Hello everybody! With just some delay, here is the LAST chapter of this fanfiction. Thank you to everybody who has been reading and reviewing.

I hope that you enjoyed this story and I am looking forward to reading comments, both positive and negative (but be kind please =D)

If you enjoyed this story, I remind you that I have written other two fanfics on the same topic (A Stranger in the City and Aesacus, priest of Troy). They can be found on this website as well.

OOO

Hermes' smile faded and he silently stared at me for a while. He looked extremely serious.

"... I mean... if you are not busy" I added.

Focused as I was on my decision to visit Apollo, I hadn't even considered that Hermes might have other plans.

"I'm free" he answered immediately. "But you should change into a thicker robe and gather a cloak. It is very cold up there"

His expression was still unusually grave.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you think it's a bad idea?" I asked, a bit hesitant.

He smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, not at all. It's just that I have been waiting for this day for years. I am a bit shocked that it's really happening"

"I am shocked that it's happening, too" I whispered.

I hurried back to my room and wore a thick woollen dress and a cloak, like Hermes had told me. When I opened the door, he was already waiting for me, fully dressed for the travel.

We crossed the snowy gardens and reached the doors, taking leave from the Horae as usual. Hermes outstretched his hand, and I took it, shivering.

"Hyperborea is far north. We will need some time to get there" he said.

For the first part of the travel, we were silent. Hermes flew slowly and I looked down at the snowy landscape. The days where I had kept my eyes shut during these flights were gone.

What was I going to say to Apollo? That I had decided to visit because I was missing him? That I had noticed that he was part of me?

Was it necessary to say it out loud or was he already perceiving it through the bond?

Mount Olympus was already far away behind our shoulders when Hermes spoke.

"May I ask what made you take this decision?" he asked.

"Uh... Artemis gave me some advice in form of a rant" I replied with a small smile.

I repeated to him what Artemis had told me the day before and he burst into laughter.

"Subtle as usual, bless her!" he added with a chuckle. "Well, you have been dancing around each other for years, to be fair. But you had every reason to be cautious around each other"

He hadn't commented Artemis' statement that he and Athena were lovebirds.

At first, I didn't want to question him on that subject. After all, it wasn't my business to inquire. I said nothing and started thinking about what I would say to Apollo - again.

But after a while I felt the need to chat about something else.

"By the way, I am not the only one who thinks that you and Athena are flirting. Artemis called the two of you lovebirds"

Hermes chucked again.

"A few years ago, Artemis suggested that I should try and pursue you because you were one of the few women who could stand me" he said bemusedly. "I wouldn't take her very seriously"

"You know what is curious?" I asked, turning to him. "Every time we talk about this matter, you laugh it off, but you never deny. Why is that?"

Hermes looked at me, surprised.

"So, you are serious about this! I always assumed you were joking. That's why I laugh it off" he said.

"You are still not denying" I pointed out.

"I am not flirting with Athena" he replied with a smile.

"Fine. It's just... the two of you are so similar in many ways..."

For the second time, Hermes burst into laughter.

"Us, similar? Did Athena ever put a whole head of chopped garlic into Artemis' nectar? Did she ever tie Ares' sandals together while he was sleeping? Did she ever put a giant, pink feather into Zeus' locks just before a council started?"

"You did... not..." I was laughing so hard that I had tears in my eyes. "Please tell me that you didn't... put a whole head of garlic into Artemis' nectar!"

I really wished that I could have witnessed that scene.

"I did. On that particular day, I was happier than ever to have Apollo as my best friend. Otherwise, my head and the rest of my body would be in two different places right now"

"And a giant pink feather? Really?"

"I must admit that Athena helped me on that one. She met Zeus before the council and saw the feather but said nothing" he chuckled.

I unsuccessfully tried to imagine Zeus with a giant pink feather in his black curls.

"That is exactly my point. You are similar. Seriously, have you ever thought about it?" I asked once I managed to stop laughing.

"Not really. I have known her literally for centuries and it has never been an option" he replied. "But why are you suddenly so interested in my love life?" he asked after a moment, grinning.

"Sorry, I was indiscreet" I mumbled.

"Ha! I'm indiscreet all the time. Speaking of which: are you nervous?"

"Quite" I admitted. "I don't know what to say to him. I don't even know whether he already knows that I am coming"

Hermes didn't speak for a moment.

"I reckon that he will notice your presence once we are close enough" he said earnestly. "I think that the real question is whether you are sure of what you feel, of what you want now"

"I am sure" I answered quietly.

"In that case, your word choice will not matter very much. Apollo will be happy to see you there"

Yes, he would be happy to see me there.

For the rest of our travel, I felt much calmer. Nevertheless, once my feet touched the ground in Hyperborea, I became nervous once again.

The land was covered in thick snow, and I shivered, wrapping myself very tight in my cloak. Straight ahead of us, at a short distance, there was a forest of firs that seemed to be immense.

"Go straight on and walk past the first few trees. Apollo has a log cabin almost at the edge of the forest" whispered Hermes in my ear. "I will wait here for a moment in case you don't find him, but I'm sure he knows that we are here"

I thanked him and started walking carefully in the snow.

I felt my heart beating wildly. I wasn't sure that I would be able to speak at that moment.

The firs were so high and leafy that the forest was very dark. It took me a while to notice Apollo's golden hairs.

He stood beside his cabin, staring intently at me. He looked extremely serious, and, despite our bond and the physical closeness, I couldn't feel anything coming from him.

Maybe he had changed his mind about me, maybe it was too late now...

Then he spoke in a low voice, so low that I could barely hear him.

"I felt you coming but I did not dare to believe it"

He didn't move, but he outstretched his hand.

We had never touched again since that time before he had cursed me. I took it, unsure of what to expect.

I was hit by a storm of emotion unlike anything I had ever experienced from Apollo. I felt his love, his lust, yearning, sorrow, guilt, relief, each of them and all of them together, and all of that mixed with my own feelings, until I couldn't tell anymore which feeling was mine and which was his.

When he left my hand, I felt like I had just touched the ground after a very long fly.

"For a very long time, I believed that I had lost you forever. I believed that I would not - and that I should not - try to win your love again. I was ready to accept whatever decision you would make and to see you happy with someone else. But now that you have come here... I wish to ask you if you could give me a second chance. I can promise to you that I will not make the same mistakes and that it will not be like... mph..."

I don't know what Apollo wanted to say next, because I threw myself at him and kissed him fiercely.

OOO

I've never had any reason to reconsider that decision so far. As usual, Apollo was telling the truth: he would not make the same mistakes. Neither did I.

I don't know what the future will bring. Maybe I will stay here forever, maybe one day I will grow tired of living among the immortals, just like Chiron has done.

But for once, just for once, I really don't want to know in advance.