Here in Heaven

Two households, both alike in dignity. In fair Verona, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny. Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, a pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life. Whole misadventured piteous overthrows. Do with their death bury their parents' strife -William Shakespeare Julianna already had her tablet turned down to the dimmest setting. She read the same page at least three times, but still wasn’t able to absorb the words of the story. Suddenly, she froze. A slight creek of the floor outside her bedroom door alerted her. She switched the screen off and slid the device down under the covers as quickly as she could. As the door slid almost silently open, she forced herself to keep her breathing slow and even. Julianna knew it was her father checking on her. She could smell the faint lingering scent of his cologne. If he knew she was up reading after lights out, he would be angry with her. Finally, the door clicked shut and Julianna breathed a silent sigh of relief. She waited until she heard the man’s footsteps retreating all the way down the hall before she tossed the covers off and swung her legs out of bed. She often found it hard to sleep. But on this night the sandman was even more elusive than usual. It was the eve of her eighteenth birthday. This was a significant milestone even for humans. But for a witch like her, it marked the day she would finally come into her powers. Julianna carefully eased the door to her walk-in closet open. There was a full-length mirror inside. She didn’t flip the light switch. The light shining through her window from the full moon was enough. Julianna tucked her long dark hair behind her ears. One hand moved down to fiddle with the enchanted crystal around her neck. She rubbed her thumb over the smooth surface of the stone. It was warm to the touch, indicating the stone was enchanted in some way. Her father gifted the beautiful piece to her after their family dinner. It was a large chunk of purple fluorite that had been smoothed and polished until it shone. The stone was set in pure silver and hung from a delicate silver chain. Julianna was glad the stone was lighter than it looked because she would not be able to remove it until her wedding night. The women in Julianna’s family were cursed with dangerous magic. Magic so strong they weren’t able to control it. The necklace worked as a dampening device. It would keep her from using her powers until she was married and her husband could absorb them from her. Just like her father had done for her mother just a little more than eighteen years ago. Once this happened, it would be safe for her to remove the necklace. Julianna let the crystal drop back down into the cleft of her full breasts. She smoothed her silky black nightgown down over her hips and turned to look at herself in the mirror. Julianna frowned, disappointed to find that there was no change in her outward appearance. She looked the same as she always did. Hips a little too thick. Shoulders a little too wide. Not slim and dainty like her mother. No matter how much her father restricted her intake of desserts and snack foods, she never seemed to get any slimmer. Her cheeks were still full and round. She had given up trying to suck them in. That only made her look more ridiculous. Her one beauty was her hair. The same raven black as her mother’s, Julianna’s hair fell in soft shiny waves all the way to her waist. Her eyes traveled up from the wavy ends of her hair, finally stopping as she made eye contact with her own reflection. Her eyes were blue. Not a clear ocean blue like her mother’s. But more of a soft dull gray. For a moment, they reflected purple in the moonlight. Julianna startled, backing away from the mirror. She blinked a few times and looked again. The purple light was gone. She quickly convinced herself that it had only been the purple stone around her neck reflecting off the mirror in some way. There was no way it was magic flashing in her eyes. The necklace was supposed to stop that from happening. And even if the charm wasn’t working, her eyes should not have had a purple glow. Purple was the last color her eyes would be. Afraid of what else she might see in the mirror, Julianna shut her closet door. She padded softly across the thick carpet towards the opposite end of her room. Bracing it with her palm, Julianna opened her balcony door slowly and silently. She knew her father walsall the way at the opposite end of the long hall. But she didn’t want to take any chances. The full moon was illuminating the midsummer night sky. Julianna gripped the edge of the railing and closed her eyes. As she bathed in the soft glow of the moonlight, a soothing calm washed over her. The tension left her body. She always felt a sense of connection to the full moon. Even when she was young she could remember gazing out the window at it and feeling a sense of contentment and protection. Julinana was always careful to keep these feelings secret. Having a connection to the moon was considered to be a werewolf trait. And while her coven was careful not to antagonize the wolves too much, especially the Gold Mountain pack, her people still considered them to be lower-class supernaturals. More animalistic than warlocks or vampires. Julianna never actually met a werewolf. Or even seen one. Not even from a distance. But her father said they were foul creatures that allowed their filthy s****l desires to rule their lives. The males chose their wives based on which female they were most sexually attracted to. Julianna had been careful to display the right amount of horror and disgust when her father told her this. But later, when she lay alone in bed and waited for sleep to take her, she thought about what it might be like for a man to choose her as his wife simply because he desired her. Not because her father was the leader of the Midnight Shadow coven. Not because absorbing her magic would increase his own. Not because marrying her was part of a warlock treaty. But simply because he wanted her. The night Julianna’s father spoke to her about the wolves was the first time she dreamed of him. The faceless man that haunted her dreams ever since. He was tall. And his blonde hair fell to the top of his broad shoulders. She tried to get close to him. Close enough to see his face. But she always woke up before she got a good look at it. Julianna hoped the dreams she was seeing were glimpses of her future. The handsome man from her dreams would end up being her future husband, the man her father would choose for her marital alliance. The balcony doors closed as soundlessly as they opened. Julianna climbed back into her bed, feeling refreshed and cleansed after her brief time in the moonlight. She was finally relaxed enough that sleep would come easily. Her long hair spread out like a dark blanket over her pillow and she rested her cheek against its silken texture. Her eyes blinked shut. And just before her dreams took her she heard a calming voice whisper to her. “Happy birthday Julianna.”