COLLIDE
Amphitrite
Rocky Edge, Corinth
Amphitrite dipped her legs into the side of the dock, feeling rejuvenated at the feeling of warm sea water touching her skin.
She was quite unsure how long she'd been sitting there after sending the children off with their retinue of nymphs back to the safety of Poseidon's Golden Palace. The kids had to be secured while their father goes to war.
Actually, she was also ordered to return to the Aegean underwater kingdom, but...
Amphitrite felt her mouth twitch.
'Fine!' she finally admitted. She was more than a little peeved that the surprise she had for Poseidon which she had meticulously planned for weeks was effortlessly crushed by a sudden war between Sparta and Messenia.
Amphitrite bit on her lower lip, 'On the plus side...' she recalled, 'He DID say he love her.'
She tried not to grin foolishly at the recollection with zero success.
It was so sudden, so brief, and spoken in that same light-hearted casualness that Poseidon had perfected she didn't immediately thought she heard him right. Only when he leaned over and kissed her on the forehead that she started to absorb the things that he had just spoken.
He loved her.
Poseidon loved her!
With all that she was - flaws and fiery imperfections - he really, truly loved her. Amphitrite wanted to laugh. She had no idea how that happened. She surely didn't set out to get his affections, in fact, the opposite was quite true, but this proud, imposing, impetuous Olympian God did... found a way to actually love her.
And it was the single, most unexpectedly overwhelming feeling she had ever felt in her entire life, that for a second, she was just rooted in her place, unable to get any word out from her lips, just stupidly looking up at him.
'And SOON she'll be repaying his love with his child,' Amphitrite smiled,
She did not expect the sudden rush of joy overcoming her senses at acknowledging that truth. She didn't even care be it a boy or a girl, it was Poseidon's child she was carrying, and that was all the care she could give for the time being.
She glanced down on her still-flat stomach and whispered, "We'll find another time to tell your father of your presence, little one," she promised, "Just hang in there."
Amphitrite placed a hand at the small of her back as she pushed herself to a stand. She was beginning to feel her body ache these past few days, and to be quite honest, she was looking forward to being back at the palace where all the imaginable comfort are in arm's reach instead of in Rocky Edge for a change.
She ran her gaze at the striking structure that was Rocky Edge at the distance - her home, her solace - amidst the dimming lights of the glorious Mediterranean sunset, the skies a wild mix of purple, blood red, orange and yellow, and suddenly felt her brows crease.
She had never realized just how awfully quiet it was. The silence seemed deafening to her ears.
'Was it ever this quiet?' she wondered. That thought never even passed her mind, until...
'Poseidon,' she breathed.
Ever since she'd married the man, Rocky Edge had been surrounded by more people than the amount of visitors she'd ever had for years.
Poseidon simply had to push, wrestle and insist his way into her life, and now everything she'd always known, everything she'd always thought she was comfortable with or assumed she was contented with... just wasn't the same anymore.
Amphitrite stopped halfway through the dock as a familiar figure emerged from a distance. She squinted her eyes to focus through the darkness...
'It can't be...'
And then came a name,
"Deioneus?" she greeted.
Deioneus settled himself in the small bathtub that Amphitrite had offered him in the guest chamber. She didn't even ask him what was going on when she caught sight of him. She just knew. He was drunk. And she didn't need any explanation why.
She just knew.
Just like she always did.
And now, after fresh, warm water had washed over him, the feeling of resentment that was so great he couldn't turn his back on it earlier was glaringly replaced by an undeniable block of shame about his thoughts and his actions.
The door clicked open, disturbing him from his meanderings, and then strode Amphitrite, carrying a pile of clothes in her arms.
"Here's your towel," she announced mechanically, at the same time placing it at the side of the table beside him, "And here are some fresh clothes you can choose from," she gave him that tiny, little shrug that was so endearing it made his heart lurch, "...they're Poseidon's," she confessed, "He's a little bit bigger than you are, but it'll fit,"
She laid the garments on top of the bed and faced him.
His eyes travelled to where she left the clothes and as if reading his thoughts, Amphitrite quickly assured, "Don't, even for a second, worry of him finding out that you used his clothes," she compensated, "He's got too many pieces of clothing, he won't even notice anything missing."
Deion settled his gaze back at Amphitrite. She looked so at home, so at peace, so... happy when she speaks of Poseidon - she positively looked like she was glowing in Deion's eyes - he couldn't figure out what on earth drove him to even think about charging into her home... for what?
'For what, exactly?' he repeated to himself.
To demand her answers? To make him understand all the things that doesn't make sense to him?
Giving in, Deioneus leaned his head back to the tub, "Oh, Amphitrite," he breathed out, shutting his eyes tightly, "I don't know what I was thinking..."
He could sense her stepping closer to him.
"I saw you there, at the middle of the stadium, with him... and it sucked every living breath out of me," he confessed, covering his eyes with both hands in exasperation, "All sense of reason or control... it's like it all jumped out of the window... and I just wanted to punch someone! Anyone! I just..." his voice trailed, feeling Amphitrite settling herself at the edge of the tub.
He opened his eyes, and found her looking down at him, a sad smile on her lips.
"You do know I loved you, right?" she whispered.
"Loved," he noted.
She grinned, tucking her hair behind her ear. A normally tell-tale sign that she's nervous, and corrected, "I still love you now," she said, "I care for you. A lot," she emphasized, "Maybe not the same way that I used to, but I still do," she vowed, "And maybe I always will... for the rest of my life."
He caught her eyes, "Did we ever have a chance?"
There was a brief look of what appeared to be sorrow that quickly passed through her face, before she admitted, "I could say, there was more than a chance," she replied, "A possibility."
"Then why didn't it happen?"
She looked down, "That was my fault."
"So how could you even say it was possible?"
"If I wasn't too afraid, or too uncertain... we..." she gestured, "...could've happened," tilting her head to the side, she settled her eyes to the far wall, away from him, as if reminiscing things, "There was always something that stopped me... some hesitations... I was just... never sure about things," she reasoned, "I knew I love you then... I know you know that, but..."
"It didn't feel right?" he indicated what she found hard to explain.
She looked at him, hesitated, before admitting, "It didn't feel right."
He tore his gaze away from her.
"And it broke my heart into a million pieces because I just couldn't understand why..." she murmured. "You were so perfect, Deion. You were everything I've always dreamed of. And out of all the women in Phorcis, you chose to love me. Unconditionally. And I couldn't wrap my head around WHY on earth it didn't feel right," she recounted, "I thought, surely... there must be something wrong with me."
She traced her fingers at the side of the tub, "The day you married Diomede..." she recalled, "I asked Mnemosyne to remove my memories of you..."
A quick panic ran through him, and he held her wrist, "Don't..."
"I didn't," she affirmed, "Mnemosyne wouldn't allow me."
"Don't you ever..." he mumbled.
She motioned, "I was in so much pain..." she explained, "I didn't think I could handle that much. And the funny part is, I know I was the author of my own anguish. If it weren't for Thetis..." her voice faltered, "I honestly don't know what would've become of me," she declared, "She pulled me out from the palace after I've locked myself in my chambers for days, never said a word of it to our parents, and whisked me off to Corinth... where I stayed for, what I assumed would be, forever."
"And then he came along," Deion mumbled.
This time, any sign of shadow from Amphitrite's beautiful face retreated and was quickly replaced with a look of enchantment, "And then he came along," she repeated.
"Poseidon..." Deioneus started, "...was unexpected."
She looked away with a laugh, "He was a surprise, yes," she corrected.
"You love him." It wasn't even a question.
Amphitrite angled her head, "I do," her gaze flickering down as if the acknowledgement itself was a shock to her, and whispered, "With all my heart."
Images of his sisters' faces after Poseidon left them flashed through Deion's mind, and challenged, "Even after all the things you knew he had done... to many people, to my sisters, to some of your sisters..."
"Even after..." she mumbled in confirmation.
"Then I envy him."
Amphitrite shook her head.
"For he has your heart," he stated.
"Deion," she reached out, "I cannot do anything about it."
He caught her hand in his, and brought it to his lips, "I know," he agreed.
'Just like I cannot do anything about loving you... still,' he added to himself.
She tightened her grip.
"I wish you happiness, Red," he said genuinely more than he'd ever thought possible.
That brought a certain glow into Amphitrite's face, a certain lightness, as if he had just inadvertently freed her from something, "And I, you," she returned.
"I swear, if that man will ever make you unhappy, I will challenge him to a man-to-man combat!" Deion declared, "I don't even care if he's an Olympian!"
Amphitrite responded with a laughed. Her laughter, as always, brought life to any room, "Oh, me first," she blurted out, "You can have your combat with him after I beat him up to the pulp."
"He does make you happy, doesn't he?" Deion observed.
Her brows furrowed, "Strangely, he does," she nodded, "But mind you, he has his moments," she shared, "There are times he can single-handedly drive me insane, I just want to strangle him!" she gestured, "He can get quite hard-headed and tempestuous."
Deion smiled, "Just like you..."
"No, not like me," she clarified with a grin, "His temper is SO much worse."
"Then how do you manage?" he asked.
"I don't know," she shrugged, "I just... do."
"Lucky bastard," he teased.
She threw her head back, chuckling.
Recovering herself, Amphitrite caught his gaze, gripped the other side of the tub, and suddenly lowered herself to him, granting him the sweetest kiss a man could ever imagine. He felt one hand immediately finding its way up to cup her face that he knew so well.
Pushing herself back, Amphitrite smiled down at him,
"Thank you for loving me," she expressed.
Deion opened his mouth to respond when a loud knock on the front door interrupted them. It startled Amphitrite so much, she lost her grip at the other side of the tub, trying to push herself up in an instant, and instead came tumbling straight down into the tub with him, drenching her all wet.
"Oh my god!" she exclaimed, hastily wiping water away from her face,. She looked at him in panic, saw the stunned expression on his face and, astoundingly, began to bubble with laughter at what had just happened.
Her amusement was so contagious, Deion found himself joining her in mirth.
"I am such a mess!" she blurted out.
"You are," Deion agreed, "Clumsy as ever!"
"I know," Amphitrite confirmed, successfully pushing herself up this time, "Some things never change," glancing down on her dress, she murmured, "This is embarrassing," she acknowledged while already marching towards the door, "You can attend to yourself, right?" she momentarily glanced behind her shoulder, checking up on him.
"Yes," he nodded.
"I'll see who's at the door," she proclaimed, "Hopefully, this is not someone important," she joked, making a quick dash for it.
As soon as she was out of the chamber, Deion stepped out from the tub, quickly dried himself up and changed to one of Poseidon's tunic.
'Well, that was enough disturbance he had for her,' he thought. He'd better be heading out back to town. Placing the towel over his arm, Deion strode out of the room, calling out, "Red, where can I..."
He paused midway.
Outside the door stood Poseidon, in all his battle regalia, looking at him, stunned, and Amphitrite frozen in her place with a look of sheer terror painted on her face.
Amphitrite glanced quickly at Poseidon, shaking her head, "This is not how it looks like..."
The god was already charging up to Deion even before his wife could finish, bellowing, "PHORCIAN!"
Amphitrite scrambled towards Poseidon, steadily mauling the life out of Deioneus on the floor.
Getting a grip of Poseidon's arm, she tried to push him off. "POSEIDON!" she demanded, "Please!"
He forcefully hauled his arm away from her grasp, throwing her out of balance and sending her stumbling down to the ground. Quickly regaining her footing, Amphitrite threw herself back at Poseidon, this time successfully untangling him away from Deioneus, and heaving him to the floor.
"STOP IT!" she ordered.
The three of them, all now in various state of distress and disarray on the ground.
Pushing himself on one arm, Deion brushed off his blooded nose with the other, looked at Poseidon, and uttered, "How does it feel, Poseidon?" he asked.
Poseidon's killing gaze had never left Deion's face.
"How does it feel to be the one who caught your wife with another man for a change?" he taunted. "Doesn't feel good, does it?"
An animalistic growl came out from Poseidon's throat as he shove Amphitrite's arms away and making a dive at Deion.
Amphitrite coiled one arm around Poseidon's neck, the other grasping at his shoulder, planting herself firmly to the ground to no avail, eyeing Deioneus as Poseidon effortlessly dragged her with his strides.
"Deion, Go!" she ordered,
What was he even thinking? She fumed.
"Out!" Amphitrite shouted, "Get OUT!"
Only then did Deion turn around and scrambled to the back door.
Roughly pushing her away, Poseidon raised a trembling hand to her, keeping her at a distance from him, his gaze averted from her.
Amphitrite reached out to him, "Poseidon..."
"Don't..." he snarled, breathing hard, stopping her from her tracks, "Don't... touch me."
Amphitrite took a step back. He said it as if the thought of her touching him was the vilest thing in the world.
Poseidon swiftly turned on his heels towards the door just at the same time that they saw Deioneus passing by, riding on one of the horses from Amphitrite's stable.
"Let me explain..." Amphitrite trailed after him.
He walked unremittingly down her front steps.
"Poseidon!"
He reached his steed, mechanically mounted it, and tugged on its reins, "Don't even dare follow," he ordered, glancing down at her, "You wouldn't like it."
Kicking on his horse, he set it off into a powerful saunter leaving only a trail of dust on his wake.
"POSEIDON!" Amphitrite ran after him.
This is not good, she uttered to herself, HOLY SEVEN SEAS! THIS is NOT good!
Frantically looking around, her eyes immediately settled on the Phorcian chariot that Deion rode on when he arrived earlier. Rushing towards it, she climbed on the driver's seat, grabbed on the reins and set the horses into a run.
She had driven chariots before. It's not as if this is going to be the first time. This shouldn't be a problem, she hoped, as she urged the horses into a pace.
Amphitrite could still hear the beating hooves of Poseidon's horse. He must not be that far off, she could push a little faster to keep up with him. She knew the rocky, wooded terrain far better than Poseidon and Deioneus combined, and though night has fallen, the moon was shining brightly at the skies, lighting up the path before her.
She doubled on the speed, and true enough, she instantly saw Poseidon from a distance, Deion not gaining much momentum to take him further away from her charging husband as Poseidon was swiftly gaining the lead.
Amphitrite hurtled on and waited until she was a few meters before she cried out, "POSEIDON!"
The god only acknowledged her with a slight turn of his head.
"POSEIDON. STOP!" She beseeched, just as they were about to take a swift turn on a blind curve.
Amphitrite coiled the reins over her hands as she skilfully manoeuvred the horses to take on the turn on high speed. She could hear the loud grating of stones getting crushed by their rapid pace. Though the slight deceleration of the chariot gave Poseidon a better lead on her.
She hit on the reins, "Faster!" she goaded at the two sturdy horses, "FASTER!"
And then disaster happened.
A heavy trunk of a tree fell out of nowhere from the side of the road into the direct path of Amphitrite's chariot. It fell too close for a timely halt on the horses' speed, so she did the next best thing, she steered the horses to the side... abruptly. Very abruptly.
One of the horses got out of control, it stumbled over on its hind legs, brought the other steed down with it, and sent the one-seater carriage out of its hinges, throwing Amphitrite off, free-flying for a terrifying second before hitting her back straight into a tree. She ducked her head just in time as the carriage itself came swiftly slamming just inches above her.
Amphitrite heard herself cry out in pain,
"POSEIDON!" she screamed.
She opened her eyes, her breathing labored, just at the same time that a hooded figure came to her line of vision at the other side of the woods.
She felt air being sucked out from her throat.
It was Diomede. The Queen of Phorcia.
And standing behind her were three figures of equally-hooded men.
The sound of approaching hooves steered Amphitrite's attention back to the nearing outline of her husband as Diomede's cloaked-figure retreated back to the shadows.
"GODAMMIT, AMPHITRITE!" Poseidon's curse echoed well into the night air.
She grasped at the tree behind her to push herself up to a stand, and froze.
Amphitrite looked down and dreadfully pulled at the hem of her dress, ice cold air immediately engulfing her entire being.
"Poseidon," her voice barely a whisper, raising her head to her husband in alarm.
She wasn't imagining things! Blood was slowly trickling down the length of her legs!
Poseidon jumped angrily out from his steed, still fuming, marching towards her and then instantly pausing mid-stride when he caught the terror in her eyes.
"What's wrong?" he questioned, confused.
"Poseidon..."
He quickly ran up to her, his gaze finally getting sight of blood pooling on her dress, "What's the matter?" he demanded, "WHAT'S THE MATTER!"
She grasped tightly on his arm, "Poseidon," she cried, uncontrollably starting to break down, "I'm sorry," she breathed, shaking her head in hysterics, "Our baby..." she gasped, "I'm sorry!"
Amphitrite collapsed heavily on Poseidon's arms, "Our baby..."