WHAT DO YOU THINK? IS HE GOING TO DO IT OR NOT?

"Where are we?" the girl timidly inquired, gazing curiously at the thick, grey curtains hanging down the walls, and a childish but very logic question immediately followed her observation. "Why are there curtains on the walls if there are no windows?! "

" Bits me….." Ares simply retorted, his mind already set on what he was supposed to do.

" And all these candles…..This is kinda creepy….I guess…" Sendra hesitantly continued- not wanting to offend her new hero in any way- the tips of her fingers touching delicately one of the scrolled arms of the strikingly beautiful iron candle stick flanking her left side.

" Yeah well…the Fates are known to be some pretty twisted ladies…."

"The Fates?! The three Fates…?! Mommy says they are evil. They were the ones who took daddy away from us! "

" That's a bit exaggerated. They're not that bad...more like misunderstood. Lachesis for instance is actually quite a catch….-the dirtiest , neediest bitch I have met in my entire life. Damn sexy and though men usually miss this tiny detail because of those long, shapeless rags she's wearing, her ass is just so…." he kept on ranting only to suddenly stop the moment he realized that he was talking to a child after all.

Needless to say, her wide open eyes and equally opened mouth were a clear sign that he had been a tad overly descriptive…..

" Too many adjectives huh?"

"To many what?" she asked, a barely perceivable frown creasing her forehead, but before Ares could offer an answer, another question had already popped inside her little head. She didn't waste time in uttering that either..."What's a bitch?"

" Ummm….it's hard to explain….." he stated, on a low, uneasy tone, but when her captivating azure moons kept staring at him, glittering with curiosity, he realized there was no way for him to escape her interrogatory without offering at least a partly satisfying answer. " Well….a bitch is a….very gifted young lady…..who makes men….people in general, very happy….temporarily happy…." he immediately corrected, obviously referring to his own personal experiences.

" Are bitches beautiful?" Sendra innocently asked, while focusing her attention on the intricately sculpted patterns and symbols of the altar table.

" Some….are close to the required standards…."

"What are the required standards?" she questioned of course, arching up on the tips of her toes, anxious to see what objects were placed on its surface.

" Well….they are supposed to be tall-but not too tall- long, slender legs, a tiny waist, pretty face, big bre…." his voice trailed off again though as he realized what he was about to say.

" Do you know any?"

" Any what?"

"Any bitches."

" I might have seen one or two up to now….but I'm not sure…." he stammered, narrowing his eyes at her and helping her up the stone surface of the altar table, much to Sendra's delight….

"…..I want to be a bitch too when I grow up…"

" Don't ever say that again in your life or I'll cut out your tongue!" he threatened, throwing her his meanest glare.

"Why not?! They seem to be very nice….I'm sure mommy would like it."

" Trust me, that's not something mothers want to hear about…"

"But why not?"

" Do you want to see your daddy, cutie?"

" I do! I can't wait to hug him !" the girl suddenly exploded with joy, finally remembering why they were there in the first place.

" Good. Then keep your mouth shut and let me do what I need to do, and in no time, you'll be hugging your daddy tight." he said, lying her on her back and materializing a red silk scarf in his hand.

" What are you doing with that?" she asked, fear suddenly painted on her face.

"I'm gonna tie it around your eyes. It will be like a game. " he explained, as casually as possible as it were no big deal, nothing to be worried about.

" I don't like this game….." she murmured once the fine fabric was in place, and the God could clearly hear this time the anxiety in her slightly trembling voice.

"Honey….the thing is that in order for me to be able to open the gate to the Elysian Fields, I need to perform a secret ritual that no one else can see. If you take as much as a fleeting glimpse at what I'm doing, you will never see your father again…." he explained, trying to sound as convincing as possible- without daring to make eye contact though, as if even through her blindfold, the six year old girl could actually see right through his deceit…..

It was quite a strange thing, come to think about it, for the War God had always considered himself a very, very good- almost professional- liar. Exploiting people's weaknesses, manipulating them, was his specialty, and yet, for some reason, this felt incredibly wrong to him…..

Still, in an attempt to shake any negative thoughts out of his head, he began lighting the four white candles placed on each corner of the altar and then, with a snap of his fingers he made a brown leather chord keep his soon to be victim immobilized, perfectly tied to the hard surface of what was actually a sacrificial table. As soon as he had lit even the last candle- this one placed right above her head- deafening thunders could be heard in the distance, and even though he couldn't see it, a strong enough wind to demolish a building had started bending the trees to the ground.

" I don't like this game…" the girl repeated, in a weak, powerless voice this time, ready to burst into tears. " I wanna go home…I want my mommy….."

Despite the fact that he was seconds away from starting the ritual, the War God, took his time to comfort her. He was not a monster after all…Yes, he would have done any sacrifice in the world to save his Princess, but that didn't mean that he needed to scare this little girl out of her mind before actually cutting her heart out.

With infinite care- and yeah, there was a strange, absurd contrast between what he was about to do and his actual gestures- he took the red scarf from her eyes, and softly caressed her face.

" Listen...I know this might appear….unusual to you- as I said, the Fates are a bit crazy to demand such rituals to be performed, but you know what Sweetie? If you're too scared to do it, I understand. I'll just tell your daddy that I didn't find you at home…."

Judging by her expression, Sendra appeared to actually consider his offer, so he made sure he made the choice a bit tougher for her.

"He will be a bit disappointed- he did speak a lot about you today- but he'll get over it. He'll have to accept at a certain point that his family has forgotten him. It's natural after all..."

"I haven't forgotten him! I will never forget him! I love him so very much!" she exploded with revolt, as soon as she had heard the Olympian's cunning words.

" It's your choice….." he said, pointing towards the scarf.

"Let's do it…." she finally decided, fear suddenly gone from her voice.

Seconds later, the fabric was tied back around her inquisitive eyes, and as the God began reciting an impossible to understand oration to the Fates, a sharp knife appeared in his hand. At about the same time, the area around the temple became literally engulfed by such a thick, palpable darkness that it would have terrified even Zeus himself. Menacing lightening bolts were now hitting furiously the ground, the now beastly howling of the wind, announcing something that was by far unholy and terrible….