Chapter Text
The Spellman Family was privy to an extensive library, filled with books and scrolls long thought lost. The collection may not have been as grand as that of the Unseen Academy’s, but it was not small. It contained a vast array of writing from scrolls tracing as far back as to hold the earliest drafts of the satanic scripts to grimoire written by the departed Spellman parents.
It was there, in the library that Zelda had learnt to read Greek and Latin, under her father’s tutelage. She would spend hours by candlelight with Edward, reading transcribed texts from their vast collection.
In her youth, she first learnt of an Acheron. In Homer, it was a river that flowed from the mortal realm to the Underworld, in Dante's Divine Comedy, it was the body of water that bordered Hell, but in the Suda, it was a river of cleansing.
Now, in her tutelage, she knew it to mean prison.
—
"I'm the best binder and conjurer since Edward Spellman. If anyone can keep him trapped, it's me."
They all watched as Nicholas Scratch raised his hands, prepared to imprison himself for all eternity.
There, Zelda stepped forward.. “Absolutely not,” she stated, her face furious. She stood tall from her placement in the semi-circle of witches and mortal, looking at the frozen body of the Dark Lord, caught in Lilith’s spell.
The eyes of the room turned on her. A pause as Zelda glanced from Sabrina to Nicholas, her bravery flickering before it hardened again, ”A binder needs a vessel. If you do it to yourself, the enchantment will be crudely placed.” A partial lie––there was truth to it, and Zelda knew it well, but her reasons for this were her own.
Mr Scratch's mouth parted, and argument rising on his tongue before it slackened. He gave a half not, and then rose his hands again.
“It should be me!" Sabrina cried out. "I should be the vessel, I have his blood!”
"Mr Scratch," Zelda warned as she stepped between her niece and the warlock, ripping the masquerade mask from her head and throwing it to the ground. "I think we all know who's the more suitable choice."
“I do,” he agreed.
"Aunt Zee!" Sabrina cried, rushing forward as the mortals grabbed at her, holding her back. The choice had been made.
Zelda Spellman had become the Dark Lord's Acheron.
—
A celestial body shoved into a witch’s body was like a star imploding into a black hole. It seemed impossibly large, and then all at once, it was drawn into the depths, unravelling until it became only matter in a single, fine point.
Zelda felt that fine point like a white-hot blade underneath her ribs and she screamed, grabbing at the flesh that covered it.
—
Lilith watched the form crumble, skirts billowing out from underneath the eldest Spellman until her head dropped against the stone.
She'd condemned herself. She wondered if Zelda was aware, or if she'd been so consumed with protecting her niece that the consequences hadn't mattered. Never mind, it was done now, and Hell was close enough she could nearly taste the brimstone and ash in her lungs.
"A sleep spell," she murmured. "Well done." She looked to male Spellman, to the sister and then, finally, to Sabrina. The girl's eyes were red-rimmed already, cheeks stained.
"It should have been me," Sabrina whispered, hoarse with grief.
"What's done is done," Lilith advised her as she walked over to the sleeping form and confirmed that the Dark Lord wasn't playing possum. She'd been fooled before. But as she flipped the swath of material until the eldest Spellman laid on her back, she saw no signs of resistance. Only a placid face and slow, even breaths.
It wouldn't last. The Dark Lord would awake her eventually, and they'd have Heaven to pay if they weren't swift in the next actions.
"What now?" Sabrina asked.
Lilith looked up at her, watching the girl's face twist in confusion, as the mortals she cared so deeply about, came and wrapped their arms around her.
Against the towering build of Mr Kinkle and the smaller figures of Mr Putnam and Miss Walker, the Dark Lord's daughter looked small. The towering crown sitting crooked on her head. Perhaps she was only mortal now.
"You won't like it," Lilith told her.
—
Zelda awoke to the Damascus steel clasping around her wrists, ankles and then finally she felt her head lifted as there was a click of a metal collar against her neck. With the last binding in place, the sleep spell snapped away, leaving her bleary-eyed and looking up at Lilith.
Lilith. The name filled her with fury, a sharpness that choked her lungs and made her want to scream and fling her magic out in an attack. But as it rose, the Damascus steel acted as a barrier against her magic (and His), quelling the emotions back.
Zelda pushed at the marble floor, feeling the heat press against her hand as she sat up on her knees. She drew her eyes from the red of the woman's dress to her face and finally, to the crown sitting on her head. "What a sight to see. The Dark Lord on his knees."
Zelda felt teeth against her tongue, felt him rising up her throat like the parasite he was.
"She made you Queen," Zelda said instead.
"As was promised."
So it was, Zelda nodded, but she felt a wave of disgust in her chest that wasn't her own. Ignoring it, she swept her eyes around the room. It was small and made of stone. There was a narrow bed that took up most of the space, and an iron chandelier hanging from above, casting a warm, golden hue across the walls. There was no window and only a single, heavy door. "What happens now?"
"We'll see how well you both behave." Lilith was looking at her curiously as if she expected something more. Perhaps for her to yell and protest, but Zelda just pushed up to her feet with as much grace as she could manage for the thick skirts she wore. Her corset pinched, but the pain focused her thoughts, reminding her why she was here. Sabrina wouldn't have lasted. As soon as an hour has passed, she would have looked for an exit, growing bored with the confinement.
"So you've imprisoned us both?" Zelda asked.
"Until you can prove you're not a threat. If you can even manage that." Lilith stepped closer, grabbing Zelda's chin to lift her head and stared into her eyes. From the depths of her psyche, Zelda felt her hackles rise. Her fingers curled at her sides, willing to grab at Lilith's throat and bring it to her teeth.
Lilith smirked, dropping her chin and stepping back. "As I thought," she said. "Well, let's see how long you last."
"You could at least pretend to be nice."
"And what good would that do?" Lilith asked as she knocked against the door. "You belong to me now. Both of you." She smiled, a mischievous expression filling her face as the heavy sound of metal against metal dragged against the other side of the door before it opened.
Lilith exited, the door shut, and then Zelda was alone in the room with the Dark Lord for company.
You should have killed her, He whispered.
Perhaps she should have. And then where would they be?
Zelda sat on the end of the bed and felt the Dark Lord slither under her skin, pushing at her magic. It sparked against the Damascus steel, bound and useless.
Curling her hands, she pulled him back.
—
She dreamt of sinking, of drowning in the depths of icy waters.
Her dress was heavy and the surface was too far away.
—
As promised, Lilith returned. Zelda wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed but knew it to be at least three evenings (she could feel the moon rising in Hell far clearer than she had in the Mortal realm).
This time, Lilith didn't come by herself, she brought a minor demon in tow (dressed as a bellhop) and directed him to place a silver platter of food down, with a pitcher of wine on the end of the bed before ordering him to leave the room. The creature seemed hesitant to obey, but followed her orders and locked the door behind him, leaving them alone in the room.
It felt overcrowded with Zelda sitting on one end of the bed, Lilith standing in front of the door and Lucifer ever-present in the room, quiet but waiting.
"I expected an escape attempt at least."
"I'm sure it will come," Zelda said as she eyed the food, feeling her hunger gnaw in her gut.
Inside of her being, she could feel the Dark Lord peering through her eyes. Zelda didn't know how she knew, but there was an immediate sense of the Dark Lord entwined to her being as if she could feel him curled inside of her, ears pricked as he listened to what was happening next.
Zelda took the pitcher of wine first, pouring it into the provided goblet before bringing it to her nose and breathing in the scent of oak and berries.
"We haven't poisoned your food," Lilith said, raising her brow.
"I didn't think you had. But as much as I appreciate the wine, I would have preferred water." She took a sip and watched as Lilith stared at her with wide eyes, there was a forced relaxed look about her as if she was a marionette posed by some invisible master. But as Zelda looked closer, she could see the anticipation in her eyes, almost as if she was uncertain as to what might happen next.
"How goes your claim to the throne?"
"As expected."
There was a small mark of black ichor on Lilith's face, across her cheek. Barely visible, but she felt her eyes focus on it, wondering what the splatter was.
Demon blood, the Dark Lord whispered deep inside of her. There must be a rebellion rising against her. He sounded amused, but Zelda reminded Him that if Lilith fell, they would be next. The humour softened and then quietened all together as Lucifer receded deep into her skin, pulling His thoughts as far away as possible.
Lilith's eyes narrowed, but her lips remained pressed shut.
Zelda watched as she rapped her knuckles against the door and left, a strange look on her face as she gave a last stare to Zelda and exited the room.
—
Lilith didn't visit her for over a week, and Zelda felt the Dark Lord grow restless inside of her. He was like a tiger in a cage, going round in circles, waiting for the chance to pounce.
You know she's biding her time before she kills you, the Dark Lord whispered in an attempt to coerce an escape. It wasn't the first time, but no amounts of carrot or stick had worked against her. She'll torture you first. Maybe even toss you to some demons to play with, or perhaps she's just saving that for Sabrina.
Zelda rolled her eyes as she settled against the pillow. "Only men threaten such an act because they can not imagine anything worse. Believe me, Dark Lord, there are worse things."
He went quiet and then seemed to prod at her thoughts as if trying to find the answer to an unasked question.
—
She dreamt of Faustus, of the Caligari Spell, making her dance round and round in circles. She awoke in a cold sweat and felt the Dark Lord's laughter rolling inside of her.
Zelda turned in the bed, drawing the blankets back over her shoulders and fell back asleep, listening as the Dark Lord's humour drifted away and only annoyance remain between them.
—
Zelda had long since shed herself of the masquerade dress and corset, leaving herself in her satin slip (the room was warmer than the Spellman manor became in Summer). One day, shortly after delivering her food, the demon brought her a bowl of water, a bar of soap and a washcloth to clean herself.
"Can you tell your queen that her prisoner would like new clothes and a hairbrush?" The demon had shot up and left, scampering out of the room as if she'd struck him.
Lilith's children don't like to be spoken to.
“She made him?” Zelda asked.
All of the lesser demons are her kin. She made them to impress me, and when that didn't work, she made them to spite me. Pathetic.
Was it? Zelda wondered. She'd brought many children to the world, watched as they took their first breath and opened their eyes for the first time. How many children had Lilith created to watch their lungs expand? Their eyes fall upon her and see her as their whole world--love her as if it was?
Don't fool yourself, Lilith could never create a child that loved.
Zelda's anger rose sharply. The Dark Lord seemed to stir inside of her, wanting to fuel the rage and forge it into a weapon. She felt the crackle in her fingertips, snapping against the steel, biting and heating the metal.
As fast as it rose, she snuffed it down to embers, moving to take the soap and washcloth to begin cleaning herself.
The Dark Lord settled back down, but she could feel his thoughts ticking away.
—
The next day, the demon delivered clothes along with a hairbrush. Zelda felt her annoyance grow as she touched the material. They were made from leathers and furs, unreasonable to wear in the climate of Hell. She was certain Lilith meant it as a jest.
The hairbrush was suitable, at least.
You have to be specific with Lilith, He sighed as if this wasn't the first time she'd done such a thing.
—
A fortnight had passed before Lilith returned to the room. This time, she was dressed in black and gold and stood in the room with more ease than she had before. There was an excitement to her steps as she strode around the small room, eyeing the clothes neatly folded under the bed before looking to where Zelda had stacked the water bowl.
Zelda could feel the judgement, could hear Lilith's mind ticking as she ran her eyes over the walls, looking for something that wasn't there.
Moments passed, and still, nothing was said. Zelda sighed, folding her arms across her chest. "Can I help you?"
"Oh, yes," Lilith grinned as if she was privy to some joke that Zelda wasn't. "Because you've been such a good girl, and because much of the Infernal courts are in disarray as their rebellion lulls, you will come with me to the throne room."
Zelda felt her eyebrows rise at the statement. "Will I?"
"You will," Lilith said, her smile turning dangerous enough to remind Zelda of who was in charge.
Lucifer warned her that Lilith was far too pleased with herself for this to be just an offer of change in scenery. It was a fair argument, and yet Zelda could feel the anticipation rising in her at getting to leave the small room.
"I'll have Minion bring a new dress over," Lilith said, before dragging her eyes over Zelda's with salacious intent. "Since I can see you didn't like the ones I picked out. Or perhaps you enjoy parading around in your underwear with the Dark Lord?"
Zelda rolled her eyes, not taking the bait, though she felt a strange emotion rise from the Dark Lord. Displeasure at something, though Zelda couldn't say what. Before she could focus on it, he receded deep into her being to hide away from Lilith's focus as the woman circled back to stand in front of her. All amusement drained away, and Lilith stood tall in her heels against Zelda's bare feet. "Let's see how well you fair."
—
Lilith returned to the room once Minion had notified her that her new pet was appropriately dressed. The Eldest Spellman, now the vessel for the Dark Lord, stood proud in the room. Her long, red hair had been brushed until it spilled down her back, bright against the pale cotton of the dress.
Lilith circled her, watching the skin prickle, shoulders pull back, and muscles contract as the witch jutted her chin up, staring at Lilith with as much venom as she could manage.
Impressive. It was clear as to where Sabrina inherited her annoying self-worth.
Unspooling the length of chain in her hands, Lilith watched as the witch's iris's expanded before she settled again. Perhaps in another lifetime, if things had been different, she may have been kinder to the witch, may have thought her as more than just an object hosting the Dark Lord.
But Lilith could see Him lurking behind those eyes.
After all the centuries, after all the pain and anguish, after Adam, she couldn't hesitate.
It was only a vessel. Pretty as it may be.
She clicked the chain over the loop on the collar and tugged once jerking her forward until they were a breath away. Hands reached out to grab at the links and then dropped away. "Good girl," Lilith breathed and watched as the witch's lips twisted, her jaw clenching as she bit back a snarl.
Oh, this was going to be fun.
—
Zelda followed. There was little else she could do as the chain was used to jerk her forward. The Dark Lord was livid, curling inside of her, pushing for her snap back and have Lilith stumble on her feet.
Remind her of her place, or I will, He warned, spitting threats in her head. She ignored them and followed on bare feet through the halls of the palace, the warmth of the stone beneath her soles made it bearable.
The throne room was more significant than she expected, bright with crimson and gold. She barely had a moment to wash her eyes around to marvel at it before the chain was snapped and she was tugged forward, stumbling on her feet.
Zelda lifted her head, biting back her own comments as Lucifer rallied inside of her. But Zelda knew that if she launched into an attack, whatever Lilith had planned would only be the beginning.
Swallowing back the anger, she rose to her feet and stared at Lilith, lengthening her spine until she was standing tall and they were nearly eye-to-eye.
Lilith smiled at her. "Minion," she said, not looking away from her. "Fetch us water and cloth."
"Yes, your Majesty."
A door creaked as he rushed away, echoing in the throne room. When it settled, only a silence sat between them, thick with tension.
Minion returned, placing a bucket of water down, in between the two women before placing the rags over the rim and stepping back. Zelda already knew what the next order would be before Lilith said it.
"On your knees."
Don't you dare.
Zelda felt Lucifer push against her will, enforcing her to stand. But it was easier for her to drop than it was for him to keep her standing. Her knees hit the stone floor, pain blooming across them as she grit her teeth and looked up at Lilith, waiting for the next order to come. Inside of her, she could feel the rage pressing against her as Lucifer swore he'd break them both when he was free.
She ignored him and kept her eyes on the Queen, watching as Lilith stepped closer, keeping the chain taught so Zelda's chin was jutting up.
Zelda felt the Queen's hand come under her jaw, holding her steady as she looked between her eyes, thumb brushing over her cheek.
When she first met Mary Wardwell, the woman had been meek and mild with scathing commentary. Now, Zelda could hardly believe she was looking at the same person.
"The floor's filthy. Clean it until I'm satisfied." The hand dropped away and Zelda felt herself exhale.
She reached out to the bucket, taking the rags and drenching it into the water. She could feel the woman's eyes on her, the anticipation of watching her wring out the cloth before dropping it wetly against the floor and pushing it around (it would have been quicker with a brush, but she suspected Lilith knew that).
Zelda half expected the water to be poisoned, or acidic or even lava, but if it had been tampered with, she felt no immediate reaction. It was just warm water and a damp rag, nothing special. She'd washed floors before.
The Dark Lord raged inside of her, but it was like a fear gnawing in her gut. You just had to push through it.
It was easy to ignore him with the tasks, focusing on the water on the floor, the process of drenching the rag before wringing it out and dropping it to the floor again. She pushed it in circles, wiping the section clean before moving to the next. She began with just the small area around her, but as she started crawling on her knees to move to a larger area, Lilith stepped back and handed the length of chain to Minion to hold.
Zelda sat up on her knees, wondering what this meant but Lilith only raised her brows at her. "Did I say you could stop?"
No, of course not.
—
Lilith raised her hand and with the curl of her fingers, summoned Minion to her side.
He snapped the leash and then the vessel was hurriedly trying to rise to her feet as he tugged her up the stairs. Lilith could see the biting comments withheld as she was brought before her.
And then when those eyes turned to face her, Lilith could see the contempt rising as the Dark Lord stared back at her. She could almost see his face twisting, swearing vengeance. But the facade faded and it was only the vessel staring back. She looked annoyed, tired but proud.
That wouldn’t do.
Lilith took the chain, feeling her fingers wrap around the cool metal as the vessel knelt down before her (straining with the Dark Lord's rage spitting from her). Her hands came together in her lap, head bowed but eyes look up, waiting for the next command.
There were many things she wanted to do, but Lilith held back, coiling the length of chain in her hand as she considered all the things the Dark Lord had made her do in efforts to humiliate her. Remind her of her place.
What could she do to remind Lucifer of His place, now?
—
A bowl of water was sent for, a new, clean cloth. And then Zelda was looking up at Lilith as she took the woman’s feet in hand and removed her heels, setting them gently aside.
There, on her knees, she was made to wash the Queen’s feet.
Her muscles clenched, the Dark Lord screaming inside of her, but as she looked up at Lilith and took in her laconic visage, Zelda felt steady. Lilith’s gaze was cool, dominating but not demanding. She expected Zelda to have control.
Zelda’s fingers squeezed at the cloth, taking Lilith’s ankle gently in hand as her bicep convulsed with the Dark Lord’s need to control her.
“You submitted easily,” Lilith said.
“Submission is not dominated,” Zelda said, and there her eyes flicked up to stare at the cold eyes of Lilith, watching the woman’s mouth twisted in a smirk.
“Is that so? Are you asking me to dominate you?”
“No.” It was said firmly, but Lilith laughed as if she didn’t believe her.
Zelda meant it though. A submission wasn’t dominated. She’d submit to Lilith, but Lilith had not stripped her of her self yet.
No. That’s mine. It’s always been mine.
—
Zelda returned to her room each evening. But every day that week, Lilith brought her out and had her clean the throne room. She didn’t ask her to wash her feet again, but neither she nor the Dark Lord was fooled. They both knew she was playing the long game in corruption.
After all, in Lilith’s mind, she had thousands of years to torture them both.
Lilith’s form of torture has always been slow, The Dark Lord informed her as if they were conspiring against her and needed to bring their knowledge together. An absolute reckoning of mind, body and soul.
And what of yours, Zelda had wondered, but she didn’t need to ask. She already knew. Painful and drawn out until he grew bored––not unlike a cat toying with a mouse. Lilith’s was patient.
Patient? He’d scoffed. Wasteful. In the times she’d broken a person, I’d already broken an army.
Then why keep her around?
To that question, he was quiet. His thoughts withdrawing quickly.
—
Lilith arrived late one evening, looking pleased with her self. “Tomorrow you shall be brought before the Courts of Hell,” she advised. “I think it’s time they see what’s happened to their dear Dark Lord.” She grinned to herself, pleased.
The Dark Lord scoffed, unsurprised by the reveal.
“Am I expected to do anything?” Zelda asked, her voice low in disinterest.
Lilith shrugged. “Know any party tricks?” She teased.
Zelda stared back at her, unimpressed. Whatever “tricks” she knew were not something she’d be willing to share in such a state. “Am I expected to make a speech or do anything like that?” She asked.
To that, Lilith seemed to quieten. “No,” she said. “They’ll know He’s inside you.”
There was a quiet that passed between them at that. A moment where Zelda realised that Lilith had addressed her directly as separate from Lucifer’s entity. “How much control do you want me to have over him?”
“As you are.” And there, Lilith stared at her, all amusement having evaporated from her expression. "It won't be pleasant tomorrow," she said before turning away, exiting from the room, and leaving Zelda a question as to what could be so terrible that Lilith would think to warn her.
If it goes poorly, you may die, the Dark Lord said. And then I'll be free of this restraint.
"Or we could be captured and held in far less pleasant circumstances."
He seemed to think about it as if considering what his supposed royal subjects may do if they were to overthrow Lilith. Zelda already knew the answer. She'd lived through enough of history and knew Lucifer doubts came from His pride that His royal subjects would be loyal (they wouldn't) or be too afraid to anger Him (they won't be).
She'll grow bored, and these circumstances will become as unpleasant as any other, He told her, but Zelda could feel uncertainty in him. Lilith was not nearly as an unpredictable force as the Demon Kings.
—
Minion awoke her earlier than expected, with a new bowl of water, soap, and washcloth. He laid out a new dress (made of grey and blue silk) and then set aside hairpins out on the bed.
"I don't have a mirror," she said as she began brushing through her hair.
"Her Majesty has asked me to do your hair."
“I know how to do my hair.”
“Her Majesty insisted,” he said, and there was a threat to the words that Zelda didn’t care to press upon.
"Of course she has," Zelda sighed. "Well, you can come back in half an hour, once I've finished dressing."
Minion nodded and left, leaving Zelda alone with only the Dark Lord for company, as she washed and dressed.
The Great Zelda Spellman is going to obey a lowly demon without questioning?
"Of course not, but we would do well to learn the complexities of our situation before making demands."
What must have been the exact second of the half-hour passing, Minion entered the room again and requested her to sit on the end of the bed, where he brushed her hair before twisting and pinning sections to pull most of it off her neck, though Zelda felt a section drip down her back. Satisfied, he stepped away and nodded at her. "You're to follow me," Minion said. "And Our Majesty reminds you that she can not protect you if you choose to run."
“As if I’m not aware,” Zelda scoffed.
Minion frowned, before opening the door. He led her down a hallway, and as they walked past a particularly ostentatious oil painting of Hell, she felt Lucifer perk inside of her, seeming to know their exact location.
Both Hell and the halls of Pandemonium constantly move, so they remained unplottable, but there are fixed locations. The throne room is one of them. He paused then, seeming to think, before suggesting, If you focused on my bed chambers, we could escape.
Zelda ignored the suggestion. The unknown may be daunting, but to run away would lose them any sense of safety –– Lilith had every reason to keep them safe and alive, no one else in Hell did. And as she’d informed Minion to pass on, she couldn’t protect them if they ran.
The promise of a reward can be an excellent motivator.
"Only if it outweighs what they already feel is within grasp," she reminded him. They had no reason to believe that anything Lucifer could offer them would outweigh their desire to claim the throne. After all, Lilith and Sabrina had shown the Dark Lord was fallible, and therefore unfit to rule Hell.
Lucifer seemed to grow furious at the idea, his rage spreading through Zelda until she felt her magic crackle against the palms of her hands. Zelda gasped as she felt His possession. Her fingers curled against her will, her shoulders pulling back as her knees buckled. Zelda felt her thoughts flood with fury as Minion turned and looked at her, his eyes wide open in fear as her body half-lunged and half-locked in place.
She collapsed against the marble ground, arms and knees hitting the ground hard.
It was enough to focus on the cold pinch of the Damascus steel, to feel the rage burn and quieten as she pushed him down into her belly until the fury became a tantrum that she could swallow back. Slowly she pushed up to her feet and felt her limbs shake, the tension enough to nearly snap the tendons.
Minion shook, his blackened mouth agape as he cowered behind a table, peeking out from underneath his hat to stare at her.
Pulling her shoulders back, she fixed her skirts and drew in a deep breath until her heart settled in her chest. Then she looked to the underling and raised her brow. "Won't your mistress be displeased if we're late?"
His face pinched before he nodded and pushed up to his feet, giving her a cautionary look before he continued to lead her down the halls. Collar in grip.
Eventually, they came to a large wooden door. Minion gave another nervous look before pulling the doors open.
The air washed hot against Zelda like she'd entered a boiler room. Stepping inside, she looked over the warm, red glow of the throne room to where a dozen demons stood, staring at her with disbelief and anger. "This is the Acheron that contains the Dark Lord?" One of the demons spat. "It's no more than a witch."
"And yet," Lilith said from where she stood on her podium. "It contains Him. Look at her, and you know it to be true."
Lucifer's tantrum had ceased, and an odd stillness held inside of her as He waited to see what His subjects would do. When they made no effort to free Him, his anger grew again. Tempered this time, and contained as He realised for the first time that perhaps Zelda had not been wrong and maybe Lilith was His safest option in Hell until He could reclaim His body, or control this one.
Zelda ruffled at the end of the thought but made no commentary towards it.
"Minion, bring the vessel to me."
Minion gave a respectful nod, before urging Zelda to follow him up the stairs, to where Lilith was. The Queen of Hell stood tall and proud, shoulders back and a bright, sharp smile on her lips. A mixture of emotions rolled inside of her at the visage presented until Zelda couldn't tell what sensation belonged to who.
Minion bowed and then backed away, in sight but out of the spotlight as Zelda moved to stand beside Lilith.
"Here is the Dark Lord, captured inside this...delightful form," Lilith said, turning to look at Zelda mischievously before turning back to the demon kings. "And with the wars completed, we have nothing else to fight over. You are ours, and we are your Queen, and as such, we shall rule with divine right."
One of the demons spat. "Imposter," he declared. "Lilith is a concubine. She can not rule."
Zelda watched as Lilith's eyes fluttered with a sigh, her shoulders sagging as if this was a long-standing contention. The demons grew into an argument with one another, and Lilith turned and looked at Zelda, "You'd think the threat of death and torture would stop them, but no. Where one falls, another will rises, and so on it goes."
"Are they not your children?"
Lilith's eyes sharpened, “You and the Dark Lord have been conversing about me, have you? No, the Kings were once celestial, like the Dark Lord, and they fell as He did when His rebellion failed. Or so I'm told." She turned and looked over the kings, watching the arguments rise between them over who should take the throne. "The Dark Lord slaughtered those that were a threat to his rule long ago, these kings are lesser angels left with ideas of grandeur that they'll never obtain."
There was a soft agreement deep in Zelda as she looked over the demons, watching as they broke out in a literal fight.
"But they outnumber your allies," Zelda said, turning to look at Lilith, "and therefore they remain more dangerous than the Dark Lord."
She could feel Lucifer's disagreement, sharp in her stomach. Still, Lilith tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as she withheld her agreement, but unintentionally presented it as fact with her silence.
"We'll be back!" the demon kings declared, "and with it, you will feel our wrath, concubine."
"Yes, I'm certain we shall see you at tomorrow's meeting to discuss the influx of new souls." Lilith gestured to Minion, who walked down the stairs and seemed to open an even grander set of doors, leading the demon kings out of the throne room. Once the doors had shut again, Lilith sighed and leant against the railing as if she'd just completed a hard day's work of manual labour, turning to look at Zelda. "A queen's work is never done."
"As evident by an uprising."
"What can you do?" she shrugged. "Overall, I thought that went quite well. I had expected them to be more organised in who they wanted to lead, but I suppose we'll see that decision made by tomorrow. Likely they'll try to siege the palace tonight."
"And you're unconcerned?"
Lilith smirked, but deflected the question by asking, “Are you hungry? You missed your morning meal, hmm?”
—
The dining room was long, but Lilith sat at the end and directed Zelda to the chair on her left-handed side. She had Minion pour them wine before requesting food to be served ("and not what you served to the Kings.") Before she smiled at Zelda. A quiet settled on them, filled with only the sound of the fire crackling against the wood and pulsating an unnecessary amount of heat into the room.
Zelda sipped at her wine, feeling Lilith study her, looking over for any cracks that might show the Dark Lord beneath her skin, before making a soft humming noise.
"Yes?" Zelda asked, turning to raise her brows.
"Perhaps the boy should be the most celebrated conjurer and binder alive."
"I wouldn't leap to any assumptions. It's barely been a month.”
"I suppose we'll eventually see." Lilith sipped at her wine before setting the goblet on the table. "I would recommend trying to keep him contained for tonight at the very least. I expect the infernal kings will think themselves clever in trying to attack tonight and I would rather not deal with the Dark Lord's rampage at the same time as managing warfare. It would make it difficult to assure your safety."
Zelda felt a dry comment raise to tongue to advise she no more controlled the Dark Lord than he commanded her, but she felt the words die on her lips. The casual setting Lilith they sat in, remained a play. They were not equal in status, and as such, Zelda would hold her tongue unless appropriate (she could even hear her mother’s voice telling her to set her shoulders back and sit up straight, lest she brought ruin to the Spellman name).
I've wondered what it must be like to have a mother, but I see it not unlike having an impetuous sibling.
It was the older siblings duty, Zelda thought, to keep the younger siblings in line. And yet she was never to Hilda what their Mother was to her (though their Mother never kept Hilda to the same standard as she had with Zelda). The thought burned in her briefly and then fluttered away. She had promised herself to stop holding that against Hilda.
But she never stopped your Mother. Edward tried and was punished all the same by your father.
Minion arrived before Zelda's thoughts could sink any further. He laid out the dish before them and then stood back, out of sight, but within earshot of his Queen's beckoning.
Zelda waited for Lilith to begin (as was appropriate) before starting her own. It had nothing on Hilda's cooking, but it was edible. Suitable to have a hot meal when previously she'd been provided with cold meats and fruit in her imprisonment.
"You'll stay with me for the rest of the day," Lilith advised. "In case you were wondering as to what your fate is to be."
"And after the siege, what do you plan then?"
"We'll see if we survive this first, hmm?" Lilith looked at her, offering her a smile as if it was a joke, but Zelda was confident that she meant it all the same.
—
In her earlier centuries, Zelda had been a courtier for a time. It allowed her to be a muse or paramour to a variety of monarchs across Europe as it suited her, which in turn provider her with some safety with regards to being a witch, offering her shelter, food and beautiful clothing, as well a degree of power and influence. Still, despite being of different worlds, and being a witch with mortals, Zelda was surprised to note that the Kings of those times had similar duties to the current Queen of Hell.
After their meal had finished, Lilith had moved to complete a seemingly unending stack of paperwork, despite the daunting size of her duties, Lilith seemed at ease in the routine.
Lucifer had grown restless at seeing the stacks of paper, but if Zelda were to prod at the emotion, it seemed almost amused, as if he wasn't sure why Lilith would even bother to complete it.
Taxes, he'd huffed before shuffling down inside of Zelda as if preparing to sleep. Zelda eyed the paperwork, trying to catch what it said. As she understood it, jewels and gold did not make the currency of Hell, so she wondered what the king's paid for their tithes.
"Here," Lilith said, handing a sheet of paper over as she caught Zelda leaning close.
Zelda took the document and looked over the drawn markings. Four columns stretched down the paper: the first of which contained names of recognisable demon lords and princes; the second contained what Zelda suspected was a date going in chronological order, likely marking when the last collection had occurred; the third column contained whole numbers, probably representing the souls collected; and a final, fourth column allowed commentary.
One such read the demons name, provided a date, the number zero for souls collected, and then in a commentary: Eviscerated. Lands now owned by Asmodeus.
"What does such a Monarchy do with souls?"
"Depends on the soul," Lilith advised. "Some are soldiers, labourers, entertainers; most are just considered currency to us, used for bartering with other realms."
Ask her for a soul coin, Lucifer said. It was an insidious remark that caused Zelda to squirm. Go on. It'll be interesting.
Nothing good could come from Lucifer's amusement. Shivering at the Dark Lord's eagerness, she stretched and then clenched her hands, willing for the wave of humour and anxiety to soften in her belly.
Lilith flicked her eyes over Zelda's face, narrowing her eyes as she concluded her own. "What has he asked?"
"Nothing."
Lilith placed down her pen and turned herself to face Zelda, "I can have you locked up again. Limit your privileges to food and water.”
Zelda felt a flare of annoyance rise. She'd done nothing wrong, and yet the woman was determined to assume the worst. "There's no need to threaten me. He told me to ask you for a soul coin. I have no interest in seeing it, so I didn't ask."
Liar, He whispered, the word curling in her head.
"Is that so?" Lilith's face shifted into a similar insidious, mischievous expression as Zelda felt curling underneath her skin. "Minion," she summoned. "Can you grab a handful of coins from the treasury?"
"Yes, Your Majesty," Minion bowed and scampered away.
"You don't need to," Zelda insisted.
"Oh, but I do. Otherwise, the Dark Lord will keep pestering you until you've seen one." Lilith picked up her pen and returned to her work, but there was a particular element of excitement in her movements like she had set up a prank and was waiting for it Zelda to step into it.
It set Zelda's nerves alive with anxiety. She didn't like the fact that both Lucifer and Lilith were amused by whatever was so appealing about a 'soul coin'. She suspected that the coin its self was a chit meant to represent the souls promised to Hell, and therefore could likely be used to extend or reduce a bargained deal.
But it didn't explain their anticipation.
She waited, uncertain as to what could cause amusement –– perhaps they would dig out her own chit and set it before her.
Minion returned with a small pouch and set it on the table beside Lilith's left hand, before bowing and stepping back into the shadows. Lilith looked up at Zelda, watching her with gleaming eyes as she untied the pouch and pulled forth what looked like an iron coin, imprinted with a person's name in serif script on one side, with a depiction of Lucifer's infernal form on the other.
"Here," Lilith said, placing the iron on the table, halfway between herself and Zelda with the head of the coin facing up, hiding the name.
"Is it tied to someone?"
"Unquestionably."
Zelda reached out and took the coin in her hand, willing to flip it over and see the name. As soon as her fingers touched against the metal (warmer than it had any right being), she felt agonising pain strike through her very psyche. A plead, begging over and over: kill me, oh God, please, please, kill me. Please let me die. Please, please.
Dropping the coin, Zelda stared at it as it spun against the table, before wobbling and then becoming still again. Seemingly lifeless, though Zelda could still feel the echoes of torment shake at her hand as the Dark Lord laughed inside of her head. Lilith looked at her, a sharp grin on her lips as she picked up the coin as if it was nothing more than iron, and dropped it back into the bag, pulling its strings tight.
"It's alive," Zelda stated, feeling her skin crawl from the remnants of the touch. It had been like she had reached inside of someone and touched their still-beating heart. "They're alive."
"And aware," Lilith hummed, setting the bag down before picking up her pen again.
"Is that what you do? Turns souls into coins."
"Only the ones we have no immediate use for. When souls get to certain hopelessness, they tend to go insane; we send them to the mint and have them...processed. It's an infinitely painful experience, as I understand."
"Can it be undone?"
"Why bother? It's easier to have them in a compact form."
Zelda wasn't one to become squeamish. She'd seen a great many horrors in her centuries of living, but there was something inherently wrong about the coins. Touching it had been more than nauseating, it went against the very natural order of life. How many souls had that happened to? How many of them deserved it?
"Is that what happens to witches?" she asked, feeling a bitter taste rise in the back of her throat.
"Some," Lilith said. "Any that lose their value," she looked at Zelda as she said the words, ensuring she understood the dangling threat lacing the words. “I wonder what would happen if I did that to you and the Dark Lord. If you’d become one coin, compact for all eternity.”
Inside of her, Lucifer slithered a strange mixture of emotions. As if he was surprised by Lilith's tenacity, and then annoyed at being surprised.
—
Although the windows to the outside only showed ruby skies, Zelda could feel with certainty that it was evening. Somewhere, obscured by hot ash and storm clouds, was a glowing moon that called to her witchy nature.
Lilith led her down the halls, manoeuvring through the hallways with more confidence and ease than Minion had. Lucifer had been quiet since the dining room and content to keep buried within Zelda, keeping his thoughts hidden within abstract ideas and a sense of anticipation, which only left Zelda to wonder what he was waiting for.
"You’re quiet," Lilith said, looking over her shoulder as she leant against a wooden door that looked no different to the hundred or so they'd passed. "I would have assumed some questions for the art at least."
Zelda pressed her lips together, darting a glance at the art on the wall, her eyes fell across well-known works by the renaissance artists: Raphael, Da Vinci, Botticelli, Carravaggio. Zelda didn't need to look closely and see that they were original artwork (though most of the great artists had their apprentices complete the sections they didn't care for, so how much of a Da Vinci was an original Da Vinci and not his apprentices?).
Looking to Lilith, she noticed the woman's expression, waiting for Zelda to make some comment.
"Should I be impressed?" she asked.
"I see where Sabrina learnt her impudence," Lilith sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically as she twisted at the brass handle in her grip. The plain door pushed open, and as Zelda stepped behind her, she found her eyes dancing across a large bed-chamber.
She stepped into the room, feeling the heat soften to an early autumn evening rather than the oppressive heat that radiated in the halls.
The door clicked shut behind her as she took in the swathe of the room. In the centre, there were two lounges and an armchair, facing a coffee table. To the left was an archway, leading to a small library, with a chaise lounge swallowed by rows of bookshelves. To the back of the room lead to the bed-chamber that through the open archway, she could see sat a four-poster bed larger than any bed had a right to be, sitting on top of a podium two steps higher than the rest of the room.
There was a dressing area to one side of the chamber, and doors that Zelda could only imagine walked to one of the most abundant walk-in closets of existence. To the other side of the sitting room sat a large floor to ceiling window, overlooking the skies and wastelands of Hell. Zelda stepped towards the windows, looking out against the volcano erupting in the distance, smothering the surrounding lands in black and a glowing red as hot ash burned the sky.
Was this what passed as a view in Hell?
Lilith favours it, which was the only response she received.
A storm thundered in the distance, lightning cracking over the skies, dimmed by the hot ash. Zelda wondered if this was what it had looked like to Pliny the Younger when Vesuvius had erupted. It was almost apocalyptic.
Oh, no, it would have been much worse if you let me enact my will. I would have reshaped the mortal realm into something much better than a tenth circle.
"If you're trying to convince me to let you go, you're doing a terrible job."
"Is that so?" Lilith asked, coming up beside her. "Is He telling you what His plans are as if they're inevitable, or just coming up with ways to torture you when He's supposedly won."
Zelda smiled in response, feeling Lucifer recede deep in her as Lilith came to stand beside her. Who knew the Dark Lord was so intimidated by the first woman?
The Dark Lord seethed at the comment but didn't bite back, choosing to remain curled inside of her. Whether it was from fear or not, there was something about Lilith's presence that had Him receding as far back into the shadows of her psyche as He could to keep her from staring back.
Lilith handed Zelda a glass, sipping at her own as she stared out the window. "You can sleep here if you need to. I expect it will be a long night."
Zelda nodded, acknowledging the statement as she sipped at the wine. It was sweeter than the one they had for dinner, but not so much as to be a dessert wine. She took another mouthful and felt a deep breath exhaled from her body. "How long will the war last?" she asked, watching as from a distance, the Demon King returned with their armies, ready to lay siege against the palace.
"For eternity," Lilith said. "But they'll grow bored of the siege when they realise that their cities are burning." Lilith turned and smirked at Zelda. "You'd think centuries of warfare would teach them not to underestimate me."
"When have you known men to learn from their mistakes?"
Lilith’s expression softened for a moment, her eyes sparkling with mischief before she turned away. For a moment, Zelda could pretend they were both here under different circumstances.
It didn’t last long. But it was nice.
—
Zelda awoke from the chaise lounge to the sound of the ground shuddering and war raging outside. She tilted her head to look over the spine of the chair, through to the sitting room.
Lilith stood at the window, watching the battle on the grounds. The banners of the legions were barely visible in the thick cloud of smoke, obscuring as to who was fighting with whom. "They're breaching the gates," Lilith told her. "They'll make it through by dusk."
"Dusk?" Zelda pushed up, ready to move but Lilith shook her head.
"Go back to sleep," she warned. "It's about to get ugly."
For a moment, the Queen's eyes seemed to blaze like hellfire, bright and blue before she turned back to the window.
Zelda felt the haze of a spell hit her, making her head heavy. Lucifer recoiled as if stung from a hex, twisting inside of her as He demanded that they stay awake, they needed to––!
—
She was sinking in the ocean, watching lighting crack high above her, distorted by the waves rolling against the surface of the water.
A heaviness carried her, weighing her limbs down so they couldn't move.
She could feel something curling over her body, winding round and round as it pulled her into the darkness.
—
Zelda opened her eyes to pitch darkness, an urgency burning through her.
If you want to live, you will submit to my control.
Zelda felt the reigns slip, a weariness allowing Him to gain a foothold into her psyche. But just as He reached to grasp at her limbs, she pushed him back, remembering who He was.
"I don't think so," she said as the spell took hold once more, pulling them both into sleep.
—
"Hey, come on, hey, you. Witch. Hey, witch!”
Zelda opened her eyes, feeling the haze of the sleep spell blur her vision until she recoiled at the ugly sight before her eyes. Minion was leaning down over her, barely inches away from her face so she could see his jagged teeth and feel the putrid breath rolling over her.
"Wake up."
"Honestly, you can see that I'm awake," she said, feeling her throat clench in an effort not to gag. She pushed to sit up from the chaise lounge. Her head rocked, heavy on her neck as she felt a hairpin press against her scalp. The room felt strange, quiet so she could only hear the pounding of her heart in her ears, throbbing through her skull.
The battle's finished, Lucifer said. Have a look for yourself.
Zelda pushed onto her feet, looking at Minion who stood nervously dancing from foot to foot. "She won't open the door."
Zelda blinked, "Who?"
Lilith, Lucifer advised shortly.
Zelda blinked, feeling the cloudiness of her head sift. Sleep spells always felt like coming out of a drugged stupor. It was like swimming through custard to find her thoughts. There was a backwash causing a migraine (usually a sign of spells thrown back-to-back against someone).
Swaying on her feet, she walked over to the doorway and stared out to the sitting room to where the window was. The ash had receded, the volcano quiet as only slow-moving lava could be seen pouring over the lands. Down on the grounds of the castle, Zelda could see an array of bodies, already being picked apart by crows and wolves alike. Don't be foolish. Those are under demons -- far more dangerous, Lucifer whispered.
There was an urgency to his words like he was anxious for her to see what was occurring elsewhere.
"This way," Minion said, grasping at Zelda's arm and tugging her into the bedroom.
Zelda ripped her hand away, glaring at the creature. "What is going on?" she demanded.
Minion looked to the doors that sat on the left of Lilith's room, "she won't open them," he advised. "I've been ordered to stay here, but you haven't. Go in."
Lucifer agreed, a sense of anticipation as He compelled her to open the door. She may have expended all of her magic and lie dying, he said, we should escape now. She could feel that He meant the words, but there was a blend of emotions that came with thoughts.
If she had to put a finger to it, she would say that He was uncertain if He did want to lose her.
Zelda turned the door handle and pushed into the room. What she had thought last night was a walk-in closet, turned out to be an ensuite bathroom. The room was awash with pink and gold light spilling from a skylight across the room that was as large as the sitting room. In the ground sat a sunken bath, rectangular in shape and five times as large as an ordinary bath, reminding Zelda of a Roman balneae.
Lilith laid in its depths, her head pressed against the stone sides as a cloud of red and black spilled around her.
One of the princes must have breached the palace. Luck must be on her side to have survived an assault from one of their legions.
Zelda doubted luck had much to do with it. She walked over to Lilith until her shadow passed over the woman's face and watched as the woman stirred, opening her eyes to see what had obscured her sunlight.
"Ah, I see you're awake," Lilith said.
"Minion was quite frantic about your disappearance to here. It was not a pleasant way to be awoken."
"Mm, separation anxiety. I'll have to fix that." Lilith stretched in the bath before turning around, facing Zelda as she set her chin down onto folded arms against the stone edge of the bath. "Unless you were worried about me?"
"Hardly."
Lilith tilted her head, looking up at her coyly. "The waters warm if care to join?"
"Are you asking the Dark Lord or me?"
"Does it matter?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with mischief and lust. She lifted her head up from her arms, elongating her body in the water so Zelda could see the shadow of her form, obscured by the cloud of blood in the water.
Zelda could feel arousal pooling in her lower belly. For a moment, she could remember what it was like to sink in that bathwater and feel the skin of Lilith's hips underneath her palms. She could feel Lilith sitting against her, taste the sweat slipping down her neck as she bit down her throat and felt the woman's worship hum through her as as hands slid up the curve of her waist, up to her breast and squeezed as she parted her thighs and-
The Dark Lord pulled His thoughts away. Despite their absence, Zelda could still remember how it felt and sounded and tasted. A throb echoed between her thighs.
You should try her, He said, His voice warm like honey in her mind. There's a reason I kept her around for so long.
Zelda turned away, feeling the separation of their arousal as disgust acted like oil between them. She stared up at the skylight until the emotions settled in her gut, watching at the sunlight shifted as clouds moved.
"A 'no' would have surfaced," Lilith said, twisting in the water, so her back pressed against the stone sides of the bath.
"It's not you," Zelda sighed, turning to look at her.
"Oh, I know," she glanced over her shoulder at Zelda as she began washing over her arms and back. "I'm sure you'd give your right arm for a chance with me."
Zelda raised her brow. "Someone certainly thinks highly of themselves."
"Am I wrong?"
Zelda pressed her lips shut. It didn't matter if she disagreed, Lilith had made her decision and would nonetheless tease her.
As if proving her point, Lilith laughed, warm and low before she lifted herself from the bath with more grace than Zelda expected.
Drawing her eyes briefly over the woman, her vision focused on a laceration to the woman's waist, going from her navel before snaking around to her back. The wound was sealed, though Zelda found her eyes drawn back to the bathwater where the cloud of blood and ichor floated as evidence from whatever mortal wound she'd stitched with magic.
"I sent you to sleep for a few days, so you're going to be quite hungry."
Ah, Zelda realised. That at least explained why she felt so ill coming out of the sleeping spell.
"How long did the siege last?" she asked, watching as Lilith wrapped herself in an emerald dressing gown. The woman looked up at her as she began drying her hair, her blue eyes staring out with a paleness to her face. She didn’t respond.
Longer than it should have, Lucifer answered, she almost exerted all of her magic. There was a curiosity to His statement. As if he was honestly surprised she’d managed it.
"Tell Minion to make breakfast. We'll talk over food."
—
Lilith sat in the armchair, with her legs folded, holding a plate in one hand. She piled the dish with fruits and cold meats, before using a spreader knife to dollop membrillo onto the side of her plate.
Zelda picked at her own food, choosing to pick at the food like a fussy child. She longed for a cigarette but didn't dare ask for one.
She would need to make acquaintance with Minion and send him off when he wasn't busy shadowing his mistress.
Unlikely to occur, she'll never trust you with him. I used to make a game of turning her pets against her.
Zelda set down the plate of food and moved to pour herself a pot of tea, feeling the nausea roll through her.
When Lilith had first revealed herself, Zelda had briefly pondered as to why she hadn't shown her self sooner. After all, if Lilith's original motivation had been to push Sabrina down the Path of Night, it would have made more sense to rope in the only other person in her life who wanted that for her and knew Sabrina better than Sabrina knew herself.
Initially, she'd disregarded it as Lilith being conceited enough to think she could do it on her own. Now, Zelda wondered if Lilith had been wary to trust anyone else. Or fearful that such trust would lead to her own endangerment.
The Dark Lord seemed to grow inside of her, a sadistic pleasure purring at the thought, but Zelda could feel something twisted at the centre of the emotions. As if his brutality was masking something.
As she prodded at the emotion, reaching to understand, the Dark Lord flinched away, burying into the depths of her psyche until she could barely feel Him there. Whatever it was, He either didn't want either of them to know.
"Penny for your thoughts," Lilith summoned as she used a knife to sectional off a piece of peach.
"A disagreement. Nothing more."
"Is that so?"
"It is."
Lilith's eyes opened wide as if taken aback by her comment, though Zelda could see a smile tugging on her lips as she licked at the peach juice dripping down her thumb. She looked away, focusing on the task of cutting off pieces of the fruit before popping them into her mouth. If Zelda didn't know better, she would assume the woman was trying to seduce her.
Lilith's just won a significant battle, the Dark Lord nudged. She's quite pleased with herself. If I were you, I would indulge her or strike her down swiftly; inaction will only provide her with leverage.
"The Kings have returned to their land," Lilith said. "I would say that we have another week of them shifting their failures on one another before they reform their alliance."
"And what will you do during that time?"
"Weave order."
"Not chaos?"
"The kings thrive in chaos. No, an orderly attack would be preferable. In an ideal world, I would hit their citadels, severe their trades to the other lands before leading a single frontline attack that would capture all the kings and princes, allowing a mass public execution to happen on the same day." Lilith grinned to herself as if the idea was a favoured fantasy. Zelda could see the beauty in the dream, but could also see that it had no specific strategy and no room for mistakes. It would leave Lilith too open if she tried it.
"Instead?"
Lilith shrugged, her eyes sparkling as she took another piece of peach.
Tell her to go to the Seelie Courts and have the Queen severe the trade-ties to the Unseelie Courts.
Zelda frowned, uncertain as to why the Dark Lord was offering what sounded to be reasonable advice. She could feel the anticipation curling around him, urging her to say the words.
Just do it, he said, growing annoyed.
Zelda set her teacup down on its saucer and looked to Lilith. Swallowing, she felt the anticipation grow again. “The Dark Lord suggest that you should go to the Seelie Courts and have them severe whatever ties the Unseelie Courts have with the Infernal Kings."
Lilith's eyes widened, and a monstrous look briefly took over her face before it settled again. Inside of Zelda, she could feel the Dark Lord's roaring amusement, as if she had both fallen for a great prank.
Lilith rose, and suddenly the woman seemed much taller as she sauntered around the coffee table and stood before Zelda with a strange stillness to her face. Zelda didn't move as she watched the woman manoeuvre her skirts to lift one knee and then the other to either side of her on the couch, before lowering down on her legs.
Lilith's arms slung over her shoulders in a too-familiar position, until Zelda realised that there was a knife pressing against the back of her neck.
Zelda swallowed back any words of complaint and watched as Lilith's face pulled into a disingenuous smile as she pressed the blade firmer between the divots of her vertebrae. "You and I both know that if I pushed this knife into your spinal cord with enough force, your body would become paralysed from here down, unable to move so much as a finger." Lilith pressed the knife firmer against her neck with enough force that it began to pierce the skin. "It is a courtesy that I allow you to walk around, but if you continue to be disrespectful, I will have no choice but to follow through with this threat, which would ultimately upset Sabrina and add to a list of things I don't want to deal with but will if I'm forced to."
It was with fear trembling through her that Zelda swallowed and spoke as evenly as possible, “I understand.”
"Now, let's not be nasty to one another and pretend that this whole thing never occurred, hmm? I'm sure you and I could be friends." Lilith said, lacing the words with enough condescension to set Zelda's teeth on edge.
Zelda pressed her lips shut, quietening the anger burning in her chest as Lilith gracefully rose and stepped away, slipping around the couch before exiting to her bed chambers.
It left Zelda alone on the couch, all-the-more aware of her position as a prisoner, and more uncertain as to what the future held.
I can help you escape this, the Dark Lord whispered. I'm sure Sabrina is devastatingly lost without you.
Zelda rolled her eyes, leaning forward to pick up her cup of tea before setting back on the couch. She could feel wetness slipping down the back of her dress from where the knife had cut her and took pleasure in the fact it might stain the otherwise beautiful lounge as she sipped at her tea.
—
Zelda placed down the book she was reading, noticing Minion lingering in the corner of the room.
"Yes?"
"Emissaries have arrived."
"Isn't that something to tell your Queen?" she asked before returning to her book. Minion didn't move from the corner of the room, he just watched her until she couldn't focus on what she was reading. "Why are you lingering?"
"She's asleep."
"Then wake her."
"I can't. She's ordered me to never awake her."
"Then I guess they'll have to wait," Zelda said, not seeing how it was her problem. She looked down at the book again and read the same paragraph three times in a row before realising that Minion had no intention of leaving until she did something. Placing the book down, Zelda rose from the chaise and glared at the creature. "What should I do, see the emissaries myself?"
He didn't answer, only glared at her with his beady eyes, glaring definitely at her. There was a lingering fear in the creature, likely from knowing what lurked inside of her.
Zelda rolled her eyes, stalking out of the library and headed to the bed chambers. Her bravo ceased as she walked through the archway. To the right of the bed was a similar large-set window that looked out across the palace. Before it, on the marble floors, Zelda could see binding symbols written in blood. Bits of cloth, wax and twine was tossed over the floor, with a pile of crafting tools set in the middle of the circle where twelve poppets were present –– all in different forms of being burned or ripped apart.
One particular poppet caught her eyes due to its head glittering in the candlelight. As she stepped closer to it, Zelda realised that the glittering section of the poppet was a crown -- probably large enough to fit around a newborn's wrist, but no taller than her thumbnail.
Crown of madness, Lucifer advised. She would have depleted her reserves to cast that one.
There was a heavy stench in the air of burnt hair and flesh. A payment made to finalise the spell, most likely.
She turned back to the bed and studied the swath of curtains. It remained still. No shadows were dancing across the material to signify the Queen's disturbed sleep, and yet Zelda felt as if she'd stepped into the lion's den.
The Dark Lord grew annoyed by her hesitation, pushing for her to get it done and over with.
Reaching out, Zelda pulled back the curtains and looked across the piles of blankets. At first, it seemed to be a sea of silks and cotton, before she found Lilith's form, small against the mass of pillows. Her face was unusually pale in contrast against the surrounding dark colours, and a sheen of sweat dampened her brow.
Zelda went to touch her fingers to the woman's forehead to check for a fever, only for her wrist to be caught in the woman's grasp as Lilith opened her eyes. Her eyes stared at her, the blue of her iris' far brighter than Zelda remembered. "Dangerous move to sneak up on a witch in her home.”
"I was hardly sneaking," Zelda said, pulling her hand free. "And you look ghastly."
Lilith gave a weak smile before turning in the covers, pulling the blankets up. "Whatever it is, you'll need to ask Minion."
"Minion sent me. There are emissaries here to see you."
Lilith mumbled something, but whatever it was, the words remained buried in her blankets.
"You'll need to repeat that," Zelda said.
Pulling her head above the blankets, Lilith cleared her throat before telling her, "they're not emissaries, they're assassins. Tell Minion to get rid of them."
"You're not concerned that there are assassins in your palace?"
Lilith didn't respond. Zelda waited, staring at her with the same intensity that Minion had used on her. After a moment, Lilith turned onto her back and opened her eyes again, staring back at Zelda with weariness from being disturbed. "I've kept us safe for the last four days against most of Hell's legions, you'll forgive me if I don't have the energy to deal with a few would-be assassins."
Zelda frowned, staring at the woman. Yesterday she seemed fine. Now, she was pale and sickly.
She's completed more magic in the last few days than you have in a lifetime, Lucifer reminded her, a strange mix of pride and irritation twisting in the sentiment.
Lilith gave a sigh and looked at Zelda. "Dark Lord got your knickers in a twist?"
Zelda ignored the statement, only because she was clearly unwell. "I'm going to send Minion in," Zelda said. "Can you remain awake for that long?"
The woman just stared at her, brows raised as she waited.
Stepping away from the bed, Zelda walked to where Minion lingered outside of the room. "She's awake. You can speak with --" she cut herself off as Minion ran forward into the room, sinking to the side of the Queen's bed to whisper to her. Zelda watched them for a moment until Minion lifted up his head and shooed her with his hands.
Rolling her eyes, Zelda left.
—
Minion stayed by Lilith's side over the next day. Disappearing only to return with food.
In the few times Zelda had glanced upon Lilith, she didn't look well. She moved slowly, her hand clutching at her waist as if it still pained her.
There will never be a more opportune time to escape than now.
"And just how are we going to do that? My magic is as bound as yours."
Remove the Damascus Steel, and I'll get us out of here.
Zelda ignored the words. There was no way she was going to hand over her own autonomy.
—
Zelda awoke to the sound of thunder. It shook through the walls and ceiling of the room. As she opened her eyes to the dark visage of the room, she listened for the second crack.
It thundered, louder, closer.
"Another attack?"
So it seems, the Dark Lord said, though his words with layered with intrigue.
"Lilith predicted said they'd be in disarray."
Unless they know the defences have been weakened.
Zelda contemplated the meaning of the words, feeling the urge to escape lift and fall. Perhaps it wasn't the safest place to be, but where would she go. Return to the coven, possessed with the very tyrant they'd fought against? No, better to remain here and keep her family safe from such a fate.
Foolish.
—
Minion came to the private library and gave her a sharp look around dawn. "You need to watch over Her Majesty."
Zelda pulled up from the chaise, feeling her spine length from the odd position she'd rested in. "And why would I do that?"
"I have to collect tea for her. You need to stay with Her Majesty and protect her." He didn't wait for her to follow his orders and instead turned and exited from the chambers quickly.
Zelda rose to her feet, making her way over to the bedroom. The Hellish skies lit the room in a ruby glow, despite the colours, Lilith laid in the bed looking paler than before. Her hair was pressed around her forehead from sweat, and her breath came in shallow.
Weak, Lucifer spat.
Zelda disagreed, and didn't care to listen as the Dark Lord began a monologue about the need for power and control. She could feel hHs weariness. His urge to leave before the chaos broke out into the room, but she could also feel the spikes of agitation in His words. She doubted that Lilith had ever been weakened by anyone but himself.
Reaching out, Zelda smoothed the hair on Lilith's forehead, feeling the skin nearly burn her fingertips. For a moment, she could believe that this Queen of Hell was nothing more than a woman, another witch in need of aid. Lilith's head turned, murmuring something incomprehensible (or perhaps just in an Ancient tongue).
"This isn't a natural-born illness," Zelda said as she brushed her fingers down to her neck, feeling the woman's pulse.
She could be contagious.
Zelda was an expert in all forms of hexes, vexes and curses. Pestilence was not something that could be sent from a distance. It had to be bred into a creature before being unleashed into an area. Most, if not all, witches would ward their houses against vermin to prevent such illness from creeping into their homes, and she doubted that Hell's palace was less guarded than a witch's abode. Besides, the weakened pulse, the sweat, the laboured breaths, Zelda knew these symptoms intimately.
Pulling the blankets from the woman, she looked to where the woman's nightgown was stained darker and manoeuvred the woman to allow her to undo the length of buttons until she could see the pale skin over her waist.
The flesh had been sewn, but infection bled through it. She was mortal with the low-level magic from exertion––utterly unprotected.
Minion was gone. Zelda was without her magic. There was little she could do.
Let me.
“No,” she said, speaking the word firmly. She was not without everything. Zelda had healed and birthed witches in battlefields and hurricanes. This was not ideal but she would manage.
And what can a witch like you do?
Zelda felt the determination roll through her. She was not going to let Lilith die. And she would not give in to the Dark Lord to save her.
—
Zelda rummaged the space, taking bits of useable food from leftover meals Minion had brought, and cutting strips of cloth from her own dress, certain that if she attempted to use any of Lilith’s, the woman would certainly kill if she lived.
Lilith was lighter than she appeared. It wasn’t terribly exerting to drag her by the fire. Zelda undressed her, and with a pair of scissors she found by the poppets, she cut the stitches from the wound and allow the wound to open, oozing down her body.
She cleaned it the best, and then with a poultice made from the best she could get with the leftover food and charcoal. There, she pressed it to the wound and somehow coaxed a mixture of water and honey down her throat.
Lilith whimpered, her eyes peered open a few times, but she didn’t fight Zelda, her body turning to rest.
Outside of the room, Zelda could hear thudding, the sound of battle occurring in the halls and she wondered how long it would take for them to find Lilith’s rooms.
They won’t, Lucifer assured. So as long as she lives, we’ll be hidden.
It was a surprising change in demeanour, having gone from desperate to leave, to wanting to stay. But Zelda didn’t press on it. She kept Lilith warmed, hydrated, and stayed by her side even as her own exhaustion crept up on her.
Lilith’s magic would grow with time, and with it, her own healing would escalate. For now, they needed to get through the worst part.
But if they couldn’t hold out for long enough. If the food and fire disappeared first…then there was nothing Zelda could do but wait for the doors to break down and the demons to flood into the room.
“Don’t die,” she told Lilith.
The Dark Lord scoffed, she won’t listen to you. She doesn’t care anymore. Everything she’s fought for has died.
Zelda wondered at the words, but Lucifer didn’t offer any explanation.
For the first time, Zelda wondered if Lilith wanted the throne, or if it was the only thing left she had to fight for.
—
The fights worsened and Minion did not return. Zelda could hear the battle occurring outside the door. The sound of scraping and screaming, worse than any nightmare she had.
Her fear crawled up her throat as the sounds of bones breaking and the noise of begging, not so dissimilar to the soul coin, echoed loud in her ears, muffled by the protective magic that kept them hidden.
Zelda wondered if even with Lilith’s protective magic, if that could keep them hidden.
Lucifer wasn’t certain. He was quiet. And as the noises increased, Zelda wondered if his quiet was a result of fear.
There was no reaction, and Zelda’s fear solidified. For the first time, she felt truly alone with her thoughts. Without her family, without Lucifer or Minion or Lilith. There was no one but her.
And she didn’t know what to do.
—
On the fourth day, Zelda dragged Lilith to the bath and washed her. The poultice was gone, and there was no food, nor fire left. Zelda had used all the wood she could manage, tearing books out pages of the lowest value she could find (still more valuable than most witches owned). But when the fire inevitably died, there was nothing but Lilith’s will left.
The fighting raged, loud and ever-present, leaving Zelda in her own waking nightmare.
She stayed awake. Exhausted, feeling her fear die out only because she was too tired to be afraid any more.
There is something, Lucifer said, speaking for the first time in days. You could give her magic. Just enough to stir her own.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I can’t––“
Your left hand, Lucifer said. Unbind that. Even you can manage that. Do that and I will save her.
Zelda thought about it.
—
She briefly fell asleep and awoke in the bath, her arms still holding Lilith afloat. Lilith’s breath was shallow, her body cooling. There was nothing else, no other option.
Zelda set her aside, out of the bath, feeling her own desperation to survive.
Lucifer was right, it wasn’t difficult to escape the Damascus steel. She dislocated her thumb (painfully, impossibly) and pulled the cuff as Lucifer raged at her. Demanding she’d fix it.
Because she didn’t choose her left hand. She chose her right––and he couldn’t use that to save them. A witch’s primary hand was her left. Always her left. A right was useless for all things except food.
Free of the Damascus steel, she cut her hand and pressed it to Lilith’s mouth with the last spell she could remember in her exhaustion.
It was a cleansing spell. Used to purify water.
She hoped it was enough.
Foolish girl. I could have saved us. Now you’ll die here too!
Zelda smiled to herself, watching as Lilith breathed in. She sat back, picking up the cuff. Despite the thudding pain, she pulled the Damascus steel back onto her wrists, feeling nausea roll through her stomach as she settled against the ground.
It was warm and hard. Her exhaustion finally winning as the last of her energy drained away.
She closed her eyes and dreamt.
—
Zelda remembered drowning once, long ago. A ship she was using to travel to Europe had become caught on rocks and began sinking. She’d been thrown from the deck, into the water and had been caught in the ship’s pull, unable to swim away.
Her dress had been heavy. But she remembered the feeling of something wrapping around her waist and tugging her up, out of its pull.
—
She awoke in a bed.
Zelda turned, looking to the wide windows a red light spilled across her face. She could see a shadow standing in the light, haloed by it before it turned and looked at her.
“You nearly died,” Lilith said.
“Pity, I wanted to know what would happen if a witch died in Hell.”
There was a pause, and then a shuffling and Zelda watched as the shadow moved, coming closer before she sat on the edge of the bed. “The Dark Lord’s asleep, so we don’t have much time,” Lilith said. “I wouldn’t say this if I suspected he was aware, but…thank you.”
Zelda blinked, looking at the woman. It was a rather dramatic build for something so small as thank you.
But as Zelda looked her over, she wondered if it was such a small thing. Lilith was dressed in a silk robe, its belt knotted around her waist, but even though she sat tall on the edge of the bed, a healthy glow to her––Zelda felt as if she was looking at a very small, vulnerable woman.
She wondered if anyone had ever saved her before. In all the stories of Lilith, she either saved herself or the Dark Lord granted her some power, saving her without actually saving her.
Had anyone ever, actively, put her first? Tried to save her because they thought she deserved to live.
Did Zelda think that Lilith deserved to live? It was a complicated question she wasn’t prepared to ask, but she started at Lilith nonetheless and offered a small smile. “I will do as you ask,” Zelda said. “As you need to keep him controlled.”
“For all eternity?” Lilith asked dubiously.
“For all eternity,” Zelda agreed. “For the sake of our coven. But I ask you to protect them in turn.”
Lilith’s shoulders pressed and then slowly, she nodded. “A fair request,” she said. “It will leave you alone.”
“If Minion’s died then I suspect so.”
“He has,” Lilith sighed, standing up. “When my power’s returned, I’ll create a new minion. Until then…” and there Lilith faced her once more, a slow, familiar smirk on her face. “You are mine, Zelda Spellman. And you and the Dark Lord both shall be my handmaiden as I was his.”
It was a cruel punishment to the Dark Lord, and Zelda felt a stir inside of her, like a dog twitching in its sleep.
Lilith’s hand reached out, pressing against Zelda’s forehead. “Sleep,” she commanded.
Zelda did.