Chapter Text
Something was wrong.
That was the first feeling that crept into her sleeping mind. Clawing and wracking at her subconscious until it finally forced her to wake. Something was coming; some impending doom had made itself known to her in that moment.
No sound or force had disturbed her until then. The peace of sleep was now broken. And a sinking dread, for what she didn’t yet know crept into its place in her mind.
Her first thought upon opening her eyes was that of her Son. Her eyes drawn to him immediately, fear gripping her in the split second it took to look beside her. But there he slept, undisturbed; and most importantly- alive.
Confusion mixed with a sense of unease as she surveyed where they slept. The fire had now burnt down to glowing embers, and the moon was high in the canopy of the forest. It was late, but still long hours away from the dawn breaking. She was about to lay back down and return to her sleep, when she heard it.
The distinct crashing of someone, many someone’s, trudging through the foliage, coming closer to them. Her heart gripped in her chest, and she rose quickly, now fully awake. She began to gather what little possessions they owned and stomped out the embers of the fire. Before turning to gather up her child in her arms.
He stirred as she lifted him from the ground, “Hush, Nicky. Go back to sleep,” she tried to keep her voice calm and reassuring as she rocked him gently and placed him in the sling around her chest.
This wasn’t the first time the people from the village she had passed through had tried to follow her to reclaim stolen goods. As they departed, she glanced back in the direction of her pursuers. Trying to gauge their number, and how best to easily avoid them. Normally, a simple cloaking spell or perimeter warning had worked, but their travel and preparations for sleep had waned her powers already after the difficult birth the day before. She was unsure she had enough power now to defend the both of them, her body still exhausted.
Terror gripped her when she saw torches, numbering at least a dozen, trailing behind, and getting closer. Close enough she could hear the gruff voices and glimpse the distinct clothes of the men who pursued them - witch hunters - not just ordinary villagers. She adjusted her grip on her son and began to increase her pace, heart thundering.
Her mind briefly calling out to her wife on instinct, before she caught herself, and carried on quickly.
But it was too late, she could feel the tether of their bond pulling gently at first but could feel it becoming firmer and more urgent. She could feel Rio searching for her through the tether. A silent message coming through each more urgent tug, "I'm coming, my love,". It gave Agatha equal parts terror and comfort to know that her wife was coming as she ran.
Her steps were haphazard at best in the dark, only trying to keep on her feet and move forwards. Her grip secure around Nicky who, now awake in his sling, whimpered and squirmed sensing his Mother's fear.
She tried to push the fear away as she stumbled in the dark. She tried to calm Nicky as best as she could, but knew soon he would begin to wail and the hunters would find them shortly.
The voices and torches were coming closer and louder now thankful only for the fact that her enemies did not have hounds with them. She prayed to the triple Goddess that she had enough power to escape both her pursuers...and her wife.
"There!" a deep voice called out close behind her, she could hear the heavy footsteps behind her. Dread rose in her as she stumbled over the roots of trees, and Nicky began to cry loudly at the sudden jolt from falling.
Agatha fumbled to her feet, glancing back, and saw axe blades glinting off the torch light. Her horror deepened when she heard the sound of a pistol cocking.
Frantically Agatha scrambled to get behind any cover she could as she continued to run. Gripping Nicky closer to her chest, trying to calm him to no avail. Her tether to Rio now so urgent she swore it would pull her through the forest on its own.
Agatha willed her own message through it now, "Help us!" the desperate plea flooding the connection. She felt Rio's determination, "I'm coming,"
came Rio's solemn promise.
Agatha heard the first shot, her heart stuttering as it hit the tree on her left. The sound of tearing bark making her and Nicky both shriek.
"Shoot her! Shoot her!" one of the men commanded, as others raised pistols.
The second and third shots boomed around her hitting closer and closer as she continued to run. Praying with all her might that her wife would come soon, and the rest of this nightmare would disappear. All she wanted was her son safe and as much as she wanted to deny it; she wanted her wife too.
She felt the fourth shot. Felt as the bullet tore through her; pain exploding through her, just above her right hip. She screamed out as she fell forwards, subconsciously sending out her cry of pain and horror through her connection to Rio. She braced herself and Nicky as she fell hard onto the dirt. He wailed as much as his tiny lungs would allow, as she fought the pain and looked down at him, making sure he was not injured. She was relieved when she saw that he wasn't hurt, only scared. She tried to stand, but her legs would not respond and collapsed each time, her body too exhausted from the day before, and the blood loss now. She could feel the top of her skirts already soaking through with blood.
More shots rang out, sparking against rocks, and exploding in tree bark. As the hunters came closed in, she could see the flickering shadows from the torches. She tried to use her magic, to shoot a bolt of magic at her attackers, but nothing came. she cursed to herself, tears falling from her eyes fast and hard. she clutched Nicky to her chest tightly, and leaned against the base of a large tree for cover. Darkness began to creep into the edges of her vision, and all she could hear as Nicky wailing in her arms, the gruff voices of the witch hunters, and the cracking of the shots around her and burying in the bark of the tree. She could feel her strength failing, her life, slowly fleeing from her.
For the first time in almost a century, Agatha Harkness felt true fear again.
Her connection to Rio was the only thing becoming stronger than her fear. She knew it meant she was closer to death than she had ever been before, she was too weak to send a message through the tether this time, and could flood it with her feelings of fear, and desperation. Her breath stuttering, and her grip on Nicky involuntarily loosening. Her horror deepened as the first of the witch hunters rounded the tree, raising his axe high.
She tried to turn away as much as she could to shield Nicky, and braced herself for the first blow to land. When a torrent of green and black magic blasted into the hunter, and sent him careening in to the rest of the hunters behind him. They fell to the ground with sickening crunching sounds, as bones cracked and snapped violently. Green magic roiling, flaring wildly around, as Rio emerged from the forest darkness; her skull face visible. She stalked towards the pile of hunters, who writhed and shrieked in pain, she opened a portal to the afterlife and with her magic dumped the mass of terrified and confused spirits through it, sealing it quickly.
Rio turned quickly, ignoring the bloody mass of bodies she had created, and ran to where Agatha and the still wailing Nicky were curled.
Agatha breathed a weak sigh of relief as she watched Rio change to her human form, worry in her now deep green eyes as she surveyed the extent of Agatha's injuries. Rio knelt down, gently moving hair out of Agatha's face, a pained smile exchanged between them before Rio's attention went to Nicky, who still cried loudly. Her other hand coming to the top of his head, and a soft green glow emitted from Rio's palm, that calmed him immediately. His cries soothed to quiet whimpers, "Hush now, it's ok. Mama's going to be ok little one," her voice was soft as her eyes met Agatha's again.
A weak, relieved smile ghosted across Agatha's face, "My love," was all she breathed before the world shrank and went dark.