was. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Meanwhile in the kitchen, Hilda was trying to talk to Zelda about what may or may not have happened between her and Lilith."So... What have you and Mary been up to? Did anything exciting happen?" "No. Why are you asking?", Zelda replied, moments of her and Mary making out flashing before her eyes."Uh, because I saw you and Mary basically jump away from each other the moment I came in and... that screams wild make-up session if you ask me", Hilda said, raising an eyebrow."Listen, Zelds, I'm your sister, you can talk to me whenever you want about whatever is on your mind. Just saying."Hilda was cutting the cake and placing it neatly on a plate to serve it to the others.
Zelda sighed, turning around, now actually facing Hilda instead of the tea.
"Okay. We kissed. I'm not quite sure what that means, but we did."
"Well, are you planning on asking her out or anything?""Maybe? Usually I'm the one who is asked out and not the other way around, I'm not quite sure how to go about it." "My, Zelds, are you actually worried about this? Someone's got a crush huh?", Hilda winked at her sister, who just rolled her eyes in return."Whatever. Let's just serve the tea and cake"Zelda turned around on her heel and brought the tea out with Hilda following with the cake and smiling to herself. -------------------------------------------------------------------------The time had passed quickly and Zelda soon found herself accompanying Mary to the door. This seems to have become a habit, mandatory even."So... thank you for the tea and the cake. Have a good night", Lilith smiled politely and was about to turn around when Zelda stopped her."Wait." Lilith turned around with a raised eyebrow and simultaneously furrowing her brows in confusion."I've never done this before, but would.. would you like to go out with me some time?"
She looked around uncomfortably, nervous about possibly being rejected."Why I'd love to", Lilith was surprised that Zelda showed actual interest and asked her out on a date, she liked it."What would you like to do? And what day did you have in mind?" Lilith sensed that Zelda was a bit insecure - and she was right, Zelda hadn't thought about it any further than just asking her out - and tried to help her out a little."How about we go to the cinema? Alone this time", Lilith suggested, winking at her.Zelda smiled. "I would like that"They agreed on meeting at the cinema at 7pm on Sunday to watch a random movie.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The cinema was empty, except for a few people here and there.
When Zelda had announced that she wouldn't be at home from 7 until later in the evening she was basically interrogated, but decided to stay secretive about who she's meeting up with and where. Not that it was anyone's business anyway.
They were seated in the very back of the movie theater watching a movie they had randomly picked.It was strange watching a movie with the person she had loathed for so long and was now getting to know and becoming closer to (and very much so). They had decided to watch Carol since the poster had seemed quite intriguing and from the ticket seller they learned that the movie was set in the 50s, which they always enjoyed sort of re-experiencing different decades.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Carol and Therese were now in their hotel room in Waterloo and Carol was standing behind the chair Therese was sitting on. The two women were talking about how they used to spend New Year's Eve when suddenly the older woman started to open her robe and they started kissing.
Zelda became very aware of her neighbor all of a sudden and shifted uncomfortably, sneaking a glance at her. Even though they have kissed before it was still awkward to watch a movie about two women falling in love with and showing affection to each other like that.
Lilith turned her head toward the redhead.
"Everything okay? You look a little... uneasy" "Y- yes, I'm fine", Zelda replied, swallowing.Zelda was looking directly into the icy eyes of the woman before her, getting lost in them.
The brunette brought her hand up to Zelda's face and put one of her curls behind her ear only to then rest her hand on her cheek, which made the other witch close her eyes and sigh quietly.
Both of them glanced down at each other's lips, slowly leaning in, when:"I want my fucking suitcase!"They hadn't been paying much attention to the movie and Carol raising her voice made them jump apart.
After getting over the shock, Lilith started chuckling and soon Zelda chimed in as well until they were filling the entire room with their laughter.
The situation somehow seemed so ridiculous to them, they almost couldn't stop laughing about it.They payed attention to the movie again and it was when Carol and Therese were forced to stay away from each other that Zelda became quite emotional."Carol?..... I miss you"A single tear made its way down her cheek and she quickly wiped it away, not wanting to show weakness. It didn't go unnoticed by Lilith though, but she thought it better not to acknowledge it, because she knew that Zelda was uncomfortable with being vulnerable.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"That was a beautiful movie, don't you think?", Lilith asked after they left the cinema."Yes, it truly was, I really enjoyed it", Zelda agreed, "I.. um.. I also enjoyed watching it with you", she added shyly."So did I", Lilith said, smiling, "how about you come to my cottage tomorrow at 7 and we'll cook something for dinner together?""I'd like that", the ginger replied, beaming at the brunette.
She was happy with where their relationship was headed and also the pace. They were getting to know each other and Zelda thoroughly enjoyed the process."Well, I'd better go home now, Hilda, Sabrina and Ambrose are probably awaiting me already. I can't wait to be interrogated", Zelda said, rolling her eyes, though her mouth was twisted into a smile.She was turning around to leave when Lilith grabbed her hand and pulled her into a soft kiss."You didn't mean to leave without kissing me goodbye did you?", Lilith said in a humorously appalled manner.Smiling, she went to her car to get back to the mortuary.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"Soooo... auntie Zee... where have you been all evening?", Ambrose asked grinning knowingly."In the city... doing things. Not that that's any of your business." Zelda replied secretively. "Doing things huh? Who's that?", he inquired, failing at suppressing his laughter."Excuse you?!", she opened her eyes so widely, it looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.Ambrose couldn't hold in his laughter anymore and started full-on wheezing, which confused Zelda even more, so she just left, rolling her eyes at him and went to talk to Hilda in the kitchen."Hilda, I just wanted to tell you that you can cook for one less person tomorrow, because I won't be home for dinner.""Where will you be?", Hilda was curious."Do I really have to share everything with all of you? A bit of privacy please.", Zelda bit back leaving the kitchen, passing Ambrose once again."So you won't be here for dinner tomorrow? What's that about?", he just couldn't stop."Satan help me", the witch murmured and just plainly ignored her nephew.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------"I'm leaving now, don't wait for me this might take a while", Zelda exclaimed, closing the door and leaving her three secretly excited relatives. The three of them already had a pretty good theory of where Zelda was spending a few hours... if not the night.Zelda was wearing a tight black dress with long sleeves and a pearl necklace to complement the elegant flair and black heels to match.
When she arrived at the cottage she knocked on its wooden door with a flutter in her stomach. The last time she'd been here she'd denied the obvious attraction that made itself known in her stomach, but now she couldn't even deny it anymore. Actually, she was starting to not only be physically attracted to the teacher, but also emotionally. Ever since they had got to know each other, Mary had grown on her more and more and Zelda started to see why she was so well liked by most people, particularly young girls. Mary is supportive, especially when it comes to women and the support between women. She promotes strength and fights for equality, so minorities don't feel left out and Zelda admired that.
The ginger had been gushing about her in her head and didn't even notice the door being opened until Mary called her by her name."Zelda?""Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something and didn't notice you opened the door", her focus was shifted from her thoughts to what Mary was wearing.
Her hair was put in a low elegant bun, with a few strands of hair pulled out at the front, which showed off nice pearl earrings and her long, slender neck. Zelda's gaze was led down to Mary's exposed decolletage and further down her low neckline. The dress she was wearing was tight and a hot red, just like her lipstick and the matching pair of heels. Being pointed, the shoes elongated her legs even more and Zelda couldn't help it but to bite her lip, making her attraction even more obvious.
"Why don't you come in?", Lilith asked, smirking, because she knew exactly what she was doing.They went into the kitchen and started preparing the ingredients for coq au vin and a salad.
Since it was so quiet while they were cutting up the vegetables, Zelda noticed the soft music coming from a small record player in the back of the adjacent living room.
"You listen to The Fleetwoods?", Zelda asked out of the blue.
"Oh yes, I thoroughly enjoy them! Out of all the music I've heard throughout the many decades, I must say The Fleetwoods are one of my favorite artists.", Lilith replied.
"Mine, too! 'Truly Do' is one of my favorite songs", she stated.
"May I have this dance?", Lilith asked, holding out her hand and smiling.
Zelda put her hand in Lilith's and they started dancing in the middle of the kitchen. They were slowly swaying to the slow rhythm of "Ruby Red Baby Blue" by The Fleetwoods.
the day that you stayed, you loved me forever
Suddenly, cooking wasn't a priority anymore and they soon found themselves in a gentle kiss, which intensified quickly.
Lilith started kissing Zelda's jaw and proceeded on to her neck, when Zelda broke the kiss.
"Perhaps we should continue this somewhere else?", she said, looking at her coyly.
Taking her hand, Lilith led her to the bedroom and as soon as the door closed their mouths found their way back together again.
Kissing and nibbling Lilith made her way down Zelda's neck. Hands were roaming bodies and mouths exploring skin.
The two of them moved toward the bed, not letting go of each other for a second, and Lilith lightly pushed Zelda onto the bed and started kissing her again. She was hovering above Zelda, her legs around one of Zelda's so that Zelda's legs were around one of Lilith's.
Again Lilith started kissing Zelda's neck, which made a soft moan escape from the ginger's lips.
Lilith started tugging on Zelda's dress to signal her to take it off and she complied. Leaving a trail of kisses, the brunette made her way down Zelda's chest, gently sucking and kissing her breasts, to then kiss her belly, going down further and further.
Zelda has never felt better; she felt so appreciated and taken care of. It seemed like Lilith was covering her entire body with kisses. She was now kissing her thighs, getting closer to her center and making Zelda squirm underneath her.
Finally, she made contact with Zelda's center, circling her clit with her tongue, making the redhead writhe even more. She buckled her hips, yearning for more contact and pressure and Mary finally obeyed. With a few skilled flicks of her tongue Lilith finished off the ginger and a wave of satisfaction washed over Zelda making her sigh with pleasure.
She opened her eyes again and Lilith lay down next to her.
"I'm hungry"
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
Lilith’s eyes fluttered open only to see utter darkness. When her eyes finally adjusted to the dark environment, she turned to her right, recalling earlier events and found the redhead being in the ‘little spoon’ position, sleeping peacefully. Softly, Lilith put her hand around Zelda’s waist, which was then grabbed by the latter, though still asleep. Lilith propped her head up on her hand and just watched her for a few moments.“I can feel you breathing down my neck”, she heard the muffled voice of the woman next to her, who still sounded a little sleepy. “I can’t help it, you’re just so beautiful”, the brunette whispered, making the other woman smile shyly.She scooched closer, nuzzling her head in the crook of Zelda’s neck. “Not to ruin the mood, but aren’t you awaited by a certain group of already suspicious people?”Zelda turned around. “No.”, she said, smiling. Slowly Zelda shifted their position, so she would be hovering over Mary. “I told them not to wait for me, you know, in case dinner takes a little longer than expected”, the younger woman said in between placing soft kisses on Mary’s pulse point and nibbling on her ear lobe.At that the demoness let out a soft moan, closing her eyes and blissfully anticipating what came next.——————————————————————————————————————— The mansion seemed quiet, as Zelda silently stepped in, letting out a relieved sigh. That however turned into a startled gasp upon seeing the three family members basically materialize in front of her. Three smug faces were looking at her expectantly. “What”“Where have you been this long, young lady?”, Ambrose asked in a mock-serious voice.“Come on Auntie Zee, we wanna know more!!”, Sabrina begged for details, pouting.Zelda pondered for a moment, narrowing her eyes and then said: “Fine. But it depends on what you want to know.”“Are you and Miss Wardwell girlfriends?”, a clearly excited Sabrina asked enthusiastically.Zelda’s eyes widened. Girlfriends. Sure, they’ve been dating for a while now, but have they got to that point yet? Or are they just having fun? Zelda for one has been getting more and more attached to the brunette with each date the two went on, but what if she completely misinterpreted the situation? Zelda could feel waves of anxiety creeping up. She realized they had reached the point where they should have the talk. The interrogated woman must have spaced out, because she could hear Sabrina calling her name impatiently.Zelda blinked, trying to shake off all the questions that just flooded her head, “ah no, we- we haven’t really had that conversation yet”“Oh.. I just thought because the two of you have been dating for a while now, that...”, Sabrina trailed off. After a moment of awkward silence, Sabrina plastered on a big smile and said: “Anyway, do you and Miss Wardwell have any plans for tomorrow? Because if not, we could do something fun together! All four of us!”Zelda smiled at the idea of doing something with her family, since that tends to get a little lost between Sabrina being Sabrina, aka always getting into some type of trouble, and Zelda being somewhat preoccupied with a certain brunette witch, whether it be in real life or just her head.“I’d like that”——————————————————————————————————————— The four Spellmans decided to go to Greendale’s local fun fair and ignore their personal issues for the time being.Getting something from one of the food booths, Sabrina overheard what seemed to be a highly suspicious conversation coming from a nearby tent, so she decided to take a closer look at what was going on. “I told you, Batibat, our arrangement has come to an end. Our deal is off and I’m cutting ties with you as of now. You got your payment and now I want you to stay as far away from them as possible, understood?”, Sabrina heard a strangely familiar voice say.Is- that sounds like Miss Wardwell’s voice.. the student thought, incredulous of what she was hearing and especially of the person saying those things.“You might technically be my “mother”, but the highest horse in this hierarchy is still Lucifer. Only he can truly control me and my kind and, if I recall correctly, he hasn’t exactly expressed dissatisfaction of any sorts, so....”, another, unknown voice said menacingly.“We are equals”, Lilith said angrily through gritted teeth “and you little dipshits are under my supervision, so you do as I say or you’ll be nothing more than an abject little lap dog and I will make sure of that”Sabrina peeked through a small gap in the tent material and saw that it was indeed Ms. Wardwell and she could see the threat in her eyes and hear the venom in her words. As if having a specific Sabrina alarm, Ms. Wardwell’s head suddenly turned toward her hiding spot and Sabrina fled the scene.“Aunt Zelda!”, Sabrina hissed our of breath once she arrived to her family. “Where’s the food?”, Zelda asked once she’d turned around, finding Sabrina’s hands devoid of food. “What?”“Didn’t you go to get some food from one of the booths?”“Oh. Doesn’t matter, but you won’t believe what I’ve just witnessed, Aunt Zelda!”Sabrina sped through what she’d just seen, completely overwhelming the rest of her family.“Yeah it sounded like she had some sort of business with Batibat. The demon who attacked us!!”, Sabrina added. While Sabrina was discussing what she’d just seen, Lilith was thinking of what to do next. Should she walk past them and act like nothing has happened and Sabrina just imagined the whole scene or should she play with open cards and explain at least the rudiments of her business? She hadn’t quite decided yet when she found herself running right into the Spellmans.