The Moon Goddess' Chosen

432 War with Herself

“You probably haven’t noticed but you’ve been here for an hour and a half. Since you’re going to go through a sauna and have massages, then you’re not making good time here,” Delila chuckled, her melodic voice ringing like bells in the air.

‘What sorcery is this?’ Honour wondered, ‘We only just got here.’

Just when she thought this couldn’t get any weirder, Delila held up a clock so they could confirm what she was saying. They had indeed spent a lot of time in the water without even realising it.

The girls gave up their protests and followed the three ladies to another room full of massage tables. They were eight by Honour’s count and only one was being used.

The walls of the room had been expertly designed to mimic the lively greenery of a forest, with a waterfall painted on one side of it. A few storks were wading through the calm waters at the river bank.

To complete the scene, the sound of birds and water rushing down the waterfall blended in through hidden speakers. Honour couldn’t tell where the scent of the forest came from, but she was sure her nose picked up on the distinct smell of bark and fresh dew within this room.

Even before laying down on the massage table, her muscles were starting to relax.

Delila and her two apprentices led them to four tables lined against one side of the wall of which one was occupied. The girls did their best to keep their eyes off the fair lady that was being tended to with her body face down and tried their best to get comfortable as instructed.

There was an awkward silence for a while before a familiar voice rang through the room, “So... how are you girls finding this place?”

.....

Madeline was so stunned she nearly rolled off her massage table. The woman working with her, however, was quick to hold her steady.

Looking up at the lady’s crimson eyes, Madeline mouthed her gratitude, flinching a little from the unintentional intensity that came from the alpha’s eyes. Getting used to this environment wasn’t something one could do in a few hours let alone a few days.

Alphas were meant to lead packs... and yet here was one of them massaging her back with smooth tender strokes that made her feel like a baby. The situation simply defied all logic.

“It’s... a little overwhelming. I wasn’t able to recognise you with your face down,” Honour admitted.

“That’s because you always see me in a gown or something fancy, so you can’t tell what my body would actually look like unless you knew it was me...” Martha sighed heavily. “I like to come here when I’m feeling stressed out.

That hasn’t happened in a long time though. The king won’t let me worry. Always wants to make my problems disappear.”

The woman working with her cooed suspiciously at the queen’s statement. The girls went bright red while Queen Martha giggled at her behaviour, “There is also the matter of you thinking of me as old. Werewolves age slowly you know.”

“That’s not what I had in mind. But if it makes you feel any better, you look the same as you did in the last picture I saw of you... With only your wisdom getting wider,” Honour strung her words as well as she could even though she felt she could have done better.

On the bright side, Queen Martha thanked the girl for her kind words. This was just before the masseuse working on the young goddess got to work. The woman masterfully rubbed her trained hands from honour’s lower back in an upward stroke that ended with her massaging Honour’s shoulders.

Honour could’ve sworn she lost her arm at that moment. Her thoughts vanished in a whirlpool of relieving sensations. The seemingly magical hands of the masseuse wiped away all the tension left in her muscles.

With the scent of the forest assaulting her nose, the sound of a waterfall, the perfect scene and the soft mist that wafted through the room. Not to mention the fact that she was surrounded by her friends, Honour, as well as her friends, couldn’t have felt more at peace.

“Will Lina...”

“Lina will be alright. She’s tougher than you know. It’s Drake I would be worried about. Then again, he went through the Trials once before,” the queen intervened.

“Your Maje...”

“Call me Martha while we are here.”

“Okay... Mar-Martha, I don’t understand something about the Trials. Why does Lina have to compete against Drake and shouldn’t Drake have taken whoever he was going to compete with on his team during the Royal Games?”

Martha was quiet for a while before answering, “Personally... I don’t like the Trials...” she paused before continuing, “But it’s never been my place to decide against them and every time a royal goes through the Trials, they are never the same. They aren’t the same after the Trials. It’s that change that makes them hold the Trials.

As you probably know, the Royal Games take place every four years... but that’s only if there are candidates to take part in the Royal Games. The Trials and the games themselves are two separate events that the Royals chose to hold at the same time.

During the Royal Games, the only person that must be a part of the team was the royal that went through the Trials. All the others are up to that specific royal to decide.”

“That’s why Lina was able to participate in the games last year without having to go through the Trials. I still don’t understand something. What’s the purpose of the Trials?” Bree pitched in suddenly.

“The Trials are meant to test the crown prince or princess to see if they are fit to rule. There is a story kept among the royals that says ‘The Moon Goddess is the overseer of the Trials.’ She makes sure the royals that go through the Trials get through them unscathed. However... when they return from the Trials, they return with an answer.

Whether they can burden the title of a ruler or whether they cannot.”

“But Lina isn’t the heir to the crown,” Madeline argued.

“With how things are right now, no one knows what’s going through the prince’s mind. Anything can happen at this point. I can’t say what the king has decided since this is still only a family matter. I ask that you don’t worry about this.”

Honour thought about the queen’s words for a moment. There was something bothering her with how everyone was referring to the prince lately. While everyone had noticed a significant change in the prince’s behaviour, Honour had noticed nothing.

...and it had been nagging at the back of her mind for a while.

With each well-calculated stroke of the masseuse’s magical hands, the girl’s mind grew foggier and her worries began to fade.

The young goddess relaxed, giving in to the calming aura of the massage room. A cruel sensation tugged at the back of her mind, growing fainter as the seconds ticked by.

Bree, against the will of the hands that forced her relaxation, spoke up, “Your majesty, you seem too comfortable in this place.”

It was more a question than it was a suggestion. The girl couldn’t find it within her to let go of her suspicions of the queen. Her mind was somewhat clear when the queen spoke up.

“I thought you would have noticed by now. I grew up near the Great Arena... in this same establishment. Although, it wasn’t always this glamorous.”

The room went silent and the queen sensed the curiosity spike, “The tickets for the royal games were not something we could afford for the entire family, so we had been saving up. My mother wanted me to go and see them when I turned eighteen. I got three tickets as a birthday gift. I brought my two best friends along with me.

It was both a good time to enjoy growing up and a major opportunity for me to find my mate, considering there are very many werewolves that make it to the royal games every time they are held.

It’s an event that brings together so many people. For someone without the means to travel the world, this would be a major opportunity for me. It was only a hope I was meant to keep in mind. Nothing to get too excited about, but also nothing to completely forget.

It was entirely possible that I would find my mate there and also possible that I wouldn’t.

None of us could have foreseen that the mate I was searching for was going to end up being the prince himself.” The queen explained.

“Little Martha couldn’t believe what was happening. I remember she ran away from the prince utterly scared and confused about what was happening.”

“Now now, Auntie. There is no need to make me look any worse in front of my daughter’s friends,” the queen chuckled.

“Oh, I see no problem in shedding that elegant mask you wear once in a while. You’ll turn into a porcelain doll if you keep up that act. Very beautiful... but empty and misunderstood,” the woman replied in a kind caring tone.

“I’m fine being myself when I’m here,” Queen Martha replied, both to her auntie and to the girls with her in the room.

Honour’s suspicions were confirmed, however, she’d had no idea the queen was really home. In this place, she looked happier than usual. Not to say the queen wasn’t blissful when she was at the palace, but there was something different about returning home that made someone glow with a different kind of happiness.

‘Returning home...’ the thought resonated within the goddess’s mind. Images of a white luminous palace flooded her mind. The fragmented memories of the Moon Palace flooded her mind now more than ever before. ‘Do I want to go home?’

Honour wasn’t sure how she could answer this question. Her personality was already at war with her former self.

The goddess Selene, reborn... Honour wondered who she truly was. Was she Honour or was she, Selene? The queen’s nostalgic mood seemed to be more of a bane than a blessing in this young goddess’ mind.

In fact, it only brought the war raging within her even further away from ever stopping.

She was at war with herself.

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