Chapter 1 The Huntress At The Ball

• Nicholette felt anxious as she walked down the long hallway towards the Sacred Coven. Many doubted she'd make it. And sometimes, so did she. She knew the odds were against her. But she had made it.
• Nicholette didn't walk alone, as no Huntress should. Her sisters surrounded her wearing the ceremonial dress in a different color. She wore a faint beige with golden embroidery and deep green details around her lapel, down her back and around her waist. Her sisters in arms wore the same dresses, minus all the details and in a crimson color. It was an assurance of how they'd protect her with their own bodies if needed, as their oath stated. And she believed them because she was about to take the same oath and one day wear a crimson dress to show how she would protect other Huntresses.
• In each and every pace they took forward, Nicholette remembered the days of her training. They were hard. She brought scars with her to prove it.
• When the tall doors to the coven opened, Nicholette saw the expecting superior witches behind the long table shaped as a crescent moon.
• The carving on the walls, columns and ceiling told all of the city's history: the founding of the city state of Erbe, its goddesses, the trade routes, the first governors and the attacks by the bloodthirsty beasts that surrounded it. Nicholette's time in the Academy was decorated with the tales of the rampant werewolves –the powerful beasts that fed off her people. The depiction of such monsters was very detailed. Even chiseled in the stone the Initiate Huntress could make out the bulging muscle form under the thick fur and the splatter of innocent blood.
• Nicholette could not wait to bury her silver blade into those creature’s hides.
• All she needed was the blessing of the elderly witches, some of them Huntresses themselves, retired by old age or wounds so vast that they could no longer carry a weapon. In the middle of the table, Zelda, the leader of the Council of the Witches stood slowly. Zelda looked like a frail old woman, thin and short, but when she spoke, her voice traveled the great hall like a blade.
• “Are you the one Nicholette Straford-Avon Veritas, from the House of Veritas, the Truth Bearers, Rulers in Stone and Steel, Rulers in Earth and Blood, daughter of Lady Verona Medeia Straford-Avon and Lord William Straford-Avon Veritas?”
• “Yes, I am, Enchantress Superior.”
• “Approach.”
• Nicholette made her way down the thick red carpet towards the crescent table, not without taking a glimpse at her sisters in arms standing by her side.
• “I, Nicholette Straford-Avon, come to greet the Council in a position of apprentice in the arts of the Huntress. Greetings Enchantress Superior Zelda, greetings Enchantresses Dame Lysandra the Penitent, Dame Belladonna the Unyielding, Dame Vespera of the Pale Flame, Dame Eleonora of the Shattered Fang, Dame Drusilla the Veiled, Dame Morwen the Rogue and Dame Valeria the Dawn’s Hand and greetings Enchanter Master Bilquis, the Cunning.” Nicholette recited while frozen in position of a curtsy and looking at the ground in front of her feet. “I have come to ask you to consider me to become a Huntress in the struggle against the foes of the night and honor my family’s name with my blood.”
• Zelda glanced at Lord William once again before speaking. The man looked like he had no more of a fight in him, so he just nodded her on.
• “Very well, apprentice. Is your master here with you?”
• “Yes, she is, Enchantress Superior.”
• “May the master speak on behalf of her apprentice. Beatrice, how did your student do?”
• Beatrice was a tall woman in her forties with wavy black hair, slim frame and a deep scar along her left cheek, the result of a mighty struggle in the line of duty. She wore the same ceremonial robes, but hers was more formal, sporting the medals and commendations she had received in battle and a sword strapped to her waist, where she rested her hand while she spoke:
• “Oh, she rocked, Enchantress Superior. Nyx and I met a few years ago, when she wasn't even old enough to start training. Coming from such a distinct family, I thought she was just a teenage brat too rebellious to wear make-up and a skirt. It seemed she wanted to be a Huntress just to irritate her father. Well, that was true.” A timid laughter crossed the room filled with dignitaries. “But she’s also the most disciplined and talented Huntress I trained. She never missed a day and learned all the techniques faster than all of her sisters. Nyx is ready to become a Huntress.”
• “Thank you for that through, if informal, report, Beatrice.” Enchantress Zelda said and paused, unsure if she should go on. “Nicholette, would you come here, dear?”
• Nicholette was surprised at the request. Zelda was breaking protocol and for a moment, she didn't know what to do. Nicholette looked around for answers, but those present were just as stumped as she was.
• “Quickly, now.” Zelda insisted in her firm voice.
• Nicholette joined her in the middle of the table.
• “Are you sure you want to do this? I know that in your House you had the best teachers. You know our history and you know these lands. You have studied alchemy, astronomy and arts. Aren't you better suited by your father’s side in planning our defenses? Your father is a great man, and he could use all the help he could get to negotiate better positions, more soldiers, more resources. From what I've heard, you inherited his talents.”
• “I mean no disrespect to our House, to the Council or my father, but this is what I want to do, Enchantress Superior. If you’ll have me as a Huntress, of course.”
• “Of course we'll have you. I have no right to deny you of your choice, even if I don’t agree with it. You know how dangerous the life of a Huntress is, don’t you?”
• “I do, Enchantress Superior. I’ve heard the stories. I’ve seen the scars, I know and honor our dead. Beatrice even took me on minor missions with her. I want this. I want this very much.”
• Enchantress Superior closed her eyes and nodded. She gestured to Nicholette to go back to her spot outside the crescent moon-shaped table.
• “In this occasion the Council will recognize Nicholette Straford-Avon Veritas from the House of Veritas as a Huntress of our realm to protect us from the dangers of the night and the wild outside our gates. May you have the best of all fortunes, may the goddesses protect you and bring you back always in good health. Hail, Huntress Nicholette!” A restrained cheer echoed throughout the great hall of the Council. “Will the family bring the Huntress a gift?”
• Lady Verona and Lord William came forward, bringing a long slim mahogany box. He held the box and opened the lid as Lady Verona took the object. The silver blade shone in the timidly-lit room as the mother showed all the weapon and presented it to her daughter. The weight of the sword in Nicholette’s hand felt empowering. The grip was carved out of the femur of a werewolf and wrapped with a cord weaved from sturdy silk and the steel cross-guard encrusted with golden leaves had a design that imitated vines, covering most of the hand of the bearer. The long thin blade with a groove in the middle sang against the air as Nicholette pointed it up and, again, all present cheered.
• She could cut through thick hide, bulging muscle, tendons and organs with that sword, and she intended to do just that.
• But not that night. That night Nix would settle her new sword back in the box as she would get in a formal and elaborate dress for what could be her last night as the prominent Lord's daughter, parading in front of the elite and making small talk. The House of Veritas was throwing a luxurious ball with very exclusive invitations to the most important people in the city.