Her cloak was as white as the clouds and shone brightly like a halo
when the sun struck it. She rode a horse of the purest white without a
blemish of silver. No one had ever seen her face, never caught a glimpse of
her eyes, but she was there when she was needed with her silvery sword
drawn. The ones who'd been saved by her called her the Moonlight Goddess.
Prince Endymion of the Earth had heard the rumors spreading around his kingdom of this mysterious, "Goddess", but never in his life did he think he would see her. She came from... nowhere riding faster than the wind with her long cloak trail behind her like wings. She unsheathed her sword and as it caught the sun he was temporily blinded.
She pulled her horse to a stop in the road in front of his horse and those of his guards.
"You may not come through," the voice beneath the hood said.
"And why not?"
She held her sword threatingly. "Do you doubt what I say? You'll be in danger if you continue along this path."
"Then what do you propose we do?" He asked her. His mind kept traveling to what might be hidden behind the mask. He studied her sword and saw why she was called the Moonlight Goddess. Embedded in the hilt was a crescent moon made of silver moonstone. Inscripted on it's blade was an ancient Moon language unrecognizable by those who were not royalty or Ancients. It read, "In the Moonlight magic is born."
His mind had strayed off and he'd not heard her answer, but the anger of the guards lingered in the air.
"There is no way we can take the old path!" One guard yelled.
She merely looked away and said, "If you do not take the old path you will not make it to your destination. It is safe and you will make it, but the decision is yours."
She rode off through the forest not stopping to look back.
Watching her go he found himself mesmerized and left in a daze for he had caught a glimpse of her silver hair and had met her deep blue eyes for only a second.
That day they listened to her and took the old path. They found out later that the path they originally planned on taking had been raided by bandits. All those bandits turned themselves in later with a crescent moon shaped cut on their foreheads.
He saw her again two weeks later. A group of bandits had surrounded his horses and outnumbered his knights. She rode swiftly in front of the bandits in drew her sword.
"The Moonlight Goddess!" A bandit whispered harshly.
"She's nothin'," a rather disgusting one said and made his way towards her.
She slid off the horse and held her sword out in front of her. "Are you sure of your own words?"
Four of the twelve bandits fled and she did not go after them. The remaining eight turned their attention towards her. The sniveling group drew their own daggers and got ready for a fight. The first bandit took a stab.
She swung her sword in a full circle and it went through his stone dagger that broke in half.
He looked up at her fearfully and took off with another bandit. It was down to six and they themselves were looking a little frightened considering there was already five knights who dismounted their horses. The bandits finally took off and the Moonlight Goddess swung back onto her horse.
"Where are you going?" Endymion asked.
Her hood turned his way, but she didn't answer. She dug her heels into the horse's side and started for the woods. Before any of the knights could stop him, Endymion started after her on his black horse.
Through the woods they rode, they're horses jumping over the logs spread in front of them. She never looked back, but knew he was following. Her horse twisted through the trees faster than his did.
"Guthyn, Traiu!" she said in the ancient language to it and it rode even faster.
Endymion feared he was losing her and spurred his horse on. She disappeared from sight until he broke through the forest into a valley filled with sunlight and roses. She stood in the middle of the flowers beside her horse. He stopped and dismounted twenty feet away from her.
"What is your purpose for following me?" She asked.
"To learn who you are."
"Who I am doesn't matter. What I do is what's important."
"At least remove your hood," he asked.
She contended with her thoughts for a moment, but brought her hands to her hood. She started to pull it down and stopped. "Why should I show you who I am if you give me nothing in return?"
He sighed, "Because I asked you with only hope and curiousity in my heart."
Inside her mind there was a fight happening. This handsome man had asked of her only a small thing. Couldn't she let him have a glimpse from a distance? She sighed at herself and pulled down her hood.
He gasped. She had silver hair that shone around her face in small ringlets. Her blue eyes seemed to go straight through his soul. Her pale skin did not look unhealthy, but natural and like ivory. She looked vaguely familiar. "Why do you keep your beauty hidden?"
"To keep my identity to myself." She pulled her hood back up and mounted her horse. "Do not follow me."
He watched as she disappeared into the forest.
He issued a reward the next day for information pertaining to the Moonlight Goddess and the reply was astounding.
"She saved me from 'em bandits, she did."
"She's from the Moon I promise ya. It says so on 'er sword. I 'eard 'er talkin' to 'er horse in the ancient language too. Royalty more 'an likely."
"She stays in the North Woods and patrols them. She stops the bandits. Kind of like Robin Hood."
"If you really want to know about her you need to put yourself in some sorta danger. She'll come for sure."
After recieving comments and suggestions from what seemed half the kingdom he decided to try and find her himself. He rode alone deep into the North Woods to parts bandits were famous for and sure enough a group of them appeared.
"Now what der we 'ave 'ere," one of them sneered. "A royal 'ithout 'is knights. Tsk. Tsk."
Endymion drew his sword though he wasn't planning to use it. He got off his horse and faced the eight. They sneered at him. He thought it would be simple, but it wasn't. He'd beat one, but another would come. He began to tire and a look of shock crossed his face when the sharp end of a dagger went through his chest. His eyes grew wide and he fell to the ground.
A white horse galloped through and stopped in front of him. The Moon Goddess dismounted and drew her sword.
"Py vmyt, ire vmy!," she said with poison running through her voice. A grown knight would have fleed for his life. But the bandits, being so dumb, just smiled.
"No fancy language can scare me away," one of them said.
She turned to him and held her sword threatingly. "You die first." She spun around in a circle bringing her sword through his chest. He spat up blood and the rest of them ran, leaving him there to die alone. She sighed and pulled her sword from him. His eyes went blank and his soul left him.
Endymion had been rendered unconscious and saw none of this. The Moonlight Goddess looked down on the beautiful prince. She tore off a peice of her cloak and wrapped it around him.
"It will help for now," she pulled him up onto her horse and sat with her arms around him, a position she didn't mind being in.
Hours later Endymion awoke under the beautiful pale moonlight by a silvery pond that reflected it even better. He felt someone pressing a cold liquid against his chest.
"Ow!" He said making the person jump. It took him moments to register that the person was actually the Moonlight Goddess... without her cloak on. "Wow," he said breathelessly.
She looked down at him with those silvery blue eyes. He couldn't read her expression, but it wasn't a happy one.
"I don't think there is any reason to say, 'Wow' when you almost got yourself killed because you are in love with someone who cannot fall in love."
"Who said I'm in love?" he said blushing slightly. She pressed down on his wound again. "Ow! Do you have to do that?!"
"It depends. Do you want to get an infection? And no one said you were in love, but the look on your face tells me everything I need to know." She continued mumbling in the ancient language, "Ire uny u veot pyntra. Uav u thewmb pyntra hr hneth.
"I know what you're saying and I don't appreciate you calling me stupid."
It was her turn to blush, or so he thought. Her face was actually turning red with anger. She started ranting faster and slurred her words so he couldn't tell what she said. "Thewmb oau! Ire pusy ar prarn!"
She stood up and walked into a round hut. When she came back out she threw a blanket at him.
"Enjoy the outdoors!" She said and went into the hut. She closed the wooden door behind her.
Endymion looked around and wondered if he was ever going to get to sleep. He stood up and realized he was shirtless and his chest was wrapped. He felt the cold night sweep in around him and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. He looked into the pond and was startled at what he saw.
There was not one reflection of himself, but many! One was scowling and wearing all black. Another was wearing a tuxedo and a top hat.. There was one wearing a green jacket and a black shirt with a smug look on his face. Then a man wearing a purple tuxedo that Endymion thought looked rather ugly.
"What is this?" He asked. A voice came from behind him. "It's the Pond of Many Faces. It shows everyside of you. You choose which one you are."
He looked back at the Goddess. "What do you see?"
She sighed and looked down in the water, "A teenage girl with blond hair. She has on a skirt and short sleeved top. Another girl has on a tiara and is holding Queen Serenity's wand. And then there's a woman with the crescent moon on her forehead and a long clingy dress on. There's more. A woman all in dark scowling. She's the evil side of me."
He was amazed. This many people? Him?
"You shouldn't have tried to find out who I was, Endymion. You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like you did."
"And why shouldn't I have?"
"Because," she said and turned to him, "I was always right behind you. You just never looked."
She walked away and left him with his reflections. He fell asleep an hour later. He didn't see her, but she came back out and sat beside the lake. She looked down on the reflections of her future selves and threw a rock down on them. The water rippled and the picture cleared.
"It will happen soon," she said. "Too soon."
A new picture started to appear, but she turned away. She'd watched the destruction too many times. Fallen in love with the reflection of the prince too many times. It would all end the same. No matter what.
Author's Note: Sorry for not writing forever. You know how it goes when school starts. I know this moves really fast, but I'll try and slow down the next chapter. And five points to anyone who can break the code of the Ancient Moon language. Yes, there is one. Oh, yeah review please!
Prince Endymion of the Earth had heard the rumors spreading around his kingdom of this mysterious, "Goddess", but never in his life did he think he would see her. She came from... nowhere riding faster than the wind with her long cloak trail behind her like wings. She unsheathed her sword and as it caught the sun he was temporily blinded.
She pulled her horse to a stop in the road in front of his horse and those of his guards.
"You may not come through," the voice beneath the hood said.
"And why not?"
She held her sword threatingly. "Do you doubt what I say? You'll be in danger if you continue along this path."
"Then what do you propose we do?" He asked her. His mind kept traveling to what might be hidden behind the mask. He studied her sword and saw why she was called the Moonlight Goddess. Embedded in the hilt was a crescent moon made of silver moonstone. Inscripted on it's blade was an ancient Moon language unrecognizable by those who were not royalty or Ancients. It read, "In the Moonlight magic is born."
His mind had strayed off and he'd not heard her answer, but the anger of the guards lingered in the air.
"There is no way we can take the old path!" One guard yelled.
She merely looked away and said, "If you do not take the old path you will not make it to your destination. It is safe and you will make it, but the decision is yours."
She rode off through the forest not stopping to look back.
Watching her go he found himself mesmerized and left in a daze for he had caught a glimpse of her silver hair and had met her deep blue eyes for only a second.
That day they listened to her and took the old path. They found out later that the path they originally planned on taking had been raided by bandits. All those bandits turned themselves in later with a crescent moon shaped cut on their foreheads.
He saw her again two weeks later. A group of bandits had surrounded his horses and outnumbered his knights. She rode swiftly in front of the bandits in drew her sword.
"The Moonlight Goddess!" A bandit whispered harshly.
"She's nothin'," a rather disgusting one said and made his way towards her.
She slid off the horse and held her sword out in front of her. "Are you sure of your own words?"
Four of the twelve bandits fled and she did not go after them. The remaining eight turned their attention towards her. The sniveling group drew their own daggers and got ready for a fight. The first bandit took a stab.
She swung her sword in a full circle and it went through his stone dagger that broke in half.
He looked up at her fearfully and took off with another bandit. It was down to six and they themselves were looking a little frightened considering there was already five knights who dismounted their horses. The bandits finally took off and the Moonlight Goddess swung back onto her horse.
"Where are you going?" Endymion asked.
Her hood turned his way, but she didn't answer. She dug her heels into the horse's side and started for the woods. Before any of the knights could stop him, Endymion started after her on his black horse.
Through the woods they rode, they're horses jumping over the logs spread in front of them. She never looked back, but knew he was following. Her horse twisted through the trees faster than his did.
"Guthyn, Traiu!" she said in the ancient language to it and it rode even faster.
Endymion feared he was losing her and spurred his horse on. She disappeared from sight until he broke through the forest into a valley filled with sunlight and roses. She stood in the middle of the flowers beside her horse. He stopped and dismounted twenty feet away from her.
"What is your purpose for following me?" She asked.
"To learn who you are."
"Who I am doesn't matter. What I do is what's important."
"At least remove your hood," he asked.
She contended with her thoughts for a moment, but brought her hands to her hood. She started to pull it down and stopped. "Why should I show you who I am if you give me nothing in return?"
He sighed, "Because I asked you with only hope and curiousity in my heart."
Inside her mind there was a fight happening. This handsome man had asked of her only a small thing. Couldn't she let him have a glimpse from a distance? She sighed at herself and pulled down her hood.
He gasped. She had silver hair that shone around her face in small ringlets. Her blue eyes seemed to go straight through his soul. Her pale skin did not look unhealthy, but natural and like ivory. She looked vaguely familiar. "Why do you keep your beauty hidden?"
"To keep my identity to myself." She pulled her hood back up and mounted her horse. "Do not follow me."
He watched as she disappeared into the forest.
He issued a reward the next day for information pertaining to the Moonlight Goddess and the reply was astounding.
"She saved me from 'em bandits, she did."
"She's from the Moon I promise ya. It says so on 'er sword. I 'eard 'er talkin' to 'er horse in the ancient language too. Royalty more 'an likely."
"She stays in the North Woods and patrols them. She stops the bandits. Kind of like Robin Hood."
"If you really want to know about her you need to put yourself in some sorta danger. She'll come for sure."
After recieving comments and suggestions from what seemed half the kingdom he decided to try and find her himself. He rode alone deep into the North Woods to parts bandits were famous for and sure enough a group of them appeared.
"Now what der we 'ave 'ere," one of them sneered. "A royal 'ithout 'is knights. Tsk. Tsk."
Endymion drew his sword though he wasn't planning to use it. He got off his horse and faced the eight. They sneered at him. He thought it would be simple, but it wasn't. He'd beat one, but another would come. He began to tire and a look of shock crossed his face when the sharp end of a dagger went through his chest. His eyes grew wide and he fell to the ground.
A white horse galloped through and stopped in front of him. The Moon Goddess dismounted and drew her sword.
"Py vmyt, ire vmy!," she said with poison running through her voice. A grown knight would have fleed for his life. But the bandits, being so dumb, just smiled.
"No fancy language can scare me away," one of them said.
She turned to him and held her sword threatingly. "You die first." She spun around in a circle bringing her sword through his chest. He spat up blood and the rest of them ran, leaving him there to die alone. She sighed and pulled her sword from him. His eyes went blank and his soul left him.
Endymion had been rendered unconscious and saw none of this. The Moonlight Goddess looked down on the beautiful prince. She tore off a peice of her cloak and wrapped it around him.
"It will help for now," she pulled him up onto her horse and sat with her arms around him, a position she didn't mind being in.
Hours later Endymion awoke under the beautiful pale moonlight by a silvery pond that reflected it even better. He felt someone pressing a cold liquid against his chest.
"Ow!" He said making the person jump. It took him moments to register that the person was actually the Moonlight Goddess... without her cloak on. "Wow," he said breathelessly.
She looked down at him with those silvery blue eyes. He couldn't read her expression, but it wasn't a happy one.
"I don't think there is any reason to say, 'Wow' when you almost got yourself killed because you are in love with someone who cannot fall in love."
"Who said I'm in love?" he said blushing slightly. She pressed down on his wound again. "Ow! Do you have to do that?!"
"It depends. Do you want to get an infection? And no one said you were in love, but the look on your face tells me everything I need to know." She continued mumbling in the ancient language, "Ire uny u veot pyntra. Uav u thewmb pyntra hr hneth.
"I know what you're saying and I don't appreciate you calling me stupid."
It was her turn to blush, or so he thought. Her face was actually turning red with anger. She started ranting faster and slurred her words so he couldn't tell what she said. "Thewmb oau! Ire pusy ar prarn!"
She stood up and walked into a round hut. When she came back out she threw a blanket at him.
"Enjoy the outdoors!" She said and went into the hut. She closed the wooden door behind her.
Endymion looked around and wondered if he was ever going to get to sleep. He stood up and realized he was shirtless and his chest was wrapped. He felt the cold night sweep in around him and wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. He looked into the pond and was startled at what he saw.
There was not one reflection of himself, but many! One was scowling and wearing all black. Another was wearing a tuxedo and a top hat.. There was one wearing a green jacket and a black shirt with a smug look on his face. Then a man wearing a purple tuxedo that Endymion thought looked rather ugly.
"What is this?" He asked. A voice came from behind him. "It's the Pond of Many Faces. It shows everyside of you. You choose which one you are."
He looked back at the Goddess. "What do you see?"
She sighed and looked down in the water, "A teenage girl with blond hair. She has on a skirt and short sleeved top. Another girl has on a tiara and is holding Queen Serenity's wand. And then there's a woman with the crescent moon on her forehead and a long clingy dress on. There's more. A woman all in dark scowling. She's the evil side of me."
He was amazed. This many people? Him?
"You shouldn't have tried to find out who I was, Endymion. You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like you did."
"And why shouldn't I have?"
"Because," she said and turned to him, "I was always right behind you. You just never looked."
She walked away and left him with his reflections. He fell asleep an hour later. He didn't see her, but she came back out and sat beside the lake. She looked down on the reflections of her future selves and threw a rock down on them. The water rippled and the picture cleared.
"It will happen soon," she said. "Too soon."
A new picture started to appear, but she turned away. She'd watched the destruction too many times. Fallen in love with the reflection of the prince too many times. It would all end the same. No matter what.
Author's Note: Sorry for not writing forever. You know how it goes when school starts. I know this moves really fast, but I'll try and slow down the next chapter. And five points to anyone who can break the code of the Ancient Moon language. Yes, there is one. Oh, yeah review please!