A Taste of Inspriation by Moondancer Drake

Heat Rating: Warm

Content Warning: GLBT lesbian fiction

Can Mia find the courage to truly explore her deepest self, or is she doomed to a lonely life that threatens her very spirit?

On a day when the whole nation celebrates, Mia has locked herself away, lost in a wave of heartbreak and desperate for inspiration that has so long been absent from her life. Inspiration proves to be as absent a mistress as the lover who deserted her and their teenage son. That is, until an invitation arrives that will change her live forever.

Can Mia find the courage to truly explore her deepest self, or is she doomed to a lonely life that threatens her very spirit?

Mia closed the door and sat the package on the couch. She wasn't expecting anything. Had someone left her a gift? Solstice was still months away and her birthday was long past. It was strange.

With a grin of expectation, she pulled her pocket knife from her jacket that lay on the back of the couch. The sharp blade cut the thin string easily and she tore open the paper like an excited kid. The inner box was gold-colored and shiny. Not knowing how delicate what was inside might be, Mia carefully peeled away the tape that held it shut, rather than cutting.

On top of a stack of black leather and glittery satin was a hard leather mask. It was simple in design, and when she held it up it covered her face from the top of her nose to just under her hair line. She laced the soft goatskin ties through her thick black hair and tied the strings together at the back of her head. The inside of the leather formed over her face as if it had been meant just for her.

Mia bent her neck so she could see her reflection in the oval-shaped mirror next to the apartment door. The leather was a shade darker than her nutmeg skin, but accented the heart-like shape of her face well. Her black eyes peered out from the slender holes whose slanted shape mirrored her own eyes. Her wavy black hair framed the mask and her face in a way that gave her appearance a primal beauty.

Her curiosity grew as Mia sifted through the rest of the clothing in the box. Considering the lacing on the pants and vest, along with the style of the shirt, the feather accented hat and matching boots she guessed this was likely a pirate or a swashbuckler costume.

Mia laughed nervously. Whoever was responsible for this gift knew her very well. She'd been fascinated with pirates and swashbuckling heroes from books and even movies since she was little. How many times had she pretended to be Sinbad or Zorro, saving the other girls in her neighborhood from imaginary villains? How badly she wanted to be the hero.

Her fingers ran over the leather vest as she breathed in the scent of it. Fine. If whoever it was wanted her to go so badly, then what the hell. She'd go.

Mia sat back down at her computer and opened a browser window. She did a search, but didn't find much information on Avalon Island. She did run across mention of a ferry that traveled to the island. The next scheduled departure was an hour from now. If she hurried, she could make it before it set sail.

In her concentration, Mia never looked up to the row of goddesses who watched over her from above. If she had, she might have seen Kali Ma smile in satisfaction.