Chapter 5: After shocks
Selene is still shocked after who she met in the mountains. Find out what she does next in this week's installment! And remember, you have 3 days to vote and comment to decide what happens next.
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Welcome back to Plot Twist!
Chapter 4 ended with a blast from the past. Did you see that one coming or did it shock you? It shocked me when I wrote it! We’re all along for this ride together.
Last week, I asked you all to help name the kid Selene found in the woods.
I loved Lauren L.’s idea that the name should be something an oracle predicted. I’m running with that idea, but not the name Gale that she suggested.
Instead, Cariwyl H. won with the name Hortense.
Digging more, I found out that Hortense – or Hortensia/Sia as we’ll call her – means Hydrangea and gardener, which will tie in very well with the floral names of the other kids and some plans I have for her. I’m going to go with Hortensia, because her mother is from Mexico, and we’ll call her Sia for short later in the book.
I’m also here for that molten chocolate lava cake idea and feel like it needs to be incorporated.
Does that photo look sexual to anyone else? Or just me? Maybe that’s how we incorporate it…
Anyways, this week, we find out how Selene reacts and get a bit of insight into her assistant, Ashley!
Ready?
Let’s dive in!
Chapter 5:
Ashley hated when Selene kept her waiting. Ashley hated when anyone kept her waiting, but at least with other people she could lecture them on decorum and the importance of promptness. Even if she hadn’t been Queen, Selene had a horrible knack for never listening to anything Ashley said. Which is probably why she was so in love with her.
It had crept up on Ashley slowly, hidden within her duty to protect Princess Selene from harm, this longing to comfort her in more intimate ways. She’d almost acted on it one night right before the Coronation, knowing that once Selene was Queen there was no way she could cross that line, but Ashley had lost her nerve at the last minute and given her an awkward fist bump instead.
Now, there was nothing to do but tuck those feelings down into the deepest compartment of her brain. Still, sometimes they rose back up without her permission, coming out as panic and over protection, especially when she could sense Selene was in danger.
“We have to find a way in there,” Ashley aggressively pushed against the invisible barrier around the woods.
“No one in or out.” Willem said from his spot on the floor. He’d been laying down since Selene disappeared, eyes closed, saying he was meditating, but it looked a lot like sleeping on the job to Ashley.
“You’re a level seven for Goddess’s sake,” Ashley glared at him, “Can’t you do anything?”
“Nothing we can do but save energy,” he replied.
“So you’re just going to nap?” Ashley huffed.
Willem lifted his hands from where they’d been resting on the earth, flipped them over, and showed her the crystals within. “There’s power here. A lot of it. I’m charging what I can while I can. And you should do the same.”
Ashley reluctantly agreed and took a large crystal out of her bag, placing it on the dirt, next to a plant, with her palm over it. She was only a level two, basically a humdrum by the coven’s standards, so it would take forever for her to pull enough energy from the ground to make a difference in a fight, but still, it was better than pacing the wardline.
Her low status was yet another reason Ashley had never made a pass at Selene. A Princess would never be allowed to date anyone under a level four, and as Queen she was expected to marry a level six or above warlock to produce the most powerful heirs there could be. There was a better chance of Willem marrying Selene than Ashley.
If the plans Her Majesty concocted with the Coven Council panned out, that’s exactly what the two would be doing within the year. Forced arranged marriages were technically banned by international wizard law, but Her Majesty had a way to convince Selene into doing what she wanted. She would marry Willem, have his children, and they would both see other people on the side, as gays and lesbians had done for generations.
Still, even knowing all of this, Ashley’s heart ignored logic and longed for what she could never have: a family of her own with Selene.
“Here, let me help,” Willem placed his hand over hers, and Ashley felt a strong surge of electricity run from the ground into her fingers. Not for the first time, Ashley wondered what it would be like to hold that kind of power within you. As a Ceremonial, she got to glimpse it during rituals, to feel the power of others flow through her, but she would never have it on her own, no matter how many spells she memorized or crystals she wore.
“At attention,” General Harris commanded, and Ashley turned to see the black wall drop as Selene walked back through the wards.
Ashley ran towards her boss and best friend, about to demand that she explain what the hell was going on, but one look at Selene and she knew something was horribly wrong. “Everyone back!”
Willem rushed forward and placed his hand against the Queen’s neck, feeling her magic pulsing erratically.
“Get her to the car,” Ashley insisted, and the two of them walked a dazed Selene back to the SUV, General Harris looking on with concern while his troops dutifully averted their eyes.
“Can you do a privacy spell?” Ashley asked, and Willem nodded, blocking everyone else out from hearing them inside the vehicle.
“What happened?” Willem scanned Selene up and down, searching for injuries. “What’s in there?”
Selene didn’t respond, she couldn’t, she was still processing what had just transpired. It had been the most awkward encounter of her life, but somehow Selene had extricated herself from Arielle and her child, saying she’d just been out on a nostalgic walk in the woods and hadn’t meant to bother them.
Arielle had looked horrified at the sight of Selene and then hurt as she once again ran away without an explanation. Seeing her ex was disarming, but feeling the child’s magic command her back, tug at her even now, was what had Selene shaking.
“She feels like Gentian,” she murmured.
“The surge was caused by Gentian?” Ashley asked.
“She called her Hortensia,” Selene whispered.
“She named her Hortensia?” Willem’s face turned as white as Selene’s and he sat back in his seat.
Ashley looked from Willem to Selene, both ashen and in shock. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
Selene shook her head in response, so Willem took a deep breath and explained. “Selene lived here. Before you knew her. Those wards are hers.”
“If they were her wards, I would have felt her imprint,” Ashley insisted.
“She was a different person then,” Willem continued. “Happier. You can feel it in the wards, her love.”
“So, what, Selene loved these woods and set up wards around it to protect them?” Ashley replied. “Please don’t tell me we brought the most elite troupes up this mountain for a cut down tree.”
“Selene lived here with Arielle,” Willem explained.
“Okay.” Ashley tried to ignore the gut punch she felt at that information. “But what does that have to do with now?”
Willem looked at Selene to see if she would explain, but the Queen was still staring at her hands, slowly shaking her head. “My best guess, judging by her reaction, is that she came across Arielle in those woods. And that Arielle now has a kid named Hortensia. And that kid just started her period.”
“I didn’t know Arielle was a witch,” Ashley responded.
“She’s not,” Willem replied.
“Her husband is a warlock then?”
“She’s gay,” Willem explained.
“So are you two,” Ashley pointed between Willem and Selene, “But you’re still getting married and having kids.”
“She said mothers,” Selene clarified. “She was born to two moms. Neither are magical. I would have felt it at on their home.”
“You went back?” Willem raised an eyebrow.
“The greenhouse is still there.” Selene and Willem both smiled at that.
The conversation was getting away from Ashley, and she had to take back control. “I’m calling Her Majesty.”
“No,” Willem and Selene yelled in unison.
“I’ll handle this,” Selene promised.
“Trust me,” Willem said, “Whatever happens next, you don’t want her mother around for it.”
Ashley dialed anyways. “Yes, Your Majesty, Selene is safe. All is under control. There is a ward here that keeps tripping, though, so Willem, Selene, and I are going to stay on to investigate. I will send General Harris and troops back to help guard the Eastern borders while we deal with this.”
A pause. “I understand.”
Another pause. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Selene hated that she was Queen and yet everyone still called her mother Her Majesty, still kowtowed to her whims even though she no longer wore the crown. When she’d taken the throne, Selene thought she would be able to take a stance, get rid of ancient, often inhumane, laws and rearrange the rules to be more open and accepting. She’d found out quickly how naïve she’d been. Selene was the most formidable witch in all of Frontera, but her mother was the one who held all the power.
Ashley hung up the phone and looked at Selene, “Go tell General Harris the plan.”
“And what is that plan?” Selene asked.
“That it looks like a malfunctioning ward and nothing else. You will command General Harris to return her troops to the front line while we stay here to mend the ward. I’ll get us a place to stay and we’ll figure it out from there,” Ashley opened her calendar, “You have a date next week with a new warlock that we’ll have to cancel, and a board meeting I will have to move to virtual, but otherwise you can do everything from here.”
“Thank you, Ash.” Selene placed her hand over her friend’s. “I don’t know where I’d be without you.”
“I’m just doing my job.” Ashley pulled her hand back, put it into her bag, and handed Selene a tube of lipstick, a brush, and a mirror. “Now stop shaking, pull yourself together, and go do yours.”
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I feel like the queen mother isn’t going to let things be since she holds so much power I think she’ll meddle. Definitely here for a spying situation and would be excited to see what new info they learn - how did the moms get together, what’s going on with the local coven, bring on the birds or other magical animals maybe as the queen mothers tactic doing some spying on Selene herself.