CALMNESS LOOMED OVER THE ACADEMY, an eerie stillness that made Corey unnaturally restless through the majority of the night. With Fiona gone, the halls of the large plantation lacked the usual hostile energy that had inhabited its walls. When the light began to peel through the sheer white curtains of their bedroom, Madison stirred. She tightened her arms around the redhead beside her, humming to herself in content.

Corey had barely slept.

"Good morning, Sunshine," the blonde muttered. She buried her face into the crook of Corey's neck, breathing in deeply before she let out a sigh. "Are you ready for today?"

"As ready as I can be," the tremble in her voice was audible. She was terrified. An egregious number of questions circled her mind, keeping her awake through most of the night.

What if I can't do it?

What if I'm not the Supreme?

What if everything turns to shit in the end?

What if I turn into her?

They were baseless, with no reason to exist other than her own personal anxiety.

"Hey," Madison looked up at the witch, her brow curling into a stern yet concerned scowl. "You've got this, babe. You're the fucking Supreme." The pad of her thumb trailed across the redhead's freckled cheeks as her lips turned upward in a soft smile. "There's no reason to be worried. You're gonna blow the Seven Wonders right out of the water." The redhead let out a chuckle.

"I'm glad that at least one of us is confident in my ability to do this," she swallowed hard. Madison sat up, her movement quick and determined.

"You are Corinna fucking Nicks. You have three Grammy's, a Daytime Emmy Award, and the hottest undead girlfriend anyone could ever want. Don't start doubting yourself," she paused for a moment, her features softening. "Not when you're so close to the end."

"Maddie," Corey sighed. She sat up, the shifting of her weight startling the lump of black cat that slept at the foot of the bed. Pulling her knees up against herself, she continued. "I don't want to be the Supreme."

"The universe doesn't give a single shit about what you want, Cor." Madison groaned. "Do you think I wanted some washed up old hag to slit my throat? Or that I wanted to be outed by some rumor-mill tabloid that's just looking to fill their pockets?"

"Maddie—"

"I'm not finished," the blonde cut her off. "Greatness is in your blood, Corey. You are the daughter of the White Witch. A direct descendant of Selene Nicks. You are the next Supreme, whether you want that to be true or not. You can't change your destiny."

"You're right." The redhead placed her hand on Madison's thigh, her thumb rubbing small circles against her skin.

"Don't even try to argue with me about it because—"

"Madison," Corey spoke, cutting the other girl off. "I said you're right." The blonde's shoulders relaxed as she tilted her head in confusion.

"Oh," she thought about her next words for a moment, having her thought out speech derailed.

"Thank you," she tucked a stray hair behind Madison's ear. "For always believing in me, no matter the situation."

"You are a beautiful, amazing, intelligent, talented, creative, and powerful being. You can do literally anything you set your mind to. What is there to not believe in, dumbass?" As the girls laughed together, Ophelia began to slink across the mattress. She found her home between them— one half of her body lounging across Madison's legs while she used the other to nestle herself against Corey's.

The redhead basked in the moment for as long as she could.

If she was going to die during the Seven Wonders, she wanted this to be how she was remembered.

Bare feet padded across the cold boards of the wooden floor below them. The halls that were filled with an eerie silence were now bustling with the coven's usual morning routines.

Misty twirled in front of her mirror, her shawl that rested against her shoulders gliding through the air.

Zoe flipped through the pages of the most recent book she'd snuck from Corey's collection.

Nan hummed along to the music that played at maximum volume in her headphones, the one thing she had that could drown out the thoughts of the other witches.

Queenie's snoring was interrupted by Cordelia knocking on her door, making her usual morning rounds to wake everyone before the Council arrived.

Madison followed behind Corey in silence, their fingers intertwined as their small black cat weaved in and out between them.

Spalding and Kyle played Spades at the small circular table in the kitchen, a much needed break for the two after the fiasco they'd endured the rest of the week.

There was a familiar presence, a tether that pulled Corey towards the large front hall of the academy. She continued to follow the energy, knowing whole-heartedly that it may very well have been the worst mistake of her life.

As she walked past her office doors and into the front hall, her heart began to race. In front of her stood a blonde woman, dressed in black from head to toe. She wore an unsettlingly familiar black shawl with embroidered flowers, and her hair flowed downward in a curl pattern that was all too much like her own. She hadn't noticed the tears that had been streaming across her cheeks until she had come to a complete stop. Madison wrapped herself around Corey, pinning her against her own body for support. She feared the other witch may just drop straight to the floor below them. Ophelia's ears perked upward and she cooed as she trotted towards the woman who had yet to turn in their direction.

"Mom?" Corey gasped. Her voice rattled from within her as the woman in front of them turned around.

"Hey there, Little Bird," Stevie spoke with a smile, her hands clasped in front of her chest. There was a loud thud behind them, dead weight slamming against the wood below; it caused Corey and Madison to spin around. Misty laid across the floor next to the grand piano, the rest of the coven grouped around her. The Headmistress dropped down and wrapped her arms around the blonde in one swift motion, pulling Misty into her lap and smoothing back her hair. She whispered something incoherent to the witch, ignoring the chatter of the coven around them.

"I told you that bitch would faint," Queenie laughed, her head shaking as she elbowed Nan. "You owe me ten bucks!"

"Come on!" Nan whined, stomping her foot in protest. "That's not fair!"

"A deal's a deal, girl." Nan groaned as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her dress, pulling out the crisp ten dollar bill she had tucked away for safe keeping. Queenie snatched it from her, shoving it into the breast pocket of her tee shirt.

"Is she alright?" The White Witch leaned to look past her small family. Her eyes trailed from Cordelia down to Misty and back up again. Madison rolled her eyes at the swamp witch, turning around to face Stevie once again.

"She'll be fine, mom," Madison forced a smile. She still harbored an intense dislike for the new girl, feeling as though her obsession with Stevie was overboard and unnatural. She did, however, owe the woman for helping Corey bring her back to life.

Stevie's attention returned to Corey and Madison, a smile across her face. She stepped forward, Ophelia trotting as close to her as she could, and wrapped her arms around her girls. Before Corey could even get a word out, her mother spoke.

"The Council called me and told me what happened," she spoke in a volume only audible to the two girls in front of her. "I'm so proud of you. Both of you." Corey took in a shaky breath, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to find the right words to say.

The truth of the matter was: she didn't have to say anything.

Her mother already knew everything she wanted to say. She knew all of Corey's worries and fears. All of her questions and concerns. All it took was one embrace for the questions that rattled within redhead's core to wither away.