𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟑
╰─▸ OF TRICKS AND TRIALS

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

As the time continued to beep, Agatha stared at the timer. Adeline whispered to her, "Tick, tick. Tock, Agatha. The time is ticking for the coven. " The witch chuckled at Agatha before she sat down on the couch. Agatha groaned as she watched Adeline

Adeline went and sat next to Jennifer. "Hi," Adeline responded.

"Hey. You're Adeline, right?" Jen asked. "Mm, That's me. You're Jennifer. The bound witch."

Jennifer didn't say anything, it was obvious that was a sore spot for her but Adeline sighed softly. "Sorry, my fault."

"It's okay," Jen replied. "Why are you here, Adeline?"

"Excuse me?" the witch asked. "Agatha recruited me because I didn't know where my power came from. I never knew about my heritage, and I want to know what my power is." Adeline responded, her tone rough, like the witch had something to hide.

"Same as me, to be honest," Kale responded as she also looked at Adeline. They didn't say anything to each other for a while. "How were you bound, Jen?"

Jennifer breathed like she wanted to say something but just looked at Adeline. "It was the 1920s when I was bound. This doctor, he bound me. I'm still not sure how he did it and I've tried everything to unbound, and I-it's just not possible, and-" the potions witch paused for a second, as she let Adeline hold her hand.

"If you want me to let go, I can let go," Adeline whispered to Jennifer. "N-no, it's fine. It's... calming," the Potions Witch replied.

They held hands for a little bit, Jennifer wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even Adeline herself, but she did like it when the witch held her hand. Mrs Davis tapped her glass to get everyone's attention. "So a witch? That's just another name for a bad girl, correct?", Adeline scoffed.

"That is extremely reductive," Lilia put in, Adeline giggled softly. "Right, and I blame Halloween. Do you see any pointy hats in here? Or green skin, no sir!"

"Well. I am certainly not saying that I wanna join the club or anything," Mrs Davis replied as she hopped up from the couch. "But I would drink the blood of a virgin,"

Mrs Davis then turned around the coven, "Oh god!" Alice responded, moving a little bit, with Jennifer doing the same. "Oh, my god!"

"Oh! You are so sweet," Sharon chuckled, unaware that her face had swelled up due to the wine, chuckling under her breath. "I don't think I need it, either."

"Okay, so Mrs Hart?" Alice interjected. "It's Sharon," Mrs Davis responded, her breath somewhat muffled.

"Sharon," the protection witch replied, as she walked up to the swollen outsider. "You're a little bit swollen,"

Sharon felt her face, sighing. "Is it bad?", "I think she looks fantastic," Agatha snickered.

Being the expert in potions and liquids, Jennifer then gets off the couch, realising that. "We've been poisoned."

Adeline then looked at Jennifer, "Are you sure?!"

Everyone exclaimed before running towards the different sets of mirrors paraded around the living room. They all cried out, looking at their swollen and puffed-out faces. "Oh my god!" Adeline screeched. "My face!" she then looked at Jennifer. "Ugh. My formerly perfect face!" Jen then runs over to Mrs Hart.

"Mrs Hart?" Jen asked sympathetically. "It's Sharon," the older lady responded.

"You are so pretty," she complimented. "But, since you were the first to drink, you are our canary in the coal mine," Adeline then noticed Agatha near the white doors as such, she bolted over her to the witch, grabbing her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Adeline whispered, holding Agatha's wrist. "You know you cannot leave, ugh!

"I," she stuttered as Adeline turned to Agatha. "If you've been on the Road before then you know that is a possibility, unless...! You haven't been on the road before, have you?!"

Harkness stumbled away from Adeline, trying to open windows and doors. "Fine, Fine! You caught me, Addie! I have never been on the Road. You know that it's fake."

"Then! What the fuck is this shit, then?" Adeline replied as argued with Agatha. She then turned to the coven. "Why don't you let her drink it all?" she yelled, covering her face. "Uh. It just serves our best interests is all."

Adeline went back over to Jennifer. "What toxin are we looking out for, Jen?" Jennifer then looked at Adeline, trying not to adore her hazel eyes. "Let me ask Mrs Hart a few questions, first."

"Do you feel a tingling in the back of your throat," the Potions lady asked Sharon. "No," she hoarsely said.

"Do you taste mulberries," Jennifer asked. "What do mulberries taste like?" Mrs Hart responded. "Do you hear any ringing or the sound of fairies crying?" Jennifer asked once more, trying her best to identify the toxin. "Huh?" Mrs Hart asked.

"Mhm. I don't think this is working, Jen." Adeline said. "I love you, guys." Lilia then interjected, then her eyes turned to the group. "What?"

"Oh. I feel a little better," Sharon uttered, with eventually their faces returning to normal. Adeline then looked at Jennifer. "That's not-"

Jennifer then interjected Adeline. "Sorry, but not yay. Most definitely not yay,"

"What do you mean," Teen asked Jennifer, "The fact that the face swelling decreased so quickly can only mean one thing. Alewife's Revenge."

Jennifer continued. "Face swelling is just the start, then dizziness, delirium, loss of motor function," Alice then talked. "My heart... it's racing," "That's another one," Jennifer pointed out.

"Also, hallucinations and...eventually, Death." as she said the last part, she looked over at Adeline.

"I gotta get out of here!" Agatha snickered as she bolted for the window. "Agatha! What are you doing," Adeline yelled, she then grabbed a bottle of some sort to break the window, and she banged the bottle against the window, breaking the window a little, before Adeline grasped the bottle off her.

"Stop it!" Adeline yelled at Agatha, the latter witch yelled at Adeline. "You can't run from the poison," Jennifer said. Adeline then walked over and saw Agatha's full glass, grabbing it. '

"You little bitch. She didn't even drink it!" Adeline yelled. "You can't cheat, Agatha."

"Why? Who says?" she exclaimed. "The Road!" Lilia put in.

"Oh! That's ridiculous, we don't all have to suffer." Agatha said, "Teen didn't drink!"

"Cause he's not in the coven. And he's underage!" Jennifer interjected. As the Coven argue about Agatha, Adeline just stared at the witch. "I swear to god, Harkness, I'm going to shove that wine down your throat you won't know what hit you!"

Agatha scoffed before grabbing the glass from Adeline's hand and smashing it. "No!" Jennifer exclaimed.

"On the upholstery?' Sharon cried out. "We are wasting time!" Lilia said before Alice responded. "You have to drink, Agatha."

She smirked, "Well. I would, but there's no more wine, so-" Alice then grabbed a glass before the Road magically filled the glass up with the poisoned wine, holding it for everyone to see.

Everyone stared at Agatha as Alice went over to Agatha. "Mm. So cute", "Drink," Teen forcefully said. "Fine, then I will."

The teen was about to grab the glass when Agatha forced herself in front of him. "No!" Agatha scoffed as she drank the wine in front of everyone.

Mrs Hart then started to stutter, causing everyone to turn around. "Please... please. Wanda? Wanda, I'm begging you. Let him breathe. Please." Sharon breathed before she fainted on the couch.

"So the hallucinations are chill," the Teen added, Adeline scoffed under her breath. "You call that chill?"

"Hey. Potions Witch," Agatha said. "It's time to brew an antidote,"

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

In the kitchen, Jen placed down the time clock. "Okay... Let's see what we're working with."

Adeline sighed as she looked at Jennifer, "Okay. I need frankincense and the gut of a eusocial insect,"

Alice and Teen went off to get those items. "I need a corpse that has been decaying for at least 30 million years," softly getting a giggle from Adeline.

"Is that readily available, cause I don't know what the hell you are talking about!" Agatha shrugged. "Ugh! Why the hell do I have to translate? It's zooplankton. It's in petroleum products."

"That, we maybe can do," Lilia responded, before leading Agatha away. "And, I guess you're with me, Addie. Now all I need is a big cauldron."

Adeline looked around and saw a big sink, "Could this work?"

"Uh. Yeah, that could work," Jennifer replied, as she ran the water into the sink, Adeline said on the benchtop, trying not to stare at the potions witch.

"You know, the hair. You look cuter without it," Adeline responded. "That's not the normal response I would think from you,"

Adeline giggled. "Well, maybe. I'm a little bit different than you think." Jennifer tenderly brushed Adeline's fingers, them being a bit more slender than what she remembered before. She then turned off the water, to get something from the pantry. "Forget the eye of newt," she said before going back to the pantry.

When she grabbed the eye of a newt, also known as a mustard seed, she came back to see the room turn all blue, Adeline missing and a doctor in a white trenchcoat at the other sink. She looked afraid.

The doctor turned around to face the witch. "You are an inconvenient woman," the bound witch breathed, her breathing soft and tender, afraid for what this man would do to her.

Then in a flash, the doctor grabbed Jennifer's head, forcing it into the sink water she had prepared earlier. "And now, you're nothing," he uttered, trying his best with his strength to kill Jennifer. Eventually, the hallucination wore off, releasing Jennifer from the sink, but this startled Adeline, knocking her off the benchtop and knocking her out.

"Adi? Adeline, oh god-" Jen responded as she knelt to try and wake her up, but Jen soon realised that she would soon be in her illusion.

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

Adeline arose, she wasn't sure where she was. "God. Where am I?" she stuttered to herself, to try and find her surroundings.

All she saw around was leaves, darkness and forest. She remembered where she was. "Oh, oh, shit, Shit," she said to herself as she bolted from the ground. She then plummeted down a hill, crashing into a body, when she got up, she saw a massive array of bodies, scattered everywhere.

"Ugh. No, no, no." she breathed in tightly. "No, please! No!" she yelled for anyone to hear her, but her anguished screams were nothing. No one heard her. She looked in front of her and saw stacked bodies of centuries-dead witches, all of which had passed through her body to the afterlife, as a part of her deadly curse.

"No, no. No!" she ran towards the front of the forest but it felt like a game of Cat and Mouse, she tripped over again and then tried to use her magic, but it flickered. "Shit, shit. No, no!" Then a mysterious eerie figure appeared from the shadows, creeping towards Adeline.

"No, no. Get back, Agatha! Stay back, you psychotic witch killer!" she shrieked as she closed her eyes, but soon realising that she had curled up in a corner, crying up a storm, Jennifer stood next to her. "Adi?"

"J-Jen..." she stuttered, her voice cracking underneath immense sadness. "What happened?"

"That.. thing. It made me see things..." Adeline cried, against Jennifer, who was now on the ground, cuddling Adeline. "It made me see things too."

"I'm gonna sound stupid, but are you okay?" Jennifer breathed, with Adeline staring back at her. "N-no. I'm not okay.." her breathing was ragged and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

Soon enough, Alice and the others returned, seeing Adeline's state. "Holy hell, Adeline, are you okay?" Alice asked her.

She shook her head. "The hallucinations got her pretty bad," Jen replied, as she held Adeline's hand affectionately.

"Okay, we've got our stuff, what's next," Agatha responded as she and Lilia entered through a door. They all heard glass cracking steadily.

Agatha approached the glass. "Oh. What is that?" the coven approached the crack, as it leaked salt water. "How long is that gonna hold?" Alice asked the coven.

"Oh, no thank you," Agatha uttered before the coven bolted to grab Ms Hart from the couch to place her body on the table before the remaining coven circled the sink, the timer ever slowly ticking away.

"The elements needed to be added in a certain order at a specific time, starting with guts and eye," Jen then added the ingredients to the sink, "Next is frankincense," Alice said before Jennifer pushed her out of the way.

"No, no, no, wait. Get outta here," she replied. "Where's the zooplankton?"

"Ooh!" Agatha flourished Jennifer's Kale Kare products, "Here," Lilia replied. "All natural or not, Jen?" Harkness teased.

"Drop it in." the potions witch caved, "I knew it," Agatha teased back before Lilia and she dropped the zooplankton into the sink, the Teen helped Alice squirt 3 drops of frankincense into the sink before the sink glowed a deep pink aura colour.

"That's good, right?" Adeline asked. "That means it's working, right?"

"Huh," Jen replied. "What? What's wrong?" Lilia asked the potions witch. "Hey, uh? Any bright ideas on how to set this sink to boil?" Jen asked the coven.

The Teen then suggested a sous vide which Jen nodded at, before connecting the sous vide to a wall outlet. He then started stirring counterclockwise. "Everyone, pull a strand of hair outta your head now." Jennifer barked, her voice not authoritative but soft.

The entire coven, minus Teen, pulled a strand of their hair from their heads. Agatha then gets into her hallucination as a part of the trials, which lands her on the floor. She then focused back in before Jennifer glared at her. "Agatha. We need your hair, now."

Harkness then walked back to the sink, grabbing a strand of her hair. "Okay, wait." Jennifer paused for a second. "Okay, now," she responded, letting everyone drop their strands into the sink. She then ordered Teen to stop stirring.

Jennifer ordered everyone to clasp hands and clear their minds, Jennifer grabbing Adeline first, with the Coven clasping hands afterwards. "Once, our intentions are clear and aligned, the sink will glow a bright cerulean colour."

The entire Coven cleared their minds, but the sink then transformed colours from pink to bright green, obviously not working. "Okay. My mind isn't working, but that's not cerulean, right?" Alice replied.

"Yeah, uh. That's green," Adeline added in, Jennifer then started to worry to try and solve the problem of the miscoloured antidote.

"Oh, god. Oh god, what did I do wrong?" she exclaimed, her voice increasing. "There was a time that I could do this with a wave of my hand. But now I can't! I'm bound, he stole my magic! I so don't want to die!"

Jennifer gasped, as Adeline faced her, grasping her hand. "Jen. Stop it, you know what to do. You can solve this antidote. I know you can. We are not dying here, not today! You being bound, it doesn't change who are you. You are that witch, not doing that Kale Kare bullshit, the real work. They can take your power, Jen, but they can't take your knowledge."

Jen felt a tinge of her feelings for Adeline blooming inside, despite only meeting her. "Blood."

"Whose and how much?" Adeline then queried. "We need the blood of the unpoisoned," Adeline ran over to grab a knife and went over to Teen. "Sorry, Teen. But thanks for being underage," before she sliced his hand, leading his blood to drop down into the sink, the colour changed every few seconds before it stayed a cerulean blue.

"Oh, thank god," Adeline uttered, before the entire Coven grabbed a small shot glass, drinking a shot of the antidote. They all felt their bodies being cured of the poison, and they all chuckled in relief.

"God damn! The time is still ticking," Adeline replied. "Fuck! Mrs Hart," Alice realised, as Adeline grabbed a shot, full of the antidote, shoving it down her throat, before the time then stopped, beeping loudly.

"Did it work?" Agatha asked before the oven door clanged and everyone gasped in shock. Lilia then approached the open door with caution. "Is that our exit?" Alice asked, "Ugh. Hell no, I am not climbing in an oven," Lilia gasped. "That happened to a friend of mine once. She had a lovely house too and she ended up"

Lilia was then cut off, by the kitchen window and then breaking and water leaked into the house, splashing all over Agatha. With both windows breaking, water trickled into the house, with all the witches screaming.

Jen immediately runs and pushes Lilia out of the way, in a panic, sliding down the oven. Teen tries to help Lilia into the oven, but is scared to go down it. "Ugh, No, no."

Alice attempted to lift Mrs Hart's body herself but failed. "Someone help with her," Harkness then brushed her off. "Oh, not a chance."

"We don't know what will happen if we leave her behind," Adeline added. Agatha scoffed, as Teen helped Lilia into the exit, Adeline helped Alice lift Mrs Hart, with her strength towards the oven door exit.

Sliding Mrs Hart into the exit, Teen goes first, sliding down, then followed by Agatha, "You go, Alice." Adeline said as Alice slid down. "Alrighty here goes nothing," she sighed as Adeline slid through the oven door, as it closed behind her.

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡

All of the Coven slid down from the oven door back onto the Road, all colliding with each other, their clothes all wet and drenched. Adeline tried to stand up but slipped on the water. "Ow. Fuck me," she whispered to herself.

"You okay?" Jennifer asked back, "Uhm, yeah. I'm fine," Adeline told Jen. Agatha then looked at the potions witch. "A little rusty there, Jen?"

"Oh! A little traitorous there, Agatha." Jen bit back. "Stop. We're alive. We made it through the first test. Everyone is safe." Calderu said.

"Not everyone," the Teen announced, "Sharon's dead." Adeline looked over at the feebled body of Mrs Hart, "Who's Sharon," Agatha remarked, with all of the coven looking at her.

♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡