The story is not fully proofread since I don't have a beta at the moment. Every mistake is entirely mine. ~Ari
To Wu, Sirhounsou, Atropos and Bud.
Eyes
"The perfect moments were the ones
that touched Aphrodite the most;
they were like jewels unexpectedly
found in the path of life"
Pisces Aphrodite.
La Decisión de Hefesto
I. Acceptance
The light of the candle was almost dying. The woman did not bother to light a new one. Ophiuchus was shining bright on her body, and it made her feel safe in a way she could not identify fully.
The bed was still near the window. Shaina had not changed it, despite knowing Cassius had died and the Battle had finished many a week before. It was still hard to accept, however.
There were very few things in the place; a humble hard bed, a night table at its side. An old vase was still there. There was no one to fill it with new flowers anymore. Shaina had not even taken the old ones from it. They were now dry, shrunken, and dead. The woman did not mind them; after all, she believed she did not deserve them.
Memories of past days were reaching her, making her shiver. That was not the moment for being sentimental, though. Besides, other issues were on her mind, Aioria, for instance. She had not stopped thinking about Aioria for several minutes. Not that she felt bad about it, it was simply, too awkward.
Maybe somewhere else in Sanctuary, someone worthy of Aioria's love, was thinking about him, too. However, if Shaina was to tell the truth, even to herself; she knew it was all a trap she was getting herself into. Love was not something that existed for someone like her. Love was nothing but a utopia she wanted to create for living in her own dreams. The woman knew she had harboured those wishes somewhere in between her hatred against Sanctuary and everything around her, and her love for same said things.
"His eyes are as green as mine, but his eyes don't hate—not like mine." The woman breathed deep. After all these months, she had not stopped thinking about him, even when she had tried. Not for one minute. She knew she should not think about him. He was not free, she knew that too. Besides, she loved someone else. At least, that was what she believed.
Shaina had unnoticeably started to let her feelings towards him grow. She had enjoyed them when she had been alone; weaving in her mind what could never come to pass and what was a certainty for her. Love and hate again, things she knew she was forbidden to feel, for she had been taken under Athena's care.
Athena. For many a month, the same Goddess she had prayed to in silence, had also become her worst nightmare; the one causing her uncomfortable situations. The one she had once seen as a rival.
"Of what?" Ophiuchus muttered uncertain of the question itself. Seiya had not been an issue for good or for bad to her. Seiya had just been the man she had thought she had loved. Shaina knew she had loved him. What had it been then that that had made her forget about that love? Seiya had been the one that had seen her face for the first time and had showed her kindness when she had less expected it. Seiya had been the one she had never been able to kill—nor love anymore.
The woman took a closer look at what surrounded her, feeling suddenly uneasy, and after many an hour lost in her thought, the Amazon started to feel claustrophobic in her cottage. Her body demanding that she left and calmly so that ease would come to her.
The light was dim and it was almost a magical vision to witness. The mask was on her bed, shining in the moonlight. Ophiuchus felt as if it had been the first time she had seen the piece of metal. The mask seemed alive, as if calling her to it. Shaina feared for a moment that it was truly a lively thing. The mask, the piece of silver she so loathed was also what she loved the most. It was part of her and of the world she had always lived in. The Amazon moved to the bed and took the mask.
Before Shaina put the mask back on her face, she looked at her reflection in a broken mirror. She had forgotten where it came from. Was it one of the pieces of the one mirror from the Pope's chamber? The one that had broken so many a year ago? Was it just something she had found out somewhere? Yes, Shaina had forgotten. That was not the only thing she had sent to oblivion, though. She could not even remember when it had been the last time she had seen her face in it. When she did, half her face was covered by shadows. The other half was sorrowfully looking back at her. What was that in front of her? The wicked mockery of fate, which she had always known she was, or was it only what she feared the most.
A woman, that was what she was. For a second, the cottage did not matter, nor did Sanctuary. It was not even important that she was the silver Saint of Ophiuchus. She was nothing but a woman; and the thought of it frightened her. The silver Saint felt suddenly in the middle of a twisted manoeuvre by Destiny, feeling out of place. Why had fate played so hard with her? Her fingers moved along her face, slowly caressing her cheeks. When they touched near her eyes, she thought of him again. It seemed to be unavoidable lately.
"Aioria—"she whispered the name, and then breathed deep. Repeatedly, she wondered why it was so deliciously bitter to say that name to the night. The woman mentally scolded herself for her daring. Not only was he a gold Saint. He was also the man a fellow Saint was in love with. For she had always known Marine was in love with Aioria. She always knew the Leo Saint had loved the other woman back.
Absent-mindedly, the Saint walked to her bed and finally took the mask. Not for a moment did she think about anything else. Shaina simply walked out her cottage, knowing exactly which path to take. Also, for as long as she had to walk to the place she was going, the Korê had to wear the mask. She covered her face and called off her armour, which took its shape and placed itself in a corner.
Free from Ophiuchus, the Amazon walked out of her house.
* * *
The guardian of the Fifth Temple was lying on the roof of it, staring at the stars. The temple, located in the middle of the hill, allowed him a beautiful view of the sky. He was not sure what he was looking for above him. He felt as if the spectacle he was witnessing was proof from the Gods that they were taking care of him. Even when it was already night, he could play with the clouds and pretend they were taking different forms. The magic in Sanctuary was something Aioria was already used to, yet it was also something that still amazed him. The man knew, though, that the truth behind his observation of the stars was only that he was looking for a reason to forget.
He would erase the last thirteen years of his life if only it were possible. Aioria knew he would change his present life for a moment of peace in which his soul would not feel the guilt. It was as if he had been guilty of everything that had happened. He had wronged his brother, and his Goddess, even his fellow saints. And lately, he had wronged himself too.
The man suddenly sat, moving impatiently. Among everything he knew he had lost and done wrong, Aioria knew he had lost Marine. Eagle had meant so much to him that it hurt him to think that. However, now that he was thinking about it carefully, he realised he had not lost her at all. You can only lose what has been yours, he was thinking, as if the sole thought of it could make it all right.
Marine had been the one person who had always supported him. She had been at his side even in the most difficult times. Eagle had never isolated him because of his past. Was it gratefulness what moved him towards her, then? "By Athena" he said whispering, uncertain of the reasons for his doubts. Marine had always been so close and so afar from him—too far from him to be reached. As time went by, Leo knew she was getting farther from him.
He had acknowledged he had started missing their talks and the one who was like a little brother to him, Seiya. That was all. Of that, he was sure. And it pained him to know that and to be certain that his feelings had changed.
Aioria had started missing someone else's hair, and smell, and especially, he was missing her eyes. There were no coherent explanations for it. He had been trying to find one at least, but there was none. The only reasons he was able to find was that he was in love. Whether that love was to bring him something he knew not. Whether that love was to mean something to him or not, he learnt he loved Shaina. Even when he also knew, she was in love with someone else. The man passed his hand through his hair, combing it with his fingers. Desperation and the knowledge of what his feelings meant were a conundrum for him.
It was a warm night, though. He could sense it and could feel it around him. The wind was blowing freely, not caring about the man or how immersed he was in his thoughts. Leo was still below him, standing proudly among the other houses. The Star Lion belonged to him and it made him feel there was not much he would need that evening. He shivered, though. There was so much more he longed for. So many a thing he would ditch if only for a moment of personal happiness. It was not his decision to make, he thought. Athena had been his life behind the lie of his brother's betrayal. Marine and Seiya had become his family for many a year.
'It's because I love Seiya that you have died.' He remembered Shaina's words when he was carrying Cassius to his grave. A death that had occurred in the name of Athena. He remembered that much; that and the red mask before his fight against Shaka. All that and the feeling of shame of his actions. The shame of his weakness to face that one he showed respect and loyalty to. Aioria knew later what had happened. What the false Pope had made of him. The puppet he had made of himself. It had been Shaina's words that had awakened him finally. Seiya had broken the spell, she had brought him to his senses. Shaina's words—those words were now burning in his chest. Haunting him. Cassius and Shaina. There was nothing else he could think about. All his memories taking him back to Cassius.
Faithful Cassius who had died because of love. Strong Cassius who had died, because he had killed him—adding more guilt to his already tormented soul.
The emotions and feelings he was experiencing had begun to pierce his being. Emotions were not his specialty and the whole thing made him feel awkward. It was something to which he simply reacted, not meditated. Leo finally stood. His heart aching for his own stupidity. For not knowing what he really desired.
Aioria was in love with the Eagle Amazon. He had always been. Why then was his heart screaming Shaina's name? The man shook his head. Shaina was in love with the Pegasus Bronze Saint. It was also a rumour within the boundaries of the sacred place. An Amazon who had not killed the one who had seen her face, then had only one choice left. Otherwise, she would have killed him already, but instead, she had saved him. He had witnessed it in Japan, near the hospital. The other Bronze Saints had told tales of her meddling in the fights in Asgard and in Atlantis. She had already chosen when he had finally met her long ago. He had also chosen when that had happened, had not he?
The man had never trusted before; yet he had trusted Marine. However, Marine was now just—her, and there were no emotions involved whatsoever. Aioria had to atone for his own actions, for his feelings. But what had happened and for what would never happen. It hurt him to have to acknowledge that.
The wind hit him on his face once again, bringing him back to reality.
The Saint fell free on to the ground, his body coming forward and bending almost to stand up later. He needed to leave his Temple. Not wanting to feel anymore.
* * *
The Greek landscape is dry most of the year and is also full of brown mountains without much vegetation. However, and because of its Goddess, Sanctuary had special spots full of life. It was the grace of Athena's power that allowed green meadows to come to be part of the place. A mute demonstration of the blessing over those she loved the most.
Right behind Star Hill, the place where the Pope used to go and meditate, there was one of them. The place, most people knew—for it was also a sacred place only the Pope could visit—was consecrated to the gods. Not only to Athena. That sole place had become a place for silent worship and a place for the Pope to come closer to the Goddess and to her wishes. A small river ran through the hills, carving its path on the stones and rocks. The olive trees grew tall along the riverbank, giving the place a sense of intimacy that made Shaina feel, she was walking a godly path. The river however, was what Shaina adored in the simplest way possible. Its flowing stream and its soft, almost slothful movement was charming. The river seemed to her to be strong also. Timeless.
'Love' she thought. Shaina had never felt herself worthy of love. In fact, she believed everything she had known related to it, was what she had once felt towards Seiya. Yet, the woman knew she had one time known unconditional love. It had been a long time since somebody had actually told her she loved her. It had been her sister Geist, the night before she had been cast from Sanctuary. The woman remembered the feeling of pain when they had been separated. She had lost everything and she had changed after that. Then Seiya had come into her life. And then Cassius. Now—she was not what she thought she was. Life had struck her so hard and so badly, that she had grown bitter and dark. Grand in power and strength. Soulless. Shaina felt sometimes, she had been abandoned by her sister who had not cared about her and had allowed men to send her away. It was summarised on a battle between men and women. The most ancient, silliest fight of all.
What a turmoil her head was. She had not cozened anyone, as Geist had tried to do. Her sister's sins were not her own. Her heart was not her domain, no matter how hard she tried to think differently. Shaina had not chosen to love Seiya, nor had she chosen to feel the way she felt now.
The woman moved her hair violently while walking towards the water. She paid close attention so there was not anybody but her, the dark, the water and the moonlight in the place. She needed nothing else for the mere knowledge of solitude was enough.
The first thing Shaina did, was to take her mask off. The air hitting her on the face, the nudity that gesture implied, made her smile. Slowly, she pulled her blouse up and took it off above her head. Her nude torso chilled by the cold air. The woman leaned forward taking her pants off, one leg, and then the other. Her feet were already bare. She walked into the water, her body shivering at the touch of it. The heat of the Greek land keeping the water warm enough for her, like if it had prepared itself for the woman, making her feel comfortable and welcome.
The path into the water made her gasp. The woman was trying to be careful where she stood, her feet sinking in the underwater earth. After entering the water, Shaina let herself be covered by it, holding her breath below it enough to pull herself out and then breath again. There were no words to describe how much she was enjoying the feeling of the water running down her body, as if it were embracing her. An honest smile forming on her lips while she swam again. Allowing herself the feeling of the place surrounding her. Feeling free.
The woman came out the water, throwing her head back so her hair would not be on her face. Her greenish hair was falling down, like a waterfall, showing its length, being longer than it actually looked. She moved her hands over her face, pulling away the strands of hair still there.
Shaina smiled, feeling the cold air touching her naked skin. She fell on her back and into the water one more time, to float again, and swim backwards, then turning to swim to the shore. It was then when she saw him. Aioria was swimming as she herself was; and just like a reflection of herself, he stood there, unable to utter a sound.
Motionless.
* * *
Leo had just started to walk, simply following his feet. They had led him to the river behind Star Hill. He had started to ramble around Sanctuary, unaware of what he was doing. The paths in the sacred place took him to the one spot he last thought he was going to visit that night. He welcomed the fact that he was there, though. It had been a while since he had been in the small river for the last time. Sooner than he thought, Aioria was there, in front of the water. Sooner than he had desired, his clothes were off and he was inside the water. Leo had always loved the sensation of calmness he was able to experience when he was at Star Hill. It made him forget about his brother, about his friends, even about Marine. However, Shaina was still in his head.
The man called her name briefly, afraid somebody might have heard him. Afraid the acceptance he had just gone through in his temple was a reality he could not face.
"Shaina" he repeated. Feeling relieved when he did. Loving the sound of the forbidden name. If only it were not forbidden.
"What am I thinking?" he scolded himself. It was all wrong. Everything he had thought about in his House. All the things he had believed true and were not. He loved Marine, even with the doubts, he loved her. There was no woman like her, strong, intelligent, and beautiful.
"Beautiful." Leo muttered without preventing his words to escape his lips. The Saint had never seen Marine's face. All he had seen had been small hints of what her face could be like. Only once had he felt the bare skin. That night, many a moon ago, Aioria had wanted to kiss Marine. Leo closed his eyes, bringing the memory back to him, just to see if he could go beyond it and have something truly meaningful to treasure. That night, he had tried to remove the mask himself. His hand had even touched the cold piece of silver before Marine had removed his hand from it violently. Aioria remembered how he had reverently moved back. The man had never meant to disturb her, yet he knew he had somewhat done so. Marine had noticed his fears, his desire. She had tried to understand his need, or at least, that had been what Aioria had wanted to believe all that time. She had removed the mask herself, only after blindfolding him with the piece of cloth she always had tied to her waist. The softness of the skin, he had to guess it by the touch of the lips, for the woman did not let him touch her. Aioria had seen the cold mask before and after the intimate situation. Always that cold mask between him and Marine. The feeling of disappointment and impotence was still so vivid that Aioria knew it was because of that that he had never tried to kiss her again.
Aioria shook his head, trying by doing so, to forget what had happened. The man simply went back to the water and kept swimming. He had to stop thinking, he knew. It did nothing good to go over the same thing. Besides, the water had always helped him calm his inner fire, his impetuosity; his anger and pain. Although now, he knew, it wasn't working whatsoever.
Leo stayed there, swimming back and forth at ease. Right in the middle of the river, a few meters away from where his clothes were. The man was lost in his thoughts, enjoying every moment, until he heard some noise and splashes near him, and turned to see what it was or who. It was then when he saw her.
Shaina was there, staring at him, as motionless as he was. Not even in his wildest dreams, would he have imagined how beautiful she was.
For once in his life, the mask was not an obstacle, but a confirmation of what he already knew. For Shaina was beautiful. More than he had once pictured her. What was he to do now that he had seen her? What was she to do? Was she going to kill him? What if she decided to let him live and fall in love with him? Should he move closer?
"Seiya was right Shaina, for being the devil; you have an angel's face." The words came out his lips naturally, meaning no offence. How she would take them, however, was a different matter. Aioria had just spoken his mind, allowing himself a moment for being honest with the only one who had been so with him. The man stood a couple of more seconds, even when neither of them realised how many they had been. The woman did the same. The moon was still shining above them, bathing them along with the water with her light. Embracing them as if protecting them from each other and themselves.
However, it was Leo who took the first step away from the woman. He had meant no harm. He had decided not to go beyond the boundaries of their duties, thus he swam away, leaving her be.
Shaina on the other hand, tried to calm herself when she heard his words. The woman did not want to feel anything, feeling apprehensive before Aioria. Many a thing had happened now, and the memory of her own thoughts just some hours ago, in the private space her cottage was, only added more mayhem to her mind. Shaina breathed deeply when Aioria left her alone. She fell in the water, sitting near the shore. And then she cried feeling vulnerable, lost—angry. Not knowing exactly how to react or why she was not doing anything about it.
But then, the woman blushed. She had just realized that she was—naked; and that so was he—and then his words—why were the Gods punishing her? Was her sin against her Goddess so big that she was receiving such pain?
Shaina remained sitting in the water for a moment she thought endless. Maybe blaming Athena was the right thing to do. Perhaps the knowledge of what she had never had and never could have was the best thing to do. Ophiuchus knew much better, however. The woman knew she could not blame anyone but herself. It had been her own choices that had built her present.
The Amazon walked out of the water, moving only because she had to. She got dressed without paying attention to anything around her. If she were attacked at that very moment, she would surely be killed; caring for nothing. In fact at that point, she knew nothing but that she had just been dishonoured. One more time. By a different man.
Once again, she had not done anything against it. Again, she had made the wrong decision. And walked in silence back to the cottage, she called home. Thinking about painless eyes who had just stared at her.
* * *
Aioria walked silently to his Temple, still thinking about everything that had happened to him that evening. From the reveries to ending up on the roof of Leo, to going to the river behind the sacred place. That and the sight of Shaina. He smiled sorrowfully. Once, he had held her against him and had not paid attention to that. Then later—he could remember the warmth he had felt after that. Aioria brought his hand to his chest, right on his heart, feeling it beat quickly. He felt the warmth again. Knowing what he had been accepting and denying for many a week now.
When he arrived at his place, everything changed. Marine was there, waiting for him. The man did not know what to make out of it. Many a day had passed since the last time they had talked. The battles had just ended, they had been the ones still standing in the place and he had spent all his time alone, for Seiya was not his company either. When Aioria saw her, he sighed heavily. She was the last person he had expected to see that night, for among all the people, she was not the one he wanted to be with.
"Good evening, Aioria." Yet her voice was as sweet and strong as always. Bringing to him, memories of what had once been, and of what would never be again.
Her voice sounded so soft that for a second, he wished that voice was not hers—but another woman's. Leo came closer to her and smiled faintly. "Evening, Marine." He answered.
He could feel the fluctuation in Marine's cosmos, as if it were somewhat trying to reach his. Aioria's cosmos on the other hand, was trying to avoid any sort of contact.
Go, please, Aioria's soul screamed. He simply did not want to see her. Maybe another time, or the next day, it did not really matter. All he wanted was a little time on his own, in which he could hide and lick his own wounds peacefully, until he found some sort of explanation for what was unexplainable. His feelings had a name, one he was not afraid to say. One which even had a shape, for which he had just seen and had just fallen into worship.
Suddenly, the entrance to his Temple became an unbearable place. The air turned heavy and he could not stand the sight of Marine. It was not the woman herself, it was him what was wrong—
It was him who was not ready to spend his time with Marine and he was unprepared for the woman's actions. Aioria was observing everything as if in slow motion. Marine had put her hand on the mask and was removing it from her face. The man could not even react as Marine approached him, wrapping her arms around his neck. Or when her lips moved so close to his that they touched, sending vibrations all through his body. His conundrum began—once again—when those same vibrations faded away as the lips detached from his.
Aioria held to his memories. To those times in which all he had wanted had been the woman he was just holding in his arms. When all he could think about was Athena, and his brother and Seiya. Things were too different now—so different, they made him wonder why he was still embracing her despite his own feelings.
Aioria looked at her, taking her face in his hands. His thumbs were moving on the skin, touching and caressing how soft it was. The complexion so perfect, as if carved in marble. He could see Marine sighing and smiling swiftly, while moving her soft face against the strong hands that held it. Leo had never seen her face, until that evening, and all he was able to do, was trying to remember the times when he would seek her company, or when he looked at her from afar and she was training Seiya.
He breathed once again when he took a step backwards to contemplate those eyes he had so longed for. "They're not green." Aioria said painfully. The man just moved forward enough as to leave his forehead rest on hers, knowing he did not have the words to explain himself. "Kill me, Marine," Aioria pleaded.
Still bewildered by his words, Marine looked at him.
"Kill me, please," he repeated, holding her tight by her arms. Guilt running through his veins as poison. "Kill me for I am not worthy of you and I cannot love you".
Marine clung to his arm, making him move forward to her again. She was afraid of what he was saying. The woman gasped, trying to recover. When she had come to him that night that was not what she had expected. After many a day and night spent reflecting on her meditation, Eagle had decided to give to him the sight of her face for the first time. She had even thought she might spend the evening at the Leo's temple to finally call it her house, as Aioria used to tell her it was. "Aioria…"
"Forgive me, Marine" The man walked away from her not being really prepared to face her, leaving her there standing in the middle of the place. "They're not green." He repeated while finding his way inside Leo. Hazel eyes for the Eagle's Amazon, not green. Hazel.
Aioria walked inside his temple and closed the door behind him. His breathing was too irregular. He could not face her. The man could not see her eyes again. Yet, he felt he had wronged her once again, for he had ditched her as if she were worthless of an explanation. One he could not give.
Marine's eyes were all he could think of. Shaina's eyes were part of his thoughts as well. He had seen them the same evening. They had shown something different to him. So much calmness in Marine's, such impetuosity in Shaina's.
Marine's eyes did not show any pain. They were tranquil, like the sea in the mornings, just as it was when he trained near it. Beautiful, even wise eyes, but empty. Lifeless. He needed more, that much he knew. The time for his passivity and lack of inspiration was gone. Aioria had seen the fire burning in Shaina's green eyes, and wanted that fire to burn him. To purify him.
Aioria changed his clothes, wearing some sports pants only. He went to his kitchen and prepared some coffee. This time it was the best, it always helped him sleep. Leo just hoped it was the same that night. Even though the memories of their little encounter in the river began to make him feel differently.
Marine however, stayed there, watching his silhouette disappear in the deep blackness of the hall. Not even the moon lit the place. Still in disbelief, Eagle waited for something. Anything that would tell her what had happened to that she had thought hers once. Why was Aioria cleaving her spirit as if it meant nothing? Was she so contemptuous that she did not deserve a talk on the matter? She waited for him, but he never turned to look at her. Not even once.
* * *
The broken mirror returned an image she did not know. The image of a woman she thought a stranger. Shaina had been sitting on her bed, realising her own state and how absurd it all seemed.
The woman stretched her hand, almost touching her reflection in the mirror. "An angel?" she whispered uncertain of everything, even of herself. How could an 'angel' like her be so lethal? She knew herself too well as to believe she could actually be a good person, and she needed to understand that 'angel' in her. Seiya had mentioned it, and now Aioria. So what had Seiya told Aioria that he had said those words? Little by little, the desire to know had started to grow within and yet, she could not find a reason.
Shaina needed to find it, so she would not lose her sanity. So many a thing she had in her mind. So many a thought the woman could not understand. The Amazon wanted to find her soul, even if it were by looking deep into her own eyes. The eyes are the mirror of the soul, she remembered. Then repeated it, finding it astonishingly useless.
Shaina could not see beyond her self. She could not fathom the reasons destiny had had to make her fit in such an unexpected place as Sanctuary was. An urge to go away from the sacred land. The necessity of looking for a past she knew was not hers anymore, began to grow and to become her only thought. Shame and revenge. Shame and love had suddenly become her soul and doom. What was she to do? She wondered. She had not done anything when Seiya had seen her face. She had simply remained with the pain and the dishonour in her heart and had meant to kill him. Despite the fact that she had harboured those feelings within, she had tried to kill him.
However, when it had been Aioria who had seen her face—Ophiuchus took her mask once again, desperate about leaving her cottage. Many an hour had passed since she was back and she started to walk, heading to the Twelve Temples. Flaring her cosmos as a sign of respect towards the Guardians of the Zodiac. All of them, the survivors of the battles, allowed her to pass through their places. As she passed through each temple, she could feel the energies of each saint, touching her soul, making her feel as a true inhabitant of the place. Maybe it was gratitude for her deeds during the battles, she was not sure of that. Nevertheless, the woman kept for herself the feeling of the Fifth Temple's Guardian's cosmos touching hers. Aioria's cosmos made her doubt about what she had decided. That had never happened to her with Seiya. It was a feeling Shaina did not like whatsoever. She had already doubted everything she knew before seeing him that night. Now, she knew there was no turning back. Her final decision had been made.
Shaina walked all the way up the steps and into the Pope's Temple and flared her cosmos there. And she walked to the centre of the little space where the Pope's audience room was. The statue on top of the Zodiac Houses and before the Pope's and Athena's temple, was imposing. It was strange to think that the Goddess they all worshiped was the same pettite woman they could all see every day. The marble of the place was somewhat scary. Years of tradition and history had passed and yet it remained untouched. So different from the image the world outside had of it. Ruins here and there, people had always said, however, what Shaina contemplated before her, were the stones which had silently witnessed Athena's and her Saints' legacy.
Her feet pressing the hard ground and the clanking of her shoes on the marble, were the only sounds accompanying her.
The Saint had Ophiuchus hanging on her shoulders, and in an uncanny manner, it felt as if it did not weigh an ounce. The weight of heart, however, was too much. In the past hours, her life had been turned head to heels and for the first time in it, Shaina felt she had no control over herself. Though it was not dawn yet, she was determined to end all that situation immediately, for it was all nothing but troublesome.
Shaina made her cosmos shine. The woman could see around her, the flickering lightening mixed with the purple energy emanating from her ken. It was bright and menacing, yet, it intended no harm. Her senses were all awakened. After not having slept at all that night, and her uncontrolled feelings, she felt she needed to warn everyone around her that she was not at ease.
In fact, it was Athena whom she was calling. The Goddess' chamber was in the back of the Pope's temple and Shaina knew she was to answer to her call anytime soon. She needed to talk to Athena desperately, for she was the only one who could help her do something to solve the puzzle her life had become. Athena had been soundly sleeping. The Goddess had grown to love Sanctuary in a manner she had not believed possible. It had been after spending some time there, that she had learnt Sanctuary and her were one and the same. It had been her godly energy, along with the energies of the Saints that had maintained the place alive for many a millennia.
However, the core of the place was still her. Sanctuary spoke to her clearly, whether she was awake or asleep, and she had also been learning how to listen to it. For that reason, when Shaina stood so near her and let her know she was there, Athena was already waiting. The Goddess could sense in the woman's cosmos what others could not. It saddened her, though, to know that that time of peace had meant nothing to Shaina. She ran and crossed her chamber and entered the place to meet her Korê. "Shaina? What are you doing here at this time? She asked appearing unknowledgeable to her being there. Yet, seeing Ophiuchus made her fear the worst for it was something that took her aback. Feeling terribly awkward at the graveness in Shaina's attitude.
The Amazon was waiting for her outside the Pope's Temple, in the small square-like place where Saga had once faced Athena and had ultimately died. She dared not go any further, which let her see how dark that night was. Shaina froze for an instant. Athena's statue seemed to be looking down at her, as if in a protective kind of way. For a second, Shaina felt overwhelmed at her stay in Sanctuary. At her toughness and endurance. At all the things she had had to go through just to prove herself worthy of her Goddess and become a Silver Saint. The temples stood below where she was standing herself. The scenery before her, reminded her of all the blood she had shed, though it had all happened in the twisted way she had behaved in the past. All the times she had interfered just to make of Sanctuary a better place. Behind her, however, was the Pope's chamber and behind it, the chamber of the Goddess. She knew Athena was there—and that so was Seiya. When Shaina heard the steps approaching, she turned and knelt. The woman then stood and came toward Athena, leaving the box on the ground between them.
"I can't stay. I'm not worthy of you, or Ophiuchus." Her voice sounded wounded, broken. It also sounded secure and determined. Athena knew she should have prevented something like that. She had been too immersed in her own affairs and those of her close ones, that she had really not paid attention to the others around them
Athena also knew she had ditched Shaina on purpose. That was her hidden sin. It had not mattered to her what service the Amazon had given her. Athena had simply acted in shameless jealousy and was now desperately attempting to amend her wrongdoing.
"Shaina, you cannot leave. Sanctuary is your place…"
"It's not!" Shaina responded disrespectfully interrupting Athena who had walked closer to her. Athena touched the mask; her own cosmos had begun to shine some instants before. The Goddess knew. That mask had been changed many a time already. It had been broken, violated, tainted, and she looked through the cold metal, to reach Shaina and know better. Athena finally removed the woman's mask, revealing her face to her one more time. It was the first time she truly looked at Shaina. Never before had she even tried to do so, and inside, the Goddess felt she had failed.
In the ancient times, the mask was a way of protecting her female warriors from men. Many a person had always believed Athena wanted them to forget of who they were, and hide their femininity, when it was nothing of the like. Athena had always only sought for a way to keep the womanhood secrets away from indiscrete looks and unreliable outsiders. She had always meant to keep them safe, yet at the moment, she was certain of her actions. Whether a God or a human, every being makes decisions that alter their lives. The difference is that a God's decisions only alter others' lives. And it was in the weepy eyes of the Amazon that Athena realised how hurt Shaina was and how much She had been responsible for that.
"Shaina…"
"Let me go, please" Shaina said as if a plea, for being before Athena had only proven her how insignificant she had been and still was near her. In her, Athena saw what a wrong decision could make. She blamed it on the mask. To her, Shaina's conundrum began and ended in the mask. "They've seen my face, and I haven't killed any of them." Shaina had to accept that up to that moment, she had only run from her thoughts and her feelings; accepting them at times to deny them once again at others. Athena understood. Shaina's warrior side was giving some space to the woman in her to come to live and become one with the other.
"Shaina stop, please." Athena saw her, just as a mother would. As a Goddess should. She decided to take the blame and atone for Shaina. It had been her, Athena who had ruined Shaina's possibilities of knowing love and care. It had been her who had taken Seiya away, though there have never actually been anything between them, except for a few fights, but she understood that for Shaina an unrequited love had left deep scars she herself would not know how to heal. She was the one who had imposed the masks on them no matter what the reasons, and he felt the urge to give console to the other, "forgive my actions from the past, my brave Ophiuchus and forgive my humanity, my dearest Shaina."
The Goddess touched her face tenderly, noticing how Shaina's skin was soft and her expression more than beautiful despite that she had prevented herself from crying. Athena wiped away the woman's tears and smiled faintly.
"You're free to go as much as you're free to return."
Shaina's eyes did not hide her surprise, nor did her voice. "Athena…"
"You've earned your place in this Sanctuary. You're my Korê, my warrior, my Ophiuchus." Athena said and Shaina nodded. "Please, don't take it all for granted. You never know what surprises await you."
The Goddess walked silently inside the Pope's temple, leading Shaina behind her. The Chamber of the Armours laid ahead, right behind the Pope's throne. Every armour should be there when their Masters where in Sanctuary. It was perhaps where the real power of the placed lived; for every armour still had in it, the remnants of the power and service of their bearers, new and old. On the highest shelves, the Golden Armours were. Six for the fallen Saints. Five for the living ones and Libra's who had sent it there to serve Athena. In the middle shelves, those of the Silver saints. And finally on the bottom shelves, those of the Bronze Saints.
Shaina grinned. She had never wanted Ophiuchus to be there, no mattered if she was in Sanctuary. The woman left her armour in the place marked by the caduceus. Ophiuchus was to stay there until she returned since it was the best place for it. Then, she knelt before her Goddess again and walked out of the Temple.
Seiya had sensed Shaina's cosmos and had stayed in the back of the place, waiting just in case Athena needed him. He had always known about Shaina's feelings toward him and thought that something related to that was happening between them. That night Shaina was showing Athena her face. It struck him to realise how different it was from the last time he had seen it. To him, Shaina seemed hurt. Seiya remained in the back of the place. It was not until he sensed Shaina's leaving that he finally came into the room and hugged Athena, putting his chin in the space between her neck and her shoulders. "Is everything ok?" He finally asked expecting Athena to tell him something.
"It is my love." Athena responded, showing she did not wish to speak about the matter, "Let's go back to sleep, we still have some hours ahead."
He smiled at her and held her hand, walking back with her into their chamber.