Chapter 2
She looked unreal, she couldn't have been real. Yet she lay there, on the table, stone-still, like marble, but radiating light. Cordelia's mouth went dry and she felt dizzy from all the emotions hitting her all at once. Then she heard Zoe calling her name from a distance. It took her a while until she realized that it wasn't from a distance at all, but she was standing right in front of her, with a confused and concerned expression. "What is going on? What happened, are you alright?" When Cordelia didn't answer, the young witch followed the Supreme's gaze and, finally seeing what upset her that much, gasped - flabbergasted. "Misty" she simply uttered and stepped closer towards the table and towards the bare-naked woman lying on top of it. "But how is it poss…" her words got stuck in her throat and she just gawked at Misty in awe.
Then Queenie, Kyle and Delphine came rushing in, alarmed by all the noise and riot.
Delphine snapped out of her daze quickest:" Cover her up, for God's sake!" She took off her jacket and carefully laid it over Misty's exposed body. "Is she alive?" Kyle asked. Queenie leaned over the motionless figure, examining her closer. "She's breathing alright! Just unconscious"
"She looks like porcelain", Zoe muttered absent-mindedly. They fell silent again, still staring at the blonde witch, amazed by her vibrant aura and her angelic appearance. "How is she back?" Queenie finally asked turning to face Cordelia, who was still one step behind them, still frozen. When the Supreme felt all their gazes upon herself, she lifted a hand to wipe away a tear that had run down her cheek and took a deep breath to compose herself. Still chocked up, her words came out hoarse and stuttering: "Let's…let's see if she's alright" . Slowly coming to herself, she approached the fragile looking creature. The others stepped aside to make room for her. She moved in slow-motion, her chest visibly heaving with every breath she took. Her eyes took in every inch, every little detail of the miraculous phenomenon in front of her - Misty Day. Her skin was so pale, no scratch, no scar, smooth like silk, like a newborn's. She looked as if she was peacefully sleeping, her wild blond locks framing her delicate features. Cordelia hesitantly stretched out a hand to touch the blonde girl's forehead, but stopped and just slowly let her hand hover over her face, then her chest and her heart. When a mixture of a sigh and a moan escaped the older witch's throat, Zoe stepped in, gently pulling Cordelia away and took charge.
"Let's bring her upstairs. Queenie, we'll take her to your room, it used to be hers and she might feel safer there when she wakes up. Delphine, can you get her a nightgown. Kyle, I want you to carry her, I don't want to risk using magic on her, as long as we don't know more about her condition." They did as they were told and the subsequent commotion finally seemed to wake Cordelia from her stupor. "Take her to my room" she said on a sudden impulse and warily watched every step Kyle took, carrying the unconscious woman.
He followed her orders and when arriving in Cordelia's room, he cautiously laid her down on her bed. Delphine came running with a simple white gown that she and Zoe pulled over the limp girl's body. Queenie covered her with a blanket. For another moment they all just stood around Misty laying in Cordelia's bed, watching her sleep. Then they quietly left the room and closed the door behind them.
"What the hell, happened, Cordelia?", Queenie demanded, as soon as the door clicked shut. "Last I saw you, you were having a chat with a goddamn amphibian, and now all of a sudden the swamp witch is back?"
"Swamp bitch is back?" They all turned around in unison, to find Madison standing in her doorway, looking at them snootily. "I thought I smelled something."
"Oh shush, will you" Delphine hissed at her.
Madison's curiosity awoken, she strolled towards them and drawled: "So, what happened?"
"She talked to a frog and now Misty's back", Queenie blurted out, still eager for an explanation. "Queenie!" Zoe snapped. But the curvaceous girl lost her patience: "What? It's true, I saw it with my own eyes. So what happened Delia? Come on, tell us already!"
Cordelia was still pretty shaken and had no clue how to explain Misty's sudden appearance. Wanting to end the girls' rampage as quickly as possible, she figured it'd be best to just stick with the truth .
"I just kissed the frog… gave him a little peck. That's all. Suddenly all hell breaks lose with flashes and explosions. And there she was."
Mentioning her drew her eyes towards the closed door, behind which Misty was sleeping.
"You kissed a frog?" Madison snorted out with laughter. "And you made it explode?" The Supreme threw a grim look at her, she didn't know how else to respond. She had no answers.
"Why'd you kiss the thing?" Queenie chimed in, "You're not in a fucking Brother's Grimm fairy tale! Did you expect a freaking prince to appear?" she chuckled and continued: "You might be the Supreme, but you are so weird. No offense, we love you…but…you know…."
"Enough!" Cordelia finally exclaimed, cutting them off, her harsh tone silencing the girls at once.
"I know as much as you do. But we will find the time to figure out what had happened and why and how she came back. Until then, I believe all of you have things to do. So I suggest you see to them and we will meet up again later and discuss how to proceed from here. Zoe, I'm gonna need you to cancel my potion's class for today. I'll stay here with Misty, I want to keep an eye on her and make sure she's not alone, when she wakes up." Zoe nodded, gestured to the others to follow her and they left Cordelia alone in the hallway.
Her head was still spinning. She pressed her hands on her face and breathed in deeply, letting the air out with a big sigh. Then she carefully opened the door to her room and quietly stepped in. She stayed put by the door for another few moments, just looking over to Misty who was fast asleep. She could still not believe, that she was actually back, right here, in her room, with her. But when she stepped next to the bed, it slowly dawned on her and she let out a soft laugh of joy and wonder. Looking down on the sleeping blonde, her chest filled with warmth and she couldn't help but smile. Calmness and ease overcame her and she closed her eyes, taking in the feel of the moment. Finally she had time to gather herself and to deal with this new situation. She carefully sat down on the edge of the bed. And this time she did not hesitate, she did not stop when she reached out a hand and very gently touched Misty's face with her fingers, tenderly tracing them along her cheek.
Everything happened so fast and all at once. The vision violently pulled her into immediate darkness, she felt a sudden weight pressing against her chest, so heavy, she was sure it would crush her to death. Then for just a fraction of a second she was drawn into a void, emptiness crawling over her, inside of her, eating her up, like worms a decomposing body. She gasped out fiercely and opening her eyes again, she found herself face to face with Misty. Eyes wide in shock and terror, the swamp witch uttered a panicked cry, that made Cordelia shudder. She hastily backed away from Cordelia and pushed herself into the wall at the head of the bed. Her eyes wild, her breath rapid, her body shaking, she wrapped her arms around her knees and started whimpering in fear and confusion.
"Hey, hey…shhh…shhh….you're alright….it's alright…you're safe…you're safe" Cordelia whispered, carefully gesturing that she won't come near her, won't harm her. Like a scared up animal Misty still pressed herself into the wall and peered at the other woman uneasily. Then Cordelia saw a flickering in her eyes, a flickering of recognition and she dared to slowly move closer, still speaking soft, calming words of reassurance. Misty, though still tense and scared, let her approach, which gave Cordelia confidence and with one quick movement, she was by her side and pulled her into an embrace. The panicked girl instantly slackened in Cordelia's arms and quietly started to cry. Cordelia just held her in her arms, softly stroking her hair and her back.
Slowly calming down, herself, she realized that, even though she was touching Misty, the horrifying vision from before had not come back. She breathed out thankfully and when Misty's sobs subsided, she loosened their embrace to look at the exhausted woman. Their eyes met and Cordelia felt a strange sensation in her chest and in her stomach. Which only intensified, when a small smile formed around the corners of Misty's mouth. She couldn't help but smile, too and let herself just enjoy the moment for a second.
Then all the questions, she desperately wanted answers to, pushed against her skull and she couldn't hold them back anymore.
"Misty, are you alright?" she softly asked first. And when Misty didn't answer: "I can't believe you're back, how are you back?" she rambled on: "What happened? How did you do it? How did you come back? Because, you know, usually, actually, this is impossible. We're going to have to read up on this, find out if this has happened before and if there are any consequences to it. Oh God, I hope not, we better check you up, to see if you're ok. You seem ok to me, Misty, are you ok?"
But Misty was not paying attention to her ramblings. Her focus was on the window and the blue sky, white clouds and birds outside. Cordelia followed her gaze and smiled. Misty, mesmerized by the scenery outside the window, stood up and walked over there to get a better view. Cordelia watched her from the bed and chuckled when Misty looked out of the window so eagerly that she bumped her head on the glass. She rubbed her forehead and nose, but smiled and then quickly crossed the room to reach for the door.
Cordelia barely had time to react, she opened her mouth to hold her back, but then she just got up and followed her out of the room.
Barefoot and in her nightgown Misty walked down the stairs, crossed the big empty entrance hall and stepped outside, into the front yard. She paused for a moment, breathing in the hot, humid air, raising her head, her face towards the sunlight and closed her eyes in pleasure.
Cordelia stood in the doorway and watched the blonde woman step on the grass, wiggle her toes and then turn around to her, a big smile spread across her face. It made Cordelia laugh to see her so joyful.
Misty continued her journey of (re)discovery, walking through the front yard, touching the ground, the earth, the dirt, the plants and everything she could get her hands on.
Cordelia was so much taken by the scene, she didn't even notice Zoe, Queenie, Madison and some of the students had silently joined her, all looking at Misty in wonder.
"She's awake huh?!" Madison said plainly and Cordelia just nodded, neither of them taking their eyes off of the bubbly, strange and mystifying woman. Who was now kneeling down and digging her hands deep into the earth, smiling brightly.
Suddenly her smile faded and she stopped - just to then abruptly get up and determinedly walk towards the coven ground's gate. She seemed to have had some sort of recollection, her stride was quick and decisive and Cordelia had to run over to her, to hold her back. She touched her shoulder, which made Misty pause, turn around and smile at her. But her eyes wandered off into the distance, a longing expression on her face.
She didn't need to say anything, Cordelia knew where she was headed.
"I'll take you there soon, I promise" she softly said and reached for Misty's hand. Misty took it and their hands and fingers entwined, she let Cordelia lead her back inside. The others followed, now chatting and debating and coming up with all kinds of ideas of how Misty was able to come back.
At the foot of the stairs, Misty slowed down and then her knees gave way. "Whoa!" Cordelia called out, supporting her quickly and calling for someone to help bring her back upstairs.
