The Goddess's Chosen

Ascension

Focus Cas. I thought to myself for what seemed to be the hundredth time in an hour. I slowly poured the bubbling liquid into another beaker that contained dry ice and various herbs. If I pour the liquid too quickly, the glass will shatter and I will have to start all over again, and I do NOT want that. I have had to start over five times already and I am getting frustrated. “Gently...” my mother instructed, guiding my hand to tilt it back a little. No s**t. I thought bitterly. Taking a deep breath, I began pouring again, painstakingly slowly. “If you do not get this right, you will have to start over. You cannot ascend without this potion.” My mother warns me again. ‘I know mom, I am trying, but I need quiet to focus, please.” I plead with her. She lets out a huff and goes to the other side of the room. After about 2 minutes of pouring and my hand cramping, I successfully pour the liquid into the beaker without shattering the glass. “YES!” I shout and begin jumping up and down. My mother smiled and nodded. “Good job Cas. It took me 10 tries and you got it in five. I am proud of you. And so would your grandmother be.” My mother wrapped me in a loving embrace. See, the ascension is when a witch can finally access her powers. She can practice with potions and learn spells her whole life, but she cannot access her true potential until her eighteenth birthday, and mine is tomorrow. I have been waiting my whole life to see what my powers will be, no one knows, as Hecate blesses the individual, not the families. Everyone has unique gifts. My family has always been quite blessed by Hecate. My grandmother could manipulate weather, my mother can cause the earth to move. My great grandmother could cause tidal waves, or so they tell me. I never had the chance to meet her. Now everyone is curious as to what I will be able to do. Most witches get small abilities, but it is said that my family can be dated back to Hecate herself as a family member, or close friend or something, I am not sure. But all of this stress on what I can do will come to light tomorrow when my powers finally manifest, to say I am nervous would be an understatement. The ceremony will be held in a cave not far from my village. As the high priestess, my mother will oversee the ceremony and makes sure everything is in order. At the stroke of midnight on the day of my birth I will approach an altar. There will be various objects and elements on the altar and whichever one reacts to my presence is will be my discipline, and I will train under a master in that discipline from my coven. This potion I made is to make it easier on me when my powers manifest. Without it, it is said to be painful, depending on the discipline. We made it today because it has to rest in the herbs and on the dry ice overnight and to be consumed just before midnight on the day of the ascension. “Leave it on the windowsill, in the moonlight, so that Hecate may bless it.” My mother instructs, releasing me from her hug. I nod my head and carefully carry the beaker to the windowsill and place it in the moonlight. I grab a few crystals and some dried herbs and place them around the beaker in the moonlight. “Mom...” I asked hesitantly. She looks up from a book she was holding, “yes?” she replies. “What if I am not blessed by Hecate...” I ask. She lets out a small laugh. “My dear, the Green witches have always been so blessed, for as long as recorded history can tell us. I doubt it will change with you. You will be blessed, my daughter. My beautiful Cassandra.” and with that she places a kiss on the forehead and walks out of the room.

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“Cassandra, breakfast is ready.” My mother called from downstairs. The smell of bacon and eggs wafting up the stairs, eliciting a loud grumble from my stomach. I was so focused on finished the potion for my ceremony that I completely forgot to eat supper last night. I went to bed immediately after speaking with my mother. I typically find potion making quite dull, but yesterday was intense. “I’m coming.” I yell back to her. Jumping out of bed, I grabbed the outfit I had laid out the night before. Just some torn black jeans, and black crop top and my black leather jacket. I love the color black, always have. It brings me peace in a weird way. They say black absorbs all colors and light, and it always brought me happiness, because if I wear it, then I must absorb the color and light as well. Or at least have it surrounding me. I brush my teeth and look in the mirror. I look exhausted. I haven’t slept well in days, being too nervous about my ascension. My hair, which is blonde but with the ends a medium to dark brown, is usually shoulder length and wavy, is now all tangled and messy from sleeping with it not put in a braid like I normally do and my usually bright Xanadu (greenish grey) colored eyes look dull with the bright purple bags under them. I splash some cold water on my face and quickly apply my makeup. I usually do not like to use coverup or foundation, but with how rough I look, I quickly apply it and do my smoky grey eye shadow and winged liner and apply my nude lipstick. I comb my hair and quickly throw it into a side braid. Once I am finished, I run down to the kitchen where my mom is pouring us both a cup of coffee. “You are the best mom EVER!” I say and I grab my coffee cup from her and my plate of food. I place a quick kiss on her cheek and sit down at the table and begin eating. “So, what are you doing today, Cassandra?” she asks, as she sits across from me with her coffee and food. I swallow my food and sigh. “Well, first I am hanging out with Clara until about 9-ish. Then I am going to study the prayer to Hecate until I perfect it, then I am going to Ava’s to pick up my dress, then I am going to Rachelle’s so she can do my hair and make-up. Then at 11:30 I will come back here, drink the potion, then walk to the cave and arrive there by 12, where you will introduce me as Cassandra Thea Green, daughter of the high priestess. And I will walk to the altar and wait for the discipline to choose me. Sound about right?” I asked in a huff. She has been drilling me about this all week and it is driving me crazy. “I can do without the sarcasm, but yes.” She replied and took another sip of her coffee, trying to hide the obvious smile that was playing on her lips. My mother and I are a lot alike. She often says I have her fire and her attitude. She used to say that my father would pray to Hecate to make me more like him. But he wasn’t a witch. No men are. My mom always laughs when she tells the story. She misses him so much. I miss him too. I always wear the triple moon necklace that he bought me. My mother gave it to me on my 16th birthday and I never took it off. It is pure silver and on the back he had it engraved to say “My moon, My Cassandra.” She said that he bought it on the day I was born. She always said that he knew I would be destined for greatness. He died from cancer when I was only 4 years old. Or, that was the official cause, but the elders in my coven suspected he was poisoned or cursed. There was nothing they could do to save him, and they tried. My mother says I have his eyes, so they have always been my favorite part of myself. A reminder of who he was. I like to imagine that when I look into my own eyes in the mirror that it is actually him staring back at me. Sometimes I can imagine his voice, though I cannot remember ever hearing it, but I am sure it is him. He always tells me to stay strong, keep my head up. I am his moon, and I am destined for greatness. Once I finish my breakfast, I take the dishes to the sink and wash them. I kiss my mom on the head, and I leave to see Clara. Clara has been my best friend since I could talk, even though we are complete opposites. I love black, but she loves bright colors. She is a year older than me, so she ascended last year. Her discipline is plant based. She can make flowers and plants of any kind grow without seeds. She has them all over her house, and an amazing garden. She is extremely useful when it comes to potions as well. They had never been my strong suit, but she excels. And she never has to hunt for plants because she can grow them, so long as she has a container with some soil, which she carries around in her bag. Potions are mostly for healing, and staving off sickness, or to jump start like an espresso shot, or even to poison, but those are only if we are in danger. We were always taught to never harm another being, supernatural or otherwise. It goes against our code. We are meant to do good things, to help others, not harm them, but some witches stray from the path and choose dark magic. Once I got to Clara’s house, we spent the day listening to music and eating cupcakes. “So, what do you want your discipline to be?” Clara asks in between licking off frosting from her cupcake. I shrug. “I don’t know. Maybe invisibility.” I laugh. “That way I can screw with you.” I stick my tongue out at her and she smears the rest of her cupcake in my face. “You ae so gross!” I shout at her as she laughs hysterically and runs out of the house. I chase her to her willow tree. This tree was the first thing she made grow for her mom. Her mom passed away last year due to sickness, but we are not sure of the specifics as the elders of our coven kept it secret, but I suspect that it was the same thing that happened to my father and some of our other coven members. “SAFE PLACE!” She screamed, holding her sides, and we fell to the ground laughing. It was a nice day, being that is was early May. It wasn’t too hot, but not cold either. “Happy birthday, freak.” Clara said in between laughs. “Thanks, jerk.” I respond.

We stayed out enjoying the sun for the rest of the day, Clara bloomed a little lilac bush for me, as it was my favorite, as a birthday present and reason to come see her, as she put it. It was a great day and it definitely helped me relax before my ceremony tonight. “s**t!” I looked at my phone and saw the time, “I am going to be late, get up, get up!!” I smacked Clara’s foot. We had fallen asleep outside and I would have to run to make it to Ava’s on time to get my dress. We both got up and ran inside to grab our things and took off running in the direction of Ava’s shop. It was a cute boutique, filled with her custom-made dresses and outfits. Ava was a skilled tailor and designer. Her discipline happened to be fabric work. It is not unheard of to have such specialized disciplines, but it is not often. She had an infinity for fashion since she was a child and loved putting on fashion shows for the rest of the coven. She was only 24 but had already cemented her place as our personal fashion designer, and there have bene rumors that she is going to fly to Milan to take part in fashion week, but she has not said anything more about it. It took about five minutes of sprinting to get to her shop from Clara’s house, and when we arrived, I was all red, splotchy, and sweating profusely. “No, no, no, no, this will not do.” Ava stated as we stumbled into her shop. “You will not get into one of my dresses like that, go freshen up.” and she pointed us in the direction of the bathroom. Once inside I washed and dried my face and put on some more deodorant. Looking better, I walked back out into the main room. “Better, ok, so your mother told me that you needed something showy but overly so. So, I designed this dress specially for you.” She reached behind her to a closet and pulled out a dress bag. “Go put this on, the dressing rooms are right over there. If you need help, holler.” She said as she shooed me away. I could hear her talking to Clara but could not hear what they were saying. I pulled the dress out of the protective bag and my jaw dropped. It was a gorgeous, knee length, flowy dress. It was black with a silver three moon symbol on the waist band. It had no straps, but a built-in bra, so I would not have to worry about straps showing, as I did not own a strap-less bra. There was a shawl with it, that looked like spun silver. It was breathtaking. I did not realize this was going to be such a showy event, but my mother was the high priestess, and everything had to be perfect. There were even silver flats in the bag. Clearly my mother mentioned that I do not do heels. I look like a newborn calf trying to walk and that would not be fitting. Quickly, I undressed and put the dress on, and it fit snug in all the right places. I was worried about my chest showing too much, but it was mostly covered and very tasteful. I wrapped the shawl around my shoulders and slipped on the flats and threw my other clothes in the bag that I was carrying. I took one more look in the mirror before I left the dressing room, and I caught my own eyes in my reflection and could hear my father's voice again, telling me how proud he is of me, and how gorgeous I look. Fighting tears, I tore myself away from the mirror and left the dressing room. Clara and Ava were waiting for me, in the chairs that were set up around the dressing rooms. “WOW!” Clara said and ran over to me and gave me a hug. She was wearing a white knee length dress with vines around the hem, and a pair of green high heels. She looked gorgeous as well. “Wow back at ya.” I said, returning her embrace. “Yes, yes, both are wow, I’m amazing.” Ava said with a smile, not being egotistical, just confident. “Don’t you have to get makeup and hair done now?” she asked, glancing at the clock on the wall. “Yes. Thank you again, Ava, you are definitely amazing.” I said and grabbed Clara’s hand and led her out of the shop. Rachelle’s salon was only next door, so we did not have to go far. Rachelle and Ava were sisters and did everything together. They were twins and they were inseparable. Ava designed the dresses and Rachelle did the make-up and hair to match her sister's creations perfectly. Her discipline was similar to Clara’s, in that she can grow plants, but she uses it to create dyes to make her own products. Everything she has is organic and looks amazing. Her hair products are the best I have ever used. “Oh boy.” Rachelle groaned as we came in and she saw the state of my hair and make-up. I smiled weakly and made a half wave. “To the sink, I have to wash your hair and face.” She was not angry, just Rachelle. I nodded and made my way to the hair washing sink and sat back in the chair. After a few minutes, Rachelle had washed and dried my hair and was now combing it. “Hmmmmm....” She mumbled, with her hand on her chin. “I got it!” she exclaimed. And got to work tugging and braiding. Once she was finished with my hair she began on my make-up and would not let me see the result until she was finished. “Ok, you ready to see?” she asked, turning my chair, and pointing me to the mirror. I looked ethereal. My hair was up in a braided chignon with a few dangling pieces to frame my slender face. My eyes were done in a smokey eye, but much better than I could ever have done myself, with silver sparkles mixed in. I had a light pink blush, and red lipstick. I would not normally wear red lipstick, but it went so well with the dress, my hair, everything. She added highlighter to accent my high cheekbones, making my face look a little more defined. I looked beautiful. After thanking Rachelle, Clara and I began walking back to my house to get the potion I had made last night. Surprisingly, we were right on time, and I should make it to the cave by 12 like my mother wanted. I told Clara to go ahead to the cave without me and I ran inside and grabbed the beaker, strained the contents into a small glass and drank it. It was not as bad as I was expecting it to be, but I would not drink it for fun, either. Grabbing my bag and phone, I went back outside to head towards the cave. It was a long walk, but only because we had to walk through the forest to get there. There was a path worn in the forest and all limbs were cleared so that we would not have to keep moving them as we walked. It just so happened to be a full moon tonight, so I did not need a flashlight to see. Once the cave came into view, I saw the flickering of many candles and heard the chattering of my Coven inside. I looked at the time on my phone, it said 11:59, so I hung my bag on a tree limb near the entrance and took a deep breath. It was finally time. I took a deep breath and entered the cave.