As always, I hope you enjoy the reading!

January 29th, 2014

The next few days passed quickly, Cordelia and Misty spending most of their time in the greenhouse alone, one carefully weighing ingredients and creating new useful potions while the other danced to Stevie Nicks' songs. Still, the calm that reigned on the house didn't last for long— hell was unleashed and the Seven Wonders took over everyone's minds. For weeks the girls spent hours practising with their magics, their preexistent rivalry becoming stronger with each second that passed. Even Nan, who had always been the most rational of the teenagers, was now focused on becoming the Supreme. Though Cordelia had to admit, the girl's theory of why she was the next Supreme was quite convincing.

"I have to be the next Supreme," she had said with confidence to the headmistress one night, when the other girls had all finished dinner and had left them alone. "Papa Legba did not accept the deal for a reason, Cordelia. What if instead of being because I am not an innocent soul it is because he knows I am the future Supreme, and that if I died there would be no leader for the next thirty years? What if I simply could not die in that moment, and my future is to be the Supreme? It's not like this place is heaven, but if there's a reason for him not accepting the deal, it's that one."

Queenie was sure she was the Supreme too, backing her theory on the fact that she had survived the gun shot that would have killed anyone else, that she had to be the next Supreme since she had been the first to perform Descensum of all of them, that she had been able to revive Misty with Vitalum Vitalis, that she was a descendant of Tituba. Meanwhile, Madison was still showing off her skills, transmutating everywhere, slamming everything against the walls for fun, making the other girls clothes burn when they were about to put them on to everyone's dismay. She had clear she was the first candidate on the list, that sooner or later she would become the Supreme. Still, the shadow of doubt made the girl spend most of her nights away from the academy, doing things she was sure she would not be proud of in the future, trying to fill the void she had inside. Zoe just wanted to prove Madison wrong, to show her she really could be the Supreme, that Kyle had chosen her because she was better. And Misty…

"I ain't going to hell, Delia, I had enough with two fucking times." the swamp witch told the headmistress, shaking her head and stepping backwards. They all had had breakfast, and both the swamp witch and the headmistress did the dishes. It was their routine, one that was repeated every day with no exception. The maid started by cleaning their bedroom as the girls tidied their rooms, then the six witches went to the living room and had their morning gathering— though the past days it had only consisted of showing off who could do more magics than all the others. After that everyone left to live their own lives and met only for dinner, or lunch if any of the girls came back to the house early.

"Misty, you have to. The Seven Wonders are tomorrow, if you don't participate the coven might be left with no one to lead it in the future!" the headmistress told. She had been trying to convince the swamp witch for many days now, and she knew she had to before twenty four hours passed. "Misty, listen to me. I root for you, you know that. You will not die during Descensum, I will not let that happen. Even if you are not sure you have that power, I see a Supreme in you, and I will be with you all the time, okay? I will not leave you."

"And if I am not the Supreme?" the wild haired blonde asked in a soft, scared voice. It seemed a bit silly, Misty knew, but she could see Cordelia's conviction in her eyes, believing so much in her, putting all her hopes in that she was the one who would perform all the magics. Misty was afraid. Not afraid of dying, despite she said so. She had gone to hell and come back twice, it would not be a problem to do so a third time. She was afraid of disappointing the headmistress, to not to be good enough. "Will you still be with me if I am not as powerful as you think?"

Cordelia stared at the other with a dazzled look, before finally smiling. "Of course I will." she told, leaving the plate she was washing and then walking towards Misty, taking her hands. "I will love you every single day of my life, no matter if you are Misty the new Supreme or Misty the regular swamp witch. I will love you no matter what. The moment I met you I did not fall in love with your powers, I fell in love with you."

Their routine finally became disrupted on Saturday, when at sunset all women got prepared for the Seven Wonders. It was not strange to see the girls wearing all black, but this time it meant much more than just a color. It meant that they were all rivals, that they were all possible Supremes. It meant that maybe this would be the last time they shared a meal all together. Maybe it was the shawls they wore, Cordelia didn't know. Myrtle insisted on having a last supper for the girls, and was already giving a speech to them.

"… for one of you, a last moment of freedom and anonymity before assuming the Supremacy. For anyone of the others, also be a last meal." Myrtle finally finished her tiresome speech by glancing at Misty, what made Cordelia shiver and go to take her hand under the table in an attempt to comfort her. Cordelia was sitting on the left end, her mismatched eyes staring at the other end— Zoe looked down with insecurity, probably trying to not to meet Madison's eyes. The starlet sat between Misty and Myrtle, looking bored and hoping she could simply skip that part. Queenie was on the headed woman's other side, looking at her with interest and with Nan besides her, though the short girl was now looking at Zoe with furrowed brows.

"Since the beginning of this coven it has been every outgoing Supreme's duty to identify her successor." Cordelia started, getting all attention now— even Madison seemed to be interested now. "Which Fiona not only neglected to do, she actually tried to kill her successor." Madison raised a hand to fix the fabric of her dress that covered her neck in obvious discomfort. "So, we are doing something never done in our history. We are going to give all five of you the chance to prove yourselves. Only one of you will succeed. To quote the bible, loosely: 'When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I understood like a child, I thought like a child. But when I became a woman I put aside childish things." Cordelia stood up, glass full of champagne in her hand. She raised it and inhaled deeply. "Childhood is over, my girls." she told, her motherly feeling towards the four teenagers and the pure love she felt towards Misty making her close her eyes for a second as she spoke, watching everyone raise their glasses too. "Put aside the fears, reservations and petty things. Kick ass tomorrow."

No one slept that night. As Cordelia wandered through the house, she could hear the girls practicing, talking, even crying— Zoe was terrified despite her usual confidence, and had broken down for an hour. But in the morning, every trace of fear seemed to have disappeared, and at dawn everyone stood in the now empty dining room, each girl in front of an unlit candlestick. Myrtle and Cordelia now stood next to one of the ends of the table, while Kyle— the chosen to assist them during the ceremony— stood on the other end. Myrtle opened her mouth to speak, Making Madison roll her eyes and the others sigh. Not another of aunt's speeches, for fuck's sake, the headmistress thought to herself.

"The Seven Wonders. Usually we move from easiest to hardest, but since we're breaking with tradition this year, let's begin with my personal favorite… Telekinesis." she told, making the young boy start to lit each of the candles in complete silence. He gave Madison a nonchalant look as he did so, the starlet furrowing her brows and looking at him with hate. It was obvious something had happened between them and Zoe, something that had left Madison hurt.

"What if I can't do it?" Misty asked with doubt as she fidgeted with her shawl, looking at Cordelia and finding her severe look. She was happy that the headmistress had got her sight back, and that she hadn't had to do something stupid to find her inside that casket. Who would have thought that her Second Sight would be triggered by touching the dress Misty wore when they first had met?

"Then you're not the Supreme." Cordelia spoke firmly, knowing she could not let her feelings overtake her judgement even if the only thing she wanted to do was to hug the wild haired woman for hours and protect her from her destiny. But maybe Misty was the Supreme, and sooner or later they would have to find out— she preferred to know as soon as possible. That would be so nice, was the first thought in the swamp witch's mind, not knowing if she meant to be or not to be the next leader of the coven.

"And you can go back to your swamp." Madison suggested with a snobbish tone.

"Misty," Myrtle told, making the witch swallow hard and turn her face to look at the candlestick with doubt. She did not feel ready, she was sure she would never be. "You're first." The swamp witch cringed slightly at these words, but soon she dropped her hands to her sides and under everyone's tense stare she focused on the burning flame, wanting it to move towards her.

"Intention." she heard Cordelia say, giving her the confidence she needed to lean forward on the table, looking at the flame more intently. Move, she commanded silently, focusing all her energy on it. Move. She was now wishing more than commanding, but she was determined to get this one right. She had done it before, she could do it again. Move. Finally, the candlestick slid into her hand, making her grin proudly.

"I did it." she told with an excited laugh, looking at the flame with relief and then blowing it out. "I did it!" Even if both Myrtle and Cordelia smiled proudly— the redhead woman didn't like to be wrong, since divination was one of her main powers— not everyone seemed to be happy that she had made it.

"Almost sounds like you want it." Madison told, her face changing from internal fear to anger and annoyance as she crossed her arms. Everyone knew that the starlet wished Misty had died inside that casket, that her plan had worked and she had one less competitor.

"It's not about want. You either are or you aren't a Supreme." Cordelia cut her words, resting her fingertips on the table. She knew exactly the meaning of these words, after all she had wished to be powerful many times in her life.

"Maybe I am." Misty mused out loud, what made not only Cordelia but most of them smile. Even Zoe, who had seemed to be on the verge of tears all weekend, expressed happiness at the thought of the swamp witch being their leader. She would be better than Madison anyway.

"Nan." Cordelia spoke, giving the girl a nod. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, opening them and smiling as she focused her magic on making the candle move. It took her a few seconds too, but her movements were more graceful than Misty's— the object slid into her hand with ease.

"Queenie?" Myrtle prompted the girl to go next, and soon she was looking at the burning flame and making a slight hand movement. This time there was no waiting, and easily the candlestick moved between her fingers, making the girl smile confidently as she blew it out. Nan let out a soft laugh, glad her best friend was so skilled.

"Yup." she told, leaving the candlestick on the table and looking at the headmistress, who smirked proudly. If there are two girls I have taught well since they arrived here, these are Queenie and Nan. She had started to forget her worries and simply enjoy the competition, seeing how it motivated the young witches.

"Madison, obviously this is your bailiwick."

"Whatever that means." Madison replied, tired not only of the redhead's complicated way of talking but on the fact that as every second passed the others seemed to get stronger— they started to look like actual rivals to the starlet. Her confidence trembled. Still, she did not need much focus to make the candlestick fly to her hand, and she blew the flame as she smirked at Misty.

"Last but not least, Zoe."

The girl looked at the candle for a second, and it quickly, slid into her hand. She had done it immediately, what made Misty, Queenie and Nan look extremely surprised— while an upset Madison put her hands on her hips. She opened her mouth to say something, but Myrtle and Cordelia interrupted by guiding them to the living room and then instructed Kyle to serve a few drinks. It was time for Concilium.

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