A/N: Hello :) This part is only a 'filler'. It wasn't on the original protocol but since there was some confusion on the 'blood-on-Thanea' part, then I hope this pre-chapter will help. :D

It's only your shadow

Never yourself, Nobody else

Filling the room

Arriving too late

And leaving too soon

Shadow, Britney Spears

Chapter 10, Part A

What You Never Did

Ares didn't move at the sound of his uncle behind him. He slowly blinked, and realized he had been sitting carelessly on the veranda of the underworld palace with his teeth nibbling the edge of his thumb nail. He breathed out through his nasals as he repositioned himself, and Hades can hear the volume of the air coming out of Ares' nose. Still, the war god didn't face him.

"You should eat. I can hear your stomach grinding on nothing but alcohol." Hades spoke once more before making a move to leave but was stopped when Ares responded with an apathetic and grungy voice which seemed to surface out of a broken throat.

"Do you think I will be able to do this…?"

Hades shot his nephew with a glare even though he knew that Ares won't be able to see it. There was a long pause that arrived between them, and neither had the ability nor the strength to speak and drain the confusion bubbling forth on Ares' mind. Ares plainly waited for a response. Even though it gave a hint of suspicion on Hades, he had to bring to light that there is a decreasing possibility of Persephone's revival. He didn't even think of the worries if Zeus and all the other gods have known his evil scheme through his uncle. There are many ways for him to be punished, and yet the punishment of death didn't even stir the motivation to kill Athena. Deep within he wanted her…to live.

"There remains seventy days before spring arrives."

Ares closed his eyes and sighed, hearing Hades' footsteps cease to exist. He then stood and moved each muscle, awakened his remaining senses, and livened himself to climb once again to the world where his tamed side gradually awakens.

Thanea tucked a lock of deep brown hair behind her ear with dainty fingers as she bent to blow softly on a spoon of thick pumpkin soup. She watched the steam thinning, and when she was brought with confidence that the broth was of enough temperature, she then opened her mouth to test the taste. Her eyes looked to her side as her lips twisted in anticipation of something lacking. She picked more corn kernels from a plate and mixed it with the thick orange soup. After which she covered the pot to let it boil awhile.

"Have you been expecting me as such to cook my breakfast?"

Thanea turned her head immediately, still holding the plate which contained the corn kernels. She gave him a soft smile as she stood, "Good morning, Zeno. I'm quite wondering why you haven't visited me in a while."

"Well, I've been quite busy myself. Living in the woods isn't that easy." He strode in without permission and pulled a chair for himself, still setting his eyes on her every move, and he does so unconsciously.

"Oh." Thanea shrugged and placed the plate she held on the empty sink, "Tell me, Zeno…at least something else about you other than what you look like and your name." She pulled a clean cloth and wiped her hands while moving towards where he was sitting. Zeno was astounded as usual; his dark eyes never looked away from her, scanning the details of her feature, at the same time calming his heart which is slowly panicking. She sat next to him, and discovered how he seemed not to take a breath. His fingertips instantly felt cold, and his chest heaved with perspiration suddenly forming on the surface of his skin, leaving his throat dry and lips agape with such shock. Never had Athena been this close to him…literally.

Thanea cleared her throat with brows furrowing, "Are you alright…?"

Zeno moved his neck, feeling it stiff, feeling it was absent and forced his eyes to look away, "Uh…yeah." Shit. Is this all I can say?

"You have beautiful eyes."

Zeno immediately turned his stare back at her, and a sudden flush of heat emerged on his face. His mind was rattled with the 'what' question, and immediately there was a stinging sensation on his eyes. He stopped blinking…literally.

There was a soft chuckle that came out of his throat, and his lips formed into a boring smile but his eyes never changed in emotion. He looked like a total retard in this case, trapped in the bewilderment that the one who had always loathed him (and he loathed back in return), is now praising his eyes.

"No, really. I'm serious, Zeno." Thanea smiled childishly, her grey eyes in full happy color sparkling with such innocence which melted him. She noticed the sweat forming on his brow, and as pristine as she is, raised a hand with the cloth gripped between her fingers and pressed it on his right temple, softly brushing the cloth against his skin to let the condensing sweat sink in. "I never knew they were very dark moss green, it's so wonderful."

The Ares within Zeno can feel the pulses thundering on the sides of his throat, completely paralyzing him. His lips was beginning to turn purple from running out of breath, how he hated to be in this situation when he always wanted to slice her but once soft smile from her lovely lips can be able to tame his wild side. He wanted to burst and prayed for the ground to open and swallow him straight ahead. The only reaction he had done was to raise his hand and touched Thanea's fingers which was wiping his brow with a cloth. Thanea looked at the hand, and even she herself flushed when his eyes softened and he looked more handsome than he was when she first saw him. She scanned his face, and turned attention to his hand which held hers, when all of a sudden her eyes flew open.

"Are you wounded?"

All at once Thanea's mind drifted upon her dream last night, about seeing a shadow sitting on the edge of her bed, seeing it hold a dagger, and then he touched her face. The terror remained when she discovered that the hand that held her cheek was drenched in blood which left an impression of a palm on her face and a stain on the chest of her night garment.

Zeno let go of Thanea's hand, and she withdrew from wiping his sweat, staring in horror with his palm wrapped in white gauze. Zeno looked at his own palm, and recognized his own wound from his own sword the night before. The white gauze was stained with red, indicating a sign of heavy bleeding. Thanea's breathing turned deep, and she felt the same fright she perceived when she discovered she wasn't dreaming at all last night. Everything was real.

"No, this is nothing…" Zeno immediately hid his palm but Thanea gave him a glare.

"Show it."

She was determined to find out if she was really dreaming or not, and is now on the verge of confronting him about entering into her house to touch her. Zeno sighed and slowly handed his wounded hand for her to examine and prove to him whatever she wanted to prove. Thanea looked at him before timidly holding his bandaged hand and slowly unwrapped the cloth stained with blood. With every bandage removed paralleled a skip in her heart beats. Does she have a friend who secretly stalks at her while she sleeps? Is he a demon? A supernatural? How she feared for what she will discover.

When the bandages fell on the floor, Thanea gulped. She held his hand and stared at it: flawless and spotless, without any sign of scarring. All her hypotheses were wrong, and a part of her felt entirely happy that Zeno was Zeno, not some other psychotic person coming into her room at night and touching her face. Both stared at each other's eyes, and she let go of his hand with a panic of apology. She bent to pick the bandages and gave it to him, "I-I'm sorry… I just thought you…might be…"

"I wear the bandages whenever I lose my glove," he webbed a lie, "I touched a dying sparrow lately…its blood sipped on the gauze." But of course he is a god…and gods don't scar, they can easily heal themselves from a certain wound. Thanea blushed, "I'm really sorry Zeno, and I didn't mean to accuse you of something… It's just that—"

"Your soup."

Thanea diverted her gaze from Zeno to the pot of broth making bubbling and hissing noises. The cover is trembling from the excess of the orange soup running from its mouth to the fire. She hurriedly stood and stooped in front of the pot and opened the cover, making the thick appetizer subside. She sighed relief and took the spoon nearby to stir.

"I was thinking, Zeno…" she smiled as she stirred, her back facing him, "Maybe you'd like to join me for dinner…I'll cook. You gave me these food stuffs anyway, so it would be the chance for me to thank you." She stopped to take a spoonful of the soup and blew on it, watching the steam thinning. She didn't hear any reply but she continued anyway, "There's a cliff just above the lake where I used to watch the sunset… it would be a very nice place for us to recline. The grass is soft and there's this willow tree, nearby is my parent's tombs. They said that was the lake where they found me. I'd like to introduce you to them if you'd want,"

She tasted the soup and found it pleasant in taste unlike before. Placing the spoon down, she then took the pot from the fire with thick cloths in order to quench the flames.

"It can be tomorrow night if that's more convenient for you. It'd be wonderful, I promise. We can talk about anything. I hope you can…"

Thanea stopped talking the moment she faced the one whom she knew was listening to her. She felt her heart sink and her smile drift away in a quick haze of disappointment. The pot on her hands felt heavier the moment she found out she was talking to herself. The chair where Zeno used to sit was empty, as if he had only existed in her dreams. Is he real? Is she hallucinating of having someone she called 'Zeno'? She pulled out the last word stuck on her lips as she sighed with her head bowed.

"…come."

A/N: I'm sorry the update was late :( Till next time! The 'hint' part you've read on chapter 9 will be found on Chapter 10B. xD
Like I said, this part wasn't on my original script -_-

Please Review! Thanks :D

~AthenAres~