"Marq, someone's at the door for you!" Aunt Celeste's voice drifted up to her room--which was actually surprising since the house was huge.
Marquette stood up and made her way down what she called the "Grand Staircase". It reminded her of fancy staircases made back in days long since past, where privileged young ladies made their debuts to rich and important friends. She was privileged now, but instead of in the past it was on the sunny beaches of California. Yet, for some reason that she couldn't even understand sometimes, she'd give it all up to spend one night in a tomb in the pyramids of Egypt.
Celeste was some sort of a big shot Hollywood producer, making a lot of money. She was her late father's sister, and now her guardian. She looked a lot like Marquette, too, with her shoulder length honey blonde hair and stone gray eyes. They even had the same face structure. For all purposes, Marquette could pass as Celeste's daughter if she wanted to.
Serena looked up the staircase at Marquette and smiled. "Hey. I wanted to know if you'd like to hang out with me and my friends for a little bit. They're dying to meet you."
"Um..." Marquette glanced down at her poorly dressed self. She was wearing baggy, gray sweatpants and a large black shirt. Her hair was down, and the ends curled and clung to her waist.
"You look fine," Serena said, seeming to read her mind. "Come on."
Easy for you to say, Marquette thought, glancing at Serena's black skirt and blue tank top.
Serena gave her a strange look, but continued to stand in the doorway, waiting for her to hurry up and come down the rest of the stairs. Marquette glanced at her aunt.
"Go on, Marq. It'll be good for you," Aunt Celeste gently pushed. Marq knew her aunt wanted her to be happy again.
Sighing, Marq reluctantly came down the rest of the way and slipped on her sneakers as she followed Serena out. A car sat in her driveway, occupied by four other girls.
Will we all be able to fit in that car?
"We'll fit, don't worry."
She looked at Serena sharply. "How did you know what I was thinking?"
Serena didn't answer her, but opened the car door for her instead. She slipped in next to three of the girls. Luckily--and amazingly--they all fit. Serena slipped into the passenger seat.
"I'm Vanessa," the blonde next to her introduced. "This is Catty." Brunette. "And Tianna." Exotic.
"I'm Jimena." The voice came from the driver's seat. Jimena was Hispanic, and she looked tough, but with a soft, nurturing voice. Marquette liked those qualities mixed together.
"Marquette," she stated simply.
After that, it happened so quickly. Jimena drove off, and the silence became strange. Suddenly, Serena turned in her seat, staring at Marquette hard.
"Marq, do you have an amulet like this?" Serena held up the moon amulet that hung from around her neck. Marq's gray eyes moved over the girls in the backseat with her. Same amulet. Just like hers.
"Where did you guys get them?" She finally asked, finding this all strange, and she was very used to strange.
"Tu es dea, filia lunae," Catty said, her voice soft.
"You are a goddess, a Daughter of the Moon," Marquette repeated in English. She actually knew and understood Latin?! Well, that was a new trick...
"Jimena, what do you think?" Vanessa asked.
"She's not evil. Besides, wouldn't your amulets glow if she was?"
Marquette sat back, confused. "Um...What are you guys talking about?"
Tianna leaned forward, her dark eyes catching the girl's face. "You are a goddess, Marq. A Daughter of Selene."
Marquette really had no idea what to say. "You mean the Greek goddess?"
"Yes," Serena replied, taking over from where Tianna left off. "Do you know the story of Pandora?"
"Of course," she replied with a tone that said, Who doesn't? "She opened a box and let all the evils out into the world. The last thing to escape was a glimmer of hope."
"But, what no one knows is that the evil has a name. The Atrox. Selene saw it slither out into the night, and so sent down her daughters to protect humanity," Tianna explained, picking up. Marquette smiled slightly at their chain of story telling.
"You're telling me that I'm Selene's daughter?" Marquette asked, her voice holding a hint of amusement and disbelief.
"Yes. That amulet is our heritage. You've had it since birth, haven't you?" Vanessa asked.
Marquette leaned back against the seat again, closing her eyes, not sure what to believe. A goddess. If she was such a goddess, how come her parents were killed? Wasn't there something she could have done to prevent this?
"I'm sorry about your parents, but maybe the accident happened so that you could be united with us," Serena murmured softly, her voice laced with sympathy.
"How... You can read minds." It was a simple statement. No exclamatories, no questions.
"That's my power. We all have powers, Marquette. Even you."
She blinked. A power? She had a power. Her shapeshifting, maybe? "I can shapeshift. Animals mostly, but I could do people." She lifted up the thick strip of white hair framing her face. "I got this when I copied my mom. The grays are from the animals."
"A shapeshifter..." Catty murmured.
"So, a goddess." Marquette laughed, not out of disbelief, but out of fear. Fear of this responsibility, of more lives relying on her...
"Haven't you ever had strange dreams?" Catty asked curiously, nudging Marq.
Marquette bit her bottom lip. Of course she had strange dreams. She had been having them since she was twelve, three years ago. No one was supposed to know about him. He had told her she was the only one he visited. Strange how she suddenly felt jealous of that.
"We all had dreams of our mother, Selene," Vanessa said. "All except for me."
"I've never dreamt of Selene." She took a thick handful of hair, running her hand through it. This was some seriously heavy shit.
"I wish you could have met Maggie. She knew this stuff better than we do, and could explain it easier," Tianna told her.
She stared forward at the back of Jimena's head. She wondered as to why she had remained quiet the entire time. "Can I...Jimena, could you take me home? I really need to think on this." Marquette informed the other girls.
"You can talk to us whenever you need to. It's okay. We're sisters now, friends," Catty said, a smile on her face.
Marquette smiled weakly at her. "I'm not even here, at your school, for three days, and I already have more friends than I had in the previous fourteen years."
"Marq," Vanessa said," don't take too long. We haven't talked to you about the Atrox yet."
"Don't worry. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school. Just meet me by my locker, and do what you must, I suppose."
Serena and the other girls passed her their number just in case there was some emergency when Jimena pulled back into her driveway. Marq got out and smiled at them. Despite the crazy story, she actually believed them. There was something that drew her to them, and she knew they weren't lying. She just wanted to know what would happen to her life now.