Chapter Text
For the past two days, Wednesday’s lifeline has been Enid’s letter.
She’s read it countless times and knows it inside out, yet it still stings. There are so many things she left unsaid with Enid, so many risks she should have taken, so many steps and signs she missed. And now? Now she no longer has a chance.
There’s a sudden knock at the door of the cabin, which would normally have Wednesday reaching for her dagger, but she just can’t find the energy. She can hear muffled voices, and soon Fester cracks her door open, announcing, “Wednesday, you have a guest.”
She barely acknowledges the visitor, remaining still and lifeless on the bed. She only reacts when a hoarse, yet distinct voice whispers, “Wednesday?”
Into her room has walked a young woman, weary and slightly battered, but it is unmistakably-
“Enid.” Wednesday walks forward towards her friend and stops only a foot from her.
The other girl smiles, bright and wide. “Hi.”
Wednesday, in a move that is so unlike her, steps forward and hugs Enid.
The girls remain in the embrace for several minutes, but it is only when they eventually pull back that Wednesday notices a deep sadness in Enid’s eyes. It is as if she is withering away in front of her own eyes.
“Enid?” She reaches a hand out to touch her cheek, only to find the skin cold and damp.
“Enid?” She tries again.
The other girl only looks at her solemnly, her normally bright blue eyes now dark and sorrowful. Enid gives her a look of apology, although Wednesday doesn’t know for what, and then says, “Wake up.”
In a panic, Wednesday sits up from her bed and fumbles around her, disappointed to find that she is still alone, left only with the letter held tightly in her left hand and her right icy cold.
Enid is still gone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It takes two weeks for Wednesday to finally come to her senses.
Once she has run out of tears to cry, out of regret to wallow in, she starts to think a little more clearly about the night she lost Enid.
She starts to think about how little sense it makes that Enid’s tracks had simply stopped. At the time it had been devastating, a true dead end. But now? Now it is a lead, a thread of hope.
And once Wednesday begins thinking, she cannot stop. She bursts into the living room, unannounced, and only asks Fester for a pin board.
“Well, hello to you too! I’m two steps ahead of you, kid. I knew you’d be ready to scheme, so I’ve set up a corner of the room for you.”
He points to a large board, with a table next to it populated with red string, push pins, and several newspapers. She feels almost appreciative, but doesn’t let it show on her face. But she does send a sharp nod to Fester.
As she begins to sort through the articles and organise her thoughts, she narrates, “There are holes to what I know. Even if there is no hope, even if Enid really is- is-”
She takes a breath to compose herself, Wednesday Addams does not stutter. “Even if Enid is gone, I will bring the deepest revenge on whomever dared to touch her. They will never know a day of peace or sunlight in their lives again. All they will know is pain and darkness.”
A bright smile takes over Fester’s face. “It’s good to have you back.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As most investigations do, they begin at last trace of evidence. In this case, this was the woods where Enid’s last tracks were found.
Wednesday felt almost reluctant to return, wary of somewhere which caused such heartbreak, but she had to. She wanted - no, needed, to see Enid again, to hold her again, to tell her that she loved her too.
How could she not? Admittedly it took her a while to accept her feelings, that she had succumbed to her family’s curse, but in the end it was inevitable. She had been gone the first moment they met, even beneath her immediate feelings of disgust and loathing, were emotions much more delicate and intricate that didn’t show themselves yet. But they had always been there.
As her walk neared her to those woods, she shook her head. There was no use going over facts she already knew, she only needed to tell them to the one person who truly mattered to her.
Hearing Fester’s call from up ahead, she moved a little more briskly, and found herself yet again face to face with those paw prints in the mud, thankfully still intact.
“The main question I have is why there is no sign of struggle, why do they just stop? There has to be some kind of logical reasoning yet I cannot seem to reach that conclusion.”
She and Fester bend down to inspect the soil, but the second their hands touch the ground, they find themselves suddenly suspended in mid-air.
It takes Wednesday a second to compute the situation she has found herself in - floating in the air, but unable to move.
A young boy emerges from between the trees, hands raised - clearly their captor.
“You irritating creature, put me down immediately.”
Another figure appears and she goes to breathe them when she notices who it is.
“Wednesday Addams? Whatever are you doing here?”
Standing below before her is none other than Nevermore’s music teacher, Isadora Capri.
“Actually, I should have known you would also come looking for Enid. You two did seem close.”
The mention of her friend snaps Wednesday back to herself. “I would prefer to elaborate on my situation with two feet on the ground.”
Capri laughs and nudges the young boy standing next to her, who does release them, before turning and walking away. “That was George, a young DaVinci who helps me with these sorts of things. In fact, he helped me catch Enid.”
“You know where Enid is? She’s alive? Where is she?”
Again, Capri laughs, but when Wednesday slides a dagger from her coat sleeve into her hand she relents. “Yes, I do, now please stop threatening me. If you come with me, I’ll explain everything.”
She turns to Fester before walking with Capri. “I will go alone now, although I will alert you if a problem occurs.”
He only sends her a wink before running off. Faintly she hears him shout, “Go get your girl!”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The two walk for about twenty minutes.
In that time Capri explains her scheme. That she has been finding and helping young outcasts who struggle to control and accept their identities. Her first case was with Tyler, who she says now helps her with counselling for other teenagers. Wednesday doesn’t have much to say about that, any miniscule positive feelings she ever had towards that boy forever lost.
“Now that you have given me a needlessly detailed backstory, where is Enid?”
Capri’s smile falls a little but she still continues. “Enid’s case is more tricky than most. As an alpha, other wolves will want to track her down and kill her, fearing her power.”
Wednesday cocks an eyebrow. “And you are also a wolf, do you not feel the same instincts?”
“I don’t subscribe to the same beliefs as others. I believe that she poses no threat, and that there is hope for her becoming human again.”
“So, she has not yet-”
“No.” Capri shakes her head, and reaches for Wednesday’s arm, though the younger girl sharply pulls away. “I must warn you, that even though you two are close, she is not the person you knew before. It took days for her to regain my trust, to remember who I was.”
Nearly satisfied, she has one question left unanswered. “But how did you manage to capture her? She is miraculously strong and her tracks left no sign of struggle.”
“That is true. But as I said before, I have George, who managed to keep her still long enough for me to deliver a sedative. I can assure you she was, and is, unharmed.”
They arrive at a small building, an old shed which looks only big enough for one person, let alone several young outcasts.
Capri notices the younger girl’s distaste and winks. “Don’t underestimate her, Wednesday.”
Once inside, a large spiral staircase leads down to a common room, with corridors lined with dorm rooms on each side. It is oddly reminiscent of Nevermore.
She is led down a long hallway with a large metal door at the end, Enid’s name printed on a name placard.
“I will let you in, but take it easy, Wednesday. Remember what I told you, this isn’t your Enid anymore. You get ten minutes, that’s it.”
We’ll see about that, Wednesday thinks, and steps inside.
She is relieved to find that the interior of the room seems homely, pink carpet on the floor, ridiculous band posters on the wall and even a small stack of plush animals similar to the one Enid once owned.
But curled in the corner, fur still slightly dyed, sits the person she has searched high and low for. “Enid.”
The wolf cocks her head but slowly pads towards Wednesday, walking around her in a circle, before standing in front of her.
“Do you not recognize me, Enid? Do you not remember me?”
She seems apologetic but no more aware of who is standing in front of her.
“If this is how it’ll be, then this is probably the best opportunity I’ve got. Enid, I read your letter.” She lifts it out of her pocket, it's now slightly crumpled from being read so frequently. She holds it up to the wolf, who looks at it curiously but is still unaware.
“I read your letter. In fact, I know it inside out. This has been my lifeline. You saved my life all those months ago and I never got to thank you. You gave up your humanity for me, and that I can never pay back.”
“But you must know, Enid, that even though in your letter you insist your feelings are unrequited, I can assure you they are returned.”
Wednesday’s calm facade begins to slip slightly as tears brim in her eyes. “I love you, Enid. I should have told you before, when we still had time. I love you, and I can’t live with the last words you gave me being those in this letter.”
She lightly leans her head against Enid’s snout. “It appears I have been cursed with having you back, but with no form of communication or indication that you remember me. Although you have always been a little complicated. You have always been a thorn in my side, but you are a splinter I never want to remove. I am yours, no matter if you remain in this form forever or not. I am yours.”
She warps her arms around Enid’s neck, and she can almost imagine the fur disappearing and leaving only human skin. She keeps her eyes closed, wishing to live in her delusion, and it isn’t until familiar arms wrap around her waist that she finally opens her eyes.
Miraculously, Enid - a very human Enid - stand in front of her, teary eyed and weary, but real.
“Howdy roomie.”
Enid’s voice is hoarse from a lack of use, but nonetheless it is Enid’s.
In lieu of a response, Wednesday recklessly presses her lips to Enid’s The kiss is gentle, but it still seems to unlock something.
Enid pulls back and smiles with her usual toothy grin, a sight Wednesday has dreamed of for so long. She hugs her again, as tightly as she can.
She presses a kiss to Wednesday’s cheek, and whispers in her ear, “I’m so glad you found me.”