[The Daily Planet] The Ordeal: Part One
- From: Rhi <bansheec@xxxxxxx>
- To: thedailyplanet@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 16 Jan 2007 20:39:55 -0500
"The Ordeal: Part One"
Princess Selene and Guests.
Cold dampness was the first thing that registered with Selene’s
consciousness as feeling began to creep into the darkness. She moaned
softly as her mind slowly began to become alert. After the cold and wet
sank in so did the pain and heaviness. She felt like she’d just spent a
month straight battling her Grandmother while wearing a suit of lead.
Her limbs felt heavy and weak and it was all she could do to open her
eyes. Not that opening her eyes helped, wherever she was it was just as
dark as her unconsciousness had been. She moaned again when she tried to
move so she decided to stop trying to move and just work on clearing the
fog from her mind. Slowly other things began to slip through, the fact
she was laying face down on a cold stone floor, the fact that she was as
good as naked in the thin linen shift she apparently had on, and the
fact that her bracelets had been replaced with shackles and chains. She
was for all intents and purposes in the same state her Grandmother had
been in over three thousand years ago in the original Greek city-state
of Themyscira.
This was the whole point of the Ordeal. To relive that defining moment
in Amazonian history, to suffer through what their foremothers had. This
meant that Selene, as Hippoltya’s granddaughter, would experience it the
way her grandmother had with the exception of the rape. Which is why it
had been Artemis who’d drugged her, she had been drugged by her lover
just as her grandmother had been. Selene moaned again as she tried to
force herself onto her hands and knees, but her arms wobbled under her.
She didn’t know what she’d been drugged with but it must have been
something really strong to make her as weak as a new born kitten. She
groaned as she made it up somewhat before her arms gave out and she
ended up on her knees and elbows with her forehead pressed to the cold
stone floor. It was in that awkward bent over position that allowed her
to finally feel something around her waist. Allowing herself to fall
onto her hip she reached a heavy hand to press against what felt like
metal. Slow, carefully fingers ran over what felt like a wide belt, but
when Selene realized what it was she gasped and fell back against the
wall behind her.
The Golden Girdle of Gaea was the symbol of her grandmother’s god-given
place as Queen. When she and Antiope had been named rulers of the
Amazons they’d both been given one as a gift from the Goddesses.
Hercules stole her grandmother’s as a trophy after rapping her and
chaining her in the dungeon of her own palace. The one Hippoltya wore
now, or in this case the one Selene wore now, had been Antiope’s. Her
great-aunt had given her grandmother her Girdle to replace the one
stolen by Hercules when she’d renounced the Olympians and broke the
Amazon Nation into the two tribes. Eventually her grandmother’s Girdle
was recovered and later served as the martial from which her mother’s
Lasso of Truth was forged. None of that explain why Selene was now
wearing it though, not unless…
Her still foggy thought came to a halt when the room suddenly filled
with the flicker of fire light as a door was opened. She lifted her
chained arm to block the light until her eyes adjusted. She would have
screamed if her pride would have allowed her, and if she didn’t know
that men weren’t allowed on the island. In the doorway stood a massive
figure that looked very male, and very large. She’d have run through a
list of some of the larger Amazons if not for her drug educed state, but
as it was Selene simply sat there and watched as the figure came closer
to her. She knew the story by heart and whoever this was, she was
clearly meant to be Hercules. She was even wearing a lion-skin cloak.
Yet it still took Selene by surprise when the figure grabbed her by her
hair and hauled her up onto her knees. She had no idea who was behind
the mask, and all sense of safety was quickly escaping her as whoever it
was forced her ridged by pulling on the fist full of raven hair she was
gripped by. Until now Selene hadn’t really realized how real this would
all be, and for the first time she began to doubt she had the strength
and will to do this.
Selene swallowed a yelp as the figure reached out and snatched the
Golden Girdle from around her waist in a rough tug that cause a new
flash of pain from the hair being pulled and her already sore body. She
knew she hadn’t been touched only drugged, but it sure as hell felt like
she’d been beaten. The figure threw the Girdle over her shoulder before
drawing Selene close. “Which path will you fallow woman-child?” The
deep, concealed voice asked. “Do you come for what is yours by right of
birth or run home to stand in the temple of your Goddess and beg like a
pup with it’s tail between it’s legs?”
Blue eyes widened in shock. She was meant to follow the way of her
grandmother, it was her great-aunt who went after the Girdle. She was a
Themyscirian, she was meant to uphold her grandmother’s oath. Before she
could think or say anything she was thrown hard against the wall and
instantly felt a sharp pain in her rib cage. She hissed as she sank to
the floor in a chained heap, unwanted tears welling in her eyes as she
watched the figure leave. The sound of the door being bolted echoed in
the room and Selene suddenly felt as if she wanted to scream out for her
mother, but instead she simply laid there crying for several seconds.
She was in pain and confused and still feeling the effects of the drug
Artemis had put in her wine.
“I can’t do this.” She finally whispered hoarsely to the empty room. “I
don’t understand. It’s not meant to be like this.”
“Why isn’t it?” A voice called out from the shadows of the room.
Selene jumped, pushing herself into a position where she could look in
the direction of the voice. “Who?”
The darkness was suddenly engulfed by a warm bright light. Selene once
again lifted her arm to shield her eyes but when she lowered it to see
who was in the room with her she blinked, then gasped. In the warm glow
stood two women. One was tall with short brown hair, eyes the color of a
grey dawn and a white owl perched on her shoulder. Despite the fact that
the woman was in what looked to be a flowing, modern looking dress
Selene knew who she was and pushed herself into a kneeling position as
best she could. The other woman was shorter, her hair pulled back in a
dark strawberry blond pony tale, and was dressed in what looked like
something out of an Indiana Jones movie. Before Selene could say a word
the shorter woman laughed.
“You eat that up don’t you, grey eyes?” The shorter woman asked the
taller one.
The taller one sniffled a lady like huff. “Hush Great Mother Neith.”
Looking down at the child the grey eyed woman repeated what she’d asked
earlier. “Why isn’t it, Daughter?”
Selene looked up at the woman in awe and confusion. “Why isn’t what,
Great Lady Athena?”
“Why isn’t this meant to be the way it is?” The Goddess asked.
The child still looked confused and the Egyptian Goddess laughed again.
“I think those girls of ours over did it with those herbs. The girl
looks more stoned then the Sphinx.”
“They had to be strong, Neith.” Athena replied. “She was blessed in the
same fashion as her mother.”
Neith nodded. “Ahh I get it.”
Selene used the few moments the banter gave her to clear her head enough
to finally reply. “I am meant to relive what my sisters went through.”
She looked at the shorter Goddess for a moment and said reverentially,
“I mean not disrespect Mother Neith.” Then she turned to look at her
mother’s patron. “I am a Themyscirian Amazon, a daughter of thee Great
Lady Athena. We did not go after the stolen Girdle, we went to the
Aegean as thee commanded. I do not understand why whoever that was asked
if I would go after the Girdle, I don‘t even know why I was wearing it.”
Athena knelt down so she was looking at the child face to face. “You are
not here to relive a history lesson, Daughter.”
The girl blinked. “I’m not?”
Neith shook her head. “You’re here to rewrite it, in a way.”
If her mother and grandmother hadn’t told her about their run ins with
the Goddesses, Selene would have thought she was hallucinating, but the
hand that reached out to cup her face felt very warm, very solid, very
soft, and very real.
“We have watched you, Selene of Themyscira, and although your faith lays
with me you are neither one or the other, you are both. The link that
brought a broken chain back together.”
“You were right last night kid when you said her Amazons and mine
couldn’t have the same mind set because of the differences between
Hippoltya’s Amazons and Antiope’s,” Neith said from over Athena’s
shoulder. “But you can see things from both sides of the coin. You‘ve
shown them that they can be separate and yet be one.”
Selene blinked again, it was the only real moment that didn’t hurt in
same way. “It was only fair that I learn from both tribes. I’m as much
Antiope’s family as I am Grandmother’s. And Grandmother loved her sister
so, I wanted to learn about her and her people.”
“Your people kiddo.” Neith said with a smirk.
Something about the way that was said made Selene think it meant more
then just the Amazons as a hole. She turned questioning and confused
eyes to Athena who smiled at her.
“You are closer to your great-aunt then you know, Daughter.” Athena told
her. “A soul can not just be plucked out of the air like an apple from a
tree. Even a new soul must come from a seed.”
Selene was stunned. “Antiope?” Her Goddess nodded. “But she is in the
Elysian Fields, Mama saw Hades take her there.”
“She’s still there.” Neith reassured the girl, “Only needed a small
piece of her soul to make yours.”
The young raven haired woman was quickly nearing her “this is all to
much” point. “They never told me.”
“They don’t know.” Athena replied. “I haven’t told them yet.”
“Thought you should be the first to know.” Neith added.
Athena nodded. “This is why I have not come to you sooner, and I have
heard every word Selene. All of the Amazons are cherished, but your
family line has always been special to me.”
That caused the girl to blush. It was more then evident that they’d
heard her conversion with Artemis. She managed not to flinch when she
realized that meant Athena had heard her call her petty.
As if she could read the girl’s mind Athena added, “I did not take
Antiope’s rejection well, and your mother, thought immortal, is only
human.” Seeing the girl’s shoulders shag the Goddess decided it was time
to end this and allow her to do what she was there to do. Standing at
her full height once again she looked down at the girl who remained
kneeling.
“You’re Great-Aunt came to us and accepted us as her Gods and served us
in faith.” Neith said.
“You Grandmother and Mother have severed me and the others with
unwavering faith and love, as do you.” Athena added. “Now we give to you
our faith.”
Selene looked up at the Goddesses.
“You still have a long way to go kid.” Neith said. “And it all starts
here, but we know you can do it, even when it gets hard as hell.”
Athena nodded with a warm smile. “I didn’t tell your mother this as much
as I should have, but I am always with you even when it seems I am not.”
Before Selene had a chance to reply the room filled with a flash of warm
bright light and then once again plunged into darkness. She remained
where she was for several moments before finally collapsing to the floor
again. She was on overload and she hadn’t even really started the
Ordeal. Appearances by Goddesses had never been a given, not even an
assumption. Curled into a small heap, Selene wept for several long
minutes before she began to feel something surge through her. Her mind
began to clear, her body still ached but she was starting to feel
stronger, and now she knew what she needed to do. Staggering to her feet
she nearly screamed in pain as she used as much of her strength as she
could to break free of her chains. She slumped to the floor once more
but this time when she looked up she looked at the closed door with a
look of pure determination on her face. The rules of this right had just
been changed but it didn’t matter, Selene was gonna play it her way.
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