The carriage is built for comfort. The interior is lined with green silk and dark woods. The seats are plush, upholstered in supple chocolate brown calves leather. I settle into the cabin, focused on taking as little space as possible. “It’s a long ride, so best get comfortable.” The Luna says flatly. “Yes, ma’am.” I quietly mutter in return. I feel the jerk of the horses starting down the road. A guard on either side of the coach, one behind it, one immediately in front of it, and Captain Keegan leading the way. The Luna opens a book and begins to quietly read it. A bored expression on her face as she slowly flips the pages. A comfortable silence settles between us. I look out of the small carriage window at the passing landscape. The fields and gardens. The homes dotting the landscape. The children playing. The cows and sheep in the fields eating. Wildflowers and winter wheat waving in the wind. I feel a profound sadness wash over me. Smothering any joy I just felt at look
“For hundreds of years she ruled, her children sitting on the throne of every kingdom far and wide. Yet, Selene’s children were gaining more power in the realm as the strength of each pack grew.” The Luna took a drink of water. “Thirsty?” She asks. “Don’t you dare drink from someone while they tell a tale of witches!” Theia spits. “No, thank you.” I say blandly. “Suit yourself.” She says as she drinks another glass. “One day, she saw a young Malakai bathing in a pond within the Black Woods.” She takes a long drink for dramatic effect. “She was struck by his handsomeness and youth. She revealed herself as a young maiden. A deadly spider beckoning her prey into her web.” I stared wide-eyed at the Luna. I have never heard this story before. I thought I had heard every story of Malakai. “He did not spare her a glance. He had only just been mated. He had not even had the wedding or anointing of his mate as Luna. Yet, his eyes were for his mate only. His mate had his full devot
“Love is dangerous, it’s a weakness. Betrayal is inevitable.” The Luna muses. I wish I could say her coldness was surprising. Her bitterness, a confession. Her true nature is revealed by her cynicism. “Malakai was driven by a desire for power. Circe aided him in that. Helping him to build an army. Creating the ability for him to build his throne. All this so she could be his Queen beside him.” My body begins to feel tired. The soft leather of the seats begging me to rest my weary body upon them. “The Coven did not want to bow to a werewolf King. They viewed Circe’s actions to be a great betrayal. They had tolerated her affairs for centuries. They believed that even if the blood was diluted, having witch blood on the thrones throughout the realm ensured their continued dominance. That never meant bowing to a mutt King.” She sneers. Mutt King? What a strange term to use as a werewolf. “Seraphina, a young witch of high blood, plotted against Circe. She went to Malakai and told
My belly feels full and warm. The lamb was rich and fatty. The meal is over and the Luna is ready to retire to her room for a nap. Captain Keegan and another guard accompany us to the room. “Turn down the bed and help me unbutton this gown.” The Luna commands as I close the door to the room behind us. The guards standing watch just outside. I diligently follow her instructions. I help her shimmy out of her dress until she is only in her chemise. She lies on the bed as I tuck her in. I walk over to the small sofa in the corner of the room and attempt to make myself comfortable. “It isn’t safe to fall asleep.” Theia warns. “I’m exhausted. What would you have me do?” I ask, annoyed. “If it was up to me we wouldn’t be on this trip!” Theia says exasperated. “Same!” I curl up to fit my body on the sofa and attempt to get comfortable. I feel myself being swallowed by darkness. By body feels weighed down, like I’m being drug into the depths of the ocean. Drowning. I’m being p
“What?” I say with disbelief. “I am your great-great-great-great Grandmother.” She says. She looks not a day older than 30. “Are you a time traveler?” I ask, as it seems the only possible explanation if what she says is true. The women all laugh heartily. My ignorance amuses them immensely. “No my dear!” Fat tears roll down her face as she heartily laughs. “I’m six hundred years old!” I feel the color draining from my face. I feel faint. Am I dreaming? I pinch myself. No. This is real. “Is this some kind of joke?” I ask. I look to the Luna trying to read her expression. “Rhea, did you not tell the girl on your way here?” The woman who is supposedly my four times great grandmother demands. I look to my mother for her response. Tell me what? “I began to tell her!” My mother protests. “I’m Cassiphone. I am the High Priestess. You may call me the Great Mother. ” The woman says. “I started to tell her about our line,” my mother began. “Silence!” Cassiph
I drape the robe on my body. It feels heavy and oppressive. The witching hour fast approaches, and I guess I am a witch, or at least half of one. I don’t know where Theia has gone, but she is not speaking to me. The latch turns and the women enter the room. My mother’s line. I wonder how each of them is related to me. I only know the Great Mother and my mother. Neither of them feel like mothers to me though. The Great Mother studies me. A slight smile graces her face. “You have the beauty of your line, my dear.” She says softly. “We will perform the ritual. Hecate will determine if you are granted power. If powers should come, you are welcome to come live amongst us. You do not have to go searching for a mate.” “And my brother?” I ask. The smile disappears. “A witch usually only births one daughter in her lifetime that has great powers. Sometimes she can birth several with moderate powers. Male children do not come into great powers. They may be bestowed with gifts, but n
I wake up. I look around and recognize the room of the inn. My mother is sat at the vanity, brushing her golden hair and coiling it neatly atop her head. She puts her earrings, rings and bracelets on slowly and methodically, an everyday routine. “Good Morning.” She says blandly, looking at me through the mirror. “What happened? How did we get back here?” I ask, disoriented. Was last night a dream? I examine my body for evidence of being struck by lightning. “You won’t find any marks on you.” She says in a bored tone. She turns from the mirror and faces me. “You’ve been given, or perhaps even taken, considerable power last night.” Her expression fills with concern. “I only took what was given. The chalice was handed to me and I gulped it down.” I explain unapologetically. “Be as it may, you are certainly a witch. The Great Mother will connect with us in two days. We cannot raise any suspicions so we must keep moving. I know Captain Keegan reports all my movements to Os
“The Priestess’ of Selene are skilled at detecting a witch. The most vulnerable moment is your 18th birthday ritual, because we have no wolf. Many of our sisters who live among us join after this ceremony for obvious reasons.” My mother begins to explain. I think back to the morning after my ceremony. The Reverend Mother was studying me intensely. She wanted to see me again before my moon ceremony. Had I been in danger and not even realized it? What was it that she sensed? “So thanks for the head’s up, I guess?” My words dripping with sarcasm. “I’m not sure you were aware, but my ceremony was over a week ago.” She sighs. “You made it through. I could sense your wolf awakening.” “No thanks to you.” I spit. “I’ve had a masking spell on you for 18 years. It’s plenty thanks to me.” She retorts. We sit in silence as I contemplate what she has said. “We should ready ourselves and leave.” She says after a long silence between us. “We need to be at the Kingdom of the Moon ca
“We hear your call, now hear our words.” A voice whispers from beyond the circle. I stand rigidly. The voice creeps up my spine, my hair standing on end. My eyes scan the circle’s edges, seeking the body associated with the voice. Their faces are all blurred, their features too hard to make out. Clearly different from one another but also oddly the same. I feel myself drawn, like a moth to the flame, closer to the edge thinking that I may see them more clearly. I edge closer to the boundary, hoping to steal a look. “Do not break this circle!” Asteria seems to scream, the words halting my body midstride, frozen in her warning. I look toward her over my shoulder, and see the panic in her eyes, her stoic expression a mask for my comfort. Theia sits stoically in the dead center of the circle, alert but still as a grotesque perched high on a stone building, a quiet observer. “Take my hand!” Asteria orders, her hand outstretched toward me. I look to my feet and gasp at their prox
I don’t think I will ever get over how magic works in this world. It’s a strange feeling to go most of your life believing that magic, real magic, was nothing more than a story to tell around the fire. That actual magic was found only in the first breaths of babies being born, not actual conjuring and manipulation of the universe. That walking through doorways into different dimensions were the fantasies of mad men and stories meant to scare children into minding their mothers. In these moments, when I witness the actual power of magic, I am both awestruck and terrified. How many moments of my life have been manipulated by magic? How do I know what is real and what is a magical mirage?“There are many things happening before you but hidden from view.” Asteria says quietly. “Magic is a blessing from our Goddess. It should be revered not feared.”“This is the biggest day of our lives. The day we seal our marriage to our mate. Let us rejoice. There are many other days ahead to worry.” T
This is the picturesque final scene of the fairytale. The beautiful maiden, who has managed to overcome hardship, is now a perfectly coiffed stylish bride. At least, that’s the image I am attempting to curate. I am who I create. I think back to all the elegant ladies I observed while serving in the Alpha house. Their rigid posture. Their chins perpendicular to the floor, elongating their necks, like delicate swans. Their meticulously styled appearance. Every decision carefully made. My style has more in common with a tornado than a curated art museum. Getting ready is a mad whirl around the room, every second spent is a robbery of my sleep, my appearance only needing to be neat and clean. Not anymore. Sleep is heaped in ample servings here. My only chore is getting ready. “I pray the Goddess guides me on my intended path.” I whisper quietly, my eyes shut tightly. I glance toward the clock. I am sure that someone will arrive to escort me to the temple in the next half hour. My wedd
I understand the appeal of a fairytale. The maiden in the story always has some terribly tragic circumstance befall her; but, when it is most important her stunning beauty allows her to rise the ranks to become a princess. Her face card is her entrance to the club most have to be born into. Her beauty is too great to be mired in obscurity. Her time in the bowels of the beast only add to her appeal; later, her “humble” beginnings are trotted out to prove she is one of the people, too beautiful not to be elevated to her supreme status, but also still ordinary and “just like us”. In truth, most of the women married within this world come from it. Those tales too predictable and bland to be worthy of a fairytale, or perhaps, the truth doesn’t hit the same for the masses. They must believe that if they are also beautiful enough, they too can escape. Those escapes are few and far between, but here I am, one of them. I suppose my beauty and power are enough to elevate me from my place in the
“This.” I say as my fingers trace along the filigree. “This is magnificent.” I am in awe of the beauty of it. Diamonds all perfectly matched set in gold. Small crescent moons hide in the filigree, only clear with the moonstones set inside them. The crests of each pack of the realm are hidden and set with diamonds. I would have missed the detail had I not immediately recognized the crest on my own homeland. Perhaps that is the test of the Queen. Do I pick one of the pieces that more heavily represent Harvest Moon? Or perhaps my statement is gaudy wealth, I am sure many will expect that. When you claw yourselves out of the bowels, you tend to display your material achievements like a soldier’s medals. This one though, it tastefully pays homage to each pack of the realm. I am to be Princess of Fives, it is only right to represent all of them. “Take off the gown so that I can attach the sleeve, m’lady.” Monica orders, her attention focused on the work. I dutifully comply, standing
I look at the sparkling treasure before me. The amount of wealth is astonishing. Just one emerald and some diamond pins cost my mother bushels of food. I trace my finger along the delicate chain at my wrist. This bracelet as well. These jewels laid out before me like a pirate’s treasure, they make my mother’s jewels seem modest and trivial. The weight of the gold and platinum alone is an astonishing show of wealth. The lands of the realm are rich in resources, all part of the royal horde. “We can get you a different bracelet.” Monica offers, noticing my finger running along the golden thread. “No.” I say instantly, refraining from blurting out any explanation. “Very well, m’lady. Are you drawn to anything in particular?” I look into the mirror at my reflection. I am not sure I recognize myself. A witch. A wolf. An Alpha’s daughter. The girl from the kitchens. The slave of Harvest Moon. A bride. This is my metamorphosis. I am being reborn into the Kingdom of the Moon. Princess of
The dress. “It is an homage to your homeland!” Monica says dramatically, her hands stretched outward to sell me on the gown. “Homage?” I say studying my reflection in the mirror. “Yes, it’s when you show honor or reverence—”“I’m aware of the definition.” I interrupt. We stand in silence. I stare at the reflection before me. I feel like a ball of silk and ribbon. My small frame is completely swallowed in expensive fabric. I’m not sure if I am wearing the gown or if it’s wearing me. “Are there any other options, perhaps something less…” I struggle to find a kind word. “Less?”“Of course.” She frowns at my rejection. “This is beautiful.” I say. “It is just too overwhelming for me.”Monica cracks a soft smile. “Of course. We have a whole tour to build your unique style. I will push, you will reign me in.”“Deal.”“I do have a lovely column gown.” She mutters as she shuffles through her rack of gowns, some finished, some still a work in progress. The silk looks as if it was poured
“I hope you are right, Theia. I can’t help but feel uneasy when the majority of dreams I have are directly related to the violence of the monarchy.” Asteria sighs softly. “Violence I endured. Even worse, the violence I witnessed.”“That does not have to be our life. Not every Prince is evil.” Theia offers. “He did not choose his birth.” I offer, considering myself as well. “Witch and werewolf, that match is not accepted. I didn’t choose my birth either, so I struggle to damn someone on that fact alone.”“Ceres, do not lie to yourself. Even you know that the very foundation of the monarchy is dependent upon the suffering of people. Slavery. War. Famine. All necessary for the monarchy to survive.” Asteria declares like a professor from the lectern. “And somehow I am the savior of the world? I’m going to eliminate slavery and suffering? Get a grip, Asteria!”“No, no I am not delusional.”“You sound a bit delusional.” Theia quips. “We will not lead the masses away from systematic abuse
Some oaths cannot be broken. The thought tumbles in my mind. “It is true. The consequences can be dire when breaking a promise. An oath is sworn with your life.” Theia warns. “A witch is nothing without her word. Our whole existence is built upon the truth that words are powerful and have meaning. A covenant is an agreement, but an oath is a solemn promise. Breaking an oath is not a simple undertaking. The consequences of such actions can be catastrophic and change who you are entirely. To break an oath is a choice of darkness. Embracing the worst that this world has to give.” Asteria chimes in. “Last night, for me, was filled with dreams and nightmares. They don’t even all make sense to me at this point. A mix of my memories, and what I assume the two of you were seeing.” I say. I made an oath to the King, but I would break it in a heartbeat if I thought I could do it and continue to keep my head. Are oaths really oaths if you are under duress? Or is that simply fealty, a forced