THE COVEN MARCHED THROUGH THE STREETS OF New Orleans, moving to the beat of their own drum in a single file line. At the head was Fiona Goode, followed in order by Corey, Madison, Nan, Zoe and Queenie. The first three witches walked the streets in heels as the three that followed them donned flats— or, in Queenie's case, sneakers.
Madison's long sleeved dress flowed down towards her ankles. Corey wondered what the girl was hiding under the fabric. She felt as though it was one of the more modest dresses her girlfriend had chosen to wear, which peaked her interest. On most occasions, the blonde would take any chance to show some extra skin and run with it.
"Where are we going," Madison whined, tilting her head back slowly as she played along with the forced game of 'follow the leader'. "It's too hot, my freaking vagina is sweating." Corey scoffed, shaking her head as she followed closely behind Fiona, her hooded shawl in place over her head. Each of the younger witches walked with a black hat placed snuggly on the tops of their heads, initiated by Madison trying to outdo Corey's signature shawl.
"To Popp Fountain. A kind of holy place for our order. Back in the 1970s, Mary Oneida Toups led an alternative coven down here." Fiona dodged a pair of meat deliverymen as she led the group across the street, triumphantly holding her black umbrella over her head.
"She and her sister witches would gather there, proudly and publicly, very much in the spirit of the times. But it was damaged during Katrina and the authorities used this as an excuse to declare this sacred space a safety hazard. It's been closed off ever since." She held herself in a regal manner as she spoke over the noises of the bustling street around them, taking it upon herself to teach the newer additions of the coven about their history.
"Wait, haven't we—" Madison placed a hand on Corey's shoulder to get the redhead's attention.
"Um," she started, eyes wide. Fiona turned to look at her with a raised brow as Corey let out a chuckle. "Ye—yeah," she cleared her throat, nodding. When Madison had first relocated from Los Angeles, Corey had made it her mission to take the blonde to her favorite abandoned or hidden locations.
It very quickly turned into 'how many abandoned locations can we defile before we get caught by a park cop' with Jazzland, Booker T. Washington High School, the original Holy Cross School, and the London Lodge Motel among the list. Though, when the point of their adventures changed, Corey had kept the truly haunted or sacred locations off of their hit-list. While they had visited Popp Fountain together, it hadn't been for anything more than a wholesome lunch date.
"I don't understand, what are we supposed to do if we can't get in?" Zoe leaned forward, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"Tear the wall down. When witches don't fight, we burn." Fiona called back towards Zoe, keeping her gaze forward through her large designer sunglasses.
"Ugh, this is seriously the worst field trip ever," Madison groaned. Her hand slid from Corey's shoulder to return to her side, their fingers brushing against each other with a faint spark in the process.
"Each one of you has a unique gift, but that's not nearly enough to be a real witch." Fiona spoke in a condescending tone, causing the redhead behind her to roll her eyes.
"And you're a real witch?" Madison scoffed. She kept her gaze locked ahead of her as the brim of her hat bounced slightly with each step.
"She's the Supreme," Nan and Corey spoke in unison, the younger of the two gazing off into the distance as an unfamiliar building caught her attention. To anyone else, it would just be another old building along Royal Street, but something— or someone— was calling out to Nan. The girl stopped, her attention turning to the large grey building on the corner of Royal and Governor Nicholls. Madison and Zoe turned to look at the girl with furrowed brows as Queenie walked around her.
"You know, that one?" Fiona laughed. She pointed a finger to the girl who stood with her feet glued against the sidewalk as the rest of the group marched on. "She's smarter than all of you put together."
Madison tugged on the back of Corey's shawl, grabbing the redhead's attention. She turned around, a single brow raised at the blonde, until she watched as Nan made her way across the street, abandoning the tour that Fiona had sprung on the group at the last minute.
"Fiona," Corey groaned. She turned back around to face the Supreme. "Care to do a headcount?" She asked. She crossed her arms over her chest in frustration. Fiona rolled her eyes, waving the redhead off and continuing on her merry way.
"Everyone is here, I don't understand why you're—" The redhead cut her off again, this time planting her feet against the sidewalk. Madison bumped into her, not entirely paying attention as she had kept her eyes on the straggler.
"Shit," she muttered. She scrunched her nose slightly as she stumbled backward, caught off guard.
"We've got a straggler," Corey sighed. She tapped a finger against the inside corner of her arm, her brows arched at the older woman in front of her. Finally, Fiona stopped walking and turned around. Her lips moved as she silently counted the witches in line. Corey was right, Nan had wandered off.
The door to the LaLaurie mansion swung open and Corey took it upon herself to lead the group back to the building that the young witch had gone into. Fiona fell to the back of the line, the confusion evident on her face for a beat before she hurried forward.
"The New Orleans Preservation Foundation is proud to present the haunted home tour of the notorious Madame LaLaurie. This very house, the center of New Orleans high society, was also a place of abject horror." The tour guide's voice echoed through the first floor and out onto the street. Fiona quickly took the lead of the group once more, closing her umbrella as she pushed the door to the building open.
Corey removed her hood from her head as she followed the Supreme inside. As they crossed the threshold, Queenie was the only one who let their hat remain on top of their heads. Corey peered into every room as the group looked for the young witch. Finally, they found Nan standing with the rest of the tour group, staring up at a portrait of Delphine LaLaurie.
"You want me to get her?" Zoe asked. She placed a hand on Corey's arm to get her attention. Madison's fiery gaze immediately locked onto Zoe's hand as she rolled her jaw in frustration.
"No, it's okay," Corey sighed. She watched Nan from afar as the girl continued to stare at the painting directly behind the tour guide. Fiona took a step into the room, looking around at the decor and furnishings. Zoe returned her hand to her side with a nod and Madison visibly relaxed.
"Oh, excuse me. You can't just barge in on the tour without purchasing a ticket." The tour guide stopped Fiona in her tracks, but the Supreme just turned to her with a smile. They locked eyes and the guide's shoulders slumped slightly, as if hypnotized.
"You're giving us a tour for free," Fiona spoke with poise and determination. It was as if she had done this thousands of times before. Corey assumed that she had, not wanting to know what the circumstances were for the other situations.
"For free. Of course," the tour guide nodded, immediately returning her attention to the group in front of her as if nothing had happened. The witches entered the room behind Fiona, and Madison brushed her shoulder against Corey's slightly. Again, the redhead noted that something was off; Madison wasn't one for frequent public displays of affection unless they were within the confines of their own property.
The paparazzi followed her like a hawk, though there were less now than in the past. They had already attempted to out the girls once, having bought information off Corey's old drummer thinking they could provide it to the public. Their PR Manager, Trinity Pine, was able to immediately deny the allegations, but it grew increasingly difficult to bury the evidence as the years progressed.
Gossip publications would use any information they managed to gather to publicly out the couple before anyone else could. After intoxicated concert venues and 'window peeping perverts'— as Madison so endearingly called the photographers that consistently surrounded their apartment— Trinity was growing tired of burying their outings.
The tour guide directed the group out into the hallway as she continued talking. They followed her up the stairway, the chatter quieting as they moved further through the old home. Nan, the straggler that she was, stayed behind. She remained mesmerized by the portrait of the lady of the house, her head tilted up with her furrowed brow etching confused creases through her forehead.
Fiona led the coven into the next tour room. Corey took a slow step into the room. She watched as the crowd began to press into each other, the standing room growing sparse. She swallowed hard and searched for Fiona, finding her standing a few feet ahead with her gaze lingering on the desk of the bedroom.
"Madame LaLaurie was infamous for her vanity. She fought the rigors of age with a sacrament of expensive creams from Europe, and something else far more exotic." The tour guide stood with her hands folded in front of her, commanding the attention from the room as it grew silent amongst the crowd. Corey's head snapped to her right, feeling a hand snake across the lace of the dress that sat snuggly against her lower back. Her shoulders relaxed as she realized who the hand belonged to.
"Hey, how come you never brought me here?" Madison asked in a whisper. A playful smirk peeked across her lips as she leaned into Corey's personal bubble. The redhead sighed, wrapping an arm around the girl's torso awkwardly. They'd been caught holding hands and walking closely for so long that the behavior didn't faze Corey as much as it should have.
"Because, unlike the places we did visit, this one's actually haunted." Corey's fingers brushed against the sleeve of Madison's dress as the blonde pressed herself against her side. She refused to pry her hand from her girlfriend's back.
Madison was uncomfortable. It was palpable; the thick musky air made it harder to breathe in the already awkwardly structured building. The large group that surrounded them, packed like sardines from wall to wall, only made the actress feel more unwelcome and anxious in the old home.
"Pfft, yeah, sure," Madison scoffed as she shook her head, though her playful smirk remained on her lips. Her eyes rolled as she looked up at the other girl. For a moment, the people that surrounded them disappeared. Her bottom lip twitched slightly as she swallowed hard, the gulp in the back of her throat almost audible.
Corey's tongue darted out to wet her bottom lip. The slight huff that accompanied her laugh barely made a sound as her shoulders bounced slightly. They stared at each other for a moment too long, their smiles mirrored between them as a quiet shutter-click of a camera chirped out of their line of sight. The commanding voice from the corner grabbed their attention once again.
"The secret ingredient to the Madame's beauty ritual was a poultice made from human pancreas." The tour guide spoke matter-of-factly as she pushed open a secret door in the corner of the room, leading the group up another set of stairs. "This is the infamous chamber of horrors. No flash photography, please. The attic where Madame LaLaurie inflicted heinous torture upon her slaves. And where she ultimately met her own demise."
The air was thicker in the attic, somehow making it even more difficult to breathe. The smirk fell from Madison's lips as she finally understood that Corey was telling the truth. The girls became weary of their surroundings, the vibration in their bones growing stronger with each step they took through the attic-turned-torture chamber. Madison slowly ran her fingertips across her throat before tugging at the shoulder of her dress.
Corey's eyes locked onto the Supreme as Fiona walked around the room with her head held high. She let her hand fall from the blonde's side and took a step forward, an attempt break apart from Madison now that they had entered a space that opened up to a larger walkway. Instead of letting her create a gap between them, the blonde's grasped Corey's forearm in a hurry. The fabric of the hat in her hand folded with a quiet crunch, a crumpled mess of black satin crushed against black tulle.
"Why does it feel... weird up here?" Madison whispered. The wide brim of her hat grazed against Corey's face slightly as her hand traveled further up the redhead's arm. Corey could feel the sets of eyes boring into the back of her head, the excited whispers from a group of teenage girls behind grabbing her attention. She turned, her eyes landing on the culprits. The three stood with their faces buried in their phone screens, cameras pointed towards the actress and the musician.
"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Corey whispered through her teeth. A smile quickly took over her face, though she was less than happy about the situation. She raised her brows at the girls who hadn't yet noticed that they'd been caught. She felt the blonde's grip tighten against her arm as she let her other hand fall to rest near her side.
"What is i—" When Madison's head turned in the direction that Corey had been looking in, the defeat washed over her face. She looked down at the floorboards, her tongue rolling over her front teeth as she tried to remain calm. She took in a shaky breath, letting go of the redhead almost immediately.
Zoe made her way towards them, not looking at either witch as they spoke; a poor attempt at being inconspicuous. She broke the musician away from Madison for a moment, looking back to catch a panicked expression wash across the girl's face as the redhead was pulled aside. She didn't want to be left alone in a room full of strangers when people had already been caught photographing them together.
"Will you cover for me? I need to head to Troost Medical Center on the way home." Zoe spoke in a low whisper, her gaze landing on Madison who had been watching her like a hawk. The girl was visibly anxious. It pained Zoe to see Madison so scared to be alone.
Madison, the girl who only the day before had Zoe pinned to a table as she loudly chanted nothings at her. Madison, who dropped a spot light on her director in frustration for telling her to hit her mark. Zoe swallowed hard, her thumb running against her jawline as she pulled her hand down the side of her neck.
"I need to know who survived that crash." The brunette covered her tracks quickly, not needing Corey to know that she just wanted to find out whether or not Kyle had survived. She looked up at the redhead at the same moment the girl looked back at her. Corey looked between the brunette and the group of teenagers with a furrowed brow, trying to understand Zoe's words while also monitoring the fangirls in the corner of the room.
"Don't go sticking your nose where it doesn't belong," Corey groaned. The last thing she needed was for the newest witch to get caught meddling in the boiling pot of disaster that she and Madison had already created together.
"Look, if you knew what had happened last night, you would want to know, too." Zoe pleaded, her eyes begging the older girl to cave and let her wander off on her own. Corey swallowed hard. From what she had felt, whatever happened to Madison was much bigger than she had allowed herself to feel. She pursed her lips, nodding as she tried to calculate the possible outcomes of Zoe's solo mission.
"Fine, just... don't get caught," Corey sighed, raising her brows with a slight shake of her head. She could feel Madison's stare burning into the side of her face, causing her to look over at the blonde. Narrowed eyes quickly looked away as Madison rolled her jaw with a twitch of her nose.
Corey considered approaching the group of teens and offering to take a photo with them but decided against it. The fear of alerting the rest of the room of the celebrities hiding amongst them kept her from interacting with the girls. Instead, She returned to the blonde's side as the tour guide continued her droning monologue. She wrapped an arm around Madison's shoulder, holding the girl against her side with a sigh as they waited for the coven to regroup.
Her eyes drifted to the tour guide who stood with her hands folded in front of her, the ascot seemingly too tight around her neck. Corey wasn't sure what she would have done if it weren't for her music career, or her mother's career, but she knew that she would never want to be a tour guide; not even if the world was ending and it was her only choice.
"It's the second door on the left down the hall. Make sure you stack them vertically." Fiona called up the stairs, pointing up the left side of the staircase from the main floor of Miss Robichaux's Academy. The men that held her bags stood on the landing above her, slightly confused by the directions they were being given.
"I'm responsible for those girls. What if something had happened?" Cordelia looked from Corey to Fiona as she stood on the right side of the staircase on the first floor, her arms crossed over her chest. She was more angry with her mother than she was with her friend, knowing that Corey had only tagged along to make sure that the girls remained safe.
"Well, nothing did." Fiona refused to look at her daughter, choosing instead to watch the men as they walked away with a smile on her face. Corey rolled her eyes, wanting desperately to just kick off her shoes and lay in bed with a good book.
"Where's Zoe Benson?" Cordelia demanded, her head tilted slightly as her mother finally turned around.
"How would I know that?" Fiona threw her arms outward in frustration, her brows arching upward in a challenging manner. She shifted slightly, swallowing hard as the redhead next to her daughter opened her mouth.
"I've been in contact with her, Dee. She's fine," Corey looked down at Cordelia, slowly backing up the steps. She thought about mentioning that the Supreme had also almost lost Nan but opted to not do so. She hadn't seen where Madison had dashed off to when they returned home; a large part of her wanted to question the blonde's out of character behavior from earlier. A horn blared outside which caused Corey to jump slightly.
"Oh, there's my taxi. Here, darling," Fiona took a few steps forward, digging into the small purse in her hands. "Make sure you tip them generously when they're done." She handed Cordelia a small wad of cash before waving condescendingly as she turned away.
"Where are you going?" Cordelia dropped her arms to her sides, taking a step forward with a quizzical expression etched into her features. Corey took this moment to slowly back up the steps until she reached the landing in which the staircase split in two different directions.
"Out. Don't wait up," Fiona called out as she continued to make her way towards the front door.
"I have half a mind to enchant the locks after you leave." Cordelia took the hem of her sweater in her hands, tapping her fingertips together anxiously. She turned backward at the sound of Corey's voice.
"You act as if that would keep her out," the redhead scoffed, her hand resting against the railing as she shifted her weight slightly, needing to move her feet to keep her ankles from bothering her.
"Don't make me drop a house on you." Fiona called back, pulling the front door open without even looking back at the two girls near the staircase. Corey rolled her eyes as she made her way up the obnoxiously large staircase. She was ready to make her way into her bedroom and kick off her boots when she heard muffled sobbing coming from the bathroom attached to her room.
The sobbing was quickly replaced by sniffling as the clicking of Corey's heels drew closer to the door. The hinges creaked as she pushed the door open, taking a step inside. The room fell silent, the only sound being the water from the shower head hitting the porcelain tub. Unable to see Madison's shadow through the shower curtain, she called out to the other girl.
"Maddie?" She closed the door behind her as she moved inside, her heels echoing against the tile. With no response she moved across the room slightly faster, ditching her heels as she walked towards the claw foot tub in the center of the room. Corey pulled the curtain back to find Madison curled up in a ball on the floor of the bathtub, her neck craned upwards to see the redhead's face.
"I'm okay," the blonde choked out, her bottom lip quivering as the tears threatened to fall again at any moment. Corey knelt down next to the tub, her knees bumping against the porcelain as she dropped a hand against Madison's side.
"You spooked me," Corey spoke softly, gently dragging her fingers across Madison's bare skin as she smirked at the blonde. She felt the goosebumps that rippled across the fragile girl's body but froze, however, when the blonde winced at her touch. Her eyes moved quickly to the spot on Madison's arm that had turned black and blue overnight. Corey's smile fell, noticing that the same hand shape bruising pattern scattered the rest of her skin, accompanied by the large bruise across her shoulder blades from having forcefully collided with the wall that morning.
"It's nothing," Madison spoke quickly, moving away from Corey's hand as she sat up straight. "I'm fine, Corinna." The redhead's concerned gaze moved from taking in the blonde's injuries to scanning her face. The tears threatened to fall with every breath Madison took, her voice hoarse from sobbing. Before she could object, Corey climbed into the bathtub with her, too concerned with Madison's wellbeing to remove her dress.
"Maddie, what happened?" Corey gasped, wrapping her arms around the other girl and pulling her into her chest. She used one hand to smooth Madison's wet hair while the other held her small frame tightly against her own body.
Corey couldn't block out the imagery as it took over her, both girls too emotional to fight their powers. What took over her vision was fuzzy and hard to make out the details of. The fragments of what Madison had started to remember were short and fast paced.
Tall-dark-and-handsome lights her cigarette; Madison's voice echoes, "slaves get nothing."
The blonde shambles through a red-lit hallway, struggling to maintain her balance after a second drink.
Stumbling forward, someone catches her before she can hit the floor.
She pushes back, trying to get away, but they guide her further down the hallway.
The faces above her change, meld into one; she cries out in protest but their grips tighten.
The next face is Zoe's, the only one she remembers every detail of, concern and panic written all over her features.
Madison stomps after the tour bus; she raises one hand and— with the flick of her wrist— sends it flying.
"I don't remember," Madison's lip trembled as she spoke, pressing her head against Corey's chest harshly before she started to cry again. She shook her head, clinging to the other girl as she buried her face into her red curls.
The water from the shower head continued to batter down against them and Corey couldn't help but hold her tighter, pressing her cheek against the top of Madison's head. She clenched her jaw, trying to control her breathing for the sake of the girl in her arms.
"Whoever did this to you is going to pay for it," the anger seeped through Corey's voice as she spoke through her teeth. Madison grabbed a handful of fabric from Corey's dress in her hand, using it to pull herself as close to the other girl as she physically could.
"If they haven't already," she added. She hoped that whoever had hurt Madison had been one of the lucky souls to have died in the bus flip. Otherwise, Corey wouldn't be holding back.