With considerably more conviction that he was doing the right thing- now that he had even the girl's approval- sort of- his conniving mind repeating over and over again like a mantra that there was also a good side to this monstrous plan of his- Sendra was finally going to get her wish- by Hades, she was closer than ever to meeting her daddy- the War God ended his oration, thus letting the Fates know why the sacrifice was made and whose destiny they were thus forced to change.
Once that part of the ritual was over, he double checked that everything had been done according to Hathor's recommendation- the candles had been lit and they had been attentively set in all the correct places, their position accurately describing the Evening star- which he remembered to be the symbol of everyone's life and fortune…Well…this little girl's number was certainly up but she sure hadn't been the luckiest kid alive judging by the currently unfolding events, Ares said to himself, cautiously avoiding to cast as much as a fleeting glance her way the moment he had stretched to take the ceremonial bowl in which her heart was soon about to be placed…
"Damn!" he mumbled under his breath- as an apparently insignificant detail surfaced in his mind from some dark corner of his brain.
"What's wrong?" Sendra asked, shifting slightly in the attempt to make herself a bit more comfortable, the leather binds around her tiny waist and chest being so tight that she could hardly inhale.
" I forgot to burn some herbs…" Ares answered, rolling his eyes at her. Since when did he feel obliged to explain himself to six year old mortal girls?!
"Hmmm…that does matter much?! "
" I don't know, kid…."
" Well…. You could as well burn them now, right?"
" The problem is that I can't really remember what exactly it was that I was supposed to burn…." he muttered, though his answer sounded more like him thinking out loud, speaking to himself than him offering his victim a reply.
" My mother always ignites a flower of anemone, basil and cypress whenever she visits my father's grave….I haven't seen her, but my sister told me so…She said that they bring peace to the deceased and that the fire burning them guides the souls of the dead into the light…."
"You know…you're dangerously smart for your age, has anyone ever told you that?" the God remarked with an unconscious smile while with a snap of his fingers he materialized on the altar table everything he needed.
Fortunately, Sendra had been right. As she said it, he actually recalled that those were indeed the herbs that his own priestesses used regularly during any ritual that involved dead bodies or human blood….Along with incense of course, which he already found lying there- probably from previously performed rituals…..
" Daddy used to say that a lot…."
" Well then, it must be true, right?" he responded, making a wry mouth at the extremely strong, stifling smell filling the room….For some reason, he had always associated that fragrance with the piercing screams of the disconsolate, grieving widows and with the funeral pyres on which their beloved husbands were being cremated- covered in shame and failure, though their desperate families looked up to them with wide eyes, full of unspoken admiration- as if they had been some kind of legendary heroes…..
The War God let out a scornful chuckle at his own thought….Idiotic mortals…..they had no idea that death is never glorious, that there is no victory and no reason for celebration when someone has bitten the dust…..Heroes don't die….the words flashed through his mind, the same words that he had once told Xena….His sharp-witted Princess had quickly got the idea….one had to do even the impossible to stay alive and in one piece during a fight….Defeat was not honorable, but it gave a soldier the chance to storm the battlefield again the following day, and thus to get closer and closer to victory….Death on the other hand didn't offer anything, but it did bring a lot of tears, regret and remorse for the loved ones….
" Yeah, I guess so…" the girl's words suddenly pulled him out of his musings, reminding him that the ritual was not yet complete-. A vital piece was missing….a vital organ, to be more precise….
"So uh….are you ready to hug your daddy, Honey?" the God finally inquired, tightening the grip on that dagger as he finally raised it above his head, ready to strike, chewing on his lower lip nervously while silently debating if he should cut her throat first and thus spare her the torment of having her heart ripped out of her chest or just do it the old fashioned way….Under any circumstances, she would be dead in seconds- which meant that his Princess would be safe and sound- right in the nick of time, too.
" Ares…?" his clueless victim's childish voice, broke his focus though, along with the electrifying touch he felt the instant when- having gotten way too close to her immobilized body- her tiny hand wrapped around his index finger. " Thank you…" she uttered, a warm smile, full of gratitude stretching across her beautiful lips, and for a split second, it was as if the God's brain had stopped working…..She sounded so much like Xena…so much like …
He shook his head nervously, confusion painted on his face as his eyes literally drilled a hole through Sendra's doll like hand…..That overly familiar sensation that had him petrified at the contact with her skin…..what was that all about? He absently shook his head again as he withdrew his hand, furious with himself that he was so emotionally affected by what he needed to do, for his brain to actually imagine all that nonsense….
Nonetheless, as he once again raised the blade, in a now supernatural effort to rip her chest open, right out of the blue, he felt himself losing his breath, a blinding pain shooting through his own immortal heart, making him crumble dramatically to his knees by the altar table.….
"Are you ok!?" the little girl immediately asked, taken aback by the unexpected noise and by the guttural moans coming from her friend's throat….
" I'm not sure…..I seem to be…." Ares answered once that excruciating flash of pain had passed.
"What happened?"
" I must have tripped….I hit my…..knee…." he calmly lied, staring in awe at the dagger that had fallen on the floor seconds earlier….Aaaaand surprise! ...As he lifted it from the ground, the most incredible thing happened….for the shortest moment, he saw something reflected in its perfectly clean, silvery blade…..his Princess' azure moons gazing sadly at him…..Fresh tears were glistening on their mesmerizing surface….To make everything even more bizarre, the gilded grip started burning as if it had just been pulled out of the forge so, unable to hold it any longer, he dropped it. The weapon hit the ground with an impossibly loud noise, the echo made by the contact with the polished marble floor seeming to last forever without diminishing its intensity…..
" Ares…..what's going on?" Sendra asked again, visibly more agitated now, sensing that something was up, and he could just swear that it was his Princess' voice he was hearing...."Aressss?"
He heard her, loud and clear, but his head was still spinning and buzzing in the most nerve racking way imaginable ….So...he couldn't kill her, there was no way in Tartarus he would get anywhere near her, not after what he had just seen- but what in the sacred name of Hades was he going to do now…..? How was he going to save his Xena?! This had been his only chance, and their time was almost up…
"Ares?" she worriedly repeated her name. "Is it because of the herbs?! Didn't I get them right?"
" Everything's fine Sweetheart. Just a minor change of plans….." he announced while making the brown leather chord that was keeping her tied to that sacrificial table vanish along with the dagger.
" Does that mean that I won't be able to see my daddy anymore?" she asked, disappointment in her voice.
The minute the silken scarf- that had been efficiently hiding her eyes from the War God's troubled ones- was finally removed, thus allowing her to meet his burning gaze, the cold-blooded Olympian nearly had a heart attack…..It felt as if Xena herself was looking at him…..It was the most ridiculous thing that had ever crossed his twisted mind, but for nothing in the world was he able to shake that feeling….
" It means that you're the luckiest kid alive…." he sighed, taking a seat on the altar, by her side.
" Lucky how?"
"I've just got a better idea…" he responded, his voice a barely distinguishable murmur. " Why don't I bring your daddy to you? This way, you can all enjoy some time together…."
" Can you do that?"
" I can do anything…" he harshly retorted, and in her immense joy, and her childish naivety, Sendra couldn't have possibly sensed the bitter irony in his tone….." But you'll have to wait a day or two…..Can you do that?" the God continued, his eyes sad and tired.
" I'll wait for however long it takes! Mommy will be sooooooo happy! "
" I bet…"
" You're not lying to me are you?! You will bring him to me….." she suddenly inquired, suspicion creeping inside her overjoyed heart.
" A God need never lie, kid."
" Why should I trust you?! You said you'd take me to him now and you didn't!" she asked, reproach in her voice. A good question, Ares had to admit , despite the fact that he was no longer in mood for any type of conversation….He was way too depressed to even think…
" Because I never go back on my promises…." he clarified, a lump forming instantly in his throat as he said it….
" Well you haven't promised anything so far!" she stubbornly pointed out, piercing him with those hypnotizing azure moons that were still giving him the shivers.
" I promise…" he mechanically murmured, and, in the blink of an eye, they were gone….
No other words were spoken, he just took her home and left her in their yard, where Tacky, the dog, had been waiting anxiously. Just as he was getting ready to leave though, she wrapped her thin arms around half of his waist- in what was supposed to be a very appreciative embrace.
" You're my best friend in the whole wide world…..!" she exclaimed merrily, involuntarily painting an ironic smile on his face….He had nearly sent her on a ferry trip Tartarus, with Charon as a companion and still, she considered him her friend…..Children…..
In response to her innocent conclusion , he kissed protectively the top of her head, without making an effort to articulate one single sound.
As he reached the aether, he wiped the tears that had been streaming from his eyes…..He had probably lost everything…
