A Rise to Power | Book One of The Hybrid's Reign Series

Chapter 1: The Queen's Invitation

The knight flipped the letter around so she could see the Queen's seal, then broke the seal and began reading, "Avalon, daughter of Elric, I advise you to not make this decision lightly, think on it for the night, then give Kal-ra, the head knight, your response in the morning." He took a deep breath, as if bored, then continued, monotonously. "Your father is an honorable warlock, so I am granting him this one favor. He has asked me to allow you to train under The Seven and to live at court. With Trenka right around the corner, I have decided to squeeze you into one of the recruit positions. I am only giving you this opportunity once, if you refuse you'll never have another chance at becoming a Protector. Think on it, but I implore you to accept. You have three days to get here." He folded the letter and gave it to Avalon.

"I will be at the tavern. Come find me once you have made your choice. There will be two knights following you at a distance to make sure you are safe." He bowed, said, "my lady," then turned around and left.

She watched as he departed, standing there in her doorway completely dumbfounded at the Queen's request. Questions started running wild in her head. But the main one was why would the Queen risk reprisal from the Realm in order to assure her a spot in Trenka? She could feel the anxiety bubbling to the surface, rising fast. She has never been to the Capital, let alone out of her village, and now the Queen was asking her to move there.

"Who was that?" Her mother, Cateline, entered, setting down a book she was holding.

"Um," looking down at the letter in her hand she exhaled heavily, feeling the weight of the decision already weighing on her. "The Queen, she, uh, sent me a letter." She handed the letter to her mother, still shocked at the offer.

Cateline took a minute to read over the letter then slowly folded it, "oh, " is all she said before setting it down and walking into her bedroom.

She came back quickly, shaking her head. "No, no. You will not go." She knelt at the fireplace, placing wood in it. "After years of silence, " she scoffed, "he thinks he has the right to drag you away from me? He probably used all the sway he has at court to get the Queen to agree to this." She grabbed the letter off the table and threw it on top of the wood.

"No!" Avalon ran over and grabbed it out of the fireplace before she could light it. "You will not take this chance away from me. I'm old enough to make my own choices." She looked down at the letter in her hand and all the possibilities and 'what-ifs' began to swirl around in her head.

What if she never saw her mother again? What if she failed Trenka and became a disgrace in the eyes of the other witches? What if something happened to her mother while she wasn't there? But also, what if she won Trenka and became a Protector? She would be seen as powerful and useful to the Swylavan family. She wouldn't be allowed to associate herself with her family, or put them first, and maybe once in a Blue Moon would she be allowed to write to her mom, but it would be worth it, right? However, her mom would be able to live more comfortably, even without Avalon's presence. Her mind was at war with itself, did she want to go, or would she settle with the life she has now?

Cateline pulled out a chair from the table that sat perpendicular to the fireplace. "You don't understand, A. He gave up his life, me and this house, his home, he gave up you, " she paused, looking in Avalon's eyes, "to become a Protector. And what good has it done?" Her voice raised in anger. "He hasn't spoken to us in years because of the Protectors' rules. You would be willing to do that? To give up your life; me, your friends, your connection to your family, just to become a Protector? Are you ready to do that?"

She hasn't seen her dad since he left for Trenka, ten years ago. "This will be the best thing that has happened to this family if I win," he had told her, kneeling down and gripping her shoulders. He had seen the disappointment and anger in his daughter's eyes and still chose to go, giving up his family.