A Touch of Magic| J. Hale

Chapter 8: A Solstice to Remember

Chapter 8: A Solstice to Remember

"Again!" Leonora Knight demanded, watching every little movement of her daughter, looking for any sign of imperfection. "Gods dammit, again Freya!" She snaps, clearly unsatisfied with her daughters work once again.

The summer solstice is coming up, meaning there was going to be a big party for the entire coven. The main entertainment was the ceremonial dances/magic shows put on by different groups of the community, so not only was it entertaining to watch, but it was also carrying on with years of tradition that held the coven together; and Freya had been lucky enough to be chosen to perform one of the dances. Freya's mom had been grilling her about being absolutely perfect for her performance with some other girls her age. Freya was having trouble focusing though. Today she would've been able to go out and see Jasper, but instead she was practicing from dawn till dusk with Leonora Knight. Freya was worried Jasper would show up and think she blew him off and then she'd never see him again, which had caused her to stumble or mess up on several occasions, much to her mother's displeasure.

"Honestly Freya can you do nothing right? Is it your mission in life to bring shame on our family name? You'll never be chosen at the rate your going now," Leonora seethes, getting right in her daughter's face. "And honestly, you need to lay off on eating so much. You won't fit in your dress if you don't. Now do it again!"

Freya went through the motions again, doing her best to execute every little movement perfectly. Sparks were flying through the air, she was twirling like a pro ballerina. Not once did she forget to point her toes or extend her limbs as much as possible. Different illusions and enchantments were being cast out to create a beautiful array of lights and colors as she danced. Alone, the scene was very beautiful, with a group it was absolutely mesmerizing. Just as Freya was about to finish the routine, she fell. A pain shot through her ankle and her breath hitched as she was unable to move for a moment as the pain washed through her.

"What do you think your doing Freya? Get up and do it again!" Leonora snaps. She refused to be embarrassed by her daughter incompetence. Leonora was determined she would be nothing less than perfect when she went out on the night of the solstice.

"Mom I can-"

"I don't care if you're bleeding out. You will keep doing this routine until it is perfect!" Leonora growls. Freya could see her mother's hands start to glow red, and instantly she was back on her feet despite the searing pain in her ankle. She would deal with that later.

It was several hours later when Leonora was satisfied with her daughter's performance. Getting with the other girl's in her group, Leonora had nothing but praise for all of them, but as soon as the two Knight women were heading home Leonora was informing Freya of every little thing she had done wrong.

. . . . . . . . . . .

The day of the solstice was only a few days later, and the days leading up to it had been extremely hectic, meaning Freya didn't get one chance to run off into the woods at all. Plus, Kota was around more with it being summer break, so Freya had even less of a reason to get out there. Of course Freya was much too busy between her mother's constant nagging and trying to help as much as she could with the preparations for the big event.

Freya was at an all time low in her mood when her brother caught off in a secluded area imprinting a rune to help her keep her calm through everything.

"What the hell do you think you're doing Freya?" Kota demands, finding the image before him hard to believe. His sister had never done anything remotely bad in her life, she never broke the rules, and here she was breaking one of the biggest rules of them all.