So here it is, the penultimate chapter...admittedly after a bit of a wait. Sorry!

Now I am perfectly aware that despite my intentions, I am not yet a medical profession so some aspects of this chapter probably are not perfect. There will be mistakes, things that probably would not happen, but I am aware of the slightly uncertain parts of the chapter. It has been such a long battle to write that I am just glad it has finished and I actually managed it! I hope it is ok, one of the ones I have re-read and not cringed at so it is progress *winks at NCD*

Thanks to everyone who has put up with me so far and read the story. Special thanks to NCD, Chrissiemusa and Long Vodka for their support and reviews as well as everyone else who has read and given their opinions.

So I will stop rambling and let you read! Hope it is ok and the final chapter will be up...well I will make no promises but will try to get it up soonish. Bear with guys :)

Chapter 26

'Miss...we need a doctor!'

Amelia couldn't bear it. She closed her eyes to try to gather her thoughts, but only the image of Constance's lifeless body remained at the forefront of her mind. The hope in the young girl's voice was unbearable. She wanted it to be true, she wanted more than anything for it to be possible, but the headmistress knew that there was nothing that could be done. Constance had told her herself that this had to be the end, that she had no choice but to move on; it was the way that it had to be. If only Mildred knew what she knew.

'I'm sorry Mildred,' Miss Cackle said gently, 'but there is nothing that any doctor could do. I wish it weren't true, God I would give anything...but she's gone.'

Mildred bit her lip and suppressed the truth; she had already betrayed her word that morning and she did not plan on doing so again, not unless she absolutely had to. She could feel the weak and feeble pulse against her fingers; it seemed to fade as every wasted second passed them by. Mildred took a deep shuddered breath, trying to keep herself from crumbling. Everything else was about to fall apart; someone had to know what to do when the time came.

Be strong, please, stay strong for me. Just hang on; you have to hang on for just a little longer...

The rational part of her mind told her that her pleas would go unheard, her silent begging nothing more than a cry for help which would never be heeded. There was a moment, just one fraction of a second, where nothing else in the world mattered.

Mildred's hand slipped into that of her potions mistress. It was so cold, the frostbitten chill of fresh snow newly fallen and hiding a deadly secret beneath the soft, inviting blanket. Her expression to many would have seemed peaceful, a tortured woman finally at rest, but to someone who could sense something deeper Mildred saw a haunted look across Miss Hardbroom's face. She knew that she was still suffering, and the deep morality within her could not let that suffering continue to destroy a life which was already on the very brink. She would do what she could, what she felt that she had to do.

I'm here. Just hold on, we're here. Destiny is waiting for you. You'll be alright, please be alright...

'Miss Cackle, we have to do something!' Mildred cried. Amelia reluctantly turned to look at Mildred and Constance, feeling tears spilling from her eyes with nothing left within her that could stop it.

'Mildred...she's gone,' Amelia muttered. 'Please...'

'You have to believe me,' she shouted desperately, 'it isn't as simple as...I'm sorry I can't explain it now, we don't have time. I need you to trust me, please just this once; she needs you.'

Amelia was lost for words. She didn't understand what was going on, a strange and unfamiliar feeling which tingled uncomfortably in her chest. Everything told her not to let her selfish hopes get carried away with Mildred's pleas; it would only lead to her heart breaking all over again. Yet after everything the young girl had been through, after everything she had done even though nothing had been asked of her, did she not owe her a little trust? Mildred had kept them safe and there was always the chance...No.

She couldn't allow herself to believe something which went against everything she had just begun to accept, but there was no harm in letting Mildred do what she felt that she needed to do. Why deny someone so young and innocent their last hope?

Miss Cackle nodded and watched Mildred run into the staffroom metres away, kneeling gently beside Constance with Destiny still crying softly in her arms. There was a sombre sense of relief washing over her as her body relaxed for what felt like the first time in forever. It seemed so surreal, as though nothing that was going on around her could possibly be happening.

The world she never wanted to see kept surfacing in her mind, a world without the deputy headmistress who had stood by her side for so long. The sky was darker, the sun shining a little less brightly behind morose clouds and the wind lacking a ferocity with which it had once ruled. The students carried on as normal; they hadn't truly known the woman behind the black velvet and taught bun. It was, perhaps, the saddest thing of all.

Constance had always been so brave, so willing to fight for them and protect them with all she had; yet in return she received only hatred and misunderstanding. Had they known the woman Amelia now felt that she knew, then they would weep as she wept and would mourn as she knew that she would for the rest of her life. That, if nothing else, would be the only fitting end to a tragic yet wonderful life.

To the headmistress, it was more than a friend that had fallen. It was her daughter that was gone, the little girl she had never had but saw within the potions mistress every day. She would miss everything about her; every moment they had argued or the smiles she knew had been hidden beneath a well-placed hand. In truth, Amelia had no idea how she could go on.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered as her sadness slipped softly down her cheeks. 'There were so many things that I could have done. I let you give your life to save us, to save me; I stood by and watched. You deserved so much more. If I could turn back time then I would, but life is never that kind. Constance, you will never know what you meant to me; oh God...it should have been me.' The headmistress' hand took Constance's and she lowered her head, a final prayer for both of their souls.

Xxx

It was barely a sound, the echo of the last note of a symphony before it fades to silence. Miss Cackle wasn't sure that she had heard it until it came again. She looked up, releasing her grip on her deputy's hand to brush the matted grey hair from her face; the entire world seemed to hang in the moment.

Constance took a rattling breath of air, loud enough this time for Amelia to realise where the sound was coming from. The headmistress gasped and put a hand to her mouth to suppress the scream which was threatening to burst from her throat. Her eyes were wide as she watched Constance's chest very slowly rise and fall. She was breathing. Each breath sounded painful and laboured and they came not quite often enough, but they were there. A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of the deputy headmistress' mouth like a scarlet tear; it wasn't over yet.

Amelia had no idea what to do. She could only stare in awe, watching as the motionless body worked impossibly hard to keep itself from failing; it wasn't possible. Constance had told her herself, had said her final goodbyes...it felt wrong, sordid, as if this was an occurrence beyond the natural world.

Destiny gave a loud wail, her arms flailing free of their blankets and reaching out for answers she would never receive. Though she could not possibly know what was going on around her, she knew for certain that she was scared. It was an unfamiliar feeling, a sad and deep emotion which gripped every cell in her body and forced her to scream. Though she did not fully understand why, she was screaming for her mother.

Xxx

The staffroom was silent. Miss Drill had offered to check on the students who were all sleeping soundly in their beds. Cathy Sparrow, the member of the Witch's Guild who the staff at the academy were growing to increasingly dislike, was buried half asleep in a pile of papers. She scribbled every so often in the small book which appeared to carry messages to the outside world, still trying to track down the elusive Constance Hardbroom who, ironically, was lying just outside the door.

Davina had been sitting in an old wooden chair staring out of the open window watching the sun rise for countless hours, wondering where everything had gone so wrong. They had been left, forced to wait for news they feared like the wives of servicemen hoping never to receive that fateful telegram.

Miss Bat had known Constance since the younger witch had begun teaching at the school many years ago. Looking back, she deeply regretted the many petty disputes which had tainted their relationship from the very beginning of Constance's time at Cackle's Academy. Knowing now what she did, knowing who she was, Davina wondered how many times she had wrongly judged the younger woman's intentions and how many happy times which she could have had had been wasted.

It was clear to her now that Miss Hardbroom had always held the best intentions of the school and its pupils at heart, even if her opinions had sometimes seemed rather extreme; she feared that the revelation had come too late.

When they had first met, Miss Bat had known that Constance was a graduate of the Witch Training College. A place well known for its brutally strict regimes and elitism, Davina had realised at once that the young woman must be very advanced in her magical skill; never had she suspected the harsh realities Constance had to suffer.

She cursed herself. In her many years of teaching, Davina had crossed paths with Mistress Broomhead on only one occasion – a Witch Training College open day as part of a school trip. She had taken an instant disliking to the witch. It was clear to her that there was more than just discipline threatened when she glared coldly at her students, and Davina could see how they were all scared of her, terrified even.

Like so many others, she had asked why nobody ever questioned such a callous and brutal tutor and received the truth that most tried to hide. Mistress Broomhead had power and influence which reached extremely high, higher even than the Guild itself. She was clever, hiding any evidence of her tyranny where no-one else could look; the only ones who bore witness were those that suffered at her dreadful hands, and most were too terrified to dare speak out. It was the simple yet powerful emotion of fear, of terror, which masked what this horrible woman was doing and allowed it to continue.

Constance must have suffered her wrath as a child, thought Davina sadly. She knew now what Mistress Broomhead was capable of, what she would do to advance her own causes, and wished that she had taken the care which was usually so commonplace with her to realise what was going on and had the bravery to stand up to it. There was a moment which she remembered, the first time she had spoken alone with Constance after her appointment as potions teacher and mere days after her escape from college. Davina wondered if it was her greatest regret.

That one conversation, one meeting between two people had started the pointless feud which had existed for more than 20 years between Miss Bat and Miss Hardbroom. It had destroyed a relationship, destroyed a legacy; if only she had put two and two together. If not, she could have tried harder. She knew that there was more that she could, that she should, have done and thought how different her life and her relationship with the young potions mistress would be if she had only had the patience.

Xxx

Miss Bat stepped out of her cupboard, breathing in the fresh morning air with a smile. There was a sharpness lingering in the crisp morning. It was unusual, though not unwelcome to the ancient castle as it marked the beginning of a new term and with it, a new era.

It was not simply the arrival of new students for another academic year that would bring a sense of change to the school, but the fact that this year there would be another member of staff joining the fold and taking on the position of potions mistress. Having only arrived last night, Davina had not been properly introduced to the new witch and she had only spotted her leaving Miss Cackle's office the previous evening.

From what the chanting teacher could tell, and what she already knew, Constance Hardbroom was a very young but talented witch who the headmistress had invited for interview straight from the doors of the Witch Training College. She had only been a qualified witch for a month or so, and already she had a distinguished position in the school; Miss Bat wondered why it was the Amelia had taken so quickly to such a mysterious woman.

Davina found her to be different to any other witch she had encountered. Constance wore black, dresses which reached from her neck to her ankles, and kept the most perfect posture she had ever seen. Every movement she made was precise, as though calculated in depth beforehand: perfection. She could sense something about her, something hidden behind the way she walked without a hair out of place in the most perfect straight line; it was a secret, that much she knew, and one Davina knew would not be given up willingly.

Sipping a freshly brewed cup of tea, Davina watched the sun begin to rise like a beacon of hope above a leafy green horizon. Glancing at the clock on the wall, she noticed that it would only be a few hours before the girls would arrive. Though she craved the buzz of a full and excited school, even Miss Bat had to admit that these secluded moments of peace and perfect harmony would be long forgotten in moments until the half term break.

Davina walked slowly down the corridors to the staff living quarters, humming to herself with a spring in her step as she went. With barely an hour left before another year began, she needed to get her chanting music ready for the raucous rendition of the school song which would follow.

Passing what had been the previous potions teacher's room, Davina noticed that the door was open. She paused for a moment, her senses alerting her to something out of place despite the door's insignificance. She would have walked on, had she not heard a gasp from within the room; it sounded like someone in pain.

Miss Bat was unable to ignore the pained sound she had just heard. Quietly, and with an air of caution, she pushed the door a little further open and crept inside barely daring to breath. She saw Constance through the open bathroom door, her right sleeve rolled up past her elbow and her body bent over her exposed arm. She was not her usual composed self even Davina could see that and she watched as Constance breathed slowly and deeply, screwing her eyes tightly shut as if trying to fight an agonising pain.

As Constance straightened up and put a hand to her forehead, Davina noticed her exposed arm and suppressed a gasp of her own. The skin was covered in small white scars like chalk tallies on a blackboard. There was a deep, fresh gash across her forearm, one which was almost luminescent red and allowed every so often a drop of blood to run over the poor woman's skin.

Constance was clearly in a great deal of agony. Though she tried to hide it, Davina could see the flash of fear in her eyes and the way she bit her lip to prevent a scream from escaping; she fought not to cry at such a terrible sight.

'C-Constance?'

The younger witch spun on her heel at once, flexing the fingers of her left hand so that her sleeve fell over her arm once again. The fear in her eyes was pushed back, hidden by the rage and surprise which replaced them.

'What are you doing in here?' She said sharply, her voice that of a scolding teacher reprimanding a naughty student.

'I...I...I'm sorry,' Davina stuttered. 'Your door was open and I heard you...'

'You have no right to be in here,' shouted Constance with more ferocity than Davina expected could come of someone so young. She appeared far older than her 18 years, the authority she emitted and boom of her voice giving her maturity and control which few teachers ever managed to gain in a life time. She was something different, Davina could tell.

'Your...your arm,' Miss Bat tried, unable to find quite the right words. She was older than Constance by more years than she would care to mention, yet she felt the panic which came every time she disappeared into her cupboard rising in her chest as the younger witch loomed over her. She should have realised that she was just being defensive, that behind the attacking manner was a scared young girl who was in pain and feared what she could not understand.

'It's nothing,' Constance said quickly, absentmindedly taking her right hand in her left. It could not have been further from the truth.

'It l-looks like a spell was used,' Miss Bat explained, 'one which prevents the cut from healing and forces it to re-open. I know a bit about medicines myself you see, and-'

'Thank you,' Constance cut her off coldly, 'but I don't need any help! I am perfectly fine on my own and I do not need interfering colleagues getting in my way and telling me what to do! Now would you kindly leave me in peace!'

Davina didn't know what to do. Her delicate resolve snapped, the warm and caring person within her not quite able to grasp what was right before her; a woman in need. She ran all of the way back to her stationary cupboard, locking herself in there and refusing to come out for 4 hours until Constance had left to instruct the first years with Amelia.

What she hadn't seen, was that as soon as Davina left Constance sank to the bathroom floor in tears. She had to be hard, she had to be strong; it was all that she knew after so many years. Constance hated who she had become, the strict and disciplined potions mistress who shouts at those kind enough to offer her help. As a droplet of blood splashed against the tiled floor, her tears came thick and fast.

Xxx

Mildred burst into the staffroom, barely able to breathe as her mind raced too fast for her to read her own thoughts. She could feel that her hands were shaking, trembling despite the warm summer morning as her fear threatened to take over. The two women in the room both turned to her at once. Mildred shot Cathy an almost poisonous glare, one which warned her not to try anything untoward.

Miss Bat knocked her chair over as she ran to Mildred, her wide bright eyes begging to be told what had happened.

'We're here, we're back,' Mildred stammered, 'the baby...she had the baby.'

'Are they alright?' Davina asked desperately. The look in Mildred's eyes made her fear the worst.

'Destiny is fine, but M-Miss Hardbroom...'

'What is it dear?' pushed Davina gently.

'We need a doctor,' Mildred half-shouted. 'We need to get a doctor here now.'

'There is an old friend of mine, Doctor Ray Spelling, who is staying in the village at this very moment. I could fly out there and find him-'

'No,' Mildred said quickly, 'that would take too long. We haven't got time.'

'What do you mean?' whispered Miss Bat with a hand hovering over her mouth. She already knew the answer.

'I mean that she hasn't got much t-time left,' Mildred answered gently. Their eyes met and each knew the gravity of what was being said; they could lose her at any second.

'Where is she?' Cathy asked, getting to her feet.

'Just outside,' Mildred replied coldly. She had seen too many people try to destroy lives in the past day, she was not about to let it happen again. 'But if you lay one finger on her or her baby I swear...'

'No,' agreed Cathy, 'no net yet anyway.'

'I mean it. I have seen the epitome of evil at work this night, and if you think for one second that I will allow you anywhere near them then you are sadly mistaken. Now if you have nothing helpful to say-'

'Alright,' Cathy conceded with a sigh, 'but I can help you, and Constance. I have a ring.' Cathy held up her hand to show Mildred, the glistening emerald stone reflecting the morning sunlight.

'It holds the power of a transportation spell, for emergencies only. I can go and find this doctor if Miss Bat will show me where and I can teleport him back with me.'

'Go,' Mildred said curtly. 'Thank you.'

Cathy took Miss Bat's arm and dragged her to the centre of the room, tapping the emerald twice with her nail; in a moment they were gone.

Xxx

There was nothing, nothing in the world; nothing, that was, except the two paths. They were all at was left of a world she was near to departing from though something was blocking her, forcing her to stay in the unrelenting limbo with the two paths laid out before her.

She knew where they led. One path was swathed in a bright white glow, the colour of pure winter snow with the warmth of the sun emanating from it. When she looked into it, into the unbelievable light, all she could see was happiness. It was an overwhelming feeling which took control of her and gave her what she wanted: comfort and satisfaction. Somewhere so far away, she could hear the screams of her child. There was only one way back to her and she knew that she had to fight, to claim the righteous path as her own and allow the light to take her to Destiny.

But no.

She tried to move, managing only a short distance as the bright light seemed to fade and move further from her grasp. She could feel the darkness pulling her down, consuming her soul as it took her for its own. Without even the power of a scream to escape her lips, she fell hard against the burning ground of the darkened path and felt the Earth scrape against her skin as she was dragged like a dirty rag down into the depths of hell.

It was not dying, of that she was sure; it wasn't that kind. As the brightness faded to nothing, as the blackness became all she knew and even the sound of her daughter was only a memory, Constance knew what awaited her. Never ceasing, never faltering, never releasing her...she was doomed to suffer forevermore, the echo of the life she had once known ringing for the last time in her ears. She was gone.

Xxx

Mildred took a moment in the vacant staffroom to breathe, closing her eyes and wishing that it had all been nothing more than a dream. It was a childish wish, the fantasy of one who knew nothing but naivety, but she had no answers; she didn't know what else she could wish for.

Turning slowly towards the door, she pleaded silently with Miss Bat not to dither as she usually would. Though Cathy Sparrow was not about to get within ten feet of Miss Hardbroom's baby if she had anything to do with it, it seemed that she was the only person in a position to help as it stood.

When she had first come to the castle to inquire about a man called Tom, Mildred had seen no glimmer of the hateful person who had formed simply from the news of his death. There was a rational, emotive human being within Miss Sparrow, but she was lost in grief and confusion. Mildred hoped that there was still enough of her left to do the right thing.

Walking out into the corridor as she knew she had to, Mildred let out a deep sigh. She did not know how much more of this she could take.

Xxx

As Mildred returned from the staffroom, Amelia looked up at her with startled and glass-like eyes.

'She...she...You were right, Mildred, I'm s-so sorry.' Mildred shook her head and wiped her wet and heavy eyes.

'You weren't to know.'

'I sh-should have listened to you,' Miss Cackle said, more to herself than to the young girl before her. 'She is barely breathing, I should have done something sooner...'

'What could you have done?' asked Mildred. She moved beside the broken headmistress and placed a hand on her shoulder.

'You were, and are, there for her. There was no way for us to help her before...before what happened but now we have been given a second chance.'

'You knew,' Amelia whispered. 'You knew...how did you know?'

'I...I can't tell you know, I'm sorry. Miss Bat and Miss Sparrow have used a travelling spell to get to the village to find a doctor; she's going to be fine.'

'Is she...' Amelia said quietly, in a tone audible only to herself. She looked at Mildred.

'Mildred...can I ask something of you?'

'Anything Miss, if I can.'

'Would you take Destiny? It is selfish of me but I would like to stay with Constance and I don't think that a crying baby will help the doctors treat her.'

'Of course, Miss Cackle,' Mildred accepted, lost for words that she could be entrusted with something so precious. She took the small, crying child into her arms and almost as soon as she had the wailing stopped. Amelia smiled.

'There is no-one else that Constance would trust, nor anyone I could trust more.'

'Thank you Miss...' Mildred whispered in awe.

'Keep her away from Cathy,' warned Amelia. 'By law she cannot take her whilst Constance is...is as she is, but that doesn't mean that she won't try.' Mildred gave a swift nod. She knew what she had to do.

Amelia turned back to Constance, taking her freezing hand in her own and with stroking the younger woman's hair with her gentle touch. She had to hope that everything would be alright; yet something was wrong. Constance's chest was barely rising, the rasping breaths she had managed moments before now silenced and mere memories to her blue tinged lips.

'Constance?' Amelia knew she had to try. Reason was pointless now; she couldn't lose her again.

'Constance please...'

At that moment, Cathy and Miss Bat half ran through the open staffroom door looking considerably flustered. They were accompanied by a young man, no more than thirty, who had a small bag and a stethoscope already hanging about his shoulders – saviour.

Davina didn't want to believe what she was seeing...she couldn't. Constance looked as though she had left them already, the dark material of her dress splayed across the stone floor and glistening like blood. Her face was so pale, so impossibly pale, and the chill in the air told the story that none of them wanted to hear.

'I'm going to need some room,' Dr. Spelling announced, kneeling down beside his patient and feeling the frozen nape of her neck with two fingers to find a pulse. He tried not to let his looks of concern falter across his expression.

Destiny cried out loudly, fighting Mildred with her weak arms and screaming for someone to comfort her. Mildred rocked her, trying to settle the young child in her arms but to no avail. Davina swallowed hard and tried to shake off the fears which felt as though they were constricting her, stopping her even from breathing.

'Come on Mildred,' she said bravely, though her voice did carry a subtle tremor, 'I think we need to get her out of here, don't you?' Mildred nodded as tears rolled down her face. She was glad to be leaving. In truth, she didn't know how much more she could take.

Xxx

Miss Drill bounded down the last few steps of the winding staircase, her face warm from where she had been running. The girls were still in their beds, most of them asleep after a long and confusing night having been told that they could sleep in until noon and Imogen had been checking on them.

As soon as she had heard the distant commotion, she knew that something had changed. She knew that Constance, Amelia and Mildred would be back though her imagination was unkind in the images it chose to portray within her fretting mind. After checking one final time that she was not needed on the upper floors, she had run faster than she had thought that she would to the nearest staircase.

As soon as her feet touched the final step, she noticed Miss Bat walking slowly along the corridor; Mildred was with her, carrying something small in her arms wrapped up in a blanket. Her heart pounded, the only sound in the world the rush of blood pumping around her body and the echoes of her muddled thoughts ringing in her ears. For a moment she froze; for the first time in her life, she froze. She had imagined this moment over and over again, thinking through what she would do and say to the letter.

Now the time was here, she was lost. She didn't want to believe how much she cared about her colleagues, nor acknowledge how she had prayed to God for Constance to be alright. They had always had such a bitter and turbulent relationship, yet moments before she had found herself crying for the woman she had once thought that she hated.

Imogen walked up to meet them, swallowing and wondering what on Earth she was going to say. Davina saw her and managed a ghost of a smile. She had one arm around Mildred's shoulder, as the poor girl was trying desperately not to cry and averting her gaze to the impossibly small child she was holding in her arms.

'Imogen,' Miss Bat said as they met, 'are all of the girls alright?' Miss Drill managed a swift nod.

'Is...is everyone back?' The look in Davina's glassy eyes told her so many things that her mind could not comprehend all of them.

'Constance...is she...'

'There is a doctor with her, and Amelia,' Davina replied gently. She was trying to withhold her usually outright honesty for the sake of Mildred. Having seen everything that she had, she did not need to hear how Constance was so close to what nobody wanted to admit.

Miss Drill held back her many questions, even though they felt like they were about to burst from her chest with every heartbeat. She forced a weak and meaningless smile and looked down at the baby girl before her. Even though she made no noise, she was crying as if she knew more than it was possible for her to know. Her little hair was as black as ebony on her head, exactly like her mother's, yet her eyes shone a new and magical blue; the colour of newly cut sapphires glistening in the morning sun.

'This is her then,' Imogen whispered, stroking the baby's cheek with the back of a gentle finger.

'Yes,' Mildred muttered in a weak voice, 'this is Destiny...Destiny Amelia Hardbroom.' Miss Bat gave a little gasp and put her free hand over her mouth. There were tears in her eyes.

'What is it?' Imogen asked concernedly. Davina shook her heard.

'It's nothing...it's just such a beautiful name. Her mother's name...'

'How did you know that?' Mildred inquired, looking up at her chanting teacher. Miss Bat took a deep breath.

'I knew Constance's mother,' she confessed. 'We were at school together, grew up together; Destiny Charman, later Destiny Hardbroom, was my closest and dearest friend until...'

'Until what?' Mildred pressed, hanging on her teacher's every word.

'We kept in touch when we left school. She fell in love not long afterwards, married a man who couldn't be trusted no matter how much I begged her to listen; I should have tried harder to make her see.'

'What happened?'

'She was barely twenty when she fell pregnant with Constance, though I had never seen her happier. She wanted to start a new life, taking a course at the Witch Training College under Hecketty Broomhead so that she could become a magical healer; but it all went so wrong. No-one quite knew what happened, but I suppose she was involved.'

'Just before she was due to give birth, she disappeared along with her husband and was never seen again.'

'That's...that's terrible,' Mildred said aghast. 'Where did she go?'

'Nobody knew,' Davina admitted. 'I think she was running, running from someone who wanted her daughter. Sound familiar?'

'Hecketty...' Imogen stated. 'How could she do such a thing? Why would she want to steal a child?'

'Destiny was a direct relative of the first true witch, she told me so proudly when we first met. People with such ancestry have great magical capabilities and I suppose-'

'That Mistress Broomhead would want to take them away, to use them for herself,' Mildred added, finishing the elder witch's sentence. Davina nodded.

'Her husband, Charles Hardbroom, was found dead about eight years later in his home. He had a two line obituary in the back of the local paper; not a soul knew a thing about him and there was no mention of his daughter. I didn't realise that Constance had lived until she came to work here, and even then it took a while for me to make the connection.'

'Did you ever tell her?' Imogen asked.

'No,' Davina said regretfully. 'We started off an a very sour note, one which has played ever since I am afraid to say, and I did not think that the fact that I knew her mother would do much more than start another argument. I...I regret it now; technically, I was going to be her godmother.'

Unshed tears fell from her eyes. For once she could no longer hide behind the eccentric exterior which everyone knew and loved, but the true heart of her was exposed for all to see. She had never cared for Constance as she should have, she knew that now.

When they finally met after forty years, Davina had known nothing of Constance and saw her parentage as merely a coincidence. She owed her nothing and was sure that her connection to the younger witch's mother would not offer any comfort to Constance, simply invade a privacy which was clearly so dear to her. She had regretted nothing else in her life more than the fact that she had never really allowed herself to know Constance, someone who could have been dear to her, or discovered the dark secrets from her past which were resurfacing now. She could have helped. She could have been there

She should have been there.

As though she had read her thoughts, Imogen placed a hand on Davina's arm.

'There was nothing you could have done,' she whispered gently. Davina nodded her head vigorously and wiped away her tears.

'Miss Cackle is Destiny' godmother,' Mildred informed them softly. 'She made her legal guardian if...if anything w-were...' She couldn't say the words; they were just too terrible.

'You said Amelia was with Constance?' Imogen asked, breaking a fatal silence.

'Yes,' Davina assured her, 'they are just outside the staffroom. I think...I think maybe someone should go and make sure she is alright; she looked as if she needed someone even if she won't admit it.'

'I'll go,' the PE teacher volunteered at once, not wanting to be side-lined; she was at her best when there was something which she was charged with doing. It kept her mind of her emotions, and right now she needed that more than anything. Otherwise she feared that she would break.

Xxx

Davina and Mildred arrived at Constance's door, still feeling apprehensive about entering the room of a woman who valued privacy above most other things.

'Do we have to go in?' asked Mildred nervously.

'Yes, I think so. Poor Destiny can't go much longer in just that blanket and I would imagine that Constance would have at least had something in her room for her,' Miss Bat reasoned. She was doing all that she could merely to convince herself to enter.

Opening the door, Miss Bat couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. The last time she had been in this room seemed a lifetime ago, when she had cowered in the corner as Amelia and Imogen had fought to wake her. It had been a plain and lifeless room, without the luxury of possessions or comfort even in the form of an armchair. Now...

It seemed a completely different place; somehow it was lighter, happier even. The impersonal touch to every aspect of the four walls had faded, a sense of warmth replacing the clinical neatness and precision which had once been the only thing to identify it as Constance's. Where a bookshelf had once stood, a crib painted the lightest shade of rose pink had been erected with a small pink bear sitting in the corner and a folded white blanket embellished with the letter D laid out neatly; it had been waiting for the new arrival to occupy it. A mobile of angels turned gently in the light breeze from the open window, the small wooden figurines flying elegantly through the air with stars following in their wake.

A brand new chest of white drawers stood next to the baby's cot, and on the top was a picture frame holding the photograph of a scan. She had never told anyone that she had gone for one, and must have had to do so in secret, yet she had kept the picture and Davina knew how much it must have meant for her to display it in such an affectionate way.

Opening the drawers, she found that they were lined with clothes, blankets and everything a new mother would need to take care of her baby. So she hadn't been such an Ice Queen after all, though Miss Bat sadly. When she had heard the students talk of pitying the child to have such a mother Davina had not quite been able to find the words to disagree with them. This room said it all.

'Do you think that I should get her dressed, Miss?' Mildred asked, looking at the lines of baby grows and remembering that the poor child still only had a blanket for warmth. Davina nodded. She turned to them and smiled.

'What is it?'

'Destiny,' Davina explained, still beaming. 'She's stopped crying.' Mildred looked down and saw that it was true, and Destiny's shimmering blue eyes were dry and staring up at her.

'It is as if she can tell,' Miss Bat remarked wistfully.

'She is very special; perhaps she can,' speculated Mildred.

Changing Destiny into a nappy and white baby grow adorned with a smiling brown teddy bear, Mildred began to feel sorry for Miss Hardbroom. Because of what she had done, what she had sacrificed, she was missing the chance to dress her daughter for the first time and to hold her close; she was forced to lie on the cold stone floor as a doctor tried to keep her alive. It seemed so unfair.

'What is this?' Miss Bat asked suddenly. She picked up a letter folded beneath the array of blankets, slightly crumpled from where it had been hastily stashed yet written on new paper within the past few days. She opened it, tears catching in her throat as her eyes skimmed across the melancholy words.

'What does it say?' Mildred queried, wrapping the baby in a different blanket to keep her warm and scooping her back into her arms.

'It...it's from Constance.'

'What!' exclaimed the younger witch. 'How...what...how can it be from Miss Hardbroom?' Mildred took Destiny over to the crib and lay her gently down into it, covering her loosely enough so that she was not overly restricted yet enough so that she was kept warm. Immediately her eyes began to close.

My Darling Daughter,

I feel that it is my duty to start by saying that I am sorry. There is nothing that I wouldn't give to ensure that you have a normal and happy life, but I am afraid to admit that so far I have been unable to protect you. As I write this, days I fear before your birth, I am not sure where either of our futures lie nor what I can do to stop the terrible fate which now seems almost inevitable.

Do not think, my love, that I fear your arrival because of you. No, there is a greater evil at work and I seek only to keep you safe from her; if I cannot do that, then I will have truly failed as your mother.

Rational thought tells me that writing to an unborn child will prove very little and offer someone so young no comfort, though I write this with the knowledge that what is to come could leave me incapable of telling you myself what you need to know.

No matter what happens, you must always know that I love you and that from the moment I found out I was expecting you, my life felt complete. I would give anything to watch you grow, to see you walk and talk and mature into the beautiful woman that I know you are going to be. Something tells me that it will not be that simple.

I need you to understand, my dearest Destiny; I did it all for you. If you are forced to grow up without a mother, I beg of you not to think bitterly of me. Life can be cruel, yet it can also be kindest. If I die, then at least I will die knowing that I did something good with my life.

Amelia has sworn to protect you in my absence, and I know that at least you are left in warm and capable hands. I would trust her with my life, and now I am trusting her with yours; she is the only person that I could. I know she will love you as she would a daughter of her own.

I am scared. For the first time I am not afraid to admit it. I am afraid that I won't be able to keep you safe from the woman who wants to harm you, that my ailing body will fail me before I can ensure your safety; most of all I am scared that you will not be loved or content with your life.

In truth, sitting here knowing that the day of your birth is about to arrive, I am not sure of what will happen. Life is full of uncertainties, yet I could not leave without being sure that you will know what you meant to me and how much I love you if the worst were to occur. You keep me strong, even without being able to see your face. You have made a pointless life worth living. Please do not think ill of me, for whatever I do or have done it has all been for you. You are the only good thing that I have ever done, and I want nothing more than for you to have a long and happy time on this Earth.

I trust that if this is found by another then they will give this to you when you are old enough to understand; I only hope that I can show you it myself one day and explain to you how you were born. For whoever reads this, I am deeply and truly sorry. My life has caused a multitude of unhappiness and I have allowed innocent people to stand in harm's way. No more. This will end, one way or another, and I will keep you safe. I will keep all of you safe.

My time grows short, and I am afraid that there is little more that I can say.

Just in case you never get the chance to hear it from my own lips, know that I love you.

Forgive me,

Constance Hardbroom

Xxxx

Davina could barely read the last few words, the letters swimming as she fought back tears. She had written this before Mistress Broomhead had taken her, something that she knew someone would find amongst her daughter's things and a final goodbye in case...She had known, even before she had been taken, that her life was in danger. Miss Bat knew that her life was still hanging in the balance, but prayed as she never had before that this letter would never need to reach who it was meant for. There was only one reason that it would.

Mildred, tears stroking her face in comfort, took the letter gently from her chanting teacher's trembling hands and folded it as it had been before. She placed it beneath the pink bear at the foot of Destiny's bed, the paper sticking out so that it could still be seen.

The door opened, revealing the ashen face of Miss Drill in its wake.

'Sorry Miss Bat, Mildred,' she muttered, barely able to force the words from her lips. 'The...the doctor needs t-to bring Constance in here. He says that he needs some time to make sure that she is stable, and t-to make sure that the baby is alright so none of us are allowed in I am afraid.'

Mildred looked to Miss Bat, her eyes pleading to find a way for her to say yet the eyes which she met told her that there was nothing that they could do. They had done all that they could, and they just had to wait and hope for the best.

Walking outside, leaving Destiny sleeping in her crib, Mildred saw Constance being carried down the corridor on a levitated stretcher with Amelia talking fast and angrily to the doctor at her side. She still looked so pale, her left hand hanging over the side of the canvas which held her and her hair spilling out like a spider's web where she lay. It was almost too much to bear.

'No, I want to stay with her!' Amelia insisted for what had to be the fifteenth time. As the door to Constance's room opened and the doctor guided Constance inside, he looked at the headmistress with a face of deathly seriousness.

'I am afraid that it will not be possible,' he said sternly. 'She needs peace and I need space to work otherwise I cannot help her, now if you will kindly wait elsewhere. As soon as I have new you will be the first to know, I assure you.'

Without another word, he entered the room and locked the door behind him leaving Amelia lost for words.

'Well that was just rude!'

'I think he has her best interests at heart,' offered Imogen comfortingly. 'Now Miss Cackle, if it isn't too much trouble, do you think that you could tell us what exactly has been going on?'

Xxx

The silence lingering in the staffroom which followed the saddest of stories was impenetrable. Davina was sat in an armchair, her head in her hands and tears in her eyes. Imogen was standing by the fire where the deputy headmistress had stood so many times, wondering how anyone could be so cruel.

'I...I just can't believe it,' Imogen thought aloud. 'Who could allow that...that creature to roam free let alone to teach!'

'She was very clever,' Cathy interjected, 'and no matter how hard we tried she had too many prestigious links for anyone to believe what she was capable of. Everybody thought she was a pillar of the educational profession.'

'Well that wasn't the only thing that the Guild have gotten wrong,' spat Amelia spitefully. The fear and uncertainty bubbling in her chest, the thoughts running through her head and the constant questions; they were threatening to tear her apart.

'I beg your pardon?'

'How could you think about taking that little girl away? She is no more of a danger than you or I, far less so even, yet you want to take her from those who care about her to lead, what? A life of isolation and fear, of being told that she is alone for her own safety? What sort of a life is that to lead?'

'I...' The reasons Cathy had been so sure of when they had last spoke seemed the ghosts of memories. Perhaps it had been seeing the woman whose child she was supposed to take fighting simply to stay alive, her white porcelain skin marred with blood. Her convictions had left her at the sight of such a horror.

'There is nothing more that I can do,' she admitted sadly. 'It is the order from the Guild itself, the very highest powers.'

'There is always a way,' Amelia assured her. 'Always. I am, in Constance's incapacitation, Destiny's legal guardian. I swore an oath, one bound with the purest magic, to protect her and keep her safe and I know that not even the Guild has the power to break that oath.'

'It was almost as if she knew,' Davina mumbled. Amelia let the corners of her mouth flicker.

'I am almost certain that she did.'

'So, Catherine Sparrow,' Amelia said finally, drawing herself to her full height, 'will you honour your head or your heart?'

Cathy thought for a moment.

'I will do what I can,' she hissed in a hushed tone of voice, 'but I cannot promise that I can get the decision overturned. The oath will work in your favour, as will the health of the child's mother; fortunately she has a willing guardian in case...well you know what I mean.' She turned on her heel and gathered her things.

'I will be back when I have news, but for now I think I will choose to honour what I wish to rather than that which I have to.'

As she left, Davina looked after her.

'She was always going to do the right thing.'

'Do you think so?' Amelia asked. Miss Bat nodded.

'Could you not see it? She was angry, angry at the world very much like you are now Miss Cackle. Tom was taken away from her and she did not want to let her feelings get the better of her. She is a good person at heart.'

'You see the best in everyone,' Imogen said half-admiringly.

'Only when there is the best to see.'

The room froze as the door opened and Doctor Spelling came through wearing a very grave expression. He had removed his coat, revealing a worn dark jumper and trousers covering his thin frame; he was a simple man, yet a man who held the very essence of life in his hands every day.

'Tell me.' Amelia spoke at once, feeling only the draw of the knowledge in his eyes as the rest of the world melted away.

'I...I wish that I had better news,' he confessed at once, wiping his brow. 'By the time I got here, there was already so little that I could do.'

'She's not...' started Davina, clapping a hand to her mouth. Mildred, who had been sitting silently in the corner, said nothing. Her eyes were fixed on him, watching his every move without blinking.

'No,' Doctor Spelling said, shaking his head. 'I have managed to stabilise her in her room, though there are many enchantments which are working to keep her body alive.'

'Stable...but that's good?' questioned Amelia.

'Yes, in a way, but unfortunately the damage had already been done. I have managed to steady her heart rate and breathing, but when I arrived her body was already going into a state of distress. She has lost a considerable amount of blood, almost too much for her to cope with, and the trauma inflicted upon her by the birth of her daughter has weakened her considerably.'

'What does it mean?' the headmistress whispered, already feeling the tears falling down her face.

'It means,' he continued, 'that she has suffered a great deal of physical harm, but in addition whatever was done to her has drained her of almost all of her magic.'

'Her magic!' exclaimed Miss Bat, jumping up from her seat. 'Someone took her magic?'

'I am afraid so. Not quite all of it, but enough to lower her body's defences and allow her nothing to fall back on. She has no magical reserve to support herself with which is why she came so close...It seems that she used the last of her powerful reserves in a transportation spell.'

It hit Amelia like a harsh slap to the face. She had used her last magical effort not to save herself, not to ease her pain, but to get them home.

'The blood loss, physical trauma and reduction in her magic has impacted severely on her already weakened heart and I am sorry to say that there was some evidence of brain damage. I am sorry, I really am, but there is nothing more I can do.'

'What do you mean nothing more?' cried Miss Drill almost angrily, refusing to believe that there was nothing which could be done.

'She has suffered too much,' he explained. 'Although she is alive and stable in her bed, there is no chance that she will ever wake.'

Ice drenched Amelia's body as she heard the terrible words escape his lips. It couldn't be, not after everything that had happened. She couldn't be lost to her forever.

'Wh-what did y-you say?'

'I wish that there was more that I could do, but I am afraid that no spell or potion can do more than keep her body living. I dare say that her consciousness has slipped to a level where there is little that she can sense or even feel; there has to be a question of whether she would want-'

'What exactly are you inferring?' screamed Amelia, taking a dangerous step closer to the tired looking young man.

'You know what I mean,' he said calmly. 'I will leave you to think it over. I'll check on Constance once more and take my leave for an hour or so; neither she nor the baby will be in any danger whilst I am gone, I assure you.'

'Oh, Destiny,' recalled Miss Cackle, 'is she alright?'

'Perfectly,' the doctor assured her. 'She is the epitome of health, which I am sure will be of some relief.' Amelia nodded and turned away.

'Thank you,' she managed just as he left and he returned her gesture with a worn smile.

Xxx

'It's all my f-fault,' Mildred said, her voice a whisper against the silence. All eyes turned to her.

'Whatever do you mean?' Davina asked gently. Mildred shook her head.

'I should n-never have...I should have listened to her, but I didn't.'

Amelia walked over to Mildred and crouched so that their eyes were level. She took the girl's trembling hands in her own.

'Can you explain to us what you are saying, Mildred?'

'Just after Miss Hardbroom's voice spoke to us, when we were at that house, she t-talked to me.' Amelia had wondered if Constance had said anything to the young girl, spoken any words of comfort in her head as she had to the older witch.

'It was as though she was in my head, but I knew that it was her. She t-told me that I had to be brave, and that she couldn't ask anyone else but me. She said that once Mistress Broomhead fell, to let the barrier which protected us fall and go over to her, and to make sure that we both had contact with her body so that she could take us back.'

'She warned me not to tell you, Miss Cackle, as she had told you that she was about to die and you had to believe that she was. Miss Hardbroom said that she was v-very ill, but wanted to make sure that we were safe so needed to take us back to the castle. I asked her what I could do, but she told me that she was b-beyond any help. She said...oh God...she said that once we were back at the castle that it wouldn't be long, and asked me to let her slip away in peace.'

'Mildred,' stuttered a distraught Amelia, 'I...I'm so sorry, I didn't know...Oh Constance...'

'She sounded so sad,' Mildred continued as tears flooded her face. 'She kept telling me how sorry she was, even when I told her that I understood. I think that she w-wanted you to remember her as she spoke to you, as she said her last goodbye, so that she c-could go in p-peace but I couldn't let her die I j-just couldn't.'

Mildred broke down and sobbed into Miss Cackle's warm and inviting shoulder.

'There, Mildred, 'she cooed softly. 'There was nothing more that you could do. You did brilliantly.'

'But I should have respected her wishes,' wept Mildred. 'I should have allowed her some peace and dignity; it was all that she wanted and I couldn't give it to her.'

'I know that she would not think ill of you,' Amelia told her gently. 'She would only thank you for being so brave on her behalf and looking after her daughter. Constance...Miss Hardbroom...she wouldn't want you to cry.'

'I'm sorry Miss Cackle...'

'Shh, you don't have to be.'

As Mildred calmed, Imogen and Davina looked to Miss Cackle. Now more than ever, they needed her guidance; they didn't know what to do. As if reading their thoughts, she addressed them with an arm still around Mildred.

'We shall go and see Constance now,' she instructed them, 'and then...and then we will see what we have to do.'

With no-one daring to utter a word in argument, they left.

Xxx

Walking into Constance's room, there was a surreal chill in the air. She was lying on top of the covers, her hands rested gently across her still swollen abdomen and her expression one of pure tranquillity. It was Davina who broke first, turning away as it all became too much. Imogen stayed beside her, one hand reassuringly placed on her colleague and dear friend's shoulder.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered, 'I just can't bear it.'

Amelia conjured two chairs beside Constance's bedside and took the one closest to the woman she had loved more than anyone she had ever known.

'Oh Constance,' she whispered, 'why did it have to be you?' She took her hand, stroking the pale skin with her thumb. It seemed to emit an ethereal glow, a sign of the enchantments which were still acting on her to keep her alive.

Mildred sat beside the headmistress. Looking into her eyes, she could see that something was wrong.

'What is it Miss?'

'Nothing,' she dismissed, 'it's just something that Constance said.'

'When she last spoke to you?'

Miss Cackle nodded.

'She said, I don't want to live an empty life, one where I am alive but not quite living; I think she may have known that this would happen.'

'How could she know?' Mildred asked, confused.

'I suspect that she knew that you were too brave, too loyal and pure to allow her to slip away Mildred, and wanted...maybe she was telling us what to do, what she wanted us to do.'

'No...' Miss Bat hissed, spinning around with her windswept hair flying in her wake. 'You can't...'

'What?' Mildred looked to Miss Cackle, pleading with her.

'I don't like it either Davina, but I don't th-think that she would have wanted us to let her live like this, so vulnerable and hopeless. What kind of a life is it? Is it a true, and happy existence? If it were you-'

'But it isn't me, is it?' Davina argued. 'We can't make that decision over another person's life; we don't get to play God.'

As if on cue, Destiny woke from her troubled slumber and began to howl. Mildred rose at once, going over to the crib and lifting the baby into her arms.

'Shh, darling, shh.'

'I think she knows,' Davina remarked.

'How could she? She isn't a day old!' Imogen dismissed harshly.

'She's special. Besides, it is her mother dying before her.'

Destiny began to wail louder, flailing with her face bright red and reaching out as though fighting to get away from Mildred.

'I don't know what's wrong with her,' Mildred said as she struggled to keep control.

'Maybe she is hungry?' suggested Imogen. Amelia shook her head.

'The doctor said he was going to give her something before and I saw him take it in here. Anyway, she doesn't sound hungry she sounds distressed.'

'I don't know what to do,' Mildred admitted hopelessly. Her eyes locked with the young child's, dazzling blue and bright hazel; it was if she told her what to do.

'Miss Cackle,' started Mildred.

'Yes dear?'

'Can I try something? It's ridiculous really, but...' She couldn't quite find the right words. Amelia sighed but nodded.

'Perhaps something a little ridiculous could lead to something wonderful,' she said kindly, though didn't believe a word.

Mildred walked around to the other side of the deputy headmistress' bed. Although still screaming, she felt Destiny stop fighting her and relax a little in her arms. Maybe it wasn't so ridiculous. Carefully, she lay Destiny across her mothers' chest so that her small scarlet head was resting by Miss Hardbroom's heart; she was silent.

The room stood in awe for a moment, watching without blinking though not sure what was about to happen.

A great white light erupted seemingly from nowhere, causing Mildred to stagger back and the others to cover their eyes. It shone for a few seconds, the longest seconds in the world, before it faded to a dull glow which, they realised, was ensnaring Constance and Destiny. As it died, everyone stared at the deputy headmistress in a stunned state of silence; it was impossible.

With a pained gasp, Constance's eyes burst open and her hand flew to where her daughter lay, to support her and keep her safe. Her eyes were wild, darting around the room in disbelief and her breathing quick and slow; she was terrified.

'Oh my God...' Davina gasped, scarcely able to believe her own eyes. Amelia couldn't be surprised, for all that she could feel was wonderful relief and overwhelming joy. It couldn't be true, it just couldn't and yet it was.

Constance looked at Amelia, unsure of what had happened and scared that she had lost the battle that she had been consumed by.

'Am I...' she croaked, too weak to force much more than those two words from her lips.

'You're safe,' Amelia assured her, taking her free hand and grasping it tightly; she would never let it go. 'You are safe and you are amazing; I can't believe it. You're awake...you're alive!' Constance's eyes searched for a moment, still too tired and weak to understand what was going on around her.

It was too much. She succumbed to the darkness again, yet this time she was in control. Her body was weak, but her mind had never been more alive. Sleeping with her daughter close to her, and her friends close at hand, she began to realise that she had won. The future she hadn't dared to dream of was now unfolding before her eyes, sweetening the dreams which had once been such a curse. She saw herself with her daughter, growing old and watching Destiny flourish.

It was the pure essence of happiness.

Be proud, one of the only chapters I have ever written with a happy ending!

There are a few more things to be tied off in the next chapter and a side to Constance that we still haven't seen yet. Intriguing...

Thanks for reading, leave me your thoughts I love to know what you think!

HBR

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