Daughter of the Moon

II. The Huntress

"Hah!"

Thud!

"Hah!"

Thud!

Anastasia swung her axe around skillfully, striking the wooden figure before her. She cut into its neck, slicing the wooden head off of its body. She then moved onto the next one, cutting it in half effortlessly as splinters of wood spread around her. Her foot made contact with the abdomen of the decapitated figure, knocking it off of its stand as it shatters to pieces.

After her talk with Alexandria last night, she realized that Andreas may very well be her soulmate--the man or woman every person of the Moon race is destined to have; excluding the Luna Warriors, or so she thought. Anastasia had planned for everything that had ever happened to her, but this—this was something she never prepared for. Everything was laid out for her in detail, except for this one thing.

Everyone anxiously awaited the day they found their soulmate, but Anastasia had never given it a second thought. She didn't have a soulmate; that's what everyone told her, and that's what she believed.

She huffed and grunted as she sliced the wooden figurines to shreds with her claws, screaming once she'd done so.

"I wouldn't want to get on your bad side."

Instinctively, Anastasia swung her axe towards the source of the interruption, but stopped short when she saw a suddenly fearful Andreas in front of her. She threw the axe onto one of the wooden figures, knocking it down in the process.

"Why are you up? And why are you on my training grounds?" She asked him, taking a swig of her water before picking up her bow. She slung her quiver over her back before drawing an arrow.

Thud!

The arrow stuck out of the target's eye, and Andreas sighed.

"You know, I wasn't expecting you to be my soulmate either," Andreas said to Anastasia, sitting on the bench beside her weapons rack.

Anastasia was a skilled archer. Selari told her it was because Artemis was an archer, so the skill came naturally to Anastasia.

"You." Thud! "Are not." Thud! "My soulmate." Thud!

The last arrow split the one in the figure's eye in half, and Andreas watched in awe. He had seen many skillful archers, but none who could draw so many arrows in the time frame she did with such accuracy.

"Anastasia, can we have a civilized conversation?" He asked her with a nervous chuckle. "One that doesn't involve my fear for my life."

Anastasia sighed and turned to face Andreas, bowing her head. "I am sorry, Chief, please forgive me."

"Andreas," the man stated, rolling his eyes. "I told you to call me Andreas."

"That would indicate that we are equals, which we are not," Anastasia said stubbornly, her hand on her hip as she looked at him.

"You are right. You have Goddesses within you, and I am merely a man."

Anastasia groaned, putting her quiver on the hook of the rack, her bow finding its place as well.

"Andreas, I'm sorry. It's just that—" Anastasia shook her head and looked down. "Never mind."

Andreas instinctively reached out for her hand. Anastasia flinched, looking up at him before relaxing.

"Please, tell me," Andreas encouraged, smiling softly at her.

"All my life, I have been trained. Prepared," She began, looking out at the training field. "Ana, be a lady. Ana, you have a destiny. Ana, you will be a great warrior. Ana, you are to save all of us. But not once, not once, was I told what to do when you meet your soulmate. Not once was I told the feeling you get, the undeniable attraction, the irresistible pull."

Andreas resisted the urge to make a sarcastic comment at the fact that she found him irresistible, but instead, nodded for her to go on.

"I was told to forget about a husband, or a family. I was told to learn, to train, to fight. I was not taught compassion outside of my family. I was not taught romance. I was taught war and bloodshed."

Anastasia looked up at Andreas, pulling her hand away and standing up. "Andreas, I cannot be what you need me to be."

She turned away from him, a tear falling down her cheek. She could tell he was upset, and that he felt for her. She couldn't explain how she knew, but just that that connection was there.

"Ana," Andreas whispered, reaching for her hand and pulling her to him. But she resisted, her strength beating the Chiefs.

She pulled her hand from his and wiped her tear away, shaking her head. "We must go speak to Selari. He must know how to fix this, a spell, anything."

With this Andreas grew furious. 

Before she could react, she was pinned against a tree, Andreas' face dangerously close to hers.

"You never suggest breaking our bond again," he snarled, his pride getting the best of him

Anastasia gathered herself, her eyes becoming black as she grew angry and pushed him off of her, a shocked Andreas staring at her.

"You never put your hands on me again," she commanded, and Andreas found himself unable to disagree. He was not used to this; someone being superior to him.

"I-I'm sorry," Anastasia muttered out, her eyes returning to their calm, golden shade. "I shouldn't have gone there. I shouldn't have used a Command of Selene."

One of Anastasia's abilities was to make anyone obey her, for her magic was powered by the Moon, Earth, and Underworld. And when she was angry, she could not always control the Goddesses that lived through her being.

It was strange. When she summoned Selene, her eyes became white, and people obeyed her commands. When she summoned Artemis, her eyes became purple, her combat was unlike any other, and she had not come across a warrior who could beat her. When she summoned Hecate, her eyes became black, and she could control a person's mind. She had only done this once, when she was younger and did not know the strength of her abilities. They had to summon Selari because she almost hurt one of the kids in her class. There were many other things she could do through the Goddesses, but these were the things she sometimes had no control over, for angering Anastasia meant angering the ancient Goddesses.

"It's okay, I was out of line," Andreas said, still partially shocked. "I would never mean to hurt my soulmate."

Anastasia felt a pang in her heart, for she knew that they had both caused each other pain in that moment. They questioned each other's authority.

"I do not question the Goddesses," Andreas said, holding his hands up in surrender, "but I don't know what kind of a pairing they thought we'd be. The amount of pride we share is insane."

Anastasia laughed and smiled at her soulmate, but there was a sadness in her eyes, for she knew that this happiness was temporary. She couldn't be what he needed. She would have to reject him, for nothing could take precedent over her destiny.

"Come on," Anastasia motioned to the Chief, offering a sympathetic smile. "We must talk to Selari."