Disclaimer: i refuse to own Twilight no matter how much SM begs me to take Edward and Bella off her hands! i do own a bunch of recipes for Thanksgiving so that's always a yay. can anyone say...cranberry muffins with a sweet cranberry drizzle and cream cheese frosting? no? well...try saying it.

chapter eighteen

"The whisper of a pretty girl can be heard further than the roar of a lion."

Proverb

Isabella

I change Edward's dressings in the bright in-suite bathroom at the overly expensive hotel Amynta had jumped us to when Esme came to save Edward's life. Edward would no doubt have two identical fist-sized scars on his chest from that poisonous serpent. But even then, the scars didn't draw from the sheer perfection of his entire torso - the toned muscles of his abdomen, the tough flexors of his hips, his strong, rounded shoulders all wrapped in smooth pale skin.

I shake my lust-riddled thoughts from my head. Edward's health was more important than that type of distraction.

"I think I know what the quests are," he says out of the blue.

I pause in securing the bandage across his chest. I hadn't even been thinking that they were anything but random destinations. I finish his wrapping and step back, trading latex gloves for soft lace and cotton black gloves. "What are they?"

Edward slides off the counter, gingerly stretching his arms over his head. "Babylon wasn't ever proved - there are no historical records of it anywhere. Like the Greek Gods, Babylon was forgotten and became a myth."

"But we were just there."

Edward nods. "That's my point. The Gods are sending us to the Ancient Wonders. We were on Rhodes Island where Colossus was supposed to be and then we were at the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. There are seven Wonders and we have eight pearls - and only one of the pearls takes us to Olympus." Edward suddenly grins widely. "The only surprise is what will meet us at the Wonders."

Edward orders a room service lunch and the use of a wireless laptop, both arriving to our room quickly. We eat then browse the internet for any hint of the monsters that might next greet us. By elimination, we figure that Babylon is in Iraq - meaning Italy, another stop in Greece, Turkey and two quests in Egypt remain.

The weight of the unknown lifts off my shoulders. I find comfort in knowing what may lie ahead of us next, even if the only information we hold is knowing where we'll eventually end up.

Minds and stomachs sated, Edward and I agree that staying over in the hotel for another night would be best - partially so Edward can heal at an accelerated rate, and partially because we might not have another opportunity to use modern resources until our quests are done.

Edward lays down for a nap while I move into the bathroom, furiously scrubbing at every inch of my skin until what used to be pale becomes pink from friction and the steaming water. My long hair - past my waist now - is also meticulously cleaned, the strands heavy and tangled. It's as I am rinsing the conditioner from my hair that the idea pops into my head.

I quickly finish, my body hairless and clean and wrapped in a towel as I dry off, pulling on the one pair of jeans I brought with me along with a long black tank top and a soft, off-the-shoulder grey blouse with a fluttering hem.

"Where are you going?" Edward asks, surprise pouncing on me through the bond. He sits up easily, swinging his legs off the bed and coming to stand beside me as I slip on my boots.

I finish and look up at him. "I'm getting a haircut."

For a second, his face is sad and remorse flies through me from our bond. Then understanding dawns on his face. "You don't have to do that, Bella," he begins, clearly about to launch into a speech about how the length of my hair is beneficial in this way and that and that, really, he quite liked the way it was now.

But I shake my head at him before he can start. "No, I need to. It's getting in the way during battle. It will grow back."

Edward sighs and instead of arguing, asks me if he needs me to go with him. I can tell that he would like to continue resting and I tell him as much. He lets me leave with little protest, already falling back onto the bed in exhaustion as I lock the hotel door behind me.

At the front desk, I ask the concierge for a recommendation for a hair salon close by. She studies my long locks and grins, insisting on making me an appointment at her own salon and calling a taxi service for me.

The salon I arrive at is sleek with bold black surfaces and splashes of color scattered about. The ladies chatter quietly to each other, filling the large rooms with a soft, calming noise that often rises above the foreign pop music on the radio. I guess that we are somewhere in Europe now, based on the smooth accents and fluent English of the people.

The woman who cuts my hair is plump and not too much older than myself. She clucks her tongue as she fingers my hair. "Such a shame to cut this off," she says through her thick accent. I wonder if it is something about the Goddess part of me that allows me to understand what all of the people hear are saying - some latent gift?

Ignoring that thought, I smile into the mirror at the woman behind me. "It's just time for a cut."

"How short?"

I had thought about this on the ride over - cutting off a few inches wouldn't make much of a difference and neither would cutting it to my shoulders. I move a lock beside my face, pinching the hair between my fingers underneath my jaw. "About this short."

I watch as the woman's eyes widen comically. She seems to snap herself back and reaches for an intimidating pair of shears. The first cuts are loud in my ear but the weight is refreshing. After the initial cuts, the stylist goes back with a razor-type thing, making layers and evening up the ends.

The end result is dramatic but beautiful, my hair framing my face in edgy angles but suiting me perfectly, somehow making the silver of my eyes pop.

On the way to the hotel, I wonder about how Edward will like the change. I was almost certain he'd heard my declaration of love when he was in and out of consciousness yesterday and I felt similar fondness through the bond. Would his feelings change as a direct result of this change?

No, that would be ridiculous and Edward wasn't shallow.

Back at the hotel, the concierge gives me a double take before a wide, approving smile blossoms across her face. I wonder if she would be so approving of the change if she knew my primary reason was based off the hunch that it would make battling during my quests easier.

Edward is, thankfully, sleeping when I enter the room. The air in the bathroom still feels humid and his hair is sticking up in random directions, still damp. His chest is bare, the wounds from the serpent barely visible against his pale skin.

Desire ripples across me as I take in his prone form, his boxers peeking up under his hips from a loose pair of dark jeans. My mind reasons that he appears healed and surely he would be able to participate in the activities that are on the forefront of my mind.

As if reading my mind, Edward's eyes pop open, his pupils huge in his grey-green irises. My breath catches in my throat as I watch him take in the changes, his gaze lingering on the exposed skin of my neck, zeroing in on the curve of my shoulder. Silently, he reaches forward, easily making contact with my hips as I had stepped fairly close to him before he woke up.

"I like it," he breathes, looking up at me while drawing me closer still until I am almost in his lap.

Almost isn't good enough; Edward pulls me sharply into his body, my legs falling on either side of his hips and his mouth on my throat, working his way to the nape of my neck with his teeth and tongue.

Gasps escape me as his hands draw up my sides to my chest, gentle fingers massaging my breasts and pinching my nipples - ministrations that draw embers from deep within my core, an ache forming where none had ever touched before.

My blouse and bra come off quickly, one of Edward's hands twisting into my hair while the other deftly unbuttons my jeans. Anticipation floods through me along with a slight note of embarrassment as I realize the slickness between my thighs; a strong force of lust obliterates my hesitance through the bond and soon enough my jeans are on the pile of growing clothes on the floor.

Edward hovers over me, his hands constantly moving over me, his eyes hot on the scrap of black lace that covers the last hidden part of my body.

"I need…" My voice is so foreign to my ears, thick with desperation for that feeling only Edward could give me. I wasn't even sure what exactly I needed.

"I know," he murmurs silkily into the hollow of my throat, his lips kissing down my chest - stopping only to pause at the tight peaks of my nipples, adoring each of them with wet lips - and further down after that. His fingers dig between the material of my boy-shorts and my skin, tugging gently down on each side until I need to lift my hips so he can pull them off of me completely. "So beautiful," he breaths near my belly-button, his hand just ghosting over my center.

Without much preamble, he makes contact, lightly tracing my lower lips, teasing me until my legs fall open to expose more of myself to him. My chest is heaving as his fingers gently dip into my wetness, swirling and exploring until he finds a spot that feels so incredible that my hips buck off the bed, toward his waiting palm.

"Oh," I moan as one of his fingers enters me, thrusting in and out gently while his thumb rubs small circles into my clit. Slowly, his rhythm increases until my loud panting and the sound of my slickness are taking over the relative silence of the room.

"Shhh, just feel it," he tells me and I do, fire bursting from my center to my toes and back, my chest arching into Edward's mouth and his fingers gently bringing me down.

Dazed, I watch as he pulls his hand away and moves up to kiss me, his hardness brushing against my stomach unintentionally. Without my prompting, my hand is below the fabric of his boxers and firmly grasping his length in my gloved hand.

"The lace," he gasps out, collapsing onto his side.

I pause, wondering if the lace was a bad thing. Once again reading my uncertainty through the bond, Edward hurriedly explains that the lace makes my grasp on him feel even better. I continue on, tentatively stroking my hand from base to tip, lightly squeezing on the head and watching in awe as Edward's head falls back, his Adam's apple bobbing and his jaw clenching. He forces his pants off, kicking them onto the floor along with his boxers and my gaze travels to the hardness in my hand.

While I have absolutely nothing to compare it to, I know that Edward is rather large - his girth too big for my hand to close around and his length intimidating. His exposed head is a blushing purple, the rest of him pale and smooth. He twitches in my hand, shocking me as his cock moves on it's own.

I must have been staring too long because Edward barks out a laugh and kisses my blushing cheeks, his hand moving to cover mine. Together, we pull and squeeze until Edward is groaning, swelling in my hand and exploding wondrously.

We lay together afterwards, Edward having cleaned up bashfully with tissues by the bed, his arms tight around me and the smell of - well, sex - in the air. I was fortunate that none of his seed landed on my gloves as I only brought three pair. We drift off, sated for the moment.

Edward wakes first, humming a tune in my ear until he speaks into the phone, ordering our dinner. "I thought we should try to pick the next pearl not so randomly," he tells me, puling the small white bag into his lap and drawing the strings apart.

He dumps the pearls into the small space between us.

"Well," I begin, sitting up and grabbing for a t-shirt of his that is folded onto the dresser beside me. "We have no way of knowing what each pearl will bring. So how should we decide which one to choose?"

"I thought of that. Maybe we could choose based on what God gave us the pearl. Ares, the red pearl, is probably wicked sinister so we might want to wait until I'm fully healed to tackle his."

I nod, agreeing with that logic. "Artemis' pearl?"

I look down at the seemingly innocent silver swirling pearl, thinking that Artemis' quest should be difficult but survivable. Surely not as deadly as Ares'.

Edward plucks the silver pearl from the pile, examining it closely, considering. "I should be healed well enough by tomorrow," he says, setting the silver pearl aside and carefully putting the other pearls back into their soft pouch.

With that settled, my mind is free to wander to other needs - like hunger and the very human need of the bathroom. Our room service arrives as I am washing hands and we eat in quiet reflection, both of us mentally preparing for the next day.

We wake early in the morning, with dawn, and gather our belongings. Edward changes into jeans, a slim black shirt and a chest-plate armor that Esme left behind, the silver and bronze gleaming in the faint light from the window. The chest-plate is accompanied by two metal plates that cover his forearms completely; the entire set of armor looks like it was transported directly from the times of the Roman Empire but seems to suit Edward perfectly. It is definitely a change from his boxing gloves and taped feet yet he still appears comfortable.

I don my leather, tying and zipping my boots tightly and double checking the belt hanging from my hips and the secured buckled that attached my sword's sheath to my person.

Edward draws me into his arms, kissing me softly and slowly for a moment before hugging me tighter, pressing my face close to his chest as he stomps on Artemis' silver molten pearl.

The mist from this pearl is more sparkling than smoky and is almost accompanied by a faint tinkling sound. When the mist dissipates, we are in a location nearly as beautiful as Olympus.

Short stumpy trees create perfect rows formed into a maze, the grass vibrant and thriving, soft and inviting under our feet. I almost felt bad about trampling on the grass as it was so perfect. The sky above us is bright blue, completely cloudless.

Edward and I had been deposited in the middle of the maze, it seems. All around us is more and more of the stubby trees. I think for a second that the pearl sent us to the wrong location.

But that is when I see it.

In the distance is a gleaming white structure made of a low-angled marble roof, tall pillars and four whole-perimeter steps. The pillars are evenly spaced around the entire building, several feet between each flawless pillar. Around the building are tall, perfectly hedged bushes, rolling hills with a small lake at the bottom and wildly growing flowers that are obviously tended to.

Edward follows my gaze, humming in the back of his throat and making his way through the maze of stumpy trees.

"Where are we?" I ask, following him while being careful not to let anything touch my skin; though I had fed directly from a live source not too long ago, my fingers had set in with the familiar icy feeling this morning. I dreaded tripping in this amazing place and ruining the perfection.

"I think we're at the Temple of Artemis. It is her pearl."

That was a completely logical assumption, of course. But it was too easy, setting my nerves are edge and making me hyper-sensitive of every noise and sight around me. It was highly unlikely that this would be one a quest that didn't require our killing of some not-so-mythological beast.

The closer we get to the temple, the more paranoid every rustling of grass and leaves makes me - what I would normally assume as wind impacting nature instead makes me assume there is some monster lurking, stalking us.

My paranoia proved true.

Just as we are about to enter the Temple, a loud incredulous roar echoes through the pillars.

There was nothing normal about this lion. Where rough sandy fur should have been, there was thick, spiky golden colored metal plates sticking in every direction, most of the spikes dull and short while others sharp and tall. It's mane and tail seemed to be the only assets of the lion that were standard, the mane of hair around it's neck a shade darker than it's golden fur and soft, moving with the steady wind current. It's claws were long and deadly.

All of these things brought to mind one thing. Nemean lion.

My mind is absolutely blank as the lion sniffs and circles us, drawing closer with each rotation around us. I am careful to keep my front facing the lion, my hand steady on the hilt of my sword.

The confidence I had been feeling suddenly dies. The Nemean lion can't be killed by mortal weapons and though my sword was made by Gods and is wielded by a God, the sword as a weapon is a very mortal thing. My sword would have no impact on this creature.

My mind scrambles for an answer while Edward seems to come to the same conclusion I have. I can't remember a thing from my classes at the Academy.

"Strangulation," Edward whispers lowly to me.

I hazard a sharp look at him. Surely he wasn't suggesting that one of us was supposed to strangle this beast. My gift was of no use here, much like my sword - the Nemean lion was primarily made of metal and there was no energy I could draw from metal.

And the only thing Edward's gift could do was make that metal hotter. Of course, I did have my gloves but I was sure they wouldn't protect me from the sharp golden spikes of the lion and there was no way Edward could risk another injury while he was still healing.

The Nemean lion loses patience with waiting for our first move. He makes a quick step and swipes at my feet. I jump back, pushing Edward into the pillar behind us and draw my sword on instinct.

Edward reaches around me, drawing ions into his palm and throwing several quick bolts at the lion; they ricochet with no impact but serve to confuse the lion for long enough that Edward and I have a chance to run into the Temple.

Artemis' likeness in a marble and stone statue sits several feet taller than she is in real life in the center of the Temple. There are virtually no places for Edward and I to hide save for behind the statue.

Hiding there, we keep quiet, listening for the Nemean lion and attempting to furiously flesh out some sort of battle plan.

"Strangle it?" I demand, throwing my hands into the air. "How? And who?"

"Decapitation, then. You distract it and I'll-"

"You can't wield my sword even if that would work. The sword is a mortal weapon and-"

"Then I will strangle it for long enough that you can get the right place to decapitate it."

My stomach is queasy at this suggestion but I know that I don't posses the physical strength required to strangle the Nemean lion. This is our only option. We decide to exit different sides of the Temple once we spot the lion prowling on the eastern side. Edward keeps low to the ground and directly behind the lion, moving slowly and as quietly as possible.

My heart jumps into my throat when Edward pounces, his hands tight around the lion's neck and holding true when the lion bucks and tries to shake the young God off his back. I jump in at the point when the lion begins to struggle for breath and Edward begins to grow weak, his wounds from the serpent growing darker and more bruise like from the strenuous movement. My sword is drawn and, without thinking too much about it, I plunge it through the lions neck and force the blade down then back up again, Edward's hands out of the way and the lion's head falling onto the thriving grass. Golden blood stains the grass, freezing into a thin sheet of fold at my feet, the lion's body frozen into a golden statue with Edward on it's back.

Edward slides off and pulls me into a tight hug, running his hands weakly from the top of my shoulders to the bottom of my back, his breathing labored and his skin too-warm.

"Are you okay?" I demand, pulling away to look at him. Aside from the newly healing wounds from the serpent, he appears as intact as ever.

He cups my face in his hands as an answer, kissing me for all I am worth. I feel all of his fear and adoration and possessiveness through that kiss and the bond, knowing for certain that he returns my feelings in kind.

A/N: Happy Thanksgiving to all my readers in the states! for all you lovely ladies and maybe gents everywhere else, we Americans are going to binge eat for about the next three days. it's not as fun as it sounds. there's an awful amount of cleaning during this time.

anyway, early update because of the holiday and a lemon as an extra-special something.

shout out to the great LordXeenTheGreat for the first review on the last chapter. this is where i thank you profusely for reading so loyally and for sticking with me through this semi-violent time in the story.

by the way, for anyone who doesn't like the fighting that has been happening in the last couple of chapters, fear not - just another four chapters and the kids are back to Olympus where...interesting things are going to happen.

as always, be brutally honest. i can take it.

~cupcakeriot