10A/N: I'M SO SORRY! I haven't updated in a looooooong time. Now I feel bad, so I'm trying to get the chapter done. GAAAAH! Hard. Anyway, I'm wasting time. The story!
Celia
EVELYN POV:
They arrived on the edge of a clear blue lake. The grass that spread around it was almost too green in its vibrancy.
"Why are these people considered sinners?" Evelyn asked.
"The word 'sin' means literally to turn away from the gods. These people were half immortal, just as you are. With an immortal parent, they were of course extremely beautiful. There were many more of your type back at that time, and they were all not used to being denied. They took advantage of their beauty, seducing helpless mortals. Commitment became something they heard of, not something they experienced. Their parents grew angry and ordered them to stop, but they refused. They turned away from the gods, thus earning the name 'sinners'." Cosmina responded.
"Why is everything so . . . vibrant here? It looks like a video game." Evelyn asked.
"When the Avla arrived on the planet, they began combining their power to change this world to their ideals. They grew buildings from the ground and didn't bother to make fake bodies; they could all see each other. They live their days being petty and disobedient, doing whatever they want and having fun. Can you see why I didn't want to introduce you when you were younger?" Cosmina asked.
"Yes. I still wish I could have a friend, though." Evelyn sighed.
"I'm sorry," Cosmina said. "They don't leave this solar system and dimension anyway."
"Then who was that boy? He wasn't in this dimension, but he had enough power and control of it that he must have been a godborn. Could he be-" Evelyn started.
"No," Cosmina cut her off, giving a grimace as if she had said something she shouldn't have. "You can't talk to him. Ever. Stay away, he's dangerous."
"He can't do anything to me. I'm much stronger than him." Evelyn protested.
"No. He was trying to cath a human, and then he was too surprised to do anything else. He's meant to kill you. He'll try again one day." Cosmina looked away. "But what else could I do?" she said softly to herself.
"What else could you do about what?" Evelyn asked.
"It's nothing. I'm taking you to meet the Avla now."
Evelyn sighed, but let it pass. They walked into a large building made of marble with guards standing outside. The guards simply glanced at them before allowing them to pass.
As they walked in a man leaned quickly away from the woman who was sitting on a tall throne, giggling.
"Oh, um, Cosmina, long time no see!" the woman said, wiping her mouth hastily.
"Don't even bother trying to hide it, Celia, I could clearly see what you were doing. So could my daughter, for that matter."
"Daughter?" the woman called Celia sat up quickly, interest flashing through her eyes.
"She's already sixteen, Celia. She knows enough to not be influenced by your ridiculous ideas. You can't have her." Cosmina said sharply.
"That's not what I meant at all," Celia said, relaxing back into her seat. "Don't tell me you finally gave up on your silly rules!" She said playfully.
Cosmina stiffened. "It's not the same," she hissed.
Evelyn looked at her mother in surprise. Why was she so angry?
Celia sighed quietly. "Why are you here, Lady Light? Your lack of humor is beginning to bore me."
Cosmina took a slow breath and carefully relaxed her body. "A favor, Celia. I've come to ask for your help."
"Oh?" Celia sat up, surprised. "What could I offer you?" She asked mockingly.
"I'd like you to train my daughter, if you are willing." Cosmina said in a dignified manner, pointedly ignoring Celia's sarcasm.
"What?!" Evelyn said in surprise. "That's the first I've heard of this plan!"
"I told you he would come for you! I don't want you to be defenseless." Cosmina said, annoyed.
Celia leaned forward in interest. "Sp it's battle training you want?"
Cosmina sighed. "Please. As much as I hate to say it, your people are the best in most studies of battle and evasion."
"There's a reason for that," Celia said, her mouth turning up in a wry smile.
"Yes, I know. And you are forbidden to use that as a means to train her." Cosmina said sharply.
"Why? Why should I do this for you? You're hardly in a position to make demands. How shall you pay me?" Celia said, the smile disappearing in her annoyance.
Cosmina drew herself up stiffly. "I will allow you to have a child again. Only one, but I know that you want it."
Celia gasped and fell back in her chair. "A child? You would return what you took away so long ago?"
"Only once. And only because I knew it was the only thing you'd accept."
Evelyn looked at her mother in confusion as tears streamed down Celia's face.
"When they turned away from the gods, they were punished by never being allowed to have a child again. Since they didn't die of old age, if they could reproduce their population would grow much too quickly." Cosmina told Evelyn softly.
Celia had pulled herself together. "I accept. She will receive the best training here, to help her with . . . ?"
Cosmina sighed. "I'll tell you in private."
"Shouldn't she know? I would tell her, if she were mine," Celia said. "And she's about to be mine, in terms of a student-teacher relationship," she added thoughtfully.
Cosmina glared. "I will tell you the full story and answer your questions because it is necessary to get her the proper training. I don't want her to know, but I suppose that there's almost no chance you won't tell her. Since you've never listened to me, why start now?" She seemed to be continuing and old argument that the two women had.
"Yes, why start now? I'll say it again, Cosmina: My way is more fun."
"And I'll say it again: My way helps more than myself. That should be enough fun for anyone."
"I see you'll never agree to living in the moment. I suppose I shall agree to your request to tell me in private, but I give no guarantees on the future."
Cosmina sighed. "It is enough." She walked across the room and placed her hand on the temple of the other woman.
The entire conversation took no more than a few seconds, thoughts traveling to the other as they were formed. Evelyn was surprised at the duration; most thought conversations took an instant to be completed.
"I see," Celia said as Cosmina pulled away. "It is ridiculous that Evelyn does not know, of course."
Cosmina ignored her as she walked across the room to Evelyn. "Do not follow them blindly, but work well. I need to return to my world now. Already the lack of power in the air has me feeling weak."
Evelyn hugged her mother and watched her walk outside before letting her essence diffuse as it switched dimensions.
"Finally!" Celia said. "Now that your sadly uptight mother is gone, I shall tell you a story."
"Don't insult my mother. She seems nicer than you," Evelyn stated angrily.
"Oh, I'm sure she's a very nice woman, but don't be so quick to judge me based on what she says. We can both be nice people who simply don't get along. Now, try to forget your prejudice against me. If you're going to dislike me, at least do it because you know me, not the woman your mother described to you as being me."
Evelyn nodded reluctantly as Celia watched her. "Though it would be better if you did like me to some extent. It will make your time here much easier," Celia added.
Evelyn sighed as she dropped into her essence and found the part of her that ruled emotions. She quickly sorted through them until she found the resentment she held for Celia. She concentrated on it until it disappeared. Immediately she felt better about the woman watching her.
"Fascinating," Celia breathed. "I hadn't expected you to know much about that, since most gods usually lack that particular skill."
"What?" Evelyn asked, surprised.
Celia sighed. "You just went through your emotions and deleted the sense of resentment you had for me. The skill of physically managing our emotions is something we learned to do on our own. It certainly helps impartial judging and negotiations. Anyway, before the training begins I'm going to tell you a couple stories."
"About what?" Evelyn said, walking over to Celia's throne.
"The first one will be about why the Avla are how we are. The second will be about you, and the boy that is making your training necessary."
A/N: Finally! That took waaaay too long to finish. I'm sorry I didn't do the stories too, but this chapter already had too much stuff crammed into it. And I'm kinda lazy. Once again, I'm so sorry that I didn't get this out sooner, I forgot to post it and I had a lot of stuff to do school-wise recently. Anyway, thanks so much for reading!