Archive of Our Own ^beta

Once again she stood before the warmth of the campfire, once again she prepared the same invocation spell. Agatha was mad and determined, there was no way she would give up. The storm from the night before had knocked down branches, and birds' nests lay scattered on the still wet ground. Yet, the trees around her stood tall and proud, just like her, showing no sign of the loss they had suffered. 

One by one she added the ingredients for the spell she was casting, performed the necessary movements, conjured up the magic, and pronounced the necessary words with perfect articulation. Breathing heavily, she remained motionless, alert to everything moving around her. However, nothing happened. No one showed up. Frustrated, she let out a grunt as she threw everything away. Only a small cauldron stood by the campfire. She kicked the leaves on the grown and sat down on the nearest log. With each day, her fury only increased.

“It’s not going to work…”

Agatha, far from being startled, raised her head and glanced sideways. The newcomer's voice was unusually soft. She could feel her walking behind her and clenched her fists to control the impulse.

“It doesn’t matter how many witches you kill or how many times you summon me…”

“You are here, don’t you?”

“Just to tell you to give up.”

“Oh, it's that so?” Without waiting for a response, sensing her close by, Agatha jumped to her feet and attacked without a second thought. Rio barely had time to react and try to dodge. “I want to see him, I want you to bring him back and return it to me!”

“You know I can’t do that.”

“Bullshit!”

“He is gone, he never belonged to this world.”

“You lie!” Agatha attacked again.

“Your magic is not going to work against me.”

“Maybe… plants are your thing, right?” She threw lightning bolts at the half broken branches of the nearest tree. After a small explosion that caused smoke more than anything else, a branch fell on Rio, knocking her to the ground.

“You're bordering on insolence…” With a wave of her hand, she flung the branch away, scratching Agatha's face. Without even bending her legs and with a simple movement of her hands, she stood up using her magic. With her monstrous voice added, “Don’t you forget who I am.”

“Oh, I know who you are… You are the harpy bitch who stole my boy.”

Agatha cast another spell, this time to lift a rock and make it hit Rio, who got knocked back and crashed into the tree next to her. The brunette jumped to her feet, brushed off the remains of tree bark, and cracked her neck. Her face said it all: she had reached the limit of her tolerance.

“He’s my son too you know? As such he didn't belong in this world.”

That was the moment when, propelled by her magic, she rushed toward Agatha, dagger in hand, ready to use it. The witch managed to stop the hand of the dead just inches from her skin, the impulse moved them both through the forest, until Agatha's back hit another tree. The witch's hand closed around the wrist of the one who had once been her lover, holding it tightly. Their hands trembled, and after a moment, Rio traced a path across Agatha's skin. A thin line of blood ran as she moved across her arm.

Agatha gritted her teeth, stifling a moan of pain, and expelled her former lover with a shockwave. Without wasting any time, she ran toward the brunette. On the way, she grabbed one of the logs from the campfire and, without hesitation, hit Rio on the head with the burning end. The death fell face down on the floor and dropped the dagger. Agatha quickly grabbed it and hid it in her waistband.

“Wooh! That was hot! Just like that time when we played with candles,” Rio waggled her eyebrows, enjoying it.

“Oh yeah? What do you say about this?” She raised her arm with the branch again, ready to attack her once more, but Rio interrupted her before she could do so.

“There is a way for both of us to be satisfied..”

“How would be that?” She stopped halfway.

“You can always join us. Nicky and me, I mean.”

Agatha laughed scornfully. “There's no way I'm going with you.”

She approached Agatha with slow, seductive movements. “All mortals came with me sooner or later.” Rio’s eyes looked at her with desire and she bit her own lip. “You've given me so many witches that you could choose the moment. Think about it, The three of us could be together.”

Agatha watched her silently, allowing her to come closer, and looked at her with the same desire. She shortened the distance between their faces, her lips brushing Rio's cheek, who opened her thirsty mouth, like a castaway in the middle of the sea. But before their lips could meet, Agatha stopped her. 

“No.”

“What?”

“You heard me. No” she repeated, her expression hardening. “You took away the only good thing I’ve ever made in this life. I won’t go with you. No now, no never.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

At that moment, Agatha pulled the dagger from Rio's waist and cut her with it. With the impulse of her magic, she literally moved away from death, to the log where she had waited. With a wave of her hand, she swept aside a bunch of leaves and picked up a book.

“What are you doing with that? How did you get it?”

“With great effort.”

Agatha opened the Dharkhold and read its contents. She got exactly the spell she needed. With both their blood on the blade of the dagger, she dipped it into the cauldron over the campfire. She uttered the words of the spell, and a blue light illuminated the forest. 

“From now on, you can’t touch me, you can’t harm me in any way. My goal, from now on, would be to live forever. I’ll never go with you, we’ll never go back together. You’ll wait forever, something that's not going to happen.”

Rio wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand. With one movement, her dagger flew out of Agatha's hand and returned to her. “Never say never, you know I like challenges.”

“Don’t hold your breath, or… maybe you should.”

She shook her finger and smiled mischievously. “Not if you lose that book.”

“What do you mean?”

“You should do better research on the things you do, before doing them…” She put the dagger away between her clothes and as she walked away, added, “You know I can be patient. Centuries have passed and more will come. I’ll be here, waiting for your fall.”

“I won't fall.”

“Even the biggest ones have fallen. And you know the saying, the bigger they are… I’ll see you then,” Río winked and disappeared between the trees.