The Luna Queen

1: Coronation

~ Present Day ~

Eve

I stay awake until 4 a.m. looking over the history of the coven, mostly reading about its founding. Foxfire’s creation dates back to the thirteenth century! The founding members built this coven after migrating to this uncharted territory from Prague. I skip to the back of the worn history ledger, which ends with mom’s reign and her death.

It’s been almost twenty years since the last monarch and Foxfire Coven is in a state of civil unrest. According to the history ledger, a monarch must be at least sixteen years old to fully execute their power and duties.

Amelia and I were too young to ascend the throne after mom’s death, so the Elders agreed to run Foxfire until I was of age. As the eldest, I am the heir to the throne unless I relinquish that right. After my eighteenth birthday, the Elders stressed they wanted me to run the Coven and after chatting more with Bart; I realize it was because the Elders were terrified of Amelia, and for good reason. I regret not taking the throne sooner.

If only I knew what my little sister was capable of or how bitter, jealous, and vengeful she is. I didn’t want to relinquish my birthright and although I’m glad I didn’t; I hate it took for Amelia to usurp the throne for me to act. Stalling my decision was catastrophic. I said I couldn’t handle being Alpha and Queen and needed time to decide, but that wasn’t the case.

Knowing my birthright as Queen and Alpha and all the responsibility that comes with those titles scared me. Truthfully, I’m still scared, but I can’t let my fears and emotions hold me back anymore. This is bigger than me. I close the book and place it on my nightstand. I lie back on the bed, preparing to fall asleep, but there’s a light tap on my door.

“Princess, are you still awake? I see light coming from your room,” Bart whispers.

“Yes, I’m still awake. Come in.”

“Sorry to intrude, but I brought you something,” he says, holding an elegant garment bag in his arms.

“What is it,” I curiously question and walk toward him.

“A gown. Uh, your mother’s actually,” he states. “She wore this dress for her coronation and I thought,” he pauses, “maybe you’d like to wear it on your special day,” he stammers and hands me the garment bag.

I already bought a gown for my coronation, but wearing my mother’s dress sounds nice. He smiles and leaves the room, and I immediately remove the gown from the bag. It’s a beautiful, strapless black mermaid gown with feathers along the neckline and a lace and beaded bodice.

I try on the dress, and although it’s a tight fit, it fits perfectly. This gown is over two hundred years old and it’s still perfect. I faintly smell my mother’s scent on the dress and it brings tears to my eyes. It brings back memories of her warmth and love when she used to play with Amelia and me.

She always smelled like lavender. Every time I was around her, I always felt calm and peaceful. Wearing this dress gives me that feeling of comfort. That was exceedingly thoughtful of Bart to bring me mama’s dress. I can save the gown I had for tonight for my Luna ceremony. I put the dress back in the bag and go to sleep to prepare for my big day.

~ Later That Evening ~

The hours passed slower than normal. I only slept for six hours before the maidservants came to pamper me for tonight. While getting royally pampered, Montrell links me. Tonight, he becomes Alpha of Diamond Peak wolf pack and I will be the crowned queen of Foxfire Coven.

After hours of facials, spa treatments, deep tissue massages, and a manicure and pedicure, it’s time to get ready for my coronation. I’m standing in my mother’s gown looking at myself in the mirror while the servants do my makeup and curl my hair.

Knock, knock. “Princess, may I come in?”

Recognizing the voice as Bart’s, I reply, “You may.”

“Good evening,” he greets. “Wow, look at you! You look just like Queen Eliza! If only she were here to see it,” he soberly states.

“I wish she was here. Daddy, too,” I voice tearfully and smile.

“They are with you in spirit and are so proud of you. Princess,” he clears his throat, “the hour draws near. I have a very important question. Is your mate willing to be our King?”

“He is willing,” I confirm.

“Will he be here tonight? It is customary to crown both the King and Queen at the same time.”

“Oh,” I frown. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. His Alpha ceremony is tonight.”

“I see. Hm,” he quietly frets and sighs. “I suppose, given the circumstances, we can make an exception to have a separate coronation for the King. It’s been so long since the Coven had a reigning king and queen.”

My anxiety causes a pit in my stomach. There’s so much pressure on me. I’m the first Queen in twenty years and my mate and I will have to run this Coven and the pack together. What if we fail? What if I can’t handle my responsibilities? How will Montrell and I balance running both the pack and the coven?

Before leaving, Bart explains how the ceremony will go. The ceremony has five stages; the Recognition, the Oath, the Investiture, the Enthronement, and the Homage. Although the most important part of my enthronement is the oath, he also explains the formalities of all the stages. Members of smaller covens under Foxfire’s territory will be present for the ceremony as well. He leaves me with the maidservants so I can finish getting ready. The closer nightfall gets, the more nervous I am.

~ Two Hours Later ~

The time has come and I make my way outside, where the normally empty field of land behind the coven is now full of thousands of guests.

“Good evening all,” Bart loudly greets. “As the sole Elder of this Coven, I stand before you tonight to present and crown the new Queen of Foxfire.” He turns his attention to me. “For the record, can you please state your full name?”

“Evelyn Delilah Hayes,” I recite.

A servant takes my hand and leads me beside a dark purple chair that looks exactly like the seat of the throne in the throne room. Bart requests I stand beside the chair and he proceeds with the ceremony.

The first hour of this ceremony is boring and my feet hurt standing beside the chair while Bart goes through the various formalities. I wonder how much longer I’m going to have to stand here. I zone out and think about all the sudden changes in my life. The anxiety I felt earlier comes back stronger than ever.

What if they don’t accept Montrell as their King? The history ledger never mentioned a wolf monarch. Can a wolf even serve as King? How will the vampires handle that? How will the pack members feel about me, a vampire, being their Luna? I know Montrell offered me the option of being Alpha alongside him, but I don’t want that. Growing up, it was always either or for me. Either I’d be the Alpha of Blue Ridge pack or the Queen of vampires at Foxfire Coven and now I’m forced to embrace both roles. Goddess, can this work? Will it work?

Calm down, Evelyn. Your quickened pulse will make you dizzy and pass out. Breathe. Everything will be alright, Phoebe assures, and I deeply exhale several times.

“Now for the Coronation Oath,” Bart raves, catching my attention. “The Coronation Oath has stood for centuries and is upheld in law. My lady, are you willing to take this Oath?”

“I am willing,” I answer.

“Will you, Evelyn Delilah Hayes, solemnly promise and swear to govern the inhabitants of Foxfire Coven and your other territories, including the state of Washington and the British Columbia province in Canada, according to their respective laws and customs?”

“I, Evelyn Delilah Hayes, solemnly swear and promise to uphold and maintain the said laws and customs to the best of my powers, according to the law.”

“Will you, to your power, cause law and justice, in mercy, to be executed in all your judgments?”

“I will execute, in mercy, law and justice in all my judgments,” I vow.

“Very well. Now,” Bart continues and clears his throat. “We will now move on to the enthronement. The first step of your enthronement requires you to drink the blood of the coven members from this sacred chalice.”

He hands me a large, black bat embroidered gothic chalice filled to the brim with blood. Although I am half vampire, I’ve never drank blood before. I take a sip and immediately gag at the initial bitter taste but quickly swallow. However, while swallowing, the bitterness shifts to a sweet and sour taste, with a hint of saltiness. I try to hand the chalice back to Bart, but he whispers, “You must drink it all, Princess.”

I quickly chug the remaining blood and pray I don’t gag. I know drinking blood is natural for my kind because it’s how they survive, but yuck! Maybe if I grew up drinking it, it wouldn’t be so weird. The more I drink, it’s not as bad as the initial taste, but it’s not something I’ll eagerly drink either. When I finish chugging the blood, I hand the chalice back to Bart and wipe my mouth.

“Very good,” Bart voices. “Next, you will ascend the throne by taking your seat right here before everyone.”

Finally, I can sit down! Feels like I’ve been standing here all night! I quickly take my seat in the throne chair.

“And now for the last step of the enthronement,” Bart states while someone brings the crown to him. “The crowning!”

He presents the crown to the Coven members before requesting I lean forward. He snuggly places the tall, bronze and black crystal adorned crown on my head. This crown is nothing like the one Amelia had when she conceded in the safe room at Diamond Peak.

“My Queen, stand firm from henceforth this seat of royal dignity, which is yours by the authority of your royal bloodline, given by the first vampire, Ambroz. Through the power of your bloodline, hold fast for evermore,” Bart extols.

With the crown now on my head, the final stage of the ceremony begins. My subordinates stand to their feet and kneel before me to pay homage.

“Finally, the interregnum is over!” Bart cheers. “Já, Bartholomew Wilcot, vám představuji královnu Evelyn Delilah Hayes. Vy, kteří dnes přede mnou stojíte, jste ochotni slíbit svou poklonu a službu? Pokud ano, všichni pozdravují královnu (I, Bartholomew Wilcot, present unto you Queen Evelyn Delilah Hayes. Those of you that stand before me today, are you willing to pledge your homage and service? If so, All Hail the Queen)!”

“Všichni pozdravují královnu (All Hail the Queen),” everyone recites in unison, signifying their willingness.

The ceremony concludes with fireworks and fanfare. A photographer takes my photo and informs Bart that a painter will be here tomorrow to paint my portrait for the throne room.

This feels so unreal. This burden of leadership is heavy and you haven’t even had your Luna ceremony yet, Phoebe whines. I’ve felt every single one of your emotions these past few days, especially your fear and worries. I know you better than anyone else. Evelyn, you are strong. Much stronger than you realize. Evelyn. You will make a fantastic leader. You can handle this!

Thanks, Pheebs.

Once things settle down, I approach Bart because I have a few questions.

“Bart, can I ask you something?”

“Of course, my Queen,” he eagerly replies.

“So uh, did Amelia go through all this when she took the throne?”

“She did not. She killed the Elders and took the crown. That’s not how this monarchy works. She didn’t swear the Coronation Oath, so she couldn’t use her regal authority.

According to Foxfire tradition, a monarch’s reign begins after swearing the coronation oath. The oath only happens at the coronation ceremony. Although she professed to be the crowned Queen of Foxfire, she wasn’t.”

“Ah. I remember reading about that last night,” I add.

“Princess Amelia bullied her way around and bullied the coven members into obedience. If anyone didn’t do what she asked, they’d die. It was more of a dictatorship, but thankfully her ‘reign’ didn’t last long.”

“I certainly won’t bully anyone,” I assure. “The people should reverence their leader out of admiration and respect, not fear.”

“You are correct, my Queen,” he smiles. “You are so much like your mother. I know we are in excellent hands with your leadership.”

“One more thing, this crown,” I pause and take it off my head, “why isn’t it like the one Amelia was parading around in? That one was diamond encrusted.”

“The diamond coated one is the decoy crown. The real crown is only mean for monarchs and since we didn’t have one for all those years, we kept it locked away,” he explains. “Amelia would never get her hands on the real one if she didn’t take the oath.”

After getting clarity, I turn to retreat to my room and hopefully catch Montrell before he goes to sleep, but Bart stops me.

“My Queen, I promise you we will have a tight grip on our security team. We failed your mother many years ago. We won’t make the same mistake twice.

Your first business as Queen is to appoint more Elders. However, that can wait until after you handle your affairs with your mate. Good night, my Queen,” he concludes and bows.

I hurry off upstairs to my room and link Montrell and we talk about our experience at our ceremonies. We then plan my Luna ceremony and his King coronation.