MY MIRACLE PRIESTESS LUNA

As I laid in my cold cot under my thin sheet in my beige room at the school, I watched a bead of condensation running down my small round alarm clock while I waited for the wake up call that usually came at 6am. We always rose at 6am to get our chores done before breakfast and school at 9am, but today was different, today the Lycan King would be coming, so we got to wake up at 7am today what a treat. He came once a year to over see the school and to make sure us witches were being treated fairly, though in my opinion he was just checking over his next crop of servants. The Lycans ruled our world, but it wasn't always like this, one thousand years ago this year Lycans and witches amongst other creatures all lived in peace, but that all changed when the war broke out. The Lycans said the witches started it. We'd originally come from another place, a world that was dying and this world accepted us, but we'd tried to take over. During the war, one of the witch priestesses was killed by the then Lycan King, King Ryder, and as punishment, she used her dying breath to curse the Lycans. No new Lycans would be born, leaving many without mates, while those already born but underage would never shift upon their 18th birthday. In order to stop the war and advocate for peace, one of the witch leaders came up with a solution, he cast a spell to freeze the Lycans from aging until the priestess's curse could be undone. Only a fellow priestess could break the curse, but it would cost them their lives, so they went into hiding and feared had long but died out. The witches, on the other hand, told their children a different version of the war. It was true that we came from another world, but we did so to broker peace. The Lycan King, however, became obsessed with the witch priestess, even rejecting his own mate to have her, so the Queen started the war in revenge. The priestess didn't want the King, even with the Queen gone, so the King killed her, and so she cursed the Lycans. No matter what version you believe, the end result was the same, the Lycans won the war and for 500 years witches were enslaved. It was forbidden to use your powers without your master's permission under pain of death. It wasn't until 500 years ago that the current King Elijah took over from his father and put an end to slavery. Since then, us witches have been treated more like pets or unwanted second-class citizens, but it was a far cry better than being a slave. I always hid away during the Kings visits, I didn't want anything to do with him or his kind. I hated the King, I hated Lycans in general, and I wanted them all dead. My father had been a Lycan, he had raped my mother in the woods, and she had fallen pregnant, though she told no one who my father was, she told the other witches my father was a witch who had abandoned her, for I would be the first Lycan child to be born in nearly one thousand years and people would think the curse was finally lifted. The truth, however, was very different. My father didn't know it at the time, but my mother had been one of the last priestesses, a very powerful witch who despite where I came from had always wanted a child and loved me, she used her own powers to stop the curse from killing me before I was born and she raised me in the woods until I was 9 years old. She died that year when a dragon clan attacked. The Lycan King had ordered her to fight to protect the people, and she never returned from battle, nor was her body ever recovered. Hungry and alone, I stumbled into the village searching for her, but I was found by the Lycan guards. I lied and told them I had no memory of who I was or where I came from, and so they thought the trauma of the war with the dragon had addled my brain and caused memory loss. I was sent to the school and was raised there by the teachers and various other staff. They were nice for the most part, but I was often punished for using my powers and for sneaking away from the school. I would go out in secret in search for my mother or any information about her. Someone had to know something. It wasn't as if I thought she was alive. I knew after all this time she had to be dead, but I couldn't let myself give up hope again. I did that on my tenth birthday and tried to end my life. If it hadn't been for my best friends Camille and Joana, I would have kept trying to die until I succeeded, but they found me and saved my life. And a life debt to a witch, even a suicidal one, was a serious issue. I owed them my life. I needed to remain alive so that I could repay their debt one day. The siren sounded through the halls and I exhaled and swung my long legs over my cot and sat up. I stretched my hands up to the ceiling, making my singlet ride up and exposing my slender form to the cold nippy air making me shiver. I waved my hand, manipulating the elements in the room and the cool breeze turned warm. "If mother realizes you used your powers again, she's going to punish you Alyona." My roommate Gloria said quietly as she rose from her cot. Mother wasn't really anyone's mother, she was just the Lycan who was assigned to look after the orphan's, she was the head of the school. I hated calling that b*tch mother, but she would punish us if we didn't. I looked over at Gloria who was wearing the same thin singlet and shorts as I was, she must have been just a freezing as me. "Who's going to tell her?" I asked and stood up. Out of all the girls in the school my age, I was the tallest, but Gloria was the closest to my height "You, because from what I can see, you were just as cold as I was, just enjoy the heat and get dressed." Gloria glared at me with her dark brown eyes, she was a chubby but thin girl with muddy brown hair and a light layering of freckles, she loved being outdoors and always volunteered to work in the gardens. "If mother comes in to check on us and asks why it's so warm I'm not covering for you!" "I wouldn't dream of it." I rolled my eyes and pulled my long black hair up into the ponytail at the top of my head. "Why must you always break the rules?" Gloria continued as she dressed. "Why must you always nag?" I retorted. "It's just our nature." Gloria glared at me, but I just smiled and turned away from her. After I'd pulled on my usual gray cotton dress and black socks and shoes, I made my bed. I was about to grab my jacket and line up in the hall when Gloria swore. I turned to see she'd snagged her jacket on her bedpost and torn the sleeve. "No, no, no." She burst into tears, "Not today, the King is coming, and I don't have time to fix it. This is my only jacket. My other one has a rip from the garden that I haven't fixed yet." I sighed and tossed her my jacket. "Here, just use mine." I said as I opened my small closet that held 3 gray cotton dresses and my spare jacket which I grabbed. "Really?" Gloria said in disbelief, "Thank you." I ignored her and pulled on my jacket before leaving the room. Why they all got so excited about the King's visit was beyond me. The girls often whispered about him. Apparently, he was very handsome, tall, tanned and muscular with dark green eyes and thick black hair. I'd never seen him in person but I doubted he was as attractive as everyone said, he was just a man. I walked down the hall away from the other small bedrooms and lined up next to Camille. Joana was in the male wing of the school. "Ally." Cami whispered happily. "Morning." "I'm so excited." She wiggled around dramatically and held my hand. "I can't wait to see the King again, and he is so dreamy. It's not fair that Lycans are so attractive." "I wouldn't say that." I whispered as mother walked down the hallway. She was a stern woman with large hips and an even larger mouth. Her blonde hair was pulled back neatly into a thick bun at the back of her head, and she was wearing a long blue dress, usually she dressed in a black dress and belt, but I guess she was making an effort for the Kings visit. Mother walked past us, and we all fell silent while she inspected our rooms. Leaving a messy room or unmade bed was punished with no breakfast and sometimes a smack with her belt. Today, however, no one was punished and mother led the way down the large staircase and out of the female's dormitories. We remained silent as mother didn't care for idle chit-chat until we finally reached the dining hall. "You will all eat and then report to your home rooms to await the King's arrival, be in the class by 9am, or I will have you locked up in your rooms, and you will miss the King's visit." Great, I thought to myself, all I had to do was be late, and I'd get out of this stupid show everyone was putting on for some dog. "There's Joe!" Camille pointed and waved. She'd had a crush on him for as far back as I can remember, but I was never sure if he returned her affection. Joana waved at us as we picked up our trays and hoped into the line to get our breakfast, today's wonderful selection was portage, toast and a glass of milk. We were never given a lot of food, just a meal in the morning and evening, and the portions were often small. I collected my feast and together Cami and I joined Joana at his table. He was sitting with two of his fellow classmates, Ryan and Troy, twins with flaming red hair and tanned skin. They were usually very funny and always made me laugh. "Boys." I said as I sat down. "Girls." Ryan smirked at me. I noticed a disapproving look from mother as she sat down at the staff table. It wasn't against the rules to sit with the boys, but it was frowned upon. I didn't care though, they couldn't dictate my life for everything, and soon I could leave here altogether. I was eighteen in five months, and I was counting down to my freedom. The school would never keep you after the age of eighteen, we were often set up with a job and left to fend for ourselves. It was up to us if we wanted to finish our education and I for one was not going to stay in their school any longer than I had to. "I guess you are looking forward to seeing the King too?" Troy asked me with a mouth full of food. "As if." I frowned in disgust. "Stop lying." Joana teased, over the excited chatter of the other students. "Every girl here drools all over him, they wish he'd choose them as his mate or mistress." "I doubt he'd ever choose a lowly witch for a mate." "We all know Gloria does." I looked over at my roommate, it was true, she often spoke about him and her stupid crush, it got old fast. "She can have him." "You know now that I think about it." Cami said thoughtfully as her spoon of porridge froze in front of her lips. "I don't remember you being at any of the assemblies when the King visited." "Hey, you're right." Joana agreed. "You got out of it last year by offering to clean up the art room after someone dropped paint everywhere." "Or the year before thatt when you said you were to sick to get out of bed." Ryan added on. I hated all of them right now. "Or the year before that when." "Okay, okay." I snapped. People were starting to look at us. "Would you idiots shut it? So what if you missed a few visits? Just eat your food." I began to eat my food in silence while the others continued to chatter excitedly about the visit but I was really over it, we'd been spending the whole week cleaning up the school and grounds, seriously, all of the fuss for a man who probably forgot all about us the second he left the school gates. After we'd finished eating, we all lined up again so we could each take turns washing our plates and trays and cutlery before leaving them to dry on the provided racks. "I need to use the bathroom." I told Cami who looked at me with panic. "But it's nearly 9am." She pointed out and looked around for mother. "If you are late, mother won't let you go see the King." "I'll be back in time." I lied to her. "Don't worry." I slipped out of the lines of students walking to their classes and went into the female toilets, where I sat down in one of the stalls. I counted softly to myself to make sure I was at least 5 minutes late before I headed to my classroom. "ALYONA!" Mother's cross voice shouted down the hallway as I went to open my classroom door. Yes, I smiled on the inside, now to get the punishment over with, and I'd be free to avoid the visit. "Yes, mother?" I turned around and said innocently. "I WARNED YOU EARLIER NOT TO BE LATE FOR CLASS!" "I'm sorry mother, but nature called." I shrugged. "Would you rather I hold it and end up p*ssing my pants in front of the King?" Mother slapped me in the face hard. I'd have a bruise in a few minutes for sure, but it was worth it. "Do not use such vulgar language!" She snapped, "Hold out your hands." I suppressed a sigh of annoyance but did as I was told, I noticed a few of the children looking out the windows that looked into the halls to watch the scene unfolding. I really didn't understand why they decided to put windows on the walls if the only view was the hallway. Once my hands were outstretched with my palms facing up, mother took off her belt and used the end of it to whip my inner arms, one smack for each arm, leaving thick red welts, I held back tears as I always did, I would never let one of those dogs see me cry. "You will not be going to the assembly." Mother said and again, I smiled on the inside. "Go back to your room and remain there until tomorrow morning. You are not eating tonight either." "Yes, mother." I bowed my head to her and turned around. I noticed her eyes blacken in anger, and she was often infuriated by my lack of emotions whenever she punished me. I smiled to myself as I climbed the stairs back to my room. Once I was alone, I used my powers to heat the room, and I curled up comfortably on my bed, but my peace and quiet was short-lived. "Ally!." I heard Cami's voice call out to me in a rush. "Ally!" I frowned and sat up on my elbows as she opened the bedroom door. Her face was flushed, and she looked worried. "What?" "Ally, you have to come, the King-" She gasped, "He wants to see you. You have to hurry." "What, why?" I said again as I climbed off of my bed. "What did I do now?" "I don't know." Cami grabbed my elbow and pulled me from the room in a rush. "The King came into the room and went straight for Gloria. He practically grabbed her and pulled her out of the line of students, but then he got really angry and ripped off her jacket, he demanded to know who owned it, and she said she'd borrowed it from you, so he told mother to send someone to collect you." "Why was he so angry?" I wondered out loud. "Since when is it a crime to lend someone a jacket?" "I don't know, but we have to hurry. He was really angry."