The Goddess Within

Through The Glass

I watched Gaia stare out the window, tears streaming down her face. None of us expected this to be an easy task, but none of us wished to harm, even if it was an evil force. Technically, it was against our vows as protectors, but it was worse to put the entire planet Earth at stake then to ignore a few dark spirits. We were now aware that people would die for this cause. Not any of the Gods or Goddesses, but the humans that served them. We had to kill evil people and imprison Tartarus, so no one on Earth would die. I could feel tears of my own forming...

                  "Ariane?" Mikey whispered, touching my arm gently. I didn't mean to jump, but watching her and thinking about what I had to do was rather distracting.

                  I pulled him into my arms, "Goddess, Mikey you scared me half to death! How are you holding up?" I could see the worry forming lines on his smooth skin. He had been panicking, pacing and praying the war wouldn’t come as much as Lilith, Gaia and myself had been these past few days.

                  "I'm okay, how are you holding up? I've been so worry- I mean, Lilith is doing better... You know how she is, always prepared for a battle."

                  I studied his face sadly, "Mikey, what happened between us? I always figured it would be us forever... but now you wont even look at me, or carry on a deep conversation like we use to. We use to just sit and talk for hours, but now you only talk to me about food and training..." I could feel tears about to come racing down my cheeks, but I fought them as best as I could.

                  "Ari..." He whispered, pulling me close, "You know that I care for you, but I'm only a guardian, and you’re a Goddess Don’t you realize it wouldn’t be natural for a Goddess to fall in love with her guardian?"

                  I pushed him away, "Why the hell would you say that, Mikey! You know damn well that I've been in love with you all this time, even before I knew I was a Goddess and now we must go into battle, and I” I couldn't fight back the tears any longer. I shook my head and turned to walk away from him, choking back sobs as I went.

                  Mikey made an attempt to grab my arm, but I pulled away roughly and bolted up the stairs. I needed to be by myself in the circle. I needed to meditate and calm my nerves.

                  By the time I made it to the circle, I was sobbing freely, letting out all the emotion I had held back for so long. I collapsed in the middle of the circle and sobbed. I rested my head on my knees and reminded myself to breathe slowly, to not let my emotions get the best of me. I was a Goddess now, not a foolish emotional teenager I held my breath as I heard Lilith walking swiftly into the room, as silent as a hunter stalking its prey. Guess she learned it from being a skilled fighter

                  "Ariane, what are you doing up here? I figured you would be downstairs... Ari? Oh sweetie, what’s wrong?" she sat on the floor beside me and took me into her arms, "Shhhh, calm down. Ariane, what happened? Hey, it's all right. You're okay."

                  "Its Mikey... he... he said he cant be with me because I'm a Goddess and he's a guardian and its not proper..." I choked out between sobs.

                  She sighed and held me tighter, "Ariane, of course you can still be together! That's foolish, it's only a ledged that was created by the Romans: you cannot be held equal until you are under the same title. It was used to keep the slaves from becoming friends with the citizens; because they were not free therefore they weren’t equal. It's completely absurd. You know, many Gods and Goddesses not only marry other magical beings, but humans as well? He reads too much... I swear, I should beat some sense into him with those heavy books he reads all the time!"

                  We both chuckled, "But what if something happens before the war and he doesn't know that there are no boundaries between love?" I whispered, wiping the tears from my face.

                  Lilith patted my head and stood up, "Love always prevails, my little sister. Now come, we have to tell lover-boy how you truly feel." She reached out a hand to me and pulled me to my feet. She smiled and wiped the rest of the tears from my eyes, "You're too beautiful to be sitting up here crying. I've had my chance at love, and I know that it may never come again, but I will not let you risk the chance for true love. It's hard to find, trust me sister, I would know."

                  "Lilith! Ariane! Where are you?" Gaia called nervously, bounding up the stairs with upmost grace. "Come, we must get you ready."

                  I put my hands on her shoulders, "Gaia, calm down. Ready for what?"

                  "Battle" she whispered. "Mikey is already on his way to great the other Gods, Goddesses and humans that are on our side. Come, we must hurry!"

                   I sucked in a panicked breath and turned to Lilith. She ushered me down the stairs and into my room to get me into my armor. All the while, I couldn't breathe. Mikey wasn't with me, and I didn't tell him what Lilith had informed me...