Between Saints - The Mother

Lucifer was waiting for Ella in front of the cave when she heard the noise of stones being destroyed and then footsteps echoing from the cave.

Ella had been carrying a crystal twice her size over her right shoulder as she dusted off her black dress.

"What was that noise?"

"I had to break some rocks to get through."

"And all that talk about a sense of adventure?" Lucifer asked with a mocking smile.

"Exception to the cause." Ella replied, waving her hand as if to ward off the subject and placed the crystal on the floor, which sank a little into the damp earth.

"So this is the gift I should give your queen?"

"She is not my queen." Ella said and turned to the crystal, seeing that Lhia was upside down. "And yes, this is the gift that will make Athena owe you one."

"Are you sure about that?" Lucifer asked with an incredulous look. "I don't see why anyone stronger than you would want something like this..."

"She fed off the evil part of this thing, so I think she's going to want the other part for balance."

"What if you're wrong?"

"I'm almost never wrong." Ella said with her chest puffed out. "Now, let's go. This place has done its job."

"We're not walking back, are we?"

"For my father, no! The portal to the floating islands is a long way from here." Ella said and right there became a huge white dragon. (Let's fly.)

***

Athena was lying on her bed with Anemus and Mifa on either side of her. She looked up at the white ceiling and was so dispersed as she thought about Fotiá, and wanting more power to protect those she loved, that she didn't hear Mifa speak to her.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Are you sure you don't want to wake Faena up so you can hear the rest of the story?" Mifa repeated in her husky, sleepy voice.

"Yeah." Athena said pulling the bed sheet that molded to the body of Mifa who was on her stomach. "I can talk to her tomorrow. Hm? Why are you naked?"

"I was too tired to wear anything..." Mifa said and gave a slight smile under her hair.

It was summer and the air was hot and muggy to the point where they left the windows open both during the day and at night to let the wind in and cool the room.

"Want to take advantage of you being naked and make love to me?" Athena asked purring in Mifa's ear who wagged her tail excitedly. "Hm? Shall we do, please? I need to relax after such a tiring day."

"Don't you dare, I want to sleep." Anemus said with a pillow over her head.

Mifa raised her head, gave Athena a sweet kiss on the lips, who tried to stick her tongue in the girl's mouth, but Mifa pulled away again.

She opened a smile that made Athena even more excited and supported her head with her right hand as she lifted the sheet, showing her slightly defined and luscious body to Athena.

"Are you going to keep teasing me like this?" Athena asked.

"You wouldn't dare embrace me when Anemus told us not to."

Athena looked back to where Anemus was trying to sleep and covered the fairy with a {Field of Silence}.

It was a spell used for espionage. Normally whoever was covered by this spell would not make any sound or be noticed, but Athena quickly changed the formula in her mind, making Anemus unable to hear any sound or feel any movement on the bed.

"There, now she won't mind." Athena said with a mischievous smile on her lips and hugged Mifa who accepted her with open arms.

The two made love again and again until dawn arrived and Mifa could no longer move and fell into a pleasant sleep.

Athena undid the magic she had cast on Anemus and kissed the face of the girl who slept peacefully and hugged the two women she loved so much, Athena slept.

The other day, after breakfast, Athena was in her room with Faena, Mifa and Anemus. Faena told her everything she knew about Gion's possible motives.

The girl also scolded and complained to Athena for not having listened to her.

"I begged you to leave me in the crystal!" Faena said.

"Begged?" Athena raised an eyebrow, trying to remember Faena pleading. "No, I'm sure you didn't say anything."

"And now that you know the possible reasons for the saints' quarrel, what do you intend to do, Athena?" Mifa asked.

Athena was silent for a moment, considering the options for action she could take, and then she said. "I will take Lhia's powers and the powers of this Ytria."

"Huh?!" Faena exclaimed, incredulous at what she had just heard. "Are you crazy? Ytria has endless power!"

"Just what I need."

Anemus looked at Athena with a worried look, which caught Mifa's attention.

"Why do you wear this expression?"

"It's just something that's been bothering me..." Anemus replied and looked at Athena. "Athena, are you worried about what I told you about Fotiá? It's no use hiding it, I saw the face you made when I left you alone in the conference room."

"I'm worried." Athena admitted bluntly. "Soon I will be facing gods and I'm afraid I won't be able to protect you all."

"What are you talking about?" Anemus asked along with Faena.

"This was something from two years ago, when Athena was unconscious for weeks." Mifa said. "She said she was with a sealed goddess and... The rest I don't quite understand."

"I've found Uran, the goddess of the end. She's sealed up somewhere down there and I'm going to set her free."

"Why?" Faena asked.

"Is there a goddess of the end? The end of what?"

"Answering Faena, why I want to. I'm friends with her and I have a promise with her. And yes, there is, Anemus. I think that she would be the goddess of the end of all things."

"Wait! After I heard Gion say that Faena and Lhia are just 'dolls', I did a lot of research on the gods in Gion's library, but I've never read anything about an goddess of the end."

"It's more common to call her the goddess of destruction than of the end."

They spent the entire morning discussing Athena's decision, but nothing changed. Athena was determined to get more power and release Uran, making Anemus stop trying to dissuade her and also start wanting to get stronger.

After that, Athena was left alone in her room. Mifa went to exercise, as she always did in the morning, Anemus went to the library and Faena...

Well, Faena was getting her chance to be a child.

"Ella, how much longer do you intend to stay hidden?" Athena asked as she sat at the table.

"Eh? How?" Ella asked as she appeared at the window. "I erased my presence. How did you notice me?"

***

Anemus was apprehensive about Athena's plans. The reason for this was because even after becoming a fairy, she hadn't developed the powers she should now have.

She feared getting in Athena's way and being just her lover's weakness in the battles to come.

Anemus searched the books for what could be causing this deficiency in her powers, but there was nothing in the books.

No matter how much she searched, she found nothing about her own race.

All that was known about fairies was that they were ancient creatures. They were older than the world, as were dragons and giants.

They had come to live in this world after its creation and were reclusive creatures who never left their territories. Only acting in the world on rare occasions, like the death of one of them.

"What I'll do?" Anemus wondered when she heard a soft voice speaking directly in her mind.

(What is the reason for so much distress?)

"Huh?"

Anemus got up quickly, bumping into the table, causing several stacked books to fall and looked around wide-eyed and startled.

(Calm down child, I'm talking to you telepathically.)

"W-who are you?"

(I am Yggdrazil, the queen, the mother, the goddess of all fairies and fairy creatures.)

Anemus frowned. She wondered why someone like Yggdrazil was communicating with her and raised her vigilance to the limit.

"What does someone like you want with me?"

(...) Yggdrazil made a brief silence and then sighed. (There is no need to be so distrustful of one of your own people. One of your own family.)

"Family?"

(I am the mother of all fairies. Even though you were not born from me, you are also my daughter.)

"Uh-huh..." Anemus trailed off almost in mockery. "So 'mommy' what do you want with me?"

(Child, you are incomplete.)

"Huh?"

(Didn't you feel something missing in you?)

"..."

(Your connection to the earth, the wind, nature... You don't have it. Come to me so I can fix what's wrong with you.)

"And what's wrong with me?"

(You weren't born a fairy and the mana inside you... It's dirty.)

Anemus frowned even more. Her face was so wrinkled that she would easily be mistaken for a angry ogre. That's cause was Yggdrazil saying that the mana that was inside her, Athena's mana, was dirty.

To Anemus it was the same as saying that Athena was dirty and she didn't like it.

"This is the mana of the woman I love!" Roared Anemus in a growl. "If it's to get this mana out of me, I don't need your help!"

(...)

"What? Got your tongue out?"

(Do you intend to stay with this mana even though it is corrupting you and preventing you from growing and becoming complete?)

"I will find my own way!"

(...)

Yggdrazil was perplexed by the young fairy's attitude. No one would ever dare to speak to her in such a way, not even the proud dragons. But here was the first person who treated her as if she were an equal, and while she felt respect for Anemus, she felt sad.

She knew that that young woman, Anemus, had no future as she was. The mana fouled by the element of darkness stained Anemus and made even the wind that loved her so much to reject and drift away from her.

Yggdrazil had to save Anemus, it was a mother's duty, and so she took drastic action.

Anemus was still searching for the owner of the voice in her mind when in the middle of the library she saw fingers stretching out of nowhere, then hands, and arms.

Suddenly Anemus felt a weight on her body and she couldn't move as those hands came towards her as a gentle smile also appeared lonely in the air, causing tenebrous shivers in Anemus who screamed.