Admittedly no knight in shining armor, Phrixus does show up to save Astraea from herself a few times. As she refuses to accept the supernatural and her new condition, her relationships become more complicated. She teeters between giving up and putti...
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She was running, against no less than a blistering wind.
In a turning point loss, seek what cannot be found in the heart of divine upset.
Her foot caught. Pitching forward, her body hit the ground with a thud. When she picked her head up, through a blur she recognized the towering gate erected in a landscape of rolling clouds and fog with no other visible surrounding structures.
Her precarious position wasn't the only sign that the prophecy dream was enhanced to support her lucidity. Rather than falling into a frigid pitch black ocean, the ground solidified under her. Standing from her hands and knees, the cold light feeling in her head and lungs made her sway with her first steps.
It took an unseemly number of steps and labored breaths to reach the gate. After spending a moment gathering strength, Astraea pushed the gate open.
Dizziness multiplied when she recognized the components of the garden out of place from the layout she knew.
Instead of two flanking wisteria trellises, there was an oversized encompassing one. It took all attention away from the fountain in the center beneath it, which paled in size and allure in comparison to the grand arch. Continuing on the path, she tore her eyes away from the wisteria to the water feature.
It was the clearest water she'd ever seen. Peering into one of the pools, her wide eyes were reflected.
While the rest of the dwelling was obscured, it was clear for her to walk up to the heavyset double doors, neither of which had a knob or handle. Her heart was beating faster as she raised her arm and pressed her hand on one of the doors. It was warmer than her palm or fingers and there was a discernible uptick in her pulse but she pushed on the door anyway.
They didn't creak but slowly parted to reveal a tiled sitting room complete with a set of geometric faux leather furniture. Her first step inside pinged off of the floor. The door clicked behind her.
A door opened in one of the corners of the room. She held her breath, but no one stepped out. Taking a shaky breath, she forced herself toward it, going out of her way to avoid brushing any of the furniture.
Her brisk strides came to an end when she reached the doorway and peered into darkness. She grabbed the ajar door, but lost her grip and was pulled in by the vacuum of air.
"Astraea! It is a true pleasure to finally meet you face to face." The voice was strong and clear, tinged with humor and absent of threat. It contradicted every preconceived notion she had formed for the creator.
Her eyes didn't adjust to the darkness. Every hair stood up in alert and her lips tingled.
"Now," the word boomed in her ears. "I know you have a lot of questions. You deserve answers. Unfortunately, it is still not quite time for that. Because of an unexpected development, there has been a slight change to the current plan. But I will let you figure out exactly what that is. What was important was making sure you knew."
