Fated

The drive to the lake house was almost always a pleasant one. Father would often tell us rousing stories. Stories of his rebellious childhood. A stolen car. A muddied dining room before a party. A heist of my grandfather's cigar collection. Mother would always facetiously disapprove and play up her innocent childhood. Saying that us children "must never behave like your father did." But not this time.

This time, the ride was quiet and excruciating. This time, mother was driving instead of father. This time, I played games with my eyes, hopping over tree branches until my vision blurred. This time, I realized it was never going to be like the last time.

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We arrived at the lake house half past 8 p.m. It was dark and musty, the air thick with a moist tension that made your clothes feel of heavy canvas. No one had filled these halls with light and laughter for quite some time.

"Moira, could you please ready your brothers for bed?" mother said with her dwindling desire to be awake. She placed her mink coat on the counter, thinning and fading just as she was.

"Mummy, when will daddy be here?" asked Charlie, as blissfully ignorant as could be. The twins were only 6 years of age and still had much to learn about our family, let alone the outside world.

"Come on Charlie. You too Thomas. Let's go upstairs. Father is working late tonight. Maybe if you two behave, we will see him tomorrow." I gave them each a playful tickle to the ribs and they ran upstairs giggling.

"Moira dear, please." Mother's face was defeated, yet stern. She didn't want me to make promises I couldn't keep.

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I awoke to morning sunbeams gripping the edges of my curtains, clawing to grab me and pull me into the day. There were no city sounds to bombard my senses here. No paper-thin walls to provide a front row seat to our neighbor's morning shower serenade. I loathed it. The gentle silence of nature begs of me a self-reflection I refuse to give in to. I half-consciously slid my legs to the edge of the bed and let them dangle until the paranoia of underbed creatures starving for toes overtook my mind. I quickly hopped off and began to dress for the day. It was required of me to wear a heavy, black gown. It was mid-August, and I was dreading the racing sweat beads that would accompany this sort of attire on a warm day.

Mother prepared me for this day as best as she could, but she had been ailing for quite some time. Many household duties had fallen into my hands at this point, so my capacity to mentally and emotionally prepare for all of this was quite lacking. So much more responsibility was being put on me. It was a heavy burden for a young woman of only 18. But such was the coming-of-age tradition of my family, and who was I to rebel against 10 generations of women?

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The lush green forest was such a foreign setting for me. I was used to concrete under my feet, not soil filled with protruding tree roots. Mother held my hand as we ventured further into this unknown territory, using me more as a crutch than for comfort. The lake house was fading from behind us, replaced by crisscrossing beech and maple branches.

"I know I have put you through a lot lately. I'm sorry." Mother's sharp edges began to drift away. The unspoken wall between us began to lower a bit. "I'm not sure why I waited so long to tell you about all this. I think for a long time I was just in denial about it all." She kept her eyes low, being sure to not trip over any forest floor obstacles. "And your father wasn't always a bad man. He just could not deny his fate any longer." We walked in silence for a few moments more until she stopped. She pulled my hand up and clasped it against her face. "I cannot go any further. You must journey the rest alone. I love you dear. I believe in you." I reluctantly let her go and continued on.

After walking alone for no more than 5 minutes, a sharp coolness began to sink into my shoes and snaked its way up my body. I knew I was getting close. A few more northward steps led me straight to a massive oak tree. I cautiously placed my shaking hand onto her furrowed bark. The crevices began to reshape themselves, the pattern changing to trace my hand. Was this really happening?

Suddenly I heard a twig break a few yards behind me. I reflexively spun around while still maintaining contact with the tree. Behind me stood a creature I had not even dreamt of before. It was a deer-like humanoid. It wore a creamy beige robe tied around the waist by a simple rope. It had the face of a deer but 4 eyes, 2 on each side resembling a spider. Big, bulbous, and as black and shiny as obsidian. The antlers had about 5 points each, forming a base for a nest of moss, lichen, and other greenery. The creature gazed at me with an alien curiosity.

"Hello?" I nervously creaked out. "Can you...understand me?" The creature tilted its head to the left, still locked on my eyes. The creature's mouth did not open, but I heard it speak.

"Please do not fear me child. I welcome you to our forest. I am here to guide you." The voice was soothing, and wisdom dripped from every syllable. The tones conveyed more meaning than the words ever could. "You are a bit different from the rest, aren't you?"

I gulped down the largest lump my throat had ever held. "I...I am. But I have chosen the light over darkness. I promise you, I am..."

"No need to justify yourself here, my child. I have seen the contents of your heart, and it is pure." The creature approached me, floating over the ground. "I am the forest spirit of this ancient place. I will take you to the land between lands." A mist began to fill the air around us until it was all that there was. It felt like an instant and an eternity simultaneously. I suddenly became aware that my feet were no longer on soft ground, and the mist began to fade. The forest spirit and I had been transported to a massive domed hall. Across the room, on the far, crescent-shaped wall were 10 seated creatures, all various animal-humanoid beings. They sat in a row behind a dark and long wooden table.

"Archura. Welcome." The forest spirit bowed softly in response. "Is this our new student candidate?" A goat-like being spoke forth.

"Yes, council. Her given name is Moira." Archura slowly turned to me and nodded with closed eyes.

"Step forward please, child," said a feminine fox-like being. I did as I was told.

"Typically, we do not need to approve admission for legacy students. But we are aware you may have some...unusual lineage. Your father is half-demon?"

I looked back at Archura for reassurance. Then back to the council. "Um, yes. This is true. But he didn't know for a long time. He didn't raise me that way."

"And you are aware that hunting and killing demons is a part of our education program?"

I let out a deep exhale, staring at the cobblestone floor. "Yes, I am." I tried to not think about my mother's words from a week ago. I tried to not think about her frantic explanation of our familial obligation of first-born women in our family. I tried to not think about her sorrow in telling me of the prophecy, foretold by her grandmother, of my harrowed fate.

"Dear child, we know your heart. We know your joy, and we know your grief. We are allowing you admittance to our esteemed institution as long as you commit to the path ahead of you."

"Venerated council. I commit to upholding my sacred mission." My fate was sealed in that moment. I would be the one to kill my father.