The Wiccan's Tale(Ongoing)

Prologue

February 13, 1692

There are a million ways to celebrate love. It doesn't always have to be grand. You don't always have to go to extreme lengths to prove your love for someone or show them that you appreciate them for just breathing next to you. You don't even have to take a trip down to the bakery to buy a cake. You can make it at home with just four simple ingredients. Flour, milk and eggs. The last ingredient was the most important. It was sprinkles. But not the rainbow sprinkles you see in stores. By sprinkles, I meant the literal meaning. Sprinkles of love, intention, power or whatever you wanted to put into the cake.  

My mother, who was a kitchen witch, taught me that. Her recipe was simple, but it made the cake tastier than any cake on earth. "It's not how the cake looks, but how it tastes that's important." she used to say. I smiled to myself as I grabbed a whisk from the cabinet to mix the flour with the milk. My mother had passed away, and she wasn't here to witness the most beautiful thing I had created with the man I love the most. 

Avery. My daughter.

Charles and I had always loved each other deeply and wanted a baby someday. I had to admit, we wanted to wait a little longer just so we could settle down after getting married, but when I found out I was pregnant, we both decided to keep the baby. How could we not? A baby was a gift from Mother Nature. 

Today was a special day. I had invited my best friend Amber to celebrate Avery's one-month anniversary. Charles was working late tonight and told me he'd be home for dinner.  I looked at Avery and smiled. She was only one, but I could tell she would grow up to be a powerful young woman someday. Someday she would stand next to me and help me set the table. Someday she'll introduce me to her first love. I could already see it. She had a great life ahead of her. Charles and I would support her no matter what. 

I spent the next hour preparing the cake and tidying up the house. Just when I was about to sit down I heard someone banging on the door. "Luna!" they called. "Luna! open the door!"

I opened the door, only to find Amber, my best friend standing there, a look of fear and concern etched on her face. She pushed me inside and slammed the door shut. My eyes widened in horror when I noticed there was a cut on her forehead and her gown was ripped at the edges. "What's wrong?"

She placed her hands on my shoulders, looking into my eyes. "They know." she cried. "They know about us. Humans. They've figured out that we're real. That we've been living amongst them for years. They're coming for us."

My eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "But we're Wiccan. We worship nature. We don't harm anyone."

"The satanic witches have misled them. Children were sacrificed. They think it's us who did it."

Before I could say another word, the back door swung open. My heart dropped to my knees, thinking it was a stranger but when I saw Charles relief washed over me. I ran to him, crying. "Charles we have to get out of here. We have to leave. They're coming for us."

He looked at me, then at Amber, then at Avery. He nodded, but before he could say anything, we heard someone bang on the door. They were here. Here to take us away. Here to kill us for what the satanic witches had done. We were innocent.

The colour drained from Amber's face as she slowly moved away from the door. In less than a second, the door was broken down, revealing a man dressed in white, holding a gun in his hands. He pointed the gun at Amber's head and pulled the trigger with no remorse. The sound of the trigger struck me like a slap. I tried to move but my body was frozen. Within seconds, Amber's body collapsed right in front of me. I couldn't even scream. My body just shook with fear. I couldn't believe my eyes. My best friend of ten years, murdered right in front of me. 

I turned and faced Charles for what might be the last time,  forcing my lips to speak. "Avery."  I motioned to her crib. He got my point. I knew I could count on him to get her out of here. Even if he had to watch me die. The man walked over Amber's body as if it was a piece of trash. Charles carried Avery in his arms but before he could escape through the back door the man shot in his direction. I pushed the man aside and the bullet missed them.

He grabbed me by the collar and slammed my head against the kitchen table so hard that blood started gushing out of my head. My vision became blurry. In what could possibly be my last moments I gathered all my inner strength to cast a protection spell on the two people I loved the most in this world. Charles and Avery. He slammed my head against the table once more, and the last thing I saw was Charles leaving through the back door with Avery in his arms. He escaped. They escaped. They'll make it. I know they will. 

I tried with all my strength not to give in, to fight back, but it was useless. I'd lost too much blood. It's usually not easy to take down a witch, but sometimes when the lives of people you love are on the line, you become weak. The fear of losing them consumes you, and you forget how to fight back.

I knew Charles would take her somewhere safe. The protection spell on Charles would eventually wear off, but the protection spell I cast on Avery would last for a much longer time. No one will ever find out her true identity. No one will ever know she's a witch. No one will ever be able to hurt her.

One day though, she will have to face the truth. 

I knew she was special the moment I gave birth to her. 

She will be the last of our kind. 

She'll change the world someday. 

I'm sure of it.