Cordelia froze.
The voice was familiar but no names came to mind. Perhaps a neighbor? What were they doing in her greenhouse?
"Who are you, why are you in my house?" she hopped through the door and cried out as a hand touched her bare arm, pushing her backwards. Suddenly a vision of the whitest light she'd even seen burned her eyes and she felt the most intense burning pain she'd even felt splash from her head to her toes. It felt as if she was sizzling from the inside out. Her hair follicles pulled as she felt her muscles cooking in the flames. Her skin became rough and she smelled a putrid burning smell.
Cordelia gagged and shook out of the grip, falling forwards into the greenhouse. She stuck out her arms, expecting a cold blow to the cement of the floor. Instead, the same hands wrapped themselves around her torso and pulled her upright against a warm body. She was then hoisted onto a cement slab like a child, her backside slamming into the cool surface. She was sure that it would bruise by morning. Well, just add that to the collection of bruises that were already formed. The cool cement burned against her thighs as she fought to not panic. The rain was louder down here, making it almost impossible to hear anything.
Her muscles clenched as she curled her hands into her lap and tried to make herself small. Panic started to set in and soon the feeling in her legs was wavering, Cordelia could tell she was just staving off a panic attack. She tried to catch her breath, but all she managed was a garbled cry. Her fists opened and rubbed nervously down her robed thighs as she angrily pulled at the scratched silk beneath her. She'd been taken hostage in her own home. How useless was she?
"Ma'am, don't walk anywhere. Kyle here, he -"
Cordelia's head lifted at the familiar name "Kyle? Kyle's here?"
"Yeah."
She waited a moment for the girl to explain. They sat there for an awkward pause until the girl seemed to catch on.
"He, uh, we're old friends now. Uh, he accidentally put his uh hand through that there window' tryin' to close it and hurt himself somethin' fierce. I got it though, the window and his hand. I didn't want your flowers to drown so I got those first."
"He's okay?" Cordelia was able to stammer out. "I don't care so much about the flowers."
It hurt her to say it. But, in the end the greenhouse - while being one of her major passions - was just a hobby, a collection. Even if they seemed to be the most stable relationships in her life, the plants in the greenhouse still paled in comparison to a human life. Even if it was Kyle's.
"Kyle is fine. An' I'm calling your bluff on the flowers Ms..?'
"Cordelia"
"Aha, Miss Cordelia. I can tell these plants are filled to the brim with love and affection. They told me so. They tell me you love 'em like children. You're a good plant Mama and they're very grateful."
Cordelia just blushed and tilted her head down towards her feet. Being blind didn't prevent her from being submissive when complimented. Eye contact was eye contact, even if one set no longer functioned. Why she was ashamed of her plants, she did not know. Was she embarrassed of the love she could give? Had it been that long since someone had given her praise in its most basic form?
"I'm sorry to sound so crass But, who are you?" Cordelia asked suspiciously. "Also, you didn't really tell me why you were here."
"Name's.. Rhiannon." the woman offered. She sounded hesitant, but Cordelia could tell the woman wasn't dangerous. If she had been, she could have killed her when she fell into the greenhouse. It wasn't like she was hard to capture or anything. Plus, the sweet scent of innocence flowed off the woman in warm waves. It almost seemed like she was familiar in some way. Perhaps it would come up in conversation. Especially since the vision she'd caused Cordelia left the witch with a lot of questions.
The sound of glass being swept made Cordelia cringe. The scraping of the bits against the cement made her body shiver and her teeth hurt. It was one of the noises she absolutely hated. But, she would not complain because she was in no condition to do anything. Not only was her intruder kind, she was sweeping up the mess in the greenhouse. Even strangers had to take care of her. This was a mess. She was a mess.
"Well, hello Rhiannon. I hate to seem ungrateful for your help but what are you doing in my greenhouse and how the hell do you know Kyle?" Cordelia tried to slide off the slab and hollered when her bare, injured foot made contact with the ground. She hopped back up and tried her best to ignore the scraping of the slab against the back of her bruised thighs. She truly was trapped here.
"Oh, you're hurt too! Heavens above - I didn't realize. Apologies." Rhiannon went quiet for a moment and Cordelia heard her shuffling around.
"I know Zoe too. She ain't visited in a while tho'. Kyle, he visits me when he can. We're friends." the Cajun drawl of the woman was soothing to Cordelia. She spoke in a half-whisper. Kind of like she was afraid of calling attention to herself. "I don't have many of those, so I try to be there for them when they need me."
"They...visit you? In a swamp?"
"Well, Zoe doesn't no more. But Kyle comes when he can. It's hard to talk to him sometimes but he'd a damn good listener if ya give him a chance. Miss Cordelia, could you just settle for one second while I pull this glass outta your foot? It'll smart somethin' fierce, but I gotta get it now so it'll heal. Hey, Kyle!"
"Kyle?" Cordelia called. She jumped when a cold hand took hers. She turned to face towards him and maternally stroked a hand over his arm, shoulder, and face. Visions of him being buried in mud flittered in her mind, along with hazy memories of Zoe fighting someone over him. She then saw him lying in a bed, bobbing his head to an older song. It was strange to get this sneak peek of his life. She was ashamed to admit that with his penchant for silence, she hadn't really thought about how his mind would be intact.
It was strange, she'd known Kyle for almost a year but had never truly questioned how Zoe and Madison were able to reanimate him. After seeing some of the shenanigans that those two were able to get into, it was probably for the best.
She squeezed his hand in return and grimaced at whatever it was covered in. She raised her hand to her nose and sniffed, terrified of what it could be.
"S'mud. Swamp mud is magical." The girl's voice startled Cordelia. She jumped as chilled fingers touched her foot and she cried out in pain as the piece of lamp was removed. Had she not had a wound, it probably would have tickled.
Cordelia cried and cursed herself for the tears that fell. She was humiliated. Crippled. A freak on display. Here she was, rendered useless by a twenty dollar lamp that laid in pieces on her floor. She continued to weep silently while Rhiannon wrapped her foot.
Cordelia let go of Kyle's hand and wiped her hand on the hip of her already destroyed robe. She felt around her scalp and winced at the large lump that was forming. Hopefully, if she ever made it out of this greenhouse alive, she could find some aspirin in the kitchen without accidentally poisoning herself.
They all sat there in silence for a few minutes. She could hear Kyle pulling the garbage bag out of the bin near the door. In the far corner she heard a soft hum and the rustle of fabric. Rhiannon's voice was smooth and beautiful in its own way. It wasn't exactly on pitch - as if Cordelia would know. But, it was close. Her feet were scraping against the cement slightly, and if she wasn't mistaken, was dancing or at least moving around quickly. The noise of whatever she was wearing made something click in Cordelia's mind.
"Are you the same woman from earlier? In the street?"
"Yes'm. I'm sorry if I frightened ya' then. Or even just now. I didn't mean to." The voice came from her left now. "I just come when I'm called."
"Well, now that I know that you're not trying to kill me. Why are you in here? Not that I don't enjoy your company in the middle of the night."
"Uh, Miss Cordelia it's eight in the evenin'."
"It is?"
"Yeah. I was helpin' Kyle over here. He gets awful lonely when Zoe's gone. So, he came to my cabin and we were singin' Stevie together. But, I had a feelin' so I brought him back here to be safe. I don't want anyone to get hurt anymore." the woman's voice got quieter as she went on. Eventually she ended with a whisper.
"What do you mean by 'a feeling'?"
"I can't really explain it. I don't have the words to. I'm not that educated Ma'am."
The reluctance in her voice ebbed at Cordelia's defenses. Obviously, the girl was not used to many people questioning her.
"Are you safe?" Cordelia reached a hand out; perhaps some contact would help them both understand each other.
What happened after is not what she expected.
