Call Out My Name

EPISODE NINE

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO

“The witch will die by my hand not fire” mother hissed at the werewolf king. He glared at her.

“You must burn the witch. Without a body, a necromancer will not be able to bring her back to life and a threat to your kingdom would have been destroyed.” King Rikki argued. He was built like a warrior, he acted like one too but recently, he had gotten too comfortable with poking his nose in the witches’ business.

My mother was queen not him.

I stood up. “Are you defying my queen?” I asked.

He glanced at me, frightened at my suggestion.

“Rachel….” He looked back at my mother.

“Queen Rachel” I corrected. “You come into our kingdom. No permission, no letters and you want to tell my mother how to deal with a woman who betrayed her. The witch you are so eager to burn belongs to our coven. We will punish her how we see fit.” I descended the stairs until he was only an arms length away.

“Please. King Rikki , stick to ruling your own people. Last I heard, the famine hit Durak hardest”

The king bowed and turned to leave, his son, Prince Soren trailed behind him like a spineless pig.

“What are you doing mother?” I frowned, staring at her pale form. “You allowed him to speak to you how he pleased”

My brother’s death had taken its toll on us but it had also left me with the responsibilities of being the heir. If Hagan hadn’t died in the war a year ago, he would have smashed King Rikki’s face to bits for speaking to my mother that way. I would have done the same but it would have started a war and Hagan was not alive to lead it.

“I know but haven’t you heard?” she asked.

“Tell me”

“Damarys travelled to another realm. She opened the portal and fled through it. She sent letters to Ethan. He gave them to me. There is no famine in the realm she has found refuge in so the other leaders want the entire realm to portal there. But they’re all human. I do not think they will accept us. And a whole realm escaping to another? It has never been done before but I fear I have no say in this” she run her trembling hands through her long silver hair.

“But you do have a say” I said, confused. My mother wasn’t scared of anything. This woman in front of me however, was terrified.

“They voted. King Aysa and I were the only leaders to vote against leaving. The whole of Valrok leaves tomorrow. They want us to come along or perish behind”

“What about Ethan?” I frowned. “I’m betrothed to his son. He must stand with us”

Mother shook her head, laughing. “He is no longer your betrothed. I will not have you marry the son of a man who is selfish and has no common sense”

Fair point. I wasn't dying of love for Tobias anyways.

“Damarys could not have created a portal alone. She’s not powerful enough. I do not think she was alone in poisoning my wine either” I looked at my mother. “What are we to do?”

She smiled, placing her hand on my shoulder. “My sweet girl. We are to celebrate your thirteenth birthday tomorrow”

I scowled at her. Was she making a jest in such a dire situation?

“The moment the celebrations are over, we will leave for Elk forest. The gate to the portal is there, whoever opened it must have marked it with blood. I know the blood of all my witches. There, we will finally know who the real traitor is”

I nodded, content with her decision.

Something bothered me more, if we found the traitor, how would we stop the others from leaving Valrok to crumble?

The day for my celebration had come. It was a mighty feast my mother had thrown. The witches danced and drunk their fill. I nibbled at the hem of my dress, thinking.

The famine had come a month before Damarys poisoned my wine. The people of Valrok had been spoilt with food and wine for so long, they had gone feral when the famine came. I could not fault them though. The famine was severe. In a week of its arrival, all of Valrok’s cattle had died. Two weeks into the famine and the ground had turned to stone and the plants, ash. Magic had been useless in curbing the famine. My mother must have seen it coming because for three years, she had made the witches store food in large amounts. She had warned the other leaders too but their pride would not let them listen.

Mother held my hand, squeezing it. She was scared. I had never seen her so scared before. She knew more than she was letting on.

Perhaps, she had seen the future.

The door crashed to the floor and men flooded the room, shifters, sirens, vampires. They cut us down before we could scream. King Ethan was amongst them. He grabbed a little witch of seven, his sword lifted high, ready to behead her.

Fire blasted from my hand toward him, burning his arm off as he screamed in pain. Mother grabbed me before I could join the fight and teleported us out of the room.

I was panting by the time we appeared in the dimly lit corridor. I looked at my mother for an explanation.

“You saw this coming” I accused. “All of it”

“We are not strong enough. They have a demon Alphy. They have a black witch too. I'm not a grande witch anymore. I can not lead you into a war that I know we'll lose. Valrok will be ruined forever unless some of you survive. You'll find a way. I know you will. I trust you. We all do. I must put you to sleep Alphea” other witches joined us, they were mother’s most trusted friends.

“Put me to sleep?” I was outraged. She saw it all coming and did nothing.

“Yes. I will cast a spell on you. Even if I die, the spell will still live until it is time. Your powers will be put to sleep and your memories will be buried” Tears brimmed in my eyes.

She wanted to cast an oblivion spell on me.

“What if I never awaken” I cried, taking her hands in mine. “Mother, let us fight. Please”

“I love you Alphea and one day, you will understand” she smiled sadly at me. “Take her with you and the other witches too. It is the

only way you will all survive” mother said to Sarani and Ruth.

“What are you going to do your highness?” Sarani asked.

“There is someone I must save. I must help Aysa” mother stooped down to my level, kissing my forehead.

The last thing I heard was her voice whispering.

'Vosh'

PRESENT

I was stolen from Ruth and Sarani somehow. I had been in an unconscious state for 183 years. When I gained consciousness, Grace Rosebourne and Patrick Rosebourne were my parents. They said I had been in an accident which put me in a comatose state for two years. The doctors said the blow to my head had resulted in amnesia. I believed them and was happy to make new memories with strangers.

When I consumed the poisoned apple, I almost died. The poison had left me vulnerable but my mother had once told me that when a witch is on the verge of death, she is in her most vulnerable state and yet she is most protected at that moment. Her powers fight their hardest to keep her alive. That is exactly what happened.

My powers had fought the poison and won causing my awakening in the process. When my memories from two hundred years ago clashed with my present memories, I couldn’t remember anything from the present. For a few hours, I couldn’t recognize my friends or my imposter of a mother.

I wasn’t her daughter. I wasn’t Alphea Rosebourne. My name was Alphea Baltimore, daughter of the first witch, queen of the first ladies and heir to the dragon throne.

They had taken everything from my people and me. Slaughtered us to the verge of extinction. Made our existence a crime.

They had cast us aside but I had awoken and so had my dragons.