AHS Imagines

2: Arrival (Coven)

This one isn't romance-ish at all, it's reader joining the Coven (with some adjustments as to who's alive) and I used a dialogue prompt off of tumblr. 

It all happened so fast and I was too young to really remember what went on that day. I just knew that my parents thought I was in need of a medical professional because I never outgrew the phase of talking to my imaginary friends. Pretty stupid reason to ship your ten-year old kid off to a children's mental health ward, but it concerned them enough to do that.

 Several years passed and I was absolutely miserable there. No one wanted to be friends with me, the nurses were only there to do their work, and my parents rarely visited since it was across the state besides the fact that they had other responsibilities to worry about. The doctors never wanted to release me because my ability had never gone away. They thought I was schizophrenic for seeing people who weren't visible to anyone else. 

It wasn't until I was older that this blonde woman in her thirties dressed expensively in black requested to visit me. I'd heard that some people were able to be taken away by others if their parents consented to it. But this woman didn't seem to be interested in getting through paperwork to have me come with her. She was very pleasant towards me and only offered me the choice of going away.

"Hello, I bet you're wondering what I'm here for." She said as she sat down in the cheap plastic chair across from me.

"Sure." I shrugged. 

"My name is Cordelia Goode, and I'm the head of Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies. I came to offer you a spot at our home."

I laughed, "You think I'd fit into your criteria? If you haven't noticed, Miss Goode, this is a mental health facility and I have a condition that hasn't gone away since I can remember."

"That's the thing. Regular people can't explain individual phenomena with logic and reasoning sometimes. Your ability is a gift. Did you ever hear about any relatives having a special talent?" 

"I don't know, didn't really get a chance to know my family that well." 

"Well, there are other girls like you at the academy. They can bring dead organisms back to life, move things with their mind, inflict their own physical pain onto others without touching them, hear the thoughts of others, spark fire from their fingertips. These ladies, and yourself, are part of an ancient bloodline. One that dates back, most famously, to Salem." She announced proudly.

"You're saying I'm a witch?" I asked doubtfully.

"Yes. You have the gift of speaking to spirits, those that only you can see." 

"The doctors say it's just imaginary friends or some other dumb bullshit, this isn't Sixth Sense." 

"I have the power of second sight, let me prove it to you if that's what it takes." Cordelia reasoned.

"Fine." I said, crossing my arms.

She motioned for me to give her my hand, which I did. As soon as her hand touched mine, Cordelia gasped loudly and started tearing up at whatever it was she saw. A few seconds passed and her gazed shifted back up at me. Her hand let go of mine.

"I am truly sorry that our academy wasn't able to find you sooner. After all you've been through-" 

"Okay, what do you mean? Anyone could walk in here and tell me that my life hasn't been great." 

"Your parents gave away your dog a week before you came here. It died two days later. I can hear your screams when they left you here and drove away, the nurses holding you back from running after the car. I can feel your pain like a mist on my skin." 

I narrowed my eyes at her, there was no way she could've known all of it unless she spoke to my parents or she was telling the truth. Cordelia then assured me that she hadn't met my parents beforehand and that she would be happy to take me out of this place if I wanted to leave. I told her that there was no way my parents would let her sweep me away right then and there. She just flashed me a mischievous look. 

"There are some benefits to being the Supreme." Cordelia explained vaguely.

"The what?"

"You pack up your things and I'll take care of everything else." She said.

I was confused then, so my only option was to listen to this mysterious woman and come back downstairs with my few clothes packed away in a small case. She led me on behind her and walked right out of the doors. It was only later that I found out she obliviated any memories of me out of the minds of the workers there as well as in my parents' minds. I was completely free. 

When we arrived in New Orleans, I was blown away by the beautiful building. It was so different from that awful facility that always smelled sharply of cleaning sprays and antiseptic ointments. There were tall, black iron gates enclosing the place and flowers bordering its entrance. Cordelia took me inside and gave me a room on the upper floor. I was introduced to the other girls there then taught how to use my power better.

As the girl named Nan had the closest ability to me, she and Cordelia were the ones instructing me the most. They were both probably the nicest of the residents here but all of the girls were really welcoming. 

"Tell us what you see." Cordelia said after calling a spirit of the house to us with an old Ouija board. 

I looked around the room until I saw a blonde-haired older woman sitting at the couch with a glass of wine in her hand. She had a bitter look on her face and she wore a chic little black dressed paired with a set of Jimmy Choo heels. Beside her, there was a German Shepherd laying down on the floor. I described her appearance and the dog to Cordelia and Nan who seemed surprised by what they heard. 

"That's-" Nan started to say.

"Wait. Ask the woman her name." Cordelia interrupted.

I did, and it felt silly for me to be asking questions to a spirit that they couldn't see in front of them. She chuckled slightly and said that her own daughter should be able to recognize her.

Cordelia was flabbergasted and her eyes glazed over with tears. She explained that it was the previous Supreme, Fiona, who also was her mother. Nan told me she was surprised that I could see the dog too and it was an even more amazing ability that I could see it. 

"Wait, are you telling me that I could communicate with my childhood dog? I always wished to see him again." I smiled sadly.

"Maybe. I think you can only contact the spirits of the place you're in. Fiona lived here and died here, so did the dog. Yours would be back at the place where it died, which from your thoughts, is not where you used to live." Nan replied.

"Yeah," I paused, "Thanks for teaching me about my power better. Will Cordelia be okay? She seems shaken up about me seeing her mom." 

Nan nodded and dismissed me. I went back up to my room with the board after saying goodbye to Fiona so her spirit would go. I'd never been able to call spirits to myself, nor get them to leave me; they would always just appear and stay in my sight like they wanted me to see them. I recalled how I saw Fiona to my roommate, Misty, who was fascinated by what I told her. Queenie didn't seem to care about it, saying something about Fiona being an awful bitch until she needed help. The others agreed with her, making me wonder how Cordelia had turned out to be such a wonderful Supreme to all of us.