A letter. A secret. And a boy named Ash.
This was supposed to be their happily ever after, but Hester isn't so sure. Maybe it has something to do with the letter from an old acquaintance, one that makes her doubt every memory. Maybe it's the secrets...
Dot gaped at her friends, her mouth falling open. The explanation had taken quite a while, but they had finally finished, leaving Dot speechless.
“Were you never going to tell me that?” Dot asked.
“We did,” Anadil said, rolling her eyes.
“That’s not what I-never mind.” Dot wrung her hands anxiously. “What if Rebel is really a part of the Society? These horrible people, they drove you out of your home, Anadil. I couldn’t live with myself if this turned out the same as what happened with Kei.”
“Just be careful,” Anadil warned. “Maybe pretend you haven’t figured him out. Maybe we can get some information.”
Dot sighed. “Why did I know it would come to this?”
Hester was only half-listening. She had only told her friends part of the story about her relations to the Society. It wasn’t relevant, anyways, and would only arouse pity. Besides, she couldn’t stop thinking about what had happened before Dot had barged into the room. She was almost glad she had the audacity to do so, to be honest. Nevers couldn’t, shouldn’t love, and she had almost-
“Hester.” The sound of Anadil’s voice dragged her back to reality.
“What?”
“Welcome back,” Dot said with a smirk. Hester scowled.
“I was just telling Dot about our encounter with that Norman Greene man and his loyal cronie,” Anadil continued. “And I was wondering if you knew them.”
Hester could tell from the look in her friend’s eyes that she had noticed Hester’s reaction to seeing Lilith again. She wasn’t sure what was wrong with her lately, why she was having so much trouble disguising her emotions, a skill that she had spent the last several years perfecting. But she did know that it would be impossible to lie about this, especially as Anadil was so observant.
“I’ve never seen that man before,” Hester said slowly. “But the girl...I knew her a long time ago.”
“Vague, much?” Dot huffed after a moment. “We need more details, honey. Was she your friend? Your aunt? Your tormentor? Your one true love?”
“No!” Hester exclaimed. “No to every single one of those! I only knew her for about a week, in which time she lied to me, pretended to help me, and then sold me off to the Society. There. You happy now?”
“Ecstatic,” Anadil replied sarcastically.
“Good,” Hester retorted, equally sarcastically. “Now, unless we want the Society to take over the Woods, we’d better make a plan.”
“Should we write Aggie and Teddy to help us?” Dot asked.
“No,” Hester snapped. “We don’t need heroes’ help. We can do this on our own.”
***
It was a few days later when the wanted posters began to go up.
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The three witches kept Ash in their house, taking turns watching him to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid. This was also the same week they received a letter from Agatha.
Dear Hester,
Hope you’re doing well. I know it hasn’t been a month since I last saw you, but unfortunately I have to ask you a favor. You see, next week is Sophie’s birthday, as well as mine, and she’s insisting on having a huge party. Stupid, right? Although it also may or may not have something to do with the arrival of her and Hort’s child. Well, not their actual kid, obviously, she’s adopted, but still, Sophie is excessively excited. She’s been planning all week, but she made me send the invitations. Hope you can come. Please do, or else I’ll be left alone with Sophie, Hort, a bunch of idiot first years, and my brain-dead husband.
Sincerely,
Queen Agatha of Camelot
P.S. Have those wanted posters been showing up in Nottingham too? Something seems off about them,though I’m not sure what. And where the heck is Ingerthorn?
The three witches were divided on this issue, with Hester insisting that they stay in Nottingham, Anadil offering that they leave Nottingham altogether, taking Ash with them, and do what they had meant to all along, and Dot saying they should all go to the party.
Eventually, after three days of heated arguments, they decided to go with Dot’s plan, which was a rarity in their coven. Disgruntled, Hester sent a quick message back to Agatha:
Agatha-
We’ll be there, for better or worse. And about the boy on the wanted posters… Well, he’s with us (long story). Hope you don’t mind.
Good luck with Sophie,
Hester
A/N: I finally posted a chapter on the day I actually scheduled! This chapter was mainly a filler chapter meant to move the plot along, so it honestly isn't as good as some of the others. Hope everyone is having a great holiday season so far (no matter what holiday you celebrate).
