Freya Hale only wanted to have a normal life. Everyone had always said that there was something different about her. It only took someone special for her to realize that they were all right.
"Make yourself useful and toss these out for me?" Ambrose asks as he throws a pair of dirty gloves me way. I squeal and dive out the way. "You want me to touch your nasty autopsy gloves? Yeah right." I joke as I step over them. Ambrose rolls his eyes.
"You know, you are a horrible assistant, darling." He says with a laugh. "Just because you added darling to the end of that sentence doesn't make it any less hurtful." I say as I grab a paper towel to pick up and dispose of the gloves.
I didn't mind spending time down here while Ambrose worked. It was gross and disgusting at first, but now I'm not fazed by death or autopsy. I don't end up paying attention to the bodies because I'm usually too busy watching Ambrose. I love the way his face contorts when he is focused. I love how careful he is with everything he does. I try not to distract him from his work but he always looks up at me and catches me staring. Only I don't think he minds.
"Come here." Ambrose calls as we walks into the office side of the basement. I follow him to his desk and he pulls me down into his lap by grabbing the front of my shirt. I scrunch up my nose at him. "Get this shirt dirty and you're doing my laundry for a week." I threaten. "First of all, I already do the laundry. With ease. It's called magic. Second of all, who thought it was a good idea to wear white to an autopsy?"
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Oh shush." I say with a laugh as I push him away. He just smiles at this and pulls me in for a kiss. I don't reject this. Ambrose knows that he has me wrapped around his finger. No matter what the circumstances are, he knows that he can get away with stealing kisses. It's my weakness. Can't help it. Would you be able to resist this man? Thought so.
"I love you Freya." Ambrose says once he pulls away. "I love you too Ambrose." I say with a goofy smile. He adjusts me on his lap so that he can continue working. He grabs his pen and gets to work with writing about what he saw during the autopsy. I just lean my head on his shoulder and try to distract myself so I don't die of boredom.
"Ambrose? Are we expecting company down here?" I ask sitting up. "No. Why?" He asks looking up from his work. I shrug. "I thought I heard footsteps. That's all. Get back to work. Don't let me distract you." I tell him as I place a small kiss behind his ear. He hums and gets back to work. A minute or so passes by before there is a loud clanging sound from the other room. I sigh and climb off of Ambrose's lap.
"I'll go see what it is. Probably Kai or Salem up to no good." I tell him before slipping back into the embalming room. I look around and see that one of the small trays that Ambrose uses in knocked over. I bend down to scoop it up and check to see what could have knocked it over. I sigh and head back to Ambrose. I can feel my anxiety kick in. First footsteps? Now this?
"Freya, could you not destroy my work space?" Ambrose calls out as the tray falls from its place once again. "Ambrose... that wasn't me." I say walking back into his office. He looks up at me and raises an eyebrow. Then another, even louder noise is heard and it scares the shit out of me. I jump and run over to Ambrose.
"What the heaven?" Ambrose asks as he rises from his chair. He reaches in front of me and pushes me behind him. We start creeping towards the embalming room where the noises keep getting louder and louder. We walk into the room and I start to relax as there is nothing in the room. Then I freeze. There's nothing in the room. Where is the body that Ambrose was just working on?
"Ambrose what is-" "Freya! Duck!" Ambrose yells as he pushes me down to the floor. I scream as a knife just barely misses the side of my head. I look up to see the corpse standing above me. It raises its arm to attack again when Ambrose quickly spells it. The corpse falls down. Dead. Well... dead again?
"Are you alright?" Ambrose asks as he reaches a hand down to help me up. I nod and brush myself off. "What the fuck was that?" I ask. He shakes his head. "I'm not entirely sure. Usually once they're dead... they stay dead." He explains. I go to agree but the sound of children's laughter echos through the room. I feel all of the color drain from my face.
"Who's there?" Ambrose calls out. The laughter continues. One of the doors to the morgue freezer opens. Slowly. "This can't be happening." I mutter under my breath. Suddenly all the doors are flying open and slamming shut. Ambrose runs over and starts trying to keep the doors shut.
"Grab zip ties! From my desk!" Ambrose calls over his shoulder. I jump over the corpse and run towards his desk. I throw open the drawers and frantically search for what I need. Once I find them, I grab a handful and run back to Ambrose.
"Help me tie all these doors closed!" He shouts over the sound of the slamming doors. I throw him a bunch of ties and get to work on a few of the closest doors. I have to duck a few times so that the doors don't hit me in the face. Slowly but surly we manage to get all the doors closed. Ambrose steps back and mutters a binding spell and all is still and silent again.
"Is it over?" I ask. "I think so." He says. I sigh and brace myself against the railing of the stairs. "What the heaven was that?" I ask him. "I think I have an idea. But if I'm correct than everyone else is in for some trouble. Come on." He explains as he grabs my hand and pulls me up the stairs.
"Where have you been?" Aunt Zelda asks when Ambrose and I make it to the kitchen. "Tying down all the corpses in the embalming room, bolting all the hatches shut." I explain out of breath. "We have an infestation. We have poltergeists, Aunties." Ambrose tells the Aunties.
"Not quite." Aunt Zelda explains motioning to the far side of the kitchen. Spilled all over the floor is flour. Only there are little kid footprints in it. Suddenly a door in the house slams and we all jump.
"What now?" Aunt Hilda cries out. Aunt Zelda holds Leticia closer and Ambrose pulls me into his arms in a defensive stance. I reach for the nearest thing, which just so happens to be a knife.
"What's going on?" Sabrina asks as she walks into the kitchen. We sigh out a breath of relief and I put the knife back down on the counter.
------------------------
Freya
"So it's not poltergeists, it's the Yule Lads." Aunt Hilda explains as we all gather around the fire. "Impish spirits of children that come down from the mountains every midwinter to cause mischief to the unguarded homes of witches. They must have gotten in when the Yule fire went out." Aunt Zelda explains further.
"Right, so we banish the buggers." Ambrose says as he leans over the couch and puts his hands on my shoulders from behind. "Well, that's not so easy love. The Yule Lads are like bedbugs. " Aunt Hilda says with a sigh. "Indeed, they won't leave until their mother tells them to." Aunt Zelda says as she takes a swig of her drink.
"Dare I ask?" Sabrina chimes in. "Their mother is Gryla. A very dangerous witch. During a famine, she and another woman from her coven made a pact. They would eat their own children to survive." Aunt Zelda explains. I cringe.
"Seriously, what is it with witches and cannibalism?" I ask no one in particular. "They cooked and devoured Gryla's son first, her only child. Then the other witch broke their pact. Devastated, Gryla's spent the last thousand years trying to replace her lost babe." Aunt Zelda explained.
"So, what do we do?" Sabrina asks. "We summon Gryla and make her an offering in exchange for gathering up her Yule lads. But first, Ambrose, you're going to have to get out of the house." Aunt Zelda says looking to Ambrose.
"Why is that?" He asks slowly. "Gryla was abandoned by her husband and she doesn't like men." Aunt Zelda says taking another swig. "She does like eating them though." Aunt Hilda says with a weak laugh. I see Ambrose tense up.
"You could always come with my to spend solstice with my family." I say looking up at him. "Why do I find that almost as terrifying?"
