𝐇𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐒 𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐒 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘰𝘯

TWO

SABRINA tried not to stare at her uncle's face. It was hard when she could feel his eyes assess her in every sort of way, trying to determine who she was and what purpose she served. She was like the substance underneath the microscope and she hated it. The feeling was doubled when paired with her need to know about the man she just found out existed. Ambrose sat up on the table in front of her almost acting like a shield to hide the niece from her uncle. 

Ambrose had been quiet since the man was shoved into the house, his head down and mouth pressed closed tightly. Sabrina would lie if she said that it didn't worry her. 

"Cousin" He muttered hesitantly keeping his head low but eyes on her own. "Uncle Sal's your dad's younger brother and Hilda and Zelda's older brother."

He licked his lips when Sabrina looked to him with those wide eyes again, feeling even more guilty. "Ambrose but he-" Amrbose cut her off before she could finish. 

"If Aunt Zelda and Hilda didn't hex him into that horrible hole he would have gotten to know you better, aged a little better and gotten to see your dad for the last time, they were the closest between the siblings." Ambrose snuck a glance at the tape that covered his uncle's mouth. "Go easy on him."

Sabrina bit her lip and nodded in understanding of Ambrose's words though she hoped that she'd be able to get to know him better. He was witty, smart and charming, those were some of the things that Sabrina was easily able to pick up from him. Not to mention Zelda's hate for him and Hilda's fear of him. She looked to him one more time and managed to lock eyes with him.

She had to bite back a smile when he raised his eyebrows and gestured to Zelda who had spent the better while glaring at him and chatting his ear off. Wearing a fresh new pair of clothes courtesy of Ambrose, who adjusted them to fit the centuries warlocks young frame, it was almost impossible to tell he had just woken up from being buried in a grave. Salazar rolled his eyes dramatically and Sabrina found herself sniffling her laughter even more when Zelda caught her actions. 

"Sabrina Spellman stop that right now!" Zelda hissed at her snickering niece.

Salazar rolled his eyes again before he huffed through the tape against his mouth grimacing at the wax taste. Unnoticed by Zelda who had turned her eyes away from him Salazar managed to mutter a few words under his breath, the tape beginning to slowly fade away as if it had never existed. Not even a few seconds later did the ropes around his hands follow but instead unraveling quietly to settle on the floor behind him.  

"Oh lay off her ZeZe," Zelda turned to glare at her elder brother who managed to get the tape off his big mouth. "You were always the uptight one." He yawned patting his mouth loudly.

Hilda spared a look of hesitance at his mouth and hands open but even she knew he'd just get out of his binds again. "That's because of you" Zelda hissed in retaliation. 

Hilda sighed, "Can we please just sit this out and talk." Salazar looked like he wanted to say something more but quickly shut his mouth at the sound of Hilda's voice cracking, as if she were about to cry.

"Hillie," Salazar muttered fully looking to his younger sister for the first time in centuries. "You've grown.."

Hilda gave a nervous smile, while she did love her brother she feared him so much more. "It's been a while, big brother."

Salazar raised and eyebrow with a dramatic large sigh looking as if he wasn't as affected by everything as he really was. "I've noticed. So what year is it? 1845? 1890?"

Ambrose winced and spoke up from his corner. "More like 1984 Uncle Sal."

Salazar's eyes sharpened in a look that Hilda, Zelda and Ambrose knew but Sabrina was innocent to. He was angry, just-fully so of course, but his anger was never something that was easy to settle over. "And Eddie? Where is he?"

It was Sabrina who answered his question voice low and laced in retained sorrow, "Dead."

For a second Sabrina thought that he might just kill them all, but strangely when his eyes fell on her own he seemed to hesitate, furrowed brows pulling at his forehead. Salazar breathed in, a slow hissing sound of his exhale and inhale following. His whole body seemed to slump down on the chair he chose to remain in, hands clasped. "You have his eyes."

They all fell quiet from there and in one collective moment Salazar shut his own eyes slowly before uttering a tiny slew of words that made Ambrose and Sabrina tilt their heads to, clearly confused. Zelda and Hilda who knew those exact words scrambled forwards.

A small swirl of black appeared behind the teen seemed to grow to the size of his sitting frame. When Salazar finished speaking those quiet words his head had began to lift itself from its downwards position to greet Zelda. Her brothers smirking face, all humor at the situation, displayed for her to clearly see. The scar that their father had carved down from the top of his eyebrow to his cheek mocked her just as loudly as his grin did.

In reluctance Zelda stopped in her pursuit of him, Hilda not too far doing the same. Zelda sighed grudgingly at the exact second Salazar had kicked one leg out forwards and down to knock the chair he sat in backwards, body falling into the swirling black abyss. The wards around the house rattled loudly but gave way to him, just like they always had. 

Just like everyone did when it came to Salazar.