Beauty and the Vial: Tested

Chapter 1 ~ Erida and Alexander

A Lamur, Georgia, USA Novel

By Jo Dora Webster

How will Alexander deal with the curse that Erida caused to be put upon him?

Chapter 1 ~ Erida and Alexander

In the past a group of Greek immigrants settled this area and called it Agape Duro. They sensed that one particular grove was blessed by the Goddess and resolved to keep it sacred and unspoiled.

"What brings you here to Agape Duro, sister of Ares?"

"I know my place and can not incite what is not already there in these mortals' hearts."

"Erida, you know that your scream can not overcome my protection. I will not have my town thrown into war."

"Yet I have some who have given their heart to me within. To my own, I need not shout but instead whisper."

"Even if you have wolves in my sheepfold, you shall not disrupt my purpose here, for I will not allow that."

"That remains to be seen, Dite. As to my purpose here, it is done and so simple to affect these fragile mortals by turning off a single gene by influencing the mother to provide the means herself."

Yet Erida had been at work in Agape Duro or Lamur as it was called today. A later influx of french immigrants started calling this place L'amour. An earlier attack by Erida caused much of the history of this place to be lost to the inhabitants. In the recovery from that attack, they took pen and paper and established a town with a mis-spoken and remembered form of L'amour. And thus Lamur came into being as the place was known today

Even though the two being goddesses were evenly matched in power, this sacred ground filled with thousands of years of receiving the power of her presence and the human love here she inspired, was Aphrodite's advantage. Without warning a blast of constructive power greatest of all emitted from Aphrodite. Erida avoided it by escaping in a pocket of space time which the blast sealed up banishing Erida from Earth for now.

"I must discover how Erida thwarted my protections. Perhaps the dryads from 'Zeus' Grove' might be able to tell me what had been missed."

Aphrodite was drawn to another site where Erida had been at work. A solitary oak tree, yet born of "Zeus' Grove" had been a symbol to Lamur Institute and they rolled the tree in celebration of their victories much like the followers of Auburn did with the trees at Toomer's corner. A zealous teen of a rival school had poisoned the tree. It was dying and so was the Dryad who tended it which had been locked inside by the poison. Aphrodite further cloaked her presence by engulfing the tree with her power. She opened the tree and released an aged horribly disfigured and scared dryad from it.

"Poor child, what do you call yourself?"

"Thank you, my Lady. I am Gynylya and also called Lia"

"I will help you Lia, but all is lost unless your tree be saved too. I shall entreat Zeus to intervene to save your tree."

"Thank you, My Lady. It is good."

"Father Zeus, Please hear the plea of your daughter. Erida's follower has cursed this tree so it die except for your intervention. Both the tree and Gynylya must be saved for either to survive. As you heal the tree, I will heal Gynylya so both be saved, if it is your will Father Zeus."

"I so will, Daughter. Let it be done!"

As Aphrodite focused her power to beautify Gynylyta, Zeus rejuvenated the tree so it was healthy and alive. When the tree gained back its power, Lia was restored to her youth and she prostrated her self for Zeus.

"I take great pride in you, Daughter. Erida has wronged us both, so together we shall have an avatar in Gynylya who has been filled with power from both of us. Gynylya will you swear fealty to Zeus and Aphrodite?"

"I will. I, Gynylya, do swear Fealty and service unto Zeus and Aphrodite – To speak and to be silent, to do and to let be, To come and to go, in need and in plenty, In peace and in war, in living and in dying,
From this hour henceforth, until my Lord release me, Death take me, or the world end.

"I, Zeus."

"And I, Aphrodite.

"Hear and shall not forget, nor fail to reward, that which is freely given: Fealty with love, Valor with honor, and Oath-breaking with vengeance. Rise, Avatar Gynylya, favored of both Zeus and Aphrodite. Go in our esteem"

"Aphrodite, instruct our avatar on what we require of her, in our service at this place. I depart."

"Lia, you are to be our eyes and ears here. You must warn us of attacks on the grove and those of my line of priestess here. Repel any that you can in you own power and commune with us to intervene where you are not able."

"I will, My Lady, with all of my being."

"Was it the tree or you Lia who inspired Erida to attack?"

"It was me, My Lady, I had observed women from one line being killed in apparent accidents caused by their daughters who perished with them. That line is your line of priestesses. Now all who remained outside your chosen unborn girl and her mother were Fathers and Sons. Erida has inspired in the Fathers and Sons deep bigotry where they war with any they deem inferior to them. I discovered this and sought to warn your chosen girl's mother. Before I could do so, her follower poisoned the tree, with me inside it trapping me until you and Zeus intervene."

"That was some time ago. What happens now?"

"I watched helplessly as Erida gave the mother the means to imprison your Penelope in the flesh of a boy by introducing something in the womb that turned off the gene that would have allowed her to form normally as a girl. Erida inspired hatred of what she knew was her unborn daughter. She hoped that if she had a son instead that both might be saved. She gave birth and gave her Penelope indwelling boy flesh, the name Alexander."

"I urge you to protect Alexander from the bigotry of the males of his family. Penelope will indeed emerge, for she can not help being her real self. All is not lost, for my priestess, her great aunt Montine resides far away in Denver. Send the child to her when she becomes of age so that she can choose her destiny."

"I will do all that you have asked, My Lady"

"I take my leave of you. Call me back if Erida intrudes again."

So Aphrodite left and Avatar Lia remained with a very big job ahead of her.

**********************

Celia took care for her students very carefully as the headmistress of Lamur Preparatory very seriously. She had come to Lamur AFB on a transfer and served the Air Force school for dependents inside Lamur AFB in various capacities. It was the original site of Lamur Institute which was originally a boarding school and included elementary through college. Pre-school to middle school was what remained when a new Lamur Institute was built outside the Air Force Base. The Lamur Oak was clearly viable through the high iron bar fence that marked the base boundary between the two schools.

The new Lamur Institute was constructed, maintained, staffed and administered by the local board of education,C which was always having funding problems. The new facilities included Air Force provided Dorms on campus for use of any military dependents if their parents were on assignment. The Air Force funded the construction and turned over to the board of Education, dorms for general student use.

Celia was key in encouraging Damion and Chloe Megalos to take advantage of their Air Force benefits and enroll Alexander in Lamur Preschool at no charge since Alexander had been classified as a special needs child. Celia had detected signs of Alexander being rejected at home and with their extended family due to displaying attributes of female gender. The summer after third grade, Alex, as he liked to be called, became involved in an incident of abuse when his uncle who has since been incarcerated, beat Alex for relaxing for a moment and acting like an ordinary girl. After initial reluctance, Alex's parents let him become a boarding school student.

Celia saw her responsibility as being two fold towards Alex. First she made sure the child's female nature had ways to be expressed in a manner where it was not exposed to others, especially to those who might persecute Alex. Second, she made sure that Alex knew how to emulate male behavior and had all the skills that a male child, Alex's age would have. She made sure that Alex would not let down and relax at any time away from the school.

Unfortunately there were summers that both his parents were gone on assignment and Alex had to stay with one of his uncles. While they were careful not to physically harm Alex, they did not feel that verbal abuse would be provable so they made Alex's life even more miserable when he did not have any chance to truly express himself. While the best place for Alex to be was at his Great Aunt's in Denver, they could not place him that far away without parental permission which never came since Damion and Chloe blamed Alex's challenges on her.

One summer when Celia knew Alex was old enough to not unintentionally reveal a secret, She made a new way for Alex to cope.

Celia was watching over Alex as he escaped his uncle's yard, looking for some respite from all the verbal abuse. She caught up to Alex when he was bent over crying and offered her shoulder to comfort him. When he had cried himself out, composed himself, Celia was ready to offer Alex a wondrous chance.

"Alex, do you trust me?"

"With my life, Miss Celia!"

"Good! Follow me!"

Alex followed Celia into the sacred grove. Alex had heard stories of all kinds of strange things happening there. A lot of the children said that it made them very uncomfortable to be anywhere around it. Yet he felt right at home being right in the middle of it. Celia led him to the other side of the grove which was bounded by a steep incline. They had passed the banks of a stream which meandered through the sacred grove and watered all the trees vegetation and wildlife within it.

They came to the stream's source which was a waterfall that flowed into a basin which fed the rest of the stream. Celia led Alex on a hidden path which led around underneath the waterfall. Hidden from view was a framed marble rectangular block flush with the almost vertical incline. However there was no indication of a knob or key hole or anything around it which might suggest a way to open it.

"Thank you for showing me this, Celia. Looks like we have come to a dead end since we have no key to open the door"

"At least you see it is a door. What if you are the key?"

"I'm the key? How could I be the key? Would I just touch my palm to the door and it would open?"

"Why don't you try it?"

"Okay."

"Alex touched the door and found that it wasn't really solid and his palm passed right through it. Next he walked forward and Celia came forward through the apparent door too. From this side, inside the room under the waterfall, it appeared to be open, revealing the path and the waterfall beyond. Then he noticed something amazing. He didn't look like a boy anymore, he looked like the girl that he'd always imagined himself to truly be. Goodness, those pronouns did not seem right now. She looked like the girl she should have been."

"What is this, Celia? I'm a girl and..."

Gail, since that was the name she always associated with her true self, realized it was rude to keep looking at her reflection from the wall and turned to look at Celia. But what she saw caused her to stop and stare as well. You see what she saw was a wild girl in tune with nature like the nymphs or dryads from mythology instead of the familiar face of Miss Celia.

"Miss Celia, is that really you? Is this really me?"

"Yes, I'm still the person you know as Miss Celia. You see this place reveals the true self of who ever enters it. The true me is a Dryad with a funny name but my nickname is Lia either way and I hope you'll call me that. And the girl you see before you reflected is your true self. What would you like for me to call you?"

"Please Miss Lia, call me Gail. Have I really turned into a girl? May I be like this for always?"

"Gail, I'm sorry. You just look like your true self using a glamour which is a kind of majick. It would take more power than this room has to transform you into a girl for always. As for me, I was born a dryad and I use a glamour when I am in the human world. This room removed that glamour when I came inside it. Sweetie, I wish it was completely real, but do you like the way you look now?

"Oh yes, Miss Lia. I love it!"

"Good! For you this place is for learning and discovery. It is always a place where you can take a time out from the sometimes cruel human world. All you have to do is imagine something and it will appear as real as it needs to be for your purpose. Food and things you need to sustain yourself would be real while other things would be a glamour mostly."

"When may I come here?"

"Anytime you desire to or need to come. Just remember to be courteous to those in charge of you even though they are horrid to you sometimes."

"I understand. It's a special place to spend special times but not somewhere to hide away from the world totally. And I do it just the way I did this time?"

Every time you want to get here. Yes."

Gail was very happy to play in the room which became anything her imagination could create. She was aware of the clock and before it approached the time she was expected back, She left. While it was sad to see himself as Alex again, but not so bad seeing Celia back beside her. They walked through the open door but when they looked back from the other side, it looked as solid as it had looked before. Celia took her leave of alex and he scurried happily home, remembering to act like the boy everyone else thought that he was.

In that summer and the summers that followed, Alex went and played in the room. The room was so wonderful that she could play for hours by herself. Gail was a prompt girl and never once was she missed by coming home late.

**********************

As Alex grew up, he started to need to go to the room less and less. By the summer where he turned twelve he only came on his birthday just so Gail could have a birthday party as well as the one Alex received in the human world.

Headmistress Celia called Alex into her office close to the end of the school year after the year he turned thirteen. Alex wondered which uncle he would be staying with this summer since again they were both on assignment as the end of the school year approached.

"Thank you for coming, Alex. I've made arrangements for you to stay over summer until the next school term. This summer you will be staying with your Great Aunt Montine. You are old enough to satisfy the regulations which we have to send you by yourself on a plane to Denver. You'll be flying military passenger service so I know that you'll be well looked after on the trip.

"I'm so glad that I will be able to spend the summer with my Great Aunt Montine. She's a wonderful lady no matter what the rest of the family say. The only thing is that Gail won't get a chance to have a birthday this summer. May I make it up when I get back, Miss Celia?

"Next term you'll be old enough for a pass solo off of the grounds as well so you'll have a chance to do that if you wish."

"Wonderful! Thank you so much for everything, Headmistress Celia."

"You're welcome, Alex. Dismissed."

Alex left the headmistress' office, with his head filled with all the things he'd like to do with his Great Aunt and in Denver.