beneath the moon - part II

Title: Beneath the Moon - part II.

Genre: Fantasy, witchy-bitchy, kinda angst, kinda smut, maybe hurt/comfort, again I think?

What to know: I watched the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series, okay, I binged it, and I just wanted to write a story of... being witchy-bitchy. Since I was inspired by the Sabrina series, it influenced me, but I also mixed all sorts of witch-interpretations from current pop culture, but if you want to, you can see it as a story from the expended universe of Sabrina. No characters from the show are present though. Part I is available on the blog.

Warning: death, maybe a bit of swearing so far, but there'll be others in the upcoming parts

Category: T (teen&up)
Length: 3380 words

BENEATH THE MOON - PART II.

The current Duke, Melville Mallory became Duke not long before Guinevere transformed into the witch she was. He was the one to always prosecute her, fearing his own place in the coven would be taken from him. She had the power to do it but executing a member of the coven would have been outrageous at the time, so he couldn’t do it. Way more people agreed with Guinevere than with him, therefore he had to imprison her in secret, kidnapping her.

She needed revenge.

She remembered Mallory vividly; his ridiculously long, brown hair, his obnoxious and pretentious smile, his fake politeness. Everything that she hated.

She took a few deep breaths, preparing herself, then with all the power she had, she swung the doors wide open, not really caring that it was sealed with some kind of spell. Danny and Blanche shared a fearful glance. She had an arrival just like she planned, that made the whole room shocked. She seemed vengeful, powerful, almost mad.

‘What in hell…’ someone whispered, while most people took a step back. There was one person in the whole room that after the initial surprise stepped forward; in fact, he rushed and hugged her immediately. Darius was not just Guinevere’s friend from many years ago, from long before she transformed, but also Blanche’s boyfriend of two years. He was a talented warlock, a loyal friend, and he was hoped to be the next Duke.

The Duke, Mallory, seemed anxious and furious at her sight.

‘What the fuck does this mean? Danny, Blanche!’ Darius turned to Blanche, worrying about her, but didn’t say a word, but he positions himself so that he could protect both his girlfriend, both Guinevere if it was necessary. ‘Darius, step aside, or I swear to all that’s sacred…’

‘What? Banish him for seventy years and never say a word to anyone? Like you did to me?’

Some people gasped, dropped their teeth, stared as if it was their last thing to do on Earth, and did nothing, just wondered as the energy that just radiated from her swirled the air around her. It wasn’t a conscious choice, wasn’t intended, but the rage she felt materialized itself in sudden and unpredicted flashes of lightning, followed by rumbling thunder, rolling dark clouds. She felt that the rage she had been tending to for years was leaving her body, but it didn’t just go away, it was stuck as if it was endlessly a part of her as if it came from her body like words.

People felt awe, feared her, but some, who finally recognised her glared at Mallory, positioned themselves against him, and not surrounding Guinevere. She wasn’t the weird intruder who was throwing a tantrum, she was the girl that needed her revenge, and needed support. Darius was preparing for a fight, still standing to block Blanche who just tried to peek from behind his shoulder.

Danny was trying his best to seem as if he was confident enough to be part of whatever was to happen, but he was also trembling in every inch of his body. And he was mesmerized by Guinevere’s power.

Guinevere slowly stepped closer, trying not to stumble in her own legs. Darius was ready to jump, in case she did. ‘You stuck me in a cell,’ she spluttered, as the rage grew inside her bigger and bigger, almost consuming her from within. ‘You hid me, for decades,’ her voice cracked, ‘without trial. Without sentence.’

‘In a time when we needed each and every witch to survive’ Darius joined in. ‘When we were waging a bloody war!’

The people started to nod and agree, whispering, grumbling, louder and louder. Some expressed their hatred and anger to Mallory, some their disgust toward Guinevere – they were more like a striking mob rather than a bunch of teachers of witches and warlocks.

The swirling energy grew relentlessly.

‘You are guilty, you are proving it right now!’ Mallory argued, back to the window. His voice was firm, but his face told a different story.

‘You have no idea what I did,’ she spat, reaching Mallory’s desk, the only thing that divided them. Her eyes turned black, opened her arms and grabbed the air with both of her hands. Mallory helplessly mimicked her movements. He tried mumbling spells, but as soon as Darius noticed, he muted him by casting a more advanced spell. He held his arm out, pointing to Mallory.

Another lightning, immediate thunder.

Shaking ground.

Guinevere started to increase the distance between her hands, Mallory grumbled with pain.

One man jumped out, attacking Guinevere. Danny and Darius both jumped – Darius with a wave of a hand shove Danny back so hard that he would have fallen to the ground if Blanche wouldn’t have been there to catch. They both landed on the ground, without so much as making a sound. They were busy observing the scene, the tension was so high they couldn’t even move a muscle. They didn’t understand any of it.

Darius reached the side of Guinevere before the man could have, so he landed on him, making Darius’s back push Guinevere, but she was firm. She couldn’t have been moved by divine forces. He protected her.

‘Go fuck yourself, Rooster!’ he exclaimed.

‘She’s an abomination’ the man responded, just as loud.

Guinevere’s unconscious heard that Darius came to defend her, not just physically but put a verbal fight for her as well, but she was too focused on torturing Mallory. He was fighting, with all the power left in her body, but he was also terrified by the energy whirling around.

‘I haven’t eaten, practised or moved in decades,’ she smirked, ‘and I’m still more powerful than you are’ she continued bragging, stretching his body.

It hurt her, he was agonizing, Darius was fighting. Rage kept growing and growing like a wolf trying to set itself free from her.

And as it finally did, the rage exploded, the energy blasted, thunder shook the whole building so bad, Danny heard some windows shatter, open doors were shut tight. Mallory’s body cracked, twisted, and collapsed to the ground.

There was a minute of shocked silence, sharp breaths, and desperate sobs. A man was raging in the back, quickly silences by somebody else. For that minute, it seemed like the energy that escaped her body was now stuck in the room, hanging between them, freezing the witches and warlocks for a minute that scorched their souls and remained in their conscience forever. Either because they witnessed the murder of the Duke, the usage of such power they have never witnessed or imagined before, or because they had been silent for decades, knowing her story, taking a side, and deciding not to search for her.

And that moment collapsed into the loudest shriek Guinevere ever heard. It was war cried mixed with screams of anger, sobs, gruntling warlocks and bawling witches. Some were shouting for justice, others were quick to come and defend Guinevere and Darius, Danny and Blanche surrounding her.

Guinevere, in the middle, was having a mild breakdown. All that noise, all that loud screams and shouts, after decades of isolation and complete silence, she couldn’t help but crumble, shielding her ears and mumbling for herself.

When the mass reached a point, it all went mute for her. In her mind, she escaped, went back to her cell, cherished the silence and tranquillity of it. But her body was shutting down in the middle of a circus.

Blanche squatted with her, held her in her arms, hushed and shushed, trying to comfort her as much as she could, but it didn’t seem to be of any use.

‘Who’s going to be the Duke now?!’ a voice pierced through all else, making the rest fade out.

‘We must call the council immediately!’ another followed, and it all seemed as if the men were to take the lead, and Blanche couldn’t help herself. She jumped up trembling with rage, leaving the confused Guinevere back. Danny squatted with her instead, holding her because she couldn’t seem to support herself, all her strength has left her body.

‘I think you’ve done enough already, for Satan’s sake!’ she cried out. ‘Why call the council on somebody that’s been through hell and back? Why must you always come forth as the big ones to rule everything, when others can think something else? For once in yo-, ‘ she continued, trembling and quivering, outraging, but her voice cracked as soon as the careful touch of Darius reached her arms. She was often overcome by her emotions, it wasn’t the first time Darius had to step up on her behalf.

‘I think what Blan-‘

‘Your little whore?’

He stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and continued: ‘What she’s been trying to say is, we haven’t really been in this situation before. We haven’t had a Duke without an appointed heir to follow his footsteps, so I suppose, we should put it up for a vote.’

‘And in this little scenario of yours,’ an evil looking woman stepped forward, ‘who’s supposed to supervise this, mind you: unprecedented, vote?’

‘The council, I guess.’

‘So, you’re guessing now?’ a man shouted from the back.

‘And what about the murder?’ the woman persisted. ‘My husband was just murdered, what do you suppose to do about that?’

‘The council will have to decide upon that issue as well’ Darius admitted, somewhat reluctantly, glancing back at hollow that was once Guinevere. He was anxious about her.

‘I assume you, as his deputy, should be in charge of that. So do it. Let’s get it over with, Homewood.’

‘I will do, first thing in the morning. But now, let’s give sister Hepburn some time to recollect herself,’ he proposed gently, but his tone soon switched to a more firm, assertive one as he continued: ‘after he’s been in a cell with no food, light, necessities, company, or magic, for almost eight decades. Courtesy, of your husband.’

People started booing again, but then more and more people started to stand up and support Darius.

Guinevere was in and out of consciousness as Darius carried her. She saw Blanche by their side, but she didn’t see anything else. She came around again to see a house. Everything was blurry and confusing, but she felt when she was put down onto something soft and warm.

‘How did you find her? What were you doing down there?’ Blanche asked Darius. He had put Guinevere down onto a sofa, covered her up with a blanket, and sat down on the coffee table, tired, burying his face into his hands until Blanche sat down next to him, caressing his shoulder softly. She was rather confused.

‘I have found a note in the library implying that an old herb was to be found deep in the woods, but we kind of woke a werewolf up, and we had to run, and we somehow found our ways into the basement. But she was deeper than we have ever imagined the basement would go’ she told Darius. He was inspecting her face, admiring her beauty. She was so young, naïve often, but she had her heart in the right place. Fair locks, passion in her eyes, and a loving smile. Time and time again, he wondered how someone so angelic could be a witch.

‘You two and your restless mischiefs will put me to the grave, I swear to you,’ he scoffed, resting his head in the crook of her neck while he hugged him. Her fingers drew lazy circles on his back.

‘I guess Danny would see to it.’

‘Don’t you be so naïve to think I don’t know that you are just as much to blame as him.’

A light chuckle and her voice trilled right under his ear. After a moment of silence, she sighed: ‘You know you should take his place?’

‘I don’t want to think about that.’

Darius sat back up, sighed and looked at the unconscious Guinevere. Remembered being her friend from times that were a lot easier and remembered helping her escape and hide for decades before she vanished. He had searched for her all ways he knew how, and yet he felt he failed her. But now he had a chance to help her.

Blanche and Darius asked each other at the exact same time:

‘How do you know her?’

‘How did you get out of there?’ They blinked at each other for a second, and after a light chuckle, Darius spoke up: ‘She was my friend. She’s also from Scotland, we met in some silly social gathering and we were friends instantly. She helped me whenever she could, I helped her escape when I could. I searched for her after she vanished but failed miserably. She’s my oldest friend.’ Blanche sighed of relief, quietly, but not quietly enough for Darius not to notice. He knew Blanche would assume they were lovers once, and she wouldn’t have been far from the truth.

Blanche was aware that witches have always had a tendency for polyamory relationships, and intercourse out of wedlock, but she also had preconceptions about the Victorian era in her head, and Darius knew she wouldn’t think to connect the two notions. Darius decided not to mention that they did have sex back in their time. They never were in a relationship, and they never fell in love, but they did have an attraction for each other. A very bodily relationship, that they both enjoyed, but never took a step further. Blanche, as someone who was raised mostly in the twenty-first century, was a very open-minded woman but was very fond of fidelity.

‘Danny and I sneaked into the Duke’s office and found his grimoire. He had a note of the spell he used when he imprisoned Guinevere, but it was transcribed into codes, so we needed a few days to decipher it. We went back down there and got her out of the cell, and bought her right to… well, you know the rest. Although we were rather led by her, it wasn’t really an us-taking-her-there kind of situation.’

‘I hope you know that these might come up once the council holds an audience for the case,’ Darius sighed, pressing a small kiss on her forehead. She smelled like herbs like she always did. Blanche nodded, sighed and hoped that they wouldn’t after all. She wouldn’t have a good reason why she did all those things, and Danny really just went along and helped her. She just wanted to get that poor woman out of that cell.

‘So, why was she put up for trial in the first place?’ Blanche asked Darius, and he could hear in her voice that she was genuinely curious. Now Guinevere, or as he called her, Gen, was not the woman who was a threat to her place in the relationship, she was the girl Blanche was so eager to save. ‘She doesn’t look like a criminal.’

‘You truly are young, aren’t you?’ he chuckled, standing up to pour a glass of whisky for himself at the minibar he ordered a few weeks back. He was so happy that it arrived, he felt like he was back in Scotland with all the clinking bottles and fancy glasses. ‘You heard nothing of the Hepburn-trial? What the hell do we teach you in that school?’ he laughed, but she seemed genuinely interested in that question as well.

‘That is something we often guess, actually,’ she commented with a funny side look, while Darius jokingly chucked her arm before handing her a glass of wine. They never settled the debate regarding whether whisky or wine was better. ‘And you make one comment again saying how old you are compared to me, and I’ll swear to Satan and all that’s unsacred that I’ll murder you in your sleep.’ Age was another point on which they never agreed; Darius felt every day that he was centuries older than her, and not just because he remembered Queen Victoria, or because he fought in both World Wars, but simply because of the way he talked, he thought. He remembered the big trials of the 1800s, remembered big witch dynasties that were nowhere to be found anymore. And he was there when Gen did what she had to do. He believed her when she said she saw no other option.

‘She was the eldest daughter of a very high prestigious dynasty of witches and warlocks. At the time, there were enormous witch hunts, mostly aimed at those families because they thought if they end these clans it would easier for them to end all witches for good.’

‘Are we talking about the Great Witch Hunts? That started The War?’

‘Yes,’ he agreed, ‘and we are talking about The War.’ He sipped his whisky, thought for a moment, staring at his own hands as he unconsciously spun the glass between his fingers. ‘Most of the families were already wiped out, they got scared. Gen’s mother was falling into pieces, day by day, she was so anxious.’ As he kept on telling the story, he saw the events in front of his eyes as if they were happening still. He told her how Gen’s mother and grandmother sacrificed their lives for a spell they did for Gen and her sister, Milda. He explained, that since the magic of all witches is gained from their dead ancestors, their powers were limited. But the Hepburn mothers tore Gen and Milda from the ancestors and tied the powers straight to nature; making them more powerful than ever. More powerful than any other witch. But Milda never survived the transformation.

‘Gen was put on trial for what the council called atrocity and abomination, but it was a long trial and it divided the community,’ he explained, and Blanche hung on his lips as he was speaking. She was always fond of his voice; it was deep and slightly husky, with traces of his Scottish accent still coming to the surface. He never seemed to learn to say ‘community’ without it. ‘She was homebound for decades, then when the trial turned bad, she went on to escape and ran for another couple of decades, then housebound again and ran again until the day she vanished.’

‘She had always been a rebel, hadn’t she?’ Blanche sighed, carefully swiping some hair out of the unconscious Gen’s face. Darius kept on talking as Blanche fetched a wet towel to wipe the sweat and dirt from her face, with all the dried-up blood.

Darius observed how maternal she became all of a sudden, tending to all the needs of Gen, as if she wasn’t her host for a night, but her worried-sick mother.

The door opened, and the very lively and chatty Leda danced into the house, not suspecting a thing, but her the smile froze once she noticed how Darius and Blanche jumped from their seats. She was older than Darius, and when he started dating her niece, she instantly became his aunt as well, taking care of him when he was too reckless. They became friends, although they had known each other long before Blanche was born. Leda has known Gen as well, but never really well.

‘What in Hell happened?’ she asked worriedly. She stepped closer, hanging her bag on a hook by the door, and gasped as she noticed the unconscious Gen lying on her couch. ‘Unholy fuck, what happened? How is she here? I thought she was dead!’

Darius perplexedly fake coughed, cleared his throat, to gain some time but it didn’t really work. ‘I told you she just vanished,’ he commented, for which he had received a rather angry glare from both the women he lived with.

‘I’ll go prepare some vigor potion for her when she comes around,’ she offered already, rambunctiously moving around.

‘I’ll go with you, and tell you what happened,’ Blanche joined, abruptly kissing Darius’s cheek.

‘Don’t forget to tell about the part where you were chased by a werewolf!’ he exclaimed, intentionally causing Leda to indignantly glare at Blanche, and by the way, she sent him a glance, he just knew he wouldn’t have any fun that night. Or the one after.