“Do you think she’s sensing something?” Macy asked and Mel looked at Maggie. She had a frown and closed eyes trying to focus on the little box on her hand. They had found this box in the hands of a dead witch they had found yesterday. They had tried a precedence spell but it hadn’t worked so now Maggie was trying to sense something on it.
“I got it.” Maggie said opening her eyes and startling Mel.
“And?” Mel asked.
“I got the name of the witch.” Maggie said and both Macy and Mel looked at each other relieved before looking back at Maggie. “Francesca Jameson.”
“Okay. Now that we know the witch’s name, we can try a locator spell based on it.” Macy said already going to the Elders' Book to look for the right spell. Mel frowned.
“We don’t need it.” She said and both her sisters looked at her.
“Why not, Mel?” Maggie asked.
“Francesca Jameson is dead.” She said.
“How do you know that?” Harry asked and Mel looked at him of all people.
“Because she’s Abby’s mother.” She said as if it shouldn’t be a surprise but it seemed to be because her sisters’ eyes widened and Harry frowned.
“How do you know her mother’s name?” Macy asked and Mel shrugged.
“She told me.” She said and she noticed that Maggie frowned and opened her mouth to ask something when Mel beat her to it. “We have to find Abby and ask her to unlock the box for us. She probably can since it was her mother’s spell and it’s blood magic.”
“She’s right.” Maggie said. “Abby can help us.”
“Why would she?” Macy asked looking at them. “It’s not like we have something to offer her in return. Last time we saw her, she was without her throne, her castle and her people. I mean, we wouldn’t even know how to find her in the first place. We tried to call her and locate her two weeks ago but she neither answered our calls nor was found by our spell. She’s cloaked.”
“We do know how to find her.” Mel said and they all looked at her. She rolled her eyes trying to sound like she hadn’t passed the last weeks thinking about how they would contact Abigael if they ever had to. “Our map.” Mel pointed and Maggie frowned.
“Our map doesn’t show us names. How would we even know which one is her?”
“She’s a witch and a demon. If you look at both demon and witch maps and find the little dot that is on the same place on both…” She started and then Macy’s eyes widened.
“We’ll find her. That’s brilliant, Mel.” Macy said already going to the map to put Mel’s idea to action. “You just thought about it now?”
No, I spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about her. “Yes.” Was what she actually answered earning a weird look from Maggie.
“That’s it. Her.” Macy said smiling after a couple of minutes. “Mel, Maggie and I will go and Harry can stay here to look at the map.”
“Okay. But be careful.” Harry said looking at Macy in that disgustingly in love way he had been looking at her since they got together. Mel found it rather annoying even if she was happy that her sister and her friend were happy. When Mel and her sister crossed the portal and were met with a little cabin in the middle of the woods, they stared at each other weirdly before going to knock on the door. Mel knew what they were thinking. What would Abigael be doing in this small out-of-a-Hansel-and-Gretel-book Cottage? It didn’t fit her. Mel felt something weird herself when she knocked on the door. Every second that passed before the witch-demon opened the door lasted ages for Mel. It was like her old Time Manipulation power had come back and the whole world was paused and only her could notice it. She had no idea why she had this weird feeling but she supposed that she felt a little anxious about going to ask help from Abigael. She had betrayed them quite a few times and every single thing she ever did seemed to have a thousand ulterior motives.
“You.” Was the first word Abby said when she opened the door and saw them and although Mel knew this was a mission that would probably end up badly now that they were here to ask for her help of all people, she felt a rush of excitement course through her. Maybe it didn’t have to end up badly this time.
She was minding her own business. Not plotting to kill anyone today; not trying to steal something; not even making a deal just to betray someone and leave them to die alone. No, Abigael was actually cooking. Not that she liked it but when you get dethroned and there’s a bounty on your head, you don’t actually have a choice but hide until you come with something to make the motherfuckers pay. So she was hiding when they came.
She heard a knock on the door. It was weird because no one knew her here and she was living quite away from everything and everyone. When she answered it, she was partially surprised to find the three Charmed Ones there.
“You.” She said huffing.
“Hello, Abby. I was very disappointed that you didn’t pick up our calls.” Mel said making Abigael rolls her eyes. There was that nickname again. She had come up with that and now all of them called her Abby. She despised it at the same time that she felt something unrecognizable but not at all unpleasant to her at hearing it.
“And I thought that that was a great cue for you not to come looking for me. Isn’t it enough what you tramps did to me last time?” Abigael said going back to her kitchen and ignoring the three sisters.
“Not our fault that you decided to rule the demon world and then got kicked out of there as quick as you kicked the last ruler.” Mel said in that annoying way that always had certain effect on Abigael.
“What do you want?” She asked knowing that for them to come to her, they had to be needing something.
“A help with a spell.” Macy answered and Abigael rolled her eyes sitting on the counter of her kitchen.
“I don’t do witchery. You know that.” She said sipping her whiskey and shifting her glance between the sisters as they looked at each other seeming to have a silent conversation. Mel; of course it would be her; stepped forward.
“It’s about your mom.” Mel said Abigael’s hand stilled for just one second before she pretended that the topic didn’t bother her and brought the glass to her mouth. Although the movement would’ve been unnoticeable to anyone, Abigael had an uncanny feeling that she had noticed it.
“She’s dead. What could you want from her?” Abigael asked coldly.
“We found a little box and Maggie saw that it belonged to someone named Francesca Jameson. Your mother.” Macy said. “We need you to open it.”
“You can give up on that.” Abigael stated leaving the kitchen and going to the living room. She thought that she knew well about which little box Macy was talking about. She had spent a great part of her life making everything to forget it.
“Why? It’s not like we’re asking you to risk your life or something. Do you really have to be such a bitch about everything?” Maggie said and Abigael concealed the weird hurt that she felt at Maggie’s words with a cold laugh.
“Yes, I love being a bitch.” She said smiling in that way that she knew made them see red.
“At least tell us how we can open it and why there are so many witches and demons after it.” Mel said and Abigael looked away. She really hated talking about her family so she did what she had learned since she was young: she pretended not to care.
“You see, my mother was a very crafty witch. She loved to create new spells and potions. She spelled that box when I was young. She called it…” She huffed. “…the Judging Box. It supposedly judges you worthy or not.”
“Just that?” Macy asked frowning and Abigael smirked wickedly. There wasn’t any justs with her mother.
“If you’re worthy, it opens and flowers and rainbows or whatever the hell happens.” She said waving her hand dismissively. “But if you’re not worthy, it gives you punishment that fits your crimes.” Abigael finished noticing how different expressions the three had. Maggie was surprised, Macy was curious and Mel was worried. About what, Abigael had no idea.
“Why would your mother do that, Abby?” Mel asked in a soft tone; a totally different voice than what she usually directed at Abigael. Although her heart reacted at it in a treacherous way, her head was in the right place and she mustered the anger to give them a cold glance.
“Why do you think she made that for? She hated having a demon for a daughter.” She said angry and going to the door. “Is that everything you want to know? You can go now.” She opened the door for them to leave.
“We need you to break the spell.” Maggie said and Abigael shook her head at their audacity.
“How do you suggest I do that? Dear mother made that specifically to punish and not reward. And why do you even want it? You have the box. Just throw it in the bottom of the ocean.” She said pointing again at the open door for them to leave. They didn’t move so she just closed the damned door and sat on a chair.
“Someone created a replication spell so now there’s thousands of these boxes out there causing chaos in the magical community.” Mel explained.
“This is blood magic so we think only you can break it. And if you break the spell on one of them, all the others will stop working too.” Macy said.
“Did you miss the part where I told you that my mother made it specifically for me to fail?” She asked as if they were crazy. She was about to tell them to fuck off when Macy got a call.
“Yes, we’re coming back.” She finished and then looked at her sisters. “It was Harry. He said that another three dots are red. We have to come back.” She said standing up and taking a little marble from her pocket.
“Wait. You and Maggie go back and I’ll stay here.” Mel said and all three sets of eyes looked at her with a surprised look.
“You’re sure?” Macy asked glancing at Abigael before looking at her sister to make sure she was really sure. Unnecessary, in Abigael’s opinion. The woman was perfectly capable of making her own choice without people having to check on her. Not that Abigael wanted Mel making any choice that rendered them having to spend more time than necessary together.
“Yes. Abby and I will have a great time, right?” Mel said and Abigael knew it was intended to annoy her so she smirked cheekily in that perfectly crafted way to embarrass people.
“Oh yeah. I can think of a lot of things that can make our time together great.” She said, grinning widely when Mel looked away shaking her head and her sisters sighed going through the portal with a last good luck.
Mel looked at Abigael and asked herself for the hundredth time why she had landed herself on this shitty situation; why she would use her free will to choose to spend a day trying to get Abigael, of all people, to help her.
“Tell me the whole story so we can think of a way to break the spell.” Mel asked again and Abigael rolled her eyes totally ignoring Mel. It was already stressing Mell out and she was never known by her patience. “Come on. As soon as we finish this, I’ll be on my merry way and we won’t have to see each other again.” Mel said even as she knew it was a lie. Abigael knew it too because she huffed.
“As if. Any time you, Charmed Ones, need something, you, Bouncy and Uptight come to me pleading for help.” Abigael said and Mel wanted to refute that; to say that Abigael had started that vicious cycle when she had first met them but she knew that Abigael was just deflecting from the real matter.
“How old were you when your mother created that spell?”
“Nine.” Abigael said after some time and Mel heard the underlying hurt on that single word. She was almost scared to know the answer when she asked the next question.
“Did she make you use it?” She asked and Abigael’s cold glare told her that they both knew the answer to that question. “How many times?” She asked then and Abigael looked away.
“I don’t know.” She said and Mel fought the urge to say something comforting just yet. She knew that if she did it, Abigael would retract to her sarcasm and her chance would be lost.
“What happened?” Mel asked and Abigael shrugged.
“I was punished.” She said as if it were nothing but Mel was paying attention and for some reason she wasn’t so eager to understand, she had learned quite well to read Abigael. She waited for more and Abigael didn’t disappoint. “She made me try to open the box for years but like I said, it was designed for me to fail because I’m a demon.”
“I’m sorry.” She said and Abigael rolled her eyes.
“Spare me of your pity.” Abigael said defensive. Mel knew well that behavior. “As much as I want to help you so you’ll leave, I can’t.” She said and Mel decided to chance her tactic.
“Okay.” She said nodding. “I’ll just wait for my sisters to solve the problem and they can come to pick me up. I don’t have another marble.” She explained and Abigael narrowed her eyes at her before rolling her eyes bored.
“Make yourself comfortable then.” Abigael said giving her a fake smile and going to the kitchen to finish whatever she was cooking. Mel looked around and Abigael must’ve been paying attention because she said. “Surprised by my accommodations? It’s not like I can show my face around without having my head yanked from my body.” She said and Mel raised one eyebrow at her.
“Knowing you, you’ll have it all back soon enough.” Mel said trying not to be so proud that she made Abigael smile. A real smile. It was pretty and made wonders on Abigael’s face. It made her look both a totally different person and the same as always.
“I will.” She answered as she gave Mel a weird look.
“What?” She asked but Abigael didn’t answer. Mel watched as she finished up in the kitchen and then joined Mel back in the living room. She noticed that Abigael kept glancing at the little box with an indecipherable look.
“When I was small I didn’t really understand what being a demon meant.” Abigael started and Mel looked in her eyes. “I just knew that there was something about me that my mother despised so much that she could never let me forget that I was flawed. I just wanted her to-” Abigael interrupted herself shaking her head bitterly. Mel knew what she hadn’t been able to say, though. I just wanted her to love all of me.
She had realized this about Abigael very early on. Abigael always tried to separate her two sides, pushing her demon side to be the dominant because she had grown up with a mom that had made her witch side feel flawed and little and never enough. So obviously she would feel like she had to show her demon side because it was the only one that made her feel like she was enough. Mel didn’t like to think about a small Abigael crying because she could never pass this impossible test that her mother would give her.
“It doesn’t matter what I wanted.” Abigael said after what seemed to be hours.
“Of course it does.” Mel said softly and then she grimaced when Abigael started to pull up her walls again.
“If it’s blood magic I can just give you my blood and you and your charming sisters can try to open it yourselves.” Abigael suggested getting up and going to the kitchen to pick up a knife. Mel went after her and held her hand when she was about to cut herself to extract the blood.
“Don’t.” She said and Abigael looked at her as if she had punched her on the face. She pulled her hand from Mel’s.
“What do you want? I thought you were interested in breaking this spell.” Abigael said and yes, Mel should be interested on it but she knew that only Abigael’s blood wouldn’t do for a spell so her cutting herself for it would be pointless.
“What were the punishments?” Mel asked and again she felt Abigael being pulled to the past.
“It varied a lot.” She gave an unamused laugh. “I can’t blame it of lack of creativity.” Then she looked at Mel with something fierce in her eyes. “Why do you care?”
“I-” Don’t? Was what Mel was about to say but then she stopped. It would be a lie because at some point she had started to somehow care about Abigael. “I’d like to think we’re progressed past hating each other.” Mel said lightly in a joking tone to ease Abigael a little bit and it worked. She smirked.
“You’ve gone soft on me.” Abigail said and Mel rolled her eyes. “And by the way, I’ve never hated you. I don’t waste my energy on hating.” She said slowly making Mel give her a look. She noticed that Abigael’s look shifted to the box and she seemed pensive. “I think I know how to break the spell.”
“Really?” Mel asked surprised. She didn’t think that Abigael would want to help since it brought her bad memories. Abigael shrugged.
“The soon I help you the soon you can get your ass out of here.” She said but this time it lacked the crudeness that it usually carried. It sounded almost like a joke between friends but Mel wouldn’t be that brave to call themselves that. Her sisters would probably laugh if she ever voiced this conflicting feelings she was having towards the demon-witch. “I think that if I make a parting spell on my blood so the box will only recognize my witch side, I can beat it.”
“But you said it judges you worthy or not. Do you think…” Mel trailed off not really wanting to ask out loud if Abigael thought that she would be judged worthy. Abigael didn’t take it to the bad side because she smiled and rolled her eyes.
“That’s where you come in. I’ll mix our bloods. I bet the blood of a Charmed One is worthy enough to my mother’s little judgmental box.” Abigael said. She picked up the knife and cut her hand letting the blood drip in a little glass. Then extended her hand and looked at Mel. “Yours.” She asked taking Mel’s hand. Mel felt a rush of something when their hands touched and as unreal as it looked, Abigael seemed to feel it too because her movements stilled for a fraction of second that Mel only noticed because her body seemed to have acquired hypervigilance to Abigael's. She made a small cut on her finger murmuring a small sorry when Mel flinched. Mel watched with wonder as Abigael wrapped a piece of cloth around her finger with so much care that Mel almost closed her eyes. “All well.” Abigael said letting go of Mel’s hand and startling her with the sudden lack of contact. She ignored how disappointed she felt because, really, she should be relieved that Abigael wasn’t touching her and not craving for it like an addict. She watched as Abigael picked up some herbs from one of the shelves and whispered a spell. For some reason, she seemed relaxed; more relaxed than Mel had seen her before; even though this topic of her childhood was a hard one. Mel wanted to ask more; to hear Abigael telling some good things because she was starting to believe that there hadn’t been many good memories from her childhood. She had this urge to know her and give her some reassurance that even Mel didn’t know about what. This was totally preposterous and yet, as she watched Abigael smiling triumphantly when she managed to beat her mother’s old punishment spell, she felt like it was the most intense feeling she had ever felt. As if this woman that had caused them as much trouble as she had helped them solve it was starting to infiltrate herself into Mel’s heart.
Mel shook her head when the immensely stupid thought settled. There was no way Abigael was infiltrating anywhere near Mel’s heart or brain or body or even personal space. But as she was thinking that, Abigael looked at her with a wide grin.
“Done. You can say that I’m a genius.” Abigael said and Mel gave her a half smile that she hoped that Abigael didn’t notice it was weird. Mel’s mind was still trying to process the train of thought that had led her to the knowledge that somehow she was caring about Abigael a little too much.
“So the spell is lifted?” Mel asked stupidly and Abigael frowned.
“I just told you that.” She said and Mel avoided slapping her own face.
“Yeah, of course. I just meant if you’re sure it worked.” Mel tried and Abigael looked at the little box and said the words engraved on it. Mel’s heart skipped a beat as she waited for something terrible to happen but it didn’t and Abigael gave her a smirk.
“I don’t do half-assed jobs.” She said smugly and Mel laughed. A real amused laugh because Abigael was really funny and Mel would’ve realized it sooner if she hadn’t been antagonizing her on purpose.
“You really don’t.” Mel said rolling her eyes and Abigael was surprised because her smug smile turned into an uncertain one. Since she was Abigael and she wasn’t used to feel uncertain, she looked away and extended her hand with the little box for Mel to take it. Mel took the opportunity to take Abigael’s hand and make her look into Mel’s eyes. “I’m sorry that your mother made you feel like that. No mother should ever make their kid feel like they’re less than perfect.” Mel said and watched with a heavy heart as Abigael inhaled deeply and her eyes softened.
“It’s in the past.” Abigael murmured shaking her head and trying to brush away the heaviness of their talk. Mel shook her head and waited for Abigael to look her in the eyes. When she did, Mel tightened the hold on her hand a little.
“You were just a child.” Mel said and she noticed it had been somewhat the bad thing to say because Abigael looked away shaking her head.
“But I was a demon. I always will be. As I am a witch. I would never be perfect in her eyes since I was both; always half to her eyes. Always incomplete.” Abigael said and Mel looked at her softly.
“That’s what you think?” She asked quietly and when Abigael opened her mouth to talk, a snapping noise startled them. They jumped away from each other and Mel turned to her sisters that had just orbed there with Harry.
“I don’t know what you did but it worked. The other boxes stopped working too.” Macy said relieved and Mel nodded eagerly as if it would calm her fast-beating heart. She didn’t dare look at Maggie, that was shifting her glance between both Abigael and Mel, or to Abigael that had gone to the other side of the room as if distance would erase whatever the hell had just passed between them. “We can go now.” Macy finished.
“Thank you for your help, Abby.” Mel said using the nickname that she knew annoyed Abigael just because she felt life relieving them of the later topic. Abigael sounded almost thankful when she smirked.
“The pleasure is inexistent. Don’t come for me next time. I wouldn’t like to be known for helping you, Charmed Ones.” She said making Mel smile. She shifted to a neutral expression, though, when she realized that Maggie’s attention and now Harry’s were focused on their interaction. Only Macy seemed to be ignorant to what was happening.
“Bye, Abby.” Maggie said when the three of them joined for Harry to orb them back to the house.
“Bye, Bouncy.” Abigael said and for the first time Mel noticed how her lips turned slightly up not in sarcasm but in pleasure for having people around to tease. She looked at Mel and nodded just enough for only her to notice and then they were back at the house. Mel exhaled as if she had been holding her breath this whole time. Maybe she did.
“What?” She asked when she noticed that Maggie was looking at her as if she had just turned purple.
“Nothing.” She laughed shaking her head in an annoying way and walking away. Mel then noticed Harry’s stare and she sighed dramatically before turning around and going upstairs. The day had already been crazy; she didn’t need her family looking teasingly at her. If only Mel could forget about what the teasing was about.
After they left, Abigael threw herself on the couch and stared at the ceiling. What had just happened? Not that it had been a surprise that Mel did really feel sorry about something bad that happened to Abigael; she knew that the sisters were do-gooders and they really cared about people even if people meant half demon, half witch Abigael. What surprised her was the intensity with what Mel took her hand and held her gaze. As if she wanted Abigael to share things; even the deep dark secrets that she wasn’t brave enough to say out loud. And for the first time Abigael felt a sureness that she wouldn’t judge; that Mel would accept her. But it was stupid because Mel, of all three sisters, was the less likely to ever accept Abigael’s dark and light side, if she had any, alike. Abigail shook off the ridiculous thought even as her heart hammered inside her chest. She looked at her hand, the one Mel had held with care and worry, and tried to get rid of the ghostly feeling of Mel’s hands. She took a deep breath and picked up her plotting book. If there was one thing that always managed to get her full attention was plotting ways to defeat her enemies. But as the afternoon turned into night and Abigael found herself distracted with anything but plotting, she knew that something was fundamentally wrong because all the thoughts that had crossed through Abigael’s head since the sisters had left had to do with Mel. She grunted when she realized what was fundamentally wrong with her: she was catching feelings.
“Oh no.”