Chapter II - X
Her freshly showered blonde hair is nowhere to be found as she fumbles her fingers through it. Instead, she finds a dirty mess of brown mud, gluing the normally neat stands together into one big clot. The girl sitting beside her on the forgotten tree stump doesn't look any better.
Her mother is going to kill them, but then again, with a bit of luck, Fiona would be too wasted to recognize the mess in the backyard. It wouldn't be the first time she just didn't care enough about her daughter and her friend that they got away with something like that.
Where, as a little girl, Cordelia was naive enough to think her mother is busy with being the Supreme all the time, she'd figured out a while ago, that leading their coven had very little to do with the fact that Fiona Goode is almost never around. It stings to know, that your mother doesn't like you, probably doesn't even really want to have her, but it's her reality and she has made piece with it as good as possible. At least now, she has Misty to keep her company.
Before they had met four years ago, both the girls had been outcasts. Misty had spent the majority of her time at home, being forbidden to go out and play with other kids, which had made it rather difficult to make friends in school or anywhere else. Fear of her powers being discovered had played a big part in the girl's reluctance to try hard to fit in with the others.
Cordelia, on the other hand, had never really tried to make friends in the first place. The absence of her own mother had put a lasting impact on the little girl and she had found it hard to trust someone with her life. She couldn't even tell anyone why she's home alone most of the time. And when she had found out, that it's not duty to their coven that kept Fiona from her daughter, but simple dislike of her own flesh and blood, she had had Misty to console her and that had been enough ever since.
"Maybe we should clean this up before we change" Misty suggests, prying mud off her clothes and out off her blonde locks. It's already drying in her hair, and she thinks about chopping it off completely, instead of undergoing the torture of washing it out. "And before your mother gets here" They actually have no idea when the adult intends to make an appearance – neither where she'd headed off to earlier – but the children have nothing to eat in the house, so they hope she will at least be by for dinner. Or drop something off, it doesn't matter.
"Probably, yeah" Delia agrees, though making no attempt to actually get up. After another minute of silent appraisal of their work, the taller girl pulls her friend by her hands off the stump. Losing her footing on the slippery surface of what used to be a neatly gardened lawn, the girls stumble, giggling, onto the floor.
"Shit" Delia mumbles, but couldn't keep the smile off her face. They tried hard not to completely destroy their clothes. It was one thing to have a shower and be presentably clean when Fiona arrived home, but neither of the two ten-year-olds know how to operate a washing machine and they probably don't have enough time anyway. Seems like Delia is getting another lecture on how to behave like a lady and, maybe finally a lesson on how to wash her own clothes. It would make those things easier to hide.
"What's done is done" the other witch too casually remarks, before planting a mischievous smirk on her face and dumping a handful of mud right onto her friend's head. Delia squeals from the sudden coldness and wriggles out of the grip Misty still has on her from their fall.
"You are so gonna pay for that" Delia declares, scooping more of the clay up and decorating a squirming 10 year old's face with it. Lips pursed, Misty lets out a disgusted 'eww', as the mud reaches her mouth and she almost touches it with her tongue.
The next heap lands square on the smaller girl's chest, most likely ruining her white top forever, the proud grin on Misty's face indicating she doesn't really care all that much. It's one of the clothes she can't borrow because it doesn't fit her; neither in size nor in style, and so she hates that thing anyway. Another high pitched squeal lets Misty know, that the cold dirt reached its intended target under the other girl's clothes.
With a strength neither of them had anticipated, Delia flips Misty onto her back, straddling the girl and pushing her flat onto the dirty ground. That day is the last one her black flowing dress would participate in. Delia doesn't mind, because as much as Misty doesn't like Cordelia 's bright and flowery clothes, the smaller blonde hates her friend being dressed in almost nothing else than dark colors. A gentle shove pushes Delia off of Misty and the two girls find themselves lying side by side, covered in mud.
The taller girl is the first one to outright laugh, though it doesn't take long for Delia to join in.
When a car comes to a stop in front of their heavy, fancy Iron Gate entrance, the laughter dies down just as immediate as it had started. They wait patiently, with bated breath and not moving a muscle. If Fiona caught them behaving like little kids and ruining their garden, then she could as well berate them in the middle of their mischief.
They hear the sound of the Gate rattling and a car door slamming shut again, before said car drives off again.
Both girls let out a sight of relieve. Misty may not be Delia's sister, but that does not stop Fiona from treating her as such when they get into trouble (which admittedly was rather often in the last four years). Since, in plenty of those occasions magic had been involved, the adult refrained from retelling what they'd done to Misty's parents but rather took the honor into her own hands and berated the children. It still surprises them that Delia never ended up with even the threat of being grounded, no matter what they had been up to. But then again, when Misty doesn't come around practically every day, Fiona would have to spend more time with her daughter herself. Still, the girls try to make the most of their mess when they know Fiona is out for a good amount of time and they have everything cleaned up before the adult returns home.
This time however, they actually get up to clean, the shock of almost being caught driving them to work. Rake and shovel in hand, they try to flatten and restore the ground into its former state. If Fiona bothered to look, she would find, that this particular part of the garden had left "its former state" months ago, but they couldn't risk it. It's a great way to spent the afternoon, the two blondes have found a few months ago, flooding the old flowerbed and playing in the self created mud. And even though the flowerbed hasn't seen any actual flowers for almost as long as Cordelia can remember, it's probably not a good idea to leave it all out in the open and have a drunk or hungover or just annoyed Fiona stumble upon it one day.
When the last flower pot is back in its place, lining their play ground just perfectly enough that you don't see it unless you actually work at the flowers, they look at their work one last time. Satisfied with the outcome, they return the tools to the shed and hurriedly make their way up the front steps. They take their respective pair of slippers from the fancy bench next to the front door and slip into them, because they'd learned the hard way to not leave dirty footprints on the white tiled floor. Also it would kind of defeat the purpose of sneaking around so Fiona wouldn't notice what they'd done.
Delia makes a beeline straight for the upstairs bathroom, careful not to lose too much mud along the way, while Misty tries to break off in the other direction once they reach the landing on the top floor. Delia grabs her hand and pulls her with her in the direction of the bathroom when she realizes Misty intents to wait until Cordelia is finished in the shower. With no idea when Fiona will be back home, Cordelia doesn't think it's a very good idea to have one of them sit around, dirty and muddy, for any longer than strictly necessary. She has no issues with sharing a shower, which can't be said for Misty however.
"I'll be just.." while Delia charges into the room, turning on the shower faucet to let the water heat up, Misty stops outside the door awkwardly. She gestures vaguely with her hands, because she honestly has no idea herself what she is going to say or do, but Delia catches her hand in hers again, mid-air, and drags her into the bathroom.
"We do so not have time for separate showers." she says, closing the door behind them and turning the lock "Don't be such a baby" The smaller girl starts to undress, laughing at her friend who does everything to look everywhere except the other girl. "Come on, you can't shower with all those clothes on"
Misty is still uncomfortable as she too, gets rid of her clothes and steps under the hot spray Delia is already occupying. She is just not used to this much openness. Her mother always tells her it is a sin to look at other's bodies; she isn't even allowed to change in the same room as her cousins. But as the hot water cascades down her face, taking with it the dirt and mud Delia had put there before, she starts to relax.
They are the best of friends and they are ten years old for god's sake. What does it matter?! She wouldn't have to tell her mother, anyway. Just like she keeps her sinful witchcraft a secret from her mother – or the fact, that she's sharing a bed with her best friend whenever she stays the night.
"Your face is still dirty" she says, when she finally opens her eyes and looks at her smiling friend's face. She doesn't dare looking anywhere else for fear of making the situation uncomfortable again. "Like here" she indicates in the general direction of the other girl's left cheek and, when Delia opens her eyes, Misty redirects the flowing water with her palms, splashing right into dark orbs. The tall blonde laughs, while Delia screws her eyes shut again, pushing at the closed lids with her fingers to get the water out.
"I don't even know why I like you" the older of the two girls pouts, preparing to give as good as she got.
Misty catches her wrists and, dramatically holds them in the air between them "We do so not have time for this" she mocks her pouting friend "Don't be such a baby"
"See, I hate you" Delia says, rinsing the last of the shampoo out off her hair. It's not lost on her, that those are the exact words she had used on Misty before.
Misty reaches over to turn off the hot water when she has finally managed to work her fingers through her unruly hair enough to be certain that there is no left over suds. Cordelia is already wrapped up in a big fluffy towel when Misty steps out off the shower stall. She hands her friend a matching one.
Then they make their way hurriedly down the hall and into the shorter girl's bedroom. She rummages through a box in the back of the closet and produces a large plastic bag, filled with clothes that the girl either doesn't wear anymore or look similar to the ones they just discarded. Their dirty clothes join them before she hides the bag again. She has no idea what she is going to do with them – probably throw them out with the rest of the pile – since the last thing she wants right now is trouble with her mother. She has enough of that just for existing.
Hastily throwing on some clothes, they hope it isn't too obvious that they just had a shower in the middle of the day. Misty staying over as much as she does, the girl has her own clothes in Delia's closet, which makes it easier to justify the different clothes from this morning. On the other hand, the girls are not even sure Fiona noticed what they had on this morning and what not.
Back in the bathroom, Cordelia blow-dries her hair, while Misty towel dries it as good as possible and then tries to pull a brush through. With a huff of frustration she gives up pretty soon. She is startled when her friend takes the hair brush from her fingers, pulls it through her own hair, before tugging the girl over to the tub and gently pushes her down to sit on the edge. With a smile, she complies and, in no time Delia manages to tame the wild mane of hair.
"Delia, Misty, dinner is ready" They hear from the front hall, as soon as they open the door to the bathroom again. Followed by a muttered curse and a shout of "Why can't you keep an eye on that damn cat of yours?"
"Don't let it outside" both girls shout down the stairs simultaneously, panic in their voices. Misty had found the animal about a year ago with a broken leg and malnourished and had taken it to Fiona to ask if she could help it. The adult had refused to use magic on a broken animal's leg, but had reluctantly agreed for the cat to stay with them if the girls would look after it and she wouldn't have to take care of anything. They don't know what it had been before moving in with Cordelia, but since then it has been strictly an indoor cat, and they really want it to stay that way. Who knows what could happen to it outside in the streets.
Skipping down the stairs as fast as possible, their sock clad feet come to a skittering stop in the kitchen doorway, where Fiona is already laying out the various Chinese take-out containers she'd purchased. Fiona had bought all their favourite food from that place just down the street both of them had seen from the inside only once. Delia does have the strange suspicion, that her mother memorized Misty's favourite foods and drinks for the simple purpose of keeping her around more often. It is easier to justify leaving your kid home alone for most of the day, when they actually aren't alone.
In the four years Misty and Delia had become friends, the tall blonde hasn't seen all that much of her best friend's mother.
She would come by almost every day after school and most times stay till after dinner, on the weekends she mostly never left at all. Breakfast and dinner are normally the only actual times she would get a glimpse of Fiona, but as she had learned over the last four years, it had nothing to do with her personally – she would leave her daughter alone whether or not Misty was around.
Misty would sneak out of Bible Class her mother is still making her go to and sneak back in just before they are finished. When the door would open and Misty'd leave the Henderson's house, she would greet a waiting Delia cheerfully, never letting on, that they arrived together not five minutes earlier.
On Fridays, Delia actually had to spend time with her mother, since the woman insists on teaching her daughter Latin. It is a pretty useful task, considering most of their witchcraft spells are drafted in that language, but it limited the time the children could have fun together, which annoyed them to no end. So, Fridays are the days Misty rings the doorbell at eight in the evening, ready for some fun and a sleepover that'll last until Sunday evening.
They had met at Misty's once or twice, primarily to introduce the girl their daughter is spending all her time with to Misty's parents. Fiona had even joined them that first time. She needed to know the parents of her daughter's best friend. She spun some tales about how they were perfectly fine and looked after at their house and how much she loved having Misty around. Even with six, they were smart enough to hold their tongues and not mention that they could count the occasions Fiona had spent with them on one hand. This friendship benefited Fiona as much as it did the girls.
Since most of their fun ended up with the accidental or not so accidental use of magic, they soon discovered, that Misty's house wasn't really the best place for them to wreak havoc. The fact, that Misty's mother still wasn't all that sold on the idea of her daughter actually playing and having fun instead of being a lady, made their days at the Day's house rather boring, too.
Misty had heard her parents argue this one night, after they had been introduced to a very well behaved Cordelia, and though she's still not allowed toys or dolls in the house, her mother had relented to the fact that she still had Fridays to teach her daughter good manners.
When they turn around in the kitchen doorway, they see the front door wide open and no sign of any cat anywhere. Both girls sprint towards the open door and the adjoining front yard without skipping a beat, shouting and looking for their cat. Misty is the first one who spots the lifeless body of what used to be their energetic little pet outside the iron gate. There's not a single car around at the moment, but that's exactly what must have clipped their little four-legged friend.
Cordelia arrives a crying Misty, hunched over the animal, just seconds later, tears streaming down her own cheeks. The two girls kneel in the middle of the street, Misty wrapped in Delia's arms, while the wild blonde reaches out to touch the still warm body before them. And then it's neither of them who realizes the slowly wiggling tail, but Fiona who had come up behind them, in a sudden and rare bout of compassion.
"Damn, get that cat off the street" she demands, more harshly than she had intended and before any of the girls can even move a single muscle, Fiona has the waking cat in her arms and has disappeared back onto their property. "Which one of you touched her?"
By the time Misty and Cordelia have closed the front gate behind them and had joined Fiona in the front yard, there is no sign of a dead animal, but a rather enthusiastic little fur ball brushing around their ankles. "But, she wasn't breathing" Delia whispers, in awe, following the cat with her eyes.
"Which one of you touched her?" Fiona asks again, softer this time, and the children finally acknowledge her.
"I did" Misty admits sheepishly, afraid she's done something wrong or bad. But the actual smile on Fiona's face calms her instantly. She thinks it's the first time she's actually seen the woman not frown at them.
"Well, it seems like you found your primary power"
"Wait, you mean...?" she doesn't know how to end her sentence, but she squeezes Cordelia's hand in hers, picking up the cat with her other one. "Cool" she breathes against the animal's head, when she catches Fiona nod once in confirmation.
"But don't do that again outside this house" And then the adult is gone, on her way back to the kitchen, shouting after the girls to hurry before their dinner got cold.
A few minutes later, they find themselves around the table, a very alive cat chasing a ball of yarn across the floor, passing around take-out containers. Fiona actually tries to make small talk, pretends to be interested in her daughter's life – asks how their day had been; what they did; if Misty is staying the weekend like always; if they need anything.
They know, they would probably spend the weekend alone, this just confirms it. The children ask for actual food, and, after a look shared between the girls, they blurt out simultaneously that, what's really missing, is chocolate. Fiona shakes her head, even manages a small smile at their antics and promises to make a shopping trip after dinner.
When Fiona leaves an hour later, both girls know, they won't see her until Sunday.
For the people who know my original version of this chapter, you should have noticed that I included Misty finding out she's a necromancer this time around. This was supposed to be in the original version, too, but I had problems writing that story back then and so I skipped it... now that I am reviving this, I will be adding more of my original ideas into the already existing chapters, too, so I would suggest not skipping them.
Also, I decided to go with my original plan of Misty and Delia not having any friends to speak of, which I think fits better with the chapters in which they start at Ms. Robichaux's