Chapter 18

The Blessing of a Goddess

Consider for a moment what the weather must be like in the Realm of Gods. It was a question mortals often pondered, either seriously, or as an innocent source of childlike amusement. Indeed, there were many parents who posed the question to their young offspring simply to hear their delightfully ingenuous responses. But child or adult, they all seemed to reach the same conclusion: the Realm of Gods was a place where the air was always perfect. Never too warm or cool, it was an unchanging paradise to house their beloved Light Gods.

It may come as a surprise to find that for all that they had never been to the home of the Light Gods, they were only partially incorrect.

The weather was indeed perfect, but it was hardly unchanging. Not every god or goddess shared the same opinion about what weather was perfect. Thus, their realm was so crafted that the scene in a particular location would alter to suit whichever immortal brother or sister happened to walk there at any given time. And because it was now Morganna and Selene who were standing on the balcony of their glittering Athalia Palace, the land they looked over was an endless stretch of pure, silver-white glaciers gleaming beneath a bright black sky peppered with stars. Crisp, cold winds howled over the landscape, bearing on their icy breath a flurry of snowflakes that tumbled over the goddesses and clung in their long, silky hair like spots of lace. Even the hot tears on Selene's silvery cheeks could not withstand the bitter currents. They were shimmering drops of ice before they dripped off her chin.

Morganna happened, then, to fill her immortal lungs abundantly with those freezing breezes, holding them for a moment to feel them crackling within her breast. At last, she expelled the breath in a sigh that seemed to come from the depths of her being, and a fine mist rolled off her wine-red lips.

"It is…as it must be, Selene," she murmured, and for a moment could not open her eyes for ice had gathered on her eyelashes and frozen the lids shut.

Looking on her sweet, plump sister in her sorrow, Selene felt her heart breaking. Leaning over, she kissed the younger goddess' eyelids, and her warm breath melted her tears. She came away with their taste on her lips—like freshest water, pure and sweet, for the Gods of Light do not weep salt as mortals do.

Morganna's eyes, like two amethysts, fluttered open and looked upon the queen of the gods, awaiting her response.

"There must be some other way," Selene insisted.

"If there is, I know it not. And there is no time to search for an alternate solution. The Promise Child is gaining influence, and if we do not act quickly, Serenity will be ripped from her throne, and Sailor Saturn will be lost forever!"

"Sailor Saturn will be ripped from her throne even if you do this! It is what our great father has planned for my Kingdom."

"But Sailor Saturn need not be lost! If she survives, it will mean there is hope for the others! She is your chosen protected, Selene…"

"And you are my own dear little sister!" Selene cried. "And what you propose to pay for my sake is more than I can bear you losing!"

"The loss need not be upon your heart, my beloved sister. I make this choice on my very own. I want to do this for you! I care not what I lose! "

Morganna's impassioned speech was interrupted by a violent fit of coughing. Lowering her eyes with a maiden's modesty, Morganna put a hand to her mouth, turning meekly away so as not to let the queen of the gods see that her cheek was far rosier than it was meant to be. But Selene could not be fooled. She enfolded her sweet sister in her arms, cradling her head against her breast and gently petting her ebony curls until the painful spasms had subsided.

"Poor Morganna," she whispered mournfully. "You seem so mortal to me."

"I am," declared the goddess hoarsely. "That is the way it will work. First, I will lose my immortality, then my life…"

"And then your very existance. You will be nothingness, Morganna!" Selene cried. "Nothingness!"

"But my power will live on," Morganna reminded her, "within Hotaru."

"She'll live a cursed existance," Selene muttered bitterly. "An existance of constant death and rebirth…"

"Like her sister, yes?"

"Yes."

"It is far better for her to live unhappily as Sailor Saturn than at all as the Promise Child. This must be done. For the greater good. I will…"

Her words died on her lips, a feeble cry of anguish dropping off her tongue and into the frigid air. Morganna went limp in Selene's arms, sobbing in her pain, her eyes once more sealed shut by a shine of frozen tears on her soft lashes. Selene pursed her lips, and easily lifted the other goddess into her arms, for weight and other such things that trouble mortals when they care for their own mean nothing to the gods. Selene was quick in bringing Morganna into the palace and laying her upon a soft bed.

"She burns with a fever!" she barked at her brothers and sisters, for she could feel the fiery heat rolling off Morganna's ashen brow. Whispering soothing words to her mewling sister, she brought up a blanket to cover her. Morganna was mortal now, and had to be kept warm. Frowning, she banished the cold from the air with a thought, insuring that her dear one's bed would always be snug.

The other gods and goddesses were quick to leap into action, for Morganna was the youngest of all of them, and very dear in all their hearts. Mizuno, the god of water, moistened a cloth to place upon her brow while Hino, the fire god, took her hand and poured his warmth into her whenever she shivered.

"If she is ill," Lady Neptune murmured, sitting upon the bed with Morganna in her arms, rocking her to comfort her in her pain, "then it means she is mortal."

"Yes," Selene agreed. "It does. She had made up her mind before I knew it. It is sealed now. She is mortal."

"Why this fever, though?" Lady Jupiter demanded. "Why this pain? What purpose does it serve to torment her so?"

"I know not," Selene whispered, tears gathering in her silver eyes. "Perhaps it was standing out in the cold. Mortals cannot do that safely as a goddess can."

This was a lie, and the queen of the gods knew it. There was a strategical reason for Morganna to lose her strength. But even to think it drove a knife through her heart. Pressing a hand to her mouth, Selene sank to her knees in despair. Danu's arms encircled her, and Selene pressed her silver head to the milky breast, grateful to be held like a mortal child desperate for Mother's comfort. The goddesses clung to one another and wept brokenly, unconsciously knowing that there was not a brother or sister in the Realm of Gods whose cheeks did not shine with tears.