.•43•.

.•43•.
Diana was entranced. This woman, this statuesque creature was frighteningly beautiful. And deathly still, with her eyes closed. She looked like she came out of a fairytale. A literal deity. She had dark green hair that framed her face in large, unruly waves. A headdress decorated with sharp silvery spikes and fluorescent moonstones, porcelain skin, and a heart-shaped face. There were weird symbols drawn on her forehead, her chin, and her small, pouty lips, all painted with the same color. Black. And she shone under the moonlight, like a precious gem. Her headdress, her luscious hair. Even her skin appeared translucent, with a sheen that reflected the cold light like marble.
She opened her eyes, and Diana couldn't fight that little gasp from escaping her. Her eyes were glowing. A magical, ethereal blue. She was actually alive. Sentient. She'd half-thought that she was a sort of statue. A doll.
"Blessed be the moon," Ares uttered from right next to her, his powerful voice startling her. She'd almost forgotten that he was there, with her.
"Blessed be the moon," the beautiful deity answered, her glowing gaze lowering to the silvery table in front of her, where a deck of tarot cards was laid out. Not sparing them a single glance.
Diana's head tilted, curiously staring at them. There were symbols drawn on the cards; symbols that she'd never seen before. Some of them depicted the usual drawings, like lovers or death, all of them however painted with the same mesmerizing colour. Iridescent gold. The Goddess proceeded to flip them all over, and Diana noticed those black symbols drawn on the back of her small and delicate hands. Her black-painted and sharp-looking nails.
"My liege. Fancy seeing you here tonight," the Goddess said, her voice cold and emotionless. As if Ares' mere presence bore her.
"Nice to see you too, Priestess," Ares replied, his tone equally dull. Diana peered between them with curiosity, noticing that small stretch of silence that followed.
The Goddess placed her painted hand over a tarot card, keeping it there.
"Nyktos was right. You are very lovely indeed."
Diana blinked and shifted her gaze to the Priestess' face, meeting her glowing eyes. Although she did look a little intimidating, Diana didn't feel afraid of her. Quite the opposite, actually. She felt safe in her presence. Protected by the celestial body that hung in the sky, above the Goddess' head. It was a weird thought; a weird sensation to feel about a literal piece of rock, but she couldn't even bring herself to care. She was in the land of the gods after all, and the common laws of nature and reality didn't apply here.
She felt her cheeks warm at the sound of the Goddess' words, her bashfulness accompanied by a hollow sensation in the middle of her chest.
"How may I aid you?" the Priestess asked, her hand still resting over that same card. Diana did not find it odd, she didn't even take it too much into account. But Ares did. He could sense that Hecate was hiding something that the stars had shown about him. He decided to play into her little game.
"She wants to know whether her kin are alive and safe," he informed, sensing Diana's gaze on him.
"They are," the Goddess answered tonelessly, keeping her glowing gaze on Diana.
"Show her," Ares insisted. Hecate threw him an annoyed look.
She blew out a breath, stretching out a painted hand over the table. The other remained plastered over the card.
"Come, girl. Sit," she beckoned, waiting for her to take a seat on the little silver stool at the opposite side of the table. Diana peered between the gods for another moment, uncertainty flickering in her eyes. She reluctantly sat there, looking at the Goddess in front of her.
"Give me your hand," Hecate offered, showing the girl her upturned palm. She placed hers in it, a little surprised at the coldness meeting her skin.
"You are grieving. Your heart has been broken by the vampire," the Goddess' voice sounded ominous and powerful, suddenly coming from all around her. Diana's breath hitched in her throat.
The Goddess wrapped her hand around hers, her sharp and black nails quickly sinking into Diana's skin like tiny blades, drawing blood. Diana let out a pained mewl, eyes widening with alarm.
"You carry his blood. It flows through your veins," the Goddess' voice echoed, again so ominously. Unnatural. She tried to tug at it; to free her hand. It didn't work. She couldn't even move. She could feel coldness seeping underneath her skin through those small wounds. Please... she wanted to beg. To cry. But she couldn't even speak. There were tears brimming in her eyes, her breath shallow. Harsh. She could notice from her peripheral vision that the Moon was moving closer, and closer. It was getting so big, so bright behind the Goddess' lithe frame. Her eyes widened, staring at it. It held her hostage. Trapped in its cold light.
Diana... Diana... Child of the gods... the Moon whispered in her ears, the sound so terrifying. She fainted.
Ares was right behind the girl as she swayed on the chair, catching her feeble body before it could hit the floor. He placed one knee on the grass, holding the girl nestled in the crook of his arm as she navigated through the astral plane in search of her answers.
His gaze found Hecate's, regarding her with determination.
"Show me," he demanded.
Hecate stared back at him with equal stubbornness.
"No. You cannot know. Not before you fulfill your part in this. They won't allow me to show you,"
Ares' jaw clenched. Stupid fates. He peered at the mortal girl nestled in between his arms, his curiosity gnawing at him. Why had they thrown her in his path? What could possibly be so special about this female? Aside from her particular name and her uncanny resemblance to her...
He met Hecate's gaze again.
"One word," he bargained, driven by that desperate need to know. To have his own answers. He would fill in the gaps. He was the smartest of them all.
Hecate's glow dimmed, her voice softening as she pleaded, "Uncle, please. I cannot," She was aware of his cunningness. One word was all that he needed to uncover it all. He was the god of war. The absolute master of strategy. The ultimate puzzle-solver.
"You must choose without knowing, otherwise the course will be altered. I'm afraid you must follow the path of destiny this time," she informed him. Ares regarded her for another moment. Whilst he did not appreciate being denied, and by a fellow god nonetheless, he had to admit that this whole situation had left him intrigued. He wanted to know why they chose him, why this sudden hand he'd been dealt after millennia of silence, of complete disregard towards him. Why now, and why her. A mortal. A feeble, and such an ephemeral creature. A speck of dust, compared to his vast existence.
"Very well." It would appear that this girl was in luck, though, for he happened to like games. So, a game he would play.

.••.

Diana...child of the gods... Those words continued to echo inside her ears, even as reality had long since left her. It served as an anchor, a reminder of who she was. That she existed, for she did not feel. Did not breathe, and did not see. She simply was. Floating, somewhere in space and time.
A flash of light. Twinkling laughter, caressing her ears. The scent of spices and cooking meat reaching her non-existing senses. And then, she finally saw.
Dan. Her beloved momma.
It felt like she was staring at them through a looking glass. So close, and yet so far away. They were in her kitchen, her childhood home. Preparing dinner, like any other night. Safe. Whole. Untouched by the demon's darkness. She wanted to weep with joy, cry from the sadness. She was glad to know that they were safe, although she was missing them so much.
The stroke of a piano key interrupted her soothing viewing. Her soul immediately responded. Other similar sounds followed, turning into song. Slow. Melancholic. It tugged at those invisible strings wrapping around her, calling out to her. A plea. A prayer.
She followed it.
The pungent smell of rotting flesh; of decay, was the first to attack her senses. And then the pain followed. Raw. Despairing. It made her want to scream; that is if she actually could. It was sickening. Unbearable. The song continued to play. Sad. Distorted. A painted face came into view. She knew that face, all too well. Nicholas. Shadows came from all around him, latching onto his body like smoky tentacles. No. They swallowed him whole, leaving behind nothing but darkness. She finally screamed, as loud as she could.
"No!"
Something held onto her, keeping her restrained as she flailed and screamed, taking those first breaths of air. Cold light greeted her, as she opened her eyes, her gaze landing on the ginormous surface of the moon that stood in the sky. She blinked, feeling those tears in her eyes, the ghost of that pain lingering.
"Nicholas..." his name flew past her lips like a plea, her voice shaky and small.
"You want to know whether you can save him," a feminine voice said, drawing her attention. She finally noticed that she was lying on the grass, in the garden where Ares had brought her. To the Goddess. She quickly sat up, noticing her sitting in that exact same position by the table, her glowing eyes watching her.
"You can."
Diana blinked.
"H-how?"
"You must die," the Goddess answered, again with that powerful and ominous voice echoing from all around her.
"Die by your lover's hand," she added, and Diana swallowed, the air suddenly growing cold around her.
"The balance must be restored. He gave up power for love, now he must give up love for power."