The Lady By the Moon

My eyes open and I see nothing but darkness. A black void of nothingness. My body spins in circles trying to look for any source of light. ‘What is this?’ I wonder. I pick a direction and begin walking, ‘I will never escape just sitting here'. I think to myself as my eyes scan every inch of my surroundings; the ground beneath my feet even seems like a black hole, sucking in my foot with every step. In the distance, the faintest yellow hue can be made out and my feet begin to walk towards it. As I get closer to the light it becomes brighter, and the blurry outline of a figure begins to appear. The person is wearing a long black cloak and a hood is over their head. It is impossible for me to make them out. “Who are you?” the sound of my heart pounding in my chest is louder than my own voice. I hear a low raspy whisper reach my ears, like the sound was carried by the wind. “It is not about whom I am child, but whom you are”. My face instantly scrunches in confusion. “I am nobody”. I am no one important, in fact, I am the complete opposite. “You are our hope”. I barely hear this as a loud thunder of voices begins chanting. There are so many voices at once, yet they all speak in unison. My ears keep searching for a familiar word but it sounds like they are speaking in a different language. “Asatru, Asatru”. As I hear those words I jolt out of bed, and my eyes shoot open. The rays of the slowly rising sun are beaming into the room in patches of light. The pores on my skin are raised, and I take note of the strands of hair coming from them that are standing straight up. As I get out of bed, trying to shake that strange dream off, there's a knock at my door. Running to my closet, I undress and throw my uniform on “coming” I call out as my shoes slide on. I run my fingers up my calf, allowing my fingers to rise and fall over the raised part of the skin. My eyes begin to fill with water, but I quickly blink them away “it will be alright” I tell myself “Today is a new day. I gather up my strength and walk to the door. As it opens, I see the bright smile that has kept me sane for years. “Good morning sleeping beauty!! We need to hurry and hope no one noticed you’re late.” Her words come out gentle and soft, but I know they hold great urgency. “I really hope not, after last night I just want a boring day”. I reply as I run my fingers through my long-tangled curls. “What happened last night Azzie?” As she says this, her eyebrows raise so high, they almost touch her milk chocolate-colored hair. Before I can manage to reply I hear a loud crash coming from the room in front of us “where is the mutt?” a deep voice rumbles, shaking the walls with its movements. Everything in me is screaming to turn around and make a run for it, but I know this pack is my only hope. I slowly push the door open and walk into the room. As I step in it feels like all eyes fall on me, I can’t help but lower my head, and hide my face from all the questioning gazes. “Who do you think you are? We accept you into our home and this is how you repay us?” I could feel his gaze piercing through me without even looking. Words wanted to escape my mouth, but I knew better than to reply, it would only make things worse. “So, now you are too good to speak?” His words were daring, I know either way now I am losing this battle. “I'm very sorry head master, it won't happen again…. I was not feeling well last night”. The sentence finally escaped my throat sounding more like a question. The silence in the room started to become overwhelming, you could hear a pen drop. ‘Is he actually considering what I said?’ before I could finish this thought, I felt a hot sting across my cheek. My hand found its way to the wound before I could even realize what happened. “Do you think any of us care how you feel? This pack has to run regardless of ‘feelings’” he put emphasis on the last word, he found it funny to keep embarrassing me. “Now get up and get on with your duties orphan”. I pulled my hand away from my face and saw the tinges of blood staining my finger. Something washed over me in this moment, this little obedient Azzie I had always been seemed like a stranger to me. A weak stranger, I am tired of being weak. My eyes raised slowly until they were staring back in his empty dark brown eyes, all of the years of pent-up anger seemed to be coming out in one look. “Don’t make me tell you twice, I won’t be as kind the next time” he said challenging me. His hard features looked even more intimidating and his aura swept around the room like someone had jumped in a dust pile. It called me to submit, but for some reason, it didn’t feel as powerful today. ‘Why is this?’ I wondered. “She’s just extremely tired and delirious from last night head master; I will ensure she completes her duties myself”. The voice broke the silence and everyone’s head immediately turned to look at the beautiful, middle-aged woman who dared to speak in defense of an omega of my status. The headmaster immediately turned his attention back to me. “You’re lucky Gemma was brave enough to step forward in your defense”. The Tall, husky man with strong features stood tall and began to walk towards the door leading out of the kitchen. My gaze fell to Gemma, 'why would you do something like this?’ 'Why would you put yourself in danger?’ I wanted to ask her these questions, just with my eyes. She smiled gently at me; she has always treated me as if I was her daughter.