As always, I hope you enjoy the reading!
"Concilium." Myrtle started after she and the headmistress took a seat. Both of them looked serious again, sitting formally on the couch as the redhead spoke. "Commonly known to the public as 'mind control'. It's a tricky little craft. When properly exercised, can bend the strongest of wills to your desire. Now, let's see which of you fillies has really got the stuff."
Misty and Queenie were the first to try, each in one side of the room. The swamp witch inhaled deeply, looking to the dark skinned girl awkwardly, moving her shoulders back as she tried to focus. "Stare all you want, flower child." she could hear her say, interrupting her focus. "Nobody controls my mind but me." It was that what made the swamp witch decide that she had to put her in her place— Queenie's hand slapped her own face with strength, as if it was alive. "Oh, shit." she gasped, making Misty focus again on giving her another slap. "Knock it off!"
"This is fun." the other added, a third slap being delivered just in time to hear Myrtle's nonchalant voice again, calling for the next one to perform Concilium. And for Misty's bad fortune, it was Queenie's turn. She stood with her hands on her hips, a vengeful smirk on her face as she saw how the swamp witch stood with fear in front of her.
"No hard feelings about— Ow!" Her hand had moved to pull from her golden locks, making her scream in pain as the other grinned. She had been the one to put Misty in her place in the end. "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!" She hadn't stopped yelling when Nan, who stood at the door, made both of them walk towards the other with open arms, making them awkwardly hug as they insulted the other under their breath— while she and Cordelia laughed loudly.
"Next."
Even if Myrtle was still sitting with indifference on the couch, Cordelia quickly felt the tension build in the room as both Madison and Zoe walked in. No one dared to speak a word, not only as they positioned themselves but either as they stood opposite to the other, looking daringly. For once, it was Zoe that looked confident as opposed to Madison, but that lasted only a few seconds— Kyle's hands soon became shaky and he dropped the tray with the glasses.
"He's not part of this!" Zoe exclaimed, waiting to go help him but unable to. As her confidence disappeared, the starlet won it back, smirking slightly and looking at Zoe with mischief in her gaze.
"He is now." she stated, making the other slap herself. Meanwhile the boy clumsily walked towards the starlet, unable to save his girlfriend from another strong slap. Myrtle tried to stop the starlet in vain. "I'm not done." she told aggressively, wanting to show who ruled in their three way relationship. The boy leaned forward and kissed her, leaving a startled Zoe with no strength to make her stop. Even Cordelia was silent, knowing that she had no way to stop it. "Now, lick it." they all heard Madison say, and the boy fell to his knees, leaning to lick her boot. And Zoe wished that he didn't, she wished that he was not more humiliated than he had already been. And so Kyle stood and walked towards her, kissing her passionately— though the girl's eyes were glaring at the starlet, reminding her who the boy had chosen with no need for magic.
Madison hated to be defied, and did not doubt to show the other. Anger started to take over her, and suddenly Kyle was choking the other girl, Cordelia's eyes filling with panic. She extended her arm and moved it quickly, making him fly to the other side of the room and free Zoe's neck. He fell miserably on the floor under the disappointed, even hurt, gaze of the starlet.
"That's enough." Cordelia told severely, not caring if the boy had been hurt. They couldn't lose time with these kind of games, and her girls safety concerned her deeply. She looked at Zoe and gave her a small nod, then stared at the other girl. "Let's move on."
"Having fun yet?"
"Yeah, it's a real party."
After taking a break, they were all sitting in the living room, waiting for Cordelia and Myrtle to come back. Both women had excused themselves to decide would the next test be as Misty healed Kyle's head— he had a small bump from hitting the wall so forcefully. The tension in the room could be cut with a knife, though only between the two blonde teenagers— Misty sat on an armchair thoughtfully while Queenie and Nan waited on the couch, talking. "The next task before our candidates is transmutation." they heard the red headed woman say.
Immediately Zoe decided to be the first, and in less than a second she was behind the starlet, putting her hands on the back of the chair the other sat on and whispering in her ear. "Tag, you're it." Soon they all were appearing and disappearing from the room, a series of 'You're it' and 'Tag!' filling the house as they played. Nan reached the hall and ran out of the house, Madison following her to escape a Zoe decided to tag her. The two remaining witches and Kyle walked outside seconds later, Cordelia pursing her lips. She was concerned— transmutation could be a dangerous skill.
"Careful, girls!" she shouted. "It's not a game!"
"It's the best game, and we need a goddamned break!" Madison shouted, turning to her and missing how Queenie scared the other teenager, who started running and tagged Nan. The short girl's reaction was quick, and soon she was running behind Madison— but stopped dead a second later. She looked at her hands, then at Madison, who had transmuted to the other end of the yard and waited for her. "Come on, we don't have all day!"
"I…" Nan muttered, closing her eyes shut and focusing on the spot behind the starlet, trying to focus the energy. "I…" she wished for it harder, wishing that the thought that had just crossed Cordelia's mind was not true. It couldn't be, she wanted it so much, she wanted to show everyone that she could be the Supreme. She did not want to be the first one to fail. "I can't…" she opened her eyes, noticing how everyone stood looking at her. She suddenly couldn't breathe properly, her hands shook.
"I'm sorry, Nan," Myrtle spoke with a nonchalant tone from the front door. Suddenly Queenie was behind the short girl and put her hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. They slowly walked towards the red headed woman, who now stood in front of Cordelia— the headmistress' tears were obvious down her cheeks. "But you are not the next Supreme."
The girl looked down and gave her a nod, then turned to hug Queenie and then walked towards the headmistress. As soon as the woman had made sure she was okay, she turned to look at the others, who quickly resumed the game. It was not needed anymore to continue the test, since they all had proved they could perform transmutation, but none of them seemed to care. "Careful, girls!" Cordelia repeated, making Zoe roll her eyes.
"Can't we just have a little fun?" the girl told as she kept running, not knowing who had just been tagged but hearing more laughter behind her. Cordelia gave up and decided to walk back inside, needing to quench her thirst with a glass of wine. She was actually on the verge of a nervous breakdown, the disappointment of Nan having failed the test now added to the fact that she could lose one of her girls soon.
"Oh, dear God." the redheaded woman's voice stopped her, and a gasp horrified coming from the young girl behind her.
"What is it?" Cordelia asked, turning around. Kyle, who had been standing next to her with an amused smile on his face, was now screaming from the top of his lungs, the rest of girls frozen and looking at the girl's body. She gasped, watching the boy running towards his girlfriend— who lay on top of the gates, her stomach impaled and covered in blood. She struggled to breathe, maybe speak, no one could hear anything over Kyle's screams.
No one dared to speak a word as Kyle lay his girlfriend on top of the greenhouse table, the hot air mixed with the smell of plants making the environment suffocating for some of the women in the room. Nan was sitting on a corner of the room, fighting back tears as she looked at her friend. Cordelia could see horror in these eyes, and soon approached Nan again. "I'm okay, Cordelia." the girl told before she could even ask her.
The headmistress then returned to her place at the end of the table, observing the girl's body with her arms crossed. "Vitalum Vitalis." she muttered, realizing that it was time for them to do another test. "Vitalum Vitalis." she repeated. Queenie decided to try first, since she had already done this once with no effort. Leaning forward, she inhaled deeply and prepared herself to breathe life in her mouth. Seconds passed, the girl doing the same thing she had done with Misty at the cemetery— though this time it did not work.
"Nothing's happening." Kyle told, looking at Cordelia with fearful eyes, then at Myrtle and finally to Madison, who seemed to be more than happy that Zoe had been impaled. Even the headmistress could understand why, no matter how twisted the actress' mind was. The other girl being dead meant another witch out of their particular race to the leadership of the coven, another rival out of the competition.
"Please." Queenie muttered. She had done it before, she could do it. Why couldn't she now that Zoe needed her? Please, Zoe. Don't die on me, please. Madison can't be the Supreme, come on... She closed her eyes, hoping that suddenly Zoe would open her eyes and breathe in like Misty had done at the cemetery. Everyone was silent, the only sound of the room being the boy's heavy breathing as he tried to contain himself from bursting into tears.
"Guess who isn't Supreme after all?"
Madison smirked, tilting her head. Poor little Zoe… The bitch couldn't even save herself from getting fucking impaled. Nan turned to look at the starlet with a hateful look, having heard her thoughts. How could someone be so twisted, it was a mystery to everyone in the room. "I'm sorry..." the dark-skinned girl looked at Kyle with an equally hurt look, not knowing what else to say. She hadn't been able to save his girlfriend, when she knew she had before had that power.
"Queenie, take Kyle into the house." Cordelia told, watching the boy start to break down. Even if he didn't speak much, even if the woman had never had an actual conversation with him, she knew what it was to lose a person you love, to know you won't hear their voice again. She sighed, her aunt's burning was still too recent for her. "Madison, the Vitalum Vitalis." Cordelia's voice was severe, completely disgusted by the girl's attitude. Even Misty did not recognize that side of the headmistress, she had not seen her act so severely. She really must be worried… Does that mean Zoe was the new Supreme?
"You want me to bring her back?"
"Do you think you can?"
"Oh, I know I can."
"Then do it."
"Would that make me Supreme?"
"It would mean we could continue with the Seven Wonders."
"Because she'd be back in the game."
"Just like you were back in the game after you were brought back. And Queenie is not out of the game— she knows how to perform Descensum, she simply failed once. The Seven Wonders are still on track, and you will be participating. Unless you're afraid you might not really be the Supreme." For once, Myrtle seemed to be speechless, looking at the blonde woman with a concerned face. She seemed to be silently praying for her to convince Madison. "Also, Misty is still in the game." the headmistress reminded, looking at the swamp witch. She was uncomfortable, hiding in a corner of the room, hoping that no one would mention her in that battle of words between the headmistress and the teenager. Under the witches attentive look, Madison trapped a fly between the palms of her hands, killing it and showing its remains to everyone in the room. And then, she closed her hands and eyes and brought it back to life, watching it fly away.
"Zoe lost, fair and square. It's not my fault."
"Madison, if you refuse this, then you don't deserve to be S—"
"What's deserve got to do with any of this? You can't disqualify me. Either I'm Supreme or I'm not. And, obviously, I am. The swamp bitch won't even pass Descensum, I'm sure of it." she grinned and looked at Misty with disdain, then moved her hand to wipe some blood from the dead girl's body. "You know, I'm starting to think Fiona had the right idea, leaving this shit show behind. I'm thinking very seriously about doing the same thing. So either crown me or kiss my ass."
And with that, she turned and walked out of the greenhouse, her heels clicking against the floor as everyone else stared. When Madison had left, all faces turned to set eyes on the swamp witch. She had been standing in a corner of the room, hidden from everyone's view, wanting to go unnoticed. It was not that she was scared, but she doubted she could resuscitate Zoe without using her Resurgence powers and Vitalum Vitalis instead. She frowned, the girl's attitude towards the headmistress, towards her girlfriend, was completely unacceptable. Who could treat other people like that and expect to be respected? "She really loves bein' the center of attention, that b—"
"Misty," Cordelia interrupted, turning towards the other and then sighing. It was time for Misty to perform another of the tests, the last one before Descensum. Cordelia was as scared as any of the girls, even if she did not have to pass the tests. But the sole thought of losing any of them, no matter which one, hurt. And with Zoe lying dead on the table that fear was overwhelming her rapidly. She needed a break, she really did. "You're the last one."
The swamp witch sighed and approached Zoe, closing her eyes to focus on not using resurgence. It was hard, she was too used to it. She opened her eyes and inhaled deeply, then leaned forward and breathed out, hovering the girl pale lips with hers. She waited, and waited. Every second that passed seemed an eternity, as if time was stuck. And then Zoe gasped, her eyes opening widely and her body shaking. She looked around in confusion, then her hands quickly went to her chest— it was healed. Everyone seemed to sigh in relief, Misty's ringed hands against the table as she laughed under her breath. "Oh thank God, I thought you were gonna die on me."
Hope you liked this chapter! As always reviews, favorites and follows are more than welcome!