Polemos
Polemos, the daemon of combat had observe Diana for a while now. She fascinated him, the little girl had courage, was intelligent and a fast learner. It was a hunch, but he was sure she was the perfect warrior he was looking for. So he decided to coach Diana in the arts of combat, but without the Amazon's intervention. He approached her with his offering one day she was walking alone at the beach, at first the girl was suspicious, she even tried to attack him, but Polemos break out from her attack easily, that intrigued her. Eventually Diana agreed to his training.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months and soon a year had passed. Diana was the most brilliant pupil Polemos ever had. He felt very proud of her and had learned to love her as a daughter.
One day that Polemos returned to his home from Themyscira, he found waiting for him, none other than the God of War in all his regalia. Polemos could see it wasn't a social visit, Ares was going to demand something from him. As the daemon of combat Polemos owned his allegiance to him, however, he had always been a kind of rebel deity, so he neglected to tell Ares about Diana's training.
" My Lord Ares, why do I own this honour?"
" Polemos. Why haven't you told me about this fabulous warrior you are training?"
"I was about to tell you my Lord, as soon as she was ready."
" Who is she?"
" She is an Amazon, her name is Diana."
"Diana of Themyscira…," he said, and his lips turned in a wicked smile, his eyes had the look of a lion that was about to devour a gazelle "We need to test if she is the perfect warrior we were looking for."
Ares' tone didn't settle well with Polemos 'I don't like where this is going'. " What kind of test my Lord?"
" One fit for a true warrior."
Polemos froze.
" Take her to Minos, to Ariadne's Labyrinth."
"My Lord, she is too young, perhaps it would be better something like..."
" Take her there before the next moon," Ares said in a commanding tone that admit no reply " I'll be waiting for the results of the test."
" Yes, my lord."
"Good," Ares, was about to leave when he turned around and said "And if she fails , she will pay the price of war"
Despite his doubts Polemos could not refuse Ares request, even though he was a divine spirit, he didn't have the same power as the God of War. So the next moon he took Diana to Minos. Diana trusted Polemos so much, she didn't hesitate to follow him right into Labyrinth's entrance. He was very anxious, so he tried to give her with some last-minute advice:
"Diana be extremely careful. Remember a wise warrior uses the weapons of her enemies against them. Trust your instincts; use your training and everything will be fine. I can't interfere since this is your test, but I'll be outside waiting for you to bring me the head of the Minotaur. Here, have this torch. Now go."
Diana carefully tied the end of her lasso to one of the rocks at the entrance, as she remembered how Teseo got out of the Labyrinth thanks to Ariadne's tread. She entered a narrow series of dark, damped halls. The smell of rotten corpses filled the air and the deeper into the labyrinth she went the odor of dead became stronger, in the middle of the silence she heard the eco of a ragged breath. Soon the sound was closer 'The minotaur is here', the blood on her veins froze when she felt the fetid breath of the beast around her neck but decided to turn around and face him. Diana waged her torch in front of the face of the swine, and he stepped back 'He is afraid of the fire. Good. Something I can use against him.'
The seven-foot creature stood at all his height. His eyes reflected anger devoid of reason, and he furiously charge with all his might against her. Diana stood still until the last moment when she moved aside so the monster could bump into a wall. The hit made the Minotaur fall, and as he laid on the floor stunned; Diana unsheathed her sword, she was about to deliver the lethal stroke when she saw in the eyes of the beast a resignation to dead, the monster seem so defenceless, she couldn't kill him, it didn't seem right. The beast was very strong, and, despite the hit, he got up, passed Diana and looked at her with respect. Diana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and quickly tried to find her way out of the labyrinth.
"Diana, thank Zeus!...Where is the head of the Minotaur?, it was too heavy for you to carry it here?"
"Polemos… I didn't kill him."
" Why?!"
"It didn't seem right. The Minotaur was totally defenceless, besides I believe I've earned his respect."
"That beast owns you his life!...Diana you were suppose to beheaded that monster not to befriend him."
"So…Did I fail the test?"
"I wouldn't say that, but you show mercy to an enemy and in war that mistake could cost your life."
"Mercy is never a mistake Polemos."
He didn't want to discuss that with her ." You are exhausted. Come, get some rest."
Polemos had made an improvised camp, with a nice bonfire in the middle. Diana was so fatigued that soon she was fast asleep. Polemos was watching her peacefully sleep next to the fire, when he felt Ares on his back.
"So where is the head of the Minotaur?"
"Diana had a particular approach on the subject my Lord, she forgave the beast's life, and now the Minotaur respects her, she won a valuable ally."
"She failed, and you know that in war the price of failure is dead."
"My Lord Ares, don't you think that is kind of extreme? The girl fought the Minotaur, she beat him, and…"
"She took pity on him, and left that beast alive so others could feel his wrath. You know as well as I do, War's propose is to end conflict; with her "mercy", she left a dangerous being ready to take revenge."
"But…"
"There is no "but". I want you to deliver her heart to me in the morning or prepare yourself to take her place. And don't come to me with that old tale of the immortal Amazons. You know as well as I do, there are ways to kill them, use that knowledge," and with that he left.
Polemos was livid, he couldn't kill Diana but he didn't want to die himself, his head was spinning with rambling thoughts: 'Diana, what have you done?; What have I done? We cannot return to Themyscira, if the Queen finds out I've training you all this time, she will be so mad! But that will be nothing compared when she finds out Ares has put a dead sentence over your head, she will go to war against him. Thousands will die. Although it will be a battle for the ages, I wonder how the Amazons will fare against the minions of the God of War…Focus Polemos!...Ok I need to gain time… And put a safe distance between Diana and Ares; I need to get her out of here soon, somewhere where the Olympians have no power, some place where nobody believes in them. Moreover, I need help, because now I will have a very angry Ares chasing me, looking to take my head off…The wrath of an Olympian God... Why do they have to be so vindictive?" And then as light bold an idea came to his mind 'If I do this right, I can prevent a terrible war, save Diana and myself and even change my alliance for the eternity; but if things go wrong… I'll have a terrible dead'.
A day and a half had pass since the last time she saw her sun and stars; thirty-six hours, the worst time of her life. She found about Diana's disappearance early in the morning, and soon each one of the royal guards was looking for her. All Themyscira was on high alert, she was sure there was not a single place at paradise island they hadn't look, not a single rock has been left unturned, and yet there was no sign of Diana.
"Artemis, any news?"
"No my Queen. We even went to the cliff and interrogated the Harpy, but the creature claims she has not see her since the egg's incident."
"Do you believe her?"
" Yes. I made her an offer she could not refuse. She was telling the truth."
" You think somebody kidnapped her?"
"If that would be the case my Queen, I'm sure we will hear their demands soon."
"I'll gave them everything I have, if Diana can return alive and unharmed. But I've doubt she has been kidnap, maybe she is held captive by some of my enemies."
"My Queen your skills as a warrior are well-known, I doubt any mortal will dare to go against you."
"I have enemies Artemis, and you know very well, some of them are not mere mortals….Please leave me alone."
"We will keep looking for Diana. We are going to find her."
Hippolyta closed her eyes and sighed. She went to the secret room on her chambers, a place she had not visited in a long time, "But desperate times call for desperate measures. And he is the only one who can help me now". She stood before a large dark mirror, and touch its surface gently, minutes passed and nothing changed. She was about to leave when the surface of the mirror turned liquid, and soon the shadow of a tall man appeared in front of her, little by little his features become more clear; he was very handsome, with dark hair and blue eyes.
"Hippolyta, I thought you never wanted to see me again."
"Trust me, I didn't want to. But I need your help."
" What makes you believe I will be willing to help you?," his voice dripped with irony.
"This is not about me; this is about Diana. She has disappeared."
"How long had she been gone?," suddenly the face of the man grew serious.
"Thirty six hours."
"You have waited too long to come to me. Your incompetence as a mother can only equals your incompetence as a Queen".
"I didn't call you to hear your insults. Are you going to help me find Diana or not?"
"Of course, she is my daughter."
"She doesn't know that."
"Yes, I'm fully aware of your tales about that she was made of clay. When are you planning to tell her the truth?"
"Never."
"Never is a long time for an immortal."
"She doesn't need to know. She doesn't need to have the burden of being the daughter of a demon, of the outcast of the Olympus."
"You didn't feel that way when you were in my arms."
"That was a mistake"
"Are you saying that our daughter is a mistake?"
"She is the only good thing that came out of my relation with you. You tricked me and nearly brought the Olympus down."
"I didn't want to bring it down. I wanted to rule it, with you at my side, and with our daughter as a legitimate heir."
"Lair! Are you going to help me or not?"
"Sure, but I want something in exchange."
"Name your price."
"I want to be part of my daughter's life."
Hippolyta didn't say a thing, she was in shock, she never thought he will had the nerve to ask for something like that.
"No"
"I want to able see my daughter when I want to; to talk to her. You took her away from me to the only place I cannot set a foot on!," he replied, his temper was raising. He wasn't use to be deny.
Hippolyta tried to stay calm, but she could see the fury of the God of the Underworld boiling inside him.
"You don't deserve her. She is pure and innocent; I will not let you corrupt her."
"She is my only child! Don't you think I have been punish enough for the error of my ways? You left me and didn't told me you were pregnant, I have to find about it later, long after she was born" His eyes were like flames full of ire, but his voice was as terse as velvet "I will help you, but you heard my price, and after all you have put me through, it's a bargain."
"Find her first, bring her unharmed to me and then we'll talk."
And with that she covered the mirror with a heavy cloth and left the room. 'How could I love that evil brute?, I hope he finds Diana soon, I know he will protect her, but If he is late… if we are late... I couldn't live with myself anymore.'
The God of the Underworld, was in front of the other end of the now black mirror. He was trembling of frustration and anger, 'What an infuriating woman! If only I didn't love her so much'. After a few minutes, and once he had master his emotions again, he called one of his servants:
"Bring Polemos."
Soon the daemon of combat was in front of him, pale and disgruntled but with a certain hopeful look in his eyes.
"Your stupidity put my daughter in danger. Tell me Polemos, where did you take Diana?"
"To the only place I could think Ares wouldn't be looking for her, my Lord Hades."
"Take me there. From now on, I'll be in charge of my daughter's training."
"Yes, my Lord Hades."
" And Polemos..."
" Yes, my Lord?"
" You did well to come to me first instead of her mother. You'll be rewarded."
E/N: Thanks for all your reviews, favourites and follows. Love to read all your comments on the chapter.