The Sacrifice Mate

Chapter Two

Victor approached to pour himself and his sister a drink, and stood by their father's side. Alma turned to Esmeralda.

Alma:"Come dear, sit by your mother's side."

Esmeralda clutched her glass to her chest, but did as her mother requested, sitting on sofa between her mother and her father's armchair. Victor tried to diplomatically break the silence.

Victor: "Father, will you tell us now what is on your mind? I don't think my dear sister's poor heart can take much of this suspense! Since, I myself, must admit to having such difficulty..." this gave the siblings a chance to exchange looks. Alma smiled

Alma: "Always the diplomat my son." She turned her gaze to plead with her husband "My dear, I pray do reassure our children out of their misery" she squeezed her daughter's hand as she spoke.

Narcissus coughed and sat straight in his armchair, trying to look as regal as possible. He had a whole speech prepared, had it for days... But now that the moment finally had come, he was struggling more than he thought. Well, all the more reason to get on with it.

Narcissus: " While your mother, as any affectionate mother does, still refers to you as children... tomorrow you will both complete your 28th birthday." He looked at Victor first "Given your bond as twins, we decided to wait until now and give you more time than you should young man, to find a wife." He sighed "It is time for you both to start stepping up to your responsabilities to the Hood family and to this town."

Victor and Esmeralda both exchanged a look at their father's wording.. Both?

Narcissus: "Victor, as you know, your are the heir to this House and, as such, you will follow in my steps" He couldn't bring himself to look at his own daughter, he was not man enough "Esmeralda, tradition mandates that you only know of your own fate now." Esmeralda looked paller and paller at her father's words, she felt her mother's hand hold hers tighter.

Narcissus: "I hope you remember, dear girl, that in deference to the sacrifice you must undertake I have delayed your brother's life to keep you two together as long as I could" Esmeralda held her empty glass so hard it could break. Victor quickly interjected.

Victor: " What do you mean together?!" His voice louder than it should, when addressing his father, but he had a creeping feeling that something was very very wrong. He was expecting to be lectured by his father for raising his voice but it was his mother who spoke.

Alma " Victor! Do not interrupt your father. He still has much to doscuss with you both"

Victor: " Apologies, Mother, but unless I am mistaken there does not seem to be much room for discussion" He looked at Esmeralda, she still couldn't breathe a word, still in shock.

Narcissus: "You are right my son. This, for the sake of all the power this family has, is not up for any discussion" He almost lowered his head in shame "The turn of the century is upon us, so Esmeralda, you have been, in a way, chosen from birth. I knew it the day your mother bore me twins" Victor looked incredulously between his father and mother, Esmeralda still too shocked to even move.

Alma interjected as she saw her husband falter with his words.

Alma: " Ever since you two were infants, we have told you both that our family has earned its position by favor of the Moon Goddess... It is a bit more literal than we have let on" she looked to her husband, drying a single tear with her free hand, urging him to go on. Narcissus regained his composure.

Narcissus: "Yes, indeed... Every century the Moon Goddess blesses this town, and chooses amongst the families one to rule the earthly realm by taking a bride for her kin. For centuries that family has been ours" his speech is broken by the sound of breaking glass, Esmeralda raises without a word and runs out the door to her room. Not even noticing the blood dripping from her hands.

Victor: "Esme!" He cries out, he tries to follow her but their mother stops him.

Alma:" Trust me dear, it is best that I speak to her" she follows calmly the path her daughter took. Victor looks angrily to his father

Victor "So this, is the family's dirty secret!" he says accusingly and is again suprised to see no reaction from his father.

Alma enters her daughter's room without knocking, she finds her on her bed crying. Blood becoming diluted with the salty water from her tears, adding a sting of its own to the wound on her hand.

Alma:" Here dear, lets that care of that" she says as she lovingly cleans and dressed her daughter's wounds. Esmeralda keeps crying, she does not react so Alma carries on.

Alma:"I know this feels like you have no choice. But there is part of this story that only the women of the family know" Alma was in fact a Hood in her own right, a distant cousing of Narcissus. The family predicting the approaching change of century, had arranged for a marriage that would give the family the best chance to navigate the important event, and so, Narcissus and Alma were wed.

Alma: " I know it does not feel like it. Especially not right now..." She says to her daughter "But its is us women who hold the power. However it comes with a cost. We can accept our fate or reject it. If we reject it, it will affect the whole family as the favor of the Goddess will shift to the next chosen bride"

Alma proceeds to tell Esmeralda the story of how it all began. A story passed from woman to woman through the centuries.

Once upon a time, legend had it that a hunter had fallen in love with a wood witch, but he did not understand that he could not have her, that she belonged to the forest and to the moonlight. He had decided to make her his wife, and instead of embracing her world, visiting her when he could, he decided he would find a way to bring her to his. The witch warned him time and time again, that she belonged to the moonlight forest and that she could never leave. Unfortunately, in his pride, the hunter could not understand. One night he had come to meet her, and consumed with passion and obsession he decided to take her by force to his world. As soon as he grabbed her a pack of wolves came to her defence, to keep the witch in her place. Scared the hunter shot an arrow that hit straight into the heart of the alpha wolf. The animal fell to the ground as the other surrounded it and howled painfully to the Moon. The witch gave a shrieked mournful cry "what have you done?!" She shouted. Before the hunter could answer in his defense thunder and lightning stormed through the moonlight sky, the Goddess herself, came down to mourn the loss of her wolf. She closed its eyes, kissed its head, all the while the other wolves wined and pawed the ground. Both the witch and the hunter were rooted to the ground unable to move. Just as the Goddess was going to exact her revenge the witch spoke "My lady, if you must exact you just revenge, do it on me because I am the reason this has happened to your loyal servant" the Goddess looked at her "Iphegenia, are you sure this is your will?" The witch still in shock at the death her passion had caused replied "Yes. Banish me my lady until my time comes to join you in the afterlife. May my penance fall unto all my folk and may they serve you as you My Lady sees fit"