The Trials and Tribulations of a Supernatural Teen

Bonding Day Jitters

Winnifred Engll 

       I awoke to the sun beaming through the blinds. I took one final yawn before wiping the sleep from my eyes. Today would probably be one of the most important days of my life, but all I could think about was if  my mom would notice if I made my bed. Maybe it would be better not to think about it. I just wish they would tell me. Practically my entire family knew who I would be bonded to in the ceremony. I only wished they would tell me. I mean I think I should at least have a heads up if the person I must spend the rest of my life with was...well...I don't know...messy or...mean, you know? I walked over to my closet and searched for the pleated pink skirt with ruffles I had been planning to wear to school since June. It was perfect for my first day of Junior year. I even had a matching pink cardigan, a pink ribbon for my hair, rose gold pearls, and pink pumps. I only hoped that the excitement of junior year would distract me from tonight's ceremony.

        As I glided down the stairs, I could smell the back to school pancakes sizzling on the stove.

      "Morning, Honey Bunch," Mom greeted me as I took my seat next to Bruce, my brother. My baby bro happened to be the only other member of our family that didn't know who I would bond with. He, too, complained about the exclusion. Our older sister Aphelia was the only kid in our family who was eligible to learn the news. She bonded last year, so, now, she was all too giddy about concealing the news from me. Aphelia was lucky. My sister's mate, Oliver, was not only pretty powerful but also a total dreamboat. This guy had infinitely deep brown eyes and lush dark hair. He was tall, and his family had excellent abilities like manipulating energy and creating force fields. Unfortunately for me, he didn't have any younger brothers. He did have a sister. She was going to bond tonight, too. I have seen her around school before. She kind of resembles him. If I am remembering correctly, her name is Raven. I don't think I have ever really talked to her. She tends to only hang around those wickedly smart kids. I do pretty well in school, but those kids are on another level. I bet that if Raven wanted to, she could get into any college she preferred, but I guess her destiny was a cruel trick of fate. 

       Avivians don't move away from the small town of Avalon's Sanctuary. We stick to our own kind. We always stay local and go to the college in the next town over. Then we find a nice house in Avalon's Sanctuary big enough for ourselves and our mate. We settle down, have a few  kids with both parents' abilities and pass on our traditions. My father says that Avalon's Sanctuary is special because evil lurks here. He says that we stay because we are the only ones who can fight it. My parents used to tell me a story about how long ago, humans knew about us, and the humans believed us to be unholy entities brought from the gates of hell to curse them. My parents said that we decided to try and reason with them, but then when they killed three of us, we went to war and destroyed many of their villages. In the process the real evil entities feasted upon both us and humans. That is when we decided to forget our quarrel with them and ward off those vampires, changelings, and demons. Unlike us, they were not born but made from the hate of mankind. My mother said that we didn't want to become hateful like the humans, so we protect them to make up for all the people we killed in the war.

        Tomorrow, I get to start training to fight such beings. All of the new bloods start training at age sixteen. That was something I was looking forward to, but the ceremony in which I was told who I would  marry as soon as I turned eighteen was something I could wait for. I didn't feel ready to be bonded to someone for the rest of my life after school today. That intimidating phrase, the rest of my life, keeps ringing in my head because Avivians don't get divorces. Osnas Adela, the league of Avivians,  has only ever allowed divorce once about 24 years ago. This was only because the husband raped many Avivian women after being turned into a Changeling. Osnas Adela allowed his mate to divorce. Then she killed herself after discovering she was pregnant with a changling baby after being her husband's first victim.

       'Are you excited?" My dad asked.

       "Not the first word I would use to describe the feeling."

       "Honey, are you nervous about the..." my mom trailed off, giving me a look of fill in the blank.

       "Mom, I can't read your mind," I said.

       "The consummation," she whispered.

       "Of course I am. I mean I have three days to  have sex for the first time with a random stranger that I must marry and bare children for when I turn eighteen. I am overwhelmed. I am frightened. I am totally ill about it."

       "Dear," said my dad, "Please do no use words like virgin and sex in front of me. You are still my little girl."

       "Well, what words should I use to describe my child bride expectations?"

       "How about we just stick to consummation?" Mom chimed in. I nodded and silently finished my pancakes before hugging them both and heading to the car with Bruce to wait for Aphelia to finish her hair.

       "Winni, do you think you could love your mate once you get to know him?" Asked Bruce.

       "I think that I have to think like that to keep myself sane, but I am sure it is certainly possible. I mean Aphelia and Oliver seem to grow closer by the minute, so maybe there is hope."

       "If there isn't hope, I promise to help you run away as long as you take me with you."

      "If their isn't hope, I promise you I will have our final destination planned by tomorrow morning."