Chapter Text
“Goodnight, Harvey.” You hear Sabrina say. You wait on the other side of the door for your twin sister to enter the house.
“Goodnight, Sabrina.” A mortal boy says. You can’t help but feel a tinge of repulsion at the word ‘mortal’ despite being half one yourself.
“About time you got home.” You say to Sabrina when she walks in the door, a smile on her face.
“It’s not that late.” She rolls her eyes. “Look what Harvey gave me!” She grins, her pale cheeks now a soft pink with excitement, as she shows you a necklace.
“It’s beautiful!” You say. You don’t really care, but you like making your sister happy.
“You’re a horrible liar.” She sighs happily as the two of you walk upstairs to your shared bedroom. “Where are the aunties?”
“Already in bed. I told them I’d watch for you and let them know how late you were.” You smile a bit.
“How late was I?” Sabrina asks, now somewhat worried about facing Aunt Zelda's wrath.
“I’m not sure,” your smile turns into a smirk “my watch appears to have died not long after the aunties went to bed.” Sabrina rolls her eyes in playful relief. The two of you enter your room. You, already in your pajamas, sit on your bed as Sabrina begins to change out of her clothes.
“Why don’t you just use magic to change?” You ask.
“There’s something interesting about the mundane.” She shrugs as she tugs off her shirt.
“How was your date with the mortal?” You ask.
“It wasn’t a date. It was a movie with friends.” She replies.
“Then why didn’t your friends bring you home?” You tease. Sabrina gives you an exacerbated look. “And why didn’t they come to tell you they loved you?”
“You were spying again!” Sabrina says with a smile as she tosses her shirt at you.
“Of course, I was. What else am I supposed to do after Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Ambrose go to bed?”
“Something normal? Maybe you should try to make some friends instead of staying in the house all day.”
“There’s no point in it, Sabrina. I mean all that’s out there are mortals and in a few days we won’t be allowed to have meaningful relationships with mortals.”
“You sound like Aunt Zelda.” She
“She’s right though. There isn’t a point in trying to make friends when we’re just going to have to leave them behind.”
“Dad didn’t leave Mom behind.” She says. The two of you fall silent as you struggle to remember your parents. Every day it seems that the memories you have of them became foggier and foggier even though the only memories you have are just stories you've been told about them.
“Let’s just get some rest.” You say with a sigh as you turn off the lamp by your bed and crawl under the covers. Sabrina quietly gets dressed and does the same, leaving the light by the vanity on, something the two of you have done since you were children. You stay awake for hours, unable to sleep. Suddenly you hear Sabrina gasp, waking from a nightmare. You watch as she gets out of her bed and walks to the vanity. She looks at the calendar and seems to be counting the days until the two of you turn sixteen and have your Dark Baptism. She crosses off one of the days on the calendar and looks at your parents’ wedding picture before walking to one of the windows. Suddenly, you hear a crash and sit up and turn on the lamp by your bed.
“What was that?” You ask Sabrina. You look at the broken window.
“The bat broke it.” She mumbled, startled. You follow her gaze to see a bat on the floor, withering in pain. Sabrina silently picks up a large book, one of the books you had been studying, and slowly moves toward the bat. “Absent omen!” She whispers before slamming the book on the bat.
“I was studying that book.” You whine in disgust. Sabrina is quiet as she repairs the window with her magic.
“Is it dead?” You ask. “It had to have been going really fast to break the window like that, too fast for a bat.” You say more to yourself than to your sister.
“It seems like a bad omen.” She replies. “I’ll see if the aunties will let me bury it tomorrow.” She takes a shoe box from the closet and cleans up the remains of the bat. She sets the box by the window before climbing back into bed. You turn off your light. You don’t fall asleep easily, too worried about the bat and the idea of it being a bad omen, but when you do fall asleep, you dream of your mother and father.
The sound of Sabrina’s alarm clock wakes you. You hate that damn alarm clock. Not everyone has to get up at six forty-five in the morning to get ready for mortal school. Some people study independently at home and can sleep as late as they please, or until Aunt Zelda decides its time to be awake. You lie in bed as Sabrina moves about the room.
“Rude!” You mumble to her as she turns on your lamp and the light burns your eyes. You hide your head under your pillow and begin to drift off again.
“It’s time to go down for breakfast,” Sabrina says, taking the blanket off you. The cold, October air sends a chill down your spine.
“Double rude!” You complain as you sit up and rub your eyes. You stand up and twirl, your pajamas turning into everyday clothes and your hair becoming brushed. “I hope we have cinnamon rolls.”
“When do we ever have cinnamon rolls?” Sabrina laughs.
“When I make them.” You sigh. “But a witch can dream.” She rolls her eyes as she grabs the shoebox. The two of you leave your room and walk into the kitchen.
“Good morning, Aunties. Ambrose.” You and Sabrina say at the same time.
“Morning, darlings! How did you sleep?” Aunt Hilda asks, looking up from whatever she’s cooking or brewing. The two of you sit at the table where Aunt Zelda is reading a newspaper. You sit on Aunt Zelda’s right and Sabrina sits next to you, closest to Ambrose.
“Tempestuously by the sounds of it.” Aunt Zelda says as she lowers her newspaper to see the two of you.
“Now that you mention it, Aunt Z, I did wake up once or twice,” Sabrina says. “It’s an exciting time, in more ways than one.” She touches the necklace the mortal boy gave her.
“I remember the week before my Dark Baptism. It felt as if my real life were finally beginning.” She says proudly as she sets her newspaper on the table and folds one arm over her chest. “I barely slept.” She adds before taking a drag of her cigarette. You never understood why Aunt Zelda used a fancy cigarette holder, but it completed her look.
“Rabbit’s feet under your pillow tonight, you’ll sleep like the dead.” Aunt Hilda says as she rubs both of your backs before returning to her concoction.
“Speaking of the dead,” Sabrina says as she pulls out the shoebox, “a bat flew into our room last night. Smashed through one of our windows.”
“Oh, want me to bring it back?” Ambrose asks somewhat excitedly as he looks up from the book he had been reading.
“No, Ambrose, we’ll have none of your necromancy.” Aunt Zelda says quickly and sternly.
“Can I bring it back?” You ask with a small smile. Aunt Zelda glares at you without answering.
“It is okay if I bury it in the garden?” Sabrina asks, ignoring you.
“Yes, as you wish,” Aunt Hilda says as she walks towards the two of you with two jars, “you can bury it in the pet cemetery by the sundial, there’s room there.” She opens the jars and sets on in front of each of you. You look at the blue gritty looking liquid.
“Oh, wait, what’s this?” Sabrina asks in interest.
“Yes, what is this?” You ask with more disgust than interest knowing that you would have to drink it.
“Before you can be baptized, the temple of your body needs to be purified, cleansed of its toxins.” Aunt Zelda says before taking another drag of her cigarette.
“This is actually milk and eggs and rosemary and agrimony and a cupful of vanilla and a pinch of John the Conqueror root and tannis.” Aunt Hilda says. “And other herbs from my garden.” She adds quickly. “Drink up, darlings.”
“Don’t do it, cousins,” Ambrose says as he clears his throat.
“Ambrose!” Aunt Zelda says sternly. “Girls, you need to pick familiars before your dark baptism.” She says, turning her attention to the two of you as she tosses a heavy book on the table. “The Council sent the registry.” She leans in close to the two of you. “I’ve, uh, indicated a few suitable options.” She opens the book to reveal different images of animals. “Now, there’s a very handsome hedgehog, a noble-looking owl, Vinegar Tom would happily welcome another dog.” She smiles to her familiar, who stares at you all from his basket.
“Can I get the owl?” You ask. “They’re such fascinating birds, they’re strong and wise and seem to know everything under the stars. They have a look that seems to pierce the soul like they're studying you and learning everything they can about you.”
“I used to think the same thing about you and your father.” Aunt Hilda mumbles more to herself than anyone else.
“About that, Aunt Z, instead of picking a familiar out of a book, which is so, I don’t know, dehumanizing,”
“Familiars are goblins who have taken on the shape of animals to better serve their witch masters.” Aunt Zelda interrupts. “There’s nothing human about them.”
“But I’ve been practicing a summoning spell I found in the Demonomicon, and what if I put it out there that I’m looking for a familiar, and see if anyone wants to volunteer?” You sigh, another morning battle between Aunt Zelda and Sabrina.
“I think it’s a charming idea.” Aunt Hilda chuckles. Aunt Zelda gives Aunt Hilda an exasperated look.
“Aren’t feral familiars dangerous?” You ask.
“No, just improper.” Aunt Zelda sighs. “What about your baptismal name? Have you settled on one yet?” She asks Sabrina more than she does you.
“I still want the owl.” You mumble to yourself.
“I have, as a matter of fact.” Sabrina smiles proudly as your comment is ignored. “Edwina Diana. Edwina, which is almost Edward, to honor my father, and Diana, to honor my mother. And not just to honor them, to be closer to them. To have them with me as I walk the Path of Night.” Sabrina says dramatically as you roll your eyes.
“I wasn’t gonna cry.” Aunt Hilda croaks, a sucker for sentiment. “a-and I just, I just wish your mum and dad were here to see this, to see the two of you.”
“Me too, Auntie,” Sabrina says sympathetically.
“They would be so proud of you,” she sniffs, “they would be so proud of the young women you’ve become.”
“Correction, Hilda, they’d be so proud of the young witches they are becoming.” Aunt Zelda says proudly. Sabrina is quiet for a moment.
“Alright, girls, drink up.” Aunt Hilda says, motioning for the two of you to drink the liquid in the jars.
“Such strange cinnamon rolls.” Sabrina teases you.
“Shut up.” You mumble as you pick up the jar and smell the liquid inside. You don’t like it one bit.
“Cinnamon rolls?” Aunt Hilda asks somewhat confused.
“Last one to finish has to bury the bat!” Sabrina smirks as she begins drinking the liquid. You do the same, just barely managing to finish before she did.
“Hah,” you gasp, “you have to bury your bad omen.” You shiver as you realize just how horrible the liquid tastes. Sabrina laughs as she grabs her box and heads outside. You stand up and take both the empty jars to the sink as Ambrose follows Sabrina outside.
“Have you decided on a name yet, Y/N?” Aunt Zelda finally asks you.
“Yes, actually I wanted to talk to the two of you about that.” You say as you sit back down at the table. Aunt Hilda joins you, sitting opposite you.
“You haven’t decided yet?” Aunt Hilda asks.
“No, I have. But I wanted to know if the two of you approved of the name first.” You reply.
“What is it?”
“I was thinking of naming myself after the two of you. Sabrina was more attached to Mother and Father than I was. I do miss them, but I barely remember them. You guys have been here for us when we needed you. The two of you raised us. You feel more like my parents than my parents do.” You blurt out. Aunt Zelda and Aunt Hilda look at you in silence. Aunt Zelda is trying to hide a shocked look on her face that appears when you mention not remembering your parents.
“What you decide to name yourself is your decision, but we’d be honored if you chose to name yourself after us.” Aunt Hilda says. You nod, somewhat disappointed. You had hoped they’d be as excited as when Sabrina said she was going to name herself after your parents.
“I’m going to work on my studies.” You say as you get up from the table and leave. You walk into the study and close the door behind you. You look at all the books on the shelves that line the walls, they make you feel at peace. You walk to the fireplace and snap your fingers, summoning a fire to warm the room. You take a book off the desk and sit in one of the leather armchairs and lose yourself in the knowledge of magic and the world. Sabrina has her mortal schooling where she is told what to learn, when to learn it, and how to learn it while you have your own schooling, where you learn what you want, when you want to learn it, and how you want to learn it. You believe yourself to be more successful than your twin in the magical world, but when it comes to the mortal world, she knows much more than you do. You rarely leave the house except to go to the woods or to fetch something for Ambrose or one of the Aunties. You study the books after deciding on one that was a brilliant shade of violet, testing out some of the smaller spells. You learn to change the color of the flames you summon and how to change the color of your eyes at will. You also learn how to transform yourself into different animals. There’s a knock on the study door as it slowly creaks open.
“I’m going to the woods to summon a familiar. You want to come?” Sabrina asks.
“Sure.” You shrug. “I’ll catch up with you, I want to put out that fire.” You smile. She smiles back as she closes the door. As you snap your fingers and the now blue flames die, you get a brilliant idea. You decide to turn yourself into a wolf and scare Sabrina in the woods. You wait in the study for a few moments to make sure she has a good head start on you and won’t see you go into the woods. Then you slowly walk into the woods and transform yourself into a silver wolf. You almost make your eyes red but decide that it would be too much. You smell Sabrina’s perfume and quietly walk towards the source of the scent.
“And now, spirits, we will wait.” You hear Sabrina say. You watch her from behind a tree.
“A summoning spell, Sabrina? Calling forth a familiar? Then you are being baptized.” Three girls about your age appear in front of you, unaware of your presence as they walk toward your sister.
“Prudence, Dorcas, Agatha.” Sabrina greets them with unease. You remember biting one of them many years ago when you and Sabrina were young. You smile thinking back upon that small victory.
“Well, well, well and are we to assume that means you and your twin be transferring to the Academy of Unseen Arts as well?” Prudence asks haughtily as the three of them start walking around Sabrina.
“That’s the plan,” Sabrina says, watching them.
“That’s unfortunate. We don’t want half-breeds at the academy.”
“And who, exactly, are you calling half-breeds?” Sabrina asks.
“Isn’t that what you and your sister are? Half-witch, half-mortal? Stay with your own kind. You don’t want what happened to your mother and father to happen to you.” She threatens.
“What did you say?”
“The accident that took their lives,” Dorcas says.
“It would be tragic if a similar one befell you,” Agatha adds.
“I’m not going to be bated or bullied by you. Not in the woods and not that the academy.” Sabrina says bravely.
“Stubborn mutt,” Prudence says. The three girls begin chanting in Latin. You recognize the words but can’t place what spell they’re part of.
“What are you doing? A curse? You’re cursing me?” Sabrina asks. At the word curse, you pounce, attacking Prudence. But before you can attack her, she and her sisters disappear, but not before their laughter fills the forest. You snap and growl at the air, still feeling their presence. You look at your sister and see blood dripping from her nose. You stare at her, waiting to see her reaction.
“Succubitches,” Sabrina mumbles before running off, seeming to forget the wolf before her. You stand in silence, watching your sister disappear from view. You slowly make your way back to the house, returning to your human form. The air feels calmer as you leave the forest. You decide to avoid the forest for a while with the Weird Sisters making an appearance. It is only a matter of time before Prudence comes to get revenge from that lovely scar you left. As the house comes into view, you remember your Dark Baptism and the name you chose.
“Where have you been?” Ambrose asks as you walk in the door.
“Places.” You say, not wanting to tell him of your adventure. You didn’t really want to talk to anyone anyway.
“I see.” He says, sensing your mood. “What did Madams Jekyll and Hyde say about your baptismal name?”
“They didn’t like it.” You reply.
“Are you going to choose a new name?”
“I am.”
“Why?”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s your name, not theirs.” He says.
“That’s precisely why I’m going to chose a new name.” You say with a nod as you walk past him.
“If you need me, I’ll be tending to a new body.” He calls to you as you walk into the study, closing the door behind you. You make the flames return in the fireplace, this time they’re red as blood. You pull a book off one of the shelves and begin to thumb through the pages, looking at different names and their meanings. You look for hours, going back and forth between studying magic and looking at names. Not long after you hear Sabrina come home, you decide on a name. Mara. Satisfied, you leave the study to see Aunt Hilda, Aunt Zelda, and Sabrina in the kitchen. Aunt Hilda hands Sabrina an egg.
“Break an egg, please, miss.” Aunt Hilda says. “You may want to do this too.” She nods to you. “Better safe than sorry.”
“You weren’t in the forest when Sabrina was cursed, were you?” Aunt Zelda asks, her eyes widening.
“I was.” You reply.
“Have you been feeling alright? Do you feel tired or weak?” She asks.
“I feel fine.” You mumble. Aunt Hilda laughs sarcastically as Sabrina cracks the egg.
“I was right. That is a blood curse. Oh, it’s lingering.” She says. “So, untreated, that is gonna eat slowly away at your health, your will, and your sanity. So, a regimen of salt water baths, reversing candles for a couple of weeks, and that will do the trick, I think. Alright, off you go.” She says, unaffected by the fact that someone tried to kill your sister with a curse.
“Go break an egg.” Aunt Zelda says somewhat sternly as she gently pushes you toward Aunt Hilda. You reluctantly take an egg from the carton and break it into the bowl.
“It’s red too.” You say, staring at the perfectly normal egg.
“It’s what?” Aunt Zelda says. You could almost hear the breath catch in her throat.
“It is not.” Aunt Hilda sighs. “It’s perfectly fine. They must not have cursed Y/N.” Aunt Hilda says. Aunt Zelda glares at you for scaring her as she walks to Aunt Hilda.
“Aunties?” Sabrina interrupts. “The Weird Sisters said something about Mom and Dad.”
“What did they say about your mother and father?” Aunt Zelda asks.
“Their accident. They were almost implying that it wasn’t an accident.” Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda look at each other.
“Well, that’s just poppycock.” Aunt Zelda finally says.
“Yeah.” Aunt Hilda adds.
“Your father and mother were flying to Italy. Edward was giving a lecture at the Vatican when their plane went down. Tragically.” You don’t like the way she says ‘tragically’. “Now get up upstairs and into a bath like your Aunt Hilda says.” Sabrina nods and then leaves the room, leaving you alone with Aunt Hilda and Aunt Zelda.
“I’ve decided that my baptismal name will be Mara.” You state before walking out of the room. You didn’t want to give them time to respond or ask for the reason why you chose that name. Not that they would have cared. Sabrina is the favorite twin lately.
“I need your help,” Sabrina says to you as you enter your room.
“With?” You ask.
“A spell.”
“When?”
“Midnight.”
“Okay.” You shrug. Sabrina looks at you strangely, usually you have a lot more questions, but then leaves the room to take her bath. You fall onto your bed and close your eyes. You feel exhausted from today's events and from your terrible night’s sleep.
“So, you chose the name Mara?” Aunt Hilda asks as she enters your room.
“Yep.” You reply, not opening your eyes or sitting up.
“What happened to being Y/N Zelda Hilda Spellman or Y/N Hilda Zelda Spellman?” She asks as she sits on your bed and plays with your hair.
“What does it matter? I’m not going to have some amazing name to be proud of like Sabrina Edwina Diana Spellman. I’m just going to Sabrina Edwina Diana Spellman’s younger twin all my life anyway.”
“Do you feel overshadowed?” She asks, her voice full of sympathy and understanding.
“I feel like it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what my name is, what I study, who I am, if I’m alive. I’m always going to be Sabrina’s twin. And this whole baptism thing proves it. All you and Aunt Zelda seem to focus on is Sabrina being baptized. But we’re twins, Aunt Hilda.” You open your eyes and sit up. “I’m being baptized too. I’m going to be sixteen too. What makes her baptism more important than mine if we’re identical twins?”
“It’s because she’s older, love. She may be just barely older, but she’s still older. The oldest has a special place with the Dark Lord. You’re more confident about being baptized than Sabrina is, too. We don’t have to worry about you, you’ve been preparing for this your whole life, but Sabrina hasn’t. She’s been off making mortal friends and going to mortal school.”
“That’s her own fault. She’s the one that decided to go and be with mortals.” You reply.
“This isn’t about what she decided to do. This is about what is going on with you.”
“I just want some kind of approval. I want someone to tell me that I’m doing the right thing and be proud of the choices I make. I want to be separate. I want to be Y/N Spellman, not Sabrina’s younger twin. Not one of the Spellman Twins or anything like that.”
“I understand, darling. It’s hard being the younger sister. But you’ll get through it. Believe it or not, when you get older, you’ll miss your sister after a while when you two grow up and part ways.”
“You and Aunt Zelda have been together for hundreds of years. When are you two going to part ways?” Aunt Hilda is silent for a moment.
“When we feel it’s time for us to do so.” She says slowly, avoiding your eyes as she says it. “I know you feel forgotten, but after you and Sabrina are baptized, everything will go back to normal and you’ll forget all about it.” You nod, hating how she is always right when it comes to things like this. “Did you learn anything new today, love? You were studying for a long time today.”
“I did, actually.” You reply as you begin to tell her about being a wolf and changing your eye color.