Chapter 1
...
Hecate was in her classroom finishing off marking the pile of potion's essays that seemed to have accumulated on her desk over the past few days. With everything that happened over the past few months, with Agatha trying to take over the school and the Great Wizard's visit, she found her life to be more hectic than ever. Glancing over the current essay in front of her, she let out a frustrated sigh that her students were incompetent of understanding the key ingredients to a shrinking potion. Shaking her head, she marked the essay as a fail, and placed it to the side, then started on another. She had just managed to read past the first paragraph when a small 'ping' came from her maglet.
Hecate narrowed her eyes, wondering who would be messaging her. She knew it couldn't be Ada; she was still in her meeting with the Great Wizard regarding the latest revelation that the school should rightfully be Agatha's. She still couldn't believe that Alma had lied to them all these years, but she could understand on some level why the Cackle matriarch did what she did. Agatha was impulsive, twisted and only cared about herself. The thought of Agatha ever being in charge of the school caused an involuntary shiver to pass through her body. She just prayed that Agatha never found out the truth, it would only lead to disaster.
Placing her quill down on the desk, she picked up the maglet. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the name of the person who had the nerve to contact her.
Opening the message, she quickly read what her Sister-in-Law had to say.
Hecate,
I know I am the last person you wish to see, but I have some urgent matters to discuss with you. Ada reached out to me earlier today with some news that I have found profoundly upsetting. I'm sure you are aware of Ada's declining health.
Despite our differences, Ada is still my sister, and I wish to offer any support I can through this difficult time. I know we have never seen eye to eye, but I feel there is no one else I can turn to. I'm reaching out to temporarily put our differences aside and be a united, supportive front for Ada. I hope you will accept my invitation to meet me at Darkwood Cottage this afternoon at one o'clock?
I look forward to awaiting your reply.
Agatha.
Hecate felt her heart stop as she re-read over Agatha's words. Ada couldn't be ill; she was positive that she would have confided in her if that were the case. She wouldn't keep something so important from her. There was a high possibility that Agatha was lying and it was just a ploy to create a rift between herself and Ada. It wouldn't be the first time Agatha had tried to play this twisted game.
Unsure what to think, she placed the maglet on the table and opened her pocket watch attached to the necklace around her neck realising she had half an hour if she chose to accept Agatha's invitation.
Hecate knew Ada wouldn't be too pleased if she went to see her estranged sister alone, but she didn't know how long her meeting with the Great Wizard would last. Apart of her was thankful that her wife was busy, she didn't want Agatha anywhere near her. She loved Ada dearly, but her kindness was the one trait that Agatha used to her advantage. It would be easy to ignore the message and ask Ada herself if what Agatha had said was indeed true. But if Agatha was indeed up to something sinister, then perhaps this was the perfect opportunity to find out.
Picking up her maglet, she quickly sent her reply to Agatha accepting her invitation. When she was sure her message had sent, she took a blank piece of parchment, picked up her quill and started writing a quick note to Ada stating she had a quick errand to run. There was no point in worrying her. She was more than capable of looking after herself were Agatha was concerned.
When she finished signing her name at the bottom of the letter, she folded the note and left it on her desk for Ada to find. Satisfied that everything appeared to be in order, she stood up and transferred herself to her quarters to collect her cloak, hat, and broom. Hecate had only ever been to Darkwood Cottage once in her life, and she swore to herself that she would never return. The grim and gloomy cottage was the worst excuse for a house she'd ever laid eyes on. She had often heard Ada refer it to a long-abandoned prison rather than a peaceful cottage in the middle of the forest. She wasn't far from the truth. Personally, she had found the cottage; eerie, cold and uninviting. It was hard to believe that Ada, with her sunny personality, had lived in such an environment for sixteen years without it extinguishing her bright spark.
It was just one of the many traits she loved about, Ada. She always tried to look towards the positive outlooks in life rather than the negatives. Unlike herself, who was more pessimistic, and tentative despite Ada's confident reassurance that everything would work out in the end. She didn't have it in her heart to dampen her spirits when she saw how happy Ada always looked at the prospect. It was almost as if they created a balance, Ada was the light to her dark, while she was the anchor to the boat that kept Ada grounded. It was as if she had found the other half to a broken locket, which gave her a feeling of completeness. She refused to let anyone take such happiness away from her. Not even Agatha Cackle.
Fastening the button of her cloak, she placed the hat firmly on her head, picked up her broom and transferred herself to the castle grounds. Looking up at the sky, she could see the grey clouds start to roll in. She hoped her meeting with Agatha wouldn't last long. If there was one thing, she despised it was flying in the rain.
Mounting her broom, she took off into the air, feeling the rush of wind blow on her face, urging her broom to go faster. Hecate could make out Darkwood forest in the distance, knowing it would be another ten minutes before she arrived. She remembered that Ada had always told her to land in the woods due to the cottage path being hidden in a vast overgrowth of wildflowers, and shrubbery which made it difficult to land. She thought Ada had been exaggerating, but by the time she had arrived at the front door of the cottage she seemed to be wearing majority of the forest in her hair much to Ada's amusement.
Hecate couldn't help but smile, recalling how Ada had compared her bun to a bird's nest, due to the number of leaves and twigs that were sticking out of the pleats wrapped around the top of her head. The comment had left her feeling mortified but looking back she guessed it wasn't far from the truth.
Her smile disappeared noticing she had arrived at the entrance to the forest. She sharply guided her broom down and made her descent into the dark woods below. Once she had landed, she dismounted her broom and looked around the surrounding area feeling a shiver go down her spine. There was no sign of life. It wasn't just that it was a still day; the air didn't move. The sky was empty, not only of birds but also of clouds. The trees were thick and old; their roots twisted. Their canopy was so dense that only an occasional streak of sunlight made it through rarely touching the forest floor. She felt as if her every move was being watched. The thought caused her blood to chill in her veins.
Staying on her guard, she started the short walk towards the cottage. The sound of mushy and dead leaves crushed beneath her feet with each step. She was near the exit when she heard a twig snap behind her. Startled, she turned to look in the direction she came from to see no one there.
Hecate gripped her broom tighter in her hand as she tried to slow her beating heart. When she was sure she was alone, she turned and quickened her pace, not wishing to stay in the forest longer than necessary. When she finally reached the garden, she sighed in relief as she pushed stray branches and flowers out of the way of her path and approached the cottage.
She noted not much had changed. The windows of the cottage still looked back at her like the eyes of an empty soul. She approached the front door and knocked three times waiting for Agatha to answer. She tapped her foot impatiently, what was the point of arranging a meeting if the person requesting your presence was late?
Hecate was about to knock on the door again when she heard the sound of hurried footsteps approach from the other side. The door was pulled open to reveal Agatha looking up at her with a relieved smile.
"Hecate, I'm glad you could make it. Please, come in." Agatha stepped aside allowing Hecate to enter.
"Your message was hard to ignore, and it seems you have me at quite the disadvantage," Hecate replied stepping inside the cottage, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the smell of must and dampness upon entering.
"I'm not sure I follow," Agatha said closing the door behind her as she led them into the living room.
"I wasn't aware of Ada's declining health as you so adequetly put it."
"I thought she would have told you, considering how close you both are," Agatha stated her eyes widening disbelief.
Hecate scowled unmoved by the display, "Give me one good reason why I should believe anything you have to say? It's not the first time you have played these twisted games."
"I know you have no reason to trust me. I may be many things, but I swear to you I would never lie about Ada's health. She's my sister. Apart from you, and mother, she is the only family I have, Hecate." Agatha's voice broke as placed a hand to her mouth to stifle her sobs.
Hecate's eyes softened slightly, but she refused to let her guard down over a few well-placed tears.
"Very well. Perhaps it would be best if you filled me in from the beginning."
Agatha nodded, "If you take a seat, I'll get us some tea and inform you of everything I know."
Hecate watched Agatha's retreating form in trepidation unsure of what she was going to expect upon her return. Placing her broom against the wall, she removed her cloak and hat and set them on the couch, then made her way to inspect the room.
The furniture was dusty and old, mould ate away at the walls and flooring, and cobwebs laced the corners of the windows and portraits. There appeared to be nothing of interest in the room, only a few dimly lit candles, and a broken gold mirror, which was no doubt caused by Agatha in a fit of rage.
"Here we are," Agatha said walking into the room carrying a tray with two cups and a pot of tea.
Hecate took a seat on the couch as she watched Agatha place the tray on the table then began to fill the cups with a generous amount of tea.
"It may not be the best I'm afraid," Agatha warned as she handed one of the cups to Hecate, who was hesitant to take it.
"You can relax, Hecate. I haven't poisoned it if that's what you're thinking."
"That's reassuring." Hecate drawled as she took the cup of tea from Agatha's hands waiting for the other woman to take a drink.
"You doubt my intentions," Agatha said taking a seat on the couch next to Hecate. "I can't say I blame you given my history." She finished taking a sip of tea.
"Your intentions nearly killed two of my students in your last attempt to take over the school."
"I never meant for the situation to get so out of hand."
"You don't mean a lot of things, Agatha, yet you still continuously scheme; putting the students and Ada at risk for your thirst for power."
"I noticed you didn't include yourself in that statement. Do you think so little of yourself, Hecate?" Agatha asked watching as Hecate looked down at the cup in her hands, refusing to meet her eyes.
"We're not here to discuss me; we are here to discuss Ada."
"And we will, but It seems you have a lot on your mind." Agatha reached out and placed her hand over Hecate's seeing the younger woman's posture stiffen. "I know we've never been close or seen eye to eye, but I'm here should you ever need to talk."
Hecate looked up not trusting herself to speak. She merely nodded and took a long drink of her tea beginning to feel uncomfortable with Agatha's closeness.
"About Ada." Hecate started wanting Agatha's attention away from her. Agatha would be the last person she would confide in about her feelings.
"Yes, she contacted me this morning quite distraught. At first, I thought something had happened to you to put her in such a state. I've never seen her this worked up since that day you were injured by those stray spells when you tried to break up one of our many sibling disputes."
Hecate frowned remembering how it had taken her weeks to reassure Ada that it hadn't been her fault and she wasn't to blame for her injuries. When she had fully healed, she opted to wear long sleeve blouses with high rise collars to hide the various small scars on her arms and the sharp, ragged scar that ran down the side of her neck to her collarbone. If Agatha's spell had cut just an inch closer, she wouldn't be here now.
"Yes, I remember the event all too well," Hecate replied finishing off the rest of her tea then placing the empty cup on the table.
"Then you can understand my surprise when she told me you were in perfect health. I just wasn't prepared for her to tell me that she only had six months to live."
Hecate's face paled, feeling her heart pound painfully against her chest. "You're lying."
"I wish I were Hecate. Ada promised me not to tell you, but I felt you had the right to know should anything happen since I'm no use to her trapped here."
Hecate closed her eyes trying to hide the hurt that Ada hadn't confided in her about her illness. They had always been open with each other, never keeping any secrets. If Agatha was indeed telling the truth, then she was sure that Ada would have told her eventually. She came out of her thoughts when Agatha continued to speak.
"Over the past few weeks, she had been suffering from severe headaches that would make constantly sick. Her magic has become unstable, Hecate. It's slowly killing her. I watched the disease slowly kill our father; I had hoped I would never have to go through something similar with Ada. Did you not notice anything unusual about her behavior?"
Hecate felt her mouth become dry. She recalled Ada telling her how her father had died due to magical instability. The disease was classed as a parasite that slowly entered the bloodstream and attached itself to a witch or wizard's magical core feeding of their magic. As the body tried to fight back, it would cause unstable bursts of magic; slowly draining the individual of their life force and extinguishing their powers. The individual would be in vast amounts of pain for weeks before death claimed them. Hecate tried to think back over the past few weeks looking for anything that would have indicated to her that Ada had been ill. While she noticed Ada had looked more tired these days, she had just put it down to lack of sleep and stress after everything that happened over the past few months.
"No, she never said anything," Hecate muttered suddenly feeling lightheaded.
"Did you even bother to ask?" Agatha prompted her eyes narrowing.
Hecate's eyes blazed with anger. "Of course, I asked! She told me she was fine!"
"And you believed her?" Agatha shook her head in disbelief. "Hecate, I thought you of all people would know that Ada doesn't enjoy people fussing over her."
"I know, Ada perfectly well, Agatha. Perhaps even more than you."
"Yet, she didn't confide in you," Agatha argued with a triumphant glint in her eye. "Perhaps your relationship isn't as strong as you originally thought."
"My relationship with Ada is no concern of yours. Now, if you excuse me, I have other urgent matters I need to attend to."
Hecate made to stand when the world around her suddenly started to spin and blur out of existence. She grabbed onto the arm of the couch to stop herself from falling. Her eyelids began to become heavy as she tried desperately to blink away the black spots she could see forming in front of her eyes.
"Hecate?" Agatha stood hurrying to wrap her arm around Hecate's waist trying to support her now sluggish body.
She could vaguely hear Agatha's worried and muffled voice through the thick fog that clouded her mind.
"I'm fine." She whispered trying desperately to keep her eyes open.
"You're not fine. When was the last time you slept?"
"I…" her eyes widened in realisation as she dazedly looked at her empty teacup on the table. "the tea…" she muttered looking at Agatha seeing the other woman's worry replaced with sardonic satisfaction.
"Yes, the tea," Agatha smirked. "Miss Gullet, some help if you please."
Hecate felt another pair of arms surround her waist, seeing the red-haired witch out of her peripheral vision.
"Why?" Hecate asked her voice slurred.
"You cost me my job and have been a thorn in my side since day one." Miss Gullet sneered as she transferred the three of them to Ada's old bedroom.
When they materialised, Hecate felt herself being placed unceremoniously on the bed. She tried to find the strength to try and sit up, but her arms felt like lead weights, way too heavy to move.
"Don't try to fight it, Hecate." Agatha mocked while moving Hecate's head with utmost care so it was lying on the pillow and her body was lying completely flat against the mattress. "Just let go."
"None of it was true... was it?"
Agatha sat on the edge of the bed and tenderly traced the side of Hecate's face. "No, but for my plan to succeed, I needed you out of the way. I knew the only way to do that was by using Ada. It was a gamble that paid off in the end. I always did warn you that the love you feel for my sister makes you weak. As you were already aware." Agatha said tracing the tip of the scar on Hecate's neck with her finger.
Hecate inwardly cursed herself for letting her guard down. She knew Agatha was up to no good, yet she had still walked right into her trap. Agatha's voice grew fainter with each passing second, unable to hear what she was saying. It was only when she felt the warm breath against the side of her face that she genuinely felt her heart stop at Agatha's admission. How Agatha had found out she didn't know, but her earlier fears were about to become a reality, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
"Goodbye, Hecate."
She faintly heard Agatha and Miss Gullet leave the room, the door locking behind them. The surrounding area was silent, as Hecate let her eyes close no longer having the strength to keep them open. Her last thoughts were of Ada as she let her body finally succumb to unconsciousness.
/*\*/*\
Agatha smiled in satisfaction that stage one of her plan was now complete. Now, she just had to take care of her sister; then no one would stand in the way of her taking what was rightfully hers.
"I can't believe the old crone fell for it."
"Like I told you, Miss Gullet. Hecate and Ada are easy to manipulate. They are each other's weakness which will lead to their downfall. Now, we have the matter of my sister to take care of."
"And how do we do that exactly? We only brewed enough of the Sleep Inducement potion for Miss high and mighty in there. Even then that will wear off in a few hours."
Agatha smirked, "On the contrary, I may have modified the potion slightly. Miss Hardbroom won't be waking up anytime soon if she wakes up at all."
"What did you do?"
"Added a little asphodel and belladonna to strengthen the potion's effects."
Miss Gullet's eyes widened in shock, "that could kill her."
"I know," Agatha replied with exuberance. "My dear sister will be so distraught when she finds her body, which will give us the perfect opportunity to strike. Soon Miss Gullet, Cackles Academy will be under my control and not even the Great Wizard himself will be able to stop me."
"You're brilliant." Miss Gullet voiced excitedly.
"This time we will succeed, Miss Gullet." Agatha vowed as they both walked down the dark hallway. "If anyone stands in my way, then there will be hell to pay."