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ellewritesathing · 3 years

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Infernal VII

Summary: In your sleepy little town of Greendale, nothing ever slept for long. And ever since October, everything felt like it was waking up. Everything except for you, that is. One teensy trip to Hell (and an infuriatingly cute guy) later and suddenly you felt wide awake.

Word-count: 3.3k+

Masterlist Prev. | Part 7

A/N: we’re back witches

The Shores of Sorrow was never meant to be a peaceful place. It was perfectly designed to torture lost souls for eternity, to damn them to an existence where they are forgotten by all except the high tides that mercilessly embraced them. Perfectly designed for torment, and yet you felt nothing but peace as the waves washed over your feet and the sun clung to the horizon … that is, until you sensed the demon behind you.

With a quick exhale, you summoned the Harpe and let it guide your muscles to cut down your attacker as you turned. Though it had been clumsy and cumbersome when Caliban had first given it to you, you’d grown used to the weight of the sword and learned the necessity of the sickle. The Harpe was an extension of yourself.

“Careful, love.” Caliban wielded his smile as dangerously as you wielded the Harpe. He’d jumped out of the way of your blow, but his The Doors t-shirt was too slow. The Harpe tore through the right side of his shirt, barely missing his skin. “You could hurt someone like that.”

Tilting your head to the side and leveling your sword at him, you said, “That’s kind of the point, babe. Sorry about your shirt though.”

Caliban looked at the Harpe for a moment before smiling to himself and stepping backward. Kneeling down and sinking his hands into the sand, he said, “I think it suits me better this way, don’t you?” He rose with twin obsidian daggers.

“I think it would look a lot better if you weren’t threatening me.”

“I’m not threatening you. I’d like to see what those malignants have taught you.”

“Oh, would you now?”

Grinning, Caliban twirled the daggers and struck out. He was fast, but you’d been trained to be faster.

You pulled the Harpe in to block the dagger headed for your chest and swiped to knock it to one side. Caliban turned into the movement so as not to lose the blade. He circled you with a dangerous smile, searching for a weak spot. You knew he’d found one when he tossed one of the daggers in the air and caught it with an overhand grip. Yet his determination still surprised you when he lunged and aimed a strike at your side.

Dropping the Harpe, you grabbed his wrist and pulled him closer - ignoring the stinging in your side to make a play for the other dagger. Caliban laughed at the clumsy attempt until you kneed him in the gut.

Twisting out of his hold, you summoned the Harpe and readied yourself for the next attack. For a while, Caliban moved in insufferable silence, but soon he started throwing witticisms and critiques your way as well. As distracting as the words were, they kept you from overthinking. Your moves were smoother, hits were harder, and strikes quicker. Still, you were restrained; no matter how easy it would have been to lean into the Harpe’s viciousness, you couldn’t risk hurting Caliban.

The sparring only stopped once you’d knocked each other to the ground, a dagger pressed to your ribcage and the Harpe at Caliban’s throat. You were frozen, the never-setting sun washing his features in pale pink light and contrasting the flecks of gold in his eye. He smiled.

“If this were a real fight-” he pulled the dagger back to twirl around his index finger before throwing it into the sand, “I would have cut out your heart by now.”

“If this were a real fight-” you leaned down slightly, applying ever so much more pressure to the Harpe “-I would have summoned Hellfire in your lungs and watched you burn alive by now.”

With a dangerous smile of your own, you pulled the Harpe back and let it vanish as you rolled over to a seat. The sun hung ambivalently on the horizon, blanketed in clouds. With the water slowly washing the shore, you could almost forget the souls of the damned drowning further out to sea.

As you sighed, Caliban rolled on his side to face you, head cradled in his hand. He touched your elbow and ran his index finger along your arm as he said, “Summoning Hellfire is new. Last week you just threatened to stop my heart.”

Truth be told, you couldn’t have stopped his heart even if you wanted you. You’d learned to master many of the gifts Lilith had given you, but telekinesis always gave you a nasty headache. “Keeping track of my powers in case I’ll follow through one of these days?” you asked, turning to him with an easy smile. You reached over and pushed some of his hair behind his ear.

Catching your hand with his, Caliban said, “Not at all.” Carefully, deliberately, he ran his thumb across the outside of your hand, connecting the scars scattered along your skin. “I won’t mind if you do, but I only ask in a vain attempt to determine when Lilith will be satisfied with your training.”

You choked out a laugh. “Lilith is never going to be satisfied with my training.” Rolling your eyes, you moved from your seat to lie in the sand. You stared at the clouds ahead, darker than you’d ever seen in Hell. “Every time I get the hang of one ability, she comes up with some fresh punishment. I’m hoping she’ll chill out once my replacement is born.”

Caliban was quiet. He looked at you with the same curious, indecipherable expression he’d used when you met on the Shores of Sorrow; jaw clenched, mouth barely upturned, and eyes searching. You asked what he was searching for.

“I was wondering where exactly I fit in the grand plan,” he said.

“Right next to me?” He didn’t seem convinced. You reached for his hand again. “Honestly, I don’t know where I fit into the plan either, but I do know they’re showing all the Alien movies at the Paramount this Friday. Maybe you could-”

A drop of rain landed on your face, but when you wiped it away, your hand was smeared black. You bolted upright, and the world around you shook.

“Caliban, what’s happening?”

“Someone’s trying to wake you, but you have to be careful-”

Electricity cracked through your skull, the pain so overwhelming that you didn’t register the tightness in your chest at first. Every muscle in your body ached, cramping from the sudden tension. You’d only experienced this kind of pain your first time using dream manipulation, when Lilith purposely pulled you out too suddenly to teach you the dangers of the waking world.

Lilith wasn’t the one who woke you this time. The white spots faded from your vision to give way to your dad, frantic and shaking you. By the time your hearing came back, he'd moved to the window. He rocked on his heels as he peered between your curtains. His words were incomprehensible.

“Dad, what’s wrong?”

Your dad turned his whole body to look at you. He blinked twice, slowly, before saying, “Oh, good. You’re awake. All the lights are out.”

Gingerly, you tested your muscles before trying to sit up. Everything still hurt, but you could move. “Did you try messing with the breaker?”

“I was an English major,” he told you seriously.

You rolled your eyes, thankful that he was at least lucid enough to crack a joke. He’d gotten better when Lilith was still coming around, but she stopped visiting almost as soon as she started. “I’ll go see if it’s affecting anyone else or just us.”

Crawling out of bed, you waited for the world to come into focus before making your way through the house to the breaker in the garage. You were just about to open the door when the toaster dinged behind you. It was working perfectly. The fridge was cool inside, even if the light wasn’t working. The only flaw you could find with any of the appliances you checked was the lack of light.

With a shudder, you told your dad that you were going to Sabrina’s.

He’d seemed completely himself since you woke up, but now he looked at you with a glassy expression that you knew all too well. Instead of telling you to be careful or that he’d see you soon or that he loved you, he said, “The instruments of darkness tell us truths.”

“Right,” you said with a sigh. You grabbed your jacket from the back of the chair. “I’ll keep that mind.”

---

One thing that you never understood about the Spellmans was that they never locked their doors. You understood now that a lock couldn’t keep out the threats they faced and there was no need to keep out their friends, but you still smiled to yourself as you let yourself in through the backdoor. Once inside, you found Sabrina, Ambrose, Nick, and Prudence huddled around the breakfast table as Ambrose warned them against something he called the eldritch terrors.

He told them to imagine a world without light, just perpetual darkness. Chaos would follow, and eventually so would death. You shuddered at the dark clouds in your dreams. “Worse comes to worst,” he said, “We cannot allow the darkness to escape Greendale.”

Prudence promised to work with the coven to seal Greendale’s borders as Nick offered to work with the Fright Club to contain the miners. Sabrina and Ambrose would work to disperse the darkness. None of them sounded very hopeful.

You took a step forward and tried to sound braver than you felt. “I can help.”

“Okay, sure,” Sabrina said, nodding at Ambrose over her shoulder. If she was surprised to see you after lurking in the corner of her kitchen, she didn’t say anything about it. “You can help Nick look for a spell to stop the miners.”

“No, Brina, that’s not what I meant.” Taking a deep breath, you held out your hand, palm up to the sky. You summoned the Hellfire and let the dark paint the flames and your eyes black. “I can help.”

There was only one time in your life that you’d ever left Sabrina Spellman at a loss for words: you were nine years old and Billy was testing the limits of the school’s zero-tolerance bullying, Sabrina was using her words the way Aunt Hilda had told her to, and you used your push-kick the way your dad had told you to. The speechless that overcame her now, however, was a different breed. When you were young, it had been a kind of admiration; now, it was a kind of betrayal. The quiet of a broken promise.

While Sabrina was still processing how her best friend could summon Hellfire, Prudence leaned in closer. She tilted her head as she took you in, intrigued by you for the first time since you’d met her. Even as Nick dragged her out, she kept her eye on you like a cat watches a mouse. Just before she disappeared, she winked at you.

You’d been so caught up in the whirlwind that is Prudence Blackwood that you didn’t notice Sabrina’s recovery and Ambrose’s diatribe. She pointed out that even if you could keep the darkness at bay long enough for her to create light, her powers wouldn’t be enough. Ambrose argued that the consequences of her suggestion would be cataclysmic.

“Aren’t we facing something cataclysmic?” she asked.

Ambrose sighed. Sabrina, begrudgingly, had made a fair point. “How do we go about this? No one other than myself can see the two of you together.”

“Uh, hi?” You stepped forward carefully. “Could one of you please explain what’s going on?”

Sabrina looked at Ambrose uncertainly. He nodded - after rolling his eyes - and she took a deep breath. “Remember when I gave up being Queen of Hell?”

“Yeah…”

“I didn’t really do that. I broke a time loop and created another version of myself so that I, Sabrina Spellman, could have this life and she, Sabrina Morningstar, could continue being Queen of Hell.”

“Damning the rest of us to a universe that could potentially fold in on itself in the process,” Ambrose finished.

“Oh.” You couldn’t say that you weren’t surprised that there were two Sabrinas - it didn’t make sense for Caliban to tell you stories about Sabrina advocating for reforms in Hell when you’d seen in her homeroom that same morning stressing about a trig midterm - but you were surprised she’d managed to keep it a secret so long. “This explains why you were muttering about time paradoxes when we were researching the fairy circles outside the Academy,” you said to Ambrose.

All Ambrose could do was choke out a laugh and shake his head. “Yes, Scout, that is why I was muttering about time paradoxes and why I will die prematurely,” he said, turning on his heel to focus on Sabrina. “Get Sabrina Morningstar, keep contact to a minimum, and we will meet you both at the mines.”

“Got it!” With a grin, Sabrina disappeared to prepare a glamor.

Ambrose stared at her, stunned, before saying, “I think she’s actually enjoying this.”

“What’s not to enjoy?” you asked. You laughed at Ambrose’s outrage over your joke and told him you’d meet him at the mines. There was one thing you had to do before you took on the eldritch darkness.

Ambrose didn’t ask any questions; he just told you to be back as soon as possible.

Luckily for you, teleporting to Hell took almost no time at all. The only reason it took you so long to get back to the mines was that it was nearly impossible for both Lilith and Caliban to slip away from the Courts unnoticed. If getting them in a room together was nearly impossible, then getting them not to tear one another’s throats out required a miracle.

It seemed the only thing the two of them could agree on was that it was too dangerous for you to go into the darkness alone.

“I won’t be alone,” you said for the umpteenth time. Careful not to mention the other Sabrina, you explained, “I’ll have all the Spellmans with me. All I’m asking from you is …” What exactly were you asking from them? Help? Forgiveness?

Lilith rolled her eyes. “While the Spellmans may have an uncanny ability to vanquish their foes, I severely doubt their ability to ward off one of the eldritch terrors. Especially without their resident Morningstar.”

“And what exactly are you suggesting we do, Lilith?” Caliban asked. He said her name as if it were a poison. He used the same steely voice to talk to her that he used when he challenged her claim to the throne, even if he paired it with a smile in your presence.

Lilith simmered, pulling her lips into a tight smile. Some part of her, you thought, enjoyed the fact that Caliban was defiant, but you knew that an even larger part of her disliked others doubting her. Turning to you, she said, “No one other than the three of us can know about your claim to Hell. I cannot help you face the darkness, but if we bind our powers together, you may have a chance of surviving it on your own.”

“Even with your power, how would I even go about fighting something like this?” you asked. “I can’t make light.”

“You don’t need to,” Lilith said. “You can feed on the dark, acknowledge it as yours, and draw power from it.”

Caliban doused the fire building in your veins with water as he stepped forward. “The effects of absorbing that much darkness could be deadly.”

“So is doing nothing,” Lilith said. She tilted her head up to him and narrowed her eyes. “So, Prince of Clay, unless you have any better ideas, I suggest we get a move on before the eldritch dark ends us all.”

---

You weren’t sure what to expect from the other Sabrina. You’d supposed they would be the same as Wardwell and Lilith: they’d share a face and be impossibly different from one another, but that wasn’t the case. Sabrina Morningstar was an exact double of Sabrina Spellman; if anything, she seemed to be a more hopeful version of your best friend, despite her extended stay in Hell.

“I see what you mean about the energy down here,” she mused, looking ahead to where the Darkness lay. “It’s … evil. And old. I feel terrible.”

The Darkness didn’t feel evil to you. It felt sad, bottomless, and empty, but not evil.

“And that will only get worse once you’re inside,” Ambrose said. He tore his eyes away from the Darkness. “Prolonged and acute exposure to the Darkness is lethal. Death by despair.” He sighed. “So who’s first?”

Sabrina Morningstar shifted next to you. “Me.”

She squeezed your hand before letting go to pick up the giant lightbulb at her feet. She threw you a trademarked Sabrina smile before disappearing into the Darkness. Even in the pit of despair, there was a light in her that seemed utterly unable to be snuffed out.

You took a deep breath, shook every other thought out of your head, and focused on the dark. The Dark wasn’t evil, it wasn’t cold. It was pulling faces over a flashlight under the covers with Roz, Theo, and Sabrina. It was Tommy teaching you and Harvey about astronomy through a cracked telescope. It was warm, and sweet, and deeply, intrinsically sad.

The Darkness filled every cell of your being, replaying every birthday you spent wishing that your mother had loved you enough to stay, echoing every degrading word school bullies had said to you. It was smothering.

Sabrina stood right next to you, but her voice was barely audible. “Something’s wrong, Ambrose. The- the light’s fading.”

“I’m afraid so, cos,” Ambrose said.

You fought to pull yourself out of the Darkness, but it was like shedding a second skin. The Darkness felt like a part of you, more you than yourself.

The instruments of darkness tell us truths.

Breathing in, you opened your eyes and steadied yourself. The Darkness was a part of you, maybe the truest piece of you, but that’s all it was: one part of you, one version of the truth. You reached for Sabrina’s hand and forced a smile.

“Let’s go help her.”

Sabrina stepped into the Darkness first, but then she froze. She couldn’t feel the energy in the dark like you. Carefully, you led her through the Dark until you found Sabrina Morningstar, Darkness seeping out her nose and eyes. She was crying, hope snuffed out.

Hope, it turned out, took the form of Sabrina Spellman. She picked the pieces of Sabrina Morningstar off the floor and told her that they could face the Darkness, and anything else that came their way, together. And maybe with a little help, you added, as you knelt with them.

Taking their hands in yours, you drew the Darkness out of their hearts. While Sabrina Spellman hadn’t let very much in, Sabrina Morningstar had worn her heart on her sleeve. She felt every emotion the Darkness threw at her with full force and let her shattered past cut her open. Taking her Darkness was one of the hardest things you’ve ever done, but it was worth it to see the two of them smile over a lightbulb filled with Absolute Darkness.

Ambrose was a wreck when you found him again. He looked ready to cry at the sight of you. “Congratulations! Unbelievably, the three of you have managed to do what is nearly impossible: you trapped an eldritch terror.”

“We did it,” the Sabrina’s said, each squeezing one of your hands.

“We should get that lightbulb somewhere safe,” Ambrose said. He took another shaky breath and shook his head as Sabrina Morningstar scooped the Darkness up and started wading through the mines. “I can’t believe that actually worked.”

“Yeah,” you said softly, watching them disappear down the tunnel. Lifting a hand to wipe your nose, you saw the familiar sticky Darkness painting your fingertips. “Neither can I.”

Tagged: @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @miss–moose @marrypuffsstuff @harryscarolinaa @igorsbby @foji2000 @hxlalokidottir @artaxerxesthegreat @thxmagic @strawberriesandknives @xealia @hotmessindisguise @acciomaximoff @reheated-coffee @shelby-x @perseny-blog @millie-753 @luneerius @shizzybarnaclee @lettherebelovex @throughparisallthroughrome @ietss @thebookwormlife @mechanicalanimalz @mariamermaid @nqbmf @caliban-is-my-girl @shephard17895 @andie-kathleen @clockworks-world-to-fandoms @luquincy @marina468 @olivia-west-allen @drrramaaaqweeen @roxytheimmortal @blondeeee-e @piensa-bonito @supportstudies

#caos #caos rewrite #Caliban #Infernal #chilling adventures of sabrina #caliban x reader #caliban imagine

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sstrongstyle · 4 years

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𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Adam Cole x OC, mentions of Seth Rollins x OC 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: After nearly a decade of being the golden girl of WWE, Adaline Marin wants out. Their ring was no longer home, haunted by her first love and upon reaching her thirties, the face behind "Aspen Glory" wonders if the passion she once had was still ablaze. Instead, she gets sent down to NXT to join the Undisputed Era. The next three hundred and sixty-five days, all captured by cameras for the history books, become a year of revival, reinvention, and realization with her legacy at stake and a new flame from the past emerging. 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒: All characters are referred to by their real life names (for the most part) 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒: I love feedback! Please send some my way! <3 Very background heavy chapter, no real fun, but more to come. If you’re interested in being added to a tag list, let me know!

CHAPTER THREE.

June 8th, 2019

Adaline couldn't believe that she didn't just agree to this, but agreed for it to be done for an entire year. It wasn't like she cared about being in management's good graces and volunteered to do it, but she somehow got hoodwinked into agreeing to a 365 special on herself. She was the last person in the world to enjoy having cameras on her when she was out of the ring and no longer Aspen Glory. Doing interviews out of character for Adaline felt like pulling teeth. She avoided Total Divas at all costs. Even appearing on stuff like Ride Along and UpUpDownDown was difficult for her.

"Just call me the modern day Undertaker," Adaline rolled her eyes, but she smiled a bit, as she sat down for the camera.

She liked her privacy as much as any other wrestler that had cameras constantly on them, but especially since fans liked to pay extra attention to her life for whatever reason. Adaline attributed it to her once long term relationship with Colby, highly publicized at several points because of whatever dirt sheet rumours and private leaks that were thrown their way. She was quiet at all times, her Wikipedia page only covering her wrestling career, as she had been as vague about her childhood as possible in the past.

Raising an eyebrow at the producer, Craig, a few feet away, Adaline wasn't sure where to begin. "I can just talk about anything?"

Anything but the few things on the "no mention" list. Most were contributed by WWE, but a lot of other things were provided by Adaline. This included her past relationship with Colby outside of kayfabe and especially anything to do with Nikki Bella.

"Start with talking about your career so far. You can name drop companies and non-contracted performers, but only because we'll be editing whatever we don't want aired, anyway."

"Right," she shifted slightly, unsurprised. "Well, I'm turning thirty-two this fall, so this will be into my sixteenth year of doing this thing."

She wasn't exactly sure why the Network executives wanted to give her a 365 special. As far as she knew, most of the episodes were focused on wrestlers overcoming serious injuries or taking the next great step in their careers. Was this what NXT was supposed to be for her?

Craig's expression remained blank, as he pushed his semi rimless glasses higher on the bridge of his nose. "You started at sixteen years old?" His eyes never left the clipboard in front of him, where she assumed was a list of prompts to ask.

"Yeah, I dropped out of high school in the tenth grade and I worked retail and other random part time jobs for two years while training and working local shows in Toronto. Bingo halls, high school gyms, random parking lots, you know," Adaline explained further, still trying to loosen up her tense shoulders. "When I turned eighteen, I dropped everything and moved to the United States because I knew I was limited, wrestling where I was wrestling. I was an illegal alien with no plan and just a few hundred dollars—the dumb indie wrestler dream."

It'd been so long since she looked back at that time in her life. Once embarrassed by her roots, Adaline felt a warm, fuzzy feeling at the pit of her stomach and couldn't ignore the swelling of pride in her heart. She'd come far.

The look on Craig's face induced Adaline to continue, so she took a deep breath. "My early work happened in Pennsylvania, where I fought my way into gyms and I mean fought. It was really hard at that time for a woman to be taken seriously. It was guys like Drew Gulak and Jon—" Although Craig said that she was allowed to name drop non-contracted performers, she was positive that uttering the former Dean Ambrose's name wasn't worth it. "—um, who helped me learn the ropes and culture in that area. Chikara's Wrestling Factory really helped me out and I did stuff for them and other places like CZW. Drew was the head trainer at the CZW at the time and was one of the first mentor figures I had."

If Adaline had to put her money on it, she would have said that Craig was bored out of his damn mind, but then again, he had the same expression on his face ever since he walked into the room. "Did you just stay in the northeast for that portion of your career?"

"I ventured a bit more west as time went by. Definitely lingered around Illinois for a while, since it's where the top independent women's promotions were at the time. Funnily enough, I ended up living in Chicago for about ten years after that." To be with her boyfriend, but she didn't mention that. "I did some time on the west coast, not as much as I wish I did, but I definitely had some fun doing stuff in California and for a split second, Mexico. Three years into working in the States and I somehow, by a miracle, land myself in the locker room of Florida Championship Wrestling."

To this day, Adaline wasn't exactly sure how she got in. The tape that she sent the developmental recruits was god-awful and her tryout promo was more than cringy. However, looking at other people in her recruitment class, it was clear that officials and scouts looked at potential over everything—how well could they be molded into the WWE standard, the ceiling of their entertainment value. She wasn't sure if she should feel flattered that they saw that in her or not or if they simply saw that she could be easily manipulated.

"It was definitely a time down there. Difficult, yes, but I learned so much." Adaline could recall nights crying into her pillow out of frustration for where her training was going and how she was treated by the other talent. Girls often claimed how hard they were judged for being models and dancers before coming to FCW, but it was just as hard being an "arrogant indie schmuck." There weren't many women from back then who could relate to the garbage that she went through.

Craig asked, "Do you think performers then had a harder time in FCW than the recruits down in the PC and NXT today?"

She paused, taking the question in. "Not a harder time, per say, but the process is much smoother now, while being more of a burden. We have the state of the art Performance Center now, compared to that warehouse we used to train in. NXT gets so much more exposure now that it's harder to reinvent yourself at your own pace." Adaline said. "In a way, because NXT is now its own brand, I would say that talent from the FCW era were much more catty in the sense of starting drama and wanting to move up to get on the road with the main roster talent. The divas division back then was a very different culture to the women's locker room here at Full Sail, which is now very welcoming. Everyone wants to help each other, not drag them down."

There was nothing Adaline wanted to do more than expose certain names, but she held herself back. The catty environment, the hazing, the drama and sabotage, was too much for her. She was just glad that she move on from there quickly, as her memories in developmental hurt her as much as they did help her.

"And after FCW?"

Adaline grinned. "Oh, come on. Everyone knows what happened after that."

For the first few years, she was afraid that the only reason she got lumped in with The Shield was because she was Colby's long term girlfriend and that they assumed he would be most comfortable with her as their valet. After all, Adaline wasn't exactly progressing as a character in FCW. She was scared of that, and only being considered as eye candy and a side item for the boys. It took years of understanding from other people and seeing the product in the eye of the executives that they truly must have seen potential in her.

And if all of the above were true anyway, then Adaline made damn sure to prove herself to be otherwise in the past few years.

"My time with The Shield was everything I could ask for and more. I'm glad I spent that portion of my career with those guys, I don't think I could have found my way around without them. We were all definitely kind of lost, but we had each other, and we were really family." She wanted to say are family, but things were different these days.

Adaline talked to Joe the most, at least up until her move to the yellow and black brand. He texted and checked up on her often while she was off TV. Jon came here and there, but things were different. She only kept up with him through Renee, since the man clearly had yet to discover how to reply to a text.

Then, there was Colby.

Things were good the first couple months after the big finale. As fine as they could be, really. They were on different brands leading up to Wrestlemania, which contributed tremendously to the smooth sailing. After the Royal Rumble, though, things got. . . weird and of course, she hadn't known it yet, but it was around the time he started seeing Becky.

"Hey, Becks, some of the girls are going back to my hotel room after the show," Adaline had tapped Becky on the shoulder after catching her outside of the trainer's room during the later hours of Elimination Chamber. "You gonna come and kick my ass in Mario Kart?"

For whatever reason, Becky's expression dropped. "Oh, uh, actually, I'm just gonna head back to mine. Call it in early, y'know?" Tripping over her words, the fluster in her voice was a tad suspicious to Adaline, but she brushed it off.

She'd proceeded with her plans with Pamela and Leah, playing video games into the early morning. Adaline didn't even think of Becky and her obvious excuse until Leah mentioned that she ran into Becky on her way back to her own room.

"It was written all over her face! Someone definitely got lucky that night," Leah mused at the makeup table, two days later at Smackdown. "Who do you think the guy is? She's definitely not one for random hookups."

Adaline knew that she wasn't owed an explanation to Colby's new love life, but she was a little disappointed that she figured it out on her own. The little things, the rumours she heard backstage, all pieced together for her to realize what was going on between the two of them. Maybe Adaline wouldn't have felt so ruffled about it if it wasn't made to be so weird and secretive. She didn't tell anyone what she found out, keeping it to herself until they announced it themselves.

"Stop making excuses for him, I know why he's late." She didn't even look up from her phone, as she waited in the passenger's seat of the group's rental car. "He's with her, right?"

This was at the tail end of The Shield's farewell era in February earlier that year. Though, Adaline was not heavily involved in the storyline as some expected her to be—the escalation to her own Wrestlemania feud had been going on and she had duties to fulfill on the Smackdown brand. She wasn't there for the buildup throughout the month on Raw, but she was able to join the reunion at Fastlane. It was the group's last match together and the group begged personnel to let her be apart of at least the final moments.

Joe and Jon simply exchanged looks with each other in response. They clearly knew about the couple and probably found out from Colby himself. While nobody said anything to Adaline about it, deep down, they all knew that nobody needed to. She knew Colby more than possibly any other person in the world and the two weren't surprised that she figured it all out.

"Right." Jon was the one who chose to break the awkward silence. "Well, he can meet us there. Let's get this show on the road, we got some beautiful people waiting to see my beautiful face at that bar." It felt a little wrong to not wait for Colby on their way to the roster's "Goodbye Shield" party at a local watering hole, but even Joe was sick of waiting and started the engine.

"We had the time of our lives in that initial run. There's just too memories that I'll cherish forever, you know. But, my memory of all time is surprising the fans at Fastlane, when I showed up to accompany the boys to the ring one last time and having that farewell embrace as the show went off air." Adaline quickly blinked back the tears, as sensitive as ever, but she didn't like showing that side of her to the camera. "I swear to god, time seemed to just completely stop for those few minutes. It was out of this world, nothing like it."

The most magical part of wrestling was the crowd, there's no denying that. On the eve of Fastlane, Adaline felt mountains of love and excitement from the fans, knowing that they were witnessing the end of an era. All four of them knew it was the end of an era, in many ways more than one. Adaline and Colby, who were always known as a collective, rather than individually, were now apart and were now moving on from each other. Mox chose to chase his dreams elsewhere, away from the three that became his family. Joe's legacy in the industry was building and building, year by year. They were no longer the people they were in 2012, having finally gotten a taste of wealth and glory after early years of struggle when the four used to share a single hotel room to save costs.

She'll always be grateful for her run with The Shield. At the beginning, she was just happy to be in a main roster storyline. She was just happy to be able to maximize her time with Colby. Beyond that, Jon and Joe became her family. Bickering over who's turn it was to drive after long house shows, getting to know Joe's kids, playing video games in the locker rooms and every hotel room, and nobody leaving the trainer's room until everybody was clear. No one got left behind.

Back then, it was like that. Now? Adaline can't help but feel like she's come to that point, without any of the three by her side for the first time in a decade.

Craig sighed a little too loudly, rolling up his sleeve and glancing at the shiny watch on his wrist. "We're running out of time. We'll touch on your time with The Authority and everything since then for our next interview day, maybe also dig a little deeper into your new alliance with Undisputed Era." Adaline tried not to breathe a sigh of relief, already worn out from the questions. "Last thing. What are your expectations going into NXT, considering all that you've gone through in sixteen years?"

A question that she didn't know the answer to.

"It's good catching up with you. You have your locker number?" Coach Bloom stood up from his chair from across the desk, extending his hand for Adaline to shake.

She nodded, taking his hand. "Yes, sir. I'll be on my way, then."

Being called into the head trainer's office was similar to the feeling of being called into the principal's office and she had more fear in her body than someone who had just arrived should have had. That was the feeling that Bloom gave off to all NXT residents, but she knew that there was always care behind his tough demeanour. He simply wanted to welcome her properly to the PC on her first official day.

Meanwhile, Serena had been sitting to the side of the two of them and she couldn't confine the grin stretching across her face. When they had shook hands, she instead pulled her old friend into a tight embrace.

"I'm so happy you're here," she whispered into her ear, not caring that Bloom was rolling his eyes at them, mumbling about something for the two women to take it outside of his office.

They had only reunited so few times since Serena signed on as a coach for the Centre a year ago and it only made the moment feel so much sweeter. At the very beginning of Adaline's career, Serena had served as such a helpful mentor figure, even going into their short lived time in the FCW women's locker room together. To have their paths intersect once again, at yet another pivotal part in Adaline's life, seemed poetic in a sense.

Adaline walked out of the office, in tow with Serena. "I guess I'll be responding to your drills again, huh?"

"And you better do it damn well," she raised an eyebrow at the younger woman. "I'm still in shock that you're here. They really didn't want you going anywhere else, huh?"

Shrugging in response, the Canadian sighed. "I'm in shock, too—considering that NXT wasn't apart of the plan." Adaline was getting tired complaining about how the wool was pulled over her eyes during her contract negotiations, but it was starting to fully settle in. Meeting the guys in Hunter's office softened the blow. It was time to shut up and accept the facts.

"People everywhere watched what you did all over the world during those two years that you were gone. You don't need this company to be a star, they need you," Serena said. "Have you maybe considered that you're here because you did all you could do on RAW and Smackdown?"

Those words echoed in Adaline's head, as she trudged into the women's locker room.

It had almost ten years since she started this journey in this company and it seemed like almost everybody that started with her had already grown tired of it. Her first road wives, April and Celeste, were long gone. Danielle decided that she was worn out and was gone. Trinity had recently taken time off and wasn't sure when she was coming back to the ring. Saraya, someone who Adaline thought would be wrestling in her sixties, was retired. Even the goddamn Bellas weren't around anymore. Ninety percent of the division from a decade ago was gone. Wasn't she exhausted, too?

She envied women like Becky and Pamela, who were still hungry for more. There were others who had just made the main roster and some down with her in NXT now, who suffered through the struggles of the indies and were still ready to claw up to the top. Adaline wondered where that drive was for her.

Every locker was labelled by ring name, some with more long-standing plates—mainstays like Io Shirai and Bianca Belair. Meanwhile, others simply had a laminated piece of paper slapped on top of the metal. These were the recruits who had yet to prove themselves, the names that Adaline couldn't recognize.

A shiny, new plate shone on the locker that sat at the corner of the room. Aspen Glory, it read, in all of its permanent lustre.

She slammed her gym bag onto the bench, the impact echoing throughout the empty room. The process felt foreign, making a locker home when Adaline spent so many years travelling to probably hundreds of different arenas and treating each space and moment as temporary. She wasn't sure where to begin, as she unlocked the door and was met with a clean, baby blue interior.

There were some basic things that she brought, like extra socks, a water bottle, and shower shoes. Adaline quickly filled the locker up with these contents and it still appeared so barren to her. What the hell else was she supposed to put in it? She shrugged, not thinking too much about it. Then, she heard the door creak open.

Somewhat hidden away from the front of the locker room, Adaline could hear a distinct voice that seemed to be talking to someone over the phone and a smile formed, hoping it was who she thought it was.

"Yeah, that sounds good for dinner. I just got into the PC, I think Cheree's already waiting for me. You know how she is, she's always early. Alright, bye, Johnny, I love you. See you."

A flash of blonde hair only confirmed Adaline's suspicions. It was Candice LeRae, who hummed the melody of a 90s pop song and chewed bubblegum, as she strolled over without noticing the other female in the room. She easily unlocked her name plated locker, which was across from Adaline's, and nearly everything spilled out from it being too full.

She groaned. "Oh, crap," Candice said, trying to chase a bottle of dry shampoo that had begun rolling across the floor, only to be met with Adaline's bemused expression.

"Hi."

"Hey," Candice replied with a grin, a little perplexed.

Almost instantaneously, they pulled each other into a hug. Knowing that she would be diving head first into the unknown, Adaline was aware that she couldn't navigate all on her own. The two Breezango idiots were too busy figuring their own things out and she couldn't voice her anxiety to her new stable mates, wanting to give off a confident face. There were only so many people that Adaline could turn to outside of them, so she gave Candice a heads up that she was now reporting to the Performance Centre.

Adaline bent down and reached out for the lavender can for her shorter friend, passing it to her. "Your shit's a mess, girl."

"Yours will be, too. Give it a month," she rolled her eyes and peeked over her shoulder at Adaline's belongings on the bench. "You're moving in today?! I honestly did not expect to see you here so soon."

"I told you that I landed a few days ago, didn't I? I've been in meetings all weekend," Adaline replied with a groan. She had only been in Orlando for such a short amount of time and the amount of work and settling she had to do was taxing. The NXT tapings hadn't even begun, yet.

Candice said, "Yeah, it doesn't really slow down for another week or so. You'll love it here, I promise." As everyone else had promised Adaline, who clearly wasn't convinced.

The blonde turned around and put the can back into its place—if it even had one, in that mess of a locker—and began rummaging through her personal possessions. Candice let a out a soft a-ha! when she found what she was looking for at the back of the space, a Minnie Mouse hairbrush. Adaline chuckled softly at the sight and turned around, closing her own locker.

"Are you off to go workout?"

"Yeah, Cheree's wanted to get some cardio in. Any more meetings today?" Candice replied.

Adaline shook her head. "No, just moving in." She gestured to her gym bag and locker.

"Well, while you're here, the taping schedule is posted up by the west wing double doors, you know, the ones to the main gym. We can check it out together. Actually, would your name even be on there?" Candice thought to herself, considering that she was one of the few people who were made aware of Adaline's presence. The taping schedule wasn't usually subject to the change unless there was an injury, but producers were known edited the cards last minute to accommodate random returns and debuts before, at least once the talent found out.

The woman in question just shrugged in response. "Beats me. It doesn't hurt to look, right?"

"Then, we can check out the travel schedule. Ooh, I hope you're coming with us to the midwest loop at the end of the month!" Candice became giddy. "We'll hit the road together, no men! I wish we got to do that more often when you were in Cali."

Adaline didn't get the opportunity to do so often, but she loved wrestling in The Golden State and especially in PWG. When she worked with them in the past, she always travelled and hung out with Candice.

"I don't think so, but probably the next one?" she shrugged.

The two began chatting more for the next few minutes, mostly about Adaline settling in and her new house. Always the lazy type, she'd been procrastinating and the boxes in her home were left untouched, despite her promising herself that she would get it all out. The small talk about something other than wrestling for once settled the restlessness in Adaline, a small distract of sorts.

It wasn't like she disliked talking about wrestling, rather it was all that seemed to be on her mind for the past while since Wrestlemania. Somehow, it was the first time Adaline really took notice of that, considering she lived, breathed, and ate wrestling for the past sixteen years of her life. A part of her felt worrisome for the sudden awareness of it, wondering it had any relation to her other career concerns.

Unfortunately, the brief, sweet wrestling-free moment was cut short when the locker room door slammed open.

Everyone knew who Shayna Baszler was, or at least, every woman in the company did. After all, the current NXT Women's Champion was probably next in line to overtake your spot in the animal kingdom. Management wanted to push her to lead the division once she would inevitably leave NXT and become a box office draw for all of the big pay-per-views and tours and media.

Some said that Shayna was one of, if not, the most intimidating women on the NXT roster and bore a vicious gaze. Even upon entering the locker room that was nearly empty, her presence demanded attention. All eyes drew to her so naturally and so quickly as they tore away from her out of fear.

"Out of my way," was all she had to say to Adaline, not even flinching at the sight of the veteran and former women's champion.

Adaline zoned out for a moment, completely baffled by the attitude that she was just given. She couldn't help but scoff, trying to process the disrespect that was being shown to her.

She narrowed her eyes at Shayna. "The hell did you just say to me?"

In between them, Candice just sighed. It seemed like that she wanted to end what was going to be an ugly dispute early, but something held her back. Adaline hoped it wasn't out of intimidation by the former mixed martial artist.

Shayna stared back at the woman in front of her. "You think you can just waltz in here and act like you got this brand on lock? They get tired of you on the main roster and Japan couldn't offer you enough money, so you come down here to fuck around?"

Adaline wanted to find out how Shayna found out that she was going to be here, but that wasn't the main concern of hers. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground, hearing Shayna's words. Clearly, she didn't like her or some rumours already began to float around backstage. Regardless, Adaline was already on the bad side of the de facto locker room leader.

With the fury running through her body, though, she didn't give a damn.

"I'm going to say this once, so you better listen up," Shayna began, "I think you're entitled. I think that you've ridden on the coattails of your ex-boyfriend for your entire career. So, I don't like you. Plain and simple."

"You think you know me?" Adaline's voice began to rise, but Shayna held up a hand and didn't let her finish.

She said, "Maybe for you, being here is like a little vacation before someone like Ashley Flair gets injured and creative will need another spoiled brat to bury their women's division with on Smackdown. For some of us, NXT is our entire lives. Don't mess that up for us."

With that, Shayna bumped Adaline's shoulder when she walked away to the other side of the room and behind a wall to another area of lockers. All she could hear after was the stomping of boots and the slamming of a metal door open. Meanwhile, she was in complete shock of the conversation that just happened, wondering if she just imagined it.

Looking at Candice's sheepish expression, though, it confirmed that Shayna Baszler did indeed strut right up to Adaline and cussed out one of the scariest warnings that the latter had ever heard in her life.

"Honestly, she gives that talk to every new girl," Candice said in a low voice, as she ushered Adaline out of the locker room.

"You can't be serious," Adaline shot back, still worked up over what happened. It took all the will in her body to not barge right back in and swing at Shayna's smug face.

The target was now on her back and she had yet to even step into the yellow brand's ring. If she was being honest, it was definitely a wake up call to where she was now and the expectations weighing down on her shoulders. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't even want to be here. Adaline wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was terrified for the first time in years.

#adam cole imagine #adam cole fanfiction #adam cole x reader #wwe fanfic #nxt fanfic #wwe imagine #hm series

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that-wizard-oki · 4 years

Note

oh man oki i'm doing mirror lake again and. wow morganthe really does sound SO EXCITED at the idea of our wizard joining her. like. can you imagine what a good friend she could have been to us. dark ki give us the forbidden morganthe friendship we deserve in arc 4

I may have said this before, but the amount that the Wizard’s life reflects Morganthe’s own experiences in her youth (even after her banishment) is quite frankly the most intense narrative device in the game, and yet it get SO LITTLE attention.

Even the setting of which this takes place- Mirror Lake- both characters are literally reflecting each other.

Most of y’all know that I think Morganthe was under the control of Old Cob/The Shadow Web during the time between the events of her third dream to her Big Fall *coughs*, so her actions in this moment were fueled by how Cob manipulated her mind and memories to aid him by the end of arc 2. However, this control is not seamless.

Morganthe wasn’t just a spurned arachnid. She was a mystical mystery within the spiral, not even Merle Ambrose knew how to teach her properly. Her being controlled by the shadow web that Cob governed, even in his imprisonment, took a lot of his willpower, so there were times when Morganthe’s actual consciousness would peak out.

Mirror lake was one of them; I think Morganthe’s dialogue where she reaches out to our wizard for cooperation was part of her conciousness crying out for help, or at the very least leaving a clue for the wizard to think “Why would an all powerful queen want MY help?” - to which has a few answers, one being she needed help and was suffering secret, but also to connect with the wizard about the loneliness they both share.

Loneliness is one of the biggest shared traits the wizard and Morganthe have between one another. Morganthe has spent her whole life jumping from one environment and companions to the next, each one someone gets hurt because of her existence. Our wizard, while we are more in control of our powers, have also done the same- meeting friends, leaving them, being exposed to dangers that shape them. The main difference is that Morganthe was rejected for her great power, and our wizard is praised for it.

While Morganthe does have a resentment towards our wizard for this, I think she knows that the fault is in the one doing the teaching, the one who raises you. You’ll notice, much of her dialogue for our wizard involved talking down to us, and then criticizing Merle Ambrose. The funny thing is that Morganthe is kinda right- he did banish her instead of actually helping her find out why she couldn’t control astral magic. Instead he sent her away to fend for herself, and eventually (and he doesnt even KNOW this, but,) she was used for her power by both colridge and later cob for their own gains. :(

On the flip side, there is a sense that Merle has a regret for his banishment of Morganthe in how he treats the wizard. He LETS our wizard face anything, LETS us lean astral magic when we find it for ourselves. The remorse he might have later felt after seeing how Morganthe “turned out” because of his strictness and later his ignorance, he thought being more loose with us would have a better outcome. However, the wizard is still alienated from the lfie of a normal ravenwood student like Morganthe was- we both were so inexplicably powerful that we cannot connect or stay connected with others unless it is for their own personal gain.

That- that is the sense of loneliness that Morganthe saw in our wizard’s eyes when in Mirror Lake, because she has seen those eyes before in her own reflection :)

And also- i definitely have not gone into this because the bulk of arc 3 happened while i was in college and i simply didn’t have the time nor the energy to talk about it- but the almost utter erasure of Morganthe character in Arc 3 is... so sad. The intense bond that Morganthe, the Wizard, AND Mellori, could have shared by defeating the primordial god that manipulated all three of them, as well as the three of them being able to discover their true selves with eachothers support, is so moving and it was something that we didn’t get. Don’t get me wrong, arc 3 slaps, and it is very moving and i love all the characters we got to know, but I was very upset that Morganthe had such an intense relationship with Shadow magic AND old cob, yet she was just. Not there. The amount our wizard could have learned from her, our wizard getting to bond with her over their shared struggles, and also Morganthe getting to help and validate Mellory over her 1. Not knowing why she was so important and 2. why her manipulative father wanted to use her similarly how he used Morganthe JUST to get to our wizard..... it’s all so much and i know i’m rambling here but WOW.... the missed opportunity here, imo, is huge.

Anyway, here’s to Arc 4 actually giving us those things because i will die on this hill quite frankly :’D

#wizard101 #oki answers a thing #anon #i'm sorry anon i didn't mean to go off but GOD.... i have so many thoughts

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beyondconfessor · 4 years

Text

The Infernal Contact [9/16]

Rating: Explicit

Pairing: Lilith/Zelda Spellman

Summary: A muffled roar of laughter came from inside, and Zelda closed her eyes, willing the party to end. She didn't know how she could return to that room, next to that woman. Every minute next to her felt like slow, drawn foreplay between them.

N.B.: Also posted on AO3

Zelda smoothed down her dress as another knock came to the door. She'd spent the whole day organising everything and had just managed to get dressed in time for the first guest to arrive.

Aldrich had been the first and had begun by loudly lamenting her marriage, before reminding her of all the fun they used to do when they were young.

Faustus had moved the conversation away from that and politely flattered Aldrich for his growing factions in the Northern churches, given that there had once been a time when Aldrich, Faustus and Edward had all bid to become the High Priest for Greendale's flock.

By the time the two men had wandered down their own memory lane of opium dens and absinthe-laced nights, further guests had arrived, providing Zelda with a much-needed exit from their conversations as she fluttered around the room, making necessary introductions of the guests to each other.

So far, half of the dozen had arrived and were politely nibbling on hors d' oeuvres as they discussed their covens, flaunting what wealth and pride they had to offer while simultaneously trying to sound modest––a feat few could accomplish.

As she opened the door, Zelda was prepared to greet one of the few guests remaining and came to a stop upon realising which guest as pointedly decided to show up.

"Lilith," she said tightly, pretending that she hadn't spent half of the previous night thinking of her. And half of the day hoping the woman would remain absent.

Lilith smirked and took a moment to slowly run her eyes down Zelda's attire before dragging them up to look at her. "Don't you look good enough to eat."

Zelda rolled her eyes, hating the reaction that spilled across her cheeks as she opened the door wider and allowed the woman to enter. Lilith's eyes tracked over the room, glancing at the individuals before she turned back to Zelda. "What a lovely party."

"I didn't think you would make it."

"And miss this?" Lilith laughed. "No, I expect tonight will be quite interesting."

Zelda ignored the connotation, gesturing to the servers in the room. "Well, there's wine and food. We'll be dining soon, once the last guests arrive."

"Of course," Lilith stepped into the parlour, making her way into the centre of the room and introducing herself to the other covens' central figures, likely more familiar with them than they realised.

Her perfume lingered, however, and Zelda felt a familiar warmth pool low in her belly. An incessant thought rose before she could prevent it and it was all she could do to not snatch at the woman's wrist and drag her back to the doorway.

Shutting the front door, Zelda drew in a breath and walked back over to where Faustus was sitting, perching herself on the arm of his chair. His hand came up to settle against her as he eagerly recounted a favoured story of a wild bear that made its way into the Academy.

Since this morning, Faustus had been in a good mood, likely believing the magicked dream to be a memory. He'd flattered her, asked her opinion and had even thanked her for the opportunity of tonight. It was almost as if Ambrose's almost-execution and the attempted Caligari spell hadn't been enacted.

But they had, and as much as she was pleased to have manipulated him, Zelda knew it wouldn't last. Sooner or later, their respective knives would return to each other's throats.

As Faustus came to the end of his story, he set his hand on her lower back but made no effort to invite her into the conversation. Not that she cared, she was hardly sure of what he was talking about as her eyes tracked Lilith on the other side of the room, watching her hand touch over Saul's forearm before throwing her head back in laughter.

Zelda flicked her eyes away, clenching her jaw. She should have known that Lilith would use this as her personal buffet, seducing one prominent figure or another.

"Zelda," Faustus said, poking at her back to grab her attention.

She turned and faced him, a smile on her face. "Yes?"

"The door," he said.

Zelda pushed off the armchair, walking over to the foyer. She opened the door as the last of the expected guests arrived, apologising for getting lost as they'd ended up on the other side of the Academy and had to ask directions from a student.

"No mind at all," Zelda said. "There's wine and the hors d 'oeuvres are just over there."

"Ooh, little quiches," one of the warlocks said, rushing off to where the food had been sat. His wife sighed and turned back to Zelda, giving a thank you before following her husband.

Prudence came over to Zelda with a firm, polite smile on her face as she asked, "What is that woman doing here?" while vaguely gesturing to Lilith who was currently admiring Augustina's bracelet. Zelda clenched her fists, ready to either hex Augustina, or kick Lilith out. She wasn't sure and hadn't made up her mind either way.

"Your father invited her," she said strained. "Apparently they know each other."

"Why would my father know some excommunicated witch?" she said, enunciating 'excommunicated' so Zelda knew what word she intended instead.

Zelda watched as Lilith turned and looked at her, smiling at Zelda with an annoying smug grin, daring her to kick her out. "I have no idea," Zelda lied. "But she's a guest and therefore is staying, as much as we detest it." She turned and faced Prudence. "Just stay away from her. I have her sitting at the opposite end of the dining table, next to Saul."

Which probably wasn't a good idea in its own right. Saul was a perceptive man and would likely interrogate Lilith. Perhaps she should move her next to Augustina?

The very thought was nauseating, but she couldn't very well have her sitting directly across from her. Faustus was at the head of the table, with Prudence to his right and Zelda to his left, signifying their relationship quite purposefully.

Prudence quirked her head in interest, "I think you should check your seating plan, Lady Blackwood. Last I saw she was sitting next to you."

"That's impossible, I set the table and intentionally..." Zelda trailed off, already knowing what had occurred. Turning, she shot a look to Lilith, but the woman wasn't facing her to see it. She was too busy overtly flirting with Augustina in front of the witch's husband.

"I see," she said and smoothed down her skirt. She stepped away from Prudence, moving towards the dining room to fix the table setting before anyone knew what had ––

"Thank you, everyone," Faustus said, rising from his chair. Zelda paused and turned to face him. "I believe my wife is preparing to open the dining room up for us to begin?" he asked, giving her a purposeful look.

"I am," she agreed tightly, withholding a defeated sigh as she turned and opened up the dining room.

Prudence gave her an ironic look but remained standing where she was to allow the guests to enter the dining room one-by-one, taking their place.

Zelda watched as Lilith passed by the doorway, making a show of looking for her seat before sitting down, next to where Zelda's placement was. She fiddled with the cutlery, adjusting the serviette on the plates and then smiled to the warlock on her other side.

Zelda closed her eyes for a moment, feeling the anxiety pull in her at having to sit beside the woman. It was bad enough that her perfume was enough to turn her head. To be so close as to brush elbows would not end well.

The idea of sitting next to her and smelling that perfume was dangerous. To have her close enough to touch was worse.

Zelda fixed at her dress again, looking to where Faustus was.

She waited for him to enter beside her before taking her seat, sliding it neatly forward before reaching out to the glass of wine being poured by the serving staff.

From the corner of her eye, she could see Lilith whispering to the warlock beside her. There was a paused, and then a throaty chuckle before she sat back in her chair as if they'd whispered a private joke to one another.

Zelda averted her eyes, turning to stare at Faustus and placed her own, pleased smile on her face as he rose and made a toast. The servants then came around, setting out the first course and topping up glasses.

"Thank you, friends, for sharing this meal with me. I would like to first share my deepest gratitude to Zelda, who made all of this possible, and to Prudence who dutifully helped at her side." Zelda looked to Prudence, watching the girl flush pleased with the appreciation from her father, unlikely to realise it was just line he had to feed to the covens. "And now, let us say thanks for our meal."

Zelda bowed her head, shutting her eyes as Faustus began to speak.

"Dark Lord, we thank you for this meal," he began, and Zelda would usually have listened to the prayer, ready to add the necessary Praise Satan at the end, had she not felt the toe of a ruby-red heel slide against her calf.

Eyes flying open, she looked first to Faustus and then to Prudence, ensuring their heads were bowed and their eyes closed in respect before she looked to Lilith. The woman had her head bowed, hands clasped together to signify prayer, but her head had tilted to meet her gaze.

Zelda moved her leg away, tucking it to the other side of the chair before returning to bow her head and clasp her hands together, shutting her eyes after giving Lilith a harsh glare.

"...you for the safe travels, may you guide them home. Praise Satan."

"Praise Satan," Zelda said, opening her eyes and looking up, adjusting herself on the seat.

Faustus sat down and raised his knife and fork, before turning to look at Samuel and striking up a conversation with him about his Coven's practices coming up to Spring. Zelda lifted her own cutlery and began the first course.

Lilith remained well behaved beside her through the first course, speaking with those nearby about their general world. She kept her shoulders turned away from Zelda, intentionally excluding her from whatever conversation she'd struck up.

It didn't bother her.

Zelda was thankful for the meal, allowing her self time to keep from fidgeting as she listened to Faustus carefully slip in parts of his doctrine –– having listened to her, it seemed, and chosen polite discourse on Satanic texts as a way to guide his philosophies.

He began with his favoured Book of Judas, coming from a central pillar of thought that he would expand on.

"It's not true," Lilith said beside her, quiet enough that only Zelda could hear.

Zelda turned and looked at her. "What isn't?"

"Everything he's saying, obviously."

"It's a direct quote from the Book of Judas."

"Yes, well, it's not true. Few things in that book are."

Zelda raised her glass of wine to her lips, holding her tongue. In this only, would she defer to Lilith's wisdom. Although the woman could just be cauldron stirring for all she knew.

"Did you know him?" she asked, setting her glass down.

"Hardly," Lilith answered with a smile. But the expression seemed private as if she remembered something painful.

Silence held between them, and Zelda wasn't sure if she should fill it with something or turn back to Faustus.

She watched as Lilith turned away first, speaking to the warlock on her right.

Zelda turned her attention to Faustus and listened as he spoke candidly about his hopes for the church, making implications about reforms he was looking to put in place.

Zelda sighed, catching sight of a few of the occupants' brows rising high into their hairline as they shared noncommital looks with one another. It wouldn't bode well for his election as Anti-Pope at this rate. In usual circumstances, she would try to mitigate the damage, but if she intervened at the wrong moment, he was likely to retaliate against her, jeopardising both their positions.

Perhaps it was best to let him dig this political grave, and fix it behind closed doors.

"And of the witches?" Lilith asked.

Faustus stopped and looked to the woman, trying to hide his frustration at being interrupted. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Just that all of that talk was about warlocks, and I don't mean to be rude, but most of the population of your covens are...witches are they not? So what are these new reforms going to do in favour of them?"

Faustus swallowed, apparently realising that those reforms would be a harder sell. Zelda grabbed her glass and took a drink, not liking where this was headed.

"Surely you have some idea?" Lilith prompted.

"If you let me speak, I would advise that my intention is..." but his words faded from Zelda's ears as she felt a hand slide over her knee.

Zelda turned and looked to the woman, but Lilith was tilting her head attentively at Faustus, drinking in whatever was being said, even though Zelda could see plainly that it was her hand slipping underneath the material of her dress.

Zelda pressed her thighs together, folding her hands on the table in an attempt to discreetly cover the action. Surely, Lilith didn't intend to do that, not at the dinner table, not when Faustus was staring right at them and arguing about the semantics of Salome's role in the bible.

Lilith's fingers continued to climb, and as they reached over her stockings, to where the strip of skin laid. Her nail tips began to draw a circling pattern over her thigh in a deliberate attempt to arouse her.

Zelda felt the nerves electrified, casting a shiver down her spine.

The warm feeling from deep in her belly was rapidly increasing, and Zelda wasn't sure if she wanted her to stop.

She should stop her.

And yet, she didn't.

She turned her head, avoiding looking at the woman as she tried to listen to Faustus, but despite her attempts, all she could focus on was the fingertips circling on her thigh, edging closer to the lace underwear, but at an excruciatingly slow pace.

She pressed her thighs tighter, crossing her legs in an attempt to catch the hand still. But Lilith slipped across her thigh, her nails snapping over the ties to her garter belt.

Squirming in the seat, Zelda reached for her glass of wine.

"-why it would be preferred. Isn't that right Zelda?"

The hand slipped away, and Zelda smiled up over at Faustus. "Of course," she agreed.

Faustus nodded, pleased with her response and Zelda sat back in her seat, smiling as she tugged down her skirt and flicked a loose curl over her shoulder. When Faustus turned to answer a question from the other side of the table, Zelda leaned to her right, hissing low between a smile, "what in Satan's name do you think you're doing?"

"Enjoying the salad," Lilith replied, using two fingers to pop a cherry tomato into her mouth.

Zelda resigned to set her cutlery down upon the plate, to let the staff know she was done. When Faustus did the same, they cleared the dishes from the table and began topping up wine glasses again.

The conversation drifted between the occupants, Faustus leading the topics of discussion with politics and philosophy to show off his witticism. It was perhaps heavy-handed, but the ideas were researched and convincing, so Zelda smiled, making small additions when it was appropriate for her to contribute.

When the main course was served, the topic moved to the concerns the different covens were having. Rising infant mortality rates, witch hunters appearing in higher numbers, the fey migrating out of this realm.

Faustus responded concisely with how he planned to fix the problems. His grand idea of the infant mortality rates was the implication of re-instating harems into the community for high ranking warlocks—an idea he had never once shared with her.

Zelda took a sip of wine, masking her expression.

"Would that make you the wife…or the concubine?" Lilith whispered next to her ear. Zelda shivered, turning to face her.

"His wife," she hissed.

"Are you so sure?" she asked, and Zelda watched as she took a sip from the glass of water, smiling prettily at her. Zelda felt her stomach twist as she looked back to Faustus, wondering if he would downgrade her status.

He couldn't — surely. But who was she to pretend they saw each other as equals? If Rome taught her anything, it was that Faustus would stop at nothing to get his way.

"Well when he bores of you, I'm sure you'll make a lovely nursemaid for his children."

Zelda's head whipped to face hers, watching the gleaming smile grow and grow on her mouth. "I should-" she hissed.

"Oh, please do elaborate," Lilith said,

Had they been anywhere else, she would have taken pleasure in expelling her loudly from the house. But Lilith knew as well as her that causing a scene would only reflect poorly on Faustus.

After all, Lilith was an invited guest. Technically.

Zelda swallowed the threat and looked back to the meal, subtly looking around the room to see if anyone else noticed what had occurred. But as she cast her eyes around, it looked as though everyone seemed to be enjoying their meal, telling anecdotes, and discussing politics—everything she'd wanted and expected.

Good.

"Such a divine meal," Lilith said after a lull in the conversation, taking a bite of the meat. Agreement broke out across the table, from both witches and warlocks. Zelda flushed, pleased that her handwork had paid off only to turn to Faustus to see his gloating smile.

"You're quite welcome, only the best for my esteemed guests," Faustus said.

Zelda bit the inside of her cheeks, trying to not look as annoyed as she felt. After all, she had planned the meals, the drink pairings, had the house in order, sent out the invitations, but obviously, this was all a credit to her husband.

"Did you plan this?" Lilith asked of him.

"I did, with the help of my beautiful wife, of course."

"Of course," Lilith said in agreement. "And what's the sauce here, it really binds the salt of the meat against the caramel without being tooth-achingly sweet," she commented. "I'd love the recipe."

Zelda flushed at the compliment. She'd altered the receipt after morning tea with Agatha and Dorcas when they mentioned they mentioned how candy-sweet the original recipe was.

Faustus smile froze, "I don't think we could part with the recipe," he advised.

"Such a shame. Well, at least tell me how you cooked this meat, it's absolutely divine, and I've had nothing like it in my time at Greendale. It's so tender, but without that awful texture, you know?"

"Trade secret, I'm afraid."

"Of course, well at least tell me if it's pork or veal — I've always been awful at telling these kinds of things," Lilith said as she popped a piece of meat in her mouth and stared up at him with a faux-innocent expression, smirking as he grew more and more furious with her.

Zelda couldn't help but enjoy how he squirmed, the vein in jaw popping as he strained to hold his smile. But it wouldn't do well to let him be utterly humiliated.

"It's pork," Zelda answered for him. "You asked me to buy it from that butcher, Faustus."

"So I did," Faustus nodded, but she doubted they had anyone fooled.

"Pork? Truly, now I would never have guessed," Lilith said smiling at her before she took a sip of wine There was an awkward silence that followed as a few of the guests shared an amused smirk quietly to one another, but politely refrained from commenting.

Faustus adjusted himself at the table, cutting the meat with more force than required. Just as the silence was about to become unbearable, Prudence commented about the rising full-moon and inquired as to what the other covens did for their Summer Solstice.

The topic moved as the covens explained the differences in their rituals to Prudence, making commendations about how pleasant it was to see young witches take an interest in the holidays of old. Prudence grew proud with the compliments, and for a moment, Zelda wondered if it might do well to have Prudence take a leave of absence from her education and explore the world.

She'd done something similar at her age, exploring the European and Southern American covens, learning all she could from the great minds about their Dark Lord. Sabrina was still too young, had too much to learn about the world of man and mortals before Zelda could feel comfortable allowing her to flee. But Prudence wasn't nearly so naive.

Zelda turned, looking to Lilith. The woman was engaging in conversation again, listening attentively to the table's occupants. A strange ache filled her chest as she found herself wanting to inject herself.

But she didn't. Instead, Zelda turned and looked to Faustus, noticing his growing dark mood.

She leant forward to him, smiling, "Perhaps, you should do one of your famous readings after dinner," she suggested. "Engage their minds in a debate."

"Perhaps," he agreed, though sounding dismissive of the idea. Zelda sat back in her chair and picked at her food, having lost her appetite with Faustus' bad mood hanging over.

She took a sip of her wine and looked over the table.

Other than Faustus' bad mood, the dinner party was going well. The guests were entertained by conversation enough that Zelda felt no need to guide the conversation.

Saul was engaging in mortal politics and how it affected the witching community as a whole. He felt it should be paramount that their members should move into their politics (as Saul was trying to do himself), where-as Augustina argued that the witching communities should carve out lands of their own and ward it with keep-away charms to dissuade mortals from crossing their boundaries altogether.

Zelda listened to their points but overall was on Augustina's side. Mortals should be kept at a distance, to be used and discarded as required.

Lilith's arm grazed against hers, an act meant to appear unintentional as the woman continued with her meal, but Zelda was doubted that the woman so much as moved as a toe without deliberate intent.

Shifting her arms away, she pulled her hands into her lap and listened to Aldrich tell an anecdote about an intricate tangle in the Unseelie fey circle. Having known Aldrich from her youth, Zelda was long-since familiar with the story and had heard it twisted into a more adventurous tale every time it was re-told.

So much so, that apparently the love interest had become the Unseelie Queen herself. "Was it not a nymph the last time I heard this story, Aldrich?" she inquired playfully.

"Ah, Zelda, what can I say? She was as beautiful as the night sky, with stardust across her skin. I'm certain she was the Unseelie Queen because who-else could hold such beauty except yourself?"

"Who else," she murmured in return, sipping her wine as he looked into her eyes, just as he used to during their tangles in the old Bacchanalian festivals.

Zelda felt her heart flutter at the compliment. Thankfully, the influences of alcohol had caused a warm flush over her face, disguising the effects of his charm.

Aldrich was many things, but his rise to power in the Northern churches was telling of his charisma. He knew the right words to convince someone to his will and had often been the ring leader in mischief with Edward at his side.

Aldrich continued with his story, moving to his dramatic escape from the supposed Unseelie Queen's bed chambers. It should have been thrilling, but whatever he said fell to her deaf ears as Zelda began to feel Lilith's hand drawing over her knee again. It wasn't a slow, teasing climb this time, but a purposeful movement, intending to arouse her.

The whole table was enthralled with the story, even Faustus was captivated, laughing as Aldrich advised of his tumble into the lion's den (so to speak) as he ran face-to-face into the Queen's husband.

Zelda looked to Lilith, the woman was sitting back in the chair, looking only mildly interested in the story, though she was smiling where others roared with laughter. But when her fingertips reached the lace of Zelda's underwear, the smile turned sharp as she deliberately stroked over the seam going across her sex.

Perhaps it was the wine or the general feeling of insistent arousal Zelda had been feeling since their last tryst, whatever it was, she didn't stop Lilith. She allowed the woman's touch to slide over the lace in a slow, deliberate movement, before slipping underneath the edges of the silk.

"…smell of lilac drifting across the arena…" Aldrich's voice continued, holding his audience in rapt attention as Zelda's focus remained on the finger sliding between her folds. Her eyes drew across the room, looking to see if anyone noticed. And yet a part of her didn't care enough if they did. "…high above my head to taunt the king, and wouldn't you know it…"

Zelda pressed two fingers over her mouth, attempting to hold a curiosity to the story as she bit back the growing moans. She could see Lilith's smile, growing wicked as she began circling her clit, though her eyes never drifted away from the storytelling.

"…caught in the net, the beast drawing closer, I had nothing but my wits…"

Zelda rolled her shoulders, trying to resist the urge to squirm closer to the touch.

She knew that she should move the hand away. Knew that if anyone caught them, the consequences could be catastrophic.

"…she cried forth, spring before the beast and me!" Aldrich said, just as Lilith slid two fingers inside of her.

Zelda gasped (as did a few of the other guests in reaction to the story), and Lilith turned to look at her from the corner of her vision, giving Zelda a small but patronising shake of her head. "Quiet, you'll disturb the story."

"You," Zelda began, and then stopped as the woman pushed deeper inside of her, ensuring the edge of her thumb slid over her clit. Zelda could hear the sound of her own heartbeat, increasing both with anxiety and arousal in the situation.

She should stop her.

She could feel her lungs tightening as she held onto her breath, trying to exhale without letting the sounds slip.

"...I brought it to her knees, bowing before her..."

"If your husband knew how soaked you were for me," Lilith said, her voice so quiet Zelda nearly didn't hear her. And then, her fingers were sliding out of her.

Holding back a hiss, Zelda reached down, snatching at the wrist to keep her in place––before realising what she was doing.

Satan in Hell, she was acting like a wanton hussy.

Zelda pushed her away, forcefully out from her dress and off from her body.

Lilith complied and drew her hands into her lap, her focus returning to the story as if nothing had happened.

Zelda reached for her glass of water, taking a bigger sip than necessary and listened as Aldrich finished the story with his return to the mortal world, as she tried to ignore how wet her thighs felt.

All she wanted was a cigarette on her lips. It'd been over two hours since she had one, but the nicotine had faded and her body sung for it as it sang for Lilith to be fucking her against a surface.

She really needed that fucking cigarette.

With the story adjured and a new anecdote beginning, Zelda turned to Faustus and politely excused herself to sneak away for a cigarette break.

Exiting the dining room quietly, barely noticed as the occupants sunk in the wine and food, Zelda drifted to the parlour, picking up her cigarette holder, lighter and cigarettes before making her way outside.

She lit the cigarette and inhaled the nicotine deep into lungs as she leant against the stone wall. It rushed through her bloodstream, and for just a moment, felt as if the building frustration was easing. As she exhaled, the smoke curling out into the night sky, the unresolved tension returned along with the focus of her slick underwear, sitting awkwardly to one-side.

Fuck her. Zelda thought, taking another deep inhale. Fuck her and her fucking contract.

A muffled roar of laughter came from inside, and Zelda closed her eyes, willing the party to end. She didn't know how she could return to that room, next to that woman. Every minute next to her felt like slow, drawn foreplay between them. She'd very nearly let the woman bring her to climax at the dinner table, sitting next to some of the most prominent figures in the North Americas.

No, she needed to make her leave. Discreetly. Because if they found themselves alone together, for even a moment, she––

"There you are."

Damn her.

Zelda exhaled the smoke from her lungs, flicking the ash onto the ground as she turned and looked at the Mother of Demons. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Well, you left so abruptly I thought something must have spoiled your appetite."

Zelda dropped the cigarette to the ground, stamping it out with her heel. "I'm perfectly fine," she assured.

"Of course," Lilith said, moving to stand beside her and look up at the night sky as if studying the stars. Maybe she was. Maybe she was plotting her next move.

The question was, would she stop her?

A quiet held between them, with Lilith looking at the heavens and Zelda averting her eyes down to the ground, trying to slow her racing heart as the proximity between them seemed to be shrinking. "Did you know that Hell doesn't have stars in its skies?" Lilith asked. "Not in any of its far-reaching pockets."

"I did not," Zelda answered. Though in truth, she'd never considered the idea of Hell having its own skies. It must, she supposed. It was a realm of its own, with an atmosphere of its own.

"Every time I return, I can see the constellations dying," Lilith sighed. "The mortals say that even our sun will burn up in the end, taking this world with it."

"We'll long have turned to ash when that happens."

"Do you fear that?"

"Being turned to ash?" Zelda asked. "No, all things die. Even stars."

"Being irrelevant," Lilith clarified. "That all of this will lead to nothing?"

Zelda opened her mouth to say that all things would lead to Hell, to the Dark Lord's favour. Until she remembered who she was speaking with. "I won't be irrelevant," she decided on instead. "I'm here, I exist, even if everything turns to ash, I still existed. Nothing in the universe can change that. Not even the Dark Lord."

Lilith looked at her then, in a way that Zelda hadn't seen before. As if she was just now noticing her for the first time.

"Such blasphemy," Lilith said.

"Am I wrong?"

Lilith didn't respond, her lips pressed shut as she, too, leant against the wall beside her. Their shoulders almost brushing but not entirely in the fresh evening air. Close enough that Zelda could feel the warmth radiating from her.

Lilith turned until her shoulder was touching the wall and her body pressing to Zelda's side. Her hand reached up and gently cupped Zelda's face as she leant forward.

Zelda had every reason to pull away and tell her 'no'. But she didn't. Lilith's face was soft, showing an earnest curiosity, which was entirely unlike anything Zelda had seen before. It also yearned for something.

And by her damnation, she wanted to be the fulfilment of that yearning.

As she leant forward, Zelda couldn't help but think that this was how Lilith was meant to be viewed: under the stars, in the moonlight, in private worship.

And as their lips, fingers curling against her cheek, the whole world became silent.

It was a kiss, unlike all their others: tender and slow––as if it was their very first. Zelda drew her lips over hers until she could feel the magic buzzing between them, crackling against each other. One hand slid to the back of her neck as another was slipping around her waist, pulling her close.

Zelda parted her mouth, feeling an eager sound escape.

It had been so long since she'd been kissed with such intensity––as if nothing else mattered; the rest of the world was a vast void, and they were the only beings in the entire universe.

There was only Lilith. Lilith and her mouth, her warm hands and her body pressed against hers. She wanted nothing else.

Zelda tugged up the woman's dress before switching their positions, pressing Lilith against the wall as she drew her hands up the thighs, to her hips and...noticed the lack of underwear.

"Presumptuous," Zelda whispered as she drew her fingers over the bare hips.

"And yet, here we are," Lilith said before kissing her again.

Zelda held her firmly against the wall before pressing her knee between the woman's thighs. The woman submitted but rolled her hips deliberately so Zelda could feel the arousal dragging over her stockings.

Zelda moaned against the woman's mouth as she slipped her fingers over the slickened sex, savouring the sensation of bringing the most prominent woman in witch history to such a state.

Then, satisfied with how she felt, Zelda slid insider of her.

Lilith's mouth drew away from hers, drawing down to bury against her throat as she seemed to swallow back a noise. A part of Zelda was thankful for the hushed sex against the wall, and yet all she wanted to hear was the woman's ecstasy, loud and unbridled in her ear.

She bit at Lilith's neck to elicit a response and felt a hand tug in her hair, curling tighter as her thrusts increased. She kissed at the same spot and then drew her tongue over it before biting down. The hand in hair tightened and Zelda could feel a low hum verberating from the woman's throat, as a keen, "Zelda," was murmured out.

Satan in Hell, Zelda thought as her heartbeat quickened at the sound.

She slammed the woman against the stonewall, thrusting harder as she rolled her fingertips purposeful insider of her. She kissed against the neck, dragging her teeth over the tender marks to see if Lilith would do it again.

She didn't. Her hand only curled tighter in her hair as the other seemed to fist at the material of her dress, teeth clamming shut to prevent another sound whispering out.

And then Lilith's head was turning until Zelda's mouth returned to her, and all thoughts escaped of doing anything but kissing and fucking the woman. Her thoughts ceased, and the moment seemed to hold between them, filled with only the noise of passionate sex in a secluded corner of the shadows.

Anyone could discover them, Zelda realised, but couldn't find enough focus to care. Right now, the entire dinner party could come across them, and she wouldn't stop until Lilith told her to.

Zelda felt the woman clench around her fingers, her body tensing with anticipation.

The intrinsic magic thundered and then expelled into the air as Lilith came around her fingers, her body spasming, but there was still an energy to it. As if she was holding back from completely letting go.

Zelda kissed her again until the woman's body slowed and slackened against her. Only then did she draw her hands away, her forehead dropping against the woman's shoulder as she felt her heart thud loudly in her chest.

Lilith's hands came to settle loosely over her should and around her waist as the woman's face remained buried in her neck.

A strange sense of longing filling her, and Zelda realised that she didn't want to return inside.

"Well," Lilith said. "Perhaps we should take this––"

The sound of the door shutting against its frame was like an electric shot. Zelda jumped back as both of them smoothed over their clothes, a glamour charm slipping around them to disguise the ruined make-up and dresses as Zelda reached for lighter and cigarette case just as Prudence walked around the corner.

Lighting a new cigarette, she placed it to her lips and raised her eyebrow at the girl. "Yes?" she asked.

"You've been gone a while. Just making sure nothing happened?"

Zelda exhaled the smoke. Gesturing vaguely to the area, "Quite alive," she smiled. "I'll return in a moment."

Prudence nodded before eyeing Lilith oddly. A strange look passed over her face before she left and Zelda had a horrible, sinking feeling that Prudence was perceptive enough to get at least an idea of what may have occurred.

She leant back against the wall, breathing in the cigarette. "We need to talk about this contract. Tomorrow," Zelda said.

"As you wish," Lilith nodded. Though her voice sounded far away as if she was deep in thought.

Drawing in the cigarette, Zelda looked up at the stars, trying to see if she could divine anything from them, but whatever secrets the stars held, they offered nothing in return.

"Let's fix ourself up and head inside," Zelda said, dropping the cigarette to the ground and squashing it. "You can make your leave after you've tried the dessert."

#lilith #zelda spellman #zelith #madam spellman #caos fanfic #morgan writes #morgans fics

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anubianreviewsstuff · 4 years

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The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina: Main Characters

Let’s begin with a breakdown and my overall reactions to the main characters of this series shall we? Over all, I like alot of them, the actors for many are skilled and their skills make everything else bearable to be honest. But narrative wise, they have a lot of issues.

Harvey: Nice guy, he comes off heavily naive and just Sabrina’s man puppet toy right off the bat. He’s oblivious to the fact Sabrina is a witch, as he should so his reactions seem normal, but he is overly forgiving at times. Personality wise he comes off as weak-willed and easily manipulated, which he is, his best reactions for me, have been when he broke it off with Sabrina, because he was tired of the horrors she often unleashed into his life. Many of which he eventually just forgave or was forced to “get over it” which, for one particular event, his brother, felt so jarring. A lot of the time he felt like a caricature of a male rather then a real person.

Roz: At first she was insufferable, she came off as a typical woke feminist type of character you want to see vanish into some narrative void and never come back. She only really became more like a real person after she loses her eyesight and then, even after regaining it, she continued to be an actual person and not some tumblr activist insert. I like her more then Sabrina which, says a hell of a lot.

Theo: Now, I’m all for having characters who explore their transgenderism in a show, and a show like this, could have the space if we had LESS characters taking up space. There’s so much going on, so many subplots and side-quests going on off screen, or in the background that at times in many episodes it’s clogged and muddled and I felt it just took away from this experience. For what it was, it was great and Theo is a fun character, who came into their own and kept challenging gender stereotypes in the show. This was sort of weird considering the muddled time-frame the show takes place in, but we’ll get to that later. Over all I liked Theo and her transformation from Susie to Theo. I felt they needed less going on to really give this a fair shake to be honest, though. Alot of it got lost in the supernatural world ending apocalyptic events unfolding in the next scene stole alot of power and impact from this and made it feel in places, tossed in for woke points. Which I didn’t like because the parts we did see were well written imo.

Auntie Hilda: I love this character. She is bubbly, loving, sweet, kind, and will shank you in your sleep if you come for her family. She is so warm and a great chef, she is always supporting her family despite the abuse from her sister. Whom she loves dearly. She got a lot of screen time but not much of it was exploring her as a character as much as they gave to other characters. When she started breaking out to have her own life I was thrilled, she found love and was happy. She deserved it, I loved seeing her find happiness away from the family she is virtually slave too.

Aunt Zelda: So, over all I kinda like her for her assertive and constant devotion to family, (mostly how she verbally whips Sabrina at times because she deserves it so much). Besides that she left no real impressions on me other then narrative issues we will get too later but the jist of it is, she way to easily hurls life long beliefs into the trash on a whim. I’m all for characters who are adaptive but when it’s your life-long religion you threw everything of yourself into...you just don’t shrug it off say “ah well who cares” and move on like you broke your favorite mug.

Ambrose: He is a fun and knowledgeable character but unfortunately he suffers from being a man in a show about women, whose writers clearly have severe slants that show like glaring plot holes. His wisdom is often ignored or he is laughed off at times for “haha being a stupid MAN, what’s he know!”. In the start Sabrina often gets helpful advice from him, and sometimes followed it, he was valued then, somewhat. But as the show progresses he is ignored more and more as a valuable confidant and becomes just another male character who doesn’t really have self-agency alot of the time. By the end of the 3rd season he is pretty much laughed off as just “a man who doesn’t know anything.”

Father Blackwood: He is so evil he makes the DEVIL seem tame. I love him as a villain, he is so devious and vile. I enjoy how he keeps being a villain. He is well written and evil, like and evil cult leader should be.

Lilith: She is such a fantastic manipulator in this show that really shows her power and ability to walk a tight-rope between truth and lying. She is murderous, and ensures Sabrina commits the worst corrupting crimes in the entire book while also giving her plenty of openings to just...not do what she says. The dynamic between her desire to be free of Lucifer’s abuses and being her own entity seeking her own goals and agency. She in my opinion, is basically the hero of this show, unintentionally. Michelle Gomez really brings her to life and lends a magnificent personality to the character, she brings Lilith life in a way that makes her more sympathetic then the main character. Gomez’s expert acting talents for me, really brought the character to life.

Sabrina: Ahh the wart on the boil. At first she was actually relatable, decent, and sympathetic. But she over the course of the show’s seasons became increasingly unbearable as a terrible person without any good traits. She went from being a normal teenage girl to being an insufferable child with such an over-inflated ego that it begs belief that she can walk without keeling over. Really this change is most noticeable between season 2 and 3, she changes from being a manipulated child wanting her independence from THE DEVIL’S OPPRESSION AND SLAVERY TO HIS WILL, to, thinking if she demands the universe bend the knee, it will just happen. Sabrina is perhaps the most oblivious character in the entire show, as well as the least intelligent, without any sense of nuance, masquerading as a character who has a moral compass (she doesn’t), nor does she have foresight. She’s pretty much become a character that is a typical arrogant teenager who thinks they already know everything and doesn’t need anyone’s help, ever, except she constantly needs hand-holding. She’s dumb, easily mislead, arrogant, self-absorbed, and values no one’s advice but her own, even as she abuses her romantic partners and ignores their plights because her own little problems are more important. If ever you could watch a character pretend to be the hero but is actually the worst villain in the entire show, it is this ones. Good gods is she the best villain that doesn’t realize she actually is the villain. I honestly loathe Sabrina because of how unintentionally dumb and vapid she is, good lord, she just commands other characters to do her character development for her, instead of doing it herself, while she runs off to pull other plot points together and somehow we are supposed to root for her when every time she gets yelled at and broken down, it’s so enjoyable because she absolutely deserves it. My one moment of utter loathing for Sabrina had to come from when her boyfriend came back from literal Hell. He sacrificed his soul and body to save the world and Sabrina by being the prison Lucifer gets sealed into, then dragged into Hell where he was debased, violated and abused daily by Lilith for a good while. Shocking when he came back from Hell with PTSD and horrifying nightmares and Sabrina, ignored his needs and plights as unimportant because “something something, it’s not about me”. Then she yells at him that his suffering doesn’t matter because she is busy. Sure, it was important what she was doing but Nick didn’t deserve to be told to fuck off and his suffering was just not important to her to deal with at the time and she could have either waited or delegated it to some other character for awhile and help her boyfriend she claims to love, deal with his issues that are destroying him. But no, it wasn’t worth her time. She is despicable.

Lucifer: I love Luke Cook’s devil. Albeit the Devil is...the devil...what do ya know the PRINCE OF LIES is evil...shocking. But Cook makes him fun and enjoyable to see as an evil entity.

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teen-titans-imagines · 6 years

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East of Eden pt 10

Jason Todd & Daughter! Teenager! Reader

A/n: omg I’m pretty sure there is only one part left to this story, but who knows!! Maybe there might be a sequel ;D BTW, this part was heavily influenced by the songs Duet [again] and Honeybee, both of which you can find on the playlist!! Thanks! Also, if you figure out the symbolism the song used within this part has, and where it’s from, I freaking love you <3

Comments are appreciated and are key. Please comment. It helps with motivation and efficiency. Thank you!

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Part One / Part Two / Part Three / Part Four / Part Five / Part Six / Part Seven / Part Eight / Part Nine / Part Ten [Here] / Part Eleven [FINAL]

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Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Family, Drama, Action, Fluff Rated: Mature Warning: Graphic Depictions of Violence, Blood and Gore, Swearing, Graphic Depictions of Physical Abuse, Emotional Abuse, Emotional Manipulation, Graphic Injuries, Nightmares, PTSD, Trauma, Hallucinations, Just read with caution please

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Author: Teen-Titans-Imagines

—

-JASON’S POV-

As Jason watched (Y/n) twitch and move, Jason noticed there was a black substance filtering out of her eyes, nose, and mouth. Feeling sick, Jason wanted to ask what the fuck that shit was. However, Nazeem, seeming to sense his silent question, whispered to Hasan.

“I knew it...he has indeed infected her. Hasan, my disciple, warn the others. They must know of the sign Al-Muharriq has sent us.”

Hasan nodded before running off, and Jason frowned deeply. Who the hell was Al-Muharriq? Looking back to (Y/n), Jason watched with wide eyes as the black substance suddenly turned a glowing gold, disappearing after a moment. The chanting slowly stopped, and Jason could see a slit in the cocoon form. Just as (Y/n) was about to fall out, Jason made a split-second decision, and ran up to the pool.

“Jason, no!”

“Jason, stop! You’ll be killed if you step into the water!”

Nazeem called, his voice furious and worried.

“You are not pure, Jason! You cannot step into those waters!”

Jason, ignoring the protests, ran across the surface of the lagoon, almost tripping when he realized he wasn’t sinking into the water. Skidding on his knees, he caught (Y/n) within his arms, his blue eyes widening as the strange fluid that slipped from her form felt ice cold to the touch.

For a moment, it was silent. (Y/n) did not move. She did not blink or breathe. Instead, she laid lifeless within his arms, and it made Jason feel as though he had failed her once more. The breaking man whispered, gently shaking the girl as he held her tightly within his arms.

“(Y/n), sweetheart...wake up. Come on, baby girl. Wake up.”

However, she did not blink. She did not breathe. She did not move. Tears filled Jason’s eyes, and he sniffled, trying his hardest not to sob as he shook her once more.

“Come on, baby...wake up. You gotta wake up now.”

When (Y/n) continued to lay still, Jason cried, burying his head into her shoulder as he held her tightly.

Finally, the Red Hood had been broken. Not by enemy hands...but by the lifeless ones of his own flesh and blood.

-READERS POV-

It was warm. So, so warm. The darkness had faded, and all that was left was a blinding white light. Where were you? Raising your and over your eyes, You found it did nothing to shade you eyes. However, as the light faded, you were aware of music faintly playing.

“ Oh! Say! Let us fly, dear Where, kid? To the sky, dear Oh you flying machine Jump in, Miss Josephine “

As the white light faded, you noticed that you were in the foyer of a home, one that you had never seen before. To your left, stairs led to a second story, and you noticed the music was coming to your right, where double doors stood. You noticed a strange glowing reflecting from the white curtains covering the inside of the room.

“Ship ahoy! Oh joy, what a feeling Where, boy? In the ceiling Ho, High, Hoopla we fly To the sky so high.”

Cautiously, you looked around, making sure no one was behind you, before you slowly reached for the door, almost jumping at the cold feeling of the metal. As you slowly opened the doors, your eyes widened when you saw the back of someone’s head. Their blonde hair was familiar, and you couldn’t quite put your finger on it.

“Come on, now. There’s no need to be shy of your own grandmother, is there?”

“Come Josephine in my flying machine Going up she goes! Up she goes! Balance yourself like a bird on a beam In the air she goes! There she goes!”

Was this heaven? Did you die and given the allowance to ascend? As you slowly walked to the front of the couch, you spied your grandmother; the grandmother you had never met. However, what struck you as odd was that she was aged. Wrinkles lined her face, and her blue eyes had become lighter from age. Her lips curled back into a kind smile, and she whispered.

“Come, let me get a look at my gorgeous granddaughter.”

Hadn’t she died young? Hadn’t she died when your father did? Surely, she should be young, right? You watched as she beckoned you over, but you didn’t know if you could move. Shock was running through your veins, and you blurted out.

“Is this heaven?”

“Up, up, a little bit higher Oh! My! The moon is on fire Come Josephine in my flying machine Going up, all on, Goodbye!”

Your grandmother laughed, her head falling back slightly, and she replied, a hand coming to to her chest.

“Well, in a way, yes. You’re here for a moment before your heart gets restarted by the gods that are helping you.”

“I’m...dead? I’m dead right now?”

“One, two, now we're off, dear Say you pretty soft, dear Whoa! dear don't hit the moon No, dear, not yet, but soon”

You sat down beside your grandmother as she sighed, running a hand through your hair. She replied, her blue eyes taking you in like a freshly made painting she had never seen before.

“Yes, but it is only temporary.”

Her eyes teared up, and she whispered.

“Oh, I’m so proud of him. What a strong and beautiful young lady my little Jason has created.”

You blushed in embarrassment, and mumbled.

“I wouldn’t go that far. Though, with all due respect...how are you here?”

“You mean why aren’t I in hell for the things I’ve done?”

“You for me, Oh Gee! you're a fly kid Not me! I'm a sky kid See I'm up in the air About you for fair”

You ducked your head, and she chuckled. Your grandmother replied, continuing to look you over

“Some things are better left unsaid...but to satisfy that curious cat you have within you, I will explain something for you. Ambrose Bierce once wrote within his work ‘The Unabridged Devils Dictionary’: ‘Redemption, n. Deliverance of sinners from the penalty of their sin through their murder of the deity against whom they sinned. The doctrine of Redemption is the fundamental mystery of our holy religions, and whoso believeth in it shall not perish, but have everlasting life in which to try to understand it.’ Do you understand?”

For a moment, it was silent, and you nodded after a moment. Your grandmother smiled before whispering to you.

“Redemption nor Salvation are never given, my child. It is earned. ”

“Come Josephine in my flying machine Going up she goes! Up she goes! Balance yourself like a bird on a beam In the air she goes! There she goes!”

You sat back in your seat before looking at the grammaphone that was playing, your lip caught between your teeth. You murmured.

“You know, I thought that this whole journey was for salvation from a sin I had committed...for something that I did wrong. When I was being shown my memories, I realized that it wasn’t about that at all.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

You glanced at your grandmother before you eyes hardened, lips pursing.

“Yes. I know now what this journey was about. This wasn’t salvation. This was healing...healing from the things I never healed from...forgiving for the things I never forgave...and understanding why.”

“Up, up, a little bit higher Oh! My! The moon is on fire Come Josephine in my flying machine Going up, all on, Goodbye!”

Your grandmother smiled softly, replying.

“I believe there is more to it than just that. There are many things that you still don’t understand nor know. In due time, you will...but for right now, you’re time is still not done.”

Your eyebrows furrowed and she winked at you. Sensing that her philosophic words were done, you asked.

“Grandmother, why isn’t my mother here with you?”

Your grandmother smiled, her fingers nimble as they played with a lock of your hair.

“Your mother is in her own heaven, my dear. A heaven created just for her.”

“A heaven of her own?”

“Yes. Her heaven that contains all the memories of you and Jason. She’s very, very proud of you, as am I. We’ve both been watching you, my dear.”

You widened your eyes and whispered in disbelief.

“My...my mom’s been watching over me?”

“Come Josephine in my flying machine Going up she goes! Up she goes! Balance yourself like a bird on a beam In the air she goes! There she goes!”

Your grandmother smiled widely before she winked once more, her eyes mischievous as she instructed.

“Close your eyes, my dear.”

“What? Why?”

Doing it anyway, you frowned when you heard the sound of wind. What was going on? When nothing else happened, you opened your eyes carefully before gasping. In your grandmothers place sat your mother, her smile warm and loving as she gazed at you with her familiar eyes.

“Don’t you remember? I’m not going anywhere, my dear.”

You teared up and whispered.

“Mom? Is that really you?”

She smiled before wrapping you up in her arms, your sobs muffled by her warm chest. Your mother whispered.

“It’s alright, my dove...it’s alright.”

“I missed you so much. God, I dreamed of this so many times! Is this real? Are you really real?”

Your mother pulled away, saying.

“What’s real and what is not is up to you only. I don’t have much time, but I want you to know that I am so proud of you and your father. God, especially you. You’ve gone through so much, and still remained that strong little girl I know.”

She smiled, that familiar twinkle within her eyes.

“And boy, you are so much like your father, it is quite unsettling. I’m...I’m so blessed to have been given such an amazing daughter to raise with an equally amazing man.”

You sobbed out, holding her as if she was your life-line.

“We miss you so much, Mom. It’s never been the same without you.”

“But you two made it work to the best of your abilities, and that’s all I could have ever asked for, my Tater Todd.”

You laughed quietly at the ridiculous nickname before your mother kissed your forehead.

“I must go now, but do know that I love you so much. More than anything in the world. You tell your father to get his head out of his ass...and that I love him so much as well. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She smiled, kissing your forehead again.

“That’s my girl. You be good, now...and go save that crazy world of yours.”

“Up, up, a little bit higher Oh! My! The moon is on fire Come Josephine in my flying machine Going up, all on, Goodbye!”

As the song ended, the world around you faded

-JASON’S POV-

His form was still hunched over her. How long had it been? A couple of seconds? Perhaps even a few minutes? Jason pulled back to take a look at his daughter, his hand caressing her face when all of a sudden, she coughed, water and fluid spewing from the crevices of her lungs and out her mouth. Jason jolted, alarmed by the sudden sign of life, before gasping.

“(Y/n)! Oh my god!”

She coughed more, clearing herself of the intruding liquid before her eyes slowly opened, looking around in a daze. When (Y/n) gazed upon Jason, Jason’s eyes widened. She whispered in a hoarse voice, raspy from irritation.

“I...I saw her.”

“Who? Who did you see?”

(Y/n)’s eyes closed slightly as her head lolled slightly to the side, the exhaustion clearly still within her body. Jason gently pulled her face upright again before she coughed once more, saying after a moment of silence.

“I saw Mom.”

Jason froze, and his eyes widened, tearing up as he asked quietly.

“You...You did?”

“She said...she said to get your head out of your ass...and that she loves you, you prick.”

Jason let out a small sniffle, his heart swelling from what (Y/n) said. Was it true? Did she really see her mother? Did she really see his ex lover? That was something his old flame would definitely say. Jason bit his lip before looking at the setting sun, the orange rays making his eyes seem white.

‘Thank you, (M/n)...I love you and miss you so much.’

Closing his eyes, his eyes squeezed tightly, Jason held back sobs. Looking at (Y/n), Jason whispered as he carefully picked her up.

“Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

“Please? It’s freezing balls in here.”

Jason laughed lightly before turning, walking upon the surface of the water once more before walking to the steps. When he got to Nazeem, Nazeem seemed to look ashamed. Jason asked in curiosity.

“What’s wrong, Nazeem?”

“I...I underestimated you, Mr. Todd. There is darkness that surrounds you...unnatural and foreboding. I believed that the gods would smite you for walking upon their waters...but I underestimated the power a fathers’ love for their child can have. Your love for her...it makes you pure just as your strength and faith within (Y/n) keeps her spirit alive. I underestimated you both. I am sorry.”

Jason was stunned into silence before he shook his head, muttering back.

“There’s no need to apologize. You were just doing your job...and really, I should be the one apologizing. I took my anger out on you and your apprentice because my worry for (Y/n) clouded my judgement on whether or not this was alright. You were only trying to help, and I guess I was jealous I wasn’t the one helping.”

Nazeem chuckled before replying, grasping a blanket a Follower had grabbed for (Y/n) and draping it over her.

“’Actions speak louder than words,’ Jason Todd.”

Nazeem placed his hand upon Jason’s shoulder, simply saying to the surprised man.

“The gods led you here for a reason, Jason. They let you sail their skies, trek upon their earth, walk upon on their waters, and allowed you to feel the first light of dawn. If that is not a sign that you are meant to be here, then I’m afraid that I do not know what would be.”

Jason’s mouth was shut, and Nazeem looked at (Y/n), who had fallen asleep out of exhaustion. He smiled softly.

“That spirit of hers is strong, Jason...never allow her to lose that light within her.”

Jason nodded, holding (Y/n) closer to his chest.

“Yes, sir.”

Nazeem smiled before saying sincerely.

“May the Gods light your path.”

With that, Nazeem and the followers left, leaving just the batfamily within the room. Dick announced.

“Ok, that was crazy. I thought you were gonna get fried like a fish or something.”

Damian rolled his eyes before smirking.

“Not bad, Todd. Not bad at all.”

Jason smiled slightly at Damian before Tim rubbed his face.

“I’m gonna be stressed out for the rest of my life. Write this on my grave: ‘Cause of death: got too stressed out because of Jason’s suicidal bullshit.’ “

The boys laughed before Bruce instructed, gesturing with his head.

“Alright, you three. Back to the jet. I need to speak with Jason.”

They boys grumbled, but walked out one-by-one. Bruce looked at Jason before sighing.

“Nazeem mentioned things that I never had any ability to discuss...but after this experience, I do believe that I must say it as well.”

Jason, who had become weary, frowned deeply.

“What’s up with you, old man?”

Bruce sighed once more before admitting.

“I was never a father to you. At least, the father that you deserved. Nothing will ever be able to excuse my mistakes, and I do not want them too. You were right...about me and Damian. I would do the same for him, but I would do the same for all of you. You are just as much my son as Damian is. I underestimated you a lot, perhaps overestimated you as well.”

Bruce took a shaky breath, but Jason was alarmed, asking.

“What are you trying to say, Bruce?”

Bruce bit his lip before finishing.

“What I’m trying to say is this: even though I know that no amount of these will ever suffice for what I did...I’m sorry. I’m sorry for that night.”

Jason was stunned, his eyes wide as he stared at Bruce. Was this really Bruce? Was this really the man he knew? Bruce cleared his throat slightly before adding.

“...and I also want you to know that I’m proud of you, son.”

Jason’s jaw clenched as tears refilled his eyes, and Jason shook his head, trying to keep it together. However, Jason was unable to stay strong, and collapsed to his knees, sobbing out as memories flashed through his head of the pain...of the explosion...of Joker. Bruce was quick to gather Jason and his granddaughter up into his arms, whispering with his own tears falling as he kissed Jason’s temple.

“I love you so much, Jason. God, I’m so sorry.”

Jason unhooked (Y/n)’s legs from his arm to hold onto Bruce, his face buried within the older man’s shoulder as he cried. Jason didn’t know he had needed that until now. As him and Bruce cried, he was unaware of the small smile growing upon (Y/n)’s face, her heart swelling with love and pride for her family, no matter how dysfunctional it could be.

[PART ELEVEN]

Permanent Tagging List/East Of Eden Tag List (these have honestly just turned into the permanent tag list laksdf;alksdf whoever was tagged for JUST east of eden, please tell me so I don’t mistakenly tag you in anything else I post):

@amnahs9695 @cuddlysteven @voltaiire @shuris-wakanda @@euphoricgukk @prancingdestiel @frida-marie (it’s not letting me tag you) @rcbinwcrld @thatawesomenerdygirl @hi-this-is-my-blog (It’s not letting me tag you) @addicted-to-dc @crazyfreckledginger @jasonsredhoody @conspiracy-teen @an-all-write-life @maroongoon

#Jason Todd #Reader #Jason Todd & Daughter! Reader #Jason Todd x Reader #Red Hood #Red Hood & Daughter! Reader #Red Hood x Reader #East of Eden

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ellewritesathing · 4 years

Text

Infernal - II

Word-count: 2.5k+

Masterlist Prev. | Part 2

A/N: thank you guys for all the support for Part 1!! i really appreciate it and i hope you enjoy this one 💕 (also this is my first time making a tag list, could please you let me know if it worked properly?)

Things went back to normal so quickly that your trip to Hell almost felt like a dream that you just couldn’t shake - the only visible sign that it ever happened being the carefully covered bruise on your forearm. That’s just the way life was now; spikes of supernatural intervention and then the lull of Baxter High. But then Sabrina burst into Harvey’s garage again, holding a gigantic book in her arms and calling for a Crisis Fright Club meeting. Another spike.

She explained how one of her new duties was dragging souls to Hell and that she needed your help to get the next guy. Jimmy Platt. Her plan was that once she took Jimmy’s soul, you guys could grab his newly-dead body and she could use it to house Lucifer and free Nick.

“So, it’s like Freaky Friday!” Harvey said. His enthusiasm made you laugh, which you quickly stifled when you noticed that your friends were still on edge about the whole ‘reaping the ice-cream man’s soul’ thing.

“It’s called a soul transference, but kind of,” Sabrina said.

The four of you agreed to take the Spellman hearse and steal Jimmy’s body while Sabrina took his soul to Hell, but she grabbed your arm before you could follow the others to Harvey’s pickup truck.

“What’s up, Brina?” you asked, trying to hide the hesitancy in your voice. She seemed unsure for the first time since you’d met her, and you doubted it was because of the body-snatching. “Do you need to talk about being Queen of Hell?”

“No, it’s not that,” she answered. She bit the inside of her lip for a moment as she chose her next words. “Well, I mean, it kind of is. Do you remember Caliban, the guy from the beach who’s also trying to rule Hell?”

A face like that was hard to forget, but you didn’t want to tell Sabrina that.

“Yeah, why?”

“I want you to stay away from him,” Sabrina said. The words tumbled out of her mouth and she worked quickly to explain what she meant to your arching eyebrows. “Not in like an ‘I forbid you from seeing him’ kinda thing, just be careful if he shows up. I don’t know anything about him except that he’s bad news and clearly has a thing for you.”

“First of all, I don’t think demons have things for anyone,” you said, overcompensating for the rush you got when she said he was interested in you. “And second, this is the same guy that wants to enslave all of humanity, right? Not really my type.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t really into the bad boy thing at first either-” Sabrina looked over at Harvey and Roz for a second when she spoke - not long enough to seem significant to anyone who didn’t know her, but long enough for someone like you. “But things change and I just want you to be careful if they do. I don’t want to see you get hurt.”

“Trust me,” you said, using your other hand to move Sabrina’s off your arm and interlace it with yours. “The only way I’m going to get hurt is if the ice cream man tries to make a break for it.”

She gave you a not entirely convinced smile before the two of you piled into the back with Theo. You picked up the hearse, played musical chairs with the seating chart, and then waited for something to happen after Sabrina left to reap her first soul.

Rather disappointingly, the only thing that did happen was Sabrina coming back empty-handed and confused. Undisappointingly, Jimmy had kidnapped a little girl in order to extend his contract, and if he died then she rotted away somewhere in Greendale.

---

The last thing you felt like doing was going to the pep rally after Sabrina accidentally got locked in Jimmy’s murder-freezer and Lucy got returned to her mom, but there was nothing else you could do. They had a plan and you were just backup if it went south. The plan did not include you trying to kick Jimmy's teeth in.

You didn’t want to third-wheel Theo and Robin or Harvey and Roz, so you picked a spot against the fence where you could still be a part of the pep rally but you had some distance from the over-eager teens. Leaning against the fence, you got lost in your thoughts until a voice woke you up.

“I thought it was tradition for all the pretty girls to dance up there in their little outfits, not for one to be left behind in the shadows.”

You turned your head to see Caliban waiting for you to respond, so you rolled your eyes and crossed your arms over your chest. He was bad news, even if he was attractive bad news. Like a car crash that you just couldn’t keep your eyes off. Did car crashes usually have such phenomenal bone structure?

“And I thought it was tradition for all the demons to be in Hell, not hitting on unaccompanied minors,” you said, doing your best to seem unrattled. Ignoring the smirk on his face and turning your gaze back to the cheerleaders, you continued, “You do know that Sabrina will kick your ass if she finds you here, right?”

“I think the Morningstar has other priorities at the moment,” he said. The sand crunched under his feet as he came closer. “But you can try to kick my ass, if you’d like.”

Casting a glance at him before turning away, you reminded yourself not to get involved. A pretty trainwreck was still a trainwreck, no matter how much you wanted it not to be. The ground shifted again and Caliban was right next to you, lifting his hand slowly to move your hair off your neck. The places where his fingers brushed your skin lit up.

“You truly have no idea what you are, do you?” He asked it like he was telling you a secret. Despite your attempts to seem unnerved, your jaw clenched. He moved in your peripheral vision and took something out of his pockets. Stepping in front of you, his hands lifted to drape a necklace over your head. “The shell is from the Shores of Sorrow. When you’re ready to find me, just break the shell. Use it wisely, love, because it only works once.”

Choosing to look at his face instead of the necklace, you noticed something in his eyes that made you think at least part of what he said was true. There was something else that made you feel like you didn’t want to find out which part it was.

Determined not to be unnerved, you put on your best war face and straightened up. “And why should I believe anything you say?”

“Why should I have any reason to lie to you?” he asked, seeming amused by your standoffishness.

“Because you want to get the Throne, which means you have to go through Sabrina,” you said, taking the necklace off and wrapping the rope around the seashell as you spoke. The shell was white with specks of faint color creating patterns along the outside. A very pretty trainwreck indeed. You reached for his hand and lay the necklace in his palm. “And you’re trying to go through me to do that.”

“Do you really think so low of me?” Caliban asked.

You couldn’t tell if he was genuinely hurt behind that stormy expression of his or just trying to manipulate you. You looked down at your hand, still holding the back of his, and saw your sleeve had rolled up. Pulling away, you tugged your sleeve down to cover the ugly yellow- purple that had been sticking out. Looking back up to say that yes, you did think that low of him, you found Caliban staring at your forearm.

“You didn’t get that in Hell.”

He said it so matter of factly that it sent shivers up your spine.

“How would you know?”

Harvey called out to you, breaking your staring contest and signaling that it was done. When you looked back, Caliban was gone. The necklace lay in the sand where he had been. Telling yourself it was better if you had it than some unassuming girl, you picked it up and shoved it into your pocket. Then you rushed over to your friends like you hadn’t just consorted with the enemy. The very distracting enemy.

---

In an effort to prove that you were right to distrust him, Caliban challenged Sabrina’s right to rule with a challenge to find the Unholy Regalia. The first part was finding the Crown of Herod, so you spent the day at the Academy with Ambrose trying to figure out where it could be. Zelda was hardly enthused about your presence, but Hilda asked what the harm was of letting you poke around under Ambrose’s supervision. Besides, she said, they had bigger problems to worry about than you reading about witches.

After scrambling to find the location of the crown, Ambrose left to find Sabrina, leaving you alone in the Academy’s library. Figuring this was the only opportunity you’d get, you started looking for books about … something. You didn’t know what Caliban meant when he asked about what you really were, and your dad had told you countless times that Delilah was based on you. If she wasn’t human, that had to mean that you weren’t human either, right?

Or that your dad was crazy. Either option seemed equally possible, if you were being honest with yourself.

One of the books you pulled was about changelings; fairies or demons that replaced human babies and terrorized their host families. But you knew it wasn’t right. It just didn’t click with you, and you doubted that they’d just dump a fairy with humans without an evil instruction manual or a card with the time and place of Evil Babies Anonymous. If you were a demon or a fairy, you felt like you’d know about it.

Sighing, you checked your phone. Multiple texts asking where you were, if you were coming to the carnival, and did you need a ride. You sent off a few texts that all essentially said the said thing: you’d meet them there as soon as you could.

You made your way back home and dumped all your school things and research on your chair in the corner of your room. You grabbed a jacket and pulled your hair up into a ponytail before heading out the door so none of your friends put out a missing person’s report on you.

“Bye, Dad! Don’t wait up!” you called.

Just before opening the door, you heard your dad say something that you didn’t quite catch. Hand hovering over the doorknob, you had to decide between heading out or see what was responsible for the nagging feeling in your stomach. The nagging won.

“I thought you were going to the carnival with your friends,” your dad said with an easy smile when you leaned in his doorway.

“Yeah, I am but I thought you said something,” you said.

He seemed to be doing better today at least. The good days used to be the norm, the bad days were a foggy nightmare that you woke up from with a stack of your dad’s homemade pancakes, and then you turned sixteen. Now you could count the number of good days on one hand.

“Oh.” He straightened up in his chair. “I just said to be careful. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all that. Have fun.”

“Wait, what did you just say?” you asked, muscles tensing slightly. He couldn’t know about Herod’s crown.

“To be careful,” your dad blinked.

“After that.”

“Have fun?”

“Right,” you said. He’d forgotten what he said. Another lapse in memory, did this still go in the good day pile? “Will do.”

The Carnival was way more unsettling than you expected. You couldn’t find your friends anywhere, all the sounds were too loud, and the lights got brighter and brighter as the sun set. Your dad’s words ringing in your head didn’t do much to ease the anxiety either.

You jumped as one of the games rang out next to you and a hand reached out to steady you. You pulled your arm away and caught the hand with your own, twisting it at an angle and waiting for the wrist to snap.

“Easy,” Caliban warned, leaning into the movement to protect his wrist. “You could hurt someone like that.”

“That’s kind of the point,” you said, dropping his hand and crossing your arms over your chest again. Even though you acted like it didn’t, this place felt a little bit safer with him next to you.

“Oh, I know,” he said with a devilish smile. He ran a hand through his hair as he stepped closer to you. “I see you kept the necklace.”

He couldn’t have - you were very careful to hide it under your clothes - but you knew he expected you to check. That would give him an answer as to if you kept it. You didn’t move or say anything, but you did jump when another game celebrated a victory with loud chiming.

“A little on edge tonight, are we?”

“Only because there’s this guy that keeps popping up whenever I’m alone,” you said, turning and starting to walk again. “People are telling me to get a restraining order, but I’m not sure it’ll do anything to stop him. I think something more dangerous and less orderly might be what I need.”

“Perhaps I could be of some help,” Caliban said, making it clear that he understood what you were implying but refusing to acknowledge it. “I happen to have an affinity for doing dangerous things.”

“Oh, I bet you think you do,” you said, stopping and turning back to look at him again.

A dangerous thing with an affinity for doing dangerous things looked back at you. Maybe it was your anxiety clouding your judgment or maybe it was the way the Ferris wheel lights caught in his eye, but all you wanted in that moment was to forget Sabrina’s warning and kiss him. After all, one dangerous thing never hurt anyone; it was always the harmless things that got people damned. Like apples. And Caliban was hardly an apple. Though if you thought about it hard enough, maybe that meant he was the snake.

Realizing that it had been almost a minute since either of you had said anything and a smile was slowly etching its way across Caliban’s face, you shifted your weight and asked, “Don’t you have places to be, people to torture?”

“Now that you mention it, I do have somewhere I need to be.” He ducked his head slightly as he spoke and took a step back, readying his hands for whatever spell he was about to cast. Looking back at you with a smile that managed to be both conniving and grim, he added, “Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and all that.”

“Wait, what did you-”

But he was already gone, a few burn marks on the ground the only evidence that he’d been there at all.

Taglist: @peachesandknives @caliban-is-my-girl @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @music-movies @miss--moose

Part 3

#caliban #caliban imagine #caliban x reader #infernal #chilling adventures of sabrina #caos

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