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There was a large garbage can right next to the Moudre Rouge door, and Clarke pulled me behind it. It stank so bad that I couldn't help but associate it with the memory of the lower part of the Oratat arena, but perhaps that sensation was caused by Clarke's flustered feelings.
"Can you tell me what's going on now?"
"Do you see that man over there?" he pointed at the man who bursted out the door of the place, looking in all directions like a sniffer dog.
He was the same man from before. His hair blended into the night and his eyes were a vibrant green, he wore a suit that set him apart from his surroundings. He huffed and launched himself into the lonely streets of Paris, always looking in all directions. I ducked my head furtively, with an irrational fear that he'd seen me.
"Yeah." I muttered.
"He's my stepfather. After my mother disappeared, he thought I had gone crazy because I kept saying that she hadn't died, that she was trapped in Atlantis. He wanted to put me in an asylum, so I took all the money my mother had saved and ran away with Matthew."
I heard his words, but I was lost in my own thoughts. Olympus exists, that's a fact. Gods exist, that's another fact. Cecrops was trapped in Atlantis, that was also true. Now, a mortal having survived a tsunami and being trapped along with Cecrops is unlikely. But Clarke's faith was so big and beautiful, it almost made the hypothesis seem true.
"Has anyone hit by the tsunami been found?"
"Yes, some people, lifeless, unfortunately. But my mother was never found. A year has passed."
I looked at the street again and the man was already gone.
"He is gone." I warned and walked away from that disgusting place.
"I think there are other people after us besides your stepfather." I sighed, putting my thoughts back in place. "My brother and my parents, and Hades. The latter is the most worrisome, as he has some frightening taskmasters, worse than the monsters of Olympus."
"Of all people, why Hades?"
"Because before you entered Olympus there were rumors that someone was coming to kidnap me, and it clearly wasn't you."
"There's no way they'll find you with the soul bracelet."
"They'll figure it out, they're gods, Clarke." I took a deep breath. "We need a plan."
"I agree, and I apologize for spoiling your evening." He laced his fingers through mine. "Sincerely."
I'd never felt electrified by anyone's touch, let alone one as soft as his, and that scared me, so I pulled away.
"No problem. I'm used to waiting."
After seventeen years of waiting to discover the world beyond the confines of Oratat, I thought there was nothing that could make the wait hurt. Still, waiting for Clarke made me feel the weight of eternity. And that was the least of my surprises, because right there, standing in that dimly lit alley and in front of that mortal, I felt vulnerable.
"I'm glad you don't have to wait to hold my hand and walk me to the car, if you want, of course." Clarke offered his hand and flashed a huge smile.
I took his hand and that strange tingling feeling ran through my arm and back. I wanted to dodge it again, but my body didn't have the strength to break contact. When he walked away to open the car door, I felt a pang of disappointment.
My guide made a point of passing close to the tower so that I could see it lit up. It was beautiful and majestic and homesick, even though it wasn't part of my memories of the past, a silly part of me believed in a happy past picnicking below it or playing with the other free children. In the rearview, two dice swayed, catching my attention with each rattle. One had a number nine written on it and the other had three.
"Are they luck charms?" I shook them with my fingertips.
Clarke was a serious and prudent driver. He drove slowly and stopped at all signs and red lights even though there was no one in the way.
"No." he replied without looking at me. "I don't believe in luck."
"Smart," I sighed and snuggled into the chair. "Have you thought of a plan yet?"
"I can't think of anything right now, but I have an idea to help us."
"Do you at least know where Atlantis is?"
"You do not know?" at this time he took his eyes off of the road.
"Possibly."
"I believe it is where my mother disappeared, in the Mediterranean, more specifically in the Aegean Sea."
"Is it far?"
"Not a lot." he replied. "If it's not asking too much, can you tell me why it's so dangerous there? Every vessel that comes close sinks. It's a mystery to humans."
"It's the house of mermaids, they are really dangerous."
Of course, to me they meant nothing more than a school of strange fish. Our biggest concern will be Poseidon, who is usually where the mermaids are, if the smatterings of information my brother let slip are really true.
The country house soon appeared again, and with it a warm feeling of home. It was nice to have a place to return to at the end of the day, a place that allowed me to go out whenever I wanted.
"How was the day?" Lee greeted us with his usual cheerfulness. I had never seen such an energetic creature. "Did you have fun?"
Even though I'd spent my entire teenage years locked away, I could identify a mischievous tone of voice.
"So much!" I replied, ignoring what she wanted to infer. "Clarke took me to a secret classical music place. It was the most amazing place I've ever been in my life."
"Did he take you to the Moudre Rouge?" she leaned over the back of the couch. "Clarke, I can't believe you took her there."
"Have you been there?"
"Already, several times, Clarke lo–o–ves that place. He's a different boy, you know? Where would you ever see an eighteen-year-old boy loving classical music? The worst part is that he's starting to influence me."
"I loved it, it's a wonderful place, and they have a wonderful drink."
"You can get drinks on every street corner, May. Don't let Clarke fool you."
"On, hold on. I didn't fool May. She wanted to see cool places in Paris, and I took her to one of my favorite places."
"Where you take everyone." she muttered.
"I never went there!" Matthew complained, sprawling on the cushions beside me.
I ruffled his hair, but soon Cedric jumped up on me and started licking my arms.
"Because you're too small, I think." I said, pushing the puppy away.
"Exactly, because he's very little."
An awkward silence hung in the air and all I could hear was Cedric's panting, who didn't intend to give up licking me, and Clarke's footsteps.
"Lee, I know tonight is reading night, but especially tonight we're going to anticipate game night. Can you get the boards for me?" Clarke yelled from the kitchen. "I'll make us pizza."
"Yay! Pizza!" Matthew cheered, and just after Lee walked away, he muttered beside me. "You can't make the pizza ready in a second, can you?"
"I do not think so." I replied.
I wasn't as comfortable as before, there was something about the atmosphere of the place that bothered me, and it didn't take me long to realize it was Lee. She seemed nice at first, but then her characteristic extroversion swallowed up all the rest of her personality. No one who is truly excited can be excited all the time.
"Are you still reading the story of Oedipus?" I pulled the book out of Matthew's hands and a paper fell out.
It was thick, pretty paper, and gold letters were written all over it. It was a letter.
"What is it?" I urged Matthew to speak.
"It's nothing, May. I was using this to bookmark the book."
He tried to pull the letter away, but I lifted it out of his reach, and ran my eyes over it.
Dear Lee,
Time is a human construction that has managed to leave the imagination and stop in reality to torment us every day. I also know that our time is short and very valuable, but I will be forced to give up some of it with you and Matthew.
I need to take a short trip away from men and find something very valuable to me. It's dangerous and there's a possibility I could die, and I need someone to take care of Matthew.
You're the perfect person for this, cheerful and caring, young, and obviously not responsible for him, but I know you have integrity. Matthew will tell you where to find money to support you for a lifetime.
If you ever considered us your family, please don't abandon us.
With love,
Clarke.
"Clarke can be quite dramatic sometimes." The boy shrugged.
'Why isn't the letter with her?"
"Because I didn't give her." he raised his eyebrows. "Didn't you not read it? Very dramatic."
"But you like Lee." I thought out loud.
"I like her a lot, but she's a little crazy sometimes, so, I don't know, I wanted to have options in case Clarke really didn't come back."
Matthew coughed a few times and froze like a robot when Lee returned with the board. There was only one scare: her presence arrived along with the noise of a torrential rain of dolls, buttons, and boxes on the dining table.
"All we need is the board and four pins!" Clarke yelled from the kitchen.
He was wearing a blue apron that was smeared with flour. In fact, even his face was smeared with flour. And he was beautiful, even dirty.
I helped Lee and Matthew put aside the various game boxes the girl had brought. Some looked like sea battle games, some read monopoly, and some were hidden under the other boxes, where I couldn't identify them. We left a board on the table, as required, and four pins.
I was going to get the little blue pin for myself, but I decided to leave it to Clarke, and I grasped the little purple one. I held it between my fingers, making it dance back and forth. The feeling was familiar, it was exactly how the other gods described mortals, like pieces of a board game that could be moved wherever they pleased.
But I didn't know if that thesis was still true anymore, not after meeting Clarke.
Clarke must have had a pendant hidden somewhere, as something shimmered under his shirt as he sat next to Lee, who by the way was also wearing the accessory. I don't know what he told her to so faithfully follow his instructions.
"Can we start?" Clarke asked, rubbing his hands together.
"At your orders!" Lee tossed her hair to one side and it fell back perfectly.
"Did you come up with a new game?" Matthew asked.
"Yeah!" Clarke was excited. "It works a bit like an RPG, although it's not exactly a..."
"What is an RPG?" I interrupted him.
"It's a type of game where players take on character roles and create narratives together."
"I can't believe you don't know what an RPG is." Matthew exclaimed in a particularly offensive way for such a small boy.
"Mat, don't be rude. May came from the Slovak countryside, from a secluded place." Lee warned him.
Clarke squinted at the pair, then at me.
"Well... the game will work this way... I'm going to play with this little pin." He picked up the little blue pin. "It's going to be a mortal. May's doll will represent a goddess, the goddess Aphrodite, to be more specific. Lee's doll will represent Hades and Mat's doll, Poseidon."
"Okay," I said, leaning across the table. I had finally understood Clarke's idea: the game would help us better visualize our possibilities.
"What about their powers, which will they be?" Lee asked.
"Maybe I should say that." He looked at me apprehensively. "But first, it's important that you know the plot of the story. The mortal must reach the lost city of Atlantis and free a prisoner in Poseidon's custody, with the help of Aphrodite, while being pursued by Hades."
"Wow, Clarke, this time you've outdone yourself." Lee said and leaned her head against his chest, laughing like there was no tomorrow. " Wow! Really. What a nonsense."
"Now, the powers, there's no way to play without knowing their powers." Mat complained looking at me, and I wondered what could be going through his head. My words are more valuable than all the books he's ever read put together, and he must be waiting for the truth.
"The only power a mortal has is to die." I arranged the board with my fingertips. "Aphrodite can make feelings grow in the heart of any person or god, and she is hardly surprised by this, Hades can turn invisible and usually has harpies under his command to attack his enemies. Poseidon, in addition to being a troublemaker, controls the sea and oceans, and has a lot of influence over sea beings."
"But is that all?" Lee asked flustered. "A god who turns invisible and sends extras to do his work. Ah, May, I think we can make Hades a little more dangerous to make the game cool."
"But Hades is dangerous! He is one of the three founding gods of Olympus, he is one of the most powerful."
"Powerful like that? If he is not careful Poisedon will throw a bucket of water on him and, booom, Hades is over." Lee crossed his arms. "Or else, it doesn't even need so much work, Aphrodite enchants him with her incredible beauty and that's it."
"Don't talk about Aphrodite." My words sounded acidic.
"I know you got the Aphrodite part, but I'm just kidding, calm down, May." Lee chuckled.
"This is no joke to me."
"Calm down, calm down, calm down, everyone." Clarke raised his hands. "The powers will stay as May said. Lee, since you thought they were weak, you will be the first to deliver an action plan."
Lee, who was evidently tired of the meeting in the living room, rolled the pin a few times between her palms, and tied her long hair above her head. Then she started moving the pins on the table.
"As I am Hades, I have to play in my favor." she placed the pin in front of Mat's. "Sorry, Mat, but your only power is to die. Next is Aphrodite," she glares at me. "...considering that I am a god of the highest caste, there is nothing to fear, and I have only Poseidon left. Well, I think fire beats water."
Clarke slammed his hands down on the table, ending the nanny's narrative.
"Well, looks like Lee won, and she massacred us." he laughed awkwardly. "But since it's just a little game, it doesn't reflect reality, and therefore… it doesn't reflect reality. We don't have to worry about that."
I knew he was saying that to me, but I knew it didn't make sense. I wasn't worried about that.
"I have an announcement to make to the family." Clarke snapped his fingers. "We're going on vacation for a few days in Greece."
Lee's face changed in a mixture of surprise and euphoria.
"All paid by you?"
"Of course, that's how the au pair rules work, isn't it?"
Matthew rose from my side and wrapped his arms around his brother's waist.
"Cool!" the boy muttered.
"For how long?" Lee asked thoughtfully.
"Not for long." he said and looked at me, as if waiting for an answer.
"It will be nice to see a new place." I commented, although I lacked enthusiasm.
"Okay, but I need to talk to you about a few things, Clarke." Lee informed him.
Clarke's phone started ringing continuously until he gave up ignoring it. He waved at us and walked off toward the hallway of the house. In the distance I could hear him complaining to someone, but soon after, his voice disappeared completely.
I sat back on the couch. The pendant swung pendulously around Lee's neck, as if inviting me to pull it out.
"The necklace you're wearing is very beautiful." I commented.
"Very beautiful indeed, I loved it too."
"You know, I'm thinking of going out tomorrow in a red dress, and I think this necklace would match perfectly. Would you lend it to me?"
"No!" Matthew almost yelled beside me, and I shot him a disapproving look.
"Matthew! Don't be rude, why not borrow the necklace?" Lee ruffled the boy's hair, and removed the pendant from her neck that ended up in my hand. "It's sure going to look gorgeous on you."
"Clarke told us to never take that necklace off." the boy insisted.
"I've told you a thousand times that your brother is very pragmatic. Also, it's only one day and one night, he probably won't even notice that I'm without the necklace. Plus, it's very weird, Mat."
"It's true, and I really loved that necklace." I said, waving the ambrosia pendant in front of my eyes. It was like I was holding on to my own weakness. "I've never seen one so beautiful before."
I smiled and hung the pendant around my neck, along with it, the taste of victory, a little more pleasant than my memories, washed over me.
The oven beeped announcing that Clarke's pizza was ready. The smell was delicious. Lee ran over and put on a pair of gloves to get the pizza out of the oven and came running with it into the living room, pushing it against the cold metal of the table. Heat took over the room.
"Wow, it looks delicious!" Matthew volunteered to set up the plates and napkins and, of course, cut his slice of pizza.
"First the slice of our guest, Mat." Lee laughed, pushing a slice of pizza in my direction. "How can they be so alike physically and so different in personality?"
"We're two different people, Lee." Matthew said, as if he were a grown man, and I couldn't help but laugh.
"If I had to choose, despite the regrets, you would still be my favorite." I winked at him and his face lit up. His little eyes as blue as his brother's.
"Don't say that, May, you'll create a monster."
I decided to take a bite of the pizza, after all, I was curious to eat what Clarke cooked. It was wonderful. A mixture of flavors, mint, tomato, olive oil, mozzarella...it was really appetizing.
It didn't take long for Clarke to march angrily back into the room. His gaze barely swept my face, but lingered on Lee.
"Come on, we need to talk." He looked my way again. "May, I'll be back later so we can sort out the trip, all right?"
"It's all right". I replied.
I watched as Lee followed him to one of the several hallway doors. They entered the door across from the room I slept in yesterday. I started to walk slowly to reach the beginning of the conversation, but I felt a tug on my dress.
"Hey, what are you going to do?" Matt asked.
"Nothing, I won't do anything wrong." I brought my finger to my mouth. "Shhiiii, okay?"
"You know it's wrong to listen to other people's conversations, right?"
"You know it doesn't make sense for you to say what is or isn't wrong for me, right?"
He shrugged.
"You really should know what's right and what's wrong." he grumbled.
"I won't let you sleep with me anymore." he kept following me with his arms crossed and a pout. "Go get Cedric. Where is he?"
Almost like magic we hear the dog's claw against the floor and its unrestrained licks. We both turned to see Cedric devouring the rest of his pizza.
"Cedric!" Matthew shouted.
I took the opportunity to run towards the voices. The door was ajar, so I kept my back to the wall to avoid being seen, and prevent them from seeing my shadow.
"I need to know exactly what your plans are. I know what I'm getting myself into here, and I know it's wrong, but I need to know more to keep covering you." Lee was talking.
"There's nothing wrong here, Lee." Clarke replied.
She snorted.
"All right, all right, Clarke. I think I'm too emotionally invested, but anyway, I'm also worried about myself. What if you guys disappear out of nowhere and I have no family here?"
"I know you're worried about my stepfather's situation. But look, I promise you everything will be fine. And you're wonderful too, when you get tired of us, you can get a better family."
"But I really love you. I don't want another family. I'm just worried about time, and I'm actually worried about you. In truth. It always look like you're on the run, Clarke."
"We are not." There was a pause. "We love you too."
I thought I had heard enough to start controlling her heart, and I did. Even through the small gap in the doorway, I saw how the irises in her brown eyes grew and her cheeks flushed.
"There's nothing else I want in this life other than to accompany you wherever you go." Lee declared.
"Lee, are you all right?"
"I've never been better and happier in my entire life. Clarke, I..."
I struggled to get a better look at the two of them, which was a great idea. As I got a better look at them, I realized that what had interrupted Lee's words were Clarke's lips. Those lips that refused to kiss me.
I have always tended more towards the side of justice, which made both my parents very uncomfortable, as one was a goddess of love and the other of war, justice was not a common theme for them. Never has been. That explains a lot, because I've always really enjoyed tournaments and fighting, but at the same time, I've always felt sorry for myself very easily.
I ran to the room. Matthew was cleaning up the mess Cedricro had made. He had pizza everywhere imaginable. I bent down next to the puppy and stroked his head. My hands must have smelled like pizza because he started licking me wildly.
I walked past the counter and grabbed Clarke's car keys. They were methodically placed on a metal tray. I left the room without looking back, but I was careful to close the door very slowly so as not to alert any of them.
It was time to free myself from my bonds completely.
The car was there, parked in front of the entrance. I did as Clarke did yesterday, and opened the door. I sat in the driver's seat. I left the key in the space between the two seats. I pressed the left pedal all the way down and started.
The car started illuminating the trees in the backyard. I started my little adventure by turning right beyond the gates. But when I passed it, I realized I had no destination.
Where to go? I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel for a few seconds, until I hit the gas pedal and decided to drive without direction. I just wanted to go far away, I wanted to go wherever my heart wanted, because now I could do it.
But the streets were dark and poorly lit. The trees and forest took over my sides as I drove into the night. Sometimes a car would pass me in the opposite direction, sometimes I was alone with my own demons. And they screamed louder than when I was in Oratat.
When it started to rain the steering became more slippery, and the worry grew. I didn't want to crash the car, I didn't want to see my blood again. I didn't want to have to remember that I was a prisoner once again. I picked up more and more speed in a failed attempt to outrun myself.
Then thoughts clouded my mind: Was the rain a sign? Was it Olympus trying to tell me they were worried about me?
My hand slipped to the right side of the track just as I felt a sharp pain afflict the right side of my face. I corrected the car's direction and turned on the light to see my face in the rearview mirror. My cheekbone was red. It didn't take long for me to feel the pain again, and soon there was a reddish purple smudge on my face so pale.
I decided to stop the car at the end of the road.
The pain continued to inflict me, and soon my face was bleeding.
I was bleeding because someone was making Clarke bleed.
I held on a little longer, hoping it would stop. When the pain remained constant, the righteous side in me screamed out louder. Louder, I hope, than the side that wanted to protect Clarke from any harm in this world. I couldn't, shouldn't, care about him; but if I cared about the monsters of Olympus, why shouldn't I care about a mortal?
I looked at my face in the rearview mirror. No, I stated, I would go back on my own, because that damn bracelet has bound my soul to this mortal's, and now I have to take care of him so I don't die.
I started the car, turned around, and made my way back to my second house, not without doing several zigzags on the wet lane and escaping a few accidents. I was more resistant to pain than poor Clarke.
I turned off the car's headlights as I approached the mansion and parked away from the driveway, hoping not to be noticed. I walked along the walls avoiding the windows, and from the corner of one of them I saw who was causing the wounds on my face and Clarke's, which were noticeably worse than mine. Orion had found me.
I jumped in through the window and ran inside the house.
"Stop now, Orion!" I screamed, but I couldn't avoid one last punch that made me feel all sorts of pain. When I looked up again, I felt more blood running down my face.
However, the chill down my spine wasn't a result of the pain, but of Orion's black eyes staring back at me.