Following the River Styx

Chapter Ten

A/N: This is the final chapter of Following the River Styx. However, it is not the final chapter of me in the AHS fandom! I am already working on a multi-chapter fic for season two regarding Lana and Sister Mary Eunice. After that, I have several ideas for Foxxay which could be multi-chapter or one shot—we'll see when we get that far.

Thanks for reading this story, and if you've enjoyed reading, please review!

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"Dee," Misty whined from the passenger seat of the car. "Can't I take off the blindfold? I'm starting to feel carsick." Low tones of Fleetwood Mac hummed from the car's CD player as Cordelia followed a long, winding road through swamp and forest. "It can't be that great of a surprise. It's our eight week anniversary. It's not like it's a huge number."

Cordelia gazed out over the windshield, slowing as she entered Pleasure Bend and turned off of the main road. "We're almost there," she promised. "Hold tight. It has to be a surprise." Nervousness quelled in the pit of her gut. She had required the blindfold for more reasons than the benevolent factor of surprising Misty; she feared that Misty would react poorly upon being returned here. This place held a slew of memories for the other witch that Cordelia could never possibly comprehend. But Cordelia had also made a promise—to return Misty safely to her siblings and her grandmother—and she intended to see it through. If that meant sleeping on the couch for awhile, she was willing to accept the consequences.

"You're slowing down. Can I take it off now?" She reached to untie the knot. "I'm taking it off. I feel nauseated." She plucked off the bandana that Cordelia had tied around her eyes and dropped it in her lap just as the Supreme began to form a protest. Drawn to the scenery on the left, only a moment passed before Misty's voice dropped into a whisper. "No—No, you can't take me here! Cordelia!" The car pulled to the side of the road in front of the small house with the gravel driveway. "No—please don't leave me here—"

"I'm not leaving you anywhere," Cordelia assured. She reached for Misty's trembling hand. "They deserve to know you're okay. If you don't want to stay, then we can go straight back home." She kissed her on the cheek. "Come on. Look, your sister is already at the door."

As she spoke, Misty lifted her gaze to the torn screen door where Mary stood, face glowing. Reluctant and longing, hopeful and dreading at the same time, Misty opened the car door and stepped out into the street. Cordelia followed her. Before Misty's feet even touched the grass, Mary burst from the house with the dog, Gizmo, dashing ahead of her. "Gizmo!" Misty cried. The elderly labrador ran like a joyous puppy and pounced onto her master with her tongue flapping in the air and tail whipping dandelions off of their stems in the overgrown grass.

The sunlight filtered down upon the green yard and danced through Misty's platinum hair, and as she leaned forward to kiss the dog on the nose, to embrace the fat swipes of the pink tongue, Cordelia remembered the image that she had received the last time she was here, the picture that had led her to Misty in the depths of hell. The pure spirit exhaled from her in an ethereal glow. Drinking in the sight, Cordelia inhaled deeply, the sweet mingled scent of wildflowers and manure from a nearby field.

Mary dove into an embrace. "Mary! You've gotten so tall!" Misty swept her up into her arms and spun her around. "And you taught yourself how to braid! I'm so proud of you!"

"I heard you coming. I heard you all the way down the road. Jeremy didn't believe me, but I knew it was your voice!" Fat tears rolled down Mary's cheeks. "Why were you gone so long? What did those people do to you? Why didn't you ever come back?" She shook her head. "We looked for you—we spent days searching—we couldn't find you anywhere! Ma and Pa didn't care, and they wouldn't let us see Gran anymore, and nobody wanted to help us find you, and—" She broke off in a series of sniffles. "And I thought I would never see you again."