Rome's Blade
It was a regular night working at the bar for Sally Jackson, a young, single woman trying to make it as a journalist in New York City. She served the young people who came into the bar looking for a good time nonchalantly, making minor small talk with some of the men who were hitting on her. She was more focused on the book she was writing at the moment, about the Egyptian Gods. She had a meeting set up with an expert on Ancient Egypt the next day, and she couldn't wait. She snapped out of her thoughts when her fellow bartender, Antonio, tapped her on the shoulder.
"You've been washing the same spot for two minutes, Sal. I think it's more than clean." Sally's mouth morphed into an 'o' as her face grew red from embarrassment. She looked at Antonio.
"Sorry, Tony." she apologized, and he smirked at her.
"It's okay. We all get bored, but you've got someone waiting for you." He pointed past her, and Sally flicked around to see a man with midnight black hair patiently sitting in one of the bar stools. He donned a black suit with a white shirt, and a black tie. He noticed she had seen him, and he smirked at her. She could've sworn that his teeth were headlights, and she was merely a deer caught in them. His eyes were the most amazing thing, however. They seemed almost completely black, with speckles of white, as if she was looking into the galaxy. They were captivating, and Sally couldn't move from looking into them.
"Yeah… I'll- do that." she mumbled, walking towards him. He saw her movement, and sat up just a little.
"Welcome to Debby's bar, what can I get started for you?" she asked nicely. He smiled in response.
"A margarita with salt, please, and if I may, your name."
"Sally." she said with a flustered smile. The perfection he radiated made her more than attracted to him, something unusual for the 25-year old bartender. "And yours?"
"Chase." he said with a smirk that sent butterflies up Sally's chest. She quickly turned to make his drink, as she wouldn't let herself fall into this stranger's flirtation.
She brought him the drink, and smiled as he nodded in thanks.
"Just wave me over if you need anything."
He didn't need anything else. Before she could check on him, he was gone, and on the table where he sat, two hundred-dollar bills were placed, one with a phone number and a smiley face on the back. Sally stuffed the money into her back pocket, smiling endlessly.
x
He came again. And again. And again, ordering the same drink, leaving the same amount, every time. Most times, they made small talk, having next to nothing when it comes to meaningful conversation, until one day, when this Chase felt very courageous.
"Come here often?" Sally asked, and Chase smiled.
"People across town tell me that this bar has the best service in town, and so far, I haven't been let down." Sally blushed.
"Margarita?" Sally asked the regular, as he chuckled.
"Of course." She turned, before he coughed, "one more thing?" He asked, and turned back, nodding to him in question.
"A date, if that's on the menu." he said with the same smirk he gave her every time. She bit her lip, contemplating the request.
"I guess I could check the specials…" she pondered off, meeting his gaze. Those eyes still got her every time, ruling her mind.
"When are you off?" Chase asked, smiling. Sally checked the clock. 9:16 P.M.
"Forty." Sally responded.
"I'll be here."
x
He was there. She'd made him his drink and he'd drank it, left the regular, and disappeared, as he always did, before coming back at 10. Sally was sat in a bar stool, waiting for the man. He put his hand on her shoulder, and her attention flicked from her phone to him.
"Hey, Sal." he said with a smile, and she rose from the stool. She'd never been this close to him, and she'd realized a few things.
He smelled amazing. The best smell she'd ever… smelt.
He was also tall as hell. If she had to guess, easily over six-foot-five.
"Let's go." She said, forcing herself to leave the trance that was his cologne. He led her out of the building, and to a red car that looked exotic and expensive. Walking to the passenger side, the logo on the front plastered the word "FERRARI" on it. She thought he was wealthy, but this is something else. A Ferrari in New York?
"It was a gift from my boss." Chase said with a smirk. Sally gawked at the car. "Get in, I wanna get drinks." Sally frowned. "It's different when you work there, Sally." She nodded, and got into the car. They drove to a place in the financial district, the Dead Rabbit, it was called. She got out of the car, and Chase tossed the keys perfectly to a teenage looking boy, who ran to the driver's seat to valet the car. He offered his hand, and Sally graciously took it, and he lead her into the Irish pub. They walked through the door, and Sally instantly realized that she was severely under dressed. Everyone was in suits and incredibly nice dresses, and here Sally was, in jeans and a t-shirt. Chase recognized her distress and squeezed her hand, leaning to whisper into her ear.
"Nobody here cares about what you wear. They're all dressed nice because it's what they like." Chase said, smiling at her. Sally nodded in confusion. All of the rich people she'd met were rude & judgmental, but she trusted Chase. He led her to the bar, where they took a seat beside a couple that was making out. Sally looked, and the interior of the bar was amazing. The high ceilings supported fans, with a loft-like balcony that supported what she assumed was more dining seating.
"Chaos?" Said a voice from her right, and Sally looked to see what was going on. The couple had broken up, and the woman stared past Sally in amazement. Sally matched her gaze, and saw Chase glaring at the woman. She coughed, startled.
"Chase?" she said again, almost correcting a mistake. Chase's glare twisted into a warm smile.
"Howdy, Nyx." Sally frowned. She'd heard that voice before. She turned back to the woman, and she looked like an almost daughter of Chase's, except her pupils didn't have the light that Chase's did. Hers were completely black, like the night.
"I haven't seen you in months!" Nyx said, side-eyeing Sally. Chase chuckled.
"I missed you too, Nyx." he said calmly, before realizing the awkwardness. "Oh- Nyx, this is Sally, my…" He looked at her, asking a question.
"His date." she said with a smile, and Nyx laughed. Sally frowned.
"Took you long enough, Chase. I haven't seen you with a woman in forever!." She said with a bright smile. "And you…" Nyx said, turning to Sally. "You look amazing, honey. I love the way your jeans fit your legs and your hips." She bit her lip. "If I wasn't with my own date, I'd be all over that." Nyx said, and Sally blushed, laughing lightly.
"Good to see you, Chase." The man Nyx was on top of said, his deep voice radiated confidence and power.
"You too, Er." Chase said, turning to the bartender to order drinks.
"We'll leave you two to it, good to see you're finally getting some action, Chase." Nyx said, and she and the guy left.
"What a weird name." Sally said, turning to Chase, who placed a martini in front of her. "Nyx. Like the goddess." Chase smiled.
The night continued, and he and Sally talked about everything they wanted to. He was a vice president at an architecture firm in the city, and his parents had both died at a young age. Sally sensed he wanted to keep a lot in secrecy, but succumbed to some of her questions.
"What's your last name?" Sally asked, and Chase's eyes widened, almost startled.
"Uhm… Hart?" it came out as a question. Sally frowned.
"Not very confident in your answer, Mr. Hart." she teased. He smiled, "I thought I'd told you it before." he answered simply.
By the end of the night, they'd both drank a lot, but Chase was clearly much more able than Sally was. The bill came, and Sally's eyes bulged.
Nearly four-hundred dollars.
"I can't pay this…" she mumbled, her frown deepening. Chase put his hand on her shoulder, smiling.
"Don't worry about it." He said, rising, offering her his hand.
"We have to-" He hushed her, his smirk growing.
"Nah." Sally grew frustrated.
"Why don't we have to pay, Chase?"
"I own the place."
X
The drive to Sally's place was a comfortable silence. Chase focused on the road, while Sally enjoyed breezing by the bright lights of New York.
"You look amazing tonight, Sally." Chase said, and Sally looked at him, frowning.
"I'm not wearing anything extravagant. I don't even have makeup on."
"Exactly."
X
He walked her to the door to her apartment, where she glanced down nervously.
"I'm not exactly a first-date type of girl…" she lead off, and Chase laughed.
"I wasn't expecting you to be." Chase said, and she melted into his smile. She leaned up into his embrace, and kissed him.
She assumed he was amazing at everything he did, but he was an incredible kisser. His hands moved to all the right places. Her hair, her hips, her back. She smiled into the kiss, pulling him closer to her.
"Maybe… I can make an exception." she said, unlocking the door. Chase smiled, and followed her in.
X
Their relationship continued as so, with Chase coming to her work, them leaving to whatever extravagant place he took them to next, and Sally wasn't complaining. The more time she spent with him, the more she fell in love with him. She hated that word – love. Her birth father had left her mother, and her stepfather, while nice, wasn't exactly her best friend. She'd dated before, but nobody had made her felt like this. But she contemplated, was she in love with the man, or the lifestyle he lived, the way he treated her? A knock on wood brought her attention.
The man of her thoughts sat in the same bar stool that he'd always sat in, looking at her with the same smirk he always gave her.
"Margarita?" she asked. She could talk to him all night, it was a slow one.
"Nah, I'm trying to get out of here with you." He asked, emphasizing the 'you.' Sally looked at the clock. 9:45. This place wasn't going to speed up before she clocked out, so she nodded.
"Sure." She said, smiling. Chase grinned.
"Okay, but I brought you a dress. This place has a dress code." Chase said, hopeful. Sally nodded, okay with the condition.
X
They walked into the restaurant, an incredibly fancy place, where everyone was wearing suits and designer pieces. Sally gawked at the people she saw. Celebrities, writers, athletes, models. Everyone was there. Chase walked to the woman working the front desk, and nodded. The woman's eyes widened at the sight of him, and hurried him through the restaurant. While walking, Chase was greeted by many people, women, men, people Sally recognized, and people she didn't. She noticed that people were looking at her with jealousy, primarily women. Why would they be jealous? The waitress opened up a back door into a room that was completely closed off from the rest of the restaurant, before bowing to Chase, and leaving. Sally entered, and Chase closed the door behind them.
"What's all this for?" Sally asked, confused. Chase nervously thumbed his hand through his hair.
"Sally, I wanted to treat you to something especially nice, because you deserve it. Nobody like you deserves to work in that shithole of a bar." Sally blushed. "And." he started, before kissing her.
"I love you."
The night flew past, both of them being incredibly rushed, wanting to get home. On the drive back, Sally was clinging onto Chase's muscled arm, wanting nothing but to take his shirt off then. They arrived at her apartment, and ran up to the elevator like their lives depended on it. In the elevator, Sally grabbed Chase and kissed him feverishly, and he groaned into the kiss. The elevator dinged, and they both stumbled out, still groping one another. They walked to her room, where she unlocked it, and led them inside.
X
The next few months blurred by. Sally kept working her job, and she and Chase kept doing their… routine, until Sally tested positive for a pregnancy. She called Chase over, and they were both ecstatic.
In the delivery room, Sally swore to murder Chase for making her endure this, much to his amusement. When she finally gave birth, the doctor handed her the newborn, who looked at her with sea-green eyes. Sally gasped. He was gorgeous.
"Perseus."
X
Chase and Sally weren't prepared for childbirth. It pushed them apart. Sally refused to give up on the bar and kept working, and kept writing. Chase pleaded and begged her to quit and live with him, but she refused, every single time. It grew frustrating, their disagreements, until one day, Chase had had enough.
"I can't do this anymore, Sal." Chase said, somberly. Sally frowned.
"Elaborate?"
"We just keep fighting. I can't raise a child like this. I'm sorry." He said, and Sally's rage grew.
"So you're just going to abandon me, abandon the woman you love?" She spat, and Chase recoiled in hurt.
"What about the son you fathered? You're going to give up on him as well?" She screamed, and Chase worryingly looked towards Perseus's bedroom. Silence engulfed the two.
"I have to tell you the truth." He finally said. Sally sat.
"Tell me."
"I am not a… regular person. I am far beyond that. I have a role in the universe, an important one. So will he." He nodded towards Perseus's room. Sally frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"My name is Chaos, father of the universe, creator of all." He finally let out, with a breath following it. Sally gasped.
"You… lied?" She whispered. Chaos's eyes widened. He rushed to kneel before her.
"Please, don't be angry with me, I only did so for your protection." Sally tuned him out. Everything clicked. How he had been so… powerful, so perfect. The woman they'd met. Nyx.
"That was the real Nyx, wasn't it?" she whispered. He nodded.
"My daughter, yes." Chaos said, and his head whipped back, left cheek searing with pain. He nodded. He'd deserved it. Sally stood.
"So this is what you do? Manipulate women for your own gain, only for them to bear your child and you to leave?" She said, deathly quiet. Chaos stood behind her.
"No. You're the only woman I've ever taken attention to, loved." Sally whipped back.
"Liar."
"I swear on my power." Chaos whispered, pleadingly. Sally's eyes widened. "I've lived for eternity, literally, but you're the only woman I've felt actually connected to. I love you more than anything, but for his future, his fate, I have to leave." Chaos's voice stayed low. Sally understood, slightly.
"Does that mean he'll be a regular human?" Chaos chuckled.
"No. He will be tormented for his entire life by the fates, forced to fight wars beyond an imaginable scale. He'll be given power beyond anything in this realm, and his choices will either end the world or save it." Tears streamed down Sally's face. Chaos opened his hands, and two nylon bracelets appeared, and he gave them to Sally.
"Put these on him. They'll limit his power, but save his life. They're cursed, so only someone he truly loves can take them off." Chaos whispered. Sally nodded.
"I love you Sally, and I'll visit occasionally so we can have our time, but he cannot know of my existence." Sally looked into his eyes. "If you ever need me, pray for me. I will always come." He said, and Sally kissed him. He enjoyed it for longer than he should have, and pulled away.
"Come back to me." She whispered, looking into his galactic eyes. He nodded.
"I promise I will."
He faded into nothingness.
this is a rewrite**
am bored at college so im going to be writing a bit, starting with rewriting this.
R&R/share
thanks