American Horror Story: Apocalypse

🧙🏻‍♀️7🧙🏻‍♀️

WARNINGS: Mentions of "abandonment" "death" "Darkness" "Evil" "Bigot"

Sophia's POV:

Zoe is leading the girls in a new lesson, "It might seem easy to alter the color of a flower, but the rose is unique. It resists change. Why?"

No one has an answer. I take the next part, "Empress Josephine Bonaparte. Wife of Napoleon, and proud witch. Cultivated one of the largest rose gardens in Europe."

Zoe, "It's said that Josephine enchanted her roses so that the colors she produced remained fixed as she wanted them. Maybe so" She and I hold out our roses in front of the crowd, and we change our flowers colors from white to red.

I say, "But one thing's certain: Nothing is immutable, when the will of a strong woman is applied." We set our roses down in front of us. Zoe, "Now, show us how strong you are."

We go to stand by my mother. Zoe whispers, "Watch her" Mom, "You really think she's something special?" Zoe, "I'll let you be the judge" We smile as we patiently wait.

Mallory looks to use as her flower turns blue and the petals fall off. Mom, "She has some ability, no question" I stop my mom in mid sentence as I point to Mallory's flower, "Look!"

The petals float up and they become the most beautiful blue butterflies to flutter around this room. Zoe and I smile at my mom's astonishment, "My God." When the butterfly lands in her hand, it turns from a blue flower petal back into a white one.

I tell her, "She claims her grandmother told her that her bloodline stretches all the way back to Salem" The door opens and in walks Myrtle, wearing a bright blue dress that makes her look like a blueberry with her vibrant orange hair.

Mom, "What is it?" Myrtle reveals, "The Hawthorne School for Exceptional Young Men. They called an emergency council. We're obliged to get on a plane immediately. Airline food for lunch when I made reservations at Galatoires."

I pat her back gently in support, "Oh dear." Myrtle, "It's just too cruel" I agree, "It is." We all grow alarmed, as we do not know what this means, but we have a shared feeling that it is not going to be about anything good.

We meet them at their compound- as our men drive us, they help us out of our black vehicle. Myrtle, Zoe, I and my mother walk up to meet them. Zoe, "Are you sure we couldn't have made them come to us?" I agree with her, "Right? I still want to look fabled in these shoes when I'm done with them."

Myrtle, "The rules are the rules. Besides, did we really want all those men traipsing around our house?" I say, "She's got a point" We meet them at the front of their underground compound, and they welcome us in.

We all take seats around a table as mom begins our meeting, "Let the record show that, at the request of Hawthorne School, that we have assembled an emergency meeting of the council."

Myrtle, "In order to address what must surely be a matter of grave, and pressing importance" She was still very much upset about the reservations that had to be cancelled.

Mother, "Proceed" the leader stands, "Illustrious members. I want to thank you for coming and giving us the opportunity to share with you what we've discovered. We recently took in a boy here at the school. At first, we thought he was simply one of us, a warlock who needed our help and training."

Zoe grows bored of this conversation, "But?" He admits, "The things he did were extraordinary, and after conducting the requisite test of his powers. We came to the conclusion that his abilities are so impressive, that they rise to the level of Supreme."

My mother laughs as Zoe and I share bewildering looks. Myrtle, "Did you say this was a boy? As in...male?" Mother speaks, "Ariel, you actually believe this?" He says, "We wouldn't have summoned the council otherwise."

I say, "In all recorded history, no man has ever approached the level of Supreme." Mom, "Men are simply not equal to women, when it comes to magical ability." Myrtle, "Not to mention everything else." I try to hide my laugh and smile.

Mother, "Testosterone is a known inhibitor. It impedes access to the ethereal realm. Frankly, I question your judgement by calling us here for this." I add in, "As do I."

"You're not even hearing us out" Myrtle, "There's nothing to hear. There will never be a male Supreme. It will simply never happen" I mumble, "Thank God!" Ariel, "Listen to yourselves. You say there something hasn't happened, so therefore it can never happen."

My mom grows serious with this topic, "What exactly is it that you want from us?" Ariel asks, "We want you to administer the test of the Seven Wonders." We are all astonished, Zoe and I know that that is not going to happen.

Mom, "That is out of the question." An angry black guy asks, "Why?" Mom, "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."

Ariel, "At least the ones you care about" I give him a dirty look and I ask, "What's that supposed to mean? Huh?" He tells, "One of your own, who you abandoned...Queenie."

Behold, "Of course it's the black girl you leave behind." I look at him and I go, "I wouldn't be surprised if you were the next to be left behind by your own, Behold." He goes silent.

My mom stands with me, "You don't know what you're talking about." I ask my mom, "Please tell me that you did not do that." Mom states, "Queenie was missing, she traveled to Los Angeles and never came back."

I then remember, "Oh yes.  She told me that she was traveling to that demise of a hotel, Hotel Cortez." Mom, "I knew something awful had happened to her. Her life forced just vanished."

I say, "So, we went searching for her. And when we found out that she was indeed trapped in the Hotel Cortez. We went immediately to bring her back from that monstrous place." Mom, "I had no illusions about it being easy."

I say, "The Cortez is a place of evil. A hell mouth." I remember when we went to get Queenie from the hotel, and there she was playing games with James Patrick March, when he saw us, his face lit up, "Live ones!"

She runs to us, "Cordelia. Sophia" We hug. I say, "Lets get you out of here, Queenie" She says, "Gladly" James, "You're a plucky one. I admire that, but as you already know, Queenie..." I feel a sinking feeling in my stomach for I fear what he is going to say next.

James confirms my fears, "You can never leave this place." She says, "Fuck you, March. This is Cordelia and Sophia. They know exactly how to get me out of here."

We walk her out of that bedroom as he laughs. We try to walk her right out of that hotel, only for us to return back to the room where we found her there again, "Shit."

The hotel isn't haunted, but it is an entryway to all things dark and satanic. We keep trying to leave with Queenie, through every door, through every window, but we cannot escape that hotel with Queenie.

I start to cry as I remember that feeling of hopelessness for not being able to help Queenie. It left a big hole in my heart, knowing that I had to leave my now, dead friend there in that horrid hotel.

Mom, "My effort to rescue Queenie is by far, my greatest failure as Supreme. But I tried, we tried. And I do care about 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. Why do you get to decide that?"

Mom, "Because I'm the fucking Supreme" Ariel says, "No, you're just a scared bigot" Mom asks, "Scared of what?" I say, "Fuck you, Ariel" He continues, "Of the Alpha. Of a man rising to the level of Supreme. Of an end to ages of female dominance. I'm telling you that time has come."

Mom, "And your time is up. This council is closed. The decision is final. There's nothing more to said." I add, "Except for this. Once again, fuck you, Ariel."