Chapter 34 - Coming to an Understanding

Celeste knew the minute Brielle's spell was broken on the she-wolf in the White Raven pack. Brielle told her to get there immediately to verify the Emerald Stone witch was in that pack. Once she receives word from Celeste, she will send reinforcements to fight the pack and bring the witch back to Brielle.

Celeste was upset that her freedom was coming to an end. She had accepted that either she would die by the hand of the Emerald Stone witch or by Brielle; either way, her time on Earth was only a matter of days. Celest was still hoping to talk to the witch before she killed her. That may be her only way to switch sides, as this witch was the only one who could defeat Brielle.

Celeste flew over the pack lands of White Raven; she heard the howls from the werewolves, alerting the Alpha of her arrival. Typically, she stayed up high enough that the wolves would not know she was there, but this time Celeste wanted them to know so she could see the Emerald Stone witch. As she came to the packhouse, she landed a few yards from the porch and was immediately surrounded by growling wolves.

Celeste stood tall; they had not tried to attack her yet, which meant that someone had told them not to. Celeste felt a glimmer of hope in her chest. She heard a door open and looked up; Celeste gasped as she saw the Emerald Stone witch standing in front of her. She was even more beautiful than Celeste expected, and she was looking at Celeste with apprehension. Celeste immediately got down on her knees before the witch and bowed to her, showing her submission.

Kaleigh walked down the steps toward the Dark Sphere witch bowing before her. She was surprised at this witch's appearance; she was very disfigured. Most of the Dark Sphere witches were rumored to be among the most beautiful. Kaleigh felt no animosity from this witch, reminding her what the Moon Goddess had said. Kaleigh decided to speak with the witch before forming an opinion.

"Please stand up, witch of the Dark Sphere. I know why you were sent here; however, I would like to know your intentions." Kaleigh stood several feet away from the witch and waited as she struggled to stand up. Kaleigh almost felt sorry for her.

"Thank you for not killing me right away, witch of Emerald Stone. My name is Celeste. I was sent by Brielle, High Priestess of Dark Sphere Coven, to find you and deliver you to her. However, my lady, I feel I don't belong with those of Dark Sphere as I don't like to cause pain and suffering. I want to be good and happy, but Brielle kills those trying to leave her coven, so I have been stuck since birth. I plead for you, witch of Emerald Stone, to let me join you in the fight against Brielle. You are the only one who can release me from her and end the evil deeds of Dark Sphere." Celeste bowed to the Emerald Stone witch once again as she waited.

Kaleigh was taken aback at this witch's confession. She actually wanted to help them defeat Brielle and end Dark Sphere. Kaleigh could feel doubt from those around her. However, when she looked into Celeste's eyes, she could tell that she was genuine. Kaleigh walked up to the witch and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Celeste, please stop bowing to me. My name is Kaleigh. I am the daughter of Jasmine, who was killed by Brielle. I feel that what you are telling me is the truth; however, I will need you to prove yourself when the time comes. If you prove to me that you are good and fight alongside us when the Dark Sphere comes, I will let you live. If you decide to choose the path of evil, you will die a painful death." Kaleigh felt Celeste relax under her hand.

"Thank you, I will not let you down. I am disfigured, but that does not affect my magic. I am also extremely fast. That is why Brielle sent me to find you because of my speed. Just tell me what you need me to do, and I will follow you." Celeste felt like a heavyweight had been lifted off her shoulders. This lovely witch was willing to save her; she even had her hand on her shoulder in comfort, something Celeste had never felt. Celeste knew that she would do everything in her power to protect the Emerald Stone witch even if it killed her.

"Celeste, please call me Kaleigh. Also, I can feel how upset you are regarding your appearance. Once we are done defeating Brielle, and you prove your good intentions, I will take away everything causing your disfigurement. You will then no longer have to be ashamed of how you look. I believe that people's outside appearance should reflect what is on the inside. If you are good in your heart, your appearance will also be good when this battle is over." Kaleigh spoke to the witch so softly that the others could barely hear her.

Kaleigh could tell Celeste was in pain and that she had a good heart. Kaleigh was surprised when she heard Celeste begin to cry. Any witch that had evil in her heart would not shed a tear.

"Thank you, Kaleigh. Since I was a child, I have been this way because of another witch getting back at my mother; she disfigured me. Please tell me what I need to do." Celeste couldn't believe Kaleigh would let her live and take away all her ailments. Celeste knew from that moment on she would do whatever Kaleigh wanted; no one had ever shown her so much kindness. Celeste had let out the tears she had held back her entire life because Dark Sphere witches were not allowed to cry or show any weakness.

"Celeste, first, I need you to do what you were sent here for. You need to tell Brielle you have confirmed my location so she can send the other witches. I need you to pretend that you are still on their side so you can let us know their plans. They will not expect you to be working for us, so you can send information directly to Luna Alannah and me." Kaleigh looked up on the porch, and Celeste followed her gaze.

Celeste was astounded that another witch was living within this pack, and she was the Luna. Celeste watched as the tall, dark-haired beauty walked toward them with a kind smile. Celeste felt even more repulsive in the presence of these women, and she looked down in shame.

"Celeste, don't feel shame, you have a beautiful heart, and that's what matters. You could have chosen the easy path and followed evil, but instead, you have decided to follow your heart. That took a lot of courage, and we will welcome you with open arms when this is over." The Luna spoke to Celeste with such kind words that Celeste felt tears form in her eyes again.

"Thank you, Luna, you are very kind." Celeste felt a ray of hope that she would make it through this. "I will do whatever necessary to help you succeed against Brielle." Celeste bowed politely to the Luna.

"Thank you, Celeste. Kaleigh, where do we go from here?" Alannah looked toward Kaleigh, as did the rest of the pack with them, some still in wolf form.

"We will have Celeste alert Brielle that she has found me, and then we wait for them to come. You all have been preparing for this, just remember your training, and we will defeat them. Celeste, please let Brielle know my location and then let us know when to expect the other witches. While we wait, we will give you a room in the packhouse, but once we know they are on their way, we will have you hide so you can pretend we do not know about you. Does anyone have any questions?" Kaleigh looked around, and most were shaking their heads no. Celeste, however, looked confused.

"Kaleigh, you are going to let me stay in the packhouse? I assumed you would put me in the dungeon. I don't mind staying there to prove myself to you; even your worst dungeon is better than what Brielle has put me through." Celeste could not believe she would be able to actually sleep in the packhouse; she wasn't expecting so much hospitality.

"Celeste, I can pick up on energies, and yours is good. I don't believe you will cause us any harm, so you can stay in the packhouse until we know they are on their way. We do have protection spells on the packhouse so that if anyone inside has bad intentions, it will let me know. So, if you decided to realign with Brielle, I would know." Kaleigh wanted Celeste to know that she believed what she said, but there were ways for her to see if she changed her mind.

"Thank you, Kaleigh, for being so kind to an old witch like me." Kaleigh nodded to one of the women on the porch. "Celeste, please follow Serene, and she will take you to your room."

Celeste looked up and saw an older woman who looked as though she were a housekeeper waving for her to follow her. Celeste walked up the stairs to the porch and followed the woman into the packhouse. Celeste was surprised about how different the packhouse looked on the inside compared to the outside. She was shown to a beautiful room on the ground floor. Celeste thanked Serene before she walked out. Celeste could not contain her grin as she looked around the room; she felt a lightness she had never experienced before.

Celeste sat on the bed and made her thoughts as evil as possible while contacting Brielle. She told her where the Emerald Stone witch was located and that she was hiding out waiting for Brielle's instructions. Brielle told her she would let her know when to expect the others. Now she just had to wait and hope to live through this to finally live the life she wanted on the side of good and not evil.