When I open my eyes, I am in a soft, feathery bed. Fresh morning sunlight peeps in through the windows, filling the room with a warm glow. A cool breeze hums through the branches rustling outside. I hear a gentle birdsong; the air brimming with peculiar yet refreshing scents that immediately fill me with joy.

Pushing on my elbows, I sit up. Yesterday’s deep gash across my torso is healed beautifully. There is no trace of it, neither is there the residual pain that I usually experience after healing. This is not my body’s natural healing. It’s someone else’s power that has undone the damage.

I get up and pad to the open bedside window. There is a small courtyard with a fountain in the middle surrounded by flowering shrubs. There is a hum of chatter emanating from the other side of the courtyard, but I do not see anyone.

“You are not allowed to leave the bed yet. The Great Supreme has forbidden it.” A childlike voice calls from behind, making me turn in surprise. For a moment, I think I heard Tina.

And it could have been Tina, had it not been for the bushy blonde hair instead of the brown and twinkling grey eyes instead of Tina’s light brown. But apart from those tiny details, they are almost similar.

For a moment I stand dazed, an ache spreading my heart. How I miss my sister, my family. I hope they are okay. Tina, father and Adam are safely on their way back to Silver Forest, and the vampire has not yet sunk his teeth into Tammy.

My heart shudders with trepidation.

“My name is Esmay. I have brought you some breakfast.” The girl says merrily, padding forward with an easy smile. She must be about twelve or thirteen. Now that I look closer, she is slightly shorter than Tina and plumper. Like Jella and Keiki, she is wearing brown robes with an iron collar around her neck. Startled, I narrow my eyes, but I need not have worried. Unlike the wraith women, this one is solid enough.

“Well, what are you thinking? Wash your face and eat. Are you not hungry?” The girl snaps, her eyes turning to big round saucers. Hands on her hips, she marches towards me, then points me to the side door. “There’s the privy, if you do not know of it yet. Now get on with it. I must report to mother who must report to the Supreme directly. I don’t want to be scolded on my first day of work.”

Hmm. So this is her first day of work. And she reports to her mother, who in turn reports to the Supreme one. Which is who?

A pair of honey brown dances in front of my eyes. The set of the gentlest of orbs, like an ocean of molten gold, bobbing in a pleasant sunset. The last entire night I have dreamt of them, tasting the honey on my tongue.

“Did the Supreme One save me yesterday?”

“Of course she did. Who else in the entire Selgurathian has the power to take down Serena?”

“And her name is Rosalind?” I say the name slowly, savouring the sound, the feel. The girl’s face fades in panic.

“Hush! You will get me fired on my first day. We do not speak that name.”

I raise my eyebrow. “Why?”

“I don’t know.” She looks confused. “That’s the law, tradition, whatever you call. “Only the members of the Grand Council can speak that name. Not us.”

She gets on with tidying my bed. Twenty minutes later, when I am out of the privy, fresh after a warm bath and wearing a set of clean clothes, I already feel more alive. The fact that the clothes are normal trousers and a t-shirt that covers my whole body and not some flimsy see-through robes gives me hope.

“So. When do I get to see her again?”

Esmay stops what she is doing to give me a look. “Who?”

“The Supreme One. I need to see her. I must talk to her. I need to …” I don’t know why I am blabbering. All I know is that she is the most powerful witch here and only she can help me. She seemed kind, someone I can reason with. If only I could convince her…to let me …to let me... kiss her?

A flustered blush creeps onto my neck. What is exactly happening? I have never been this moony eyed teenager, nor have I been a womaniser like my twin. Last night, Serena had actually left me panicked. And now with this other witch that is even more powerful, I have lost my senses. How? All I remember is her eyes and her expression. I haven’t even seen her properly. We haven’t even met properly.

“I just need to see her about my situation.” I run my fingers through my hair, keenly aware of Esmay’s knowing gaze. She shakes her head.

“You cannot. The Great Supreme does not see just anyone. Be thankful that you are even alive after yesterday’s mishap. No man has ever entered Selgurathian and lived to tell the tale.”

“That’s rubbish!”

“It’s not.” The girl smiles, a sombre look passing her face. “This is the Witch Kingdom you are talking about, where our queen was murdered by a man she loved. No man has entered here since then, and if they do, they do not leave alive. You are fortunate because you didn’t come voluntarily. But don’t’ push your luck.”

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

My heart sinks. Yes, I know the story of how Queen Agatha died. And since then, the Grand Council banned any men in the kingdom. They breed outside of their boundaries and bring only their girl children with them. Any boys born are left to die or killed outright. Witches don’t believe in mates, at least not in this kingdom.

“This is the seventh dimension, beyond the boundaries of what’s ‘normal’” Esmay says in a poignant tone. “We have our own rules, and those who do not obey are banished or killed. Make sure you follow the orders. Do not solicit unnecessary contact with anyone but me. Do not speak or answer if anyone speaks to you.”

“So I am a prisoner, be it Serena or Rosalind.” I seethe with disappointment. “And I thought she was better than Serena.”

“She is better than Serena. At least she is not keeping you confined to a cell to be her toy boy. And she has left you a charm that will help you get around while you are here.”

“A charm?”

“Here.” She passes me a ring from her pocket. It’s a gold band with a delicate engraving of a blooming rose in the middle, but the band also depicts spikey thorns. “The Supreme One has left you this. While you are not confined to this chamber, and may want to explore, this ring will keep you safe. Not everyone around here is vile, but they sure will want to try their luck with you.”

“This will keep me safe? How?”

“Just wear it at all times. The witches will know you are under the protection of the Supreme One and will stay off you.”

Right. It’s a nice to know this will protect me of any more Serenas. How thoughtful of the Supreme One. A smile creeps over my lips.

Fingering the ring, I sit at a small table laid with breakfast. Esmay stands in the front, looking nervous than ever.

“Yes? Anything else?”

“Umm…yes. I was wondering while you are here…if you could teach me the way of your world.”

I raise my eyebrow. This mystery keeps getting more and more interesting. “And why do you need to learn about our world?”

“Because one day I might want to go out.” The girl’s face clouds. “Wretches must spend their life in servitude unless they go out and to live with the humans. I…I don’t wish to stay a maid all my life.”

I frown, trying to understand her better. “Wretches?”

“A woman, both a witch, but with no magic in her. Basically, an omega in werewolf terms.” She says in a low voice. “I’ll never amount to any more than a maid here. I want to leave when I turn eighteen.”

The rest of the day I spend roaming in the castle. Yes, it’s a vast castle made of black stone, perched on a mountaintop of a land in the seventh dimension. I have only read about the dimension in one of our library books, but not even the wolf who wrote about it had any practical knowledge. I might be the first wolf to step into this land. A land at the edge of consciousness, where normal meets paranormal, shadows stretch into light, mingling into night, and our world morphs into something new.

It’s still the earth. This dimension coexists with the other six. Yet the rules of nature here are different, as are the people that dwell this mystical world.

The castle is a vast, sprawling structure, with thousands of towers, turrets, palaces, markets, and whatnots. It’s a city in itself. Beautiful promenades and vistas greet me as I stroll from one wonder to the other. There are garden, museums, paved streets and buildings I cannot imagine can be carved by any living creatures. The Selgurathian has always been a thing of legends. We only heard of it in stories. They painted it as a scary, dark place of magic and mystic. Well, part of it is still true, I can see magic and mystic. But this is hardly dark or vile.

There are open grounds where witch soldiers train in their hundreds. They use arms that are nothing like our guns or knives. There is no metal. Instead, there is fire, light, dark wisps of smoke that render the opponents immobile. There are light sabres of different colours that the trainers help their charges to learn with meticulous precision. A slight miss can leave the opponent damaged for life, but the girls wield them with ease.

Yes, girls. All I see are girls, women - old, young and middle-aged. It’s literally a ‘no-man’s land’. I get stared at, shamelessly ogled at and examined wherever I pass.

No one approaches me due to the ring on my finger, which is good, but it also deprives me of any interaction to know better of this place. Maybe next time I should bring Esmay. Today was just too much of everything for me to think straight.

I purse my lips and move on, threading my way through one of the crowded streets. The markets are huge, full of witches selling everything from flowers to potions to animals to food. Jewels of all kinds are on display and clothes - I have never seen such vibrant colours and fabrics.

I stop at a food stall, wondering if I should eat. My tummy is rumbling with hunger after all my exercise, but I have no money. I do not even know what kind of money works here, neither am I allowed to speak to anyone.

Sighing, I move on. Everywhere bustles with resplendent looking women, followed by other smaller, less significant ones carrying their shopping. Some are quite young, looking flustered and confused, while the older ones are resigned, with calm, suffering faces. They must be the Wretches Esmay told me about.

Tina’s innocent face floats in my mind. All through the wonders of this day, I haven’t been able to forget her. My sister, who is an Omega herself. She would be left alone. She has her exams coming. She wants to sit the human college exams so she could get a chance at a decent life. Danny was the only one who could help her. And now there is none.

Heart heavy with regret, I trudge on. Afternoon turns into evening. I spend another hour wandering, then return to my quarters to find Esmay standing obediently.

The moment I step in, she rushes to hand me a cool drink, then gets a fresh set on clothes from the almirah to lay it on the bed, ready for my bath.

I am in no mood for a bath.

“Have you been standing all day long?”

“It’s just my duty.”

“Did you eat?”

“I’ll eat later.”

“Eat with me.”

“Thanks you, but I cannot. Maids are not allowed to eat with their masters.”

“I am not your master.” I control my temper with difficulty. “And if you want to learn of human ways, dinner times are the best to get the conversations going.”

Her eyes turn to saucers. “So, you will teach me?”

“I will.” I sit at the table, motioning her to take the other chair. “But at a price.”

“Price?”

“Yes. The first way of our world is - never expect anything for free. There is always a price.”

“Oh.” Her face falls. I press a laugh.

“What do you want? I am not very rich. Mother only makes a few silver coins a month and my salary isn’t…”

“I do not want money.” I say, fingering my ring. I have put it in the fourth finger of my left hand. There is some significance of it for humans, but I cannot remember what.

“Then what do you want?” Esmay asks with an eager look. I smile.

“It’s simple. I want another charm. A token that will grant me access to anywhere in this palace. And you must find a way for me to meet up with Rosalind. Or our deal is off.”

***** *****