There it was again. What is that? Cordelia pulled her pillow over her ear. She'd heard the noise every night for a week now, ever since the Seven Wonders. It was a thin, weak wailing sound, so Cordelia originally thought it was just the wind whistling through the building. But there's no wind tonight, she thought. She climbed out of bed and creeped down the hall, trying to listen for the source of the noise. She checked if it was Queenie or Zoe, they were both quietly sleeping. She searched the whole floor, nothing. It had better not be another spirit.
The attic was dark. Cordelia fumbled around for the light switch, finding nothing. She sighed and stepped off the ladder. If only there was a kinesis for electricity... She heard the noise again, louder this time. Whatever it was, it was definitely in there somewhere. Cordelia found what felt like a chest. She found the lid and lifted it. Inside was a small writhing figure, dressed in what felt like a lace dress.
"A baby," Cordelia whispered. Her heart fluttered, she was so close to what she wanted so badly. Marie Laveau's baby, she thought. Since Marie Laveau had gone, there had been no sign of the baby, so had assumed someone had taken it back to the hospital. Cordelia wondered who put the baby in the chest. Whoever it was must have been taking care of her all this time, she looked well-fed and clean. They also would have some reason to dress her as a doll. So Spalding's still hanging around. She lifted the crying baby out of the chest and carried her back to her bedroom.
"Ssh," Cordelia held the baby to her chest and rocked slowly. "You're safe now," the baby stopped crying and fell asleep, breathing into Cordelia. Cordelia closed her eyes and let the built up tears trickle down her cheeks. This is what she lived for, the feeling of a tiny human being that needed her, that loved her. Everything faded, her mother's contempt, Hank's betrayal, the world's expectations of her, none of it mattered. Right here, right now, this baby could be hers. All she cared about was the tiny breaths, the delicate little hands. As long as she held her here, Cordelia was a mother. That was all she needed.
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"Hello? This is Cordelia Goode. Who's speaking?" Cordelia was on edge today. She had to keep checking on the the baby, and she couldn't let any of the girls find out. They would take her back to her parents, and Cordelia couldn't handle that.
"This is Sharon Anders, Madison Montgomery's agent. We can't get hold of her, she's not answering her phone. Is she there? Could you ask her if I can speak with her?" The woman sounded worried, her nervousness wearing away at her business-like tone.
"Umm...no. She's not here. Madison left Miss Robichaux's academy about a week ago. She seemed quite angry, I thought she would have gone to you." Shit. Where had that girl gone? Cordelia hoped bratty actress hadn't done anything stupid, although she knew she probably had.
"Oh. She definitely didn't report a change in her address, as is our policy, so we always know where our actors are. If she...can't be found, there will be legal repercussions for you, as you're the last one who saw her."
Cordelia wasn't in the mood for any shit today. "What are you implying? That I kidnapped her?"
The woman sighed, "Ms Goode, Madison Montgomery is worth millions. She's on a contract, and that contract can't be broken. If we lose her, we'll also lose a lot of money, and whoever is responsible for her disappearance will need to pay that lot of money."
Cordelia took a deep breath. She wasn't going to win a legal battle, so she decided to be co-operative. "Okay, I'll ask around." She hung up.
Cordelia fell back on the sofa and put her head in her hands. It's all supposed to be easy now, she thought, I thought the hard stuff was over. She looked up at the glass vase on the sunny spot on the mantelpiece, filled with the ashes of the peaceful witch that had left her so tragically. She longed to hear her happy laugh and watch her dance to Stevie Nicks in that trance-like state the music put her in, twirling and swaying as if no-one was watching her. "Why you, Misty?" Cordelia said to the ashes, "if anyone doesn't deserve to be trapped in hell, it's you." She curled up around the vase and let sorrow rack her body, her sobs echoing through the room and tears soaking the sofa cushion. She kissed the vase and put it back in the sun. "I will save you Misty, just hang in there a little longer while I figure out how."
Cordelia hadn't told anyone, or fully accepted it herself, but ever since she'd lain her hand on Misty's arm and seen her extraordinary past, she'd loved her. She loved the sparkle in her eyes, her childlike innocence and how she ignited when she felt passionately about something. In such a short time, Misty had come to mean so much to Cordelia. She loved Misty, and she would save her or die trying.
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That night, Cordelia decided to go to bed early. She finished off the last of her paperwork and headed upstairs. As she approached her bedroom, she heard someone moving around inside. The baby. Cordelia flung the door open to see Spalding standing over the makeshift cot, a smile on his face. He slowly raised his head and smirked at her.
"I see you've taken great care of my living doll, Miss Cordelia. If you want to borrow her again, please ask me first. I was worried sick about my little beauty." He tickled the baby's cheek and she giggled.
Cordelia flung her arm forward to smack Spalding against the wall. Nothing. She tried again. Still nothing. He's a spirit. In her rage, she'd forgotten that her telekinesis didn't work on ghosts.
"Vade, et revetere in terram," said a voice from the doorway. Spalding vanished. Cordelia sighed in relief.
"Thank you, Zoe."
Zoe smiled, and placed her hand on Cordelia shoulder. "That's okay, I saw him go in there a while ago, I was looking for the spell in the spell books."
"I- don't know what's wrong with me lately. I haven't felt up to anything, really. What with the new students and Misty being gone and Myrtle, and now your dream. I'm sorry, you deserve a better supreme." Cordelia held back tears for the millionth time that day.
"That's not a true, Cordelia. In fact, you were the supreme long before Fiona got sick," Zoe reassured. "But you need to take that baby back to its parents."
Cordelia nodded. "I will."
