לִילִית: Lilith's Story

Chapter Twelve

The witches had slept for three days in between Hilda spoon feeding them homemade bone broth infused with herbs and magic to help them gain their strength and power back. Nightmares and flashbacks from the Circles of Hell jarred Zelda awake most nights and Lilith would pull her close, enfolding her in a warm embrace and petting the redheaded witch until she fell back asleep. Lilith's dreams were full of worries of how she could thwart the Dark Lord and not end up back in the Circles of Hell for betraying him.

On the evening of the third day, Zelda awoke with a start and sat straight up in bed, "I have the answer!"

Opening one eye and casting an irritated look at Zelda, Lilith grumbled and pulled the covers up over her head, snuggling down into the blankets, "Can you have the answer in an hour? The sun's about to come up."

Zelda swung her legs out of bed, her ankle fully healed, and grabbed her black kimono with beautiful gold accents off of a nearby chair. Swirling it around her, she marched into the bathroom to get ready for the day, yelling back over her shoulder, "If you want to survive Lilith, you'll get up now."

The sheets puffed up with Lilith's sigh and she yanked them down, muttering, "....this witch." With a grumble, she rolled herself out of bed and walked naked to the bathroom. Standing alongside Zelda's graceful form, Lilith grabbed the redhead's toothbrush and shoved it in her mouth.

"Satan in Hell Lilith! That's revolting!" Zelda pursed her lips and frowned at the witch using her toothbrush. "Please consider that your toothbrush from now on." The redhead brushed her hair, her eyes shyly wandering over the dark haired demoness' lithe figure; when Lilith's gaze met hers and she grinned wickedly, Zelda spun on her heel and marched out of the room. The High Priestess was back.

Lilith chuckled to herself, running her fingers through her unruly mane, finishing up her teeth and rinsing out her mouth. By the time Lilith walked back into the bathroom, Zelda was fully dressed in a form fitting black skirt and the leopard print blouse she'd been wearing the night Lilith asked for sanctuary and received a stab wound instead. The Queen of Hell looked down at the small silver scar which would disappear soon enough, looking up with surprise as Zelda's fingers moved to trace along it, the witch having stepped into Lilith's space.

"A reminder of how fragile trust can be, my Queen." Zelda grasped Lilith's chin and pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. "Get dressed, we must reconvene with the coven."

Lilith wasn't sure what the High Priestess meant by that comment but it felt like Zelda was insinuating that she couldn't be entirely trusted. With a slight frown, Lilith grabbed a black dress with leopard print collar from the closet and slid into it. Amused by the dress-up and the fact that she had unintentionally matched with the High Priestess, as they were both wearing leopard print, the Queen of Hell followed Zelda down into the drawing room where the coven had gathered in their nightgowns.

Zelda was addressing a crowd. "The hedge witches are dealing with the pagans and I suspect they will have them run out of Greendale by tomorrow evening. I am happy to give them the lead on this as we have bigger problems - the main one being Lucifer. I want you all to return to the Academy of Unseen Arts with Ambrose and Hilda, they will lead you in a protection spell which will keep you and the Academy safe." The High Priestess clapped her hands sharply and waved them in the air, "Now go."

Hilda ushered the students out into the foyer as Ambrose opened the doors, "Come along children, we have work to do."

When the house was quiet once more, Zelda Spellman slowly turned to the Queen of Hell, "Now, Lilith, my plan for you is a bit more....unsavoury."

"Then we should probably have a drink as we discuss." Lilith moved over to the decanter full of bourbon and poured two fingers into heavy crystal tumblers then met Zelda in front of the fireplace and held it out for the High Priestess to take.

"Thank you." Zelda took a long sip of hers, closing her eyes as she swallowed, her body and mind still not fully healed from the trauma she endured and the fuzzy warmth the bourbon left behind was welcome.

The Mother of Demons leaned back in her chair, her eyes pulled to the flames in the fireplace, her soul ached for the familiarity of Hell and she felt a surge of anger at Lucifer for trying to take away what she'd finally claimed as hers. When she spoke, her tone was icy and a growl rumbled in her throat; "You said you have a plan?"

"Yes." Zelda took a deep breath, winced, and looked straight into Lilith's brilliant blue eyes. "I want to have a baby."

Lilith's shock was visible and she sat straight in her chair, leaning forward sputtering, "Wha....w h a t?"

"...I mean....I think the only way to ensure your safety is for you to be pregnant with Lucifer's child, which would mean being impregnated by....Bla...ckwood." The redheaded witch was visibly disgusted at the thought and took another large sip of her bourbon.

Deflated, Lilith fell back into her chair and scowled. This was truly sadistic irony - to impregnate herself by Zelda's abuser with her abuser's child, she shook her head; "No. I'd rather die."

Zelda put her bourbon on the table next to her and got up, moving to Lilith and sinking to her knees, taking one of Lilith's hands in both of hers, she pulled to her lips and pressed a kiss to it; "My Queen. If my opinion matters at all....I highly object to your death." Looking up at the Dawn of Doom from beneath her dark lashes with pleading emerald eyes, "Please, Lily, it's the only way. Please don't refuse me. Don't take you...away from me."

The viceral, emotional reaction to Zelda's behaviour surprised Lilith; she was beyond touched, she found that she had hope for the first time....ever...but she was unsure; "I thought you said you couldn't trust me?"

Zelda smiled softly, her fingers tracing the lines on Lilith's palm as she responded, "I trust you like a lion tamer trusts its own lions. You are a beautiful and wild being, my Queen, I would never want to tame or possess you. I've seen it...your life...it's been fraught with horror. From the moment you were created, you've been cursed. You were given independence and free will, only to be punished when you exercised it. The False God cursed you for rejecting Adam...the ultimate example of male fragility if I'm honest...and sentenced you to a lifetime as a demon. That is not to say your demon-life is not valid but who would choose a life where they are forced to watch one hundred of their children die every day?"

Zelda felt moisture plopping onto her hand and looked up to see tears rolling down Lilith's face. Rising up on her knees and leaning into the Queen of Hell, the High Priestess cupped her face; "I want to give you your freedom, Lilith. And like a caged tiger let loose in the wild, you may decide to turn around and bite me. So even if I can't trust you, it's a chance I'm willing to take because in freeing you, the First Woman, we can free us all."

Lilith knew that Zelda was speaking the truth, she had been under Lucifer's rule for so long that she had no idea what she would do once she was free. She would like to think she wouldn't hurt any witches, especially the Spellman's, but there was no guarantee. Her eyes traced the beautiful face of the witch before her and her heart sang to finally find kindness directed at her; she pulled Zelda into her lap and wrapped her arms around her in a fierce embrace.