It was familiar.
It was tiresome.
"Can we finally talk about what we haven't been talking about?" Jen blurted. The words had been buzzing around, bumping against each other for days with an energy that she'd only contained through busyness.
Shifting in seats, eyes darting to catch others' nervous glances around the room, a clearing of a throat, and then a strong and commanding voice from the doorway.
"I believe what Jen means is, can we finally discuss what I know about The Covenant."
The air of the kitchen stilled around them all as they stared at where Crystal stood, her cream-colored cape hanging on her shoulders regally as she held her head in a way that spoke of a woman who knew how to speak ancient secrets.
"You know Astra and the others, don't you?" Jen asked.
"No."
She frowned. Tilly shot Jen a look.
"But I know who they represent and why they are here. And I do know about The Covenant." She pulled in a deep breath as she looked around the kitchen, her eyes touching each of them before she finished. "They are here on behalf of The High Priestess Margaret Lowell." She bent down to scoop Lady Macbeth up into her arms.
"So you knew the High Priestess of all of the witches?" Eloise asked. "Which," she added, "is a pretty badass title, by the way."
"Yes. She was my best friend. Before she usurped me as High Priestess."
Silence and wide eyes met Crystal.
"I knew it," Jen whispered to Tilly, who was putting firewood into the pit as the other women gathered blankets and chairs, tea, and their wits. "I knew there was a story she was hiding."
Tilly gave her friend a look of admonishment. "I don't think it's fair to say she was hiding anything until we hear her story."
"She was the High Priestess of some grand coven that, like, oversees all covens," Jen's arm swung out dramatically.
"Yeah, and maybe we hear her out before we burn her at the stake," Tilly's eyes bore into her friend's, who took on a shocked look before her shoulders sagged and she let out a breath.
"Point taken."
The usual July heat was covered in a chill as they lit the bonfire. Blankets were tucked around legs and shoulders, and mugs of tea were filled by Bess.
"Many years ago," Crystal started before she was interrupted by Eloise's raised hand.
"How many?"
"Shhh," Ursula bumped her leg against Eloise, who rolled her eyes and then made a zipping motion fingers to her lips.
Crystal smiled. "Many," she emphasized. "Witches can be born or created. It used to be that witches were born more than created, a way to distinguish hierarchy. Creating witches was a practice heavily frowned upon, as you can imagine, and just like any cultural group, there was a certain level of," she weighed her words carefully as they sat still and waiting. "Well, disagreement on pedigree is what I will say."
"Is this like a pure-blood thing?" Bess asked.
Crystal smiled. "I suppose you could think of it like that. Anyhow, the high priestess is to bring covens together for rituals, to collaborate ideas, and to keep the peace."
"Why haven't we ever been invited to a large coven ritual?" Ursula asked.
"Same question, but asked nicer than in my head," Jen added.
Crystal laughed softly. "Because there haven't been any for many years. There came a movement of witches that believed created witches should be outlawed and born witches should be under strict law and surveillance. They twisted the theology of The Mother Goddess," she shook her head. A look of worn-out disgust covered a face that, for the first time, looked like it carried years in her cheeks and the way that her eyes dipped. "They believed that only born witches, which were few and rare, should have power and that they must use and limit their magic for the Holly and Oak Kings."
Bess sat up, running a hand over Casper's head in her lap. "Oh yeah, those guys that like bring in winter and summer, right? We learned about them in my humanities class."
Crystal nodded. "Our magic is of this earth, to serve the earth. It's a celebration of what the earth gives and takes. We bring in the seasons, and we put them to bed. But this group believed, believes, that we serve the kings, not the earth."
