The Adventures of Gwendoline: The Blackwood Witch

Chapter Two: The Light or The Dark

What would it like to be only mortal? This question was the only thing on my mind as I lay in my bed. Being mortal meant I could stay in mortal education, go off to a mortal college at some point. I could marry a mortal boy and have mortal children. I'd live a completely mundane life. But would it be enough for me? I'd have to give up my powers and I'd never be able to see Uncle Blaise again. I'd spend the rest of my life constantly thinking I let down my parents, especially my mother.

If I were to stay a witch, I'd have to renounce my connection to the mortal world completely and study at The Academy of Dark Arts; an institution led by our coven, The Coven of the Sacred Flame. I'd still have my powers and my Uncle. After studying at the academy, the coven would choose a warlock husband for me. It wouldn't be based of love, or even likeness. My mate would be chosen because of the amount of power he possessed.

In the coven, witches and warlocks are married with the consideration of how powerful the two would be as a couple. How powerful their offspring may be also has a part in the match making process. Love has nothing to do with it in the coven. Matches are made based of power. Usually, full witches and warlocks don't have a problem with this as the coven believes that feelings of affection, love and anything that goes with it is a sign of weakness. They believe that the only love we should feel is love of the Dark Lord himself, Satan.

Personally, I didn't believe in any of that stuff even though I probably should have given my witch nature. Time was ticking until my dark baptism. In our coven, Dark Baptisms were performed on the night of our eighteenth birthday. I never knew why our coven did these things so late. Most covens, like the Church of Night, performed their Dark Baptisms at sixteen. Apparently, our coven used to perform them at the same time as everyone else, but it was my mother who changed it when she was Lady of the Coven. Uncle Blaise used to say it was so I could enjoy my mortal life for as long as possible before I'd eventually have to sell my soul to Satan and devote myself to the coven.

I sighed as I sat up on my bed and looked around my room. It had the same aesthetic as the rest of the house. The room was incredibly spacious, but it had this uneasiness to it. It was very dark, and there wasn't a lot of colour in any part of the room. Blaise had always said that we were dark beings, so our lives should be dark too. What a load of wank that was.

I slid my body over to the side of the bed and walked over to the mirror. I was around about 5'5 with a slim-ish build. I had long blonde hair that fell into natural ringlets at the bottom. My eyes were a stone-blue. I was a spitting image of my mother.

I glanced over at the calendar on my wall. The date today was October 11th, which only meant it was two days until my eighteenth birthday. My mother couldn't have timed that better if she tried; a witch born on a Friday the 13th. How ironic. But it also meant that in two days, I would have to make a decision that would change my life forever. I had to decide whether to claim the light or the dark. Would I stay a witch and accept my destiny, or become a mortal forever?

I awoke the next morning, dressed myself and ran downstairs hoping to avoid Uncle Blaise as I enjoyed what was probably going to be my last day in the mortal world. I reached the front door and grabbed the handle, ready to turn it before a stern voice stopped me. "Gwendoline? Could you please come into the dining room?" I sighed as I knew what was coming - a lecture. I slowly turned around and moped through the archway into the dining room. There at our large table was Uncle Blaise, sitting in his regular chair right in the middle. "We didn't finish our talk last night, Gwendoline. Sit down." He said. He seemed annoyed, probably due to the fact he also knew this wasn't going to be the last lecture he gave me as it certainly wasn't the first. I pulled out a chair directly across from him. "Okay," I said. "Let me have it."

"Gwendoline, tomorrow is your eighteenth birthday. Tomorrow night at your Dark Baptism, you must claim for the Dark and become a full witch." Blaise said, almost seeming desperate. "If you claim for the Dark, we will no longer be in exile and after you've graduated from the academy and marry a Warlock, you'll be able to claim your place as the rightful Lady of the Coven."

"Uncle Blaise I don't know if that is what I wan-"

"I don't care if it's what you want, Gwendoline. It's your destiny. It's what your mother would have wanted." Uncle Blaise sat back in his chair. I knew that my Dark Baptism was the only way our family would be bought out of exile. I could see more than anything Blaise wanted to be a part of the coven again. He had spent almost the last eighteen years in exile because of the 'selfishness' of my mother's actions with my mortal father. He would feel so lonely; excommunicated by the coven and no family apart from me. And even then, I wasn't the greatest person to for support in at the best of times. But I wasn't sure I could give up a normal life just for him.

"I don't know if I can do it. I don't think it's a choice I can make. I don't want to be Lady of the Coven, or even be a part of the coven."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "See, Gwendoline? This is why I don't like you have relationships with mortals. You become more interested in being mundane than being a witch, which is your destiny. You are to stay here until your Dark Baptism, we cannot jeopardise your future."

"My future?" I stood up and slammed my hands on the table. I was furious. As I pressed my fingers harder into the timber table, it started to shake. Blaise looked horrified. "My future? Don't you mean your future?" I said as I clenched my teeth. The room started to shake. "All you think about is my apparent destiny. I just think it's a big sham in order to get you back into the coven. I won't sacrifice my life for you!" I lifted my hands off the table and the room and all of its contents suddenly stop shaking. Blaise looked horrified. For the first time ever, it seemed like he was speechless.

"Gwendoline, I..." he trailed off. His voice sounded full of sadness, almost as if he regretted even opening his mouth to begin with.

"Don't," I stomped over to the door and ripped it open to feel the cool air hit my face. "Just don't say anything Blaise." I walked outside onto the front steps and slammed the door behind me, making a statement. As I walked down the steps, a feeling of guilt and regret hit me. Was it wrong of me to act that way? I stopped and thought about turning back. But no.

Fuck it.

Fuck the light.

Fuck the dark.

It's time to go fuck with some mortals.