The royal moon witch

Chapter 13 - The funeral

Elvira Pov

Sam and I arrived at my covens ground an hour before the funeral would begin. I saw many people look up and when they saw the car, they frowned. We had taken Sam's personal car so why they frowned I didn't know because there was no royal signs on it. I got out and when my people laid eyes on me, most frowns disappeared right away and some came over and hugged me.

After several hugs I looked behind me and motioned for Sam to come out. I saw the hesitation but then he got out.

"I don't belong between the people who are here to mourn their lost ones" he said.

"Maybe not.. But you also gave me the chance to be here so you can at least wait at my house" I said and he clearly thought about it for a moment.

"Elvira?" I heard a surprised voice behind me while I was waiting for my answer and turned around.

"Dad!" I said happy and hugged my father when he stood in front of me.

"I'm so glad to see you my little moon" he said and hugged me back.

"Who is this?" He asked as he looked at Sam.

"This is Samuel.. Sam for short.. He brought me here and is a great friend" I said and he nodded.

"Please follow me Sam, then I can get you some coffee" he said and Sam sighed. He followed my father and I couldn't help but grin for a moment at the fact that he had to come now. Sam had actually wanted to stay in the car but I had already known that this wouldn’t be happening. My father never lets anyone stay in a car, especially not when they showed a kind heart. It would have been impolite to leave him there and if my father was anything, it wasn’t impolite. I followed the two men home and the moment I set foot in my parents house, I was wrapped in three sets of arms. My brother, sister and my mother were hugging me like they had not seen me in years.

"Air.. I want.. Air" I said after a while and they let go, except for Emma. She held on tight and looked at me.

"Please take me with you" she said and I smiled warm.

"No sweety.. The palace is no place for children..." I said and petted her head.

"Please Ella?" She asked and normally I would give in quicker the moment she used her nickname but now I shook my head.

"Sweety.. the prince and I are not friends yet so I am sure you would be bored all day long" I said and she sighed.

"I wish you never had went there" she said and let go of me. My heart broke the moment she said that and I sighed softly. My mother gave me a cup of tea and I smiled, I loved her fresh tea. It was much better than those normal tea bags at the palace, even if they were from the best brand in the world. I took a sip and sat down.

"Do you have a pen and paper?" I asked and my father handed me them almost right away.

It was common to write a letter for the deceased and burn it along with with body. Some people wrote a short wish for a safe passage to the other side, others wrote their last wish or a question they had in hope the spirit would give them a hint in a dream. I laid down my paper and started to write:

Dear Granny,

I wish for you a safe passage to the other side. And I want to thank you for everything you have ever done for me and what I have learned from all our hours of lessons together. They were not only very fruitful but also very funny and that helped so much for me. You taught me about my fate but also taught me to have fun and be normal.

I hoped that our time together would be longer in this life but that was not given to us. Call it fate or a combination of circumstances. We will see each other again, one day far in the future.

And will always remember you and look at the stars for your guidance.

With love,

Your oldest granddaughter Elvira.

P.s. I have no idea how to fix what is broken deep inside of him. Please give me another hint.. I love you.

A tear fell on the paper, followed by another one shortly after the first. I quickly folded the letter so my tears wouldn't leak out the ink. My family had silently waited for me to finish my letter and when I looked up, my father gave me a warm smile. I laid the letter on top of the other letters and then got up.

"So, how's life in the palace? A lot of parties and such?" My brother asked in a 'look at me, I'm a cool guy' way and I tried to keep in my laughter.

"Oh yeah, we have parties every day" I said with a sarcastic tone and he looked at me. As if I would spill anything about my actual life at the palace. Not in front of my family I would not.

"You don't have to act all manly because Sam is here" I said and Jason looked away. Teenagers.

‘’Don’t worry, I have a brother about his age so I know how to deal with boys that try to show they are ‘the man’ ‘’ Sam said.

‘’Cool! Can I meet him?’’ Jason asked, he was always eager to make new friends because he had not much of those around. In other covens a day or two ride away but not in our own coven.

‘’Maybe later, not yet’’ I said and grabbed my mug and took a sip of the tea.

‘’Same rules for you as for Emma, even if you are older’’ I said and he sighed. I could understand him, but I didn’t want to risk any kind of harm towards my brother and sister. I had no idea how far Valentino would go in his hate for our kind and I was not planning on finding out by bringing my brother and sister close to him.

I sat there, thinking of this while staring out of the window, when I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked up and saw my father look at me.

‘’It’s time’’ he said and I nodded. I got up and turned around, seeing Sam sit on the couch I smiled a little.

‘’You will stay here?’’ I asked and he nodded. He seemed a bit more at ease now but I could understand that he didn't want to go as far as inviting himself to the ceremony.

‘’Yes’’ he said and I nodded then.

‘’Alright, I’ll see you later’’ I said as my family walked outside, holding their letters. I grabbed mine from the table and followed them outside.

We walked side to side, Emma and Jason each had taken hold of a hand of mine and I held theirs in mine to comfort them. This was the first time they actually went to a funeral. There normally were not much deaths in a coven, I could only recall one or two when Jason was little and Emma was just a baby. I sighed and looked around, on some places in the coven you could still see that the earth was recovering from what had happened. We entered the circle that had already been made by our other coven members and I looked at the bonfire piles. I had expected it to be seven, just as much as I had counted when I first left, yet the number of bodies was now fifteen. Had so much people not survived their wounds? How I wish I had been there to help them recover. Seeing this also made me even more grateful for being alive and that my family did not get more harm than we had suffered.

A bell sounded, which was the sign that the funeral began. Baskets filled with both flowers and herbs had been placed in a circle in front of the bodies. Each family laid down flowers around the body of their deceased, together with the flowers the letters were placed down and herbs. For each family it was a different herb or combination of herbs and it often were herbs most used by the one we were honoring today. When it was our turn, I laid down my letter and from the several baskets I took rosemary, white roses, saffron and some vanilla. I knew how much my grandmother loved to use vanilla in everything she could use it in. Especially her own baked cakes and cookies. My mother often accused her for making me into a copy of her, especially when I told my mother I missed the vanilla in my birthday cake on my ninth birthday. I smiled at the memory and as I laid down the last rose I felt a single tear roll over my cheek. I let it roll down and once it fell from the edge of my jawline, I walked back to my family.

We waited for everyone to finish and when they were done, we all started to hum and chant the same spell. We all held our hand out and from every family, one member got a fire on their hand palm. It was a big honor if you would get the fire, but it wasn’t a competition. In cases like these, even a witch or wizard who did not get their wand yet could get the flame on their hand. A slight squeal next to me, made me look down and I saw that Emma held the flame in her hand. She kept chanting like she had too and when she noticed that I looked at her she looked back, a little scared but also proud. I smiled at her and while chanting, I nodded my head to reassure her. She slowly nodded too and when others took the first step forward, she followed the example. Together the chosen people placed the flames on the wood under the bodies. It was our way to send of the death, a lot like being cremated but then out in the open instead of in a large oven. Of course there were put blankets over the bodies. When the fires started their ways, Emma came walking back and we all stood there, still chanting with each other so the flames would grow in heat as they made their way towards the deceased.

It took the flames an hour to reach the bodies and after that we all stopped chanting. Some people stayed to watch, others walked away. At first my parents were among the people that stayed but after a short while my father put a hand on my shoulder as sign that he was going back to our house and I nodded. Together we all walked back, we entered the house and I looked at Sam. He didn’t say anything at first and we all silently walked inside until my mother walked to the kitchen and said

‘’Who would like something to drink?’’. We all agreed and she started to make a new pot of tea and coffee for my father. He wasn’t much of a tea drinker.

As we drank our tea, I heard a beeping sound and saw Sam taking his phone out of his pocket. He looked at the screen and frowned, I tilted my head to a side.

‘’Something wrong?’’ I asked. The frown bothered me a little and I was afraid my visit with my family would be cut short.

‘’I’m about to check that’’ he said in a more serious way than I had ever seen him. I had seen Sam serious before but not like this, normally he always had a smile on his face even if it was just a little one.

‘’Alright’’ I said and waited for him to read what he just had received. I took another sip of my tea when he got up.

‘’We have to go.. Valentino just found out that you are not in your room’’ Sam said.

‘’Wait what?!’’ I asked and got up. My father looked at me, alarmed by what Sam just said.

‘’Why should you be in your room?’’ he asked. He sounded surprised but also concerned. I knew I was in trouble, not only with Valentino but would I get a chance to visit my family again, also with my father.

‘’Long story dad.. No time to explain’’ I said and quickly grabbed my coat.

‘’How did he find out?’’ I asked Sam and he shrugged his shoulders.

‘’I don’t know.. Riella just texted me that he was very angry’’ Sam said and I nodded.

I quickly gave my family a hug and a kiss before I walked out of the house. I was followed by Sam shortly after he thanked my parents for their hospitality and then quickly walked towards the car. He opened it from a distance and I hopped in. Once he sat down, he started to engine and drove backwards until he could turn and headed back to the palace. All I could hope for now was that by the time we were back, Valentino would have cooled down but something told me that that would not be the case.