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THE CHILLING ADVENTURES OF ZELDA CHAPTER 10-SECOND HONEYMOON PLEASE COMMENT & REBLOG!

CHAPTER 10-SECOND HONEYMOON

ZELDA AND FAUSTUS JOURNEY TO ROME TO FACE THE COUNCIL. THEY LEARN OF A SECRET THAT WORKS IN ZELDA’S FAVOUR, BUT EVEN THEN THE PRICE MAY BE TOO HIGH TO PAY.

The loud cry pierced the quiet night. Zelda Spellman knew instantly that her daughter was awake.

“Coming, Cordelia!” But Zelda found she had a problem. Her body wouldn’t obey and get off the bed. Her damned eyes wouldn’t even open! While Zelda tried to get up a 2nd time, she felt a hand on a shoulder and a kiss on her cheek.

“I’ll go.” Faustus whispered into her ear.

“But it’s my turn,” Zelda muttered.

“Don’t wake yourself, dearest,” As Zelda fell back asleep, Faustus rolled over, got up, and grabbed his robe as he left their room. During his short walk down the hallway, Faustus put on his robe and tied it as he turned into the nursery. A lot had happened in the 2 and a half months since Cordelia’s birth. Due to Mambo Marie’s sudden move and Lovecraft’s murder, the Academy of Unseen Arts was getting dangerously understaffed. So, although Faustus didn’t like it, he completely understood when Zelda canceled her maternity leave and returned to work, early in the 3rd week of their baby’s life. Prudence and Dorcus were training to become full-time teachers. Agatha would have loved to join her sisters, but she still had a year to make up before graduation. Hilda picked up more classes. Since everyone was so busy at the school, and he refused to return to teaching when Zelda offered him the job, Faustus found himself picking up much of the slack at home. He cooked, cleaned, was Cordelia’s primary caregiver during the day, and after Hilda and Zelda gave him a crash course on how, Faustus started to take care of the business end of running the funeral home. In other words, Faustus was becoming a house husband and he was loving every minute of it! He was still working at the bookstore, but mostly on weekends when someone else could watch Cordelia or when Hilda could swap places with him. What Faustus was most proud of that he was becoming more and more a fully functioning member of the Spellman family. A loving and supportive family that Faustus felt more and more accepted by each day. But everything wasn’t always rosy. Now that he fully had his magic back, Faustus seriously stepped up his efforts to find Blackwood and the twins. Every time Faustus thought he found a tracking spell that would work, he would perform the spell right there in the house or he would settle Cordelia in her car seat and headed out to the woods, depending on the spell. None of which worked. All Faustus knew was that the spellbook written by a mortal was a completely fake. After talking about all his setbacks and his frustration with Prudence, his daughter suggested they try the blood spell again. They used 2 maps, 1 of Greendale; 1 of the world but something strange happened. Prudence, who went first, expected her spilled blood to immediately find a spot on the Greendale map but instead her blood slid off the map completely and the blood pooled neatly on the table, just off the map. Prudence gave a confused look and tried it again, only with the world map but the same thing happened. Faustus tried the spell himself with both maps and had the same results. He didn’t tell Prudence but he had a gut feeling that Blackwood was no longer in Greendale and signs pointed to the twins still being with him. Faustus had to thank Hecate for Zelda. No matter how busy she was, no matter how much she missed the twins herself, she was always there for him. Whether it a shoulder to cry on after yet another failed spell or a sounding board once he got a new idea, and Zelda had plenty on her plate lately. Aside from being high priestess, headmistress, and a brand-new mother to Cordelia, Zelda was still Lilith’s mid-wife and put aside her own busy life once a month to go down to hell and look after Lilith. Speaking of Lilith, who was due next month, was growing more and more desperate as her pregnancy drew to its close. She even asked Zelda to find her a spell to pause her pregnancy altogether. That was absurd, of course, everyone knew that there was no magic to delay nature, neither for mortals or witches. However, there was only 1 baby Faustus was concerned about at the moment.

“Hello princess,” Faustus smiled as he leaned into her crib and picked up his daughter. After getting her a fresh diaper change, Faustus sat down in a rocking chair. He held out his hand just long enough for a perfectly warmed bottle to appear out of thin air and fed it to Cordelia.

“There you go. Do you want to know something, Cordelia?” Faustus asked his daughter. “Daddy loves to get up with you. Even in the middle of the night. You see, my little one, oh, how do I explain this to you? We all know that I am a very proud father of 4 and I love both your sisters and your brother but this is my 1st chance to be a proper daddy.” Cordelia gurgled and Faustus chuckled. “It’s true. Let’s see, with Prudence, I tried so hard to be there for her but I couldn’t claim her as my own because your big old meanie of a grandfather threatened to kill her and I couldn’t allow that. The curse was on me by the time the twins were born and it only got worse as they grew older. I was there, I could see and hear them but I couldn’t interact with them. It was maddening. It was like watching Letitia and Judas through a 1-way mirror for the last 16 years. But not now, I’m fine now. Your grandfather is dead and your mother broke the curse. Your mother is the love of my life, she always was and always will be. I know that babies don’t get to pick their mothers but when both Madeline and Constance were pregnant, I wondered more than once, why can’t it be Zelda carrying my child? In fact, I remember when we were young and I hope that Zelda would get pregnant by accident so your uncle Edward would allow me to marry her. It never happened and despite Edward’s attempts to keep us apart, Zelda and I did manage to marry and have you. All that time stuck inside that stupid curse and the life I always wanted was just waiting for me to come home.” Faustus smiled at his infant as he put the now empty bottle on the table beside him. When he burped her, Faustus glanced up at the wall clock. “Oh my, look at the time! We better get to bed. You, me, and mommy have a plane to catch in less than 5 hours.” Right after Zelda returned to work, word came from Rome. The council was holding a summit to discuss the very badly needed religious reformation. It wasn’t just for the church of night. High priests from churches and covens all over the world would be there. Faustus thought it was a perfect opportunity to legitimatize the Order of Hecate and ordain Zelda as a high priestess. Zelda, was to put it lightly, less excited. Although Faustus had kept his part of the deal by being baptized into the coven. Since then, Zelda almost never spoke of the council. After the news of the summit, Zelda still showed no intention of going to Rome. When Faustus pushed her on the subject, Zelda admitted to being afraid for his sake. After all, as far as the witches council knew, they were still the church of night and Faustus was still in charge as high priest. Yet Faustus was proud of all of Zelda’s hard work and knew she deserved to be recognized for it. So, Faustus wrote a really long letter, detailing everything. His curse, how it snowballed into the fall of the church of night, the short-lived church of Judas and all that followed before Zelda stepped up and saved the coven by founding the order of Hecate. Faustus wrote and wrote, leaving nothing out. It was an ancient law that no witch can be held accountable for his or her actions while under a curse. Faustus made a photocopy of Edward’s deal with Lucifer and mailed that in along with the letter, to the council. He was certain that he was doing the right thing. The same couldn’t be said of Zelda.

“Faustus, have you completely lost your mind?!” Was Zelda’s exact words when Faustus told her about the letter. That night, Faustus made a new deal with his wife. If, after a week, there was no news from the council, they would attend the summit. 7 days and 7 nights passed by, and Faustus booked their flight although Zelda still had major doubts. Of course, Zelda would never admit to be nervous but from the day she agreed to go to Rome, she had her head in her completed manifesto, every free moment she had. Faustus had even seen Zelda fall asleep on it, twice. His wife also seemed to forget that he originally pitched the trip to Rome as a 2nd honeymoon but Faustus didn’t mind. Zelda would just be more shocked when Zelda found the romantic surprises Faustus had in store for his wife. The baby moved, pulling Faustus out of his thoughts. He stood up and walked across the room.

“You love your mommy, don’t you, Cordy?” He whispered before kissing his daughter’s brow and gently laying her in the crib. “I love your mommy, too. I love her so much I would give her the whole wide world if I could.”

After 1 last look at the now sleeping baby, Faustus turned, walked back to his room and got into bed. He was surprised when Zelda turned around, stole under the crook of his arm, and kissed him.

“I love you too, Faustus.”

Faustus pretended to be upset but the smile was a dead giveaway. “Excuse me, lady. Were you listening in to a private conversation between me and my daughter?”

“No,” Zelda replied. “But it you prefer to keep your midnight chats with our daughter to be hush-hush, I suggest you turn off the baby monitor. It might be a mortal tool but it works just as well.”

Faustus couldn’t help but chuckle. “Good point.”

“Do you want to check my carry-on?” It was right after breakfast the next day and Faustus and Zelda were doing some last-minute packing.

In response of Faustus’s question, Zelda frowned as she looked up. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Faustus answered, “I just thought I would give you a chance to look for a music box.”

“Faustus, that’s not funny.”

“But you did smile,” he pointed out.

Zelda left her bag, walked across the room, put her arms around her husband’s neck and kissed him. “Yes, I smiled. I smiled because I love you and I trust you. I trust you so much that I somehow, let you talk me into going on this fool’s errand.”

“It is not a fool’s errand!” Faustus protested. “You really are going to be the first witch put in office by the council. I just know it.”

Before Zelda could think of a rebuttal, Faustus kissed her again. They were still kissing when a knock can at the door. They turned to see Hilda in the doorway, holding Cordelia.

“Excuse me, this little girl is all packed and is ready to go. All she needs now is someone to buckled her into her car seat.”

“Daddy will do it!” Faustus held out his arms and scooped up the baby, who gave a squeal of glee. On his way out the door, Faustus leaned down and whispered in Hilda’s ear, “Maybe you can give your sister some words of encouragement? She won’t listen to me.”

Faustus left with the baby and Hilda moved more into the room. “So, how’re you feeling, Zelds?”

Zelda turned to face her sister, wringing her hands. “To be honest, Hildie, I don’t know if I going to faint or throw up.”

Hilda smiled. “That’s easy. You’ve never fainted in your life and you ate too little at breakfast to throw up.”

“I feel like I should get my head examined just for agreeing to go on this trip. I mean, in a 1000-year history, the council has never, ever, appointed a high priestess.” Zelda pointed out.

“Well, it’s important to remember that, no matter what happens in Rome, sister, you will still be the leader of the Greendale coven. Your dealings with the council are just a mere formality.”

“If it’s a mere formality, as you claim, why go at all?” Zelda muttered as she sat down on her bed.

Hilda joined her. “A few reasons. The order of Hecate is just as valid a faith as the church of night. Plus, you, Zelda Spellman, have proven yourself to be a strong, caring and above all, capable leader, who rebuilt this coven from the ground up. For that, you deserved the support, the rights and rewards granted to any other high priests.”

“Thank you for your kind words, Hilda, and I hate for you to think I’m just dismissing your words because I’m not but I’ve seen the witches council in all their sexist glory and why should I believe that they will listen to me?”

“Because you’re the freakin’ best, Auntie Z!”

Both sisters turned to see a smiling Sabrina in the doorway.

Zelda sighed. “Between you 2 showering me with praise and Faustus’s confessional letter, I don’t have a choice, do I?”

“No.” Hilda and Sabrina said the word together and both smiling.

Zelda sighed as she got up off the bed, shut her suitcase, and when to leave, pausing to kiss Sabrina’s forehead.

“No matter what happens, we’ll be back in a week.”

The 3 women went downstairs and out the front door. Zelda was shocked to see most of the coven, plus Sabrina’s friends, came out to see their high priestess off. Some even brought flowers. Zelda gave them to Hilda, to bring into the house, before Zelda got into the backseat of the car and smiled down at Cordelia, who was in her car seat beside her mother as Faustus drove off. Greendale was a small town that didn’t have an airport so Zelda, Faustus and Cordelia drove an hour and a half to the nearest airport in a town called Riverdale. The family of 3 boarded their 10-hour flight to Rome. Zelda and Faustus had the silent spells ready for Cordelia but the baby proved to be a great flyer. Halfway through the flight, Faustus woke up from a nap to find Zelda holding Cordelia and frowning.

“Is something wrong, dearest?”

“Not really,” Zelda replied. “I just playing ‘where’s the baby?’ with Cordelia. It was Letitia’s favorite game, which used to make her laugh like crazy, but for Cordy, here? Not even a smile.”

“Well, that’s because our youngest girl is more into a good game of ‘got your nose.’” Faustus put his thumb between his fingers and showed the baby. Sure enough, Cordelia started to giggle.

Zelda looked up at her husband. “Showoff!”

It was already dark when they landed in Rome. Since they were no longer members of the church of night, Zelda and Faustus were not invited to stay at the Vatican necropolis. Instead, Faustus booked a room in a hotel nearby to where the council was holding their summit. The 1st surprise that Faustus planned for Zelda occurred while they were checking in. Zelda spoke 15 languages perfectly and understood every word Faustus and the desk clerk said.

Zelda looked up at her husband and smiled. “You booked us into the honeymoon suite?!”

Faustus beamed down at her. “All week long.”

They collected their key cards from the desk clerk and went upstairs to the suite. Faustus held the door open as Zelda crossed the threshold and gasped in utter amazement.

“Look at this. Look at the wonderful room Daddy got for us, Cordy!” Zelda excitedly told her daughter while holding on to the baby’s carrier. While Faustus helped the bellhop with the bags, Zelda and Cordelia took a look around. There was a dining room and sitting room but the bedroom and the bathroom were the main attraction. The bedroom had a sleek, modern design with a huge flat screen and a giant king-sized bed. The bathroom was sparkling clean, done mostly in white marble and had a stand-alone shower because the tub was in the shape of a huge bright red heart. Zelda was studying it from the doorway when Faustus came up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“So, did your husband do good?” Faustus asked.

“My husband did great,” Zelda replied with a smile.

“I wonder if that heart tub has any water jets? We could have some fun.”

“We could.” Zelda nodded and Faustus leaned in to kiss her but before he could, Zelda yawned. Horrified, Zelda covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

Faustus gently kissed her on the top of the head. “Don’t be. It’s been a long day, dearest. I’m tired too. I’m just going to take a fast shower before bed.”

Zelda left the room, leaving Faustus to shower in peace. She placed the car seat on the bed, as Zelda found and threw on her gown and put a bottle in the microwave for Cordelia. After grabbing the diaper bag, Zelda changed her daughter and put her in a nighttime onesie. As she gently fought with the infant, Zelda got ahold of Cordelia’s chubby arm and stared at the crescent moon birthmark on the baby’s left wrist that she was not born with. The mark came when Cordelia was 2 days old during a ceremony called the presenting. At first, the family thought it may just be dirt but after a few days and a few baths later, it became clear that the birthmark was here to stay. Although both Ambrose and Faustus both tried to research the birthmark, they found nothing and they still had no idea what it all meant. Zelda was brought back to reality when a glass of gin and a cigarette magically showed up on the nightstand. She looked up and saw that Faustus was out of the shower and smiled down at her before he got the now ready bottle on the way to the bed. Once he got to the bed, he took Cordelia into his arms and fed her the bottle. Before Cordelia was even born, Faustus promised Zelda that he would try his very best to be an equal partner not only in their marriage but also in parenthood. So far, Zelda thought he was doing an excellent job. Zelda took a sip from her glass, kissed Cordelia on her forehead, and Faustus on his cheek before settling back, cigarette holder on her finger, remote in hand. She flipped through the channel for a little while until she happened upon an old black and white movie called the House of Wax. Zelda had a sudden urge to tease her husband.

“Oh, look Faustus, it’s your favorite actor.”

Faustus looked at the screen but frowned when he realized what he was looking at. “Oh, it’s only him.”

Zelda shook her head. “Will you ever stop being angry with Vincent Price?”

“Why should I?” Faustus asked. “The guy cheated off me all the time when we were all at school together. Good thing he became an actor, he would never make it as a warlock.”

Zelda smiled. “How did Dr. Cerberus take it when you told him that a horror star was one of us?”

Faustus laughed. “You should have seen his face.”

Zelda laughed too and because it was almost over, they decided to finish watching the movie. By the time the end credits were rolling, Cordelia was sound asleep in her basket as her parents were in each other’s arms, making out. Right as he was about to unbutton Zelda’s gown, Faustus stopped himself.

“I thought we were both too tired to do this night.”

Zelda smiled. “Well, I must have gotten my 2nd wind. Of course, if you don’t want to”

Faustus smiled, pointed to the tv to magically close it, and then made love to his wife.

The witches’ council’s summit started sharply at 9 the next morning. Cordelia’s sitter arrived sharply at 8:30, but Zelda was still getting ready.

“Zelda, dearest, come on, we’ll be late.”

“Coming.” Zelda came out of the bathroom and took Faustus’s breath away. Zelda wore a long-shelve black gown, her red hair was swept up in a bun. Magda’s pearls were at her throat. Zelda also wore the charm bracelet that Faustus gave her last Yule. Her fingers were bare, except for her wedding ring. “Will I do?” Zelda asked.

“Do? You’re stunning, high priestess,” Faustus took his wife’s hand and kissed it. “Now, come on. We don’t want to be late.”

Turns out that they didn’t need to worry about being late. The council’s main concern was the affairs of the church of night. That took all morning and some of the afternoon. When the council finally got to the new faiths, Zelda was annoyed to learn that the order of Hecate was the very last on the list. Finally, at 5:30 pm, Zelda stood before the council after the announcer, who had been professional all day, laughed and stumbled over the words, high priestess. The council let some of the high priests go on for hours. Zelda got 20 minutes, barely even enough time to tell of the faith’s general information. On that 1st day of the summit, Zelda left feeling absolutely furious.

A few hours later, after checking on the baby, Zelda sat down with a glass of wine and her manifesto. The manifesto had been completed weeks ago and Zelda had committed it to memory just as quickly. Yet, Zelda kept reading it over and over, even she didn’t know why. It was like a nervous tick. Anyway, Zelda had literally just sat down when her husband called out to her from the bathroom.

“Zelda! Will you come here a minute?”

��Faustus! I just sat down.” Zelda frowned.

“Please! It will only take a second.”

Zelda sighed as she got up and opened the bathroom door. “What do you want because-“ Zelda’s voice died away as she looked around the bathroom. The room was bathed in candlelight, with candles everywhere. The heart tub was filled with water and beside the tub were 2 filled champagne flutes with the bottle resting in an ice bucket nearby. It was only then that Faustus, who was hiding behind the door, appeared, in nothing but a towel and a smile.

“Faustus? What’s all this?” Zelda asked with a smile.

Her husband returned her smile. “Can’t a guy celebrate with his wife?” As he asked, Faustus walked to the glasses, he took a gulp out of 1 and offered the other.

She took the glass but was not happy. “There’s nothing to celebrate, really. I barely got any time in front of the council.”

“I disagree, dearest. We’re not celebrating anything to do with the council. We’re celebrating how proud I am of you for even coming here. Zelda, I know you’re angry and you have every right to be but”

“But I should just let it go.” Zelda sighed.

Faustus shook his head. “No. That wasn’t what I was going to say, at all. I was actually thinking that you need to use that anger on the council. Today you tried to played by their rules and got nothing. Tomorrow, when you’re in front of the council, stand your ground, take whatever time you need to, make them feel what I feel when I’m with you.”

“And how’s that?”

“Honored just to be in the same room as you.”

Zelda smiled before she kissed Faustus deeply.

“If it pleases your excellency,” Faustus smiled. “I have been daydreaming all day of taking that dress off of you.”

“Permission granted.”

Faustus kissed her as he reached around to her back and unzipped the dress. As he slowly lowered it, he kissed all of her exposed skin. “You’re so beautiful, my 1st, last and only love. Sometimes, I think that you’re the goddess we should be worshipping.”

“You heretic!” Zelda swatted his shoulder playfully.

Losing his patience, Faustus let the dress fall to the floor and with a single wave of his hand, Zelda’s underwear disappeared. Faustus then swept up the now naked Zelda into his arms and seated her in the tub. After taking off his towel, Faustus joined her in the bath. He reached for her and took Zelda into his lap. They were still kissing and petting each other when they both heard a baby crying.

Zelda sighed. “That would be Cordelia.”

Zelda started to move but Faustus stopped her. “I get her.” He kissed her. “Don’t you dare move.”

5 minutes later, Faustus came back into the bathroom, holding their daughter in front of him. “She needed a new diaper but she wanted Mommy.” He explained.

“Oh, Mommy’s right here, sweetheart.” Zelda purred during the handover.

Wearing only a diaper, Cordelia had a ball splashing in the water. Faustus got back in and magically added some bubble bath. The family enjoyed their bath time fun. Faustus and Zelda had no problem picking up their sexy time once Cordelia was in bed.

“The council recognizes the Order of He-Heca-Hecate and its hi-high pri-priestess, Zelda Spellman.”

Zelda shot the giggling idiot of an announcer a deadly stare as she passed him and stood at the platform before the council.

“Sister Zelda, we are truly surprised to see you back here.”

Zelda knew they only wanted to see a rise out of her but Zelda refused to give it to them. “Why is that, my lords? Is this not only the 2nd day of a 6-day summit?”

“Damn it, woman!” Snapped the 2nd of the 8 council members. “Do we have to spell it out for you! You are not welcome here! The only reason we allowed you to speak yesterday was out of respect for your brother.”

“My work has nothing to do with Edward!” Zelda said firmly.

“Pity.” Sighed council member #4. “And with that, we lost any interest in you.” #4 gestured to the announcer to escort Zelda back to her seat but Zelda held up her hand and the announcer was back in his own chair so fast, it rocked.

“I am not finished!”

“Oh yes, you are!” Boomed #1.

“I don’t understand, my lords. I mean, why hold a summit at all if you’re not open to listening to new ideas?”

“Oh, we are open to listening to new ideas,” Reassured #2. “But only by men, you know, the ones with experience.”

“Experience?” Suddenly, Zelda had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. “No disrespect to the other coven leaders, but some of these men are so young, they could be mistaken for 1 of my academy students. I wouldn’t be surprised if they never even spoke to a high priest. I, however, grew up not with 1 high priest but 2, my brother and my husband.”

“Which brings us to a valid point,” Stated #1. “Why should we support you when your own husband doesn’t?”

“Who told you that? That is an out and out lie!” Zelda snapped.

“Faustus Blackwood, come before us! Faustus Blackwood, come before us! Faustus Blackwood, come before us!” All the council chanted.

From his place way, way, in the back, Faustus sighed, rolled his eyes, got up, and went to join his wife. “Did you get my letter, my lord?” He asked.

“We did,” confirmed #1.

“Then you fully know that my name is Faustus Spellman. Now, what’s this nonsense about me not supporting my wife?”

Council member #4 snapped his fingers and an image appeared before the council as if by an invisible projector. The image was of the academy’s office. They could also see Zelda, Sabrina, and Faustus in the scene but it was only Faustus spoke, “there will never be a high priestess of the church of night.”

#4 snapped his fingers again and the image disappeared. “Do you deny that you made that statement, brother Faustus?”

“I did say that,” Faustus answered. “But that was when that curse, I wrote to you about, was getting stronger each day. Anyway, I was right; there is no high priestess of the church of night.”

Zelda gave her husband a sideways glance. Where was he going with this?

“But there will be a high priestess in the Order of Hecate. I misspoke, there already is a high priestess in the Order of Hecate and if it is Hecate’s will, there may be many more, not for many, many years, of course.” Faustus smiled at her and Zelda felt herself falling deeper in love with a man she already adored.

“We’re getting sidetracked,” muttered #5. “This is just a lame attempt to get you sorry self back into power.”

“Hey, you the ones who called me up here,” Faustus pointed out. “I assure you; I have no desire for power and all of Zelda’s hard work is strictly her own.”

“So, you do support your wife in this?” #4 wanted to know. “Would you, for example, ever consider being baptized into the order of Hecate?”

“I already have. About 2 months ago.”

“Who performed the ceremony?” demanded #5.

“I did.” Answered Zelda.

“You?” #1 snorted. “We haven’t given you permission to be ordained yet, let alone perform rites like baptism.”

“Well, it worked.” Zelda shrugged. “Hecate gave Faustus his magic back right then. Also, I didn’t come here for permission, I came here to inform you as a professional courtesy.”

#2 smirked. “I think you overstated your abilities, Sister Zelda.”

“I think that the mighty council is afraid to work with a woman.”

#1 looked as if he just smelled something foul. “That’s not true.”

Zelda’s eyebrow rose. “Oh no? You call yourself the witches council and yet…there is not a single witch among you.”

Council member #3 shifted in his seat but it was #2 who spoke next. “A high priestess who performs rites and who thinks she doesn’t need our approval? What’s next? Did she write her own manifesto?”

Zelda knew he was mocking her but she went on regardless. “As a matter of fact, I did.” Zelda took some papers out of a leather parchment. “These are the 5 facets of Hecate,” Zelda began.

1. As they are all the beloved children of our beloved dark mother, Hecate, witches and warlocks are and must be equal.” The crowd grew noisy with outrage. Yet, Zelda went on. “They share a common culture, education, and home. Rewards will be earned by individuals, not gender.

2. Feelings, such as love, friendship, kindness and tenderness are right, just and not only for mortals. One should care for one’s family and friends as one cares for oneself.

3. Witches may reveal themselves to mortals. However, with the tragedies of the Greendale 13 and the Salem witch trials in mind, they are encouraged to do so with extreme caution.

4. Our rites and holidays, especially those that includes blood and cannibalism will be revised.

5. No much how troubled, no soul deserves to abandoned or left behind. These are our mother’s words and we will follow them as faithfully as we will Hecate.”

#1 shook his head and frowned. “Most of what you said is heresy, Sister Zelda.”

“Mother Spellman.”

“What?”

“Every high priest is called father and his surname. Why should I expect any less?”

“Why should you expect anything at all?” Demanded #2. “Whose support do you have?”

“My coven’s,” Zelda replied.

“The Greendale coven will follow whoever we say.”

“No, we won’t.”

Everyone turned to see who spoke and Zelda was surprised to see Malcolm White, a shy warlock from home.

“Brother Malcolm? What are you doing here?” asked Zelda.

“I have a friend from another coven, whose high priest is attending this very summit. We got to talking and it turns out that you need a member of the coven to serve as a character witness. Since you never mentioned this, we wondered if you even knew.”

“No, I didn’t,” Zelda frowned and turned back to face the council. “You never told me I needed a witness but I know why you did it. To discredit me, to make me look unprofessional and unready and even worse, to make it look like none of my own coven supported me.”

“Witness day is tomorrow, Mother Spellman,” was all #1 could say.

“You were amazing, dearest, simply amazing. Have I told you yet just how proud I am of you?”

“Only about a dozen times, Faustus, but who’s counting?” Zelda smiled.

An hour after Zelda’s big showdown with the council, today’s session was over. After thanking him for coming all the way to Rome, Faustus and Zelda got an extra hotel room for Malcolm, who kindly offered to be Zelda’s witness for the next day. As Zelda got Malcolm settled, Faustus went out to get them some take-out pasta for dinner. Dinner was just winding down when Faustus smiled, stood and went to his wife.

“Well, I am proud of you and I don’t care if I have to say it 1000 times.” Faustus kissed Zelda on top of the head and then on her lips. Zelda stood up, deepening the kiss. Just as Faustus was thinking of taking his wife to bed, there was a knock at the door.

“I get it,” Faustus sighed. He went to the door and used the peephole. “Oh Hecate! It’s Brother Maxwell! What’s he doing here?”

Zelda knew that Brother Maxwell was #3 in the council lineup today. What she didn’t know was what he was doing here. “Let him in,” she told Faustus and as her husband did so, Zelda took a gulp of wine from her glass before greeting their guest. “Brother Maxwell, to what do we owe this unexpected pleasure?”

“Please forgive my visit at this late hour,” Said Maxwell “but I was really impressed with your report today.”

“Thank you.”

“No, I mean really impressed. I’ve seen women stand up for themselves before but never quite like that. I knew you were special when you pointed out that there are no witches on the witches council. Before you, only the great queen Elizabeth, dare bring it up. In fact, after much thought, I decided to let you in on my deepest secret.”

Zelda had no idea what Maxwell was referring to so she just nodded.

Maxwell let his eyes drift over to Faustus. “Is he trustworthy?”

“Yes,” Zelda said immediately. “I trust my husband completely.”

“I just can’t be too careful with my secret,” Maxwell explained. “You see, I’m not what I seem. All of this,” Maxwell used both his hands to gesture all over his body. “This is just a glamour. In fact, my name isn’t even Maxwell, it’s Maxine.” He snapped his fingers and instantly transformed from a white-haired, dark robbed old man into a blond-haired woman who looked about Faustus and Zelda’s age.

“You’re a witch,” Zelda said in disbelief.

“You’re a witch, who has a seat on the council.” Added Faustus.

“Yes,” Maxine said proudly. “And thanks to my glamour spell, I had that seat for over 3 centuries.”

Zelda was confused. “The other council members don’t know?”

“Or even suspect?” added Faustus.

“Oh, dark lord, no!” Maxine remarked. “Those unholier than thou idiots can’t see anything beyond their own dicks!”

There was giggling coming from the hallway.

“You’re not alone?” asked Zelda.

“It’s alright, girls. You can come in now,” Maxine called out.

3 more witches appeared in the room.

“These are my 3 closest advisers,” Maxine explained. “There are 11 of us altogether. We formed our own council called the sisterhood. I report back to my sisters after every council meeting. Every now and then, we find a person or a group that we get really excited about something that I, or rather, Brother Maxwell, pushes extra hard for the witches council to approve of. You, Mother Spellman, and the order of Hecate had the sisterhood’s full support.”

“I’m honored,” It was all Zelda could say while trying to process all this new information.

“This is wonderful,” Faustus smiled. “I think this call for drinks all around.”

10 minutes later, there was a glass in each hand. Zelda, Faustus, Maxine, and 1 of the advisors were talking. The other 2 advisors went over to admire Cordelia in her basket but then they saw something.

“Maxine! This child bears the mark of the divine!”

Before either Zelda or Faustus could react, Maxine was by the baby, staring down at Cordelia’s crescent moon birthmark. “Where did you find this child?” she demanded of the couple.

“What do mean ‘find her?’” Zelda demanded back. “She ours.”

Maxine shook her head. “That’s impossible. That would mean” She didn’t finish her thought before turning her head. “Come, sisters, we must get this babe to somewhere safe before the council discovers her.”

Zelda felt shock and rage pulse through her body as she watched Maxine take Cordelia into her arms. As Maxine and her crew started for the door, Zelda stood in the way and took her baby back.

“There’s no way you’re leaving this room with my daughter!” Zelda snapped. “I already had to give up 1 baby girl. It isn’t happening again.”

Maxine sighed. “We have no time for this! That child needs to be protected.”

“I will protect her! I’m her mother!” Zelda shrieked.

“This child bears the mark of the divine. Do you even know what that means?”

“I don’t care if it means she’s the 2nd coming of Hecate, you are not taking my child!”

Now, ignoring Zelda completely, Maxine reached for Cordelia. However, Maxine was only able to touch the soft fabric of the baby blanket before she and her friends were body slammed up against the wall. It was an attack done by a furious Faustus.

“I’ll be damned if I let someone take a 3rd child of mine away! You 4 ladies are leaving right now. Either you can go by your own free will or I can deliver your dead bodies to the sisterhood!”

“If anything happens to me, the council will look into it,” Maxine warned.

“Then I guess I’ll have to kill them too!”

Maxine looked to Zelda. “Are you just going to stand there and let him talk to us like that?”

“Of course not. I would help him in the slaughter.”

“Give me that baby or you can forget about being a high priestess!”

Zelda shook her head. “If you truly knew me, you would know that’s no true threat! Now, get out!”

They left then and Faustus locked the door and performed a sealing spell for good measure. Zelda only managed to sit down before her legs gave out.

“So, what did they call it again?”

Faustus had put Ambrose and Prudence on speakerphone so he could bathe Cordelia and give her a night bottle. “They called it the mark of the divine. It must be a very big deal because 1 moment the sisterhood was praising Zelda and the next, they only wanted the baby.”

“We’ll try to help, uncle Faustus,” said Ambrose “but we only have home and the academy’s resources, you have all of Rome!”

“I know” Faustus agreed. “Your Aunt Zelda had been gone for over 3 hours, searching for answers. I offered to go but Zelda said the council’s library would easily buy her lie about being unprepared.”

“Yep, sound about right.” Muttered Prudence. “As Ambrose said, Father, we’ll try to find some information but we’re just about to start another school day and every teacher is already stressed to the limit.”

“Dang it, I forgot about the time change!”

It was right then that Faustus heard the door open and close. “It’s alright, children, I found the answers we need. Just focus on your school duties and we’ll see you all on Sunday.” Said Zelda

After exchanging goodbyes and pressing the button to hang up the phone, Zelda tossed her purse on the bed and when to the bar to fix herself a drink. Faustus, who was still feeding Cordelia, studied his wife from the bed. Had she been crying?

“Dearest, what’s wrong?” Faustus asked very gently. “What did you find, Zelda?”

“Do you remember when I said I didn’t care if Cordelia was the 2nd coming of Hecate?”

Faustus was confused. “Yes?”

“Well, I was close.”

“What?”

Zelda sighed, downed the rest of her drink, and when to sit beside her husband. “Thousands of years ago, the Greek gods fell into disgrace, Hecate among them. Hecate was able to send her 2 beloved grandchildren, a pair of cousins, 1 male and 1 female to earth. Because they were both of Hecate’s bloodline, they both had magic. The cousins didn’t get along and soon parted ways. The male cousin was lucky enough to settle in a village that accepted both him and his magic. The villagers even gave him a good-natured nicknamed, ‘the man who spells.’ His descendants would later take the surname, Spellman. The female cousin, meanwhile, had less luck with her life. People feared her because of her magic, the father of her child ran out on her. One day, some say out of spite, others say it was an accident, the female cousin bought down a thunderclap that started a wild forest fire. From that day on, she was known as ‘the lady of the blacken woods.’ Her family took the surname, Blackwood. Do you understand, Faustus? You and I are direct descendants of the 2 most ancient bloodlines in the history of magic. I looked it up and the cousins are the 2nd and 3rd witches, after Lilith but before Cain.”

“Then why aren’t they more well-known?” asked Faustus.

“I think it’s because some people think Greek gods are myths. Anyway, there’s a prophecy. If a Spellman and a Blackwood marry and have their own child, it will be Hecate’s bloodline reborn. The babe will grow up to be the most powerful witch ever born.”

After Faustus finished burping her, Zelda took Cordelia into her arms.

“It’s said that Hecate will recognize her bloodline during the child’s presenting and will bless her with the mark of the divine, a crescent moon birthmark, that proves that Cordelia is of Hecate’s true bloodline and will be the greatest witch to ever walk the earth.”

Finished with her tale, Zelda gently fingered her daughter’s birthmark as her eyes filled with tears. “Faustus, I’m so scared. They’ll never let us leave Rome with Cordelia now. I stupidly believed because I gave birth to her, I would get to keep the child this time.”

“Shh, Zelda,” Faustus put an arm around his wife and kissed her brow as Zelda’s put her head on his shoulder. “No one is going to take Cordelia away from us, not ever. I don’t care if we have to smuggle our daughter back to Greendale and sleep in shifts for the rest of our days to keep an eye on her. We are Spellmans, remember? We do what is right.”

Zelda’s proud smile broke into a deep yawn. “I should be worried sick, I mean, I am worried sick but at the same time, I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Well, it’s no wonder, dearest. Today alone, you went through a full day summit meeting plus your brilliant showdown with the council, then the meeting with the sisterhood and then over 3 and half hours of research with only the words, the mark of the divine, to work with and then you came back and explain it all to me. I say that’s a long day, Zelda. Zelda?” He looked down to see that Zelda had already fallen asleep against his shoulder. He succeeded in gently ease her off him but when he tried to take the baby, Zelda awoke with a start.

“No! I want Cordelia near me tonight!”

Faustus placed his lips to hers. “She will be, dearest. Just give me a moment to get her, and you, settled. Lay down, my love.”

Zelda did as he asked, handing him the baby and lying down, fully clothed on the still made bed. Meanwhile, Faustus laid Cordelia in her basket. Looking around, Faustus took 2 suitcase stands and placed both of them near Zelda’s side of the bed and placed Cordelia’s basket on top of them, placing the baby next to her mother. With a wave of Faustus’s hand, Zelda’s clothes disappeared and were replaced by her nightgown. A snap and Zelda was under the covers. Faustus finished tucking in his wife and daughter with a kiss.

Zelda fell asleep immediately and remained deeply asleep for hours until Cordelia cried out for a bottle. Zelda opened her eyes, stretched, sat up in bed, took the baby into her arms and gave her the bottle. As Cordelia fed, and Zelda became more awake, she realized that Faustus wasn’t in bed beside her nor did she think he was in the bathroom.

“Where is your father?” Zelda asked Cordelia and laughed when her daughter’s only answer was to wriggle her nose. Zelda looked up when she heard the door open.

Faustus smiled. “Hello, my girls.”

“Where have you been, Faustus? It’s not even dawn yet.”

Faustus crossed the room and sat on the bed. “I’ve been talking with Maxine for 4 hours and I think we reached a compromise regarding Cordelia.”

Zelda was shocked. “What?! How did you even know where to find her?”

“Oh, I used a tracking spell on the glass she was using earlier, led me right to her. Anyway, the reason it took so long was that, at first, I couldn’t get her to listen. I mean, the 1st hour alone was just me repeating how, no matter what, Cordelia will be going home with us on Sunday. Once I allowed Maxine to perform a DNA spell on me, proving that we are indeed Cordy’s parents, she became much more…reasonable. Eventually, we reached a compromise. You and I will go home, raise our daughter as we see fit, and just occasionally report in with the sisterhood about her magical development. Don’t worry,” Faustus added when he saw Zelda’s frown, “I didn’t promise Maxine anything. I just said I would talk to you and we would talk to her together.”

Zelda shook her head. “It’s not that, Faustus. I agree that it’s a good compromise and I would have taken it too but we know nothing about the sisterhood. How can we be sure that they wouldn’t back out of the deal?”

“Excellent point, my love and 1 I’ve already considered. That’s why I called in a favor from an old friend and he gave me this.” Faustus gave Zelda a folded piece of paper.

“A suggestion spell?”

“Yes, if they try to take Cordelia away from us again, we perform this spell, suggest that they never saw the mark of the divine and that will be true for them.”

Zelda smiled. “You, my husband, are brilliant and I love you.”

Zelda had nothing to fear. Maxine had every intention of keeping her word. Both with the compromise and pushing Zelda for the council. She even apologized about the sisterhood’s behavior. She even laughed when the suggestion spell fell out of Faustus’s pocket. Later that week, Zelda found herself using magic to protect herself when part of the council got ‘handsy’ like 1 of them was with Hilda once. Thankfully, Faustus and ‘brother Maxwell’ found them in time. Zelda declined her husband’s offer of breaking the council members’ necks but she did agree for Maxine had to use the suggestion spell on the council so that they would vote Zelda in as a high priestess and it worked.

On their last day in Rome, Zelda was ordained as a high priestess of the Order of Hecate. The ceremony was private, witnessed only by the council. Faustus was a former high priest and knew all about the vows to protect the coven and order, her forehead marked and she signed her name on a document making the Order of Hecate a true and legal religion according to witch law. After the ceremony, there was a traditional ball to celebrate.

As they waltzed together around the floor, Faustus beamed at his wife. “You look so beautiful tonight, your excellency.”

“Thank you.”

“You know, Zelda, I can’t believe it was 17 years ago when I was dancing with Constance at my own celebrational ball and I remembering thinking how badly I wanted you in my arms.”

“It’s amazing how things can change in just 17 years.”

“I think we should go now,” Faustus whispered.

Zelda was confused. “The ball just started. Why do you want to leave?”

“This is the last night of not only the summit but also our honeymoon and I have a double surprise for you.”

“Wow!” They went to a grotto 20 minutes outside the city and Zelda was amazed. The blue-green water was so still the lake looked like a mirror.

“It’s so beautiful down here.”

“I found it 50 years ago and I promise myself I would bring you here someday.” Faustus kissed Zelda.

“What’s else?”

“What?”

“You said it was a double surprise.”

Faustus smiled and started to unbutton his shirt.

“I’ve seen that before,” Zelda teased.

“No, you haven’t” Faustus took off his shirt and Zelda saw that his church of night tattoo was gone and in its place was a hollowed-out heart. Inside the heart were words and numbers. When Zelda took a closer look, her own heart melted. The words were actually names, the names of Faustus’s children in birth order, Prudence, Letitia, Judas, and Cordelia. The numbers beside the names were their birth dates. At the bottom of the heart, Zelda saw her own name and 2 dates; their actual anniversary and the date of their vow renewal.

“Like it?” Faustus asked.

“Like it? I may have to get 1 of those myself.”

“Ruin your flawless skin with ink? I don’t think so.”

They skinny-dipped and made love twice. Once in the water and again on the shore. The next day saw them on a plane, going home. Zelda was exhausted from her busy week so she slept a lot on the flight. Zelda was grateful as she held her baby close and with her husband beside her, she was happy they were all together.

The sun was just setting when Zelda and Faustus got to the Spellman house.

“Sabrina! Ambrose! We’re home!” Zelda called out.

However, it was Hilda who came out of the kitchen. “Zelds? Thank Hecate, you are home. We tried to reach you at the hotel, this morning, but you had already left.”

“Why Hildie? What wrong?”

“Dezmelda died this morning.”

Zelda was sad to hear it. She had been fond of the wood witch and unsuccessfully tried to convince her to rejoin the coven. Yet Hilda wouldn’t have called Rome just to tell her of the old witch’s death. Zelda sensed that there was more and she was right.

“When they went to her hut, they discovered that Dezmelda wasn’t living alone. She kind of had a roommate,” Hilda explained.

Prudence then came out with said ‘roommate’, and when Zelda saw who it was, her eyes widened and her heart leaped into her throat.

“Letitia?”

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