Ursula sat cross-legged on the floor of her cell.  She’d taken off the awful prison jump suit and was in just the plain white cotton bra and panties she’d been issued.  She poured over all the documents of her sentencing over and over.  They had a rock solid case against her, and there was no chance the shady lawyer that had contacted her could do anything to get her out.  There was just one question burning in her mind.

Who had killed Aegis?

That bit of news had come as quite a surprise to her.  She’s had contingencies in place to hold the immortal if he tried to foil her plans, but she’d never been so arrogant as to think she could actually stop him, let alone kill him.  At least not before she completed her plans.  She’d shrugged it off as misinformation the first day she’d been let out into the general population of the prison, under the watchful eye of the Warden.  There were enough wards on her sealing her power that she couldn’t hope of using magic, not to mention the anti magic wards all over the prison itself, that she’d leapt at the cred that killing Aegis would give her, and she’d rolled with it.  Already the reputation had granted her some powerful allies in her new home.  But when she saw her lawyer, he’d confirmed that she was indeed being held responsible for his death.  He hadn’t known the details of the immortal’s death, and now she searched for any little detail that might help her figure it out.

“Maybe the old man,” she muttered to herself.  She didn’t know much about Gallant’s cursed sword, just enough to know better than to try and harness its power herself.  If anything could cut Aegis, it was that blade.  But it still didn’t sit right with her.  The old man wouldn’t stand a chance against the immortal.

She looked up at the faint footsteps coming down the hall.  She shuffled her papers together and stood up in one graceful movement, sliding the papers under her cot.

“It’s a little early for dinner,” she said as the heavy steel door ratcheted open.

Four guards stood in the doorway.  She knew the heavy leather belt and shackles all too well.  “You have a visitor.  Put your clothes on.”

“If you insist.”  She smiled, turning around and slowly bending over and picking up her discarded white jumpsuit.  She wiggled her hips as she stepped into the unflattering garment, giving the guards a show.  It was nothing they hadn’t seen before and they were well trained.  She looked over her shoulder, giving them a wink.  She noted the one guard who looked a more closely than the others.  She would remember him.  Lighten Prison may be one of the most secure prisons in the world, but it was still a prison.  And Ursula knew how to make herself comfortable in prisons.

She left the jump suit open, displaying her cleavage and toned stomach as she turned around and held her arms out for the waiting shackles.

They quickly and efficiently wrapped the heavy belt around her waist and put the attached shackles on her wrists and ankles.  She pouted as one professionally closed her jump suit and buttoned it for her.  “Just trying to look presentable for my visitor.  Can’t fault me for trying.”

They didn’t respond, and she was ushered out of her small cell and through the prison to the visitation center.

She glanced at the cameras as they let her go, and she sauntered over to the booth at the end.  She slid into the seat and picked up the phone.  “Well this is an unexpected surprise.”

Anna stared back at her through the glass.  She was sporting the same brunette wig she’d worn to Aegis’ funeral and a baggy hooded sweaetshirt, the hood pulled low.  She held the phone up to her ear, but she didn’t say anything, glaring daggers at Ursula.

“Welcome to my new place, Ariel.”  She paused, waiting for a reaction from the pet name, but Anna gave her nothing.  “I’d offer to show you around, but they’re not big on letting outsiders in, I’m sure you understand.  Unless you wanted to join me in here.”  A wide grin spread across the witch’s face.  “They’d probably make you wear a gag though.  I just have these invisible seals all over me.  I’m not sure you’d be so lucky.”  She waited again for a reaction, for anything, but Anna was stone faced.

“You done?” Anna asked.

“Mmm, I don’t know.  Normally they keep these little visits pretty short, but I’m guessing you’ve talked them into giving you all the time you need.”  This got something.  It was small, but Ursula didn’t miss Anna’s pupils dilate ever so slightly in surprise.  She was right.  “And given the disguise, I’m sure there’s no record of you even coming here.  I bet you even had them shut off the cameras in here.”  Anna fidgeted on the other end.  “You did!  Look at you.  Why not tell them to let you in here with me?  You tuned me up pretty good on the roof.  You want to take another crack at me?  Finish what you started?”

“Shut up!” Anna hissed, visibly unnerved.

“No, it doesn’t work that way.  Your voice has no power through these little phones.”  She tapped it on the glass for emphasis before putting it back to her ear.  “If you want that, you’re going to have to come in here with me.”

Anna slammed her phone down onto the table in front of the glass.  She took a deep breath, calming herself.  Ursula had rattled her, and so easily.  But she was there for a reason.

Ursula continued to smile at her through the glass.  Anna picked the phone back up and put it to her ear.  “I need something from you.”

“Well well well.  I figured you weren’t petty enough to gloat, but I assumed you were just here to tell me I’m a terrible person.  I noticed they aren’t charging me for killing your sister’s squeeze.  What was her name again?”

Anna’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the phone in her hand.  Her nostrils flared, her breath puffing into the phone.  “I need you to help me bring her back.”

It was Ursula’s turn to be taken aback.  She wasn’t caught off guard often, but she should have learned that Anna was capable of surprising her.

“There’s magic that can do it.  I’ve done my research.  No one does it because it comes at great personal sacrifice.  But you said my power controls magic without a price.”  Anna leaned into until her forehead touched the glass.  “Teach me how to bring her back.”



“That is a- well you have just- damn.  I’m speechless.”  Ursula leaned back, running her hand through her dark hair.  

“You just have to teach me the words.”

“Mmm.”  The witch put her elbows on the table and leaned in until only the inch of glass separated her and Anna.  “Why should I?”

“Because you killed her.  This won’t make up for everything you’ve done.  Not by a longshot, but it’ll get me off your back.”

“You stopped me.  I underestimated you.  But are seriously trying to tell me you’re a threat?  I’m looking at several consecutive life sentences.  Do you think you can make my life worse in here?”

Anna kept her gaze, but she had no response.  Despite all the meticulous planning that went into getting her this meeting and keeping it private, she was still acting on impulse.  Macy had told her that she had forgiven her for missing the funeral.  Maybe she had, though Anna doubted it.  Maybe she would in time, but that wouldn’t make up for what had happened.  There was only one way to fix that.

“What do you want?” she asked.

Ursula laughed.  “Bargaining so soon?  Tut tut.  You still don’t get what your power is capable of.  You don’t bargain.”

“What do you want?” she repeated.

“I suppose you could use that voice of yours to make life a little better in here.  It’s not so bad actually, but there are certain freedoms I find myself missing.”

“Tell me what you want.”

“Oh, the authoritative, commanding tone.”  The witch tapped the phone on the glass again.  “Still doesn’t work through the phone.  But what the hell, I’m bored.  I’ll tell you what you can do for me.”

“Spit it out.”

“I… want… you…”  She leaned forward and licked the glass, running her tongue slowly across the smooth surface inches from Anna’s face.

Anna recoiled in disgust, shuddering.

“Oh, it wasn’t that bad.  You don’t have to pretend you didn’t like it; we’re alone.”

“Fuck you.”

“Or I’ll fuck you, preferably.”  She cocked her head to the side.  “I don’t know, you’ve shown you’ve got some spine; you might make a good top.  We could find out.”

“You’re disgusting.”

Ursula shrugged.  “What’s the harm?  It’s a pretty innocuous request, especially considering what you’d be getting in return.  A couple hours with me, in exchange for the ability to bring your sister’s girlfriend back.  It won’t be that different from what they’ll be doing.  Imagine the sex they’ll have when your sister comes back from the dead?  What I want to do with you is probably pretty tame in comparison.”  She smiled at Anna’s growing expression of revulsion.  “Oh, am I ruining what you wanted to preserve in your mind as a tender reunion?  It’s alright.  After all the crazy ‘back from the dead’ fucking, she’ll just be glad to have her back, and she’ll have you to thank.”

Anna bit her lip.  “My power at your disposal, and you just want to… fuck.”

“Well, fuck you, specifically.  There’s not a lot of talent in here, and I’m not ‘technically’ allowed conjugal visits, but I’m sure you could persuade them to make an exception, just this once.”

“That’s it?  And then you’ll teach me how to bring her back to life?”

“Yes.  No skin off my back if you bring back some dead girl.  You’re really getting the better end of the bargain here.  I’m not even being charged with her death, so it’s not like I could even be let off the hook for that.”

Anna closed her eyes.  She had a pact with Macy.  She wouldn’t use her power on her.  Macy had assured her that she didn’t blame her from Ellen’s death.  She hadn’t compelled her to tell if that was the truth.  It wasn’t because of her promise to never to use her power on her adoptive sister.  She knew the truth.  She just couldn’t bear to hear it.

“Deal.”

Ursula’s predatory smile widened.