A paranoid Cordelia, quickly went to her house in the afternoon, to ensure her Yuletide log was still burning; which it was.
Also taking the opportunity to take a quick smoke before heading back to her family home. Arriving there, she was bumped into by her aunt Hilda.
"Oh, Delia! It's just you..." the older witch panted out breathlessly.
"What's going on?"
"It's seems we've been infiltrated by manevolences."
"Hilda!" Aunt Zelda yelled frantically. The two witches shared a worried look before following the voice. "Hilda!"
Cordelia looked at her eldest aunt who's eyes was filled with fear.
"What? What's happened?" Aunt Hilda asked, surprised by her sister's state.
"It's the baby."
"What?" the youngest witch asked.
"Leticia's missing."
"No, no that's not possible. The dreamcatcher would've protected her..."
Her eldest aunt looked at her guiltily. "I...I might have removed it."
Cordelia stared at her aunt in disbelief. "You disliked the gift that much?!"
"No, no of course not! I was playing Peekaboo with Leticia and my hair got caught in it...I only removed it for a second until..."
Suddenly a baby cry filled the house, making all three of them pause to listen, then it was followed by children giggling.
The three women nodded towards in agreement, as they followed Leticia's cries. Each time they entered a room, the cries came from another room, this went on almost for a whole 20 minutes.
"Alright, that's it!" Cordelia exclaimed, not able to take Leticia's crying without being able to comfort her. "I'm trapping and banishing ghost children today!" she moved towards the stairs, planning to head to her room. "The vases I bought in New Orleans, will finally be useful".
"No! Delia." Aunt Zelda grabbed her niece's wrist. As the house echoed with children's laughter again. "These are not normal poltergeists... we cannot harm them, I cannot fathom what the mother will do to us, if we did..." the older woman explained, making Cordelia frown in confusion.
"Their moth..?"
"Let's rather split up, divide and conquer." her aunt Hilda suggested, as they nodded and went their separate ways.
Cordelia went to the living room, while her aunt Hilda went to the kitchen and aunt Zelda to the elbalming room.
"Oh!"
Cordelia heard her blonde aunt exclaim, and went to the kitchen with her aunt Zelda in tow.
"Oh, my gosh. It's okay, darling. It's okay. It's okay." aunt Hilda comforted a crying Leticia, in near tears herself. Cordelia breathed out in relief and immediately caressed the crying baby's head.
"Hilda!"
"Oh, Zelda! Oh!"
"Oh!" Aunt Zelda gasped in relief.
"Oh. It's okay." the red-headed woman took the baby and sushed her.
"Why is she so warm?" the youngest Spellman witch asked.
"Oh! She was in the oven..." aunt Hilda explained, and whispered lowly in fear. "I was preheating it." she finished, while holding her face in panick.
"Bun in the oven..." Cordelia scoffed in anger. "These ghosts have a sick sense of humour."
"She's fine. She's fine, though." Aunt Hilda assured her niece and sister. "But look, Zelda." she pointed, showing tiny children footprints from the flour on the floor.
Just then Ambrose walked in breathlessly.
"And where have you been?" Aunt Zelda asked him, accusingly.
"Tying down all the corpses
in the embalming room, bolting all the hatches shut. We have an infestation. We have poltergeists." he breathed out, always prepared.
"Not quite." Aunt Zelda gasped out, just as a doorslammed loudly, making them jump in fear.
"Wh...what now?" Aunt Hilda, stammered out, tiredly.
Both the twins grabbed a knife each, from the kitchen table, as the entire family headed towards the foyer, where they heard the slam.
The youngest two at the front, with their knives up.
Finally, Sabrina stepped in casually, looking at the state of her relatives.
"What's going on?" she asked, perplexed, as both twins dropped their knives on the nearby table. Cordelia laid her forehead on the back of her brother's shoulder in exhaustion. While both the Spellman sisters comforted a cooing Leticia.
"So, it's not poltergeists, it's the Yule Lads... " Aunt Hilda explained. As everyone once again was gathered in the living room. Cordelia gave her brother a mug of eggnog, which only reminded him of their previous conversation.
"Impish spirits of children that come down from the mountains every midwinter to cause mischief in the unguarded homes of witches..." Aunt Zelda continued, while lightly playing with Leticia from next to her chair. "They must have gotten in when the Yule fire went out."
"Right, so we banish the buggers." Ambrose simplified it.
"Well, that's not so easy, love. The Yule Lads are like bedbugs. Once they get in your house, they're difficult to get rid of." the blonde aunt explained to her nephew.
"Indeed, they won't leave until their mother tells them to." the eldest witch added.
"Their mother being Gryla." Aunt Hilda informed, with an eyeroll.
"Dare I ask? Who's Gryla?" Sabrina asked.
"A very dangerous witch."
"Not much of a disciplinarian..." Cordelia commented, referring to the Yule lads behavior and destruction of the house. Her aunt Zelda shrugged in response to that as she continued.
"During a famine, she and another woman from her coven made a pact.
They would eat their own children
to survive."
"Seriously, what is it with witches
and cannibalism?" Sabrina asked, annoyed.
"They cooked and devoured Gryla's son first, her only child, and then the other witch broke their pact. Devastated, Gryla's spent the last
thousand years trying to replace her lost babe. She's forever adding children, particularly orphans, to her so-called family."
Cordelia frowned at the last bit, looking down at Leticia in worry.
"So, what do we do?" the youngest niece asked.
"We summon Gryla, then make her an offering in exchange for gathering up her Yule Lads..." Aunt Zelda explained.
"Where's the logic in that?" Cordelia asked, perplexed. "It's her "children" that's running amock in people's homes. We're doing her favour of letting her know they're here. Why is there an offering even needed?"
"Delia, love. I don't think we should try and understand the reasonings of a scorned witch-mother." Aunt Hilda, chuckled, as her sister addressed their nephew.
"But first, Ambrose, you're going to have to get out of the house."
"Why is that?" Ambrose asked, the same time his sister asked 'why'.
"Gryla was abandoned by her husband and she doesn't like men."
"She does like eating them." Aunt Hilda added, jokingly.
"What?" the warlock blinked in fear. Zelda drank a sip of her wine, bemusedly at his reaction.
"Oh, come now, brother. You cannot be afraid of a little old witch, now can you?"
"Be quiet you." Ambrose pointed to his teasing sister, while slowly standing up from his chair. "You know what? I am out. I have been invited to a Solstice party by Luke and I can't keep holed up in this house forever."
"Bye, love." Aunt Hilda smiled.
"Enjoy!" Cordelia also yelled, after him." Well then..." she spoke again, once her brother left, picking up the cradle, Leticia was in. "... it's been decided, I will be taking Leticia home with me, until the kidnapping children witch is gone."
The red-headed matriarch's mouth opened to protest.
"Do you have a better idea, Aunt Zelda?" she cut off her aunt.
The older witch's lips thinned at the challenge, realizing her niece was right.
"That's what I thought."
"So bossy these days." Aunt Hilda muttered lowly, as she sent a wink to Sabrina, who chuckled.
"Just... Just remember to give Letty a bath, and...and to give her milk before she falls asleep. We will let you know immediately once Grylda is gone." Aunt Zelda relented, while standing up and walked to give the baby a kiss on her forehead.
"Of course... and thank you." her niece responded, before smiling down at the gurgling baby in her arms. "We're going to have so much fun, yes we are..." she cooed, while picking up the bag with all the baby supplies.
"Then when you come back, you're going to tell your aunt Zelda all about the pretty house she hasn't been in, yes..." she kept her baby talk, making Leticia giggle, and her red-headed aunt send her an unamused expression at the snide.
After sending her eldest aunt a sardonic smile, she teleported with Leticia in her cradle.
Sitting infront of her fireplace, she sang softly a Spanish lullaby that their mother used to sing to her and Ambrose, when they were babies.
Leticia was a bit stubborn when it came to falling asleep; never wanting to miss out on anything. When her eyes finally closed, Cordelia mouthed 'thank you' in silent victory as she carefully carried her to the bassinet in the corner of the room. Another gift she had bought for her.
Checking the clock, Cordelia frowned, realizing her family was taking a while to deal with the Gryla witch.
Just as the thought passed through, a letter appeared infront of her.
"A quick update, darling, one of Sabrina's friends, Susie. Have been kidnapped by a Yule demon..." Cordelia frowned in concern at her aunt Hilda's letter.
"...meaning, we have to call on Gryla once again to help us. So, it's best to keep Leticia just where she is, with you. We will let you know, once it's safe to bring her home."
The Spellman witch breathed out in exhaustion, just as there was a soft knock on her door.
Not expecting any visitors, she first peeked through the peephole. Seeing who it is, she stepped back a second from the door in thought. Until there was another knock.
Breathing out, she opened the door, and infront of her was Prudence Night, in a coat and standing with as much dignity she could.
"Aren't you going to invite me in?"
Cordelia blinked out of her frozen state, as she stepped aside, and gestured with her hand for the other witch to come in.
The short-haired witch's heeled boots clacked leisurely throughout the house, as Cordelia closed the door to prevent any cold from coming in.
"How...How do you know I live here?" the older witch asked.
"Sabrina gave me the address." she said airily, while examining the place with sharp eyes, and tapping her fingers on each piece of furniture she walked passed. "It's very, you."
"Uhm... Thank you?" Cordelia stammered out, not sure to take it as a compliment.
After a minute of silence, the Spellman witch sighed out. "Prudence, what are you doing here? I thought you wanted space?"
"Well, I..."
Suddenly, a gurgling noise cut the visitor off. Making Cordelia immediately go to the Victorian bassinet.
"Are you kidding me..." Cordelia gritted out, but her annoyed expression turned into an amused one, once she was met with a sleepy grin from the baby. Picking her up, she stepped back to Prudence.
"Life is really not that exciting, Leticia, you can honestly close your eyes for a few hours." the Spellman said playfully, while rocking her lightly.
The confidence the visitor had when she waltzed in, disappeared the second she saw the baby in the older witch's arms.
"Why...Why do you have her?" she stuttered out.
"My aunties had something to take care of, and she is currently safest with me."
Prudence just swallowed in response, then looked down. "Well then... it's seems you're preoccupied, I should leave."
"Wait! Don't..." Cordelia treaded carefully. "This is probably one of the most well-mannered babies I've met. She's not keeping me too busy."
Prudence halted and slowly looked at her baby sister in the Spellman witch's arms, seeming very content and happy. The short-haired witch couldn't help but scoff at the irony.
"What?"
"Nothing"
"Would you like to hold her?"
If it wasn't for the warm and encouraging smile Cordelia was giving her, the latter would've scoffed at the question, but now she seemed to hesitate, actually considering the request.
"She has a magical way of making your day a little brighter..."
The Spellman witch then gestured with her head, for the other witch to follow her to her couch, near the fireplace.
Once both women sat down, Cordelia raised a challenging eyebrow at her visitor, while holding the gurgling baby out.
Sighing out in defeat, Prudence slowly nodded, making the older witch's smile grow wider, as she carefully placed Leticia in her older sister's arms.
When the baby started making whiny noises at the change, Prudence looked up at Cordelia in fear.
"Sshhh it's okay." Cordelia comforted Leticia, and then addressed the short-haired witch. "She's just getting used to new arms, that's it, she'll calm down in a bit."
True to her words, the baby started to calm down, as she put her tiny fist in her mouth, and scrutinized the witch who was holding her.
Cordelia chuckled, as she removed the hand out of her mouth, and replaced it with a pacifier.
Leticia having nothing to do with her hands, started making grabbing motions with her hands. Unsure of what to do, Prudence hesitantly adjusted the baby closer to her face. Leading to Leticia's one hand to grab her cheek, and blink her eyes in interest.
Cordelia gently removed the pacifier from the baby again, while she was distracted, which was a good thing, because she was displaying a full toothless grin for her older sister.
The sight put Prudence in a trance, as she smiled lightly in response and traced her nail on the baby's cheek.
Cordelia couldn't help but smile sweetly at the display.
Tears started shining from the visitor's eyes, at the warm feeling she was getting in her chest. "Is...is this what unconditional love feels like?" Prudence chuckled, sadly.
The older witch looked at her in surprise, at her honest display of emotions. Cordelia breathed out in sympathy for the orphaned witch, who never knew love like this.
"I believe so, yes..." she responded carefully. "If... If you want, you can visit her whenever you want? Or if you're not comfortable meeting her with my entire family there. We can meet here and I'll have her here too..."
Prudence blinked at the suggestion in thought, then abruptly stood up and immediately handed the baby to Cordelia."This was a mistake."
Grabbing hold of Leticia, the latter frowned at the change." I don.. "
Sighing out, cynically, Prudence spoke. "I came here because for some reason...I wanted to see you. Blame it on the holidays...or the festivities, or maybe I was just simply bored, but... I... did not come here to be coerced and manipulated into having a relationship with her!"
"Wha... What? Prudence... that wasn't my intention..." Cordelia answered, calmly. Knowing that this might have triggered something.
"Either way..." the short-haired witch cut her off. "I need to leave, my sisters will notice and ask questions. And sorry, I... I know I was the one that suggested to keep our distance, this was just...a moment of weakness."
Cordelia nodded sadly at the explanation, before she spoke. "I... Uhm.. I got you something... a gift... for the holidays...and I know the winter solstice doesn't require gifts as the mortals, but in our family we do exchange, moreso for Sabrina..."
"Delia, no...I don't..."
"Please, just take it as a goodbye gift..." Cordelia quickly went to place Leticia in the bassinet and then retrieve the almost forgotten gift from her drawer.
She then handed a green & red wrapped rectangle shaped present to the younger witch, who reluctantly took it.
"Thank you." Prudence swallowed, downcast. "I didn't get you anything..."
"That's not why I got it for you.." Cordelia stopped her. "... And uhm thank you for helping my cousin today, with contacting her mother."
"Well, we had empathy, since we would've wanted to contact ours as well..." the visitor sighed out, whilst walking to the door.
The older witch smiled gently, thinking of the gift she has given her, hoping that it might be just what she needs.
"Happy Winter Solstice, Delia."
"Happy winter Sol..." Before she could finish her wish as well, Prudence had closed the door with a hurried slam.
Exhaling, Cordelia looked at the baby in the corner. "Your sister is very rude. No manners I tell you."
Leticia just responded in happy gurgles, making the former smile sadly.
Later the evening, Cordelia sat with Leticia in the Spellman kitchen, as she gave her brother a rundown of what happened with Susie.
She then handed Leticia to her brother for a bit, just as everyone arrived back.
"How did it go?" Cordelia asked, while wiping her hands and standing up.
"We saved Susie from the demon
and then erased her dad's memory." Sabrina explained shortly.
Ambrose chuckled, while still looking at Leticia. "Sounds about right."
"How's Leticia faring?" Aunt Zelda asked, her eldest niece.
"She's doing great. I think she likes my house even more" Cordelia cooed. "Maybe, we can celebrate her birthday there." she smiled, while playing with the baby's arm, who was now in the basket.
"Aunt Zelda?" Sabrina asked worryingly, seeing her aunt getting teary-eyed. Cordelia looked up at her aunt, at her cousin's question.
"What is it?" Cordelia asked, perplexed.
"I've made a decision." Aunt Zelda gasped out. "About Leticia. I'm taking her to Desmelda's after the midwinter holiday."
Cordelia immediately frowned in protest.
"Ambrose was right. We can't keep her a secret from Father Blackwood forever." Aunt Zelda explained, remorsefully.
"And what if, Satan forbid, Gryla were to come back next Solstice, or next week, for that matter?"
"Then we do the same as we did today. I'll take her, until the time passes. You want her to be raised by some forest witch we barely even know?!"
The red-headed aunt sighed out tiredly, knowing convincing her eldest niece was going to be the hardest.
"Delia... we won't be able to keep this going. School is going to start after the holiday, Sabrina, you, your brother and I need to be at the Academy almost everday. Your Aunt Hilda works at Dr Ceberus's. Who will be able to take care of her then?"
Cordelia remained silent, as her brother spoke up as well.
"Not to mention, that we will be working closely with Father Blackwood, the very person we're trying to keep her from. Sister... it's too risky."
"The truth is, she's not safe here." Aunt Zelda continued. "Desmelda can raise her in seclusion. Teaching her the old ways, as is her birthright. Of course, we'll visit her and provide
for her, that's only right. I'm..." the woman stammered in heartbreak. "I'm her Night Mother, after all."
"Aunt Zee..."
"No, Sabrina, I've quite made up my mind."
"Yes, it seems you have." Cordelia whispered darkly.
Having heard her niece, the red-headed matriarch stepped closer to her, and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Delia, dear. You and I both know it's not safe for her here. We will miss her, but we cannot be selfish and risk her life to make ours happier. That's not what love is." Aunt Zelda spoke gently, while wiping a stray tear from Cordelia's cheek.
Blinking rapidly to stop her tears, Cordelia crossed her arms and nodded, downcast, not able to form words.
"Besides, I've got more than my hands full with you lot." the eldest witch joked. Then she turned to her nephew. "Let me take her, Ambrose..."
Taking the baby from Ambrose, she smiled sadly, while looking at her. "I'll put her to bed."
Met with silence, as the matriarch left the room. Cordelia, to substitute her smoking, opted for a glass of whiskey, to drown her sorrows. While Sabrina whimsically rehashed her experience of finally speaking to her mother for the first time.
Meanwhile at the academy, Prudence stared at the wrapped gift, with her name beautifully written in cursive.
She was currently sitting in her nightwear on her bed, her sisters already fallen asleep, which she was envious of, since she couldn't shut her eyes for more than a minute.
"Damn it, Delia." she whispered, frustratingly as she grabbed the taunting gift from her bedside table and quietly started opening it.
An envelope dropped, which got her attention, as she opened it first and started reading the letter inside.
"Dear Prudence
If you're reading this, it means you were willing to accept my gift. I just needed you to have this. Ever since the the Queen of the Feast event, I still remember your crestfallen expression when you heard of your mother's untimely death.
I know this will never come close to you actually meeting her, but now atleast you have a name and face for her.
I've done a lot of research and I was finally able to find one. Your mother's name was Serena Lutet and by the looks of it you got your beauty from her.
I hope this will bring you some closure.
P. S Do not be scared by the motions, it's a magical enchantment that I created. It's kind of my speciality.
Happy Solstice
Wishing you all the best,
Delia. "
Blinking, as tears formed in her eyes. 'She couldn't have' Prudence thought, disbelieving, as she slowly took off the ripped pieces from the other part of the gift.
Seeing the picture infront of her, she gasped in sadness and happiness. Shakingly, holding the frame, there was a woman with sharp eyes and a playful smile. She had medium length silver hair, as she stood on a stage infront of a silver retro dynamic vocal microphone. She sent a teasing wink before she started singing for the audience of warlocks and witches.
'She was a singer' Prudence thought happily, as she hugged the frame and fell asleep with it in her arms. Only dreaming of her mother, who she could finally put a face to.
Christmas Eve
Everyone was sitting in the living room once again with Luke as well, all in their nightwear.
Walking upto Luke, she pointed. "You're sitting in my chair." she said, stone-faced. Referring to the chair diagonally from her brother and across her aunties.
The warlock looked at his boyfriend nervously, planning to stand up as Salem jumped off of his lap.
Ambrose stared at his sister in annoyance."No, Luke, don't move she's joking."
Luke hesitantly sat back down.
Addressing her brother, she pointed at him, with a wine glass in her hand. "You think I'm joking?" she asked, with playfulness in her eyes.
Her brother playfully scowled back at his sister. In response, she plumped herself on top of Luke's lap. Making the warlock sit up straight in shock.
"Sister, what are you doing, get off!"
"What, why? Luke doesn't mind." she said with feigned innocence, as she looked down at the younger warlock. "You don't mind, do you Luke?"
"Uhm, uh no, no."
"See, he doesn't mind." she said airily, while taking a sip of her wine.
Earning her a deadpan expression from her brother, giggles from her aunt Hilda and a snide grin from her other aunt.
Just then, Sabrina walked in with a very glum expression, not even batting an eye at her female cousin sitting on her brother's boyfriend's lap.
"Who was that, Sabrina?" Aunt Zelda asked, having heard the door close.
"Harvey."
"He didn't want to come in?" the red-headed aunt asked in interest.
"He was just dropping something off." she shrugged, sadly, from her place on the mat infront of the fireplace.
Both aunties frowned and stared worriedly at their youngest niece's expression.
"Aside from the home invasion
and the child abduction, I'd say this was a rather merry Solstice..." Ambrose broke the silence, jovially, and then picked up his alcoholic beverage. "Bright Yuletide, Spellmans."
Everyone got their glasses ready, except for Sabrina.
"Come on, Sabrina, say it. It is tradition."
Lifting up her beverage as well, she spoke with a small smile. "And Satan bless us, every one."
Cordelia lifted her glass and then took a sip.
"Oh, and now all we have to do is get through Witch Epiphany in one piece without, er, some other terror rising
from the bowels of Hell." Aunt Hilda muttered, before taking another sip of her drink.
The room was met with silence at her random rant. Scrutinizing her aunt, she stood up from Luke's lap."You're tipsy." she teased her aunt, while poking her.
"Oh please, stop joking you!" her aunt slapped her lightly back, but not without letting out a tiny uncontrollable giggle.
Cordelia just shook her head, as she went to go sit on the mat, next to Leticia's cradle.
Aunt Zelda was already caressing the top of the baby's head. So, Cordelia let Leticia grab one of her fingers to tug on happily. Both of the witches wanting to spend us much time as they can with her.
The red-headed matriarch sadly smiled at her eldest niece, without her noticing. Then addressed her nephew.
"Ambrose. Continue the annual reading, if you please."
The warlock nodded and dutifully opened the book and started. "Where was I?" he cleared his throat. "Ah, yes. Scrooge lay in this state until the chime had gone three-quarters more,
when he remembered, on a sudden,
that the ghost had warned him of a visitation when the bell tolled one."
Sitting and listening to her brother read a story he has read hundreds of times, and the family listening intently and blissfully. The warmth that radiated in the room, made Cordelia smile in content.
She couldn't help but think, if her role as a custodian was true. Looking at her loved ones in the room. The concept of dying to protect them, didn't scare her anymore, as the fear of living without them was much greater.
Serena Lutet - Sophie Okonede