Chapter 3

Who were these people? Were they the priestesses my mother spoke of? Was the nymph going to die because of me? Questions filled my head. I wished I could ask them, but the only thing I could do, was scream and cry. "The nymph is paralyzed? Diane what does that mean?" asked Lucinda.

"It means she cannot move anymore." said the girl hovering over the satyr, "Poor satyr."

"The satyr will be well soon enough!" said another one of the girls, "What about the girl?

"Do we accept her?"

"Or do we destroy her?" They were going to destroy me? Not if I could help it! I rolled off of the table they had me on, landing on my stomach. Moving was hard, as ridiculous as it may seem. What arm was I supposed to move? Was I supposed to move my arm at all? My feet were cold and small, I didn't know what to do with them. I knew what a satyr was as soon as I saw it, but I couldn't crawl whenever I wanted to? It was my mistake thinking I could stand up and walk. I made an attempt to crawl toward a stool that was beside a table with some sort of statue on it. I could hear giggles behind me. Never mind them Megaera, I thought, Just keep crawling. The palms of my hands were numb, and I could barely feel them. It took me a while to get there, but I arrived at the stool and turned my head to the girls, flashing them a triumphant look. Now, what was I supposed to do? I raised my hand slowly, reaching for the top of the stool. When my hand was a few inches above the stool, I let my hand drop. I did the same with my other hand, trying not to fall flat on my face. When both of my hands were on the stool, my mind went blank. I had no idea about what I was supposed to do next. I tried pushing forward, that didn't work. I tried pulling the stool toward me, that didn't work either. My knees were starting to hurt, the stone tiles beneath me were cold and uncomfortable. I tried pushing myself up, using my elbows. It worked! Push harder, I thought. I followed the my instructions. I pushed harder, pressing my palms against the stool. I moved my leg so that my foot was flat on the ground and my knee was bent. The girls behind me were silent. I moved my other leg, trying my hardest not to fall, so that my foot was flat on the ground and my knee was bent. I pushed myself up, straightening my knees, I heard one of the girls behind me whisper, "What is she doing?" I moved slowly and wobbly toward my sisters, I'm walking! I'm really walking, I thought to myself. My pride got the best of me, I walked a little faster, faster, faster. My right knee collapsed, it failed me. I fell hard on the cold, stone floor, crying. I heard footsteps approach me at rapid speed. Tears were streaming down my cheeks.

"Wahhhhhh!" I screamed.

"Well, she certainly is determined to live." said one of them, she was one of the tallest girls there.

"I do not think she is able to die." said another one of the girls, Diane.

"What do you mean, sister?"

"I mean I think that she is immortal."

"That is insane. How could she be immortal? Unless…"

"I can smell the sea on her." said Diane.

"Perhaps, she was beside the sea, and the wind was coming off of it, and…"

"No, she is immortal. She would not understand if we told her who she was now. We shall tell her who she truly is, on her fifteenth birthday."

"What if she does not live that long?" asked Lucinda.

"We shall protect her, and treat her like the sister she is. Shall we claim her as a priestess of Hecate?"

"Well, the nymph is not going to take care of her, now is she?"

"Then it is anonymous. She is one of us." said Diane.

"Jhudora, you must claim her." said Lucinda.

"Why must I claim her?" said a tall girl with long black hair in the back of the crowd.

"For you are the eldest of us all."

"Thank-you so much for reminding me." said Jhudora, sarcastically.

"Oh, just claim her!"

"I, Jhudora, the eldest priestess of Hecate, claim…" she stopped.

"Well, go on!"

"What is her name?" asked Jhudora.

"That is a good question."

"Her name is Megaera." said Diane.

"How do you know?"

"Trust me, her name is Megaera."

"Very well then," said Jhudora, "I, Jhudora, the eldest priestess of Hecate, claim Megaera, as a priestess. Are we you happy now?"

"Yes, I am very happy." said Lucinda. I heard a groan behind the crowd, on the opposite side of the room.

"The satyr!" cried Diane. Jhudora bent down over me, and reached for me. She picked me up in her arms, and cradled me, rocking me back and forth. She walked over to the satyr, as did the other girls. "Are you well, satyr?" asked Diane.

"How is she?" he asked in a crackly voice.

"How is who?"

"How is the girl, the infant?"

"The infant is well, we have already claimed her as one of us."

"Thank the gods." whispered the satyr.

"Do you not wish to know about the nymph?"

"Oh, right. How is she?"

"She is paralyzed, she cannot move anymore." The look in the satyr's face was a look of pain. A tear rolled down his cheek.

"Shall she die?" asked the satyr, holding back a river of tears.

"I do not know," said Diane. She stroked his furry cheek, "I suppose a spell might help, but it may kill her completely, as well."

"Do not kill her. Do not cast a spell on her. Please." said the satyr.

"As you wish." said Diane. The satyr got off of the wooden table he was lying on, and walked over to the table that used to be at his feet. The fur on his hind-legs was dry, and fluffy. The body on the table wasn't moving, it must have been the nymph. The satyr reached out for the nymph's face, his hand was shaking. He touched her forehead with his fingertips, and ran them through her blond hair.

"You should not have threatened her, you should have just let her be.".