Of course I knew Agatha Harkness. She has been a part of my coven since before I was born, even though we didn't differ much in years. But our paths had never really crossed.
She was the daughter of Evanora Harkness, leader of the Salemites, and possessed great magic. She was smart and cunning and always knew what to do and say during the classes. And then I wasn't even getting started on how gorgeous she was. She had beautiful auburn hair that reached halfway down her back and deep blue eyes.
And then there was me. I was ordinary at best, and that was giving myself a lot of credit. My magic was medium, if you could even call it that, my looks basic. But worst of all, nature had decided to play a cruel trick on me.
Ever since I was a little girl, pain has been a part of my life. Many days were spent bedridden and when I did go out, it was often accompanied by a cane. My mother had passed giving birth to me and my father left us when he figured out I was on the way. Many witches of my coven called me 'the cursed one', and I have to admit I felt cursed in more ways than one.
They felt sorry for me but told me there was nothing there could be done for my pain, not even by magic. That it was one of these things the Mother Goddess had just planned for it to be, and I would have to learn to live with it. So I spend my days in suffering, some more than others, often cursing the Mother Goddess under my breath when nobody could hear me.
The crossing of our paths changes when one night on a full moon, I can not sleep. Pain waves through my body like a searing fire but I have already spend so much time in the bed in my cabin, with nobody visiting me, that I feel like I am going crazy. I have to out. I have to breathe in some fresh air, feel the moonlight on my face.
I do not bother changing out my night gown, but put on some shoes, grab my cane and pull my black cloak over my shoulder.
Walking out of my home, I close the door behind me, and look at the options I have. I can either follow the sand path that leads through the village, or walk through the woods. A soft smile tugs on my lips. It's a no brainer. I have always been a child of the trees. They make me feel protected, safe, as if I'm temporarily in another place. A place away from everybody's pitiful looks. Their displeasure. Like seeing me gives a bad taste to their otherwise perfect day. Like it's my fault that I was born with this, this curse.
As I walk through the dark forest, my made up path only enlightened by moonlight, I rely heavily on my cane. I can feel myself getting weaker by every step I take, feel myself getting out of breath. I know I have to turn back soon, I've gotten quite far and I still need to manage the way back.
Just as I'm about to turn around, I notice I have reached the clearing where we hold our nightly rituals. I'm not planning on giving it my attention since there are none planned for tonight, but that changes when I hear voices floating my way. Weird.
I stumble to a tree and lean against it, hiding myself from view. Slowly I peek from behind it to get a sight of what's happening and what I see takes away my breath.
Agatha Harkness is sitting on her bloodied knees, dirt covering her face. Her beautiful hair is tangled, her dress is torn, her lip bleeding. And most importantly: her hands are tied behind her back with a blue light. It is clearly burning her skin because a faint smoke is coming off of it. The look on her face is filled with pain and sadness.
"Please, Mother, no more. I can't help it… Please."
That's when my attention gets drawn to the other woman and I momentarily stop breathing. Our coven's leader is standing in front of her daughter, looking down at her with hate filling her eyes. I have never seen someone look at another person like that before and I'm used to a lot of looks getting thrown into my direction. A shiver runs down my spine.
"I told you to stop reading these books, they are above your so called level. I will never allow you to become more powerful than me, do you understand." She grabs Agatha's hair and pulls it back, forcing her to look her in the eyes. "I will always be the most powerful witch of the Salemites."
She throws Agatha down, and I can see her temple hit a stone as blood starts to drip down her face. "You will learn to keep beneath me."
I can see a ball of blue energy appear in her hands, ready to hurl it towards her daughter. But I can't let that happen. It doesn't matter that I've never really known Agatha, I just can't stand by and watch this abuse take place.
"No!" I yell, leaving my hiding spot to run over to the two witches. I try my best to ignore my pain as much as I can, there are more important things to concentrate on right now. I throw my cane to the side as I hurl myself in front of Agatha, protecting her with my own body.
Both of the women are surprised by my interference. Evanora squints her eyes looking at me and something tells me she won't forgive me for this. You picked wrong. The older woman's voice is loud and clear in my mind. Then she turns around on her heels, leaving me alone with her daughter.
Agatha and I never speak of that day, not even once, but ever since it took place we have become inseparable. She takes care of me, takes care of my broken body when I'm tied to my bed once more. Gives me company, makes me laugh whenever she can and wipes away my tears when it's too much to handle. She teaches me more magic than the classes ever could because she has the patience with me that the teachers did not have. She engraves my cane with runes: for protection, for health, for love. She even comes up with one that symbolizes us. Every few days she brings me fresh flowers, purple. Because it's her favorite color, and soon it's mine too.
In exchange I allow her to test her spells, rituals and potions on me, because I have the utmost faith in her that she will not allow any harm to come to me. I test her on the subjects she reads about in the books she steals, because of course she did not listen to her mother's wishes and continues her pursuit to become more powerful. Her goal is to become the most powerful witch, not just of the Salemites, but to walk the earth. And I fully had her back because with all that purple magic at just the tip of her fingers, how could she not become just that?
It's at one of these moments, I'm questioning her about transmutation, that I go into a cough attack. It goes on and on and I keep a handkerchief in front of my mouth and when it finally stops, I notice it's covered in blood. Agatha stops talking mid sentence and I quickly try to hide it but she's too fast, her slim fingers wrap themselves around my wrist, while her other hand plucks the handkerchief out of my hand. A worried but determined look crosses her face as she puts it in her pocket. With tender fingers she brushes the sticky with sweat hair from my face and whispers: "I'm gonna fix this. I promise."
And off she is.
After this I still see Agatha, but a lot less than before. I know something is up but I can't put my finger on what it is. Whenever I ask her about it she gives me this smug grin and whispers "You'll see."
That's until one late afternoon. It is one of the good days and we have gone to the lake together. After lying there for a few minutes, enjoying the sun warming my face and the wind playing with my hair, Agatha has started to play with her magic. She can never sit still and do nothing for too long.
Purple waves are surrounding us two together with the smell of lavender but something is different and I can't quite put my finger on it. I raise myself on my elbows and simply observe her, the way her fingers move and her magic moves along, the way her blue eyes get that purple glow and that's when it suddenly hits me: there's a darkness in her purple that wasn't there before.
I know what it means, of course I do. It's one of the first things a witch learns as a small girl: stay away from dark magic. It will corrupt your soul, your being, your power.
Agatha Harkness has been working with dark magic.
And maybe that revelation should be enough to make me grab my stuff and storm out of there, to get a distance between us that I should keep there forever. Maybe I should feel fear, after all I am lying next to a dark witch. Maybe I should feel or do so many things. But I don't. I don't feel scared, not even in the slightest.
"Penny for your thoughts?" Agatha asks, curious as to why I have been quiet for so long. Observing wasn't normally my kind of cookie, it was hers.
"You know, I don't care that you practice dark magic. I just wish you would have trusted me enough to tell me." I say as nonchalant as possible, lying back down and closing my eyes.
I can feel Agatha freeze next to me, and when a few seconds pass in silence, I open my eyes again and look at her. She's studying me, testing me to see whether I'm serious.
I reply to the question that I know is burning on her tongue but that she's too stubborn to ask: "Your magic." I point towards it. "There's a darkness in there that wasn't there before. I know you too well Agatha."
The faintest of smiles crosses her lips. "Don't you care about the fact that I broke the rules?"
I shrug. "If you ask me, you didn't break the rules. They just bent to your power."
There's that smug grin again that I've come to love. "I'll remember that one."
A couple of minutes pass in silence as Agatha continues manipulating her purple magic.
"I do have one question." I say, breaking the peacefulness.
"Just one?"
"Just one I care about."
"Go ahead petal." That nickname was a new one I realize and warmth fills my heart.
"Why?"
Agatha turns to her side so she can face me, and I do the same. We face each other, lost in our own world of purple magic and sunlight. "I promised you I was going to fix you."
It takes a moment before I know what she's talking about. The day I coughed up blood, the day she took my handkerchief with her.
"There's no remedy for you in so called white magic, so I have to look further. I'll do whatever it takes to make you better."
For a while I don't know what to say, having the feeling like there's a lump in my throat. I swallow and whisper: "You would do that for me?"
Agatha places her hand against my cheek and looks me in the eyes. "My dear, I would burn down the whole world for you."
I'm sitting on my bed crossed-legged, with Agatha behind me. She's braiding my hair, a job she is taking very seriously. We have to go to a coven ritual tonight and she proposed to turn my hair into something presentable. She's humming a song and I close my eyes, taking in everything that is Agatha. The way her lavender scent reaches me, the way her voice sounds, the way her nimble fingers take my hair, piece by piece, to turn it into this masterpiece I could never make of it.
And that's when it suddenly hits me, I love her. I love every bit about her, every bit that is Agatha Harkness. I have for a while now but have always denied it to myself, saying it was just what best friends feel for each other, but now I cannot deny it any longer. Tears leave my eyes because I'm overwhelmed with what I feel.
I can feel Agatha finishing my braid and with a chipper "All done!" she turns me around.
That's when she sees the tears and a worried look crosses her face. "What's wrong?"
I look at her, and it feels like it's the first time I really see her. Her beautiful auburn hair falling over her shoulders in waves, her deep blue eyes that turn purple when she works that amazing magic of hers. Those perfect lips. Her flawless skin.
I look into her eyes and gather all the courage I can require. "I love you."
The whisper is so quiet that I'm not even sure she can hear me, but seeing as how an expression of shock crosses her face it must have. I knew this was a bad idea.
"I'm sorry…" I start to ramble. "I'm sorry, I…" I try to turn around, but she grabs me and pulls me back.
And as I look at her again, she presses her lips on mine. It's all I could have dreamed of and so much more. It's soft and warm and it feels like it's the world. She's my world.
When she let's go she presses her forehead against mine. "I love you too. Be mine. Be mine for now and forever."
I nod, there's no doubt in me that I want to be hers. But it's not enough for her.
"Promise me. I need to hear you say it."
"I'm yours Agatha. You have me, now and forever."
An animalistic growl leaves her lips as she pulls me against her again, the kiss this time more dominating than sweet but even more intoxicating.
Even though I don't want to, I pull back, catching my breath. "We need to go… The ritual…"
Agatha moans in frustration. She knows I'm right. In one swift movement she's on her feet and I can't help but feel amazed at how beautiful she looks in her purple dress. She holds out her hand to me and helps me get up.
"Cane?" She asks but I shake my head. Since Agatha deepened her journey in the dark arts my pain has decreased significantly and I could even walk without assistance most of the days.
"Let's get this show on the road… my love."
I wake up by the sound of Agatha screaming. Immediately I'm on high alert and I can see four women dragging the love of my life out of my home. I crawl out of my bed, still feeling the warmth of where she had been lying not too long ago. Hurriedly I rush after them, but as soon as I leave the house I get grabbed by two people and feel a bounding spell being placed on my wrists. They drag me through the forest and before me I can see the same thing happening to my love.
"Walking without a cane, huh?" One of them whispers in my ear. "Wonder who helped you with that."
Fear grips around my heart as I realize the mistake we have made.
It doesn't take long before we reach the clearing and I can see a stake has been placed in the middle. As I realize Agatha is being dragged to the stake I begin to scream: "No! Please, god, no!"
It's as if Agatha only now realizes I'm here because she starts to tug when hearing my voice, to no advance.
"Agatha Harkness, are you a witch?" A cold voice cuts through the night and I know it's Evanora's.
"Yes. I am a witch." Agatha answers, fear present in her voice. It's the same fear I'm feeling, but my fear isn't for myself. It's for her safety. Just as I assume the fear she feels is for mine.
"Yet you have betrayed your coven." Evanora pulls back her hood, and the other women that have surrounded Agatha do the same.
"I have not!"
"You stole knowledge above your age and station. You practiced the darkest of magic!"
"I know… I know nothing of these crimes. I… I swear it!" Agatha was a good liar but I know she isn't going to get away with this, Evanora is going to get her revenge one way or another.
"Enough deception!"
Tears start to roll down my cheek when I realize the hopeless situation my love is in.
"I did not break your rules. They simply bent to my power." Agatha basically repeats what I told her a while ago and a little smirk breaks through my tears, that's my girl.
Evanora looks at her daughter for a moment before nodding to the other witches, who start chanting in Latin. Blue energy appears at their fingertips.
"Wait. No. I can't control it. I… If only you would teach me!"
My heart goes out to my love, and I feel so lost and helpless. If only I had more magic, if only I was as powerful as she was. But instead I'm being useless once again.
"Help me! Please! Mother, please. Please! Mother!" Agatha yells, but Evanora joins the other witches in their chant. My heart fills with hate for that woman.
"No!" I scream, as I see Agatha getting hit with multiple beams of blue light. I fight against my binds but I'm just too weak, I can't break free. I have to watch the love of my life get killed right before my very eyes, that's the punishment I receive for not turning her in when I discovered her persuit of dark magic.
For a while Agatha screams and I scream with her, crying out loud. Tears fill my view and that's why I don't immediately realize that the scene changes. The beams of blue changes into purple, and my love her screams turn into moans. Next I notice that the life force of the witches attacking her get drained and all flow towards her.
Slowly she releases one hand of her binds, and with a movement a wave crushes everything around her. I can see it coming for me yet I don't feel afraid. I will never fear her magic. As it's about to hit me a purple shield covers me from head to toe, protecting me from impact.
The other witches aren't as lucky though, and when the shield goes down I can see dead bodies lying around me. Agatha is being attacked by her mother's blue magic but the same thing happens, my love her purple magic takes over and drains Evanora of her life. It doesn't take long before she too drops dead on the floor.
Agatha walks towards her and picks the brooch of the dead body. After she's done this, her eyes look for mine, and as soon as she's found me she rushes over to my side.
"My love…" She unbinds my hands and we embrace each other, seeking solace in the others company. She pulls back and puts her hands on both sides of my face, looking into my eyes. As I look back I can see that the look in her eyes is different. Something evil has nestled itself inside of her, but I don't care. I love her all the same. I would kill for Agatha Harkness.
"I'm sorry..." She whispers. "I know there's something wrong with me, I'll try to be good, I promise..."
I shake my head, cover her hands with my own and rest my forehead against hers.
Softly I whisper:
"There's nothing wrong with you, it's true.
There's something wrong with the village."
There's something wrong in the village
In the village, oh
They stare in the village
In the village, oh
There's nothing wrong with you
It's true, it's true
There's something wrong with the village
With the village
Something wrong with the village