*** GABRIELLE'S POEM WAS WRITTEN BY JERRY M. BROWN- a bit modified so as to fit Ares' character better- SO IT DEFINITELY DOESN'T BELONG TO ME, HE GETS ALL THE CREDIT FOR IT. I USED IT BECAUSE I COULD TOTALLY IMAGINE GABBY RECITING SOMETHING LIKE THAT AT THIS TIME IN THE STORY...ANYWAY, GOOD JOB, JERRY! ***
As soon as his spirit returned to the physical world, the War God's eyes fluttered open. He mechanically wiped away the few tears that he had felt falling in his dream- an embarrassed expression on his face, quickly glancing around as if worried that someone might have caught him in the act- then sadly examined his Princess' inert body….They had been through a lot since they first met- and Gods know there's not one tiny bit of exaggeration there- but this was by far the worst…The Dreams of the Damned was nasty stuff, and he could just bet that finding a cure wasn't going to be a piece of cake, not by a long shot….The thought that she was as good as dead- the same one that he had been struggling to erase from his mind ever since the realization of what had actually happened to her washed over him- was becoming absolutely unbearable, and now that her piercing blue moons were no longer seeing right through him , he could finally let the mask fall without fearing that the terror building within him might somehow cause her even more agony…
With the exhausted sigh of a peasant who had been working the fields all day long, he finally got up and dragged his feet in the direction of the door- not for one second did he consider the fact that he could actually use the aether to transport himself to the throne room where he actually wanted to get- and he musingly made his way down the long, gloomy corridor….
" Ares! It was about time you showed up!" Gabrielle's ecstatic voice burst from somewhere, making his eyes turn dark the very following instant. Gods how he wanted to fry that accursed Bard! He had been fantasizing about turning her to ashes for awhile now and it finally seemed that his sweet dreams were about to come true.
" We've been looking everywhere for you!" she announced and one should really note the fact that it was the plural pronoun that did the trick, convincing him to glance over his shoulder and see whom in the world that unexpected "WE…" refered to…He could only hope it was Draja…..
"You have?" he smoothly inquired while turning around to face the surprise duo, only to wonder if he was - by any chance-seeing things- silently searching his memory for a moment in which he had also tasted the tea his Princess had drunk…. His lips parted for an expressive articulation of all the things that were now crossing his mind, but the problem was that he couldn't really decide if he was supposed to laugh or to feel offended at the outrageously obscene sight he now had before him….
With languid, fluid dancing moves, an almost naked Sidekick came closer and closer to him until they were just a few inches apart, her nipples provokingly pressing against the metallic studs of his vest and he defensively took a few steps back until he could feel the cold surface of the wall through the dark leathers- the perfect chance for the Bard to make a real move on him…..His palm pressed firmly against her lips when she finally got close enough to cause real- unsurpassable- mental traumas.
" Would you care to explain why the fuck is this empty headed chicken painted gold, what's the point of her wearing those hideous feathers and what exactly is it that she is trying to do?" he barked, casting a murderous glare in his sister's direction- who had been obviously keeping herself at a safe distance from him….
Before she even uttered one sound though he had made sure to add something else to his "I really need to know" list. " …..And don't you dare lie to me, cause, call me crazy, but I do have this hunch that this has your name written all over it…."
Aphrodite gave him her brightest smile, shrugging her shoulders apologetically before she began speaking- thinking that such reaction could actually save her …- but once again, Gabrielle was keen on showing them both that she was supposed to be the main attraction of the evening.
" I have a surprise for you…" she tried to whisper seductively against his palm, but with the exception of a few muffled groans nothing came out.
" Just how many times, did I tell you, not to interfere with my love life?! I'm old enough to take care of myself , Aphrodite! " he blew, fully ignoring the Bard's attempts to voice out something.
" Well yeah, Bro, like I totally feel ya'…. But still, you gotta admit it, we all reach a stage in our lives when a subtle intervention from a loving Sister who also happens to be an expert in relationships is more than welcome, you know….?" she tried to reason with him, all the while keeping that fake smile plastered to her face, not at all comfortable with the threatening way in which the War God's burning gaze was drilling a hole right through her skull….
"Subtle?" he asked, in that low, menacing tone, that Dite knew soooooo tragically well. "You call this… subtle?! " he continued, pointing towards the naked but glimmering Bard. " She's not wearing any clothes and she has been drooling all over me ever since she got here!" he yelled, his eyes flickering with fury.
"I haven't been drooling!" Gabrielle's protest could be clearly heard once she finally managed to push his hand away from her mouth…." I'm just trying to make you feel appreciated…."
" Well trust me, the last thing I need right now is your appreciation!" he yelled back, pushing her brutally away. " You're both crazy!" he yelled again, heading for the throne room, with both a desperate Bard and a worried Love Goddess chasing after him.
" Wait , wait, wait!" Gabrielle insisted, casting a long glance at her own reflection in a shining steel shield decorating one of the walls. The pink flamingo feathers in her hair looked perfectly fine….And just what in Gaia's name did he have against feathers, anyway?! " As I said, I have a surprise for you…..I have been working at it all night long…."
Ares was flabbergasted of course.
"I must be losing my mind…I must have taken a sip from that accursed tea, there's no other possible explanation for this…..I must be hallucinating…..Or maybe I'm still asleep and this is some kind of…..weird, torturously long nightmare …."
His any attempt to come up with a decent explanation for what was going on soon went down the drain when the Sidekick's sharp voice started echoing throughout the hall, covering both Ares' rambling and Aphrodite's incipient discourse.
Hark, and hear the thunder roar,
Look and see the lightning flash.
Nay.. nay I say.. tis not Zeus nor Thor you hear,
Tis I ... Ares, God of War
The flash of shot, the roar of cannon,
Another madman off to mammon
Ravage and rape and pillage the land
Kill every one and destroy all that you can.
Since time began, tis the same old story
I start these wars for my own glory,
Some will perish, with there lot
Others will flee away , only to arise again to kill some other way.
Since stone and lance, arrow and bow
My name has been shouted in battle and now,
These toys of death I use to kill
To taunt or bend others to my will.
All the things mortals use to no avail
To wage war just to die anyway,
Make me stronger and stronger every day
Fueling me with energy, while they turn themselves into prey.
So war and kill , enjoy your lust
And slay your neighbor if you must,
Yet one last war soon must be done
It's called the Battle of Armagedon.
To Olympus, victorious I will return,
For that is where to be I yearn,
Upon the mount I'll spread my fleece
And there I'll rest for a millennium of peace!
I'll drink the nectar of the gods,
I'll sit and look down upon the world.
Mortals will praise me as King of the Gods
And bless the peace I have unfurled,
For I am Ares... God of War!
By the time she was done, the transfixed Bard could barely breathe with the effort of her flawless interpretation –worthy of any Athenian stage, really- but to her unspeakable shock, neither Aphrodite nor Ares looked very impressed.
"I'll rest for a millennium of peace?!" the War God finally muttered once his throat was able to produce intelligible sounds again, looking at her as if indeed, she were a hallucination.
"What fleece is she talking about?!" the Love Goddess, wanted to know, gazing at her brother with wide, curious eyes….
"You don't like it...?" Gabrielle asked, in a weak, disappointed voice, lowering her eyes to the ground. " I knew I should have tried the Ionic meter, I just knew it!" she loudly chastised herself for the unpardonable error.
" If I like it?! Darling I loved it! It's a masterpiece!" the War God exclaimed to his sister's utter surprise.
"You do?!" the Bard incredulously questioned, pure joy and satisfaction written all over her face.
"How could I not?! I have never heard anything like it in my life!" he said, and, if Aphrodite was in shock before, now the subtle irony reverberating from her brothers' voice, made her giggle lightly. " It was absolutely breathtaking….!"
"Do you want to her it again?! " the now ecstatic Bard asked, thrilled by the news.
" Oh no, please….! Maybe later….Let me….meditate a bit on the deep, incredibly well chosen meaning of every word….." he stammered, frowning a bit at his sister's bemused expression. " I do want you to do something for me, though…" he continued, signaling her to step closer.
Needless to say, within a split-second she was like glued to that throne.
" Anything…."
This time, a glacial gaze- cold enough to freeze the desert itself- was needed to shut Aphrodite up already.
"I want you to go to your room and wash this… weird looking dust from your gorgeous body….."
"It wasn't my idea, the dust….." she rapidly said, interrupting him.
"I'm sure it wasn't…" he remarked, doing his best to feign an indulgent smile. "Anyway, that's not important." ….After you do that, make sure to put some clothes on, and come back here…..I have a job for you…."
"A job?" she said, biting her lip and sensually batting her eyelashes at him.
" Yeah….It's about a very…delicate matter…one that I'm sure only you can handle…ok?"
" Sure…..I would be ….honored to help…." she said, and one blink later she was running down the hall, almost tripping over her own two feet once or twice before leaving the room, with such a speed as if she had just heard that the entire Roman army was minutes away from attacking the temple.
"Ok…What was that all about?!" the Love Goddess inquired, finally allowing herself to burst into laughter.
Ares just stared blankly at some point in space for a few moments before redirecting his attention to his ditsy sister who was now as still as a statue.
" Make sure you undo whatever spell you might have cast on her by the time she steps out of that bathtub or I'll swear it on the Styx, I'll make you wish you were mortal…!"
" I can't " the curly Goddess bluntly answered, making her brother jump nervously up from his ebony throne.
"What do you mean you can't? What the fuck did you do to her, split her head open and cut a chunk of her brain?!"
" I mean, I can't right now….The effect will wear off in three days….I was just trying to help Bro'…..She was supposed to befriend you…"
By the time she was done talking, a fireball had already formed in Ares' hand.
" Daddy was looking for you, by the way! " she shouted before he aimed the lethal weapon her way. " That's why I was here in the first place! Something terrible happened!" she screamed, as the first fire ball flew just above her head.
" Well, something even more terrible is about to happen in a little while….."
" Celesta's missing!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, making sure that he heard her.
His jaw fell straight to the floor, of course. He simply refused to believe it.
"What did you say?!"
" Someone must have kidnapped her….She's nowhere to be found….Zeus has called us all to Olympus for one of his flash meetings, and I gotta warn you, he's cranky…"
