In the beginning of the solstice episode, Mr. Putnam addresses Hilda at the Christmas market as Mrs. Spellman, and she immediately is like "My sister and I —"
I think it would be funny if there is constantly speculation about the family because they are so strange and isolated from the town, and one of the rumours they can never seem to put to bed is that the aunts who own the mortuary are not sisters, but lesbians and married no less, and the family will correct people all the time, but it only makes it more suspicious.
Hilda is a little bit baffled. Zelda doesn't care, but often will use it as proof that humans are dumb as a post and can't be trusted.
Protective Zelda is my favourite Zelda, could you write something where she puts herself in danger to protect Hilda?
Thanks for the idea! Read on ao3
Her sister didn’t quite have a knack for demonology. Ask her about potions, herbology or healing spells and she’d never shut up. But demonology and all that came with it? Not exactly her sister’s strong suit.
But it was part of the required curriculum at the academy; to be able to summon and then banish a demon safely. So, she’d been helping Hilda practice.
She told her friends it was because she couldn’t allow Hilda to embarrass the Spellman name when it came time for her practical exam. But, truthfully, she didn’t want Hilda taking on the attempts alone and something going wrong. They’d already lost their parents; Zelda couldn’t stomach even the thought of losing Hilda as well.
Recently, her sister had accomplished the summoning, completing that aspect with consistent results. The banishing, however, well, Hilda continued to struggle with it. Because once the demon appeared Hilda got flustered, lost concentration and the demon would almost always get loose—Zelda having to wrangle it each time.
There were only a few days left until Hilda’s practical exam, and her sister wanted to spend the Saturday practicing again. Zelda told her they could work on the spells that afternoon, she had to assist Edward and Faustus with preparing the church for an inter-coven event.
They ran late. Edward and Faustus were bickering over the smallest details and Zelda had decided she had enough. Rolling her eyes, she teleported home around 4:00pm and made for the kitchen to grab a late lunch/early dinner before finding Hilda. There was still plenty of time to practice.
As she perused the fridge, though, a tremendous crash sounded from above her, a scream immediately followed. Sprinting upstairs, Zelda burst into her and Hilda’s bedroom to find her sister cowering from a demon, having been cornered by the beast.
Without a thought, Zelda launched herself at the demon, landing on its back. Grasping at its horns, Zelda manage to wrench its head back. Only, only she didn’t account for the sudden weight shift and suddenly she was on the floor with the beast on top of her. It somehow manage to wrest its head free and flipped over so it could claw at her, gnashing its teeth and it was all Zelda could do to hold it far enough away that its teeth doesn’t sink in, though it’s claws did enough damage.
She and the beast were both growling and shouting. By some unholy miracle, Zelda was able to bend her knee enough to plant her foot on the creature’s stomach and launch it off her. The reprieve was brief the thing gripped her ankle and yanked, its nails slicing into her leg. But her hands were now free to blast the demon back, which she did readily.
Before Zelda could collect herself completely, the beast burst into dust.
Breathing heavily, Zelda rolled to her side and pushed her hair out of her face to see Hilda standing with her hands up, trembling and tears streaming down her cheeks. Grinning, Zelda looked between her sister and what was left of the demon. “Hildegard! You did it!” She crowed, flopping back down to catch her breath. Then she realized Hilda wasn’t moving, but remained frozen in place, her hands still in front of her.
Brow furrowing, Zelda leveraged herself off the ground with a wince and limped to her sister. “Hildie?” She breathed, carefully lowering her sister’s hands and guiding her to the bed to sit. When Hilda still didn’t move, Zelda took a step closer to stand in front of her and cupped the younger witch’s cheeks. “Hildie,” she patted her cheek lightly and her sister finally broke from her trance. “What happened?” Zelda probed softly, looking Hilda over for injuries while trying to ignore her own.
“I,” Hilda swallowed and dropped her eyes to her lap. “I wanted to try it by myself. You won’t always be here, and I have to learn how to do these things if I’m to be a proper witch.”
A smile tugged Zelda’s lips and she tipped her sister’s chin up to meet her gaze. “I’ll always be here to protect you, sister. And you’re already a proper witch. Being able to banish a demon is just another notch on your broomstick, you already have the broomstick. But adding notches can take time, practice... safety.” She winked and a small smile formed on Hilda’s face. Turning serious, Zelda looked at her sister imploringly. “Promise me you won’t be so reckless again.”
Tears welled once more in Hilda’s eyes and she nodded. “I promise.” Her chin wobbled and Zelda exhaled in relief and pulled her into a hug, Hilda wrapping her arms tightly around Zelda’s waist and burying her face against her collar bone.
Resting her cheek on top of Hilda’s head, Zelda gently rocked her side to side, shushing her sister’s muffled sobs as she stroked her hair. It was all Zelda could do not to cry as well.
She almost hadn’t been there to protect Hilda.
What would she have found? Had she been even five more minutes in getting home? What would have been left of her baby sister? Zelda shuddered at the very thought and tightened her hold on Hilda, pushing away the thoughts and focusing on her very real, very much alive sister. She hadn’t lost her. She hadn’t failed in protecting her. She hadn't.
After several long minutes, Hilda sniffled and pulled away, wiping her eyes on the cuff of her cardigan. A sheepish smile graced her lips until she got a good look at Zelda. Then her eyes widened. “Satan, you’re hurt! How could I ignore…” Hilda didn’t bother finishing her sentence, just popped off the bed and, despite Zelda’s protests, forced her to sit so Hilda could tend to her injuries.
“Honestly, Hilda, it’s only a few bruises and some cuts—”
Shaking her head, Hilda snatched her first aid kit from the trunk at the foot of her bed. “Gashes more like, and those are from demon claws, Zelds, those get infected easily. Please, just let me heal them.” Hilda looked at her earnestly and Zelda sighed in exaggerated exasperation and nodded.
Practically sagging with relief, Hilda started to apply potion enhanced creams and whisper spells to heal her wounds; apologies falling from her lips the entire time.
Zelda took her sister’s hands and squeezed them when they were finally empty. “Hildie, stop apologizing. If I’d known being attacked by a demon was all you needed to motivate you to successfully banish one, I’d have done it ages ago.” She remarked, a teasing smile on her lips.
Huffing, Hilda shook her head. “I never wanted that kind of motivation.” She muttered, turning away and packing up her kit.
“Well, no one really does,” Zelda acknowledged, carefully standing up and smiling when there was almost no pain thanks to Hilda’s attention. “But, Hilda, you banished a demon! By yourself, turned the thing to dust. Quite impressive,” she observed, lifting a brow.
Hilda blushed and peeked at her. “I did, didn’t I?”
Happy to see the incident hadn’t scarred her sister, Zelda nodded and looped her arm through Hilda’s. “Indeed, you did. And that, dear sister, warrants a reward.” Zelda flicked her free hand to restore order to the room and clean the floor before leading Hilda downstairs. “What do you say to a shopping trip?”
Eyes lighting up, Hilda nodded and went to grab her purse.
Zelda smiled after her sister and cast a quick spell to fix and clean her clothes. Though she was a bit stiff, she didn’t regret what she’d done.
It’d been a bit thoughtless, in hindsight; she should have hit the creature with magic first, not her own body. But her baby sister had been at risk and she hadn’t thought of anything beyond getting the demon away from Hilda. Watching as Hilda practically bounced back towards her, coat on and chatting about where she wanted to go, Zelda couldn’t help but smile widely and think that she’d take on an entire hoard of demons if it meant keeping her sister safe and with that sweet smile on her face—not that she’d ever admit as much.
Notes:
I'm going to 'close' down my inbox here and on ao3 for a bit. I love you all for the ideas and for trusting me with them. But I have 40+ right now between ao3 and tumblr and no matter how quickly I write these that number magically increases and never decreases. The sheer number is getting a little overwhelming.
So if you sent me a prompt before 10/23/19, it is on that list of 40+ and I will eventually get to it. Once I make a sizeable dent in the list (hopefully once I get to the teens or even single digits--which I can't even imagine right now) I'll take more prompts.
can you write a sequel one shot to the one shot you had posted about hilda talking to zelda about her ptsd and it’s hilda confronting blackwood about what he did
Read on ao3. Sequel to chapter 34 ‘Recovery’. Thanks for the prompt.
It’d taken them a bit longer than expected. To capture Faustus Blackwood. But Ambrose and Prudence had proven to be quite the team; saving the twins and bringing the former high priest back alive.
Zelda was taking the high road. Bringing Faustus before the reformed high council for his crimes against the coven. She wasn’t seeking anything for herself, for the atrocities she suffered at the wretch’s hands. No, Zelda preferred to act as if those days never happened, as though she’d never been subjected to the Caligari spell and Blackwood’s cruelty. Just because Zelda was working through it in the way she needed, didn’t mean Hilda couldn’t step in and handle things though.
She’d done it before; with Shirley Jackson. Though the witch had hardly been her first murder. Blackwood… he would be her first torture victim.
Hilda wished she could kill him. Strip him of life in the vilest way she could imagine. But she understood what her sister was trying to do, what she was trying to achieve. So, Hilda would respect that. Would respect Zelda’s choice to spare the man until the high council came to a decision. But she couldn’t let the matter rest entirely, not after what he’d done to her big sister.
Which was how Hilda found herself opening Blackwood’s cell, walking inside and closing the door behind her with a resounding boom.
Almost unrecognizable, he looked up at her. Face thin from being on the run, his normally immaculate hair now long, greasy and disheveled, Faustus Blackwood was a far cry from the refined warlock who’d been their high priest for decades. And even in this state, this magicless, defeated state, he had the audacity to smirk. “The coven must have fallen on even harder times than I thought, if they’re sending you in here to do their bidding.”
She held back. Though she’d come in here with the sole purpose of hurting him, Hilda wasn’t going to let Blackwood provoke her. She wasn’t going to let this happen on his terms.
“We’re under new leadership, Zelda’s high priestess, Lilith the queen of Hell and half the high council is made up of witches. The coven has been reborn in a better, brighter image. No thanks to you.” Hilda sneered at him, flexing her fingers. “Hard times are a thing of the past, a thing of your and Lucifer’s reign.”
Blackwood scoffed before spitting onto the ground. “Reborn? You defiled the very basis of what we pledged to do when we signed our names in the Book of the Beast. To obey our Dark Lord, do as He commanded. That is all I ever did.”
“So, He commanded you to put Zelda under the Caligari spell?” Hilda interrupted his tirade, uninterested in whatever zealot excuse the man might try and provide for most of his actions.
Realization dawned on him, why she was really there. And he huffed in disbelief. “Oh, no. That was for my convenience. We’d have made an incredible partnership, bolstered one another and the church.” He moved into his knees and brushed his hair out of his face. “Can you imagine, what we could have accomplished? How amazing we could have been? But your nephew and niece,” he spat the words, “they got in the way. Ambrose tried to kill me and Sabrina, well, we know what she’s been doing. If they hadn’t interfered… it’d have been glorious. But I knew Zelda would never side with me over them, over her family. So, I did what I had to.” He shrugged, as if to say anyone else would’ve done the same.
Though she intended to be methodical, to take her time, his nonchalance over the whole ordeal pushed Hilda over the edge. She hit him with a spell that burned him from the inside, the pain must have been excruciating—if the way he writhed on the ground and screamed was any indication.
When she lifted the spell, Blackwood looked at her in astonishment, chest heaving and eyes watering. He hadn’t expected this from her, hadn’t thought her capable. It was useful, being underestimated by so many. And Hilda intended to take full advantage of his misjudgment.
“You can’t do this…” He managed raggedly, trying to back away from her the best he could in chains. “Zelda decreed I be left alive for my trial with the high council.”
A dark chuckle escaped Hilda then. “Indeed, she did. And I have no intention of breaking my sister’s ruling. But being alive and being whole are not the same. And you only need to be one of those to be brought before the council.”
Blackwood blanched as Hilda approached him once more, magic cracking through the air.
