She had not seen Madison for hours, and the peace and calm that reigned in the house were so rare that they even disturbed Cordelia's sleep. She was not sure where Madison was. She had claimed she was leaving for Hollywood once more and that she would not come to the house ever again, that she would out them to the world, but her suitcase was still in her room and her favorite dress still in the closet. If she had gone away, she had left everything she had behind. But Madison was not like that.

Cordelia refused to believe it.

It was late, really late. The light was dim, only coming from the fireplace. Glasses hanging from the tip of her nose, she was sitting on the couch, feet rubbing nervously one with the other under the blanket as she passed the pages of the book. Not even Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird could distract her anymore. She stood up, wrapped her white robe around her body and checked the clock once more. Almost sunrise, and Madison was nowhere to be seen. It wasn't surprising, she was always partying. But the headmistress was uneasy, not able to think about anything but the mysterious disappearance of the girl, not able to focus on the perfectly written words in the book. Standing up, she headed to the girl's bedroom.

Empty. Except for the extremely short dresses and the shoes scattered all around the floor, on the bed, on the chairs, hanging in the closet. Cordelia pursed her lips, then took the girl's long red dress from the bed. She inhaled deeply, taking in the smell of the girl's scent. A flash crossed her mind, the girl sitting on a chair. And then, darkness. She brushed the piece of clothing with her nose, recognizing the girl's perfume, inhaling it as she got more and more images. Madison, sitting on a chair, unconscious, eyes wide open and hair tied up in a ponytail. Hand on the table, as if grabbing the teacup in front of her. Wearing a bizarre dress, she was surrounded by porcelain dolls, exquisitely dressed. And then, him.

"Spalding, what have you done." She closed her eyes, appearing in the room and hearing a suffocated scream. The man, bizarrely dressed as a doll, stood up quickly and pulled back. Cordelia glared at him, then around the room. "Maddie." she gasped, running towards her and taking her face in her hands. "Maddie, please. Please you can't… No, no, no. She can't be— What did you do to her?" she questioned, pulling back and glaring at the man. "What did you do to Madison?!"

"N— No…" the tongueless man tried to speak. "K— Ky— Kye…"

"Kyle? Kyle did this?"

He nodded. Cordelia's eyes went wide, the little game the three teenagers had been playing for weeks had become truly dangerous, so much that one of them had killed the other. Why do they play this kind of games, why do they do this to themselves. She turned again, kneeling next to the girl, tears running down her face. Why did he do this to you, Madison. Maddie, oh Maddie. My sweet Maddie, I'm so sorry…

"I'm taking her. She is not going to be one of your dolls. Whatever you do here, I don't want any of my students to enter this room or participate. And be thankful I think getting your tongue cut is enough punishment. I might not be as ruthless as my mother, but I am not little innocent Delia anymore."

If looks could kill, Spalding would have been turned into ashes easily. Cordelia did not know, but in that moment the man saw something more than just the useless headmistress he had always seen in her. He had seen her grow up, the same way he had seen her mother grow up. Still, there were so many differences between the two women that sometimes they did not seem to be related. Before the seven Wonders when he saw Cordelia he saw fear, hopelessness, and weakness. But now he saw power, he saw anger, he saw ruthlessness.

He saw Fiona.

Madison lay down on the headmistress' bed, eyes closed shut. She looked as if she was asleep, so peaceful, so beautiful. So lifeless, so unlike Madison. Cordelia sat on the bed next to her, hand in the girl's stomach, pondering her options. She could revive her, she was going to. But was she able to do it anyway? She felt still weak after saving Zoe, her vital energy still drained. Still, she had to give it a try, for Madison. For her. She leant forward, lips hovering over the girl's parted ones. Wake up, Madison. Please. Please.

"The fuck, Cordy." the girl snapped, pushing the woman away. Cordelia stumbled backwards, sitting on the edge of the of the bed and almost falling before incorporating and staring at the girl. "Jesus, were you fucking trying to make out with me while I was asleep or something? If I had known you were necrophilic I would have built you a boy toy, no need to take advantage of me."

"Oh, shut up, Madison." the woman rolled her eyes, but was unable to hide how actually happy she was for seeing the girl so alive again. With a wide smile she sighed, then looked at the other with seriousness. "What's the last thing you remember?"

"I was going back to Hollywood, I had started packing, then he appeared and— Wait. Fuckboy Kyle was choking me. Did he— Did he kill me?" she asked, voice breaking down as she spoke. Hand going to her neck, she opened her eyes widely. "I died?!" she screamed. Her hands were shaking, moving to her face and covering her eyes. "No, no, no." she whined, tears running down her face. She had never let anyone see her cry, never.

And yet, there she was, Cordelia. Staring at her with wide eyes, unable to move, the headmistress had lifted her hand, wanting to comfort her but not wanting to invade her personal space. Madison's eyes found hers, a gaze full of anxiety and fear. And suddenly the woman felt the girl wrap her arms around her, pulling her close and hugging her tightly. Sobbing against her neck, Madison had no strength at all, so Cordelia simply pulled her close. "It's okay, Maddie. I got you."

"I'm so scared, Cordelia. I don't— I don't want to die. Not again."

"It's okay, Maddie, I'll protect you."

"How could you? You're usele—"

"I'm the Supreme." Cordelia interrupted her with a smile. "I've been waiting for you to come back home all day, then I searched for you. I found you dead and brought you back to life. So don't pull that I attack you to feel better with myself crap with me anymore, okay?" she warned her. Even if she was not speaking harshly, she was afraid of hurting the girl with her words, and so she sighed and ran her hand down the other's hair. "Why don't you go back to sleep? You need to rest."

"Can you stay with me?" the teenager questioned. Cordelia inhaled sharply and then breathed out softly. "Okay, of course." she nodded and stood up, then walked to the other side of the bed and started to get in without taking off her silk robe.

"I've seen you many times wearing just your nightgown, Cordy. And I promise I'll be a good girl, so you can get in without that robe of yours."

"Glad to see the old Madison is starting to come back." the woman laughed as she took off the piece of clothing and then got in bed. The girl smiled, turning to face her and grinned.

"You better be thankful I am too tired to feel you up as I pretend I'm asleep."

"Oh, you wouldn't dare."

"Don't try me, Cordy."

"Go to sleep, Madison."

"What happened to you calling me Maddie?"

"Oh, shut up. I was worried about you." Cordelia laughed, closing her eyes and making herself comfortable on the bed. She was quickly fast asleep, already tired from the large use of energy she had done that day.

"I know." the girl smiled and put her hand on the woman's. Swallowing down, she hesitated for a while, rethinking her action for a second before sighing. "Um, Cordy?"

"Mhm… Yeah?"

"Thank you. You're… pretty amazing."

"Uhuh, am I?"

"Yeah. You've always been kind and good to me, even if I've been such a bitch to you for like a year. I know I am not a good person, and that I'm not really worth it. I know the others hate me, and they have all right to do it. But I just, I don't know how to be nice to them. I feel so out of place with girls my age, because I've never had had any friends. And then I came here with all the magic bullshit and you, you were so good to me. I wish I could have been good to you." she sighed and moved closer to the woman, who seemed to be already fast asleep. "I know you can't hear me now, but.. I love you. Maybe one day you'll love me too." she sighed and turned around, trying to fall asleep.

"I love you too, Maddie." the woman whispered, wrapping her arm around the girl and pulling her closer until her back was against the woman's front. "You're a bitch, mean and angry like most of the time. But you're my mean and angry Maddie."

"Wait, I'm not your bitch?"

"I'm too tired to make you my bitch now. Maybe when we wake up. If you're good."

"I'll be a good girl, ma'am headmistress."

"Shhh, you'll turn me on."

"I don't need to do student teacher roleplay to do that."

"Shut up. I'm not in the mood for tingles in the cooch right now."

"You just did not say that."

"Sleep."

"Alright."

"I love you."

"Love you too, Cordy."

Any comments will be appreciated!