Fear

Chapter Eleven

Once I had gotten home, the coven was completely dark. Not a single candle nor light bulb illuminated the great white coven. The usual familiar scent of Marlboros was missing, and there were no signs of laughter or love-making.

The front door creaked as usual when opened, but my footsteps sounded hollow as I carefully eased my way into the main hall. Climbing the stairs proved an eerily similar feeling. THe lack of light drained the house, but something much larger was absent as well.

Upstairs I saw that Fiona's bedroom door was closed and there was no indication that she was behind it. With my right fingertips gently tracing the walls, I crept up next to the door. I rested the side of my head against it, hoping to hear the click of her heels or the snap of her lighter. I was met with complete silence, save for my short breaths, which became more frantic as the silence went on.

My brain was still fuzzy and quite hazy from the night's earlier drinks, but I was fully aware of what had happened and I already had the overwhelming desire to set things straight.

I tapped my pale white knuckles on the wooden door three times. After seconds of no reply, I whispered, "Fiona?"

There was no answer

I knew I had already broken a very serious boundary with Fiona tonight, and I knew Fiona had told me to stay away from her wing of the coven, but I felt strongly that I had to address my actions before the situation became worse.

"Fiona?" I pleaded again.

I placed my fingertips on the silver doorknob and began to turn it.

Something clicked within me that told me to stop.

I obeyed it.

Why couldn't I open it?

Perhaps my inner-most desires didn't want me to.

I turned around and let my back fall into her door. My chest began to heave and my lungs felt as if they were filling with saltwater. As the lump in my throat grew harder to ignore, I slid down the smooth white surface and collapsed onto the floor, sending my tears cascading down my rosy cheeks. My brow nustled into the heels of my hands and my elbows rested firmly on my thighs as I drew my knees towards my bloated lungs. My eyes grew swollen as tears began to flow out of them vigorously.

I loved Fiona.

There was no escaping it. She drove me absolutely mad and there was something about it that clung to me. Fiona was poetry in a world that was still learning the alphabet. She was the most whimsical woman I had ever had the pleasure of knowing, and I had fallen at her feet with little grace. She would never approve of me, never accept me, love me, nor understand me, but none of those issues seemed to amount to the fire that blazed within my chest when I was in her presence.

"Do you feel that?" A soft whisper came from behind my ears.

Instantly terrified, I jolted away from the door and shot out into the middle of the hallway.

"That cold feeling deep within you?" The same voice called to me in a louder tone.

My eyes darted about the hallway as I pulled my knees in closer to my chest. The white walls and dark wooden floorboards brought no answers; I was completely alone.

"That's what it feels like to love Fiona Goode," the voice confided in me, now much louder than before.

I began to tremble and grow clumsy as I continued to search for the voice's source.

"Who are you?" I cried out, my tears of sadness now converting to tears of terror.

"WHO ARE YOU?" I begged again, my voice cracking as it raised in volume. The walls produced no answer.

I began weeping hysterically, the tears now tumbling from my cheeks and onto the floorboards in a manner comparable to war bombings. I cried vocally, notifying the coven that I was afraid of whoever was communicating with me and the message that they had delivered.

I was afraid that I had fallen in love with the most powerful woman to ever have set foot on the earth.

**Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading this story and sticking with it for so long, it means a lot to me! I'm sorry that this chapter was short and uneventful, it was kind of a filler. Surprisingly, having a job takes up a lot of work, so I'm sorry for my inconsistent and late-night updates. I do want to try to stick to updating every other day at the very least, so hopefully that will work out. I appreciate any and all feedback (seriously, you can roast this fic if you think it deserves it), anything is helpful. Also, if you have any ideas or requests for this fic or a separate piece, I would absolutely love to hear it! (I am open to anything, but I usually write Jessica Lange stuff, and I'm open to any pairings or ideas that you all have) Love you!