Chapter 1: Sky - My Life

This it the first draft of my second book. It can be read on its own, but for more background I recommend that you read the first book first.

As always, feel free to give me feedback as I am always looking to improve.

I hope you enjoy it.

*****

I was lying on the grass looking up at the sky and willing the clouds to move away, imagining how it would feel like to finally have magic when I got interrupted.

“Sky, please bring the washing inside, it looks like it’s going to rain,“ my mother shouted from inside the house.

“I’m busy, why can’t Dawn do it,” I shouted back.

“She’s studying.”

It was typical, really. Dawn had always been my parent’s favorite child, the girl that could do nothing wrong, and ever since Dawn started studying under Hecate and the high priestess to be part of the inner circle, my parents could not be prouder and treated her like royalty, meaning that she was excused from all the chores around the house, and I had to pick up her slack.

I was the forgotten one. Between Dawn and Night, my younger brother, my parents had little time for me. I didn’t mind too much, at least not when they didn’t bother me. It was times like this though, when I had to do every single chore, that I quietly despised my parents. I was tired of being the servant in my own house.

“Fine,” I shouted back as I glanced up at the sky one more time before I got up from my spot in the grass and went inside to get a bag for the clothes.

Me and Dawn had been close once, but everything changed when she turned sixteen and her magic properly manifested itself. She found out that she had an affinity for three of the four elements. That was the primary reason she studied under the high priestess.

Part of me was proud of her, but there was an even bigger part of me that was jealous. Why did she have to be the special one? 

Tomorrow things would be different, I would be sixteen. I had spent countless hours daydreaming about how it would feel like to finally be able to use my magic properly. I hoped I would have an affinity for three elements too. It would shut my parents up, but more importantly it would mean that I would not have to worry about being chosen to sacrifice my magic for the greater good of the village.

We all know the story. Over 200 years ago, an evil demon came to our village and manipulated the high priestess in training to fall in love with him. She died during childbirth and the demon blamed the village. When the witches finally fended him off, he promised to come back and destroy the village. Because of this, the high priestess and the elders called on the goddess Hecate for protection. 

In exchange for keeping our village hidden, we are to sacrifice our magic. Apparently it is necessary as Hecate transforms the magic she receives from the sacrifices to the magic that is used to keep the village hidden. Without the sacrifices, the village can no longer stay hidden and the evil demon would come back to destroy us all.

I think it’s utter bollocks. If Hecate was as powerful as everyone believed she was, why could she not just get rid of the demon that was out to destroy us? That way we wouldn’t have to sacrifice our magic so that our village could stay hidden somewhere in between. If it was truly a demon, surely he would not care about love. It just doesn’t add up. I think the high priestess is hiding something, but what do I know? Besides, anyone that was here when it happened passed away a long time ago.

The part that bothered me the most was that you didn’t have a choice. If they drew your name during the Samhain ceremony, that was it. Your magic got sacrificed to keep the village safe. To me, it’s a fate worse than death. 

I folded the clothes that I had taken down from the clotheshorse and placed them in a bag. The dark clouds were closer now, and it was likely to rain soon. I walked into the house and dropped the bag of clothes right in front of my mother.

“Here’s the clothes you asked for.” 

She looked at me with raised eyebrows. “And what do you want me to do with them?”

“I don’t know, you asked for them.”

My mother gave me a stern look. 

“Fine, I guess I’ll put the clothes away.” I said as I picked up the bag and dramatically swung it over my shoulder.

“Thank you,” my mother said calmly, unaffected by my dramatic scene.

“When you’re done, would you mind setting the table?”

I walked away mumbling to myself.

I knew I was being difficult. But it wasn’t my job to do all the chores. Dawn should have to do her part too. Even Night should be able to do some chores, but it excluded him because he was male.

After I put the clothes away, I went downstairs to set the table.

“Anything else you want me to do?” I said with an antagonising voice. I’m sure she had picked up on my mood, but chosen to ignore it.

“Yes, would you mind letting everyone know that dinner is ready,” my mother asked cheerfully.

I didn’t understand how she always seemed so happy and content with just being at home. Before she had us, she used to be a great healer, or so I heard, but she never spoke about it. I couldn’t understand why she had just quit her job, as I was sure that she could have continued to work as a healer, had she wanted to.

I walked out to the stables to let my father and brother know dinner was ready. My father was a farrier, and my brother, though he was only 12 years old at the moment, spent most of his free time following our father around, trying to learn how to become a farrier. Everyone expected him to carry on in the family business.

When I got back into the house, I shouted to Dawn that dinner was ready from the stairway. In the corner of my eyes, my mother rolled her eyes at me. I walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. A few minutes later Dawn came downstairs and joined us.

My mother dished up the food and placed the plates on the table as my father and brother walked into the room.

“Sorry that we are late.” My father walked up and gave my mother a kiss on the cheek before he joined us at the table.

Most of the dinner was quiet, as everyone seemed to be busy eating. Mother had been in the kitchen for most of the day, making her delicious meatballs.

After a while, my father cleared his throat. ”Dawn, how is the studying going?”

“It’s going very well, it’s very interesting. We are learning about how the ceremonies are conducted,” Dawn said excitingly.

“Sky, what about you? How did the test go?” my dad said.

“Yeah, it went fine,” I answered, knowing that I had done really well.

“I hope you studied hard like Dawn here.”

I discreetly rolled my eyes. All I did was studying, hoping it would make my parents proud. Sometimes I questioned why I even bothered, as I never seemed to be good enough for them. I zoned out for the rest of the dinner conversation, daydreaming about the affinity ceremony tomorrow and what elements I would be able to control.

After dinner, my mother had asked me to help her with the dishes. As usual, I reluctantly agreed. While I was drying some plates, my mother turned around to face me.

“What would you like to do for your birthday, it’s the big 16,” she said excitedly.

It was common to have big parties and magical reveals when turning sixteen, but I didn’t really have any friends. I had spent too much time studying to even attempt to make any friends, not to mention that I was a bit socially awkward around people. I had the odd acquaintances that I would spend time with during breaks, but no one I had spent any time with outside of school.

“I don’t know, maybe just a quiet meal at home,” I said thoughtfully.

My mother caught my gaze. “We should at least go to your favorite restaurant. It’s a time to celebrate.”

“I’ll think about it,” I said as I put the last plate away.

I was considering whether my mother had confused me with Dawn, as I had always preferred a quiet meal at home than going out to a restaurant. The amount of people and noises in restaurants always made me feel uncomfortable. I much preferred the comfort of my own home.

I went upstairs to my room. I used to share a room with Dawn, but after she started studying in the temple, my parents quickly finished the extension of the house so we wouldn’t have to share rooms anymore. It was probably so that Dawn could have her own, but either way it had benefited me.

My room was a mess. There were several books scattered all over the floor, which also contained pieces of clothing. There was a desk in one corner, which was actually tidy, and a single bed along the other wall. It wasn’t a big room, but it was mine.

I picked up a book that was scattered on the floor and laid down on my bed. I started reading. It was my way of escaping reality, for a little while I could forget about my life and instead become someone else.