A/N - Thanks to everyone that has reviewed so far and those that have helped to ping-pong ideas.
Since I've revisited this fic and decided to overhaul the whole thing, I felt that Constance in these chapters was completely out of character and have heavily revised these three chapters so I hope that those that were familiar with the previous chapters are equally happy with the change.
Chapter Three – The Illusion of Peace
The door of the staff-room opened swiftly then closed shut, Amelia did not have to turn around in order to see who had entered as she was able to scene the energy in the air.
"Good afternoon, Constance." She greeted her deputy who assumed her usual position, standing silently behind Amelia.
"You were perhaps waiting on the arrival of someone else?" she replied, her tone suggested humor.
Amelia remained by the window, observing students returning early from the summer holidays and tomorrow would mark the beginning of a new term, "I do wish you would take my advice and take an extended break...there's no harm in wanting more time."
Her posture immediately straightened rigidly offended by the suggestion, "Amelia..." she warned.
"I know, Constance...I wanted to let you know that the offer was still available to you should you change your mind."
"I am fine, Amelia." She reiterated
Amelia raised an eyebrow at the well rehearsed and automatic response which was almost second nature to Constance, more commonly heard in a less than pleasant tone, a defense to any questioning by her colleagues even during the lowest point throughout the cleansing and agonizing withdrawal, she would often answer persistent concerns from both Amelia and Zelda but still they received the simple answer, 'I'm fine.'
Any further concerns that Amelia had were silenced as Imogen and Lavina entered the staff-room, both grinning from a conversation prior to entering the staff-room however they simultaneously noticed the almost frosty reception as they entered. The tension between the two colleagues, headmistress and deputy was palpable and awkward for the four women.
Amelia's features relaxed and dissolved as she smiled warmly and happily greeted her other colleagues whom neither herself nor Constance had seen since the beginning of the summer holidays. She was genuinely interested in her colleagues whom she considered close friends, in their escapades and was able to divert unwanted attention or noticeable changes that may have be obvious to both Imogen and Lavina.
The three of them minus Constance sat at the table and shared an assorted selection of biscuits while they shared a fresh cup of tea and traded different stories and humorous anecdotes as Constance alienated herself from her colleagues, assuming normality with her mask firmly secured in place, she chose to sit in the corner and read but could not escape the idle conversations regarding Imogen and Lavina's travels while Amelia was only to happy to facilitate and maintain the attention from herself as she had not yet rehearsed or prepared a relatively small deception to tell when Imogen and Lavina pressed Amelia on details regarding her own summer break as she would normally have a humorous family calamity or typical misunderstand but she remained unusually silent.
Constance was the embodiment of a perfectly functioning deception.
"Impressive pile of mail." Announced Imogen, as she dropped the bundle of mail including several guild newsletters into the center of the table, Lavina was the first to attempt to tackle the pile of mail which consisted mostly of regular junk mail and the odd health and fitness magazine that Imogen had a subscription for, something that irked Constance as she found it distasteful that half naked men and women posed scandalously for the magazine.
Lavina clearly identified a majority of the mail that was considered junk and was busy organizing the guild newsletters when a particularly shocking headline instantly grabbed her attention and she was absorbed in reading the featured story.
"Oh dear lord!" gasped Lavina, "That poor soul."
The sadness was evident in her voice and captured the attention of her colleagues who patiently waited for her to continue reading.
"Well, please do continue Lavina. Don't leave us in suspense." Said Constance, her voice hinted sarcasm to which Imogen raised an eyebrow at her.
"Some poor wee scone had tragically died in what appears to be suspicious circumstance and the guild is currently investigating her death," Lavina paused, "Oh! How tragic...that poor girl and so young." She sniffed and toyed nervously at her necklace
"Perhaps, it was an accident! The guild newsletter is merely a gossip and unreliable publication...the editors in charge have no credit whatsoever and no doubt commissioned the author of the article to inject some gory and sordid details to bait the readers...there is lack of proper research and factual truth in the whole damn thing." Snorted Constance as she finally joined her colleagues at the table and poured herself a cup of tea
Lavina continued to clutch at her necklace and rested the newsletter on the table, "Such a pessimist Constance. I cannot imagine anything worse, that poor dear."
"So, what is the guild planning to do? I'm assuming this sort of thing isn't a regular occurrence?" asked Imogen, humanly oblivious to the magical community although she did attempt to learn and had picked up a few things over the past number of years since teaching at the academy.
Lavina cleared her throat, "Well, according to the article," she paused and glanced at Constance, "They are appealing for witnesses after all it's just so tragic...the death of renowned counselor, Miss Zelda Black is currently being investigated and will be dearly missed by friends, colleagues and patients."
Amelia spluttered her tea at the mention of Zelda's name and fumbled with a tissue to clear up the spilled tea, "My apologies ladies."
The staff-room fell into a tense silence as Amelia appeared flustered at the mention of the suspicious death of the witch counselor while Constance remained practically unfazed but looked positively grey.
"Is everything already?" Asked Imogen, aware that coincidences at Cackle's academy were seldom rare and even though she may have lacked any magical ability, she was usually excellent at reading people.
Both Constance and Amelia's worried eyes met briefly, across the table. Constance quickly glanced at her hands that began trembling as her grip tightened around the porcelain. Amelia cleared her throat as her mind raced to concoct some sort of elaborate and believable lie but her hesitation and suspicious behavior called attention to herself and Imogen knew that something was not right.
"Amelia?" continued Imogen
"We knew her." Blurted Constance as she and Amelia shared another glance, silently communicating with each other across the table
Amelia nodded in agreement, "I didn't want to alarm any of you...but yes, we knew Zelda," she paused for inspiration in order to create a fabricated lie to prevent Imogen and Lavina from learning the truth that Constance had been sent to see the young counselor.
"You were seeing a counselor?" gasped Lavina in shock by her friend's sudden revelation
"It was only one session then Zelda visited here before I departed as a friendly follow up consultation and that's when Constance met her."
Constance timidly nodded; merely following Amelia's believable lie that pacified her colleagues and remained silent throughout the course of the conversation which resulted in questioning and demonstrated support was there should Amelia need it, unbeknownst to them it was Constance that needed the reinforced support and while she normally would not have welcomed their prying questions or reassuring physical affection in the form of a gentle cuddle, she smiled discreetly at how supportive her fellow colleagues appeared to be with Amelia and wondered if the roles were reversed would Imogen and Lavina be equally support towards her.
Imogen and Lavina were on rota to ensure the students had settled back into their rooms as normal school lessons would resume first thing tomorrow. They were alone once again in the staff-room; Amelia cautiously reached out, her hand rested upon her bony shoulder.
"Constance?"
She remained motionless in the chair, absorbed in the fire that danced within the confines of the fireplace, "Thank you, Amelia. I owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude."
Amelia cleared her throat, "I have come to think of you as a daughter, therefore it is my duty to protect my daughter."
Constance blinked the threatening tears and turned to face Amelia; her mothering aura sounded the older witch and was positively glowing. She was completely lost for words and welcomed the warm feeling of Amelia's hand on her shoulder. Constance wanted to speak, to convey not only her gratitude but confess to Amelia just how she had come to think of the older witch but the hardened exterior of her mask remained and she struggled to find the words that would perfectly capture her thoughts and feelings without it appearing forced or cause unnecessary embarrassment.
"If you'll excuse me Amelia, I have a few things that require my immediate attention before tomorrow." She cringed inwardly at the blatant lie
Amelia nodded and watched as her deputy headmistress, friend and silently adopted daughter vanished from the staff-room. She sighed tiredly, still concerned for Constance.
Constance reappeared in her room, her private sanctum that remained soundproofed as she inhaled deeply and screamed which caused Morgana to jump with fright before hissing at her mistress. Her legs threatened to momentarily collapse as she clutched onto the metal bed frame for support, the headache that she had been hiding increased in pressure and pain that she welcomed as a desperate distraction from the events of earlier on in the day when she and Amelia learned that Zelda Black was now dead.
Selfishly, her initial thought was about the investigation regarding the death of Zelda Black, would the guild find evidence to suggest suspicious circumstances and if so would they have access to her patient records in order to eliminate in possible suspects after all Amelia and herself would be likely suspects if Zelda had documented the events that had happened throughout the cleansing and withdrawal then there was the direct consequences of the memory suppressing spell and substance abuse of Wide Awake Potion that would likely expose herself and Amelia, the possibility of an arrest or striking off the education register which all rested on whether or not Zelda had documented these findings.
There was a common theme beginning to occur, déjà vu. The letter that initially caused this entire sequence of unfortunate events that managed to truly disturb and test the concrete foundations of the impervious potion mistress. The sudden death of the former tutor, Mistress Hecketty Broomhead and one-time counselor, Miss Zelda Black, another revelation appeared suspicious and too coincidental especially when the common denominator between the two deceased witches was Constance.
The stress of recent events conspired against her and she found herself actually retiring to bed early for the night, too exhausted to fight sleep, she fell into the darkness of an unconscious existence.
'So, Constance, you actually thought that you could elude me? Unfortunately, I never fail.'
The voice instantly instilled a primitive fear and caused temporary paralysis, she had not heard that voice in what felt like a long time but the voice remained to have the power and ability to induce fear.
Suddenly, she felt lightheaded.
Constance shook her head adamantly, 'I'm dreaming, I must be dreaming or trapped in a nightmare, this cannot be real!'
'Oh! Dearest Constance, I'm personally offended and as you can see, I'm still very much here.'
'But...but, I've been to the grave...to your grave...the headstone...you're dead...you are suppose to be dead!' stuttered Constance
'What have I told you about stuttering? Very unbecoming of a witch! How do you know it was I that lay rested in that coffin?'
Amelia sat in her bed and continued to read her book, occasionally her eyes closed with each increasingly long blink. She was about to finished the last page of the chapter before going to sleep when a single knock at her door caused her instantly wake and she scrambled to put on her dressing gown to greet whomever was at her door at such a late hour, throughout her many years as Headmistress it had not been uncommon to have stressed seniors and overwhelmed first years at her door.
"Constance?" she whispered, as she assumed it was a troubled student, "Come in, come in." She ushered the distressed potion mistress into her room and closed the door.
"Whatever is the matter? You're positively shaken like a leaf..." observed Amelia
"I'm sorry to barge in at this time...she's not dead!"
Amelia perched herself on the edge of the bed while Constance remained standing by the door, slightly disheveled.
"I'm not sure I understand." Replied Amelia careful not to berate or sound condescending
Constance sighed impatiently and paced the small room, "I know it's far-fetched but you have to believe me when I tell you that Mistress Broomhead is still alive..."
"But, we went to the cemetery."
"For all we know, the damn coffin could be empty." Retorted Constance
"I believe that Mistress Broomhead is dead and the discovery of Zelda's premature departure has somehow got confused...I knew it...I knew that you needed more time before resuming this term."
Constance shook her head, "Amelia, you're not listening...Mistress Broomhead is alive...I know it...I can almost sense her presence in my room...the disgusting scent of stale cigarettes and coffee, she has invaded my room and the dream..." her voice trailed off
"A dream?" interrupted Amelia, "The recent events then we find out about Zelda...Constance, are you sure that there isn't the faintest possibility that you subconscious mind has created something so realistic that you imagined things that are not there or cannot be possible?"
"You do not believe me, do you?"
"Constance, I have never doubted you, ever. I trust you implicitly but..."
Constance buried her face into her hands, realizing the ludicrous story that even she began to doubt. Amelia blinked, stunned and immediately wrapped the quivering child in an attempt to comfort her.
Her heart thumped erratically in the confines of her chest as the muffled tears of anguish and grief conquered and rendered her a distraught and emotional shell of her former self as she desperately grabbed onto the material of Amelia's pajamas. She regained some form of clarity as she continued to cradle Constance.
"I'm here, you're safe...I'll never let anything harm you." She whispered.