Lilith's Revenge

The Start of Something New

As the sun set in the west, birds and crows glided over the ruins of what was once Lilith's beautiful home. In her sleep, Lilith dreamed—or perhaps recalled—a scene from her childhood. She frolicked in her light pink nightgown, with lace-trimmed sleeves that flared at the elbows, to the sound of her father's booming laughter filling their warm home. Her mother's gentle scolding resonated in the corridors as she caught up with Lilith. "A lady shouldn't run through the halls at night, love," her mother admonished. "But mummy..." Lilith protested, only to be interrupted by her mother's firm reminder of manners and the necessity to get ready for bed before joining Cassandra.

Cassandra was asleep, her long, straight red hair braided neatly—a quiet witness to the calamity that struck her family in the vampire war. She communicated with no one except Lilith, tormented by the terrors of that fateful night. Lilith, ever understanding, had been Cassie's rock from the beginning. For young Lilith, the reasons behind Cassandra's behavior were obvious—the fear of solitude, the dread of the world, born from the brutal loss of her kin. As Lilith often did, she slipped into bed with Cassandra, inadvertently startling her, which led to a frantic outburst." No, no, no, no, NO! NOT AGAIN!" Cassie shrieked, swatting her hand as if to repel an insect, inadvertently sending Lilith flying across the room with a resounding thud. "Oww, Cassie, it's just me," Lilith reassured, touching the back of her head, now damp with blood. The door creaked open, and the concerned visages of her parents appeared, backlit by candlelight. "Is everything okay, my girls?" her father asked. Thinking on her feet, Lilith rose from where she had fallen and said, "Yes, Papa was just trying to practice my dancing when I slipped." Several minutes of silence went by before Lilith's father, Lucas, answered with "Very well, I'll let your mother attend to your wound, and I'll see you in the morning darlings" waving goodnight to all the girls.

Moving out of her husband's way, Lilith's mother entered the room. Closing the door behind Lucas, Lilith's mother went to the washstand to grab the rag and ring it out. She then walked to her daughter and sat her down gently without saying a word. Lilith and Cassandra were looking at each other in silence. Cassie mouthed, "You think she knows?". Lilith mouthed back a yes before her mother cleared her throat before she spoke, scaring both the girls." To answer your beloved question, Cassie, I do know that something else has happened. My daughter tried to cover it up with a silly lie. But we all know she's honestly good at dancing but doesn't care if she gets better at it. So my question to you girls is... "What happened to causing such a loud ruckus?" The girls stared at each other in silence for a while before Cassandra answered in a panicked tone "Auntie Lu, it was an accident, I swear, I didn't mean to!", Cassie was standing beside Lilith as she continued. "I'm so sorry Lilly". Lilith kindly giggled and said "Cass, all is fine and well, it's okay" with a slight reassuring smile across her face. Listening to the girls talk about what happened, she knew it was an accident before they began to explain it better. "It was my fault, trying to climb into your bed while you were having a terror in your sleep." Cassandra went to apologize again, but Lula cut her off. "An apology is good once, any more than you not sorry darling, but the wound doesn't need stitches, you both are lucky it wasn't worse than what it is. Accidents for us witches happen all the time. How we learn and cope with them is up to us. "Don't be afraid to speak the truth," she said as she dumped the old bloody water out the window. She turned around to see Lilith comforting Cassandra, smiling at the two girls, realizing that these girls needed each other to make it through their journeys together. "Well love, I'm not going to tell Lucas about this, but please be more careful, there's enough loss and pain in the world. "We could use a little bit more love and courage to get us through these dark times. "What you two have is rare, and I hope it'll last a lifetime for both of you. "With this being said," I let you two be and get to bed. "We have a big day ahead of us," Lula said as she crossed the room to leave. "Mama, wait... "Cassie went back to sleep, I'll be back," Lilith said as she chased after her mom, who was waiting for her by the door. They both looked back at Cassie and smiled before they left the room, closing the door behind them.

Once the door was closed, Lula looked at her daughter in the hallway. "Is something troubling your daughter?" she asked. Lilith took a while to answer. "Well, what is it child, speak now or hold your peace," Lu said sharply. Lilith signed and said, "It's Cassie, I'm worried about her. I think something awful happened to her besides losing the ones that gave her life". Lilith turned to look at the closed door. "I believe she went through more than what she told us that night and I don't know what I should do to help her. She doesn't deserve to suffer like this, like me, she's only a child". She continued to express her thoughts willingly to her mother. Lula giggled, realizing how smart her daughter was for a child. She bent down on her knees to be at eye level with her daughter. "My sweet crimson rose, how smart you are at this age to read people well. I believe you are right, but all you can do at this time, and what she needs from you, all of us, is to just be there, here for her. Within time, I hope she opens her heart out to us enough to trust us with the whole story of what she endured while in the hands of those…" She paused and took a deep breath "Things" she added in a bitter tone. Lilith looked down at the ground, so her mother wouldn't see the tears that she had been fighting back. "I wish I could do more for her," she said, while her voice cracked. Knowing how her daughter was feeling, she lifted her daughter's chin so she could look at her before she spoke. "You are there for her like you have been doing more than you think." Being present, listening to them even when you don't know what to say or have nothing to say means more to her than anything right now. You are going to be a beautiful priestess when you come of age. Now go to bed and dream of a world where there is no darkness." Lula dismissed her daughter back into the room.

Lilith was walking back to her best friend's bed when Cassandra started to sit back up on the bed. "Everything alright Lilith?". Looking up, startled, not expecting to see her awake, she still answered with "Everything is fine, mind if I slumber in your bed tonight?". "Not at all" Cassie responded, moving the covers up as she moved over to welcome Lilith. Little Lilith crawled into bed next to Cassie. Both girls looked at each other before falling sideways onto the pillows in a fetal position. Laying in the dark for a while, Cassie decided to speak up. "Can you promise me something?" She asked. "Yes?" Lilith responded. "To be my best friend for the rest of our time?" Cassie asked while sitting back up once again. Lilith giggled and reached under the pillow to pull a dagger that Cassie kept under the pillows. "This dagger belonged to your father. With this, I bound you and me as sisters. With my blood", Lilith cut the middle of her palm and handed the dagger to Cassie. Cassie smiled, taking the dagger. "My blood," she said as she cut her palm. "Our blood we bound each other as sisters for eternity." The girls said together as they wrapped their hands together in the rag that was left hanging on the chair. Giggling like school girls, they laid their heads down on the pillows at the same time. 'I love you" Cassie said to Lilith. "I love you too, Cass,"

With that, Lilith opened her eyes to see it was late into the night. Staring up at the full moon and stars, she flew up into a standing position. Remembering that night sent chills down her spine. "What happened to us?" she whispered to herself while walking away from her home. She turned back around and moved her hand into a whipping motion. She said, "Erase". Just like that, there was no evidence of her old life. Turning away to continue her walk in any direction, she looked up at the stars. "With nothing left of who I was, I bring to you the start of something new."

Lurking in the shadows, watching Lilith like she always has. Mother Goddess couldn't help but be filled with pride and joy as she watched her newest creation come to life. "Oh, things are going to be good," she giggled to herself as she flashed away back to her world.