Ares noticed Apollo chasing Eros away from a mortal. "Why do you bother, Apollo?" he mocked him. "She's dead, anyway."

Both deities stopped in their tracks. Apollo shot Eros a look, but the young God was just as confused as him.

"Don't look at me! I have nothing to do with this!"

Apollo turned to Ares. "What do you mean, dead? She looks very alive to me!"

"I got called into something tonight. People don't only want the General dead, they want the entire family to go on a vacation to Uncle Hades." He began to laugh. "The woman was slaughtered earlier today."

Apollo frowned. "You can't do this... Ares, come on! Kill her father, not her! Why would someone want a woman dead, anyway? I know he's going to be assassinated, but-!"

"What do you care?" He stood up from below the olive tree where he had been laying. "I don't ask people for reasons. They want my help killing someone? As long as the offering is generous, you know..."

Apollo rolled his eyes. "That's the lamest excuse I've heard from you to this day!"

"Eh..." he shrugged, "she turned down a guy, she's too much like her father, she called me a savage, that sort of thing..."

"Well, you certainly are, if you kill her!"

"Do you wanna go again?" Ares challenged him.

"If fighting you will keep you busy, that's what I'll do!"

"You can't fight me forever! Even if they make it through tonight, I'm still going to spill their blood, be it in Egypt, Rome, Grece, or the end of the world!"

Just as they were to embark on the ship to Egypt, a small eagle flew around them several times. Carina covered her face with her hands and her father tried to scare away the creature, but then it stole the money pouch of the General and flew along the docks towards the edge of Delphi and into the forest. The bird let out a scream and landed at the top of a tree.

The two couldn't possibly pay for their voyage without money. That wouldn't have been a problem in a Roman port, since the General was well-known and his credibility was never questioned, but they were not on Roman land now.

"Are you alright?" he asked Carina. The girl nodded. "Come on, we can't lose that bird!"

They ran after it, using its screams as guidance and going deeper into the forest. The vegetation was more luxurious the further they went and the sunlight barely reached the ground where the eagle was waiting. Carina stopped to catch her breath and leaned on the trunk of a tree.

"I think this is it. We shouldn't go on that ship."

Her father sighed. "The Oracle spoke of riches, so I doubt it could mean anything unfavorable."

"She mentioned silver, father. Maybe the stones were symbolic? I mean, if this isn't a sign we shouldn't leave for Egypt, I don't know what is."

"It's a rather odd eagle, that's true... I've never heard of anything like this before."

Carina looked at the bird intently. "What if the sapphires were a metaphor for the sea? You know, since we would have been crossing the Mediterranean at night..."

"I've been on time with my offerings to Neptune, he wouldn't have any reason to wreck the ship we're taking."

The eagle hung the money bag on a branch at the very top of the tree, screamed one last time, then flew away.

"I don't think it's Neptune we should worry about. Which deity could have taken this form, or sent the eagle to slow us down? It's so obvious, it must be the work of one of the Gods."

Sighing, the General set their bags down. "I don't know and I honestly don't care much. Whoever wanted us off that ship has probably succeeded - there's no way we can make it back on time. That's our last money though, so we'll have to go back home now."

The girl found the whole thing amusing. "A trickster, maybe?"

"What, have you changed your mind from some kind of tragedy to a deity making fun of me?" The man could see how the sight would be funny, but he didn't appreciate having to climb a tree for his own money.

Carina shrugged, still amused, as she watched her father climb. "I don't know. What if it's just a joke? Who would play it?"

"Faunus, maybe? We are in a forest, after all - that's his territory."

"It's also Diana's territory."

"The huntress wouldn't do this. What reason could she have?"

"What if the forest is to throw us off? What if it was... Mercury, for example?"

The man grabbed the money pouch and secured it at his belt. "The messenger? What reason could he have?"

"Maybe it's both a joke and a warning."

"So you're back on the tragedy theory." He laughed and climbed down to a reasonable height from which he could jump.

"I'm serious," the girl said but couldn't help a laugh. "I mean, with you bragging about how much the Gods love you and how faith smiles on you every day, would it really be so odd for Mercury to do something like this? It's his style, I think."

The General took a moment to reconsider. When she put it that way, it actually made some sense... "Then, would it be possible for that prophecy to be a warning? I went there to receive reassurance that what I was planning was going to work out, but I have more doubts now than I did three days ago."

"Let's stay in Delphi and you can ask to see the Oracle again."

He sighed and shook his head. "This is all we have left. It's either for accommodation or for transportation back home. I don't have anything else to give as an offering, and with how many people come to see the Oracle, it may be another three days before I get the chance to even see her. What if she denies my question?"

"Oh, right, the offering..." She walked by her father's side back towards the city of Delphi, emerging from the forest and going past the docks. The sun was just setting and Carina stopped for a moment to admire all the colors. The sea was reflecting the sunset beautifully and everything seemed to have caught on fire.

The General stopped as well, waiting for his daughter. He watched the sun going down for the first time in years - he was always too busy or too deep in thought to notice the beauty of a sunset. That's when a thought stroke him - these three days had been the closest thing to a vacation he has had in the past two decades. "Perhaps... this trip wasn't such a waste of time, after all," he mumbled to himself.

Hermes sat on a cloud, looking down at the two Romans. The girl was gorgeous and the man was strong. They were a pretty typical family from the Roman capital, as far as he could tell. Once Apollo had set the sun for the night, he went to meet him on the horizon.

"Hey, Apollo? How come they didn't change your name?"

"Who?" he asked, completely oblivious.

"The Romans. They call me Mercury, Ares is Mars for them, and your sister is Diana. They changed everyone's name, except yours."

"Oh... I don't think I noticed," he brushed off the question.

"Sure you did! That girl called Ares by his other name earlier and you were spying on her. I heard you fought him again over that mortal. Are you in love?"

Apollo only heard one thing, though. "Wait. Did you follow me?"

"I was bored and I wanted to see what you're up to. I keep good secrets, you know that. Come on, tell me!"

Instead of an answer, Apollo turned his back on his brother. "It's not me you should be following, but Ares. You know how good he is at keeping his temper in check!"

Hermes began to laugh and leaned on his shoulder. "About as good as you are at staying away from beautiful mortals!"

"At least I don't kill people because they happened to insult me. And, between you and me, what kind of insult is being called a savage for the God of War? Last time Aphrodite called him a brute he was perfectly fine with it."

"It's Aphrodite, Apollo - she could ask him to stand on hot coals using one finger to support himself and Ares would do it and brag about it. He'd probably even stand on his... you know..."

The thought was funny and disturbing at once. "I did not need that image in my mind, thank you very much."

"Alright, alright... So, are you in love with her?"

"I don't know..." the Sun God admitted in a low voice. "I didn't even have time to answer this to myself yet!"

"She's very pretty. Too bad mortals age so fast and then they die. I had to take her mother under around midday. She died so horribly..." Hermes cringed. "Her body was in pieces."

Apollo sat down on the cloud and leaned with his elbow on his knee, supporting his head. "Her father should have died tonight. Normally, I wouldn't intervene - I didn't have a reason. He's a nice man and he made some offerings today, but I wouldn't have cared enough to get in the way of destiny. Ares then said he was going to be the one to do it and that he would kill the girl too. Why? As hard as I try, I can't seem to make sense of this. Ares did a terrible job explaining his reasons, as usual."

"She is the only heir, is she not?"

Apollo nodded. "An only child, yes."

Hermes hummed to himself. "So it can't be a sibling fight over the heritage... However, from what I know, a mortal has been courting her for some time now. He's an avid worshipper of Ares. Maybe he is the one behind this."

"Killing because he's been turned down? Seriously?"

"I think it's more than that. Think about it - the girl is rich, and her family is close to the Emperor. Whoever marries her wins a golden ticket into the higher society. You probably didn't notice this because you're you, but a mortal surely will."

Apollo reconsidered. "Wouldn't it be more logical to try and win her over so they could marry?"

"I suppose... But she spoke the worst about that guy in particular. Maybe he plans on making something kind of arrangement on paper so he could pretend they were married in secret, then she left with her father, they were both assassinated, and he's the grieving, filthy-rich widower."

"That's illegal and immoral. If word gets out about something like this, he won't be able to avoid execution. Roman laws are very strict about this."

Hermes shrugged. "That's just my theory. You know I love to form theories and bet on which one is true."

The two siblings watched as Carina followed her father to the house of their acquaintance.

"Any other guesses?" Apollo asked him.

"Well, I can't say I have proof of this, but knowing her, and since the girl is so beautiful, maybe Aphrodite wants her out of the picture. It wouldn't be the first time she got jealous of a mortal."

"Carina doesn't brag about it, though. She's done nothing to annoy Aphrodite, and she doesn't fancy Ares either."

"So her name is Carina - got it," the messenger said in a playful tone.

Apollo rolled his eyes. "I'm going after them."

Hermes remained on the cloud, surprised by the sudden decision. He was pretty sure that his brother was in love.

When he reached the ground, Apollo took his mortal appearance, dulling his divine beauty. The god knew where Carina and her father were staying and sneaked around the property, trying to overhear their conversations. Perhaps Hermes was correct in his assumptions, as Carina had received a letter from Andreas declaring that he had fought to protect her mother, but failed and was badly wounded, on his death bed.

"I don't believe one word from him!" the girl stated. "If he was truly wounded to the point where he feared death, would he really take the time to write me a letter? This is ridiculous! How did he even find us here?"

The General leaned with his back against the wall, next to a window. "I'm more worried about what is going on back home. He says in this letter that your mother had been murdered in a robbery. How would he even be there? I believe I told the servants not to let him in after your last fight."

"Fight?" Carina snapped, "He tried to force himself on me and I smashed a wine jug on his head."

Apollo had to cover his mouth in order to suppress a laugh.

"Either way, he shouldn't have been in our villa at all. Maybe he tried to visit you and apologize?"

"Yes, of course, timing perfectly with the robbers, who also happened to target our villa in the middle of the day, while you were gone. There's no man in Rome who would dare to challenge you, but they somehow guessed you wouldn't be home."

"You're flattering me, my dear, but yes, the circumstances are indeed suspicious."

She sighed. "Do you think he killed her...? Because it looks so much like a setup, and if he did...!"

"If he did, or if he lied, I will personally drag him to court. I shouldn't have brought that boy to our home in the first place, but he seemed like such a good soldier, so determined and vivacious, alert, ambitious..."

"You couldn't have anticipated this, whatever it is that he's doing." Carina looked away. "I think I'll go lay down. I doubt I will be able to sleep, but that doesn't mean I can't try, right?"

Her father nodded. "I will, too, in a little while." Even so, he had no intention of going to bed anytime soon. He had to figure out what part of Andreas's story was true and what part was a lie.

Alone in her room, the girl began taking off her jewelry and laying it neatly on a small side table. She put two drops of oil in her palms and spread it through the lengths of her hair, pulling down the curls and combing it thoroughly. She poured some water in a bowl and washed her face, then began to undress, when a few melodic notes raised from the strings of a lire. Pulling her outfit back together quickly, she went to look out the window.

The god showed himself in the shadow of the neighboring house. He smiled brightly, while still showing regret for her loss. The death of a loved one was always painful.

Carina opened the window widely and leaned with her elbows over the sill. Her room was on the first floor.

"What are you doing here?"

"I had to see you again," he declared. "I'm so glad you haven't left yet. Come down, I want to show you something."

"I'm tired," was the first excuse to come to her mind.

"Your eyes aren't." No, they were soft and full of life, and he swore he caught a glimpse of a smile for a split second.

"It's night time..."

"I'll bring you back the second you say so. Please?"

She looked away for a moment. Why was she doing this? She should be grieving, though she had no proof that Andreas was saying the truth and her experience told her not to trust the letter.

"Will you catch me?"

The musician set his instrument down and opened his arms. He watched the girl sit on the window sill, carefully keeping her robe between her thighs before she slipped down. She only opened her eyes when she felt a pair of large and very warm hands catching her waist so effortlessly.

"Were you scared?" he asked with a joyful smile. Apollo wanted nothing more than to hold her close, but he didn't want to scare her away by any chance. If he screwed up this time, she'd probably run straight into Ares's spear.

"No," the girl lied when she felt the ground under her feet. "Where are we going?"