The Moon's Daughter

A short story based on the Greek goddess of night, Nyx. There is no real legend of how she was created, so this is just something I came up with a few years ago. Enjoy!

One day, Artemis, the goddess of the moon and the hunt, was out running with a pack of wolves. That day, King Ophelius was out hunting alone and spied the beautiful in her wolf form resting on rock. Thinking she was merely a wolf resting, Ophelius loosed an arrow the pierced Artemis in the stomach. The blow forced Artemis to shift quickly to her godly form, causing Ophelius to bow down and beg for mercy when he realized he had just shot a goddess.

When Artemis saw Ophelius, she pulled the shaft of the arrow out, leaving only the arrowhead embedded in her womb. “Rise, young king,” she told him, “for you have done the impossible. You have pierced me with a mortal arrow. This shall be your reward: The arrowhead embedded in me will become a seed in my womb. Tonight, when the moon is at its highest point, I will bear you a daughter. You will care for her and hide her parentage for 18 years. Then, and only then will she discover who she truly is.”

Thus, Nyx was born.

~ 18 years later ~

“Nyx Nightdaughter! Wake up and get ready! Your mother’s waiting for you!” Nyx’s servant and closest friend, Zoey, called. Nyx groaned and tossed in her bed. It was too early in the morning to wake up. Then she remembered what day it was and jumped out of bed. She quickly dressed in her favorite black dress and cloak.

When she got down the stairs, Zoey was waiting for her with a smile. “Took you long enough,” Zoey scolded playfully. “We were going to start breakfast without you. Happy birthday, by the way,” she added.

“Thank you and we both know they wouldn’t dare,” Nyx replied. “Where is my mother? Have you seen her? Is she awake yet?”

Zoey’s smile faded for a moment, but only for a moment. “Queen Dalia is waiting for you in the dining hall along with King Ophelius. They have a surprise for you,” she responded. Nyx smiled.

“I love surprises.”

“I know.”

When they arrived at the dining hall, Zoey bowed and excused herself. Zoey had to eat in the kitchen because she was a common servant. When I am queen that will change, Nyx thought. She will be a proper lady of the court, as my best friend should be.

“Daughter,” King Ophelius called, interrupting her thoughts, “happy birthday. Did you sleep well?” The king strode toward his daughter, his arms open to embrace her. Nyx hugged her father.

“Of course.” Nyx replied happily. Her father always asked the same question every morning and every morning, Nyx gave the same answer. She pulled away from him and turned to her mother. “Good morning, my queen.” Nyx bowed and made a show of kissing Queen Dalia’s hand jokingly.

Queen Dalia laughed and hugged Nyx. “You had best save those kisses for someone else,” she joked.

Nyx looked at her in confusion. “Who do you mean?”

“Who else?” A voice said from behind. “Last time I checked, I was the only one you had eyes for.” Nyx spun around to see her boyfriend, Erebus, standing behind her, his arms open like her father’s had been. Nyx squealed and jumped into his arms happily. “Good to see you too. Happy birthday,” he added as he wrapped her in a tight hug.

“What are you doing here?” she asked. “I thought you were on a quest for your mother.” Erebus was a son of Aphrodite, so sometimes he went on quests for her. He had been on a quest to Athens to help settle a quarrel between Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite, something about a golden apple.

Erebus shrugged. “They didn’t even need me. Mother got what she wanted as usual, but I think there might be a war coming between Troy and Greece,” he explained. Nyx sighed. Aphrodite was always causing trouble, even though that was Nemesis’ job.

“Nyx, there is something your father and I have to tell you.” Queen Dalia interrupted sadly. She had a tired look on her face, like all her years of ruling had finally taken their toll.

“Yes, mother?”

Queen Dalia sighed. “Eighteen years ago, your father went hunting in the woods. When came back, he did not come back alone.”

“What do you mean?” Nyx asked.

“I mean that he came back with you, Nyx. I mean that you are not my biological daughter.”

“W-wha-what?” Nyx managed to stutter. “You mean to say that I am not your daughter?” Queen Dalia nodded. “But whose daughter am I, then?”

“You are the first and only daughter of Artemis,” King Ophelius answered. “My reward for being the first and only mortal to hit her with a mortal arrow. She asked me to keep this from you until you were eighteen years old. Until today.”

Nyx backed away from them until she bumped into Erebus. She looked up at him. “Is this true?” she asked, but the look on his face gave her an answer. He nodded. “How long have you known?” Nyx knew the answer to that too, but asked anyway. Erebus didn’t answer. “How long?” she demanded.

“Since I met you.” Erebus finally replied.

“And Zoey too?” He nodded. Anger boiled up inside her until she couldn’t hold it in anymore. She slapped him. Hard. “How dare you? How dare you keep this from me? Both of you.” Tears stinging in her eyes, she ran out of the dining hall.

“Nyx, wait!” she heard Zoey and Erebus running after her. How could they? She thought angrily. She hated the voice inside her that replied by saying, Maybe they didn’t have a choice. Nyx didn’t care whether they had a choice. All she cared about was getting out of there.

Soon she arrived at her favorite spot in the kingdom, a little piece that led into the ocean. Nyx collapsed, her tears rushing out like a faucet turning on. Night had fallen and there was a full moon out. She looked up at the moon through her tears.

“Is this what you wanted?” Nyx yelled at the sky. “Did you want to see me cry? Well, here are my tears! What more do you want?”

Suddenly, she felt a breeze. When she looked down at herself, she realized she was surrounded by a thousand twinkling stars. They danced around her, twinkling and glittering like, well, stars. “Mother?” she whispered. The stars danced around Nyx playfully one last time before they left her alone.

“I do not want your tears, daughter,” a voice said. “I want you to be great one day. Do not be angry, for it was I who ordered that you not know your parentage until today. One day you will join me on the mountain, along with Erebus, but until then, you must be strong and never forget that darkness does not equate to evil just as light does not always bring good.”

Nyx nodded, her tears drying. Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise. When she turned, she

saw Erebus and Zoey standing awestruck behind the trees that hid her little hideout. “How long have you guys been standing there?” Nyx asked, wiping her eyes.

“We saw the whole thing,” Erebus answered. He and Zoey rushed up to hug her tightly. When she broke away, Nyx looked back up at the moon.

“I’m not mad at you. I understand why you had to lie now,” she told them.

Erebus wrapped his arms around her. “So where does that leave the two of us? At the end of our story?” he whispered in her ear.

Nyx turned around and returned his embrace before looking back up at him. “No, our story has only begun.”

Author's Note

So what do you think? I'm considering turning this into a full-blown story, but I'm not sure if I should. Also, I wrote this several years ago, so please forgive any grammatical errors, although I would appreciate if you pointed them out.

Reviews

[ghostlyhearts]

I really enjoyed reading this. I feel you could turn this into a great story.