If you'd asked Cordelia Foxx what made her happy a little more than a year ago, she would probably say something like "Organization, cleanliness, and a nice Chardonnay." However, given the ridiculous events that had happened in the past year, her answers would probably be along the lines of "Stevie Nicks, a nice floral print, and a tall glass of sweet tea." Oh, and she'd probably tell you that her name was now Cordelia Goode. With a genuine smile of course.
Well, she still was excited by the thought of a nice Chardonnay, but there were things a smidge more dear to her heart nowadays. In the few months or so since she'd gone public with Mrs. Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies (Now rebranded to simply Mrs. Robichaux's) the overwhelming influx of attention had been thrust upon the meager council. There were no more "Days off" or "Weekend Getaways". Those terms had been replaced by "Overnighters" and "Working Lunches".
She almost missed the peace of the small Academy from years prior, but one glance into the common room was enough to remind her why all those overnights were worth it. At any given time there would be 40-50 women and girls of all ages, colors, sizes, and backgrounds chattering away about things ranging from boy bands to what herbs they'd decided to plant in their section of the greenhouse. Never mind the other 150 that could be found elsewhere. Their home had expanded quite a bit.
The greenhouse, actually, was one of the major renovations that had been made in response to their growing publicity. While their previous enclosement held some fond, fond memories. The space was no longer big enough to accomodate all the pupils that they housed there. The properties on either side of them had gone up for sale quickly after their fame. So, in an effort to expand, Cordelia used her late husband's savings to purchase both plots of land and expand their lavish home into a full-fledged campus.
The smaller home to the left was gutted and remodeled to create the new greenhouse with an apothecary's chambers in the basement while the former greenhouse connected to the Academy was turned into a private chamber for Kyle - who now was the official head of security and the property's gardener. Something about working with plants instead of people made the reanimated man much easier to be around. Actually, the thought appealed to her too, even if it physically pained her to look out over the expanse of the garden. People were cruel, falling in love with them was even worse. During the darkest of days, she truly wished to live in the garden; completely cut off from all human contact.
It wasn't that Cordelia didn't appreciate the power she'd been granted after being rendered powerless by various people and situations. Quite the opposite, actually. She thrived with the officiality of her title of Supreme, along with Headmistress (and occasional Ice Princess depending on who was talking about her). She was a natural leader and a self-taught fighter. Not much in this cruel and devastating world could shake her. She'd been to literal hell and back and lost more than just love in her lifetime. She very likely could write a book about all the things she'd seen even in the last year. But, there's no time for hobbies when running an Academy. She was too busy wrangling a small horde of hormone-driven magical beings and that was a true challenge.
However, the Goode's were nothing if not powerful. Even if the thought of being similar to Fiona repulsed her, at least she had genetics to thank, for her unquenchable thirst to be the best. That, and a competitive streak longer than the Mississippi River made Cordelia pretty unstoppable.
This overcast Saturday morning, smack in the middle of October, found the headmistress in the newfangled greenhouse. It had become a weekly tradition of sorts, to meditate to the any Fleetwood Mac album from start to finish. Today she had settled for a large knit sweater and a pair of sweats that had sat in her underwear drawer for years. Finally, after years of dressing to the nines, Cordelia realized that a little simplicity once in a while hurt no one.
The staccato pitter patter of the heavy drops on the glass panes lulled her into a sense of serenity. The muscles in her back slowly relaxed in a sort of ripple, this nearly made her cry out in joy. She didn't realize how much stress she carried in her back and the feeling of letting that go was euphoric. Next came her shoulders and eventually her mind cleared enough to achieve the pure stillness she aimed for.
After a couple of minutes, she felt the presence of someone approaching the home. Seconds later, the squelch of heavy boots on soggy soil got closer until she heard a soft rapping against the door. Cordelia sighed and looked at her watch. Ninety minutes? Not too bad. Slowly, she untangled herself and hissed when her feet hit the cool cement ground. She flipped the record player off as she made her way to the front door. A small peek through the peephole showed none other than Zoe, still in her pajamas, on the front stairs. She smiled up at the door expectantly and Cordelia sighed. Well, she could only escape from her duties for so long.
She opened the heavy door wide and ushered the younger witch in. Zoe walked in and looked around nervously, which only made Cordelia more anxious.
"I'm, uh, sorry to bother you Cordelia. I know that you were doing your weekend thing. But, uh, one of the older women came to Queenie and I this morning. She was pretty shaken up over some dreams she'd had. She called them premonitions, but I don't want to assign importance to them yet." Zoe shifted her balance to her other foot, pivoting her heel back and forth.
"What did she see? Impending doom?" Cordelia motioned towards the deep burgundy couch that she'd just been meditating on.
They both sat down cross legged on each end of the couch and stared at each other. Cordelia studied the face of the woman in front of her. The young witch looked much older than when she'd arrived not too long ago. She seemed less jovial. Her eyes had lost that sparkle that Cordelia had coveted when they'd first been introduced. Truly, it had been a hell of a time and she could only wonder how hard it would be to arrive at the Academy as a fresh faced young adult and eventually become a council member. Maybe she should be a little more lenient on Zoe and Queenie.
"Okay. Don't freak out, okay? I honestly don't think it's that important." Zoe held her hands out to her.
Cordelia accepted the comfort and twined her fingers in with the witch across from her. She smiled as the radiant energy flowed between them. If her anxiety wasn't a full 10 right now, she'd jot this down for a potential lesson.
"She said that she saw a skylark flying around the swamps and fending off lotsa other birds. I don't get it but she was pretty hysterical and came screeching down the stairs like a bat outta hell so I figured I'd come tell ya. I'm not sure that it means anything like I said, she was pretty upset." Zoe looked up at her, seemingly waiting for an explanation.
Cordelia mulled it over for a little bit. She did notice that Zoe was starting to adopt a small drawl from living in the south. But, that wasn't important regardless of how adorable it was.
"I don't know, Zoe. I can't really tell you. Skylarks aren't really found around here. I think the closest one was somewhere in Canada. Do you have any ideas?"
They let go of each other's hands and Cordelia sat back against the arm of the couch.
"I really don't. I thought you would. Maybe it was just a simple nightmare?" Zoe shrugged it off, stood up, and walked towards the door. "Oh well. Sorry for interrupting. I'll tell her that you'll talk to her about it later this evening?"
"Yes. That will be fine. Thank you for bringing this to my attention," Cordelia rose to face Zoe. "Why don't you take some of the girls out for an unofficial outing? It's dreary out but I'll bet they'd love to go out shopping or something. Tell Queenie to grab some of the adults and split everyone up. I don't want anyone dying of cabin fever - especially since it's going to cool down soon.
"Okay! Can I use the bus?"
Cordelia nodded and patted the small witch on the shoulder. They both took off in different directions. When she heard the door shut, the Supreme exhaled deeply trying to regain some of the calm she'd achieved before that disturbing conversation. With freshly socked feet, she padded back over to the record player and gently set the needle on the outside of the vinyl. The upbeat track of "Monday Morning" started playing. She turned up the volume and grabbed at the yoga mat tucked into the corner, right next to the rosemary and thyme.
She did the basic stretches and grunted as her muscles refused to cooperate. Where was that fluidity that she attained no more than twenty minutes ago? Why were her mind and body rushing her to do something? What was she supposed to do?
A few more songs played as she tried her damndest to control her breathing. Cordelia was at the end of her rope - obviously her inner peace was quickly dissipating.
She flopped onto her back and cringed when "Rhiannon" started playing. The song was great, it truly was. It was just painful to listen to.
Images of Misty dancing through the house like a transcendent celestial sprite fluttering about pulled at Cordelia's heartstrings. One of her greatest failures was not acknowledging and listening to just how scared Misty Day had been before performing the Seven Wonders. All it would have taken is a simple dismissal from the trials and she'd be living a vastly different life than the one she was. Of course, Cordelia had gone back to the swamp a few times since saying goodbye, hoping for a miracle. But, all it had done was turn the crack in her heart into a giant emotional crater that seemed impossible to leave.
She hummed along and tried not to cry as she curled into the fetal position on the mat. The thick texture of the mat pulled at her bare skin and she let loose the floodgates of emotions that had been building up for too long.
She rules her life like a fine skylark and when
The sky is starless
Cordelia's head snapped up. With a sharp inhale she mulled over what the universe had just told her. Quickly, she jumped up and sprinted out of the house and into the rain, without a single care to her state of dress.
"Zoe! Zoe!" she cried out as she ran into the main house house. She slipped on a damp pant leg and almost took out all the things on the side table. Why did she keep breaking things?
Her cries echoed off the walls and thundered all around her. She dashed in and out of a few more rooms and realized something terrible.
Everyone was gone. Because she had told them to go.
Stupid, stupid.
She ran throughout the house, looking for anyone. When she came up empty she ended up in her room, crying out for help. Outside, storms were brewing and Cordelia knew that she needed to act soon before it was too late.
She scrambled towards her closet and threw all the clothes behind her. With purpose she jerked her head to the side and a small box came flying out, nearly taking out her television. She caught it as the force knocked the wind out of her and thrust her hands into the box, she yelled out as her hands came into contact with something sharp. She felt what she was looking for and ripped the it out of the box. Blood dripped down her hand from a large cut on her palm and onto the floral fabric. Soon, the bright flowers were stained a dark sepia.
She focused her senses and felt the familiar pull of transmutation in effect. It always seemed that her body went first, followed by her innards. The whole process only lasted less than a second but the residual nausea of transmuting such a distance under such duress caught up to her as Cordelia fell to her knees in the marshy, damp mud beneath her. As she started to sink into the murky mix, she heard a singing that made her blood run cold.
With muddy feet heavier than chilled molasses, Cordelia stood and sprinted towards the cabin she knew all too well. The cries grew more frantic as she searched the small space. Pieces of fabric and loose feather rained about as the Supreme tore into any space to discover the source of the whimpering.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
With a final deep inhale of breath, Cordelia raised her wet arms to sky and cried out. With a renewed sense of focus, she prepared herself to perform divination. She closed her eyes and panned around. As she stood facing the wall of Misty's cabin that stood between her and the swamp, her inner eye spotted something out on the banks.
Cordelia stepped out of her pile of garbage and tore out of the cabin towards the swamp. Once she got closer, she noticed a few men in hunting gear, poking at something in the water with a spear fishing gun. Above them, a lone skylark screamed a heartbreaking song. It circled around them and tried to distract them.
Cordelia waved a hand and sent the men flying into the trees behind them. She ran to the bank's edge and kneeled down, praying that none of the swamp creatures decided to turn on her. She once again realized that she was on territory that was not safe for her.
She looked into the swamp, hoping that she wasn't making a huge ordeal over nothing. Hastily, she grabbed at the fibrous weeds floating aside the banks and purged her arms in, feeling for anything that could indicate she was correct. The warm water was got cooler the deeper her arms went, eventually sending a shiver throughout her body. The heaviness of her sleeves in the water kept perilously tipping her over.
After a few seconds, her hands got caught in more stringy plants. Involuntarily she gagged and nearly toppled into the waters. Above her, the sky darkened visibly and all of the birds surrounding them flew out of the trees and scattered away from them. Something was about to happen.
She tried once more to untangle her hands to no avail. So, with a heave, she drew her hands out and screamed out loud when her hands were freed and she tumbled backwards against the muddy bank. She lifted her hands and cried out when she spotted the blonde locks tangled in her fingers.
Without hesitation, she jumped into the swamp and tried to recall any of the swimming lessons she'd taken as a child. The water was too murky to see, so Cordelia focused on the sounds of the water below the surface. She heard a noise to her left and grabbed out in that general direction. Once again she felt the same hair that had been caught in her fingers before and followed them until she reached what felt like a head.
As she sunk further, she felt her lungs burn and her muscles started to cramp in the chilly waters. She struggled for a little bit longer but was quickly running out of air so she steadied her footing and grabbed onto the shoulders of the body to her left. She used all the strength she had to propel herself out of the water and screamed as an Alligator met her face to face.
Before she could even think of how to fight off the massive creature, it locked it's jaws around the body in her arms and took off towards the bank. She started to scream a spell to end it's life until she realized that it was helping her drag the body to the surface. Out of pure instinct, she grabbed onto his tail and gulped in oxygen as she broke the surface of the swamp.
She scrambled to the banks and heaved herself up and over the edge, her fingernails screamed in protest against the hard rocks. The rain continued to pour and the wind started to howl. Cordelia summoned all of her strength and hoisted the body out of the swamp and onto the shore. When she was finished, she stood, looked up at the dark sky, and screamed out in anger. In front of her was Misty, naked as the day she was born, covered in dirt and mud. The rain pelted against her pale skin, leaving red marks in their path.
Cordelia put a hand on Misty's sternum and when she felt no movement, she pounded three times. A crack rang out and Cordelia burst into tears. Why did she keep breaking everything?
She brought her face closer to Misty's, desperate to give the witch a look over. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and reconciled that if she could pull this off, she could do that anytime.
Her trembling lips were a hair's breadth away from Misty's - which were a bruised shade of blue. She whispered, the familiar chant and prayed to every deity she'd ever heard of to please answer her. After nothing happened, she tried once more and this time placed her lips on Misty's as she tried her best to revive the fallen swamp witch.
The few seconds after that were the longest Cordelia Goode had ever waited in her entire life.
She could hear each individual bullfrog bellow and the cicadas cry out in fury as the body in front of her remained still. The rain was silenced and the wind stopped completely.
As soon as the blood started to pound in her ears and the overwhelming sense of failure began to creep in, Misty started to tremble and pitch back and forth. Scared of her hurting herself, Cordelia gathered the witch in her arms and used the last bit of energy she had to transport them back into the cabin.
Once they were on solid ground, Cordelia motioned towards the candles in the room and relaxed when a bright flame emanated from each of them - unaffected by the water seeping into the room.
She took three tentative steps with Misty and laid her down in the bed, making sure that the witch was still breathing. With uncertain hands that were caked in mud and blood, Cordelia began to rub the fabric of the sheets she'd cried on more than a year ago, against Misty's cold skin. She almost felt like she was bringing a puppy to life, but on a much grander scale.
After a half hour or so of this, Cordelia noticed that she was now shivering. For once she was glad Misty lived simply; the thought of looking in a mirror sounded terrible. She looked around and found a few dresses similar to the one she'd taken one of the last times she'd been here. She grabbed one of the dress but didn't put it on. Instead, she hung it near the candles to warm and padded over to the bed to slide in behind Misty.
The chill of Misty's skin made Cordelia nearly jump off the bed. But, she continued to lay there and hoped that Misty didn't wake up and freak out from being spooned by a naked Cordelia..
She gave everything in the cabin a once over and realized there was no way she was not falling asleep after her rescue mission. Later she would explain everything to everyone. Now she would sleep and hopefully warm the icy body pressed against her enough to save her