The descent shouldn’t be that hard. It wasn’t meant to be. Even more so for two half-Kryptonian half-sorcerer fifteen-year-old like them. Beth looked down the Moher cliffs, her foot hitting pebbles of grey stone as the wind of March flowed through her anorak, making the little hair not stuck in her plait curl. The sky was starting to shift from night to dusk, the sun slowly rising behind the grey clouds on the horizon. The sea sounded agitated, waves crashing violently against the rocks surrounding the beach, the seagulls thankful for the new food washing ashore thanks to the low tide.
On the beach, there were a few passersby walking their dogs, enjoying a calm walk despite the strong wind. A woman was at the feet of the cliffs with a baby in her arms, watching back. Now next to her, the same woman whined something in her ears but Beth ignored her to talk to her brother.
“Why do we have to go down these cliffs and not up again?” She asked, her eyes never leaving the shore.
After all, the spring equinox was about rebirth. About ascending. Not the other way around.
“Mum told you. We need to be the closest to the center of the Earth.”
“It’s not logical.” Beth whispered, knowing Liam would hear her anyway, even if he was actually making a lot of noise digging a hole in the cliff with his ice axe to plant the peg.
“It is.” He answered anyway, unbothered.
“We could just park on the beach parking lot and make the trip normally, walking.”
“You know the initiation doesn’t work like that.”
Beth scoffed. “Bullshit! As if Mum did this to join Florence.”
Liam snorted before throwing her a glare, hiding his smile with difficulty. “Jeju would never let her do this.”
“Then why do we have to?”
“Because! It’s part of the new customs Mum, Florence and Peggy want for the coven. Anna did it last year, it’s our turn.”
“Horseshit!” Beth protested under her breath.
“Beth!”
“Nonsense!” She corrected herself louder.
Liam shot her an unimpressed look. “Help me with these instead of grousing in your own little corner.”
Beth rolled her eyes but approached to help him plant the second and last peg. Then they attached the rope to it, Liam teaching her how to make a strong knot so that the rope would support their weight all the way down.
“Alright, we’re done.” Liam grinned at her with his hands on his hips, the black bun on his head all disheveled. “Let’s get to it.”
Without warning, he circled the rope around his sister’s hips and put it through the loops on her harness. She watched him do the same to himself before he put his feet on the edge of the cliffs and extended his legs, waiting for Beth to do the same.
Beth looked at him confused, not knowing what to do before jumping into action. It was so surprising to see Liam take the reign, knowing what to do with confidence. Some time ago, she had been the one always putting them both into trouble. She was supposed to be the adventurous one, but not this time. She hadn’t been in a long time. Not since she had discovered the expanse of her powers.
Liam had practiced hiking with Jeju while Beth had been practicing her powers with their mother. He liked wilderness. Nature. He thrived in it. Once a scared little boy, he was now becoming a self-assured young man always eager to discover new things, to help flowers grow or rescue a squirrel in a tree.
Beth didn’t really see the appeal. Or rather she was a bit jealous of not being able to do the same things so she preferred to say she didn’t understand it. She couldn’t help flowers grow, they would only die under her hands, and animals were fleeing her. She was only followed by ghosts.
It had started slowly, gradually. As if her body needed time to adjust to it. It was not necessary to point out her body adjusted quicker to it than her mind… She still had nightmares about some of them. They had met this ghost in the Lockhart manor seven years ago and after that, Beth had started to have nightmares about dead people. Then they found Lynxy in the forest during Yule one year and before they knew it, Liam was speaking to all the animals around them while Beth was hearing the voices of the corpses buried in the cemetery two miles away in the center of Newfoundland. Their mothers thought the arrival of Lynxy had made their powers grow in a way. Had made their magic stronger.
Since then, the gap between Beth and her brother had grown until it was now forming an invisible wall made out of misplaced jealousy and the impossibility for one to understand the other. They were at that time in their lives when it was easier to go separate ways. They had been close when they were younger though. Like twins should be. When Beth discovered her powers, discovered where they were leading her, Liam had tried to stay close to her. To help her. To support her. But it had been easier to reject him. He couldn’t understand. His powers revolved around bringing joy to others. Around life. Hers was only decay and grief. Only causing death on their wake.
“Careful on this fissure, the rock isn’t that solid.” Liam warned her below her.
Beth was so stuck in her head, she hadn’t realized they were already down one fourth of the way. She put her foot on the specific rock anyway, not in challenge but more to check Liam’s fact, because she was as stubborn as always. And he was right. Once she had put her foot on it, it dropped, the rocks falling down the cliffs, their noise lost in the wind and the chant of seagulls as they hit the bottom, passing through the woman and her baby.
“I said careful!” Liam hissed. “It almost hit me in the face.”
“We’re invincible.” Beth shot back above her shoulder. “I don’t even know why we’re doing this the human way, we can fly, for fuck’s sake!”
“Beth!” Liam warned loudly.
Beth wasn’t used to swearing that much but she had spent a lot of time with Florence these past few weeks. It might be why she had no difficulty using her mentor’s colored repertoire.
“Sorry.” She said anyway. It was better to ease him. They still had a long way to go.
“Why are you in such a sour mood anyway? It’s exciting. We’re finally being a part of the coven, we’ll be able to use the entire pool of magic.”
Beth paused to look down at her brother. She ignored the young transparent hiker next to him to focus on his face. He only had eyes for the stones below him. He looked strong in his sleeveless duffle coat and combat pants. The bun gathering his jet-black hair above his head had been tidied up but was slightly on the right side of his head. Beth didn’t remember seeing him do it back.
As he put his foot on a new grip, he looked up, frowning as he saw her watching. The glow in his eyes couldn’t be mistaken though. He was eager to be done with this. Eager to be part of the coven, to have access to this unlimited pool of magic. She couldn’t tell him it was part of the problem. He wouldn’t understand.
“I’m not in a mood.” She said instead, refocusing on her own grips. She heard Liam snort below. The young man laughed next to him before letting go of the cliffs, his laughter echoing only in Beth’s ears as he dropped.
“No, you’re not.” Liam said ironically. He didn’t add anything else and Beth was thankful for the silence finally surrounding them.
Her mind kept drifting to what was waiting for them down there, who was waiting for them. What would happen once the ritual was completed. Each time she imagined her mother pronouncing the words, her stomach would turn on itself and she’d have to focus on the sounds and smells around her to avoid a panic attack.
She could do it. She was born for this. She kept reassuring herself in her head, soothed by the iodic air entering her nostrils and the melodic ballad of the waves below. She had to focus on these otherwise she’d lose her mind before landing on the beach.
Kara was pacing in the living room, her ears focused on her children five miles away descending the cliffs. She had a bad feeling. They were doing fine for now. She wasn’t worried about their safety, they had her Kryptonian genes and knew how to use them. No, she was worried about their mental state. About Beth’s mental state. Her daughter had come down from her bedroom with bags under her eyes, had barely touched her breakfast and hadn’t spoken a word before entering the car to take the short road to the cliffs with her brother.
“Kara, you’re digging a trench in the parqueted floor.” Alex chastised from the couch, her hand flipping the channels on the TV with the remote.
Kara shot her a dirty look before sitting down next to her in a huff. She bit at her bottom lips, her left knee jerking up and down with worry. Until Kelly put a hand on it.
“Stop it, they’re going to be fine.” Her sister-in-law told her softly through a gentle smile.
“I know!” She whined, before putting her head in her hands. Why Lena had to put them through this?
“It’s not like they could fall off that cliff.” Alex said.
“It’s not that!” Kara huffed once again, crossing her arms. “I’m worried about Beth. I’m not sure she wants to do it.”
Kelly’s hand came back on her jerking knee to soothe her. “I’m sure Lena will reassure her. You didn’t force them into doing this, they wanted to.”
Kara nodded. “Yeah, and Lena told them they could give up at any point, she wouldn’t be mad. But- I don’t know, Beth seemed off this morning. I have a bad feeling.”
Both Alex and Kelly looked at her before sharing a worried glance, Kara watching the whole thing unfold.
“What?” She asked in haste.
“Nothing.” Alex said, unconvincingly turning her head away.
Kara looked aside to Kelly. “What?” She asked again.
Kelly sighed before tightening her grip on Kara’s knee. “Nia told us something important would happen today. We’re sure it’s just the initiation ritual, being an important step for the twins and all. Nothing to worry about.”
Kara squinted her eyes at her, crossing her arms once again. Her guts were telling her she should go and see if everything was alright. She shouldn’t have agreed to wait around in the house for her wife and kids to come back and celebrate.
“I’m going there.” She said, standing up quickly.
“No!” Both Alex and Kelly shouted, making Kara stop in her tracks. She looked at them in confusion.
“What are you hiding?”
“Nothing!” Alex said again in a high voice. “It’s just that Lena made us promise not to let you go there. There will be a lot of magic. It could hurt you.”
Kara rolled her eyes. Of all the possible things hurting her, she had to marry a witch and make magic babies with her, signing for her own downfall.
“Alright, fine!” She complied, throwing her arms in the air before falling down on the couch heavily. “I’ll stay but I’m going there at the first alert.”
“Of course,” Alex grinned at her. “Now, do you want to watch a rerun of Dexter or do you prefer Buffy?”
“Buffy’s still broadcasting?” Kara asked, eagerly putting her feet on the coffee table and grabbing the remote.
Alex nodded, sharing a knowing smile with her wife. They had avoided the first panic. Until the next one.
They were nearing the beach now, only a few feet left before touching the sand. They could have jumped but their mum had been adamant. No superpowers for this. They had to do it the natural way.
Liam smiled. He was ready to be done with this. To be the first male to enter the coven. He was ready to show that he, little William Clark Luthor Danvers, wasn’t a baby anymore. He was ready to prove to his family, and himself, that he was a proud heir to the Walsh bloodline. That he could be as powerful as any of them.
As he put his foot onto the next grip, he heard a whine above him. Looking up, he saw Beth struggling with the rope. She was watching her hands with a frown, as if they had betrayed her.
“Is everything okay?” He shouted to be heard through the wind.
The sun was at its pick now, the wind chasing the clouds away to make it appear at its brightest in the middle of a blue sky.
“I’m fine.” Beth said back, resuming her descent. She looked preoccupied but Liam didn’t insist.
He had learned a long time ago not to force his sister into anything. Discussing was one of those. It had been years since they had discussed something intimately. Now, their entire relationship was about who was supposed to empty the dishwasher and if one or the other needed a ride to school. They didn’t know each other anymore.
It saddened him. He couldn’t say otherwise. Beth used to be his example, the person he was always following. Her partner in crime. Even if he used to fear all the little things in the world, he secretly loved to follow her in their adventures. He loved her bright mind and direct tongue. Loved how she could find her way around their mothers’ punishment when they had done something wrong. Loved how she used to defend every single person in their school when she thought they were treated unfairly.
But Beth wasn’t like that anymore. Hadn’t been in a while. Now she was all dark, hidden under black clothes and strong make-up. Hiding behind a curtain of blond-turned-black hair. As if her powers were all that she was now. As if death had enveloped her to never leave.
Liam missed the sunny, brave little girl his sister was. But he wasn’t sure he could do something about it. Their mothers seemed to accept it. Beth was like that now and who was he to want anything else? She was free to be whoever she wanted. He just had to accept it too.
One last grip and he was finally touching the sand after half of a day spent descending those sharpened cliffs. His feet sunk into the sand as he untied the rope around his hips, quickly pushing away from the cliff so that Beth could land too. He watched her struggling with the rope for a minute before helping her in silence.
Once free of their restraints, they walked next to each other towards the cave they knew their mother and the rest of the coven were waiting for them. It was the Spring equinox but also their initiation day. On this day, they would become members of the coven. Equals to these wonderful women. Able to learn under their wings and use their magic as their own.
It was a huge step. One Liam had waited impatiently for years. Since he had known he was a warlock, heir of an important bloodline of witches. He couldn’t help quickening his steps in eagerness. The cave wasn’t that far anymore. They could see it from where they were. Their mother, Florence, Peggy and Anna, Peggy’s daughter, were waiting for them in front of it.
“Come on, Beth.” He said as he was walking a few feet in front of his sister.
Beth grumbled something back but he ignored it. He threw a grin and urged her to walk quicker with a hand.
“Come on! Aren’t you excited?”
Beth rolled her eyes, surrounding herself with her arms protectively. “I think we’ve established already that I’m not.”
Liam frowned. Now, that was new. His sister had lied earlier, of course. He wasn’t stupid, he knew Beth was actually in a sour mood since this morning but he had put it on the fact they had to wake up at dusk to do this. Never had he thought she would actually confess not liking this.
“Why? It’s initiation day.”
“I know, you keep repeating it.”
“Yes, so why?” He repeated, slowing his pace in confusion.
Beth sighed next to him. “I’m just not like you.”
He looked aside to watch her face. It was the perfect imitation of their mother’s when she was upset. All frowning eyebrows and blank expressions. The Luthor poker face. Only Liam knew how to read it. He had the same.
“Come on.” He shoved her playfully with his shoulder. “It’ll be fun. We’ll finally see Anna use magic.”
Beth rolled her eyes once again and took a step away from him. “Yeah, so fun.” She said dejectedly.
Liam threw her a worried look. He had done it again. Saying the wrong thing. He never seemed to know what to say to make her talk. Now Beth was back with her walls up, out of reach. He put his hands in his pants pockets, his shoulders sagging. He’d try the next time she’d open up.
Lena was waiting impatiently for her children to reach them. As they appeared on the sand, walking towards them, Peggy sighed in relief.
“Finally.” She said, rubbing her arms energetically.
“Mom!” Anna chastised.
Lena smirked at them arguing under their breaths. Anna was the opposite of her mother. The brown-haired, black-eyed sixteen-year-old was calm and controlled when Peggy was always in movement, always searching for something to do. Patience wasn’t her forte and she had grumbled so all morning.
“I’ll light the fire up.” Florence said behind them.
“Why didn’t you light it up earlier? We’re freezing here!” Peggy’s voice echoed in the cave.
“Because I like to hear you whine.” Florence shot back with a knowing smirk, gathering branches in the middle of the stone circle.
Lena snorted at their banter. She loved those women dearly. Like her own family. Another type of found family.
“Do you think they’re excited?” Anna asked next to her.
Lena shrugged, a smile growing on her face. She knew Liam was. And she was too. Beth, that was an entire other story. Her smile dropped. She knew her daughter’s difficulties. Knew why it was a new challenge. They had talked about it a bit. Or more so, Lena had tried to reassure her while Beth was only trying to escape the discussion. Now she just hoped Beth would be able to power through it. The initiation was more impressive than it truly was.
“I think they are.” She said with a soft smile. She couldn’t help feeling proud of her children. She just wished she knew what was inside their heads sometimes.
“They still have to do the ritual.” Peggy chipped from her other side, joining them as they watched Liam and Beth walk on the sand.
“They’re more powerful than I am and I succeeded. It shouldn’t be that hard for them.” Anna said with a shrug. She turned back to go help Florence with the fire.
Peggy put a comforting hand on Lena’s shoulder. They shared a smile before Peggy followed her daughter.
“That, we’ll see.” Lena whispered to herself.
Each step weighed more than the last one. It was costing her too much. She couldn’t do it. She was sure of it now. It wasn’t just about the difficulty of the ritual. It was about all the ghosts following her. Literally.
Liam reached the cave first, hugging their mother and Anna all at once in his long arms. Beth heard their squeals but it was muffled by all the voices behind them. As she put the first foot on the stone, she realized it was crowded.
Witches. Homeless people. Runaway children. Junkies. All dead. Surrounding the fire pit solemnly while one was sacrificing a baby in the flames. Sitting on the stones with only half a skull or pockmarked skin. Running around on one leg. Chasing each other on horses. Trying to speak to her in at least three different languages, with missing teeth smiles or tongueless mouths.
It was overwhelming.
Beth’s breath stutter. She put a step back, then another. Then she fell on her ass, her hands grabbing at the fresh sand under her as she scrambled away. She heard her name being called out but she couldn’t say who pronounced it. They were too many. Probably a hundred or more, she didn’t know. Couldn’t count.
In the middle of the crowd, she saw Liam open and close his mouth but didn’t register him. Then their mother was walking towards her, her voice piercing through the others’ voices.
“Beth! It’s okay, love.”
Beth scrambled some more feet away in the sand before turning away on her knees and standing up. She started to run, hearing her name being called but her ears were ringing. She didn’t know who it was, what it was. She ran until she reached the sea. She only stopped after four big steps in the freezing water.
Her breath was coming in short. She was panting. Both hands on her knees, she stayed there, breathing hard, the waves crashing against her thighs. She heard a sob but couldn’t tell if it was her own or the one made by another ghost she was ignoring.
She couldn’t breathe. She was seeing stars. She didn’t want to deal with all of them. It was too much. Too many people she didn’t want to know. Who weren’t there anymore. And too many people she could disappoint. Who was actually real. Breathing. Alive.
Beth couldn’t tell if an hour had passed or just a minute when she heard the sand crisp behind her. It wasn’t Liam. It was her mother. She recognized her at the sound her heart was making. Beating frantically because she was worried. For her.
Beth scrunched her eyes shut. She wanted to swear. To scream at the sky. She was causing so much trouble already.
“I’m sorry.” She said to the sea.
“You have nothing to apologize for.” Her mother’s calm voice replied without missing a bit as if she had been waiting those specific words.
There was a bit of silence. Beth thought she would join her in the water. She didn’t want her to freeze.
“Can you turn around and look at me, love?”
Her heart beating loudly in her ears, Beth turned around. Slowly. Her eyes never leaving the water as she was scared to meet her mother’s gaze. She noticed how the water was turning into mud around her own soaked, sand-covered knees. For a second, she smiled at how funny it was her first instinct had been running and not flying. Jeju would be proud.
In her peripheral, she saw her mother crouching down, her eyes searching hers. Beth kept avoiding her, and all the people around, and focused instead on her breathing.
“Can you tell me what happened?”
Her mother didn’t seem mad nor sad. Just confused. Beth risked a glance at her, her frown deep in between her eyebrows, before plunging back to the water at her feet.
She shrugged. She knew what happened but her mother couldn’t understand, could she? Beth was the one seeing ghosts. Nobody knew what it was.
“Beth.” Her mother’s tone sounded slightly impatient. And then, a sigh. “Please, I just want to understand so I can help you.”
“It was nothing.” Beth replied quickly. She knew her mother was sporting her famous Luthor arched eyebrow now.
“No, it wasn’t. Talk to me.”
“I don’t want to.” She sounded like a petulant child. She was too old to sound like a petulant child, she knew that but couldn’t help it. It was her own burden after all.
“Alright, then at least look at me while I’m talking to you, please.”
It wasn’t the bossy tone Beth used to hear her mother use on business meetings but it was close to it. Telling her she didn’t have any other choice than to obey. With a dejected sigh, Beth slid her eyes from the water to her mother’s legs, then along her black cloak, to finally meet her eyes. And then her heart constricted. Her mother looked so worried.
With a soft, saddened smile, Lena opened her arms wide, inviting her daughter to come to her. It was all it took. Beth felt tears pooling in her eyes before she threw herself at her, finally letting the mix of emotions crash down. Course through her.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m right here.”
Her mother’s voice was the only thing she needed. She thought she only wanted silence but silence wasn’t enough. Silence was lonely. As she sobbed in her mother’s arms, she realized how foolish it was to reject them all. She couldn’t do it alone. She wasn’t strong enough.
Behind them, they heard footsteps. Lena pulled away slightly to watch Liam approach shyly. She invited him in the hug too. He hesitated, searching his sister’s eyes for approbation. Beth nodded briefly with a small smile. It was the only motion he needed to envelop her in his arms. And she cried more.
“Hey, I heard you all crying, what’s happ-” Kara cut herself short as she landed a few feet away, sharing a sad look with Lena. She asked the question at the tip of her tongue through her eyes but Lena only shook her head. Not now. Kara nodded and approached, enveloping the whole group as much as her arms allowed her.
The little family stayed there for a moment, probably half an hour if Beth was honest, before her tears started to dry. Her breath was even now. She wasn’t sniffling anymore.
Liam was the first to pull away, drying his cheeks with his sleeve before laughing at himself.
“I’ll let you guys talk.” He said, already walking away.
“No,” their mother said, stopping him. “I think we all need to talk. Together.” She said pointedly to Beth.
Beth felt her breathing quickening already. She shook her head.
“Lena.” Kara said as a warning.
“I’m not…” Beth didn’t know how to say it. She felt two hands on her shoulders before meeting her mom’s blue eyes.
“Tell us what you need, Beth.”
“Jeju, I- Can I-” Beth groaned, frustrated with herself. She took a deep breath. “Can I talk to Mum alone?” Her eyes traveled between the three members of her family. “Please.” She added in a breath.
She watched as her mothers shared a quiet conversation before Kara nodded, looking a bit wounded.
“I’ll talk to you later, I promise.” Beth said quickly, grabbing at her mom’s hands, squeezing. “I just can’t right now.”
She wanted to tell them she couldn’t deal with all of their reactions at the same time. She wanted to tell them she didn’t want to see disappointment over their faces. But her mouth stayed shut.
“It’s okay, inah.” Kara kissed her on her forehead. “We’ll talk later. I love you.” She whispered against her skin before pulling away, smiling down at her.
Beth looked behind her and crossed Liam’s eyes. He only winked at her and, just like that, she knew they were okay. They’d have a chat too. Just not now. It didn’t mean it was all good though.
As they watched Liam join the cave back and Kara fly away, Beth felt some kind of tension on her mother and herself. For once, she didn’t like the silence between them. She didn’t know where to start. And she had to start quickly, she realized, because her mother was already rounding on her.
“So…”
And there it was again, the Luthor arched eyebrow. Beth’s breath hissed in her chest. Her heart started a quick rhythm.
“Hey, I’m not mad.” Her mother said while putting a lock of hair back behind her ear. A soft smile grazed her lips. “I miss your blonde hair. You used to look like your mom.”
“Now I look more like you.”
Lena frowned, her eyes traveling all over Beth’s face. “Is it why you changed it? To look like me?”
Beth shrugged. It might have weighed on the scales for sure, but she also loved this colour. And blond hair didn’t quite fit the deep sorrow she was feeling anyway.
“No- I mean, maybe.” She said sheepishly.
Lena sighed and guided her in her arms, scratching the hair on her nape. “You only have to look like yourself, love.” She whispered in her ears. She sounded emotional, as if on the verge of crying. “You don’t have to live up to some expectations. We only want you to be yourself.”
Beth felt her breath catch in her chest. Tears started to gather back in her eyes. Above her mother’s shoulder, she saw some of the ghosts leaving the cave, as if disappointed she wasn’t paying attention to them. She pulled away slowly, staying in her mother’s arms nonetheless.
“I know. I think it was just my way to be closer to you.” She shrugged.
Lena nodded slowly before guiding her into a slow walk on the sand, an arm around her shoulder. Beth wondered how long it would be before she would be too tall for her mother to do that.
“You know, when I was your age, I only wanted my father to be proud of me.” Lena’s voice sounded far away, like inhabited. Beth threw her a side glance and realized she was stuck in some kind of memory loop. “I’m adopted, as you know, and Father was never home so I made sure that when he was, he had nothing to reproach me.”
Beth nodded. She already knew the story. Her mother’s childhood had been miserable. It was all over the internet anyway.
“But there is this one time I got home with a black eye.” Lena’s smirk was already in place when Beth gasped, throwing a surprise look at her. “I swear it was legitimate, you should have seen the other girl.” She laughed. “I got expelled from boarding school for a whole month. My mother was mad but now I think it was more because she’d have to take care of me instead of sending back an ocean away. I thought I couldn’t be more punished than I was though. And then Father got home.” Her face scrunched up a bit. “He didn’t even look at me. Mother had told him what happened and he never addressed a single word to me.” Beth frowned, hearing the sadness in her mother’s tone. “I felt it was unfair. Because, you know, I got into this fight because of him. To defend his honor because that girl had been saying horrible things about him. And he-” She laughed humorlessly. “He wouldn’t even look at me. As if he was so ashamed that he couldn’t look at me.”
“Mum, I-”
Lena stopped her with a raised hand. “I’m not telling you this so you have pity or to sadden you.” She swallowed thickly. “Just so you know, I know what it means to try to impress your parents.” She stopped their walk and raised her hands to cup her daughter’s face, planting her eyes in hers. “I don’t want that for you, do you hear me?”
Beth didn’t say anything, her wet eyes already pouring salt on her cheeks.
“I don’t want you to think you’ll ever disappoint us. It’s wrong. You could never. I’ll even help you burry a corpse if necessary.”
Beth laughed wetly at that before opening wide eyes as she realized her mother might be serious.
“I’m kidding.” Lena reassured her with an easy smile, her thumb running circles on Beth’s cheek. “But don’t tell your mom I said that.” She added with a wink.
“I won’t.” Beth promised.
Lena nodded once, smiling at her. “So, now that’s sorted…” She said, passing her arm through her daughter’s to resume their walk. “Do you want to talk about what happened earlier?”
Beth felt her stomach constrict at the idea. She didn’t want to but she had to. Right? Her mothers wouldn’t let her be without knowing anyway. In a sigh, she started where her thoughts wanted her to.
“There were too many people in the cave.” She said in one bit.
Lena stopped for a second before resuming walking in silence. Beth took that as an invitation to continue.
“All these people, the dead. I-I-I’m fed up of seeing them.”
“Fed up?” Her mother inquired.
“Scared.” Beth admitted more clearly. “Terrified.”
“Do they want to hurt you?”
Beth was thankful for her mother’s curious tone. She didn’t sound scared herself. That was the perk of having a witch as a mother. Or a Luthor maybe. Married to Supergirl and Kara Danvers.
“No, I mean, I don’t really know. They’re just talking, mostly. Sometimes they’re so loud I can’t hear anything else.”
Next to her, her mother stopped in her tracks, looking at her with confusion.
“I had no idea, I- Why didn’t you tell me? Us?”
Beth shrugged. At first, she just didn’t want to worry them. And then, it became so obviously present in her life that it became a huge secret she was guarding because she didn’t want to scare her parents. Because she had waited too late to tell it.
“Didn’t want to worry you.” She replied as the only explanation.
“But Beth!” Lena chastised. “You have to tell us these things! We’re your parents! You’re not supposed to face this alone!”
“I know, I just… I wanted too but then they came to me more often and I didn’t know how to tell you!”
Lena huffed, crossing her arms. “It’s not like we never experienced weird things in this family.”
“I know!” Beth said again, frustrated. “It’s easier to say now but I was scared too, I didn’t know how to deal with it.”
Lena rolled her eyes before grabbing her by the shoulders. “That’s why we talk in this family, young lady.” She chastised half-heartedly. “So you don’t have to deal with it by yourself. So we can find a solution together.” She pointed out.
“Yes, I know that now.” Beth pouted, ashamed. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You did nothing wrong. Just know that we’ll always be by your side.” Lena cupped her face once again. “Whatever happens. We’ll always be there.”
Beth nodded, her eyes stuck on her shoes. She had been so stupid to think her family would reject her for it. At least now they’d know why she was acting weird sometimes.
“Are you ready to go back?” Seeing Beth not moving, Lena waited, leaning forward to catch her eyes. “It’s not all, isn’t it?”
Beth shook her head. That was the worst part. The most difficult one. She had to disappoint her mother.
“I… don’t want to do it.” She said hesitantly, wincing at the end. She waited for a reply that never came. She opened one eye, then the other. Her mother was looking at her, waiting too. “You’re not mad?”
Lena shrugged. “It’s your choice. But I’d like some explanations first before telling you how I feel about it.”
Beth frowned. “I thought I could do whatever I wanted.”
Her mother opened wide eyes. “Of course, sweetie. I meant, explain yourself more and we’ll see what we’ll do but I’ll always be by your side, you know that.” She finished with a bit of panic in her eyes.
Beth nodded, smiling a bit. She understood it wouldn’t be an easy conversation. She took a deep breath and reorganized the thoughts in her head. She had this one chance to finally explain what had been nagging her for months. She shouldn’t waste it.
“I don’t want to be a part of the coven.” She said firstly. Lena nodded patiently. “I only want my magic. I don’t want to have access to all these powers. It scares me. I don’t want to be able to see more of them.”
That was all. Simple. Direct. Efficient. Her mother’s smile grew though. Beth started to think she was going mad.
“Why are you smiling?”
Lena chuckled a bit. “Because that’s what I thought.” Seeing the confusion on her daughter’s face, she continued, taking her arm to start walking back to the cave. “To be clear, I won’t force you into anything.” She met Beth’s green eyes pointedly. “But I want you to listen to me before taking a decision.”
Beth nodded, trusting her mother more now than she was this morning. She squeezed her arm gently to invite her to continue.
“A coven isn’t only a group of witches gathered to reinforce each other. It’s also meant to protect its members.” Lena started patiently. “Of course, magic pulses through everything around us, and since we’re linked, we have more roots anchored in Earth to use as sources but it doesn’t mean you have to use it.” She explained while stomping on the ground.
“Really?”
Lena nodded. “You can only feel the difference when you’re part of it so I can only describe it to you but I can assure you it’s not what you think. It’s not unlimited powers free to be used by whoever wants to.” She laughed a bit. “Can you imagine what would happen in a huge coven, like a hundred witches? If only one of them decided to use it for herself? That would cause chaos.” She laughed once more. “No, the others are aware when you take magic from them, for one.” She showed one finger to Beth. “Two, and you’ll know it if you decide to join, you won’t want to use the others’ magic.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not yours. And…” She paused. “It can hurt them.” Lena said with finality. “The coven is one big family because you are aware of the others. They are extensions of your own body. You are aware of the magic coursing through them. Even of what they feel, if you focus enough. It’s a real link, physical. And if you use that link to take magic, it weakens the link of the others too. It’s like losing a limb. You don’t want to.”
“Then why can you use it?” Beth was confused. It didn’t quite make sense. “And why didn’t you tell us this before?”
“Like I said, the link is there to protect you first. It has to be used only in case of emergency.” Lena threw her a side glance. “I told your brother and you about the witch hunts and the trials. It was about that. In times of great danger, you can use the link to defend yourself or warn your sisters or cut it entirely so they’re protected too.”
“I see.” Beth said absently. “It sounds like a marriage.”
Her mother snorted next to her. “It’s worse than that. You’re not only linked to a few witches but to generations before you. And you’ll be to the generations after. It’s a legacy.”
With wide eyes and an o-shape mouth, Beth expelled a huge breath. “Wow, it’s no joke. You didn’t tell us it was that huge.”
Lena shrugged. “You would have known during the ritual.” She said cryptically.
Beth looked at her suspiciously. They had trained for the spells practiced during the ritual but there was apparently an obscure part where they couldn’t know before doing it. They had to experience it.
“So you mean, at one point, we’ll be able to tell if we want to have that big of a link with mostly strangers or if we don’t?”
Lena rolled her head from right to left. “Kind of. And they’re no strangers, Beth. Florence and Peggy are family.”
“Yes, of course. I mean with your potential coven of a hundred people.”
“Oh, well, usually, they would be no more than a dozen. Twenty at best. It would have been too risky with more.”
With flashes of the ghosts encountered in her young life, Beth suddenly remembered about the trials. Remembered about the times it was riskier to be abnormal. To be another type of human being. How dangerous a life it was to try to heal people with witchcraft and practice magic in basement. How you could be hunted down for only a suspicion of magic. How lots of men used that excuse to burn down women who had nothing to do with magic.
“And, for your other reason,” Lena cleared her throat next to her, probably as disturbed by the memories as she was. “I know your power is scary. I only see lost souls when they want me to see them and that’s already disturbing enough.” She stopped them a few feet away from the cave, still out of earshot. “But you can’t refuse your very own legacy because of fear. It shouldn’t be the condition. I can’t tell you it would be easy. I can’t promise it won’t heighten an already overwhelming capacity. But I know we can protect you from slipping in.”
Beth met her mother’s eyes, not sure what she meant by this but trusting the earnestness in them fully. She took her hands in hers, squeezing gently. Her mother’s fingers were freezing.
“I don’t know. I want to do it but I don’t want more power. It’s already too much.”
Lena looked at her with sadness and understanding. “I know, love. I know it’s a lot. And it’s unfair, you didn’t ask for it.”
Beth shook her head. She definitely didn’t. Liam was lucky to have his. Their burdens were different.
“You know, our powers are part of the legacy too.” Beth leaned her head on one side, wanting her mother to explain herself. “I didn’t tell you because I thought it would confuse you and I didn’t want you to compare yourself but I realize now it was a mistake.” Lena rocked on her feet from right to left, unsure.
“Mum, what is it?”
Lena sighed. “My mother had this gift too. Yours. To talk with the dead.”
Beth frowned. She had never heard of that. Even Florence never said a thing.
“I learned it from her journals. She wasn’t always fond of it, like you, but she learned to accept it.” She stepped closer, rubbing Beth’s arms affectionately. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think yours would become that much. But if you want too, I’ll give you her journals so you can maybe take some advice from it.”
Beth nodded eagerly, a huge smile spreading on her face. Of course, she wanted to know more. Especially about her grandmother.
“Did she say anything in it about joining a coven and what happened after?”
“Yes.” Lena confirmed, brows furrowed as she reminisced her reading. “If I remember correctly, Florence helped her confined it so that she could learn to control it. At the end…” She cleared her throat and Beth realized she meant before her death and her heart constricted in pain for her mother. “I think she was only talking to them when she wanted to.”
Beth gasped, hope spreading in her chest like wildfire. It meant it wasn’t all wrong. It meant she had a chance to succeed.
Lena smiled back at her. “You seem relieved.”
“I am! I… I thought I could never control this.” Beth threw her arm towards the cave. “I thought I’ll have to deal with them all my life.”
Her mother’s smile brightened as she watched her softly. “You know, nothing is forever. If it’s hard now, it’s only because you still have to work to learn from it. Mother Nature wouldn’t have given you this gift if She thought you couldn’t handle it.”
Beth shrugged, throwing her a self-deprecating smile. Lena chuckled before engulfing her in a last hug.
“Are you ready now?”
Beth pulled away, meeting her mother’s eyes, the very reflection of hers. “I think I am.”
“Sure?” Lena put a cold hand on her cheek. “You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
“I do.” Beth assured. “It’s part of who I am.”
If she hadn’t been convinced before, the pride on her mother’s face would have convinced her a bit more.
“You sure is. You’re right where you’re supposed to be.” She kissed her on the nose before pulling her gently towards the cave. “Come on, they’ve waited long enough.”
The party was taking shape, or at least the shape Lena had planned in her overly controlling mind. Kara floated back down to look at her work and grinned. The garlands were in place. In the kitchen, Brainy and Kelly were preparing the appetizers while Alex, Esme and Nia were putting some icing on the mountains of cupcakes Lena had prepared with Liam the day before. Everything was on point.
“Aunt Kara?” Kara looked down to meet Eliott’s torn face. She smiled in question. “Why were you stressed earlier?”
Kara’s only reaction was to frown before remembering what the eleven-year-old was talking about. Eliott was a telepathic humanoid from the Almeracian people, a type of humanoids that was ruled by an emperor on Almerac who had caused so many wars against others that most of his people had fled, like Eliott’s parents before dying from the long trip to Earth just before landing.
Eliott had the power to feel the emotions of others, to read their minds too and sometimes to influence on the behavior of a room when he focused enough, just like J’onn. Contrary to J’onn though, the boy was not accustomed to Earth’s people’s habits of not talking directly about such private matters like inner thoughts, even if he had been adopted by Kelly and Alex when he was just a baby. As a humanoid, much like Brainy, it was hard for him to understand complex concepts like empathy or intimacy.
“I was just worried.” Kara explained after straightening up. She put a hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine now.” She smiled reassuringly.
“Were you worried about Beth and Liam?”
Always, very forward. Sometimes, Kara wondered why the boy kept asking questions he already knew the answer to. J’onn had a theory that Eliott could in fact be affected too by the thoughts and feelings he could sense so he might try to solve them, shift them, to make his own environment more bearable. For now, they couldn’t tell if it truly was the case yet. Eliott stayed pretty introverted when his parents would broach the subject.
“I was.” Kara threw a quick glance above his hand, noticing Alex listening to the interaction. “It’s a big day for them and they were both excited but anxious. It’s my job to worry about them.” She explained.
Very early, Alex and Kelly had asked all of them to always be honest with their son, noticing that he needed the truth to be satiated. So, honesty it was, but with gloves, with care. They of course didn’t want to shock his young mind.
“But it’s better now.” Eliott tilted his head on the side, sizing Kara up as if he could read it on her face. And it wasn’t a question so it was probably true. Another question he already had the answer.
Kara nodded. “Yeah, Beth was very nervous but Aunt Lena made her relax and now they’re on the verge of starting the ritual, if my ears aren’t fooling me.” She winked.
Eliott’s face split into a grin, his green eyes twinkling. “Great!” He seemed relieved. “I’ll make a special icing for Beth to congratulate her!”
And he ran to his mother to volunteer on the task. Kara and Alex shared a smile and a nod. Raising children with extra capacities, like Lena called them during her speech for the Foundation’s Christmas Ball, was not a piece of cake. It was something they were all dealing with. Knowing the others around, friends and family, could understand, make the space safer around their children, it had no price.
Kara was thankful that Kelly and Alex had decided to adopt Esme and Eliott. She had always feared her sister didn’t understand fully her capacities, what impact it had on her daily life, but she had been shown wrong and she couldn’t be happier about it. Esme and Eliott were great additions to their family, with Sam and Andrea’s kids, Diego and Ruben, and Nia and Brainy’s toddler.
Esme was the oldest of them all so she always took her time to teach new tricks to her cousins when they were all reunited. Then came the twins, always trying to take Eliott, Diego and Ruben - since the three of them had approximately the same age - on their adventure train, led by Beth. It almost always ended in a mess. Kara and Lena had photo albums full of those kinds of memories. And lastly came little Quentin, trying to follow them all on his three-year-old legs.
Kara sighed, her mind full with images of this house filled to the brim with running kids and laughing adults, with dirt and pebbles and leaves from the garden. This night was another of those nights, forging memories, watching their kids take another big step in their lives. Her heart swelled as she watched Alex welcome Barry and Iris in the house, all with huge smiles on their faces.
It wasn’t the first time they would all be reunited, the Justice League, the Superfriends, and Lena’s coven, but it was really rare everybody could make it and be there all at once so Kara was just happy. Very happy.
From the chair he was perched on next to his mother, Eliott grinned at her. Kara grinned back, as excited as he was.
Yeah, they were all happy.
Once Beth and Lena had joined the group in the cave, they started the ritual. First was the egg test, as Liam, Beth and Anna had called it while training. It was simple. Well, normally.
Positioning themselves in front of a pile of clay and other materials that Florence and Peggy had left on the ground, Liam and Beth shared a look. They had trained the whole year for this one. It was supposed to be a simple initiation rite. Shape the clay to form an egg, put your intentions in it for the rest of the year, since Eostre, the spring goddess, was there to help them realize their wishes. Then mix it with some crystals and herbs that they chose on Imbolc’s sabbath and it was done. Or partly. There was still this unclear part during which they were supposed to be magically linked to the other four members. No big deal.
“You can start when you’re ready.” Lena told them solemnly.
She threw her hands up, sparkling blue and white. A shield the shape of a dome expanded above them and all over the cave. It wasn’t the first time they witnessed their mother do such a thing but this time, the purpose was different. It wasn’t just to protect them from the outside world. It was to protect the outside world from them, in case the spells went wrong.
With the shield disappeared the song of the waves crashing against each other. Long gone was the chant of the seagulls. And with them the voices of the ghosts inside the cave.
By the corner of her eye, Beth noticed Liam dry his hands up on his pants, nervous as he was. She herself gulped, not feeling well either. They had practiced. A lot. They could do this.
“Come on, Lee. Just like in the basement.”
Lena tilted her head at that, frowning. Rule number one, no powers in the house. Or was it number two? She didn’t interrupt them though, and for that, Beth was grateful.
Liam threw her an apprehensive glance, his lips swallowed up. Beth rolled her eyes. He hadn’t changed that much, in the end. She’d had to go first then.
Focusing back on her mount of clay, she breathed in and out several times, extending her hands. The trick was to go easy on the material. Clay had been chosen voluntarily for its more or less soft and plastic properties when mixed with water. That was the first step. Make some water from the air around them.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Beth focused on the particle of dioxygen entering and quitting her body. It was hard at first, with all her Kryptonian senses on alert. Then she started to feel the difference between the cold air entering her nostrils and the hot air quitting her lungs. She could feel the moisture in the second one, the humidity in it caused by the particles leaving the fire flames. The carbon charged air had to be split up. In her mind, she visualized it, she conveyed it to happen, to make the little atoms separate. And she opened her eyes.
In front of her, just above the mount of clay were little drops of water suspended in the air. As if they had put a rain shower on pause. On the other side of the fire, her mother was smiling proudly before motioning towards the clay with her chin. Now came the biggest part, the hardest one. It was the step with which they would be able to tell if she could handle her magic, reign it in, or not.
Beth looked down and, with a very cautious gesture of her hand, she tore the drops of water from their place in the air and guided them towards the clay. It looked like she was blending egg whites with chocolate. It must be that smooth, Beth heard their mother say in her head.
Once the water and clay were reunited, she formed a ball with her hands, squashing them together as she magically squashed the clay and water to make it softer. The sedimentary rock became a wet red slop. Beth remembered Anna saying she had been thankful not to have to touch it directly with her hands.
The last big step was to shape it. It had to look like an egg, because it was the Spring equinox, so almost Easter. It started as a joke when Florence, Peggy and Lena were brainstorming new customs to install in the coven for their children but then they realized how a hard shape it was to form with magic. How perfect it was for initiation. So, the choice had been made. Instead of creating eggs made out of wood or paper for Ostara, they’d use clay to represent Nature. And to respect the sabbath’s celebrations, they’d put their intentions in it, fill it with the crystals they had chosen and consolidate it to preserve it until the next year.
That was the step Beth was on. As her brother had finally decided to start his own spell, she horizontally split her brown egg in two and magically grabbed at the citrine stone she had chosen because she wanted more confidence. She put the crystal in it, spelling the intention in her head. She added the aquamarine gem for new beginnings. Next came the rosemary they had grown in the garden and a quarter of lemon for purification and cleansing. A slice of apple, the original fruit, since Eostre was known to be the keeper of the youth. And some of Lynxy’s hairs to apply all the good wishes in her egg to the animals surrounding them and protecting them.
When she was closing her egg, Liam was opening his, following the same step. Beth focused her eyes back on her creation and decided it was ready to be consolidated. For that, she could use heat vision, but Kryptonian capacities were forbidden for the ritual so she started to pronounce the last spell she had to use to make the initiation complete.
“Once Earth, now mud, you will consolidate without a feud.”
Their mother had burst out laughing the first time she had heard Beth’s personal spell but it had worked! It was doing the job so… Without any difficulty, the clay egg hardened, its colour lightening a bit. With a real sense of accomplishment, Beth looked above it to share her victory with the four women on the other side of the fire.
“Congrats Beth.” Peggy smiled back at her. “Now, put it safely in the ground where you want it to stay and we’ll be done.”
Thinking about it, Beth looked around the cave for a safe place. With one hand, she kept the egg in the air, while she magically dug a hole with the other.
“You will guard my intentions in your shell and harden with that simple spell.” Liam enunciated.
Beth rolled her eyes with a soft smile. Her brother, always the serious one. He dug his hole just next to hers and together, they put some mud and sand back on the eggs to hide them from any walkers who’d decide to visit the caves.
Turning back with proud faces, they shared a victorious chuckle before meeting Lena, Florence and Peggy’s blank stare, making them lose their smiles temporarily.
“Now that you’ve accomplished the ritual, you will be linked to the other members of this coven.” Florence announced.
“Please, position yourself around the fire.” Peggy motioned toward the two vacant spots in their circle, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
Liam and Beth walked to their spot cautiously. They were at equal distance to their mother and Anna, who smiled devilishly at them.
With a nod of approbation, Lena extended a hand to Beth, while Liam took his sister’s and Anna’s hands. A spark of electricity shot through Beth’s fingers so she threw a worried look to their mother. Lena winked at her, mouthing Don’t worry with a reassuring smile. She then turned her head back to face Florence on the other side of the circle and together, with Peggy and Anna, they pronounced a simple phrase.
“The ties tied cannot be untied.”
It was instant. An explosion of magic. Red, yellow, purple, blue, green. All mixed up, flying around their circle of six like a small tornado in continuous flow. The power of their combined magic was pulsing through their limbs like blood in their veins or water in a river. It was instinctual. Natural. As if they were finally watering their bodies, feeding their souls.
Beth could hear voices, some were speaking Gaelic. She felt her brother’s presence next to her and her mother’s but further away. She looked aside to see her brother mesmerized by the colours around them. Then she looked on the other side and met her mother’s eyes. Her voice became clearer, as if it was the only connection needed between them. As if a veil had been removed.
Her mother’s mouth wasn’t moving but she was hearing her inside her head. She was hearing her so closely, as if she was the one speaking.
“You can enter, my child.” The deep voice said and, suddenly, Beth was plunging inside her mother’s pupils.
“The eyes are a window for the soul.” Another voice, far away, said.
Inside her mother’s eyes, Beth met her grandmother. She didn’t only recognize her thanks to the pictures she had seen of her. She knew it was her. Just like she knew the woman behind her was her great grandmother, and the lady next to her was Florence’s mother. With the knowledge of them came the knowledge of all the others. A crowd of women, of all types and forms, of all origins. Together. Linked forever. Sharing this special custom. Their legacy.
Next to her, Beth heard a gasp and turned. Liam was there too. The first male member of the coven. Anna’s soul was by his side, her hand in his, as they watched together their grandmother smiling proudly down to their mother, a hand on her shoulder. Elizabeth then extended a blurry hand to his cheek, erasing a tear he probably hadn’t realized was falling. She smiled at him too, softly, as if she already knew what fate had in store for him.
It was significant. She was welcoming him into the coven. Into generations of women empowered by their fights against misogyny and unfair treatment during History. Beth knew Liam had feared that. Of their ancestors not ready to accept a male inside their group. And here they were, embracing their grandmother’s soul, welcoming her in their hearts, accepting her love just like she was accepting them fully. She had been so eager to see them that it almost felt like she was shouting, finally. I’ve been waiting for you all this time. And then, her voice erupted in Beth’s head. It wasn’t just a perception of eagerness, Beth realized. She was feeling it completely, deeply into her core. All these women, these generations of witches, were now part of her and she was part of them.
With a melancholic smile, her grandmother stepped away and with her, some ancestors started to vanish, one after the other, until only the six of them were left.
“Grandma!” Liam’s voice cried out.
“I’ll always be with you, my boy.” Her voice replied like an echo.
“She’s right, love.” Lena stepped closer to put an affectionate hand on Liam’s cheek, just like her mother had done. “You did well,” her voice said, her eyes drifting to Beth then came back to Liam. “It’s time to go home.”
Beth nodded with a watery smile. She met Peggy’s eyes who winked at her before guiding her own daughter away. They all headed back, as if they had entered a dark house and were coming out of it by its windows. After some calm steps, they were back in the cave, under the flames’ lights as the night had already fallen. The time inside their little bubble of nostalgia had passed without them noticing.
Liam was panting next to her, his tears tracked cheeks unsurprisingly red. Her own weren’t better. Their mother shifted next to them before wrapping them both in her arms tightly.
“I’m so proud of you both. She’s so happy to know you fully now.”
She was referring to their grandmother, Beth didn’t even need to think about it. She knew it in her core. They were all sharing a special bond now. The magical type, in more than one way.
As they were walking under the moonlight, back to the parking lot where their cars were waiting for them, Beth realized there was still something she needed to know.
“Remember when you said we’d know if we wanted to be part of the coven while doing the ritual?” She inquired, tilting her head towards her mother.
They were walking very close together, Lena’s arms enveloping her children on each side.
“Hum.” Lena replied, waiting patiently for the question behind this. Her smirk betrayed her thoughts. She already knew what Beth wanted to know.
“How could we have known?”
“Simple,” Their mother grinned. You’d never have been able to see us all if you weren’t ready. If you didn’t want it in the deepest territory of your consciousness.” Her eyes traveled between the frown on Beth’s face to the look of pure confusion on Liam’s. “It’s a special spell. A way of preventing a coven from being plagued by ill-intentioned women.” She added. “It was necessary at some point but I guess now you know you truly deserved to be part of this.” She finished, smiling mischievously to her daughter, erasing all her doubts.
Beth smiled back and even blushed a little because her mother could see through her so easily. But she was right. She didn’t need to worry about her powers and what would happen now that she was part of the coven. She didn’t feel more powerful, just more herself. More accomplished. With a sense of belonging she had never known before. Like two puzzle pieces finally slotting together.
She tightened her grip on her mother’s hips, leaning her head on her shoulder. “I’m glad we did it. It was incredible to meet Grandma like that.”
“Hum.” Lena hummed approvingly next to her.
“Not it’s time for some partying.” Liam said on the other side, an excited grin on his face.
“Yeah, but first, shower.” Lena commanded. “Because you both stink!”
“Hey!” Liam shouted before sniffing under his arm. “Okay, you may be right.” He consented, making his sister and mother chuckle.
The party was nearing its end, with some guests already gone, only the closest ones staying to sleep on site. Kara had been searching Lena in the house, making sure her sister and sister-in-law had everything they needed in the guests’ bedroom and asking Liam and Eliott to go to bed on her way. She found Lena on the terrace, wrapped in a wool blanket, sipping the last remnants of a bottle of red wine. It had been a good day but her wife was sporting a torn face.
“Hey.” She said, approaching the deckchair she was on. “Make room for me.” She asked, making Lena stand so that she could sit back down on Kara’s lap without a word.
Lena immediately shuffled closer to Kara, enveloping them both with the blanket. Her breath was coming out in a short amount of smoke in front of her mouth. It was March after all. The weather was still chilly outside, especially during the night and it was already after midnight. But Kara knew Lena liked to stay on the terrace at night, watching the sky, listening to the nature around them as she thought about her day.
“Are you okay?” She asked tentatively. Lena nodded against her, her hand coming up to squeeze Kara’s one on her belly.
Kara put her chin on her shoulder, kissing the skin exposed there. “You seem deep in thought.”
Lena sighed against her. She let her head fall back on Kara’s shoulder before turning slightly on her lap to see her.
“I was just thinking about Beth.” She said through a croaked voice. “You should’ve seen her face.”
Imagining their daughter when she entered the cave, Kara scrunched up her face. “I heard her scream, it was enough.”
“Well, I guess she did see ghosts so…” Lena shrugged, took another sip of wine.
It was Kara’s turn to sigh, shaking her head dejectedly. “I wish she’d trusted us. I don’t know where it went wrong. Are we that terrifying?”
“No,” Lena replied immediately. “I think she’s just as stubborn as we can be. She wanted to deal with it on her own, soldier through it.”
Kara snorted. “Yeah, reminds me of someone.”
Lena’s tone had been calm, almost shy in the night’s silence, but the fidgeting of her hands was betraying her internal turmoil. As parents, the hardest thing to do was to not worry too much about your kids. But it was an impossible task. It came with the job. Especially when it concerned superpowered children. It was astonishing none of them already had white hair.
“She looked so sad. All these months…”
Kara replayed the last weeks in her mind, wondering where it had gone wrong. What were the signs. And then it started to pile up. Memories of Beth stuck in her room with headphones on her ears, inside her own bubble, not talking to her brother much, never leaving the house anymore, except for school and practice with Florence. The signs were there. She just had preferred not to see them.
“I think it started years ago.” Lena said, her eyes unfocused. “Remember the Lockhart manor?”
Kara gasped, tears pooling in her eyes. “How did we miss it?”
“You didn’t.” Beth’s voice echoed. Both women looked to the bay window in surprise. “Sorry,” Beth said sheepishly. “I heard you talk and…”
Lena sighed, turning around on Kara’s lap and putting her glass of wine on the table. “Beth… Rule number three-”
“I know! No eavesdropping but I also know you both and you don’t deserve to think you’re not good moms.”
The two mothers shared a knowing look. Their hearts were already melting at the affirmation.
“It’s kind of you to try and reassure us, honey,” Lena said, motioning for Beth to approach. “But it’s our job to worry about you.” She finished, taking their daughter’s hands.
Beth nodded in acceptance, sniffling a bit. Her eyes fell on Kara then and it started to water as she noticed her mom’s glassy eyes.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” She said, her throat constricted with the tears she was trying to keep at bay. “It got out of hands.”
“It’s okay, baby.” Lena reassured, pointedly interrupting Kara when she was about to start probably another rant on trust and communication. Beth was already feeling bad. It was enough. “Like I told you this afternoon, we want to help you as best we can but we can’t do it if you don’t talk to us.”
Kara agreed immediately to this, nodding eagerly, squeezing their daughter’s forearm. “Your job now is to tell us next time you feel overwhelmed.”
Beth’s cheeks reddened a bit at being lectured. She accepted her parents’ words like a champ though. “I promise I’ll tell you everything from now.” She nodded to herself determinedly. “And I’ll tell you what I saw today in the cave, just…”
“Not now.” Lena finished for her with a smile. Beth looked thankfully at her, relieved.
Kara grabbed her attention back, squeezing her hand. “Tomorrow, when everyone will be back home, we’ll talk together. All four of us. Because I think you also have things to tell your brother.” Beth scrunched up her face in guilt but accepted it. “Go to bed, now, inah. I’m sure Esme’s waiting for you.”
Beth snorted. “Uh, depends if she’s still on the phone with her boyfriend or not.” She said, kissing her mothers’ cheeks and sharing hugs before going back inside.
Lena finished her glass of wine and stood up, ready to go to bed too, apparently. She extended a hand to her wife, falsely helping her to stand up too.
“Did you know Esme had a boyfriend?” Kara asked with a huge frown on her face.
“No but she’s twenty-one, Kara.” Lena replied while shutting the terrace light off. “I’m sure it’s not the first one.”
“Alex never mentioned it.”
Lena snorted ungraciously. “Probably because Alex would put that boy in an interrogatory room if she knew.”
They walked back inside, lowering their tones as Kara shut the bay window behind her and leaned against it with crossed arms. “You talk as if you wouldn’t do the same.”
“Why do you think she didn’t come to tell me either?” Lena smirked.
Kara rolled her eyes, a knowing smile on her face. She extended a lone finger to pull Lena to her by her belt. “Because you’re just as protective as Alex and I love you for that.”
Lena leaned against her and smiled through the kiss they shared. “And you, miss charming, won’t escape dishes duty tomorrow with your smart words.”
“Hum.” Kara purred against her. “I’m sure we can negotiate.”
Lena shook her head against her, their noses hitting each other. “I think you’ll have to negotiate with your kids because I’ll be gone to the cave to clean up.” With that, she pulled away, swaying her hips devilishly as she quit the kitchen, knowing she had won the point.
Kara chuckled behind her. She paused at the beginning of the stairs, observing the photos of their family on the wall. Facing the smiling faces full of chocolate and the first-day-of-school traditional pictures and the last family portrait they took together, Kara only shrugged. She didn’t care that much if she had to wash the dishes tomorrow, as long as she could forge new memories with their kids on the way.
To new beginnings, she thought to herself as she walked up the stairs with the brightest smile on her face.