Incognitus / Cordelia Fanfiction

Chapter 1 - That's Witchcraft

*Cordelia's POV*

I've been a divorced woman for over two years now. I always knew that my marriage with Hank had an expiration date. Deep down I knew from early on that he would never make me happy, at least not like in 'all happily ever after' stories. And I noticed that our relationship was going downhill the moment he asked me to marry him. I've always dreamt about this moment. I imagined candles and champagne, or any other romantic setting. But with Hank nothing went as expected. I was standing in the bathroom, just exiting the shower, with my hair wrapped in a towel and rests of mascara smudge under my eyes when he was shouting from the bedroom.

"By the way. Delia! I called the registry office yesterday!"

"Why?" I asked confused, walking towards him, because I hated having shout-conversations.

"They have a free time slot next week on wednesday to officiate a marriage," he explains, but I still didn't get it. We have never talked about marriage before.

"Ehm, ok..." I started, wanting to ask what this is all about, but he just kept talking while folding his clothes.

"We could stop by in town and buy the rings right before, so it's no extra effort," he finished and finally looked up at me.

"You want to marry me next Wednesday?" I ask insecurely, trying to make sense out of his words. Whenever I dreamt about my wedding it never took place on a Wednesday...

"Yes, it would fit into my schedule. I don't have anything planned next Wednesday. Are you ok with that?" he asked with absolutely no clue about how disappointed I was about that engagement. He asked me to marry him like he would ask a 'business partner' for a meeting.

I nevertheless accepted his offer. Not only because I thought I'd never get someone better than him and we both wanted to start a family, but also because my mother hated him. To annoy her and to show her that she no longer could control me was satisfaction enough for me at that point. When I think about that time now, all I can do is shake my head about my own stupidity. I've always known that Hank and I had no future, I just closed my eyes and prefered not to see it.

Also, I've always known there was a chance I was more passionate about women than men, but I couldn't muster the courage to take action on it. I did try to give Hank some hints during our marriage. Subtle suggestions to maybe think about bringing another woman into our bed. Not really to satisfy him, but to finally satisfy me. Something he never seemed capable of. But Hank never showed the slightest hint of excitement to this idea, so I stopped. I thought he didn't want other women, which seems even more idiotic now that I know how many affairs he had.

So when I finally did divorce him, I felt like it was my opportunity to dig into that part of me that always remained unexplored. I didn't know how at first. I couldn't just go out and date women. I was leading an all-girls-school and parents trusted me with their kids. I couldn't risk all of this by being out of the closet and having conservative parents judge me. The girls, all young witches, need me and the academy. They need me to explore their powers, to learn how to control their emotions and they also sometimes need me to escape their current lives with their strict parents. Not to mention the girls that don't know that they are witches, living under the radar for years, waiting for someone to save them. My responsibility to these girls seemed more important than my selfish needs could ever be.

With some research I found a pole-dancing club out of town that seemed exactly like what I was searching for. A secret place that knows how to protect the privacy of its customers. So after I'd taken more than enough time to mourn the end of my failed relationship I started visiting this night club on a regular basis. At first it was just a casual drink at the bar. I would quietly stare at the dancers while pretending to be enjoying a drink from afar, maybe two or three, depending on the girls and the amount of people around. As the number of times I visited the space increased I was able to relax and enjoy the performances, became friendly with the barman and eventually it felt like a secret second home. However it had been a while since I had gone there, work at the school had been crazy with the admission of new girls we had found in need of a home.