This story is heavily influenced by Princess Mononoke (Miyazaki film). So you might understand the story better if you are familiar with the film…? You still can enjoy it without doing so :P


The sound of her white cane resonated in her ears as she made her way to the bedroom in the vast academy. It had been a quite night. What with all the girls, which wasn't a lot, were out to a club, the building sounded like a cemetery. Cordelia couldn't complain. Although silence scared her sometimes, it was nice to have quite moments where she didn't have to tolerate other people.

With her cane dangling in front of her, she ascended the stair case. To be honest, she didn't need that cane in the academy. It was a pose, just in case something were to happen.

The darkness was something she had been born in. She had spent the 32 years of her life depending on a cane. Despite occasional breakdowns due to the harsh words from people, Cordelia was content with her life.

Feeling the wooden door under her touch, she softly pushed it open, immediately welcomed by the aromatic scent of bay leaf. Her mother had complained about the scent being depressive and what not when she had come back from Europe out of the blue. She had no knowledge about herbology anyway, the blind woman mused.

Fiona truly resembled a storm, a powerfully nasty one that appeared only once in a blue moon. That woman never liked Cordelia, granted she had given birth to her. Every time she came by the academy, the Supreme made sure to leave mean comments on her daughter's incompetence as a headmistress. Cordelia had used to wonder what could've been if it hadn't been for her disability, but it was a long time ago. It was easier to accept Fiona's insults than to keep wishing for the better life.

But at nights as quiet and still as this one, it was rather impossible not to think about the sweet, miserable life of hers. Lying down on the mattress, with her cane folded and put on the nightstand, the alchemist closed her eyes. It was the same darkness, whether with her eyes open or closed. She allowed herself to sink deeper in the bed as sleep took over, not having a clue this would be the last moment in the darkness before everything would turn upside down.

ooOooOoo

There was no way to tell how long it had been since she had fallen asleep. But something had woken her. In her slumber, Cordelia thought she had heard someone yelling downstairs. It must be the girls. They must have gotten too wasted to act like normal human beings. She tried to go back to sleep.

Then there were angry feet stomping on the stair steps, which Cordelia assumed Fiona's. She would never mishear the distinctive way of walking and the sharp clicking of her Jimmy Choo's. It was definitely Fiona walking in the hallway. The question was; why was she running?

It sounded like the door of the bedroom was almost knocked down as Fiona stormed in. Cordelia was still trying to get out of her sleep when she sensed the light on the ceiling Fiona had turned on.

The Supreme's body released a cold energy, and Cordelia could smell the alcohol. It was quite apparent her mother had been drinking outside.

"Wake up," the mother slurred. But somewhere in her voice, there was a hint of urgency. "Come downstairs immediately."

"Why? What happened?" the blind woman rubbed her forehead. It was such a rare occurrence to hear Fiona sound so anxious.

"Someone attacked us," the Supreme answered, causing the other to straighten up on the bed. "Nan got shot. Get your little kit of meds."

As soon as they had stepped into the ancestors' room, the iron smell of blood invaded Cordelia's nose. It was easy to tell a huge amount of blood had been lost, but there was something else. A sense that wasn't so familiar to Cordelia, but not completely unknown nevertheless.

Her pristine eyebrows knotted together tightly as she knelt by the couch, where the wounded girl laid motionlessly. Cordelia searched for the gun wound, not minding the sticky blood coating her fingers. The skin of the girls was cold as ice, but somehow she was still breathing, as feebly as she was. When her hand finally spotted the small hole in her abdomen, Cordelia trembled.

Feeling the eyes of her mother and the girls, the alchemist sought a way to explain the horrendous truth she was about to deliver.

"She's been shot with a silver bullet." Her hands were shaking. She heard gasps from the girls, and continued with an equally shaky voice. "A bullet enchanted with voodoo magic."

Gasps and whispers echoed in the room yet again, and Fiona's voice sounded hoarser than usual. A sign that she was on the verge of explosion. "You mean to tell me that witch hunters and voodoo bitches attacked us together?"

Cordelia remained silent. It was a known fact that Fiona had been fooling around with the voodoo queen, but the idea of Marie Laveau and witch hunters working in tandem sounded too drastic.

"Can you heal her?"

The shaking voice of Zoey asked, bringing the alchemist back from her trance.

"I believe so." She gave a small nod in the direction of the girl, before turning her head to her mother. "But I don't have the herb necessary to make the healing potion."

"Where can you get it?" the Supreme urged.

"The swamp."

Just the second Cordelia had finished her sentence, Fiona let out a frustrated puff. "Come up with another solution," she said with much coldness in her voice.

"But mother, I don't have any other solutions. This type of magic is so uniq–"

"I said no, Delia." Fiona cut her off. "You know very well to stay away from that swamp."

ooOooOoo

Laurus nobilis in the square jar on right side of the second shelf. Petroselinum crispum in the short, round jar on the left end of the bottom shelf. Thymus vulgaris in the tall, thin jar on the middle of the third shelf.

There was nothing Cordelia couldn't do in the greenhouse even without the help of her cane. This was the only place she could freely dance around without bumping into someone and consequently getting yelled at.

Her passion for herbs and plants seemed to have come out of nowhere before she even had learned to use a cane skillfully. While people shun from her because of her blindness, plants and flowers always spoke to her heart. Even though she knew Fiona would never approve, she couldn't think of anything else to pour her passion into. As trivial and powerless as her mother would think of her talent, Cordelia's love for herbology was strong.

Feeling the sweat rolling down her forehead, Cordelia wiped it away with the back of her mud-covered hand. In the heat of the summer night, it was a strenuous task to work in the greenhouse for hours. The singing of crickets from outside was bliss for her tired mind, but she couldn't be distracted too much.

They had managed to stabilize Nan, but she was still in a crucial state. It seemed like her life depended on Cordelia and her herbological skills. It was the heaviest burden she'd ever had in her life. Any minute, any second Cordelia spent, the injured clairvoyant could be lost in the limbo.

After failing to concoct another potion, Cordelia slammed her palms on the wooden table. The dry sound died soon as she closed her eyes in desperation. Fiona has no idea, the alchemist gritted her teeth.

She needed to get that herb. She needed to go to the swamp, if she really wanted to save the girl.

ooOooOoo

Going to unfamiliar places alone was a challenge especially when you were blind. What was more challenging to Cordelia was sneaking out the academy so no one would know about her plan. She took a bus, where she had happened to be accompanied by some kind strangers who had helped her get to the swamp.

The woman cautiously took steps, feeling her heels digging into the muddy ground. Her heart was pounding, from fear or excitement for the adventure, she couldn't tell. The last time she had gone to the nature by herself was when she was still a teen.

The marsh was so full of life Cordelia could even smell that. Trees must be some hundred years old, housing billions of tiny insects and birds. Her blind eyes glowed as she thought about all the unknown species of fauna and flora around here. This place had been rejecting any human contact for quite a long time, and she had the privilege to appreciate the untouched mother nature.

After calming down her excitement, she sharpened her sense in search of the special herb. She had never actually touched or smelled the plant, but she was confident she would know when she encountered it.

So with her straightened back, she walked among the trees with much grace. The wind blew her silk hair once, before making leaves dance above the water. The serene sound of leaves forming ripples contrasted the harsh sun of New Orleans, and Cordelia took in the unique scent of the marsh. She of course didn't notice the person standing on the other side of the water.

###

The girl with blonde curls stood there silently, watching the blind woman wander around the place. Her lithe body was tense and alert, but her blue eyes showed a hint of curiosity. The woman looked so different from poachers who came to kill the gators. Her aura and all. There was softness interwoven with strength in that blind woman.

It wasn't the safety of the swamp, but the safety of the woman that concerned the wild blonde. The gators could easily eat her up as soon as her white cane, whose tip was covered in mud, hit the surface of the water. She felt the urge to protect that woman, maybe because she resembled a tiny powerless animal, or maybe because of her serenity, which somehow blended in the nature perfectly.

###

Cordelia very well knew there were alligators in the water. But they would not attack her unprovoked, so she stayed away from the water. What she didn't know, was that there was something else that wished to harm her. Someone, to be precise.

So caught up with her surroundings, she had failed to notice the shadow on her. When she finally realized, it was too late. The invisible enemy jumped on her with agility of a tiger, hitting her head with something cold and heavy. She was too shocked to fight back, if she'd had any powers, that is. Her cheek touched the cold ground, and Cordelia could feel the blood oozing through her scalp. As her consciousness faded away in the same old darkness, her throat let out a groan at the acute pain in her eyes. That bustard had poured some liquid on her face.

Was she going to die there, with no one to know about this? Fiona would complain about having to have a funeral for certain. What would they do with Nan? Her death would be her fault. How silly and naïve was she, to believe she was capable enough to compensate for her blindness.

In her flash backs, she heard steps approaching where she laid. Did the attacker return to do her more harm, or was that her savior? The person stood beside her for a moment, while Cordelia breathed with some difficulties. The last thing she remembered before falling unconscious was a soft warm hand caressing her damaged face.

###

When she woke up, there was no one to be seen. The sun lit the sky brightly, and the trees and grass danced with the summer breeze. She was alone at the swamp, lying on the ground with her muddy clothes. But something was off…

She reached up to touch her scalp, only to find out it had stopped bleeding. In fact, she didn't see any blood on her fingers. She didn't see any sign of her injury. Cordelia gulped, feeling her heart pump in panic, her breathing quicker.

Her eyes had been un-blinded. All the colors and shapes jumped into her sight, and Cordelia had never been so frightened in her entire life. The things she had ever known suddenly stopped making sense. The tall brown poles with a bunch of tiny thin materials must be what they called trees. The animals that just flew by above her head must be birds. But what about the rest of the world? She only knew the world in the darkness.

She closed her eyes until she could breathe evenly. Her hands formed fists on the dirt, and she noticed the object in her hand. It was a shiny piece that resembled a seashell attached to a string. Bizarre, she thought. The texture was strange, indicating it didn't belong to her. It must be the belonging of whoever had healed her. She stuck her hand in her pocket while the other hand gripped her cane.

The trip to the academy was full of new sensations. The cars in the street were moving way faster than she had ever imagined. The designs of the houses were colorful and unique. People were dressing in clothes in peculiar colors and patterns. Everything was exhilarating and exhausting at the same time. The amount of information was so large it was impossible to digest in an instant. So she occasionally closed her eyes and let her cane guide her as she had used to.

When she finally identified the academy, Fiona yelled at her for having disappeared on them. They had managed to heal Nan while she had been away apparently. She accused her daughter of being a failure, never noticing the newly gained eyes which shone in different hues. In fact, no one ever seemed to notice the fact that they no longer heard the sound of her cane echoing in the hallway.