The Scarlet Witch

Introduction

With a low sigh, Aeriis gingerly caressed the necklace hanging from her throat. It was a simple sapphire pendant with the word "Moon" written on the back on a small silver chain but it was the one thing he gave her. The only thing she had left to remember. Her small fingers rubbed the rough indentions of each letter, eyelashes brimming with tears. She could picture him if she concentrated hard enough. She could see the gentleness of his smile, the copper tone of his rustled hair and those striking blue eyes against his tan skin. He'd always had one hand buried in his pocket and the other resting on the back of his neck. It was a nervous tick she'd come to find out. They'd kept their love a secret for so long; for being what they were was forbidden enough. But to be what they were and to be in love. That... well that was entirely unheard of.

Letting the necklace fall back behind her shirt, she made her way down the beach. The sand was cold and uninviting, slipping between her toes and her sandals. The sun had not yet risen and it was like the entire world was holding its breath, just waiting for it to rise over the water's edge and spill onto the earth. Even the waves were gentle as they rubbed against the sand, pushing and pulling it at its will. She moved closer so that the water wrapped around her ankles, the edge of her dress dipping into its icy, wet fingers and brought her face up to the horizon. A blinding ball of flame was rising above the water. It was almost as if the sun was emerging from the deep sea. Almost as if that was where it slumbered.

The sky lit up with hues of pinks and oranges and it brought the heat with it. She felt the rays on her skin, warming her and it reminded her of him. That was the difference between them. She was cold, true to her nature and he was always warm; in both body and mentality. Sometimes she wondered why, out of all those in his clan, he chose her. A high-born witch, the enemy of his own kind, someone meant for utter destruction, while he was the embodiment of love and all that was good; a protector of the woods; both a man and a wolf.

The birds were chirping now and it pulled her from her thoughts. The world was coming alive again with the presence of the sun. Her red hair looked like flames against her pale skin as the rays ignited the color of her frame. Reaching out a hand she hovered her palm above the oceans water and closed her eyes, concentrating on his face. Forbidden old words escaped her lips and the humming of the leaders of olden times filled her head. Sometimes she wondered if others could hear them when she summoned her magic to her. She willed herself to see him.

Reluctantly she opened her eyes, almost hoping that it didn't work. She knew better. She was the daughter of the most powerful blood-witch to ever walk this earth and her own magic had surpassed her mother's several years ago. It was almost uncontrollable at times, the magic linking with her own emotions. But there in the water, she could see him. It was a simple mirror image only, nothing like being up close to him and it definitely didn't do him justice. She'd been fighting with herself since the day he went away, whether or not to search him out, since the day he left her waiting at the edge of the wood, their normal meeting place. That was the day he never came to see her again.

His hair was the same color, the same cut but he sported a beard now. It made him look older and more defined. She reached down and ran a finger along his face, a smile on her own. To her surprise he shivered, and the image of him turned and looked her dead in the face. She froze in place, one hand still extended out to touch him but the rest of her couldn't move. There was no way he could see her too. It was just a one way mirror, meant for her to spy and him to have absolutely no clue she'd even thought of him. Yes, her heart was hurt by his abandonment but her soul also resented him for it. She didn't want him to know he still meant so much to her.

The emotion in his eyes turned to shock and disbelief and everything in between and she knew then that he could see her too. She saw him reach out to her as well and her heart gave a dull ache.

"Aeriis, how..." he trailed off.

She looked away from him and splashed her hand across the water's surface, breaking up the image of him. All that was left now was the water and the sound of her heart beating so loud in her chest she thought it would burst straight out. Something had gone wrong. She'd cast that spell plenty of other times, when spying on enemies and what-not but not once had the images been able to see her too. She looked at her pale, shaking hands.

"What the hell happened...?" she whispered to herself.

She heard a loud piercing ring and jumped at the noise. As if her heart wasn't pounding enough. It was the ringtone on her phone and with one hand holding up her long dress she hurried out of the water, too the phone resting on her shawl in the sand. She flipped it open and pressed it too her ear.

"You want to explain to me what the hell just happened!?" came her mother's angry voice. She had to move her ear away from the speaker.

"What are you talking ab-"

Her mother cut her off. "The wolves are gathering at the edge of the wood. They said a scarlet witch had appeared before their leader, in their lands, which as you know breaks the treaty. So you better get your ass back here RIGHT NOW. You have some explaining to do."

Before she could respond, she was met with a dial tone. There was definitely no mistaking what had just happened. A scarlet witch? She was the only one. She'd inherited the scarlet hair color from her father who had long since passed. Somehow, some way she'd transported an astral projection of herself straight into the middle of their camp and touched their future leader in front of all of his people and his father; one of the most powerful wolves in his sector. People that had no idea of the relationship between them both. Now those very people were waiting on the edge of their land, waiting for an explanation she wasn't really sure she could give them. But if she didn't, they could seek war.

"Son of a bitch." She threw on her shawl and raced up the hillside towards her city; her hair trailing behind her like wild fire.