Moon Phases (Agatha Harkness X Fem!Reader)

Chapter XLIV.

The vine around your neck kept pulling you away, the struggle to fight it without your magic proving worthless, and yet you kept trying.

Hearing Agatha's screams of pain as she also tried to fight off Rio was driving you mad, but as the sun covered the moon fully, you were left powerless to act.

Eventually, the vine came to a halt, your head pressed against the wooden fence separating Agatha's House from the house right next to it.

Suddenly, more vines spread from the ground, wrapping around your wrists and your ankles and keeping you in an almost crucified position.

You tried to pull them again, and you had to bite your lip, feeling the pain coming from the thorns protruding from the green plants. They were never meant to kill you, just harm you enough when you tried to fight them.

The position alone did not help. A position you had once found excitement now only brought fear. That fear was not for you, though.

It was for Agatha.

It was the fear that you would once again fail to help her. The fear that Rio would harm her until Agatha gave in... the fear that you would be a spectator to this sadistic show of power between the two former lovers.

As if the universe had manifested your desperation and need for help, you felt a tingling sensation of magic approaching; for a moment, I wondered if the newcomer was an ally or a foe.

You looked up, your heart skipping a beat at the sight of Billy in full costume, crown, and power flying towards you.

All questions about how he got control over them or how he found you got thrown out of the window, hope flattering within your chest, proof that you could somehow still win this.

"Billy!" You called him out, a tired smile forming.

"Y/N," he exclaimed as he stopped levitating, noticing you trapped by the vines.

You interrupted him before he could question why you were trapped and not fighting.

"Help, Agatha!" You shouted at him above the winds. He tried to argue, hesitating, but once again, you did not leave him. "I will be fine! Help her!"

With hesitation, he nodded and flew towards Agatha, readying his powers to blast Rio away from the magicless witch.

The fact that he was now present was a good thing, but it did little to ease the worry growing inside of you. No matter how powerful he truly was, he was still a child, untrained.

And Rio... she was an undefeated force, one that could never truly die.

You wanted to help, and so you tried to fight the vines holding you hostage once again. The thorns dug deep into your skin, drawing blood, and yet you used that pain to fuel your attempts.

Defeat was slowly crawling in, and you were so close to giving up, feeling helpless. As you did that, you barely noticed that the eclipse was over, and slowly, the first ray of moonlight had started to appear.

'Please,' you begged your mind. 'Please help me save them.'

You continued mentally praying, hoping whatever ethereal power was out there would feel pity for you.

In that moment of helplessness, you could not help but think back to all those years—to an era when you never felt that way.

The first time was back in Salem. You were no older than six years old, and yet your powers could surpass those of most witches. When you were a child, you never felt helpless, and you always took pride in what you could do.

Then they started criticising you, warning you that you were out of control. They started putting fear in your mind, telling you that without some self-awareness, you would harm someone.

And when you did harm someone and started to hold back, you started to forget just how powerful you truly were.

Only one person back then had tried to change that...Agatha.

You were both teenagers, sitting under a weeping willow. Side by side, you rested your head on her shoulder, fingers interlocked.

In your free hand, you held a flower you had plucked on your way to meet her, and you spun it around between your thumb and index finger.

That day was her birthday, and you had chosen to meet, only to confess to Agatha how you had felt lately, that growing fear that you would truly harm someone with your powers.

Evanora's pressure on you to harm and end Agatha had definitely not helped ease your worries or make you feel better about yourself and your powers.

"You shouldn't listen to them," she commented as her thumb caressed your skin. "You shouldn't hold back for anyone."

"And what if I harm someone?" You looked at her. "What if I harm you?"

Agatha pecked your nose. The now 18-year-old always chose to peck you there when you were younger, and you were nervous. Even though, now, you were almost 16, she never stopped.

"I trust you. I know you never would, no matter how powerful you become."

How many times did Agatha support you? Did she keep telling you to stop holding back? To stop being afraid?

How many times did Rio hold a similar stance?

"You shouldn't be afraid of your powers," she commented one day after seeing you hesitating to cast a spell.

"I am not afraid; I am self-aware. There is a difference," you had argued, even though you did not believe it yourself.

"Right, and I don't show up where corpses are." She sat behind you, her longer legs trapping you within them as they spread on each side of you. "You are different than the rest, so why deny yourself that?" Her hands were placed above yours, magic subconsciously reacting, causing an exciting sense of thrill and faint pain. "Why hold back?"

A new memory flashed into your mind, the voice of a woman you did not expect to bring up in such a dire situation.

"Stop holding back. Face your fear."

Lilia had told you those words just before she left you to go into the Iron Maiden. She could have told you anything else, knowing you would never meet again, but she chose those words because she knew something more; she had seen it.

The sound of fighting was faintly reaching your ears, reminding you that while you were lying there contemplating your life, Agatha and Billy were fighting for theirs.

It would have been best if you had been there, helping them. You should have been by Agatha's side as you promised, doing something different compared to all those times you didn't.

And then it hit you.

This was a trial, and it was your trial.

All those times you have chosen to step back, to hold back your power, your potential, and your love for Agatha.

The only way to end this was to honour your promise and truly be by her side.

And so you took a deep breath, concentrating as you felt the weak rays of moonlight upon your skin. You concentrate harder than ever, digging deep into your magic core. You tried to remember the power you always had, but you were always afraid of it.

Your eyes closed tightly during your attempt, a tear escaping and rolling on your cheek as you went deeper... and deeper.

The right hand, the very same one branded with the moon mark, wrapped around the vine holding it trapped, and with one last effort, you've started to summon your magic in your hand, using it to burn the very same vine holding you hostage.

As you felt your power spreading across your body, burning your restraints... you didn't celebrate in triumph or clap in joy.

Instead, you fought harder and harder to release it, barely registering the white light engulfing your body, giving you a boost you had never felt before as you finally.

Stopped. Holding. Back.