So begins the single-character chapters. Well, not really single-character, but there's a single MAIN character in each chapter. Why am I rambling? Anyway, this is the next day, after the ceremony. This is the chapter of the goddess of torturous sounds, Colleen. (who by the way, IS a real person, just like all the characters in this. Except for the original Greek gods. Agh! I'm rambling again!) Some things you might want to know for this chapter:
1 nightmares- basically evil horses. They are black and have manes of fire
2 Hephasteus- god of fire and fire crafts, such as blacksmith. He was forced to marry Aphrodite
3 Trojan war- I think it's self explanatory. Greeks vs. Trojans, over a beautiful woman, Helen
4 Achilles- the legendary warrior who was invincible except for his heel, which is where he took an arrow and died.
5 Oh yea, and I don't think there are really swans of death
The sun's rays awoke Colleen gently. She smiled contentedly and sat up in bed, her red feather comforter falling off of her softly. She looked over at the flower-shaped sundial on her ebony night stand. The central fairy's shadow read 9:00, but considering she really had no idea what time it was, she wasn't really late for anything either. Reaching over, she picked up the silver hairbrush also on the night stand, and began combing through her bed head. She yawned, and accidentally dropped the brush in a startled "eep!". The hairbrush lay on the bed as Colleen sat still, eyes wide in terror, remembering that today was her first training session with Ares. This probably meant spending the rest of the day being poked by an almost absolute stranger. Colleen gave a cry of anguish and commenced to hitting her head into her pillow. One, two, three, whoops, she missed the pillow. "Ow!" Colleen yelled, as her head connected with the bed's headboard. Groaning, she pulled herself out of bed, ready to greet the day. Well, not really ready, and not even willing, but she had no choice.
As Colleen walked down the spiral staircase that led to her secluded tower, she was greeted by a rather bright flash of yellow and orange, and a rather loud "HELLO!!!" Colleen groaned again.
"Nice to see you too Aubrey."
The ensemble goddess gave a smile and started dancing around the room. "What a beautiful day!" she squealed. "Just think, we're gonna live like gods here!"
"Goddesses you mean." Colleen corrected, "guys are stupid."
Aubrey shrugged "Well yea. But what ever. Come on, breakfast is waiting for us!" Colleen snapped her fingers, changing into her daily outfit, and followed the hyper goddess through the door of the "new goddess complex". All 9 girls had a room here, with the exception of Lindsay, who had suddenly disappeared after the ceremony yesterday. Colleen hadn't really been looking for her, she had been too busy trying to catch Dionysus' eye, with out much success. So the last bedroom was now reserved for Marjorie, lest she randomly appear in the middle of the night.
The door led to a darkened lounge complete with a huge roaring fire, and bunches of pillows and couches to sprawl on. Megan, Lauren, Sonomi, and Katie already were there, their laughter and chatter broken only when they were chewing. They turned and waved as Colleen and Aubrey entered. "The food's over there." Megan pointed through a full mouth. Colleen gave her a disgusted look.
"Trust YOU to know where it is." She teased, before heading over. Liz and Nicole were having a heated discussion by the table, and things were getting a little ugly. Colleen had to keep ducking so she wouldn't get hit by bubbles, or random pink chinchillas that had wings. Grabbing anything she could, Colleen made a break for the door, but not before getting hit in the back of the head with a fuzzy bubble, that hurt. Colleen plopped down on a bunch of pillows, but leapt up again because something was jabbing into her behind.
Looking down, she saw a rose. It was a dark purple rose, with a note attached to the side. "For Colleen" it read. Colleen blushed when she saw the little heart on the back of the card.
"Wacha got there?" Megan squawked from across the room. Colleen looked up startled. "Oh nothing" she stammered, and finished her breakfast. Clutching her present behind her, she scooted out the door, and headed for where she guessed Ares lived. It wasn't too hard to find. There was a spiny, evil looking castle in the midst of a black cloud, with a black stable next to it, housing two very evil looking nightmares, and an ebony chariot. Any other person might have shrunken away from the evil looking place. Colleen just rolled her eyes. Guys are so stupid she thought, as she walked over to the huge gold door and pulled it open.
"I'm here!" Colleen yelled, a little apprehensive as to what Ares was up to. She didn't have to worry. Ares stumbled down the stairs in a daze, his hair still messy from sleep. Her wore black footy pajamas with "I'm the Ruler of the World" written on the front, and held a black teddy bear with glowing red eyes. Colleen eyed the stuffed animal warily, especially after it winked at her.
"I want a chariot, like yours, only better." She said, deciding to start things off with a bang. Ares blinked sleepily, and clapped his hands, changing into a black and gold toga, complete with a gold earring in one ear. His hand shot out, but Colleen was ready. She smacked his hand away before he could poke her.
Ares sighed, disappointed. "Well, I guess we can start that way. Shall I call Hephasteus to make you one?" Ares walked over to the fireplace, and picked up a burning coal, whining about how hot it was. Then he dropped it on the floor, in the middle of the hallway. "Hephasteus! Come here! You're needed!" he yelled. The coal shook, glowing brighter. Finally it exploded in a flaming red, and a figure stepped out of the blaze, hammer in hand. Colleen gasped.
"Jason?! What the hell?!"
The Filipino boy grinned uncertainly, just as surprised to see Colleen there. " Well, last night Hephasteus left for a vacation, something about getting away from his scary wife. I came here in a big green light, and they handed me this hammer and told me I was now Jasonus, and that I was his sub for the time being. What are YOU doing here?" Colleen stood tall and proud.
"I am the goddess of the tortured sounds, Eep, Mneih, Grrness, and now… Eeklackawicki. So there for-EEP!!!" Colleen gave a cry as Ares let out a delighted squeal. Jason grinned and joined in the fun of "attack Colleen". The poor goddess gave cries and wails of surrender, but the torture was relentless. As she sank to the floor helplessly, something inside of her snapped. She stood up, now oblivious to their poking, blue eyes blazing a dark crimson.
Jason first noticed it. "Woa, what the hell?" he said. Suddenly something made him stop poking her. His horrified gaze met hers and she smiled smugly. Ares mouthed the words "No" but all that came out of his mouth, was unmistakably, an "Eep!" Soon Jason was starting in too, the pair of gods involuntarily squeaking over and over again. Colleen laughed, giddy about this whole goddess business. Soon the whole castle reverberated with tortured sounds. Megan, Nicole and Sonomi looked over at the war god's lair in confusion and pity on their way to training. Poor Colleen murmured Sonomi. Megan laughed.
Hey Eepers! she called Are you still alive? The only thing the three received was a feeling of amusement and an echoing "Dance you assholes, dance!" The three goddess looked at each other and back to the castle.
"I think she's ok." Nicole whispered. Then they all ran off in fear.
Meanwhile, in the tower, the eeping-fest had stopped, only because Colleen was laughing too hard to control her powers. Jason got up shakily, afraid now of the scary blonde rolling around on the floor, cracking up. "I guess I'll go work on your chariot then." He stammered, before disappearing in a bright red flame.
Soon Colleen was flying at top speed through the crisp morning air next to Ares. She stood regally in a black chariot with "Mneih" written across it in foreboding letters, and drawn by two dark, evil looking swans of death. Soon, the terrible duo came upon a battle scene. This wasn't just any battle scene, it was the last battle in which Achilles' the famed hero was fighting in during the Trojan war. People dying left and right, being run through with swords, shot with arrows, all that grisly stuff. Colleen let out a disgusted sigh. Guys are soooooo stupid! she thought.
Hey! came a voice. Ares's voice.
Colleen glared at him. Stop listening to my thoughts! she cried. Or I'll… I'll listen to the voices in my head and burn you.
Yessss let's burn himmmm came a voice.
Ares paled a little, but Colleen just rolled her eyes.
Megan get out of my head.
Oh fine came the voice again, this time a bit offended.
Colleen looked at the pandemonium beneath her, and took a deep breath. "All right, let's get started." She said dubiously. Ares grinned.
"Ok. Anyone you see dying is fare game. I'm off to make sure NO ONE leaves this battle field alive." With an evil cackle, he was gone, leaving a blinking Colleen behind to deal with the dying. Rubbing her hands together, she started to concentrate. Soon all those who were being run through with swords gave cries of "eep!" and the occasional "mneih". Those who were shooting arrows let out a "grrness!" when ever they missed. All the warriors looked a little confused, and fighting was stopped for a minute. But Ares appeared and urged them on again. "What is wrong with you idiots?! Fight I say! Fight and die!!" so the fighting commenced. It finally ended with only about 20 survivors, and legend now had it that Achilles died bravely, with an "Eeklackawicki!" still on his lips.
The time passed quickly, and soon Colleen was stopped by a cruel poke in the side. "Eep!" she cried, turning around to glare at a laughing Ares. "Let's go, it's break time. I'm hungry." He called to her as he sped off in his chariot. Colleen let out a huff, and urged her swans of death onward, back to the new goddess complex. Leading her birds into the stable next to the nightmares, she parked her chariot right next to Ares and walked back to get some lunch. And to run from the war god that was chasing her, trying to get one last poke in.
The blonde goddess slammed to door to the new goddess complex on Ares' face, letting out a sigh of relief. Suddenly she was enveloped by a rather scary looking monkey. O wait, it was Megan. "Colleen! We missed you-Eep!" Megan backed up in horror at the sound that had just come out of her mouth. Colleen smiled evilly.
"I had fun today." She remarked simply.
Megan ran away screaming in terror just as Nicole, Lauren and Sonomi walked into the entrance hall. "Ummm… hi Colleen!" Nicole said cheerfully. "What was going on this morning? We heard your torturous sounds coming from Ares' castle." At the mention of him, Lauren licked her lips, but everyone pretended not to notice.
Colleen gave a delighted squeal, much to the confusion of the others. "Guess who's here too!" No one could guess.
"Jason!"
There were gasps of amazement.
"Are you serious?!" whispered Lauren. Colleen nodded gleefully. "Only now his name is Jasonus. He's filling in for some god name Hephasteus." The other goddesses looked at each other. This god hadn't been at the ceremony; no one knew who he was.
He's the god of fire and all crafts associated with it. Came a small voice in their heads.
Lindsay? they all asked at once. Where are you?
I'm on a small tropical island, came the answer Someone has got to help me. Demeter is nuts. She's just crazy. She's- o shit she's coming back. Bye!
Lindsay? Come back! shouted Nicole, but there was no response. The other goddesses looked at each other worriedly, but they were soon interrupted by a bright green swirl of fabric, and a rather loud voice.
"Omygod! Come look at the stuff I got!" Aubrey squealed excitedly. She grabbed Sonomi and Lauren by the wrists, pushing Colleen and Nicole in the process, all the while babbling. "So I kept pestering Athena about giving me a temple of my own so people could worship me when ever they wanted, and she finally caved in!" Yes, it went on ALL morning. Sonomi moaned mentally to the rest of the goddesses in tow. Athena finally fell to the floor, crying, saying "Make the evil voices stop!"
I can see that. Nicole said shuddering.
Meanwhile, Aubrey was STILL talking. "-So then when the first wall fell down, killing some poor mortal, I had about 5 more workers put new ones up, and that's where it is now. It need to be painted and stuff, but I still got some adoring admirers! Of course it may be because I threatened a few of them…"
Aubrey shut up now because they had entered the dining hall. At each table setting, presents were placed, at least one per person. Aubrey flounced over to her spot, which had about 20 presents or so. "I think my adoring public loves me." she said dreamily, trying on all the gold jewelry, throwing out all the burning meat, and sampling all the fragrances. Colleen sighed and walked over to her seat, almost not surprised that there was another single purple rose sitting on the plate. She lifted it carefully, sniffing it's delicate fragrance, smiling to herself. Then she sat down between a Nicole and Liz, who were still arguing about something. Liz was now using her spiky hair to defend herself against Nicole's entourage of bubbles. Megan was grinning evilly over something she got as a gift, Aubrey was busy flaunting her new items, Lauren was cracking up at something randomly, Marjorie kept popping up in random seats, and Katie and Sonomi had actually started eating. Colleen took their wisdom and started in on her lunch.
After a delightful meal of ambrosia and wine, a slightly tipsy Colleen decided to go outside, away from the much a slightly more drunk Megan, Liz, Nicole and Lauren who were having contests to see who could tick Katie off the most. Liz and Megan were finding it extremely funny because Nicole and Lauren were dancing the polka together as they were being rained upon (Author note: no, I don't think that little of my friends, nor do I really agree with underage drinkers, which we all would be, but that seems to fit in context with ancient Greece, and it makes for an interesting scenario.) Colleen didn't really want to join in the "fun", so she went out to the pretty little garden next to the complex. Well, it wasn't really little, it was HUGE, but oh well. Looking around, she found red roses, white roses, even a few black ones. But there were no purple roses. Colleen shrugged, unfazed by the mystery of her admirer. She walked back to the complex, feeling a bit more clear-headed, only to be attacked in a flying hug/leap by Lauren.
"Eep! Lauren! Don't DO that to me!" Colleen yelled, exasperated. Lauren just giggled.
"Come on. Break is over. Let's go back to lessons."
Colleen groaned out loud. Another training session with the psycho, egotistical war god. Lauren giggled again, finding Colleen's frustration amusing. "Well, I'll protect you, for a few minutes at least. Perfect opportunity to flirt with your hot instructor anyway." The goddess of torturous noises rolled her eyes, but allowed herself to be guided back to Ares' evil castle. Ares was outside, polishing his chariot, when the two blondes appeared.
Ares smiled coyly as they approached, his torture device, whoops, apprentice, and some hottie walking with her. Lauren blushed slightly as the war god gave her a sly grin. "I..I hafta get going." She stammered.
"What, no flirting with the hot instructor?" Colleen teased, but Lauren was already walking away, More like she was running away. Ares smiled wistfully as she fled, his mind picturing her running happily through a field of flowers full in bloom. Of course in his perverted mind, she wasn't wearing anything except a bright red scarf draped over her arms. Colleen couldn't quite understand why her mentor was starting to drool, but after yelling in his ear, and getting no response, she decided it was safest, and wisest to make a break for it. But she had only gotten a few steps when Ares, who realized that he could dream about this new goddess later, decided not to lose his new-found enjoyment, and so brought Colleen back with an invisible rope.
The rest of the training session went surprisingly well. Colleen practiced making people eep who were in another room, combining mneih and grrness to get "Mneihness", and trying to perfect that "eeklackawicki" yell. Before she knew it, it was time to go to meditation. A gray pigeon flew into the room as Colleen was getting a drink, causing her to shriek in alarm, and Ares to laugh at her expense. After glaring at him, sending the god into a corner shivering, the blonde goddess walked over to the pigeon, and allowed herself to be led by it, over to Hestia's villa.
Megan was already there, chatting with the hearth goddess when Colleen walked in, a bit surprised by the homely appearance on the inside. There was a central room, with various doors leading off to separate areas, like spacious catacombs. The walls and ceiling were painted sunny yellows and warm golds, with sunlight streaming in through the many windows. In the center of the wood floor was a deep fire pit, the rocks surrounding it decorated with different jewels, with a small fire in it, more embers and sparks than anything else. Colleen sat down on the floor since there was no furniture, and waited for others to arrive.
First came Katie and Liz, laughing their heads off. Probably at some evil thing Liz had done to some poor helpless mortal. Then Nicole came in, her face flushed a bit more than usual. New crush? Colleen asked.
Shut up was the hurried reply as the brunette's cheeks got even redder. Next came Lauren, and last were Sonomi and Aubrey strolling in right after her, Aubrey switching into her meditation robe.
O god Aubrey was the response from everyone. Even Hestia winced.
"What?" Aubrey said pouting, her sapphire belly stone twinkling madly. "Brrr, it's kinda cold in here." Hestia sighed and clapped her hands, signaling silence.
Soon everyone was seated in a nice circle around the central fire. Hestia surveyed the throng of new goddesses. "There's one of you missing." She said matter-of-factly. Just then a voice entered their minds. It was the missing one, Lindsay.
Hi! I'm here! Demeter isn't bringing me back over there, but she never said I couldn't meditate with you so HA! On her.
Hestia frowned. Tell her she needs to bring you back, for training purposes.
Lindsay mentally shuddered. YOU do it. She scares the bejesus outa me.
Hestia's frown darkened into a glare, and suddenly Lindsay was sitting right next to her, looking a little wet, sandy, tired, surprised and scared. "How the hell did you do that?!" she stammered.
Hestia smiled. "Demeter is my little sister. I can make her do what ever I want." Lindsay nodded, then paled
Ugh, I just remembered something. she said to the new goddesses. Zeus and Hera are siblings.
Yea, Katie replied. Talk about major incest.
Ok we are stopping this conversation NOW! yelled Megan. Everyone winced at her loud words and started listening to Hestia, who was telling them what they were going to do today.
Each goddess was told to think of an object that represented her powers and imagine being inside that object. Nicole chose a bubble, Sonomi- a teddy bear, Megan- her trusty cattle prod, and Katie decided on a raindrop. Liz chose her rubber ducky, Aubrey decided on a platform shoe, Lauren thought of a red rose, and Lindsay chose the knife charm on her Swiss army-like bracelet. Colleen frowned; she couldn't think of what to use. Just as Hestia was starting to get impatient, the Colleen remembered the purple roses she got today. It didn't really represent her power, but it was worth a try. Besides, it might make her warm and fuzzy inside. "Now close your eyes and breathe deep." Hestia said. Everyone did as told. "Think of your object, and imagine squeezing into it, becoming one with it." Colleen pictured the deep violet petals, the green stem, the sweet smell of her roses. Slowly, one by one, each of the goddesses became totally relaxed, each feeling totally in tune with her object. The room was filled with total silence. Then Sonomi sneezed, and Hestia decided that they all had meditated enough.
As they all walked back to the new goddess complex, a glorious and beautiful sunset greeted them.
"Wow." Breathed Lindsay.
Then, "Oh shit. I'm disappearing again. Bye!"
The hermit goddess was forcefully pulled back to her desert island by a slightly grumpy Demeter. There was a moment of silence after she left. Finally Aubrey spoke up.
"Poor Lindsay." She sighed. Everyone nodded, but Megan just rolled her eyes.
"Well, she shouldn't have been the hermit goddess in the first place. I should have been! Just wait until I get my monkey. Then she'll see…" The brunette was still muttering threats as she opened the door to the complex and headed inside.
Nicole yawned. "Well, I think I'll go in too." Lauren, Liz, and Katie nodded. "Yea, we'll crash too." That left only Sonomi, Aubrey, and Colleen sitting outside, watching the sunset. Then Aubrey and Sonomi went in, leaving the blonde alone.
Colleen shivered with content as the wind picked up slightly, the sky's brilliant orange's and red's fading now into deep blue's and purple's. They brought to mind the purple roses, which she still hadn't found the owner of. Would she anytime soon? Well, right now she'd be content to wait and let her admirer reveal himself. Hopefully it was a he. This thought struck Colleen so suddenly, and so terribly, that she tumbled over backwards with and "eep!" and landed right on top of a purple robe. (Author Interruption: Happy New Year Y'all!)
"Oh I'm sorry Colleen!" came a soft voice above her. "I didn't know you were here. Let me help you." The blonde goddess allowed herself to be lifted up. Once standing, she turned to face the person she had sat on, and was met with a pleasant surprise. It was Dionysus, Katie's mentor, and extreme hottie. Colleen blushed while stammering a thank you. She spied what was in his hand, and blushed even harder; it was a purple rose. Dionysus followed her eyes, and realized what she knew. He turned even redder than she did. "I…Well….I…" he stammered, not quite sure what to say. Colleen smiled and gave him a tentative hug.
"Are you free tomorrow at lunch?" she asked, surprised by her own boldness.
The wine god gave cracked a grin. "Meet you in the garden entrance." He said. Then he bent over and gave Colleen a soft kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow." He whispered into her ear. Then he was gone, leaving Colleen standing there, a purple rose in her hand.
As she walked into the new goddess complex in a happy daze, she was greeted by Lauren, Nicole and Megan, who were still up. And Megan had some news. "Guess who I got to brand today." She said evilly. No one could guess right.
"Who was it." Nicole asked.
Megan gave a sly little laugh. "Paul was in Ancient Greece today."
It didn't take Nicole or Colleen long to put two and two together. Colleen started cracking up, while Nicole let out a shriek and chased Megan around the room with a pillow, screaming insults and death threats. Lauren was on the floor, dying of laughter. Colleen yawned, and ran upstairs as she ducked a pillow swing to the head. "I'm gong to bed!" she yelled. "See ya tomorrow!"
Colleen snapped her fingers, switching into her night clothes, put the purple flower in a vase with the other two, and snuggled into bed happily. The sweet smell of the roses lulled her to sleep, and she could still feel Dionysus' lips against her cheek as she fell into a deep slumber.
Yay! I think this chapter turned out ok. O yes, and Paul's name isn't really Paul; it has been changed to protect the stupid. Sort of an inside joke, but basically Nicole and Colleen have major crushes on this "Paul" character. And Megan hates him. Yea, I'm probably now in big trouble for saying this but o well! Next chapter is about that scary person Megan!
1 nightmares- basically evil horses. They are black and have manes of fire
2 Hephasteus- god of fire and fire crafts, such as blacksmith. He was forced to marry Aphrodite
3 Trojan war- I think it's self explanatory. Greeks vs. Trojans, over a beautiful woman, Helen
4 Achilles- the legendary warrior who was invincible except for his heel, which is where he took an arrow and died.
5 Oh yea, and I don't think there are really swans of death
The sun's rays awoke Colleen gently. She smiled contentedly and sat up in bed, her red feather comforter falling off of her softly. She looked over at the flower-shaped sundial on her ebony night stand. The central fairy's shadow read 9:00, but considering she really had no idea what time it was, she wasn't really late for anything either. Reaching over, she picked up the silver hairbrush also on the night stand, and began combing through her bed head. She yawned, and accidentally dropped the brush in a startled "eep!". The hairbrush lay on the bed as Colleen sat still, eyes wide in terror, remembering that today was her first training session with Ares. This probably meant spending the rest of the day being poked by an almost absolute stranger. Colleen gave a cry of anguish and commenced to hitting her head into her pillow. One, two, three, whoops, she missed the pillow. "Ow!" Colleen yelled, as her head connected with the bed's headboard. Groaning, she pulled herself out of bed, ready to greet the day. Well, not really ready, and not even willing, but she had no choice.
As Colleen walked down the spiral staircase that led to her secluded tower, she was greeted by a rather bright flash of yellow and orange, and a rather loud "HELLO!!!" Colleen groaned again.
"Nice to see you too Aubrey."
The ensemble goddess gave a smile and started dancing around the room. "What a beautiful day!" she squealed. "Just think, we're gonna live like gods here!"
"Goddesses you mean." Colleen corrected, "guys are stupid."
Aubrey shrugged "Well yea. But what ever. Come on, breakfast is waiting for us!" Colleen snapped her fingers, changing into her daily outfit, and followed the hyper goddess through the door of the "new goddess complex". All 9 girls had a room here, with the exception of Lindsay, who had suddenly disappeared after the ceremony yesterday. Colleen hadn't really been looking for her, she had been too busy trying to catch Dionysus' eye, with out much success. So the last bedroom was now reserved for Marjorie, lest she randomly appear in the middle of the night.
The door led to a darkened lounge complete with a huge roaring fire, and bunches of pillows and couches to sprawl on. Megan, Lauren, Sonomi, and Katie already were there, their laughter and chatter broken only when they were chewing. They turned and waved as Colleen and Aubrey entered. "The food's over there." Megan pointed through a full mouth. Colleen gave her a disgusted look.
"Trust YOU to know where it is." She teased, before heading over. Liz and Nicole were having a heated discussion by the table, and things were getting a little ugly. Colleen had to keep ducking so she wouldn't get hit by bubbles, or random pink chinchillas that had wings. Grabbing anything she could, Colleen made a break for the door, but not before getting hit in the back of the head with a fuzzy bubble, that hurt. Colleen plopped down on a bunch of pillows, but leapt up again because something was jabbing into her behind.
Looking down, she saw a rose. It was a dark purple rose, with a note attached to the side. "For Colleen" it read. Colleen blushed when she saw the little heart on the back of the card.
"Wacha got there?" Megan squawked from across the room. Colleen looked up startled. "Oh nothing" she stammered, and finished her breakfast. Clutching her present behind her, she scooted out the door, and headed for where she guessed Ares lived. It wasn't too hard to find. There was a spiny, evil looking castle in the midst of a black cloud, with a black stable next to it, housing two very evil looking nightmares, and an ebony chariot. Any other person might have shrunken away from the evil looking place. Colleen just rolled her eyes. Guys are so stupid she thought, as she walked over to the huge gold door and pulled it open.
"I'm here!" Colleen yelled, a little apprehensive as to what Ares was up to. She didn't have to worry. Ares stumbled down the stairs in a daze, his hair still messy from sleep. Her wore black footy pajamas with "I'm the Ruler of the World" written on the front, and held a black teddy bear with glowing red eyes. Colleen eyed the stuffed animal warily, especially after it winked at her.
"I want a chariot, like yours, only better." She said, deciding to start things off with a bang. Ares blinked sleepily, and clapped his hands, changing into a black and gold toga, complete with a gold earring in one ear. His hand shot out, but Colleen was ready. She smacked his hand away before he could poke her.
Ares sighed, disappointed. "Well, I guess we can start that way. Shall I call Hephasteus to make you one?" Ares walked over to the fireplace, and picked up a burning coal, whining about how hot it was. Then he dropped it on the floor, in the middle of the hallway. "Hephasteus! Come here! You're needed!" he yelled. The coal shook, glowing brighter. Finally it exploded in a flaming red, and a figure stepped out of the blaze, hammer in hand. Colleen gasped.
"Jason?! What the hell?!"
The Filipino boy grinned uncertainly, just as surprised to see Colleen there. " Well, last night Hephasteus left for a vacation, something about getting away from his scary wife. I came here in a big green light, and they handed me this hammer and told me I was now Jasonus, and that I was his sub for the time being. What are YOU doing here?" Colleen stood tall and proud.
"I am the goddess of the tortured sounds, Eep, Mneih, Grrness, and now… Eeklackawicki. So there for-EEP!!!" Colleen gave a cry as Ares let out a delighted squeal. Jason grinned and joined in the fun of "attack Colleen". The poor goddess gave cries and wails of surrender, but the torture was relentless. As she sank to the floor helplessly, something inside of her snapped. She stood up, now oblivious to their poking, blue eyes blazing a dark crimson.
Jason first noticed it. "Woa, what the hell?" he said. Suddenly something made him stop poking her. His horrified gaze met hers and she smiled smugly. Ares mouthed the words "No" but all that came out of his mouth, was unmistakably, an "Eep!" Soon Jason was starting in too, the pair of gods involuntarily squeaking over and over again. Colleen laughed, giddy about this whole goddess business. Soon the whole castle reverberated with tortured sounds. Megan, Nicole and Sonomi looked over at the war god's lair in confusion and pity on their way to training. Poor Colleen murmured Sonomi. Megan laughed.
Hey Eepers! she called Are you still alive? The only thing the three received was a feeling of amusement and an echoing "Dance you assholes, dance!" The three goddess looked at each other and back to the castle.
"I think she's ok." Nicole whispered. Then they all ran off in fear.
Meanwhile, in the tower, the eeping-fest had stopped, only because Colleen was laughing too hard to control her powers. Jason got up shakily, afraid now of the scary blonde rolling around on the floor, cracking up. "I guess I'll go work on your chariot then." He stammered, before disappearing in a bright red flame.
Soon Colleen was flying at top speed through the crisp morning air next to Ares. She stood regally in a black chariot with "Mneih" written across it in foreboding letters, and drawn by two dark, evil looking swans of death. Soon, the terrible duo came upon a battle scene. This wasn't just any battle scene, it was the last battle in which Achilles' the famed hero was fighting in during the Trojan war. People dying left and right, being run through with swords, shot with arrows, all that grisly stuff. Colleen let out a disgusted sigh. Guys are soooooo stupid! she thought.
Hey! came a voice. Ares's voice.
Colleen glared at him. Stop listening to my thoughts! she cried. Or I'll… I'll listen to the voices in my head and burn you.
Yessss let's burn himmmm came a voice.
Ares paled a little, but Colleen just rolled her eyes.
Megan get out of my head.
Oh fine came the voice again, this time a bit offended.
Colleen looked at the pandemonium beneath her, and took a deep breath. "All right, let's get started." She said dubiously. Ares grinned.
"Ok. Anyone you see dying is fare game. I'm off to make sure NO ONE leaves this battle field alive." With an evil cackle, he was gone, leaving a blinking Colleen behind to deal with the dying. Rubbing her hands together, she started to concentrate. Soon all those who were being run through with swords gave cries of "eep!" and the occasional "mneih". Those who were shooting arrows let out a "grrness!" when ever they missed. All the warriors looked a little confused, and fighting was stopped for a minute. But Ares appeared and urged them on again. "What is wrong with you idiots?! Fight I say! Fight and die!!" so the fighting commenced. It finally ended with only about 20 survivors, and legend now had it that Achilles died bravely, with an "Eeklackawicki!" still on his lips.
The time passed quickly, and soon Colleen was stopped by a cruel poke in the side. "Eep!" she cried, turning around to glare at a laughing Ares. "Let's go, it's break time. I'm hungry." He called to her as he sped off in his chariot. Colleen let out a huff, and urged her swans of death onward, back to the new goddess complex. Leading her birds into the stable next to the nightmares, she parked her chariot right next to Ares and walked back to get some lunch. And to run from the war god that was chasing her, trying to get one last poke in.
The blonde goddess slammed to door to the new goddess complex on Ares' face, letting out a sigh of relief. Suddenly she was enveloped by a rather scary looking monkey. O wait, it was Megan. "Colleen! We missed you-Eep!" Megan backed up in horror at the sound that had just come out of her mouth. Colleen smiled evilly.
"I had fun today." She remarked simply.
Megan ran away screaming in terror just as Nicole, Lauren and Sonomi walked into the entrance hall. "Ummm… hi Colleen!" Nicole said cheerfully. "What was going on this morning? We heard your torturous sounds coming from Ares' castle." At the mention of him, Lauren licked her lips, but everyone pretended not to notice.
Colleen gave a delighted squeal, much to the confusion of the others. "Guess who's here too!" No one could guess.
"Jason!"
There were gasps of amazement.
"Are you serious?!" whispered Lauren. Colleen nodded gleefully. "Only now his name is Jasonus. He's filling in for some god name Hephasteus." The other goddesses looked at each other. This god hadn't been at the ceremony; no one knew who he was.
He's the god of fire and all crafts associated with it. Came a small voice in their heads.
Lindsay? they all asked at once. Where are you?
I'm on a small tropical island, came the answer Someone has got to help me. Demeter is nuts. She's just crazy. She's- o shit she's coming back. Bye!
Lindsay? Come back! shouted Nicole, but there was no response. The other goddesses looked at each other worriedly, but they were soon interrupted by a bright green swirl of fabric, and a rather loud voice.
"Omygod! Come look at the stuff I got!" Aubrey squealed excitedly. She grabbed Sonomi and Lauren by the wrists, pushing Colleen and Nicole in the process, all the while babbling. "So I kept pestering Athena about giving me a temple of my own so people could worship me when ever they wanted, and she finally caved in!" Yes, it went on ALL morning. Sonomi moaned mentally to the rest of the goddesses in tow. Athena finally fell to the floor, crying, saying "Make the evil voices stop!"
I can see that. Nicole said shuddering.
Meanwhile, Aubrey was STILL talking. "-So then when the first wall fell down, killing some poor mortal, I had about 5 more workers put new ones up, and that's where it is now. It need to be painted and stuff, but I still got some adoring admirers! Of course it may be because I threatened a few of them…"
Aubrey shut up now because they had entered the dining hall. At each table setting, presents were placed, at least one per person. Aubrey flounced over to her spot, which had about 20 presents or so. "I think my adoring public loves me." she said dreamily, trying on all the gold jewelry, throwing out all the burning meat, and sampling all the fragrances. Colleen sighed and walked over to her seat, almost not surprised that there was another single purple rose sitting on the plate. She lifted it carefully, sniffing it's delicate fragrance, smiling to herself. Then she sat down between a Nicole and Liz, who were still arguing about something. Liz was now using her spiky hair to defend herself against Nicole's entourage of bubbles. Megan was grinning evilly over something she got as a gift, Aubrey was busy flaunting her new items, Lauren was cracking up at something randomly, Marjorie kept popping up in random seats, and Katie and Sonomi had actually started eating. Colleen took their wisdom and started in on her lunch.
After a delightful meal of ambrosia and wine, a slightly tipsy Colleen decided to go outside, away from the much a slightly more drunk Megan, Liz, Nicole and Lauren who were having contests to see who could tick Katie off the most. Liz and Megan were finding it extremely funny because Nicole and Lauren were dancing the polka together as they were being rained upon (Author note: no, I don't think that little of my friends, nor do I really agree with underage drinkers, which we all would be, but that seems to fit in context with ancient Greece, and it makes for an interesting scenario.) Colleen didn't really want to join in the "fun", so she went out to the pretty little garden next to the complex. Well, it wasn't really little, it was HUGE, but oh well. Looking around, she found red roses, white roses, even a few black ones. But there were no purple roses. Colleen shrugged, unfazed by the mystery of her admirer. She walked back to the complex, feeling a bit more clear-headed, only to be attacked in a flying hug/leap by Lauren.
"Eep! Lauren! Don't DO that to me!" Colleen yelled, exasperated. Lauren just giggled.
"Come on. Break is over. Let's go back to lessons."
Colleen groaned out loud. Another training session with the psycho, egotistical war god. Lauren giggled again, finding Colleen's frustration amusing. "Well, I'll protect you, for a few minutes at least. Perfect opportunity to flirt with your hot instructor anyway." The goddess of torturous noises rolled her eyes, but allowed herself to be guided back to Ares' evil castle. Ares was outside, polishing his chariot, when the two blondes appeared.
Ares smiled coyly as they approached, his torture device, whoops, apprentice, and some hottie walking with her. Lauren blushed slightly as the war god gave her a sly grin. "I..I hafta get going." She stammered.
"What, no flirting with the hot instructor?" Colleen teased, but Lauren was already walking away, More like she was running away. Ares smiled wistfully as she fled, his mind picturing her running happily through a field of flowers full in bloom. Of course in his perverted mind, she wasn't wearing anything except a bright red scarf draped over her arms. Colleen couldn't quite understand why her mentor was starting to drool, but after yelling in his ear, and getting no response, she decided it was safest, and wisest to make a break for it. But she had only gotten a few steps when Ares, who realized that he could dream about this new goddess later, decided not to lose his new-found enjoyment, and so brought Colleen back with an invisible rope.
The rest of the training session went surprisingly well. Colleen practiced making people eep who were in another room, combining mneih and grrness to get "Mneihness", and trying to perfect that "eeklackawicki" yell. Before she knew it, it was time to go to meditation. A gray pigeon flew into the room as Colleen was getting a drink, causing her to shriek in alarm, and Ares to laugh at her expense. After glaring at him, sending the god into a corner shivering, the blonde goddess walked over to the pigeon, and allowed herself to be led by it, over to Hestia's villa.
Megan was already there, chatting with the hearth goddess when Colleen walked in, a bit surprised by the homely appearance on the inside. There was a central room, with various doors leading off to separate areas, like spacious catacombs. The walls and ceiling were painted sunny yellows and warm golds, with sunlight streaming in through the many windows. In the center of the wood floor was a deep fire pit, the rocks surrounding it decorated with different jewels, with a small fire in it, more embers and sparks than anything else. Colleen sat down on the floor since there was no furniture, and waited for others to arrive.
First came Katie and Liz, laughing their heads off. Probably at some evil thing Liz had done to some poor helpless mortal. Then Nicole came in, her face flushed a bit more than usual. New crush? Colleen asked.
Shut up was the hurried reply as the brunette's cheeks got even redder. Next came Lauren, and last were Sonomi and Aubrey strolling in right after her, Aubrey switching into her meditation robe.
O god Aubrey was the response from everyone. Even Hestia winced.
"What?" Aubrey said pouting, her sapphire belly stone twinkling madly. "Brrr, it's kinda cold in here." Hestia sighed and clapped her hands, signaling silence.
Soon everyone was seated in a nice circle around the central fire. Hestia surveyed the throng of new goddesses. "There's one of you missing." She said matter-of-factly. Just then a voice entered their minds. It was the missing one, Lindsay.
Hi! I'm here! Demeter isn't bringing me back over there, but she never said I couldn't meditate with you so HA! On her.
Hestia frowned. Tell her she needs to bring you back, for training purposes.
Lindsay mentally shuddered. YOU do it. She scares the bejesus outa me.
Hestia's frown darkened into a glare, and suddenly Lindsay was sitting right next to her, looking a little wet, sandy, tired, surprised and scared. "How the hell did you do that?!" she stammered.
Hestia smiled. "Demeter is my little sister. I can make her do what ever I want." Lindsay nodded, then paled
Ugh, I just remembered something. she said to the new goddesses. Zeus and Hera are siblings.
Yea, Katie replied. Talk about major incest.
Ok we are stopping this conversation NOW! yelled Megan. Everyone winced at her loud words and started listening to Hestia, who was telling them what they were going to do today.
Each goddess was told to think of an object that represented her powers and imagine being inside that object. Nicole chose a bubble, Sonomi- a teddy bear, Megan- her trusty cattle prod, and Katie decided on a raindrop. Liz chose her rubber ducky, Aubrey decided on a platform shoe, Lauren thought of a red rose, and Lindsay chose the knife charm on her Swiss army-like bracelet. Colleen frowned; she couldn't think of what to use. Just as Hestia was starting to get impatient, the Colleen remembered the purple roses she got today. It didn't really represent her power, but it was worth a try. Besides, it might make her warm and fuzzy inside. "Now close your eyes and breathe deep." Hestia said. Everyone did as told. "Think of your object, and imagine squeezing into it, becoming one with it." Colleen pictured the deep violet petals, the green stem, the sweet smell of her roses. Slowly, one by one, each of the goddesses became totally relaxed, each feeling totally in tune with her object. The room was filled with total silence. Then Sonomi sneezed, and Hestia decided that they all had meditated enough.
As they all walked back to the new goddess complex, a glorious and beautiful sunset greeted them.
"Wow." Breathed Lindsay.
Then, "Oh shit. I'm disappearing again. Bye!"
The hermit goddess was forcefully pulled back to her desert island by a slightly grumpy Demeter. There was a moment of silence after she left. Finally Aubrey spoke up.
"Poor Lindsay." She sighed. Everyone nodded, but Megan just rolled her eyes.
"Well, she shouldn't have been the hermit goddess in the first place. I should have been! Just wait until I get my monkey. Then she'll see…" The brunette was still muttering threats as she opened the door to the complex and headed inside.
Nicole yawned. "Well, I think I'll go in too." Lauren, Liz, and Katie nodded. "Yea, we'll crash too." That left only Sonomi, Aubrey, and Colleen sitting outside, watching the sunset. Then Aubrey and Sonomi went in, leaving the blonde alone.
Colleen shivered with content as the wind picked up slightly, the sky's brilliant orange's and red's fading now into deep blue's and purple's. They brought to mind the purple roses, which she still hadn't found the owner of. Would she anytime soon? Well, right now she'd be content to wait and let her admirer reveal himself. Hopefully it was a he. This thought struck Colleen so suddenly, and so terribly, that she tumbled over backwards with and "eep!" and landed right on top of a purple robe. (Author Interruption: Happy New Year Y'all!)
"Oh I'm sorry Colleen!" came a soft voice above her. "I didn't know you were here. Let me help you." The blonde goddess allowed herself to be lifted up. Once standing, she turned to face the person she had sat on, and was met with a pleasant surprise. It was Dionysus, Katie's mentor, and extreme hottie. Colleen blushed while stammering a thank you. She spied what was in his hand, and blushed even harder; it was a purple rose. Dionysus followed her eyes, and realized what she knew. He turned even redder than she did. "I…Well….I…" he stammered, not quite sure what to say. Colleen smiled and gave him a tentative hug.
"Are you free tomorrow at lunch?" she asked, surprised by her own boldness.
The wine god gave cracked a grin. "Meet you in the garden entrance." He said. Then he bent over and gave Colleen a soft kiss on the cheek. "See you tomorrow." He whispered into her ear. Then he was gone, leaving Colleen standing there, a purple rose in her hand.
As she walked into the new goddess complex in a happy daze, she was greeted by Lauren, Nicole and Megan, who were still up. And Megan had some news. "Guess who I got to brand today." She said evilly. No one could guess right.
"Who was it." Nicole asked.
Megan gave a sly little laugh. "Paul was in Ancient Greece today."
It didn't take Nicole or Colleen long to put two and two together. Colleen started cracking up, while Nicole let out a shriek and chased Megan around the room with a pillow, screaming insults and death threats. Lauren was on the floor, dying of laughter. Colleen yawned, and ran upstairs as she ducked a pillow swing to the head. "I'm gong to bed!" she yelled. "See ya tomorrow!"
Colleen snapped her fingers, switching into her night clothes, put the purple flower in a vase with the other two, and snuggled into bed happily. The sweet smell of the roses lulled her to sleep, and she could still feel Dionysus' lips against her cheek as she fell into a deep slumber.
Yay! I think this chapter turned out ok. O yes, and Paul's name isn't really Paul; it has been changed to protect the stupid. Sort of an inside joke, but basically Nicole and Colleen have major crushes on this "Paul" character. And Megan hates him. Yea, I'm probably now in big trouble for saying this but o well! Next chapter is about that scary person Megan!