Passage 5
Melina knew that her time was nearing as they found new house parents and was taken back to the Bailey home . Melina went to the woods knowing she was walking straight into a possible trap as she knew she couldn't avoid her hunter forever. She owed him something since he protected her this entire time and he had his soul weapon back and he hadn't tried to come after her. She walked into the woods as she saw his marks still faded with a shimmering glow . He helt the hilt of his sword with the top on the ground as he stood like a guarded statue. He looked a little well formed now his pale transparent looking skin looking a little more pigmented . He looked ahead like he was in deep conteplation . Melina stood there as she didn't want to interrupt his thought." Little one you are not bothering me ." Said the hunter as he put his sword back in his sheath. " How many times have I told you I hate when you do that ." Melina remarked as he annoyance of her hunter reading her mind was not her favorite thing." Well stop thinking so loud little one?" He said as the humor was noted ." Stop prying into my thoughts." Melina demanded. She sighed as she had a mission here and now she was talking nonsense." Thank you for returning my soul to me. You have no idea what it means to me." He said solomnly." Well it wasn't like you had much of a choice. I did take it from you and now I have returned it. " Melina said offstandish as she kept her distance from him out of precaution knowing exactly what he was." You know us hunters may have a mark we are assigned but I do have the right to choose . I can choose to kill or be killed. I can choose to be loyal or disloyal. It's the fatal flaw in our line of business." Stated the hunter as he looked at Melina." And what do you choose?" Melina said in a defining moment." I have killed my own. I have protected my enemy . I have forsaken my duty. " He said as he watched Melina's face think in this revelation of his role in her life . Melina knew it was a possibility when he told her the story of how his wife and daughter died at his hands . Back then he chose to obey the orders of his commander and lost his family in the process . He killed a child barely a day old . Melina knew at any moment he could do the same to her. She was no blood to him and yet he was here saving her with fault of his own demise . She knew he placed himself in grave danger for protecting her and in doing so had made him a fugitive to his own kind. To an order that took him in and trained him and now he had betrayed them over one small witch ." You will be hunted. Am I worth your death ?" I asked curious if his role and why he needed to be here saving me ." You are. Had I refused my commander I would not be here to save you and would be dead either way. I knew my choices would come around and make me relive my biggest regrets. My lena didn't deserve what happened to her. She had no idea the world she was born into and for some some reason I'm glad she didn't have to do the things I had to do to survive in this order. " He explained as he wanted to express his need to make her understand." Then do something about it. You told me of a thing called a coven . Perhaps it's time to make one . Perhaps we can protect you." Melina said as she was working out in her head the things in her head ." They will slaughter you all. We are raised to kill your kind. It's all we do." He protested. " You let me decide that. I can't have you hunted because you chose to save me . Let me save you." Melina said as she begin to think she had it all figured out. But she had no idea her naive nature of what her position bestowed upon it. She had yet to have the kill of an innocent on her hands and the few hunters that crossed her was her protecting herself . She had no idea the onslaught that a war would cause and soon she would find out that her powers had their limits . " Find me coven members . Let them know their queen is here . Let them know I want them to help me." Melina said as she didn't understand the bonds that were required to know her coven as her hunter knew this was a mistake but he had to show her that she was a young witch and her trying to pull rank over older more experienced witches wouldn't settle well no matter who she was. He knew this would be a disaster as she was a teenager and not even a full adult. The way a regime worked wasn't the position but the experience as she was putting herself in a vulnerable position . He knew this as he had seen many witch wars and he knew demands were just that demands. Loyalty had to be earned . He simply nodded his head knowing this would be a hard lesson for her to learn but it had to be learned as he left to do as she asked . This was one lesson she had to learn out of necessity. Being queen had cause and consequences. She was a young queen and she didn't understand the politics in magick . She only knew what her hunter told her and not what was actually correct. She had never came across another of her kind and she was a witch queen to a nation who didn't know she even existed. If it wasn't for this hunter no one would have ever known she existed. Melina left the woods knowing what little knowledge she was afforded ready to wage war for one hunter. She had no idea the prejudices that the witch kind had towards the cause of protecting one hunter. The very same hunter that was responsible for their hunting and many of their kinds deaths . Melina didn't know the hornets nest she was stirring up in ordering that her presence was to be made. Melina went back to the Bailey home as she passed the Newman home as she heard screaming as she went in the back door to see the girls blocking the hallway as screams and crashes reached her as Melina looked around to see everyone there except the house mom and Brittany her best friend.It clicked in Melina's head who was screaming in the hallway. " Melina you need to go home Brittany is is in one of her moods and freaking out. " Said her older sister Christina as she tried to tell Melina to go home . Melina had to get to Brittany before she hurt herself and hurt her hand last time she lost her temper as she broke past the girls huddled up in the back of the house and made her way to Brittany's room. The house mom had a handheld camcorder as she was taping the tantrum as she taunted Brittany." I want you to see how ridiculous you look right now Brittany." As Melina heard the mom saying these things provoking Brittany knowing she didn't like being recorded ." Stop recording me. You have no right to do that." Yelled Brittany as she tossed a jewelry box at the moment in anger ." What are you doing." Melina spoke up as she watched the mom provoking her best friends temper." Go home Melina this is Newman house business." Said the mom. As she got closer to Brittany putting the camera on her face as Brittany lost it ." You heard her say she didn't want to be recorded. You are making her angrier . You are not her parent and you are causing more damage then trying to find out why she is upset. Stop it !" Melina yelled feeling bad for her friend as she grabbed the camcorder and yanked it from the house moms hand and threw it.The house mom came after Melina and Brittany lost it as she jumped on the house parent ." Stay away from her. Don't touch her !" Yelled Brittany as she shoved the house mom and the girls in the hallway watched what was happening as she screamed and yelled. Turns out the house mom had been provoking Brittany to keep her away from her mom saying Brittany was unstable .That her mental welfare was her being here as house parents were paid per head and if the sisters left her check would be short by two heads. She had been sabotaging these sisters from going home by provoking the sister that had a short fuse and no one was stopping her. Melina saw the wrong doing in this house and knew it was wrong knew her friend didn't deserve this . She had the right to go home we all had the right to go home when it was time to go. It was at this point it was us against them. This had been going on and the house knew what was going on as this was the reason Brittany stayed grounded. Always came back from court cases upset knowing videos were submitted to prove the child was unhinged and needing more therapy and help. This was wrong and Melina wasn't going to stop her friend from seeking justice as the house mom faced Melina and Brittany as the others watched." You are horrible. You abuse your power and mess with my best friend. You are a bully and you know what your doing is wrong and don't care. She told you to stop and you kept doing it didn't you." Melina screamed in rage as she stumped on the camcorder as it broke under her foot . She went to grab Brittany off of her house mom." She isn't worth it. " Hissed Melina as she pulled Brittany back as she looked at Christina to come get her sister now she knew the truth of what was happening to her sister. " Get out of my house Melina and you are to never come back!" Yelled the Newman house mom." I will leave but I'm going straight to the office to tell them what you are doing in your house. This will end today." Melina warned her as she shoved past the house mom as she tried to come after Melina as she turned as she fell on the ground as a seizer rose in her." Stay down or I will be worse. " Melina demanded as she hated this woman and she took Brittany and Christina with her determined to make it to the front office as she marched out of the Newman home as Paula looked at the three clearly upset and she wondered what happened as she watched them walk pass her to gather her things to move back to the Newman home. A week later the house parents were under investigation and removed from the home. My hunter didn't agree with him recruiting on my behalf as it was odd a hunter recruiting for a witch and look suspiciously like a walking trap. Melina was child like in mind when it came to her powers and abilities.as she was certain of the evils her life presented her but not the laws and stipulations of the world she was born to rule. She was a young queen and it had been so long since the witches were governed by anything other then themselves. Her hunter was right about one thing the older more experienced witches didn't believe her as they expected a wise sage or a chrone with infinite wisdom and decades of experience under her belt. They didn't expect a thirteen year old girl who looked like well her. Over the weeks when Melina found time she would practice her calling her people to her and her transfiguration of her spirit animal as it often exhausted her how much energy it took to do the magick of calling her spirit animal. Her hunter warned her to never allow anyone to know the name of her animal because they could call it to them and if my spirit animal died so would she follow right behind its death. The most powerful thing a witch had was her spirit animal. If it dies she would follow close behind and if she managed to survive she would be powerless a shell of whom she or he once were. The common misconception of there being witches and warlocks going as far as using the word wiszard is just fantastical imagination. Witches had no gender as the were both one name to describe. To label . To define a magical born creature that can manipulate the elements and the forces within. Whether you are male or female the word remained the same . You were a witch. And she was called the queen of all witches . Not the queen of witches or wizards or whatever name fancied an imagination to the heart . Melina managed to recruit borrowed younger members of the local covenants as the older elders or more experienced witches stood back and took her words at face value. She inspired to be a good ruler but the politics wasn't playing in her hands as he hunter warned her before hand the older ones won't follow a child as their leader and this could cause many problems for Melina and her rule . Her hunter taught her many things. About fleeting colors and how they can flee when they feel in danger of being taken from their owner. Taking powers from other of their own kind was a forbidden action but it wasn't unheard of. He taught her what his runes on his body meant as she became fascinated at the odd shapes of triangles and marks and dots and squares that was etched and brimmed on her hunters skin as they rose and slightly grew in the parts she saw. He told her about binding your powers to your soul as it would make it where if someone did try to steal from you it blocked them and cursed them from that ability at the same time. Then he removed his jacket and shirt as I saw his body was littered in all these runes on him. He had dozens of them and each unique and individually significant. Melina stared in wonders as she saw them as beautiful tattoos . " Do you trust me ?" He asked as they were in each other's comfort now she searched his skin as she traced his marks. He would flinch from the light touch of it and Melina thought it must hurt to touch them as she stopped her persuits . " I'm not sure. I trust you won't hurt me if that's what your asking?" Melina said as she looked at him as he turned to her covering back up his marks. " You can see my marks and no one really can unless I reveal them willing. These marks are the source of my powers and they are tattooed to my soul. Only I can have them and in order to get them you would have to kill me in order to claim them for yourself." He said as Melina tried to understand his words as she didn't understand why he put it that a way. " I have always been able to see them . " Melina said not understanding the question he implied. " I want to give you my marks . I want you to inherit my marks . This will make it where I can't harm you and if I do I shall die by your command. " He said as he held his sword out to Melina as she looked at the sword in confusion. " I am humbling offering you my soul in exchange for my lineage to remain within you. I adopt you as my own and consider you one of my own . I Marquii of the house of Larue offer you my house and my bloodline as your burden to keep. " He said as he waited for Melina to accept his offer of their two houses joining in arms. " The house of Larue offers you a debt of honor. Our sons shall be your sons and we shall make it known our families shall be promised to each other in a solumn promise of protection of the witch queen we now serve." He said as he cut his hand and dropped the blood on the earth as he bowed to this child. Just then a painful red mark burned in Melina's upper shoulder as it pulsed and swelled up in the shape of an triangle in the promise was sealed between the McNally and Larue families as this hunter named Marquii vowed feidty to the child his family now promised to serve. In that moment a promise was made that the McNally and the Larue families were bonded together . His name was her destiny. Her future. Her promise to him. The pain from her first mark that they shared as he offered her his sword was a bond that could not be broken. He was hers to do as she walked and she was touched by his offer to be in her favor. Melina looked at him and took his sword as she felt their bond their connection in this moment course through her bonds as she felt pain in her back from the marks she was receiving from their agreement. She knew he was no longer a hunter of the order that wish to harm her kind. He had now become a refugee of her cause. Her tenderness of the current situation would be short lived as the prejudices of her kind ran deep and was not as forgiving or accepting of this new found understanding that was formed. Melina knew his family was gone but she also knew from his teachings of the five founding families of the hunters hierarchy . Larue was practically royal in hunter society. She knew his family was important as he slipped in subtle histories of the order all the while not revealing his true purpose or position. He was self made alright. He was part of the top families that ran the order and now she understood what this alliance went to her . Meant to her people.