Good God, it took me forever to write this chapter and for that I am so incredibly sorry! I have been super busy between school and work but now its January which means that I have tons of free time in my hands!! Anyways here's the next chapter, I'll try to update soon, I hope you like it and don't forget to let me know what ya'll think. : )

The warm wind carried the scent of the Ionian sea as the sun sank over the far horizon. Though the ship was hundreds of leagues from land, I could see the distant shore as well as the greener lands and trees beyond. I leaned against the edge of the ship, my fists tight around the carved wooden railings. There were so many emotions battling in my heart, that I dared not ponder. They were grand and coming from opposing fields, all equally strong. If I thought of them too long, they would tear me apart.

I glanced at the god who stood besides me. He stood, not leaning against the railings, his back straight, chin high and blue eyes lost in the vast sea. Perhaps he thought of something other than the sea or the wind that he commanded. Perhaps he thought of his grieves and pain as I did. I wondered if he had the power to vanquish the pains that ailed him.

"What lies north, Hermes? Far north, far north." I watched his profile. I could see as he left the land of thoughts and came to really be at my side.

"The lands of Odin, lands of Morrighan, and of ALklha and many other gods our people barely heard of. Lands were men are much different from the men of Greece and very much alike. In the Norse lands men are strange and fierce, almost savage, yet their loyalty is immense. They are large men like A-" He made a motion with his hands, showing just how large these northern men grew, much like Ares indeed. "Most have golden hair, and lighter eyes, and they ride in large ships…The wear beards too…And the land, The land is cold, frigid. You can see your very breath right before you." The idea of far away lands, very different from my own brought a smile to my lips. But it was a sad smile, I had not smile with true joy in a very long time. I had seen my smile through a looking glass once, and it was missing heart. There was sadness in my eyes; a small ungraspable frown marred my lips. I've tried incredibly hard to remove any trace of the devastation that had once been cast upon me. In desperation and tears I had once even beaten myself, scratched at my face. Oh, how angry I felt. Yet my gloom persisted, even without my consent.

"I'll like to see them, perhaps I will travel there one day. I would like to feel the cold." Perhaps in such cold, I could never feel the heat of him on me. I wanted to see my sisters, to live with my people again. But some part of me, that deepest being in my soul; she who was terrified of even seeing the God of War again, wanted to run, to run far and away and never stop. To visit lands of ice, where I could not feel his warm body next to my own, where I could not dream of his hot lips against my own.

My grip tightened further upon the railing, physically painful, yet more tolerable than the ache in my spirit. I attempted to take a deep breath but a silent sob went through my body. I knew Hermes had not been oblivious to it, as I had hoped. For her placed his hand over mine, slowly unweaving my fingers from the wood.

"When you wish to go, I shall take you there. Perhaps there you'll find what you so desperately seek." His fingers threaded through mine and he lightly squeezed.

"I wish it so." I whispered. I curled my fingers under his, bringing his hand more tightly around mine, in appreciation.

***

The next evening we had embarked in the docks of the city of Argos. Though the sky was a blanket of stars and the hour had been one of slumber, lamps shone bright inside various places. The port was lined with buildings of similar sizes and structures, all facing the sea. The doors of taverns, inns, and even fruit stands were open to the public at such an ungodly hour. There people walking the streets, and not the drunks going home, but decent people.

Exhaustation from the vogage had been enough to tire me, for though I was trained in the art of war, I had only to set foot on a ship and my world would turn upside down, for my stomach could not bare the swaying of the ship. When my feet landed on the stable wooden port all I wanted was a warm stable bed, where I could sleep for days.

Too tire for words, Hermes and I had silently gotten Kohl and our very few belongings out of the ship and headed directly to one of the port's inn, a homey place with large open wooden doors and bright candles glowing inside. The innkeeper, a man who appeared to be ancient, with a thin body that appeared too frail for movement, yet a voice that spoke of a happy, and satisfied existence, greeted us at the door.

"How may I help you this evening?" His voice was as clear as his bright eyes.

"My wife and I need a room for a few nights, and also a stable for our horse." Replied Hermes, and I had not the will or the strength to protest the lie in his words.

"Yes of course." He motioned to a young boy, who came forward to take the reign of Kohl and led him away.

We made our way inside the inn, and it appeared just as homely and comfortable as it did from the outside. The main room was large with many tables, and a bar on the far corner. It reminded me so much of the Arsenio's inn, which became a home for me. It was a place and its people that I missed sorely.

The innkeeper noticing my exhausted face wasted no time guiding us to our room.

The room was dark, only the soft glow of the candle making the bed visible. I placed my belongings on the floor. I wanted nothing better than to lay my body on the stable bed and sleep till noon. I sat on the large bed.

Hermes stood before me, watching me, as if uncertain of what to do next.

"Hermes-" When I spoke his name, he made a decision. He took a step towards me, and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I'll see you on the morrow." He said to me, and then he was gone, closing the door behind him.

I removed my cloak, and sandals and lay on the large, soft bed. Seconds after I drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

***

"Hermes, where exactly are we going?" I asked him, attempting to pull my hand away. His grip was unbreakable as he pulled me with him across the busy, commercial streets of Argos, to the less busy streets that were lined with residential homes.

"I have something else you need to see." He turned to look at me, his eyes shone bright with excitement. His golden skin appeared to be flushed within, for an endearing blush covered his sculpted cheeks.

"You have given me all I can ask for, what else is there?" I asked him.

Hermes had proved true to his words, for I had seen nearly all the survivors that were living here, in Argos. It appeared that he had sent word of my arrival and had created a reunion. I saw faces, that I believed I would never see again; my comrades, my friends, my sisters. It had been a long morning, one of many tears. But they were tears of joy and laughter, as well as grief and memories. Seeing such familiar faces lifted a great weighting my heart, and brought me great joy. Upon finding familiar people I had somehow gained a part of myself. It was difficult being the only of your kind, the only one with that history and legacy in a land of strangers. The feeling of loneliness never truly vanishes.

I owed Hermes the world, for he had given me a priceless gift.

"Hope." He said. I failed to comprehend the meaning of his words then.

"Very well."

We came to a stop in front of a small townhouse, similar to the many in Argos, barely identifiable. Hermes knocked on the door.

I could've expected the world to change, our civilizations to turn to dust. I could've accepted if the sky become forever black and the stars shone no more, but never could I have expected to see the person that opened the door. Not until I had crossed Styx.

Annay opened the door; the lithe woman who had killed a tower of a man with a single calculated blow, dearest childhood friend stood before me. I could not help but to stare at her in open-mouth awed. She had changed; her figure was now softer than I remember, not nearly as defined as that of a warrior. Her light hair had grown longer than I last remember and her face darker, as if she spent hours under the sun. But the most surprising thing was the infant she held on her hip, a boy of perhaps two summers, who had the same wheat colored hair and brown eyes.

"Liah?...Dear gods, Liah!" The surprise and happiness in her eyes, made me think that she too had thought that I had died. She came outside and hugged me, even as she was holding the young child. I wrapped my arms around my dearest friend and could not help as tears slip through my closed lids.

"Dear gods, Lass, I thought you were dead." She said as she hugged me.

"I thought the same of you. It is good to see you old friend."

We came apart when a man came to the door to see what had caused such commotion. "Annay?" He had said and we drew apart.

He was a man of average height, with blue eyes and dark hair. There was something familiar about him. But I could not decide what it was.

"This is Claudius, my husband. Claudius, this is Liah, my best friend." She quickly introduced us.

"It is nice to meet you, Liah."

"Same to you, Claudius" I smiled at the man, for he had kind eyes and a soothing voice.

I turned to Hermes then and I did not know what to say. I opened my mouth but no words came forth. How could I thank him?

A god had once taken everything that I had, and another one returned a great portion of it.

"I shall leave the two of you to fill in the gaps of time, I'll return for you later in the evening." He said before I could manage a single word.

Hermes closed the small distance between us and placed a quick kiss upon my forehead before he left.

"Come on inside, we have much to speak of." Annay did not wait for my response but grabbed my hand and guided me inside her home. Her home was not large, but there was richness to it. It was not the richness of priceless ornaments and marble floors but that of the undeniable sign of life. The comfortable chairs, the table with bread and fruits over it, the wooden toys on the floor. Signs of life.

Annay handed the boy to Claudius. There was an enviable tenderness in their eyes as their skin touched. As they both looked upon the small child that was a piece of them both.

"I'll leave you two alone." Claudius said, smiling as he took the child with him, talking meaningless words with the boy that made the child laugh and the man smile.

"What's his name?" I asked Annay as we sat across one another in the sitting room.

"Cyrus." There was a smile in her voice as she spoke of her child.

"He's beautiful."

"Yes. I am glad that I did not birth him in Trabzon." I did not dare voice the rules of our birthplace. There was no purpose to it. "When you hold that baby boy in your arms, Liah, and you feel his small heart beat…You realize that you love him more than anything in the world. There is not a soul that could make me abandon him."

"I am glad you have him….Tell me of your life after the battle." I told her.

"Tis a long tale my friend." She warned me and I replied "I have time."

We sat there as the day darkened into night and she told me her story.

"You did see me fall in battle….for I was wounded and I lost my wits. I awoke nearly a day later or so in the battlefield….It was…there was so much blood there, Liah. More than I had ever seen in my life….And there were so many dead. Men and women alike….I have wept for them Liah, many times after I wept for our fallen sisters and our enemies alike." It took her nearly a minute to continue.

"It took more strength than I thought I ever had, to stand on my legs. It took immense strength to weave my way around the corpses and to walk almost a league away from the battlefield and into the forest…It was there that I met Claudius. He was a Trojan soldier and there was no denying that I was an Amazon. But he was kind, Liah. I nearly ran from him, but he caught me. He spoke to me, I was not coherent then, he said 'take the horse lass, take the horse and ride east.' That's all I remember then. I did not know when, but somehow I came to Argos. Nearly a month later the survivors came too, and I was incredibly glad."

"Fate untied us again here. And it united me with Claudius too….I learned to love the man, despite our origins. We wedded, in a traditional ceremony and we had Cyrus. My life with Claudius has been simple, Liah, but It has brought me immeasurable happiness. It does not give me joy that our home was destroyed but…I am glad that I am no longer there, where it's forbidden to love a man, to unite your life with him. Where it would've been forbidden to keep my Cyrus. Destiny led to the fall of Trabzon and call me traitor Liah, but I would not change a thing." Her brown eyes were open and willing to take any words I would throw her way. She would let me judge her and would do nothing to defend herself. But I could not judge my friend for being happy.

"It gladdens me that you have found happiness amidst tragedy." I smiled at her, and for her happiness I could not bring myself to even wish to turn back time.

"What of you, Liah? The last I heard, was that Ares ….he had carried you off with him."

She poured wine on my cup, and I brought it to my lips, tasting the sweet flavor of the liquid before I spoke again.

"Ares….He…he took me with him…."

I told her all that had happened between me and the god of war. How he had taken me to Olympus, the home of the very gods. I spoke of my days there and of the gods. Then I spoke of fleeing, of my time in Thebes and of Arsenios, Dea and Alana. I told her everything. I spoke of Brennus, the man that I had loved, with tears in my eyes. And then I told her what I had discovered. I told her everything that had happened even as tears clouded my vision and escaped my eyes. When I cried she came and sat besides me. My friend held me close while I finally cried with a friend for all that had happened in the past three years.

***

The candle flickered in front of the looking glass, which magnified its light. I stared at it, caught in the golden-scarlett glow of it but thinking far, far away. I could not stop myself from seeing Annay in my mind's eye, from imagining her with her husband and child, together. I was incredibly glad for my friend, for she had found happiness. She had found a kind man, and formed a life. But above all, I envied her. For I wish that the man I loved was real. I wished that I could feel his heartbeat against my back as we lay against one another, or his breath on my skin, and his lips upon my own. I yearned to feel the silk of his hair slip through my fingers, the strength of his body as he held me. I yearned for my fingers intertwine with his. I yearned for dreams that could never come to pass.

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