Actually an excerpt from a longer fic, You Always Say No, but it’s a good stand alone too. Enjoy!
She was working on a potion that would babyproof the cabinets—premature she knew, given Sabrina was only a few days old, but one could never be too prepared; especially with a magical child, when Edward walked into her work room.
“Sister, I have a favor to ask.” He began, picking up a flask and playing with the rubber stopper.
“What?” She inquired in a bored voice, barely raising her attention from the potion in front of her. She had to add just the right number of drops of this ingredient or she’d have to start all over again. When her brother remained silent, Zelda finally turned her gaze onto him—he was still fidgeting. “For the love of Lucifer, Edward, what is it?”
Sighing, he replaced the flask and stopper on the table. “I am going into the woods tonight, to sign Sabrina’s name in the Book of the Beast. I would like you to accompany me as a witness.”
Zelda blinked at him, nonplussed. “You’re doing what?”
Edward bowed his head, “I am signing Sabrina’s name in the Dark Lord’s book tonight. I want you there, sister, to act as a witness.”
“What the fuck are you thinking? Absolutely not. I will not be part of whatever twisted game you and the Dark Lord are playing.” She looked at her brother in disgust. Despite Zelda’s devotion to the Dark Lord and the Path of Night, even she didn’t think a child so young should be locked into the kind of service the Book demanded.
He slammed his hands onto the table, rattling the glassware. “This isn’t a game, Zelda. It’s my price.” He brought his eyes back to hers and they were haunted.
Dread and horror filled her, the meaning of his words registering. “No. No, no, no. You didn’t. Edward, tell me you didn’t.”
“My deal with the Dark Lord, he would allow me to marry Diana, to protect everyone, if I signed my child’s name in the Book of the Beast within her first week of life.” He admitted, leaning heavily on the table, head lowered in shame.
“Protect everyone?!” Her voice was shrill. “You protected everyone but your child and that is the one person, the one person in the realms you should have been concerned about the most.”
Though not known for her calm temper, Zelda could have honestly said she’d never seen red before... until that moment. Until she realized that the brother she loved, admired and looked up to had used his child like a chess piece to get what he wanted. Until she realized that this was why he refused to tell her the year before what his deal with the Dark Lord was.
Not because his silence was part of the deal...but because he'd known she wouldn't have stood for it. Because despite how much Zelda disliked the mortal woman who’d seduced Edward, she absolutely would’ve warned her about what her brother had promised. And then maybe Diana would’ve been scared away and prevented all of this from occurring. But is was far, far too late for that.
She couldn’t help it, she used her magic to slam Edward into the opposite wall, the impact rattling the bottles of ingredients in the cabinets. “How dare you bargain with your unborn child’s life for something as fleeting as a marriage with a mortal. Edward, what the fuck were you thinking?” She continued to curse him, slipping into other languages when English wasn’t sufficient to convey her rage and disgust.
“The ceremony is tonight at witching hour.” He informed her stiffly, cutting into her vicious tirade after recovering from being thrown. “As Sabrina’s Night Mother, you should be there.”
Zelda’s body went rigid. “Is that why you named me Night Mother? To force me to witness this? Because you knew Hilda wouldn’t be able to stomach it?” Her voice, and heart, broke slightly at the thought that she had been first choice only because of this, this vile situation. “Well, let me tell you, Edward Spellman, I will not stomach it either.”
Edward speared his hands through his hair, “of course not. I made you her Night Mother because it was plain to see that you loved Sabrina and I wanted you to be the one to raise her should anything happen.”
“I do love her, and for that reason I will not support you in this.” Zelda raised her chin a notch in defiance.
“It is happening tonight regardless of your presence, sister. If necessary I will get one of my acolytes to act as witness—though you know how the Dark Lord frowns upon anyone other than a Night Mother sponsoring a new child of the Path of Night.” Edward spoke coldly, and she had never hated him more. She could try and kill him, throw him in the Cain pit and buy some time to figure this out.
But what would happen to Edward if his price was not paid on the Dark Lord’s timeline? What would happen to Sabrina if her name wasn’t signed? Though staunchly against the entire thing, Zelda caved in to her brother’s threat of carrying out the ceremony without her—knowing he was not one to make empty declarations.
“I’ll be there,” she snarled, pushing past him and going upstairs. Hating that she’d agreed, hating what Edward had done, hating the Dark Lord for naming her niece as his price…just hating. Trying to calm herself, Zelda made her way into the nursery.
Surprisingly, Sabrina had slept through her aunt’s outburst. Zelda leaned over the crib and gently brushed a finger against the girl’s soft cheek. “I am sorry, little one.” She murmured, forcefully wiping back a tear. “Though I want you in our world, I did not want it like this.” Zelda allowed Sabrina to curl her tiny hand around her finger and took calming breathes, trying to time them with the rise and fall of her niece’s stomach.
She could go to Hilda, see if her sister had any thoughts on what to do. But Zelda hadn’t seen her sister since yesterday, and even then, she’d been acting oddly. No, it was best that Hilda didn’t know. Hilda, sweet Hilda, wore far too much on her sleeve and had trouble keeping secrets. Zelda would have to carry this one on her own. The less people who knew about the horrendous price of her brother’s disgrace the better.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
That night, she attended the first dark baptism she did not approve of, and she spent the entire proceedings in conflict; her mind warring with her heart. Knowing that Edward had no choice, but at the same time she wanted to snatch her niece from the alter and run back to the house, throwing up as many protection spells as she could manage before Edward, or anything else, caught her.
To ensure she didn’t grab Sabrina and flee, Zelda kept her hands busy by stress smoking an entire pack of cigarettes—lighting one off the other before replacing it on her holder.
When the event finally ended, she turned and stalked off back to the house—forcing Edward to jog to catch up, jostling Sabrina a bit. When the house came into view he caught her arm and spun her slightly, forcing her to face him.
“Promise me she’ll sign the Book of the Beast on her 16th birthday.” He demanded, eyes wild.
Zelda blinked, the plea startling her from her resolution not to speak to her brother for a while. “What—?”
“It is her path, she must sign the book again. She needs to be a witch, Zelda. It is my wish, her destiny, that she follows our side of the family.” His grip on her forearm tightened painfully, “promise me you’ll help Sabrina on her way.”
She wrenched her arm free, fear crawling up the back of her throat as she took several steps back. “Why are you speaking as if—”
“Do you promise me?!” Edward repeated anxiously.
“No! No, not until you explain—"
“Zelds, please.” The desperation in his plea made his voice raw, and this scared her even more.
Zelda found herself nodding, “I will do everything in my power to help Sabrina.” She whispered, unnerved by Edward’s behavior, though not unnerved enough to make such an absolute promise. She didn’t like it, this reeked of ill-fated things, so she made a promise—just not quite the one Edward had demanded.
But it appeased him, had him sighing in relief and continuing their walk back to the house. Zelda followed, a step behind, eyeing her brother warily. She had a feeling this would not end well for any of them.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 9/?
Fandom: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Faustus Blackwood/Zelda Spellman, Faustus Blackwood & Zelda Spellman
Characters: Zelda Spellman, Faustus Blackwood
Additional Tags: Rating will go up, I just want them to be happy, Faustus might be a little ooc
Summary:
Pre-CAOS. Zelda has run from Greendale to escape her brother and his demanding expectations. However, there is one piece of Greendale she can never outrun. Her history with Faustus always lingers and he just happens to be in New York at the same time she is...
