"How are you feeling today, love?" Hilda asked cheerily as she entered the room that was occupied by her sister, who took it upon herself to send daggers into the direction of the blonde witch.
"What do you think, Hilda," Zelda said with just the right amount of annoyance to her voice, though her voice was strained and you could clearly tell that the ginger witch wasn't up to her usual standard as the comment wasn't nearly as vicious as Hilda was used to.
Ignoring the comment, Hilda went on to press her hand softly against Zelda's forehead, earning a scowl. The ginger tried to batt her sister's hand away but even the slow movement of lifting her arm sent her into another coughing fit; one of many she had experienced over the past three days.
"Lord, you are burning up," Hilda said, a frown pulling on her features. She knew her sister hated being fussed over, but the illness she was having, was unlike the witch had ever seen and it was only in her nature to fuss and worry about her older sister, despite her constant complaints about it.
"I am fine. You are exaggerating," she said and tried to stop the coughing, suppressing it to the best of her abilities.
"Stop playing it down all the time. You are clearly not well and if you would stop trying to prevent me from helping you, maybe you'd be back to health again," Hilda said and forced the cup of throat calming tea, Zelda had ignored for the past hour or so to her lips.
"No, no. Drink up," Hilda commanded and Zelda slowly opened her mouth, all the while shooting her sister the deadliest of glances she could muster up in her state.
"It wasn't that hard, was it?" She mocked her sister, not being able to keep it in after seeing the face her sister pulled as the sour taste of the charmed tea hit her taste buds.
"Are you sure you're not trying to poison me?" The ginger spat and turned her attention back to the newspaper in her lap, feeling secretly grateful for the immediate calming sensation that was spreading through her sore and aching throat.
"If I wanted to poison you, I wouldn't be so damn obvious about it," Hilda whispered into her own cup of tea and looked at her sister worriedly.
"You may leave now," Zelda said and tried to sound stern and decided but her voice came out strained and weaker than ever. She didn't want her sister to see how bad this was really affecting her. She had never liked people seeing her weak and broken down, so she naturally couldn't stand her suffocating need for the help her sister so readily offered.
"Are you sure you don't need anything else? I could bring you something to read, something real, not all these newspapers. Or I could just be your company. I don't know but maybe... Maybe it would be nice to spend some time together, catch up. You have barely been home these past weeks and I feel like you have drifted away from us," Hilda dared to finally say, now that her sister was in a weakened state and could not spit fire her way.
"Just because I don't spend my every second with you lot, doesn't mean I am drifting away from you for Satan's sake," she said, a cough following closely. She knew her sister was right, that she had a point but she would have never dared to admit that her sister had been right in her suspicions. But how could she when the reason for her absence was yet another sinful mishap of hers.
"That's not what I meant," Hilda whispered and Zelda rolled her eyes, annoyed.
"Then what did you mean, sister?" Zelda snapped and Hilda started kneading her hands nervously.
"I meant that you have been keeping secrets from us... More than usually," she said and her heart sank at Zelda's guilty expression. She knew that face not well, as guilt was something her sister did not like to show very often, but well enough to be able to tell it was guilt that her face was portraying.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Zelda said and continued to pretentiously read the newspapers.
"Okay, Zelds," Hilda said, giving up. She knew that there was no way she would get the information out of Zelda if the stubborn witch didn't want to give them to her. She looked at her sister, as often wondering what happened for them to become this way.
"Don't look at me like that," Zelda said, not being able to bear her sister's pitiful stare.
"Like what?"
"Like you pity me. You do not need to pity me. There is nothing worse than receiving pity from your family," Zelda said and Hilda felt the lump in her throat grow. She knew she shouldn't, she knew that she had been pushing her luck but she couldn't keep from it.
"I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk about something and I mean anything, really, I will be here to listen," Hilda said and hoped to get some kind of reaction out of her sister that showed that she was still there, her emotions locked away somewhere deep inside her well-guarded self.
"Anything else?" Zelda said, not lifting her gaze from the newspapers.
"No," Hilda said, defeated.
"Then I'd like you to leave. I am quite tired and I would like to sleep a bit."
With a small nod, Hilda slowly arose from her seat and headed for the door, looking back once before she left the room, brushing a tear off her cheek.
When Hilda was out of earshot and only then did Zelda allow herself to sigh out of exhaustion. She hadn't been prepared for that kind of talk so early in the day. Despite what she let her sister believe, she cared for the British woman more than she even admitted to herself. She just didn't allow her affection towards anyone really show, which made it hard for many people to believe that she was liking them.
She didn't want to lie to her family, not really. She just didn't want to reveal all the secrets she had recently lived just yet. She wasn't prepared for what was in store for her if she did, so she pushed anybody, who dared to ask, as far as possible away. She didn't want anybody to find out before she was ready and prepared to let them in on it.
She brushed a few strands of her ginger hair behind her ear and closed her eyes for a few seconds, exhaling audibly.
"Why can't I just be normal?" She asked herself, not for the first time in her centuries long life.
The week had gone on with Zelda growing noticeably colder and Hilda stopping to even attempt a normal conversation with her sister as the only thing she would get out of it was frustrated. Even Sabrina, whom they tried to keep out of their own business, had started to notice the thick tension in the house but was brushed off when asked.
It was a huge relief to both Hilda and Zelda when the ginger was finally back to her normal, healthy, self, even if still as cold and distant, and both could go on with their usual lives that involved less time spent together.
"Are you sure you want to take care of the work yet, Zelds? Ambrose can deal with it for a few more days, so you can relax and not overdo yourself," Hilda said worriedly. She didn't want her sister to demand too much of her body too soon. Work could wait, health could not.
"I am going to work today. It's settled, sister," Zelda retorted and didn't even once look up from her newspaper.
"But Ambrose-"
"What about him? Lately he is barely at home, always gone to the Academy, doing Lord knows what. Do you really expect him to carry on his work here for very much longer, sister? That is highly naive of you to expect. He is starting to lead his own life and we need to accept the fact and move on from it, become stronger even without him here all the time. We can't rely on him to do our work because if we do, we'll be the ones, who look stupid in the end and I don't suppose you want that to happen, do you?"
"No, sister," Hilda admitted quietly.
"Then it's settled. For once and for all, I am working today."
With that, she put her newspaper aside and strode out of the room, her head held high. She didn't need her sister to babysit her every move. Hilda watched her sister go, a weird feeling settling in her stomach. Something wasn't quite right but her sister was too proud to admit that she was needing a few more days to fully recover, or at least that's what Hilda assumed.
Only when Zelda had turned the corner, did she grip the cupboard for support and closed her eyes, moaning in pain. A small prickle of sweat ran down her face and she brushed it away smoothly.
"Get a grip on yourself!" She said to herself and tried to steady her vision before she even attempted to take a few more steps into the direction of the morgue. With each breath, standing grew more tiring and all she really wanted to do was lie down and sleep a bit more but with the speech she just held she couldn't possibly embarrass herself that much and just go and lie down.
No, it was settled. Zelda Spellman was going to work.
When she heard Hilda shuffle in the kitchen, she pushed herself away from the cupboard, afraid of being caught red handed. She knew exactly her sister wouldn't let her go that easily if she caught her like that, so she tried to get away before her sister had the opportunity to find her in that unfortunate situation.
Hilda had just been on the way to their front door, wanting to tend to their garden, when she heard a weird noise in their hallway. Almost like a crash, as if something had fallen. She frowned upon the weird noise and made her way into the direction of the hallway, not even half expecting what she was to find.
"Oh dear Lord!" She said and fell to her knees next to her sister's unconscious body as soon as she saw her lying on the ground. She immediately searched for a pulse, which she thankfully found and rolled her sister onto her back carefully, putting her legs up.
"If you had just listened to me for once, maybe this wouldn't have happened but no, Zelda always knows best," Hilda complained softly, her words non-threatening and more to herself than to her sister.
Only then did she discover how hot her sister was getting and how serious her illness still was. With a worried sigh and a bit of effort, Zelda was teleported into their bedroom, stripped down to her underwear and softly washed within fifteen minutes.
The only thing worrying the blonde witch was that her sister refused to wake up from her slumber but Hilda supposed it was just the need of her body to catch up on some sleep. Nothing to worry about. Her sister would wake up soon enough.
With that, she covered up her body, put a bell on Zelda's nightstand and made her way back downstairs. Work truly didn't do itself and so she went on about her normal day, her sister always in the back of her head.
As soon as she had prepared dinner, Hilda went up to check on her sister for the fifth time in an hour. The sleeping beauty still hadn't awoken from her deep slumber and it started to freak Hilda out. She didn't understand what had happened. Zelda had looked fine and healthy again. Why did she collapse all of a sudden?
She changed the wet bed sheets that all of Zelda's sweat had completely drenched and got a wet cloth to cool down her burning body. She put up her hair to give her face and neck a bit of air and brushed her soft thumb across her sticky cheek, something she could have never done while Zelda was awake.
She enjoyed the helplessness of her sister in the means of her finally looking peaceful. She looked at ease with the loving touch of her sister, when she couldn't fight it and the thought made Hilda smile sadly. Every little attempt to show affection had always been rejected by her sister and Hilda would be lying if she said it didn't hurt, so she enjoyed the moments where her sister didn't make fun of her for showing her feelings, something the ginger never could.
Hilda heard the front door open and close and voices talking in the hallway, taking it as her cue to leave her sister be. She made her way down the stairs, where she found Sabrina and a surprising guest.
"Sabrina and... Ms. Wardwell?" Hilda said as soon as the brunette had turned around and the elderly witch looked at the teacher in surprise.
"Good evening. I hope I am not intruding?" Ms. Wardwell asked and Hilda shook her head slowly.
"No, of course not. What a lovely surprise," Hilda said and shot her niece a look that gave away how unfitting the visit of her favorite teacher truly was.
"I am sorry, auntie, if it's bad timing. I should have told you beforehand, it's just that I told Ms. Wardwell about auntie Zee's sickness and she wanted to see how she was doing," the teenager said and Hilda's heart melted at the sweetness of the brunette.
"Of course. Do you have time for dinner?" Hilda asked, her slight annoyance already vanished.
"Oh, I really don't want to be a burden."
"Oh, you could never. I would like the company," Hilda admitted and with a small nod from the brunette, all of them were on their way to the dining room.
"Won't auntie Zee join us?" Sabrina asked, still in the unknown of what had happened earlier on in the day.
"Unfortunately no, sweetheart. Zelda isn't feeling too well," Hilda half spoke the truth and eyes the brunette cautiously. She still didn't know what to think of her and was too aware of her sister obvious dislike of the woman, so she didn't know much her sister wanted the other witch to know.
"Oh, but I thought she was feeling better," Sabrina said and Hilda nodded slowly.
"Yes, she was but she didn't rest enough and just needed a quick nap. She was a bit exhausted, that's all," Hilda said and tried to smile but a quick glance at Ms. Wardwell told her that she hadn't bought the lie that had been sold to her.
Hilda didn't know what to do and wished for the evening to be over already.
"Can I talk to her after dinner is over? It would be really short, so we don't demand too much of her," Ms. Wardwell said and the bite Hilda had just swallowed went hardly down. She had to drink a sip of water to wash it down and think about a fitting response.
"Excuse me. I don't think that's possible," Hilda said and laughed nervously under the intense glance of the brunette.
"Because I believe she's fast asleep and what's that saying about not waking sleeping lions?" She said, trying to brush it off but the unreadable face of the brunette told her, it was not working, or at least she assumed that was what it told her.
"Never heard of such saying but maybe we can go up, look. She could have woken by the time we're finished," Ms. Wardwell proposed and Hilda knew she had nothing to say against this but the truth and she didn't want Zelda to hit her with a hammer again.
"No, I don't think that is such a good idea. Come back in a few days and I'm sure she'll be eager to greet you," Hilda said and smiled her sweetest smile, which didn't have any of the wished effects on the teacher.
"Is something wrong because you do look like you're trying to hide something," Ms. Wardwell said and Hilda didn't have the strength to keep her pretense up. She wasn't like Zelda, with her stone cold face and wall of emotions. She couldn't suppress anything, let alone keep it cool while speaking anything but the truth.
"Is it that obvious?"
"Painfully so."
"She fell and knocked herself unconscious earlier today and hasn't woken since. I don't know what else to do but let her sleep. I have tried everything," Hilda admitted and watched the expression of the brunette change. Into what, she didn't know.
"What was she trying to do up already? She should have stayed in bed for at least one more week if not even two," Ms. Wardwell muttered and Hilda was confused by her interest in her sister's wellbeing. She hadn't been aware of their 'friendship' if you could call it that.
"She said, she was fine and that she wanted to work again," Hilda said and watched Ms. Wardwell shake her head.
"Why didn't you stop her? She had no business being up already. She should have known..."
"I tried to stop her but she is my sister after all. Zelda Spellman does whatever she thinks right and doesn't listen to anybody, especially not her younger sister," Hilda said and Ms. Wardwell chuckled at her spot on impression of the older Spellman sister. She supposed it wasn't the first time Hilda had the opportunity to use it.
"How long did she take off?" Ms. Wardwell asked and Hilda was a bit taken back by her sudden forwardness.
"A week and a half maybe. She looked better, we all thought it was going better and then she just collapsed in the hallway," Hilda said and Ms. Wardwell just nodded shortly before standing up and starting to pace, confusing the rest of the Spellman's.
"This fool. She should have taken off more time!"
"Is everything alright?" Hilda asked, worried about the sudden state of the witch, all worked up and worried.
"No, nothing is alright. I had the same sickness just three weeks ago and I know how dangerous it can get. She shouldn't even have gotten out of bed, let alone attempted working," Ms. Wardwell said and Hilda's confusion just grew. How did she know it was the same sickness? None of them knew what Zelda had caught, assuming it was just a normal witch flu, which was indeed nastier than mortal flu's.
But at the thought of it, Zelda had always refused to call it the flu. Looking back on it, Hilda thought that maybe Zelda did know what it was and just didn't tell them for the sake of keeping a secret? A knowing smile spread across Hilda's face and the British woman made a step towards the brunette to stop the pacing, as it was driving her wild.
"What do you need?"
"What?" Confusion spread across Ms. Wardwell's face.
"You said you had it just a while ago. What do you need to cure it?"
"It's complicated. Zelda and her stupidity made it even worse and it's not a good sign that she hasn't woken up yet," Ms. Wardwell said worriedly. Hilda just nodded shortly.
"But there is something we can do, right?"
"Yes, can I borrow your kitchen?" The teacher said and already made her way towards the open space before even receiving an answer.
"Of course, make yourself feel right at home!"
Ms. Wardwell had spent hours upon hours brewing all different sorts of potions in the Spellman kitchen and it took even longer until Zelda finally started to wake from her slumber.
When she did, Ms. Wardwell was by her side. The brunette had her back turned to her when her green eyes finally opened up to the bright shine of daylight and in her confusion she thought she had imagined the witch in her bedroom.
"Mary?" Zelda asked and the body shot around, looking at her lovingly.
"You finally woke up... Took you long enough, dear," she said and Zelda coughed, Mary rubbing her arm soothingly.
"What happened and most importantly why are you here?" Zelda said and Mary just chuckled.
"I am here because I wanted to check up on you. I hadn't heard from you in over a week and you were starting to worry me. I knew you had caught what I had while you came over that one evening to..."
"No need to expand further. The memory is still vivid," Zelda said and reached out to take Mary's hand into her own.
"I came over to make sure you were on your way back to the living and your niece so kindly asked me to come over to your house after school so I couldn't refuse. Your sister didn't want to let me know what had happened but in the end she told me you had collapsed and had been out ever since," Mary said, bringing Zelda's hand up to press a soft kiss against it.
"How long was I out for?"
"Three days and six hours," Mary said, yawning exhausted, "And I have been by your side ever since I came."
"My knight and shining armor," Zelda said sarcastically.
"I just saw how helpless your sister looked and how miserable it made her to see you suffer. She would have loved to help you and she was with me every step of the way. She really isn't as bad as you always make her out to be," Mary said and Zelda nodded.
"She really isn't."
"Would you mind telling her that?"
"What?" Zelda said, shock written across her face.
"Would you mind telling her that she isn't that bad? I think it would mean a lot to her to hear that from you," Mary said and Zelda just shook her head.
"I don't do that sort of thing," she said and dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand.
"What? Telling people you love them?"
"I wouldn't lean myself that far out of the window, but yes, that sort of thing."
"But you just told me you liked her."
"I never said such unholy thing. I only said she wasn't that bad," Zelda said and pointed her perfectly manicured finger at her.
"Wow, I can't believe it's your sister, who ends up in the Cain Pit once in a while. Speaking of which, I could have just let you die and give your sister the pleasure of burying you in it for a change."
"I bet she would have loved that," Zelda said, laughing.
"Anyways, I think your sister would like to speak to you. After all you gave the poor woman a heart attack by fainting on her," Mary said and stood up, ready to leave the room.
"Can I get a kiss?"
"Oh, that's what got us into this mess in the first place," Mary said and gave Zelda, who pouted adorably, an air kiss.
Shortly after her sister popped her head through the door and Zelda sighed in half annoyance and half relief.
"Hey, Zelds. How are you feeling?" Hilda asked and sat down next to her bed, where Mary had previously taken place,
"I am fine."
"And now the truth."
"I feel exhausted and like I just had an unpleasant rendezvous with death himself."
"That's more like it."
"If you just came here to annoy me then you might as well just go now, sister."
"I actually came to tell you that you can invite Ms. Wardwell over once in a while. It would be awfully impolite to not do that," her sister said, smiling from ear to ear.
"What do you mean?" Zelda asked, suspicious of her sister's beaming smile.
"Oh, come on Zelda. I know."
"You know what?"
"That you two are a thing..."
"We are not a... Thing."
"Yes, you are. Even a blind person could see that."
"And you are okay with that?"
"Of course! We love you the way you are and Ms. Wardwell is the sweetest thing. That's why you've been gone so much recently isn't it?"
"Maybe."
"Zelds that's so great! I am so happy for you! She really makes you happy, doesn't she?"
"Yes, she does."
"Aww, that's great Zelds!"
"Hilda?"
"Yes?"
"I... love you."