Black Magic Women

104

Zelda's shaking body latched onto Mary's calm and steady one like a leech, trying to find the nearest wound to suck on. Mary was quick to wrap her arms around the ginger tightly, as tight as she could manage without hurting her.

Truth be told, Zelda wouldn't have cared about pain at that moment. The only thing that counted to her was Mary and that she was right by her side. Her wounds had long stopped hurting, or if they did, Zelda was oblivious to it. She could feel the odd blood run down her body and make the fabric stick to her here and there, but the emotional pain had far surpassed the physical.

She allowed herself to sob into Mary's neck freely, not withholding the outburst of emotions that Faustus had unleashed on her when he had taken his anger out on her. She had never been treated like that by someone she had once held dear, let alone planned on marrying, so the emotional shock and aftermath of the incident was eating her alive.

She was so lost in her pain that she didn't even notice her family quietly entering the room but keeping their distance to grant the two women some privacy.

Mary brushed her hand softly over Zelda's soft hair, whispering reassuring words into her ear to help her through her panic. She could feel the helplessness of the situation, her lover had just found herself in, seep through Zelda's veins still.

She could feel every muscle of Zelda's body that stood painfully tense, alerted as if Faustus might come back any second. She was ready to run, but right now the witch just held onto Mary with all her might, nearly crushing her fragile form.

The brunette did not mind the pain of Zelda's painfully tight embrace.

You're alright. I'm right here.

Mary tried soothing her, but she knew that her words echoed into nothingness, Zelda too stressed out to listen to her properly. She felt her heartbeat hammer away underneath her ribcage like a rabbit's being chased by a fox.

Zelda had a hard time breathing, feeling as if someone was putting pressure on her pipes. Her chest was heaving irregularly as she was trying to gulp in as much air as possible before she found herself unable to inhale again.

Mary could hear and frankly feel Zelda's struggle to get enough oxygen into her lungs and the panic it created within her, so she was set on helping her regain control over her breathing before she could help her deal with her emotions.

Hey, take a deep breath. With me... On the count of three. One... Two... Three...

Zelda tried, but through her sobbing, she couldn't inhale long enough to break the cycle of straining gulps between her torturous suffocation. Mary had a hard time remaining calm herself, feeling the pressure on her own airways getting greater.

She knew that it was just Zelda subconsciously transferring her own battle for oxygen onto her, but her past experiences made her stomach drop in fear of what usually followed. She was used to Adam and later on, her Dark Lord, choking her to the point of completely blacking in their play for power, suppressing her and keeping her small, but she reminded herself that no man would ever hold such power over her again.

She had Zelda by her side and her past traumas were far away from her. So, she took one calming, deep breath before she dared to dive into Zelda's head, head first.

Breathe... He can't hurt you anymore. Do it for me...

I- I can't... breathe

She could Zelda's panic trying to get the better of her. She knew that the witch was trying, trying hard, but her body made it seem impossible to cooperate with her mind. Mary felt helpless and not just because Zelda's memories of the prior event haunted her.

She didn't know how to help Zelda. She had been in her shoes for centuries and never found a healthy way to come back from being beaten. Mary's head started pounding from the way that Zelda's mind was trying to claw its way into her body.

She couldn't be mad, but it was getting harder and harder for her to focus on Zelda. On top of not knowing what to do, she found it difficult to not be swallowed up by her own demons, the feelings and emotions being pushed onto her own mind, suddenly becoming far too real.

Honey, it's okay. I am here now.

But it was to no use. She knew that Zelda was swallowed completely by her panic attack and was now depending on her to navigate her out of it. She felt unprepared, not ready to help someone deal with the results of abuse when she hadn't even made peace with her past.

She could feel herself pulling away, retracting far, far into her own mind and she tried to shake it off. She couldn't help herself though. Concentrating on staying in the present became an impossible task for her mind, which just wanted to hide in the wake of the confrontation with something it had successfully avoided dealing with for longer than the earth she roamed on even existed.

Don't-

What?

Leave me now.

I won't.

Zelda could feel the brunette pulling away, not knowing what to do in her panic, as the walls seemed to cave in on her. She knew that there was no logical reason for her to be scared but her mind didn't stop sending her body the signals of sheer terror.

Her lips started to get all tingly and her vision turned blurry when Mary decided that there was only one way to stop Zelda from passing out. She was scared of what it would do to her but she was willing to risk everything when it meant preventing Zelda from passing out. Zelda's grip on her mind was becoming painfully tight and she felt her nails dig into her shoulder, breaking the soft and tender skin around them.

She took one deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated on Zelda's panic. She tried to find the root, which had buried itself in the very depths of Zelda's mind. She felt her own breathing becoming rapid, as Zelda's started to calm down.

She felt the loss of control and for the first few moments, her body went into full shock, alarmed about the all too familiar feeling of having absolutely no power over what happened to her. She wanted to pull out right then and there, but the way Zelda's gulps for air turned into rapid, but steady breathing, reassured her, so she kept going.

She held onto Zelda, as she started to take away her panic and inflicted it onto herself, needing a comforting shoulder to lay on. They both couldn't do this alone, but together, they knew, they could master anything.

She felt her lungs tighten, her chest becoming impossibly heavy but a soft squeeze of Zelda's arms around her reminded her that she was far away from the dark place she had once been at. She tried to push those thoughts and memories away and tighten her grip on Zelda, pressing her forehead against the ginger's and deepening their connection.

She needed to feel as much of Zelda pressed against her, as their worn bodies would allow and so the two of them molded into each other, both needing each other for support. Soon, there was no space left between them, their stomachs pressed tightly against each other and their breathing in absolute sync.

And so their family watched in confusion and awe as Mary started breathing uncontrollably, her body shaking from the after waves of a panic attack, while Zelda on the other hand started calming down noticeably. They were watching as their bodies seemed to become one, both of their eyes shut tightly.

At that moment only the two of them existed in their world. They were oblivious to their surroundings as they rode out the panic together. They relied on each other, knowing they'd find everything they'd need to pass this in each other.

Mary didn't doubt for one second anymore that she'd find herself in Zelda's loving and tender embrace after they'd come back from the dark place, Faustus had forced them into. When she opened her eyes, she'd kiss Zelda's lips and caress her cheek, as she looked into those gorgeous eyes, feeling safe and sound.

She would never feel the loneliness after a beating of her master ever again. No matter, what the world might throw at them, they had each other now.