Disclaimer: See Introduction
Surprises
Alma paced from one corner of the office to the other. Any moment now. She expected Lilith Hardbroom to come through the door at any moment and she was so not ready. She and Ada had been of the same opinion. Hecate needed to be protected. At least for the time being, while they tried to find out what was actually going on with the Hardbrooms.
Alma didn't mind going against a witch, but what made her nervous was the fact that Lilith Hardbroom seemed to have ties in the Council. The Academy and the Cackles reputation depended on the benevolence of the Council members and if they got even the inkling of the Cackles being involved in a dispute with one of their….their what? Alma wasn't aware of the Council having any prodigies or allies amongst the common folk.
Anxiously the headmistress tapped her fingers against her thigh.
Keeping Hecate´s whereabouts a secret would be exceptionally difficult and dangerous.
Sometimes Alma thought that Ada´s soft heart was a curse. It lead more times than she liked ended in tears and hurt for her daughter. On the other hand Ada´s softens and compassion also lead to pupils trusting her and forming good bonds within the school community. Her daughter had been in training for only a very short time, but already her so called weakness was turning out to be her greatest strength.
While thinking of her eldest daughter, Alma smiled. Sadly her smile vanished when she sensed a strong new presence on the Academies grounds.
Lilith Hardbroom was here.
Meanwhile in another part of the Castle…
When the heavy wooden door opened in front of her and the sweet smell of roses and jasmine escaped the bright room inside, Hecate felt almost overwhelmed. Never in her short life had she experienced such a warmth emanating from a room. Not only in the literal sense but also metaphorically. The furniture looked soft, the bedsheets even softer and everything was either pink, pastel coloured or made out of a deep marron wood. Hecate looked around shyly. For some reason, Ada didn't mind her looking at her personal things. Her mother would have scolded her for being nosy or jabbed her with an elbow to keep her in line. Hecate knew the rules, so her mother didn't expect to need to tell them to her verbally anymore. Hecate´s eyes wandered to the window, partly covered by cream coloured lace curtains. What really held her attention though, was the black cat that launched on the wide window sill. Its brilliant blue eyes reminded Hecate of Ada´s and she suddenly felt a pang of sadness. When she had left her home, she hadn't had the possibility to take Morgana with her. Mother hadn't allowed it.
Hecate felt tears gathering in her eyes and gulped a few times to swallow them down. Crying was a sign of weakness and right now, Hecate was not sure what she was supposed to think of Ada and her mother. This whole environment and the behaviour of the people were foreign and very strange to her. One thing she knew for sure though; Ada was really nice to her and that was an experience Hecate hadn't been privy to very often.
"Don´t be shy, dear. Make yourself comfortable."
Ada pondered how to entertain the girl. She had experience with the pupils of the academy but they were all at least seven years older than Hecate. She surely wouldn't be interested in potions, poems or chanting. While Hecate walked cautiously towards Ada´s cat, the older witch kept a sideway eye on her and rummaged internally through Cackles banishment storage. She was sure they had some stuffed animals and other toys for younger siblings of the pupils to use. Their annually held teacher-parent conferences would be a horror without those.
Meanwhile Hecate closed the distance between the black cat and herself and gazed at it fascinated. The cat didn't seem to mind her nearness, only observed the child closely.
"This is Pendle." Ada introduced, already materializing toys onto her own arms. "He really likes children. You can pat him if you want."
Hecate wondered why Morgana never had liked anyone but Hecate herself. She wasn't the cuddly type of cat. She warned her of impending dangers and comforted her when she cried, but over all, she preferred to go her own ways. Mother had never been allowed to touch Hecate´s Familiar. One time it almost resulted in Mother banishing Morgana from the house, but Hecate had clung to her cat and screamed. Screamed like she never had before and Mother had relented. Albeit giving Hecate grief for the next few days by assigning twice as many chores to her. But Hecate didn't mind such penalties. As long as she could get her will and keep Morgana.
Pandle´s fur was sleek and soft. He immediately started to purr underneath the child´s gentle ministrations. Ada marvelled at how careful Hecate was with the cat. What she had been able to observe around the pupils´ siblings, was a plethora of grubby and most irritatingly, grabby fingers that would pull and pinch with childish delight at anything that crossed their paths. Including the poor Familiars of Cackles occupants.
"For how long have you had Morgana already?" Ada asked, while calling one more toy into her grasp, forming a literal tower in her arms. Poking her head from behind the monstrous, colourful pile, she met Hecate´s shining eyes.
"She uhm….she found me when she was a kitty. I was really small then too I think. I don't remember it. Mother says we are like twins." She paused and eyed the mess of stuffed animals, dolls and toy cars in Ada´s arms. Rather sceptically she questioned: "What…is that?"
"Oh, this." Ada swung her arms enthusiastically from side to side, losing a few toys to gravity in the process. She smiled sheepishly. "That is for you. So you have something to play with for as long as you are here."
"Play?"
Ada nearly let the toys fall to her feet when Hecate posed the question with a curious expression on her face.
"Yeas, play. What do you play with at home, dear?"
"Well…" Hecate fidgeted. "If you are asking what I use at home to keep busy…" before she spoke any further, she sent Ada questioning look. Those people here were using funny words sometimes and were doing things that she had never seen before. Mother was right in that regard. The world outside their home was rather peculiar. What the word meant, Hecate was not sure, but the way her mother had used it, seemed to indicate something negative, but Hecate found herself intrigued by it.
Ada only nodded encouragingly.
"I have wands." Hecate started to explain. "I collect herbs and other plants for Mothers potions. I am also allowed to clean not only the public rooms, but the attic and Mothers room." The girl explained proudly.
Ada deposited the mountain of toys on her bed and relaxed her aching arms. She refrained from commenting negatively on Hecate´s mother or the childs´ pastime activities. If she was right about her upbringing, those were the things Hecate had known her whole life and it would do no good to tell her that they were all things she shouldn't have been doing at all. But she was also glad that Hecate had started the conversation. Maybe now she would be able to steer the topic onto the Council and what Hecate and her mother were doing there.
"That is very….hardworking of you, sweetheart." Ada almost flinched when Hecate grinned proudly at the word hardworking. What kind of a twisted childhood did Lilith force onto this sweet girl? Nevertheless, she needed more information to have even an inkling of a chance to change that situation for Hecate.
"You mentioned the palace earlier." Ada´s heart sank simultaneously with Hecate´s falling face. "What are you playing over there when your mother takes you? Do you play with other children?"
Hecate turned around to Pandle and started stroking him again.
"I´m am not to talk about it."
Ada´s eye twitched. This was not good. It was time to try another approach.
"Do you remember when you asked me to protect you?"
She didn't want Hecate to feel forced to do anything and Ada sat down on the bed, next to the toys. Making yourself look smaller made you feel less intimidating and maybe it would make Hecate feel more comfortable. The girl nodded, but kept quiet.
"I will do anything in my power to keep that promise, Hecate, but I need to know what I am protecting you from."
Ada could see Hecate waring with herself internally. She was not looking directly at her, but her expression had softened a bit. Finally, she patted Pandle one last time and tuned to Ada and walked towards the discarded toys.
"They don´t have…toys like that." She said and pointed at a stuffed elephant. "They have picture books though. They explain how to do Magic."
This was interesting. But also disconcerting. Why would they make a child of this age do Magic? That was unheard of. Today´s policy about teaching children was very clear. Magic was too dangerous in children´s hands until they were around ten or eleven. Not only because their sense of danger hasn't properly developed yet at that point, but simply because they normally didn't have enough Magic to perform such taxing spells with yet. It could be damaging to their nervous system and their bodies if they overused their powers. Not to mention the psychological damage that could also occur. Small, harmless spells sure, the ones parents could teach their children without putting them in danger, but advanced Magic? Like protection shields and so forth were out of the question and against the Witches Code up to the age of 14.
"What kind of Magic do they teach you?" Ada asked lightly. Getting visibly aggravated would not make the child be more forthcoming with information.
Instead of answering, Hecate raised her right arm to her chest and curled the fingers of her casting hand. Within a blink of an eye, she vanished and reappeared behind Ada, standing on the bed.
"Whoa…" Ada jumped up startled. When Hecate giggled and sat down on the bed, she relaxed slightly, but remained standing.
"That was amazing, Hecate." The girl had done the transfer with such ease, that Ada couldn't help but feel the tiniest bit envious. Obviously, she herself was able to transfer, you learned the basics to this particular spell in the fourth year at Cackles, but it had never counted to the favourite things in Ada´s magic repertoire. It was draining her Magic very fast and she always felt slightly lightheaded afterwards. She preferred walking.
"What else did you learn?" she asked.
Hecate contemplated the question for a moment and then looked up with an impish gleam in her eyes. Slowly she raised her arm once more, whispered a spell and vanished.
This time she did not appear anywhere. Ada whipped her head around, feeling panic rising in her stomach. Did the transferring spell not work? Had the girl miscalculated and ended up somewhere outside the castle?
Ada frantically ran to the window, looking outside, but couldn't see a hint of her missing charge.
"Where is Hecate, Pandle?" she asked her Familiar, who loved to find Ada´s missing things. Loved might have been a bit of an overstatement though. He was used to it and good at it. Especially since he sometimes would get a snack as a reward.
With an elegant jump down the window sill, Pandle marched confidently towards the bed and hopped on it. Laying down, he rolled onto his back and purred.
"No Pandle, I am not asking where she was! I am asking where she is!"
Just when Ada was about to storm out of her room to inform her mother that she had lost the child, oh what dreadful thing to happen, her ears registered a very quiet, but now to her known, giggle. She stopped immediately, swivelling around.
"Hecate?"
There was nothing to be heard, but Pandle suspiciously started to purr again.
When it started to dawn on Ada what had happened, she suddenly heard a loud bang on her door, but before she could turn around or ask who it was that was so rudely trying to gain her attention, she felt a painful jab at her lower back and felt herself falling forward, in her mind's eye already kissing the floor. Instinctively she closed her eyes, awaiting the impact anxiously. But nothing happened. Instead, she heard a fearful shriek and herself being lowered slowly to the ground, until her hands rested on the wood of the flooring, supporting the rest of her body. She scrambled onto her knees, looked around, but couldn't see anything, except Pandle staring up to the ceiling and swiping his tail back and forth.. Ada followed his gaze and gasped.
There she was. A sight to behold.
Her twin sister Agatha, hanging head over heels at the ceiling, face burning red with anger and her mouth just as wide agape as Ada´s in shock.
"Let me down THIS INSTANT, Ada! What do you think you are doing?" she screeched, her arms flailing, as if she wanted to reach for Ada. Most likely to strangle her.
"I…it´s not…" Ada stuttered, but was interrupted by Agatha suddenly tumbling to the ground, screaming like a wild banshee. Only a few centimetres from impact, her fall was caught by an unseen force and Agatha met the ground with only a slightly uncomfortable thump.
Ada sighed in relief. At least the only thing hurt was Agatha´s pride. This situation could have gotten out of hand very quickly.
Ada didn't even get to get to her own feet, when Agatha was already in front of her, casting hand raised.
"Now, I will teach you…."
"NO!"
The disembodied voice shouted and Agatha once again landed on her behind.
"What the…" left her mouth, when Ada at last made it back to her feet and decided that it was high time to step in.
"Now, now….we all need to calm down now."
"We all? It´s just you and me here, Ada!" Agatha argued. "Why did you play such a nasty trick on me? You know I will have to get you back good for this right?"
Ada resigned herself to the fact, that no matter who and why someone crossed Agatha this way, Ada would be the one to bear the consequences for it now. But what was new?
"Agatha. I would like to introduce you to someone." As an afterthought she added. "Please be nice, will you?" Agatha was about to open her mouth to argue again, but was stopped in mid-sentence when she saw Ada turn to her bed and raise both arms as if she was closing in on a wild animal that might bolt any second. Agatha´s eyes searched for any intruder in her sister´s bedroom, but there was nothing except Pandle, who was still sitting on the bed.
"What?" she scoffed. "Did you sneak in an invisible friend?" she laughed mockingly. "Is it a dwarf? No, better yet, maybe a unicorn foal."
Expertly, with eighteen years of practise, Ada ignored her twin and made her way, gradually and carefully to the bed. Judging from Pandles stance, Hecate was still on the bed. Ada sent out a small amount of Magic to detect the veiling spell and attached her own Magic to it when she bumped into it.
"Dear, I will pull your Vail off now. Don´t be alarmed. Everything is fine."
With a light tug, the vail gave way and Hecate, with wild eyes and drawn up legs to her chest, appeared on the bed. Ada suspected that Hecate had intentionally let go of her vailing spell, since normally pulling such an intimate spell off of another witch, was accompanied by backlashing Magic. Ada was amazed at the amount of control the child possessed over her Magic, but on the other hand, she was concerned about the origins of such talents and the price Hecate surely had had to pay in order to achieve this level of skill.
"This is unreal." Agatha gasped, pulling the attention back to herself. She climbed up onto her feet and stared at Hecate, who was glaring at her, rather unhappily.
"Who are you?" Agatha asked
"No one." Was the automatic answer the child gave her.
"Don't be sassy with me, young lady!" Ada´s twin snapped, making Hecate flinch and scramble back on the bed.
"Stop it, Agatha. You´re scaring her." Ada reprimanded her twin and walked around her to reach the other side of the bed. She held out her hand to Hecate and was surprised but happy when the girl took it without hesitation.
"I am scaring her? She just flung me up to the ceiling and knocked me on my a…:"
"Agatha!" Finally also Ada snapped. Agatha had always been hot headed with a notorious temper. One of the reasons why their mother was anything but happy about the twins plans to be Co-Heads of Cackles Academy. She is not naturally equipped to work with children, their mother had said one time and she was probably right. But Ada would feel guilty till the end of times if she didn't give her sister a chance to prove their mother wrong.
Ada sensed Agatha´s eye-roll, without even glancing at her.
"Agatha…" she said, with a warning tone.
"Ok, ok….I´ll be good." The young witch sighed and then smirked. "So tell me Ada, who is this cute little thing? Mother wouldn't approve of you sneaking in wayward kids behind her back."
"She knows."
Agatha nodded.
"Of course she does. Goodness forbid you would do something without her knowing about it." She taunted her sister and came a bit closer. "Won´t you introduce us?"
"Of course." Ada relented. "Agatha, this is Hecate. Hecate, this is Agatha, my twin sister."
Ada watched Hecate send Agatha a quick look.
"She kind of looks like you." She eventually said, making Agatha laugh.
"We are twins, kid. Looking alike is our fate and burden."
Ada had to agree with Agatha on the last point. It was a burden. For whom it was worse she didn't know, but Ada hated to be compared to Agatha, knowing that when it came to appearances, her twin sister would always win. Her brown hair was always a bit shinier and curlier, her eyes always a bit twinklier and bigger and her figure always slightly sexier.
Her contemplations were interrupted by Hecate´s shifting and pulling at her hand.
"But you look nicer and I like you better, Ada." She told her, with such a serious expression on her face, that Ada´s heart swelled with gratefulness, but Agatha´s loud laugh broke through the nice warm feeling that had started to engulf Ada´s soul .
"That´s because she is. Nicer that is. My sister is a goody two shoe."
Ada shrugged of her sister´s comment and ignored Hecate´s questioning look. She wasn't keen on discussing this matter any further.
"Hecate here, found me when I was on my walk." She explained. "She is a pupils´ sister and is going to stay with us for a while."
"Really?" Agatha raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Why?"
"Their parents and her sister contracted a very contagious virus and have to stay quarantined for a while. Hecate didn't have anywhere else to go, so the parents reached out to us, asking for this favour."
Silence blanketed the room like the snow did the ground outside. Ada started to feel nervous.
"Well." Agatha exclaimed. "Have fun with your new doll, Ada. I only came here to tell you that I am going to go out now and meet some friends. You´ll cover for me , right?" Looking down at Hecate, she gave her a smirk. "Don´t let her bore you too much."
With that Agatha turned on her heel and pranced out of her sister´s room.
"I don't like her." Hecate broke through the thick silence. Ada shook her head, smiling slightly. Lilith and the Council had taught Hecate a lot about Magic, but tact obviously had not been on the list of things to learn for the girl.
"And I don't have a sister or a father, Ada."
The older witch nodded and sat down next to Hecate.
"You asked me to protect you, Hecate. In order to do so, I will have to keep your identity quiet. Thank you for keeping your questions back until Agatha was gone by the way."
Ada was surprised to see a smile on Hecate´s face. Now that was new. And endearing. The girl´s face immediately looked softer and more open.
"I know how to keep secrets." The girl explained happily.
Maybe this was the right moment to talk more about Hecate´s education.
"Say, Hecate that was pretty impressive spell work that you managed to conjure up when Agatha came in."
While talking, Ada had reached over to the toy mountain and fished out a stuffed raven. Smiling, she levitated the toy and let it fly over Hecate´s head. The girl followed the stuffed animal with her eyes and giggled.
"I like ravens." She said. "When I search for Mothers plants outside, the ravens around the house sometimes talk to me. They help me find the plants."
The stuffed raven floated in front of Hecate´s face and tickled her nose. Another, even louder, giggle escaped her and she batted a hand at the raven to catch it. The bird on the other hand, floated downwards and started to tickle the child´s belly.
Ada found herself stunned when a laugh made its way out of her own mouth, when she heard Hecate belly laugh, while she fell onto her back into the soft cushions.
The offending raven finally let itself be caught by the girl. Ada waited until Hecate caught her breath again before asking the next question.
"Can you show me more of your Magic?"
Hecate thought hard and long. So long that Ada almost feared that she was pulling away from her again. But finally, the girl sat up, keeping the raven clutched in her left arm.
"Mother said I shouldn't use my Magic outside the Palace."
Sure she did, thought Ada.
"I want to help you, Hecate." She pleaded.
"Promise you won´t tell Mother?"
"I promise."
Hecate closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Slowly she raised her casting hand and flicked her fingers. Ada could only stare partly in horror and partly in awe as Hecate´s small form started to distort and pull itself into different directions. Only seconds later, the blurry form began to become solid again and the older witch clasped a hand in front of her mouth. Where Hecate had sat only moments earlier, now crouched a carbon copy of Ada.
And suddenly, there was a new puzzle piece just within her reach.
To be continued...
AN: Thank you for reading and I would be very thankful if you would let me know what you think:)
