(Kaiden is referred to as a she in this story because it takes place at the time he lived as a female. And he is called Piccato, Cate for short, since this is before he changed his name)
"I hope they'll like me..." Piccato mused to herself as she brushed out her long ebony hair in front of the mirror in her room, making it as smooth as silk. She bit her lip as she thought to herself, her hand moving the brush absently. I can't believe I'm doing this. If mother and father found out� She shuddered at that thought and frowned in the mirror, deciding to avoid that topic as she got herself ready for the day, picking out a lovely loose skirt that flowed around her legs, and a shirt that was loose and just low enough to give the illusion that she had breasts. Just the illusion, she chest was as flat as any fourteen-year-old boy's. She looked at herself in the mirror, brushed her hand through her hair and adjusted her boots, then smiled. "Today will go perfect!"
Today...today was the day when she broke all her parents rules and beliefs. Secretly she had been studying in the library, reading up on anything she could get her hands on, and she found out about religion. It was an honest mistake really, just an average book on history in a pile of many others. What she read though made her question everything though, her beliefs, her religion�well, it was her parent's religion. Devote Catholics they were, as fanatical as they come. Piccato never doubted that it was the truth, having been forced to every mass, every meeting for her entire life. He had never learned of any other religions, never dared to ask about them, though he knew they were out there.
But on that day, when she opened that history book and read through it, she came upon the section of the Salem Witch Trials. Fascinated by this, she went and found another book, wanting to learn more about this topic. Book after book she went through, spending the entire day in the library, until she picked up a book that talked about the Pagan religion, everything they did, believed and worshipped. Cate's eyes were opened to new wonders she had never known existed before, and they fascinated her. Every day from that point on, whenever she had any free time from her parents and from working at the local church, she would run to the library, pull open a book and read.
The books only went so far though, they never talked about the present and what covens, if there were any, still around. So she began to try and learn how to use a computer, every Saturday when the library offered their computer classes. She didn't like computers, didn't like any technology for her parents hated them and raised her the same. But she was willing now to use it to help her find out on the things she loved.
On an average day in May, she stumbled upon a website that told here that there were indeed covens around, many in fact, with one in her own town even. She felt elated at this news, and scrolled through the website until she found a calendar. The local coven had a celebration coming up, Beltane, Mayday. She decided right then that she would go, no matter what, and see what she loved, to make sure it was real and not just stories in the books she read.
Today was that day. Cate sighed to herself as she often did while she walked down to the bus stop. Her parents were gone this Saturday, off helping the church in some event. She had the whole day to herself. She smiled and looked up at the sky, praying to whatever being could hear her to make this day wonderful.
When the bus arrived she boarded and sat down in a seat as far from the other people as she could get. She knew she was pretty, but she didn't like other people to tell her this, or look at her with admiration. It reminded her too much of the Priest at the church, smiling at her and praising her as his hands wandered over her body. She closed her eyes tight and hugged herself, huddled on her seat in the bus and trying to make the thoughts of him go away. She didn't notice anything else until the voice of the bus driver woke her from her nightmares, reporting to the passengers of the next stop. Cate's stop. She sighed, her breath ragged as she tried to compose herself, brushing her hand through her hair to make sure is was perfect.
She excited the bus once it arrived and checked the paper she had printed off from the library with the address of where the coven was going to celebrate. She placed it back into her purse and started to walk, looking around her at all the buildings and streets. She had never been this far from home before, never having a reason to go, and she found it exciting. A brand new start in a brand new place. It seemed just like the stories in her books, taking her far away to a place so different from her own world.
Down the street she went, checking the address paper every now and then to make sure she was going in the right direction. Soon she arrived to a park, and was very surprised by this. She thought this religion would keep itself secret since she had heard so many things about it, hearing of so many people who claimed it to be devil worshipping. Another thing to open her mind and eyes. She shook her head and entered the park.
It didn't take her long to find where she was supposed to go. The sounds of happy voices and laughter guided her. "Wow.." she breathed as she finally saw what she had wanted to see for so long. People of all ages were running and playing together, all so happy and free. A group of children and teens sat around a young man with dark brown hair, all the youths listening to him intently. Another group of woman sat around with many flowers around them, using them to make wreaths which they placed on their heads, everyone looking beautiful no matter how different their physical bodies were. Others were tying dozens of ribbons onto a rope, and setting up three pitchers with contents she couldn't see near a hole in the ground.
She looked at everything with wonder for a long time, until she was broken out of her reverie by a loud female voice, and looked over towards he woman weaving flowers. One of them was waving to her and motioning for her to join them. Cate looked unsure about this, but gave into the friendly faces beckoning her over.
"Hey, I haven't seen you here before. You new?" a young woman asked. She had long red hair and was rather thin with large glasses perched on her nose.
Cate nodded and smiled at her. "Yes. This is my first time ever coming to one of..." he looked around her, trying to find a word to describe all of this, but failed and looked back at the woman a bit sheepishly. "�these."
The woman just laughed and motioned for Cate to sit down next to her. "My name's Anteria. What's yours?" she asked as she wove flowers into a wreath.
"Pi...un, Cate." She nodded as he replied. She hated her full name so much, so she would only give out her nickname. She sighed, then noticed the other's weaving and tilted her head in interest. "What are you doing?"
Anteria smiled at her, and handed her her unfinished wreath. "I'm weaving flowers, it's pretty fun when you get started." She watched Cate study the wreath, then smiled. "Do you want to make one?" Cate blinked and looked up at the other, a little too intent on the wreath so it took her a while to register Anteria's words, then smiled happily and nodded. "Yes yes, I would love to."
Anteria smiled and turned to face her. "Alright, here's what you do�"
I while later, Cate smiled proudly at her wreath and showed it off to Anteria, the woman of course having finished her own a long while ago. "Look, isn't it beautiful?" the wreath wasn't as good as some of the more experienced woman, Cate having a bit of trouble with the flowers, but it did look very nice.
Anteria smiled and took the wreath from her. "It is indeed." Then placed the wreath on top of Cate's head, fixing it a bit to make sure it perfectly centered. Cate felt it on of her head, then smiled happily and hugged Anteria. "Thank you so much, this was sooo fun!" the older woman laughed and pat Cate's back. "Of course! Oh look, the may pole rituals are starting."
Cate looked to where the other woman was facing and tilted her head curiously as she saw that same man who was telling the children stories holding an ax, and looked at Anteria questioningly.
The woman just smiled and grabbed Cate's hand as she stood up from the grass and flowers. "Come on, you'll see." She guided Cate over to the growing crowd gathered around a tall wooden pole, stripped of all its branches. Two people were holding the pole upright since it was not in the ground. She blinked as she saw the male with the ax walk next to the pole and face everyone.
He explained to everyone that what they were about to do was a skit, he playing the God and another Woman was to play the Goddess. She was going to defend the pole, or tree, against the God who wished to cut it down with his ax for the ceremony that must take place. So it began, with the woman standing in front of the pole with her arms stretched out, defending it and yelling at the male to leave it alone, that it too was a living being and it shouldn't have its life cut so short. The 'God' explained to her that he had to for Spring to progress and for Summer to come. The 'Goddess' eventually gave into the 'God's' calming reasoning.
Cate blinked a few times as she felt Anteria next to her and place the end of a sturdy cloth in her hand. "Hold onto that tight. The 'God' is going to cut down the tree and the woman have to catch it." Cate looked curious at this and wondered if she should participate in this, being a little more than female. She didn't get too much of a chance to ponder this, for the dark haired male swung his ax at the base of the pole, and the people holding it upright let it fall onto the cloths the woman were holding.
Cate was surprised at how light it felt, everyone sharing its weight equally. She watched as a woman moved between them, dripping water onto the pole. "This symbolized out tears, how we are crying for the tree who gave its life for us today." Cate looked sad as she and the other woman spread the water over the pole, she feeling genuinely sorry for the tree; even though in reality it was already dead before the God cut it down.
She and the other woman carried the tree to the hole in the ground that Cate had noticed earlier, and waited briefly as a woman tied the rope with all the ribbons onto the top of the pole as three female moved forward and picked up one of the pitchers near the hole, a young girl, a pregnant mother and a someone who looked like they could be a grandmother.
Cate sighed in disappointed, for she couldn't hear what they were saying, but watched as one after the other spoke then poured the contents of their pitchers into the hole, the Grandmother pouring in oats, the pregnant woman pouring in milk, and the girl pouring in honey. Then all of the woman moved the pole into the hole, and stood it upright.
It was so beautiful to Cate, the proud tree standing above everyone with every color of ribbon hanging from it like a magical willow tree. It stole her very breath away. She was brought back to reality again by Anteria's voice and turned to see the woman walk over to her.
"Cate, come join us! We're going to dance around the may pole now! It's not very hard, you'll get the hand of it right away." Se took hold of the other's hand and began to pull her towards the pole.
Cate shook her head though and stopped. "I can't, really. I'd really rather see you do it." It did sound fun, but she wanted more to watch them then to join it, like seeing a movie or a scene from a dream. Anteria just shrugged. "Whatever you want. Just make sure to talk to me again tonight, alright?" she winked at Cate, then hurried over tot eh pole and found her own ribbon.
Cate smiled as she watched the woman leave, then sighed as she walked away to a hill nearby and sat down near the top by herself, this position giving her a perfect view of the dancers and the pole below. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin in her hands as she watched all the woman organize around the pole, laughing as they talked and got ready to dance. All this was so different than what Cate was used to. The serious church meeting, the devout worship and fear of both those above you and bellow, and the threat of sin and eternal damnation. She closed her eyes and shuddered. Not to mention that everyone here was the complete opposite of everyone she had met at church. They actually liked her here. She bit her lip as she wondered how long that would last. As soon as they knew about her, about what she hid under her skirt, what her parents told everyone they met. Her pressed her palms into her eyes, trying hard not to cry. She hated to show weakness like this, she just thanked whoever who created her and this world that she was alone right now, then rubbed her eyes and took in a shaky breath. She was not there now, this was a new place with new people. She would not let her fears and past hurt her chances for making this a happy memory.
The sun was beginning to set, and it cast a pretty red glow over everything, making everything seem so ethereal and even more beautiful. It stole her breath away. The woman below had began to dance, skipping around and around the pole, weaving in and out, the ribbons wrapping around the pole in an intricate braid. A male with a wreath and horns of a dear wreath on his head was running about the woman, teasing and playing with them and brought a smile to Cate's lips. The sun glinted off the tips of his horns, and painted the women, everything seeming to become one, the nature, the people, the voices. The breath caught in Cate's throat as everything seemed to change, colors not known to her dancing around everyone. So many shades and tints, different for everyone, defining them all as different, but ultimately one; even the plants shared in this moment, their own colors surrounding them. She could feel the very life of everything around her, seeping into her body and soul. It so completely overwhelmed her she had to close her eyes and focus on her breathing, her mind reeling from all of this.
"Hello." Her eyes shot open as she heard this voice and knew she recognized it before, and looked behind her at the person.
"O-oh! It's you! The man with the ax and children!" indeed it was he, the man with dark brown hair. He smiled and laughed at her. "Yes, that's me. Though I'd rather not have you know me on those terms.
My name is Eireamhon. Don't bother asking how to spell it, you'll never remember." A smirked played on the older male's lips as he saw how the other now wanted to ask him. "What is your name?"
Cate smiled at him and tilted her head. "Cate. It's nice to meet you Eireamhon." She raised an eyebrow and pats the round next to her. "Care to sit, or are you too busy?"
The other laughed lightly before sitting next to her. "If I was too busy then I wouldn't have even come up here." He sighed and looked over all of the festivities bellow, then glanced back at Cate. "Speaking of which, why are you up here all alone? Wouldn't you rather celebrate with everyone?"
A frown placed itself on Cate's lips as she gazed down at everyone as well. "I like to watch. I'm used to it." Her eyes moved back to the male, lips pursed. "You sound very nosey, you know that?"
The man laughed in amusement and patted the other's head. "And you have a big mouth. It's refreshing to hear truth once in a while though." A twinkle was in his eye as he looked at Cate, causing her to blush lightly and face away, trying to hide it. "Well�thank you, I guess�"
They sat like that for a while, watching everyone else as the sun made it's decent and plunged the world into darkness. Bellow a large bonfire had been bit, the shapes of people sitting around it reached the two's eyes. Cate sighed happily and glanced back at Eireamhon. He was too intent on the scene of the laughing people below to notice the other's eyes on him. She tilted her head slightly as she looked him over; he looked too be about ten years older then the fourteen-year-old, and his eyes were dark, filled with responsibility and secrets. A sigh left her lips, a little too loud though for Eireamhon blinked and looked at her, smirking as he noticed her looking at him.
"Do I have something on my face?"
The 'girl' blushed brightly and shook her head. "No, I was just...looking. You have very pretty eyes." She nodded and smiled.
"Why thank you Cate, so do you." He leaned back, placing his hands on the grass behind him and resting his weight on his arms. He watched the other, then raised an eyebrow at the suspicious look that came over her face. "What is it? You don't like this position?"
Cate shook her head and frowned at the other, leaning close to him to make sure she had eye contact with him. "Why are you sitting with me? Why aren't you with everyone else?" she narrowed her eyes and moved back from him slightly. "What do you want?"
Eireamhon looked at her in surprise, not expecting this reaction from her. Everything had been going so well. Seriousness came over him now, and he sighed and he straightened and looked at Cate. "I suppose I can't put this off any longer. "Cate, you are different then most people."
Her eyes immediately widened when he said this and unconsciously moved her legs together, backing away from him. "W-Who told you? It was my parents, weren't they? Oh no, they've found out about what I've been reading! And about you and all of this!" she placed her hands on her face, suddenly looking very scared.
If Eireamhon was confused before, then this completely blew his mind. He expected confusion and questioning from the other, not fear and accusations. He moved over to Cate and gently placed his hand on her own, feeling her trembling. "Cate, it's alright. I don't know what you're talking about. Everything's fine, alright?"
The 'girl' looked up at the male, meeting his eyes and searching them for any sign of a lie. "You�you really don't know...?" She looked at him, then immediately flushed and shook her head when she realized how she had reacted to Eireamhon. "O-Oh, I'm so sorry! I...I...I just thought you meant�something else..."
Eireamhon sighed in relief when Cate calmed and sat down next to her again, waiting for her to fully recover herself. "Like I said, I don't know what you're talking about. I found you so I could tell you you were different." He glanced around them to make certain they were still alone, then looked back at her. "Cate, have you read many books? Or see many movies?"
At this the 'girl' smiled happily and nodded. "Oh yes, I love them! I can't get enough really." She sighed and looked off dreamily. "Heroes and Princesses, knights and dragons, wizards and spells and all sorts of magic�if only it were all real�"
Eireamhon smiled as he watched her and moved so he could catch her gaze. "What if I told you they are real. Everything you've ever read about, dreamt about, were a real as you and I?" he laughed softly at the other's bewilderment and poked her forehead. "Don't tell me you haven't anything to say."
Cate shook her head and looked at Eireamhon, her brows furrowed, then frowned and crossed her arms. "Now you're just teasing me. I don't like to be played with."
The male sighed and smiled lightly at her. "I'm not teasing or playing with you. I'm completely serious. Here, look."
She watched as the other reached into his pocket and brought out a small toy frog and placed it in her hand. "It's cute, but I don't see the point..." her words were cut short as she watched Eireamhon stroke the toy, and in the next moment it croaked and moved on Cate's hand.
The poor frog was nearly dropped from the 'girl's' complete shock at it's life, her eyes as wide as saucers as she watched the little animal, it's neck pulsing as it breathed and croaked. She swallowed as she tried to figure out what to say to this, then looked up at Eireamhon and smiled. "Tell me more."