Once again, it was pouring with rain. You had been at the academy for a week, and every day had been much the same. Of course, you were happy to be here, it felt wonderful to be around other witches, to feel a true kinship to people, but something was wrong. Something inside of you was just wrong, and you didn't know how to fix it. It happened sometimes; you'd wake up and feel the familiar ache. The rain didn't help. You longed for a clear sky and sun. The memory of the sun beating down on your skin like a thousand sharp kisses made your soul ache with longing.
You'd made some friends in the academy, but mostly you kept to yourself. It's not that you didn't like them; you did. It's just something about connecting to people was difficult. The distance you had created was reassuring, and you felt slightly happy that you had protected yourself this way.
Bounding out of bed, you stretch for a moment and look at the clock. 5am. Why can't I sleep like an average person, you thought in frustration. Abandoning the idea of sleep, you throw on a thick cardigan and quietly head downstairs. Maybe there's a recipe for a sleeping draft you could find. You ponder the thought in excitement. The academy is entirely silent, the girls asleep in their rooms. Something about the academy in the moments you see it in silence makes you marvel at its safety.
A rustle in the kitchen makes you pause, someones here. You are filled with anxiety as your mind rushes through potential problems. Someone's broken in. It's a witch-hunter, the men Zoe told you about or something else wrong, but before you can get too worked up, you hear a familiar sigh. A voice you think you would know anywhere. Cordelia's. The headmistress and supreme of the coven. You'd only really caught glimpses of the woman in your week here. Zoe and Queenie had explained that some minor threat had kept Cordelia away from the girls.
The first time you saw her was in a transfiguration lesson. Zoe was showing the class how to change tulips into chocolates when a gorgeous blonde woman had whisked in, capturing your attention instantly. She pulled Zoe aside and spoke to her in a soft voice. You could only hear because you were sat quite close. You weren't really interested in the conversation, more the sound of the angelic woman's voice. It reminded you of beautiful music. The blonde stopped talking to Zoe and suddenly met your eyes. You turned away as quickly as you could and attempted to put all your focus on the tulip in your hand. When you were brave enough to sneak a look again, she was gone.
Every encounter since then had been much the same. Cordelia would whisk in for a moment and be gone in the next. Sometimes you noticed the other witches trying to get her attention and how she would smile lovingly but only engage in the shortest conversations with them. I'd learnt that this was unusual behaviour for her as the other witches complained about her sudden absence frequently. You felt mildly sad that you'd come to the academy at the only time this gorgeous woman seemed to be away from it.
Your mind snapped back as you heard her sigh come from the kitchen again. You debated going in and seeing her alone for the first time, but fear got the better of you, and you snuck past the kitchen and tiptoed into the greenhouse. It was a paradise under the soft moonlight, and instantly, you sighed in relief. The idea of a sleeping draft suddenly flooded back into your head, and you began searching through draws and under plants for anything you could use. Some of the draws were locked, and you realised you were making quite a bit of noise. The lack of sleep was making you clumsy. You sighed loudly in frustration.
You had an idea. You weren't untalented with plants; you knew they had energy, each different and unique. Maybe you didn't need a recipe and could make one on your own. An ambitious task, but you were bored of looking and besides, what else were you going to do.
Closing your eyes, you began to search for your feelings. The darkness behind your eyelids started to show colours. The plants began to hum in a way you could understand ever so slightly. You held your hands in front of your body and walked forward, quickly feeling lavender. Keeping your eyes closed, you picked a few stems of it. You became engrossed in this little ritual, moving amongst the plants, picking a leaf here and there. Only when you felt a considerable warmth behind you did you pause. Something light and powerful was pulling you back around, and keeping your eyes closed and your hands forward, you moved towards it. This was the final ingredient, you were sure. You reached up and felt something soft and hair-like in your fingers. You pulled at it to break it off.
"Ouch."
You jumped back, and your eyes flung open. Standing before you was Cordelia Goode. Dressed in a beautiful pink robe, she was rubbing her head and trying not to laugh.
"Cordelia! I mean Ms Goode. No wait supreme? Um.."
You were so shocked and embarrassed that your face burnt and you had no idea what to do.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you."
She looked at you curiously.
"One doesn't tend to see people with ones eyes closed."
You put the leaves you were holding on the desk behind you and used its weight to steady yourself.
"I didn't think anyone would be here. I was..."
Cordelia looks at you and then at the ingredients on the table.
"You were trying to make a sleeping potion?"
Through your embarrassment, you couldn't help but feel slightly proud that your intuition was correct. You let out a small laugh.
"Yeah. I looked for a recipe but I couldn't find one."
You gesture to the leaves and plants you collected. "I was just collecting what I felt drawn too."
You blushed once again at the thought of pulling her hair. She must think you're the craziest person ever.
"Well I'm impressed, you collected nearly everything."
Cordelia moves next to you to examine your ingredients.
"You're y/n right?"
You nod with a small smile.
"I'm Cordelia. I'm sorry I haven't been here to welcome you this week, there were some complications."
Her voice becomes dark, and it makes you shiver.
"Yes Zoe told me. Is everything okay?"
Her eyes soften as she looks at you.
"Yes dear, it's all sorted now. Nothing you need to worry about."
Cordelia sits down, and you watch the elegance in her movements, unable to take your eyes off her.
"Anyway, trouble sleeping?" She says with a small laugh that you echo.
"Yep. For the last 20 years in fact. I never could get that skill down."
Cordelia laughs, and you can't help but smile at the fact that you caused that laughter.
"Would you like some help making the potion? Well it's more of a face mask if we make the one I usually make."
You blush and shake your head.
"No no you really don't have too. I'm sure you're really busy."
Cordelia shakes her head and smiles the most beautiful smile, her lips captivating you.
"Nope. There's no threat to the coven so I'm free as a bird."
You laugh slightly at the expression you hadn't heard in so long.
"Aren't you tired?"
You ask, looking at the little dark circles under her eyes.
"I'm not a great sleeper either."
You search her face to see if she just feels sorry for you, but you see only honesty in her eyes.
"Then yes, I'd love the help. I have no idea what I'm doing."
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.
The next hour is lovely. You come to life in the presence of the supreme, laughing like you haven't in months. She asks about your interests and what you did before coming to the academy, and you ask her about herself. You talk about your greenhouse at home. She's very open, but you notice very brief when answering a personal question. You understand, though, she doesn't know you, and you're just her student. For a moment, you feel sad, but your face lights up again when she begins talking about how she discovered the sleep mask recipe. The awkwardness you initially felt evaporates, and suddenly you understand why the other witches missed her so much this week. She's like the sun. Completely warm and captivating.
"I think it's done."
Cordelia says, pulling her paste covered hands away. You look down at the brown covered paste she's made.
"Ew."
The consistency of the paste looks disgusting, and you frown at it. Cordelia playfully elbows your arm.
"Hey this stuff is a lifesaver, trust me darling you won't be saying that later."
Your heart stops at the pet name, and you think that if you weren't sat down, your legs would give way. Instead, you focus really hard on the horrible looking paste.
"We'll see. I've tried a lot of sleeping recipes and nothing has worked before."
Cordelia hums in acknowledgement.
"Ah but you've never tried anything made by me."
Once again, her voice makes you melt, and you try not to look into her eyes which only results in looking at her silk pyjamas which make your heart race. You look into her eyes now and see that she's looking at you softly.
"It's only 6 am. I think you could get a few hours of sleep in."
Cordelia takes the paste and puts it in a jar before moving to the sink to clean her hands. She moves back to the seat and opens the jar, taking a small amount and putting it on her thumb. She looks at you with her big chocolate eyes, and you melt under her gaze. You barely notice her lift her hand, but you shiver when her thumb traces a line on your forehead.
You hum slightly as a warmth encases your body and then blush before looking back at the stunning woman.
"It works quickly. Come on let's get you to bed."
You're about to protest and insist you can get there yourself, but your legs give way as soon as you stand up. Cordelia grabs your arms and holds you comfortingly against her body.
"I told you it would work."
You hum into her shoulder, your head struggling to stay up.
"Come on sleepy head."
Cordelia chuckles and puts an arm around your body, and begins leading you upstairs.
"Which ones your room? Y/N?"
You try to get words out, but for some reason, your mouth refuses to move. Everything is soft and dreamlike. You think you hear someone saying your name, but you're not sure. Your eyes flutter open, and you see yellow and pink before they shut again. You hum contently into the warm feeling inside your body and let your brain finally sleep.
Birds. You can hear bird calls. The noise is comforting, and you cuddle into it. You feel like you're in a warm cloud. You sink into the calm feeling and listen to the birds for a while whilst feeling comes back into your body. It starts as a tingle in your toes; you wiggle them contently. Feeling suddenly comes into your arms, and you feel yourself holding something warm. You hug it tighter in a state of bliss you've never felt before. This is the warmest perfect moment, the very moment you've been longing for. More feeling comes back, and you freeze up.
"Someone's awake I see."
Shit. Feeling starts coming back everywhere, and you realise it's not a blanket you're holding, but legs. You freeze completely as memories come flooding back to you: Cordelia, the greenhouse, the sleeping draft.
"Cordelia?"
You say softly and guiltily as if you're saying sorry. You peek open your eyes and see Cordelia's soft skin under your head. Her nightdress had ridden up, meaning you were holding her soft legs and laying in her lap. You felt fear and embarrassment seep into your cheeks until you felt her hand on your head stroking your hair.
"I'm sorry y/n. I didn't realise how strong the sleep mask was and I didn't know where your room was..."
Wait, you thought, she's embarrassed? You were literally clinging to her legs, and still, she thought she was at fault? The craziness of the situation gave you strength as you slowly moved your arms to free her legs.
"I'm the one who should be sorry. I've been holding you like a koala all night."
That earned you a soft chuckle, and you moved to sit up but ended up only lifting your head to look around. Taking in your surroundings, you saw that this was definitely not your room. It was sparsely but carefully decorated, light and open, and the bedsheets were the softest and most comfortable you'd ever felt in your life.
"I like your room."
You mumble and rest your head back down. This time you move your head to lay next to Cordelia instead of on her.
"Thank you."
The husky but gentle way she says it makes you open an eye to look up at her. She's sat up watching you with wide eyes, and for a moment, you think you see the longing in them.
"Damn that sleep mud was amazing. I've never slept that well in my life."
You don't know what possesses you to do it, but you wiggle your head slightly closer to her, so it's resting against her legs. You feel her hand return to your head again.
"I told you."
She says, and you can't be sure, but you think she's smiling. Keeping your eyes closed, you reach out a hand to feel the energy of the sun. By the angle of your hand, you deduce that it's almost nine o'clock.
"I have a class soon don't I."
You mumble in annoyance. You've just had the most perfect sleep of your life, and now you have to have classes. You sigh against Cordelia's leg.
"What did you just do?"
Cordelia whispers.
"Sighed?"
"No, how did you know the time?"
You freeze up as you realise what you have been trying to ignore—your gift. If any of the other girls had paid any real attention to you, they would have seen it, you weren't exactly hiding it, but you knew that nobody knew.
"I felt it. I felt the suns energy."
"Felt it how?"
Cordelia says in engaged wonder.
"It's how I found the ingredients for the sleep draft. The energy that every living thing has I can feel. It's better when I close my eyes, then I can see it."
You move your head to look up at Cordelia again. She's looking down at you.
"Amazing."
You feel your cheeks blush and move to sit up.
"I'm sorry if I caused you any inconvenience last night. I didn't mean to ..."
You trail off thinking of all the things you could apologise for, but she just smiles.
"Don't be."
Her voice is so silky and warm that it takes your breath away.
"I should go get ready for classes. Thanks again for the sleep draft."
She smiles warmly at you as you climb out of her bed and head for the door. You take one quick look back at her, and she looks like an angel. You pry your eyes away before you do anything else embarrassing.
A/n
If anyone's reading this I really hope you are enjoying it! I have written quite a lot of this book and will post as often as possible. I'll post it on tumblr as well.
