AN: Hey everybody! I hadn't expected to post this chapter so soon but I just couldn't wait anymore. To those of you who took the time to review, follow or favourite this story - you are amazing! And I'm so happy that you like it so far.
Now, because this story takes place when Cordelia attends the school, I had to create some characters to flesh out the story. I'll try to limit the amount of oc's, but I have to add characters like the headmistress, teachers and a couple of students - which I hope you'll understand.
Dinner had been an anxious affair that she'd rather not repeat if she was given the chance. When she had finally entered the dining room, almost everyone had taken a plate of food and had sat down to eat, so she felt like everyone was watching her every move when she got her own dinner.
Next, she had had to choose where she was going to sit; there were four bench-like-tables in the room that looked like they could seat eight people each. The table closest to her had six people seated already but when she took a step towards it, the girl in front of her scooted over in her seat, making it clear to Cordelia that she was not welcome at the table. Painfully aware that almost everyone in the room had stopped talking, she hurried along.
Feeling embarrassed and humiliated, she had looked to her left but the table there was full so she walked past the two occupied tables to the tables in the back. On the one to her right the children she had seen earlier were seated together at one end of the table, while Misty, the blonde girl from before, sat alone at the other end of it. The taller girl was sitting with her back to the rest of the room, so Cordelia couldn't tell if she was welcome to sit next to her or not.
Not wanting to take the chance, she sat down at the table on her left that was mostly empty except for two girls that sat at the other end of it across from each other. They smiled at her when she sat down, but they said nothing to her for the duration of dinnertime, so she had eaten her food in silence.
Now that she was back in the safety of her room she almost felt like crying. Cordelia had looked forward to getting to know young witches like herself, and learn to control and develop her powers. But from what she had seen and experienced so far, she was ready to go back home.
Except of course she wouldn't know where 'home' was anymore. She had lived with Fiona in New York before her mother had sent her to the Academy, but she knew that the older witch had sold their apartment and moved somewhere else. Of course she had neglected to tell Cordelia her address before she had sent her away - she hadn't even left her a phone number she could call.
She sighed deeply and decided to go to sleep. She had only left the dining room an hour ago but she was already dreading breakfast next morning. Cordelia changed into a large comfy t-shirt and some boxer briefs and turned the light off, 'hopefully tomorrow will be better' she thought and fell asleep soon after.
She abruptly woke up the next morning when someone knocked on her door.
"Breakfast is in an hour!" Someone shouted through the wooden door, and then the person disappeared down the hallway to the right until she could no longer hear their footsteps.
An hour later she left the safety of her room and walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Not many of the others had arrived and she was grateful for it. Without any curious eyes on her, she got her breakfast and sat down on the spot she had occupied the night before. She was halfway through her piece of toast when someone sat down opposite her.
"Mornin' Cordelia, is it alright if I sit here?"
Cordelia looked up to see that it was Misty Day who had sat down in front of her.
"Of course." She said and moved her glass of water out of the way to give the other witch some more room.
Misty smiled and took a bite of her toast, "Thanks, I got lonely pretty quickly after having been sitting by myself for almost a week now."
"Is that how long you have been here? A week I mean."
The taller girl counted the days on her fingers and replied; "Yes, I arrived last Sunday so if you count that day as well then it's been eight days."
"What about the others? Haven't you tried sitting with them?" Cordelia asked and put her toast down.
Misty gave her an odd look, "Didn't you hear what I said yesterday? I'm not sitting next to someone who calls me a 'swamp rat'."
"Why do they call you a 'swamp rat'?" Cordelia asked and quickly looked down in embarrassment, she hadn't meant to voice her confusion out loud, but she had been thinking about it ever since the other witch had brought it up the day before.
Misty just stared at her and Cordelia thought for sure that she was seconds from leaving, but then the taller girl laughed and explained, "Well that's where she found me, Miss Watson I mean. I found an abandoned shack out by the swamps and I lived there for about a month since the whole burned-at-the-stake thing. Then I came here and –"
Before she could utter another word Cordelia had interrupted her; "Wait, what do you mean burned at the stake? Were you burned at the stake?!" she whispered.
Misty's mouth fell open and for a moment she looked incredibly guilty, then she stood up so fast that she shook the entire table, "I shouldn't have said that, forget I said that." And without another word, the taller girl just about ran out of the room.
'Great,' Cordelia thought 'I've upset the only person who's been nice to me so far.'
She finished her toast and left the dining room soon after. Half an hour earlier, on her way to the kitchen, she had been stopped by the headmistress who had asked her to come talk to her after breakfast so that was where she was headed now.
She found the headmistress in her office right next to the front door, "Take a seat." she said without looking up from the paper she was reading and Cordelia did just that.
After several minutes spent in silence the blonde broke it "Miss Watson?"
The older woman jumped in her seat as if she had forgotten Cordelia was even there to begin with. "Oh I'm sorry Miss Goode, I was just caught up in an exciting story" she said and folded the newspaper. From her position Cordelia could see that the paper was more than a month old.
"I've called you in here to talk to you about your stay at the Academy, and don't worry I do this with every new student." She said and almost gave the younger witch a smile.
"Now, as I told you yesterday I am one out of three teachers in the school, we all master different skills so that you have the opportunity to learn everything there is to know about witchcraft. Myrtle Snow told me that you are excellent at creating potions and that you have a wide range of knowledge in Herbology."
Cordelia brightened at the mention of her Aunt Myrtle, the woman who had always defended her and come to her rescue when someone doubted her magical skills. Despite her numerous attempts though she had never been able to convince Cordelia that she was anything but a failure - her mother's words had cut too deep too many times.
"I know that you and Myrtle Snow are very close, so I will trust you to not tell anyone about what I'm about to say. In approximately two months my time as the Headmistress of this Academy will come to an end. I have decided to resign and I leave my post in the capable hands of your 'Aunt', Myrtle Snow."
Though she was slightly taken aback in the moment, Cordelia was in no way surprised by what Miss Watson had said. She knew that the women who had practically raised her would be perfect to the position of headmistress. She had always been interested in the welfare of the coven Cordelia's mother reigned over, and what better way could she keep up with that, than ensure that the young witches were able to survive and defend themselves against the world that so desperately wanted to get rid of them?
"I hope that you will keep this between the two of us, as I'm not ready to let my other students know just yet."
"Of course I will." Cordelia said "But I've only just arrived, why would you tell me this?"
"I know of your relationship with Myrtle, and I thought it would make you more at home here in the Academy knowing that a familiar face will soon be here to help you excel as a witch."
Still a little confused but not wanting to ask about it again the young blonde simply nodded in understanding.
"Good. Now, tomorrow after breakfast you will make your way to the greenhouse where you will meet Amelia, she is the teacher who is most familiar with Herbology, and she will evaluate your skills. Is that alright with you?"
Her words had kick started Cordelia's heart and she was already anxious even though there were almost 24 hours till she would be judged by this 'Amelia'. However it didn't sound like she had much choice in the matter anyway, so she just nodded her consent.
"Excellent! Well then I have nothing more to tell you. You are allowed anywhere on the school, except for mine and the other teachers private rooms in the west wing, so you are free to explore if that is what you want."
Cordelia took the hint that their conversation was over, and headed for the door. Before she left though, she looked back at the headmistress who had started reading the newspaper again.
"Thank you for telling me about Myrtle." She said and left the room, closing the door softly after her.
Miss Watson's talk about exploring the Academy had made Cordelia want to do just that. Her Aunt Myrtle had once mentioned that the school had a large library full of books on all kinds of witchcraft and now she couldn't wait to go check it out for herself.
There was a light chill in the air as she walked through the house, so she chose to go to her room first to find a cardigan she could wear. The hallways on the way to her room were completely empty, for which she was grateful for. But when she entered her bedroom, it was to find that it was not as empty as she had expected it to be; someone was sitting on her bed.
AN: Last time I forgot to mention that I don't own AHS or any of its characters. Remember to leave a review, it will make my day! :)
