Chapter Thirty-Five
(Song in this Chapter is "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" by Elton John.)
Tulio and I rode on in silence, me looking anywhere but at him. I didn't want to admit it, but it was actually nice sitting on his lap as we headed back towards Nesidy. From this angle, I felt protected. However, I wasn't going to say any of this out loud, especially to Tulio! Danny is so dead for leaving me in this situation!
Once we arrived in Nesidy, Tulio brought the horse to a halt.
"Put. Me. Down," I commanded through gritted teeth.
He released his hold on me, and I slid off his lap onto the ground. Unfortunately, I tripped and fell, getting dust all over Sam's dress. Great! On the bright side, it was night and no one was out and about to see my little slip... or to witness this little scene.
"Are you okay?" he asked getting off the horse to try and help me up.
"Fine!" I snapped getting to my feet, pulling away from him.
"What have I got to do to make you love me?
What have I got to do to make you care?
What do I do when lightning strikes me?
And to wake to find that you're not there"
His hold on my shoulder shifted to my hand, and he slowly pulled me closer to him. For some reason, I didn't fight him off. Especially when he placed his free hand upon my face, his thumb caressing my cheek and making my skin tingle. In all honesty, it made me a tad light-headed and I liked it.
"Nnn," I whimpered, biting my lip and shutting my eyes. I could feel my heart thudding harshly within my breast, and it became uncomfortably warm.
"What do I do to make you want me?
What have I got to do to be heard?
What do I say when it's all over?
And sorry seems to be the hardest word"
"Aralyne?" he said softly.
My eyes snapped open, all sense coming back to me. Pulling away from his caressing thumb, I said, "Don't. I told you I want you to go away and leave me alone."
"You don't really mean that," he replied. It wasn't a question, but a statement. And he was right. These past two days felt so wrong without him nearby!
"It's sad, ( so sad) so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd"
"Why do you keep coming back?" I inquired, "Why are you always helping me; saving me?"
"I love you," he said reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, "And at one point, you loved me, too. I just want you back, Aralyne."
Flushing, I yanked my hand from his and took a step back. "That's just it, Tulio. I don't love you. And I really wish you would stop saying that! Right now I'm having a hard time considering you a friend because you keep bringing this up. I don't know you, therefore I can't love you!"
"It's sad, (so sad) so sad
Why can't we talk it over?
Oh, it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word"
He closed the distance between us. "If you don't really feel anything for me, then look me in the eye and say it."
At first I couldn't say anything. It was like my voice had gotten lost on its way out. Using that to his advantage, he cupped my face and kissed me. It wasn't rough like the one he gave me after the Ember concert, but rather sweet and gentle. A tear escaped down my cheek as my lips parted of their own accord. My eyes closed and I placed my hands upon his torso. This felt so right, but... Breaking the kiss, I gently pushed him away. Avoiding his gaze, I choked out, "I can't - I'm sorry!" I turned and ran, heading straight for the Benbow Inn, tears streaming down my face. I didn't know if he was following me or not.
"It's sad, (so sad) so sad
It's a sad, sad situation
And it's getting more and more absurd"
"Aralyne!"
"Aralyne, wait!"
A pair of arms caught me, and I blinked to find Alyss and Catherine had arrived, both looking a bit worried.
"It's sad, (so sad) so sad
Why can't we talk it over?
Oh, it seems to me
That sorry seems to be the hardest word"
"Oh, duck," said Catherine quietly as they both hugged me.
"We saw the whole thing," Alyss added.
"I c-can't - couldn't tell him!" I sobbed. I was so confused! My heart was saying one thing, but my head was saying something else entirely. I didn't know which to trust!
"What do I do to make you love me?
What have I got to do to be heard?
What do I do when lightning strikes me?
What have I got to do?
What have I got to do?
When sorry seems to be the hardest word"
"Come on, let's get back to the inn," said Catherine and they led me the rest of the way back to the Benbow Inn.
The moment Tulio had said, Aralyne, I swear as long as I'm around, she won't harm you or Danny, Siren had had a plan developing in her mind. A plan that will destroy both Aralyne and Tulio. All she had to do was create a bit of a diversion using some unbreakable toys. After going over the plan multiple times in her head, she decided she was ready to go through with it.
Siren left her castle and transported herself to Mount Olympus. Once there, she hid behind a pillar well out of sight of the 17 Olympians (it would have been twenty, except Hades was still trapped in the river Styx, leaving Persephone in charge of the underworld, and Hercules didn't count as a real god. He was there in Olympus, though, visiting his parents). The villainess eyed the 17 gods and Hercules making a mental note of each one and how they could come in handy for her plan.
Zeus: King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order, and justice. Hera: Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage and family. Poseidon: god of the seas, earthquakes, and tidal waves. Demeter: goddess of fertility, agriculture, nature, and the seasons. Athena: goddess of wisdom, reason, intelligent activity, literature, handicrafts, science, defense and strategic warfare. Apollo: god of light prophecy, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, medicine, and healing. Artemis: goddess of the hunt, virginity, archery, the moon, and all animals. Ares: god of war, violence, and bloodshed. Aphrodite: goddess of love, beauty, and desire. Hephaestus: the master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of fire and the forge. Hermes: messenger of the gods; god of commerce, thieves, eloquence, and streets. Hestia: goddess of the hearth and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family. Dionysus: god of wine, celebrations, and ecstasy. Asclepius: god of medicine and healing. Eros: the god of sexual love and beauty. Hebe: the cup bearer of the gods and goddesses. And finally, Pan: the god of nature, the wild, shepherds and flocks, mountains, hunting, the forest, rustic music, and companion to the nymphs.
Well, now that she thought about it, she didn't need all of them right now. However, that wasn't going to stop her from controlling all of them. She saw a golden pitcher on a table nearby, and if Dionysus had anything to do with it (which he probably did), it was was filled with an endless amount of wine. Siren produced a little black bottle in her hand and smiled evilly. A single drop of this potion will have the consumer entirely under her control; a perfect way to create a mass of mindless puppets. It was exactly like the spell that turned the heroes into zombies, except she didn't entirely know what it would do to the gods and goddesses, since they weren't technically alive in the first place. This was going to be an interesting experiment. As for Hercules? Well, who knew what would happen to him. He was half god, and half mortal.
Siren tiptoed over towards the pitcher and poured a couple of drops of her potion into the wine. With that done, she returned to her hiding place to watch the fun. A couple of minutes later, Hebe went to the table and poured wine into 18 chalices. Hebe then moved from god to goddess, handing them each a chalice, including Hercules and she even saved one for herself. All of them drank deeply, and the potion took effect instantaneously.
The gods and goddesses, their skin colour turned a deathly gray, and their eyes faded to a pale yellow. Black tears rolled down their cheeks, giving them an eerie look. As for Hercules, on the other hand, turned into a zombie just like the others Siren had attacked. His muscles shriveled to nothing, and thinned out to just yellowish skin on a skeleton. His eyes glowed white, and his mouth opened in a snarl, black saliva dripping from his yellow teeth.
With an evil laugh, Siren stepped out from behind the pillar gazing upon her creations with pride. "You ten," she said pointing to Hera, Athena, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hestia, Dionysus, Asclepius, Eros, and Hebe, "you shall remain at my castle until I call for your services. Stay hidden from the other villains. I don't want them to know about you. As for the rest of you, you will be coming with me to Nesidy. We're going to give Aralyne a little surprise."
"Aralyne! Aralyne, wake up!"
I groggily opened my eyes to find both Alyss and Catherine bouncing at the end of my bed, both of them grinning widely and fully dressed. "What is it?" I moaned out, rubbing sleep from my eyes. The bright sunshine falling through the window made me wonder if it was late morning or early noon.
"Well, Alyss and I were thinking, we had to find a way to earn some money, right? Well, Mrs. Hawkins is allowing us to perform here at the inn during meal times and keep whatever tips we earn!" Catherine squealed.
"Our first concert is tonight," Alyss added in excitement, "We had asked her first thing this morning, and let you sleep while we made fliers." They pointed to their bed and I was surprised to see the whole thing covered in hundreds of different coloured papers.
"Come on! Get up and help us post these around town!" Catherine urged.
"Sure," I said, "But first, Alyss, get off my legs." Once the sisters went to collect their fliers, I got out of bed and changed into a pair of jean shorts, and a black tank top. From there, we left the inn to hang fliers all over the town.
One bright orange flier I taped onto a window had a picture of the sisters wearing nice dresses and singing under a spotlight. Their names were advertised above the picture and at the bottom it said they were going to be at the Benbow Inn everyday performing, starting tonight and will accept any amount of money.
Eventually Danny and Sam located us. At first I was irritated with Danny after what happened with Freakshow, but I realized I didn't want to think about Tulio, or I was going to start crying again. Instead, I handed him and Sam a stack of fliers and said, "Here. Help us hang these around Nesidy." They did so without question.
We broke off into separate groups, to get the job done a lot faster. The sisters and I went in one direction, while Sam and Danny went in another. Alyss, Catherine, and I stepped into the library to ask if we could hang up the fliers inside the building. For a moment, I felt a bit sad. The library felt so lonely without Belle. Shaking my head, I went straight to the checkout desk with Catherine and Alyss right behind me. Sitting behind the desk were the last three librarians: Milo Thatch, Jane Porter, and Archimedes the owl.
"Hi," I said to them with a smile, "We have fliers here we were hoping to hang on the library's windows and walls? Is that okay with you guys?"
"Of course," replied Jane with a warm smile.
"Would you like a hand?" Milo inquired coming around the desk and taking some from the stack Alyss held.
She blushed and smiled awkwardly. "Yes, please," Alyss said quietly.
Catherine and I exchanged surprised glances. She giggled, whereas I just smiled to myself. Looked like Alyss had her eye on an adorkable nerd.