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( october 1 )
JACQUELINE SAT at the edge of her cousin's bed as he read, fully immersed in one of his numerous books. "ambrose?" her soft voice spoke up. her cousin looked up in response, closing his book.
"yes?" he responded. the name from earlier was still ringing through jacqueline's ears. "who's sabrina?" she asked.
ambrose raised an eyebrow before sighing. "sabrina is our cousin, she's uncle edward's daughter—he....he passed away and left sabrina in the hands of aunt zelda and aunt hilda." he responded.
jacqueline's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. she had so many questions to ask. how did he die? is she nice? is she a skilled witch? does zelda actually pay attention to her?
"tell me about her—sabrina." jackie's blue-green eyes lit up. "well, she's half-witch, half-mortal. she's fifteen, almost sixteen. auntie zee is convinced that sabrina is going to go through with her dark baptism, but i don't know." ambrose filled her in.
"is she a good witch?" jackie leaned forward. ambrose nodded and responded with no hesitation, "yes, but no one is as skilled as you, cousin." ambrose teased.
jackie rolled her eyes at his compliment. it was no secret that despite being negligent towards her daughter, zelda still taught her daughter everything there was to know about their religion, about witchcraft.
there was a silence before jackie began to smile. "can i tell you a secret?" she turned towards her cousin excitedly.
ambrose nodded, he loved secrets. as he sat in the company of his cousin, he felt young again. like they were as children. "i'm going to go see my father tonight. i'm going to let him know that i'm back." jackie whispered, almost as if it were a crucial secret.
ambrose's eyes widened. he knew that it was a bad idea—she hadn't been home for five hours, and jacqueline was already stirring the pot of trouble. "your mother'll be furious." he responded.
a wicked smile settled onto jackie's face as she stood. "that's the point, cousin." she stated.
✪
"dark lord, i pray upon thee. please let my father be glad to see me," jacqueline whispered as she walked through the forest. the falls leaves crunched under foot as she made her way through the trees. the only thing that she could hear was the sound of the wind, whistling through the trees.
"dark lord, i pray upon thee. please let my father—" jacqueline stopped as she looked up. the small house was in front of her. it was just as she remembered. whenever she was with her father, she felt at home, she felt at ease.
jacqueline walked through the yard to the steps leading up to the porch. her feet carried her onto the doorstep of her father's home.
before she could knock, the door opened and there he was; george waverly stood, his eyes wide and his mouth opened ajar. his baby girl was home, she was finally home.
"dad!" she grinned, wrapping her arms around him. george didn't say anything, only embracing her back. he was glad to have his daughter there in his arms, after 85 years, she was back.
"not a day has passed since i prayed for your return." george muttered, letting go of his daughter. the two went inside his home, and george closed the front door.
the warmth of her father's home greeted her and secured her from the brisk october weather. she couldn't remember a time where she felt unsafe in her father's home. he always cared for her, he was always there for her.
"when'd you get back?" george question as he walked up to his daughter and led her over to his living room. the two took seats across from each other. "earlier. i went to see aunt hilda and ambrose and—" jackie was cut off. "your mother?" george raised an eyebrow.
jackie nodded and she leaned back on the sofa, exhausted from the day. "where were you staying? they wouldn't tell me." george tidied up his coffee table, moving his grimoires to the side.
"riverdale. it's....something. i left in the midst of some crazy stuff." jackie elaborated briefly.
george looked upon his daughter—he just....couldn't believe it. the council had banished his daughter for nearly a century, and for that, he hated them. he hated zelda for notifying them in the first place.
"did you and mom talk at all while i was banished?" jacqueline's eyes gazed into her father's. george scoffed and reached to get a cigarette, he lit it and inhaled before answering her question. jacqueline's face twisted up in disgust—she hated cigarettes with a passion.
"no, the dark lord knows how much i hate that woman," another inhale and he opened his mouth to speak, a cloud of smoke falling out of his mouth. "i don't hate her. it's just that....it's complicated—your mother is a heartless bitch, but i'll always love her." george answered.
a frown settled on jacqueline's face. she knew that her father would always love zelda unconditionally.
"d-dad, can i stay here tonight? i don't want to get into an argument with my mother tonight. i'm just too exhausted." jacqueline changed the subject. a soft smile worked its way onto george's face.
"of course, my little witch." he nodded.
— happy halloween, witches. the next chapter may come this weekend, depending on when i finish it. i think that a story about jackie living in riverdale would be kinda interesting hmmmm.
