Chapter Text
She was restless, she first paced around her room, then descended the staircase, and paced around the enormous hallway.
"What’s wrong with her? Has all her magic fried her brain or something?" Queenie whispered energetically, Mallory could’ve heard it from the end of the room.
Both Queenie and Zoe stood by the living room’s entrance, while all the while Mallory paced at the end of the staircase, lifting her eyes every so often.
"I don’t know" Zoe interjected "but she keeps glancing at the front door with such a gaze…"
"It’s like she’s trying to cast a spell to make it go up in flames or something. This is freaky, I’m going-"
"No." Zoe said catching Queenie by the wrist "Can you feel it?"
"You are going to have to be more specific."
"Can’t you sense all the magic in the air?"
"Well, yeah Zoe, it doesn’t take a genius to notice it at a Magic School".
"No. It’s stronger, it’s like…" Whatever she was going to say died in her throat.
The front door of Miss Robichaux's Academy for Exceptional Young Ladies was opened with a mere flick of a wrist. Boys, several of them, filtered in, filling the hallway in almost its' entirety. They were all dressed in the same manner, black suit, white shirt, black bow, with the exception of two older men.
Mallory, caught by surprise, went up a step, involuntarily. She held herself onto the side of the staircase, resting a hand atop the end of the railing.
She didn’t need to search the crowd to find the familiar face she was looking for, he stood at the very front line, of course, she thought. His hair was shorter, curlier and lighter. She hadn’t seen this version of him. It suited him, she thought, too late to catch herself. But remembering furiously what he had done, right on cue.
They were mere inches apart, eyeing each other, measuring, and making mental unspoken questions, at first that is. Now they were locking eyes, ice blue and warm brown, it was as if they were the only people on the white hall, bathed by a myriad of lights, a mute standoff, on her part, and a dare, on his.
Cordelia and Myrtle appeared, as if summoned by the commotion, and descended the stairs until their midpoint. Needless to say, all the girls at the academy were flanking them, and whispering excitedly “boys”, “it can’t be”, all in the same breath.
"Welcome, boys, to Miss Robichaux's Academy." Cordelia said solemnly.
"How low have we gotten?" Myrtle spat in a low tone.
"Please, behave Myrtle." Cordelia whispered right back, but Myrtle still had a dour look on her face. "If not for me, then for the coven." Cordelia added.
"Fine, I’ll try to do it for both." She conceded.
"Thank you, girls." Behold said, emerging from the back of the room. "Let us all, play nice." He said offering Cordelia his hand to shake, which she took with both of hers.
"Well, that won’t be a problem, right, Hawthorne?" John Henry said, looking solely at Michael.
It was only then, that he pried away his eyes from Mallory, and mock smiled in response towards John Henry. The dread John Henry felt was a deja-vu he would’ve gladly not recalled it.
* * *
"Why are there like a bazillion boys walking the halls?" Madison said, while barging into the room. "Not that I’m complaining." She added swiftly.
Cordelia sat behind a spacious white desk, while Myrtle and Zoe stood, flanking her on either side, they were bathed in a halo of light created by the window behind them. Queenie and Coco sat on the chairs in front of the desk, while Mallory sat on one of the free arms of Coco's chair.
"Hello to you too Madison, how have you been, but most importantly, what took you so long?" Zoe spat.
"I was held up, I mean, I just got out of hell, there are…"
"No matter–" Myrtle interceded. "I’m still to understand, as are we all, I think, why all of Hawthorne moved to Robichaux's. Cordelia?"
"Well, now that, almost all of us are here-"
"By the way, why are they here?" Queenie said pointing at Mallory and Coco’s direction.
"Mallory is obviously because she is one wonder away from being the next supreme…" Myrtle had started to explain.
"Wait! But isn’t that Michael guy the new supreme?" Coco intervened.
Mallory squirmed inwardly. Not if she could help it.
"A man being the supreme is just…" Myrtle was going to start to rant.
"Him being a man is not truly the issue at hand." Cordelia shut down, and everyone was listening intently to only her, again.
"The problem is whether he’s even a warlock or not." Everyone in the room eyed each other, Mallory looked at the ground. "Misty sensed that there’s something wrong with him, and with what he was able to do, I agree that something is not right."
"So your solution is bringing Hawthorne to Robichaux?" Madison granted.
"In part, yes."
"I’m sorry Cordelia-" Zoe finally spoke "but what’s your angle here?"
"Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. The art of war by Sun Tzu is a masterpiece. But, -" Myrtle’s voice faltered. "– is that what we are discussing here, dear, a war, between witches and warlocks?" She said looking Cordelia in the eyes.
"Not if we can prevent it." Mallory spoke, getting up from her seat and walking to the table. "And I know we can do it." She pressed.
"We are going to have them right under our nose, every single ally Michael might go to, right under our surveillance. Besides, we have one ally on Hawthorne’s side. And, Mallory will complete all the wonders tomorrow." Cordelia continued.
"And then what? Two Supremes under the same roof?" Madison chimed in.
"And then, you’ll just have to wait and see." Mallory held.
"That is, if you really are the supreme." Queenie relented, and Madison nodded.
"There’s no power like hers, child. Don’t speak nonsense." Myrtle chided.
"There’s still one card up my sleeve. Please, trust me on this." Mallory went on.
"We will Mallory." Cordelia said reaching her hands and squeezing them across the table, and just as Madison prepared to rebut, she added . "And if push comes to shove, everyone in this room will be vital if we truly go to a full on war".
"If we go to war, -" Zoe intervened. "– then me, Madison, Queenie, Cordelia and Myrtle will defend us." She said eyeing warmly both Mallory and Coco, but smiling softly at Coco, trying to reassure her. She had seen the way her face had drained of all color at the word war.
"Mallory and Coco as well." Cordelia added, not being able to make eye contact.
"Wait. Back up. Is that why Coco is also here?" Queenie questioned.
"We might need her help." Cordelia replied, looking knowingly at Mallory.
"We might need the help from the weakest link in our coven? Color me afraid and appalled, if all we have to defend us is a gluten detector. Even Misty as she is right now would be a better choice." Madison argued.
"She’s right." Coco conceded, hanging her head low.
"Our coven is only as strong as our weakest member. And besides, we are not going in blind. Mallory had a vision of how all of this would play out. Remember, Madison?" Cordelia said looking directly at her.
"How could I forget?" She said exchanging a look with Zoe.