Let It Slip

Part V

Part V

Dr. Cerberus poured Hilda a generous cup of coffee as the sun began to set, his brows furrowed as he processed what he'd witnessed earlier that morning, "Hilda....how are The Keepers chosen? Are they elected by witches as a whole?"

"Oh no darling, that would be far too difficult. There are too many of us." Hilda turned the bacon over in the cast iron pan and stepped back as it spat grease up at her. "The Keepers and the Labyrinth system itself has been around for millennia, it's possible that only Lilith is older than they are. The knowledge and responsibility of being a Keeper is passed down through the matriarchs of the family - from mother to daughter."

Popping some bread into the toaster, Dr. Cee tilted his head and turned to face Hilda, "What if only a son is born?"

Hilda smiled quietly and reached over to pat Dr. Cee's hand, the demonic possession may have given him immortality but there was still so much human in him - she found it charming; "The Keepers only ever have daughters. Perhaps it's divine intervention but in all this time no Keeper has ever given birth to a son. No Keeper has ever had more than one child, and no Keeper has ever died without their position first being filled by their daughter, grand-daughter, or great-grand-daughter."

Hilda stepped over to Dr. Cee, reaching up on her tiptoes to press a soft kiss to his cheek before spinning away to take the bacon off the burner and drain the grease, "The knowledge is so vast, the secrets many, and the power and position too important for the Keepers to be distracted by the presence of any other children. One Keeper, one daughter, and one lifetime of knowledge. The responsibility is heavy on their shoulders and that is why we witches are forbidden to call upon them unless absolutely necessary."

"And the Labyrinth? Who are they?' Dr. Cee buttered their toast and slid a variety of jam, jelly, and marmalade onto the table, settling down with coffees in hand to Hilda portioning bacon onto their plates.

"No one knows who is part of the Labyrinth; as old as The Keepers themselves, the system has never been broken because the identities of the witches have remained secret. That is also why the responsibility of being a Keeper is passed down through generations - family is really the only people a person can truly trust." Hilda joined Dr. Cee at the table and they fell into silence, adding spreads to their toast and munching hungrily on bacon.

Hilda found all nighters in The Archives exhausting, it was always difficult to end up on an upside down schedule where nights were mornings and vice versa. It would take her a couple of days to readjust to a normal schedule. Annoyingly, Dr. Cee seemed to fair just fine. The phone rang twice, just as Hilda was moving towards the hallway where the vintage wall phone sat, a hologram appeared on the table forcing a squeak out of Hilda, "Hecate have mercy, I'll never get used to that!"

"Hi Auntie! It looks like I'm interrupting...err....breakfast? I'm sorry, I just wanted to say hello and see how everyone was." Looking at Ambrose's transparent face, Hilda's eyes immediately welled up. "What....what is it?"

"Zel....Zeld...." Hilda grabbed her napkin and began to sob into it as a horrified Ambrose looked between her and Dr. Cee. "Zelda's gone!"

"GONE? What do you mean Auntie?" The hologram shuddered and suddenly Ambrose was standing in its place dressed smartly in his Director's suit, "Gone where?!"

"We....don't....knowwwww!" Hilda gulped for air in between each word, wailing the last as Ambrose pulled her into his arms.

Dr. Cee sipped his coffee and handed Hilda a tissue, "We activated the Labyrinth."

Ambrose's eyes widened and he pulled back from Hilda who added in reply to his silent question, "Baron Samedi took her and I can't reach her telepathically. Despite calling him herself, I don't believe she went willingly or maybe he made promises to convince her to go that he doesn't intend to keep. Regardless, if it really was her choice, I need her to tell me herself."