Long Past Dawn

"So... where are we going...?" I ask Lyra for the nth time tonight, sure I already know but it just sounds so bizarre and not to mention I also don't really want to go.

I gaze in the mirror Lyra brought as I try to get comfortable in the weird dress; I think Lyra called it a peplos or something like that.

I don't really know how to explain it. It's a long, tube-like cloth with the top edge folded down about halfway so that what was the top of the tube was now dr.a.p.ed below my waist, and the bottom of the tube is at my ankle. The dress was then gathered about the waist and the folded top edge pinned over my shoulders.

"Artemis's temple for the full moon banquet," Lyra says with an eye roll as she watches me in front of the mirror, we've been here for about twenty minutes so far and I don't think I can put it off for much longer.

"Of course, the full moon banquet," I say with a smirk as I throw a smile over my shoulder at Lyra who ignores me. I turn back to the mirror to see how I look, "Why do I have to do this again?"

"Because it's a full moon, you're a guest of Hippolyta's and it's tradition," Lyra recites, she must have the whole thing down by now since I've asked her so many times.

"Tradition is peer pressure from dead people," I say, trying to stall for a little bit longer.

"Avoiding the subject are we?" Lyra laughs as I make a face in the mirror.

"Only mostly," I smirk at her.

"If you're done trying to get out of this, Eulalia and Anastasia are waiting. Now then, shall we?" Lyra asks with a laugh.

"Not even in your dreams," I laugh as I turn to her. I guess I really can't put this off any longer.

"I never dream of such things," Lyra smirks at me as we head out of my room and towards 'Artemis's temple'.

***

We're standing in front of a beautiful ancient greek temple made of white marble, I can't help but wonder if this is what the Parthenon in Greece would look like if it wasn't in its state right now.

The whole place is lit by glowing light hung between the olive trees and pillars of the temple. The warm light of fire outflowing from the temple is an amazing contrast to the ink-black sky above us.

This whole place is almost like something out of a myth, or maybe even painting.

"It's beautiful..." I say, awestruck by the beauty of the scene before me. It's like something out of an oil painting.

"What do you expect for the goddess of the hunt?" Eulalia says from behind us, "It may only be rivaled by Pallas."

Pallas? I don't recognize that as a name, then again I never really learned much about the Greek gods...

Anastasia comes up behind us, "Ha, what's this drunk trying to put into your mind now?"

"Nothing untrue," Eulalia says, throwing an arm around Anastasia, she doesn't even bat an eye at the drunk insult.

"Whatever," Anastasia snorts as she ducks from under Eulalia's arm.

Lyra rolls her eyes before turning to the temple, her peplos looks much better on her, Eulalia and Anastasia then it does on me. "Let's get going or we'll miss it."

As we step up and into the temple the warm light of the torches bounces off everything it touches, giving the whole setting an ethereal glow to it.

"Beautiful..." I mumble as I try to take everything in.

Lyra snorts, "You've said that twice in the last five minutes."

"But it really is..." I mutter as I look down at the ground in embarrassment.

Lyra snickers and shoves my shoulder playfully. "Come on, it'll be fun."

"They said," I mutter under my breath, soft enough that she doesn't hear it.

"What did you say?" Eulalia asks, turning around.

"Nothing," I laugh as I walk a little bit faster.

We walk out into a huge hall with flowering vines and branches hang from the ceiling and long oak tables are set out with long benches underneath them.

At the end of a hall is a huge statue that looks to be maybe forty feet towers above everything in the hall.

Her face is well sculpted from the marble it's made of and her hair seems to be drawn back into a bun, a quiver full of arrows is slung over one shoulder while she holds a deer by the antlers in one hand and a bow in the other. Her dress seems much like ours but different, it's sorter and much more movable. Along with the dress she's wearing sandals.

The whole thing is beautiful and parts of it are covered in gold. It's breathtaking.

As I stare at the statue I have a feeling I've seen the woman before, I have no idea how but the way she looks seems very familiar to me. I shrug off the feeling, maybe I've seen a statue like it before.

"Let me guess," Lyra says, smirking at me, "It's beautiful."

I wrinkle my nose at her. "So where are we going to sit," I say as I try to change the subject.

"Anywhere you want after you stop saying everything is beautiful," Lyra teases.

Make that a failed attempt at changing the subject.

Suddenly music starts up from somewhere in the hall and I follow the others as we go to sit down at the end of one of the tables.

As we sit down I let myself get lost in the music, I don't know what instruments they use but it has an eerie feeling to it and just seems to grab you, but at the same time, it's gentle. It really is beautiful.

I'm drawn from my thoughts as Hippolyta stands from her seat. And just like from when she welcomed me, she raises up her glass, this time it's full of a deep red liquid. "To Artemis and her moon!"

"To Artemis!" The Amazon's echo, "To her moon!"

Hippolyta sits down and the feast begins.

My mouth waters as I stare at the thin cut meats, potatoes, loaves of bread, cheese that spreads like butter and tart berries. Every dish is mouth-watering and I can't wait to take a bite.