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Agatha screamed in agony as she was singing, sinking to the floor. The microphone was still in her hand; her whole body felt like it was on fire.
„Agatha.“ Someone, Lilia, she supposed, was yelling her name in concern. She hated to see witches in pain; it reminded her of the time when witch trials were popular throughout Europe and women and girls were killed; mostly they were innocent.
„Shit, are you okay?“ Jen yelled, but Agatha couldn’t answer.
Rio ran over to where Agatha was hunched on the floor, her black heart beating faster than it had in the last hundred years, where she and Agatha had been separated.
Rio sat down and took Agatha gently in her arms, letting her head rest on her lap, caressing her cheek. Playing with her hair like she used to when they were happy.
Alice, though, was still sitting at the piano, in full shock. Agatha was the most powerful witch they had ever met—perhaps one of the most powerful witches in the world.
“Alice, come fucking over and do something about it. You brought this curse.“ Rio yelled sharply, her tone cutting through the air.
Alice stood up, took the knife Rio was holding up to her, and started to carve the circle into the ground, big enough to fit the two of them in it.
Agatha was in a state between consciousness and unconsciousness with how much time had passed; it felt like seconds and like hours at the same time to Rio, but truth be told, it had only been minutes.
„I won’t take the soul of someone I love again.“ Rio claimed she would rather kill herself than take Agatha out of this world.
The coven was shocked hearing those words; what could she mean? Teen was trying to discern the meaning of those words.
„If you don’t fucking hurry, I'll skin you and then burn you alive.“ Rio hissed in her demonic voice, as Alice was still not doing this protection spell fast enough. Especially not for Rio's liking.
Alice was doing it faster now, scared for her life. The green witch stared at her long-lost love. A woman she had hurt so extremely, just by doing her job, and she could somehow understand her perfectly.
She would have hated herself too if she was in Agatha’s place.
„It’s going to be okay.“ Rio whispered in the most gentle voice she could muster. She said it like she didn’t feel Agatha’s pulse slowing or fading. It felt awfully like Agatha’s time was coming to an end.
She couldn’t let her die; she couldn’t. Agatha was the love of her life—the one that got away. She couldn’t handle losing Agatha fully after losing their little boy.
She had lost her wife and her son in the matter of twenty-four hours. Her wife hated her, hated that she had to do her job.
Hey eyes started to burn, tears trailing down her cheeks. She summoned a little flower, a pinkish orange one. The same one she summoned when she first met her at the road. It was Agatha’s favorite flower. She remembered everything about Agatha, even though they had been separated for a century.
She used her magic and her knowledge of the souls and used part of Nick's souls to create said flower and gave it to the older woman.
Agatha started to feel the presence of something, or rather someone. The smell of her favorite flower flooded her mind, and suddenly she saw her child. Her dead child.
Or rather, his soul. Rio gave her a part of their son's soul.
His dark hair, his blue eyes, the tanned skin, and in his little hands he had a brown plush bunny that he used to carry around everywhere. Rabbits always were his favorite animal, which was why she got seniór scratchy to remember him. Hell, she wasn’t sure if she was even conscious.
„Mommy, please, you have to stay alive,“ the young boy asked, his eyes teary. Agatha didn’t trust her eyes, but still she nodded.
„You have to stay for Mamá; you have to forgive her. She misses you,“ little Nicholas said. He wanted desperately for his mothers to be back together again.
She had always felt as if she would go behind his back if she ever forgave Rio, as if she betrayed her son if she went back to his mama.
Agatha’s body was trembling from the fire, as well as smoking. The crackling sound of the fire fills the room.
„Please, mom, you need to tell her how you feel; she still loves you, I know it.“ He was pleading with her, begging her to get back with his mama.
Agatha never realized how much she wanted his permission to get back with Rio, the woman she had hated but still loved so dearly.
She would have agreed to any request her child had for her; she loved him with the entirety of her heart. She longed to touch him again, to hug him and hold him close to her, to help him do his homework on a Friday evening, or to teach him how to use magic after school ended.
She nodded at her child, and for all the other people, it must have been crazy, seeing her nodding at nothing, but Rio knew who she was talking to.
„I love you, mommy.“ The boy said, his soul ultimately fading away again, but Agatha couldn’t have been happier hearing her son's words, hearing that he still, after all she had down after his death, loved her.
„I love you, too,“ she whispered before his soul was completely gone.
The soul of Nicholas faded at the same time as Alice finished her protection spell. Agatha gained full consciousness again, waking up in Rio's arms.
She clung to her like she was drowning and Rio was a lifeboat. After seeing her son begging her to forgive the green witch, she couldn’t contain her love for Rio.
She saw the tears on Rios face, so full of fear. Was she fearing for her life? The tears in Rios eyes match her own.
Maybe for the first time in so many years, she was crying out of joy. Joy at seeing her son again, even if it was his soul and not him in person. It was enough.
"Estás bien, Cariño, estás bien. Estoy aqui. I’ve got you. I promise you’ll be okay.“ Rio said, her Spanish slipping up, a thing that only happened when she was extremely scared or nervous. She was scared to death that her love would die.
She was overwhelmed with the possibility of losing Agatha, so much so that she started speaking Spanish.
So, yes, she was scared; she has never feared anything more than the possibility of losing her wife in all but law. She needed her save; she needed her in her arms, breathing with a beating heart.
Agatha realized this, her son's words a mantra in her mind: „she still loves you.“ Her son was right; otherwise, what would be the reason for Rio to be so emotional?
„Gracious a ti, cielo.“ Agatha answered, the nickname slipping up; it was such a habit. She always used a nickname when speaking to Rio in Spanish.
Rios eyes lit up hearing the nickname Agatha used. Her heart skipped a beat, and her breath caught in her lungs. She missed this so much, so fucking much.
„You’re okay,“ Rio said, more shocked than anything; she had said it before, but hearing Agatha speak was the final confirmation of her wellbeing, and Rio couldn’t stop crying from the relief she felt.
The truth was she needed Agatha back more than she needed air to breathe, more than she needed blood in her veins, and more than she needed her own heart beating. She would have given the entire world, every single soul she has taken, and her own life for this woman if she just asked for it.
She would carve her own black heart out of her chest, and it would put it between Agatha’s ribcage just to keep her alive.
And somehow Agatha still didn’t understand how madly in love she was with her. What pity.
Agatha touched her own shoulder, flinching as her finger slid over the freshly burned skin.
„Let me take care of you,“ the green witch said tenderly. She removed Agatha’s hand from her new wound, guiding it to her mouth. Leaving a kiss on the back of her hand.
Agatha’s eyes widened, her throat suddenly drying up, and her cheeks flushed.
Rio laid her forehead onto Agatha’s, whispering something in Latin. The neckline of Agatha’s clothing revealed her heart, letting Rio put her hand on the skin above her heart; no fabric hindered her from being as close to it as humanly possible. Healing her fresh burns.
She didn’t deserve to be this close to Agatha’s heart, not after what happened a century ago, not after how much she had hurt Agatha on that fateful day. After having to ignore the hourlong pleas of Agatha, she lost her wife and her son in the matter of less than twenty-four hours.
She didn’t deserve to touch her like this, didn’t deserve to hold her heart, and didn’t even deserve to heal her, as Agatha wouldn’t mind dying since she then would be reunited with their dead son.
She did not even grant Agatha what she so desperately wanted most—her own death.
„Wait, you could do this the entire time?“ the potions witch asked, Rio didn’t remember her name, didn’t care enough to know her name.
Rio just agreed, waving her off for the most part. She didn’t care about the other witches; the only one she cared about was Agatha.
„So you did it for her, but not for us?“ Jen asked, her tone sharp, gesturing to Lilia and herself.
„Yes, because I actually like her.“ Rio snapped back, getting angry at the witch for interrupting the moment.
That stopped Jennifer from making another comment, looking at Rio shocked.
The trial was still going on, so Rio helped Agatha stand up, and soon they all began singing Lorna’s version of the ballad of the witches road.
After they successfully destroyed the curse and Alice killed it, they were back on the road.
The group sat around a campfire; Agatha and Rio shared a log, with Agatha resting her head on Rio's shoulder.
Teen sat on the ground near Agatha. He wanted to stay close to her after what happened; he was concerned for her.
They were talking about their scars; Lilia showed of a vampire bite she had on her neck, and before that, Jennifer told her story about how she got bound.
„So what was the meaning of all that happened during the second trial?“ Jennifer asked; she was intrigued.
„Yeah, and what happened between you two?“ teen jumped in.
Agatha had a lot of time to think about her relationship with Rio and the words of her son, Nicholas. Enough time to understand what she wants, and that was Rio. Always had been; she just couldn’t see it while she was so full of hate towards Rio after their past.
Lady Death sighed, ready to take their questions, like a teacher in school.
„We’ve met a long time ago, and we fell in love, but I had to do something that I did not want to do, and it hurt her. She is my scar.“ Rio explained, and shortly that was the short version of their story.
Agatha turned to look at her former partner. She never had anyone love her like this; nobody had loved her enough for her to mean anything to them, much less a scar, until Rio.
„Okay, so we definitely need the long version of that story!“ Teen added urgently; he needed the full version and wanted to know everything there was to know about Agatha.
Rio sighed, ready to answer the questions, but she looked at Agatha, just to see if she would be okay with it. She saw Agatha nod after a few short seconds. She hated the idea of sharing her past that she had buried under her reputation.
Rio leaned down to Agatha, pulling Agatha’s hair out of the way.
„Are you sure? I know this is a hard topic for you.“ Rio whispered into the older witch’s ear. It was difficult for the both of them, but Agatha had lost her reason for keeping going.
Agatha nodded; it was difficult for Rio as well; she just never stored it up and never got to grief.
„So, it all started three hundred years ago; we first met in a forest in Scotland; I was there to collect a soul, and Aggie was there to practice her magic.“ Rio explained that the memory was something that she thought about every day.
„Collect a soul?“ Alive asked, tilting her head in confusion. She didn’t know why anybody would collect a soul.
„She’s lady death.“ Agatha quickly jumped in; she knew Rio's true identity since they first met. It was what intrigued her about her.
„Lady death? Are you going to kill us, or something?“ Jen asked with a look of shock on her face.
„Death herself cannot kill. All I do is deliver the souls to the afterlife, making sure the transition is done right. I do feel when someone’s time is up, though.“Rio explained, after rolling her eyes at the lack of knowledge Jennifer had.
Rio was the one to explain most parts of their story; she knew Agatha wasn’t up for it; she never got over the death of her child.
„Years later we got married, well in all but law. We made an oath, and it was just the two of us.“
The two of them had gotten married in pagan tradition. It happened at the forest they first met in, late at night, and during the ceremony it had started to rain.
Rain on ceremonies makes stronger bonds between the newlyweds.
Even after all they had been through—the death of their son, the feeling of ultimate betrayal—and somehow their bond still existed, their feelings never faded. The bond wasn’t broken, just damaged.
It’s a red thread connecting their souls, unbreakable and always bringing them back to one another, always making them cross the other.
„Two centuries later, we found a way to get with a child by using magic, and nine months later Nicholas was born.“ Agatha explained, tears in her eyes.
It was the happiest memory of hers, but remembering Nicky was the most painful torture for herself.
„He died seven years later.“ Agatha said, her voice shaky, forcing herself not to cry.
"I thought she traded him for the book of the damned." Jen exclaimed, looking over at teen guilt washed over her expression.
Agatha scoffed, knowing this was a lie, but she was still hurt. Rio, of course, knew how this would hurt her wife.
„You’re being tactless. Be quiet and stay respectful.“ Lilia scolded the younger witch.
No matter her own feelings towards Agatha, she didn’t deserve this without being able to explain herself.
„He died of leukemia," Rio yelled in frustration. She hated how people viewed Agatha based on lies and rumors. It was only a second later that her voice dripped with sarcasm as she said; "Stop believing in rumors."
The other witches gasped in shock; they hadn’t expected this—not the illness and not the outbreak.
„Agatha and I took our son to every doctor available, hoping someone could do anything, but there wasn't a single one.“
Rip sighed, comforting Agatha with slow, gentle touches to her hair. Whispering nothing into her ear. Agatha wanted to run away again. I wanted to flee from the scene and get away from the pain. She was fidgeting with the flower Rio gave her during the trial, trying to still her nerves.
Agatha stayed silent during all of this, lost in the memory of begging Rio to not take their son for hours upon hours, sobbing while doing so.
„She traveled across the country and across continents to find a potions witch willing to help us heal him. There were some, but nothing worked. So don’t waste your breath blaming Agatha for the death of our son.“
The purple witch didn’t expect her ex to defend her like this; maybe her son was right. Rio didn’t have to defend her and still did it. Her heart stilled for a second before returning to its normal pace.
Teen glared at the potions witch; her comments were harsh and undeserving. He had been right when he Saisons couldn’t be true that Agatha traded her son for the darkhold.
„Why did you fall apart then?“ Teen had asked, his voice gentle.
„I had to take away his soul, and Agatha never forgave me for it.“
Not that she actually blamed her; she had blamed herself too. Agatha had every right to hate her for taking away their little boy.
They suddenly understood the comment she made during the trial.
The coven was silent, somehow understanding why Agatha never forgave Rio but at the same time being empathetic to Rio because it must have hurt so bad.
The only noise was the crackling fire under the moonlight.
„I forgive you.“ Agatha’s unusually quiet voice cutting through the silence of the coven.
Rio was stunned; those were the exact words she had wanted to hear ever since that fateful day.
„You do?“ she had asked, just to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, as she had dreamt of this for decades before.
Agatha slowly pulled Rio in for a kiss, their lips meeting in the middle. Agatha’s lips are soft on Rios. The kiss was short and salty from the tears on Agatha’s face.
Rios hands on Agatha’s back. Soft hands cradled her own face.
„I never thought I would hear you say it.“ Rio confessed quietly after breaking apart.
„I felt like I would betray him, but Nicholas made me see that I wouldn't. This is what he wanted.“ Agatha explained, her voice sensual.
She knew that Rio would understand; she knew that the other witch had known she would be able to speak to Nicky when she had given her a part of his soul.
„I’ve missed you.“ Rio said, she meant it and this time her tone was full of love.
This would be the beginning of a new chapter for them. The red thread that connected them once again pushed them together.