Our ride into the city later that day was lovely—although my phantom wounds pained me greatly as I rode. The weather was gorgeous, and I got to show off and ride sidesaddle on my own white horse! We brought about twenty guards with us—including Terry.

I got to see the fruits of Paris’ labor. Many new homes were built along with new businesses for men to make a living. The city was thriving and looked very presentable—even if brick and mortar homes weren’t to my taste.

We dismounted by a stable and a stable boy took our horses and told us to come pick them up when we were ready.

I turned and looked about for any interesting shops I wished to go to, and Paris said to me flirtatiously as I did, “you looked so poised and elegant on that horse.”

He brought me close to him by my hips and kissed me far too intimately for being in public. The crowd around us, including the guards, gasped in horror.

I looked around and sweated at the people who found his public display distasteful.

I heard people whispering, “the king shouldn’t do that with his wife in public at all! Let alone with a moth!”

Paris, I began to realize, cared far too little of the opinions of others and had no cap on his behaviors. I pushed him away gently and said, “good God! I want to make a good impression!”

Paris recognized I was right and reluctantly released me. I curtsied to the crowd gathering around us who were looking on in horror as their king kissed someone they considered to be a beast.

“Good morning everyone!” I said to them cheerfully. “It’s nice to meet you all! I’m sorry I haven’t come out to greet you all sooner--I’ve been a little under the weather since we arrived. I just wanted to let you know that Paris has been working very hard to get Nui as glorious as it once was so that everyone can live in comfort; I know many of you moved to Nui hoping for a fresh place to start over. Just look at how lovely these new businesses and homes are!”

Many of them thought me to be very silly and made snide comments about me, but others thought my speech to be very sweet and commented that Paris was doing a great job and that there was a change in his demeanor that they were accrediting to me. I thought I had made a good impression, but Paris took me into his arms protectively and said, “Mimi, you should not bring such attention to yourself!”

I giggled. “Nothing bad happened! Now, let us look at the shops!”

Moths did not have smithies, and so I found myself drawn to a nearby smithy which was belching smoke out the chimney. The blacksmith showed me the tools and swords he made and how he madethem and I looked on in fascination. He held up a horseshoe and showed me a set of armor he made for wealthy soldiers and even some jewelry he had made.

I adored the great big ruby ring he had!

“This is lovely!” I squealed.

“Do you want it?” Paris asked me, putting his hands on my shoulders and leaning over one.

I spun around and nearly jumped with joy. “You’d get it for me?”

“Of course, my precious.” He kissed my cheek.

The blacksmith insisted that he let us have it for free, but I shook my head. “An honest day’s work deserves and honest day’s pay, right Paris?”

Paris made a face and coughed up the gold needed to buy it from his coin purse.

We went to many shops—including the butcher’s shop, a tailor’s shop, and a florist selling beautiful flowers. Paris gladly bought me a bouquet.

A crowd was looking at us in intrigue and wondering why we were going amongst them. I realized that human royalty probably didn’t go among their subjects the way Daddy and other moth kings did. Many of them whispered that we were very likable and down to earth, and I thought all was going well until a woman threw a tomato at my face.

“Disgusting! A moth girl in a station that belongs to a human woman and a king that sleeps with beasts!” The woman said with jealous fury.

I wiped the tomato off my face as Paris shouted, “arrest that woman!”

I grabbed Paris’ arm and said to him, “no, don’t! I’m fine…" I added in a hushed tone, "this incident makes her look bad, not me.”

Paris was silent for a moment as he looked into my eyes and then he said, “never mind. Leave her be.”

I left Paris’ side and our protective circle of guards without his permission and approached the human woman cautiously. Paris was calling for me hectically and ordering me to come back.

“Why did you throw that?” I asked her.

The woman would not meet my gaze as she murmured angrily, “my husband and I are peasants living in the lower city who strive for everything we have--we work hard everyday; our youngest child died of hunger while we lived at Ironwall and we moved here to get a new start. All the while the king comes out here and parades a beast around in rich clothing and jewelry that she did not work for or earn and stole from a deserving human queen.”

I looked down sadly. My heart broke at the news of her child. “I am sorry about your child. All I can ask of you is that you hold me to being a fair and good queen.”

I curtsied to her lowly and fell to my knees. She looked down at me in shock and surprise.

A long moment passed as she gazed at me.

She crumbled under my determined gaze.

She sniffled, grabbed my hand, and helped me up. “Forgive me, my queen. I misjudged you.”

I smiled at her and embraced her. “I understand…”

In a moment, however, Paris ripped me from the woman’s embrace and hauled me away as I saw the blackness return to his eyes. He scolded me, “what the hell were you thinking! Do you want to get hurt? Do you want to die? There could be dangerous men who agree with that woman…”

I never wanted to see those eyes again.

I said to him with a quavering voice, “you’re hurting my arms..”

I melted under his furious gaze and hoped he would let me go. In a moment, he did. “We’re going back to the castle right now.”

“But we were having so much fun…” I said sadly.

And as he continued to berate me, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something very strange. I saw a shining halo appear above Terry’s head who was still standing in the crowd of guards. I saw a beautiful, glowing, ethereal woman whose features were difficult to make out appear in front of him. She was wearing a flowing white robe and floating despite the face that she had no wings. He grabbed him by the cheeks and dragged him along ny them.

He began running after the woman until he disappeared behind a building and I couldn’t see him.

“Terry!” I screamed and ran away from Paris and the guards.

I heard Paris yelling my name furiously as I chased after Terry. I ignored him and rounded the corner of the street Terry had gone down. Iaw him heading toward the edge of the city with the ethereal woman holding her arms out to him.

A chilling wind kicked up as I saw him dash out of the city and run into the woods outside nearby.

I looked back and saw Paris chasing me with his guards following him and shouting angrily.

“I’m sorry! I promise I’ll come back!” I yelled to him and dashed after Terry into the woods of Purjun.

__

A pale blue shade covered every inch of the forest when I entered it. It was freezing, and I had no cloak to keep me warm. There was snow on the ground and I realized this was not how the woods should be at this time of year.

Far in the distance, I saw the ethereal woman hauling the mesmerized Terry forward by his shoulders. I sped up and followed.

A great mist began descending as I ran. It surrounded me and I could see nothing for minutes. I heard leaves being crunched under my feet along with snow as I went and birds chirping in the distance.

I took a break and panted for a moment.

The mist cleared and I smelled smoke.

I was standing atop a hill and down the short incline I saw savage wild mothmen dancing around a fire in loin cloths and chanting sinisterly.

They were eating raw animal innards and were sacrificing one of their own people to the wicked god. I clapped a hand to my mouth in horror as I saw a gigantic red dove materialize in the air—casting the whole forest around it in a blood red color. The dove’s beak snapped at the moth and I looked away.

I ran away in horror.

I thought about running back to Paris, but if I lost Terry and he turned up dead I would never forgive myself. I ran deeper into the misty woods until the red lighting shifted back to a calming blue shade.

I spotted Terry again as he walked into a glowing cave with the ethereal woman shepherding him.

Wind blew through my fur as I followed the pair. Leaves flew at my face from rustling tree as I entered the cave after him and saw him sitting before a beautiful woman made of roots and grass and other greenery with lovely transparent glittering wings. She was definitely the same woman who was luring him.

The woman drew him into her embrace and kissed him lovingly. “Yes, you’re the one I’m looking for…”

“What are you doing?” I demanded the woman, tearing Terry from her embrace. “And what are you?”

“I am a sprite, my dear, and this boy is to be my Catalydd. I have searched for him for thousands of years. Give him here,” the woman held out her arms.

I examined Terry’s face worriedly. He still had a halo over his head and his face was entirely blank. I demanded while holding him close, “Terry, can you hear me? Terry?”

“Give him to me and he will be returned to normal—not only that, but he will be all the more powerful.” The woman told me.

“What is a Catalydd? What is a sprite?” I demanded, not yielding Terry.

“A Catalydd is a person with a grand destiny. A sprite is a creature that gives special individuals their destiny.” The sprite explained.

I didn’t trust a word she was saying. I took a step backward toward the opening of the cave—ready to run. “Special individuals? What makes Terry so special?”

The sprite smiled a little. “Oh, many things… This one has the reddest blood I’ve ever seen. Fate is a funny thing and requires things like unusually red blood to bless someone with a destiny. It is a miracle he has not become a murderer or a rapist. Especially with that dove fluttering in his head and whispering things to him. If only I could take the dove out of his head, but it has burrowed too deeply. It is lucky you have such a calming effect on him.”

It took me a moment, but I remembered my father telling me bedtime stories about this woman from moth holy scripture. This was the goddess of fate, Amser—a neutral goddess who neither wanted moths to succeed or not succeed. She merely wanted an amusing show to be put on.

“Do you know how to get rid of the doves?” I asked her.

“Only my brother can.” Amser replied. “And he never will. Alas, that is why I am here. My brother who died so long ago has been resurrected and is having fun playing with mortals. I want to have fun too.”

I remembered that the god of lust was her sibling god who was killed by the other gods and cast down to the underworld. It was strange to be standing face-to-face with a goddess I had rejected in favor of the human god, and still doubt her existence.

She stretched out her arms that were made of roots and tore Terry from my grasp. She held him in her arms and on her lap and tapped his forehead three times in a triangular fashion. His forehead lit up for a moment, and then the light faded.

“There we go, now he has a grand destiny to achieve. You may take him back, my dear.” And Amser pushed him toward me. I caught him and was nearly crushed by how heavy he was in his armor.

I asked her, “what did you do to him?”

She didn’t answer. Instead she snapped her fingers and I appeared with Terry outside of the castle at night. Terry’s eyes no longer looked glazed over and his eyes lit up in confusion. “What happened?”

I told him what I had seen and he was in disbelief.

“A woman made of greenery? A moth god?” Terry was incredulous. But then he said, “But I know you would never lie to me! So it must be true! How strange that anyone should think a peasant like me would have a grand destiny!”

“They aren’t gods,” I told him. “They’re nothing but a bunch of jealous brothers and sisters.”

“You’re right there! There’s only one god!” Terry agreed.

I looked at the castle in fear. Paris would not be happy that I had run away.

I will write later.