Moon Witch

Aftermath

Maggie sits in her favorite spot on the living room couch, her coven gathered around her. Each witch chatters excitedly, not only to her but to the others as well. They all ask questions, demanding answers. Most of them ask Maggie where Julien is, and if he's alright, sometimes they ask if she's considering leaving him after he let her get kidnapped. Of course, the answer to the latter question is no. It was a mere moment of weakness on his part. He had a gun pointed at him, after all. But she tells them no, tells them he's fine and being kept in the hospital for a little while. He's suffered a nasty concussion and has lost a lot of blood both from the wound on his head and his broken nose.

"How can you stay with him after what he's done?" A witch younger than Maggie asks. The Moon Witch shrugs.

"He came back for me though, so it evens out," Maggie crosses her ankles, leaning back against the couch.

"Some men aren't strong enough to mary witches," The younger witch shakes her head and clicks her tongue, getting up from her spot next to Maggie. The spot is filled quickly by Luna.

"The other Elders will be here any moment. Are you doing alright?" She studies her daughter's face. Maggie smiles and nods.

"I'm fine, Mother," Maggie takes her mother's hands, "You don't need to worry so much."

"I need you to understand it was never our intention to hurt you," Luna's eyes are the softest Maggie has ever seen them.

"I know, Mom," Maggie can't blame her mother. She did what she could to protect her family. How can anyone be mad about that? No, it's the other two Elders that rub her the wrong way. Why couldn't they at least tell the Moon Witch herself what she was and why she had to go into hiding? And why only during All Hallows? None of that makes sense to her. Suddenly, every witch in the room snaps to attention, watching the looming figures of the Elders in the center of the room. Luna gets up to join them.

"Witches, we're gathered today to tell you the whole truth as to why we kept you all in hiding all this time," Elder Cybil states. She clears her throat, "All of you, by now, know the legend of the fabled Moon Witch. Until ten years ago, when Luna brought a thirteen-year-old Margot to my doorstep in the early hours of the morning, we all thought the legends were false. Until then, there hadn't been evidence of a Moon Witch for over six hundred years. In that time, the hunters had died out, and witches and non-magic folk lived in peaceful understanding. Except, of course, for the rather offensive Halloween decorations we've all complained about.

But Margot, our dear, sweet little Margot, exhibited a power so great at such a young age. Her mother came to me for help, frantic and understandably so. Her husband had died brutally in a home invasion, and her youngest daughter had somehow killed the assailant. Everything Luna described to me mirrored the Moon Witch of legend, down to the letter. But of course I was confused, we both were. The other two Elders of our coven were also at a loss. The legend states, no matter how it's told or how it's written, that a Moon Witch is born to us only when her power is needed. Only when there's a threat. And at the time, there wasn't one.

The other Elders and I came to the conclusion that Margot is, in fact, the fabled witch, and consulting with her mother, we came up with the plan to go into hiding during All Hallows. According to the legends, her powers would be at their peak then, and hunters or no, she would be in grave danger. Thus the Tradition was born, and none of you, including Margot, knew what she is. And for that, we are deeply sorry. We're sorry for the lies, and the deception, and of course, Margot, we're sorry for denying you the right to a normal childhood."

"So, we've been forced into hiding, all of us, to protect one person?" An angry witch from the other side of the room demands. Elder Cybil nods.

"Yes, in a sense. But upon protecting her, we were also protecting you. When someone is looking for the Moon WItch's power, they will stop at nothing to get it. Which the three of us and Rosemary saw first-hand last night," Cybil turns to address Maggie, "We hope that Julien makes a fast recovery, Margot."

"Wait. The Moon Witch is only given to us when there's a threat. Who's threatening us? Was it the Corporation?" Kat, the witch that shared Maggie's interest in freeing All Hallows, asks.

"The Corporation was nothing more than three men playing poker in a broken down warehouse. The only threat they posed was to my daughter. The two men Maggie didn't burn to a crisp were taken to the police, and of course with a little manipulation of their minds, courtesy of me, Maggie was let off the hook. We may be living in peace with non-magic folk, but if word were to get out that we partook in the barbaric act of burning a man at the stake, we would all be behind bars," Luna explains, "As of right now, none of us are certain as to what the threat is, who it is, when it will strike. All we know is that because of Maggie All Hallows is no longer a time to hide. Every coven across the world knows that she is the Moon Witch now, and every last one of our sisters will protect her at all costs."

"Are we safe then?" A very good question. Are they? The three Elders nod in unison.

We are. For now. But we must be ready when disaster inevitably strikes. I'm urging all of you to stay sharp. Potions, charms, spells, curses, all need to be practiced on vigilantly," Elder Cybil looks over the coven. She pauses on Maggie, studying the young witch's face, "We must be able to pick up where Margot leaves off. Even the Moon Witch has her weaknesses." The Elder smiles and Maggie is taken aback. That's two gestures previously unknown to Maggie. She's not complaining though.

"Meeting adjourned. We'll see you all next week for the post All Hallows meeting," Luna says. The witches all go their separate ways, leaving Luna and her daughters in the room alone.

"Do you think the threat is really going to be that bad?" Rose asks her mother. Luna nods, even though her maternal instinct is telling her to lie; to protect her girls.

"Whatever is coming is going to be big. Stay on alert, my loves," She kisses both daughters on their cheeks before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

"If Mom is antsy enough to call us 'my loves', which she hasn't called us in years, then it must be huge," Rose muses more to herself than her sister. Despite this, Maggie nods in agreement.

"She's really worried about us, that's for sure. I mean, more so than usual. You can see it all over her face," Maggie says. Rosemary looks at her sister, noting how much she looks like their mother right at this very moment, "She usually hides it."

"This must be something even she's afraid can't be stopped. This is serious," Rose tapa at the corner of her mouth, a quirk she's held since she was a small girl. She wipes her red lipstick from her fingertips onto her leggings, "What do we do?"

Maggie shrugs, a small, worried smile tugging up the corner of her mouth, "We wait, Rose. We wait, we prepare, and when the inevitable happens, we'll be ready."