The Unexpected Goddess

𝘾𝙧𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙝

The weight of her tiny bare feet as they motioned over the battlefield of debris that laid outstretched before the grimy-looking wretch who came to stand at the edge of the burning cabin was the only sound. Hours had passed, how many the girl could not say but enough that the fray that had demolished her home and the echoes of her grandmother's screams as she burned within could by now become so seared into Eulalia's memory that she almost thought she could hear it even now. An acrid stench wafted through the air but nothing remained. The bits of steam that now lifted from the earth were the only signs of the inferno that had engulfed the cabin in an instant.

𝘞𝘩𝘺?

"𝘞𝘩𝘺, 𝘎𝘪𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘢?" she murmured, wondering to herself why her grandmother had left her in such a state. How could she not know it would come? How could she not know they would brand her all these things and seek to ruin her life? Eulalia felt the urgency to flee, but where would she go? A crippling fear inched into her marrow driving her eyes to flicker all about,

"𝘋𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘌𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘦." She reminded herself with an aggravating stomp; turning herself to spin into a pirouette as the colors of the forest around her began to blur together. Would it all fade? Could she simply spin it all away?

Round and round she spun; the course of her platinum tresses flying out in a circular motion as her body freely rotated. However possible? Celebrating in dance as if possessed by lunacy? A crack of her lips then, and the appearance of her visage morphed as the glint of her blue eyes ignited with a luminance so bright the entirety of her optics seemed to beam with a radiance that was blinding. The presentation of it all suddenly forced the spin shift of the youthful creature's body to influence the very winds - abruptly a gale-force began to whirl about her and the cabin in its smoldering remnants too began to move. With it the swirling up tick of leaves and all manner of debris began to whirl together and in moments there was nothing left – at least nothing that Eulalia could clearly make out. Around and around she spun, the tendrils of her delicate platinum locks spreading out in a circular arc that matched the rhythm of her pirouette. In motion, as she was – everything seemed to meld together and unify in such a way that the time slowed and the sensation of her eyes falling to a close brought Eulie into a careless revolution. Suddenly, the feeling of mist as it caressed her skin brought her to an instant halt. The breathless wave of her exerting motions finally taking their toll upon her as she settled her gaze upon the smoldering aftermath of what had once been her home. She recalled so little, but Ni’amani’s voice traced her inner ear as she gazed over the scorched terrain. But her grandmother’s memory was the only thing Eulalia knew to cling to. Nia was supposed to have been her mother, but Eulalia never knew her. Not for more than the brief time before she had disappeared after leaving her to her grandmother’s care. For all Eulie knew, Nia had already passed to the afterlife and she had no further family. The sinking of her knees as she found herself once again staring at the place she called home brought Eulie to recognize her need to find new shelter. But, where? And how? She had nothing save for the quickly growing wet clothing that clung to her skin.

To be continued...