How Divine is Thou?

Family Part 1

I walked through The Heavenly Realm, thinking up redecorating ideas. The Grand Palace would be the first to go. I wanted it all gone, to start anew so this terrible place could stop causing horrid memories for my family. But I couldn't just start from scratch.

Everything would be balanced. No one would be better than another. It would be perfect. Neither mother nor father could stop me. Their threats no longer worried me. I was in control now.

"Plotting again?" Aksus perched herself on a tree, staring down at me. Her body was loose, and her bow was over her shoulder. Her quiver only held three arrows.

"Hello, sister," I replied. "You should know it's not nice to sneak up on people."

"Hmm... perhaps you should take your own advice." Even without a weapon drawn, Aksus was always one of my scariest family members, rivaled only by Hyzotz.

"This is about your brother. The Warden," I stated. "He was in the way, dear sister. I couldn't let him stand in my way of making things right."

"So Hyzotz murdered him? Thavon was family too," she fired back. Somehow, her calm tone was more threatening than if she shouted. I hated shouting. It was so unnecessary.

"Family helps family," I told her simply. "He not only sided with the Gods, as you had, but kept us locked up under their orders. At least you don't pick sides anymore."

"You've brewed hatred," she said. "Not only your own, but for you. Not everyone will stand by and let you have your way."

"Are you suggesting that little halfling? What was his name? Oh, yes, Ulixity," I smiled at the thought. "Do you really think he possesses the power to defeat the entirety of the Titans army?"

"You know, as well as I do that he does," Aksus responded. "Father wants him gone. He angers Mother."

"I don't give a damn about what they want," I hissed. "They aren't here."

"You always crawl back to them." She jumped from the tree and landed a mere foot from me. Had I been in my full form, our heights would have been comparable, but in my lesser form, she tower over me and glared down with hatred. I smiled up at her. "You always do. You're their little rag doll. They're family too, aren't they?"

"You're words don't hurt me if that's what you wanted," I told her, looking up and smiling. "I know what I did before was wrong. I've learned."

She shook her head solemnly. Her glare melted into sadness. "At the least, nobody ever said you weren't self-aware."

She vanished in a flash of light. She was right, as always. I had been their doll for years. I knew I brewed hatred and distrust. But she was wrong about one thing. I refused to go back to Mother and Father. They always ruined the family. It was their fault we were trapped for years.

Another thing she said... it wasn't worry, but rather... concern? Concern. It concerned me. She wasn't the first to bring up the halfling still running around unchecked. Perhaps I should look into him more. The son of Ischia was beginning to become a nuisance.

I tried to ignore what Aksus had said. I pretended it didn't hurt me to be called a rag doll. Nothing she said was untrue, and that's what made it hurt. I tried to continue my walk in peace, but I was never good at hiding my emotions.

Normally, it would disappoint me not to see someone for so long, but I perfered it now. I didn't want my family to see me upset, especially over something as dumb as I was.

My travels brought me to the Library of Citune. It would seem strange for a Goddess of Secrecy to have a library, but only she could go in. That is, until she became mortal. Now, it welcomed all in the pursuit of knowledge.