Memoirs of a Witch (In Bloom Book 1.5)

Wedding Bells with a Twist Part 1

Long ago, a king and queen ruled over a kingdom whose name became a myth. From the love of the two monarchs, the kingdom prospered and brought an era of tranquility. Thanks to their rule, the king and queen earned respect and adorations from their subjects and servants.

Outside of their borders, empires sought to create alliances and trade routes. However, one in particular wanted nothing more than to see the kingdom fall.

During a severe thunderstorm, an assassin from an enemy nation snuck into the palace. Avoiding the eyes and ears of the guards, they found the king and queen peacefully dining together in their bedroom.

Ensuring he remained hidden in the shadows, the assassin closed the distance and aimed for the queen. The king pushed her to the side and allowed the blade to pierce his heart.

Though the criminal was imprisoned and executed for his crimes, the kingdom made arrangements for a funeral for their beloved king the same day. According to legend, the queen's mourning brought gloomy skies and rainfall for over a month.

With no husband to by her side or heir to the throne, the queen continued to reign over her kingdom until her remaining days. Regardless of how much time passed, she never forgot the vow the king made to her before his last breath.

He told her, 'No matter how many miles or worlds apart we are, I will always find my way back to you, my moon and stars.'

Although the kingdom fell, their tale lived.

Some claimed they could sense the spirit of the king in the Land of the Living as he searched for his queen. Others believed the soul of the queen was reincarnated throughout history as different ladies.

While this story was told as a beautiful tragedy, the witches saw it as a warning.

A warning to never deal with the dead.

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Lilia exclaimed, "What do you mean by that?!"

"I mean what I said!" Grim cried out in frustration, "Cassie's been kidnaped! Captured! Snatched! Taken! Shanghaied! Held for ransom!"

Cassie went to gather some moon flowers in the garden and never returned to her dorm. Suspicious she was playing some sort of trick, Grim asked the Ramshackle ghosts to search for his mistress.

After a f ew minutes went by, the familiar realized the ghosts would most likely not return. Grim eventually decided to gather all of his courage and investigate himself.  With Cassie and the ghosts nowhere to be found, Grim's bravery was short loved. However, he picked up the pungent scent of rosemary Cassie used for dinner that evening.

The trail of the herb brought him to the main school building in which he spotted the cafeteria's interior being decorated like it was a wedding venue. At the altar located in the center of the room was Cassie, gagged and bound. A ghost in regal attire stood in front of her, smiling and lovingly looking at her. The ghost ran a hand through Cassie's hair and she fainted. Some other ghosts picked her up and carried her out of the room.

In a panicked frenzy, Grim snuck his way into the school, fortunately avoiding the ghost guards stationed at every corner, and found the Hall of Mirrors.

Since it was an evening on the weekend, the teachers and the Headmage would be out of contact. The students would be the solution.

Lady Misfortune must have been smiling upon Grim that evening.

Riddle would not allow the dorm students out because it would violate one of the Queen of Hearts' rules. Azul would not partake in a rescue without proper compensation. Leona did not want to receive a scolding from the teachers or the Headmage if he allowed anyone out of the dorm past curfew. He also did not want to come to the rescue for anyone else who became the ghosts' victims. Worrying about his own master's safety, Jamil prevented Kalim from interfering. Pomefiore provided a similar line of reasoning as Savanaclaw. Grim did not even try to talk to Ignihyde.

Regardless of their reasoning, the dorms all expressed a similar thought: they were not worried about Cassie. They all felt confident in her abilities to get herself out of her current predicament.

With his minimal success, the familiar went to the last place he could think of: Diasomnia.

Unlike the other dormitories, Malleus, Lilia, Sebek, and Silver showed genuine concern for Cassie and began to formulate a plan on how to get her out. Though, there was something they were all curious about.

"If I may speak freely," Silver turned to Malleus. He received an affirmative nod from the Crown Prince. "I mean no ill will when I ask this, but why is Cassie unable to escape?"

Grim pointed to the window, "Because of the lunar eclipse."

Once every eight years, a complete lunar eclipse occurred. While it was a beautiful sight to behold, it would be an unfortunate experience for witches. On this night, all of their magic was blocked.

Luckily a potion made with moon flowers, which only bloom at night, can prevent the effects of the eclipse. For that purpose, Cassie had gone out to her garden to pick the blossoms. Instead, she got picked by ghosts.

Grim and the others were unaware what the ghosts would have in store for Cassie. From the sight of the wedding venue, there was only one possible explanation. One explanation no one dared to speak out loud.

"How long does the eclipse last?" Malleus asked.

"From my previous experience, the eclipse clears out at midnight."

Malleus looked at the clock. His frown deepened and his pupils narrowed to slits with the minimal amount of time remaining.

Not wanting to waste another second, he disappeared from the room, leaving only green flecks of light where he once stood.

Grim looked around the dorm, "Woah! Where did he go?!"

Lilia chuckled, "I believe we're in for quite the spectacle, but we should hurry to the school."