Prologue
1434 Words
It is the annual Beltane festival. Frank has been dragged to this hippy weird celebration, by his sister. She is forever going to some offbeat thing and this time he “simply has to go with”. He still can't believe that he agreed to this, but here he is, listening to weird music and drinking funny ale!
***
Melissa turns around to look at her mother with her eyes brightly shining. Her light purple dress flaring out from her middle, to just above the knee, looking amazing on her pretty young body. Long black hair swirling around her.
***
Beltane hand-fasting plans have been made for the Silver-fox witch coven. The baby is on the way and due soon.
***
The festival is a color-filled mash-up of laughter, food, and all things magical. Fairy lights shining bright in the trees in the late afternoon light. Colorful stalls each selling their wares, food being the most popular, with the delicious smells calling to your senses. There are stalls with old books, new books, vegan food, dried food, and freshly baked food. Teasing your taste-buds from all sides. Dresses and Capes specially handmade for all magical occasions, potions, lotions, and soaps.
Wands, glass balls, tarot cards, gypsy palm readers, and future tellers. Puppet shows, illusionists, and healers. You will off course always have your hacks and quacks trying to swindle money out of people, and unfortunately, some want to believe so much they fall for the facade.
Later the evening there are hand-fasting ceremonies for those who find mates or love at first sight...
Frank follows his crazy sister through the rows of utterly ridiculous stalls as she buys one after another unnecessary potion or book that is the next best thing. Dragging him into the tent of the palm reader she plops down on the chair. The gypsy has curly black hair, wearing a colorful, off the shoulder t-shirt, an arm almost full of bangles around her wrist with a golden snake twisted around her upper arm.
Exactly what one would expect. She has a necklace-type golden chain hanging over her hair with a star in the center, hanging down her forehead. Inside it has a purple stone, shining every-time the light hits it.
Lilly “Please tell me something good.”
Gypsy “Ah la mademoiselle, I can only tell you what I see...”
Taking her palm, she looks carefully at the lines...probably trying to think of some fake story of a tall dark, and handsome stranger and falling in love in the next three months.
Gypsy “No Sir, she will not, but you will,” she says making Frank growl.
He is walking around looking at all the items she has for sale inside her tent, pretending to be interested.
Frank “How can you say that? You don’t even have my palm in front of you. I told you, Lilly, this is utter nonsense.”
Lilly “What if she is right?”
Frank “What do you mean?”
Lilly “If she is right Frank, what are you going to do huh? Because I believe in their talents even if you don’t! Please continue.”
Gypsy “You young lady will live life. You enjoy life very much I see. You will have a love for a short while, but I am sorry to say it can’t last in this life.”
She lets go of Lilly’s hand.
Lilly “Is that all?”
Gypsy “Unfortunately that is all I see.”
She shrugs.
Lilly “I guess that is all there is then.”
Lilly shrugs
Frank “You must be kidding me, Lilly!”
Lilly “Thank you, Madame!”
She smiles brightly thanking the Gypsy on the way out of the tent.
Walking out of the tent, he walks right into her outside of the Gypsy tent. Her eyes brightly looking at him, then she turns back around. In that second, he notices the steel peg from the tent right behind her. The only natural thing he can think of is to shift and stop her from stepping onto it, moving in behind her just as she steps back, making her go tumbling over his back.
Melissa “You brute! Can’t you look...”
She looks into the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen, he nods and disappears between the tents, returning dressed, in just a pair of shorts.
Melissa “Can’t you look where you are walking?!”
Frank “I can ask you the same, young lady?”
Pointing at the peg.
Melissa “Who says I was going to step on it!”
He is a bit frazzled seeing this girl who within a second has him completely mesmerized. Her ice-blue eyes have captured his and he can’t look away. All other thoughts are gone.
Melissa “Do you mind? I would like to see Emily.”
Frank “Not at all, Emily who?”
He smiles like an i***t.
Melissa “Emily is my friend... in the tent... that you just came out of...”
Frank “Oh, would you like to have coffee with me?”
He asks as Lilly walks up to him after looking for him.
Lilly looks astonished, her brother who has never dated a girl or even looked at anyone as a possible date, asking a girl for coffee... just like that? Without calculating the pros and cons? She stands back not wanting to break the spell that is hanging around her brother.
Melissa “Em! I’m going for coffee! Tell mom if she looks for me.”
She takes his arm that he holds out for her.
She smells of cinnamon and her long black hair shines like the night sky against her beautiful blue eyes. They talk the night away until the hand-fasting ceremonies are announced. Standing closer to watch, he snakes his arm around her waist.
Frank “How does this work? Is it a mating ceremony, or like a legal marriage?”
Melissa “It is a spiritual promise. It is way more than a legal marriage.”
She looks up at him.
Melissa “Have you never seen hand-fasting?”
She looks confused that an Alpha wolf would not know of such things.
***
The Silver-fox coven stands in front of the priestess and is bound in hand-fasting for the remainder of the festival.
Frank “What is wrong with them? Everyone else seems so happy, but they looked like it was an arranged marriage.”
Melissa “No, that is their happiness. Their families are both parts of the magic council. All magic council families are so serious, you will never see any of them laughing, or here for that matter. They only come to the festival when someone needs to be bound in hand-fasting.”
Frank “Oh, okay. Weird.”
Magic Council, what did she mean with that, Frank thought to himself, surely all this can’t be real. Yes okay, he met a tall dark girl that is beautiful... crap he will have to go to the gypsy and apologize. All this is too much. After all the hand-fasting is done they walk through the rows and rows of stalls talking, getting to know each other better until his sister finally catches up with them.
He introduces them and it seems the girls hit it off immediately. Lilly stealing Melissa running off with her shopping and only returning forty-five minutes later. The three of them walk to where the May Pole celebration is to take place and each fall in line to grab a lint. Frank has never done anything like this and is very hesitant. Alpha wolves don’t run around poles like silly girls!
When the places are filled the dance begins with the colors weaving in and out. Laughter filling the air. Lilly watching her brother come to life as if he had been dead for many years, watching love at first sight bloom.
The ties growing closer with each circle making the people let go one by one until finally, only Melissa remains. She has the honor of tying the end. Her bright smile and energy contagious make everyone happy. A burst of hands clapping when the pole is finished brings Frank back to the present.
It is the day that opened Frank’s eyes to the magic of love at first sight and the start of his life with Melissa. An adventure that will lead them to marriage, magic, and five beautiful daughters. The day that changed both their lives...
- Writer
