Mythranger Zero

I was walking down the streets on the day that changed everything. It was only the day before I was chosen to be the werewolf representative, they said it was due to ‘my un-shaking belief in revealing’ though, looking back, it was probably because I was the only werewolf politician in Swansea.
I passed werewolves looking at with surprising admiration, I have only ever done work locally before, so this was newer for me than the other representatives, you could tell most of them just had a disguise charm cast on their muzzle and were hiding their tails in trench coats and their ears in hats. While I was able to conceal my unusually small ears in a trilby, but my monolithic tail could not be contained in anything even remotely practical. Meaning I had to pay for the full disguise charm.
I was just about to enter the Senate when a centaur pulled me by the shoulder into an alley. His dishevelled mane and chipped hooves told me he had lived a tough life and the overwhelming smell of alcohol told me it was not going to get much better.
‘They’re keeping it a secret,’ he said, my ears having gone straight up.
‘Keeping what a secret?’ my head tilting to one side.
‘The great evil,’ he was shouting and gripping my dark grey fur so hard I am sure some of it came off, ‘the evil underneath Wales that will destroy us all,’.
‘Um, yeah fascinating,’ amazingly that was enough for to loosen his grip, I ran for it leaving him frozen staring at air.
As I entered the Senate, I saw the other six representatives already in their seats with the president, a black-maned centaur, at the back of the hall. Five of them were attempting to look impartial and stoic save for the vampire representative who had plastered on a self-assured grin. I knew her, Elizabeth Mawhaw, by reputation, she was firm in the belief to remain hidden from humanity. When I went to sit down her pale grey eyes briefly meet mine, I felt like she instantly knew about my desires to reveal.
It took half-an-hour for all of the six-hundred randomly chosen voters to arrive and only then could the debate start.
‘My fellow representatives may I implore you to ask yourselves why we hide from humanity,’ I said. The mage representative gave a small nod, but Elizabeth was staring at me with her self-assured grin.
‘Mr Farkas,’ her tone was as if she was explaining that the sky is blue, ‘if we reveal ourselves we would be hunted down immediately.’
‘we have magic, along with hooves, claws and flight. We pose more of a threat to them than them to us,’ the pegasus representative replied.
‘You forget that they have just undergone the largest war in history,’ Elizabeth’s grin still showed no signs of faltering.
‘You may also forget that was caused by the fourth werewolf/vampire war,’ said the Griffin representative.
‘That shows how some of our less,’ her gaze fell to me, ‘civilised species make us unable to reveal ourselves.’
I was glad I was still wearing the trilby because my ears laid flat and I could feel my tail stiffen and my fur stand on end.
‘Also it would be bad for vampires,’ she continued, ‘because more underground tunnels will have to be built at human settlements. It is impossible to say the transition will not be expensive.’
‘We could syphon money used to pay unicorns and mages to cast disguise spells especially on the people unable to pay taxes,’ replied the unicorn representative.
‘We’ve always been in hiding, the culture clash would be unrepairable,’ said the centaur representative though his voice wobbled in uncertainty.
Elizbeth’s grin which had been faltering returned in full force, ‘Also if we reveal ourselves all of humanities construction and societal taboos would have to change to accept seven new species which they would never be able to accept.’
‘But with magic would that construction changes be finished quickly,’ I replied, ‘also we would still be able to use our current buildings, at least for the beginning. Also, why do you believe that humanity would be unable to accept our species in the same way we have, it may not be quick, but it is possible.’
Elizabeth’s grin was gone by the time I finished replaced by a distraught stare. I looked over at the president who was with his advisors and agreeing to start the voting.
We were sent out during the voting to a private room, the silence loomed heavily over us. Eventually, a slip of paper was sent in which was the voting results which I read since I was nearest to the door. Hide 349 votes. Reveal 351 votes. Shortly after the results came in the President entered.
‘As you have now realised we are going to reveal ourselves to humanity. Tomorrow, 12 December 1918 will be remembered as one of the most important days in history,’ he went through some legal information, but Elizabeth’s eyes remained fixed on the ground in front of her the entire time.
When I was about to leave Elizabeth grabbed onto my shoulder, ‘do you really think humanity will accept us?’
‘Yes. I do not know, but I think it is possible.’
She chuckled in response, ‘you werewolves and your childish belief in “Hope”. In ten years remember that I told you this will fail, but if you need me I will be setting a quiet life down in the Rhondda, I’ve heard we both have a brother down there so I can move in with one of them,’ she left.
I walked out waiting for tomorrow the day where everything would change with the hope she called childish for the future.