Ariadne and the Flaming Torch : The Quest
Prologue
Prologue.
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The exquisitely beautiful woman ran as fast her legs could allow her to. She knew what this meant. He would kill her offspring. She knew it! That boorish man would beat her until the child resting in her womb was dead. She had to do something.
She just had to!
Persephone ran through the corridors of the castle, careful to stay away from the portal holes and hell-hounds. She knew he could sense her. She always did. It was how he always managed to catch her whenever she tried to escape.
A tear ran down the beautiful woman's face as she remembered the consequences of her attempts at escape. She knew he would hit her again, beat her until she couldn't move and foam came out her mouth while her agonized tear-streaked face would beg him to stop.
Persephone shook her head and touched her flat stomach and she ran faster. She knew the Moirae were watching the events unfold. She knew they knew of her child. She only hoped they would not betray her secret to Hades. The Moirae were not allowed to interfere with fate, but then again, they were masters at finding loop-holes. So Persephone ran. She ran for the child that was sleeping in her abdomen. The child that she had come to love over the past moon cycle.
Persephone stopped before the gates that led to Earth. She had watched the family carefully; they were loving and kind and she knew they could give her unborn child the luxuries she could never afford - love and a safe, happy home.
Persephone spoke the names of the family and recited the incantations of their souls,
“Harry Novis, kind and loving,
Strong and brave,
Born of Mary and Ramone,
Bringer of security and happiness to your family,
You are the stable roots they rely on.
"Rita Corijan, changed to Novis,
A flower in bloom,
With a heart of gold,
Born of Alpha and Corrin,
You are the one they rely on for wisdom,
And love.
" Solis Novis,
Mischievous and sarcastic,
Born of Harry and Rita,
You are the bringer of happiness to their hearts,
And the source of their worries.
You are a song waiting to be sung."
Their souls appeared along with their qualities and the tales of their lives.
She knew they would be the ones, so she whispered this prophecy to Rita Novis in her dreams,
"O Family, Born of Mother Earth and
Children of Epona,
Care for my child as if she were your own,
Which she will be!
I place upon you this responsibility,
Please! I beg of you!
O Family, love her with all your heart
And I pray that the chocking hands of evil never find you,
For if it does, I might not be there to save you.
But rest assured, I will watch over you
And you shall be saved,
For only through the blood of a dying love shall you be doomed."
She had given them the warning and felt a sense of bittersweet relief, for she had taken a chance. For everything created or altered in this world, there must be a price paid and so, to save her child and give her a family filled with love, she also had to possibly doom her to a life of hardship. She had taken a chance and she did not like it, but she could not change the ways of the world, so with a sigh, she chanted the centuries old prayer,
"O my child,
My soul, my love,
I am ripping you from me.
Forgive me my sweet, for I only mean for you to be happy,
And so with a pain-stricken heart, I call unto you, you soul, your body and your essence,
And transfer it to the body of a mortal,
Bound in honor,
Rich in love."
And with that she extracted the soul, essence and body of her child and gently pushed it through the gate with a parting kiss, so that the soul of her baby could be transferred to the body of Rita Novis.
"My sweet, forgive me and know that I always will and always have loved you and I shall watch over you and protect you for eternity."
Persephone turned, from the swiftly closing gates and made her way back to Hades, vowing to herself through her tears, that she would do everything in her power to keep her beloved Ariadne safe.
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_________
The exquisitely beautiful woman ran as fast her legs could allow her to. She knew what this meant. He would kill her offspring. She knew it! That boorish man would beat her until the child resting in her womb was dead. She had to do something.
She just had to!
Persephone ran through the corridors of the castle, careful to stay away from the portal holes and hell-hounds. She knew he could sense her. She always did. It was how he always managed to catch her whenever she tried to escape.
A tear ran down the beautiful woman's face as she remembered the consequences of her attempts at escape. She knew he would hit her again, beat her until she couldn't move and foam came out her mouth while her agonized tear-streaked face would beg him to stop.
Persephone shook her head and touched her flat stomach and she ran faster. She knew the Moirae were watching the events unfold. She knew they knew of her child. She only hoped they would not betray her secret to Hades. The Moirae were not allowed to interfere with fate, but then again, they were masters at finding loop-holes. So Persephone ran. She ran for the child that was sleeping in her abdomen. The child that she had come to love over the past moon cycle.
Persephone stopped before the gates that led to Earth. She had watched the family carefully; they were loving and kind and she knew they could give her unborn child the luxuries she could never afford - love and a safe, happy home.
Persephone spoke the names of the family and recited the incantations of their souls,
“Harry Novis, kind and loving,
Strong and brave,
Born of Mary and Ramone,
Bringer of security and happiness to your family,
You are the stable roots they rely on.
"Rita Corijan, changed to Novis,
A flower in bloom,
With a heart of gold,
Born of Alpha and Corrin,
You are the one they rely on for wisdom,
And love.
" Solis Novis,
Mischievous and sarcastic,
Born of Harry and Rita,
You are the bringer of happiness to their hearts,
And the source of their worries.
You are a song waiting to be sung."
Their souls appeared along with their qualities and the tales of their lives.
She knew they would be the ones, so she whispered this prophecy to Rita Novis in her dreams,
"O Family, Born of Mother Earth and
Children of Epona,
Care for my child as if she were your own,
Which she will be!
I place upon you this responsibility,
Please! I beg of you!
O Family, love her with all your heart
And I pray that the chocking hands of evil never find you,
For if it does, I might not be there to save you.
But rest assured, I will watch over you
And you shall be saved,
For only through the blood of a dying love shall you be doomed."
She had given them the warning and felt a sense of bittersweet relief, for she had taken a chance. For everything created or altered in this world, there must be a price paid and so, to save her child and give her a family filled with love, she also had to possibly doom her to a life of hardship. She had taken a chance and she did not like it, but she could not change the ways of the world, so with a sigh, she chanted the centuries old prayer,
"O my child,
My soul, my love,
I am ripping you from me.
Forgive me my sweet, for I only mean for you to be happy,
And so with a pain-stricken heart, I call unto you, you soul, your body and your essence,
And transfer it to the body of a mortal,
Bound in honor,
Rich in love."
And with that she extracted the soul, essence and body of her child and gently pushed it through the gate with a parting kiss, so that the soul of her baby could be transferred to the body of Rita Novis.
"My sweet, forgive me and know that I always will and always have loved you and I shall watch over you and protect you for eternity."
Persephone turned, from the swiftly closing gates and made her way back to Hades, vowing to herself through her tears, that she would do everything in her power to keep her beloved Ariadne safe.
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