Chapter Four: Pawns
"Amelia, what are you doing?"
She snatched her cloak impatiently and secured the soft material around over her shoulders and clipped the broach at her neck before she grabbed her broomstick, angrily, "I cannot sit here and wait, doing nothing is not helping my nerves."
"That's madness!" gasped Davina
"That's suicide!" exclaimed Imogen
Their concerned opinions received a striking glare from Amelia which neither of them had witnessed before and immediately silenced any further concerns however Egbert Helibore was impervious to the dangerous glare and managed to silently guide Amelia by the arm, gesturing for them to talk in private.
"Now, Amelia..." he started
She raised her hand sharply, indicating that the conversation would begin on her terms and out of frustration, threw her broom into the corner of the staffroom and paced impatiently while her cloak floated behind her.
"Egbert, I need to do something...anything! I have a student and member of staff out there, somewhere."
He nodded, "I understand that Amelia but what about the remaining students and your colleagues here? They need you!"
Her aggressive pacing slowed, "I know...I know but what about Mildred and Constance?"
"Constance is a powerful witch and I'm sure she will be able to protect herself and Mildred."
Amelia sighed and wished that she could share Egbert's confidence, "Constance is ill or perhaps it was part of their plan, it's coincidental."
Egbert frowned, "What is coincidental?"
"Perhaps, I'm clutching at straws but I think this time my sister has successful executed her plan." Answered Amelia, nervously fumbling with her hands
"Amelia," he warned, "You sister has succeed in nothing, I have sent word to the guild, we will have resources soon."
"Agatha has removed Constance from the equation; she knew we would be at our weakest...why didn't I suspect something before hand?"
Amelia had not seen her deputy headmistress since ordering her to rest which caused her to smile at the thought of reprimanding her like a first year student and much to her disbelief, Constance complied without resisting her on the matter although Amelia did suspect that her insomniac prone colleague would have attempted to find work in order to occupy herself but she remained within the confines and privacy of her room.
Amelia did think about briefly checking on her colleague but thought against this as she did not want to interrupt her rest and recuperation however had Amelia disagreed with this thought then she could have potentially have prevented the ambush and discovered her sister before she had the element of surprise.
Her body had long since succumbed to the effects of the potion and remained completely unconscious until the potion had been naturally run its course and digested before being flushed out of her system. Constance was oblivious to an intruder in her room, invading her privacy when she was at her most vulnerable. A maniacal laugh shattered the silence that disturbed Morgana for a brief moment of time to witness the intrusion in her mistress' chambers but exhaustion from the same viral infection that was plaguing her mistress had siphoned her energy and rendered faithful cat immobile.
Mildred Hubble stood with her arms wrapped around her waist and shivered. It had been hours since she had been separated from her teacher and found herself thrust into a new environment.
Shamefully, she cowered into the corner of the room; there was a reason that her restraints had been removed permanently as fear alone practically paralyzed Mildred and therefore restraints were not deemed necessary. Mildred blamed her overactive imagination and cursed herself for not having more courage as this was a golden opportunity to escape, maybe if she could escape then Agatha would lose the means of controlling her teacher.
The frozen winds howled like a ravenous beast in search of its kill to quench the hunger. The icy talons invaded her small shivering body. Her school uniform marked the evidence of the magical battle that had taken place in the great hall of the academy, torn and dirty, the material exposed her broken skin to the cold, unforgiving world. She tightened her arms around her body in order to preserve the remaining body heat and fend off the early effects of hypothermia.
Her teary eyes observed the environment which consisted of three brick walls, each aged and had impressive chunks of stone missing. The building could possibly be older than Cackle's academy which had a glorious history but was slowly surrendering piece by piece to time. This ancient building had not escaped the ravages of time or exposure to the wrath of mother-nature as the fourth wall of the room had long since disintegrated, buckled under the pressure of time and fallen victim to the crashing waves below the ragged cliff in which the aging building was precariously close to the edge. Pieces of the building remained littered against the unforgiving rocks below as the tide continued to batter against the cliff, throwing icy water onto the floor of the room, landing with a hard slap. Her tears rolled gently down her reddened cheeks and gracefully plunged into the material before absorbing into her school uniform.
"I'm starting to have second thoughts about this." She confessed.
"I know, this has gone too far but we're already guilty by association and we'll be hunted down like common criminals, the guild will have our heads for this."
"Let's face it, the plan fell to pieces...I mean, how were we to know the Grand Wizard would be at the academy?"
They carefully surveyed their surroundings as neither wanted to be caught, especially questioning their doubts and second guessing their superior. Their friendship had started to breakdown and the fragile alliance was fraying rapidly.
"Focus on the important fact here; we'll be used as the scapegoats! We're in too deep, it's not like we could go running back to the school and inform them of the whereabouts of their precious teacher and meddlesome student."
"For a reduced sentencing..." her voice trailed off
"My, my, my!" interrupted a voice, injecting intimidation and dread into the hearts of the two conspirators.
"Now, what do I spy with my little eye?" question Agatha
"Nothing, Agatha...I swear, we were just talking..." stuttered a reply
"Silence." She commended and clenched her fists
"Agatha, it's us!" she appealed to the powerful witch ""Your faithful comrades..."
Her head tiled and suspiciously stared at her friends, "How true, but we were the laughing stock of the entire community...foiled by the interfering student." She spat with rage and venom. "But now, times have changed and now I have the power and command Hardbroom with our little insurance policy and this time, we will be successful."
Betty Bindweed and Millicent Coldstone both mirrored the same worrisome look that was evident in their eyes. Agatha Cackle had been their friend and comrade for countless years but even they noticed the change in her as she ventured into the art of black magic. She had sold her soul to the devil himself in order to harness a greater power after all Agatha had accomplished nothing being associated with them but the darkness had taken her closer to the long overdue revenge against her sister, Amelia.