Athena City Sphinx pt. 3

A few months later, Elisa found herself back in the elevator again. She smiled in spite of herself as she watched the light moving up, getting closer to the 'P' that was the penthouse level. Neith was waiting up there for her, probably just as eager to see Elisa as Elisa was to see her. The girl liked the meetings that she and the sphinx had. It felt good to slip into the elevator in the jewelry store and go all the way to the top and enter this strange and wonderful world.

The doors slid open and Elisa walked out into the penthouse. She didn't walk far before the sphinx walked out from between some curtains. "Ah, Elisa," she said, giving the girl a confident smile as she padded over and hopped up on the couch. "I was wondering if it was time again for you to come by."

"Hi, Neith," Elisa said, doing her best to keep her smile up as she walked over and sat down on the couch beside the sphinx. "You all right?"

"Of course. Come now, remove your shoes, make yourself comfortable. You are welcome in my den."

The girl did as the sphinx had invited her to, kicking off her shoes and wriggling her toes a moment in the lush carpet. She loved the extravagance with which the den had been decorated, though Neith had told her before that a great part of it was mere illusion, curtains and shades of magic that made it appear much better than it really was. Magic or not, Elisa still adored it.

"So, how have you been?" the sphinx asked the girl, tucking her paws under herself and listening intently.

Elisa put her hands on her knees and looked up for a moment, thinking. "Oh, not really a lot," she said at last. "Mother is... tiring. But that's nothing new."

Neith raised an eyebrow. "You have not told me about this. You have hinted at it, but never said just what she does. Will you not tell me?"

Elisa thought for a moment. Up until now she had not told the sphinx anything because she was not quite sure of the creature. And with very good reason. But, lately she found herself more and more comfortable with Neith, able to open up easier and easier. Perhaps she could tell her a little.

"She's pressuring," the girl said at last, crossing her legs and leaning towards the sphinx a little. "She wants me to be more like her."

"Why does she wish for this?"

Elisa shrugged her shoulders. "I'm not sure."

Neith tilted her head as she looked at the girl. "How does she 'pressure' you?"

"She pesters me to get out and attend all these parties and galas that I really have no interest in going to," Elisa said, wringing her hands a little. "She wants me to play dress-up like she did, I guess."

"And, this is something you do not wish to do," the sphinx said.

The girl shook her head in agreement. "No," she said. "It's all these eyes trying to see what you're doing, and how you measure up."

"What do they wish to measure you against?"

Elisa got up with a sigh and walked forward a little, running her hands down the sides of her dress in frustration. Neith stayed where she was, keeping an eye on the girl.

"Other girls, somewhat. My... my mother mostly, I guess. A lot."

"It seems as though you do not care much to think that," the said.

The girl fretted, trying to come up with some sort of satisfactory explanation for the whole thing. "Well, she's my mother. I don't want to think ill of her. It's... it's not right of me."

Neith turned and laid over on her side, facing Elisa. "What does she think of you?"

A direct question, perhaps more direct than Elisa cared to ask. She tried to pretend like she didn't know what the answer was, that perhaps she was unsure as to her mother's true opinion of her. But she couldn't lie to herself for very long. Thoughts of disapproving looks, of new acquaintances turned away after but one visit, and lately suitors that she was forced to see in spite of her general disinterest in them. Behavior such as this wasn't too hard to read.

"Elisa?" Neith asked.

The girl was quiet, staring out the window and rubbing her arms. She really hadn't wanted to think about this. She'd come up here to the sphinx's den to try and get away from that reality. Yes, that's how it was. This magic, this illusion, she came to it to save herself from what her mother brought about upon her. But the specter of that woman's influence followed her even here. Elisa felt cold.

"I...I have to go," she stammered out.

She turned, walking back over to the couch on unsteady legs to get her shoes. She had to go, had to clear her head, had to do something to keep these thoughts from drowning her. As she bent down to get her heels, putting a hand on the couch to keep her balance, a paw was placed over that hand. Elisa looked up. Neith's big yellow eyes gazed into hers, a concerned expression plain to see in them.

"Stay and speak with me," the sphinx said, earnest care in her voice. "Do not go forth into the world so torn. You may confide in me."

Elisa took a deep breath, doing her best to regain her composure. She found herself sinking back onto the couch, blinking back welling tears. Neith moved, scooting up so that one of her wings wrapped across the girl's shoulder, pulling Elisa back against her body. She couldn't hold herself back anymore and buried herself in the sphinx's fur, softly sobbing. At this, Neith sat up on her haunches and pulled the girl into her paws as best she could, trying to hug her close. Elisa could only comply, still crying.

"There, there," the sphinx said, followed by strange half-whispered words that the girl did not know the meanings of. Not that she really cared. Pent up emotion was now bubbling to the surface and Elisa could barely control herself. The tears flowed, soaking a little wet spot in Nieth's fur.

At last, Elisa had cried just about as much as she thought she could. She dabbed at her eyes with her dress, doing her best to dry them and try to look presentable again. Nieth patted her back as best she could with her paw. The girl took a few minutes to breath, to gather herself so that she could talk with the sphinx again.

"I... I don't think my mother truly... cares for me," she managed to stammer out at last, hesitant to say that she didn't think her mother even loved her.

"Because she would rather mold you into someone more reminiscent of herself?" Neith asked.

Elisa nodded in response. "She's... she's never approved of anything I've done of myself, not unless it's like what she would have done."

She took a deep breath and leaned against the sphinx. There wasn't much more to say on the matter. There were details, of course, but in the end they would all point back to the crux of it all. And each one might only serve to drive in the pangs of sorrow that Elisa felt that much harder. She didn't know if she could deal with that.

"Your mother has wasted a great thing," Neith said at last.

Elisa looked up, caught off guard by the sphinx's words. "What?"

Neith looked down with a smile. "You're very beautiful, Elisa. I have seen many walk the streets below in my lifetime, and you are one of the better ones. As good as it gets without straying into outright legend, at least."

Elisa fought back a sniffle. "You... you mean that?"

"I would not invite you into my den as I do if I did not," the sphinx said. She gave the girl a kiss on the forehead, then hugged her close again. "If the world without becomes too burdensome, know that this place is always open to you as a refuge."

At Neith's words, Elisa sank into her hold, snuggling into her fur as best she could. "Thank you," she whispered, grateful for what the sphinx was offering to her. She had no such place at the moment, not even her room back at the townhouse. This, this was better than that. A fortress unlike any other.

"You are welcome," Neith said, patting the girl's back again. After a moment or two, Elisa pulled herself free and took a deep breath, her heart lightening after the harsh and ugly truth that it had thought over. A faint smile returned to her. Things were better, yes, now that she had let that out. And they could only get better still.