HEY- HEY, heY! I am back. Here is the update. I hope you guys like it. : )
"Good morning." A familiar voice echoed through the ill-lighted room.
I opened my eyes to find Hermes in my chamber. He sat on a chair besides the window, appearing as if he had been there all night.
"Why do you say morning Hermes, if the sun has yet to graze the sky?" I smiled at the god. Hermes appear to desperately need a smile and thus I granted him with mine, hoping to lighten his mood. Despite the nightmare that still clung to my heart, I could smile. 'Tis was only a dream after all, despite how terrible it was.
"It shall not graze the sky, love. For Apollo can no longer ride his chariot." He replied gravely.
"What madness do you speak of Hermes?" I sat up in my bed, looking at the dark sheets covering my body. I remember that the sheets I had covered my bed with were pale rose-colored and I had no memory of buying dark sheets in the market.
A dream I thought, attempting to reassure myself. The sheets upon my bed threatened any tranquility within me. It was a dream, Liah, I told myself. Simply a dream. But how could it be only a dream when the blows upon my skin caused so much pain? Out's eyes gleaming with insanity were engraved upon my core; surely we do not make up names for the monsters of such terrifying dreams? But I remember Ares, his scent, his hands upon my face. I remember my salted tears on my skin. I would not want immortality if you were dead. It was all a dreadful dream; I wanted to lie to myself. But the pain in my heart told me it was not a dream.
"Tell me it was all a dream." I whispered.
"I cannot."
"Then…Ares…No, No, No. NO!" There were no words to explain the battling emotions within me.
"I am sorry."
"NO!" I stood from the bed. I had no broken bones. I opened my arms in attempt to show Hermes that I was well. In attempt to smugly prove that it was not real, for how could I have healed so quickly?
"I called upon Persephone, Hades and her still have control over the underworld. The Aloade can never control death and death can never come to them. I brought you to the gates of the underworld and asked the queen of the dark lands to spare you."
"That cannot be."
"It is so."
"We must find Ares." I said urgently.
"We've tried. I had alerted Zeus soon after I had discovered what had happened. The gods have been on a search for Ares for the past fortnight. There is no trace of him. And it is much too late now."
"Late for what?" I turned to face the golden god. A fortnight? I could not have possibly slept for so long.
"The Aloade have taken over Olympus." But I had.
"No, you must be mistaken, you've got Poseidon, Apollo, Athena, Zeus-"
"All the gods in the world cannot compare to he in his element. Though great warrior many are, they are not Ares. Ares could stand against them. Only him."
"They are simply two deities, Hermes. TWO!" Frustrated with his morbid thoughts I lifted my fingers in attempt to demonstrate what a small number that was.
"Two they may be, but they are the Aloade, Liah, indestructible by any god or men! We had stood a chance with Ares at our side, but now…" He did not finish the sentence, but began a new one. Pacing to and fro across the room.
"They came with hordes of ungodly creatures. Abominations. They tore through Olympus butchering many in their attempts to get to the gods. The Gods fought, but in the end the Aloade won. I managed to escape, the only one…" His words were dispassionate and still but I could imagine the turmoil inside of him. "They hold Zeus prisoner in his own dungeons…I've never thought I'd see the day of my father's fall."
Hermes sat on my bed, his head hung low. All I could see was the top of his golden head and tears, which fell upon his lap. His shoulders were slumped with defeat and he made no attempt to wipe his eyes.
Such tragedies had happened while I slumbered deeply. The world as I knew had changed. If the gods could not stand against the Aloade, then who could? How would the world survive against the wrath of the giants? The gods were imprisoned and Ares' location was unknown. I could not bear to think that Ares was dead, that hurt too much. If he were dead, my heart would break. Yet the least of my worries was my heart, for Ares' death meant that there would be none to stand against the Aloade.
The unchangeable truths struck me violently as waves upon a rock.
But I denied the wishes of my heart. I denied myself the right to fall on my knees and weep. I wanted to crawl on my bed and hide in the darkness, to drown in my sorrow, but I could not and would not allow myself to do so. I would not cry for my beloved until I knew that he no longer walked the realm of the living. I refused to lay down and grief because this had happened because of me. Ares had sacrificed himself for me. And so in turn I would not rest until Ares was found. I was an Amazon. I would fight, I would not rest until I saw the Aloade defeated and Olympus returned to its rightful owners.
I walked to Hermes, stood in front of him and touched his shoulder. He simply nodded in defeat. I placed my hand underneath his chin and lifted his face. Seeing the pain in the eyes of a god was truly a sight. He wrapped his arms around my waist and placed his face upon my stomach. He held me while he wept, he held me like a child in desperate need of his mother, a child lost in a world of strangers and I held him like a sister who needs her brother.
"The sun no longer grazes the sky…but there are still fires to light the dark." I said fiercely.
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"He is one god, so much cannot depend on him!" I said frustrated. I stood from the chair, slamming my hands against my kitchen table.
"It does and nothing can change that, you must find him." Persephone replied with equal force.
"How can I search for him when I haven't a god forsaken clue as to where to find him! How do I know he still lives?"
"He's not dead, Liah. I am queen of the underworld, bound to Hades and assure you I would know if one such as Ares crosses Styx. He's not dead! You would know it yourself if you concentrate." Despite the curt and impatient tone to her words, they soothed me, gave me the most beautiful and dreadful feeling, hope.
Since the sun was no longer in the sky, it was difficult to perceive the time of day. But soon after I had awoken, I had come to my cooking quarter, finding strange the normality of eating breakfast on a day such as this. While I ate Hermes had informed me of the occurrences of the world. As I had suspected the fall of our gods meant quite a lot to humanity. Though most humans did not know why the sun would no longer rise, it was obvious that something was amiss in Olympus. Creatures shunned for evil as well as entities of legends walked among humans. There were constant battles in the streets between these creatures, which resulted in humans hiding for fear of becoming casualties, or raising sword against the creatures that threaten them. The world was in turmoil, in fear, and tragedies, for the simple reason that one god was unable not fight against the Aloade.
Hermes had also informed me that Persephone, who still ruled the underworld with Hades had requested talking with me after I had awoken. I could not deny the goddess who had spared my life and healed my bones. Thus as soon as I told Hermes that I would meet with her, she appeared in my cooking quarter and Hermes exited the room to allow us the illusion of privacy.
She was different from the other goddess, this Persephone. Beautiful, but rare in her loveliness. Her hair was much like Ares', the very same color but for the lighter streaks of one who spent much time in the sun and the abundant waves. Her skin was lightly golden making me envious of the goddess. But her rarity derived from her face. Set in a heart shaped face were eyes much too large, giving her a child-like startled appearance, her small nose was dusted with freckles, her lips were generous and sensuous. Her face was childlike, but her body did not deny that she was indeed a woman. She was slender and slightly above average, but there were noticeable soft curves underneath her white toga.
"Hermes, Hades, and I are the only gods free of the Aloade's wrath and there is only so much that Hades and I can do without attracting their attention. It is up to you and Hermes to find Ares, Liah. To free us of this fate." Her hand reached across the table and captured my own.
"I am only human, I don't know how to-"
"You do know Liah. Close your eyes and feel him, search for him with your heart and you will find him. There is a link, a bond between the two of you, grown of intimacy, conflicts and love. Not a single woman, human or goddess, has ever felt but a pinch of what you feel for him. You are our only hope." She said.
Cryptic words, truths that I failed to understand that night after she left. For I did not know how I could find him. I wanted to tear my hair out in frustration. I failed to understand her meaning until I laid in bed many hours later, thinking of Ares. I thought of him, the feel of his skin, his smell of forest and wildness, his voice, and his heartbeat underneath my ear. As sleep claimed me, in the breach between lucidity and complete unconsciousness, I felt him.
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I rose from Ares' bed; the room was so familiar to me despite the fact that I had not been here since Ares had dragged me on impulse on that day in Olympus. The windows were opened and the moon shone high in the sky. I briefly thought that if there was no sun, there surely wasn't a moon either. The curtains moved with the cool wind, and outside on the balcony was the unmistakable figure of Ares. He stood naked, with his back to me. His powerful body was still, his skin shone white in the moonlight. His hair over his shoulders appeared a dark maroon.
"Ares." I rose from the bed and came to him, standing behind him. The freckles on his shoulders were just as I remember. He turned his face enough to look at me, giving me view of his scarred left cheek. I placed my hands on his lower back, sliding them over his shoulders, and leaning into him, burying my face in his back.
"Where are you?" As soon as I had spoken the words, I remembered the truths that pained me so much. "Where are you, dearest?"
"I don't know." He replied. He reached behind him and grabbed my hand, bringing me to stand in front of him.
When you've been away from the person you love for so long and you see their face, even in your dreams, it tightens your heart and your realize how very much you love them. I love Ares more than I ever thought it possible to love a man.
I looked at his face above mine as he stared into the far horizon.
"You should not have given yourself up for me."
"Perhaps I shouldn't." Those words carved holes in my heart, despite knowing that if he had not done so, none of this madness would've happened. He looked down on me; his hands caressed my arms and slowly came to my face. He smoothed the hair from my brow, caressed my cheeks. His head dipped low and his lips came upon my own. There was desperation in the kiss as his lips claimed mine, urgency as our lips battled and our bodies melded together.
"But what good is being a god when I cannot protect you?" His words relieved me, but I also became angry at our selfishness. What right had the god of war to love? What right had he to risk everything for a single human? What right have I to love him?
"Many have died because of it." I said aloud, reproaching us both.
He stepped away from me and into the room, his footsteps angry. "And many more will!" He said brutally. "They will die anyways! Perhaps I will die too! Why does it matter?"
"The world cannot perish because of your choice to save a human! Your father, your mother may perish too because of your damned choice! You should have left me to die, you selfish, arrogant, man!" Angrily I stepped into his room.
"DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT IF YOU WOULD'VE DIED, I WOULD'VE DIED TOO?" He came and stood in front of me in all his nude glory. His face so close to mine, I had to step back, but when I did, he stepped forward.
"I HATE YOU, LIAH!" He said fiercely. "Do you know why?" When it became apparent that I was not going to answer he continued. "Because it's not in my nature to feel what you make me feel! Because I cannot live without you and even the thought makes me berserk! I hate you because I would rather tear my heart from my chest than stand aside and watch you die." He grabbed my arm, his hold unbreakable and dragged me to his bed.
"You call me selfish, but you are the selfish one for keeping you from me, where I could've protected you. You think you can go about living your life as one more human, but you can't!" He pushed me on the bed, and then climbed on top of me.
"I-" I did not know what to say to him. I turned my face for him in attempt to avoid his vivid emerald eyes. But he would have no such thing; he grabbed my chin and turned my face back towards him.
"You were mine the moment I saw you, and if you had accepted that none of this insanity would've happened. NONE! If you would've have stayed with me…" His words came out as a growl. "I love you, Liah. The god of war loves you, as I have never in my long existence loved another being." There were tears glistening in his eyes. Dear Heavens, the god of war was crying. I lifted my hands and wiped the tears from his eyes.
Ares lifted my robe over my head and discarded it carelessly onto the marble floor. His knee parted my thighs and his powerful hands positioned my hips for him. He was inside me in one sharp, deep thrust. We took pleasure from one another, bruising each other. But I did not care. Ares was mine, he loved me and I loved him. When our lust was sated, he collapsed atop of me, his head on my chest, his body weight nearly crushing me. But I did not care; I wrapped my arms around him and smoothed the hair from his brow.
"I love you Ares." I said against his hair. His arms tightened around me. There was nothing better than feeling his heartbeat against my body, as if it was part of my own. Nothing better than his warm, large body draped over mine.
"Where have they taken you, Ares?" His body tensed at my question. I rubbed his back, in attempt to calm him. I felt his body loosen once again.
"It is dark now, but before that there were trees, countless of them. Mountains with tips of snow. North. I am north… The air smells of Macedonia? Or perhaps Thessaly? I don't know…I don't know." He whispered against my chest.
"I will find you." I simply said. I would do everything in my power to find him. Everything.
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Cheers! And nighty night, lovies. I hope you liked it : )