A/N: *Waves* hello, just me again! Okay, so here we go! Just a few wee notes before I/we start.
This is the final fic in the quadrilogy, made the rating of this fic as M, just to be on the safe side and means I can dive into more details when revealing the dregs of the past ;) Also, note that this fic is based on the last day of term before heading into the summer holidays. The last fic was based about HB's birthday which was about January/February time as we found out in 'the uninvited' that HB is a Capricorn star-sign so I've fast-forward the setting of this fic.
Will try to minimize the spelling/grammar but it seems my proofreading takes place around 3am so you'll have to excuse the stupid and obvious mistakes! *Whoops*
So enjoy and remember to read & review this equals to me being happy :P
Chapter One: Put Into Motion
She cradled her head, cowered in fear. Darkness kept her hidden, the only defense left against the angry and bitter glare. Those eyes used to be warm and welcoming but not anymore.
"You are pathetic, Constance! Nothing but a burden to me." She spat, her words filled with venom which poisoned her ears
Shaky hands covered her ears, a feeble attempt to muffle the words of hatred. She tried to maintain some sort of control over her self but her body refused to cooperate. The adrenaline coursing through her veins overwhelmed any logical thinking and reduced her to the most basic and primal of instincts, the need to survive.
"Such a bitter disappointment." She continued the verbal onslaught at the cowering target in the corner. She smiled, head held proudly at her handiwork
Proud that she had reduced Constance from the once confident and powerful woman back to the defenseless and weak teenager that she once was and continued to push, knowing that Constance was already in a fragile state of mind and was determined to nudge her ever closer to the edge.
"How the mighty have fallen," she laughed wickedly "I'm ashamed...at myself."
Camouflaged by the darkness that surrounded her, she dared herself to move. Slowly, she raised her head. Suddenly, her stomach lurched and her eyes watered. This could not be happening! Anything but this!
"Not you...anyone but you." Murmured a broken voice
A smile graced her face but only for a brief moment before her features returned to an unreadable and plain face. Although, unable to see Constance, she could sense the fear irradiating from the ink blackness of the room. The dead, emotionless eyes stared down at Constance.
From the darkness, Constance searched for a trace of warmth. Any sign of lingering humanity that may be present in her eyes. There was nothing
"I trusted you Constance...I was mistaken!"
"Please..." she stuttered, the only words that her mind was able to put together
The older witch shook her head and tutted "Precisely what I'm talking about. You have become weak, pathetic...and I have to pick up the pieces, because of you."
Constance shook her head "It's not true." Fighting to control the tears
"I used to think of you as the daughter that I was never blessed with but now..." her lip curled in disgust "You mean nothing to me!"
Constance squeezed her eyes shut, it was a devastating revelation and now striped her of everything. The formidable ice maiden melted from the vicious words by the only person that she truly trusted and allowed to see more than anyone else. Just like everyone else, they made false, empty promises and all because she believed their words and had been fooled by their seemingly good intentions.
"Amelia." She whispered, shaking her head in disbelief and like a lost child reached out to her adoptive mother
"No, Constance" she turned her back and reached for the door handle "You're on your own now."
The heavy door slammed, the sounds of rusted locks bolted the door, trapping her in the room. Fumbling around in the darkness, Constance felt the smooth wooden door and halfheartedly hammered against the aging wood.
Exhaustion stole the little remaining energy forcing her to give up. She slumped to the floor, hands throbbing angrily in pain from pounding against the door and her heart practically broken by the words spewed from her adoptive mother. Lying against the cold floor, the tears that had been held back finally spilled down her face and onto the floor. She sobbed like a lost child who had become separated from their parents. Constance had lost that connection, the only connection which had felt like a family after the tragic loss of her parents and now she had nothing. Alone again.
Constance snapped awake, her chest heaved painfully as she gasped for much needed air. The sleepy fog slowly cleared from her vision but her panicked eyes continuingly darted around her safety of her bedroom, trying to gain her bearings.
"A nightmare...just a nightmare." She whispered to comfort herself
Since awakening from the painful nightmare, she refused any attempt to return to sleep. Fearful of revisiting the latest creation courtesy of her twisted subconscious mind and decided to put the spare hours to productive use. Morgana lay at her usual place at the bottom of the bed and from a sleepy eye watched as her mistress attempted to busy herself with paperwork, hunched over the small dressing table and with precision, raced through the mountain of student's work.
Constance lifted her tired head and looked into the mirror. Her brown eyes took inventory of her reflection. To ensure nothing was out of place, everything had to be perfect.
She applied a thin layer of make up to hide the already darkening circles forming under her exhausted eyes. Any imperfections vanished under her camouflage. Her appearance of confidence and power returned as the trademark bun tightened into place and her mask flawlessly remained in place.
As Constance applied the finishing touches to her perfect appearance and inspecting her image for the last time, something caught her attention.
Her hawk like eyes scanned the surroundings of her room although nothing seemed out of place, she could sense it.
The lingering presence of Hecketty Broomhead was as strong as the day Constance discovered that the privacy of her inner sanctum had been breeched and tainted by the formidable and relentless witch. She has cast a powerful charm over her room in a futile attempt to remove the lingering scent of the older witch and any associated negative energy which seemed to follow Hecketty like a second shadow.
The returning of a nightmare only concluded that the charm had failed. Constance shuddered inwardly at the thought of the nightmare. Hecketty had used Amelia's image as a puppet to unnerve and inject fear into the former student. She was successful.
"Good morning Constance...tea?" greeted Amelia and held a cup
Constance flinched but quickly recovered only hoping that her involuntary action went unnoticed "No. No, thank you."
Amelia took her normal position at the top of the table, slurping her tea while her eyes were hypnotised by magazine article which had the word cheesecake involved. Imogen had returned from her early morning jog and sat opposite Constance gulping water to replenishing fluids lost from the intense workout. Lavinia sat at the bottom of the table, absentmindedly shuffling her tarot cards and had been going so far the past ten minutes.
The staffroom was nearly all but silent until the first card Lavinia pulled out from the deck, caused the superstitious witch to shriek.
"Good heavens!" scolded Constance, her nerves not coping to well
"What is the matter?" asked Amelia
"Oh dear! What card did you get?" added Imogen
Lavinia motioned for silence from her colleagues and continued with her readings. Something had clearly shaken the older witch. She continued to position her chosen cards in an arrangement before leaning back in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Well?" asked Imogen, in a state of suspense
Lavinia looked at her "It's the cards...it's not me."
"What do you mean?" continued Imogen
She quickly grabbed her cards and shuffled them with the remaining deck "A storm is approaching. The impending arrival of devastating news which will start a chain reaction of disastrous proportions." Explained Lavinia
"Oh please...Lavinia!" tutted Constance "You are the only witch I know that believes in all that twaddle."
Amelia bit the inside of her cheek "What makes you so certain?"
"The cards never lie!"
The academy was almost deserted, all the students happily made the journey back home to their families for the summer holidays. Seven whole weeks without school or homework, it was glorious. Frank Blossom had countless tasks around the slowly decaying building to complete before he felt happy enough to call it a day and leave for his own holiday. Mrs Tapioca was busy packing her belongings, excitedly heading back home to Italy, to reunite with her family and the sunshine.
In the staffroom, there was eager conversation between Amelia, Imogen and Lavinia as they exchanged plans about their own summer holidays. Imogen excited bragged about plans of exotic scuba diving and parachuting in warmer, sunny climates. Lavinia stated that she would be visiting family and spoke about tall tails of antique hunting, inventing and experimenting with music and instruments while Amelia explained that she was would be busy visiting family this year, catching up with the Cackle Clan.
"What plans do you have Constance?" asked Lavinia
"The same as always...I shall remain here."
Lavinia was about to dive into a story about cabin fever and long term affects of the same surroundings when there was a single powerful knock at the staffroom door stopped her. All four women looked at each other, their expression all the same.
Amelia adjusted herself, smoothing the creases and crumbs from the clothing and opened the door. "Yes? How can I help?" she answered friendly, raising a questionable eyebrow
The stranger offered a small smile which did not suit him, despite his attempts of trying to be friendly and approachable. He flicked the contents of his wallet and provided his identification to the witch.
"Good afternoon. I shall make this quick." His tone was abrupt
Amelia straightened her back, ready for any trouble that may follow
"I was sent here from the guild to ensure that Miss Constance Hardbroom receives this letter."
Upon hearing her name, Constance now stood behind Amelia "I am Constance Hardbroom." She stated in a cold tone to match his own
Imogen and Lavinia looked at each other, both shrugging their shoulders.
"I was instructed that you were to receive this letter via courier as soon as possible," he clicked his fingers and the letter appeared in Constance' hands. The trademark red wax seal remained unbroken "Have a good day." He replied automatically before vanishing
"How very strange." She thought aloud
Imogen laughed "The letter or the weird version of postman pat."
"Postman who?" asked Lavinia
Amelia closed the staffroom door and returned to her chair, pretending not to show interest in the letter. She knew that Constance was an extremely private person and would not appreciate her colleagues staring and asking questions regarding the contents of the letter.
Constance shrugged, not thinking anymore of it and broke the wax seal of the envelope. Raising an eyebrow, she unfolded the letter and sighed. No doubt it would be a job offer from another school, over the past there had been numerous offers which she simply rejected.
Amelia glanced at her only to notice the little colour in her face, drained. Her hand trembled clutching the letter "Constance? Whatever is the matter?"
Any coherent words that formed in her head refused to leave instead she stood there, stuttering to find something to explain to her worried looking colleague. Her heart pounded wildly in her chest, her throat instantly dried preventing words from escaping. Suddenly, her body felt suffocated from the tightening of the already tight dress.
Lavinia pulled out a chair but Constance refused, instead using a hand to steady herself against the stoned fireplace. Amelia took the letter from her without effort or argument and quickly scanned the letter
"Oh dear!" she gasped, biting her bottom lip
Lavinia and Imogen were hanging by the threads of suspense. They leaned closer towards Amelia and waited for her explanation
"What's wrong?" "What's happened?" they questioned simultaneously
Constance caught Amelia's eyes and turned quickly, diverting her glance to the charcoaled remains in the fireplace.
Amelia sat down, folding the letter to how it originally was and gently placed returned the paper into the envelope "I'm afraid it's bad news."