How it all began
Carly POV -
Hi, please allow me to introduce myself, my name is Carly Green, I am 18 years old, and I was born on April 1st 1991, April fool's day, just like some kind of cosmic joke. I never knew my mother, she died giving birth to me, and my Aunt simply loves to tell me that my father couldn't get away fast enough when she was pronounced dead. He never even held me, took one look at me, he just heard my mum breathe her last breath and fled. I don't know where he went, all I know is his name, Michael and in my opinion, I know more than enough to never feel the need to meet him. My hair is so blonde it is almost silver, my eyes are a very deep blue, almost purple, my skin is so pale it looks blue in some light, it is as if I hide from the sun. I must take after my father since my aunt and cousin are both darker than me, their hair is honey blonde and their complexion is slightly tan.
I've never even seen a picture of my mum, since she and my aunt had fallen out before I was born and my Aunt takes great pleasure in telling me what an awful person my mother was. I am 4 feet 9 inches tall and no matter what I eat, I never gain an ounce of weight, some of the kids at school call me 'Tinkerbell' which I mean, yeah, it grates on my nerves a little, but I get it, I am tiny in comparison to literally EVERYONE else at the school, even those who have only just started, thankfully it is all good natured and I never feel ashamed of my size. School is great, I have awesome friends, and I even have a boyfriend. It is my home life where I suffer, punished for being born to my mother, ignored for being a drain on my aunt and uncle's finances and bullied by my cousin who loves to tell me how much I am unwanted.
But that just isn't true. I might be unwanted at home, but outside of those 4 walls I am popular and most importantly, I have James. James is in the year above me at school, he will be graduating in 3 weeks time and then he will be going off to college after the summer vacation, luckily he didn't want to go far so we will still be able to spend plenty of time together as his college is in our hometown.
James is tall (it is ridiculous, we look like father and daughter from behind because he is so much taller than me) and broad with hair so dark it is almost black, his brown eyes twinkle with mirth all the time, like he has an ongoing reel of comedy sketches playing through his mind and he has a dimple in his left cheek, but it only comes out to play when he gives himself over to his full belly laugh, a laugh which doesn't happen often enough since he is so self conscious of it, but I love his genuine laugh the most, it is the sound of true entertainment in my opinion.
James is easily my favourite person ever, and my favourite place in the whole wide world has to be James' house. His parents are such lovely people, they truly accept us and they seem to like me, which, given my home life, is always a welcome reprieve. They are always so kind and welcoming when I am there.
My family, however, are the complete opposite. My Aunt is tall, willowy and snaps like a vine when crossed, my Uncle is taller still with broad shoulders and muscles for days. His temper is something to be feared, if he gets angry he lashes out at whatever is closest to him, namely me, not physically, I have not been physically harmed by my family in years, but his words can still cut deep, and then there is my cousin, Gina, who is a year older than me and graduating with James in three weeks time, she is a perfect mix of them both, tall and toned and she just loves to belittle me and tries her utmost to get me into trouble, telling lies or breaking things and blaming me. The only thing I seem to have in common with any of them is my eyes, their eyes are all slightly different tones of dark blue but they are blue nonetheless and that helps me accept that they are truly family.
I have been with James officially for 1 year, though I have had a crush on him since I was 12, he claims he had a crush on me for just as long but where before we were the best of friends, now we are so much more and they hate him, they don't allow me to bring him to our house, not that I would anyway but, well, you know, it sucks to have the most important person in my life rejected by those who should be there for me. But this is relatively regular for me, they have never approved of anything I did, they hated when I started showing an interest in the outside world, they didn't approve of the electives I chose for school, they rolled their eyes at my opinions when I bothered to give them. It didn't take me long to realise that it was easier to keep it all inside. At school I am accepted, I have friends with similar interests as me, I have activities I enjoy and above all else, I have James.
Finally, after years of pining for him, he is mine and I am his, completely.
James POV -
3 weeks, just 3 more short weeks and everything finally changes, I get to graduate a year early and head off to college. I had wanted to go away to college, I had wanted to find a school that holds interest for both Carly and myself, but I can't leave her here alone. I don't trust her Aunt and Uncle and I certainly don't trust Gina, so I won't leave town, I will stay, I will attend a lesser college, at least until she is ready to leave with me. She doesn't know it, but I am the only reason she doesn't get physically punished at home, well it is actually my cousin who put a stop to that when we realised it was happening, but if I go then there is nobody to keep the Green's in line, Dale is too busy to watch individual families and ensure they are following the rules. I need to get her away from her 'family' not that they deserve that title, they treat her like shit, but I can't take her away until she graduates, like me, she will be graduating a year early, so thankfully we only have to wait until next year, so I am staying local until that time for her, to protect her and love her and cherish her as she deserves.
She doesn't know what I am, she can't know until she is 21, it is forbidden to reveal our secret to minors, usually I would need to get permission from the council before I can tell her, but thanks to Dale we have already jumped through those hoops, we have permission to reveal ourselves but on the condition we wait until she is 21, so here I am, lying to the girl I love, and I do love her more than life itself, there is nothing she can do that would be wrong. I knew from the moment I met her that she was supposed to be mine, to be my partner in all things. It isn't like with wolves, we don't have the mate bond, but we easily find those that are perfect for us based on their aura. Carly glows with a golden light that surrounds her entire body when I use my vision and my Mum says that that means she is perfect for me since I also emit a golden aura. Everyone has a 'glow' or aura, all in varying shades of every colour imaginable. Your glow is a part of who you are and depending on their intentions the glow shifts in degrees. Carly is always a clear, warm, calming gold, my mum and dad are both a steady light turquoise colour, my cousin is a strong, bold blue. According to our lore, Light and bright colours like blues, greens, yellows, golds, silvers, pinks and light purples are good, dark, murky or dull colours like black, grey, blood red, dark purple are bad, these people have traits similar to their dull, dark colouring. Mum says that people's colours can change over time as we all go through life, some start good and turn bad, some start bad and turn good, and well you get the picture, events change people and do the treatments we receive and the hand we are dealt in life.
Anyway, in case you haven't figured it out yet, I am a witch, a relatively powerful witch who is a part of one of the most powerful covens the world has ever seen, and Carly is mine, mine to protect and love and cherish, everything about her appeals to me and it has since the very first moment I moved to this small town and joined my cousin's coven. We had originally been a part of my Mother's coven, my dad having left his coven to join her. In witchlore the male follows the female, as females have this innate ability to become one with the world in ways that strengthen their abilities when they remain with their blood. My cousin Dale is the coven leader with his partner Holly. Carly's family are human, no magic in them at all, and they are a mouldy green colour which suits their disposition I guess. It is the main reason I knew something was wrong, I sensed the pain in Carly and I knew what it meant, as well as knowing she was mine, but as I couldn't act on it since we were so young I told Dale and then I became her friend. I stayed by her side, I ensured her happiness as much as I could, I was what she needed me to be, when she needed me to be it. Dale investigated the family and found nothing overly bad, but he did pay them a visit during the night and made sure they knew not to mess with Carly the way they had been anymore. Since humans don't know about witches, our coven came up with a believable story to cover for our powers. Any human that steps foot in our small town is under the impression that Dale is the mayor, and that my father is the police captain as he is Dale's second in command. Dale took over the coven from his father when his mother died at the hands of the coven's second in command as his dad's sanity fell away with his loss. He called on us to join him here, and take over the position as he didn't trust the family of the old second in command, he banished them and so we moved 300 miles to join the coven, leaving our old coven behind us. The men may be the leaders of our covens, but the women, our women are the strength that holds us up, that binds our powers to the earth and it is thanks to the women that any man of power can hold his position. A man can only take his position in leadership if he has the power of a female by his side. The men tend to get the glory of the name, but the men know their strength and status is only measured thanks to their female counterpart.