The Worst Wish

Chapter 8- trouble with Hubble

Mildred blinked with surprise.
I'm back?
It took a moment for her to regain her thoughts and the memory of what happened. She was surprised to see not Maud and Enid in front of her, but rather Miss Hardbroom and Miss Pengangle.
"Well met and welcome back, Mildred." Pippa greeted the girl with a warm smile.
Mildred stayed quiet for a moment as the memories hit her. I said not to bring me back without her.
"Is my mum alright?"
The women's silence gave her all the answer she needed.
"I said I didn't want to be brought back unless she was!" Mildred shouted, not caring how cross her deputy headmistress might become. "Where's my mum?"
"I am afraid she is still a stone in the academy, Mildred, but we-"
"Where is Indigo Moon?" Mildred's voice was full of panic and anger. Why wasn't indigo there anymore? Why was she saved?
"Somehow, your potion freed her." Hecate explained calmly. "She is attending Pentangles with-"
"So, you got your friend back and I didn't get my mum?" Mildred snapped, crossing her arms across her chest.
"Mildred Hubble, that is no way to speak to me-" Hecate began lecturing the girl, but was quickly cut off by Pippa.
"Mildred, we tried to restore your mother. Miss Cackle, Hecate and me. We tried. I'm sorry, darling."
"Then why am I here? Why did you bring me back? I thought you wanted to get rid of me anyways!" Mildred was surprised by her own screaming. She hadn't meant to blow up at them like that, but as a stone she only felt fear and uncertainty. Her emotions had been bottled up so long she'd forgotten that she had them, stored inside of her for so long that they desperately needed to come out. She knew that Hecate had resented her from the day she started at the academy, and in that moment she didn't care if her temper caused the end of her time at Cackles. She wasn't sure herself why she stayed as long as she had, anyways. All they do is complain about me. It's no use sticking around.
"Mildred Hubble, you can't very well expect us to leave you out here as a stone forever." Hecate tried to explain. She did her best to let a little emotion escape-just a sliver, enough so Mildred might feel welcomed back. "You have been placed in our care here at Cakcles. It is our duty to keep you out of harms way."
"I've never been cared for at Cackles!" Mildred continued yelling. Pippa grabbed Hecate's arm gently- a warning. Don't lose your temper, Hecate. It isn't worth it. She's hurt.
"Mildred, we may still save your mother yet," Pippa spoke up. The kind smile never left her face. "Indigo has just been brought back."
"Yeah, after thirty years," Mildred scoffed. "How am I meant to get on with out my mum for thirty years? I haven't got anyone else."
You have us, Hecate wanted to say, but knew the girl wouldn't believe it. It hadn't been true, really. They had always had her. Mildred had always been the one who fixed everybody else. Nobody had ever thought she might require some fixing of her own.
"You'll manage," Hecate blurted out. She'd meant it sympathetically, but her always abrasive tone didn't transfer her intended message very well. Hecate couldn't do anything but watch the horrified expression wash over Mildred's face once more, quickly backing away from her and Pippa.
"Really? You are so cold. I always spoke up for you, telling them you weren't so bad. But you really are the wickedest witch there is!" Mildred yelled.
She waved her hand in the air, disappearing in a bout of smoke.
A million thoughts raced through Hecate's head. All of the things she wanted to say but didn't, the things she was beating herself up for not saying now. Perhaps if somebody just told the girl that they wanted her here, if somebody made her feel welcomed and appreciated besides when she was saving the school. Perhaps if she...

"Where do you suppose she's gone?" Pippa asked softly. Hecate merely shook her head. Mildred had been found once, and Hecate was certain she wouldn't want to be found again.
"Perhaps you'd better take Indigo and go." Hecate dismissed Pippa's attempts at consolation by quickly walking back towards the academy. "If, by some chance Mildred has made her way back there, I think the last thing she'd want to find is the one who came back."
"Please don't shut me out, Hiccup," Pippa pleaded softly, causing Hecate to stop dead in her tracks. "Hiccup" had been a special nickname Pippa had given her in their childhood. Hiccup and Pipsqueak- the pair of them were inseparable for a while until Hecate's grave mistake.
Hecate refused to turn towards Pippa, but listened as she spoke. "You are the best witch I know, and I love that. But you're so.. stubborn. Perhaps if you'd had told me about Indigo back when we were children, we could have fixed it.. together."
Hecate finally spun around, looking Pippa in the eyes. "It's my mess, Pipsqueak," Hecate whispered. "I don't want you to crash and burn because of me."
"I want to," Pippa insisted, taking a step closer towards her. "I have always wanted to. I never cared what sorts of trouble you were in, Hecate. Don't you remember the fun we had as kids? The broomstick water skiing display we had planned? I never cared what happened, I just wanted to be around you, to be with you, I-"
"Stop," Hecate cut her off with a bit more bite in her voice than she'd intended. "Forgive me, Pippa, but I can't fathom why you'd want to surround yourself with the likes of a witch like me."
"Do you remember when we'd dance together?" Pippa sighed. "Everything in the universe seemed to stand still. I was- I am, in love with you."

For the first time in what had felt like an eternity, a long smile appeared on Hecate's face for a half of a second. Her eyes widened as she looked at Pippa, giddy as ever. Hecate had repressed her feelings for a long time, doubting herself and her ability to love anyone. Hecate took a step towards Pippa, very nearly running her hand along Pippa's cheek when they suddenly were transferred in a whirl of magical residue, appearing then in Miss Cackle's office.
"Forgive me if I was interrupting something," Ada raised an eyebrow curiously, seeing how close the two were. "But it seems as though we've got a new issue with Mildred Hubble."
"She came back here?" Hecate let out a sigh of relief, turning to look at Pippa. They smiled at each other, linking their hands together.
"She did." Ada replied. Hecate could tell by the woman's stern expression that it wasn't a happy reunion. "It appears as though there was an altercation involving Mildred."
"An altercation, Ada? With whom?"
Miss Cackle gestured over towards two chairs in her office, where Indigo Moon sat in one.
"With... Indigo?" Pippa demanded protectively, walking over towards the girl.
"Not quite. By the sounds of it, Indigo is the one who saved Mildred."
"Saved her? From who?" Hecate demanded to know. Ada rose from her desk, ignoring the question for a moment. She knew what she was about to say would enrage Hecate. She wasn't blind to the fact that Hecate cared some about Mildred after all, by the way she'd left Ethel Hallow a pig for the whole week.
"From Ethel," Indigo finally cut in, nervously looking towards Pippa. Indigo stood up from the chair, revealing her dirtied uniform. Pippa placed a hand on Indigo's shoulder.
"And what- pray tell- did Ethel do?" Hecate fumed.
"She's taken Mildred's magic."