"How do you kill a goddess?" Anthony asked Eros, the second time the latter appeared in his room on the following day. This was not preceded by a hello, a welcome, or any form of invitation.
"Rude," Eros accused, crossing his arms petulantly and sitting next to Anthony on the little divan in the corner.
"Well?" Anthony prompted.
"You don't," the other answered.
"What do you mean? Then how do we—"
"I don't know. Honestly, the Titans were a breeze to conquer, from what I hear, compared to what this is going to be."
"I thought you said she was nearly powerless!" Anthony exclaimed.
"Yes, exactly. She was. Not anymore."
"Oh."
Eros nodded gravely. Then, he turned to a lighter note.
"So, I see that your sister has returned!"
"Ugh!" Anthony groaned, letting his head fall into his hands.
"You aren't happy?"
"She isn't happy!" a muffled voice whined. "And it's my fault that she can't be happy."
"Well, I would have blamed it on Ida, but—"
"Who?"
"Ida. Sylphide."
"Oh. Well, no, it's my fault. Entirely! If I had listened to Helen, and taken her back to shore—"
"She would not have survived," Eros said simply. "Now, about Helen…"
"What about Helen?" Anthony eyed the god suspiciously. There was something unpleasant about his tone.
"Have you had any news from her, recently?"
"No…"
"There is a reason for that."
"What did I do this time?" Anthony asked miserably.
"Nothing that you did. She, ah, sacrificed herself, shall we say? She went to your Lady mother and told her everyth—"
"No!" Anthony had jumped up and was now pacing the room, anxiously wringing his hands. "Where is she now? Do you know, Eros? Surely you do…"
"The sea, of course," he replied, not perturbed by this development.
"You're not upset!" Anthony accused, looking absolutely miserable.
"No, of course not."
Anthony shot him a dirty look, then continued to pace.
"Because I know how to undo the damage."
Eros smiled to see Anthony turn his head slowly towards him. He loved bringing people to this level of anxiety and then calming them down just as quickly.
"Well?" Anthony demanded.
"Simple. We do a similar spell on Helen that has been placed upon your sister. If a human loves her, then she will also become a human. I can't directly undo Sylphide's spell, but this will be equally painless."
"You're so sure you will find this human man?" Anthony asked, somewhat embarrassed.
"Oh, you're not fooling anyone!" Eros said, rolling his eyes. "You, of course."
"She will be fine?"
"We can go now, if you'd like. I've already done the deed, and now you just have to tell her you love her. Simple!"
Anthony turned a lovely shade of red, which did not at all compliment his features.
"I should mention," Eros said, seeing Anthony's face, "That I might have let an arrow of mine, or two, slip in your direction."
"Was it a mistake?" Anthony asked, still blushing.
"Not in the least. Quite pre-meditated. Now… Your lady awaits!"
And with that, the two disappeared from Anthony's bedroom.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
They reappeared on the beach at the base of the chateau, where Eros shook Anthony's hand, wished him luck, and disappeared before Anthony could ask him where he was supposed to find Helen.
Frustrated, he dropped onto the sand and sat there for a while, staring out at sea. An hour must have passed, when he heard a female voice call his name.
"Tony?"
"Helen!"
The boy ran into the water, where he saw the golden hair of his beloved surrounding her like a heavenly cloud.
"Oh, Tony, I thought I might never see you again," she murmured, as he embraced her.
"My poor Helen," he whispered. "Why did you do this?"
"Your mother needed to know about Sylphide, and about Tess."
"But Tess came back!"
"Yes, but that was after I had already spoken and…"
"Oh, it doesn't matter!" he exclaimed, happy in the knowledge that he could help her.
"What can you mean?" she asked, pulling away, bewildered and angry. "Of course it matters! Just look at me!" She said nothing else but dissolved into sobs.
"Yes, I am looking, Helen, and what of it? My dearest friend, my only friend for years."
"But now, just a stranger and an undesirable companion," she said through her tears.
"Why must you say that, Helen?"
"Isn't it true?"
"No. It couldn't be true."
"But you're still human," she wailed, "And I'm…"
"Still Helen."
With that, he decided to give up trying to be reserved and act as Eros had told him to.
He placed his hand on the back of her head and kissed her gently.
Bewildered by the sudden reappearance of her legs, she looked up at him and grasped his shoulders for balance.
"Tony? How?"
"I love you, Helen. The God of Love himself as my witness, I love you."
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Meanwhile, Tess, who had woken from a lovely nap and gotten dressed again, was wondering what she was going to do with the two hours she had until she was obliged to go back. She walked out of the room and down the corridor, but as she passed an old little room, she heard a faint voice issuing from it that sounded like her mother's.
"No, Dominic, I must go!" the voice, which became more pronounced as Tess walked in, proclaimed.
"And I say that I will not let you!" her father answered, frustrated and exasperated.
"What about poor Helen?"
Why is she telling him this? Tess wondered.
"What about our daughter?" she said in an undertone, at which Dominic turned white as a sheet.
"What about our daughter?" he suddenly inquired.
"She… she is also in danger."
Dominic said nothing. He had suspected as much.
"She did not want me to tell you, but—"
"But it had to be done," Tess interrupted, opening the door completely and coming inside.
"Tess, what does she mean?" Dominic said, a note of pleading in his voice.
"I am cursed to be a mermaid," she said softly, lowering her eyes.
Dominic flinched at the word, but then recovered himself and asked her, "But how can that be, if you are not at all like that right now?"
"Because it is only during the day that I am human. At night, when the sun goes down, I must leave land."
His head was reeling. He felt that he must be going mad. His daughter was a mermaid? What's more, there was this other girl to worry about. And Emma wanted to go after the sorceress that had broken their family in the first place.
"Do you understand now, why I must go?" Emma asked gently, taking her husband's shaking hands in her own.
"Yes," he admitted. "I will go with you."
"No." It was not a request, but it was not an order. It was simply a statement of the truth. "I must go alone. I know that."
"How will you find her?" he asked.
"Somehow. I will leave now."
"But why, Mother?" Tess exclaimed, nearly on the verge of tears, as she realized what her mother was about to do for her sake.
"Because if I don't go now, I won't ever be able to. Whoever this demon is, and whatever she wants with us, I must face her now or never."
And to the surprise of both Dominic and Tess, she vanished without so much as a cloud of smoke.
A/N: I hope that you like this… More on everybody soon. Sorry that Victor was not here! His time will come, as will everybody's!
Much love to everyone, especially my reviewers!
Titania
P.S. ObsessiveCompulsive, I hope this satisfied your desire for Helen/Anthony romantic moments! I know that you have been asking!