chapter one, miss robichaux's academy
" There is a house in New Orleans
They call the Rising Sun
And it's been the ruin of many a poor boy
And God, I know I'm one "
HOUSE OF THE RISING SUN ━━
the animals
IT HAD ONLY BEEN A DAY SINCE JULIET HARMON DIED. And the world had kept spinning as though nothing had ever happened. She herself kept walking on the world as though the burning had only been a nightmare she hoped to never encounter again.
How she survived, or had been resurrected, remained a mystery. Not even Cordelia Foxx knew the cause of her resurrection, something that Juliet Harmon didn't know whether it was a good thing or bad thing. Of course, she should be thankful she was alive. And she was. But whatever had brought her back to the land of the living had to have had a reason for doing so, she was sure. Good or bad, she didn't know.
Cordelia Foxx was a kind, if not overly protective woman, something that Juliet discovered as they had been leaving the small town. When Juliet asked why she was helping her, Cordelia had simply stated "I will always protect my girls". It was weird for someone she didn't know to refer to her as though she had known her for a long time. But she didn't question it. Like how she barely questioned being told she was a witch. Things didn't make sense anymore and she doubted they'd make sense ever again, but as least now there was someone who wouldn't kill her or give her away.
The building before her towered above her. It looked like some fancy boarding school, and judging by the sign, that's what it was to anyone on the outside.
Miss Robichaux's Academy. Not your normal school as Cordelia had explained to her. A school for abnormal girls, like herself. Like Cordelia. Like whatever or whoever brought her back to life. A school for girls to learn magic like the witches they were. Juliet would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed to hear that it wasn't like Hogwarts which still wasn't real, even with magic and it was actually just fiction like magic should be.
Juliet didn't have any bags to bring with her, as they couldn't risk going back to her former home. She felt awkward standing in front of the so called school, her skin crawling. Cordelia promised she would fit in with her abilities, however even as she stood in front of the school she didn't feel a sense of belonging. She hadn't no matter what Cordelia said. As though she wasn't truly meant to be there. She hoped it'd grown on her unlike her former homes.
Stepping inside hadn't felt any better. A sense of foreboding took over. She managed to hide it though. For a sixteen year old, she was good at burying her expressions under stoic ones. She had yet to see anyone else in the house, and it was silent, making the already large school feel so much bigger and emptier.
As if reading her mind, Cordelia spoke up, stepping forward and resting a hand on her shoulder comfortingly as Juliet stood awkwardly, wearing the slightly oversized clothes Cordelia had loaned her until she could get her own. "The girls will be around here somewhere, they normally practice their skills. I can show you to your room."
The room was bare when they reached it, much like the rest of the building. The only room that had had decorations lining the white walls had been one filled with portraits of women that Juliet supposed had been witches before her. As they had passed the room their eyes seemed to stare at her, giving her an unwelcoming feeling. Juliet peered into the room, looking at the blank walls. The place looked clean and like one of those old classic homes if it were to be bare. It was actually nice, although Juliet could never imagine actually living here as she was supposed to do.
"You can freshen up before dinner. Shower is over there, I'll have some fresh clothes brought up to you." Cordelia offered, watching Juliet nod at her before crossing her hands in front of her and disappearing through the door that they had come through.
Juliet let out a long breath she didn't realize she'd been holding, dripping down into the twin bed and running a hand through her hair, grimacing when it got caught in knots. She hadn't had a shower since before she was burned, and probably stunk although at this point she couldn't really tell.
It took a few minutes to get the right temperature and when she finally did she didn't hesitate in stepping in and washing the ash from her hair. It was hot, and the peacefulness of the shower gave her time to reflect on the last day. She had been killed, and yet she didn't feel any different. She was a witch and yet nothing had changed. It felt like she wasn't surprised by anything any longer. As though all other feelings had melted into something else. She felt numb when she remembered her death and yet also didn't seem to care at the same time. It was an odd feeling. Like she knew what happened, and yet she didn't care. You'd think dying and learning you were a witch would spark some feeling.
But no.
She only felt the hot water begin to cool as she stood in the shower, and remembered someone was probably waiting for her.
Steam covered the mirror on the wall of the bathroom as she wrapped a towel around her body. She moved a hand away from holding the towel to wipe some of it away to see herself. However when she looked at her reflection it wasn't herself that grabbed her attention but the all too familiar boy standing behind her that caused to her whirl around.
"Jesus, chill out. No need to be so jumpy." Instead of a male voice, it was a feminine one. Instead of a boy, it was the Madison Montgomery, blonde hair straightened to perfection and looking just as glorious as she was in all her movies before she practically disappeared off the face of the Earth.
"What are you doing in here?" Juliet asked, glaring as she tightened the towel around herself, still thrown off by what she'd seen in the mirror as she glanced around. "Don't you have the decency to knock?"
Madison let out a 'hmph' sound before replying, still leaning against the door, "Well if you want to run around the house in a towel then you can." Juliet's eyes flickered to the clothes in her hands and she was quick to cover up her embarrassment. "But Cordelia thought you might want some clothes. And Spalding is a creep so it's best not to go with the first option."
"You could've just left the clothes on the bed." Juliet argued.
"What's the problem with this? Come on, we're all girls." Madison asked raising an eyebrow. However she didn't give Juliet the chance to speak. "Cordelia is expecting you down for dinner as soon as you're done. Don't be late."
Tossing the clothes on the counter Madison left, shutting the door behind her allowing Juliet to loosen the towel around her. What an interesting first meeting.
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By the time that Juliet arrived back downstairs, the smell of chicken wafted throughout the house. It smelled delicious and after poking her head in a few rooms, Juliet managed to find which room it was coming from as she saw a total of three girls sitting at the table already, Madison included. She hesitated slightly before starting to walk forward, her stomach reminding her of how hungry she was and the chicken smelled delicious. It smelled like her old foster father who actually was the best cook she ever met, and had become her comfort food as she had learned how to make it. And it had been exactly what she wanted.
The first girl was short and had long muddy brown hair. She looked the friendliest of the group, a smile plastering itself on her face when she saw her although she didn't smile back, still cautious. The second girl she didn't know looked intimidating. Not in the Madison, I will crush your reputation way, but in the, I will crush your neck kind of way. And as she pulled out the chair next to her, she felt three pairs of eyes on her.
"Nan ordered for you." Madison informed, digging her fork into the leaves that graced her own plate.
Looking down, Juliet indeed noticed that her old foster father's tomato basil chicken rested on the plate, looking as though it's been made by a professional. "Tomato Basil chicken, right?" The girl, Nan she guessed, questioned her. "I hope all of the ingredients are right."
Glancing to the girl and back down again, Juliet cleared her throat, still cautious around the group. "Uh, yeah. It's actually, perfect, I think. How did you. . .?"
"She's clairvoyant." Madison dismissed. "Likes to get into other people's business."
"It's not getting into other people's business when our thoughts are extremely loud." Nan argued, looking at her before looking back to Juliet. "Your thoughts aren't really loud but other than that one song you were repeating again and again, you mainly thought of the chicken so I ordered it for you." She explained. "I hope it's as good as your foster father's."
Juliet grimaced at the thought of other people knowing what she was thinking, and asked, "Are all of you this intrusive?"
"Queenie isn't." Nan said.
Juliet finally turned to look at the girl who sat next to her, who was already looking at her. "That's true, I won't go snooping through your diary."
"Oh my god, it was one time. Let it go." Madison said, rolling her eyes.
"It was actually two times." Nan corrected.
"Do you ever shut up?" Madison hissed at the girl who merely shrugged, not bothered by it. Madison sighed, tossing her hair back over her shoulder and looking back to Juliet. "So what the hell are you in here for? Boyfriend? Parent? Lover?"
Juliet grimaced before correcting, "Priest."
There was a clatter of silverware as everyone paused to stare at her except Nan who kept eating, probably having already known this. "That's a new one." Madison commented after a short pause. "Though does make sense. They're fucking annoying. What's it like to be dead?" She asked suddenly.
Juliet looked up, away from her food which she had been timidly eating finding Madison stare resting on her, looking for any sign of emotion on her face which remained stoic, even after Madison bringing up her execution. "Madison!" Nan scolded the girl who simply shrugged.
Even Queenie decided to speak up, "Do you have to be so insensitive?"
"What? I'm just asking her a question." Madison shrugged it off and looked back at Juliet. "Have you always been pale like that or is it just from, you know, dying."
"Girl, you've got serious issues asking questions like that." Queenie snapped, glaring at her. "Can't you mind your own business and keep your trap shut for once."
"Why don't you tell that to Nan?" Madison nodded at the girl beside her.
"Because I'm not such a bitch when I ask people questions." Nan defended causing Madison to scoff.
Before Madison could say anything, calmly, Juliet interrupted the girl's argument, seeing the fire that blazed in each if their eyes. "No, that's alright." She stated looking directly at Madison so she knew her words were pointed at her. "All of us die eventually. I'm sure you'll get to experience what death feels like on your own. Sooner or later, which ever comes first." Juliet hissed.
It seemed to strike a nerve within Madison, who stuck out her hand causing the candle on the table to tip towards Juliet, flame falling towards her and she quickly shrieked, jumping back out of her seat as the tablecloth caught fire, the other girls all doing the same thing. The flame started small, before beginning to rage rather quickly as though fuel was added to it. Juliet breathed heavily and focused all her ability on what she'd practiced for the past few years, and before anyone could do anything else, the fire was extinguished leaving all the girl's shell shocked, one breathing heavily.
Looked like she belonged in Robichaux's after all.
( a / n ) : the beginning was boring, I know but I had fun writing the ending. I hope they were for the most part in character, I had a hard time writing Queenie. have a good day / night!
( w / c ) :
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