Strange Magic

Chapter 5

It had been a week since Zelda had wiped Mary's memory entirely, including the fact that she'd ever had a fiancé. She couldn't bear the fact that Mary had suffered a loss, so she took it away. The woman never knew anything other than being principal and the town historian. Perhaps it was a bit.... lonely, but it was better than the alternative.

Zelda had spotted her in town, but avoided running into her. If Mary entered into a building with her, Zelda would find a stealth way out. Still, there were no visits from Lilith. When would she make her appearance? When would she guide Zelda on how to run her coven? For now, Zelda was running the academy for the practice of magic for Magic's sake. She was grooming her young pupils to worship Lilith, counseling them through the complicated downfall of their beloved dark lord, but she had no real answers. They had no higher power to worship.

"Auntie Zee?" Sabrina sighed as she laid an envelope on the kitchen table in front of her aunt who was perched in her usual spot at the head, cigarette dangling from her delicate hand.

"I can only imagine what in Lilith's name this is," Zelda muttered, taking notice of the familiar scrawl, "why would Principal Wardwell have addressed a letter to me, Sabrina?" Her heart beat a little faster at the sight. Zelda had a hundred love letters in that same hand, tucked away in a box in the top of her wardrobe.

"I.... don't know, Auntie. She said not to open it, and asked me to give it especially to you." Sabrina waited for her aunt to open the letter, wondering if it might be from Lilith. Sabrina had to admit, she missed her too, if it was possible to miss the demon queen herself. Part of her felt wrong for missing Lilith; it felt... blasphemous, somehow unholy. She was supposed to revere and worship her, not miss her as if she were a beloved family member. Still, Sabrina longed to see Lilith again.

Zelda looked up at her niece, then scoffed. "Sabrina don't just stand there. If Ms. Wardwell wanted you to know what this was she would've addressed it to you. No go," she chided as she motioned toward the stairs. As soon as Sabrina was safely out of sight Zelda tore into the letter, hoping it was in fact from Lilith. She read as quickly as her mind allowed, disappointed by the words in front of her.

Dear Ms. Spellman,

We are looking for volunteers to host the annual fall dance and your name has come up many times in conversation to sit on the planning committee. I hoped by reaching out directly that you would consider my request to join us.

Kindest regards,
Principal Wardwell

It felt more like a trap than a request to help with an innocent school function, yet Zelda felt herself tempted by the prospect of spending time with Mary again. Could it really be Mary, or was it Lilith playing another cruel trick on her?

She looked out the window at the leaves falling, a symphony of reds and oranges in perfect harmony as summer waned and fall, her favorite season, took hold of their small town right there in her front yard. Perhaps it wouldn't be all bad, getting away from the mortuary and the headache that was the academy in favor of some lighthearted fun at Sabrina's high school.

Satan, who was she? Light hearted fun? Zelda relit her cigarette and chided herself for the thought, but stood and grabbed her keys from the hook by the kitchen door, anyway. Perhaps she could still catch Mary in her office if she hurried.

Without a second thought Zelda rushed out the back door and down the steps to her car and shoved the key in the ignition, peeling down the long driveway and onto the main road that led to Baxter high. The idea of seeing Mary again made her heart race. She wasn't sure it was the most brilliant idea she'd ever had but the woman had asked to see her, and for a perfectly valid reason. It wasn't as if she was forcing herself on Mary. Lilith couldn't be angry; Zelda was doing the school a favor.

It didn't take long at all for Zelda to pull up to the school and find a parking spot, then rush inside the building and down the long hallway in the direction of Mary's office; the same office where she had met Lilith countless times. Before she entered she smoothed her black, A-line dress with the palms of her hands and flipped her hair out of her face, then knocked quietly, hoping she hadn't missed the principal.

"Come in," Mary muttered absent mindedly without looking up from the paperwork on her desk. She'd been going over reports all day and her brain felt positively numb. She wasn't really in the mood for a visitor; whomever it was she hoped they'd make it quick and be on their way.

"Excuse me, principal Wardwell," Zelda said politely as she opened the door and stepped inside, barely clearing the doorway, "I'm sorry to interrupt." Zelda's heart skipped a beat at the sight of Mary but she did her best not to show it, keeping her hands folded tightly in front of her torso as she waited for even a hint of recognition.

Mary raised an eyebrow and blinked behind her glasses, giving no indication that she knew the woman. "How may I help you Miss-?"

"Ah Spellman- Zelda, I'm Sabrina Spellman's aunt... Zelda. I received your note and thought I'd come down here to speak with you about what all might be involved with helping out with this fall dance." Zelda knew she was rambling but somehow couldn't help her mouth. It was as if someone had hexed her and she couldn't stop herself from speaking.

"Of course. I didn't expect you to respond so quickly, Ms. Spellman, or in person." With a flash of her bright blue eyes, Zelda knew something was amiss, but let it go. It was as if Lilith weren't completely gone, but then again Mary's eyes had always been haunting.

"My apologies, Principal Wardwell. I was... running errands after Sabrina brought your note home and thought I could catch you. If now is not a good time then perhaps we can set a meeting." Zelda watched her carefully, searching for an inkling of Lilith in her movement. The two had shared a body for nine months, but they were so very different. Mary was proper, polite, buttoned up. Lilith was mysterious, sensual, dangerous. Zelda ached to see even a hint of her.

Mary smiled politely and motioned for Zelda to sit down, then pulled her glasses off of her face and rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn. "That's quite alright, really. I wasn't anywhere near leaving, anyway. We can talk now if you've got the time, and then you can decide if you'd like to join us."

Zelda already knew the answer; if it meant working directly with Mary Wardwell, she'd join them for whatever it was she had to do for as long as she had to do it. She scolded herself silently for being so desperate, but took a seat anyway.

"Of course, thank you," she smiled as she sat across from Mary and refolded her hands in her lap and did her best to push away the barrage of memories invading her mind.

"Well, Ms. Spellman, your niece has mentioned that you're quite good with planning events and we need someone to cochair the committee for the fall dance with me. Together we would be responsible for the planning process. I know it's not the most fun prospect in the world, but someone's got to do it and I've got too much on my plate to do it alone," Mary smirked, thinking of how boring planning a dance really would be, "I figured doing it with another adult over a bottle of wine would make the process more tolerable than doing it with ten kids during home room."

Zelda immediately saw through everything in an instant. Sabrina had clearly enchanted the situation, and her head would have to roll straight of her puny little body as soon as Zelda got home. Didn't she understand how careless that was? How much trouble Zelda could face? Didn't she get that staying away from Mary Wardwell was the only option for the woman's safety and the coven's success? This wasn't some romance novel her Aunt Hilda was reading, this was her life, her religion, and the physical safety of Mary at the hands of the queen of hell.

"Very well, Principal Wardwell," Zelda smiled, knowing it was now too late to say no. She'd have to make up some excuse to miss the meetings, "I would be happy to help. You just give me a ring and let me know when you'd like to meet." With that, Zelda pulled a business card out of her purse and dropped it on her desk, then quickly evacuated the office.

Zelda couldn't wait to get home. She was going to draw and quarter her niece as she explained to her the consequences of her actions. Then she was going to knock her in the head with a shovel. Then she was going to set her on fire. Then, maybe, she'd bury her in the Cain pit. Maybe.