Veronicas future comes more clear as she talks with the other witches about her dream

Chapter 9

Seraphine looked up into her daughter's terribly frightened face. The room was still very dark, and it was not even three a.m. yet. Seraphine was waking up from a deep sleep. But the terror she felt coming from her daughter and her trembling told her that this was something serious. At least to her daughter.

“Veronica, tell me what has frightened you so much?" She had no clue. She hoped it wasn't something having to do with Riley or Tabi.

“I,” Veronica shuddered trying to find her voice, “I, I had a terrifying dream and woke up nearly screaming. I am very afraid.”

That woke Seraphine up the rest of the way. When a witch had a dream like that, it was best to be very serious about it. It isn't something to dismiss out of hand.

“Okay,” Seraphine said seriously. There was no mocking or kidding in her voice about a dream. Seraphine was calm and very seriously considering this. “Tell me about this dream. Be as specific as you can. Tell me everything you saw in your dream.”

Veronica started explaining her dream using as much detail as possible. She saw a mask of horror overtake her mother as she started explaining how she had seen the Rallies for Maxis in many southern cities and the marches she saw. Then she started explaining the priests she saw in her dreams patrolling American cities and the new laws that they had passed against women. Then she saw the arrests of witches and other witches being tortured, charged for treason against the state and being hung, drawn, and quartered. Then she told her mother of the alliance between those states and the war that followed.”

She half expected her mother to laugh at the ridiculousness of it all. Yet Seraphine was taking it very seriously. She looked at Veronica in horror. “You aren't laughing at me,” Veronica said.

“This is hardly a laughing matter, Veronica,” replied Seraphine. “You are a witch now, and a witch like you having a vision like this that scared you out of your mind isn't something we should laugh at. This isn't something we should dismiss. To dismiss something like this would be a major folly. This is something the fates wanted you to be aware of. I admit it seems silly and almost unbelievable. But knowing what we know about the religion of Maxis, this isn't something that is impossible in any way. We had better take this very seriously.”

“But the priests of Maxis were holding these meetings in the United States and it grew to the extent I saw in my dreams where they can pass laws and take control. This is something that we would have known about isn't it? The news would have covered them if this was happening," Veronica pleaded, hoping this was true.

“Not if they were very secretive about how much their power grew,” Seraphine pointed out. “Remember how powerful the Hekatin grew by Serren's time that they could attack him and take control of the entire kingdom when they were illegal. Don’t totally discount that this is something very real and could be happening right under everyone's nose. And no one will know anything about it until it's too late to stop them. You were given this vision. It is best we consider it.”

“So what should I do?” Veronica asked.

Seraphine looked at her daughter and replied, “Nothing for now. Just be aware. But you are a teenager and just learning how to live as a girl. That is what you should do for now. I will look into this. I have contacts and I will look into this possibility and what we can do about it. I know you were given this dream, so the fates must have something for you in mind. Things will become more clear in time and you will be ready to face it when it comes. Whatever that is. For now, be a teenager, have fun, and learn. You want to be part of the cheer squad and annoy your jock sister, who doesn’t understand. Do that. I will see what can be done. Now, go back to sleep. It's not even three in the morning yet. Let's get some sleep, and I will look into this tomorrow. We will contact the other witches tomorrow morning.”

Veronica went back to her bedroom and curled up, trying to sleep. It took a few more hours, but she eventually fell asleep.

She awoke around 10 in the morning. She was suspended from school and Crystal and Riley had already awoken hours ago and gone to school. She hoped Riley would be okay. Tabi was also suspended but she would know if Tabis friends tried any of their horse shit on Riley.

She dressed and went out to run a few miles around the block. She had formed a path to run around the block to build her body and stamina.

The witches were all there by the time she returned to the house. She had to rush to the bathroom for a shower and get herself cleaned up.

Then she was hungry and ate a little. Seraphine's friends were all ready to hear about her dream by the time she was finished.

Veronica stood there, nervous, in front of many of the older witches like Lady Fawna, Celestia, and the others that were there. She was shaking under the gaze of these older and wiser witches.

Seraphine stood up and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and said, “Calm down and tell them what you saw in your dream last night. You did well in explaining it to me. You can do this and none of them will be harsh. Just explain what you saw.”

Veronica slowly explained what she saw using the most detail she could. And she saw their reactions as her story went on explaining from the rallies and the torture of the witches to the war. She saw utter shock, disbelief, and horror.

Lady Fawna said after her tale was over, “I would love to dismiss this as a child's nightmare. But I can see I would be an utter fool to do so. I think this is serious and we need to consider it.”

Celestia said, “Even now, eight hundred years later, Serren's mad hand is still trying to kill us across an entire continent and an ocean. We should have seen this. He's trying to expose us and it seems like it would work. Serren was such a monster.”

Veronica spoke up, “Yes, but consider what he suffered at their hands. I can understand.”

Celestia spoke up harshly, belittling Veronica's defense of Serren, “He personally had his sister raped, and watched it. Then he personally tortured and disemboweled his own SISTER. He forced Pattenia to watch as he raped Actonia and tortured her. He had many of the other Hekatin witches tortured and charged with treason against the crown. How can you defend that child? He had Pattenia tortured for months before her execution. He raped Actonia. He participated in it personally beating Actonia and his own sister on the rack and the wheel. Then as a mockery of mercy, he personally hung his sister, then had her drawn and quartered. And took pleasure in it. After making her watch Actonia’s execution. How can you defend this sadism?”

Veronica bristled and stood her ground, “I am not. But I am considering what they did to him to encourage it. What his sister did to him.”

“She didn’t have him murdered or even tortured. She hardly laid a hand on him.”

“She was the king,” Veronica responded. “She didn’t have to. She did have him beaten.”

“Only so he would allow them to dress him once he was transformed. He fought them." Celestia shouted.

“Yes, of course he would. So would I if someone did that to me. But it was torture for him. Serren was a boy that was transformed and immediately expected to change and live that way. That was the worst torture imaginable. Every day of that existence for Serren was torture to him. It destroyed his entire life and it was all so much humiliation and pain. He lost everything. The Hekatin worked hard to turn such a loving and compassionate boy into the monster he was. I say they all deserved what they got. That bitch sister reminded me of my own sister Rose. I still love her. But Rose was a sadist.”

Seraphine spoke up to stop the argument. “I agree with my daughter on this. The Hekatin went way too far and created the monster he turned out to be. Had they acted differently, then things would have turned out better. But the Hekatin had vengeance in mind and piled it all on an innocent boy who knew nothing of what they were living under. And they treated it as it was all his doing. Of course, he will be very bitter and enraged. So would I and so would any of you. And now, I see why Veronica was given this vision. The fates have something in mind for her to do, and to stand up to you, Celestia, we can see she has the conviction and strength to do it. Once we find out whatever that is.”

One of the other witches spoke, “This is a serious matter we need to look into. It will require all of us to find out what is going on in the south and what, if anything we can do about it, before it is too late.”

“What are we supposed to do?” asked Veronica. “Go disrupt those rally’s and expose yourself to them? That's what they are doing anyway. Exposing us and stirring up fear at witches. And it looks like they are being successful.”

Veronica was taking this very seriously. It showed a maturity beyond her age. Seraphine said, ”Veronica, we will find out what must be done. We will find out what is going on and how we can deal with it. These are things we must figure out. Now, don't you have Kimberly coming soon to work on your cheerleading? That's what you wanted to do. You leave this to us and we will let you know if we need you to help us.”

Veronica smiled and ran up the steps to prepare for her session with Kimberly.

Celestia asked after Veronica left, “She does have a part in this or she wouldn't have received the vision. There is something she must do. We need to figure out what that is. But it really worries me. I think I have a feeling about what that may be.”

Seraphine rose her eyebrow and asked, “What?”

“What if she has to go to the Shattered Isles to deal with this problem? What if her mission is over there?”

None of them wanted to even consider such a dangerous mission. Going to the Kingdom of the Shattered Isles was a highly dangerous thing.

Seraphine said, “Let's hope not. But if so, she will have a lot to learn first just in order tobe able integrate with their culture first. And be able to defend herself to accomplish whatever the fates have set for her.

Celestia then said what they were all thinking. “If that is what she will have to do, we have to prepare her. There's a lot she will have to learn and much to prepare for. She will learn how to integrate with their male-dominated culture under the religion of Maxis. And we all know what that means. She will have to give up her independent spirit and learn to be submissive to male authority in the extreme.

"She will also have to learn about their history and religion. She will have to learn about Serren, their first “great king”. How he built his religion around him as the prophet of Maxis. He is almost elevated to godhood in the religion of Maxis. How they idolize him and his statues. She will have to learn about the religion of Maxis and the Book of Serren. She will have to be accompanied by a man, preferably she will have to get married beforehand and will have to learn what is expected of her as a wife under the religion of Maxis and their culture. That probably means she will be expected to get married in the religion by a priest of Maxis.

"If this is where it's all going, she has a lot to learn and prepare for. Their very life will depend on it if she is to actually travel to the Shattered Isles. She will also have to learn their language. Their kings have prevented their language from progressing since the year one thousand. They speak a very early form of English. Let's pray this isn’t where it's going.”

But Seraphine had a bad feeling that was exactly where this was headed.

Veronica had rushed up the steps and headed toward her bedroom to find her workout clothes. She found a pair of her blue shorts with her light pink leggings and a matching sports bra and a workout top.

She tied her hair back and then went outside to warm herself up before Kimberly arrived. Veronica had warmed up and was working on the one-handed walkovers by the time Kimberly came through the door.

The walkovers Veronica was practicing was getting better as Kimberly watched. She offered a few more pointers and performed it for Veronica. She was improving and the two worked on that a few more minutes before Kimberly changed it up.

Kimberly asked, “Can you do somersaults?”

Veronica could do them as a boy. She wasn't sure if she could do the same thing as a girl. She tried a few and almost made it on her feet at the end.

So they started practicing somersaults and how to spring up properly, and tucking her feet and hands as she performs the flip. Veronica took her advice and her somersaults improved so that within a half-hour to an hour, she was able to perform an almost flawless forward somersault. She worked on the backward somersaults and was soon able to do it both ways.

They spent the next hour trying to put together a routine and performing them together like a halftime show or something. Kimberly was impressed with Veronica's dedication and her creativity in helping her put together an exciting routine to perform together. They would walk to opposite ends of the yard and perform their routine together. They faced each other and walked over and somersaulted at each other ending in a cartwheel where they came within a handspan from each other and ended in the opposite place.

They performed the routine in various ways for the last half hour of practice and had got each other very tired and sweaty. Kimberly smiled and said, “Veronica, you have a good chance at making it. If you keep progressing like this, you will be equal to anyone on the varsity squad by the end of the week. But you aren’t there yet. You are getting very close though. We will work on more advanced routines tomorrow. Now get some rest. You look tired.”

Kimberly walked back to her car and drove away as Veronica headed toward the shower. Afterward, Veronica curled up in bed and drifted off for a short nap before Ryan would come back from school. And she had another very frightening dream.

This one didn't seem to be as much of a warning, as it was showing her fragments of Serren's life before his traumatic transformation. Then she was shown his transformation on the most important day of his young life. In front of everyone a group of witches transformed him into a teenage girl, shorter and younger than his sister, her sister claimed his crown and boasted in front of everyone about the lack of a male heir and that she was the rightful heir then.

Veronica saw the betrayal and pain in his face as Pattenia was crowned and then apologized, telling him that she had no choice. She had to do this. He said she didn't, and Veronica saw the pain in his eyes slowly turn to hatred. Then he was removed, one of the elder witches told the guards to take the princess to her room. Then Veronica saw flashes of the next year as he was in pain, suffering a life he hated.

He was deprived of everything he loved in life, his birthright, his joys, and his destiny as a warrior was stripped and then he was humiliated. He was assaulted by boys, he was molested, guys went after him trying to force him into a marriage. Then he became pregnant and gave birth to twins. He married a woman he loved and she became his husband.

He turned to hatred and then she watched as he gathered allies and went to war. He was turned into a man again and fought for his birthright and plunged the Shattered Isles into a civil war. Then the scene turned to his last battle as he besieged the capital of Denaerk.

King Pattenia saw the way things were going and she knew there was no way to defend the capital anymore. She still had a significant force to defend the capital with. But it was still no match for Serren’s Army and there could be no victory here. Especially when Serren flew in and landed in front of the palace riding on top of a huge massive black beast. It looked like Serren had acquired a massive black dragon. He was that powerful by now and threatened to burn down the capital if she didn’t surrender. Pattenia swallowed her pride and surrendered the capital to Serren. She knelt and surrendered to her little brother. He forced his sister to follow him and his generals and priests into the throne room where he forced her to surrender her father’s sword, and the crown to him. The high priests proclaimed him the King of the Shattered Isles by divine right, and the head of the Danae family. Pattenia and her witches were seized and Serren ordered them taken to the dungeon for treason against the crown and blasphemy against god. Serren looked at the throne, it was his throne now. He was finally the King of the Shattered Isles. It was his divine right yet the women did their best to deprive him of it, as well as to deprive him of his dignity and manhood. They had failed in the end and he was going to make them pay dearly for what they had inflicted on him, as well as every other man in the Kingdom. He had a lot of scores to settle and it was time to begin to settle one of them as he watched his sister, and his mother be dragged out and taken down into the dungeon.

Serren sat on his throne and ordered his guards to find Stone, and Rose Bucket and bring them to his throne room. He sat there and waited. The women were found and forced into his presence. Veronica saw that those two women knew they were in very serious trouble now by the terror in their eyes. She almost felt bad for the women as Serren glared down at them with eyes full of rage and hate now that he could finally unleash on them for what they did.

Serren looked at Stone and asked her, “Tell me Stone. If a girl does not want to wear a corset and heavy gown, does she have that right in your eyes to refuse to be dressed as she is told?”

Stone knew where this was going but her reasoning was trapped. She replied in a shaky voice, “I would think so in my personal view but I was following the King’s orders.”

“Don’t give me that, bitch,” Serren yelled out loud. “It was more than simple orders. You enjoyed dressing me by force. You enjoyed demeaning and humiliating me. I saw the joy in your eyes, as well as in your daughter’s as you invaded my room morning after morning. You beat me into submission, and then you dressed me after you had me defeated and secured. I was helpless. Is this the treatment you would give any girl, do you believe a girl should be treated that way?”

She refused to answer. “Yours was a special case. We had to do this to you to avoid you regaining the crown. But you did it anyway.”

“You beat and humiliated me day after day. You treated me with such disregard to my own wishes as a girl. Such treatment that you don’t believe should be inflicted on any girl. You betrayed your sex, and the crown. You are clearly guilty of treason. Both of you are. You both deserve to be punished. And I have the perfect punishment for you. Since you were so angry at me for sleeping with your daughter Bucket. I will do it again right in front of your eyes and punish her. Then she will die right in front of your eyes and you will bury your daughter. You will live with the knowledge of where your cruelty and brutality on me lead to.”

Serren stepped down from his throne and approached Rose as she cringed and tried to get away from his lust. He slapped her hard and she fell down. Serren descended on her and ripped her grown from her body and undid her corset. He went down on her, seized her, pinned her down on the floor of the throne room and violently penetrated her. Stone was forced to watch Serren violently rape her daughter in front of her. She was helpless to stop it. The first time he had slept with her could be considered a rape. She consented, but it was more out of fear of refusing the crown prince than her own desires. Serren didn't know the difference. But this was a violent rape against her will. She was screaming and Stone just watched through her own tears. Serren climaxed in Rose and stood up and looked down with a dark seething anger. Then he began striking her as she curled on the floor in agony and shame. Serren kicked her in the body and on her legs, arms and her back. He was beating Rose in front of her mother.

Stone knew there was no hope. Rose would die this day and there was nothing she could do to prevent it. Serren said it was her fault, it was her doing by the way she treated and abused him day after day. But this was Serren’s own doing and he was torturing Stone’s Daughter. Serren finally had enough and took his sword Justice and drove it through Rose’s stomach. She bled out and died slowly. Serren watched with pleasure. He didn't hate Rose that much. It angered him that she preferred him as a girl than a man. But he had formed a sisterhood bond with her as a girl. It still wasn’t what he was supposed to be. This was more to hurt Stone than having to do with Rose. This is the price that Stone must pay and Serren went up to the cruel woman and stood face to face with the broken woman. He said, “This is the price you must pay for the crimes you committed on me. Your cruelty had a steep cost and you have just paid it. I hope what you did to me was worth the cost. If not, then perhaps you should have really thought that perhaps brutalizing and abusing the crown prince may eventually have a cost that you wouldl be required to pay. But you never did and now your daughter is dead because of it. So, Stone, want to try me now?” Serren faced her and prepared for action. Stone did nothing but stare at him blankly. She was broken. She knew that he was now a very powerful King. He had led his forces into battle against Pattenias army and had won victory after victory against her army. He had killed many of her soldiers and eventually won the entire war. She stood no chance against him now.

Serren laughed bitterly and sneered to Stone’s face, “I guess you only use force on someone when you are sure you can overpower them. You are good at abusing and beating helpless teenage girls.” Stone was seized and thrown out of the Throne room. She would not be executed. Serren thought it was crueler to let her live the rest of her life after seeing her daughter raped, tortured and killed in front of her eyes. Serren was right.

Serren called for a meeting of the Lords and administrators and he had Falconette and Pattenia summoned to observe. Serren entered the council chamber and sat at the head. The other Lords were there waiting for Serren to begin the meeting. Pattenia was brought in wearing chains around her wrists and legs. Falconette was brought in after her, and she observed Pattenia’s shame and Serren’s cruelty. There appeared to be some bruises around Pattenia’s face. She was completely defeated and demoralized. And both women now knew that whatever was going to happen here was not good at all. Sitting near Serren was the new leader of the church of Maxis, which Serren had renamed the Church of Serren. He began the meeting. “As of this moment, I name myself the head of the church of Maxis, as it is now, the church of Serren. I name myself God. I am your God-King. Does anyone disagree?”

Of course none of the lords that stood by Serren during the war would dare oppose him now. Pattenia observed that there was fanatical loyalty to Serren during the war against her. And their soldiers often took direct orders from Serren. They were more loyal to Serren than their own houses. The Lords wouldn't dare turn on Serren now. They knew it would be their head. He looked at the Lords as they all approved. “Good, the motion passes. I am your Divine King. For my next motion, the crown will pass to the eldest male heir once again. Women must never get the crown again. And all property will be inherited by the eldest male heir.”

Pattenia and Falconette saw that Serren was reversing all of her progress in this glorious instant in his life. It was what he was waiting for. The motion passed of course, every lord agreed. “Good. The Shattered Isles belongs to men once again. For my next motion.” He gave Pattenia and Falconette a knowing wolfish cruel smile. “All of the previous edicts prohibiting worship of the Goddess will be reinstated. Worship of the Goddess and Witchcraft are now crimes against the crown. It is treason to either worship the Goddess or practice Witchcraft. The witch-hunters will hunt for them. But they will be turned over to civil authority for punishment. And the punishment will be to be hung, drawn, and quartered.”

Pattenia had expected this, she knew this moment was coming. Witches would be hunted again, and tortured. Worship of the Goddess would be illegal once again. This was Serren’s vengeance and he was becoming a tyrant. The motion passed, of course it would.

Then Serren said, “Contracted marriages are legal again. And as of now, every woman in a position of power in the Shattered Isles is to be removed and arrested. She is to be tried for treason against the crown.”

Pattenia watched in despair as those two final motions were passed. Women were now deprived of all civil rights and power across the Shattered Isles.

Serren made one final declaration. “I can’t make this a legal motion. But it is my strong recommendation. One I will enforce in my family shortly. As of now, the eldest child of a family must never be a girl, or daughter ever again. We saw what they can do, I suffered under my sister’s cruelty and madness for over a fucking year when she felt just because she was the eldest, she was the rightful heir to the crown. She had me tormented, humiliated, raped and abused relentlessly. I can’t order you all to, but if for any of you your eldest is a daughter, you should have her killed and from this moment on, you all should never allow a girl to be your eldest child. If a girl should be born first, you should kill her at birth. I can’t order you how you should run your families, after all, they are your families . But, I will kill my daughter Blaze very shortly. I know that for some of you your eldest child is daughter. Be aware of their treachery. We all know now that girls have no loyalty to their family, and no love in their hearts. They are filled with evil and can never be trusted again. Protect your son’s claim to your titles.”

The Lords all agreed and would be making plans to kill their eldest daughters if they were the first-born. Pattenia was completely horrified by this cruel declaration. Her little brother was becoming a monstrous tyrant now. She understood the reasoning behind it, and she had had a part in it, how she treated her little brother and then sister once she got the crown. It was a total betrayal in his eyes that would never be forgiven. For that others were going to be punished and measures were going to be taken to prevent it from ever happening again. From this moment on, girls would never have hope. The boys would be the eldest and their future would be secured. The girls didnt have a future. Serren’s dark age was dawning and it was going to be an age of horror.

Veronica watched Serren arrest Pattenia after he seized her crown back. She was shackled and taken to the dungeon. He visited her that night as he walked down with a triumphant smirk and boasted how her rule and the women’s liberation only lasted two years before things were put the way they had been before.

Serren glared at his sister with the darkest most hateful look that Veronica had ever seen in anyone’s eyes. It was as if Serren had been consumed and dominated by darkness by that time. It was a horrifying expression. What could have happened to him to be this hateful? His mother Aanya had been watching from another cell. Serren eyed his sister Pattenia and approached her cell from the outside, wearing his new crown and royal robes. Even though he had lived the past few years as a woman, he had turned into a dominant man. Serren locked eyes with his sister as she refused to wither under his hateful gaze. She knew that pain was coming. She knew her brother’s cruel nature. He said, “Pattenia, I was a better woman than you, and I was a better man than you. I am better at everything. As a woman, and a princess, I was beloved and popular. The women adored me in ways they never saw you. You seized the crown from me two years ago in one of the most traumatic and humiliating experiences of my entire life. You turned me into a girl and made me your little sister. Then you boasted there was no longer a male heir and stole my crown.”

Pattenia wanted to argue that the crown was hers, it had been prophesied and it should belong to the eldest and whoever was worthier. But she knew it was no use to argue with her victorious brother now. He had clearly won. So she just continued to listen to him. He defeated her and claimed the crown. There was nothing to be done now.

“And your revolution was intended to free the women. You wanted to make it so women could live the life that they wanted to live. You lifted the restrictions on women, ,h,and you proved the point that women could fight. You fought and many women fought under you. So, it was clear I could have fought beside you just like any other female did. But you refused to allow me to fight. You restricted and oppressed me no different than the men did. You belittled and mocked me just like Maxis’ priests did once I was a woman. You stole my birthright and my sex, then you stole my future and my ambitions. I was born to be a warrior, I was raised for it, I was bred and trained my entire life for it. Once you stole that, I had nothing left. You took everything. So I want to ask you, dearest sister,” he sneered the word and curled his lip as he snarled, “Why couldn’t I have fought with you and why couldn’t you had made it possible? Stealing my destiny was one of the cruelest thing you did to me. I had little ambition for the crown at first, but once you started persecuting and oppressing me. I knew I had to regain the crown.”

“We knew what you would do,” Pattenia said to her angry brother. You wouldn’t fight for me. You would rally support against me and that’s exactly what you did. We had to make sure people wouldn’t rally to you against me. But I should have known that you would do anything to undermine my efforts. You wouldn’t just settle with things as they were and see why I had to do what I did. You were always the entitled arrogant little brother who would do anything to take what he believed was his birthright.”

Serren shook his head, “No,” he said firmly, “had you given me respect and the freedom you gave the other women and allowed us to stand by each others side, I would have accepted you being king and been proud of it. But you gave me no respect. You bullied, humiliated, and abused me. You made me have to fight for my respect and my rights. Then I had to regain the life that I lost because of you. Your hatred of me pushed me to do what I did. It’s all your doing.”

“Now, I want to know something else. You claim to respect our father and everything but your rule undermined everything he stood for. You even took part in his assassination so you could claim the crown.”

Pattenia spoke up because this was going too far. “I had nothing to do with our father’s death. It hurt me just as much as it hurt you. As for my rule, It was what I was destined to do so the women would be free finally.”

That was as far as she got before the cell doors were flung open and he had a knife. Serren violently grabbed his sisters face and pried her mouth open. He pulled her tongue out and held the knife on it. He snarled in rage, “Don’t you dare lie. You wanted him to die. You and Actonia arranged it together so you could claim the crown. You didn’t love him at all. You were happy he died so you could rule as King. If you dare tell another lie to me, I will cut your tongue out and silence you for the rest of your life.”

That was the way he saw things and anything else was a lie. She had not participated in the plot. She knew nothing of the plot to kill her father. She was hurt by it and she personally attacked Actonia when her father died and she found out that Actonia had played a part in arranging it. But none of that mattered to Serren and he refused to believe the truth. Not that she could blame him. His father was killed in a horrifying way. When he was supposed to be crowned, his sister claimed it and made him a girl. In his mind, she was happy it all happened and arranged it that way. Nothing could convince him otherwise. In his mind, anything else was a lie.

Serren snarled in rage, “How do you think it felt to me watching you take my life, and my clothes. You wearing my clothes and training to fight while I was trapped in corsets and gowns unable to do the things I loved and was bred for. It was torture.”

“It was torture for me too,” Pattenia retorted. “I was my father’s daughter just like you, but I was prevented from doing the things I wanted to do so much. You and him both forbid me from even touching a sword. I proved to you all that I could do it, and I was also good at it.” Pattenia said proudly.

“But so was I,” Serren snapped. “I was also his son and it was a life I was meant for. Not even your goddess or you could stop me. I conquered you all and put you back In your place.”

Then the scenes she was shown got much worse. Serren walked down with a couple of other men and confronted Pattenia as she was locked in a cell. The cell was unlocked and her shackles were taken off. Serren violently struck Pattenia across the face several times and she collapsed bleeding from the mouth and her nose was smashed in.

Serren snarled at her, “I suffered every pain a woman suffers in life. I suffered being assaulted, raped, I became pregnant, I was deprived of everything. And you never suffered those things as a woman yet you decided I needed to experience them. But you didn’t, until now. These men will help you experience what I experienced because of you.”

Pattenia screamed as the men approached her and ripped her clothes off. They both took turns holding her down, molesting her, and then raping her. Serren watched with a smirk on his face as he watched his sister get raped before his very eyes. They finished and left as she curled up crying. Serren pulled her up to her feet and struck her across the face again. He yelled, “You had me beaten and tortured." Then he kicked her in the ribs. “I know the beatings weren’t that much. But the life you subjected me to was agony and a torture worse than you can ever experience. But I will try."

He kicked her in the stomach a few times as she cried out. “You stole my life." He struck her on the face.

“You stole my destiny and my crown." He pulled her by the hair and smashed her face in again.

“You stole everything from me. Then I was assaulted and raped by Prett. You imprisoned him, but then you let him out to rape me again." Then he violently kicked her in the ribs.

“I had to,” she groaned. “His family demanded it, and he was a nobleman whose family I depended on for their loyalty. I had no choice.”

“You were King! You had choices, and you knew he would attack me again." Serren yelled at her as he kicked her across the jaw. “And when we said what you did was evil. You mocked me saying I was exaggerating. And then he raped me and tried to kill you. Nothing that ever happened to you can't even begin to approach what I suffered. I was made pregnant and repeatedly raped. Now you will experience it all.”

Then he pulled Pattenia up and slammed her against the wall.

“So now, you will experience it all. You will never hold a sword again. Every woman who was given a position of authority is considered a traitor to the crown. The rule of Man will rise again. And you will die slowly.”

Pattenia spit blood before she said, “Serren, you are a sadistic monster. I never did any of this to you. You are cruel and I was right to do what I did. We were right to deny you the crown.”

Serren laughed cruelly. “You calling me cruel after what you did to me is laughable. You haven't suffered half of what I suffered but I will do my best. I can't deny you your sex, like you did to me. But you hate your sex anyway. You wanted the life of a man and talked about how you suffered. While I was destroyed, lost everything and was then raped and impregnated against my will. You were cruel to me. You deserve all of this you bitch.”

“I may have,” Pattenia groaned, “but your orders extend far past me. You are subjugating every woman in the kingdom to what they feared the most. You have betrayed them all and reimposed a cruel system over them all because of me. And you are having all of the Hekatin persecuted, hunted, and killed. I freed the women and gave us religious freedom. I banned forced marriages. You are putting it all back and persecuting the women. You are killing people. You are far crueler, Serren.”

“After what you all did with your freedom, I cannot allow you all to rule again. They must pay," Serren said.

She was placed back in her cell and she was forced to watch Serren rape and torture her friend Actonia. Serren tore Actonia's clothes off and raped her. Then he violently beat her and threw her back in her cell.

A few more men walked in and he ordered Pattenia to be tied to the rack. He watched sadistically as she was stretched. Her joints were torn and destroyed. She was put on the breaking wheel the next day and tortured. Then he cut pieces of her flesh off.

He had tortured Pattenia and watched her being destroyed before his eyes. He had personally raped Actonia and brought that arrogant girl down just like she did to him. It was so delicious in his mind. All of these arrogant hateful women that enjoyed watching his total destruction as a woman were now suffering what they had inflicted on him. He turned his gaze on his desperate and horrified mother. She watched her son’s savagery. She watched him rape Actonia and order his own sister’s rape. But she wasn't surprised. She knew in his mind that they deserved it after everything that he endured at their hands and that he blamed them for it all. It wasn’t like that was the culture they had spend the last thousand years creating for women and he just lived part of it. No. In his mind, it was all their doing to punish him. Nothing could convince him otherwise. He glared at his mother and said to her, “Every time you said you loved me or showed me any motherly affection, it was a lie. You must have hated me all along, and planning to destroy your only son, this entire time. But what about Dad? Was there there ever a time when you really loved your husband, or did you just resent him and his son all your life.”

She wasn't sure what to say then. He would refuse to believe the truth and just get enraged at anything she said in protest. But she had to try, no matter how silly it would sound to his ears. “I loved him a great deal Serren. He was my beloved husband. Although I didn't always agreed with him.”

He snorted rudely, “Of course you didn't. You were a worshiper of the Goddess of female empowerment right under his nose all of those years. You believed in, and devoted your entire life to undermining everything he believed in all of those years. I don’t know how you can say you loved him at all. All of those years, you were looking toward his death. Some love. I really wonder if women are even capable of the feeling of love. I loved you and loved my sister all of those years and I paid for my naivety and weakness with everything I was. It’s a mistake I won’t ever make again. I know we can’t trust women now. They are treacherous, women have no honor or bond to their family the way men do. Women are by nature, untrustworthy. Thanks for teaching me that mother.”

“How could you have ever even thought you ever loved me, your son when you were planning to do what you did to me all of those years? You never loved me at all. You caused me more pain than any mother ever did to her son. There is no way you ever loved me.”

There was nothing that Aanya could say to that. It was the lesson Serren had learned and he continued, “This is the lesson all future generations of boys will be taught. They will be warned of women's unfeeling cruelty. Mothers will not be entrusted with the care and education of their sons. We will know better than to trust mothers at all with any responsibility for their sons. We will know they just want to betray and crush their son’s will. Future boys will be spared the pain that I was forced to endure at your hands. We will know of women's treachery and their lack of any loyalty to their family, or any bond with their children. Thanks, Mother. I learned my lesson well and it will echo for thousands of years. We will know that women aren’t emotionally capable of love.”

The relentless torture continued into the next month day by day. Serren enjoyed it well. There was one curious thing about it all. It was that Serren’s great army was not disbanded. They continued to camp outside of the City and train daily. Finally, weeks after Serren seized the crown and restored his right. He called his Generals and assembled the army and went out to meet them, and to explain why they had not been released from service yet even thought the War was apparently over. Serren stood before his great army that totally dwarfed the army that Pattenia had led during her reign. Serren made sure that Pattenia, Aanya, especially Actonia and the other head witches were there to witness this. He demanded it. He stood before his army and rose his voice, “I understand there are many questions and those questions will be answered now. Our war is not over yet, we have one more great mission before we can establish peace and begin rebuilding our country. There is yet one more enemy we must deal with before peace is to be established. There is still an enemy that threatens the peace, stability and survival of our great nation. The cursed Island of Guenefer. They have long harbored witches from our authorities. They host the headquarters of the Hekatin and encourage witches’ leadership. They have secretly protected the final heir of the Keiblie family, the final Hekatin king’s direct heir from our justice. That is Actonia that they used as a weapon to strike the heart of our great kingdom and establish the Rule of Women over us. It nearly succeeded and would have if not for my great strength and my divine destiny. And now the time for justice has come.” Serren roared. “Our time for Revenge. For all that I suffered at their hands is to be repaid. Our fleet is ready. We will board the ships and go to the Island of Guenefer and land. This will be our final battle. We will destroy everything and everyone on Guenefer. Nothing will be left standing, and nothing will be left alive on that cursed and traitorous island. They will be destroyed for all time. They will never again be a threat to the stability and survival of our kingdom. This won’t be for conquest. This mission will be for sterilization and extermination. Every man, woman, and child will be destroyed. And then we will have peace.”

Despite everything that Pattenia and Actonia had suffered. The daily tortures and rape they endured. This was still a horrible shock and the two women wept. This was something they had not expected. Serren was planing for the total destruction of the island of Guenefer. The witches power would be destroyed for all time and would never be a threat to the Kingdom again. The army loaded their ships and set off for their mission of extermination. And it would be successful. The witches that had escaped, fled the Shattered Islands and resettled in Europe. Few made it out alive.

Once the mission was successful, Serren finally disbanded his army and released the soldiers from service. Serren continued to rape and torture Actonia. Then Veronica watched Pattenia's final day as she was dragged by a horse to her execution site. She was hung on a ladder. Then she was disemboweled in front of everyone. Serren personally cut her open and pulled out her intestines. Then he cut her head off and hacked off her limbs. She was hung, drawn and quartered.

The purpose of this all came clear as she watched Serren order the witches to be hunted. They already were, but he saw the witches flee the Shattered Isles as his power solidified. Then she watched as Serren created a cult around his power. Giant statues went up as he was celebrated and almost deified in the Shattered Isles. Then he ordered all witches who left the Isles to be hunted.

Many witches fled to Europe but the Catholic Church ramped up its inquisition. They were no longer safe in Europe, and many witches then fled to the United States. Serren had died but they continued to worship and hail him as a hero in the Shattered Isles. Stories of how he rose above his sister and suffered the life of a woman were told through the ages. He saved them all from the darkness.

A future king started sending priests to the United States and they formed a plot. The religion of Maxis started to take hold in the south. Secret airports were set up. Secret churches as well. And now it was starting to really pay off. And now she knew where some of these airports were, and how she could get into the Shattered Isles. She saw herself in the arms of Ryan. Ryan would be a large and strong man by this time. He would have to become a man and she knew there had to be a way to restore what he lost at the hands of Tabi.

It was getting close to the time when he was going to return from school.

Ryan returned and walked through the front door with Crystal. Veronica saw her boy come through the door and she ran full speed into his arms and pulled him into an intimate embrace as she passionately kissed him. Her mouth went to his and they kissed.

She struggled but did her best to enjoy being in Ryan’s embrace. But it was weird and more than uncomfortable for her. He had to be restored. It was difficult to be in his embrace and yet feeling his soft feminine body embrace her own. His soft breasts pressing against hers. His breasts were a full cup size larger than her own. His wide hips and thighs brushing against hers. His soft hands around her body and his feminine face and lips kissing hers.

It was difficult for Veronica but she knew he was a boy inside. But the intimacy with him was difficult since he had a woman’s body. She just had to tell herself that he was a boy and would become a boy again. Being intimate with him was difficult but she could handle it, knowing he was a boy. But there was something she had to deal with and said, “Ryan, can we have a talk about this, please? I do think we need to talk.”

Ryan accepted and they went to the kitchen and sat down. “What do you want to talk about, Veronica?”

“We need to talk about our relationship. I want to know your feelings about it and if you are okay with it,” Veronica said. “I feel a deep attraction to you as a boy, Ryan, but I know I pushed this on you and I want to make sure you are okay with it. I don't want you to feel pressured or forced just because of my strength and that I saved you from Tabi. So please, tell me how you feel?”

“Veronica,” said Ryan, looking longingly into her eyes. “I am so thankful you helped me. And,” He reached out and pulled her into his slim arms. She again felt his curvy feminine body against her owns and she fought her true feelings, reminded herself that he was a boy. She melted into him.

“I know you love me, and I also love you. I am happy that you accept me like this. I want to be with you Veronica." Then he kissed her. “I can sense your feelings in my arms, and you are fighting those feelings of discomfort in my arms. I know its hard. My boobs are bigger than yours." Riley giggled. “My lips, my face, and hips. I know you aren't into girls. I know we can get past this and I will be the boy that you deserve.”

“I just love you, Ryan," and she returned his kisses, still feeling his large breasts pressing against her body.

Then Seraphine walked in, saying to the two horny teens. “Now that that’s taken care of, we need to seriously talk about this relationship, you two.”

The two hormone-driven teens sat beside each other looking at Seraphine. Veronica had expected something like this. She knew that her mother was very concerned with her developing relationship with Ryan.

“First, we need to know how Ryan feels about this. So Ryan, are you comfortable with my daughter Veronica and are you okay with a relationship with her?”

“Yes,” Ryan admitted. “I was surprised when she began her romantic advances on me so soon. But I think I like her. I can accept being in a romantic relationship with her. I just don’t really know about her feelings. I know she feels uncomfortable being intimate with me because of my female body. But I am also uncomfortable with it. The thing is that I simply don't know if I can ever be what she wants me to be for her. I don't know if I can ever be a man for her in this relationship. And if this can't be reversed then I don't know if we have a future together." Ryan looked very sad admitting that.

“Ryan, listen to me,” Seraphine looked into Ryan's desperate eyes. “You will be a man again. I know we can reverse this. We are getting close to being able to change you back. You can be Veronica's man. I know we can do it." Seraphine smiled as he smiled back.

Then her friendly look turned serious and she said coolly, “That being said, now I have to figure out how to handle two hormone-driven teens living under the same roof now. Especially since one of them is my daughter. I will be keeping a close eye on you two now. You hugging and kissing is acceptable. But that better be it. No sleeping in the same room. And your clothes will stay on when you are together. Is that clear?”

They both said yes it was very clear.

“And you won't be alone in the same bedroom. I will be watching you and so will Crystal. She will be helping me keep an eye on you two. She also knows the rules I am setting here. And finally, Veronica, you are getting very aggressive towards Ryan. You better cool it and make sure he is comfortable with your advances. You are pursuing a relationship with a boy who has the body of a girl. If you are the one pursuing this then you better know what you are getting into and get yourself comfortable being intimate with someone who has a girl's body. You are the one who made the advances. So don’t be hurtful.