Chapter One—The Witch of Nightingale

Chapter One—The Witch of Nightingale

~LYDIA~

Father placed the spoils in front of me—Half eaten cobs, dried stale meat, vegetables with possible maggots in them and brown potato mashings. It was a good morning and I ate to my fill.

“Pig.” He snorted as he walked away.

He was being nice today. There was probably some sort of good fortune being brought upon him, as it wasn’t the worst insult I’ve been subjected to. I couldn’t help but smile as I pushed a forkful of dried meat into my mouth.

The markings on my forearms were more prevalent now—a purplish black tint I was born with, with the shape of a birch tree that went all the way up from my back to my wrists. They used to be so sheer and now very bold markings, a clear sign of my curse.

Yes, I was the cursed Luna. The abomination, the harbinger of doom as the rest of the pack called me. I was supposed to be dead at birth, casted into the woods for the rabid dogs to eat their fill, but my mother chose to off herself in my place to bring peace to the land. She couldn’t bear to see her newborn die in such a manner.

Father despised every bane of my existence because of it. I was the sole reason his mate was gone, the love of his life losing herself…all for a child who was headed for disaster in the near future.

My sister was also akin to his hatred. Cecile, the most beautiful Luna in all the pack and the one destined to marry the Alpha. She carried herself with wonderful pride, a beautiful blonde with purple eyes and skin fit for a fair maiden.

I was the exact opposite. I had dark hair and blue eyes, another curse of mine as the rest of the pack only had specific sets of sight. The Alphas and Betas had golden brown eyes which shone under the full moon, the Lunas had purple and the Omegas had green. I was the only Luna with blue eyes. They all hated me.

“I need you to go to the market today.” Father grunted, placing a pouch of coins in front of me, “Your sister is running out of dresses. The Night ball is coming soon and I need you to pay the fabric merchant.”

I gulped hard, hands reaching for the pouch when he whipped my fingers with his belt, “I didn’t say you could touch it yet.”

I flinched. My eyes stinging from the pain as my head hung low, “I’m sorry, father.”

“Good.” He murmured, “Get your sister some nice dresses with that money, also stop at the butcher for some of his prized cuts. The last thing I need is you stealing from me again, be careful Lydia.”

I nodded, rising from my chair as he made his way to leave, not before I called him, “Father?”

“What?”

“The Night ball.” I gulped hard, my eyes quivered, “Do I get to go?”

He didn’t grace me with an answer, letting out a strong guffaw as my question wasn’t one to dignify with a response. He called me a silly girl, still laughing till he was out of sight.

I got my answer. There was no way I was attending the Night ball.

********

The market bustled at this time of the year—The winter solace festival, the night ball, the mating ceremony of a few dignified betas and the celebration of the moon goddess. It all happened in a month, and so everyone acted rabid as they fought to get the best of fabrics and cut of meat.

Eyes were casted on me as I walked down the square, some whispered and others moved out of the way. I was the cursed one after all, being close to me was the same as being ridden with a nasty plague. It was all in good faith as I was used to their disdain towards me, after all I was cursed and the clear embodiment of a bad omen in the land.

“I heard Hebert’s cattle all fell sick and died the night before.” One of the stalls standbys murmured as I walked past.

“It’s definitely her fault.” The other hissed, “The witch has definitely placed a curse on him.”

I gulped hard, making my way into the fabric store. They called me the witch, which was a new term. I probably placed the curse on Herbert unknowingly, being as I do not understand the markings on my body or why I was cursed in the first place. Regret washed over me when I placed the pouch of coins on the counter.

“My father wants the best garment you have to offer.” I said.

The merchant, a burly man with only one eye, the other wounded, frowned deeply, “Whose?”

“Cecile.” I answered, “I could never be deserving of something so pretty.”

“You’re right.” He laughed, “I’d rather the goddess curse me herself than have any of my pretty garments on the likes of you.”

I forced a smile, chuckling softly as I was already brazen to such insults. He retreated into his stall and returned only a few minutes later with lavender colored fabric, the perfect kind for Cecile to wear to the Night ball. I thanked him and turned to leave, only to find three women standing right in front of me.

“Excuse—

“You did that to Herbert didn’t you?!” One of them yelled, as she spat on my legs.

“I don’t understand.”

“His cattle died all of a sudden, what do you mean you don’t understand?!” The other added, “He’s a hard working farmer, he dedicated his life to rearing those beasts and you killed them all!”

She hurled an egg at me. I tried ducking but I wasn’t fast enough, it landed on my shoulder which I was thankful for as Cecile’s garment was spared. I didn’t kill his cattle, neither did I know who Herbert even was—father had me mucking the pig stalls till dawn, all as a punishment for eating a piece of fish left for my sister.

“Witch!” The third yelled, hurling a tomato at me. It didn’t take long before a crowd gathered.

“You should leave this pack and run away. Take your cursed self and let us be, we’ve had enough of your bad luck!!”

The crowd cheered and before I knew, I was blinded by eggs and tomatoes being hurled at me. I plummeted to the ground, crouching as a means to block them from staining my sister’s clothes whilst crying, pleading to the goddess to make it stop. She hated me too, pleading deaf ears to my prayers as I was also an abomination in her eyes. They wouldn’t stop hurling their feed at my body, and I couldn’t stop crying—

It didn’t take long before I felt a presence over me.

A familiar scent.

His smell.