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The warmth of the dining room fades into a cool breeze.
Scooting my chair back, I make for the door.
“Pandy,” Artemis’s voice echoes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Please sit down.”
Not again.
Please not right now.
Swaying, I feel my legs give out from under me. My body smacks the ground.
“Send for Chiron. I believe she’s ill.” Artemis scoops me up into her arms as I blink away the vision. “I'm going to bring her to the infirmary. Make sure he is there.”
Closing my eyes, I feel myself overcome by the vision.
Smoke and pine hang in the air. Though my dinner was wonderful, the smells didn’t compare. Swirling around me, I take in the sights of the town all around. Cool cobbled streets with piles of stacked snow. Town homes decorated in lights, fir, wreathes, and mistletoe decorate every single house in sight.
The townspeople wander in their fur lined cloaks. Though I can’t feel the normal frigid air of winter even with my silken chiton dress. My bare shoulders welcome the cold like an old friend. The snow capped mountains that brush up against the city aren’t like Caelum.
“Pandy,” whispers the voice of a woman who grabs my wrist to drag me along. “It is a wonder that you never get lost. I swear, at some point we may need to tie a piece of ribbon around your waist to prevent you from wandering off.”
With the woman’s back to me, I couldn’t tell who or what she was. Though her voice was filled with kindness.
Familiarity flooded the situation from the woman to the mountains, even the town.
“Hey Artemis! Found her. Pandora got distracted watching the mountains again,” the oddly familiar woman with the dark hair states.
Smiling serenely, Artemis wraps her arms around me, “Pandy, don’t do that to us. We thought we lost you. Can you imagine the god’s frustration if we lost you? He’d have our hides after he tore his home apart to find you.”
The world feels fuzzy as Artemis releases me from the tight embrace. “Where’s Apollo and Ares?”
Both women's faces control shrewdly at the mention of those two names. “Who knows where Ares is but good riddance.” Artemis leans her head into the shoulder of the dark-haired woman with the steel-colored eyes.
The woman felt so familiar yet not quite. The curve of her heart shaped face, her sun kissed skin and those eyes. But where did I know her from?
The woman in turn tucks her arm around the Goddess of the Moon’s waist. In a lazy but practiced way. “Are you feeling okay? It looks like you’ve seen a shadow.”
I know her face. Not well but I recognize her, nonetheless. Not from my old home.
Not even from the castle, I suspect. “Excuse me, do I know you from somewhere?” My gut tells me that I know her.
“Of course you know me,” laughs the dark haired woman before sharing a look with Artemis.
Blinking my eyes, I wake up in a bright and airy room. Judging from the tall floor to ceiling windows, we’re at one of the highest points in the palace. Everything is crisp and bright. There’s not a speck of dust or grim anywhere.
Scanning the room, I see the familiar centaur making a draught of some kind. All the other rows of beds are empty.
Chiron.
He looks the same as my memories. As does this infirmary. Down to the preparation table the centaur currently stands at.
Currently he is grinding ingredients in his mortar. Pausing every so often to check on his progress before continuing. In one of these instances, his gaze lifts to me. His eyes emanate warmth and concern. “Ah yes, this is the Pandora that I have heard so much about.” He smiles brightly down at me from his preparation table. Long curly brown hair, beard, and bright brown eyes. He looks friendly and kind.
Unable to contain my curiosity, I ask, “Have we met before?”
In a place other than my visions. But I know that I couldn’t say something like that. People may think that I’m losing my mind.
Gently, Chiron replies, “Not in this life. I'm certain we’d remember each other if we’d met.” Chiron sighs. Walking over to a cabinet, he pulls out several jars, vials, and dried leaves. “And I'm certain you’d remember if you’d met one of my kind. Centaurs aren’t common in the mortal lands anymore,” Though he laughed, I could see the traces of sadness in his eyes that were unmistakable.
