O.o.O flashback O.o.O
"Have I missed anything?"
Venus fluttered beside Jupiter, her horse restlessly pawing the air. Jupiter didn't look at her even as he addressed her. "No," he held up the tiny trident and smiled. "But things are about to get interesting."
"Excellent," Venus licked her lips eagerly. "Let's crush them."
Jupiter held up the Trident, whispering a few words in a strange dialect as he did so. The Trident grew bigger and bigger, until it's stem fit perfectly in his hand. The points glittered with dangerous sharpness as Jupiter swung it around his head in the air.
"Wait!" Venus protested. "Shouldn't we protect our men?"
Jupiter gave her a hard glare. "In the grand scheme of things, do you really think a few lousy lives matter?"
"No but-"
"Do not contradict me!"
Once again with the Trident poised in the air, our villain repeated the words Neptune had whispered urgently into his ear, and though they were spoken in a different dialect, I will translate them for you here:
"I call on the spirits of the great seas,
The Wind, The Water and The Earth
Who forged this weapon so long ago,
I call on them, let them hear me
I wish for the power this weapon holds
Let it wash through me
And let it do my bidding
I call on the spirits of the great seas,
Let them heed my call."
The combatants on the ground felt the earth tremor even as Jupiter finished speaking those deadly words, for deadly, dangerous words they were. They fell to the ground as the Wind rose in protest, slamming down on them. The gods, up above on their flying horses, felt nothing.
As Wind and Earth awoke, Water was slowly coming to life, seeping out of cracks in the ground from springs deep beneath the surface. Water spread across the ground, swallowing anything in its way, surging in huge masses and crashing down on any unfortunate men that stepped in its way.
Up in the air, Jupiter was completely oblivious to all this; he was closed into himself, concentrating on the power that was slowly filling him, trickling into him from the Trident. Smiling hugely, he lifted the Trident and pointed it towards the sky. Again, in that strange unknown dialect, he spoke the forbidden words:
"Let them all die."
Huge bolts of lightning rained out of the sky, striking the water vigorously. Water, displeased with this treatment, surged up into the sky, searching for the source of the power. Wind was also displeased even as the lightning struck through it, and as a mighty spirit, should it not stop what was disrespecting it so? The Wind raged with the water searching for the magical disturbance. Earth was angry, shuddering under the impact of the lightning, it rose with the water in order to help it.
And as the tower of Earth, Water and Wind roared into the air, rising towards the Trident, Jupiter himself remained unaware. Eyes wide open but seeing nothing, he could only bask in his own power. The tower rose up and up, like a giant hand, reaching up.
Venus' horse had long since bolted, Venus still on its back. She watched helplessly as the tower reached towards Jupiter.
"LOOK OUT!" she screamed, but it was too late. The tower grabbed Jupiter from the air, swallowing him, enveloping him, dragging him down, down, down…
The lightning stopped raging, and Wind calmed down, Earth smoothed itself out and Water trickled back into its underground dwellings, ready for rest.
"JUPITER!" Venus screamed, pulling her panicking horse towards the ground. All around her, soldiers were standing up, brushing themselves off, and staring around in shock. All their weapons had disappeared, but they didn't care; they hardly had the wits left to fight, so shocked were they. Venus jumped off her horse and raced past the soldiers, to the spot where she was sure Jupiter had fallen. The other gods brought their horses to the ground and dismounted.
A Trident lay in the ground, embedded. Venus pulled at it uselessly, for it would not budge. Distraught, Venus looked away from the cursed weapon, eyes searching- there. "JUPITER!" she ran over to the fallen god's side, and kneeling beside him, watched with concerned eyes as he struggled to a sitting position.
"Jupiter, are you alright?"
Jupiter rubbed his eyes tiredly.
"I think so," he said slowly, looking at the circle of gods that now surrounded him. "Only I think- I'm not sure-"
"What? What is it?" Venus fretted, hands hovering an inch away from Jupiter's shoulders.
"Wind, Water and Earth took them away as punishment."
"What? Took what away?"
"Our powers."
The former gods stared at Jupiter in shock.
"We're nothing but mortals now."
O.o.O end of flashback O.o.O
"Here we are," Neptune said, setting Terralyn down. "Back to our home."
Terralyn looked at the familiar palace and plastered a smile on her face. Our home? she thought, disbelieving. Looking at the huge palace, she could not seem to be able to imagine it as her home. She would always think of it as 'Neptune's palace'.
"What do you say we hold a great feast?" Neptune suggested, a huge smile on his face. Terralyn looked in his sparkling blue eyes, and though all she wanted to do was sleep, she found herself agreeing with him.
The walked together to the castle hand in hand, but as soon as they entered they were attacked by a flurry of servants.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Pete shouted joyously as the other servants greeted them noisily.
"SILENCE!" Neptune roared. The servants stood quiet, heads bowed. "We are having a feast tonight to celebrate our homecoming," he said. He beckoned one poor maid forward. "Prepare Miss Terralyn properly. I will retire to my rooms until sunset. By then I expect the feast to be ready. Now go to!"
A bewildered Terralyn was transferred over to an equally bewildered maid who took her up the stairs back to her old room. The maid filled the bathtub with warm water and stripped Terralyn, pushing her towards the water. Exhausted, Terralyn got into the tub and let the maid wash her. The maid scrubbed her, dried her, dressed her, and pushed her in front of the mirror.
"You look beautiful, Miss," The maid told her. Terralyn looked at herself in the mirror, and not recognizing herself, she turned away.
"You're late for dinner, Miss. We should hurry,"
Silently Terralyn trailed behind the maid, following her down the winding hallways and staircases.
The party was no fun for Terralyn, who simply sat there by Neptune's side while everyone feasted. Staring down at her food, she played with it quietly, trying to eat some of it. Neptune himself was having a fantastic time, sipping his wine as he chatted with his subjects. Terralyn stayed quietly by his side, a mere shadow even in a beautiful dress.
When the party was lover, Neptune took Terralyn's hand and led her up the stairs, up to his room. Shutting the door softly, he took her hand and kissed it.
"What is wrong, my fair Terralyn?" he asked, eyes concerned. She pulled away and stepped behind the changing screen, stripping down to her petticoat.
"I think I just need some sleep," Terralyn said, stepping away from the screen…. Why do I feel so empty? ….
"Alright," he pulled Terralyn to his bed. "Let's sleep then."
She lay down under the comforters and Neptune climbed in beside her. He pulled her close to him, eyes intent on her face as she frowned.
"Do you not wish to be close to me?"
"I do, it's just-"
"Last night we were close enough," he smiled wickedly.
"Neptune," Terralyn whispered. "Why did you sleep with her?"
Abruptly Neptune grew stiff, pulling away from her slightly. "Who told you that?"
"She did."
"I see." Silence echoed through the room for a moment. "You were gone."
"Huh?" Terralyn sat up quickly. "What are you saying?"
"You were not there. I have needs- desires- that need to be fulfilled, and Venus was there to fulfill them."
"As if you just said that!" Terralyn got out of bed and threw on a robe.
"Where are you going?" Neptune did not sound particularly worried.
"Away from you," Terralyn snapped, turning away. She slammed right into Neptune's chest and almost fell over.
"What have I done wrong?"
"You don't understand," Terralyn spat, staring at his chest. "Sex is supposed to mean something- at least for me it supposed to!"
"I had sex with you," Neptune pointed out.
"You don't understand!" Terralyn said again, louder. "You don't understand how I feel about that!"
"But you just said-"
"No!" Terralyn tried to shove him away, which is just about as useless as talking to a tree stump. "You have to know these things without me having to tell you."
"How can I know that? I'm not a psychic nor in any way a mind reader."
"You just have to!" Terralyn rubbed her face tiredly. "Do you know why you don't understand me?"
"But I do understand you-"
"You don't understand me because you can't even understand yourself!" Terralyn exploded. "How can you understand my feelings if you have none of your own?!"
"But-"
"You don't have emotions, Neptune," Terralyn said coolly, stepping around him. He stood still in shock, trying to process her words. "You have no heart."
She ran out of the room and down the hallway. "Pete!" she yelled, clutching the robe closer to her. "PETE!"
"Yes Miss Terralyn?" Pete's bald head poked out of a nearby room.
"Get someone to pack my bags," she said. "I'm going home."
"What? You can't-"
"I can and I will!" Terralyn yelled as tears ran down her cheek.
"But why-"
"He doesn't love me," she sobbed. "He can't love me…"
O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Author's-note-that-no-one-ever-reads: Okay so again this is not the final chapter, lol…. Very sorry if this chapter is too angst-y… oh well now that its down on paper (computer screen…same difference really) it can't be changed… although things will get better, that much I can promise… Man my hands are so frozen! We got 25 cm of snow here… honestly I can't feel my thumb. Maybe I'll go curl up by the fireplace :P
Thanks to: A Flying Pandorama, Hannah Montana, aivee crystal, Carmel March, Captain Burger, Beauty in Truth, Elli Leigh, LaLaFeary, porkypick, Aurora, Live Laugh Love1628, Ihaconch, sweet thoughts, sail420247, Sara, Viva Andromeda, Unlikely Rose, XOMADCRAZYOX, sailorgurl13, FearieatHeart, Italiangurlinamessedupworld (you're my first reviewer for the last chapter, so you get an extra special shout out! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Lol)
Okay so, which would you rather?
a)Happy ending
b)Sad ending
c)Mysterious might be happy, might be sad ending
Anyways, till next time,
-teardrop O