"I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will have never been anyone like you, nor will there ever be."
1 Kings 3:12
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Funny how an entire day hung precariously on the edge of a knife.
The High Priestess hadn't expected Ambrose's message, quick, messy handwriting sprawled across a restaurant napkin. It had sent through her tsunami level shockwaves, equal parts excitement and terror embraced in tremors that could not be ignored.
Prudence and Ambrose had found Leticia, and Zelda would be able to see her little girl again after over a year of having her stolen away. Months on end of tireless searching that came and went in waves, balancing with trepidation and lacking in haste.
They had not been successful in finding Judas, much to Zelda's grave disappointment, but she did not think Blackwood would hurt him and so it calmed her- if only slightly.
Images of the girl flashed through her mind as she waited anxiously. Was she hurt? Had she grown much since Zelda had last seen her? Of course, she had. Leticia would be two now. Zelda knew that much from her meticulous counting of days. She gently rubbed her tired eyes and tried to breathe and- how did Hilda always put it? Think positive thoughts.
"Auntie Z?" Her nephew's voice carried in a whisper as to not startle the shivering bundle in his arms. Zelda let out a breath of relief.
"Ambrose, Leticia..." The poor girl looked terrified, clutching onto Ambrose like she didn't want to lose him... as if she thought he'd walk away and never return. Ambrose had covered her in his own jacket, her small frame draped in only a paper thin dress underneath, a bear clutched in her hand with the tag line- Glasgow Orphanage.
"My poor girl..." Zelda tentatively reached out for her, but Leticia only moved closer to her older cousin, scared and unsure.
"It's okay Leticia, it's auntie Z remember? I told you we would see her again..." Ambrose's coaxing began to work, though Zelda wasn't sure the girl completely trusted her... the older witch was stuck between being a stranger and being a ghost.
Leticia's head peeked up from under her beautiful bundle of dark curls, deep pools of amber met Zelda's face trying to decipher if this was all real, if she was finally home. Across her left cheek was a bandage, half covering a scar that marred her soft brown skin.
"It's okay sweet girl, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere." Maybe she had offered enough reassurance, or maybe Letty was tired of fighting, but she allowed herself to be taken into Zelda's arms, her vice-like grip around Zelda's neck a testament to her strength even through her struggle.
She kissed her forehead gently, comforted at her return and scared of the thought of ever letting her go again. She had made a mistake after Gryla. She should've kept Leticia, she should've stolen Judas too. She should have never married Blackwood in the first place...
"Is she hungry? Has she eaten?"
"A little. Truth be told, she probably won't."
"Well then, I'll get her settled and then you can tell me everything."
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After a bath and a change of clothes, and Zelda trying and failing to get Leticia to lie down on her bed in the mortuary, she contentedly held her instead as she slept. Ambrose exhaustedly sprawled on the armchair across from them, not sure where to start discussing the wild goose chase for Blackwood.
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The Seed || A Madam Spellman Story
Fanfiction"What do we do now?" There was no solid answer to the question Hilda proposed to Zelda the day after their world collapsed. The only thing they could do, the only thing Zelda was certain of, was that they needed to rebuild. Regroup. So much could...
