Years had passed since the events of what had come to be known as emergence, and tonight was special. Halloween, or All Hallows Eve as it had regressed to being called, was nox pacis, the night of peace. It was agreed that on this day every year, borders of all kinds meant nothing. The dead walked, and the worlds of humanity and their monsters collided.
Since the spectacular defeat of the Trift in 2754, humanity had been contacted by numerous civilizations, fulfilling the initial wish of all humanity, who joined a thriving community previously oppressed by the Trift. But Humanity was reserved, taking seriously the message that Morgan le Fay had delivered to them after the battle. They had dusted off the weapons of war left to collect dust in museums and built ships with the purpose of sending them to combat.
Lily was the daughter of one such ship. More accurately, her mother commanded the ship, and the crew of the ship had helped raise her. This All Hallows Eve was the first she would spend planetside, though not on Earth. The world they were on now was known as Centralis, it had a longer, more complex name, but humanity had collectively called it Centralis, and the name had stuck.
Less than a year ago, this world had been settled on as a center for trade, business, and politics between the different races. This year would be the first All Hallows eve on this planet. Morgan, who had become somewhat of a fixture on Earth, had informed the Earth government that the magics which allowed All Hallows Eve to happen only depended on the planet having a human population present. Hearing this, humanity warned the galactic community, and they had been greeted with assurances that nothing would be wrong with it. To be safe, Earth had ordered her flagship vessel, The Imperious, to Centralis.
That was how Lily had ended up wandering the large open-air market with the first mate of the Imperious, lovingly named Uncle Vic. As the sun finally set, Vic took off the full helmet and removed the black gloves, revealing sharp pointed canine teeth, eyes that seemed to glow red, and nails that looked more like claws than fingernails.
Everyone knew that Vic was a vampire and had no issue with it. Vic had repeatedly proven that having a vampire —with their insane reactions, speed, and strength — as a first mate would prove to be far more beneficial than any perceived deficits.
Lily had decided almost immediately that Vic was the only acceptable babysitter. That, mixed with the fact that Lily’s birthday was October 31, had earned her the nickname of ‘the witch princess of the Imperious.’
“Can we get some ice cream?” Lily asked.
“Of course, my queen!” Vic said in a tone that made the young girl smile. “Ice cream or at least something similar.”
Lily and Vic took the cones that a strange blue-skinned alien man with several sets of arms offered them. They took a seat. Both knew what was coming. Vic seemed to glow in anticipation. Vic had confided in Lily that every Halloween, those of supernatural origin seemed to grow in power for the night due to a spell cast by Morgan le Fay and her husband Merlin.
As they watched, a red tint seemed to settle over everything, and then in the box of candles set out to mark the boundary between worlds, a portal of swirling black and purple energy seemed to materialize. Hundreds of ghosts, normally bound to the Fey world, streamed out, seeing for the first time in their long existence a new world. Then came the undead, souls that had chosen to reside in the Fey rather than pass from this reality. And finally came the Fey themselves, elves, dragons, and hundreds of others, all pouring through the portal as the celebration of All Hallows Eve began.
Lily and Vic sat watching the aliens of Centralis interact with the monsters turned allies of humanity. Vic chatted with a spirit that he claimed was his mother from an era he described as ‘the mud times.’ As she watched, Lily saw a woman of white skin and silver hair step free of the portal, followed by several other men and women of similar looks.
The other Fey seemed to give her a wide berth. Some even made small bows to her. The woman caught sight of Lily staring at her and made straight to the young girl. As the woman approached, Lily felt Vic stand behind her, and when the woman finally was within speaking distance, she opened her mouth to speak, but Lily cut her off.
“You are so pretty.” Lily said with awe in her tone.
That seemed to throw the silver-haired beauty for a loop. She paused and took in the young girl. The girl was human, but any with sight could see that she had been marked as protected by an exceptionally ancient vampire and several other species that could pass as human. The woman took in the vampire standing behind the girl and knew that this was the one who had marked the girl. She also knew that if she raised a hand to the girl, the monster behind her would rip her into very small pieces.
“Why thank you, young human.” The Fey woman said, nodding slightly to the vampire, who seemed to relax slightly at the nod. “Are you the one they call the witch princess of the Imperious?”
“Oh, that’s just a silly name that Vic and the others gave me.” Lily said, jumping down from her seat on the table and walking around the woman. The silver-haired woman’s attendants looked as if they would move to stop her, but a glance from their mistress stopped them cold. “You look friendly, and my friends call me Lily.”
The woman smiled at Lily. “Well, hello, Lily. My name is Hecate. I am the Witch Queen of the Fey.”
“Wow, a real queen!” Lily said, poorly imitating a curtsy, which made several of Hecate's attendants smile at the young girl.
“I had heard that someone was claiming to be the witch princess, and I had to come and meet them,” Hecate said.
“Well, I guess that’s me.” Lily said, smiling up at the woman. Without missing a beat, the young girl noticed another woman walking toward them and smiled, turning from Hecate and running toward her. “Mom!”
“Hey, honey.” Lily’s mother said, scooping the young girl up to hold her close. Hecate was taken aback at how the eyes of the women narrowed into a predatory gaze as soon as her daughter could not see. Silently Vic stepped over to whisper in the ear of the protective mother.
The woman nodded and set her daughter down. “So, who are your friends, honey?”
“This is Hecate,” Lily said, looking up at the witch queen, who smiled down at the girl, “Mom, she is a real queen.”
“Ah, Hecate.” Lily’s mother stood and offered a hand, her eyes never leaving the witch queen's face. “Queen of the witches, First Queen, Lady of Names.”
The additional titles made Hecate smile. This woman knew who she was and was unfazed. “You seem to do your research. What is your name?”
“I am Martha Harlan, commander of the E.S.S. Imperious and mother of Lily here.” Lily’s mother stated calmly. “I did my research when everyone started calling Lily the witch princess. I didn’t want her to offend anyone. From what I could tell, there is a Witch Queen, that would be you, and a King, whose name I could not seem to dig up. But no female children. I hope that she has not done anything offensive.”
Hecate looked at Martha and thought for a moment before turning to one of her attendants and speaking quickly in her native Fey. The attendant nodded and then rushed back through the portal. Hecate took a seat and gestured for Martha to sit next to her. Lily went and began speaking to various Fey, with Vic standing silently behind her.
“How in the world did you get him to care for the girl?” Hecate asked.
“Vic?” Martha asked and laughed at Hecate’s nod. “Oh, that wasn’t me. That was all Lily. When I first took command of the ship, I was warned of a troublesome first mate, who was a vampire and apparently some kind of royalty to boot. Turned out to be Vic, and he made it very clear to Lily and I that he had no interest in being our friend. Well, Lily proceeded to lecture him on his manners and seek him out every day, and refuse to leave him alone until he played with her. That was almost a year ago, and now they are inseparable.”
Hecate looked intensely at Lily and then turned to Martha. “Your daughter is marked. The vampire, and several others who are not publicly known to be coexisting with humans, have placed magical marks on her, promising death to any who harm her.”
“I am well aware of who and what is going on with my daughter.” Martha said, her tone indicating that she was not thrilled about it but also understood that it was better than her daughter having no protection from the Fey. “When Lily had softened him up, and Vic realized I wasn’t as bad as he had worried, he came to me and told me that my crew was special. Apparently, there are no less than seven beings who were around for the writing of the original bible and have a power that is on par with my ship among my crew. He also explained that Lily had some kind of sixth sense about this, as she had gone to each and every one of them and convinced them that they should be friends with her too.”
Hecate’s eyes widened. She had heard of mortals having gifts, and many were more powerful, but the ability to ‘sniff out’ Fey was something that even Merlin and Morgana struggled with. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a small boy who bore the same facial features and striking beauty as Hecate hurtled out of the portal and toward Hecate, speaking rapidly in Fey. Hecate smiled at him and spoke, “No Fey in the human world Kestran,”
The boy nodded and switched to English. “Yes, mother. Why did you send for me? I thought that I was not allowed out of the Fey on All Hallows Eve?”
Just then, Lily’s voice was heard again. “Wow! Your hair is beautiful!” she exclaimed gleefully.
Kestran turned and found himself confronted with a young human girl. He smiled at the girl. “Thank you. Your hair is pretty too.” Without missing a beat, the two children began enjoying the festivities together, shadowed by Vic and an equally imposing-looking Fey man.
“Your daughter is something special, that is for certain.” Hecate said, accepting a cup offered to her by her attendant. Martha took a cup as well, casting a glance at Hecate. “Don’t worry, it is not ambrosia, only tea. There will be no dangers from it.”
Martha took a drink of the tea. “So I had heard rumors from my chain of command that I would be getting a message from the Fey. Something that was my choice but that the politicians hope I would agree with. Why do I get the feeling that you have that message?”
“I have an offer for you.” Hecate said, enjoying the warm tea for a moment before continuing. “One of the creatures that is on board your ship sent me a message, asking me to offer something to you, and after meeting your daughter, and hearing from you how special she is, not to mention one of the thirteen vampire princes follows her as if he were a hound.”
Vic turned his head, shooting a nasty look at Hecate, indicating that he could hear her and was listening to her conversation with Martha. Hecate shivered, “Even I find their insane hearing disconcerting. Regardless, seeing all of this and seeing the marks that have been placed on her, I take it all as an endorsement. So I make you the offer to test your child for affinity to magic. And not just any magic, origin magic.”
Martha’s eyes widened. When emergence happened, one of the first groups to join the vampires in living in the open were the witches, and they had quickly been granted permission to test any child, with the consent of their parents, for magic ability. It soon became common for children to be tested at birth. And any who showed the ability were given special instruction on Saturdays after their normal schooling. But the magic they learned was commonly called tertiary magic. Origin magic was thought usable only by the Fey Royals and special cases like Merlin and Morgan.
Martha was frozen. “What would happen if she showed an aptitude?” Martha’s throat felt raw as she sipped her tea, and she could swear the area around her was hot as she started sweating.
Martha was surprised as she felt the smooth cold hands of Hecate close over her own on her mug. Hecate looked her in her eyes and spoke. “No one would take your child Martha, I would not allow it, and frankly, there is not a single group or organization that would risk the ire and wrath of those who have marked Lily, including myself. Rest easy knowing that she is in no danger from this offer.”
Martha nodded, and Hecate smiled as she felt the woman visibly relax. “As to what would happen, that would be your choice. First, you could choose to do nothing and know that strange things would always happen around Lily. Second, you could choose to have someone teach her magic here, but it would not be origin magic. Third, you could choose to allow your daughter to live and receive training in the Fey lands. She would be safe, and she would learn to fully master her gifts and eventually would end up as someone on the level of Merlin or Morgan.”
“How do you test her?” Martha asked, her mind running a million miles an hour.
“It is quite simple. I need only hold her hands and ask her to repeat some words.” Hecate asked.
Martha nodded and looked to where Lily was. Seeming to sense that she was being discussed, Lily turned and smiled at her mother and Hecate. Grabbing Kestran by the hand and pulling him over to where Martha and Hecate sat. “Hey, mom.”
“Hey, Lily. Are you enjoying the festival?” Martha asked, smiling at the girl, who spent the next five minutes assuring Martha and Hecate that she was indeed enjoying the festival and that Kestran was as well. Martha nodded, smiling at the young girl. “Queen Hecate is actually here for a reason, and she wants to test you. Will you take her test?”
“Sure.” Lily said with a smile and no hesitation.
Hecate smiled at Lily and stood from her seat before kneeling down to be at eye level with Lily. “Lily, I am going to hold your hands, and I want you to try and repeat after me.”
“Okay.” Lily said again, taking the Fey Woman’s hands. “Wow, your skin is so smooth.”
“Thank you. Now repeat after me.” Hecate said, and those around her would have sworn that she began speaking white noise.
Lily, however, just smiled, her eyes seeming to glow as she produced the same sequence of noise. Making Hecate's eyes widen. “So it’s true.” Hecate said as she smiled at Lily and then sent both the children away.
“Martha, you need to make a decision.” Hecate said without taking her eyes off Lily as she watched the girl play with her son.
“I choose option four.” Martha said with conviction.
Hecate turned back to Martha. “What do you mean?”
“Starting next year, on All Hallows Eve, I will send Lily to the Fey lands to learn magic and understand her powers. However, from then on, every All Hallows Eve, we will meet here or on Earth, and we will exchange. Lilly will alternate years one in the Fey lands followed by one here. Fair?” Martha said.
Hecate thought for a second. “On one condition. My son Kestran will join Lily in her studies, and when he comes to the human realm, you will care for him as if he were your own, just as I will care for Lily when she is in the Fey realm.”
A throat was cleared, and both women looked up to see Vic standing silently. “If I may, I will add something to this. Regardless of where the children are, I will act as a teacher for all things that are not magic if you will both allow it and if the military will let me go. On top of this, I will ensure their safety, as such a thing will eventually get out into the public eye and may attract some detractors and other filth that don’t appreciate emergence.
The two women nodded and spent the rest of the night talking to their people and in Martha’s case, her chain of command. They also spent an hour talking to the children and seeing if this was something that they wanted. They seemed eager to start and wondered why they had to wait till next year.
As the night drew to a close, both women ended up carrying a tired-out child, though in Hecate’s case, it was against the will of her attendants that she do so.
As the sun began to rise, a loud horn, sounded by a centaur who had walked through the portal, signaled the closing of the portal in roughly five minutes. Hecate looked at the strange world. While she had been working things out with Martha, she had failed to appreciate the beauty of the planet that they were on. “Maybe next year we won’t be so busy with trying to figure things out, and we can sit down and actually get to know one another.”
“I think I would like that. I expect we will be communicating a lot going forward. So instead of goodbye, I will simply say this. Happy All Hallows Eve Hecate, may your days be filled with wonder and cheer.” Martha said, waving to the woman and turning to walk away as Hecate walked through the portal mere moments before it blinked out of existence.
