Holt Wraith | Minotaur x Reader

4: The Soulless Moon River

The rest of the day is nothing but mourning, with the Sisters and Brothers crying and some locking themselves away in their rooms praying to The Sun or The Moon. Yet, even when surrounded by all of this sorrow, you don't feel like shedding a single tear.

Yes, you're sad, but her death hasn't sunken in for you like it has for the rest. Besides, you can't cry for someone who tried to kill you...can you?

You shake your head and sigh, trying to focus on helping set up the festival instead of...past events.

You bit your tongue when it came to telling Mother Saoirse what happened, and all you could repeat was; "the Night Beast." Over and over again, your mind tumbled with those words, even though, in the back of your mind, you couldn't stop wondering why Delle would want you dead.

She made it clear she didn't like you, but could she have really been that jealous? To the point she wanted to kill you? You don't know the answer, and you don't think you ever will.

You're sure Saoirse wouldn't believe you if you said you saw Delle attempt to murder you, so you held back the truth, and you have a feeling she knows that. That or you're paranoid.

The festival was postponed because of the passing, and is now taking place at 12 in the morning, the hour of the Night Beasts. How ironic.

It takes forever to set up, with the canopy falling two times in a row and Sister Sylvia dropping one of the Moonstone statues of Moonchild Gloria, a famous woman who wrote The Scrolls of The Stars.

But, after Sylvia spent a minute crying, Mother Saoirse informed her that there were plenty more stored in the chambers, and promised her that The Moon knew the difference between a clumsy mishap and a true attempt at sabotage.

That makes you wonder, does The Moon know what happened? If so, did She send the Night Beast to protect you, or did the Night Beast help you willingly? And if he did help you willingly, then why? Why would a Night Beast help a mortal he doesn't even know or care about?

"Ida," Mother Saoirse's calm voice snaps you out of your thoughts, and you tear your eyes away from the basket you were filling with fruits from the garden and give the older woman a questioning stare.

She smiles softly, looking at you in the same way you think a mother would look at her daughter, and you swear you've seen someone else from your past smile at you that way, but you can't remember who.

"We mustn't harp on past events, no matter how frightening, and we must remember our place in the world. 'In the present, ne'er the past'," she say in a compassionate tone, attempting to comfort your restless mind. The quote is from Moonchild Gloria, and you remember reading it on end when you were first welcomed here.

You give a timid nod to show you understand, yet her words don't sink in. They never really do.

She means well, but using words of teachings have never truly helped you calm down. It would be like if a shark were sad because he was caught in a net, so an older shark came up to him and told him he couldn't swim backwards because not only is he stuck, but also because he's a shark.

So, yes, Mother Saoirse makes some good points, but sometimes it doesn't help with what you're going through.

She bows her head, seeming content in your response, and she goes back to streaming up the silver silk ribbons around the white canopy. After her words, your mind stays silent, but you find your eyes drifting to the forest now and again as you fill all of the baskets for the festival.

As the evening drags on to night, everything is finally put together, and the festival can start. The Moon shines in the sky, bringing the only light needed for the event, with no candles or other light present. The Moon takes offense when you use firelight while outside, so during the festival, the Sisters depend only on Her to help them see.