“Bingo,” Skye touched her nose, a big smile creeping across her face. 

Kim’s head was spinning. Witches were real? And… she was one? She blinked questioningly which invited Skye to continue.

“Y’see, they tried to wipe us out centuries ago, but some made it through. There aren’t many of us left, but the ones who are around; they live here.”

“But where is here? Where are we?”

“The old subway only looks desolate to sleepers. People who aren’t one of us,” she added, as Kim opened her mouth to question what ‘sleeper’ meant, “we’ve made it a sanctuary. We look for young witches who need help and bring them here. Though, it has been a long time since we’ve had a new sister.”

“What do you two mean by sister?” Kim asked, remembering Nightingale making a similar statement.

“We are sisters, as in we are all connected,” Skye took out another bar of chocolate to give Kim, “that’s how we knew you were out there. Well, technically it was Guinevere who knew. But we all searched for you.”

Kim did not answer and chewed on the chocolate methodically. It all seemed so unreal. There was an underground society of witches right under her feet all this time? She had so many questions, but she decided on one.

“Who is Guinevere?”

“Our leader, well matriarch technically, but don’t worry about her just now. You’ll need to rest and recover before anything else happens. But, I should probably ask,” Skye leant forward, her eyes meeting Kim’s for the first time, they looked somber as if dreading this question, “do you have any family, or somewhere to go?”

This question hit Kim in the chest like a rock and she felt her eyes water up again. She slowly shook her head. Skye’s expression softened.

“It’s okay,” she took out a tissue, “sorry but I needed to ask.”

“No please don’t be sorry it’s just…” and then, before she knew it, Kim found herself telling her everything from when her hair first changed colour right up until she ran away. It took a long time, as she had to pause to cry or catch her breath but Skye was patient and encouraged her when needed. Not to mention, she made Kim laugh slightly by calling Trudy an “idiot bitch” when Kim told her about trying to get her hair dyed back to brunette. When Kim finished, she was tired but at the same time it was as though a weight was lifted off of her chest. 

“I don’t really remember much after that,” she finished as she took another long drink of the warm lavender tea, “and, and I didn’t mean for any of that to happen I was scared and-!” Kim sighed heavily and stared into her tea, seeing her rainbow eyes reflected back at her. She hated them, hated herself. The revelation of being a witch meant nothing if all it did was cause others grief, even people who probably deserved it. She could have killed those girls. 

Skye seemed to sense these thoughts as she cleared her throat a little.

“Would it make you feel better if I told you that you’re not the only one this happened to?” Kim broke eye contact with herself to look up, “Many sisters have gone through similar things though um…” Kim had an idea of what she would have finished that with but did not voice it.

“So,” she interrupted, wanting to change the subject, “if I’m a witch, does that mean my dad is a wizard?” Skye shook her head.

“There haven’t been wizards in Scotland for centuries. And most witches don’t…” She paused for a second, “well, let’s just say it’s extremely uncommon for a witch to have children. No, witches can be born from sleeper parents. It’s rare but it still happens. Anyway, once she starts going through changes getting older, that’s when her abilities get stronger but also harder to control.”

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” 

“Because they don’t know… except for,” Skye hesitated before her tone became serious, “Kim, did you have any encounters with people while on the streets? People who wanted to hurt you?” 

It took a moment for Kim to answer, her mind went back to some nights where, when trying to find a safe place to sleep, she would be approached by people who seemed like they wanted to offer her a place for the night, but she would be alarmed at how they would practically corner her when asking and seemed insistent so she would always decline out of fear. But then something clicked.

“Y-yeah,” she stammered, “these police officers- well, I think they were police. They seemed to follow me everywhere and one tried to grab me and take me-!”

“Hm,” Skye grumbled, “those weren’t police. They’re witch hunters, Seekers we call them. You’re lucky to have gotten away, it’s really important that you stay away from them.”

“I know…” Kim felt a balloon of a yawn creeping up her throat, “I cou-cou-cooould… feel that they were dangerous.” 

“Good! You’re more awake than I thought,” Skye smiled at Kim’s bemused look, “anyway you should probably get some proper sleep. Don’t worry about Seekers, we’re well protected. They’d have to get past the Fagen to get in, they like to hang around the entrances to the old subway since they’re drawn to magic. Seekers know nothing about them, too fixated on witches. I’ll tell Merideth, she’s Guinevere’s partner and in charge of running things, that you’re alright and you know what you are.”

Kim settled back onto the sofa and pulled up her duvet, her bear tucked against her chest. Her eyes growing heavy, she looked up to Skye.

“Will… will you or um, Nightingale be here when I wake up?” she asked worryingly. 

“In a place like this,” Skye sighed with a kind smile, “it’ll be hard to feel alone, trust me.” 

“How?”

“Because we’re a family here. A coven; the Clockwork Coven.”