~ Daughters Of The Moon ~

by

Kathye Quick

One

Pieram, in the Province of Attica,

Territory of Athens, Greece

During the reign of the Archon Draco

The small child inched her way up the irregular rock cliff edging slowly toward the secret place. A blast of wind whipped some strands of white blond hair across her face, stinging her tender cheeks. Ignoring the pain, she clung precariously to the face of the steep bank with both hands and shook her head to clear her eyes. These bright blue eyes danced with anticipation as she looked up and saw that she was nearly to her goal.

The heartless wind tried again to dislodge the small invader by coiling her robe around her calves, binding her legs together, nearly causing her to topple from the ledge. Undaunted, she reached down with one hand and hiked the robe high, tucking it into her rope belt to prevent it from stopping her again. She had barely taken another step when another blast of air slapped at her like a huge hand trying to swat her from the mountain out of which was carved the sacred ornate altar of Hecate. But she was nearly to the top and the prize was much too precious for her to give up now.

Only she knew about the small opening that led to the cave inside the mountain. This was a place that was hers alone, a place where she could play with the doll she had so carefully hidden inside.

Playthings were strictly forbidden at the temple of Hecate. The sacred holy place positioned on the outskirts of the city of Pieram in the heart of the Greek Empire of Attica, was dedicated to the ways of the night and its goddess. Hecate was a most selfish deity, demanding extreme and absolute tribute from all her subjects with no room for distractions of any type, particularly among the girl-children who were being trained in her ways and rites.

When Hecate’s rules were observed, the night passed silently into day. But when defied, she let loose her power and her rage descended upon the Earth bringing storms and destruction. Animals howled with fright and it was said that her ghosts roamed freely from the underworld.

The High Priestess, Magna, directed this austere coven ruthlessly and without question. In the dark light of the moon, the High Priestess experienced Hecate’s sorcery and witchcraft and the powers of the herbs of the goddess came alive. According to strict tenets, these rites were carefully observed and only one was ever performed during the light of day.

Barely seven, the child Alliya didn’t understand such things. She liked to cuddle her straw doll and pretend to be its mother. She never knew her own mother, only the Priestesses and Handmaidens of Hecate who had raised her since birth when she had been sold to the sect.

Try as she may, Alliya could not hold fast to all that was expected of her. She struggled to be a good child during the long hours of seemingly infinite drills, but in her heart, she longed to be held and cuddled and allowed to play as she saw the children of the city play during some of her trips to the market with Teela, a temple handmaiden.

Alliya’s feelings confused her, distracting her from her studies and tormenting her dreams. The only thing she knew for sure was that she feared the dark goddess above everything. That’s why the climb was so important. On days when the fears threatened to swallow her like one of Hecate’s vile hounds of the night, she came to the cave to cuddle close to her doll. Today was one of those days.

When she finally reached the opening to the cave, the sun had just become visible on the horizon. Glancing over both shoulders to be sure that she was alone, she quickly slipped inside.

The air within the hollow was cold and damp and she shivered at the abrupt change in temperature. She pulled her modest robe even tighter around her body and blinked to accustom her eyes to the dimness before making her way to the back. There, by a small crack in the wall, lay the most precious thing in her world, the small doll.

Gathering it up, she pressed the crude straw figure to her cheek and rocked back and forth with joy. A simple toy, made with bits of broom straw and scraps of discarded fabric from ritual temple garments, Teela had secretly fashioned the toy for Alliya one evening after prayers. To Alliya, it soon became more precious than gold.

Light from the rising sun filtered through a jagged crack in the wall, fell to the floor of the cave in long, dusty, white ribbons and caught Alliya’s attention. "See Trina," she said, pressing the doll to the irregular break, "See the altar below? It’s a special place that only special people like Magna can go. No one else is supposed to see the sacred ritual that will be performed on this most holy day. But I’ll see it. I’m going there today." Alliya angled the doll downward and continued. "See those stairs behind the altar? I’m going to wear a beautiful white dress and walk up the stairs." She pulled the doll close to her chest and spun in a circle. "Teela says it’s because I’m perfect that I get to be the Gift to Hecate during this time of the Great Rite. Teela checks all the time to make sure I don’t have any marks on my body. The Gift has to be perfect or Hecate might get mad and punish us all." She stopped her playful spinning. "Oh, you do remember Teela, don’t you? She made you for me. Teela says this is the highest honor anyone could have. She promised I would be happy after today because I’ll see Hecate. But even better than that, once the rite is completed Hecate will see that I’m really a good girl and let me be a priestess when the time comes." Even as she said the words, Alliya felt heaviness settle into her heart. Teela had to be right. There could be no other life than serving the goddess even if Alliya wished it with all her might.

For right now, however, the only thing that was truly important was her doll. Balanced on tiptoes, Alliya danced around the rock cavern with the straw figure folded into the protective circle of her arms. During the next few minutes, Alliya and her special friend shared the forbidden joys of childhood.

"I have to go now, Trina" Alliya said sadly as the sunlight crept higher across her face through the break in the cave. She cuddled the doll close to her cheek. "Oh, don’t cry. You do understand how important this day is, don’t you? I will be back tomorrow and we can play more. But for now you must be quiet. If anyone finds out about this place, they will be angry and I’ll be beaten." Standing on tiptoes, she wedged the doll into the widest part of the cracked wall. "There. Now you can see me and I’ll know you are watching. Tomorrow I’ll be back. I promise."