DISCLAIMER: Don't own nuthin less it's me own OC's.
A horrible ache filled my head as I slowly sat up. My eyes opened slowly at first, only to snap open the rest of the way as I saw that I was not where I remember being. Panic surfaced for only a second, before I squashed it down with calm determination.
That's when I heard a form nearby moving. I turned and saw my best friend, Circe, laying on the other bed. She, too, was coming to.
"Where... where are we?" she asked softly, slowly sitting up. "Last thing I remember is that..."
Her eyes widened in horror.
"Are we dead?" she asked. I saw the panic begin to come over her and sighed in annoyance. Without a word, I got out of bed and walked over to her, pulling her into my arms.
"Relax," I told her. "We are safe... for now. We will find out where we are soon enough. My instincts tell me that it won't be pleasant, but this works."
Then I heard voices drawing near, both male. To my confusion, I understood not a single word they were saying. I exchanged looks with Circe before they entered. Almost immediately, Circe clutched my arms in terror.
"They're not even human!" she squeaked. I sighed and mentally counted to ten. Sometimes she just irritated me so! One of the males was a man in a blue robe, his eyes completely blue, like they had no pupils. He had large, white, feathered wings coming out of his back. The male standing next to him was a minotaur, a creature of myth. I quirked a brow, but winced as Circe's nails dug into my arm as she buried her head in my shirt.
The male with wings said something to me, but I didn't understand it. I just frowned, my confusion apparent. Seeming to understand my predicament, he slowly offered his hand to me. I looked at him, untrusting. His eyes showed no sign of any tricks... so I placed my hand in his. Almost instantly, everything went blue, my sight completely blocked out. Then, just as fast as it had come, it was gone! The man had pulled his hand back and was watching me closely.
"Do you... understand?" he asked slowly. The minotaur now looked confused. I nodded. "Do you know how you got here?"
I shook my head.
"What do you remember?" he asked. My gaze went to the extremely confused minotaur.
"He cannot understand us?" I asked. The man sighed, but shook his head. I turned my attention back to him. "As far as I remember, my friend and I are supposed to be dead. We were at her house when a bomb went off. How we got here exactly is unknown."
He nodded slowly, then thought for a moment.
"I fear that the two of you must appear before the people so that we my decide what will become of you," he said. I nodded and slowly pried Circe's hands off my arm, wincing as my blood ran down my arm from where her nails had pierced the skin. The winged man merely waved his hand over it and the wounds healed. I gave him a momentary glance, then sighed.
"We cannot be here if we do not understand you," I said, my eyes going to the minotaur. "I will need his assistance."
The man said something to the confused minotaur and he nodded.
"How do you need his help?" the man asked.
"I need him to come a great deal closer," I answered, making the gesture at him. "I must absorb the needed information from him. Only then can I pass it on to Circe."
The man looked confused, but the minotaur had cautiously come a great deal closer. When he was close enough, I stood and (without hesitation) planted my lips on his. I felt his shock as he merely stood there and took it. My power coursed through us both until my mind melded with his, allowing me access to his memories, mainly the ones for their language. Once I'd gathered all I needed, I broke away. The minotaur's expression of shock was priceless as I licked my lips.
"So be it," I said, unsurprised to see comprehension on his face. I turned to Circe who was wearing a small smirk.
"Why do I get the feeling that you really, really wanted to do that?" she asked slyly. I grinned.
"What can I say?" I asked. "He's good-lookin!"
She laughed.
I pressed my forhead to hers, channelling my knowlege to her. Shortly, I broke away from her. She smirked.
"Poor guy," she said. "You kiss him, then confuse the livin' hell outta him by speaking to me in our language, and now you get to explain why you kissed him!"
I smirked at her, then looked at the recovered minotaur.
"Sorry, hon," I said. "See, I can absorb information from another person's mind, but only thorugh the mouth."
"So why did you use me and not Boreas?" he asked. I grinned.
"He's not as good-lookin!" I teased with a wink, then turned my attention back to Boreas while the surprised minotaur tried to recover again.
"Taurus will bring you to the gathering," Boreas said. I nodded and he left, leaving Taurus with us girls. Circe looked at me.
"What's gonna happen to us at this gathering?" she asked. Drawing upon Taurus's memory, I soon had an answer.
"They will tell us how much they despise the human race, blame us for crime we did not commit, make us punishable for a war that's centuries old, then decide whether to kill us or simply make it so that we can never leave," I answered. Again, Taurus was surprised. I glanced at him. "Your memories, hon. When I absorb information, I can't control what else slips into my mind beyond what I was looking for."
He nodded, though I could see him tense at this new information.
"Fortunately for you, she's usually pretty quick about getting what she needs and getting out," Circe consoled him. "See, if the information's not what she's looking for directly, it will merely be shadows in her mind, passing quickly from her knowlege."
He nodded, relaxing.
"Hmm," I thought. "Someone has something to hide..."
"Eris, what are we gonna do?" Circe asked. "I don't wanna be blamed for something I didn't do!"
I sighed.
"Patience, love," I told her. "It will all be over with soon."
The gathering indeed went as I had imagined. As soon as Circe and I walked in, the crowd shouted out threats, shocked notes, and other such hateful things. I just rolled my eyes and winced as Circe's nails pierced my skin again.
"Kill the humans!"
"ENOUGH!" Boreas's voice boomed over the din. Only when silence fell did he dare speak again. "These two appeared on our island under unusual circumstances. Both are dead in their world, or should be."
Circe looked at me, confused.
"I told him," I answered simply.
"They haven't come here to be judged or are you all forgetting one other human that did us a great service, Miss Maza?" he continued.
"But these two merely show us that humans are coming!" argued a gorgon, slithering closer. Ekidna, my mind supplied. "Let us destroy the human race before they destroy us!"
The crowd roared it approval, all sorts of phrases littering the air.
"If we're talking about the destruction of all humanity, can I cast my vote with her?" I asked calmly, my voice carrying as all voices stopped dead. All eyes were on me.
"You would betray your own?" Ekidna asked. My eyes iced over as I looked at her.
"Just as they betrayed me," I answered coldly. "Look at yourselves. Think about how humans are. Anything they don't understand brings fear to them. Fear is the key to everything evil. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."
I paused, letting that sink in.
"You cannot deny that humans are slowly moving up the totem pole and soon will be knocking on your door," I continued. "What then? You and I both know that they'd just as soon destroy anything that doesn't fit into their version of a perfect world. They see you as monsters, our history books speaking of your own escapades against us, leaving out the parts where our race wronged you."
The silence was deafening.
"What makes you think that if humans come here, you'll be anything more than a footnote in our latest book?" I continued coldly. "Humans care nothing for what is not their own unless taught otherwise from birth. They bring war upon their own for the most pointless reasons, if only for the thrill of the kill and the momentary power."
"If they cannot get along with themselves, what can possible make you believe you'll stand a chance either?" Circe added, catching on. "Those humans outnumber you more than a hundred to one. Those odds aren't in your favor at all."
We let that sink in to the silent crowd.
"Then again..." I said, making it appear that I was truly thinking about it. "There are those select few that don't think as the majority do, those like Miss Maza, if memory serves correctly. Did she not put herself in harm's way just to save all of you?"
No one said a word.
"Not all humans are the same, just as no two Olympians are the same," Circe continued, picking up where I left off. "But the question then becomes, will you truly blame an entire race for what has passed, or will you see that these humans are NOT the humans that wronged you?"
"Are we truly to be blamed for a crime we did not commit?" I added. I saw many hardened expressions giving way to reason. "If that is so, then shall we, the humans, pit against you what your people have done to us?"
No one spoke for a long time as the truth in our words rang through the room. Boreas was giving us a very approving look.
"If no one shall say anything, I shall rule that they remain here on this island," he ruled. Not a voice spoke up against him. "The temptation to reveal us far too soon would be too great."
"Then what exactly are we supposed to do in this place?" I asked. "We aren't, exactly, denizens of New Olympus."
To my surprise, Helios, one of the main anti-human people there, stepped forward.
"I'll keep you both under my roof until other accomodations can be made," he said. I wasn't the only one surprised. Taurus and several other Olympians were stunned into silence.
"Thank you," I said, speaking for Circe and I. "But I beg of you, Circe, get your nails out of my arm! You're cutting off circulation!"
Almost immediately, she snatched her hands back, an apologetic expression on her face.
"Sorry," she said. "So, so sorry!"
I winced and watched them heal (again) as Boreas waved his hand over them again. Then, he frowned.
"I sense you have other wounds," he said, walking with us and Helios out. "But I cannot heal them."
I sighed.
"They aren't fresh," I answered, but refused to divulge more.
"I'm willing to bet that the two of you need to freshen up," Helios cut in. We nodded and he gestured for us to follow him. We soon found ourselves in a clothing store. It was the styles of ancient times, some of newer fasions, but I liked the older styles. I chose a deep, deep blue dress, one that would bring out the blue in my eyes. My black hair would cascade down my back and around my frame nicely with this outfit. Circe chose a red and brown one that would act as a medium for her brown hair and brown eyes. Helios then took us to five other stores to get clothes we liked. All in all, I'd gotten nine dresses of ancient fasion, none of them appearing alike, and twelve almost elven dresses among the lot. I noticed that Helios paid close attention to what I got, even went out of his way to help me choose some. I found it sweet, really.
"Now, I should warn you that our baths are public," he told us. My heart sank. Everyone would see my scars! "Everyone baths together and helps one another wash. You two are human so I wouldn't expect many of them to help you."
I nodded, still uneasy. Circe wasn't as oblivious as she appeared. When Helios wasn't looking, she sent me a concerned look, but I waved it off.
"When in Rome," I told her in our native tongue. She sighed and nodded. So... now we go to the baths.
Just as I had predicted, the humans were left alone to bathe. Circe didn't seem to worried about it, but she was hesitant when it came to Eris. Taurus, Boreas, and I watched out for the two from the shadows. Talos was actually inside the room with them, just in case anyone tried anything funny.
"Come on, Eris," Circe said, trying to comfort her friend. She'd been doing that since I'd mentioned that this was a public bath. "It was ages ago."
Eris sighed and stepped into view, still clothed.
"I know," she answered. "But I don't like being forced into public like this. I'd like to keep SOME things secret."
She was very reluctant, but she slid behind a nearby curtain and stripped down, following Circe's example. At last, she came out.
I almost screamed in shock and horror!
All over her body, deep, dark scars covered her flesh. Across her breasts, two large, deep gashes went from shoulder diagonally down to her hip. Angry age-old burns covered her. When she turned around, my horror increased. There was little to no skin on her back. It looked like it had been torn completely off! Her arms and legs were lined with cuts and burns. It was a very disturbing sight.
"Excuse me, Eris, but... where did all of this come from?" Talos asked. Eris sighed heavily.
"It's a long story," she answered. "Let's just say that you Olympians weren't the only ones victimized by humans."
Curiosity won me over and I stepped into the doorway.
"What humans would harm their own like this?" I asked, unable to help myself. Her eyes refused to meet mine and I realized that this was one of her deepest, darkest secrets that had been forced to the surface.
"Some are from my mother, some from my brother," she answered slowly, washing herself carefully. "Some are from the tortures I endured at others' hands..."
Her hands shook as the memories must have surged through her mind.
"Everyone I dared to trust turned on me and this, this is the price I payed for allowing myself to ever hope for a normal life," she continued. "Nothing I ever did was enough to please anyone. I had nowhere to go, nowhere to run or hide. Everyone I knew merely added to this mess. Even running away didn't save me from them. More humans merely took up where the others left off."
This truth tore me apart. One glance at Taurus's face told me that it disturbed him as well.
"You obviously learned to trust one person, though," Talos stated. "Circe means a lot to you."
"She's the only person that has never betrayed me or walked away when I needed them," she answered soflty. "If anything ever happens to Circe, there'll be hell to pay for the person who dare harm her."
Circe shuddered.
"Ain't that the truth," she agreed. "I believe the last one is still missing."
Eris smirked, a very cold and terrifying smirk. It chilled me to the bone to see it.
"And that's the way it's gonna stay," she answered.
"You're never gonna tell me what you did to him, are you?" Circe asked. Eris gave her a considering look, accompanied by a dark, evil smile. "On second thought, I don't wanna know."
Eris just smirked and finished cleaning herself. Then she went over and began to wash Circe's hair thoroughly. Circe merely relaxed and let her.
"You really should get these split ends looked at, hon," Eris told Circe calmly. Circe freaked and grabbed her hair, looking at it.
"Split ends?" she cried. "Where?"
Eris laughed. It was a very good-natured sound. The heaviness I'd felt at the earlier conversation faded as the atmosphere relaxed again. Circe whirled and glared at Eris.
"That's not funny!" she said. "My hair is of utmost priority!"
Eris just continued to laugh, dodging Circe's attempts to hit her playfully. In mere seconds, she had raced to my side of the room and held out her hand. I didn't hesitate and pulled her right out of the water, setting her down in front of me. Her eyes glowed with a playful look before she whipped me around and threw me into the water.
Helios came back to the surface with a stunned look. I couldn't help it. I burst out laughing. He got his own mischeivious smile and restarted his hair, getting out. Talos handed me a towel and then handed Circe one as she got out too. We grinned at Helios as he pulled himself out, accepting a towel from Talos as well.
"Might I ask what I did to deserve that?" he asked. I laughed.
"It was far too easy not to!" I answered, laughing, then reached over and helped him dry off. He dried himself with his power and then looked me in the eye.
"Which set are you gonna wear today?" he asked. I thought about it, then vanished behind the blind to my bags of clothes. I knew well I was going to wear a very dark blue one. It was the one Helios had nearly grown an unfixable problem when he saw me pick it out. Circe soon joined me and we brushed one another's hair and did our make-up. Only when we were finished did we step out to join the guys again. Helios choked on what he was drinking on, catching Taurus's attention as the guys turned to look at us. Taurus ran an appreciative gaze over us, but said nothing. Boreas smiled, pleased.
"I see you both prefer the older style of dress," he said. I nodded.
"Newer things are just too constricting," I answered. Circe nodded, agreeing with me. Boreas walked forward and concentrated hard, his hand lingering dangerously near my body. I felt a slight itch and followed his gaze, only for my eyes to widen for a moment in surprise. My age-old scars were disappearing in front of our very eyes! When he was finished, he pulled his hand back with a smile.
"I'm sure the two of you will be well off in the company of our top security officers," he said. "If you'll excuse me."
"Later," Circe and I chorused, waving him goodbye. Then we turned to the two men present.
"What now?" I asked Helios. I smirked as I got no response and turned to Taurus. "Guess that puts you in charge."
Taurus snorted and shook his head. We followed him as we left the bath. Circe pulled a still speechless Helios after us.
"Are you two hungry?" he asked. I glanced at Circe and nodded when she did. He then led us to a nearby restaurant. It was definately a teen hang-out, judging by the way people were dressed here. Some of the Olympians weren't happy to see us, but didn't dare say anything while Taurus, Talos, and Helios were with us. Taurus was the gentleman for me, pulling out my chair for me and sitting afterward. Talos did the same for Circe. Helios just sat down, still recovering. Taurus shook his head.
"If you have any questions about the menu, don't be afraid to ask," he continued. We ate our meal, getting to know everything about one another, minus a few darker secrets. A few others drew near to listen and our table ended up filling up fast with other Olympians that wanted to get to know us humans. Soon, though, someone brought our attention to the stage.
"All right people!" a male centaur said, stepping up. "You all remember this part of this night. This is the part where anyone can get up and sing for the rest of us."
Almost instantly, people at our table were pushing Circe and I up on stage. With a grin at her, we took the centaur's hands and stepped up.
"Don't know whether this is like your music, but we like it," I said. "It's called 'Girlfriend' by Avril Lavigne."
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
You're so fine, I want you mine, you're so delicious
I think about you all the time, you're so addictive
Don't you know what I can do to make you feel alright?
Alright, alright, alright
Don't pretend, I think you know I'm precious
And hell yeah, I'm a mother fuckin' princess
I can tell you like me too and you know I'm right
I'm right, I'm right, I'm right
She's like so whatever
You could do so much better
I think we should get together now
And that's what everybody's talking about
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
I can see the way, I see the way you look at me
And even when you look away I know you think of me
I know you talk about me all the time again and again
And again and again and again
So come over here and tell me what I wanna hear
Better yet, make your girlfriend disappear
I don't wanna hear you say her name ever again
And again and again and again
'Cause she's like so whatever
And she could do so much better
I think we should get together now
And that's what everybody's talking about
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
Hey, hey, you, you, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, you, you, I want to be your girlfriend
Oh, in a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
Woo, 'cause I can, 'cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?
Hey, she's so stupid, what the hell were you thinking?
In a second you'll be wrapped around my finger
'Cause I can, 'cause I can do it better
There's no other, so when's it gonna sink in?
She's so stupid, what the hell were you thinking?
Hey, hey, you, you, I don't like your girlfriend
No way, no way, I think you need a new one
Hey, hey, you, you, I could be your girlfriend
No way, no way
Hey, hey, I know that you like me
No way, no way, you know it's not a secret
Hey, hey, I want to be your girlfriend
No way, no way, no way, no way
Applause like no other filled the room. We bowed and stepped down, letting someone else go up there. Our table was, once again, overrun by Olympians. Hours later, Taurus managed to finally get us out of there. He had been rather annoyed by the reaction to our song, considering how many guys had offered to leave their girlfriends for us, but he brushed it off as soon as we told him we weren't interested. Now, though, our group separated. I was alone with Taurus. Talos had to go back to the main tower to watch over this place's power source. Helios had taken Circe home. Taurus had graciously accepted my request to walk home rather than take a hovercraft.
"There's more to you than meets the eye," he said. I nodded.
"Same could be said of you," I answered. Taurus than began to fidget, a sure sign that he wasn't sure how to word what he was about to ask. "Spit it out, Taurus. I don't care how blunt it is."
"How is it that you remain so kind, so generous, reguardless of how you were treated?"
I paused, not sure how to tell him this.
"Taurus, I wasn't raised among humans in the first three years of my life," I said slowly. I knew well that I was revealing another dark secret of my past. "I was raised by a pack of wolves. My Dad found me among them and took me home when I was very sick. It was only after he died, two years later, that my torment began. Before that, life was perfect for me. Dad was everything to me. He taught me one of the most important things in life that most spend their entire lives trying to learn."
I paused, smiling at the memory of my father.
"He said that, even though this world may seem a dark, desolate place, never lose your hope in the truth," I said softly, hearing his voice like he was next to me, saying it with me. "Remember this, if nothing else. There's some good in this world... and it's worth fighting-and living-for."
Taurus just shook his head, walking on.
"I've clung to that truth all these years," I continued. "Now... I'm free to enjoy a life I never thought possible for me. Circe, too. I hope she learns to be happy here."
"What did she leave behind?" Taurus asked.
"A family, a husband," I answered, sighing. "She swore to never leave my side, but a part of me wishes she hadn't been forced to leave them, wished she'd stayed with her family that day. If she hadn't come home with me, she wouldn't be here. And her poor husband... He'll never get to see his son."
Taurus's eyes widened.
"She's pregnant?" he asked, stunned. I nodded.
"So am I," I continued. "The only difference between us is that hers was by choice and she KNOWS who the father is."
Taurus stopped dead.
"You were... raped?" he asked, completely floored. I looked at him calmly.
"Every day of my life since I was seven," I answered. "Eleven miscarriages this far. Rape no longer bothers me. What's past is just that, the past. Accept it and move on. I may not like the circumstances, but a large part of me can't wait to be a mother. I've raised so many others' kids that it would just be so... normal."
He shook his head again, my story once again affecting him greatly.
"Was there ANYTHING good in your life once your father passed?" he asked, struggling to absorb what he'd just learned. I smiled softly.
"Not 'til now," I answered, then walked on. He shook his head again and caught up to me, walking at my side.
"How will you and Circe provide for them?" he asked. I shrugged.
"I haven't thought that far yet," I answered. "I had a plan before we came here, but that kinda got blown all to hell."
He didn't smile back.
"You can't do it alone," he said. I nodded.
"I figured as much," I agreed. "What, then, would you propose?"
He frowned. I knew well what he'd proposed, but I wanted to hear him say it.
"The two of you will need to find mates here," he said. "Only then can one guarantee that your children will be well taken care of."
I nodded, agreeing.
"But who on this island would even consider mating a human?" I asked. "Are we not considered some of the most disgusting creatures on this planet?"
I didn't give him a chance to answer as I turned to him and placed my finger over his mouth.
"Thank you for walking us home, Taurus," I said. "I know protection detail isn't your usual thing."
Then I quickly replaced my finger with my lips for just a moment before disappearing into the house, leaving a very stunned bull behind. I walked right into the main room with a smile on my face. I loved teasing him.
"You're home finally," Circe said, coming out from the kitchen. "Go right upstairs and the second door on the left is your bedroom."
I nodded, then paused.
"Taurus knows," I told her. She smiled.
"So does Helios," she answered. "We've all ready gone to the doctor to make sure I'm still pregnant because I knew that if I still was, so were you."
"And?" I asked.
"Still am," she answered. "Helios says we might want to find mates and soon. Otherwise, affording our kids is going to be a royal pain in the butt."
"Would it kill you to swear once in a while?" I asked. She just laughed and returned to the kitchen.
"Helios said he'd be back later," she said. "He said he needed to talk to Boreas."
"Kay," I said and headed upstairs.