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PART ONE
It had been necessary to move her. Mallos had already tried to kill her once; there's no reason why he shouldn't try again, and in her permanently unconscious state there's no way he couldn't succeed. The fact that Poppy can't control her powers is neither here nor there, since she represents divinity regardless. Indeed, there are ways of getting around the uncontrollable nature of her magic; the combined help of Aura and others of Set-Merut can help her to tame it for some spells, and when she's desperate enough the magic will respond of its own accord to her heart's wishes. Somehow, that Poppy would support Set-Merut has never been doubted by anyone, despite her disillusionment with Aura and her unusually affectionate relationship with Mallos - perhaps it's assumed that she wouldn't support him in the light of his recent attempts to kill her, and his not-so-recent attempts to kill her husband.
Nevertheless, whether or not Poppy would support Aura is irrelevant, because Aura would support Poppy with almost any decision. Her safety is paramount. Hence, when Draco showed his true colours and joined forces with Mallos, it was Aura who had taken over responsibility for Poppy's well-being and moved her to the safer location on Apeliotes Island.
Unlike in the Shady Labyrinth where one palace dominates and all members reside within it, Apeliotes Island has a scattering of various sized structures which represent both individual family homes and community buildings. Poppy is kept in a small, one-roomed hut on the other side of the island, away from the little "town". She has no need of anything since divinity keeps her alive, and because of the untalkative nature of a comatose person she has very few visitors, so she's left by and large alone to her dreams.
Twilight. A full moon shines through the net curtains, illuminating the girl's naturally tanned, oval-shaped face. Eurasian, Poppy has the attractive olive skin tone common of the Mediterranean people she grew up around; it's one of the few aspects of her physical appearance others would covet. Her eyes are her only other enviable feature: rimmed with long, black eyelashes and slightly slanted (reflecting the 'Asian' part of 'Eurasian'), they are an almost identical shade of bright blue to her mother's.
How long has it been? A year, two years? Two years since the cast-iron frying pan almost killed her with a blow to the head. Two years since Aura stitched her up and lay her to her rest. Two years of lying in perfect stillness, until those vivid blue eyes flick open.
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