Scarlet (An SGE Fanfic)

Failure

Hester

Naturally, it took a few days to get a response to the letter. At least I didn’t have to worry about Sophie pestering me, as she’d been locked in her room ever since she had been forced to share a coffin with skunky Hort, apparently robbed of her will to live. Additionally, at least from what I’d overheard, Agatha was trying to convince Sophie to at least try to obtain Tedros’s love in a more honest way instead of by magic. I doubted it would work, but at least Good was good for something.

I knew the letters had arrived when I entered Room 66 to see three ravens perched on the windowsill, one considerably larger than the others.

“What are those?” asked Dot, taking a closer look. I pushed her out of the way, carefully untying a letter from each of their legs.

“Ravens,” I snapped. “What kind of question is that?”

“Oooh, is it a letter from your parents?” Dot asked. “I got one from Daddy a few weeks ago. He told me that my horse died and that it could’ve been prevented if I wasn’t such a daft idiot.” she shrugged. “I’ve gotten worse, though.”

“My parents are dead,” I retorted. I broke the seal on the letter from the biggest bird, aware of Anadil and Dot’s stares.

Dearest Hester, the note began, We’ve missed you so much here at the Corvorum, though I certainly haven’t missed your insufferable attitude. To be painfully honest, I’m not impressed by what you expressed in your letter. Falling to a Reader and contacting me only to ask about a love potion? I expected better out of you, little demon. We’ll be sure to thoroughly dissect your time at school when you return for the summertime. As for your request, I’ve never made it a habit to dabble in love magic. It goes against our very souls, as you know better than anyone. And even despite that, love spells are notoriously dodgy. Use the wrong one and it could damage a person's mind permanently. I must admit that I personally don't know of any love spells that work, but Adelyn and Cornelia might, as they work more in the area of potion making than of necromancy. I've sent this letter along to them and they informed me that they'll look for an answer to your predicament. Remember what we've taught you, young witch. Bring honor to the Corvorum, unlike the failures that have graced us in the past. Stay ruthless.

Best of wishes,

Madam Meredith

I clenched my fists, slightly crumpling the paper. I could hear her indifferent, condescending voice in my head with every word I read. She’s never believed I could make something out of myself, never believed I could be more than the orphaned daughter of a failure. And now she’s pressuring me to “bring honor to the Corvorum,” whatever that means, and judging me on my bad choices, choices she apparently always expected me to make. Hypocrite.

“Hester, are you alright?” A cold hand on my shoulder snapped me out of my thoughts. I looked up to find Dot and Anadil staring down at me, a concerned expression on Dot’s face. Anadil was inscrutable as always, but I could almost detect a tiny bit of concern deep within her eyes. 

“I’m fine,” I lashed, a few seconds too late to be believable. I shoved Anadil’s hand off of my shoulder, ripping open the next letter. 

Despite what she had said, Adelyn and Cornelia’s letters were no more helpful than hers had been. The general consensus seemed to be that love spells were dangerous, and although it would be a laugh, I didn’t want to be responsible for the future king of Camelot losing his mind.

“It’s not going to work,” I told Dot and Anadil, stashing the letters in my bookbag. “Love spells are risky. It’s a reckless ordeal to try one. Even the most illustrious witches of Ravensmoor know that.” With that, I turned my back on my covenmates, blowing out the candle on my bedside table and plunging the room into darkness.

But of course that didn’t stop Sophie. She came to lunch the next day holding a tattered sheet of paper and smiling triumphantly.

“Once a boy is under this spell, he will instantly fall in love with you and do whatever you ask,” Anadil read once she’d shoved the page under our noses. “Works particularly well with eliciting proposals of marriage and invitations to Balls.”

“All you have to do is mix the prescribed potion into a bullet and shoot it at your true love’s heart.”

“It won’t work,” I crabbed, picking at my slimy pig’s feet.

“You’re just mad because I found it,” said Sophie, turning up her nose.

I snatched the letters from the inside of my bag, careful to hide their contents from the others. “‘Dear Hester, I don’t know of any love spells that work’ — “Dear Hester, love spells are notoriously dodgy’ — ‘Dear Hester, love spells are dangerous. Use a bad spell and you can warp someone permanently’ —”

“It’s ‘foolproof’!” Dot said, pointing at the title.

“Says who?” I scoffed. “Glinda Gooch?”

“I say it’s worth a try if it means we don’t have to talk about Balls and kisses anymore,” Anadil said, red eyes studying the recipe. “Bat heart, lodestones, cat bone… These are all standard ingredients. Oh. We need a drop of Tedros’ ‘scent.’”

“How are we going to get that?” Dot said. “If a Never even gets near an Ever, the wolves are on us. We need an Ever to do it.”

“I’m sure Aggie will do it,” Sophie reassured, flouncing away.

I turned on Anadil the moment she was gone. “Try it? Seriously? Did you not listen to a single word I said?”

Anadil shrugged. “Why would we care if dearest Teddy gets permanently warped? Honestly, I think we’d be better off.”

“But what if the spell is traced back to us?”

“It won’t be. After all, Sophie is the idiot shooting the bullet.”

And shoot it she did. After three more days of bribing me and somehow stealing one of Tedros’ ties, I finally brewed the potion, even though all instinct begged me not to. I suppose it could’ve gone worse. Sure, the spell that I’d spent all night brewing was a failure, and sure, Sophie humiliated herself in front of the entire school. But did I care? Absolutely not. For one, I wasn’t partially responsible for the death of the king of Camelot. I hadn’t been sent to the Doom Room or denied any rankings. And most importantly, Sophie’s failure solidified the belief that had been instilled in me since I was a child, the belief that, just for a moment, Sophie had almost made me question. Nevers shouldn’t love, no matter how much we think we can or how confused our emotions make us. It only ends in tragedy.