StarCrossed

Change and Repercussion

"There's a ghost upon the moor tonight. Now it's in our house. When you walked into the room just then, it's like the sun came out." -Gabrielle Aplin

“Do you understand the penalty you have been given?”

The Council sat before me in our local place of worship. In the large stone building, they had seating at the front of the church, near where the Father would give his sermons. Placed meticulously for all to see them. Two rows of pews sat before them leading to the entrance doors. I was silent as I stood in front of their pedestal. The man that had attempted to assault me stood beside them. He grinned a sickening grin that caused my stomach to churn. People had gathered, sitting in the pews, to view the spectacle that the Council decided to make of this matter. I was glad to see that Mother and Eveline were not in attendance.

“Then, sir,” they gestured to the man, “proceed.”

The man walked towards me until he was inches from me.

“You should know now, whatever I want, I get.” His voice was still sickly sweet. He took a strand of my hair and twirled it between his fingers. The glint in his haunting blue eyes was that of a predator; I could see it clear as day from where I stood. He was only rewarded with my silence as I glared at him. My hand clenched into a tight fist.

The penalty that I had to accept was that the man finished the ritual of the Hunt Ball. The deed was done in front of the Council as well as other people, to ensure that things went as they were meant to. The idea of what I was expected to do, let alone in front of people that saw me every day, disgusted me. As the man touched my hair, I pictured him being beaten to a pulp from the night before. I looked at the man’s swollen, bruised face, remembering each strike I was able to stomach. How I wished he could relive each blow. I closed my eyes, imagining William standing before us as his rage had seethed. He had protected me from this animal. Yet here I stood awaiting him to lay claim to my body.

I felt a woosh of air and heard a smack echo throughout the vast room.

The man spat and murmured curses.

“Lay another finger on her and you will give me no other choice than to teach you this lesson again.” I opened my eyes immediately to find William holding the man by the wrist. The man’s cheek was bright red. William glanced at the council. “The fact that the Council of this town would be barbaric enough to allow a young woman to be r***d before their eyes does not speak much for the character of those men. Breeding should not override caring for children and the young to grow at their own pace.” He looked at the people that had decided to sit among the pews. “You do not have to subject your children to this. You do your best to prepare your children for when they come of the ‘appropriate’ age to participate in the hunt.” He paused, shaking his head. He still held tight to the man’s wrist as if just a flicker of movement would render the joint broken. “It is a day when twisted perverts, such as the Councilmen, are allowed to taste the forbidden fruit of the young. Are you going to keep following such disgusting old men? Men who would allow your daughters the same fate they had decided for this young lady standing before them. A young woman being punished for defending herself, for defending someone who had helped her, for defying your beloved Council’s rules.”

The people were silent. The Council sat speechless in their seats still, nervous and looking to one another for help.

I walked up to the stand that they sat upon.

“Children should not be forced to take part in such adult acts. You’re all disgusting.” I spit on the ground before them. “I will not follow such scum.”

“You cannot do that! It is not allowed here! Our word is law, girl.”

“Then I will leave town.” I felt a rush as I spoke the words. I wasn’t sure what had come over me. Perhaps it was knowing William stood with me. Perhaps it was the fact that crossing the line into the forbidden forest beyond town had truly begun a change in me. I turned to gaze at all of the people gathered now; more had milled in during William’s speech. “We all have the choice to leave. The Council keeps us here with threats of demons just past the townline. They keep us here with lies. I have been beyond that line. I have seen what awaits us out there in the woods. It's a world filled with possibilities and freedom. We all have a choice of what we wish to do.” I closed the distance between William and me. I took his hand from the man’s wrist and held it tight. I led him silently down the aisle between the pews. We weaved together through the streets and came up to my home. I glanced back at him.

This man had managed to save me twice now. We hardly knew each other. But that didn't seem to matter. From the moment I had seen him on the dance floor, I had felt drawn to him.

Somehow, I had fallen in love with William at first sight.

I reached for the doorhandle but stopped.

"What?" he asked in a hushed voice.

"Thank you," I said softly. I knew that the words weren't enough. If it hadn't of been for him, I would have been worse off than I was at this moment. He had saved me when I had no idea that I needed to be saved. With a squeeze of his hand and a gentle tug, he brought me close to him. Our bodies hardly an inch from one another. I could feel heat eminating from him, like a blazing inferno threatening to burn me if the flames licked my skin. He brough his head down and lay his forehead against mine. The golden honey of his eyes could have melted me alone. Impulsively, I bit my lower lip as I felt embers alight at my core. His lips were a mere breath away, the warmth of his exhale teasing. I had to will myself not to claim his lips.

"You have no need to thank me," he breathed.

The tension in the air tingled.

"We should go inside," I strained to say. I put a small bit of distance between us. "My mother and sister wanted to meet you. Is that alright?" It was a heavy question that I prayed would not scare him away. He chuckled lightheartedly and squeezed my hand.

"If you wish it, so it shall be."

We walked through the front door and up the stairs. The house was eerily quiet. I felt William tense as I reached for the door to Eveline’s room. "Wait!" he shouted as he attempted to stop me from proceeding. But it was too late. She was sprawled on her bed. Her clothes ripped, her eyes open. Unblinking. Fear rose in me as I let go of William. I cautiously walked over to her bedside. She was cool to the touch. Gazing into her eyes, I could see that they were dull, vacant. A gash across her throat had mostly dry blood around it, the blankets beneath her head as well as her hair still glistening. Her arms showed shadows, deep bruising in the shape of large hands. She had been bleeding and held against her will. Someone had done this to her. The air felt suddenly thin; I couldn't cathc my breath. Panic was creeping in. I scrambled past William despite him trying to stop me, bounding through the doorway and down the hall to Mother’s room.

Mother’s body lay on the floor. She was laying in a pool of blood. Cuts and bruises covered her body. To her left, her hand reached for the brown parcel I had asked her to give to Eveline. I looked closely at her.

She was still breathing!

“Mama! Mama!” I yelled as I knelt beside her, blood seeping into my skirts. I was turning her onto her back when William came in. He assisted me and I brought her head onto my lap. “Mama, who did this?” My eyes were wet, the tears falling quickly.

“A man…came,” she said with a raspy voice. She didn’t have much more time. She had lost too much blood and was losing more as she struggled to speak. Only minutes were left if fate was so kind. “He…said you…would…pay. Pay for what…you did…to…him.” I glanced to William. He keep his eyes on Mother. She did her best to look at him. “Is…this…your William?”

“Yes, Mama," I answered, a tremble to my voice. "This is the man that saved me.”

“I wish I could have met you under better circumstances,” he said quietly.

“Take care of…my Olivia. ..Keep her safe.” Mother’s breathing was becoming labored. She was coughing and gasping more as she spoke. I couldn’t save her. It killed me that I couldn’t do anything but hold her. “Olivia…I…love you. Sweet girl.”

“I love you, too, Mama.” I put my forehead to hers. “I’ll be right here. I promise.” Her breathing began to slow even more, her voice rasping, but I could not understand her then. I held her tightly, my forehead still against hers. I felt an anguish in my soul, a beast that howled relentlessly. In a moment, she was there and then she was gone. Tears spilled from my eyes, seemingly endless, sobs errupting from my chest a throughout my body. The beast inside begged for blood, for vengance. A hand on my shoulder caused me to jump.

William.

“We have to leave,” he told me. He lifted Mother’s head carefully from my lap and placed it gingerly on the floor. I grabbed the gift I had intended to give Eveline with shaking hands. What would cause someone to do such a thing? I held the package tightly against my chest and stood. William grabbed one of my hands, the other still clutching the parcel, and rushed us out onto the street. He headed in the direction of the town line. Mother's words echoed in my mind. The words caused much confusion. They were unsettling.

“Who do you think the man that my mother mentioned is?” I asked in a huff as we ran.

William was silent, focused on our destination.

“Could it have been the man that you beat last night?”

“No, before I had him by the wrist, the council kept him under lock and key.”

“There is no one other than him that would have me pay for things I may have done.”

“There is one man. I will explain when it is safe.”

Without another word, we disappeared into the world beyond the town ruled by fear.