The belle was a paradox, a conundrum, a strange mixture of innocence and sins. She was learned, experienced and yet asked her questions with the wide-eyed wonder of a young filly being thrust into the world from her mother's womb for the first time. I had to smile, a small little tilt in the corner of my pewter mouth, as I saw the gears turning in her pretty little crown, the understanding, the wisdom. It was a curious thing to watch, something I found myself enjoying. You can throw knowledge at one until their mind is so full of facts and lessons that they are unable to think of anything else - it is a far greater, and more rewarding task to activate the ability to think, to ponder, to realise truths for themselves in another, and I felt that I had done as much with this Ophelia.

I waited until all her words had been spoken, her question of love, of loyalties, or forgiveness, before I decided to reply. I took the time to think about all that I wanted to say and express to her, for I truly wanted to deliver a response that would help her, not hinder her. I knew she would understand that my silence was not for lacking an answer, but more for constructing that answer in a way that would be most useful to her.

"Imagine if you will, that a bird has just hatched, and has a nightmare. It knows nothing else of the world out there, but is its situation any less important than a mighty God suffering from a nightmare?" I asked the question with a quiet, smooth voice, wondering, as I always did, whether I could encourage that brilliant mind of hers to riddle out the answer. "It is not for you or me to say whether your concerns are any less or more important than the next, simply because we are mortals. In my time, I have seen many troubles plague many souls, and I have seen the scars of their departure upon those souls. But troubles do pass, and soon, scars do fade." I pause, reflecting on my words, wondering if they are sufficient for her query, wondering if she understands all it is I am trying to portray. For her query involving love and loyalty, I am honestly unsure how to answer - the only true love and loyalty I have ever felt has been for the Goddess that lights the sky above us, and she has never led me astray.

"If the love is true, then forgiveness will not be required." I say simply, quietly, with a sense of finality about my words.

@[Ophelia]