Bitter Revenge

Chapter 33

(Stella King's POV)

That night was easily a game changer. Not because something... more transpired, quite the opposite. Fiona slept on the overhang in front of the window while I kept the bed to myself, which I would've felt bad for if she wasn't sleeping for the hell of it. I couldn't for the life of me get any shut-eye. Whenever I'd close my eyes and see the grayish squiggles in the back of my eyelids, they'd end up moving around until they created Fiona. But when I kept my eyes open, I'd stare off into space and reminisce in the moment! It was, for a lack of better terms, perfectly chaotic.

Her seemingly rough lips weren't as rough as I thought, they were soft as silk. Her typically cold hands branded my waist, leaving a permanent warm spot on my side. Then my favorite part, her tense shoulders. I know she's relatively new to the field, but I don't actually know how new... Wait- was I her first kiss?! The thought made me look over my shoulder at Fiona, the light of the moon slipping through the slits of the curtain, illuminating her closed and relaxed eyes. I shook my head and forced my eyes to close and for sleep to take me. There's no way Freckles has never had her first kiss. Just look at her, any person would go crazy over her despite gender.

After that thought, I felt a hand shaking my shoulder. I opened my eyes only to realize I'd fallen asleep and was being shaken awake. "Come on Strawberry, I doubt you wanna meet the Highest Court members in your pajamas." I yawned hard, feeling like I'd blinked and time jumped forward. I sat up, rubbing my eyes to soothe the sandpaper texture to them, feeling how unruly my hair must look. I cracked my eyes open to look at Fiona, and for one of the first times since I'd met her, she looked chaotically/sleepily pretty. Her black hair stuck out in untamed spikes, her bags seemed even darker if that's possible, and her eyes screamed 'I'm tired'.

"Ugh. Five more minutes." I pulled the sheets over my head, hoping to get some actual rest. I just heard a rough, groggy chuckle and a dip behind me. "I would. But it's already 9:30 and we meet with them in half an hour." I have never jumped out of bed so quickly in my life. The entire 15 minutes I spent showering and getting dressed and brushing my hair, Fiona was giggling uncontrollably as she too followed her morning routine. And with just a minute to spare, we were ready. And I had my 2 specific items in a cute little string bag, since I thought they might be useful. Next thing I knew, the ground swallowed us up and when I opened my eyes again, I was in the holiest place known to the children of the night.

"It's beautiful up here." Fiona muttered, taking in the night sky littered in stars and constellations. A beautiful, white, Greek style court sat in front of us. Around us was Queen Valerie, Miss Savior/Scarlet, and surprisingly, my aunt. She looked at me and suddenly, this place wasn't so beautiful. And when her eyes met Fiona, the malice there was enough to make me shiver. "I'm glad we're all here. Let's head inside." Queen Valerie spoke up, paving the way for the rest of us, making sure to keep Fiona and my aunt away from each other.

It was a strange feeling, being in the home of the Moon Goddess. It was like her presence was everywhere, hugging us. The clouds on our feet drew the illusion that we were above the clouds of the Earth, but I knew better. A Goddess would not settle in a place where humans could find her. We're in a new dimension, the Nox dimension. We walked into the court and it didn't look much like your typical courtroom, it looked more like a theater room with the stands for judges just in front of the stage. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my aunt shiver... curiouser and curiouser.

Then my eyes met the hosts, the 6 beings closest to the Moon Goddess. 2 witches, 2 vampires, and 2 werewolves. Sitting peacefully by each other. I turned my gaze to the stage, where 3 people stood. Queen Valerie, Scarlet, and Fiona. All though the latter was seated in a metal chair, which I assumed would let the council know she is the defendant. And after a moment of silence, the vampire council lady spoke up. "This is the Highest Court. You are all welcome under the Law of Harmony, but you must abide by the rules. No physical attacks, no magic or biological benefits unless the council deems it fit,..." She went on with what you'd imagine. She was basically telling us not to act childish and what not.

I caught Fiona's eye and smiled at her, hoping she could see the confidence behind it. There's no way she could lose this. If things get ugly, I'll testify for her. I won't let her be stripped of anything tonight. But there was a pit in my stomach. I felt an impending doom that made my hands sweaty and my leg bounce. I looked over at my aunt who was also seated in the audience, much like me, but was instead scanning the courtroom. I caught myself wondering if she'd been here before, but immediately shook the thought off. But then a memory struck me, from when I was younger, like decades ago younger.

I was born in Australia, but once I'd turned 2 my parents had decided to move back to America despite having lived Down Under for decades. I'd later find out it was because my Mom had a little sister, my aunt Beatrix, who was next in line to be High Priestess of the Royal Coven. Thanks to the connections, I was allowed to join the coven and go to the magic academy that only witches in covens are allowed to go to. In that period of time, a horrible Priestess ruled the Royal Coven. The Red Priestess. A vile witch who lusted for blood and death more than anything in the world, who married a man she only admired because of his strength and power, and who ultimately pushed the limits of her own powers.

The second I had graduated at the age of 16 I was sent on a mission with my parents, under the direct order of the High Priestess to test my strength. We were tasked with eliminating a group of rebel vampires that had been stirring up a lot of trouble. At the time a whole group of werewolves, witches, and vampires alike were hunting them. That same mission got my mother killed, because I was too afraid of hurting others. My father took care of them in the end, but the death of his wife took a toll on him. He ran away, somewhere, for a couple months. In those months, my aunt managed to get an audience with the Highest Court, and testified to boot the Red Priestess out of the coven. In the end, my aunt won and became High Priestess.

As for the Red Priestess, she and her husband were stripped of their magical powers and were never heard of ever again. My father had returned from his excursion once he heard my aunt was High Priestess. But he was still on and off, disappearing every so often to grieve and return and pretend like it never happened. It wasn't until I was in my early thirties, I think, that my Dad stopped running off. So my aunt has been here before, I wonder if she's feeling nostalgic.

After the raspy vampire lady stopped speaking, the gruffy witch Councilman spoke up. "Let the case begin. I wish both sides luck and a promise of neutrality. Defendant, stand and state your name and age for the record." Fiona stood, smoothing her vest to get rid of any wrinkles and bowed her head a little before speaking up. "If memory serves me right, I am about 104 years old. My full birth name is Fiona Yuuki Miako." At that moment, a deep horror lay in my stomach. Miako? But- that's impossible! She can't be...