1 CHAPTER SIX
Mina entered the shrine of the Venusian Goddess, Aphrodite. She'd snuck away from the ship just after they'd landed. Since Amy had put up such a fight about going to Venus in the first place, Mina had decided that she couldn't tell her friend her plans at all. Besides, this was something that Mina felt she needed to deal with on her own.
She walked quietly to the alter, careful not to make any unnecessary sounds. She knelt before the alter, bowing her head once in homage. "Goddess of Venus, hear my plea. Aid your servant in her time of peril." She let the symbol of Venus shine from her forehead, hoping the goddess would see and come to her. She closed her eyes and waited.
"Come, child. Everything is not as bad as it seems." Mina looked up into the caring face of the goddess of love. The goddess wiped a tear away from Mina's cheek. "Tell me what you need, and I will see if I can help you."
Mina bowed her head again. "I have not been worthy of my position," she said quietly. "I need for you to find someone else to hold the throne of Venus."
The goddess nodded slightly to herself. "First tell me why you think you're not worthy," she said kindly.
"I've disgraced the house of Venus. I abandoned my people when they needed me most, and I abandoned my parents. They're lying dead because of me. Even worse, I'm not sure that they are dead."
The goddess' face filled with compassion. "You're talking about the Cassenian blossom that your father holds even now. He, and the blossom, wait for you in the tombs."
Mina's face paled with shock. "You knew?! You knew that they were still alive, and you did nothing?! How can you call yourself a goddess when you ignore the fact that one of your own descendants has been buried alive for the past decade and a half?!"
The goddess ignored her rantings. "I know what happened, of course I do. I also know that there was a reason for what happened to your parents, and to you."
Mina forced her body to stop shaking. "What reason could there possibly be for what happened?"
The goddess folded the girl into her arms. "You were a child. You couldn't possibly be expected to understand what was going on. All things happen for a reason, even this." Mina wiped another tear from her cheek. "What do I do to save them?"
The goddess looked at though she might weep. "You can't. They've been possessed for far too long. No, don't blame yourself," she said as Mina's body jerked in fear. "Even if you had done something that night, it would still have been too late. This particular blossom was too powerful. You did the only thing that you could have at the time."
Mina pulled away. "Even if I can't save them, I can still release them from their prison. I have to try." The goddess nodded again, then held out her hand. A shining sword made of the purest crystal appeared in her hand. "You recognize the Imperial Venusian sword, of course? You should; you were meant to carry it from the first, you know. It was always yours for the taking."
Mina held out a shaking hand and took the sword. "I could never bear to touch it. To me, the sword always belonged to my mother. It brings back too many memories. I watched my mother kill my father with it. I watched as she killed herself with it. But now I don't have any choice, do I?" She glanced up at the goddess, but she was gone, having left Mina alone with the glowing sword. Mina turned and exited from the shrine. She knew what she had to do now. She walked to the edge of the cliff upon which the shrine rested. She knew what she had to do now, and no one was going to stop her.
"What do you mean, 'she's gone'? Where did she go?" shouted the usually quiet Amy at the captain of the ship. The captain cowered, shaken by this new, aggressive Amy. "I don't know, ma'am. She said something about talking to the goddess. Then she left. That's all I know, I swear!"
Amy swore, shocking them further. "We have to find her, now, before she does something stupid."
Malachite was the only one brave enough to face the furious princess. He took her by the shoulders, turning her around to face him. "We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong," he said urgently.
Amy closed her eyes for a moment. "Mina said that she was going to talk to her mother. She can't. Her mother was murdered over fifteen years ago."
"How?" asked Zoicite. Amy shook her head. "Nobody knows. "The king came home from a long trip and immediately closeted himself with the queen. He ordered everyone out of the entire palace. No one came back until the next morning, when it was too late, and nobody realized until the next morning that Mina had snuck into the palace against her father's orders."
"And what happened when everyone came back?" Malachite was getting more and more impatient. He sensed that time was running out for Mina.
"The guards found Mina huddled in the shrine just outside of the palace grounds. She was covered in her parents' blood, and she couldn't speak. Her parents weren't anywhere to be found. No one ever saw them again. It was about a week later when Mina finally started speaking again. All she would say was that her parents were dead, and that she'd buried them herself. Queen Selenity tried to get more out of her, but she just wouldn't talk. Selenity searched everywhere for her sister, but they never found a trace of her. Mina hasn't spoken of it to this day."
Malachite closed his eyes in silent sympathy for Mina. "How old was she?" he asked. "Mina was five. I didn't really know her all that well at the time, but I remember hearing how she had nightmares every night for years. I think that she still has them, but she's old enough now to hide it."
Oh, Mina. That explains why you could never sleep. You read to get away from the nightmares. What have I done?
They raced to the shrine, hoping to catch Mina before she disappeared entirely. Just as they came to the base of the cliff, they saw Mina standing at the edge looking down into the water.
She jumped, diving head first towards the rocks below. Amy screamed, and Malachite very nearly did the same.
"Calm yourselves, children." Malachite could hear a voice, but he couldn't see its owner. It seemed to echo from the very air around them. "Look again."
He squinted at Mina's falling body, and then gasped at what he saw. "She has wings!" Indeed, she did have wings, long graceful ones with golden feathers. They folded around her body, and then abruptly flared out. Mina's descent onto the rocks suddenly halted, and her body angled off into the horizon. With just a few powerful beats of those magical wings, Mina disappeared into the fading sun.
"Go back to Selenity, children. Mina will find her own way, terrible though it will be. You must wait for her there." The voice was gone, and Amy started walking slowly back to the ship. Zoicite ran to catch up with her. "Wait, Amy! Who was that?"
"That," said Amy as she walked away, "was the goddess of Venus."
Mina entered the shrine of the Venusian Goddess, Aphrodite. She'd snuck away from the ship just after they'd landed. Since Amy had put up such a fight about going to Venus in the first place, Mina had decided that she couldn't tell her friend her plans at all. Besides, this was something that Mina felt she needed to deal with on her own.
She walked quietly to the alter, careful not to make any unnecessary sounds. She knelt before the alter, bowing her head once in homage. "Goddess of Venus, hear my plea. Aid your servant in her time of peril." She let the symbol of Venus shine from her forehead, hoping the goddess would see and come to her. She closed her eyes and waited.
"Come, child. Everything is not as bad as it seems." Mina looked up into the caring face of the goddess of love. The goddess wiped a tear away from Mina's cheek. "Tell me what you need, and I will see if I can help you."
Mina bowed her head again. "I have not been worthy of my position," she said quietly. "I need for you to find someone else to hold the throne of Venus."
The goddess nodded slightly to herself. "First tell me why you think you're not worthy," she said kindly.
"I've disgraced the house of Venus. I abandoned my people when they needed me most, and I abandoned my parents. They're lying dead because of me. Even worse, I'm not sure that they are dead."
The goddess' face filled with compassion. "You're talking about the Cassenian blossom that your father holds even now. He, and the blossom, wait for you in the tombs."
Mina's face paled with shock. "You knew?! You knew that they were still alive, and you did nothing?! How can you call yourself a goddess when you ignore the fact that one of your own descendants has been buried alive for the past decade and a half?!"
The goddess ignored her rantings. "I know what happened, of course I do. I also know that there was a reason for what happened to your parents, and to you."
Mina forced her body to stop shaking. "What reason could there possibly be for what happened?"
The goddess folded the girl into her arms. "You were a child. You couldn't possibly be expected to understand what was going on. All things happen for a reason, even this." Mina wiped another tear from her cheek. "What do I do to save them?"
The goddess looked at though she might weep. "You can't. They've been possessed for far too long. No, don't blame yourself," she said as Mina's body jerked in fear. "Even if you had done something that night, it would still have been too late. This particular blossom was too powerful. You did the only thing that you could have at the time."
Mina pulled away. "Even if I can't save them, I can still release them from their prison. I have to try." The goddess nodded again, then held out her hand. A shining sword made of the purest crystal appeared in her hand. "You recognize the Imperial Venusian sword, of course? You should; you were meant to carry it from the first, you know. It was always yours for the taking."
Mina held out a shaking hand and took the sword. "I could never bear to touch it. To me, the sword always belonged to my mother. It brings back too many memories. I watched my mother kill my father with it. I watched as she killed herself with it. But now I don't have any choice, do I?" She glanced up at the goddess, but she was gone, having left Mina alone with the glowing sword. Mina turned and exited from the shrine. She knew what she had to do now. She walked to the edge of the cliff upon which the shrine rested. She knew what she had to do now, and no one was going to stop her.
"What do you mean, 'she's gone'? Where did she go?" shouted the usually quiet Amy at the captain of the ship. The captain cowered, shaken by this new, aggressive Amy. "I don't know, ma'am. She said something about talking to the goddess. Then she left. That's all I know, I swear!"
Amy swore, shocking them further. "We have to find her, now, before she does something stupid."
Malachite was the only one brave enough to face the furious princess. He took her by the shoulders, turning her around to face him. "We can't help you if you don't tell us what's wrong," he said urgently.
Amy closed her eyes for a moment. "Mina said that she was going to talk to her mother. She can't. Her mother was murdered over fifteen years ago."
"How?" asked Zoicite. Amy shook her head. "Nobody knows. "The king came home from a long trip and immediately closeted himself with the queen. He ordered everyone out of the entire palace. No one came back until the next morning, when it was too late, and nobody realized until the next morning that Mina had snuck into the palace against her father's orders."
"And what happened when everyone came back?" Malachite was getting more and more impatient. He sensed that time was running out for Mina.
"The guards found Mina huddled in the shrine just outside of the palace grounds. She was covered in her parents' blood, and she couldn't speak. Her parents weren't anywhere to be found. No one ever saw them again. It was about a week later when Mina finally started speaking again. All she would say was that her parents were dead, and that she'd buried them herself. Queen Selenity tried to get more out of her, but she just wouldn't talk. Selenity searched everywhere for her sister, but they never found a trace of her. Mina hasn't spoken of it to this day."
Malachite closed his eyes in silent sympathy for Mina. "How old was she?" he asked. "Mina was five. I didn't really know her all that well at the time, but I remember hearing how she had nightmares every night for years. I think that she still has them, but she's old enough now to hide it."
Oh, Mina. That explains why you could never sleep. You read to get away from the nightmares. What have I done?
They raced to the shrine, hoping to catch Mina before she disappeared entirely. Just as they came to the base of the cliff, they saw Mina standing at the edge looking down into the water.
She jumped, diving head first towards the rocks below. Amy screamed, and Malachite very nearly did the same.
"Calm yourselves, children." Malachite could hear a voice, but he couldn't see its owner. It seemed to echo from the very air around them. "Look again."
He squinted at Mina's falling body, and then gasped at what he saw. "She has wings!" Indeed, she did have wings, long graceful ones with golden feathers. They folded around her body, and then abruptly flared out. Mina's descent onto the rocks suddenly halted, and her body angled off into the horizon. With just a few powerful beats of those magical wings, Mina disappeared into the fading sun.
"Go back to Selenity, children. Mina will find her own way, terrible though it will be. You must wait for her there." The voice was gone, and Amy started walking slowly back to the ship. Zoicite ran to catch up with her. "Wait, Amy! Who was that?"
"That," said Amy as she walked away, "was the goddess of Venus."