Chapter 5- Wicked Forest

“Are you sure this girl is the one?” Seth asked his nephew. He wasn’t convinced. In fact, he thought it was all a load of nonsense. No matter how powerful the old woman was, he didn’t think it was possible what others claimed to be true. After all it had been centuries and still, they were stuck in that forsaken world. Why now? Would the one with power show? It didn’t make sense to Seth who had accepted that he would never go home.
“Yes, I have been watching her for a while now. I am positive my lord.” He watched the young man’s face for any lies to leak through. But the hope was all he could see.
Seth gave him a pat on the back and a small smile. He watched as his nephew’s eyes lit up with delight. He was eager to please and Seth knew that. No matter what was asked of him, he would do the job. It was the reason Seth kept him around.
“Then I will set the wheels in motion. My son will marry a Hudson witch and be the one to bring our people to victory. We will take our rightful place once and for all.”
For the first time in a long time Seth felt confident. He found himself being pulled into the legend the other covens had put their hearts and souls into uncovering. If what the boy said was true, then he would take every step necessary to be the one that took his people home.
“Uncle, my lord, I would like to be the one to…”
“You? You are a Halfling. That would never work, don’t fool yourself, boy. For bringing me this information I will be sure to find you a good match.” He watched his nephew’s head hang low and a flash of hurt run through his eyes. Seth almost laughed at the stupidity of the boy. If it wasn’t for his wife then he would have cast the boy aside years ago. However, his wife was different and held a big heart.
As she always pointed out to Seth, it wasn’t the boy’s fault that his father decided to mate with the wrong kind, producing a Halfling. It would be hard enough as it was to find him a suitable match. No one in his coven would readily offer up their daughter to a Halfling. The reason why he was still a free man, no lady lined up ready and waiting for him, it was an impossible task, but one that Seth could ensure was carried out.
“You can go.” Seth waved his hand and let the young man leave his office. He leaned back in his chair and grinned. The Hudson families were strong, but it wasn’t the Hudson part of them he was happy with but the Blairmount side, they were the family that held power. The ones who would be the perfect match for his son, there wasn’t a moment to lose. He would see it through, the faster they acted the better for them all. For the first time in centuries, he felt a glimmer of hope.
***
“Crystal, we need to talk,” her mother called as she opened the front door. Dropping her bag by the staircase, Crystal followed the sound of her mother’s voice to the living room. A knot of nerves welled in her stomach. Her mother wasn’t the talking kind, so it made her apprehensive to what she wanted.
Jeannette paced in front of the grand fireplace while her father leaned against the doorframe to the dining room. Jeannette had her hair tied back into a tight ponytail and wore a pair of black jeans and a white blouse. She was a fashionable lady, who took care of her appearance. Her father Henry had his arms folded and he stared straight ahead. In Crystal’s mind her father was weak. He let his wife control every situation and followed her barking orders without protest. He was a quiet man who had little to say but when he did, Crystal listened as his words held wisdom and a deep meaning. The way that he didn’t look at her as she entered set her nerves on fire.
He was handsome with his sandy blond hair that held hints of grey, and still held a muscled physique. Crystal often wondered why he put up with her mother at times. He could easily get another woman. She shook her head; she knew how the daydream ended. Her father leaving the coven and taking her with him to freedom, it was just a silly fantasy.
Her mother was nervous. That much she could tell, twisting her fingers and fidgeting, Jeannette wasn’t acting herself at all.
“Both of us need to talk to you.”
Crystal sat on the plush white couch, and sank into the luxury cushions, waiting to be yelled at or given a lecture. She fixed her gaze on the marble surround that decorated the fireplace and traced the interlacing patterns with her eyes. It wasn’t good if her mother had brought her father in too. A fleeting thought passed her mind that they had found out about her early morning visits to the woods. She was in trouble, big trouble. Would they send her away? That wouldn’t be punishment but gladly accepted.
“You are fast approaching your eighteenth birthday. Soon you will be an adult,” Jeannette paused and turned her gaze to the floor.
“You will be marrying Levi Carmichael, on Christmas day. It will be a white wedding.”
“You have to be joking!” Crystal jumped up and yelled, granted she didn’t want to marry Hugo, but a Carmichael was much worse. What was going on? She had until she was twenty-one.
When her mother’s gaze never faltered and stayed fixed to the ground, Crystal looked to her father. He just shrugged his shoulder like it was nothing. His silence only made her more furious.
“A Carmichael, you want me to marry a Carmichael! The very people who are responsible for wiping out coven after coven, in the name of revenge! Stay out of the woods you say. Evil lies within the roots. Everyone knows the Carmichaels estate is deep within the forest! Just at the other side, lurking and waiting to pounce on anyone who enters!”
“Crystal, calm down,” her mother said gently.
“I will not do it!” Crystal yelled and stormed from the room making sure her footfalls echoed her anger, by making loud banging noises on the tiled floor.
At the bottom of the staircase she yelled, “What a Christmas present!” She stomped up each step and slammed her bedroom door. By the time she reached her room she was exhausted and slid down the door frame. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Crystal let her tears fall.
If her parents have their way she would be married to a monster, a murderer. There was no way she would go through with it. How could they do such a thing? She let out a scream of frustration. She hated the life that had been handed to her.
She knew the stories. Everyone did. They were tales that the elders used to keep the entire coven in line.
The Carmichaels were greedy.
They used endless amount of magic, drawing from nature and life itself. Before long they became power hungry slaughtering witches and stealing their powers. Until four covens joined together and cursed the family along with their coven. Midnight. Once a month they turned into beasts. From that day forward, with every full moon they hunted the four covens, which had cursed them, in the hopes that once the last of each line was gone the curse would be reversed. Crystal shivered as she remembered the tale. The elders would never say which covens were responsible for the curse in order to protect the covens.
That night she stayed in her room. Every knock at her door she ignored. Why would she want to talk to them? Crystal had always felt lonely.
No friends, her siblings were older than her and married. Some with children, Jeannette and Henry, her parents didn’t understand her.
Out of control and disobedient they often said. Crystal just wanted a life, a normal life. Shopping, hanging out. Even partying sounded good. But she knew that she would never be a part of normal teenage life. Normal people, she couldn’t befriend. She hated the thought of having to keep secrets from them. Loneliness squeezed at her heart. She wished she had someone to voice her problems too. Someone to offer her advice or simply tell her it was all going to be okay. However, she knew she was alone to face the hand of fate.
When morning arrived, Crystal hadn’t slept a wink. Glancing at her clock, it read five-fifteen. It was a little earlier than she usually took her walk in the forest, but she needed fresh air. Her mind had become a fog with all the over thinking she had done.
Pulling on some tracksuit bottoms and a tank top she tied her hair into a messy bun.
Quietly, she crept from the house and made her way down the familiar path that led into the woods. She paused before entering the canopy of trees. Shaking the feeling of dread away, she took the familiar route. As she walked, she felt her body relax. Nature could do that to a person, the calming sounds, and stunning views, it sucked the strain and stress from her body leaving her light on her feet.
The dark didn’t scare her, nor did the rustle of branches and the snapping of twigs. Nothing could be scarier than marrying a Carmichael. She could throw the law in their face. But what good would that do? They were witches and the law didn’t mean anything to them. They had their own set of rules to obey.
Sitting down on a rock, Crystal gazed up at the stars. They flickered in and out of view. A fleeting thought passed her mind. She wondered if out there, beyond the sky if there were other life? Did somewhere out their people, other beings feel like she did? She let out a scream of frustration and watched the birds dart from the trees.
She was stuck, no way out. Not one she could think of anyway. If only she could fly and look for a new place to set up home. All night she had thought of ways to get out of the marriage but each time she came up empty. Her parent’s words were set in stone. They had signed her death certificate. Even running away was not an option. They would find her. Use magic to track her down and force her back.
The hairs on the nape of her neck stood on end. Slowly she gazed over her shoulder. Around eight feet away a shadow watched hidden behind a tree trunk. Fear ran through her veins. For some time, she kept her eyes on the figure. When it didn’t move, she carried on gazing at the stars. However, she kept her guard up ready for a fight.
As the stars gave way to the morning sunrise, Crystal pulled herself up. She looked where the figure had been standing but it was gone. She spun around searching the forest. Nothing, she was alone. Perhaps it was someone out to scare her. Some teens were mean. Pranks were an everyday occurrence.