Easy Bake Coven by Liz Schulte

We wandered for hours, my eyes wide with each new sight and sound. Cheney pointed out different trees and animals. Being in the forest suited him. He was one with the nature and elements around him. I was the clearly the outsider here. It was a place I could see myself longing to be a part of, and with Cheney I almost believed it was possible.
    We came upon old ruins in the process of being reclaimed by nature. Something that resembled a steeple still stood about twenty feet tall but was obscured by the taller trees in the forest. Remnants of walls and windows stood in a vaguely cross-shaped pattern.
    “This was a church?”
    “Once, long ago.”
    “What happened?
    “There was a human king who was very much in love with a peasant girl. He wanted nothing more than to be with her, but to do so would dishonor his kingdom. He was expected to marry royalty and advance the kingdom’s power and position. However, he could not marry anyone else when his heart belonged to another, so he waged wars against all those who provoked him in the slightest manner. He did anything he could to distract the people from his lack of a wife or heir. He commissioned the secret building of this church in the middle of his forest, never telling anyone in his kingdom of its existence. When it was completed, he waited until midnight on the night of the full moon and snuck away from his castle without his guard or servants. He went to the peasant woman’s house and convinced her to come with him here. He had a minister waiting for the two of them.”
    Cheney took my hand and walked me deeper into the church. “The woman was shocked by his brash actions but also happy, for she too loved the king. However, she also had a secret. She revealed herself to be an elf who had been masquerading as human in his kingdom. She professed her love for him, though it would be against the will of her own people. She told him she would marry him only if he stopped the wars he was unjustly waging. The king was furious that she betrayed him by not revealing what she was sooner. He accused her of enchanting him. In his rage, he took her life. Once she was lying dead in his arms, he realized he had not been enchanted at all. He really was in love with her. Devastated, he buried her body and sat beside the grave, never moving, never returning to his kingdom, never nourishing himself until he, too, perished. The elf girl’s family found her grave and the king’s shriveled body lying beside it. They enchanted the forest so humans could no longer see it. After that day no other elves stepped foot in here, thinking the land to be cursed.”
    “That . . . is a horrible story.”
    Cheney softly laughed. “Most of the true ones are.”
    “That’s so tragic. Why do you come here?”
    “Because these woods are not cursed. This is not a story of sadness. It’s a story of love. They both loved each other so deeply, so extremely, that they went to great lengths to deceive everyone else so they could be together.”
    “But he killed her.”
    “He did, but he also paid the price for that. It does not change the fact they loved one another more than anything else. More than kingdoms, more than race, more than family.”
    “Did you know the elf?”
    “She was my sister.”
    “Have you told me this story before?”
    “No.”
    “You never brought me here?”
    “No.”
    A part of me that was obviously asking for trouble was pleased by this. “You know, if you were like this more often, I would be less difficult. We could even be friends.”
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, Selene, but I don’t want to be your friend.”
    I frowned. “How can I not take that the wrong way?”
    “Remember how you felt last night when you kissed me? I’ve felt like that since the day I stepped foot into your studio. I don’t want to be your friend. I want you back.”
    “I’m not that girl.”
    “Of course you are.”
    I shook my head. I wasn’t who he wanted me to be. “I have