While Queenie did more in-depth research, the other two witches gave her some space. The Supreme even enchanted the whole room of her, so no noises would disturb her. They proceeded to go to the kitchen, then.
The remnants of the fiasco remained untouched. The rubbles had an invisible KEEP OUT tapes around it. Cordelia undid the tape, and with her telekinetic power, carried the burnt table out to the front yard. Behind her, Zoe followed, as she, too, levitated two broken chairs. In the corner of the yard, near the mass grave of the Halloween Zombies, they piled the furniture up.
"We need to buy new ones," Cordelia said, casting her gaze down.
"Yeah," Zoe said. A deep sigh escaped her lips. "We underestimated her powers. She really outdid us."
The wind blew, and it carried the smell of burnt wood to Cordelia's nose. She had an inkling, in that moment, that every time she smelt a similar scent from now forward, she would remember today, remember her failure.
"I mean, I don't get it," the brunette said. "What was up with the water thing? It didn't do anything."
"She was allergic to the chemicals in the water, but it was nothing serious. She just exaggerated it, so we'd think we had something on her."
"So it really was a lie." The brunette's shoulders slumped. But she looked up after a moment, quick, as though thunderstruck. "Hey, what if her ring had some kind of power? The one that symbolizes the sun? What if it's the source of her immortality?"
Cordelia bit her lip in contemplation. "It's never occurred to me," she said. "But, she lets Misty wear it. If it was so vital to her, wouldn't she be anxious to keep it on her all the time?"
"Maybe it can't be destroyed that easily?"
Although it was not the most promising idea, giving their circumstances, Cordelia had to give it a shot.
"Okay," she said. "We will see if there's any record on magical stones of immortality. We have to be quick, though, and careful. Another failure, and we might put all of the girls' lives in danger for real."
As she spoke, Kyle came to the rubbles, with some burnt legs of the table. Since he didn't have any magical powers, he had to carry them with his hands. The front of his butler suit was black with soot.
"Thank you, Kyle," the Supreme said. "Just put them somewhere near the pile. You could've told me there were more. I would've taken care of them."
The boy gave a simple benevolent smile. "This is my job, Miss Cordelia. I need to have this jacket washed today anyway." He put down the wood, and patted his hands and jacket clean.
It was when a moth flew over their heads, and landed on the rubbles. Although Zoe waved her hand in earnest, recoiling in disgust, the winged bug only flapped its wings.
"Mother Shipton Moth!" Kyle said. He slowly scooped up the bug with his forefinger. The moth rested on his finger without alarm. The utmost joy on his face turned the butler into a child at once.
"That's a funny name for a moth," the Supreme said. She went closer to it, taking a good look.
The bug had a pattern, as unique as its name, on its wings. On each of the cream-colored forewings was a marking that resembled the profile of a human face, looking towards each other.
"It's the same moth that I saw in the greenhouse," she said. "And it must be the one the girls complained of, too."
"You said Misty had brought the eggs from the swamp, right?" Zoe said.
Cordelia gave a nod.
"Oh, I don't think so," Kyle said. "They only live in the U.K. See the pattern? It looks like an old lady's face, with the hooked nose and the sharp chin. That's why they named it after a witch. I don't know how it's ended up here—"
Cordelia looked up. "A witch?"
"Yeah. I read it in the encyclopedia of insects. Zoe bought it for me."
But his exciting information didn't quite reach the ears of the Supreme, as she again bit her fingernail in thought. "And you said it only lives in the U.K.?"
The boy nodded.
"What's it called again?"
"Mother Shipton moth."
The Supreme, then, turned to Zoe. "Do you have your smartphone? Could you search for the moth?—Actually, no. Search for just 'Mother Shipton.'"
"Hold on." The brunette pulled her phone out of her jeans pocket. Her thumbs moved across the screen. She kept repeating the name under her breath.
Cordelia returned her gaze to the moth on Kyle's finger. It flew away at last, and the boy let out a disappointed grunt.
"Ah, Cordelia?" Zoe said. "I'm on the wikipedia page of the woman, and"—She breathed out quickly—"I think we hit the bull's-eye."
Her heart began to pound. "Read it aloud to me."
And the very first word spoken proved the guess of the brunette right.
"Ursula Southill"—Zoe cast a quick, loaded glance at her—"better known as Mother Shipton, is said to have been a prophetess. Born in 1488, in Knaresborough, Yorkshire." She looked up again, shaking her head. "She wasn't even trying to be subtle."
"Does it say anything about her connection to the sun, water, or any other stuff?"
The brunette scrolled down the page. There was a deep crease between her brows, as she gave it a quick read. She sighed, then. "Nothing even remotely related," she said. "Let me look at other websites."
At the same time the girl looked down at her phone, however, they heard someone whistle somewhere above them. Cordelia looked up, and saw Queenie on the balcony, beckoning them over. Without a word, she waved her hands this way and that. A full-blown smile on her face.
"Kyle, is it okay if I ask you to sweep the floor of the kitchen?" the Supreme said.
They boy smiled and nodded.
And when he retreated with the mission, she transmuted to Queenie's room. As Zoe, too, appeared in the room, the Voodoo doll scurried back in from the balcony, and drew the curtains close.
Zoe told her about their latest discovery in detail.
"Holy shit. I found something, too," Queenie said. Then, she went to her bed, and grabbed an old book that lay next to the pillows. "You said that Misty is a sacrifice for her immortality, right?" she said to Cordelia. "And it got me thinking, that Woman has to have some entity to make the sacrifice to. Marie Laveau had a deal with Papa Legba. That Woman must, too. That's how sacrifice works. And I thought, what if the mark on Misty's neck wasn't a rune, but some kind of a sigil?" She then opened the book to the other two. In the left upper corner of the pages, there was a symbol, similar to the one in question.
"It's pretty close, but not the same," the Supreme said.
"I know, but this book was written like centuries ago. And it's not strange for symbols to evolve, having their designs and meaning altered over time. It's a language. Languages evolve, and I'm certain this is what we're looking for. How? Hear this— This sigil symbolizes lust. Not love. Lust."
A puzzled grimace remained on the face of Cordelia. "Does it belong to a certain entity?"
"The book says no. But I found it." The Voodoo doll grabbed another book off her nightstand. With a dramatic air, she opened it to the pages with a monochrome illustration of a weird-looking creature.
At first sight, one's eyes might recognize the face of a human man in the center of the image before anything else. It had a crown on its head. But, it was the only part of the image that possessed any resemblance to a human. Out of the human mouth came out what seemed to be a blow of fiery air. It had the head of a cow on its right, while the head of a sheep occupied its left side. Those three heads sat on the body of an animal that looked like a lion. A lion with the neck of a snake, and the tail and wings of a dragon.
"Asmodeus," Queenie said with a sense of pride. "A king of demons, and represents one of the seven deadly sins. Guess which one it is."
"Lust," Zoe said without hesitation.
"Correct. He instructs men in the art of geometry, arithmetic—"
"And astronomy," Cordelia said. "This demon is the source of Ursula's eternal youth." She felt a certain kind of exhilaration, like right before one crosses the goal line in a race, knowing the gold medal is theirs.
"And does it say how it can be defeated?" the brunette said.
Queenie looked down at the book. "Well, in the book of Tobit, this dude haunts a girl and kills her seven husbands, consecutively." She gave them a suggestive look. "Then, another man marries her. But he's got the holy protection from the angel Raphael, who instructs the husband to place a fish's heart and liver on red-hot cinders and produce vapor. The smell drives the devil away."
"That's why she hates seafood," Zoe said, quite pensive. "But how come it didn't drive her away when I cooked salmon?"
"Because it wasn't placed on red-hot cinders or producing vapor most likely," Cordelia said, "or because it was just a slice of meat without organs. Either way, it still made her sick, true to the texts. I think we have a good shot with this."
"Do we have any fish right now?" the Voodoo doll said. "I think we have to go buy it."
The three of them went down to the kitchen, where Kyle was mopping the floor. The fridge had no fish, or any type of seafood. So, the Supreme gave Zoe a twenty-dollar bill, and made her drive to the nearest seafood restaurant in downtown. It was much closer to the closest Wal-Mart.
"You can give them the whole twenty bucks if they ask," Cordelia said, as she walked the brunette out of the house. "Just get a whole raw fish— Make it two, actually, just in case."
"Can I use magic, if the situation calls for it?" the girl asked.
"Absolutely."
It was not the time to worry about the respect from the society. Raw fish. That was more important. It would save the life of Misty, and bring back the dignity of the Supreme to Cordelia.
ooOooOoo
Zoe returned to the academy in less than five minutes. The tires left skid marks on the driveway, as the car stopped with a loud squeak. She hadn't even buckled up. God only knew how many more traffic regulations she had broken. But even if the brunette had come home with a police car tailing her, the Supreme wouldn't have hesitated to act like Fiona this time.
At the kitchen counter, Cordelia—the only one of the torio with the slightest skills of gutting fish—held the knife. Shivers ran down her spine at the feeling of the knife handle in her grip, and the glint of the sharp metal. The small puncture wound in her throat pulsated. She had to hold the knife tightly, to fight the urge to drop it. The girls didn't need to learn about her fear. She'd have plenty of time to deal with her trauma later. Not a single second could be wasted right now.
It only took them a few minutes to get the essential organs. Around the same time, Queenie joined them, with cinders from the fireplace, still sizzling. They placed the smoldering cinders in a pan.
"Did the book of Tobit say we could put the cinders in a pan?" Zoe said to Queenie.
"If you want to hold them with your hands, be my guest."
Cordelia grabbed the bowl of the fish organs. "Are we ready, girls?"
The air grew tense around them in a flash, so silent that she heard Zoe gulp next to her.
The brunette looked as though she stood at hell's gate. "Are we sure we want to just drive her away? The smoke can't kill her, right?"
"We'll see," the Supreme said. "Our top priority is to free Misty from her curse. Remember that."
And in the grave silence, they marched upstairs. The students obeyed the Supreme's order, and stayed in their rooms, leaving the halls absolutely empty. The faint sizzling of the cinders filled the air. Cordelia hoped, as they stood at the door of Ursula, that the door would shut the noises out. No sound came from the inside. Everything was suspiciously quiet.
Queenie gave Cordelia a look of doubt. "Are they in there?" she mouthed.
None of them felt certain enough to proceed to the final step. A rushed move could only reveal their card to the Woman, though they had no time to come back later, either. At last, Cordelia took a shaky breath, and brought her ear quite close to the door. She made sure not to touch the door, for fear of making the door creak under her weight. Her core muscles tightened, as she stayed in this awkward position for about half a minute.
Then, a distinctive creaking sound of a door came from the inside, followed by feather-light footsteps. Cordelia straightened her back, and looked at the girls. They all heard it.
After a synchronized nod of assurance, they placed a towel on the floor, close to the gap under the door, put the pan on it, and the fish organs on top of the cinders. They looked at each other, and exchanged nods again. Zoe rekindled the cinders with Pyrokinesis, and in a few seconds, fishy smoke came to rise. She crouched down before it, then, fanning and sending the smoke into the room.
This achieved the desired outcome immediately. Ursula fell into a violent fit of coughing, which sounded to only exacerbate by the second. But then, the sound grew somewhat distant. Her footsteps shuffled away from the door. The witches outside heard a fwip of the curtains, and the metallic squeak of a door being pushed open. The coughs now sounded even further away.
"She went onto the balcony," the Supreme said. She tried to turn the doorknob, but it didn't budge. The use of magic didn't help, either. "The lock is enchanted. Zoe, keep fanning. Queenie, come with me."
Not waiting for a reply, she strode to the door next to the guest room. Again, without any form of politeness, she barged into the room of four frightened teenagers. The Woman's coughing now grew feeble, like that of an elderly person who doesn't have enough lung capacity to cough properly.
"Go to another room," the Voodoo doll said to the girls. "Tell other girls not to come out onto the balcony."
The groans of agony now resonated, as the Supreme stepped out. She now stood some feet away from her nemesis. But it was not the young, beautiful Woman with a haughty air that welcomed her. It was a small creature, writhing under a red blanket.
"What is that?" Queenie said behind her.
And as though their footsteps hadn't given their presences away, the small red thing jerked at this utterance. It turned around. Its glimmering dark eyes found Cordelia. And at this moment, the Supreme understood what she was seeing— An old woman, with her skin wrinkled and droopy like curtains, in a red bathrobe. Codelia had never even imagined humans could look that ancient. A living mummy, she thought. It seemed like even breathing deprived the Woman of energy, as she drooled like a mad dog.
"Oh, fucking hell no," the Voodoo doll said.
Ursula looked down at her her skeletal hands, and trembled even harder. "What have you— What have you done!?"
In these screams, Cordelia heard the bell of triumph toll. "This is it, Ursula Southill. This is your end."
The old Woman covered her face with her hands, writhing more in apparent anguish.
"You see, you are a powerful witch," the Supreme said, "but you're too proud. And because of your pride, you spoke of your identity, let the insects named after you fly around. Well, you underestimated me, though I warned you."
"Stupid, stupid girl!" Ursula bared her teeth.
But this no longer interested Cordelia, who walked past the diminishing Woman and went into the guest room. The smoke still came in through the gap under the door. In the thin fog, she found the Cajun lying in the bed, as still as a corpse.
"Misty." The Supreme rushed to her. "Misty, it's me. Can you hear me? Wake up. Please, wake up."
The body of the girl felt like ice, despite the summer weather. Her eyes were open, but did not appear to see anything.
Cordelia felt her world crumble before her eyes. "No, don't— Don't leave me." The lump in her throat made her voice hoarse. "I love you. I love you. God, please—" Her hands trembled, as she cupped the freezing cheeks of the Cajun.
Even at her death, Misty Day looked beautiful.
The Supreme leaned forward, her lips hovering over the girl's. She breathed her life into Misty. She gave and gave, way more than the amount considered safe. Her head began to spin. Beads of cold sweat covered her neck. She collected the bedsheets in her fists, as her consciousness began to slip away. And if Zoe hadn't opened the enchanted door and come running in to stop her, Cordelia would've given the Cajun her entire soul.
"Stop, Cordelia. You're going to kill yourself." The brunette forced their bodies apart.
The Supreme, though on the brink of fainting, struggled in the strong arms. "Let me! I'd rip my heart out if I could save her!" Tears streamed down her face, spattering about as she fought against the restraint.
"Hey, what's going on?" Queenie came rushing in from the balcony.
At that moment, the chest of Misty heaved a little, her eyelashes fluttered.
Cordelia saw it. "She's alive!" She almost collapsed by the bed, and took the cold hand in hers. "We are here, Misty, for you. Do you hear me? Hang on tight—" Her eyes flew to Zoe and Queenie above her. "Give her some life. We can save—"
The grip of the Cajun's hand became quite tight on Cordelia's all of a sudden. Cordelia looked down. It felt like it'd crush her bones. Misty's white lips moved, and they all fell into an attentive silent.
"Ursula . . ." Misty said. And as though to fade away with the name of her lover, she closed her eyes slowly. A single tear rolled down her temple. Her grip on Cordelia grew weaker and weaker, and became completely listless.
The Supreme put a timid hand on the still body, and gave her a shake. "Misty? Misty!"
No response came. Not even a twitch of a finger.
Queenie hastened to perform Vitalum Vitalis on her, and Zoe did the same after her. But the body remained lifeless. A nauseating silence surrounded them.
"Holy shit," Zoe said. "Can she be really dead?"
The Supreme felt her teeth clatter, and her whole being tremble. The little remaining hope that had kept her world together vanished without a sound. Like a dream, everything slipped through her fingers in a flash. She held the limp body close, the same way she'd done seven months ago, at the Seven Wonders.
She lost her. Again.
Outside the bubble of her wailing, Cordelia heard the Voodoo doll inform the demise of Ursula. The old witch had turned into dust, and now only the red bathrobe remained on the balcony.
"Listen, Cordelia," Queenie said in the gentlest tone. "She and the demon will never bother us again. You protected the girls."
The Supreme only gave an automatic nod, as her eyes traced the outline of Misty's still perfect face.
ooOooOoo
Cordelia spent the next four days in the guest room, with the Cajun in the bed. Not to mourn, though, as everyone, including the Supreme herself, had expected she would. In fact, Misty brought herself back a day after the calamity, gasping for breath.
It happened in the middle of the night, and it scared the hell out of Cordelia, who had cried herself to sleep in the couch. But when it dawned on her what just happened, she forgot about everything else, and leaped forward. In the absence of light, she slid her fingertips across the skin of Misty, and felt human warmth. And as her cheeks became soaked with tears, Misty wiped the tears away with gentle strokes of her thumb. They did not hug, utter a word, or see each other's faces, but these faint touches gave the Supreme the lifetime of happiness.
"I'm so sleepy," the Cajun said.
She went back to sleep right after this, and continued to sleep like a log for another day.
The Supreme practically moved her office to the guest room, in order to concentrate on taking care of her sleeping beauty. She even cancelled some important interviews and meetings. But anything she could do without leaving Misty on her own, she did with a high level of productivity.
If she was being honest, she ached to move the girl to the master bedroom. The guest room held too much toxicity. After this whole calamity had a proper conclusion, whatever it might be, she would take down the walls, and change all the furniture, removing the scent of the Woman from every molecule. But for this moment, she felt too scared to even lay a finger on Misty. She felt like the girl would disintegrate, if she disturbed her sleep.
Fortunately, this painful setback came to an end sooner than they feared, as Misty woke up from her 48-hour slumber at last. Cordelia helped her take a bath and change into new clothes. For the first time, she laid her eyes on the naked body of the girl. But the situation was far from sensual, and it only tormented her to face the wretchedness. Her Power of Resurgence couldn't seem to restore all the lost necessary fat to her body. Every time she moved, the bones moved under her skin like another creature. The only respite for the heartbroken Supreme was that Misty's eyes looked at her with clarity.
As planned, Cordelia transferred her to the master bedroom. It was this afternoon that she finally allowed a visit from Queenie and Zoe.
"Go gentle on her. She's still weak," the Supreme said to the council members, letting them in.
Despite this clear instruction, a certain Voodoo doll pulled the Cajun into a tight hug. The eyes of Misty widened at the strength, almost looking like they'd pop out of her head. Some inhumane sounds came out of her mouth.
Cordelia had to pull Queenie away. "What did I just tell you?"
"I can take a few hugs, Miss Cordelia. It's alright." Misty gave a lopsided smile.
Queenie didn't seem the least apologetic. With Telekinesis, Queenie moved the couch from the center of the room to the bedside, and took a seat. "Some hellish nightmare you just went through, flower child. You look finer than I thought, though."
"I do feel fine," Misty said. "Miss Cordelia's been taking care o' me."
Zoe sat next to the Voodoo doll. "Do you remember anything?"
"I remember everything," the Cajun said, with a slight grimace. "I was myself the whole time. Ursula never actually manipulated me. She just . . . planted somethin' in me, like a seed o' Love. And everything I did, I did it because I loved her." Her eyes found Cordelia standing a little away from the three of them. The grimace grew a rather dejected one. "I knew what was going on with me. I knew you were trying to save me, and why you were doing it. I just didn't care. Being with her was more important."
"A seed of Love, huh?" Queenie said. "Why bother with it, though? Isn't it much quicker to mind-control you?"
"It wasn't just that. She needed my happiness. My life was the source o' her eternal youth and beauty. And the happier I was, the more she could gain from me."
"But you almost died," Zoe said.
The Cajun grew quiet, and seemed to think about it. But she simply shrugged. "It didn't matter. I would've come back endlessly, like Ouroboros. She told me herself, that's why she chose me."
"Ouroboros?"
"A Greek mythological symbol for eternal return and cyclicality," Cordelia said.
Misty nodded. "I was born with this Power of Resurgence, to give her eternal life, and live with her forever."
"But why didn't you heal yourself sooner before you died," Queenie said, "if you had the power to bring yourself back from death?"
The Cajun dropped her gaze, fidgeting.
The Supreme detected a look of guilt and shame in her expression. She walked to the bed, and with lingering timidity, rested a hand on the girl's rugged shoulder. "We are not blaming you, Misty."
"I know." The girl showed a momentary smile. She let out a sigh. "Queenie's right. I didn't heal myself even though I knew what was happening. Well— I didn't because I knew. It was what Ursula wanted. My death. And I didn't think twice to give it to her."
The tiny body trembled beneath Cordelia's hand. The Supreme wished she could take her into her arms, and plant kisses on her hollow cheeks and wilted wild curls.
The Voodoo doll continued to wear her grimace. "I'm still confused, though. Why did that Woman say we were running out of time? It's not like you die and remain dead for good like a regular person."
"She said that?" the Cajun said. She bit the inside of her cheek. "I think it was just to torture you guys. She liked watchin' you get agitated, 'specially Miss Cordelia. We were gonna return to the swamp soon, too."
"Do you still love her?" Zoe said.
Queenie threw her a disgusted grimace. "Dude, are you serious right now?"
"I just—" the brunette said. "I just thought it must be hard. Like, what happened to the seed? Is it completely gone?"
It drew a hesitant sigh out of the Cajun. "Don't know. I don't love her anymore, but I kinda do miss her. Like, part o' me died. It feels weird. I'm heartbroken, but kinda relieved at the same time."
"That's how it feels when you get out of a toxic relationship," the Voodoo doll said. "Isn't that right, Cordelia?"
The Supreme eyed her askance, but said nothing. Instead, she slid her hand to stroke the head of Misty, slowly, not to hurt her. The Cajun's body relaxed a little, leaning towards the touch.
"But I now know it wasn't love," Misty said. "She didn't like Stevie. She told me ta fix my accent, to sound more like a lady. It was controlling. Love shouldn't look like that." She looked up, and gave Cordelia a delicate smile. "Love is . . . It feels more tender."
Zoe raised a hand. "I have one more question about Ursula. Why did she turn into dust? I thought the fishy smoke would just drive the demon away."
But Misty didn't seem to have an answer, as she looked up at Cordelia.
"When Asmodeus ran away," Cordelia said, "Ursula lost the gift of immortality. And without it, her five-hundred-year old body couldn't avoid the decay and all that came with old age. It's also why Misty was freed from the shackles, the seed of Love, if you want to call it. It was Asmodeus that gave her the sigil on the neck, not Ursula herself."
The brunette nodded, with an anxious crease between her brows, processing the information. She scratched her head, then. "So, we just drove the demon away, and killed the Woman."
"Yes, we did," Cordelia said.
"But we couldn't kill him, like when we killed the Axe man. It means he's still somewhere in the world, doesn't it?"
"He won't bother us anymore," Queenie said. "The book of Tobit states that the fume will keep him away for good."
"Yeah, but what about the rest of the world? He will possess someone again, and more people will fall victim like Misty."
This suggestion put them in a somber silence. None of them had anything positive for a counterargument. Misty looked up at Cordelia again, and held out her hand like a scared child. The Supreme gave the girl her left hand, while the other hand remained on her head. At each gentle stroke she gave, she gained more confidence in the girl's strength.
"Welp, there's no worrying about the future," Queenie said. Slapping her knees, she stood up. "What's important right now is that Misty is safe here with us. If that motherfucker begins to victimize people, that's when we worry."
Zoe gave her a hybrid of a nod and a tilt of her head, trying to convince herself.
The Voodoo doll clapped her hands. "I got an idea. Let's go to French Quarter and have some nice fish. What do you think? Or do you want kebab?"
"I'm not so sure," Cordelia said, and look down at the Cajun. "She needs more sleep."
But the girl herself seemed eager. She straightened her back in a sitting position, as her eyes shimmered with a hint of a smile. "I wanna go. Miss Cordelia, I'm fine." She slid down the bed, let go of the Supreme's hand, and put her hands in the air. "See? I can stand by myself just fine, and I can walk, too." She demonstrated it, walking from one corner of the room to the other, then came back to Cordelia. "Please? I'd feel much better if I breathed fresh air."
And with these puppy eyes, Misty Day made everything possible.
"Fine," Cordelia said, still trying to look stern. "But promise you will tell me as soon as you feel sick."
The Cajun exchanged an excited smile with Queenie and Zoe. The latter two left the room for preparation. Then, the girl stood in front of the full-length mirror next to the vanity. Her fingers fiddled with the hem of her nightgown. Cordelia saw a frown in the reflection.
Her eyes locked with Cordelia's in the mirror. "I need ta change," she said. "I'm looking like one o' these creepy dolls in the attic. What are they anyway?"
"They were Spalding's," the Supreme said. "Perhaps, they still are. We tried to get rid of them, but every time somebody touched or even showed a sign of reaching for one of the dolls, some inexplicable thing happens. Very loud, keen noises and stuff. We just decided to leave them be eventually." She walked in the closed, and returned with a box of the Cajun's belongings. She put it down on the edge of the mattress. "Your clothes are in here."
Misty came to rummage in the box.
"How do you know about the dolls?" Cordelia asked. "We only found out about them after I became the Supreme."
The hands of the girl faltered. "Ursula and I explored the house together on the first day." Redness spread in her cheeks.
It still gave a particular sting in Cordelia's heart. But there was no longer the euphoric smile or the intoxicated tone of her voice, and Cordelia had to find it satisfactory.
She watched closely, as the girl began to lay her things around the box. Most of the dresses looked unfamiliar to the Supreme, who had kept the Cajun's belongings in her closet for seven months, and who occasionally had opened the box just to bring some shawl out, to remember the smell of her fallen sister. With her gloomy gaze, she examined the unfamiliar pieces of clothing. Her eyes travelled up, then, only to find Misty looking back at her with the same kind of gloominess.
"Ain't none of them will do," Misty said, pouting a little. "She bought them dresses for me, and shawls and other stuff. And then she told me what to wear, every day. I couldn't wear that shawl Stevie gave me 'cause she hated the pattern. I don't wanna see any o' them no more."
The Supreme hastened to pick up one blue dress that remained at the bottom of the box. "This is yours, though, isn't it?" She held it out. "I remember you wearing this when you met Stevie for the first time. Well, I've only seen it in my Sight, when you let me."
As Misty took it from her, their hands grazed. She bit her lip, then, fidgeting with the dress. "Do you want me to wear it?" Her voice had childish sheepishness.
"I'm not going to tell you what to wear, Misty. You decide."
"But, do you like this dress? On me?"
The Supreme had to pause, not to sound too enthusiastic about it. "Yes, I think it looks nice on you."
The color of the dress matched her eyes, and when she twirled in it, she truly looked like a Bluebird of Happiness. Cordelia had only seen it once, in her Sight. But the memory remained vivid, she forbade it from fading away. At night, for the past seven months, she used to fall asleep with the image of her Bluebird on her mind. And if she was lucky, the bird sang and danced for her, in her dreams.
Of course, she couldn't bring herself to tell any of this to Misty herself.
"I'm gonna go in this, then," the girl said, and pattered into the walk-in closet to change.
She didn't seem to notice Cordelia's deep thoughts. The Supreme heaved a sigh of relief.
Soft humming came from the closet. As she listened, Cordelia sorted out the belongings of Misty. Her old clothes went back in the box. The Ursula-infested dresses would go straight to a homeless shelter, would feast the eyes of the less fortunate and keep them warm. For now, they sat in the corner of the room in a trash bag. When she finished this task, she sat at her vanity, to reapply her makeup for the girls' night out.
"Miss Cordelia?" the Cajun said from the inside of the closet. "Do you remember what I said to you, about my happiness?"
The Supreme's eyes sought the figure of the girl in the mirror, but only saw the slightly open closet door. "I'm not sure. Could you tell me again?"
"I said you were big part o' my happiness," Misty said. "Do you remember?"
Cordelia saw her own face grow red in the mirror. "Yes, I do." She applied more foundation, in a poor effort to conceal the color of her heart.
"It wasn't a lie. You really are. When I got back from hell, your face came to my mind before anything else, even before I realized I was standing in the middle o' the swamp. And even after Ursula showed up, seein' you still made me extremely happy." Then, she let out a faint sigh. "But, everytime my love for you grew, I felt my love for Ursula grow just as much. And Ursula always came first, by a hair's breadth. It was the seed of Love."
Cordelia put down her makeup tools, looking down. So many thoughts swarmed her mind, too many for her to handle with grace. The rational part of her knew the Woman no longer bothered them and it was over. But she couldn't ignore the big hole this event had bored in her heart. A huge crater that'd remain for a long, long time.
She heard a creaking of the door, then. Looking up, her eyes met Misty's in the mirror, standing outside the closet in the blue dress. They stared at each other. And it was Misty, who glanced down first.
"I'm sorry," the girl said. "I'm sorry I said I'd kill you."
The sting in the heart and the shock of the scene returned to the Supreme. The words started to ring in her ears again.
"It's okay," she said. "You loved her more than anybody, even if it was a curse. I mean, I think I'd do the same for love."
"You would?"
"Well, I actually did, didn't I? I threatened to kill Ursula even though I had no clue how." Cordelia gave a small smile. "All I had in my mind was that I wanted to protect you. So, I understand." She resumed touching up her makeup. If she'd looked into the ocean eyes for another second, she would've burst into tears. But in the mirror, she still could see Misty looking at her.
Misty looked at her, with her lip between her teeth, as though on the brink of tears herself. She stepped closer to the Supreme, but still kept a distance. Her fingers picked at the fringes of her shawl from Stevie.
"You know," the Cajun said, "I remember everything."
"Yes, you told us so."
"No, I mean—" The girl took one more step forward, only to draw back a little. The color of apple painted her cheeks. "I remember everything."
The pretty sight made Cordelia flush as hard. And with the pleasant heat, the truth revealed itself. No expensive foundation could conceal the redness of her face now, as her midnight confession and the kisses they'd shared flickered across her mind. She hung her head to hide her face behind her hair.
The Cajun tottered across the room, and crouched down by her. Her gentle hand slowly rose to touch Cordelia's, insisting to be held. Her gaze prickled the skin of the Supreme. And at last, Cordelia turned her head to the side, and found the piercing eyes.
Their body heat travelled through the soft, persistent touch, and the boney hand of the Cajun tightened its hold.
"I didn't lie, when I told you about my happiness," Misty said. "Did you lie, to save me from Ursula?"
Cordelia swallowed. "No," she said. Her mouth opened again, but no more word came out.
And whatever was right on the tip of her tongue, it went back down her throat, as Misty leaned forward, and pressed her lips to hers. Cordelia's instinct brought her hands up to the sunk cheeks of the girl. Everything stopped for a moment. Cordelia tasted the herbal lip balm on Misty's chapped lips. It immersed her in a sweet giddiness.
This was their third kiss, but felt like the first. It should be counted as their first. The first two kisses, shared in despair, didn't even come close to this one. Their lips moved in unison, with equal fervor and hunger. The beginning of moans escaped the back of Cordelia's throat, as she felt her whole body combust. The Cajun's hands came to take hold of her arms, bringing them closer. The Supreme could live in this cloud of giddiness forever, could live with the heat of Misty and nothing else.
But everything that exists eventually comes to an end. It was Misty that pulled away first. With a delicate sigh, she sank to the floor, and rested her head on the lap of the Supreme. Her blonde curls spread across and cascaded down her lap. She closed her eyes. There was a small smile of content tagging at the corner of her lips, as she breathed out again.
Cordelia ran her fingers through the hair. In peaceful silence, she wished she could bring those curls to her lips.
"Miss Cordelia?"
The Supreme hummed.
"I realized something."
"What did you realize?"
The girl lifted her face, looking up at her. "When I'm with you, it's not Rhiannon that plays inside my head. It's Landslide."
"Landslide?"
"Yeah." Misty bit her lip, and flashed a bashful smile. "Landslide . . . You make me wanna get old with you."
~END~