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Zelda stepped into the mortuary and immediately peeled off her high heels. She was knackered, spending the better part of the week preparing for Lupercalia. As the time for the popular fertility event drew near, Zelda wondered how to approach it this year. The common consensus amongst the students at the academy was that they very much wanted the ritual to continue. Zelda surely wasn’t going to deny the young witches and warlocks their fun, so she approved the tradition to continue, just with a few minor alterations.
For starters, partners would be chosen, not based on chance. Any witch or warlock could ask another to be their partner, but it was up to that person to decide whether or not they would accept the offer. Although participation was always voluntary, Zelda also sought to abolish the stigma that went along with those who chose not to participate (like Sabrina for example.) The rest of the traditions were left untouched. There was still the night of Courting where the chosen pair would spend the night in unholy abstinence followed by the much anticipated Hunt. The only difference was that they were doing it in Lilith’s honor.
Lilith.
As Mistress of the hunt, Zelda initiated the final event this evening. While she was addressing the excited witches and warlocks dressed respectively in their hoods and wolf costumes, she couldn’t help but hope that Lilith would appear in the clearing to bless the ceremony. Zelda knew it wasn’t going to happen. Lilith had become increasingly distant as the month of February began. Zelda would often find Lilith staring into nothingness with a faraway look on her face. She would jump at loud noises and unexpected touches from Zelda. What worried Zelda most was that the last week Lilith had spent a lot more time in Hell, barley coming to visit her at the academy during the day, or at the house in the evening. Zelda couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong, or that she had done something to upset Lilith. Or worse even, Lilith was beginning to have second thoughts about their relationship. They had established a comfortable routine over the winter holidays, but Zelda couldn’t help but think that reality had hit Lilith, and that labeling themselves as girlfriends was freaking her out.
Zelda knew she was overthinking it. There was most likely some problem in Hell that required Lilith’s attention. If there was something else bothering Lilith she would talk when she was ready. Zelda didn’t want to force her.
As Zelda stripped off her heavy fur coat she noticed a light coming from the kitchen. That was odd. Sabrina was spending the mortal Valentine’s Day with her friends, and Hilda was with Doctor Cee. She made her way to the kitchen, her hands at her side ready to cast a defensive spell if need be. The kitchen table was made up: a red cloth was draped over it with two plates, cutlery and wine glasses neatly set. Candles were lit and two boxes of pizza were standing off to the side.
The click of heels coming from behind Zelda notified her of someone’s presence. She spun around but was relieved to see it was only Lilith walking towards her with a bottle of wine.
“Oh, you scared me. I thought we had an imposter.”
“No, it’s just me,” Lilith said as she walked closer and placed a shy kiss on Zelda’s cheek, before uncorking the wine and filling the glasses.
“What’s going on here?” Zelda sat down in the seat that Lilith pulled out for her.
“I thought I would take a page out of the mortal’s book and try and give you a romantic dinner.” Lilith picked up the pizzas and deposited a couple of slices into each plate. “Sorry it’s not a home-cooked meal, but I didn’t want to set Hilda’s kitchen alight.”
Lilith sat down in the chair opposite Zelda and took a sip of her wine. Her hands were shaking slightly.
“Well, thank you, Lilith. It’s perfect and I’m starving.” Zelda said as she picked up a slice and took a bite. They ate in silence for a while. Zelda had tried to make conversation, but she could tell that Lilith’s mind was elsewhere. Zelda could sense that Lilith had something on her heart, but waited patiently. She didn’t want to rush her.
When Zelda was sufficiently stuffed, she sat back in her chair and sipped at her second glass of wine. Lilith had barely eaten anything. Perhaps Lilith needed to be prompted a bit after all.
“Lilith? You know you can talk to me about anything right?” Zelda said softly, breaking the silence. “You’ve been…different lately, and I’m just worried I’ve done something.”
Shock crossed over Lilith’s features. “No, Zelda you haven’t done anything! In fact, you’ve been absolutely perfect.” Lilith paused for a second gathering her thoughts. “I owe you an explanation. I know I’ve been acting strange these last couple of weeks and I’ve been meaning to tell you why.”
Zelda sat up straight again and put her glass back down on the table. “You don’t have to tell me anything you aren’t comfortable with right now. As long as I know you’re ok.”
Lilith gave Zelda a shaky smile. “No, I do. It just sounds so ridiculous to say out loud. I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Just start wherever you feel comfortable.”
“These past couple of weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about where I was last time this year. What I was doing.”
Zelda suppressed a shudder thinking back to what she was doing at last year’s Lupercalia. She had spent the night of the Courting in the woods with Faustus, and soon after he proposed. She pushed the unwelcome thoughts from her mind. It was not important now.
“I know it sounds silly, but Valentine’s Day is where everything started going downhill for me. I don’t know if you were aware, but Mary Wardwell had a fiancé. Adam.”
Lilith sounded so sorrowful when she said his name, and that faraway look graced her features for a second.
“In any case, Adam surprised Mary, well me, on Valentine’s day after a long overseas trip. He was a Doctor. At first, I planned to kill him. I couldn’t afford any distractions while I was doing the Dark Lord’s bidding. I couldn’t go through with it though. As much as he irritated me at first, I grew fond of him rather quickly. He treated me like a queen. He was so loving and caring. You have to understand the no one had treated me kindly. Ever.”
Zelda nodded sympathetically. She knew enough of Lilith's history with Satan to understand why this would shake her.
“So I kept him around. He cherished me and eventually I started opening up to him, but the Dark Lord found out about Adam and made it clear that I was his and his alone. I panicked of course. I knew that the Dark Lord would hurt him if he deemed Adam as further distraction in the grand plan. I tried my best to protect him. I gave him a protection ring hoping it would hide him from the Dark Lord.” Lilith sighed heavily and rubbed at her forehead.” Then Adam proposed that we leave for Tibet. He said he wanted to show me the world. Realistically I knew I couldn’t go. You can’t outrun Satan, but I foolishly told him that I’d consider it.”
Zelda’s stomach sank. She was sure she knew where this was going.
“That evening I had decided to give him my answer. I would go with him. Adam cooked a delicious meal which wasn’t out of the ordinary because he loved to cook. I couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when I told him. Only it wasn’t Adam. It was HIM.” Lilith’s voice cracked and Zelda leaned over the table and took both of her hands rubbing the soothingly. “He killed Adam and fed him to me.”
Tears spilled over the sides of her eyes. “He was innocent.” Lilith’s shoulders started shaking as she repressed a sob “And he’s dead because of me!”
Zelda leaped out of her chair and rounded the table kneeling in front of Lilith taking both her hands again. “It was not your fault. The Dark Lord was a cruel and evil monster. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”
“The worst part is I’m terrified that history is going to repeat itself.” Lilith continued in a hoarse voice not registering Zelda’s words. “I care for you more than I ever cared for Adam. I love you. If the Dark Lord were somehow to escape his prison in Hell he would tear you apart limb for limb to punish me.”
Zelda’s heart broke for Lilith, swallowing back her own tears. She pulled Lilith down and wiped the hot tears from her face that were streaming down in earnest now. “Hey, hey look at me,” She said, gently cupping Lilith’s face. ”I’m not going anywhere. Lucifer is trapped he’s never going to escape.”
Lilith didn’t answer at first. Sobs continued to wrack her body as she doubled over and hid her face in the crook of Zelda’s neck. “I can’t lose you too Zelda.” She said between a sob.
It was extremely painful for Zelda to see Lilith like this. All she could do was rub shooting circles on her back and whisper in her ear. “You won’t lose me, Lilith.”
Eventually, Lilith’s sobs died down and she sat upright again wiping at her puffy eyes. Zelda got up and retrieved a clean dishcloth from a nearby drawer before running it under the tap. She pulled a chair closer and sat in front of Lilith gently wiping the wetness from her eyes and nose.
“Do you feel a bit better now?”
Lilith gave a weak nod.
“Come on, let’s get you something strong to drink.” Zelda offered her hand to Lilith and lead her to the parlor. She poured them both a healthy amount of whiskey before joining Lilith on the couch. Lilith gratefully accepted the drink from Zelda with unsteady hands and downed it in one go.
“I’m sorry I ruined our evening,” Lilith mumbled.
“You did nothing of the sort Lilith. I’m glad you trust me enough to tell me these things.” Zelda paused finishing off her own drink and putting the empty glass to the side. “I just wished you told me earlier, instead of avoiding me by going to Hell. I would never judge you.” Zelda pulled Lilith into her side and Lilith eagerly wrapped her arms around Zelda's waist resting her head on Zelda’s chest.
“I’m sorry. I guess I was ashamed. I…I was also having some vivid nightmares where Lucifer would materialize out of nowhere and do terrible things to you. I was powerless. All I could do was watch as he killed you right before my eyes.”
“It was only a dream,” Zelda soothed, rubbing Lilith’s back and placing soft kisses on her head.
“That’s why I spent more time than usual in Hell. I needed to make sure he was still imprisoned. Your safety is my first priority.”
“As much as I appreciated that, you need to take care of yourself too. When something is bothering you, whether it seems silly or not I want you to know I’m here for you.”
Lilith lifted her head from Zelda’s chest on the verge of saying something when a yawn overtook her.
Zelda smiled sympathetically and placed a kiss on Lilith’s nose. “Come on darling. Let’s get you to bed.”
Zelda stood up and extended a hand to Lilith pulling her off the couch gently. Lilith surprised Zelda by wrapping her arms around her tightly as if she were afraid she might disappear. They stood like that for while just holding each other until Lilith pulled back to gaze into Zelda’s eyes.
“Thank you for being so patient with me. For loving me.”
Zelda gazed back into her eyes that were still red from crying. She knew there were still centuries of trauma to unpack, but she silently vowed to be there for every tear. “Anything for you Lilith.”