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Dawn and Moon Wars

Chapter Nine

Hilde covered her mouth and nose with a hand and locked gazes with Noin. "Magick and the stench of the men lie ahead. A manor, a large one, covered in illusions done by male mages. Wounded soldiers and resting soldiers lie around the manor... Many stand guard... But most have dragged themselves up to listen to what one man says. He speaks to a crowd... A map before him, laid out on a wooden table, and he points out something... Hand me your dagger."

Noin nodded and did so. She could not see the manor since it was hidden away by illusions. However, Hilde could sense magick and see through the illusions... She watched as the blood warrior drew the blade across her skin, not even flinching as dark red blood welled up. Instead she turned her attention toward whatever the illusions hid.

"I can hear him now... He speaks of the wrongs women have committed... He is planning another battle... The map shows paths toward the battle's location... He is rallying his men and..." Her face paled, "The Galaxy Court... He plans to take the Galaxy Court. They will attack the battlements and break through, then fake a retreat... When the women have believed they've won, another troop will rain down on them from the opposite, unguarded side."

"The Galaxy Court..." Captain Noin's eyes narrowed, "They don't have any idea of what's been happening unless someone survived the first battle and ran there... But who would think of doing such a thing?"

"So they must be warned." Hilde whispered back, keeping her eyes on the sight before her. A slow, festering hate growing inside her... Hate for this man that spoke so arrogantly. That had caused so many to lose their lives... And for what? So he could make them slaves... That wasn't what the Mother wished!

"One of us will have to go."

"I'll stay."

"What?!" Noin hissed and Hilde motioned for her to keep her voice low. Just because the Moon and his men weren't heard or seen by most didn't mean they couldn't hear others...

"Captain, no offense, but you can't even see these men! You could walk right into one and not even realize it till a sword is in your gullet. You must warn the Galaxy Court and I will stay here and watch the Moon and his men... If I can I will kill him... But now our mission has changed. We cannot allow another city of the Dawn to fall to him and his men."

Captain Noin swallowed and closed her eyes, "I know... I know..." She placed a hand on Hilde's shoulder and squeezed it, "Stay safe, Hilde... Mother be with you."

"And with you. Now go! They plan to move soon!"

Noin nodded and ran, her feet surprisingly barely making any sound, through the woods.

    *

Midii yawned and stood, her body protesting, begging for more than a few hours of sleep. She stretched and shook her head, trying to rid her muddled mind of its foggy thoughts. She crouched down and studied the trail she'd been following for days now. With Relena's awakening the trail was easier to find. Unlike the Panther, the Reborn Dawn did not hide her path and Midii thanked the Mother for that.

She started walking, praying that maybe today would be the day that she reached Relena and the Panther... But her prayers held no real hope. The last campsite she'd found with signs of the two and the catriffin was days old...

 "Midii! Midii! Wait for me! Please. I don't like the woods..."

The Spy Mistress's head jerked around, but no one stood there... The woods were eerily silent...

 "No! Don't take him away! He's all I have left! Please, Midii! Please!"

"Leave me BE!"

"I don't trust anyone..."

"You trust Cathie."

"Miss Bloom is different."

Midii growled. A twig broke near her. She spun around, but what she saw made her fall to the ground with wide eyes.

"Midii! Midii! Wait for me! Please. I don't like the woods!" A small girl with auburn hair ran after another girl with blond hair that flew behind her as she ran through the lush woods.

"The woods hold life, Cathie! Don't fear them!" Midii giggled and stopped running, falling to her knees panting. She smiled as Catherine collapsed beside her. "How long have we known each other, Cathie?"

"Years and years now." Catherine smiled back, "Ever since your mother visited mine so many years ago. We've been inseparable ever since." The auburn haired girl slowly stood up and leaned against a tree. "Why?"

"Just thinking... My mother wants me to pick a caste soon."

"At least you have a choice... I shall always be only a lady... Raising to that dreaded position of namelessness."

"I will not forget your name, Cathie."

"But others shall..." She sighed, then forced a smile. "So what shall you be, Midii?"

"I don't know... Remember when we were younger and used to play court? I used to love the idea of spying, of being a spy." Midii smiled, closing her eyes as she daydreamed...

Catherine's eyes widened, "A spy!? But they do such horrible things!"

"They also save lives."

"They betray."

Midii laughed, "I'll never betray you, Catherine."

Cathie smiled, "I know... We'd better start home before our mothers begin to worry." The two began the trudge through the dense woods. They reached the edge, but Catherine stopped Midii. "We'll be friends forever, won't we?"

"Of course! What could come between us?!" The two joined hands and ran across the field toward the large Bloom Manor. They were almost there when Midii nearly slammed into a young slave.

"Oops!"

"Trowa!" Catherine watched as Trowa shook his head, then glanced up at her.

"Miss Bloom..."

"How are you today, Trowa?"

"Fine... You, Miss Bloom?"

Catherine smiled sweetly, "Please call me Cathie."

"That wouldn't be right, Miss Bloom."

"Let's go, Cathie!" Midii sent Trowa a questioning glance then the two girls skipped off, leaving the slave behind.

The scene played in front of Midii like a mage globe recording and she winced as the memory left her. "It's these woods... These woods... CURSED WOODS!" She shook a fist at the trees, "I will not be beaten by lumber! I WILL NOT!"

Silence was her answer.

    *

Trowa stared at the bars trapping him and shuddered. Something about them nagged at the back of his mind... A thought he couldn't quite grasp... Lots of thoughts did that... Sometimes he dreamed of a life that had never existed... Of a girl with violet eyes and auburn hair... And another with blond hair and gray eyes that stared at him sadly...

But they weren't real... He had always been a common slave. Always been part of the entertainers. He'd always been an acrobat. He'd always been with Quatre... He remembered meeting the young noble slave. Both had been very young and Quatre had been such a sweet looking boy... with his blond hair and blue eyes and delicate skin... Many of the ladies had watched him hungrily, waiting for him to reach the age to be taught the ways of pleasuring.

But then Quatre's talent as a bard had been found and the boy had been saved from the path of a pleasure slave. They had met then... The noble bard and the common acrobat... Trowa had adopted the boy on sight, protecting him from bullies and Drivers. They were like brothers and Trowa would die for the blond... Or would've...

But something had happened to Quatre that Trowa didn't quite understand. Quatre was insane... Or at least a part of him was... It was as if he fought within himself... The part that Trowa had loved as a friend was slowly disappearing to this new, frightening aspect of the blond...

But what use was it to wonder about Quatre? For once Trowa didn't want to worry about the blond bard. He wanted to worry about his own skin. He was being tried for treason against that madman, the Moon, and would be executed.

Trowa was not going to die without a fight... But how could he escape? The bars were strong, layered with elemental magicks, and unlike Quatre, Trowa held no magical abilities. So he was trapped... And night was falling... Then morning would come and so would his death.

"Trowa!" A voice broke through his dreary thoughts and Trowa's green eyes tried to pierce the black veil of night to make out the speaker. "Trowa! Can you hear me?"

"Who goes?"

"Me, Trowa. It's Quatre. I'm getting you out of here." The bard studied the bars and Trowa could just barely see the blond by the light of the moon. This was the Quatre he knew... The insane and obsessive gleam was gone, but for how long?

"He's a royal..." Quatre muttered as he worked, probing the magicks surrounding the bars. "Meaning he's the Evening Star that was long thought dead."

"Merely banished." Trowa whispered back. "See, Quatre, his ravings are motivated by revenge."

"Not all... I don't want to speak about this, Trowa. I just want to get you out so you can leave here. You're my friend. I don't want to watch you die." Quatre frowned, "Royal magicks... Noble magicks... I need more strength to break the bars..."

"Take it from your bonded."

"She's blocked me." A note of sadness crept into Quatre's voice. "She's blocked me, Trowa... Blocked her feelings from me... Her thoughts..."

"But what about her power?"

Quatre was silent for a second. "No... She's not blocking that... I doubt she even thought of that..."

"Then take it from her."

The bard nodded and a bead of sweat slid down his face as he focused on Dorothy's magicks. He bit his lower lip and wrapped a psychic hand around the orb of magick she held... It glowed... So intense... So bright... Lilacs... Quatre yanked and somewhere he could hear her scream, but he pushed his despair at hurting her aside. Right now, he had to worry about Trowa... That was all...

Then why was he crying and kneeling beside Trowa's prison, moaning Dorothy's name? "I'm sorry, Dorothy... Sorry. Please..."

"Quatre!"

The bard looked up, his tears glistening in the moon's light, "Dorothy... She screams..."

"Break the bars!"

Quatre swallowed and with his and Dorothy's combined powers slowly disintegrated the metal, magick-wrought bars. Trowa stepped through the opening Quatre had created and grabbed his friend's arm. "What of the guards?"

"Knocked out... Sleep powder stolen from the healer..."

"Then let us go!" Trowa tried to pull Quatre along, but the bard would not budge.

"I cannot. I must stay with this Moon. He will help me find Dorothy and... I believe in him, Trowa... He's the only fighting resistance against the women... Maybe not all his ideals are right, but... He is all we have for now."

"Quatre..." Trowa's eyes narrowed and he yanked on the blonde's arm. "Come."

"Run, Trowa. Before Millardo finds I have broken through his spells. Go!"

"He will know it was you!"

"No... He will sense a female's magick and think a woman broke you free to spite him. Now go, Trowa!" He clasped Trowa's arm in one final show of friendship, "We will meet again! I swear it!"

Trowa nodded, then released Quatre's arm, and ran... Escaping into the night...

However, Quatre wasn't focused on his friend's exit... But on the wall that now closed him out completely... He would have to break down the barrier to gather her feelings, thoughts, emotions, and even powers now... "Oh, Dorothy... Forgive me..."

    *

Dorothy stared up at the sky, watching as the stars twinkled in the velvety black sky. The moon shone, but it was a mere sliver tonight... She glared at the sliver for it represented those that would kill her Dawn... Who was the Moon? What did he want?

But these were questions with no answers... So many questions... Like Duo... The King of Elysia... This talkative, annoying, babbling slave was the King of Elysia?! An elf... Here was a real live elf... All her life Dorothy had been intrigued by elves, but her mother had always steered her away from supposed mythical stories. But they weren't myths...

She turned her gaze from the sky and focused on Duo, who was building a fire. This was a king? He had reestablished the illusion so he once again looked like a human... Maybe he thought his true form scared her or made her uneasy... Dorothy had to admit that at first it had scared her, but now... She wished he would drop the illusion so she could study him more closely. Were all elves like he? Did they all have those startling eyes, pale skin, and poisonous claws? Or did only royalty share those qualities?

She moved toward the fire, once again wishing for a change of clothes. The torn, dirty silver dress was beginning to grate on her nerves... Especially since she still had to rip bits of it away for bandages... She just thanked the Mother that the dagger was beginning to store the blood instead of absorbing it immediately.

"What do we do now?"

He looked up and forced a smile. "We keep searching for the Reborn Dawn... If your prophecy is true than finding her is even more important... Though I don't understand what I have to do with your kingdom and its problems."

"Why are you here, Duo? An elf prince so far from home." Dorothy raised an eyebrow, "Where exactly is your home?"

"It's a tradition... The prince is to go out, see the world... In simple terms, grow up. I left home and found Millardo... I already knew about your kingdom, the way women rule while men are slaves, and decided to have a bit of fun..." He ran a hand through his hair, pulling strands out of his braid. "But I got too involved... I began to make friends with these humans... I began to believe in what they were fighting for... Then I was captured by some of your Drivers..."

"Millardo? Who is he?"

Duo chuckled softly, "The Moon... That's what he's started calling himself, I suppose... From the brief conversation I held with Wufei, Millardo's second-in-command."

Dorothy looked away, into the dark woods, and frowned. 'That name... sounds so familiar...'

"And where do I live..." Duo shook his head, "Some of your stories are outrageous concerning my race, but others... are closer to the truth." He picked up a stick and began to draw a map on the ground, right next to the fire's light. He drew a circle with a large body of land, then little islands floating in a faraway ocean. "Most of this is ruled by your Dawn... Here and here." He motioned toward a few of the islands and a bit of the large body of land. "Lie a few independent countries with their own governments. Your country trades with them, but you differ in religions. Many of these are merchant countries whose entire economy is focused on making products for selling. They seem to all worship some sort of productivity god..." He circled a large bit of the Dawn's country. "Now this is the forest we are traveling through right now... It borders about four of the merchant countries which is why the one main merchant road goes through these woods... Now these woods are home to creatures such as dwarves, nymphs, even vampyres."

"Do you live in these woods?!"

"No... We leave here." He pointed to a bit of ocean and Dorothy scoffed.

"So you live in the ocean? I suppose you swim beside the mermaids and all."

"No, though I do enjoy the company of mermaids." He winked roguishly and Dorothy rolled her eyes, realizing what that implied. "You humans can't see it, but there's actually an island here. It's hidden by illusions... Not even a blood warrior could sense them... We also live here." He circled the sky and Dorothy's jaw fell open. Duo grinned, "But only royalty enjoys the clouds. We have castles built there." His grin slowly faded, "My father's castle... was beautiful..."

Dorothy patted him on the shoulder, "You miss him... It's okay to miss him..." She laughed, "You must have been very close to him."

Duo raised his head and locked gazes with her. "A miracle..."

"What is?"

"You do have a heart." Duo laughed as Dorothy punched him in the shoulder and scooted as far away as she could.

She glowered at him then her mouth fell open and she panted as he mental hand fell upon her. "What?!" The hand shoved deep within her and closed around her essence of magick. It pulled and she screamed as her magick was ripped away.

"Dorothy!" Duo leapt over the fire and kneeled beside her. "Gods!" He jerked back the hand he'd placed on her shoulder. She was so cold. Her pale skin was like ice and Dorothy began to tremble.

"Cold... Empty..." She whispered between chattering teeth. "Please... So empty... Cold... Ice... Give it back..." Dorothy tossed and turned, moaning, her eyes wide like a panicked doe.

Duo pulled her close, trying to warm her with his body heat, and sent out a gentle probe. He gasped and stared down at the shaking girl with shock. "No magick... The bastard..." His violet eyes hardened and he leaned down. "I can help."

Dorothy looked into his eyes, clearly pleading, as the darkness, the emptiness that had once been filled with her magick traveled outward. It ate away at her soul, tainting her with its loneliness. A simple rule of magick existed; a sorcerer could not truly survive without their magick. Death if a magick-user was lucky could come... Or madness if the gods frowned upon them.

Duo lowered his head and claimed her lips with his own. Her mouth opened to his and he released a torrent of silvery-purple magick into Dorothy. It flowed inside her, chasing away the darkness. He entered her mind and began building the psychic wall to block the bard from stealing magick again.

Then, for a brief second, Duo marveled at Dorothy's mind, her soul... Lilacs flooded his senses and a gentleness lied deep inside her... But there was a sharpness, a danger...

Something sang to him and Duo jerked away and out of her mind. He pulled away from her physically and stared at the girl lying in his arms. Dorothy opened her eyes and he watched as silver lights danced in their blue depths.

She smiled.

He smiled.

Realization hit her and she smirked. "Why, thank you, prince."

"Not a problem, milady."

"My magick has returned, so you can take yours back now." Dorothy made no attempt to move, instead her smug smile just grew.

"Is the wall standing?"

"Yes."

They stared at each other. Silence fell. An uneasy silence...

Dorothy raised a hand to her lips, "You kissed me."

Duo lifted an eyebrow and smiled roguishly, "Don't flatter yourself, milady. I had to kiss you so my magick could save you. After all, I can't have you dying on me. I need you to speak to the Dawn on my behalf."

Dorothy growled, "If you wish for an execution then I'll gladly speak for your behalf!" She shoved him away and Duo wiped a stream of spit off his face. "And that is what I think of your kiss!"

The prince refrained from lowering his human illusion and sinking his poisoned claws into her smug little face. "Remind me to never save your life again. Gods, I'd hate to see what you'd do if I tried killing you."

The sorceress threw an acorn at him and Duo snarled. They glared at each other, then Duo flopped onto the ground and moaned.

"The gods curse me! They must hate me. I beg thee, why place this blond vixen under my care?! What have I done to anger thee? Tell me and I shall repent! I repent!"

"I never asked for your company and silence your whining. I wish to get some sleep before you begin grunting and snuffling like a pig. I swear I will stuff a sock in your mouth if you do not quit that disgusting snoring!"

"I do not snore!"

Dorothy laughed scornfully and turned her back toward him. Duo glared at her back then closed his eyes.

Something sang to him...

His eyes opened and he frowned. 'What called to my magick? Does she own a hidden power? What was it?!' Duo grated his teeth together, earning him an acorn right on the nose.

'Damn woman!'

    *

Night... The night... It could be such a lovely thing in Elysia... But were they in Elysia? No. They were in the human realms searching for Prince Duo so he could be rightfully crowned... Oh, he was the King now... King to the elves, but not of the land... First he must be crowned before the elements would accept him as the true king...

Which is why they were searching. They were to take him home... But to take him home, they had to first leave home. And she so did not want to leave home...

"My love... I will return soon... I promise it." She pushed a strand of brown hair behind one pointed ear and sighed heavily. She turned, the wind tugging at her knee-length cape. The cape was a soft brown, matching the color of her eyes... Her tall brown boots barely made a sound as she walked through the woods. Her tan leggings clung to her like a second skin and her blue tunic came to her thighs. A loose, gold belt wrapped around her stomach and a sword hung from its golden radiance... A strange sword... A thin sword, long and straight, reminding one of a wasp's stinger... Few carried such a weapon...

Nobility carried the weapon.

And she called her sword Rose... For him, of course.

She turned brown eyes once more toward the castle... His castle... High in the clouds above... And she bit her lower lip then nodded and turned, facing her companion.

He was a head taller than she and wore similar clothing... His cloak reached the ground and was black, his white blouse hung open, the strings trailing across the cloth, and his black pants seemed to soak in the shadows. He wore the noble sword, also, but on a black belt and he'd named his Plague...

Each also had a small pouch tied to their belts. The pouches were bewitched to carry all they needed... No matter what the size, however the magical pouches did have limits and both had nearly reached theirs when the two were finished packing.

The wind that had ruffled her cloak danced through his black locks. "Let us go, Une."

"Anxious to see your cousin?" She walked alongside them as they entered the dense woods that covered so much of the land.

"Yes... He has a habit of getting into trouble. These humans have enough on their hands without him causing more."

Une sneered, "You care for these humans? They are inferior beings... All they do is fight... For centuries they have fought."

"They fight because they follow the Mother and have forgotten the Father... This war is important, Une... It marks the time when the Father will join with his children once more."

She made a sign in honor of the Mother and the Father, for the elves worshipped them among other lesser gods. "Yes... It is a nice show to watch from afar. Something that even our scribes may hurriedly jolt down, but the new King should not be out here. We have no time to ponder over these human happenings."

"We will find him. The Head Wizard and Wizardess have placed strong search spells upon us. I am kin, you are part of his court. I sense by blood, you sense by nobility."

"You are also a noble, Solo."

Solo cracked a half grin, "Do not remind me. I prefer a soldier's life, Une... But you seem to enjoy leaving the ranks to become a Countess... Does love suit you?"

"Very much." She bit the inside of her cheek as she thought of Treize...

Solo saw and he patted her shoulder, "Do not worry. We will find my cousin and then return home quickly. You will be reunited with your love soon."

Une nodded, "I only hope that King Duo's time with these humans hasn't affected him..."

    *

"Explain something to me, please." Relena spoke from where she sat near the fire, the flames dancing across her face. The Panther raised his head from where he'd been watching the rabbit carcass cook. He preferred his meat rare, but the foolish human thought it disgusting... And she held the key to the end of his entrapment, so if she wanted her meat cooked, he would cook it.

"What?" But that didn't mean he bowed down to her every wish. No matter what the little half-breed said, he did have some honor left... Left for him, not for the benefit of others.

"How did you... I mean..." She motioned toward him, "How did this happen?"

His lip curled upward and he lowered his gaze back toward the rabbit, "You mean, how did I become trapped in this retched form?"

Relena frowned, "It's not a retched form. I'm human and I enjoy it very much."

The Panther growled, "You have never felt the sense of the hunt... The companionship of the family... The raw strength that is just waiting to be set free... The intensity, passion." He shook his head, "The grace... You humans no nothing about living. Absolutely nothing!" It was the first she'd ever heard his voice hold any emotion before and Relena listened enraptured. "You all seem to believe that material objects make happiness. You are a foolish, stupid species." He removed the rabbit from the fire and sat it down on a pile of large green leaves. "A cruel species that would as soon stab a once friend to gather power... You're kind cursed me with this retched form and the poison traveling through your kinds' blood is starting to taint mine... I would die before I let you humans take away my soul the same as you took away my body."

Relena moved and placed a hand on his arm, "I'm sorry... We are a foolish species... And some of us are stupid and some are cruel... But I regret what has happened to you... Please, believe me... I am so sorry for what my ancestors did..."

The Panther ignored her hand; "Bondlings did this to me. Man and female. What more do you wish to know?"

"Maybe if I know every little detail I'll be able to reverse it." Relena sat back, eagerly watching as he began to tear pieces of the savory meat from the rabbit's bones.

He was quiet for a second then nodded, seeing the wisdom in her words. The Panther handed her a bit of meat and she ate it hungrily. "I was young... Very young... I was just beginning to enter the hunt and would soon be searching for a mate." Relena blushed, but he continued. "I had wandered near the forest's edge... Not where your kingdom is, but toward the forest's south end... When I was young a different kingdom resided there... Humans that sang and wore colors that danced and the scents..." He gave a small smile, "They were so interesting that I just kept sneaking closer and closer... And they found me..."

His eyes hardened, "Then the conversation I overheard before they spotted me didn't mean anything, but now... They were wagering a small bet. A test of power... The bondling couple agreed, saw me, and trapped me with their magical ropes... I couldn't move or shout for help or fight. They had me... They changed me. It was such a simple act for them. The two joined hands, sang one simple note, and fire raced through me. Hot, burning fire... Burning away my body, molding it into what they wanted... I fainted... When I awoke I was naked... A naked human..."

He poked the fire with a stick, yet no other sound broke the still silence till he started speaking again. "I ran. They made no move to stop me. They just laughed. I heard one of them yell that I had been given a great gift. I was no longer a mangy beast... I ran into the woods and found my kinsmen. All I found was pity... I couldn't stand it so I returned to the village and confronted the bondlings that had cursed me... But they didn't know how to reverse the spell..." His hand closed around the stick tightly, "They told the truth for not even torture could loosen their lips with the spell's counter-spell... I was stuck. Trapped."

          Tell her.

The Panther raised his head, his eyes locking with Galea's. "I thought you left to hunt."

The catriffin stretched. I stalked. I pounced. I ate. Now, tell her all of it. The prophecy...

He growled and Relena glanced back and forth between the two, wondering what they were saying... She wished she could understand Galea, not for the first time. "What is she saying?"

"The prophecy... The undying cat that walks upon two legs. In the blood of the maiden of the sun lies escape from an unforgiving curse."

"What?!" Relena jerked away from him, her lip darting out nervously to lick her now dry lips. "What does that mean?! The blood of the maiden? Me?"

"I don't know. It's a prophecy I do not believe in..."

Tell her all of it.

He ignored Galea.

           TELL HER!

The Panther raised his head and snarled. Galea hissed.

           TELL HER, MAN-CAT!

Relena's eyes widened, "What's happening now?! Stop hiding things from me! How can I ever trust you if I always know you're hiding something from me?!"

The Panther's cold eyes met hers, "Who ever said you needed to trust me?"

Damn you, man-cat. Tell her. She must know the complete truth. All you're doing is scaring her. Trying to scare her into submission. You will break her, man-cat, and then she will be nothing but an empty shell. A shell cannot help you. Not all humans are evil no matter what you wish to think. For once use your MIND!

He was quiet... Then slowly spoke. "That's not the complete prophecy." He picked up some dry leaves and tossed them onto the fire. "The undying cat that walks upon two legs. Generations pass till she comes. She whose tears shall hide strength. Her strength shall kill the cat that walks upon two legs. In the blood of the maiden lies an escape from an unforgiving curse. The foolishness of pride and the wails of despair echo through a battlefield where emotions war."

Relena swallowed and nodded, "The undying cat... What does that mean?"

"I don't die. I've lived for generations now..."

"Since the time of bondlings..." Relena's eyes widened, "You're immortal?!"

"No... I can die or so the prophecy states."

"Who is this maiden? It can't be me... In my blood the curse breaks? You never mentioned anything like this!"

"The one who can kill me and the one who can set me free aren't the same. Any ways, the prophecy was just the mutterings of an old fool." The Panther stood and kicked at Galea, missing her by an inch. "Told by a fool, believed by fools."

Relena and Galea watched as he stalked away, disappearing into the night. The Dawn sighed and scooted closer toward the flames. "What was the world like then?"

From the darkness his voice came. "Different... My world was in the forests before the curse... I did go out into your world for a bit though... It was a place where laughter reigned. There were no slaves and you worshipped two gods... Then the Mother came and everything changed. Women began to believe that men were tainted and soon they were being locked away as slaves. Many mages were killed. It was a time of blood and battles... Much like the days of now."

"Two gods? I've never heard stories of two gods!"

The Panther entered the clearing and stared at her in surprise. "You do not know?"

"Know what?"

"Your people worshipped the Mother and the Father... Your gods were bondlings... Then the Mother argued with the Father and came to earth. She could not exact pain upon him so she exacted it upon those that bore his image. She took revenge upon his men and the Father wept to see what happened to his males... Women forgot about him as the enslavement continued and the Mother, in her harsh pride, will not undo what she has set into play. Both gods wait for the humans to fix their mistakes. Such is the way of gods."

"The Father..." Relena shook her head, "How... This can't be true..."

"I was there. I saw her come down. I saw her order the enslavement. I saw him cry, but none saw him but me. For the Mother became all powering in your realm. So he fled to other countries..."

"Then what we've been doing is wrong... Wrong all along... Carrying out the will of an angry goddess." She covered her face and trembled, "Could this be true? Could it be?! Dear Mother... How could you be so cruel?! NO! NO!"

The Panther watched as she sobbed.

    *