It took him awhile to locate what he considered to be the right victim- not that actually finding a child who loved his mother was like the most complicated task in the world, but for some reason, the War God came to discover that brutally ending some kid's life because of his egocentric purposes was a bit more challenging than he would have guessed.
Sadly, given his half sick- half twisted personality, morality wasn't quite enough for him to give up that madness, so it was no wonder that despite his initial hesitation, a few hours of aimless teleportation- from one village to the other –later, he finally got in front of an old, shabby hovel where a rather young but dedicated widow was raising her children: two girls and a baby boy.
Invisible to mortal eyes, Ares entered the house where the family had just finished dinner and where, the two sweet girls- one aged six and the other one appearing to be about ten or eleven- were helping their mother in the kitchen in any way that they could.
"Mommy…" the younger one- looking strikingly similar to Xena when she was a child- started, taking the two remaining plates to her mother. " …do you really think that Daddy can still hear us?"
" Of course he can, Honey. From the Elysian Fields, he can see everything that we do….I'm sure he watches over us every single day…" the woman comforted, but Ares couldn't miss the bitter tears that she struggled to hide by turning around, pretending to be busy washing the dishes.
"So does that mean that if I talk to him he'll listen to me?" he little girl continued, chewing pensively on her lower lip.
" What would you like to tell him darling?" her mom inquired - without searching for her daughter's gaze though, still too troubled by her husband's memory.
"Well you know…..just stuff….?"
" Yes, I really think he would listen to you , sweetheart. He would be thrilled to hear you, actually."
" Could you be more stupid than this?!" her sister finally broke out, accidentally dropping the plate that she had been wiping - and that shattered to pieces at her feet with a deafening noise. "Daddy's dead, Sendra, and the dead can't hear us, when will you get that through your thick head?!" she yelled, full of rage and resentment, an incredible amount of fury flashing in her eyes- that for a second left Ares breathless….She was surprisingly….interesting….
"That's not true! Daaddy's not dead!" the younger sister shouted back, tears streaming down her cheeks, obviously hurt by her sister's statement. "He just went…to a better place….Mommy said so!"
" Mom is lying to you because in her turn, she's too much of a coward to face the truth! Because she can't cope! Are you really that stupid as to believe her?!" the older one growled, only to be ferociously slapped by the grieving widow a second later.
It's been almost a year since the one she would have gladly given her life for had died, and Aella, her older daughter was still deeply shaken by the event. Her main problem was that she had always thought her father to be invincible, and when the implacable Fates rushed to prove the exact opposite, something inside her broke…..For many months, she simply refused to accept his death, and when reality finally hit her, revolt and outrage replaced the continuously flowing tears. Her mother tried to talk to her, doing her best to make her understand that the meeting with Celesta is out of any mortal's hands but she wouldn't listen….In her mind, her father was gone and along with him, his honor.
"That's enough, young lady! Off to bed! Now! " she exclaimed, exasperated with her attitude. " And tomorrow you're grounded for the day!"
" Right! As if that would make it all better! As if that would bring Dad back!"
Another slap, rougher this time, and the girl stormed out of the room, without a glance behind.
" He's a pile of ashes, and he's not coming back!" were her last, heart breaking words.
When the woman finally exploded, bursting into a river of tears, Sendra went to her mother and hugged her….
" Don't cry Mommy…..I don't believe her and neither should you…He loved us too much to just leave us behind ….He'll be back, I know he will….." she whispered, her voice trailing off nonetheless, no longer completely convinced by the veracity of that fantastic scenario.
" You should go to sleep to, sweetheart…We need to wake up early tomorrow remember? "
" Yeah….can I give Tacky some bones first? He must be hungry…."
" Sure thing. Just don't be long , ok?"
"Ok…..And Mommy…..?"
" Yes?"
" I love you "
"I love you too baby!" the widow said, kissing her little girl's forehead and giving her a big hug. She loved her children to pieces, but out of the three, Sendra did seem to have the most tender heart….She was so much like her father.…
"Bingooooo! " the War God murmured, somewhere in the background, unheard by the others…
XXX
Seconds later, with a speed to leave anyone agape, Sendra darted out of her mother's arms and headed for the backyard, clutching in her tiny hands two bones that were supposed to be the doggie's supper.
"Hallo little girl" Ares' softly greeted, not wanting to startle her.
" Hallo. "
" Watcha doin'?" he said, taking a seat on the ground by her side as if it were the most natural thing in the world, as if they knew each other forever.
" Feeding Tacky. He's my best friend in the whole wide world. "
"Is he now?!" he inquired, patting the furry animal, and he couldn't help thinking that- unless his memory was playing tricks on him- his Princess must have had an identical dog while growing up….She had named it Lucky… Tacky….Lucky….it pretty much sounded the same to him, no difference what so ever….not a notable one anyway.
" Yeah…and he can do tricks!" the girl answered in an utterly enthusiastic tone, gazing furtively at the stranger's expression to see if he was as impressed about it as all the other people she had shared the information with.
"He can?!"
" He sure can! Wanna see?!"
"I'd love to!" Ares replied, doing his best not to sound bored or aloof. Canine shows were definitely not his thing….
" Pretty cool huh?" she inquired- the second Tacky was done rolling over and playing dead.
" Yeah. Makes me wish I had a dog. "
" Well you can come play with Tacky if you want to. He loves to play and so do I…" she lovingly invited, giving him her brightest smile….She liked him, she actually did and he could feel it- her aura couldn't possibly lie- ….A strange and very unnatural thing…..Why would some kid like him?! He was usually- usually meaning in his case most of the time- unlikable. ….
"That would be great…Listen Sendra…."
"How do you know my name?" she asked, feeding the dog the second bone she had with her.
" I know a lot of things….I'm a God…." he sated, hoping to capture her attention.
" You are?!"
"Yes I am!"
"I don't believe you, you've just made that up!" she giggled, staring at him as if he had just told her that her Tacky was not really a dog, but a horse.
" It's true…." he insisted, rolling his eyes at her. Children were indeed irritating...
" Well if you're a God, can you make Tacky fly?" she challenged, arching an eyebrow at him and Ares couldn't help laughing at just how serious she had become all of a sudden.
Given that there was no time to lose, he stopped admiring the little girl's soft, azure moons- that shined like diamonds in the moonlight- and a mere moment later, the law of gravity was temporarily suspended for the poor animal who was now floating three feet into the air. As entertaining as the situation might have seemed though, one should really state that Tacky proved to be completely opposed to his new privilege that the Olympian had generously offered, and which was definitely unfamiliar. In short, the four legged animal hated flying.
" That's funny…..a flying doggie….I don't think he likes it much though….." Sendra noticed, amused by the demonstration.
" I think you're right" Ares replied, placing the furry bundle back on the ground.
" So…are you Zeus?!"
" No….I'm Ares."
" Like…Ares God of War?!" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
" The very one…"
"My Daddy fought for you at Mycenae…." she rushed to mention, sounding utterly proud of it.
"He did? What was his name?"
" Temascos…."
"He was a brave soldier….The bravest I have seen in a long time…Fearless…he was uh... fearless…." the God mumbled, not really knowing what to say…He had never met the man, on or outside the battlefield….He couldn't even recall having ever seen his face….Like most of his soldiers, this poor peasant had been utterly meaningless to him.…He had lived and died, without leaving their mark on the world.
"He was a hero. Once he fought the Hydra all by himself and he defeated her…" the girl passionately informed him.
" The Hydra…?"
" Yeah….and he even saved the world from the big bad Cerberus…." she said, making sure to gesture, just for effect, showing the God just how huge the monster had been.
" I know that...I saw him…."
" You did?! "
" Of course I did. He prayed for my help before the confrontation so I went there to assist him…but he didn't need any kind of assistance. His battle skills were great….."
" I knew it! Wait till I tell Aella! She has never believed his war stories…always said that he was making them up, but if I tell her that the God of War himself said so….." she half shouted, turning suddenly sad though.
"What's with the long face?" the God asked, taken aback by her reaction.
" I'm miss him so much sometimes, my Daddy….He went away last year….He's in the Elysian Fields now…."
"I know. Actually I've just talked to him…" Ares hesitantly mentioned, biting his lips as soon as the words had left his mouth, as if he shouldn't have said them….
" You have?!"
" Yeah . That's why I'm here! He wanted to see you and I promised to take you to him….Given that he was such a loyal and dedicated soldier I thought that was the least I could do for him….."
" Really?!" the girl inquired, clapping her hands with joy.
" Yes. Do you want to see him?!"
" Of course I do! There's nothing I wish more! Just let me tell mommy first!"
" No time for that, darling. We need to hurry since I'm already expected on a battlefield in the North of Greece. The soldiers there need my help…"
" Oh…ok….I can just tell her all bout it when we come back…."
" Right …when we come back…." Ares repeated, offering the girl his hand. "Shall we?"
As little Sendra's hand slipped into his, the moon, the stars and all the light of the night disappeared behind the thick, menacing clouds of darkness…Enthralled as he was about the perspective of being one step closer to saving his Princess, Ares failed to see the signs…
