Driving back to the Academy, Imogen couldn't remember ever feeling so happy. Only the fact that she had to concentrate on the road stopped her from possibly combusting with joy. She was truly in love with the most powerful, gorgeous and truly kind woman she could ever imagine and what was more, she loved her in return. How was that even possible?
Although the relationship had been going far better than she had ever dreamed, much like at the beginning, she couldn't have properly anticipated this feeling. As she had hugged Jamie goodbye she couldn't resist whispering into his ear, "She loves me", before running to join Constance who was waiting in the car. He had laughed as he watched his oldest friend reverse the car onto the road. He could have told her that even before this visit.
Constance, who was also feeling full of joy, albeit in a more reserved way, kept replaying the moment of Imogen's confession in her head. She was resisting the urge to ask her to repeat it but was content with the memory. She knew that Imogen had meant what she said and even if she never told her again, that one time was more than she had ever thought she deserved.
As they pulled up at the side of the school neither was quite sure what to say.
"There will be too many pupils around the hall for us to walk in together.", Constance pointed out, knowing the normal Saturday routine well by now. "I'm going to go straight upstairs to change before dinner."
Imogen understood, she knew that Constance's outfit would draw comment from the students, who should really have had more to talk about. "OK, well I'll go and see Amelia and Davina, find out if we missed anything" she said as she caressed the other woman's hand. "Before you go though", she leaned across and kissed her companion. "I mean it, I love you and the fact that you feel the same, I don't think I could feel more blessed."
Constance returned the kiss, now having another memory to add to her growing collection. "I will never tire of hearing those words coming from you Darling. I love you, so much."
And with that she was gone, leaving Imogen alone to think about her own memory store before walking to the staffroom.
"No, you didn't miss anything. The girls have been very well behaved. If they weren't too old I'd think some of them were being extra good in case Father Christmas was watching.", Amelia said to Imogen and Davina's amusement.
Feeling glad that their perfect day wasn't going to be tainted by returning to chaos, Imogen poured herself a glass of water. Seeing Constance enter, Amelia automatically poured her Deputy head some tea.
"Miss Hardbroom, I don't think I've seen you since yesterday.", Davina observed.
Previously the innocent comment would have sent Constance into a tailspin of fury. Today it went completely over her head. "Hmm, I had some other things to do.", she said, discreetly casting a happy glance in Imogen's direction.
Amelia, who was walking out of the door at that point, noticed that both teachers seemed to be even happier than she had seen them before. She was very keen to keep the joyful spirit going and as a result had an eagle eye cast out for anything that could shatter the peace.
"Mildred, I hope you've asked for shoe lace tying lessons for Christmas.", the principal sighed as she walked past the clumsy first year.
While Christmas as such wasn't a big deal at Cackles the school was still subject to holiday guidelines and as a result, two weeks off was on the horizon after the end of term exams. Constance's explanation of witchcraft had stuck with Imogen and she understood that for some of the girls, they shared the same general religious beliefs as she did, some celebrated a more secular Christmas and for the others it was just a break from school.
Imogen was conflicted about this Christmas, her plan was to go see her father, along with her brother who was coming back from Australia. She was then going to spend a second Christmas with Jamie and Abby. Normally she would have been looking forward to being with both of her families but this year she had very mixed emotions as Constance had gratefully but politely declined her invitation to come along. She considered not going at all but Constance had put paid to that idea.
"Darling, you should continue to celebrate Christmas as normal so you must go. I shall do what I always do, stay here and get ready for the year ahead." Constance had insisted as they lay in bed a couple of nights before. Imogen was disappointed but didn't want Constance to feel forced into coming with her. The meeting with Jamie had gone well but thinking of the advice she had previously given Mildred she didn't want her girlfriend to feel like she was running before she could walk so decided not to be too insistent.
Truthfully, Constance was heartbroken at the thought of not having Imogen with her for two entire weeks. She appreciated the invitation but knew that it would be too much for her to deal with at once. She had never celebrated Christmas before and although she had genuinely liked Jamie, the thought of sharing Imogen with so many new people at such a hectic time was beyond her for now.
"Maybe next year.", she thought to herself, hoping against hope that Imogen would still be a part of her life then.
A couple of days later Imogen was spending her half day in town finalising her Christmas shopping. Most people on her list were easy to buy for. Jamie, Abby, her father and brother along with Amelia and Davina were done within a couple of hours. Constance on the other hand was proving to be an issue. She knew that the Witch didn't celebrate Christmas but she wanted to give her something special to show her how she felt about her.
"Make her something.", Jamie had suggested as she rang him in frustration looking for ideas. Imogen, who wasn't exactly the most crafty of people, dismissed the idea almost straight away. However as she saw something in a shop window it came back to her. "Even I can't mess this up.", she thought to herself, delighted with her idea.
While the girls completed their exams, Amelia floated an idea to Imogen as they ate lunch together. "We've been invited to the local carol service tomorrow. What do you think about you and me bringing some of the girls who celebrate Christmas. They'll be finished their exams and won't be leaving until the next day."
Imogen really liked the idea. She knew that Amelia was keen to ensure the girls were raised according to their parents wishes so they wouldn't bring everyone.
"Davina will do something with the girls who don't come. I'm sure Constance will be busy marking.", the headmistress said with a smile.
"I'd like that. I don't feel the need to go to Church often but I do enjoy carol services."
Perhaps surprisingly, Amelia was a regular attendee at the local church and glad to have the company. "Have you decided on your plans for Christmas?", she asked, knowing that Imogen had been conflicted about leaving Constance.
"Yes, I'm going to stick to my original plan. I don't want to leave her but at least you'll be here too. I could never have gone if I thought she was going to be alone."
Amelia nodded. "Yes, I'm going to be here until the thirty first, that morning I leave to spend New Year with my brother and his family."
As far as Constance was concerned, Imogen was coming back the day before term started again which was the fifth of January. Only Amelia knew that she was really coming back early to spend New Years Eve with her girlfriend.
"And there's no danger that Davina will be holed up in the cupboard?"
Amelia sighed, "No Imogen, she's off to New Zealand and to be honest, if she's back before February, I'll consider it a triumph."
Imogen smiled but it was still hard to shake the guilty feeling she was carrying.
Seeing this, Amelia set down her fork and offered some advice. "A lot has happened between you both over a relatively short period of time. Some time apart may be a good thing."
Even though she couldn't have agreed less but not wanting to appear petulant, Imogen responded, "Yes Amelia."
Unfortunately neither realised that Constance was hovering nearby and had only heard the last part. She hadn't intended to eavesdrop, she knew Imogen wasn't keen on her appearing out of nowhere so she did it a lot less that she previously had. Today however, she was so frustrated by the students poor approach to examinations that she had decided to use witchcraft rather than walk past them in the corridor lest she say something unnecessarily mean to them. Talking herself back to the potions lab, she considered what she had heard, her frustration with the students clouding her judgement.
Did Imogen want to spend time away from her? She could think of nothing worse but perhaps Imogen was sick of her. They had been spending every night together and even though they had still not been fully intimate she was beginning to feel ready to take that next step. Perhaps that was the issue, maybe Imogen didn't want to sleep with her? Was she not attractive enough?
She knew her body wasn't perfect, her breasts and hips were far larger than Imogen's and she would always be that bit too pale. Was she just too damaged?
As she sat there pondering, she felt herself retreating back into her previously constructed shell and blocking every kind and loving thing that Imogen had told her. Nobody was as skilled in being distant as Constance Hardbroom when needs be and it seems that her skills were required again.
That night Imogen lay in bed waiting for Constance. "That's strange. We did say my room for tonight and normally she's here by now."
Deciding to check if she had misunderstood the bedroom arrangements she went upstairs and knocked on the other door, receiving no answer. She checked the Library and the Potions Lab before giving up and going back to her own, somewhat colder now, bedroom.
"She's probably preparing for the exam tomorrow.", she thought. Rather than worry she chose to use the time to work on the final stages of her gift idea. As she fell asleep a couple of hours later she hoped that her girlfriend would join her at some point during the night.
In the meantime, Constance lay in her own bed upstairs feeling lonely and confused. She had forced herself not to answer Imogen's knock and had glared at Morgana who had learned to recognise the sound and was about to purr joyfully in response. The cat was very confused by this but knew better than to misbehave.
Still smarting, Constance sat up and took up her crochet hook, wondering if she would ever actually have a use for the projects that she was working on.