Chapter Fifteen.

She has not called out to me lately....her spirit grows distant, so that the radiant source I draw from her well is tainted by the shadow of her silence, her absence.
Afflicted by a state of reoccurring rejection, I am forced to dance with the demons of Doubt, Failure, and Illusion.
As we dance, these demons whisper to me a tale of a Maiden's sorrow, and a Mother's sacrifice, and a Crone's harsh appraisal.
I tell these demons that they hold no power over me, for I am a son of the Sun, and my spirit is eternal.
I tell them she is mine, she is real, she is truth.
The growling and malignant laughter of the demon, Doubt, attempts to blot out my voice of reason.
"She does not belong to you", the demon triumphantly declares, "for she does not believe in you."
Those horrible bewitching words echo through the chambers of my mind, as I review the complete memory of my journey with her.
Before my eyes ever touched upon her magnificent mortal form, I heard her name falling from the judgmental lips of ignorant kitchen wenches.
"Who is this Maiden of the...