The Moon Spawn #1 (Waverly Stump and The 7 Realms)

Chapter Fourteen

When Waverly awoke, she was lying on a bed properly tucked in. At first, she was confused concerning her surroundings then everything came flooding back to her in quite a rush. She sat up and curled herself near the edge of the bed. She remembered the room, she remembered how she had left it and where she had gone afterwards. She inched backwards wishing she could melt into the wall. Her eyes trailed around the room, assessing it as though she half expected to see a large ugly lioness crouched somewhere.

There was an iron table next to the window where a medium sized jar was laid with fireflies in it. Next to the jar were a few scrolls, a writing quill, small flower vases, a tray filled with a cup of milk, bread, grapes and fish, a neat napkin and two swords; one long and green, the other short and wooden. They were Waverly's blades.

Beautiful flowers rimmed around the circular window frame; buttercup, carnations and bluebells. The rest of the room was adorned with flowers enough to decorate a wedding scene. Next to Waverly's bed, a pair of sandals woven out of vines rested as if waiting for someone to slip their feet into it. Waverly sniffled and pulled the covers up to her chin. They smelled of winter's bark. The sound of dripping water and a crackling fire serenaded the atmosphere. It seemed unreal being in such a nice place after the ugly things she had just witnessed.

Waverly tried not to think but it was impossible. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she gazed pointedly at the knob of the door which was beginning to turn slowly. It slid open, rather gently, and someone's head poked in.

It was Selene's.

She had changed out of her white silk dress into a light blue one. It still had symbols of the crescent moon and stars all over it but it was much longer and graceful. She had a silver circlet pinned in the middle of her lush curls and she appeared a lot less shabbier than she was before.

Waverly stared at Selene in mild shock because her mother's skin tone was now lighter making their resemblance even more striking. She inched backward uneasily but there was no more space for maneuvering as her back was already plastered against the wall. Selene came over to her and sat on the bed. She held a greyish vial in her hand.

"I will not ask if you are alright because with what you have just survived, it is impossible to be alright."

She handed Waverly the vial. "Drink! It will calm you to an extent."

Waverly accepted the vial and drank from it. It tasted like a freshly made concoction and reminded her of the one she had received on the raft in the Gateway realm. She longed to have a taste of that one again. The effects of the medicine kicked in almost immediately. It settled her nerves a lot more than she expected it to but it did nothing to clear off the tiredness she felt. A ghostly type of weight rested on her shoulders that made her turn at every instant fearing Oculmus was behind her.

"Do you feel. . . better now?" Selene asked noticing her uneasiness.

Waverly stared at her. "Why do you appear different now?"

Selene lifted a questioning brow then realized what Waverly meant. She looked down at her bare arms as if checking for spots.

"I have not yet bothered to master control over this ability of mine. It is called Plecteri."

"Plecteri?"

Selene chuckled. "Yes. You see, Plecteri is the ability to alter aspects of one's appearance but it is a dangerous thing."

"Why is that?"

"Well, Plecteri is a delicate power and i was the first one to possess it. Now, a lot of other deities have it. It can be used for deceitful purposes, Waverly and that is what makes it dangerous."