Regina awakened feeling strange. Not so much "strange" as "different" than she normally felt in the morning. She could feel no pain! No penetrating torture buried deep in her limbs, no contractions in her stomach urging her to vomit, no harrowing dizziness that refused to let her focus.
Everything was just... normal.
A warm coziness wrapped around her and made her feel wonderful. She snuggled in the warmth. She had forgotten what it was like to be comfortable, to be able to rest! No chemicals or drugs to force it onto her and make her sleep through the agony.
"Regina!" A voice called to her. A gentle, maternal voice that did not belong to her mother.
"Wake up, Regina!" The voice urged.
"No, I want to stay here." Regina muttered, but she could feel the warmth unfolding around her. A breeze blew across her face. A fresh, floral smell instead of chemical sterility filled her senses. "I don't want to hurt anymore."
"Nothing can hurt you here." The voice promised.
"But..."
"Open your eyes, Regina."
She hesitantly obeyed. A bright light filled her vision. Was that... was that the sun? Slowly things started to come into focus. The sky. A tree. A branch. A leaf. The grass. The soil. The entire forest. Everything around her... she could...
"I can see again!" Regina cried out in such jubilation that she could scarcely help but leap into the air. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had just done. She looked down. She was standing! Without any assistance at all, she was standing!
"I can walk?" She noted with awe, her hands running over her legs as she slowly strode in a circle. She looked around at the world, her face beaming.
"I can walk!" She declared with triumph as tears fell down her face.
"You can do so much more than walk, Regina." The voice told her.
Regina realized that was true. She took a step, then another, before breaking into a jog, and as soon as she felt confident enough, a full run. She could hear the wind in her ears as it whipped back her hair and rushed over her body. The exhilaration of her legs churning below her and her feet pounding on the soft earth was like nothing she had ever felt. The absolute, unrestrained freedom of being able to run! Of not being bound to a wheelchair or tethered to machines that pumped poison into her veins! She threw out her hands and ran until her lungs begged her to stop, and even then she only obliged them hesitantly.
She had run out into a large clearing of the forest by the time she had spent herself. Her feet splashed down with every step in the sopping wet meadow. She huffed and came to a halt, leaning her palms against her knees to rest. She grinned at herself in the reflection of the water. She looked healthy for the first time in her memory. Her skin was a pristine and unblemished shade of minty green. Her hair was lush and dark with white flower buds ready to burst into bloom, and her antlers were fresh, new forks sprouting...
Wait...
Green? Flowers? antlers?
At that moment Regina realized that she could see right through the ground, or more specifically, that there was no ground below her at all! She was not standing in a meadow, she was standing on top of the water in the middle of a lake!
Upon making that revelation whatever tension was on the surface that was holding her up ceased to function and Regina plunged in. It surprised her so much that she accidentally gasped in a lungful. Her hands flew to her mouth, expecting to choke. When she did not she blinked in confusion. After an experimental test she discovered that she could breathe in the water!
Regina grinned and swam through the murky depth. She found she could cut through the water as easily as running on the land. A large school of fish approached her and circled the girl curiously.
"Hello, little fishies!" She spoke, not even surprised that she could do so underwater.
"Hello!" The school replied in unison.
"You can talk?" Regina observed in shock.
"Of course we can!" The lead fish said.
Nearby a clattering noise carried through the water and disturbed the school.
"Whoops! Got to go!" The leader told her before they all darted away.
A large shape emerged from the murk. A pike longer than Regina was tall cruised up to her. Hooked in its maw was a large, shiny fishing spoon that flashed in the sunlight and made the metallic noise that spooked the school.
"You didn't happen to see a school go by, did you?" The predator asked her.
"Um... yes, they went that way." She told it, pointing away from where they actually had gone.
"Thank you."
"Wait!" Regina bid as the pike turned away. She reached for its tooth filled mouth and carefully pried the spoon out, letting it flutter down to the bottom of the lake.
"Thank you! That's been stuck in my jaw for a week!" The pike said. "If you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to eat." It turned and slid away as silently as a shadow.
Regina swam for the shore. She emerged from the water to find someone waiting for her. A tall, beautiful woman with gorgeous blond hair and adorned in a blindingly white dress. The woman carried a large hunting bow that looked so stout that even the strongest of men would find it impossible to draw back.
"Hello, Regina," the woman said, "that was a kind thing you did for the pike, although I cannot condone the little lie you told her."
"Is... is this a dream?" Regina asked.
The woman shook her head. "No."
Regina thought for a moment. "Am I dead?"
The woman smiled sadly. "The end of one journey begets another." She told the girl.
"Are you... God?" Regina asked in awe.
"At one time I was worshiped as one, but that is a time forgotten." The woman admitted. "Just like you, humanity has moved on. Such is the way things are. Yet, even though I may be lost in the minds of men, I still hold sway over the pure maidens."
The woman moved closer to Regina and put a hand on her face. A wave of comfort and compassion swept over the girl.
"I knew you for so long," the goddess told her, "it broke my heart to see you suffer more than your share. You had such a fierce heart, such a pure soul, and so much love for the world that I wanted to give you another chance. A chance to run. A chance to swim. A chance to make a difference. Can you forgive me this desire?"
Without knowing if it was proper, and forgetting that she was soaking wet, Regina threw her arms around the woman's waist and embraced her. "Forgive you?" Tears ran down her face. "I can only thank you!"
Proper or not, the goddess allowed Regina to hold her for as long as she desired, lovingly stroking the leaves that now made up her hair.
"This gift does come with a responsibility." The goddess spoke as she pointed her bow to a tree. It was a mighty and ancient tree that towered over all the rest.
"Everything you can see from the topmost branch is your duty to defend. The forest, the lake, even the small village nestled beyond. This tree is your body and your home. You must return to it every day. It will shelter and protect you, just as you will shelter and protect it."
Hanging from a lower branch was a bow and a quiver of silver arrows.
"This is your weapon." The goddess said. "Should you ever need such."
"Will I have to kill?" Regina asked with worry.
The goddess laughed. It was a sound like music. "That's why I love you so much! So gentle and kind. No, the arrows will only cause those struck to slumber for one day."
The base of the great tree creaked softly. The bark unfolded to reveal a carved silhouette in the wood beneath.
"Speaking of slumber." The goddess said as she led the girl to the tree. "It would be good if you got some rest."
"But... " Regina hesitated. "I want to run, and climb, and —"
"Shh," the goddess tutted and put a finger on the girl's lips, "you have so many tomorrows to do that."
Regina obediently settled herself into the silhouette, finding it to be a perfect fit. The tree's bark enveloped her in its warm, protective grasp, leaving only her face exposed.
"Will I see you in the morning?" Regina asked.
The goddess kissed her on the forehead. "I will always be here when you need me."
Comforted, the newborn dryad closed her eyes and fell asleep.
