Divine

Chapter 1: Last Day in the Meadow

Persephone

It was my absolute favorite place. A field that glowed a soft green glow in the sunlight after a sprinkling of rain. A field that smelled of sweet honey and soft lilies. A field so vast that you couldn't see the other end of it from any one perspective. A field so perfect it seemed unreal. A field covered in sweet green grass and bright spring flowers in its stretch. Untouched by anything negative, it used to be perfect.

The nymphs lived in a small pond that was nestled in the stretch of grass. They always watched me for my mother, like mythical babysitters. Except that the water nymphs couldn't leave their home, if they did it would mean certain death. Therefore, they weren't exactly the most full-proof guardians, but I truly enjoyed their company so I kept to myself about their few faults.

There were about five nymphs, and out of them, only two spoke to me. The others never actually talked to me, but I knew they could and that they were listening to every word I said. They would stare intently at me and then when I would meet their gaze they would turn away quickly and duck under the water. In a way, they acted like turtles with me, brave ones would look back at me but others would hide in their shell to protect themselves. For some reason they were afraid of me but I could never be certain as to why.

I began talking immediately to them after my mother left me with them that day. Not really about anything in particular, usually I talked about the flowers as I picked some of them. I would blather about random things and Cyane or Melita would add something to it. These were the brave ones that would be able to comment and add something to the conversation, they were different, especially Cyane. Cyane wasn't afraid to argue with me, which seemed admirable to me and actually still does. Courage will never cease to be commendable in my eyes, probably because it's a quality I will never possess.

This time I was talking about Athena and how she was coming to see me tomorrow. My mother had tried repeatedly to persuade me not to see her, but Athena was my friend and I almost never got to see her. Moreover, it wasn't as if she was a negative influence, she was the goddess of wisdom, for goodness sake! It always appalled me how my mother thought, why would she not want me to be friends with the goddess of wisdom? It just seemed silly, so that was my topic to complain about that day.

For once, someone different answered my rhetorical question. Acast chimed in, with her light voice floating on the air. "Athena doesn't get to experience love because of the way she has chosen to live," she replied quietly. "Demi probably doesn't want that to happen to you. She probably just wants you to make your own decisions."

I had been bent over for more of the spring flowers to put in my skirt, so I slowly straightened up to look at Acast in curiosity. She blushed brightly behind her soft sapphire colored skin, so I could tell she hadn't meant to speak her thoughts aloud. "I hadn't thought about it that way," I said, to save her some embarrassment. I sat down on the shore of the pond and laid my skirt on the ground carefully as I mulled over her opinion.

She was of course speaking of how Athena had chosen to be a chaste goddess for her lifespan, and I had actually been thinking about following her example as well. I had been trying to find my own identity, like most of us do, and Athena had already had the role as the goddess of wisdom before she took her oath. I didn't have an identity like that, and I probably never would, I was just the daughter of a person like that.

Cyane chimed in as well to the newly approached discussion. "Yes, and you know how much Aphrodite hates your friends for their respite of her. Your mum is probably just terrified that she'll try for revenge or something like that. Something only Aphrodite would do."