Disclaimer: The song 'Ice Queen' belongs to the awesome Within Temptation, to the best of my knowledge, the lyrics are correct, BUT they are incredibly hard to make out (the only song I have to google to learn the words!) and the internet sites all contradict one another. I also don't own Worst Witch.
A/N: This is for the one in a million NCD; my fabulous-beyond-fabulous sister and friend.
Hope you like dear :)
XXX
A/N - Edited 2013- song lyrics removed. I've worried for some time about copyright laws and have thus made the decision to remove the lyrics from any writing I have done. :)
Ice Queen
Outside the storm raged; only hours earlier the sky had brimmed with sunshine so pure it gave off a majestic glow, but in the few stark hours that had passed, it was now unrecognisable.
Rain pelted from the clouds of the grey gloomy sky with such a force it was like boulders plummeting to the ground before smashing into tiny pieces; the winds from the Heavens tore through the air destroying everything in their path, the sound like a screaming banshee; and the leaves danced in the wind, not in graceful beauty, but in uncontrolled anarchy. Every living creature fled, desperately trying to seek shelter from the wrath of the storm: moles retreated back underground to their burrows where they were safe in the confines of darkness; flower buds closed; mother birds huddled around their young in an attempt to offer some protection and reassurance.
Yes, every creature fled but one: a lone nightingale sat perched on the branch of a tree, seemingly unfazed by the destruction surrounding it, and began to sing its wistful tune. Whilst the nightingale usually spoke of joy and was generally regarded as a good omen this night, there was something different in its tune: an underlying current of fear, almost as if it sang of its fatality.
In an old castle; its view obstructed by the trees in the forest, Constance Hardbroom stood at the window of her room and watched as the chaos the storm caused filled the air.
Like the weather, a deep dark cloud hung over the Deputy Headmistress's head. In just a few short hours the school would receive an inspection from OFWITCH and while this wouldn't normally faze her, since learning the identity of the inspector, she had felt more than a little unease.
Constance Hardbroom was a formidable and extremely powerful witch; she was most certainly a force to be reckoned with.
She was the one everybody turned to for guidance and for protection; she gave off the image of being a strong infallible woman – at least on the surface, but scratch that surface and you couldn't be further from the truth.
Hiding behind a harsh façade and a mask of pretence the Deputy denied the truth to the world, and possibly even to herself.
She was afraid.
She was more afraid than she would ever dare to admit, in fact she was petrified and it all came down to one woman, her old tutor from Witch Training College: Heckitty Broomhead.
The name alone sent a shiver down her spine, reverberating through her as memories flooded her brain. She was gripped by a panic attack; the feeling of a bony hand crushing down on her windpipe and cutting off her air supply. Her heart beat so fast she felt it would burst from her chest. Her breathing became short and ragged gasps as she fought for every breath; her head feeling as though full of molten lead; her throat dry and parched, she swallowed and could taste the bitter metallic taste of fear in the back of her throat. She subconsciously tightened her grip on the window sill, her legs threatening to give way and drag her down to the depths of unconsciousness.
As she listened to the haunting melancholy of the nightingale's song, she allowed the tears she had not shed in years to fall from her deep brown eyes as her mind wandered back to a past she had tried to forget …
She writhed and screamed out in pain as flaming hot energy coursed through her veins; her whole body felt as though it was on fire as it burned relentless and without mercy.
Constance's harrowing scream echoed through the College; the sound was like music to Heckitty's ears. A sadistic smile spread across her face – a devils grin if ever there was one, as she increased the intensity of her attack on the young girl in front of her, ignoring her pleas for mercy and the terror in her eyes.
Constance knew she couldn't hold out much longer, the agony: searing and unbearable. Until finally, it ceased.
Every bone and nerve ending in her body ached as every link she had with the magic world had been aflame.
Darkness pricked at her vision, threatening to consume her; as her eyelids fluttered, she could sense the presence of Heckitty standing over her before she took a step forward, her heel smashing down hard on Constance's wrist. As she felt the bone shift Constance bit her lip and stifled a scream as fresh tears began to run down her cheeks like water cascading down a waterfall. Her tutor smiled maliciously at her obvious pain, bent down and whispered the chilling words in her ear; the words were laced with poison as venom dripped from her mouth upon every syllable.
"Vos es mei
She was drawn from her terrifying reverie as a cold wind blew; it caressed her cheek in a way that was comforting, yet at the same time unnerving. The wind emanating a bitterness to it, like it served as a warning.
Tendrils of her long dark hair took on life of their own as they danced, fighting against the wind. Her snow white skin, such a contrast to the dark locks, highlighting her ethereal and rare beauty and only added to the air of mystery surrounding her.
As the feeling of dizziness subsided Constance loosened her grip on the window sill and straightened up, wiping her tears away, before gingerly making her way over to the bed in the centre of the room.
Pulling back the immaculately smooth sheets she climbed into the bed, pulled the covers around her tightly, as if they could act as some sort of shield and offer protection from Heckitty, and stared straight ahead at the blank wall; her gaze distant and her usually so controlled mind a mix of tumultuous emotions, whirling round like a tornado.
Even in her current state of mind, her eyes couldn't help flitting around the room as for the first time she took in how empty it was; it was bare, sparse. No photographs of loved ones were proudly displayed on the desk or walls, in fact there was little to distinguish it actually belonged to anyone.
'How ironic, Constance thought sadly, my room is just like my life …empty'
She was alive, but she wasn't really living: it was a meaningless life. One of solitude.
She couldn't live for the future or even for the present because she was still trapped in the past, her past.
Heckitty Broomhead haunted Constance's very soul to the core, the treacherous woman was the source of recurring and all too vivid nightmares, forcing her to relive the terror she had felt. The poisonous voice that pierced her skull, always present, telling her she was wrong, telling her she was a failure. She was certainly her Achilles Heels.
It was during her time under her tutelage at Witch Training College that Constance had become the person she was today. Before that she had been a very different person: she had lived, laughed and loved everybody. She had sparkle in her eyes and such a zest for life.
Heckitty had broken Constance: shattering her carefree spirit in the way one would break a mirror, and then moulded her into the perfect protégée: a clone of her own image.
By the time she had finished she had left Constance nothing more than an empty shell of a woman; the flames that had once upon a time danced so brightly in the wind now practically extinguished. She had crushed her, leaving her as fragile as a butterfly who always tried to escape being caught in the net but deep down knew it to be an inevitability no matter how hard it fought.
With every bruise and scar inflicted on her she had become less and less like her old self. She had to change; she had no choice if she wanted to survive. And so she had trained herself to become immune to it all, the painful blows were no longer met with screams or cries but instead a stony silence. She no longer felt the pain; in fact she didn't feel anything, except an overwhelming numbness.
If there was one thing Heckitty relished it was the power she knew she held over her young charge and upon realising she could no longer break Constance physically, she had changed tactic and instead began to mess with her head; her mind games so twisted Constance didn't know what to think, in fact she wasn't even sure she knew what thoughts belonged to her. If any?
Heckitty had ingrained herself in every part of Constance; her mannerisms, her thoughts, and her soul.
A soul now dark and empty sucked of all life, only remnants of what once was remained. Like the dust particles in the far corner of a room the brush couldn't quite reach.
Constance had tried her utmost to just keep her head down and keep out of Heckitty's way, but it didn't work, she seemed to have some sort of radar where Constance was concerned. She was always watching her; always ready to give her the blame; and always thinking up some new torture she could inflict upon her even though she knew she had done nothing wrong.
It was because of Heckitty Constance couldn't trust, her inner turmoil caused her to put up such impenetrable barriers, a wall that formed a distance between the Deputy and anyone who tried to get too close. A wall that kept everybody out and herself from being hurt.
No matter what Heckitty did she had coped. After all it was even reflected in her name, she was the perfect example of constancy – at least on the outside, on the inside she was screaming though no one could hear her, praying someone, anyone would come and save her.
It was when she picked on those weaker that it tore Constance apart; when she picked on those who didn't have the external nor internal strength to take the vicious onslaughts. She would use them as a pawn in her sick game of life and took great delight in watching them crumble and fall like a house of cards.
Then she did her worst.
Constance was still haunted by the horrific memories of Heckitty torturing her best friend Roberta to death while she was forced to watch, her eyes burning with hot salty tears. Heckitty's magic blockage had rendered her useless to help, and even though she tried her hardest to fight against the sadistic witch to save her best friend, she wasn't a match for Heckitty who had a glint of madness sparking in her snake like eyes.
She could still hear the ear piercing scream; the images plagued her, as did the guilt, she knew it was her fault.
Heckitty had picked on Roberta because she knew it would get to Constance; she knew it make her bow to her demands; she knew how far Constance would go to defend and protect her best friend.
Constance had done so immediately, not wanting to see her best friend suffer even for a second at the hands of Heckitty, but Heckitty enjoyed watching Constance suffer, she got such an intoxicating rush from it that she had become like a woman possessed, not stopping until she had destroyed everything that was good in Constance's life.
And when Constance had looked at her with eyes so devoid of emotion and feeling; eyes so dark you could have fallen into them; eyes so full of emptiness. She knew she had won.
Constance belonged to her.
Constance knew it was her fault her best friend had died, and she knew she couldn't let any more innocent people come to harm. Somewhere along the line, though she didn't know exactly when, the other staff members and the pupils had become like a sort of family to her. She cared for them deeply, she would never openly admit it, but she did.
She looked at the clock, resting her head on the bed frame and sighed, cursing as another tear rolled down her cheek. In just a few short hours all of Constance's worst fears would be realised when the pernicious woman would walk through the doors of the Academy and tear them apart, inflicting her poisonous wrath. She got some kind of pleasure out of the misery and suffering of others so Constance knew Heckitty would go out of her way to deliberately make the inspection as uncomfortable as possible for them all.
Constance knew in times of trouble, it was she they all turned to. She was their tower of strength; their pillar of hope; and their shield that hid and protected them from the dangers of the magical world. And protect them she would.
She had seen and experienced first hand what Heckitty Broomhead was capable of: she was the most demanding, thorough and relentless witch Constance had ever had the misfortune of coming across, let alone having to be tutored by. Constance wouldn't have wished her on her worst enemy and certainly not on any of the girls. If any of them ever studied under her, she would destroy them.
Those who would be of no use to her would be belittled and broken down purely for Heckitty's own amusement, she would then just toss them aside once she was either bored of or finished with them, as if she were throwing away a broken toy. She had seen it before. Many times.
Those who were of use, worried her the most, she didn't want to think about what would happen. A feeling of fear settled in the pit of her stomach.
Ethel Hallow would no doubt be useful to Heckitty, given her family's status and 'connections' Heckitty would use them and abuse them, she would train Ethel well, there was no doubt about it; she would end up another powerful witch, but an emotionless clone of all the rest.
Maud Moonshine, she mused, was a proficient and extremely capable witch, wide eyed and willing to learn more of the magical craft. Her gentile manner was one of her most admirable qualities, and this was why she wouldn't last long in Heckitty's clutches; she was much too kind and naïve. Her brain would be fed the power and then drained of all knowledge to the point of exhaustion.
Enid Nightshade, although she disliked authority and being told what to do, was another skilled witch, would never let Heckitty use her like that; she had a wild spirit. Constance smiled slightly at this before the smile disappeared, for she knew it was a spirit Heckitty would beat out of her, leaving scars. The visible ones would, in time heal, but the emotional ones would cut so deep, they never would.
Then there was Mildred Hubble.
While the girl was more or less the worst witch in the entire school and who messed up more potions than Constance could count, she meant well, she was just lacking in confidence. Constance could see that Mildred possessed extraordinary talent; she had not yet discovered in herself but knew one day she would and hoped she would be there when it would come to light and shine through.
Mildred saw the world through rose tinted spectacles; she harnessed such bravery and that was something that wasn't often found among witches and wizards and she had such spirit for life, and for this Constance envied her. She reminded her so much of her young self before she had entered Witch Training College and experienced the worst and darkest years of her life under Heckitty's iron fist rule.
If Heckitty got her claws into Mildred it would be fatal; all that spirit she possessed would be crushed, like stomping on a fly until it dies. All her talent would be exploited, used for Heckitty's own selfish gain. She would be left empty; she would see no colour and no sparkle in the world, all she would see would be never ending darkness and loneliness.
Constance was determined not to let that happen and had persuaded Amelia it would be best to keep Mildred out of the way while the inspection went on, she hadn't let on her true intentions for wanting to do so, and she never would.
As the nightingale finished its tune, it flew from the branch it had been perched on, and sat on her window sill for a few moments. Constance watched it before it soared into the sky and took off into the night. Its flight, seemingly effortless against the high current of the wind.
Constance was always going to fear Heckitty, she knew that, but Heckitty was a part of her and the tainted memories that came with it whether she liked it or not and there would never be a true escape from the past.
She may have been viewed as the 'Ice Queen' of the Academy, but she was determined she would fight to the death if necessary to protect those in her kingdom.