Rejected, unloved, and lost.

Chapter 5

The day finally arrived, the day of her welcoming. This wouldn’t occur in the woods but on the green in the centre of their tiny village. There would be no circle. 5 others were joining the coven simultaneously; Tabitha, Kailiani, Lilah, Ryker and Jamie were all standing with her. The others would go first, their birthdays being earlier than Skys. It was the end of November almost now, pretty damn cold.

Peter had told her yesterday that the elders had considered her proposal. They had decided they wouldn’t uphold it and expected her to the ceremony in the usual formal attire. Sky couldn’t decide how best to annoy them. She was pissed beyond belief. She decided, in the end, to wear a skater-style skirt in black, with a high, corseted waist covered in skulls with a chain over one hip. She wore sparkly leggings, a black vest top tucked into the skirt, a black blazer over the top, and had died her hair blood red, especially for the elders. She had a pair of black knee-high new rock boots, chains, and spikes on her feet. Rylee flew in with Sky, then settled on her shoulder as Sky took her seat. The elders did not look impressed with Sky at all. Rylee gave them a satisfied huff.

Once everyone had taken their seats, the elders were forced to stop discussing the trouble caused by Sky and Rylee and get on with the ceremony. “Well met, my friends, please come and join us in the centre here…… yes, that’s it, thank you,” Conan called out loudly before passing over to Peter. “Greetings, everyone, and thank you for coming today” it’s not like they had a choice; is it now, Peter? Sky thought uncharitably. “The purpose of this gathering is welcoming these young people into our community as equals, now they are of age. This is a momentous day for them, as I’m sure you all remember your own welcoming ceremonies. Let us aim to make this as special for them as it has been for all of us. Now we all know this is more symbolic than a test of skills; we will not turn out any young person who has yet to master the skills needed to thrive in life. But I ask you do not mock or cheer for any of them.” He turned, pulled out the book, bell and candle needed for the ceremony, and began to speak again. “Although we have 6 young people here with us today, we shall only do this once in the interest of getting inside in the warmth. Historically, when humans found a suspected witch, their community would shun them; these communities tended to be highly religious. First, the religious leader would ring the bells throughout the community to alert everyone to the presence of the devil’s creature in their midst”, and Peter set the bell ringing in the air. “Next, they would extinguish the candles to demonstrate that the witch walked in the dark, a creature of the blackness, beyond the reach of gods love and forgiveness” he blew out the candle and set it on the altar in front of him. “Finally, the minister or priest would often shut their holy book” he slammed the coven grimoire shut. However, the teens would use their own in their ceremony. Sky had taken copies of all the pages of hers so she could recreate it if necessary. “To show that god and heaven were out of the witch’s reach.”

The other 5 went before Sky, their birthdays being August and September. Kailiani, Ryker, and Jamie were all in her school year, but Tabitha and Lilah were the year above. Kailiani was ok; she would warn Sky about any major pranks the other girls and Ryker were planning, so Sky could avoid them. Jaimie was friendly, but they didn’t have too much in common. He was spending more and more time around her, though. Seeking her out for help with her homework. Rylee didn’t seem keen on him, but it could have been worse; she didn’t breathe smoke at him. Sky was sure she was trying to threaten people; it worked sometimes. As Kailiani went up, Sky gave her an encouraging wave and thumbs up, mouthing “good luck”. Jaimie was sat next to her. He kept smiling over at her. When it was his turn, she whispered, “good luck, J, you got this”. They all performed flawlessly.

All too soon, it was Skylar’s turn. She stood up on shaking legs, Rylee curling closer to her neck. Jaimie grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze “you got this, babe, you are the boss of your power,” he told her with a smile. Her mouth was too dry to respond; Rylee chattered back at him even though she knew he couldn’t understand a word. Kailiani smiled and gave her a thumbs up. Sky slowly made her way up to the altar. “You know what to do, Adams, and we will discuss your attire later, get on with it; everyone’s cold.” Sky looked up at Peter with a carefully schooled expression, showing him indifference, trying to hide the pressure and fear she was really feeling. “Whatever, scared of the girl who will take your job in a few years, Peter? Why so insecure? I’m sure I’ll find you something to do, maybe you can clean the cells. But be assured, you will go nowhere near the teens again,” Sky replied with a pleasant smile on her face. Without waiting for his reply, she turned her attention to the items on the altar in front of her. That bell annoyed Rylee, making their fire powers out of control more than usual. Sky waved her hand. She had meant for the bell to fall to the table. Instead, it flew behind Sky and hit Tabitha in the head. Unfortunately, it didn’t do any significant damage. She had a bit of a bump and a tiny bruise. But the bell did stop ringing. Tabitha stormed off to her parents, crying and complaining about Sky. Sky called a half-hearted sorry to her and turned back to the book and candle. The candle seemed to be the easiest thing to tackle, just a tiny flame that was all it needed. Sky flicked a carefully controlled little fire out to the candle…… and melted the whole thing into a puddle of wax on the Alter cloth. “Well, it clearly lit to melt… it was lit,” she said, her nerves and fear evident in her voice and the shake of her hands. “You got this, Sky! You can do it!” “Go on, Skylar! You are doing brilliantly,” she heard Jaimie and her dad shout behind her. She smiled as she turned to the book, her own grimoire. She just needed to take the air trapped between the pages and use it to push the book open. She knew what to do and had done it exactly once before. Concentrating hard on the book and the air, Sky could feel the currents flowing around her and sense the air trapped between the pages, but she made the biggest mistake a witch could ever make; she was still furious about Peter. Casting in anger is not done because it goes wrong. And it did. The book flew into the air, it did close in mid-air, but then it exploded, burning pages flying everywhere on a cyclone of wind that Sky seemed to have summoned. She sighed deeply, slowly pulling her magic back in. Rylee took to her wings and ate the fiery pages before they hurt anyone, nudging the cover so that it landed near Sky’s father. Mark was used to putting out their fires by now.

Once the chaos was calmed, the ceremony tidied up. Everyone headed inside the meeting space; a celebration was set up there. Sky grabbed some food and found a quiet spot to sit and draw. She had a feeling she wouldn’t be welcome anywhere else in the hall after her performance outside.

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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Skylar Aged 19 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sky was sobbing already, her nose running and eyes bright red. She sniffled loudly, rubbing her eyes and pulling her blanket tighter around her body. She could feel the humiliation of the events that occurred all those years ago. Kayla was crying with her; she too, felt Sky’s shame. Theo was trying to hold them both and comfort them. “They wanted me gone, even then, before I knew anything about myself,” Sky told Kayla. Her distress was plain for everyone to see.

“I know, baby, I know, it’s gonna be ok, though, you have us now, and we love you no matter what,” Kayla replied, without even realising what she had said. They hadn’t said the L-word before, even though she felt it deep in her heart; she didn’t know if Sky felt the same or was ready to acknowledge anybody’s feelings.

Sky just nodded, curling up tighter still between the twins. Theo rubbed her side through the blanket. “If you need a break or a drink or anything, it’s fine, baby girl, just tell us,” Theo said softly. When Sky didn’t reply, he looked to Kayla for help, ‘I don’t speak girl… what do I do now?’ He asked his sister, mind to mind, carefully ensuring that Sky couldn’t hear. Usually, they let her in on their mind link. Kayla shrugged, ‘go get hot chocolate. I’ll see if she wants a bath. Then it will be tea time.’

Kayla spoke aloud to Sky, “I’m sending him for hot chocolate; that always helps. Shall I run you a bath?”

Sky shook her head. “I want to go outside to that waterfall, please, Kay?”

“Whatever you want, my sweet”, Kayla replied as Sky began to sit up in the middle of the bed.

“Make sure you’re warm enough, Sky, it’s nearly December now, and it’s pretty cold in the middle of the forest here,” Theo said softly as he sat up, leaning over and kissing Sky’s neck softly. Kayla didn’t like seeing her brother giving their mate affection like this, but for Sky, she didn’t interfere……well, not very often. Theo slipped the blanket off her shoulder to kiss over her almost bare shoulder “everything will be ok now, baby girl, and I’ll deal with anyone who says any different. I promise you this, now and forever. Together we can solve anything, and we can run this pack. You are at least half mine, baby, and I don’t plan on letting you go anywhere.” Theo whispered quietly as he nuzzled against her, covertly scent marking her; he knew that it would piss Kayla off, but it would help Sky, and that was all that mattered to him now. With a final kiss, Theo climbed off the incredibly comfortable bed, put his shoes and jacket on and jogged downstairs to pack a picnic; however, he only got to the bedroom door the first time before he had to turn around. Rylee was still on his shoulder; she chattered in his ear. Theo figured it was a “take me back i***t” chatter, not that he knew; he was going on instinct right now.

Upstairs, still, on Sky’s bed, Kayla sat behind Sky, her arms wrapping around Sky’s middle and her chin resting on the shoulder that didn’t smell like Theo. “He scented you,” she said softly, though Sky could feel her fury.

“Well, I am his mate too, you know… he’s kinda allowed to scent me like you are. And if the mood so takes me, I can try and conjure up a giant, neon, flashing sign that will contrast with your hair and everything you wear, and says ‘Sky’s hot piece of ass… hands off’ try being the operative word here” Sky replied playfully, drawing the words on Kayla’s skin with her fingertip.

Kayla laughed loudly. “Do that to him, please do that to him,” she begged playfully, still laughing.