Chapter 3 bby, I hope you enjoy 🥱
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It had been 1 month at the Hawthorne academy, I was enjoying it a lot. Me and Michael were reasonably close but not in a good way. We realized we both technically had the same abilities, and neither of us found it amusing. I tried to be better than him, and he tried to be better than me, that's the way it's been going. Ariel had told us both to come down and meet the council, we didn't know why but we didn't hesitate to ask about anything. "Do you know what this is about?" I asked him, he just looked at me and rolled his eyes. "Fine then, I just want to see if you knew what was going on" I said walking passed him into the room.
"Now that you've both had time to settle and you have immersed yourselves in the study of magic here at the coven, it's time to evaluate and see where you both stand" Ariel said, "Normally, this would happen at the end of the first year-". "Well, we've only been here a month" Michael said just as confused as me, "Well, seeing both your progress, we feel justified in accelerating the process" Behold said. "To begin, each warlock at our school is assigned a level, one through four, according to their talents and the breadth of their powers" Ariel added on, "Are you all level fours?" Michael asked as I tried to contain my laughter.
"Sadly you're looking at a bunch of threes", "sixes after a few cocktails". "A level four would mean a warlock that is categorically as powerful as the female supreme. He would be the one we call the Alpha", "We shouldn't burden the boy with theory. In the history of the coven, there's never been a level four warlock. Let's see if they can pass level one" John said. "Scrying is the ability to see things in a reflective surface messages, visions, prophecies but, today, we're not looking for the next Nostradamus. All you need to do is to tell us where we hid a particular book. The New..." Baldwin said before I interrupted him. "The New Adam and Eve. By Hawthorne. First edition" I said, "Yes" Baldwin replied.
I went over to the mirror and began to concentrate on the book, I had been practicing and found a way to reach through and grab the object instead of just showing it. I eventually knew where it was, I put my hand through the mirror slowly, "Well, that'll get some extra credit" Baldwin said. It was now Michaels turn, he did the exact same thing as me. Grabbing the book through the mirror, which I was surprised he was able to do. "Tremendous. Both of you", "They were only tasked with telling us where the book as hidden. Even you have to admit that was impressive", "Impressive. And troubling. Quite simply they ignored directions" I couldn't help but glare at him.
"Salire per spatium. The ability to transport yourself instantly throughout physical space. Just pick a spot in the room, envision yourself there, and make it happen". Michael was up first for this one, "what are those things for?" He asked. "Motivation" he said simply. He moved quickly and smoothly, but on his third he disappeared. "Anything else? You want me to dust up here?" He said while I looked up at him on the ceiling. It was now my turn, personally this was one of the easiest tests we had to do, so as you could tell I passed even with the "motivation".
We were finally at our final test, I was going first. "This final test requires an understanding of not only magic but of nature. Stiricidium" Baldwin said. "Molecules of water are all around us. Change the weather inside this room, and turn the water into snow" John said. I moved the chair I was sitting on to the side and stood in front of the fire, the next thing I know snow was falling down from the ceiling. "Wow", "Beautiful!". It was now Michaels turn, he did the same thing as me. Snow began to fall slowly from the ceiling yet agin, for some reason it made me smile. I was looking at him when all of a sudden his eyes rolled back, almost like some else was in his body.
It was now longer a light snow, it was a blizzard. We all started to shake from the cold, our air was visible as we gasped for air. "I can't breathe" Baldwin said shakily. I stumbled my way over to him, "Michael, please make this stop" I said shaking. I could feel myself starting to get weaker and weaker. "Please..." I said. "Enough!" Ariel yelled as everything came to a halt. "I'm sorry. I didn't know that was inside of me" he said, "You're training your wings. Once your fully in control of your powers, you'll have the confidence to soar. Thank you for your spirited participation, Michael. And you Nerissa. You've given us a lot to consider.
I walked out of the room sitting by the nearest fire. "I'm so sorry" Michael said coming up behind me, "Is that a true apology or a bullshit one to pass the time?" I asked. "It's real a promise I-", "You do realize you almost killed the four of the council members and me in under 2 minutes right?" I asked him. "I don't know what came over me" he said sitting down beside me. "At lease we're alive, congratulations though" I said starting to walk away. "What do you mean by congratulations?" He asked, "You do realize that those council members can only do some of what you did, not a single one of them can do it all. You're the strongest warlock I've ever seen and I've seen a few. So when you get asked to do the seven wonders, please accept it" I said trying to get up again, but he pulled me back down.
"There's never been a male supreme before and you just might be the first, you're powers are stronger than anyone else's" I said holding his hand, "John, Behold, Ariel, and Baldwin have always wanted a male supreme so they can be better than Cordelia and the test of the witches. Trust me when I say you're right for the job". "I know we've always been neck and neck but I hope you understand that I'm not just a rude competitive bitch" I said making him laugh
~2 1/2 months later~
Me and Michael weren't as competitive as we used to be, we actually managed to have decent conversations. I knew he'd be the next supreme. We were in his room, just discussing random topics that came into our minds. "I've never actually asked you how you got into Hawthorne" he said to me, "Long story short, I had a few flareups at my coven. Which means that I would feel as though I was being possessed by someone and lash out on people. I almost killed a "good friend" of mine one night and that's when Cordelia sent me here" I said looking down.
"Are you happy here?" He asked. "I mean sure, but I do miss them. Queenie I only knew for a few days before her disappearance in Los Angeles, and Madison, well she went to hell, thank god" I said. "But I met you, so that's a plus point" I added on making him let out a smirk. "How did you get here?" I asked him back, "I'd rather not say" he said "okay sure" I sat back down on his bed while he sat at his desk, "Have you ever been in a relationship?" I asked him, "Nope, never".
"What about you?" He asked me, "Nope, and I've been reminded by Madison a multitude of times that I would never have one because I was lonely, unattractive, and boring though" I said, "I hope you know she's incorrect" he said to me. "I try to forget about it, but it's still at the back of my mind", "Just don't think about it" he said. "Wow you're really minimalistic aren't you?" I said making myself laugh, "What do you mean?". "You just have a 5 word sentence in your head and say it as a response every time" I said letting out a small laugh, "You know what that was rude I'm sorry". "No you're fine, it's okay" he said sitting down beside me.
I've never normally liked anyone, but Michael was such a simple and sweet person. I couldn't lie if you asked me if I liked him when I first saw him. He was smart, attractive, and simplistic, what more could someone want. I've never told him because I feel like it would ruin our friendship, but I just wanted to let it all out. I got out of my thoughts and felt someone cup my cheek, I turned to see Michael studying my mind. Next thing I know we kissed, I was confused but definitely not mad. "Just in case you forgot, I have many abilities and mind reading is one of them" he said making me smile. We kissed again but this time it was more deep and meaningful
Ariels POV
"Let The record show that, at the request of Hawthorne school, that we have assembled an emergency meeting of the council" Cordelia said, "Proceed" Myrtle added on. "What exactly is it that you want from us?" Cordelia asked, "We want you to administer the test of the Seven Wonders" I said sternly. "That is out of the question", "Why?". "Because I'd be condemning this boy to his death. I lost one of my most promising witches, Misty Day, by sanctioning a test before her time. I won't make that mistake again. I take care of my own" Cordelia said, "At lease the ones you care about".
"What do you mean by that?", "One of your own, who you abandoned, Queenie". "Of course it's the black girl you leave behind. I see you, Ms. Supreme", "You don't know what you're talking about. Queenie was missing. She traveled to Los Angeles and never came back. I knew something awful had happened to her. Her life force just vanished. So I went searching for her, and when I found out she was trapped in the Hotel Cortez, I went immediately to bring her back from that monstrous place. And I had no illusions about I being easy. The Cortez is a place of evil. A hell mouth"
Cordelia's POV (flashback)
"Damn, I have to take that trick. I'm so glad I killed you, the only player worth playing in this entire establishment" March said, "How long does this game go on?" Queenie asked. "Eternity, my dear. But not to worry, besides hearts, I can teach you spades, poker, blackjack, bridge, rummy. Ah. A live one", "Cordelia" Queenie said excitedly. "Let's get out of here. Queenie", "You're a plucky one— I admire that—but as you already know, Queenie, you can never leave this place". "Fuck you, March. This is Cordelia. She knows exactly how to get me out of here". We tried and tried to walk through those doors but it's just simply didn't work. "Shit"
Ariels POV
"I could hear the souls screaming in the walls, desperate for a way out. I realized then that the hotel wasn't merely haunted but an entryway to all things dark and satanic... where the devil reigns. We went through every door and every window, but we couldn't escape the hotel. All my spells and incantations were useless in that dark realm. The light from which we draw our power was extinguished by Satan himself. I was there for days . The ghost of March got bored and finally left us alone"
Cordelia's POV (flashback)
"Cordelia, nothing's ever gonna work. You should just go back to the coven. They need you", "I'm sorry. Queenie. I'm so sorry".
Ariels POV
"My effort to rescue Queenie is by far my greatest failure as supreme. But I tried. And I do care about all of our people. All of our people. So I won't throw this boy's life away on some useless endeavor. There will be no test. That is this council's decision" Cordelia said. "Why do you get to decide that?" I asked, "Because I'm the fucking supreme". "No,'you're just a scared bigot" I said, "Scared if what?". "Of the Alpha. Of a man rising to the level of Supreme. Of an end of ages of female dominance. I'm telling you that time has come" , "And your time is up. This council is closed. The decision is final. There's nothing more to be said".
Nerissa's POV
~1 1/2 moths later~
After talking for a while we found each other more comfortable around each other. We sat in his room just like last time. His eyes began to go back, almost like when a demon possesses a human. I wasn't scared, I was intrigued. He walked over to his desk and got out a notebook and paper. He began to scribble profusely making line after line until it made a proper photo. It was a building called the Hotel Cortez, I remember Cordelia telling us that was where Queenie was trapped. Her attempts of setting her free stayed with her like a lingering smell, she was so disappointed when she couldn't set her free. He snapped back into reality and turned to me, "I believe this is where you're friend is"
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Daily reminder: Drink water, and eat ass. Both are just important as each other