No good deed…

Luna lay alone in the darkness, her body beaten and broken. Her bones shattered along with her soul. She should be dead, but her heritage somehow kept her heart stubbornly beating. It wouldn't be long though, barring some miracle. She knew she would not be allowed to rejoin her family. Her punishment was incomplete.

Softly, in between tears, she began to sing. The song was an ancient one, sung to her mother the moon. A plea to Selene for light to push back the darkness, to ease the pain, and to beg for comfort. She had never thought to die alone.

She had never thought to die at all. She wished that Sol, at least, had stayed with her, but she'd felt him go as she was falling. Perhaps that was better. He was too gentle, too good to follow her down to death.

When she had first been banished, she couldn't imagine what would be in store. She knew it was going to be long and painful, but hadn't expect to arrive in a body that was already flawed.

She remembered when she first opened her eyes, and her confusion at seeing only darkness. She was beautiful, or so she'd been told. Petite and pale skinned, with flowing hair so blond it was almost white and eyes as clear as crystal. Unfortunately those eyes were useless, she was entirely blind.

Life had certainly not be easy.

She drifted for a while, escaping into her memories.

Sol had simply found her one day and brought hope into her darkness.

hello?

Startled out of her reverie, Luna tilted her head to try and trace the voice. She'd found that since one of her senses was impaired, her other four seemed to have become more sensitive to compensate. She couldn't seem to track this voice though. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere.

"Hello?" She questioned to the room at large. "Is someone there?"

here. Was the firm reply.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in." She sighed. "Can I help you with something?"

She really hadn't heard anyone enter her private room at the shelter, which was odd. She didn't miss much. But she had been distracted, thinking about the fundraiser coming up next week.

She'd been working at the shelter since shortly after her unfortunate arrival. It had been a stroke of luck to find a position with them. They needed a spokesperson that would garner sympathy of the socially elite for their fundraising efforts, and Luna with her petite good looks and intelligence had fit the bill.

They had offered her room, board, and a small salary for her help and It had seemed like a good exchange. Luna had felt pleased that, even in her banishment, she could help out those less fortunate than herself. It was her little act of continued rebellion.

She stretched her senses to see who had come in without knocking, but couldn't find a single presence in the room. Maybe they were standing in the doorway?

She got up from her chair and straightened her second hand suit. Quickly tugging on the lapels of her jacket and smoothing her skirt. Then she walked carefully around her desk to lean casually against the front of it.

She had been here long enough to learn where everything was in her room. So long as the janitor didn't move anything, she could move around in here freely. And meeting people standing up, she'd learned, was safer than sitting down.

"Did you need something?" she tried again.

friend. Came the sad reply.

She suddenly wondered about the age of her visitor. Perhaps one of the children had wandered away from their parents downstairs. It was the dinner hour and a lot of homeless and poverty stricken families were here getting a bite to eat.

She knelt down, toward the door where she thought her visitor must be. She worried about a child roaming around alone. This place was relatively safe but there were dangers, sometimes from the child's own family. Best if they stay here, Luna thought.

Protocol said she should call down to the floor supervisor to find the guardian, but screw protocol. It was clear to her this child needed a friendly ear.

She had nothing but compassion for the youngsters in the shelter, and she'd found that the children tended to be drawn to her. Kneeling seemed to make them less afraid to approach.

nice lady? said the voice.

A small boy, she thought. Sounds about four or five. Usually a child that age would speak in complete sentences, but she'd found that the shelter children tended to be rather reticent and shy, especially with strange adults. She smiled and stretched her arms toward the door, offering the little one a hug.

"It's ok," she encouraged, "I work here. I would never hurt you."

lady Good. There was a short pause, followed by,

lady can Speak?

Luna was confused. The verbal capitals were clearly audible, and she didn't know what the child was talking about. He couldn't know, could he? No, there's no way this sad child was part of her lost world. She held her position, still beckoning gently to him.

help you.

Help me? Luna wondered. But couldn't pursue the thought, as she felt the gentle breeze, that signaled the child running toward her. She braced herself for the impact as she prepared to close her arms around him. But she wasn't prepared for the intense feeling of warmth on her forehead, or the blue light that flared behind her dark eyes before she fell to the floor.

Luna came back to the present with a sharp jolt. She opened her eyes again. It was a futile gesture, she knew, since it was completely black in here. Even if Sol had been around to help her see. The pain had faded somewhat, but she knew that was probably not a good sign. She began to weep quietly again. The gods were so unfair. She'd only been trying to help after all, but it seems that no good deed goes unpunished.