The Introvert Witch

My name is Valia Winters. I come from a coven deep within Forest of the Weeping Willows, behind a remote and beautiful waterfall, owned by no one. Just like us, the Luna Coven. Although we were very powerful beings, we resided in peace, searching for ways to breach the exploration of the lives we dreamed of, as well as to keep an eye on things from our angle. We needed to keep our coven a secret, as we only convene on every full moon to figure out what we have been up to these past months. Me? I just got my own apartment in a semi quiet city, making money on own with my talent of writing poetry books, and looking after my familiar, Charlotte. I work from home, as my own boss, and everything is seemingly easy with my routinely work. My other coven sisters are singers, artists, modern day enchantresses, and even doctors, nutritionists, and midwives. Some were more homey like myself, but mainly we followed our dreams and kept consistent hush and only contacted in natural magic ways, such as sending a code bird or writing by mail. Or, a simple text with emojis in our group chat we recently made.

I wanted to see my blood sister again, who went off to become a model. She was my identical twin, the illustrious Cassandra Winters, but she was more beautiful than I in my opinion. Her skin was practically flawless, but she had always kept busy, as she was training for a workout commercial, and had gotten her assistant to cover for her while she met with us. She lit up when she spotted me around the corner. She fangirled a bit, and hugged me generously. "Oh my god, it is so good to see you, my sunrise!" she practically squealed. It was getting hard to breathe properly, as she has knocked the wind out of me, as well as practically crushing my larynx. I gave her a few taps, and she backed away apologizing and laughing. "I guess I don't know my own strength anymore, sorry! I just couldn't wait to see you! I flew over as fast as I could," she was the more chatty of us both, but I loved to listen. I missed her a lot.

Her chocolate brown hair was shorter now, her frosted tips cradling her ears and neck in beautiful, thick curls. It was a bit longer in the back, but she could pull any hair do off. She was drop dead gorgeous, and extremely kind and self assured. She was always the outgoing one, the center of attention, and honestly? I loved it. The less attention, the better. I hate too much outside attention if I am not ready for the outside attention. Book signings were different, but the talk shows and things? Never. Too much outside attention. Hence why I don't even use my real name for my books, but my sister loves reading them regardless. She has been my biggest supporter since we were younger. My first book; she donated $10,000 to sell as many copies as possible as well as my publishing and copyrighting fees.

"You should come to my fashion show! I've been looking forward to you visiting, I haven't seen you outside of your work space since forever!" she was gripping my arm and shaking slightly, her constant excitement between her wringing my arm dry of life and giving it time to breathe was unbearable. I caved, "I'll go if you LET go," and she hugged my neck with the same strength. I gave her arms several taps, and she hurriedly backed away apologizing while also thanking me. The other Coven sisters were also discussing amongst each other what has been happening, who was seeing who, that sort of nature. I just wanted to leave so I could make my casual mint green tea and hang with Charlotte.

"The Supreme has arrived," were the last words we heard when the room fell silent and in walked the most elegant and beautiful women with long, silver hair, brushing down her back in waves that smelled of rose hips and cedarwood. She was wearing a dove white cloak, along with a midnight blue gown with sparkled gems that mimicked stars in the night sky. Her jewelry was silver and gold, lining her neckline like prisms and diamonds. Her rings were of a multitude of colors, mixes of blues and greens of shattered opal. She spoke with a smooth yet stern tone, both comforting and of authority. She was the first of her last coven to branch off because of her new ideas. That is why she built her own coven.

"Tonight, as we are all aware of, is the full moon, but it is also the moon that kicks off the Summer Solstice. Does anyone remember what that means for the coven?" we all began to hoop and holler, as that meant we were about to commence in the Freedom Ceremony: a party where all the witch types gathered and celebrated our differences and similarities; kind of like a homecoming. Even so, meeting with these other witches I was very anxious. I think my sister caught on, as she held my hand and whispered not to worry and that she would be right there talking for the both of us if need be. That made me feel way better, as she was magnificent at deterrence tactics since growing up. If i felt uncomfortable, she was there to fix it.

We all discussed what we were going to conjure for the dinner before returning home when an Elder stepped forward to the Supreme and whispered in her ear. Her face dropped a bit, but then she nodded and excused herself. We were all at a standstill and awaiting her return, but we were dismissed instead and were told we were ending the dinner before it begins due to new information more pressing. I was so excited to go, but also very curious as to what was happening. I looked at my sister, and she sat there, smiling, telling me she's going to my place to discuss what she was smiling about. She said it was the catwalk before we teleported back to my mantle, then she changed her tune.

"Is your mirror still double sighted?" Cassandra looked frantic, yet calm. I informed her that it wasn't since I got the apartment since I didn't really have many people jumping at the chance to reach me through the mirror. She then rushed over to me and sat next to me, revealing a hand mirror, and we both saw and heard the Supreme with the Elders, discussing other events that were not broadcasted, yet we were seeing it. I turned to her quickly, getting smaller gusts of shock and anger, knowing we were dismissed and doing this unbeknownst to them. Another thing to mention with my sister: charismatic, beautiful, and extremely nosey. Stealth magic was mastered at a young age for her, and she taught it to me, but I never actually used it to spy on people. She does this like she's a natural. She has never been detected, even back then.

We eavesdropped on their conversation, and they were discussing the next Supreme nominations, and the candidates. "The five women we have lined up for these roles is as follows: Emma Stontz, Camellia Raven, Starla Binx, Cassandra Winters, and Valia Winters-" we looked at one another, shocked. What the actual fuck? I don't talk to anyone, what makes them think I want to be the Supreme, let alone a candidate? But one of the Elders chimed in on my behalf, "Unacceptable choices. Valia Winters is a shut in author with virtually no social life aside from her familiar, as well as lacking any skills to become a leader of anything in general if it involves human interaction, and Emma requested to withdraw from the coven for her fiancée Marcus, as the couple will be wed in just a few weeks." I was a little offended, but I just told her to hold her tongue, as she was getting kind of angry. She was right; I was not a leader, I spoke to no one, and social events make me cringe. I would rather curl next to Charlotte and work on my spells as well as my books.

My sister, who naturally attracts people and draws leadership through each breath at ease. She was the perfect candidate, but her workload would have to adjust, but she kept it going and the meeting adjourned after an hour of discussing and narrowing down which ones were up for supreme: Starla Binx, me, and Camellia Raven. We stopped listening in, and just decided to chill for the rest of the day. I picked up my room by walking around, waving my fingers as things levitated into their designated place in a whirlwind of items I have either purchased or been gifted from fans of my books. Cassandra went to my kitchen to start food as well as get a few dishes put away the same way I was cleaning, but faster, as I had learned it from her when we were children and she was a little better at her witchcraft. She also conjured cleaning sprites to get the rest of the house so we could spend more time together. She was raving about her next modeling opportunity in Paris next month and how the theme was going to be based off of Pride Month and she was going to introduce me to a few of her friends. "The color they chose for me is the red girl. Can you believe it? The red girl! Red isn't even my favorite color, it's green! I requested green and everything, but I wanted to not use magic to get what I wanted. And now I should have used magic because now I'm the red girl," I was fixated on a gut feeling while also listening to her rant amidst her initial excitement.

"Is everything ok, Peanut?" she stopped and looked at me, snaking her way into my fixated gaze. I snapped out of it and voiced my concern. "What if the Elders knew we watched, and just let it be that way to test our judgement and next moves on the situation? What is this is the first test to becoming the Supreme to our coven?" I was speaking hypothetically, but it started to make more and more sense why they would say those things, especially if it was to ensue emotional responses. She looked confused, but then began to be on the same page as me. She held her chin delicately, her nude manicure brushing up and down softly as she poised her finger to trace her own chin. "What if they meant those things to trigger an emotional response that congregates with the chosen actions they try to look for in a leadership role? Like who not to choose, and who to trust with what information?" She snapped her head to me, hair softly embracing her movements. "What if we were bound to spy on them for test reasoning? Like who would contemplate vs react? Or who would use what information to succeed or find their true motives while considering a new Supreme?" We looked at one another, and silence shrouded the house, aside from the cleaning sprites, and 4 new sprites were promptly summoned to get dinner started. These sprites were more humanoid looking, stature wise. Their features resembled Fae of course. They asked what the requested dish would be, and my sister lovingly answered "Pasta of any kind, my dears. Choose which is best fitted for this occasion, and I will reward you handsomely."

They went to work happily. What many witches know when summoning these sprites: regardless of task, receive payment methods in different ways, but usually of equal exchanged value(in their eyes). For example, the cleaning sprites will clean in exchange for crackers or anything to eat, while the chef sprites will cook in exchange for a clean environment to work in- see what she did there? She always finds loopholes, since as a summoner, regardless if you put in physical work or not, since the sole summoner was her, she is given the credit. It sounds unfair, but the sprites were the ones who sealed and made this contract with our coven many centuries ago. We protect their existence being hidden with our magic, and we get solitude in their forest for our gatherings. The only rule: Never kill a Fae. Which is very obviously not going to happen, as we are not idiotic war mongering witches, just... modern witches.

The sprites ended up making a perfect breakfast with eggs, sausage, fruit salad they brought back from the portals they traveled through, some vegetables and cinnamon rolls. They brought milk, eggs to stock the fridge, fruits, some meat from their abundant hunts, and began to brew some tea for the occasion as well. The sun was coming up, and the sprites had finished all they were required, and was dismissed while my sister and I enjoyed our food and beverages. I chimed in, mouth a bit occupied with eggs, "Regardless of this Supreme talk, I plan on being transparent with you about the ordeal; I plan on not involving myself with those matters entirely." Cassandra looked at me seriously. "Valia, come on, our parents would be proud of one of us for becoming Supreme-" I severed the sentence. "Do not speak of them here ever again if you like being welcome here."

Remembering my parents was harsh for me. The run down of how they treated me goes as follows: mother would never let me speak out of self expression, she would force me into crowded coven meetings, she was calloused and cold as a mother. She was not a natural nurturing type, but she favored my sister, as she was the more outgoing child and more successful in school. If it didn't have a benefit to my mother, she wanted no parts. My father, on the other side was always absent when it came to showing up for me, and even slapped me across the face when I suggested the coven to get with the modern times to conceal ourselves amongst the normal human kind. He used to tell me, when he would show up, that I was a waste of a daughter and I would amount to debris if I was ever to imagine myself for greatness. My sister got different treatment, of course, as she was a prodigy with spells and Fae bonding. I took a bit slower, but I managed to do all my spell work and conjuring on my own with the help of my coven mother Selene, who has since passed away as she was the only Elder who ever understood me.

"They changed, V. I think they are excited to see where you have gone, what you have been up to-" I gave her a sharp look, rage uprising from my stomach. "You talk like that only because they favored you, you have no clue what it was like for me with them. They are vile adults, and their praise for my success falls no deaf ears. I have no time for their bullshit."

"Well, that isn't very nice of you to say about your own mother," I turned to the voice of my mother, next to my father, looking pitiful. They sparked my conjuring spell by mistake, and my protection Fae sprang to protect me. My father was taken aback by the sudden hostility, as he probably expected me to be the weakling I used to be. I looked to my sister, who looked down and fidgeted a bit. "You invited them here?" I asked her, anger creeping through my lowered tone. She winced as I became more vocal. "You know the turmoil they put me through, and you pick today of all days to have them at MY HOUSE? Without even SPEAKING to me first, mind you," she tried to speak, but I told my Fae helpers to escort them all away from me, trying to keep my composure as best as I could. My mother stepped forward a bit, being stopped mid step by the Fae pointing at the door.

"Can you at least hear us out? It has been 12 years since we had spoke even a single word to one another-" I cut her off. "Yeah, and you are both to blame for our disconnection. How well did you think all of the years of neglect and physical disgust towards your mistake of a daughter were you content with, and what made you both believe that I was ever going to forgive any of you for it?" My inner child was resurfacing, as well as the angry neglected teenager that I bottled. "I wanted just a smidge of what you gave to Charlotte and now you both pop up-" I took a deep breath, centering myself again, as I am an adult with my own lifestyle choices, my own success, my own space. "I want you to leave. And I want none of you to return." My mother piped up, "We heard you were in the running for Supreme. We are very proud of you, and we wish to mend the wounds we caused. I am so very sorry for what we have done, and even for the things we haven't done successfully. But look how far you have become!" I gave her a harsh look. She rubbed her hands. "Without our help, of course...but we aim to make things right.." she looked slowly to my father, who stood there waiting for a response or something. He spoke in his coarse and low voice. "Now Valia, we understand forgiveness is not the forefront of our visit concluding. But we raised you to be respectful of your elders, and that includes us. However, I can understand why you were so angry with us all these years."

"If I become Supreme, you will see none of my success as mine. You both are selfish, cruel, demeaning, audacious, and disrespectful people. You are vile. You treated me poorly because of past judgment for my lacking of extrovert tendency. Do you even know my favorite colors? Or any books I have written? Do you have any idea what I am doing with my life, past the news that I may be in the running as the wealthiest and protected witches in our coven?" They stood there, heads in their chest, and looking to each other, and to Charlotte for her savior complex to kick in. Charlotte spoke up. "They have come here to make amends for their poor behaviors. It is essentially up to you to grant or deny forgiveness, but forgiveness is for you, not them." I gave her a sharpened look. "I have none left in my body. You may all take your leave, I have finished all I needed to say and hear."

The door shut gently behind the three, and I slumped in my beanbag chair, and began to weep. It took so much out of me, as well as verification of my own self grwoth. I was happy to have severed the connections. I forgave myself for even giving them the time I could have taken to write another short story. They were always like this. Greedy. Invasive. Always trying to make me seem like I was the one who was hard to reach. A sprite came to comfort me, but it was not one of mine. I looked up and saw the current Supreme, and I scrambled to stand up for her. She put her hand up, and I froze. I looked at her, scared that my internal fight was overheard, and afraid she would disqualify me from the running for screaming and telling off my own blood. Instead, she gracefully floated her way over, Fae bowing in her wake, and she placed a gentle hand on my cheek, wiping my tears. I sniffled, then began to clean my own face of my streams of sorrow, and she spoke. Her voice was so gentle and poised.

"I have chosen you to be my successor, Valia Winters. Do you accept this bestowment?" I looked at her, speechless. I didn't know what to say, but I chose to say yes. She smiled in satisfaction. "Your coronation will be on the next New Moon. You have 5 days to prepare your move into the Celestial Supreme Mansion. You will have the utmost assistance from both your Fae and Sprites. They have been informed of your status prior to my arrival. I sincerely apologize for your inner issues, but determined by how you handled it with passion, regardless of the delivery, you did not use magic to punish them for their decisions or choices. The other candidates did not do as well. Please. Take this gift from one Supreme to another."

She handed me a gold crested locket, glowing a smother of pinks and greens. My 2 favorite colors. "I spoke with Selene, your old mentor, before her passing. It was her dying wish to have you at least in competition with the other candidates. I have analyzed your heartpath, your soulwaves, and your resolutions throughout the years. You are what we call a diamond in the rough. You had pressures applied to you that were ahead of your time unknowingly passing each tier. I am honored to pass these duties unto you. You have proven to be the perfect successor." I placed the locket over my head to wear it as my token of gratitude as well as my victory, although it was highly unexpected. I spent the next few days getting ready for my coronation. The fittings, the ceremonial spells, the Fae Contract renewals, and even the speech I had to give-everything was very uncomfortable. Coronation day went without fail, although my parents and sister still attended. The festivities were thrown almost immediately, and I was now Supreme of the Luna Coven. Now, I just had to figure out how I was going to leave this party unnoticed, because I just want to read a book and be alone.