A/ N: Since they're getting closer to the fight against Leviathan, the goddess communicates with her vessel through dreams or thoughts. This time, she chose to show her an old memory of a time that is no more. It takes place after one peculiar moment between Pride and Elpis where she had the choice to either love him with his flaws and qualities or leave him for a better suitor. Only her sister Sitäa, the goddess of Love, knew about her ordeal.
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« Elpis wait! Wait! »
Sitäa's voice echoed through the luxurious garden of the Primeval god's Pantheon. The tall goddess with the bronze skin and the long straight black hair looked at her smaller sister who was running away from her. They just had an argument about love, with Elpis making a case for her relationship with a Sin, one of the most dangerous enemies of the pantheon. Sitäa dismissed it at first, not because of the nature of her little sister's beloved but because of what he did. He wasn't faithful and it broke Elpis' heart to notice he wasn't. She went to him, to inform him that she deserved better and would be looking for better suitor but he spoke, he spoke and her knees went weak and she couldn't resist him. He wasn't perfect, never said he would be faithful, it just wasn't in his very nature but for Sitäa, this was evidence that he didn't care as much as Elpis thought he did. He couldn't care because Elpis wasn't his priority. At first, the pink haired goddess followed her sister's pieces of advice, after all, maybe the sin wasn't meant to be with a goddess. She had a lot of suitors anyway, better suitors. All were proper gods she could pick on to start a predictable life. Her life would be better, she thought to herself, better with gods she knew by heart, better in a rôle she was in perfect control of. The goddess of Light, the goddess of Hope. She could just so easily choose them.
« What more do you want to hear, sister? I refuse to stand here and be lectured about my choices. You can't understand! »
« What is it that I can't understand? I am the goddess of Love, I do understand Love. I /am/ Love incarnate, so please, stop acting like a child and talk to me. »
Elpis stopped and turned around to face her sister. Her irises were brightly burning, like two suns against the black sclera of her eyes. She crossed her arms over her chest and furrowed her brows as anger slowly became more and more intense. Sitäa blinked before she put her hands on her waist. She was ready to listen to her youngest sibling and in order to make Elpis feel more comfortable, she decided to relax her features and present a softer face to the youngster. It did help influence the young goddess who took a deep breath and pondered her words. She wanted Sitäa to understand where she came from and what she wanted, how messy and complicated her emotions were and that her anger towards Pride, while justified, wasn't ground for her to completely turn her back on him. She was lovestruck with him, deeply and utterly in love with the sin and knew that if she came to choose him, there would be heartaches, there would be arguments, there would be anger and violence but the good moments would outweigh the bad ones. Her love would transcend anything else. She knew it deep down that with him there would be more to her life and to her soul than she could have if she chose any of the other gods. The young goddess put her hand on her chest.
«He did hurt me. I know he did. I told him so. He hurt me but Sitäa...I am so much more when I am with him. I am not just the goddess of Light and Hope. I am Elpis and...He...He sees me. He respects me. He makes me see life in a new way. »
« Does he? Because if he doesn't choose you then he doesn't love you. »
« I know he does love me...in his own way. Sitäa, this is not puppy love. I am not naive. He is a Sin. He is Pride and yes, there would be times I would be frustrated and I would be upset, but he chose me. He will choose me! » -She claimed in a convincing tone.-
Elpis believed that he cared for her and he would treat her better now that he was aware of how badly it impacted on her. Sitäa wasn't convinced that Pride was capable of loving her sister the way she deserved to be but she saw the fire in the young goddess eyes. It was unlike any she had seen before. Surely, Elpis did have crushes on a few gods as she grew older. Innocent and chaste crushes that didn't take her further than the promise of a kiss. She always spoke of these with a blushing face and a shy smile but this was different when she spoke about the sin. She was passionate, her face alive and her gaze burning. She was in love, true love and it did catch the elder goddess' eye. Sitäa sighed and held onto her waist a little tighter.
« You sound like you're truly in love with him. »
« Love is messy, sister, you are the one who taught me so. Love is unpredictable and it makes you act in crazy ways. I fell in love with a Sin, which in itself is seen as treason here. I am taking risks by telling you everything but I believe in you and I trust you. » She held onto Sitäa's hand and pressed her lips against her soft skin.
« You keep saying he makes you feel special, but what I see right now, is a broken heart. You have a chance at being happier if you choose someone else. You know the many gods who try to wed you, you can learn how to work well with any of them to have a good marriage. Why not pick any of them? » -She tilted her head to the side but Elpis released her hands and dropped her arms.-
« I can't do that. I do not want to marry any of those gods. We are not meant to be. I can feel it Sitäa. None of them is my soulmate, none of them understands me the way Pride does. None of them make me feel like Pride does. I am Pride's. I gave myself to him, mind, body, and soul and I meant it. »
« You... » Elpis nodded and chewed on her bottom lip. She gave herself to the Sin, crossed the line nobody would forgive if they ever heard of it. The young goddess was scared of her older sister's reaction but Sitäa's features softened and she cupped her cheek with her left hand. « It's okay, child, do not fret. I am not going to tell your secret. I just wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into. »
«Love is messy, Sitäa. Love is absolute. I never realized until I met Pride how powerful this feeling could be. I never understood all your lessons about it but now I do. It's exhilarating, I feel.. I feel brand new and powerful and invincible.. » She bit her bottom lip harder. « I feel. He's constantly in my head and when I see him, I forget about the World. I forget about everything, there is just him. There is just him and me and I can't get enough of this feeling. It's overwhelming and..and... » She shut her eyes. « I love him, Sitäa. Nobody can understand it but you. I am willing to risk my life just so I can be with him. »
« I know. I know, child. I can see how different you are. You're more confident, more fierce, more../you/ and I can support it because I support you. However, I really want him to treat you well and make you happy. Love can make you do crazy things for the one you love, but love is only worthy when it's shared. Your love will fulfill you if you receive what you give. I do not know if he's capable of feeling Love, but I would gladly help you if I see he treats you well. » She pressed a kiss on her sister's forehead. « I want you happy, Sister. I need you to be happy. »
« I will be. I promise. »
The memory faded away and Asma woke up. Lately, due to the presence of the Dagger of Fate on Earth, she was able to communicate more and more with her human vessel. It strengthened the empathy Asma was feeling towards the goddess as well as her will to help. When she thought of it, they were similar in many ways. The goddess fell in love with an older, ancient version of the Sin. A version that was no more. She was willing to risk everything and did risk her own life to be with him. Did he love her? Asma doubted he ever could love someone, but he could take great care of them, he could consider them great like he did with her. Maybe that was the most they could get from him, the most Asma did. The human fell in love with the Sin, the actual version of him who had never met Hope and Light before. He learned how to care, showed that he could care for someone other than him when he tried to find a way not to kill her and set Elpis free. She knew that he would find a way to soften up, but she also knew that he just might not. Pride had lived for millennia without the presence of Elpis in his life as if he'd never met her due to the curse. He did remember today but he wasn't the same person she used to know. He was different, rougher on the edges, harder and definitely darker. He was all she knew about him and so much worse. Elpis was convinced she would still love him despite the consequences of the curse, despite her own change and thirst for blood, and despite her fears of not being able to reach out to him. She drummed her fingers against the mattress and put her left hand against her heart. She will soon be free. She only had to be patient.
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