Imagine a girl of nine summers, tanned of nine summers, as radiant as nine summers. A poppied up field she lays in, her body wet with the river she had just swam in. The beaming sun; the chorusing birds; the blowing wind...
...someone watching...
You can see what she cannot. The shadowy outline of a man hidden in background of this beautiful scene, approaching. Somehow, he carries the shadow with him, even in the blinding light of the sun, he is still indecipherable. He is almost above her now...
His hand is outstretched to her; his eyes are angry, but with lust...
He salivates.
A bird shrieks.
A strand of drool falls from his lips to her forehead.
Her eyes flicker open as her body rolls on instinct.
She is up, he is bent over grabbing air.
We see Zeus; she sees danger. She runs. He follows.
He follows until he realizes she is so much faster. Then he begins to chase.
But, she is faster than him, still.
He lags as she runs out of sight. He curses her.
"From Zeus you ran, so forever will you run. If you rest, Death will catch you."
And so for years she ran. She ate berries from trees and bushes and ran into rivers to drink. To stop, she noticed, would result in her coughing up blood and it would be harder to breath until she ran again. But, as she ran, her stamina grew with her. And her speed.
One day, as she stepped into the river for her daily drink, her feet stayed above the surface as she sped across it to the other side. She tried again; and again, she ran over the water to the other side. She had to lean sideways and splash water into her mouth in order to satisfy her thirst.
But the months sped by as she steadily grew faster. Until one day, she simply outraced Time.
She exists in a place where Time doesn't exist now. It's still the same world she knew, but here nothing changes. She will never age, and she will be exactly in the same condition that she entered this world in, forever. She no longer has to run. She sees people, but they do not see her because she is vibrating at such a high speed. In fact, she is running so fast, she is everywhere at the same moment, but only conscious of the position she's in. It's hard to explain but...
"Teacher, is she here right now?"
The old man looked around the circle of his pupils and focused on the slender, bright-eyed kid who asked that question. The teacher smiled. "Yes, and no," he answered. "She is everywhere, but only for a moment. Infinite moments, if you will."
The boys in the circle all scratched their heads, no doubt confused.
The same boy raised his hand.
"Yes?"
"What's her name?" the boy asked.
"Oh!" the teacher clapped. "A nice, easy question. This one won't stress your minds at all. Her name is Antiope, which sounds like..."
"Antelope!" the boys all cried out.
The teacher smiled and nodded.
"So, is that where the story ends?" the same boy asked. "She just continues to exist out of Time, doing nothing?"
"Oh, for the time being," the teacher chuckled. "But no, no. Legend has it that she will soon be part of a very special quest and aid in helping a hero, or villian, if you prefer, in his journey."
"A villian?" the boy questioned. "Is she evil? Why would she help a villian?"
"My goodness, Amareus! You always ask so many questions! But, that is fine, m'boy. You see, it is all a matter of perspective. The main character of this story will bring true love, and be considered a hero. But he will also break up an old love, and for that, he will be considered a villian."
Amareus was silent. "No other questions?" the teacher quipped.
"Actually..."
All the other boys groaned. Even the teacher had to stifle one.
"Go on," the teacher sighed. In all honesty, though, he had a fondness for the boy and admired the boys curiosity. At least, he was paying attention, and his questions weren't all that bad.
"Was the old love true love?" Amareus asked.
"Once, perhaps," the teacher replied. "But time eventually wears away all things."
"So if even true love fades...then...This hero is wasting his or her time then?"
"Wait, a her?!" one of the boys guffawed. "Girls can't be heroes. That's preposterous!"
"Anyway!" The teacher interjected. "The hero never wastes time if they do something good."
"Teacher, how would you characterize true love anyway?" Amareus asked.
"Aaand enough questions for today!" The teacher clapped his hands. "Go play!"
The teacher sighed in relief as Amareus rushed off with the other kids. Then he groaned in frustration as he began to try to come up with an answer to Amareus last question.
What is true love anyway? Amareus, m'boy, I don't think I even know.
A/N: So, I'm adding to the cast of characters. I just hope I can keep track of them all!
All my followers, are you my corps or my corpses? Review!