Ezrianna

Although the cabin was a comfortable space for her, Ezrianna often longed for the balmy conditions that could only be found in nature outside of the cabin.

Her mother, herself a powerful witch, had once told her that a witch should never forsake her connections with nature, that a witch should ensure that she remained, in every way, tethered to the energies that bound the universe.

And Ezrianna never forgot these nuggets of advice. She spent most nights in the clearing where she had met Claudine, picking flowers, listening to the trees whisper, and feeling her body imbued with the world's vitality.

She had enjoyed the unexpected visit from Claudine, and it gladdened her heart that she had found a friend, for she so often got bored being alone all the time.

After she saw Claudine off to her house, she went back to the clearing, packed her things and began on her way home.

She usually walked slowly in the night; it was her favourite time. Something about it felt different: the clouds intermittently obscured the moon as they travelled across the sky, the eerie sounds the animals made that made her skin tingle with excitement, and the soft breeze on her face.

She began to sing a song she had made up in her head as she skipped to the cabin.

When she got to the cabin, she found the truck in front of it. She wondered who had driven it there. It had to be one of the werewolves, but it had been a long while since they visited her, and they never did so when it was night.

She stopped in her tracks. She was not afraid, just cautious. Then, a figure emerged from the cabin, which she noticed had had its door knocked down.

She cocked her head and looked at the burly man that stood on the porch with his arms akimbo. It was Ronald. His wolf sense had been aroused, and he looked around, turning his head this way.

"Ronnie?" She said aloud.

He turned swiftly.

"Shit, Ezrianna. You gave me a start."

She walked slowly towards the front of the cabin.

"And what are you doing here by this time of the night?"

The way she raised one eyebrow and folded her hand in front of her chest made Ronald want to burst out laughing.

"Where did you go?" He asked.

"Isn't it too late to be traipsing around the woods?"

"It's never too late for a witch, Mr. Werewolf," she answered.

"You should know that. What happened? Why do you look so horrified?"

"Because I was scared something had happened to you," he said. He lowered himself onto the steps and sat. She sat beside him, her basket still by her feet.

"Aww, look at you being caring," she said affectedly.

"Please, Ezrianna," he said, waving his hand.

"But, though, where did you go this late?"

"Into the woods, as you said, Ronnie," she replied.

"I've been gone since early evening, and I do that almost daily. It gets boring in this cabin, you know. I often need to go experience the beauty of nature."

She said the last line with a deliberate relish that made Ronald chuckle. He liked talking to her. She was so exuberant, so full of life.

"Ezrianna, I'm sorry, but you might have to reduce the frequency of your visit," he said heavily.

"And why is that?"

"Because we have an intruder — no, intruders — in our territory, and you could be putting yourself in danger by going out there, especially when it's so late at night."

Ezrianna cackled dismissively. She wasn't scared of anything or anyone. But still, she was curious.

"And who are these intruders bold enough to traverse the territory of the Blackmoon Pack?"

"It's Reid. Well, he and a pack of other rogue wolves. He's leading them."

"Hold on a minute, Ronnie, Reid? Isn't he the Beta?"

"Well, he isn't anymore, Ezrianna," Ronald said. "He became subversive and started plotting how to off Denzel and make himself the Alpha. Denzel found out and banished him, so..."

"I see. So, who's the Beta now?"

"Ohh, that's me," Ronald said confidently.

Ezrianna jumped to her feet and made a sound of triumph that made Ronald burst into laughter. She jumped a few more times, spun around, and when she sat back down, she gave Ronald a little side hug.

"Beta Ronnie, I'm so happy for you."

"Thank you, Ezrianna, but these aren't exactly happy times. Reid is out there, and he's angry and vindictive, and until we stop him, we won't have any rest. This is why I came here to check on you and ensure you stay safe because we believe Reid and his pack might be hiding somewhere nearby."

"Ohh?"

"Yes, Ezrianna. It's that crazy."

But Ezrianna wasn't shaken.

She had met Reid a couple of times. He almost always had a sly smile and an overpolite way of talking that she hadn't liked. But the last thing she was was scared of him.

"Not to worry, Ronnie. I'm fine. I've been fine, and I'll continue to be so."

"Are you saying you'll heed my advice and stay indoors most of the time?"

Even as he said it, he knew it would not be possible. Ezrianna was too stubborn, and honestly he understood — being alone inside of the small cabin could mess with one's sanity.

"What? No. Are you kidding?" I'm still gonna head out when I want to."

"Ezrianna, please, you must understand," Ronald pleaded.

"Look, my dear Ronnie, I know these woods as well as I know the first spell that I ever learned. And besides, I can take care of myself. I'm not as harmless as I seem, you know. Anybody messes with me..."

Ronald rose to his feet, realising that trying to convince Ezrianna would be futile.

"Well at least you're safe now."

"Leaving already?" Ezrianna said, also getting up.

"Yup. I have work to do."

"Aww, Beta duties call, right?"

"Yup," he said and gave a small side hug and began walking to the truck.

"Ohh, and sorry about your door."

He ignited the engine, turned on the headlights and sped off. Ezrianna looked at her door, off its hinges.

"Hey, wait. Who's gonna fix this?"

***

Claudine slept with a smile on her face that night. Her sleep was disturbed by the rats as she had cleaned the room and cleared out all their hiding places. It was a deep sleep, dreamless and restful.

A stream of light filtering obscenely through the door woke her up the next morning.

"Rise and shine, baby sister," Arielle said.

Claudine struggled to raise herself up to a sitting position. She had to squint her eyes to see and it took a while to regain her vision. She rubbed rheumy eyes with the back of her hand.

Arielle flicked her forehead, startling her.

"Little bitch, you say 'good morning' when I walk in."

Claudine held her head and grudgingly said good morning.

"Fine. I see you have cleaned the room. I mean, not like it makes it any better; it's still a shit hole."

Claudine looked around.

She had been proud of the work she had done and nothing, not even Arielle's taunts, would dampen that feeling of accomplishment.

"Now get up, you have work to do," Arielle commanded, and turned to leave.

Claudine groaned and Arielle swivelled.

"Did I just hear you complain?" She asked Claudine.

"No. No," Claudine said quickly to avoid any form of physical assault from her foster elder sister.

"You better not be grumbling or whining after we brought you from that decrepit place that you called a home to this place. Now follow me."

Claudine got down from her bed. She wanted to say that the orphanage was not decrepit, and she had lived better there, but was the use of saying anything. She trailed behind Arielle as she was led into the house.

Mr and Mrs. Zaynader were having their morning coffee. Mr. Zaynader was wolfing down some eggs and bacon along with the coffee, while Mrs. Zaynader sat quietly, reading a magazine.

"Ahh, girls, you're here," Mr. Zaynader said with a mouthful of food.

"Ohh, please, Claudine is hardly a girl," Arielle said and this sent all of them laughing.

"Are you going to have breakfast now or what?" Mrs. Zaynader asked.

"Yes, I will have breakfast now," Arielle replied. "But no food for little Claudine here until she's done cleaning up this living room."

Claudine groaned again. She looked around. The living room was cluttered, in an appalling state of dishellevement. There was a film of dust over nearly every surface.

Arielle strode to the dining where her parents sat and began to have her breakfast, completely ignoring Claudine.

"Honey, why don't we let the poor girl eat before she does all this work?" Mrs. Zaynader said to Arielle.

"Mom, please, let me handle this," Arielle said. "If we don't do her like this, she'll get lazy."

"I agree," Mr. Zaynader said.

"Get the broom from the store and begin work," Arielle barked at Claudine who had stood in the living room in a state of befuddlement, her arms behind her.

"It's going to be a long day," Claudine said as she raced upstairs.