Misty watched the other woman every day dutifully. She never left the academy since the day one, as that's how her job worked. It's just that she only made herself visible to the other woman when she felt like it. She had a home, a little shack back in the swamp, but it was a temporary shelter when she wasn't on duty. She didn't need a place to stay anyways; sleeping and earing weren't survival requirements for the wild blonde.

For the past few days of observing the headmistress, Misty had discovered that her mother used to be the Supreme (she was usually referred to as the bitch), that the brunette girl who wouldn't stop fidgeting was a right-hand woman of the Supreme along with a black girl with an attitude, and most importantly, the wild blonde saw how much the Supreme was adored and respected by everyone. Too perfect to be true, Misty mused. She had worked on hundreds of humans before, but every single one of them had a dark side. That's what humans are. Everyone has a dark secret or two. Misty just had yet to see that of Cordelia.

It was a late night at the academy, and Misty was sitting on the balcony of the headmistress's bedroom. The sky was clear and cicadas were singing at the star-clad sky. There was a movement inside the room, and the wild blonde turned her head around. Cordelia had just gotten out of the shower, her body covered by a white bathrobe and some water threatening to drip from her blonde hair.

Misty wasn't going to lie; the woman was one of the most beautiful human beings she had ever laid eyes on. But it wasn't all for the wild blonde. There was something more about the human, something closed to familiarity of some sort. She watched Cordelia intensely from behind the window, trying to identify the feeling, but she realized there was something different tonight.

Cordelia's brows were knotted together, and her body language indicated a great deal of stress. She was pacing around the room back and forth, her frown deepening every second.

The angel jumped off of the banister and waltzed into the room. Is tonight the night? Although there was not a change in Cordelia's aura, misty couldn't help but wonder. One thing about her job was that she never knew precisely when a person would draw their last breath. It could be within a day since she was assigned, or it could take weeks. It wasn't her call when a person's time was up. It was literally the fate only God knew. Misty could only sense it; sometimes her inner conscious, which was connected to that of her boss, told her, and sometimes she could visibly see the aura of the person fading away. Although Misty could hear the woman's suffering, nothing implied that the angel was needed at the moment.

Placing herself on the vanity chair, the wild blonde watched as the other woman collapsed on the bed. With her curled up in a fetal position, the queen-sized bed looked even vaster. It certainly wasn't the first time Misty saw a human break down, in fact, she'd done it countless times. Yet, for some reason, it clenched somewhere in her chest to see this aspect of Cordelia.

The woman was sobbing, but not audibly. She was trying so hard not to make a sound while her eyes formed puddles on the pillow. No one could've told she was crying without seeing her scrunched face, that's how silently and motionlessly she cried.

Guilt suddenly washed over Misty. Maybe it wasn't such a noble thing to do. Maybe that's what human call invasion of privacy. She wanted to hold the woman and tell her everything would be alright, but who was she to say that? Even she knew it would freak the hell out of the woman if she appeared in her bedroom in the middle of the night. Plus, it would be a huge lie if she said everything would be fine, when she knew the time was running out for the woman.

So Misty brought her knees to the chest and buried her face in arms instead. With her eyes closed, the only thing she could hear was occasional snuffling sounds of the Supreme. The angel sat there throughout the night, wondering why her chest was screaming.

000000

The following morning, Cordelia stood in the kitchen, still struggling to keep her eyes open. All she needed now was a nice cup of coffee, and then she would prepare for the day before the girls would wake up. Pouring coffee, she went to grab the jar of sugar, but the headmistress grimaced at the almost-empty jar. She was sure it was full a few days ago. She attempted to think with her still-slumbering brain. Cordelia wasn't the only person who drank coffee or tea, but even so, it couldn't be gone in just a few days. She glanced over to the counter. Could it have something to do with the bagels? The girls had been complaining that bagels kept missing.

Cordelia sighed tiredly; she would deal with that later. Just as she sat in the chair, loud footsteps from the hallway caught her attention. The headmistress looked up, and there she was, her possible assassin, Misty. The wild blonde sheepishly sauntered towards Cordelia.

"Morning."

"…Good morning, Misty…"

"I got your mail." The wild blonde put some envelopes and the newspaper on the table.

As if she lives here. How the hell did she get in? "Thank you. You really didn't have to do that." With a forced smile, Cordelia told the other.

Misty wore a proud smile, leaning against the kitchen island while the headmistress checked the mail. The wild blonde unapologetically stared at the other woman. Cordelia's eyes were a little swollen from crying, but other than that, there was not a hint of her breakdown.

"Um, what?" Feeling the heavy gaze on her, Cordelia awkwardly questioned.

"How are you feeling today?"

"Good. How about yourself?"

"You look a little tired."

The headmistress sighed internally, still having no clue as to what the woman wanted. Perhaps the wild blonde was simply trying to be friendly; but if she wanted to kill the headmistress, then why would she try to be friends with her? Cordelia decided to abandon this conversation and enjoy her morning coffee instead. The wild blonde didn't seem to mind the silence anyway. She sipped her drink, while Misty continued her blatant stare.

Just as the Supreme finished her drink and feared that she might have to talk to the wild blonde again, she heard several people coming into the kitchen. The girls greeted their headmistress with sleepy eyes, making their way to the dining room for breakfast. They peered at the strange woman in black, but none of them said anything to her except for one girl.

"Misty! Good morning." A little girl excitedly ran to Misty and wrapped her tiny arms around the woman's legs.

The girl's head barely reached Misty's hip, and the wild blonde patted her head, a little taken back by the young energy. "Hey, good morning…" Misty looked at the headmistress for help. She remembered the girl's face, just not the name. Cordelia took the hint and whispered the name, which Misty repeated. "…Racheal."

"What are you doing here?" The girl beamed at the tall woman.

"Just talking to Miss. Cordelia." Misty gently ripped the girl away from her.

"Are you coming to the swamp with us today?"

"The swamp?"

"We are all going to the swamp." Racheal grabbed Misty's hand. "Miss. Cordelia, can Misty come with us, please?" Looking up at her headmistress, the girl asked innocently, expectation in her chocolate brown eyes.

The two women looked at each other, unsure what to say. It was obvious to both of them that the kid took a liking to the taller woman. It would break her heart to say no to her, but Misty was reluctant, hoping the other woman would come up with an excuse.

Cordelia was as hesitant as the other woman at the request; she needed to take every girl to the excursion, and she didn't know if it was a good idea to take someone whose intention remained unclear to the Supreme. She could kill me in the woods. She figured she could at least attempt to talk the girl out of it so she wouldn't have to put her life in danger. Cordelia shifted her attention from the wild blonde to the girl, who was smiling brightly with so much innocence. Oh god, I can't.

"Of course."

Both of the women groaned silently and rolled their eyes.

000

"Ok, everyone, gather up. Time to go home."

Cordelia yelled in the woods. The girls and her council had spent almost three hours at the swamp, collecting rare plants and the swamp mud. The sky was getting darker, and the Supreme decided they had had enough fun.

As the girls assembled around her and the council, Cordelia mentally counted the number of girls, making sure everyone was there. But no matter how many times she counted, the number wasn't what it had to be. Cordelia frowned profoundly. There should be one more, and then, it hit her.

"Where is Racheal?" Turning abruptly to her council member next to her, the Supreme inquired, her eyes wide in concern and terror. The brunette scanned the group of girls, looking for the one specific one. "Zoe. I told you watch out for her."

Blood was drained from the brunette's face in an instant, and now she was in panic. "I'm sorry. God. Oh my god." She stuttered, her mind blank and palms sweating.

"Ok, calm down." The Supreme brought her hand in front of Zoe's face. "I will go look for her. You and Queenie take everybody home safe. Can you do that?"

Zoe nods frantically and ran to Queenie, who was standing a few feet away from them. When the Supreme made sure the black girl got the message and gave the older woman a nod, she nodded in response before walking away from the group.

Truth to be told, Cordelia didn't know where the little girl could possibly be. The swamp was enormous, and there were alligators in the water. The last thing the woman wanted was for the girl to be found dead. Cordelia's hands formed fists at the horrifying possibility. Even though she knew it wouldn't help her solve this problem, the blonde woman couldn't help but blame this on Zoe. It certainly wasn't the first time Racheal went stray from everyone, so it was necessary for them to pay extra attention to the girl. Yet, here she went, looking for the little one in the middle of the woods.

"Racheal?" Cordelia shouted the name. She could try performing Divination, but it would be challenging considering she didn't have any object of the girl to rely on. Witches aren't supernatural psychics who could locate anything from anywhere. So all she could do was to walk through the woods like a person without magic, but the wicked humidity made even that hard for the Supreme. "Racheal!" She screamed yet again. She felt like crying. How am I going to explain to her parents if she got hurt?

"Racheal?"

"Cordelia."

"Misty!"

The wild blonde appeared right behind Cordelia, making her heart jump in surprise for the hundredth times. With her current problem occupying her mind, the Supreme had forgotten about the mysterious woman. "Misty, I don't have time for this right now. I need to find-"

"I know." Misty interrupted the sentence, and Cordelia gave her a small grimace. "Follow me."

The wild blonde started to walk without waiting any answer. Cordelia was hesitant, but given her current situation, she didn't have any other options. It remained a mystery to the Supreme where Misty was leading her to, and it was still possible that the wild blonde was going to kill her right there. At least if she was killed, she wouldn't have to face Racheal's parents.

The women kept walking. Not even once did the wild blonde look back at the other to make sure she was following. It offered Cordelia a good opportunity to observe the woman from behind. The untamed curly hair bounced on her strong shoulders with every step she took. Her upper body was clad in a black jacket with fringes, and her slender legs in black leather pants. The pair of black Oxford boots was covered with swamp mud as she made her way. There was no denying that there was some out-worldly aura around the woman. Misty was the kind of woman who could make men and women turned around to see on the street. She looked like the girl Cordelia's ex-boyfriend had cheated on her with in college.

The pair of brown eyes glared at the back of the wild blonde as they kept walking. They came to somewhere spacious, but Cordelia's eyes never left where they were. It was until the wild blonde turned around that the Supreme realized the small hat in front of them. The hat had many holes in the walls, and veins were crawling up the wooden walls. It didn't look like anyone resided to Cordelia.

She raised a brow at Misty, but the wild blonde only beckoned with her head to go inside. The Supreme timidly walked through the door, trying not to forget about the other woman behind her. If she was truly an assassin, this ruin would be a perfect place to hide a body. With the summer sun, she couldn't see in the dark room at first. She blinked a few times and waited for her eyes to adapt to the dark. When she was able to make out objects in there, her eyes caught a silhouette of a person on the bed on the opposite side of the room.

"Oh god. Racheal!" Cordelia immediately stopped worrying about her life, and ran to the bed, kneeling down to see the girl's face. Her heart stopped for a second when she saw the girl's eyes closed. She picked up the girl and held her tight in her arms. Fear and panic took over her mind, and Cordelia started to form incoherent words.

"She's just sleeping. Don't worry." Misty said casually, strolling towards the horrified woman.

Cordelia looked up, her eyes slightly teary. "Thank you." She mastered a whisper, which Misty only dismissed with a shrug.

They walked out of the woods without saying much to each other, which Cordelia was thankful for. She was exhausted, and it would've been difficult to talk to the other woman in this state. The Supreme called a cab, and she held Racheal all the way to the academy.

When they got to the academy, several people, including Zoe, ran out of the building to know what had happened. The brunette particularly seemed to be relieved to find out the girl was safe. Cordelia allowed them to take the girl from her arms. She shook her arms in the air as soon as the weight of the girl left her.

Watching the people walk back in, Cordelia turned around to Misty. The wild blonde was about to walk away, and Cordelia felt slight guilt for not trusting the woman before. Her motive was still unclear to the Supreme, but at least she knew the woman was benevolent.

"Hey, thank you for helping me. I couldn't find her on my own."

Misty stopped walking and turned around. Her face showed a little confusion at the sentence. "You already said that."

"I know, and I'm saying this again."

The wild blonde nodded thoughtfully, her hands stuck in her pockets. It was rare for Misty to be appreciated for her action. She kicked the dirt on the ground, not knowing how human respond to such repetitive gratitude.

Silence fell upon them, and Cordelia sensed the nervousness of the other. She needed to come up with something, anything to say to the wild blonde, but without taking her eyes off her. The Supreme had learned by now that the wild blonde would disappear into thin air the second she turned her back.

"We are throwing a BBQ party next week. Would you like to come?" Cordelia asked tentatively, effectively catching Misty's attention.

"A party?"

Misty tilted her head, and Cordelia nodded in response. "Well, something tells me that you will be there anyway, but this time you have my invitation." Her words showed sassiness, but there was a small but genuine smile on the face of Cordelia.

"Ok." Without taking the hint of sassiness, Misty answered, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly.

"Good. See you then."

Cordelia gave her a smile and started to walk to the academy. Reaching for the door, she turned around to see the street. As expected, there was no sign of Misty anywhere in her sight.

00000000

"What the fuck are the sugar and cinnamon for?" Picking up the condiments from the table, Queenie frowned suspiciously at the Supreme.

It was a sunny summer day perfect for an outdoor party like this. All the students and teachers at the coven gathered at the academy, chatting and running around. Laughter echoed everywhere, and Cordelia couldn't be more content.

"They are, you know, just in case." With an awkward smile, Cordelia took the jar from the girl's grip and put it back next to paper plates. The Supreme sighed; it was past noon, and they had already started the party an hour ago, and yet the wild blonde hadn't showed up. It was rather natural on Misty's part since the Supreme hadn't told her the specific time, but somehow Cordelia had assumed that the other woman would know.

It was about twenty minutes later that the wild blonde showed up at the gate. The woman seemed to be taken aback at the density of the crowd.

"Misty!" Cordelia abandoned her task and made her way to the other woman, who was standing like an abandoned sheep. "Hi, you look great." With a big smile on her face, Cordelia offered a polite compliment.

Misty looked down at her clothes in confusion. "This is how I look every day."

Awkward silence filled the air between them, Cordelia not knowing what to say, and Misty still puzzled.

"Well, help yourself. We've already started." Cordelia looked around and waved her hands vaguely. There were many kinds of meat and vegetables Misty couldn't name, but whatever was grilled smelled amazing. Cordelia stayed there and watched as the wild blonde went through her options, but the observation was interrupted when someone called her name. She looked at the direction of the voice and found Queenie pointing her finger at something.

"Sorry, I have to go." Patting Misty's shoulder, Cordelia informed softly before walking away.

The heavy smell of burning meat entered Misty's nostrils, and she picked up a piece from the grill with her hand. Hesitation remained in her behavior until she took a bite, but soon the woman got herself some more of whatever of those.

"Hello."

With her mouth full, she turned around to the voice. A red-haired woman, as tall as Misty herself, in her probably late 30's stood there, her eyes filled with wonder and mischief. She tilted her head and smiled at the wild blonde, waiting for her to swallow what was in her mouth and to respond.

Drinking the meat down her throat, Misty returned a smile. "Hi."

"I like your jacket."

"Thanks."

"I've never met you before, have I? I'm Allison."

"Misty."

A few feet away from them, Cordelia was sweating in front of a grill. Cooking food for people at a party surely wasn't in her job description, but here she was, preparing more for hungry witches. She wiped sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. She wasn't particularly good with the heat, and the direct sunlight truly took a toll on her system.

"Yo, look at that. Alli is doing it again."

The voice of Queenie was registered in her feeble ears, and the Supreme followed the black girl's gaze. The redhead was having a conversation with Misty. If a stranger saw the sight, they would think nothing of it, but Cordelia knew it better. She had dealt with it too many times to believe the woman's intention was completely pure. Unintentional groans escaped from her gut, and Cordelia kept glaring at the two of them.

Allison was flirting with the wild blonde, she could gather as much. The question was, does Misty know? From her experience with the other, Cordelia wanted to say the wild blonde was oblivious to the situation. Yet, it was Misty, nothing about her went as expected.

Letting out a long, loud sigh, the Supreme glanced at Queenie in hope of a solution. "I don't know. Should I rescue her?" A mix of frustration and uncertainty was intertwined in her voice, but it was swiped away by a casual shrug of the black girl. Moveing her attention back to the flirting woman, she saw Allison had a hand resting on Misty's arm. Cordelia wondered what kind of expression the wild blonde wore under the curly hair right now.

As if her contemplations were audible, Misty suddenly turned around, looking for the blonde woman. The expression on Misty's face remained neutral, but Cordelia's instinct told her to go up to rescue the wild blonde.

"Misty. I need to show you something. Come with me?"

Cordelia acted as casual as she could master. Not paying much attention to the redhead, the Supreme grabbed a hand of the wild blonde, a silent warning to the redhead. The long fingers felt unbelievably cold in Cordelia's hand, which was fried under the sun. Holding the hand made the Supreme realize she had never touched the wild blonde before. It was strange; something Cordelia couldn't name. Uneasiness washed over her mind, and Cordelia cleared her throat before leaving the redhead with Misty.

They walked through the witchy crowd, Cordelia hyperaware of the icy hand in hers. Stopping at the balcony, where the Supreme could supervise people, she let go of Misty's hand and sat down on the step.

Misty seated herself next to the woman, curiously looking at her face.

"What's the thing you want to show me?"

"Oh, it was just an excuse to get you away from her." The Supreme waved her hands in the air, smiling sheepishly.

"Why?"

Misty's question caused her brain to stop momentarily. Opening her mouth to say something, Cordelia looked at the wild blonde and the redhead back and forth. "I thought-, wait." Cordelia examined the other's face, apprehension clouded her eyes. Did she misunderstand this whole thing? What if Misty was actually enjoying talking to Allison and Cordelia ruined the conversation? But the wild blonde appeared to be as clueless as always. "Misty, do you realize that she was hitting on you?"

"What's that mean?" The wild blonde knotted her eyebrows in perplexity.

"It means that she was…" trying to get in your pants, Cordelia wanted to say. "It means she found you attractive and wanted to get to know you."

"Oh…really?"

"Yes, that's what she does. She hits on everyone she finds attractive."

The Supreme had no idea when she'd hired the woman as a teacher, but it gradually came to light that the woman was a huge player. It didn't bother the Supreme; what her people did with their lives was none of her business. And even though she was a flirter, Allison knew where to draw a line. But today was different. She couldn't and shouldn't hit on the wild blonde.

"She hits on you, too?"

"What?"

"That woman, she hits on you like she hits on me?"

Cordelia attempted to respond quickly, but something in her throat absorbed her voice. Small red spots were scattered on her neck and cheek, and it got even worse as she became self-conscious.

"I…no. No, she doesn't."

"But you said she does that to every attractive person."

"Well, I was, ah, not literal. I just…figuratively…"Waving hands lamely, she explained as best as she could. Embarrassed by the frankness of the other woman, all she could do was stammer while her eyes stared at one trash on the ground.

The behavior of the Supreme only confused Misty even more. She could guess the embarrassment of the other woman from the deep blush, but she didn't know why. Was she ashamed of her inability to use words correctly? Humans were such complicated creatures, and most of things about them or their world didn't make sense to her.

Like this party, for example. Why do humans gather in one place and spend time doing nothing but talk? Why do they look so happy? Why do they look so amused to see other humans? Of course, Misty had an appearance of a human, but it was only a façade to facilitate her job. Her boss had told her before that the heart was what made human complicated and great. Misty, who didn't have one of these, understood nothing about the complexity of the blood pumping vessel.

Although nothing made sense to her, she still could see why human enjoy good food. Maybe that's why they are happy, Misty thought as she devoured turkey sausages. The food was sucked in the void that was Misty's body, no nutrition would be absorbed, but at least it left a pleasant feeling on her tongue.

Cordelia peered at the plate and let out a small laugh. Her blush was long gone, and now curiosity was painted on her face as the wild blonde was practically swallowing a sausage. Putting her elbow on her thigh, she rested her head on the hand.

"You know, we have sugar and cinnamon."

"Huh?" Misty looked at the other woman, another sausage in her hand already.

"Don't you need them for your sausages?" She beckoned with her head to make Misty see the direction of the condiments.

"No. Why would I?" The blue eyes suspiciously shifted from her plate to the face of the Supreme. If that was what human did to good food like this, Misty sure was glad not to be a human.

The awkward moment when a crazy person sees you crazier, Cordelia's mind narrated as the wild blonde visibly judged her. "That's a very good point." With faint music in her ears, Cordelia mumbled to no one in particular.