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“The priestesses will decide if you are worthy.” He says after a long moment of silence. “What?” I say, unclear what he means. His juices leaking like a river from my backside, my body too sore and battered to move. “The Immaculate Mother must accept you as my mate.” He says dryly. “You must pass the exams.” “Didn’t you just—- accept me?” I question feeling completely vulnerable and exposed. “No.” He laughs. “I just took you. I made sure not to seed your womb, so if you are forced to become a priestess or choose to die; at least I was able to taste you once and there are no complications.” His words disgust me. Instead of content and satisfied, I feel used and soiled. I feel Theia’s heartbreak as she whimpers and crawls into the darker corners of my mind. “I don’t understand.” I whisper. “Look, it isn’t personal. I’m destined to be King. I can’t just mate anyone.” He explains. His tone sterile, like he was reading from an encyclopedia. “I had a feeling this match was going
My face is barely above the water line as I scan the area looking for the person attached to the voice. I really am cursed. A woman emerges from the fog dressed in a pink sheer fabric draped elegantly across her body. The garment was fastened at the shoulder and a belt of gold cinches it at the waist. Garlands of flowers adorn her hair. “We have come to cleanse you.” She smiles. Women emerge from the fog in all directions carrying all the things a fine lady may have in her bath. Their dresses are all the colors of a meadow. Soft yellows and pinks, green gowns adorned with garlands of leaves, soft and sheer, the gowns melted into the water as they surround me. “Our Goddess has sent us to cleanse you and to remind you that your threads are woven together for a reason.” The woman in pink says. “The Immaculate Mother is coming, it is not safe for you here.” I whisper, as a girl scrubs my body with a soap that smells of honey and vanilla. “We are guarded. This space is protected.
The woman in pink claps her hands and the pond disappears and a meadow takes its place. My body dry and clean, I stand naked. The women who were just moments ago washing and perfuming my body disappear into mist. With a small bow, the woman in pink does as well. On the wind I hear her reminder. “Follow your path without judgment.” Asteria takes a stick and carves a circle into the ground. “What are you doing?” I ask. “We will hold our ritual. It is safe here.” She says plainly. “So you will give me a name?” I ask, unsure of how any of these rituals work. “Yes. I will name you. The ancestors have already whispered your name to me in my dreams.” She confides. “Stand within the circle. No matter what happens, do not leave the circle.” “What do you mean, no matter what happens? What do you expect?” I ask. “You can never anticipate what may appear outside the circle. Just heed my warning and do not leave it until I say.” She says firmly. She stands in the circle, arms raised an
“She will return. I’ve already told her I would not mate her until after the trials.” My mate snarls at a woman in a white robe. I lurk under the cover of thick brush and trees, within the darkness of the woods. I assume she is the Immaculate Mother, though his tone would be far too harsh if it were. A simple circlet graces her brow, a small glinting stone in the center. It looks like an opal with all the little rainbow flecks catching the light. Her robe, a lush white velvet with a thick hood, making it difficult to really judge her size or beauty. “She must pass or accept the higher calling.” She says solemnly. “The Goddess guides, but sometimes that guidance is to Her service. We are here, armed with the ancient texts and trials, to make that determination, my Prince.” “She is my mate. Mine.” He counters. He paces as she speaks. Clearly anxious. “Your stars guide you to greatness, my Prince. The Goddess intends for you to one day become King. Your Queen must be worthy of the
The carriage awaits just outside the clearing. A short walk through the trees and a road appears. Road may be generous, the dirt path only wide enough for a single carriage. It’s the type of road you would only be on if you knew of it, the chances of stumbling upon it are slim. “Into the carriage, my child.” She commands, arm outstretched toward the door. A coachman stands at attention next to the door, no hand lent to sturdy my step into my awaiting cage. Follow your path. I repeat to myself as I climb into the carriage. The carriage is plain but that does not mean it isn’t luxurious. The inside is sparsely decorated but richly furnished. I recognize the grain of the wood, a tree only found in the North at the tops of Crescent Moon Pack territory. It’s a sacred tree of the ancients, only one is cut each year, and mostly used for ceremonies. Most decorative pieces are made from fallen limbs, too small to produce a carriage interior. I gently ghost the wood accents with my finger
There is something eerie about caves. The rocks carved out around you by water and wind over thousands of years. The temple is built over this cave system, we descended what felt like miles of stone stairs to arrive at the cave mouth. My body aches from the journey and my activities before. “Remove your robe.” One of the priestesses says to me. These are the first words they have uttered since escorting me to the temple as the Immaculate Mother demanded. I comply, resigned to following along. “These are the sacred springs of Selene. It is said the minerals hold the dreams of Endymion’s endless sleep; the water, the tears of the Goddess for her lover’s endless slumber.” Another priestess explains leading me toward the pool. “This is a ceremonial bath to cleanse you so the Immaculate Mother may see your path.” I suppress the fear rising like bile from my stomach. My mother warned me that the priestesses can detect witches. “We are one. We will push past.” Theia assures me in my mi
There is a hollowness to temples that I enjoy. The smooth white stone floors and endless smooth white walls reaching the massive domed ceiling that must be hung from the sky, it’s so far out of reach. The walls have the same glowing quality of the moon, so finely polished and sparkling. The ceiling depicts the different events of the ancient texts and the phases of the moon are cut in skylights in the sanctuary. The scale is considerably more modest as we walk towards the dining area, the ceiling a less impressive height of an Oak tree. Tall and majestic, but not otherworldly. The walls, still smooth and white, but dotted with official portraits of Immaculate Mother’s from long ago. The fashion unchanged with time, white robe after white robe, the same serene expression. Two doors open and we arrive at the dining hall. The long table is already full of white robed priestesses, perfectly silent standing like pawns on a chessboard behind their chairs, unable to move a space forward. No
“Isn’t it fascinating?” Dmitry asks. I’m at the helm of the stove, my only focus, the collection of bubbling pots in front of me. “Hmm?” I say in response. “That the monarchy forces an exam before allowing anyone in the line of succession to marry their mate.” He says. His tone indicates he has said this exact phrase before, my attention on stews and bread not mates and weddings. “Is it? Elites marry elites, if they can help it. What are the percentages anyways?” I ask. “The process is steeped in mystery.” He says dramatically. “We don’t even know what the process is, let alone how many fail trying to make it through. All we know is when a marriage happens, she must have passed.” “Why do they even waste time teaching this in school if they are not going to teach it?” I ask. “Oh, they don’t teach it, exactly. They teach that the women of the line are deemed worthy by both the Goddess and the ancient rituals of the Kingdom. This ritual is designed to test the worthiness of the can
TheiaMagic has no effect on me. Well maybe no effect is a bit of an overstatement; negligible, it has a negligible effect, like when you have a glass of wine. Maybe I get a little drunk, my focus a little blurry around the edges, but I am still in control. I can feel the wind shifting toward the King, like he is calling it to him. Even my fur seems to tug at me to follow the direction of the wind. My instinct to run with the wind is overbearing, like a nagging demand to turn around and run with it or face certain peril. The magic has not numbed my senses or surrendered my control. Perhaps these tricks would have worked when I was a pup or even a young wolf, when I had only just begun to test the limits of my drive to survive. I have spent lifetimes honing my skills to serve my Goddess. Hunting in the forests of my plane. Chasing and being chased by friends and foes. Preparing myself for what was to come. The training lasted far longer than any scholar had anticipated. To be the las
It was as if Asteria’s memory played out on a screen in front of me. I’m a captive audience, cordoned off in a far off corner of my mind. Separated from my body but still aware of what is happening. The scene from Theia’s point of view also playing out, oddly disconnected from me, padded feet to forest floor the smell of earth and water. The dirt flecked in her fur and her nose pressed to the earth inhaling its aroma. Asteria’s trauma unfolds before me, almost happening to me, although the screams are not my own. The hunger in his eyes. The manic rage. His whip. My feelings are not entirely my own, it is as if I am Asteria in this experience. “Prince Aares.” I say in a voice that is not my own. A memory of an event I never experienced, yet vividly recall. This isn’t real, yet, I can feel his whip biting and tearing my skin. I can feel the blood snaking down the back of my thighs. The warm ooze somehow soothing the stinging pain. My back flayed open. His scent coats my skin like an
“May the Goddess anoint you with her love and bless you with your dreams.” “We give our devotion to the Goddess!” My mate and I reply. The priestesses are all around us. Their voices echoing off the walls of the cave, it’s impossible to tell how many are speaking as the voices echo around us. Our naked bodies only inches away from one another as we stand in the pool, his intoxicating scent masked by the abundance of minerals in the spring. “We ask our Goddess to cleanse you of all your impurities. Remove any malice from your hearts.” The priestesses chant around us. My body feels drawn to him. The urge I have to touch him is overwhelming, to just feel his skin pressed against mine. Any doubts I have floating away the second I am near him. I look ahead to the priestesses. I do not dare look at him in all his glory. One glance at him may be what breaks the dam holding back my urges, my last vestige of control. “Tonight, you are to shift into your true nature. The greatest trea
“The Mountain stands, unmoving— never wavering, rooted deeply into the soil.” The Queen begins, seated behind me on a small chair, her gown spilling out of the narrow seat displaying the sheer volume of fabric she seems to carry so effortlessly. Monica is plaiting my hair for the first ceremony. An intricate pattern of different braids joined together and fastened with a plain rag tie matching my temple dress. “The Wind with her sons raging across the lands, charge right at the Great Mountain, but it still stands. The nymphs of the waters try to claw through it, but still it stands. Rigid. Strong. Proud.” Her hands move with the story, in a way it was more akin to a fireside chat rather than dressing room gossip. It reminds me of my father’s stories around the fire. I listen to her tale, knowing little of her people, attentively watching her through the mirrors reflection. “The Goddess herself blessed the Great Mountain, and appointed the Shadow Mountain pack to be the Guardians
“Waltz of the Mountains.” The King sneers. “Let’s see how well you keep up.” He casts a glare at Edward. “You know how your Grandmother adores the dance of her homeland, grandson. Do not disappoint her for the sake of your mate.” The warning is clear. “Yes, my King. I would not dream of disappointing.” He bows deeply, his hand on his heart pledging his allegiance. I remember our first meeting. “You play a dangerous game, girl.” He said with his hand around my throat. I suppose I am still that dangerous silly girl, too headstrong to fully submit. Incapable of bending to a tyrant. Incapable of silence. I am who I create. I feel Theia and Asteria in the front of my mind. Any overt display of power would be disastrous, so they lurk, careful not to allow their presence shimmer in my eyes. I deeply curtsy holding my hand to my heart as well, averting my eyes to the floor, not uttering a word. Silence and obedience. That is what the King demands. My stubbornness to blame for not b
Silence. I dare not speak or move. “I have heard you can dance.” The King says in my direction. A small smile creeped on his lips. A sneer. “Yes, your majesty.” I say meekly. “You shall dance for us.” Edward looks at me with sadness in his eyes. A shimmer of anger rippling in his fields of green, at my faux pas. The weight of the King’s displeasure not only hitting me, but crushing him as well. Collateral damage. “I would love to see the waltz.” The Queen hums. “Edward can lead her if she does not know it. Besides, she will be expected to dance at their wedding celebrations.” I hope he indulges his wife. It is a far better option than being forced to gyrate in front of the King. His expression leads me to believe he wishes to not only remind me of my place but humiliate me in the process. The Queen’s suggestion is only her tossing a rope to her grandson to save him from the front row seat to my humiliation. The King looks to his Queen. “Very well.” He replies. “L
Fairytales have a modicum of truth to them. Just enough truth that the reader can absorb the message, learn whatever moral imperative is being taught. The tricky part is discerning what little bit is rooted in truth, and what is an outright lie, a fantasy embellishment to keep you reading. I prefer the stories with happy endings, lessons are still learned, but the main character in the end is well and fine. Perhaps that’s my first mistake, assuming my placement in the tale is the main character, rather than the abused maid or gullible villager, or otherwise nameless background character. A person in the crowd as the King strolls down the street naked. A lady’s maid to the wicked queen or damsel in distress. A nameless cousin to the main character, who tried on the shoe but it did not fit. Perhaps I am the main character, in one of those tales where she tragically dies. Her choices and bad decisions leading her to death, rather than the happiness she was seeking. The Queen seem
“Beauty is pain.” Monica consoles. “You cannot achieve divinity without sacrifice. We want ethereal. We want glamor.” “We want to be able to have dinner.” I squeak, the corset of the gown so tight I can barely breathe. “Or maybe just be able to breathe.” I have been trying on gowns for hours. I tire of looking at my reflection. “Long deep breaths from the lungs, not the belly.” She demonstrates, her body rod straight, long measured breaths expanding her ribcage. My wedding gown, gowns for tea and dinner, dresses for travel and leisure, for breakfast or prayer— the stacks of fabric seem endless. I was nothing more than a doll. Monica has the same persistence as Agatha. I remember her wrapping me in endless fabrics for my Moon Ceremony gown. “You will be elegant! Ravishing! Demure!” She shouted as she wrapped me in satins and tulle. “Posture is key. Beyond that, relax. High anxiety breathing isn’t very effective or attractive.” Monica concludes. I smile, my mind wander
Something in my soul longs for the sunshine. The rays on my skin make me come alive. My internal battery dependent upon feeling the sun against my skin. I do not recall the last time I was outside in the sun. It seems a lifetime ago that I was able to truly enjoy it. My gown manifesting what I need the most, time to bask in the sun. I can feel the whispers of winter on the autumn wind. A small chill dancing in the breeze, winter days soon to come. I stare upwards to the sky. The sun’s rays like golden spires piercing through the clouds, a magnificent sight. The sun coyly peeks from behind the clouds to bathe me in its rays. Today, I am the sun, and I will absorb the warmth and joy it brings me. Monica stops in front of a small gate created between two apple trees. The trees already bare from harvest, the priestesses and acolytes have started the pruning process, preparing the orchard for winter. The branches and stems are neatly stacked in piles along the treeline. My ow