Part One: Sentinel of the Moon

16 years later

Every night, after the lights in the small cottage would disappear, Selene Ferox would climb to the roof of the barn she called home to watch the stars.

She felt as if they were looking down at her, studying her, and deeming her worthy. Worthy for what she didn't know, yet she always felt a sort of comfort under their watch.

She often fell asleep there in the summers, the cool breezes a haven compared to the hot breath of the horses. Luckily for her, even with winter just around the corner, she was never too bothered by the chill. So, she would sit on the rooftop no matter how cold the nights grew and enjoy the quiet.

In the distance, the forest stretched far in either direction. The tall pines swayed gently back and forth, their needles waving hello. When she was younger, she used to stray beyond the tree line just to see if the myths were true. Sadly, she never saw any goblins or beasts. No faeries or vampires. But she could have sworn one day she saw a wisp dancing through the branches of a tall evergreen, beckoning for her to follow.

"Should I have?" she asked the wind and the stars, as if they would answer, "It might've been better than living here."

An owl answered with a simple hoo as it flew overhead towards the trees. She chuckled to herself.

She'd been on the roof for far too long. If she didn't get some rest now, she'd be exhausted during work tomorrow. Yet she didn't want to leave.

It was always a fight to get herself to sleep, for she knew that when she woke there'd be mountains of work for her to do. Work that made her skin bleed and her muscles ache. Work she couldn't say no to.

At night, she was in control, she could do what she wanted.

Almost.

The forest was nearly black in the darkness, yet she could still hear the rustling of the leaves. She couldn't help but wonder how far it stretched, and what lay beyond.

Slowly, clouds rolled in and obscured the stars and moon. There was nothing left to be seen, the night now pitch black.

Selene sighed and crawled to the hatch in the roof that she'd propped open and dropped down into the hayloft. Her cot was in the back corner, away from the windows that leaked and the piles of hay that the mice called home. Two barn cats had curled up on her blankets and as she gently climbed into bed, they stretched and yawned.

"Looks like there's going to be a storm tomorrow," she whispered to them.

The tabby responded by covering his face with his paws and drifting back to sleep. Selene tucked her arm under her pillow and tried to shut her eyes.

One day, she thought, there will be more to life than this.

That day seemed very far out of her reach.

***

Selene's muscles shrieked with effort as she slammed a hammer down on the red-hot metal. Yellow sparks danced around her, tangling in her hair. The forge's heat rolled against her skin as she worked. She hated the heat.

She had been told to work here today. Forced was the more appropriate word.

The family she worked for, the ones who had taken her in almost twenty years before, did not have patient tempers. Especially not the father, Arthur Clarke. He was a brute, tall and broad with dull brown hair and beady eyes. He always looked for an excuse to smack her on the back of her head. She rarely gave him one.

The mother, Gwendolyn Clarke, was just as vile, always picking on Selene's appearance. She even spoke of marrying Selene off for a bride price even though she wasn't related by blood. Hopefully, those were empty words meant to keep Selene in check.

The rest of the family was composed of three boys. The youngest brother, Axl, was small for his age but would grow to be a copy of his father in both looks and personality. The middle son, Lucius, was her one friend here and was the only reason they had kept her around this long. He preferred the art of sketching and even love if he caught the fancy of a girl who interested him. He was the only one to show her kindness in her twenty years of life.

The oldest brother, Cedric, was sick and hadn't gotten up from his cot in weeks. He had been running a fever for five days now and his mother had begun to panic. But there was nothing she could do as his death loomed closer.

Selene almost smiled at the thought. Cedric has never been kind to her either.

She bashed her hammer against the anvil a little harder than necessary and frowned as the metal bent sideways, losing its shape.

As if he had been waiting, the man behind her, the father, smacked her head with his palm, his brown eyes full of unchecked rage.

"Look what you've done now! That metal cost me nearly two silver. Don't go wasting my money away, girl."

Selene closed her eyes and willed her voice calm.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

He grumbled something under his breath and turned back to his workstation.

Selene frowned at the now cooling iron and held in a sigh.

She couldn't really blame them for hating her. She was different. Or at least, she looked different.

Dark circles hung below her amber and red eyes that people had told her looked like fire and blood. She couldn't remember the last time someone beside Lucius had looked her in the eye. Her porcelain skin was dotted with dirt and soot, smearing as she tried to wipe it away with the back of her hand. Her snow-white hair that used to be past her shoulder blades was now cut off and brushed her shoulders. She remembered Arthur grabbing a fist full of the hair, a dull knife in his other hand, and slicing it off.

"Would you rather it catch fire in the forge?" he had asked her.

She had shaken her head, always the submissive servant they wanted her to be, and watched as the snow colored hair fell to the floor.

Selene blinked away the memory and returned to her work.

She raised the hammer above her head. When she brought it down, she imagined the metal was the face of the man behind her.

Three hours passed before Arthur examined her work and dismissed her. She walked out of the forge and sighed as the drizzling rain cooled her skin.

Stretched out in front of her was a field of wheat. Though smaller than the average farm, it still supplied a nice extra profit when they went into the town to sell the tools made in their forge. To Selene's left was the rundown cottage the family called home. Its door was crooked and bent, windows cracked or shattered, and the wood was curling with age. To Selene's back, on the other side of the forge, was the meadow. Waist-high grass danced in the breeze and occasionally a rabbit or two would venture out to grab a stalk of wheat before running back to the haven.

Past the meadow was the Naiṭ araṇya.

The Forest of Night.

Selene peaked her head around the forge's corner to catch a glimpse of the mesmerizing trees.

Its tall, thick pines stood straight. Tightly grown together to block off the view from the people smart enough to stay away. The forest was rumored to be home to beasts beyond imagination, fiends who once dared to grasp the dark magic that flowed in the tree roots, humans driven mad, and some even whispered about the Fae that once belonged to the forest.

The talk was hushed almost immediately after, in fear of the immortals stalking out of the woods to slit their throats.

Selene had always been fascinated by the forest. It always seemed to sing to her, lulling her into sleep after one of her nightmares or soothing her aches after a painful beating.

Some days, when she grew too restless to sit on the barn's roof, she'd venture to the edge of the forest, close enough to look past the barricade of trees. She would see the birds fly from branch to branch or a stag prance past with a doe right behind it. She ached to go in deeper, but she hadn't in years. And no matter how much time passed, she couldn't bring herself to take that one step.

Selene shook her head to free herself of the thought and walked to the barn house.

The doors had been opened since sunrise and thankfully the stale air had already been driven out. The horses snorted and pawed at their doors, anticipating their soon to come meal. She felt bad for the horses here. To save money, Arthur had told her to feed them once a day around noon. And then let them out into the meadow to graze. Although they did a good job of mowing down parts of the field, they were still too thin.

Selene filled two buckets up with the ground grain from the wheat fields and lugged them over to the first stall.

The first horse, a bay mare named Tally, bobbed her head up and down. Selene heaved one bucket over the side of the stall and dumped its contents into the larger bucket that awaited. Tally immediately began to eat, and Selene almost laughed as the mare didn't seem to mind the ground wheat that now coated her mane and forelock.

Selene moved to the next stall where a chestnut mare named Leena pranced around waiting for food.

Selene served her and then went to fetch more wheat.

At the second to last stall was Kadan, her favorite. He was a white and black paint, with the attitude of an untamed lion. Selene knew from the moment she saw him at an auction when she was twelve that he did not belong in a stable. He gave the mares a run for their money whenever he was in a mood. When that happened, Selene was the only one who could calm him down.

Selene scratched his forehead and dumped his food into the stall. Arthur's 20-year-old grey mare, Years, waited for her lunch in the last stall. She was much too old to pull the plow in the field or to do much hard labor, but he refused to get rid of her.

Selene, being the person who took care of the horses, agreed with him. Yersa may not be able to move much, but she had always been good company in the warm barn as Selene went about her daily duties. She had earned herself a long rest without worry about being killed by the town butcher.

"Hello, old friend," Selene said as she poured Yersa her grain. She snorted in response and dug into the meal, shaking her head as flies gathered.

While the horses finished their meals, she went outside to pump water from their well and clean out the trough. She gulped down a few handfuls herself, cleaning the dust from her mouth and wetting her throat. Fetching a pale of grain, she went around the side of the barn to the chicken coop and sprinkled a small amount of grain around them. They ate whatever vegetables were left over from dinner so saving money was no problem. By now, the horses had gotten antsy enough to neigh and get her attention.

They reminded her of needy children.

It only took a few minutes to lead them all out into the part of the meadow that had been fenced in and let them loose.

She wanted to stay and watch them for a bit, but she had more work to do. The scythe was waiting for her on the tool wall of the barn and the wheat in their fields ready to be harvested.

As she walked out to begin her next project, tools in hand, she heard a voice from behind her.

"How are your chores coming along, big sister?"

Selene turned to find Axl staring at her, hands in his pockets.

His dark brown hair and eyes matched his father's, but Axl was small for his age. At thirteen, he should already be in the forge and working more in the fields, but his mother refused to let him in fear that he was too weak. In fear that he too would grow ill.

He didn't seem to have a problem with Selene carrying his weight.

"What do you want, Axl?"

She pushed past him and made her way to the wheat fields. She had begun the harvest the day before. Piles of rolled wheat now sat, waiting to be loaded onto the wagon and brought into town.

"I just wanted to see if my big sister needed my help."

He trotted after her, a grin plastered on his face.

Selene snorted a laugh and swung around, making him duck under the scythe that now hung on her shoulder.

"I'm not your sister. And the day you actually wish to help me, is the day hell freezes over."

"You call Lucius your brother, and he's my brother. So technically I can call you whatever I want."

"Go to your mother; I'm sure she has plenty of things she wants to do with you," she said hoping to get him off her back.

He narrowed his eyes at her.

"With that attitude, you might get another beating."

Her heart skipped a beat, but the last thing she wanted him to know was that he could scare her like that. Instead of saying anything back, she turned away from him and continued.

He still followed her, almost stepping on her heels. Selene tried to ignore it as she entered the field.

She began cutting the wheat stalks, swinging the blade back and forth. Sinking into the rhythm with the swings, she didn't notice Axl as he crouched down and began rolling the stalks behind her. He cursed, and she turned to watch as the rolls unwound around him.

She sighed and held the scythe out to him.

"Cut the stalks. I'll roll the wheat."

He stood and sheepishly took the blade from her. She took his place and began to reroll the wheat. She glanced over at Axl, who seemed to be doing fine. Part of her wondered why he would help her, but there was too much to be done to ponder on it.

Together they moved across the field quickly, packing the wheat together and getting it ready to be piled onto the wagon.

Selene stood to admire her work, an entire field finished in one afternoon. She didn't sense the blade until it was too late.

Searing pain laced down her leg as the scythe sliced her calf. She cursed and fell, pressing against the wound to stop the bleeding. She pulled her hand away to quickly look at the slice.

Shallow, but painful.

She looked up at Axl who now leaned against the tool as if he hadn't almost cut off her leg.

She yelled, "What the bloody hell was that?"

"I didn't see you there."

Selene scoffed, "You didn't see me there? You could have killed me?"

"But I didn't... sadly," he added with a grin.

Selene could barely see through the rage that boiled in her stomach. She pushed herself up, ignoring the ache that accompanied the movement, and grabbed the scythe from him.

"You can finish by yourself or I swear to the Angels I'll-"

Axl stepped closer to her, looking down his nose at her.

"You swear what, Selene? That you'll hit me? Tell my mother? I wonder what she'll do when she finds out that you made me work. I wonder what she'll say to my father."

Selene's face went paperwhite. One word from him and the entire family would think she'd forced him to come out and work in the fields. Gwen would be so furious she might kick Selene out. Arthur's wrath would leave her bedridden for a week.

Axl stepped back and dusted himself off.

"You can finish up here. I'll be inside."

Then he swept past her, not bothering to look back. Selene had to stop herself from throwing the scythe at his exposed back.

***

It was past dusk by the time Selene finished in the fields. Exhausted, she put the scythe back, led the horses to their stalls, and headed to the cottage.

By now, they had already begun to eat. She could smell the food cooking for quite some time and her stomach growled more with each passing moment. She kicked the dirt off her boots and entered the cottage.

Arthur was already finished and rubbed his stomach in contempt, Gwen picked at her teeth with a sharp bone, Axl glared at her from his end of the table, Cedric was still in bed, Lucius stared at her with worry, and the dog, Bo, panted obliviously at the table as he begged for food.

He glanced down at the plate in front of him and the small amount of chicken and potatoes that he'd been able to save for her. Selene almost hugged him. He had saved her as much as he could, and she was so famished, she doubted she'd care if part of it had already been eaten.

"There you are, Selene. Arthur has finished; clear his plate," Gwen ordered as she delicately pulled the chicken from the bone with her hands.

As Selene separated his meat into one pale and the potatoes and carrots into another. She was so hungry; she couldn't help it as her mouth began to water. As quick as she could, she popped a carrot into her mouth. It was the first thing she'd had all day.

Something small and sharp hit her on the back of the head and she flinched.

"A lady does not eat the scraps," Gwen said. Selene glanced at the floor, to where the bone her mother had used to pick food out of her teeth now laid.

Then why is that all you leave me? she thought.

"I will not have anyone in my home digging into the garbage like one of those woodland beasts."

Selene swallowed and sat up straighter, not meeting her eyes, "Of course, Ma'am. I apologize."

"Did you finish in the field?" Arthur said, interrupting Gwen's next words.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. When we go into town tomorrow, I'm sending the boys to the leatherworker, so I expect you to be the one to deliver the wheat and tools."

Axl piped up from the other side of the table and said, "Father is getting us new shoes and cloaks for the winter."

Selene resisted the urge to glance down at her boots and the holes that littered them.

"How exciting," she said, mustering up a cheerful voice.

Selene didn't miss the grin that stretched across Axl's face. It seemed he hadn't lied to his parents about earlier. He may hold it over her at a later point.

The chair scraped against the floor as Arthur stood to leave. Before he turned, he looked at Selene.

"I expect you to be up before dawn to get the horses ready," he seemed to hesitate before adding, "Bring Yersa and tie her to the back of the wagon. She's coming with us."

Selene's breath caught.

"May I ask why, sir?"

"Why do you think? She's useless just standing in the barn. The butcher will give us a few coins for her. If you behave maybe you'll get new shoes too."

Selene looked down at the dirty plate, her anger and sadness growing with every second that passed.

"I don't want the money you gain from Yersa."

Arthur paused. Lucius tried to change the subject to save her, but it was too late.

Arthur turned in his seat to look at her; the hand that rested on the table was curled into a fist.

"Do you think anyone here cares what you want, girl? If I give you shoes you better be damn grateful, or I'll make you walk barefoot all winter again."

A memory flashed in Selene's mind of a day so painfully cold. He'd taken her shoes for bringing an injured bird home.

"It'll kill us all with its illness, stupid girl! Lucius' already caught something."

She had almost lost a toe from the ice.

He turned back to the table and took another gulp of his ale.

"Tie Yersa to the wagon. She'll be dead by spring anyhow. Might as well make some money from it."

Then he stood and left the room, grumbling something about being ungrateful.

Gwen turned to her and almost spat, "Now I'll have to deal with his attitude for the whole night. Be useful and feed Cedric."