This is a short little story about Diana that describes her internal struggle with her past and the people who wronged her. My apologies in advance for any grammatical errors.
Dedicated to Anna, who loves Diana more than anyone ever will :3
Enjoy!
Diana glided through the woods with her scythe in hand, dragging slightly over the grass. As the blade nicked the ground, it left behind a shallow line in the dark soil. Its weathered hilt fit perfectly in between her fingers, feeling more natural than anything she had ever known. The small, metallic noise it made comforted her, making her feel as if she was standing underneath the white light of the Moon. As she drew closer, familiar sounds and scents filled her nose making her stiffen. Carefully, she dropped low to the ground as her destination approached her, growing closer and closer every second. Her eyes burned as she scanned the stone walls that lay scattered in front of her, desolate and cold.
She had not been back to this place sense the Moon had chosen her. This had been where she had slaughtered the Solari elders, and from what she could see, the place was still covered in their blood. Her heart raced as the memories rushed back to her. She had never wanted to be so vicious, but after what they had done to her, she was overtaken by rage. But in her favor, the moon had given her more power than she could have ever dreamed.
Yet ever sense that day, something had been calling her back to this once sacred place. It felt like a lifetime ago, but she wanted to walk in the temple where she had been transformed into the woman had become. Anger ebbed inside her as she sighed and stood, seeing that the place was deserted. Moving branches out of her way, Diana laid her blades over her shoulder and walked towards her destination. It was eerily quiet as her feet hit the stone and caused an echo off the half collapsed ceiling. Sunlight fluttered in through the cracks, illuminating the entry way. Small dust particles swirled in front of her as she looked around, noticing the overgrowth of vegetation that covered the floors and walls.
Ahead of her stood the grand statue of the Sun Goddess with its head bowed, hands apart facing the sky. Her face was dark and cracked, the stone she had been erected from now crumbled and was stained from rainfall. Diana chuckled to herself as she walked up to it, placing her hand on its foot, she looked up at its eyes which were discolored with stains running down the cheeks. It looked as if it was crying, blinded by the events that transpired in front of her. She and Diana were not so different. She stared upward for a few heartbeats more before she turned, letting her fingertips slide off of the cold stone back to her side.
As she turned the words that had been spoken burned in her ears like fire, "Heretic. Traitor." Rage welled inside of her causing her grip to tighten on the scythe, but something rustled in the distance, snapping her back to reality. Instantly she readied herself to fight, but after she looked ahead to see what the noise was, her heart stopped. She glided across the stone floor to inspect what she thought she would never see again. Off in the distance, walking along a disheveled stone path was a woman, adorned in red robes.
Diana let out a small gasp and dropped behind the wall. She held her breath as she looked up towards the ceiling, remembering how the moon had shattered it effortlessly. It was like a dream, and for a moment, Diana wondered if it had been real. She closed her eyes and listened as the sound footsteps drew closer and closer. Diana moved fluidly from her hiding spot towards a fallen pillar, crouching once again so she would not be seen. She watched as the woman stepped into the light, and suddenly Diana felt sick.
It was Leona, the chosen of the Sun. She was draped in a thick red tunic entwined with gold accents rippled along the sides, glimmering in the soft light. Her auburn hair was pulled back by golden clips so that it fell evenly over her shoulders, just like the Goddess. Her feet were covered in golden wrap that traced all the way up her calves. They too seemed to glow under the light of the sun. Diana readied herself to strike, but before she moved, she noticed the Solari warrior had something in her hand.
It was a bundle of herbs and wildflowers that looked freshly picked. Leona walked towards the statue, Diana watched as she mumbled something softly to herself, knelt, and finally placed them at the bottom. She did not know how she had missed it, but below the statue was the decaying remnants of other flora. Suddenly, Diana felt the way she had that night. Betrayal, sorrow and anger began to well inside her as she stood, ready to strike down the woman she had once respected so much. But she was careless in her decisions because as she stood, she knocked over a pile of rubble which fell to the ground with a bang. Leona stood and threw her head over her shoulder. Her eyes widened in shock as she grabbed the sword that hung from her belt. "Diana?" she breathed.
Diana bit her tongue, not bothering to respond. Memories came flooding back to her as she leapt off of the pillar towards her target. Leona pulled the sword from its sheath as the white haired woman soared through the air. She had admired Leona more than anyone else, but she had been the one to betray her the most. Their weapons hit with a clash of metal and soon both the women were engaging in a duel. Diana struggled to push through her rage as she battled the maiden she had always strived to be like. But now that she was older, she knew her efforts had been foolish.
"You don't have to do this Diana!" she heard Leona scream as Diana twisted away from her blade, ready to cut her from beneath. But Diana did not listen, she was only focused on the weakest part of her opponent, her exposed neck. Diana had always been treated like a freak, even though she proved her loyalty as a Solari scholar. But no one ever believed in her, they had only believed in Leona. Leona was not the only one who was wise and worthy of respect. Diana had proven herself tenfold to the elders and to her family, but they denied her like a piece of rubbish.
Diana recalled how, after she had been chosen she went to seek council with Leona to tell her of the slaughter of the Lunari. But the woman called her a murderer and sent her away, crushing her beliefs about the respected woman. From that day on, whenever they met in battle, Diana wished she had killed her after that fateful meeting. Diana had never given up easily, the Moon had protected her for as long as she carried the scythe, but somehow her divine blade had never allowed Leona to die. Today will be different, today will be the day I take what was taken from me, she thought as Leona swung her blade at Diana. She dodged the strike by turning her body in the air, bringing her blade down through the air in a counter attack.
Diana's blade was about to break the skin, but somehow Leona dodged and fell to the ground. Diana fell over her, plunging the blade as hard as she could towards Leona's chest. The woman had dropped her sword and hit her head hard off of the stone as Diana went in for her final strike. But as she prepared for the kill, something stopped her. Leona's head lay limply on the ground, blood welling underneath as her arms lay beside her weakly.
Before the scythe made contact with Leona's breast, Diana pulled it away, ramming it into the ground beside her shoulder. She let out a cry as she rolled off of Leona and onto her side. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she watched once again, Leona survive. She hated herself, but she could not finish it. The blade seemed to leave the woman unscathed. Diana kicked Leona's sword out of reach as she pushed herself from the ground and on top of Leona. Diana gripped her tunic in hand and pulled her head off of the ground. Leona whimpered in pain as she was brought to a sitting position, eyes half open. Diana looked her in the eye as she shook her hard, causing Leona to cry out.
"I am not doing this out of pity." She growled as Leona squinted at Diana who then let go of her dress. Leona once again fell to the ground, wincing in pain. Diana stood and looked down at her legendary opponent. "Just know, the next time we meet in battle." Pausing, she bent to pick up her crescent blade, "I will not be so kind." Leona coughed and blood spewed from her mouth, splattering on the bottom of Diana's armor.
Something stirred inside Diana as she watched the other woman lie on the ground, completely helpless. Guilt for attacking a surprised opponent and sorrow for all she had done in her past. She told herself that she hated Leona, but deep inside she knew she would always admire this woman and no matter what happened or would happen, she would walk in her shadow. Reluctantly, Diana gripped her weapon and fled from the temple.
She did not look back as she fled. It was not needed, because once again, the temple had changed her.