Captured and Freed

Moon Goddess

A soft voice filled the room. I looked around but found no one. When my eyes returned to the pedestal, the shape of a woman began to appear.

"Do not be alarmed, you requested my aid and I have come here to offer it. My name is Selene. You may know me as the Moon Goddess, mother of the Supernaturals." As she spoke, a woman of silver and white appeared in full on the pedestal smiling softly at me. I fell to my knees and bowed. "Do not bow to me Nyx, you have earned the right to hold your head up high. You have been thought so much and left with so little."

I lift my head and look at the goddess before me. "I ask for nothing more, my Goddess. I only asked for a small piece of guidance which you provided," I stated. I did not want to come off rude or greedy to a goddess, let alone the Moon Goddess.

She began to chuckle. "You do not need to address me with such formality, my Nyx. Please call me Selene. As for my guidance, I shall provide that and much more." I was about to interrupt her, but she raised her hand to silence me. "I am not proving you with anything because you asked, I provided you with help because I wish to help you. You lost everything, my daughter. I was unable to help and interfere with the affairs of this world. I watched you suffer and now, as part of your prayer for help, I will give you a gift." I could feel the tears starting to form in my eyes as she spoke, but remained silent to allow her to finish.

She began to gesture to the room surrounding us. "This room is the Fae hall of records. It can only be accessed by a Fae in search of knowledge and can be found anywhere in the world among the elements. One of my greatest creations if I do say so myself." She giggled and continued. "This will provide you with all the guidance you could ever need about your powers, skills, and history. Time moves differently in this room. Almost as if time outside here has stopped. You would spend weeks in this room for only a couple of hours outside to have passed. You may spend as much time as you need learning and honing your abilities while never aging or losing out on your day outside of here."

I blinked in disbelief. I have been gifted not only endless time, but knowledge. A smile beamed from my face to Selene. "Oh, thank you, Selene. This is more than I could have ever asked for." I held my hands together in front of my chest as if holding my heart in.

She giggled at me again. "You are welcome, but this isn't my only gift. Step forward, my daughter."

I did as requested and stepped to the edge of the pedestal. Selene leaned down and kissed me on the forehead so softly it felt like I was brushed by a butterfly's wing. "There, you now wear my blessing. No longer shall you be physically harmed by those who wish you ill."

I stepped away, lightly touching my head where the kiss was placed. A confused look worked its way to my face. "I don't understand, I can no longer be hurt?"

Selene smiled lightly. "No, you will no longer scar or break, but you will still feel pain. You can also still suffer emotional and mental pains as well. Sadly, I can not give you relief from pain, just the marks caused by it."

I nodded. "I understand. I will still be as careful as I have always been. I would rather not feel the pain if I can avoid it."

She smiled as her body began to fade. "Never give up your hope and ability to continue to move forward. You will achieve greatness, my daughter."

I wanted to thank her again, but she was gone with her words. I looked around the room once more and the window above the pedestal. The moon and night sky have not moved, just as the Moon Goddess had told me. Her words lingered in my head. How was I going to achieve greatness? I sighed and decided to just move forward like mother always said and make good use of the gifts I had been given.

I begin to walk along the endless books until my eyes catch upon a blue book titled Water Magic. I reach for the leather-bound blue book and begin to get lost in the text. Turns out the Fae could wield magic as well as their element. While combined, a Fae could be more powerful than any other species. Unfortunately, Fae are pacifists in nature and prefer not to fight or use their strength. Why the Fae allowed themselves to be slaughtered I will never understand.

I quickly learned that I can have water appear to be any object of my desire, from food to clothing, and cause the illusion to be permanent with my magic to create said object. I decided to test it out by trying to clothe myself as I was still naked from my adventures during the night. I found a vase with some water and focused on making a beautiful gown of the same shimmering color as my wings. I closed my eyes and focused on a strapless dress with a low cut back and a long back with a short front. I wanted to look almost ethereal. I felt the water begin to cover my body where I thought the dress would lay and go from a wet texture to a soft, almost silk-like quality. After I could no longer feel the movement, I opened my eyes and looked down at the beautiful garment I had created. I spun around, and the dress moved effortlessly around me.

I smiled at my own abilities and felt the need to test more of my skills and learn about every type of magic I could now perform. I used my wings to quickly glide and reach different shelves across the room and collect a stack of books that piqued my interest. Once collected, I return to the stable in the center and begin to dive in and consume every bit of knowledge I could to become the best Fae and increase my chances of survival.

I also set aside a blank page and pen I had found and created a checklist. Each item came to me easily as I wrote out Item 1 Learn all there is to learn in the library. (Just in case it never appears again.) Item 2 Leave the Ravaged Moon pack FOREVER. Item 3 Find shelter at nearby pack, coven, tribe, or clan. Ask for Sanctuary. Item 4 Help the Kings and Queens find peace.

I looked at my list and hesitated about adding a 5th goal. I want to move forward but a small part of me is begging for revenge for my treatment over the last decade. All of my goals propel me forward, revenge will just hold me back. I have to continue to move forward and not get trapped in the shadows of my past. I sighed and tapped both of my cheeks to snap myself back to reality. "I can't keep focusing on the negative now. I am so close the the end of this chapter. Remember what mom always said. "The past can be dark, but the future is always bright. Continue to the horizon in front of you." I looked back at my list and decided I needed to add one more thing. I grab the pen and very carefully wrote out Item 5 Escape my shadows.